It’s season 2 of Golf is Hard TV! We kick off the new season with some chatter about Tiger, the new grooves and generally catch up with you. We’re are excited for season 2! Look for a future blog post that will highlight some of the top shows form season 1 (2009) and lots more to come. Meanwhile, catch up with us right now and help celebrate season 2 of Golf is Hard TV!

We talk a little about Tiger, tell us what you think by leaving a comment, or take our quick poll.

For the average golfer, I’m wondering if all this talk (and sales of new clubs) of the new groove specification  is even worth a blog post. Probably not, as you are about to find out.

I’ve read 2  or 3 forgettable articles about the new grooves and listened to some talking heads on The Golf Channel yap about how our favorite PGA players will have to adjust quickly. True as that may be, I’m afraid that it’s a bunch of hype for us average and  high handicap golfers.

I’ve spent way too much time obsessing over which clubs I wanted to buy, which balls to hit and whether I’ll go with a cap or a visor, and which brand or logo’d shirts to go with for a given round.

I’m going to make the bold statement, right here on Golf is Hard TV that grooves are simply not something that average golfers need to concern themselves with. Not now, not tomorrow and if we know what’s best for us, not ever.

Why in the world would we want to make golf HARDER? I’m in favor of making golf easier. Shorter holes, flatter greens, bigger driver heads and cheaper beers and burgers at the 19th hole. Those are the things I think are groovy…

Got anything to say about the new grooves? Leave a comment!

Ok… you can just ignore this.. the gnomes (err, the groundhogs) are doing some maintenance and are upgrading the blog to a new version (WordPress 2.9.1) and testing some new cool plug-ins… if it worked, you are reading this!

If it worked, this post should also show up auto-magically on tumblr, Twitter and Delicious! Let’s hope so…

As I was thumbing through the New York times, I came across the obit section and the headline “Bill Powell, 93, Who Faced Racism With a Golf Course” caught my eye.

In reading the obituary, I was amazed to read about this man, who I had never heard of before and his love of golf. Powell was an amazing guy and certainly loved the game of golf. He died last week in Ohio after being “shunned” from the sport that he loved for more than 60 years.

According to the P.G.A, Powell was the only African-american to build, own and operate a golf course in the United States. Can that be right? What year is it again? What stunned me ever more was that Powell built his course a year before Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color barrier and did it in an era, according to the obituary when the P.G.A.’s own bylaws prohibited nonwhites from membership.

Powell got financial help from two black physicians and a loan from a brother and bought a parcel of land. He opened a 9 hole course, then expanded to 18 later on. Clearview Golf Club of course welcomed golfers of all races. The P.G.A. should have been paying Powell for advice, even then.

I’m thrilled I stumbled on to this obituary, it’s a good reminder of the challenges we (human beings, not just one race or another) face and a better reminder of what it takes to accomplish your own goals in life. If I ever get to East Canton, Ohio, I guarantee I’ll stop by Clearview Golf Club to play a round and say hello.

RIP Bill Powell.

First, Thanks Marc for a killer New Year’s Eve party last night, great people, great food and a house full of nice kids.

For all of you folks out there living in a cold, snowy winter climate, remember that you can continue to improve your game without even touching a club. Putt and chip around the house during the winter, exercise 3-4 times per week, stretch your golf muscles (very important), review our episodes about grip, posture, putting and chipping. Incorporate some of these thoughts and you will continue to improve your game all winter long. Oh…and as you are going to sleep, think about hitting good golf shots.

We were chatting about childhood experiences last night and after reminiscing about all the wild, crazy and at times dangerous stuff we did, the topic of golf came up. “What’s the craziest thing that you ever did on a golf course?”, Marc asked. The story I chose to tell went something like this (all names have been changed to protect the innocent):

It was a slightly warmer, sunny winter day in February back in 1985, all the snow had melted and the smell of golf was in the air (what does golf smell like in February in New England you ask? In my house it smelled like fresh pasta sauce simmering for hours with meatballs and hot Italian sausage permeating throughout…on Sundays anyway. Back to the story…there was a really nice, haughty, private country club in town that you could only play if you were fortunate enough to be a member. My friends and I were not that fortunate, but we did have the major golf itch going and our sticks were shined up and ready to go. We joked about sneaking on the play the country club, the jokes progressed to plans, which later became reality.

I don’t remember many of the shots I hit during that 7-hole round except for the 1st swing with a driver. It was 40 degrees, I was wearing a heavy jacket and hadn’t touched a club in months, I thought that just making contact would be good enough. It went about 200 yards, somewhat straight. Good enough. The adrenaline rush caused by our mis-adventure made it seem even better. Oh yeah…one other thing I will never forget, my buddy Jerry had to run off into the woods to relieve himself (I still can’t believe he had a roll of TP in his golf bag!).

Email us your golf stories folks, we will gladly publish them.

We hope your New Year is healthy and happy and you get to play a bit more golf.

Coach Dave