Duffers Corner

Looks like the US Open might finish again on a Monday this year thanks to Mother Nature.

You mean I have to watch another US Open Final @ work?

Kind of looks like it! The weather has been pretty crappy today and….yep, just got word that play will resume on Friday morning @ 7:30. Dang it! I hate watching golf on Monday. Yes I do remember last year, a little different scenario with it being an 18 hole 2-man playoff, but if it wasn’t for Tiger and his heroics it would have been just another dull tournament finishing on a Monday.

First, I have to work on Monday! I do spend a fair amount of the day on the internet so I could try and stream the video, but it is usually slow and choppy and I get frustrated and lose interest.

I could TiVo it? But I hate watching golf tournaments when I know there is a good chance that between work and getting home that I will somehow find out who actually won. I just hate that!

This sucker could actually finish on Wednesday! Forecast has Fridays weather being just like todays and if the field is tight, the chances of a playoff are pretty good. A US Open final on a hump day?  If so, you heard it here first!

Happy Father’s Day weekend to all you Dad’s!

As my second Father’s Day approaches I recently thought about some of the rather insignificant interactions I had with my father growing up that might in some way have shaped the Duff I am today.

Sure there are big events that stand out – The first fish I caught, the first game of h.o.r.s.e I won, the day he took the training wheels off my bike; all very important happenings that standout, but not a key event that molded my being.

Introduction to Golf – It was a gradual introduction. My grandparents lived on a golf course (9 holes) and as a kid (about 7 years old) I would always caddy for my dad when we came over to visit. After a couple of holes, when we were far enough away from the clubhouse, he would let me hit a couple of shots up the fairway per hole until we got close to the pro shop again. No tee shots, no putting, I just threw a ball on the fairway and whacked away at his 5-iron. After a couple of outings I started to make pretty good contact, but I was a couple of years away from officially teeing-it-up. And when I wanted to sneak out for another 9-holes, he would always say “Why don’t you go over and practice your putting instead!” To this day my iron play and short game are as solid as they have ever been. He was there to see my first birdie (285 yd Par 4), my only hole-in-one (112 yd Par 3 using my grandma’s clubs) and even the first time I shot par!

Now I know these are not ground breaking events, but knowing he was responsible for my love of a game that I am still very passionate about today, makes me even more proud to say “Thanks Dad!”

You know, I had been warned! It never really crossed my mind that things would change this drastically, but they have. Golf has never been a #1 priority in my life but I have easily allowed it to dominate my time. It has never interfered with my work, nor has it ever forged a wedge in any of my past relationships. But a couple of year’s back, when the wife and I decided to start a family, my friends warned me that things would be different. Oh how that was an understatement!

Fast forward to today, with 3 kids under the age of 2 and a couple of weeks away from Father’s Day, I reflect on what golf used to mean to me. How it used to dominate my conversations. How I used to look forward to the after work practice sessions at the range. How I used to blog about the raves & the pitfalls of the golf industry. Spending countless hours after each round, dissecting my shots & looking for ways to improve, that was my norm.

Life now is full of nursery rhymes and diaper changes!

It’s that second job you got that was supposed to be part time; well…it just went full time!

It’s like the in-laws coming over for a visit and deciding to move in and stay!

I am kidding of course, but really, what a turn of events it has been!  I have not played golf since November. I have not hit a range ball since late February. It’s even difficult to catch a Sunday final round on TV; I have to settle for updates via the radio!

Has it been a sacrifice? No, just a redistribution of priorities! The passion is not gone, just in hibernation for a little while. And what do I think about the kids? They’re like a daily hole-in-one!

I have never really bought into the hype of “The Latest & Greatest” when it comes to today’s drivers. You know the ones – the mondo headed titanium behemoths with their tour FujiMaxx low torque low spin shafts that offer up the highest MOI gear effect COR legally allowed along with a LGC dual composite power-bow crown for maximum spin & high launch drives. I mean come on people, let’s wake up here!

It seems like the marketing departments at Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist, Cobra, Nike, Adams & Cleveland have been a sleep at the wheel the last 3-5 years. Rehashing the same old acronyms, that makeup the same old drivers that hit the ball just as far as the marginally different model that was released what seems like only just a few months ago! And how can they get away with claiming that every new club they offer up will get you 15-20 more yards?

And now with the current economy taking a dogleg right turn for the worse, I think you’re going to see a lot more golfers playing their current equipment longer, without any thought or desire to change or upgrade, no matter what new technology arrives over the horizon.

I’m not going to go as far as to spell out doom & gloom for the golf industry, but you should see a nice decrease in overall retail pricing for the next year. I can’t imagine a company right now introducing a new driver between $399 and $499 and expect big sales, it’s not going to happen. No one is going to pay that. Not now, not for quite a while.