golf

Are You Ready for the Masters?

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

mastersThe Masters is less than 50 days away! For us snowbound golfing fanatics, April cannot come too soon enough. This year, approximately 95 of the worlds best golfers will make the yearly journey to Augusta Georgia, to vie for the ‘Green Jacket’! This year, The Masters will be played from 7-10 April; are you ready?

Of all the Majors, this one is my favorite. It starts off my golfing season and it is an opportunity get excited to play as I watch the world’s best slug it out. Apparently, I am not alone with view of The Masters stature among the Majors.
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Different Golf Swings – Pt2

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

Last night during my indoor golf league at Rhino Sports, I realized that a different golf swing is required for different course conditions. It was strange, but I had to adjust my swing to fit the hard playing surface of the indoor simulator to get distance with my clubs!

Normally, I trap the ball as seen in the video below. I have found that trapping the ball offers more distance and better control with my irons. However, this style of swing does not fit my woods or hybrids; so like many players I play a more of a sweeping swing with them. Continue reading →

Course Management – Crazy Man Style

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Grip it and rip it!

The only way to play golf is to hit the ball as hard as I can and as far as I can every time! The initial logic of this style of course management may have you shaking your head, but let me lay out my reasoning.

  • By hitting the ball as far as we can off the tee, a shorter second shot awaits the daring;
  • A shorter second shot, means a even shorter iron and a greater chance to improve our GIR stat;
  • Attacking the pin on every shot results in shorter putts;
  • Hitting long irons and fairway woods when possible improves our changes at eagle; and
  • Putting the ball with enough speed to roll past the hole ensures the ball always has a chance to drop in.

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AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is always an interesting event. It is one of few opportunities that amateurs have to loop the course with professional golfers for an entire weekend. Most of the news and excitement centres around the professionals, like Phil Mickelson’s finish on the 72nd hole, but that is not the only exciting golf experienced by the fans.

Before I go to the celebrity shots, I think Vaughn Taylor’s shot on the 15th hole needs to mentioned. I think it was the shot that was critical to his win. Continue reading →

The State of Golf – Perception is Reality

/ The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

The poor state of golf is an easy target for most writers. By gathering stats about the golf industry, it is easy to paint a picture of despair or economic boom. It is an industry that influences most areas of across Canada and has an economic impact that most people do not realize or understand.

Here are some stats about the Canadian 2014 golfing industry from the National Allied Golf Association:

The total direct economic activity (total direct sales, golf related travel, capital spending) resulting from the Canadian Golf Industry is estimated at $19.7 billion.

These facts come from Based on direct, indirect and induced impacts, Canada’s 2013 golf cluster economic impact accounts for about $14.3 billion of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up from $12.2 billion in 2008. Continue reading →