The Little Linksters Challenge: Seeking the Best Young Golfers

It's that time of year again... time to head over to Brendon Elliot's Little Linksters and show off your golf swing!  That is, if your age is somewhere between 3 and 8.  Because if so, you're eligible for the Best Pee-Wee Golf Swing in North America Contest.  There are great prizes to be won... and some amazing celebrity judges on hand to select the winner.

Visit the Little Linksters website for more information about the contest and the Little Linksters Program.

Also, here's our post about last year's contest.

Musings of a Golf Newbie - Golf & Love: A Lot Alike

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By Jordan Farr

The other day I went out with friends; two couples, and a golf buddy of mine.

We discussed lots of things, but there were a couple of topics I found particularly interesting, one was "love and marriage", and the other about "love and golf"!

It occurred to me that... in certain ways... the two seemed a lot alike. The relationship one has with a spouse... or a significant other... and the relationship one has with the game, actually have numerous points in common: There are good days and bad, days that intensify the love and days that make you feel like you’re stuck in a Whistling Straits sandtrap... without a sand wedge.

Sometimes the game seems to perfectly fit your personality and your interest level, a match made in Golf Heaven. However, you can also find yourself going through a rough patch with golf, where you don’t even want to talk about the it, let alone play the game. Increasingly, you may find your time together fraught with frustration. You fondly remember the past, and the way things once were. The honeymoon... you decide... is clearly over.

And just then, something happens that charms you; a putt you're sure you messed-up meanders towards the hole and... responding to an invisible break... drops right into the center of the cup. Or you make a subtle change during a routine session at the range and suddenly you're hitting the long, pure drives of your dreams... one after another. So there you are with golf, right back where you started, in love again.

Yes, golf is a lot like love. In fact the biggest difference my friends and I could find was that after a bad round, you can go to the 19th hole and get a beer and a meal, while a fight with a spouse most often leads to eating leftovers and sleeping on the couch.

Musings of a Golf Newbie - Frustration and Elation

By Jordan Farr
Over the past several weeks, I’ve become a true cheerleader for golf.

However, even though I’ve been playing more often, and spending hours at the range, I still... by most standards... suck.

Denying golf’s frustration is like... let’s see... it’s like denying a huge elephant which happens to be sitting in a barn with a bunch of small horses. Okay, that made absolutely no sense. What I’m saying is that I’ve discovered it’s useless to deny the frustrations of golf.

Speaking of frustration, it surprised me to see a number of brilliant … and seemingly established.... PGA and LPGA players heading back to Q School in hopes of regaining their tour cards. What could be more frustrating than that?

On a more... humble... level, I sometimes feel like my own frustration is nearly as epic that of the beleaguered Q School returnees, simply for because I allow it to get there.

When the swing I’ve (supposedly) been perfecting at the range produces only a series of awkward, ugly worm-burners on the golf course ...and the putts I focus on so intently just refuse to ever roll in.... I have an emotional response that involves anger and disappointment... and on occasion... a major meltdown.

Then, when I begin to play well, I get all nervous, “How will my next shot be? What if I can’t get past that damn sand trap and it ruins my best round ever!!!" Which inevitably leads to my classic newbie dilemma “WHAT CLUB DO I USE AGAIN?” All of these questions and concerns distract me from my game… and sometimes I feel like they’re ruining it... slowly and painfully.

Fortunately, there's a bright side. As in: I’m learning to marvel in my strengths and take joy in the good shots... however rare those may be at such an early stage in my golf love-affair. This naturally lowers my frustrations for when something does go awry. Setting small goals that will hopefully lead to my bigger ones, is another thing I’m trying to do.

And I’ve got to admit, by the end of each round or practice session... despite some inevitable frustration... I always seem to have a huge smile on my face because I got out there and worked on the game I’m growing to love.