News
Putt For Dough Through the Snow
Every golfer in a northern climate hopes and prays to be able to hit the links just once during the winter months. The opportunity may never come, but when it does…
Living in the northern climate, there is one constant that everyone must concede. The golf season here runs from mid March to early November (for the die hard players).
Most of the courses close around the beginning of November, and don’t open again until the snow is gone for good. There have been times; however infrequent, where Northerners get to experience the greatest phenomenon in golf: Winter Golf.
In November, usually somewhere in the first or second week, many cold weather players begin the same ritual. You get to the course and just have that feeling. This is the last time I am going to play for the next six months. The round may last 20 holes because you can’t quit unless it is a par or better. You head to the car for a long silent ride home. When you get home, you head to the basement where you meticulously clean each and every inch of your equipment. It is your chance to say goodbye to your friends until next year, save the few trips to the heated range or golf dome. Your shoes get a thorough cleaning and a last polish before spending the cold winter months next to the bag in the basement.
The snow falls and the mercury starts hitting below freezing regularly. You have been relegated to watching the TOUR in Hawaii or playing Tiger Woods Golf on your video game system. GolfWRX.com seems full of people talking about how great golf is in Arizona in the winter. Every manufacturer starts putting out the new line-up. Oh well, time for another glass of Cabernet by the fire watching the snow fall.
Every couple of years though, something magical happens. There is no snow on the ground from a previous rain or maybe it hasn’t even fallen yet. The weather patterns are just right and the warm air from the South makes it way north. Sure, it might only be 50 degrees, but it may as well be 90. Wait though. Who is going to be open?
The phone begins to dial itself. Every course within 50 miles gets a call. Pick up… Pick up… VICTORY! "Yes, we are open. Come on over! Hello? Sir?" The phone has already hit the counter and the car is out of the garage.
There are no tee markers and the entire course hasn’t seen a mower in three months, but YOU ARE GOLFING IN FEBRUARY! The pins are either just where they were left in November or right in the middle of the green. The normal high is 22 degrees, but you are on the course today in a balmy 49 degrees wearing nothing but a sweatshirt and shorts.
In the entire history of winter golf, there has never been a round played over 85. A shank off the tee wasn’t your fault because it is February and the only swing you have practiced was the refrigerator door; better take a mulligan. Thinned wedges don’t count; the ground is frozen. You missed your 10 foot putt? Why, these greens are shaggier than US Open rough; you would have made it otherwise. Count it. There is still a little snow in that sand trap. Free drop.
The sun on your face has more therapeutic benefits than a trip to the spa for the full treatment. There are few things in life that are more enjoyable than having ten inches of snow on the ground one week and standing over a four footer the next while never having jumped a plane or driving 10+ hours. Every bad shot is just dismissed with "I am just happy to be here".
Yes sir, outside of the very loose rules, winter golf is true. It is pure. Every duffer on the course in February is having the best 16 holes they have ever played (two were still under water from the snow melt). You don’t worry about handicaps, scores, the bogeyman, or a $2 Nassau. Golf is golf, and you are playing. Enjoy it like you did when you were a kid and had no concept of par. You will be making real snowmen again next week anyway.
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News
Four books for a springtime review
One thing that never changes over time: snowy evenings give purpose to reading (is it the other way around?) It has been a snowy 2024 in western New York, and I’ve had ample time to tuck into an easy chair with a blanket, coffee, and a book. You’re in luck, because despite the title of this piece, I’ll share five books and their worth with you.
There is great breadth of subject matter from one to five. Golf is as complicated as life, which means that the cover of the book isn’t worth judging. The contents begin the tale, but there is so much more to each topic presented within. If you’re like me, your library grows each year. Despite the value of the virtual, the paper-printed word connects us to the past of golf and humanity. Here’s hoping that you’ll add one or more of these titles to your collection.
Hughes Norton interviewed with Mark McCormack for 20 minutes (30 if you count the missed exit at Logan International) while driving the founder of IMG from Harvard to the airport. The lesson of taking advantage of each moment, of every dollar, because you might not get another opportunity, is the most valuable one that life offers. I say to you, be certain to read this book, because another opportunity to bend the ear of Hughes Norton may not come our way.
Hughes Norton was with Tiger Woods for waaayyy fewer years than you might guess, but they were the critical ones. Be warned: not all of the revelations in this tome are for the faint of heart. Some, in fact, will break your heart. Golf was a sleepy hamlet in the 1990s, until the 16-lane interstate called Eldrick “Tiger” Woods came into town. Everything changed, which meant that everything would change again and again, into eternity. Once the ball starts rolling, it’s impossible to stop.
My favorite aspect of this book is its candor. Hughes Norton is well into his time on Planet Earth. He has no reason to hold back, and he doesn’t. My least favorite aspect is that George Peper got the call to co-author the book (and I didn’t.) Seriously, there is no LFA for me, so this is the best that I could do.
Decision: Buy It!
The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor
Michael Wolf, James Sitar, and Jon Cavalier, in abject partnership, collaborated to produce a handsome volume on the work of gone-too-soon, engineer-turned-golf course architect. Seth Raynor was pulled into the game by Charles Blair MacDonald, the crusty godfather of American golf. Raynor played little golf across the 51 years of his life. His reason? He did not wish to corrupt his designs with the demands and failings of his own game.
Jon Cavalier began his photography career as a contributor to the Golf Club Atlas discussion group. I met him there in a virtual way (we still have yet to shake hands) and have exchanged numerous emails over the years. Despite the demands of his day job, Cavalier has blossomed into the most traveled and prolific course photographer alive today. His photography, both hand-held and drone, makes the pages pop. Michael Wolf invited me and two friends to play his home course, despite having never met any of us in person. His words, melded to those of James Sitar, are the glue that connect Cavalier’s photos.
My favorite aspect of the books is the access it gives to the private-club world of Raynor. Fewer than five of his courses are resort or public access, and knowing people on the inside is not available to all. My suggestion? Write a letter/email and see if a club will let you play. Can’t hurt to try! My one complaint about the book is its horizontal nature. Golf is wide, but I like a little vertical in my photos. It’s not much of a complaint, given the glorious contents within the covers.
Decision: Buy It!!
Big Green Book from The Golfer’s Journal
Beginning with its (over)size, and continuing through the entire contents, there is no descriptor that defines the genre of the Big Green Book. It is photography, essay, layout, poetry, graphics, and stream of consciousness. It harnesses the creative power of a lengthy masthead of today’s finest golf contributors. Quotes from Harvey Penick, verse from Billy Collins, and prose from John Updike partner with images pure and altered, to immerse you in the diverse golf spaces that define this planet.
One of my favorite aspects is the spaces between the words and photos. Have your friends and others write a few notes to you in those blank areas, to personalize your volume even more. One aspect that needs improvement: the lack of female voices. I suspect that will be remedied in future volumes.
Decision: Buy It!!!
Troublemaker and The Unplayable Lie
Books that allege discrimination and mistreatment check two boxes: potentially-salacious reads and debate over whose perspective is accurate. In the end, the presentation of salacious revelation rarely meets the expectation, and the debate over fault is seldom resolved. Lisa Cornwell spent years as a competitive junior and college golfer, before joining The Golf Channel as a reporter and program host.
Despite the dream assignments, there were clouds that covered the sun. Cornwell documents episodes of favoritism and descrimination against her, prior to her departure from The Golf Channel in 2021. Her work echoes the production of the late Marcia Chambers, who wrote for Golf Digest in the 1980s and 1990s. Chambers took issue with many of the potential and real legal issues surrounding golf and its policies of access/no access. Her research culminated in The Unplayable Lie, the first work of its kind to address issues confronted by all genders and ethnicities, and immediately predated the professional debut of Tiger Woods in 1997.
My favorite aspects of the two works, are the courage and conviction that it took to write them, and believe in them. My least favorite aspects are the consistent bias that many groups continue to face. Without awareness, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.
Decision: Buy Them!!!!
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Dad and Mom
Jan 13, 2008 at 3:40 pm
“You nailed it!” says mom. I found myself chuckling out loud as I identified perfectly with every description; from the feeling of the sun on your face to the “best 16 holes…”
Keep up the good work, son.
Jorge
Jan 12, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I was able to experience this today. 1 over for 9 holes….I couldn’t be happier. This was the best read in ages…