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We’re in a struggle for the collective soul of golf

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Once upon a time, being The Club Champion was a position of some distinction, and being known as a “scratch golfer,” or one of the very best players at any golf club, was an honor that carried a little more reverence than it does today. For a long, long time, most clubs in this world regarded The Club Championship as their premier event, an eagerly anticipated annual occasion where many would line the fairways to watch their club’s best golfers square off in the culmination of a quest to be crowned the champion golfer of the year. It was a great tradition, one each club’s best players planned their golfing year around. It’s the reason why most clubs (even today) hold their championships well into their season: to give golfers ample time to round into form, providing the best opportunity for an exciting event for both competitor and spectator alike.

“Infinite striving to be the best is man’s duty; it is its own reward.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Yes, once upon a time we respected and revered the best among us, and at least partly because of that, many more of us annually aspired to join their ranks. Unfortunately, we just don’t seem to do that as much anymore. At some point in the last century, there began a slow, but steady erosion of this long-standing tradition, and The Club Championship lost its place as most club’s preeminent tournament to handicapped events like invitationals and qualifiers, where players of varied abilities could team up for a shot at each club’s biggest prize. And as this tradition lost its relevance, a great many of us seemingly lost the desire, determination, and motivation to do the hard work it takes to embark upon that annual quest to be the best. So before this tradition completely fades from memory, I think it’s time to solve the riddle of just how, when and why this has occurred, and what we can all do if we want to go back to that place. To get there, I believe first a little golf history is in order.

The Scots are historically given credit for inventing the game of golf. A lesser-known fact, though, is that they also likely invented the precursor to the modern handicap system. Assigning the odds is what the Scots called the practice of handicapping, and the adjustor of the odds was the person who most closely resembled our modern-day handicap chairman. Their earliest attempts at handicapping golf events, however, didn’t benefit the competitors, but rather the bettors. As a result, the Scots and their nearly insatiable appetite for a wager unknowingly created a monster.

Even more so than today, it was not uncommon back then for there to be two or three golfers of exceeding ability playing in each club’s tournament, but the Scots endeavored to bring more horses into the field, and handicapping the competitors increased the number of individuals that one might bet upon, and subsequently increased the total of bettors and money in the betting pools. The natural progression of this, of course, was the idea of conducting tournaments where players would be given a certain allowance of strokes in order to compete against players of greater or lesser ability. All this aside, and even taking into consideration the rise of a unified handicap system in England during the late 1800s, the Club Tournament (played at scratch), or Club Championship, as it is more commonly called today, remained the preeminent annual event at most golf clubs around the world until the latter half of the 20th century.

So why and at what point did being the best golfer at any given club become an honor that fewer and fewer golfers annually strove to attain? Is there one thing or a host of things that have together conspired to facilitate  a detour along the road to self-improvement and our collective desire to not only be the best, but to also appreciate the efforts of those who do? Fingers may be pointed in a handful of directions, but in the end, I think there is a single culprit that rises above the rest when it comes to our having settled into this comfort zone of the commonplace. First, let’s take a look at those things I believe, at best, are merely contributory.

There are some who might point to equipment and instruction as having failed the masses, but nothing is likely further from the truth. Quality golf instruction has never been cheaper or more widely available. Whether it’s on the Golf Channel or the internet, the best instructors in the game are literally lining up each and every day to offer free advice. Prefer a more personal approach? With close to two qualified PGA or LPGA instructors per facility on average in the U.S., it’s truly a stretch to cast the blame in that direction. And vast improvements in equipment over the past few decades, as well as the emergence of a huge and affordable second-hand market via the internet have made hitting the ball cheaper and easier than ever, while leaving little excuse for the average golfer to not have good clubs that fit properly. So in the end, I believe these are the least likely reasons that we have for our acceptance of being average.

A case can be made for the rise in coverage of professional golf events after the advent of television some 50+ years ago. We can now marvel at the talent and ability of elite golfers from around the globe almost 24/7 via TV or the internet. These are golfers who, to an extent, can make our local champions look far more pedestrian by comparison. This argument, however, is thin at best and only takes into account half of our conundrum, the drop in admiration we may feel for local champions, while failing to address the other side of the equation. With the abundance of virtual access we have to the very best players, and the even larger scale celebrity (and compensation) they are now rewarded with for displaying elite skills, you could just as easily argue their influence upon our desire to play the game at a higher level is even greater than those local champions we long admired for their ability to simply best the best among us.

Is it the sandbaggers? Sure, at one point or another, we’ve all become tired of losing to bandits who’ve managed to acquire an allowance of strokes that seemingly exceeds their ability. That so-called level playing field the handicap system was designed to provide can often feel like it’s tilted in favor of the less honorable among us, but so much so that we have en masse adopted the mentality, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em? Well, I hope not, but just in case it’s notoriety you’ve been shooting for, let me be the first to break a little bad news. There is no honor in being infamous, and there are no books being written, movies being made, nor legends being told about Joe Bogey, the best 18-handicapper who ever lived.

So if it isn’t the instructors, the equipment, the prevalence of better golfers being broadcast, or even the sandbaggers, where exactly can we point the finger of blame for our long slow descent into comfortable mediocrity? Well, let me give you my theory, and what I hope we will all consider so that we can at least begin to walk things back a bit. You’re free to disagree, of course, but if you, like me, believe our game has somehow, at some point, taken a wrong turn, it just might offer a bit of direction for how we can find the way back.

The game of golf in and of itself is not always fair. Just like life, there are bad bounces and breaks that we all suffer, while fortune and her golfing mistress, The Member’s Bounce, often smile upon those we deem the least worthy among us. We struggle to improve, while others can seemingly make this incredibly difficult game look easy with what we perceive as little comparative effort. Fair or not, that’s just life. At the same time, the goal of the handicap system is to facilitate fair competition among players of every ability. It mostly does that. Inadvertently, however, this leveling of the playing field — and the opportunity it affords players of all skill levels to win what we now consider our club’s most prestigious events — may have robbed us of what was long our biggest incentive to improve. And while we often bemoan the creeping pervasiveness of policies of “fairness,” in everything from politics to athletics, insisting everyone should earn their fair share (or their trophy), we mostly continue to lean on our handicaps when it comes time to compete. Is all that moaning and complaining just talk?

Most club champions work hard on their games, play to scratch, and are consequently some of the finest amateur players in their respective areas. They typically compete beyond the local level, often testing their mettle in high-profile amateur events against other players of similar abilities and on other courses. Despite all that, how many of you out there reading this would even recognize your club’s own champion if he or she were hitting balls next to you on the driving range? Better yet, how many of you are honing your skills as we speak so that you will be ready to answer the bell when it comes time to challenge him or her for that title this year? Anyone?

So this is my call to arms (or irons, if I may), because whether we realize it or not, we’re in a struggle for the collective soul of our game. Will we fight, or fold up our competitive tents and crawl back under the warm blanket of low expectations? Have we become so addicted to our allowance of strokes that we no longer entertain the idea of ultimately playing without them? I’m not suggesting we do away with handicaps, they serve a purpose, but could they be responsible for at least some of us falling into the habit of settling for smaller victories that could and maybe should be viewed as mere stepping stones? Let’s hope not, but we’ve at least wandered far enough down that path that it’s time to reassert the values of self-improvement and a greater appreciation for the practice. Because, as Gandhi said, if “infinite striving to be the best” is really man’s duty, then it’s time we start walking all that talk. And if it really “is its own reward,” let’s not use the Bandits, the Baggers, or even that infamous Joe Bogey as excuses for not pursuing it.

Vince Lombardi once said, “The only place that success comes before hard work is in the dictionary.” So it’s time to dust off that shag bag, file those wedges, and head to that lonely place called the practice tee. Because whether it’s golf, education, business, or anything else truly important to us in life, success and being considered the best are things that should be earned, and the surest path to them runs through hard work.

Obviously, being your club’s next Club Champion isn’t a goal that’s realistically on everyone’s radar this year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t all at least commit to some small goal of self-betterment, while promising anew to value and appreciate the efforts of those for whom it is. And if we do, we might just find ourselves having turned back the clock to a time when The Club Championship held it’s rightful place among each club’s traditions, and a place where we all used our handicaps as more of a measuring stick of our improvement, rather than a convenient excuse for not seeking to.

See you on the practice tee.

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Mike Dowd is the author of the new novel COMING HOME and the Lessons from the Golf Guru: Wit, Wisdom, Mind-Tricks & Mysticism for Golf and Life series. He has been Head PGA Professional at Oakdale Golf & CC in Oakdale, California since 2001, and is serving his third term on the NCPGA Board of Directors and Chairs the Growth of the Game Committee. Mike has introduced thousands of people to the game and has coached players that have played golf collegiately at the University of Hawaii, San Francisco, U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis, University of the Pacific, C.S.U. Sacramento, C.S.U. Stanislaus, C.S.U. Chico, and Missouri Valley State, as men and women on the professional tours. Mike currently lives in Turlock, California with his wife and their two aspiring LPGA stars, where he serves on the Turlock Community Theatre Board, is the past Chairman of the Parks & Recreation Commission and is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Turlock. In his spare time (what's that?) he enjoys playing golf with his girls, writing, music, fishing and following the foibles of the Sacramento Kings, the San Francisco 49ers, the San Francisco Giants, and, of course, the PGA Tour. You can find Mike at mikedowdgolf.com.

35 Comments

35 Comments

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  3. Matt

    Jun 10, 2016 at 6:42 am

    The weekend warrior jock fitness thing starting in the ’80’s combined with the neo-liberal era and downfall of heros like TW is slowing down golf as a popular pastime. I don’t mind this happening because the way the game is portrayed and marketed now is pretty dull (distance, power and having the latest gear). Perhaps if it is once again known as a ‘f#%k yeah’ desirable sport comprising history, commitment, skill, finesse, manners and style…

  4. Dale Doback

    Jun 8, 2016 at 8:00 am

    I would love to play in a club championship were the best player or player who played the best won. The problem is the flawed handicapping system. My club championship uses the handicapping system and then has the players play match play format. This does not produce the best player. At least when I play on the golf channel amtour events when a player has 3 events played their tournament index overrides their handicap to keep players from sandbagging.

    • mike dowd

      Jun 8, 2016 at 12:14 pm

      Dale, I have used tournament handicaps exclusively in our events for the past 15 years and it really works well when it comes to dealing with the sandbagging issue. Allowing players to play and post their own scores in what are mostly casual rounds of golf, whether it be at the club, or form the internet in the comfort of your own home and then to use those handicaps in competition really opens up the door for the less honorable among us. It is essentially like asking each player what handicap they would like to play to that day when they check in for a tournament. We need handicaps, but we really need to re-evaluate system wide the types of scores that we allow to be counted as part of a competitive handicap and how they are monitored. That, however, is an article for another day. 🙂

  5. Alex

    Jun 7, 2016 at 11:29 am

    When I was a kid the Club Championship was the time of the year everybody was waiting for. The kids who wanted to make it to the finals, the hackers who wanted to see the great amateurs hitting the shots. The final match was and still is 36 holes on Sunday. Back then the course was shut so that people came up to follow the match. Dozens of people gathered.

    These days, only the format remains, and simply the best players care about it.

    True, the ambitious ones got prepared for the Club Championship, and we improved our golf in trying to do so and also imitating the few great players of our club.

    Anyway, I don’t want to sound sentimental, God Bless the Handicap.

  6. Ron

    Jun 6, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    The point of the article, if I understood it, was less about club championships and more about the value associated with one’s own personal improvement in the game and the dedication needed to accomplish that – even when that does not lead to a championship.

    The handicapping system is immensely clever – as a way of tracking one’s own skill level. And it allows golfers of different skill levels to have a friendly competition – and in that way is also brilliant. But if all tournaments in a club are net score or net team play, there is less incentive to work at improving if lowering one’s handicap makes a player less likely to be successful in those net competitions (it’s hard for a single digit to compete against a field of 18s). But courses and clubs want to have high participation in their tournaments in order to increase play or the size of the pot – so there has to be an incentive that will draw a lot of players. Hence the team tournaments, net tournaments, skins tournaments, etc., where more participants have a chance to win something. I used to play my County Senior Amateur – but only in the gross division, knowing that as a four or five handicap, I was not going to win (after all, I was in grad school when some of those guys were born!). But I could be in the mix if I played well, and that was satisfying and gave me an incentive to work on my game as the tournament approached. But it is no longer being held, as the local county courses decided they did not draw enough players to warrant hosting the tournament. So now I just work on my game a lot – and I now have the time to do that – in order to continue to improve, or at least stave off what I suspect will (eventually) become a steady decline in my skills as time goes on. I’ll never be a club champion, or County Am winner – but that’s okay.

  7. Mike Dowd

    Jun 6, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    In truth, you can never really go back, but I think a trip down memory lane once in a while helps us to remember things we actually value, but may have lost sight of for one reason or another. Investing in self-improvement, regardless of where we are on the handicap scale or whatever other scale we are using to measure ourselves is something that helps keep us engaged, enthusiastic, and enjoying whatever it is we are trying to get better at even more. Being stuck and feeling stagnated by being in the same place, whether it be at the same handicap or the same level of anything, is what ends up leaving people frustrated enough to quit, whether it’s golf or something else. I think that, despite the fact that I used the club championship and scratch golfers as my example, my point of re-connecting to the values of self-improvement is far from elitist and is actually most applicable to those who have the most ability to improve. I chair the PGA’s Growth of the Game Committee and have been working to grow the game for years and one of the biggest reasons people continually cite for leaving golf is the fact that they felt like they weren’t getting any better. As professionals I think we need to not just be involved in that process, but be just as involved with motivating people to want to, and part of that is helping to create a culture that values it. I know, obviously, that not everyone can become the club champion, but if at least at some level we stay continually engaged in the process of doing even small things that help us to get a little better I think we will continue to enjoy this great game even more than if we resign ourselves to that fact that we are as good as we’re ever going be. Call me the eternal optimist, or a peddler of hope, but I think that hope and the fact that we haven’t yet reached the mountain top is at least a part of what keeps us coming back.

  8. ca1879

    Jun 6, 2016 at 1:57 pm

    Could it be that the vast majority of players, who have no chance of winning or performing well in the club championship no matter how many hours we spend practicing, have grown tired of providing the bulk of the money and time that it takes to support the competitive portion of a club and it’s tournaments? I play at my club for the camaraderie and events that we put on, and figuring out who is the best player this year is of vanishingly little importance to me. Our pros and the handful of players that play near scratch think it’s important, the other 90% of us are more interested in finding out how to have more fun. It’s funny that in the face of the decline of the game, you would suggest that the very competitive elitism that has partially created it is somehow going to become the road back. That seems very unlikely.

    • Nick

      Jun 6, 2016 at 2:15 pm

      Your first line is exactly the attitude being discussed. Why do you think so little of your/others ability to improve at the game?

    • Nick

      Jun 6, 2016 at 2:18 pm

      Why do you think so little of yours/others ability to get better at the game? I think that mind set is what a lot of people are seeing.

    • Ryan

      Jun 30, 2016 at 1:03 pm

      That’s exactly how I felt when I couldn’t break 100, about 5 or 6 years ago. I still felt that way when I broke 100, but couldn’t break 90. I even jumped on 15-inch cup bandwagon for a little while. I am now a 4-hdcp, and I don’t say that to brag, but I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I say that to say that I believe anyone and everyone can do it. I know, and play with, guys with your same attitude. They say they CAN’T get better, and use it as an excuse to not work hard to try and get better. Don’t blame the 10% who work their tails off on the lazy 90%. Don’t worry, we’ll get you a participation trophy in the next tournament, but don’t bring down everyone else, and keep your playing partners from thinking they can ever improve.

  9. mike dowd

    Jun 6, 2016 at 11:33 am

    Love all the great comments here, most of which are all contributory factors. Family, the time commitment it takes to be a really good golfer, and changes in society that make it not near as acceptable for most guys to work all week and disappear to the club to work on their golf games all weekend have all played a role. At the same time, unfortunately, and I think my ultimate point was that the largest portion of competitive golfers I see these days are more worried about working on their handicaps than they are about working on their golf games and the types of events that we seem to most value these days only makes that problem worse. Playing best balls and scrambles are in truth quite fun, but they also open the door to situations where players are rewarded for having a handful of good holes or shots, without really being penalized much for having bad holes or shots. This not only contributes to the issue of sandbagging, but places little value on playing consistently good golf. You’re a much better teammate if you carry an 18 handicap and can par or birdie 6 or 8 holes, regardless of what you do on the others, than you are if you are a scratch golfer who makes two or three birdies per round off-set by two or three bogies. Think about it, in most club-level events these days, it’s almost a penalty to have a partner or teammate that is a really low handicapper, but that 12 to 18 handicapper who can shoot in the low to mid eighties occasionally is a hot commodity. Golf is the greatest game, and the fact that via the handicap system we can have relatively fair competition between players of all abilities is one of the greatest things about it. You can’t handicap a tennis match or just about any other sport and make it fair or fun for either player. If we don’t, however, find some ways to start re-asserting the value of being a better golfer at the club level, and of bringing those who are back into the fold in some may, we may wake up one day and find that very few people will even care to be one anymore. And that, I think, will be the biggest shame.

    • Other Paul

      Jun 6, 2016 at 9:47 pm

      I dont officially track a handicap. My average score is 84-86. I shot 39 on 9 last night. Left my driver in the bag.

  10. Joe Perez

    Jun 6, 2016 at 10:36 am

    I’m one of the officers of the Seniors Club at our local muni. Every time I’ve tried to advance the idea of having the results of our club championship crown *two* champions, a net-handicap champion and another with no handicap strokes given, I’m rebuffed.

    Our club does not award cash prizes for the club championship, and I doubt the trophy costs the club more than $10, and yet for years we’ve had net-handicap champions who are known to all for their sandbagging practices. A lot of the old folks in our club just aren’t able to endure long practice sessions, so in my case I think it just comes down to people who don’t want to admit that they simply no longer have what it takes.

  11. Scott

    Jun 6, 2016 at 10:07 am

    Everyone’s comments are great. At my club, the championship takes place over 2 weekends, if you make it to the finals. It takes place in mid July, which is prime family vacation time. That is a lot of time to commit, with other family commitments. I think that more people would try to play if it was only one weekend. If you really do not think that you have a chance, why commit two weekends? Our club has multiple flights and tries to put 8 golfers in each (other than the Championship flight), so everyone can at least play one round. It is still a popular event, but I know that a number of people have to miss due to family obligations.

  12. birdy

    Jun 6, 2016 at 9:46 am

    its already been mentioned, but the winning answer is that new generation of golfers aren’t joing clubs. they pay per play and don’t feel the need to be a member. members now consist of of the 50+ who have the time and money. that generation also likes the idea of joining a ‘club’ of any sort. clubs in general, not just in sport, are seeing declining membership. so your club winner is rarely the best golfer that plays routinely at the course. i know plenty of guys who frequent a course, are scratch, and can’t play in club championship. zero incentive to join a club as the break even on golf is typically more rounds than most could play through the year. private clubs a little different, but even more out of reach for most under 40

  13. Jamy

    Jun 6, 2016 at 5:01 am

    “It’s no fun playing in tournaments you can’t win.” You’ve probably heard this more than once from a mid/high handicap. Hence the handicap system.

    Now scratch players avoid most club competition because of the handicap system, it disregards their hard work and playing level. The mid/high handicapper avoids the strokeplay events because they feel that’s for those scratch players.

    Instead of bringing all golfers together in a way the handicap system also seperated the scratch player from the weekend warrior. The club championship became something for “those few fanatics”.

  14. Jack

    Jun 5, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    I agree. Our club still has a championship, but it’s not as important as it once was. It’s been replaced by member-quests, and member-member tournaments that place a higher priority on drinking, eating, and partying than golf. It seems our members enjoy these “beer busts in golf carts” (as I call them) so nothing is going to change anytime soon.

  15. SV

    Jun 5, 2016 at 11:15 am

    Nick, I agree whole-heartedly. I think the answer might be the “everybody gets a trophy” thinking that has permeated every kind of activity. Since the number of those that are capable of excelling is exceeded by the “average”, people have taken the easy way out and decided excelling isn’t important. It carries over into golf with “process is more important than result” instructor crowd. If results are important, in golf or anything else, why do it?

    • David

      Jun 7, 2016 at 10:43 am

      I just don’t see this at my club. We have a LOT of good golfers. In fact we have over 100 members that are single digit players and 15 or 20 that are below scratch. I see people working on their games all the time. I see people taking lessons, committing to getting better, and putting the time in. It is, admittedly, a subset of the total membership, but has that part (the practicing and grinding to get better) ever been much different?

      The thing that has changed the most is the economy, in my opinion. The new normal is 40 – 60 hour weeks for just about everyone, whereas when the economy was humming along for such a long time, you had entire industries where it was quite normal for people to put in 30 hours a week and kick off early a couple times a week to get some practice or play in. Those days have been gone for the last 10 years. Industries like insurance, real estate, sales (in almost any industry), etc. used to quite different than they are today even just 10 years ago. Today, most companies have notched up accountability tremendously. That’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just a reality.

  16. ButchT

    Jun 5, 2016 at 8:26 am

    Back in the 80’s I belonged to a club where my friends and I took carts (along with many others) out on the course to watch the club championship finals. We went because we knew all the top golfers in the club; frequently sat down at their table for a beer (or they sat down with us). We had about 200 golfing members – the club I belong to now has 600. The golfing core used to hang out some after a round in the men’s grill to watch golf on tv, or discuss the day’s play. Now everyone slams trunks and heads off to a soccer game. We were interested in the club championship mainly because we knew the participants – now I am on first name basis with about 20 other members! Perhaps it is my fault but that is the way it is.

  17. Mat

    Jun 5, 2016 at 5:57 am

    I have never been interested in joining a club because clubs (at least in the US) were VASTLY more expensive than paying to play. Usually, you’d have to play 60-600 times in a year to make up the cost. So why join? Pride? Sorry… Not joining a club helps me afford, you know, life. And frankly, I’d rather pay to play a few different courses. Join a club, play the same course over and over… no thanks. There are some places that offer 20 courses any time, and they want your first born child. Of course, it’s so expensive, you can will those rights to your second-born child, since your first is no longer available…

    • David

      Jun 7, 2016 at 10:32 am

      Yes, playing enough is the key to joining a club. You have to play 8 – 12 times a month to really get your money’s worth.

  18. PuffyC

    Jun 4, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    The big reason is that people don’t belong to clubs any more. Without the sense of community that comes with club membership, winning the club championship no longer has much meaning. So why do people no longer join clubs? First, it’s too expensive. Wages for those in the bottom 95% have stagnated, and where this country once had a thriving middle class, it’s since been decimated. The market of people who can afford to join clubs just ain’t what it used to be. Second, back in the “old days” adults put their own enjoyment and leisure time before their children’s. Today parents live for their kids and essentially put their own lives on hold while they spend their time arranging play-dates and going to soccer tournaments. I can’t hardly find a buddy to play golf with any more because every spare minute they have is spent catering to the wife and kids. Not making a judgment call on that, just explaining how it is. Golf takes time to practice and most of a day on the weekend to play and adults just don’t have that kind of spare time any more.

    • Mat

      Jun 5, 2016 at 5:54 am

      Ding ding. Winner here.

    • Gordy

      Jun 5, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      That’s a winner right here. I literally play by myself because i have no one to play with in my age range(28). I’d love to join a “club” but uncle sam dips into my pocket so deep, i either 1.save for retirement with extra cash, or 2. spend that money to join a club.

    • Mike W

      Jun 5, 2016 at 9:36 pm

      Well said. If I had a free 20 hours a week, sure I’d spend it working on my game. But there’s this inconvenient thing called work that I have to do in order to pay this little thing called a mortgage. Then after work I actually participate in the raising of my children, unlike 50 years ago. So for now this 39 year old will have to get by with a 10 handicap and fall asleep at night hoping maybe I’ll break 80 this weekend.

    • Skip

      Jun 6, 2016 at 9:37 am

      Nailed it. I Used to be the guy that pretty much played alone; now I have a family that comes first. To strengthen to PuffyC’s analysis – take a look at the various men’s clubs (fraternal order of _______) around town. They are a shell of what they used to be. Once a vibrant “Who’s who” of the local community, now relegated to the “Who used to be”. Men used to swing in for a drink and a smoke or two after work, and now they rush home to be with family. That’s how it is now and I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.

  19. Philip

    Jun 4, 2016 at 8:45 pm

    Instant gratification – great for companies selling the fix, bad for a society that used to take pride in hard work and accomplishment. Why work hard when a few videos and a website makes one an instant celebrity – whether just in their own head or throughout the internet. That and cheaters – when I played as a kid – no one moved the ball unless the rules allowed, now I’m considered rare because I don’t move it before every shot. When you ask them they respond that it isn’t a serious game – yet they are still keeping their score … times a changing for sure.

  20. Ronald Montesano

    Jun 4, 2016 at 8:07 pm

    It lost its importance when golf became a game of the people. To become club champion means sacrificing things like family time, friend time, relaxation, all in lieu of solitary hours spent on the practice tee, the putting green, the bunker. It takes a singular mind, a driven soul, to desire, much less attain, the club championship and honors of its ilk.

    In place of the solitary victory, we now have the team/buddy victory. The invitational, the member-member, are titles that are shared. Born of camaraderie rather than isolation and seclusion, we have replaced Thoreau with Kerouac, minus the drugs I hope.

    Rather than the club championship being considered the collective soul of golf, we should ask ourselves why once-legitimate golf news sources report on what Paulina is wearing, what shank Michael Geller hit, and other bogus items that pander to a collective that gives little shrift to golf, but much attention and value to brief trends.

    • gvogelsang

      Jun 5, 2016 at 10:17 pm

      If you are good enough to contend, you know who the club champion is. And, you wish it were you.

      To all the rest, it might not matter. But it certainly matters to the best players who take their games seriously.

  21. owgr

    Jun 4, 2016 at 7:51 pm

    Duh. The OWGR ruined it all. You didn’t know that? Look at how it was before that silly ranking system came along.

  22. Nick

    Jun 4, 2016 at 7:41 pm

    I have seen the same thing happen in other activities. I don’t understand it but a lot of people have no pride in how good they are at something. I don’t know that there is a fix for it just the way people are now.

    • gvogelsang

      Jun 5, 2016 at 10:20 pm

      Maybe modern equipment made the game too easy? Anyone can hit the modern ball and the 460 cc driver.

      If players don’t care about who is the best in the club, maybe it is time to go back to more difficult equipment, so that the best players can distinguish themselves and their games.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open betting preview

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As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.

This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.

The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.

Past Winners at Memorial Park

  • 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
  • 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
  • 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Memorial Park

Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:

Strokes Gained: Approach

Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.

Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Tom Hoge (+1.30)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
  3. Keith Mitchell (+0.97) 
  4. Tony Finau (+0.92)
  5. Jake Knapp (+0.84)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.

Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
  2. Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
  3. Cameron Champ (+0.86)
  4. Rafael Campos (+0.84)
  5. Si Woo Kim (+0.70)

Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast

The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.

Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):

  1. Adam Svensson (+1.27)
  2. Harry Hall (+1.01)
  3. Martin Trainer (+0.94)
  4. Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
  5. S.H. Kim (+0.86)

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.

Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
  2. S.H. Kim (+0.68)
  3. Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
  4. Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
  5. Jason Day (+0.60)

Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult

Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past. 

Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
  2. Ben Griffin (+1.75)
  3. Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
  4. Ben Taylor (+1.53)
  5. Tony Finau (+1.42)

Course History

Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park. 

Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:

  1. Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
  2. Ben Taylor (+3.40)
  3. Tony Finau (+2.37)
  4. Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
  5. Patton Kizzire (+2.16)

Statistical Model

Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.

These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)

  1. Scottie Scheffler
  2. Wyndham Clark
  3. Tony Finau
  4. Joel Dahmen
  5. Stephan Jaeger 
  6. Aaron Rai
  7. Sahith Theegala
  8. Keith Mitchell 
  9. Jhonnatan Vegas
  10. Jason Day
  11. Kurt Kitayama
  12. Alex Noren
  13. Will Zalatoris
  14. Si Woo Kim
  15. Adam Long

2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks

Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)

Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.

Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.

Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions.  The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.

Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)

Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.

In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.

In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.

Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.

Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)

Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.

Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.

In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.

Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)

Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.

Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.

Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.

Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)

Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.

Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.

Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.

Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)

The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.

In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.

MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.

Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)

Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.

It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.

Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.

 

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Why the race to get better at golf might be doing more harm than good

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B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.

To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).

Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).

Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing

In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.

Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.

The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!

The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.

Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.

The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Valspar Championship betting preview: Elite ballstrikers to thrive at Copperhead

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The PGA TOUR will stay in Florida this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 measuring 7,340 yards and features Bermudagrass greens overseeded with POA. Infamous for its difficulty, the track will be a tough test for golfers as trouble lurks all over the place. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — also known as the “Snake Pit” — make up one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf and should lead to a captivating finish on Sunday.

The field is comprised of 156 golfers teeing it up. The field this week is solid and is a major improvement over last year’s field that felt the impact of players skipping due to a handful of “signature events” in a short span of time. 

Past Winners at Valspar Championship

  • 2023: Taylor Moore (-10)
  • 2022: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2021: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2019: Paul Casey (-8)
  • 2018: Paul Casey (-10)
  • 2017: Adam Hadwin (-14)
  • 2016: Charl Schwartzel (-7)
  • 2015: Jordan Spieth (-10)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Copperhead

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach grades out as the most important statistic once again this week. Copperhead really can’t be overpowered and is a second-shot golf course.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds (per round)

  1. Tony Finau (+.90)
  2. Nick Taylor (+.81)
  3. Justin Thomas (+.77)
  4. Greyson Sigg (+.69)
  5. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+.67)

2. Good Drive %

The long hitters can be a bit limited here due to the tree-lined fairways and penal rough. Playing from the fairways will be important, but laying back too far will cause some difficult approaches with firm greens that may not hold shots from long irons.

Golfers who have a good balance of distance and accuracy have the best chance this week.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+91.3%) 
  2. Zach Johnson (+91.1%)
  3. Sam Ryder (+90.5%)
  4. Ryan Moore (+90.4%)
  5. Aaron Rai (+89.7%)

3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Adding ball-striking puts even more of a premium on tee-to-green prowess in the statistical model this week. Golfers who rank highly in ball-striking are in total control of the golf ball which is exceedingly important at Copperhead.

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1.32)
  2. Keith Mitchell (+1.29)
  3. Tony Finau (+1.24)
  4. Cameron Young (+1.17) 
  5. Doug Ghim (+.95)

4. Bogey Avoidance

With the conditions likely to be difficult, avoiding bogeys will be crucial this week. In a challenging event like the Valspar, oftentimes the golfer who is best at avoiding mistakes ends up on top.

Gritty golfers who can grind out difficult pars have a much better chance in an event like this than a low-scoring birdie-fest.

Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+9.0)
  2. Xander Schauffele (+9.3)
  3. Austin Cook (+9.7) 
  4. Chesson Hadley (+10.0)
  5. Greyson Sigg (+10.2)

5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions

Conditions will be tough this week at Copperhead. I am looking for golfers who can rise to the occasion if the course plays as difficult as it has in the past.

Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1,71) 
  2. Min Woo Lee (+1.39)
  3. Cameron Young (+1.27)
  4. Jordan Spieth (+1.08)
  5. Justin Suh (+.94)

6. Course History

That statistic will tell us which players have played well at Copperhead in the past.

Course History Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+3.75) 
  2. Sam Burns (+2.49)
  3. Davis Riley (+2.33)
  4. Matt NeSmith (+2.22)
  5. Jordan Spieth (+2.04)

The Valspar Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), Good Drive % (15%), SG: BS (20%), Bogeys Avoided (13%), Course History (13%) Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions (12%).

  1. Xander Schauffele
  2. Doug Ghim
  3. Victor Perez
  4. Greyson Sigg
  5. Ryan Moore
  6. Tony Finau
  7. Justin Thomas
  8. Sam Ryder
  9. Sam Burns
  10. Lucas Glover

2024 Valspar Championship Picks

Justin Thomas +1400 (DraftKings)

Justin Thomas will be disappointed with his finish at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, as the past champion missed the cut despite being in some decent form heading into the event. Despite the missed cut, JT hit the ball really well. In his two rounds, the two-time major champion led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach per round.

Thomas has been up and down this season. He’s missed the cut in two “signature events” but also has finishes of T12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am and T3 at the American Express. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking in the field.

Thomas loves Copperhead. In his last three tries at the course, he’s finished T13, T3 and T10. Thomas would have loved to get a win at a big event early in the season, but avoidable mistakes and a balky putter have cost him dearly. I believe a trip to a course he loves in a field he should be able to capitalize on is the right recipe for JT to right the ship.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 (FanDuel)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is playing spectacular golf in the 2024 season. He finished 2nd at the American Express, T20 at Pebble Beach and T24 at the Genesis Invitational before finishing T13 at last week’s PLAYERS Championship.

In his past 24 rounds, the South African ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 26th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Bezuidenhout managed to work his way around TPC Sawgrass last week with minimal damage. He only made five bogeys in the entire week, which is a great sign heading into a difficult Copperhead this week.

Bezuidenhout is winless in his PGA Tour career, but certainly has the talent to win on Tour. His recent iron play tells me that this week could be a breakthrough for the 35-year-old who has eyes on the President’s Cup.

Doug Ghim +8000 (FanDuel)

Doug Ghim has finished in the top-16 of his past five starts. Most recently, Ghim finished T16 at The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field.

In his past 24 rounds, Ghim ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. In terms of his fit for Copperhead, the 27-year-old ranks 12th in Bogey Avoidance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions, making him a great fit for the course.

Ghim has yet to win on Tour, but at one point he was the top ranked Amateur golfer in the world and played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and 2017 Walker Cup. He then won the Ben Hogan award for the best male college golfer in 2018. He certainly has the talent, and there are signals aplenty that his talent in ready to take him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.

Sepp Straka +8000 (BetRivers)

Sepp Straka is a player who’s shown he has the type of game that can translate to a difficult Florida golf course. The former Presidents Cup participant won the 2022 Honda Classic in tough conditions and should thrive with a similar test at Copperhead.

It’s been a slow 2024 for Straka, but his performance last week at the PLAYERS Championship surely provides some optimism. He gained 5.4 strokes on approach as well as 1.88 strokes off the tee. The tee-to-green game Straka showed on a course with plenty of danger demonstrates that he can stay in control of his golf ball this week.

It’s possible that the strong performance last week was an outlier, but I’m willing to bet on a proven winner in a weaker field at a great number.

Victor Perez +12000 (FanDuel)

Victor Perez is no stranger to success in professional golf. The Frenchman has three DP World Tour wins including a Rolex Series event. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which are some big events.

Perez earned his PGA Tour card this season and enters the week playing some fantastic golf. He finished in a tie for 16th in Florida at the Cognizant Classic and then tied for third in his most recent start at the Puerto Rico Open.

In his past 24 rounds in the field, Perez ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 1oth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Good Drive % and 15th in Bogey Avoidance.

Perez comes in as a perfect fit for Copperhead and offers serious value at triple-digit odds.

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