Formats for Tournaments...Can You Ever Satisfy Everyone?

I have been in charge of many of our major tournaments over the years.  From our Member Guest, to our Member Member to our Solheim Cups. I know that's a sentence fragment but just go with it.  The women always accept the Solheim format which is 6 holes scramble, 6 holes best ball and 6 holes alternate shot.  But when it comes to a tournament like the M/G or M/M, whoa, does the bitching start.  I can see how the M/G format should be more player fun.  But for me, the M/M means it's a team event with big prizes and the TEAM should earn it,  My goodness you would think the world is coming to an end when I want to in some way count both players scores, even on a divided format.  Here's what we've tried:

Some New Golf Clothes I Came Across

I was at our local PGA Super Store and noticed they are now carrying two brands I'm not familiar with.  The first is Nivo.  They are a Canadian based company.  On their site, http://www.nivosport.com/, they have a catalog as well as a store locator button.  The look is very fun.

UBF....Come on. You Know You're Curious.

I have a girl friend who is a very good golfer. I think she's a 6 or 7 handicapper.  She is also a staunch Catholic girl.  Went to Catholic schools all of her life. (It doesn't really matter the religion.  I'm just trying to make a point.) I've never heard her say one curse word.  Now, we have a mutual nemesis golfer.

The Golf Game Calcutta but Done a Woman's Way

You might want to think about adding these two events to any of your tournaments.  We do these two at our member guest.  The first event is the Calcutta but as we women call it, "The Horse Race" to the finish!  If you're unfamiliar with a Calcutta, it's basically you bet on teams that are participating in an alternate shot event.

Deliberate = Slow

While watching the Bay Hill Invitational, I listened to Johnny Miller opining on the thing that most irritates PGA players.  It happens to be slow play.  I'm sure we all remember Sergio and his hand gripping and Keegan Bradley's "dance" before hitting a ball.  They're not all  like Brandt Snedeker.

Strategery in Tournaments

I think the word "strategery" is a newly created word by the politicos but that's neither here nor there.  We had our fall Solheim Cup last week.  I picked two captains of whom I was sure would make the event very competitive.  It was very interesting in how one captain picked her team as opposed to the other.

The Imp of the Perverse

This phrase was first used by Edgar Allen Poe.  Remember in the Tell Tale Heart a boarder kills an old man because he can't stand to look at his pale blue eye. He dismembers him and buries him under the floor boards of the house.  While he had been killing the old man, the old man had shrieked.  The neighbors call the police.  The boarder is all cool, calm and collected until he begins to hear the thump, thump, thump of a heart beat getting louder and louder.  Surely the police can hear it!  He screams and yells to pull up the floor boards to silence the heart.  Ok.  I remember that from school.  What's that got to do with golf?

We Need Volunteers!

It is the job of the vice-president of our women's golf association to get all of the volunteers for the up coming year.  Sometimes it's easy...sometimes, well, nearly impossible.  I work, I have kids, I travel, I'm here only 3 months out of the year, I've volunteered every year for 10 years! Enough already!

Themes for Member Guest or Member Member Tournaments

(3/2014 I've updated the list of tournament themes from suggestions out of the comments.  For further info on some of these themes, please see the comment section.)  Our women's golf association is always on the look out for new themes for our member guests and member member tournaments.

Your Very Own Solheim Cup

About 5 years ago as president of our women's organization, I decided to try and have our very own Solheim Cup.  The men's group had been doing their Ryder Cup thing for a while and as we have quite a few competitive women in our group, we decided to give it a go.

An Alternative Universe- Women Ruling Golf

Get a load of this opening paragraph from the article entitled "Golf Searches for Its Feminine Side" by WSJ writer John Paul Newport:  "If the vast majority of golfers were women, with men accommodated mostly as an after though-in other words, the inverse of the way things actually are-the primary set of tees at most of the courses would be around 4,900 yards.

Got Myself a Big Stick Swinging in the Dirt

That's a terrific lyric from Bruce Hornsby's Big Stick from the movie Tin Cup. As I stated before, I'm a mediocre golfer, hacking away hoping to one day continually break 80...OK 85.  And as I stated  in a previous blog, I'm not big on taking lessons.  My one claim to fame?

A Sisyphean Game

Wow, that's a mouth full.  Want to know who uttered that phrase?  Ray Romano on The Hank Haney Project.  Yes indeedy, it was Ray.  He's on the show to try and become a single digit handicapper.  He brought up Sisyphus to describe his approach to golf.  His game is a "Sisyphean game", one that seems to be nothing but frustration.  Constantly trying to improve his game by trying to improve his game by himself.  What?  OK.  He does nothing to improve his game other than constantly hitting on the range and watching videos and reading magazines.  He doesn't get better and all that does is frustrate him.  If you don't remember Sisyphus, in Greek legend he pissed off Zeus with his hubris, thus angering said god who then compelled Sisyphus to roll a huge rock up a steep hill. But before he could reach the top of the hill, the rock would always roll back down again, forcing him to begin again.  How many of us have a game that rolls ups and then tanks.  We're playing a round and after 9 holes, we've shot a 36.  Woo hoo!  Going to shoot the game of all time.  Then bogey, bogey, triple, triple, three putt, three putt.  It's a Sisyphean game. 

I've always been one of those folks who doesn't like to be told what to do.  I also don't like to think that I may not live up to other people's expectations of me.  So, if you were to extrapolate from that-  I don't like to take lessons.  Someone is telling me what to do and even though the pros see all kinds of swings, I do have a reputation to uphold.  Yah, right.  They know your handicap and it's not an 8.  I always end up squandering time by yakking or joking around.  Not good.  I'm never going to be an 8.  I asked a teaching pro once what would that take.  He asked, how much actual time do you have to practice and if you had the time, how often would you practice?  He said I'd have to practice 3-4 times a week and take a lesson once a week for 6 months and then I might MIGHT break 80.  I have shot one 79, one 80,  and one 81.  But that's 3 scores out of 100's.  So, what's a girl to do to get out of this Sisyphean rut?   Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".  Well, I'm not insane so I either have to accept mediocrity or make a plan for improvement.  Well, I'll watch Ray and see how he does.  Maybe he'll inspire me...

Blogger's Note:  Ray does not reach his goal of breaking 90.

Golf, Rules and Women

My women's golf association had its Informal Coffee this week.  We like to get together in the dead of the winter with the informal coffee to meet new members, cajole possible new members and harass old friends.  We don't spend a lot of money on the coffee and just provide said coffee and muffins.  I'm going to digress for a moment. 

The Games We Play Both Figuratively and Literally

We all know women within our golf groups who love to play "games" to win.  Wow, that's a nasty lie in the bunker.  Good luck getting that out.  Or, Too bad you're so far left in the fairway.  Now that limb is going to be in the way.  I'd like to say that I am stronger mentally than to let something like that bother me,

You, Your Spouse and Golf, A Very Combustible Combo

It's like when you were a kid and for Halloween you'd add vinegar to baking soda...You knew that sooner or later that combo was going to boil over.  Well, that can be what happens when a woman plays golf with her spouse.

Women, Golf and Menapause

Ooo, what a topic.  I think the best way to exemplifly this topic is by telling a story.  Once upon a time there was a lovely lady who was a mediocre golfer.  Had a few hole in ones, broken 90 on a number of occasions, and did fairly well in competitions.  This lovely lady gets talked into playing in the Ladies' Club Championship in the net flight.  Out she goes to start her round.

A Woman Who Loves Golf

A Woman Who Loves Golf.  I guess, according to men,  women don't REALLY love golf, they just do it to yak, socialize, have lunch, maybe have a toddy or two and then go home and do their nails.  Well, for me, it started out that way.  I had never played golf before.