Well, for starters, his name is Chris Sharp and he is all of us. Because we’ve all been there, no matter where we are with our game now, and that place is the beginning. Think back on that for a moment. Yeah, remember? Whether you’ve played a thousand rounds, a 100 rounds or you’ve just won the Masters, you remember the beginning.

Golf is damn intimidating for many. Or scary, as the Chicago Golf Noob puts it. There’s a seemingly endless supply of rules and etiquette, (both spoken and unspoken) that can make those first times out, well scary. No one wants to look or feel the fool, and frankly, there’s no better game at doing just that than golf. Then there’s the cost factor of playing the game. Let’s face it, clubs, balls and the other essentials, not to mention green fees can be expensive. There’s lots of things that stand in the way of getting past your fears and into the game. The bottom line? Stepping up to that first tee for the first time can be both exhilarating and nerve wracking.

What makes the Chicago Golf Noob so valuable is the fact that he’s chronicling his journey as a golfer here in Chicago. He plays the local courses and writes about his experience. Simple. Direct. Brilliant. His blog is the tale of a guy moving through, what I call, the Five Stages of Golf. And it makes for some damn entertaining reading, especially if you’re either new to the game, or considering diving head first into the madness and magnificence that is golf. The Chicago Golf Noob also talks about equipment, terminology, golf rules and golf tips. But for me, it’s his recounting of his rounds that I find most enetertaining.

So what are the Five Stages? Here’s my take on it…

1.) Golf is scary. Oh, hell yes it is! Real scary when you are first going out. Just trying to hit the ball in some semblance of straight, was, for me, a major event. I was shanking balls into the woods with every swing. Then there’s all the worry about the etiquette and such. I screwed up plenty, and to be honest, still have the occasional guffaw, over some unspoken rule. Just trying to get through a round without killing a squirrel or, god forbid, sending a ball screaming into another foursome on another fairway, created plenty of nervous fear. Yeah, golf is scary.

2.) Golf is rewarding. As insane as it sometimes feels, as frustrating as 5 putting a hole, there is very little that feels more rewarding, more life affirming than driving the ball down the middle of the fairway. Watching it sail along in perfect geometry towards the hole. Or, when for some mystical and magical reason you read the breaks (or just get freaking lucky) and drop a 20 foot putt for par to the amazement of your golf buddies. But beyond the game itself, the strokes and swings, the divine and rare (at least for me) moments of triumph and victory, there’s the amazing serenity of being on a golf course. There is something so peaceful, so perfectly Zen about being out on a beautiful day. The sky a glorious blue, the various shades of green and, if you’re lucky enough to be on a great course, the awesome views. But the truth is, even on the most mundane of courses, even with houses and other distractions present, there is a serenity and peace to being on the course, away from the grind, sharing the game with your friends.

3.) Golf is challenging. Yes, yes it is. A wicked little challenge that, like all great challenges in life, offers only a temporary triumph over. The game and the courses always win in the end. I’ve experienced the divine joy of a birdie on a tough par 4, only to double bogey the next par 3. No matter if you play the same course every week, there’s always a new shot, a new angle a new challenge to confront. The game is genius. It keeps you coming back by giving you just enough of a victory (that birdie on five) to offset the humbling and crushing defeats (that triple bogey on 16) and give you hope for the next time out.

4.) Golf is fun. It truly is. No matter the outcome. Unless of course you’re playing for money, which brings a totally different level of challenge and frustration to the game. But if you’re out there either alone or with friends, the game is fun. As long as you don’t take it seriously. It’s just fun to whack the ball and laugh at your own foibles and mistakes. It’s damn fun to crush a drive and watch it soar, straight and true, towards it’s intended destination. It’s fun to mess about and check stuff out in the Pro Shop. It’s fun to enjoy a cold beverage in the lounge afterwards. It’s fun to talk about. In short, yes, golf is damn fun.

5.) Golf is life. The perfect microcosm. Golf has all the joys, triumphs and heartbreaking frustrations that, in the end, make life worth living. Let’s face it, if it was all smooth sailing, would we really have a great life? I think not. We need the downs to appreciate the ups. Golf is the same way. And golf, like life, really is built on relationships. Our relationship to others we share a game and a round with. Our relationship to ourselves. Golf, like life, makes us better, causes us to grow and certainly teaches us how, or at least, gives us the opportunity to deal with setbacks and losses. It doesn’t matter if you can’t break 120 or whether you are consistently at or around par, the game is a great teacher and a perfect mirror.

As for the Chicago Golf Noob, I highly recommend checking his blog out. You won’t get stunning and in-depth course reviews, but you will get solid writing and more than a few laughs and insights as he marches through the local courses (many of which we feature here on Look Around Golf) and describes his game. Like me, I’m sure you’ll find yourself relating to more than a few of his words.

I’ve decided to add links to the courses we feature on Look Around Golf that the Chicago Golf Noob has written about. The CGN is great and a wonderful resource for anyone looking to take up the game or just survive the ‘golf is scary’ phase. He is also a great reminder to keep a beginner’s mind when playing this wonderful, exhilarating, frustrating game.

Now, go be a noob and have some fun!

Here’s the Chicago Golf Noob on one of my favorite courses, Rolling Hills at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois.

Now many of you may be familiar with Beaver Golf’s online store. And if you’re not you’ll want to check it out. Great selection of some of the best and most cutting-edge (Sunice Gore-Tex Rain Gear, Tattoo Golf Apparel) golf products along with some damn good deals. I would suggest signing up for their emails, as they have some awesome deals on those.

But enough commerce, let’s talk about golf, specifically this blog. It’s flat-out essential reading. The course reviews are the kind of in-depth, well written stuff you want to read about these places. This isn’t fluff, nor is it the sort of ass-kissing bs that these kind of things can be. Nope, it’s just good, solid writing and information.

There’s more than just course reviews, there’s lots of stray thoughts and ideas on a variety of pertinent golf topics, One of my faves was about whether the USGA rating system for courses was fair. Good stuff.

Of course, there are equipment reviews and considering that the man owns a store selling the stuff, they are still informative at the least.

My only complaint with the blog? There’s not enough of it! I want more and hopefully, he’ll give us just that.

Do yourself a favor and go take a look.

The Bogey Master…

So what exactly does that mean? Well, the whole purpose of FGM is to promote and grow the game of golf by creating an environment that is fun to learn the game in.  Let’s face it, golf is a tough game (par is victory for most players) and can be a bit intimidating. My first time out, I felt like I was constantly in the way of other golfers, playing god-awful, not to mention, all the unspoken rules I managed to break. Looking back, it’s a wonder I stayed with it.

Family Golf takes that intimidation factor away and creates a casual, yet structured way to learn the game and, as the name suggests, caters to the needs of families and young golfers.

Nationally, there’s nearly 2,100 facilities participating in Family Golf Month. Locally, here in Chicago, one of the biggest and long-time supporters of Family Golf is Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Illinois. The Jemsek family understands the importance of growing the game and their customer base. Cog Hill always delivers a first class golf experience, and their work with Family Golf Month is no exception.

For more information on Family Golf Month and the other great family golf promotions, visit Cog Hill Golf and Country Club.

Now, go grab the kids and the spouse and hit the links!

You can check out the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club virtual golf course tour here!

Plenty of athletes have bent to the pressure of the crown of their respective sport. The other day I even heard Lebron James‘ name becoming synonymous with “close but no cigar”. As Tiger approaches his greatest monument (overcoming himself and reaching the golden bear), the world sits back and waits. With bated breath, yearning to see what is possible we wait to see if this generation can produce the next king of golf. Tiger take your time, get yourself and your game back together. I personally feel you have earned the chance to attempt and reach the summit of golf, good luck and god speed.

The General

As  I sit here and watch Dustin Johnson tear up the Blue Monster of Doral I was thinking about I much I enjoy watching golf.  Don’t get me wrong I like playing it much more than watching it.  I guess what I’m saying is most all my friends and people I know, love playing golf but most of them don’t find watching it much fun.  Many will watch the majors or possibly the Ryder Cup and let’s not forget when Tiger’s in contention.  The word “boring” always seems to come up.  “Too Slow” is something often heard

I really enjoy watching whatever tournaments on, even the “lesser” tournaments interests me.  For the most part the coverage either by CBS or NBC is usually first rate.  Johnny Miller can get a bit annoying at times.  Johnny, tell me about the damn grain of the greens one more time!  Miller does know the game and I do enjoy his candidness, not being afraid to criticize a player or situation.  Jim Nantz is very good but really cracks me up with his broadcasting of the Masters.  He is so reverent and Cheesy!  Although, a Masters broadcast would not be complete with out Nantz’s trademarked  “Welcome friends to the Butler Cabin”… I might be chessy too if I got to broadcast from the Mecca of golf.

What is even more enjoyable than watching a tournament on TV is actually going to an event.  The first thing you notice is how nice the course is but quickly you are blown away at just how amazing these guys are.  They make scratch golfers look like begginers.  Television doesn’t do a great job of really showing the skill of these guys,

I have been to a few majors (US Open and a couple of PGA’s) and it was fantastic.  I stood right by Tiger and saw Phil in his first round of his first major.  I got a chance to talk with Larry Nelson (my favorite on tour at the time).  The Majors were great but I think I actually had the best time at the John Deere Classic a couple of years ago,

My dad picked up a couple of tickets and we made the 2+ hour trip to Silvis, IL.  I wasn’t expecting too much since this was one of those “lesser tournaments” with a “lesser field”.  There was a strong chance of rain so, unfortunatlye for the tournament, the crowd was smaller than expected.

Right off the bat we were greeted warmly by a volunteer who gave us alot of usefull information.  Because of the smaller crowd it was very easy to move around.  My dad is a lefty so I told him we need to watch Bubba Watson.  My dad said “Bubba who?”.  After about 4 holes, my dad was saying he thought Bubba was his new favorite player.

We walked all around the course watching some of our favorite players.  The field was actually strong with several major winners.  One of our favorite moments was watching Rich Beem.  Rich was analyzing his 2nd shot on a par 5.  Beem was just barely on the fairway within 4-5 feet from the rope we were standing up against.  It was “clean and place” that day and Beem wanted to move the ball on to the first cut of rough, what he referred to as the “Frog Hair”.  He called over one of his playing partners to see if he could do that.  His partner said he thought so.  For some reason I opened my mouth and told Beem he’d better check with a rules official,  Beem looked at me, nodded, and called a rules official over. He was granted the ruling.  Beem was going to go for the green  and was only a few feet from us. like I mentioned.  He took a huge swing and pounded the ball.  Even though I was watching him the whole time, the speed and power with which he hit it still took me by surprise and I let out a loud “Holy Crap!”  Beem smiled and said “you liked that, huh?”

The rest of the day my dad and I walked some more, talked and laughed alot.  The John Deere people did a wonderful job.  I would encourage any golf fan to check it out.  I don’t get to do stuff with my dad as much as would like.  Looking back I guess it was my favorite tournament because I was with my dad.  What can be better than to be on a golf course with your dad?

Bill Goehring
Golf Nut. Writer. A Savage Beast with a Putter.

I have to blame this one on my friend, Chris. Chris is a stone cold golf fanatic. He travels a lot for his business and he golfs where ever he goes. He’s got a business trip to Hawaii early next month and of course, he’s already totally locked into “Where am I going to play? How many roiunds can i possibly squeeze in? And damn, I get to write all this off!”. Yeah. I know. The rotten…..

So anyway, while I was hanging out with my boy this weekend due to the rain killing any chance of actually getting out on a golf course, Chris wanted to show me a site he’d found for booking Hawaii tee times. Okay, I went there, yeah, I sat with him and we started looking at the courses and I started drooling…

The site’s fairly typical for this type of thing. You’ve seen plenty of tee time sites. But this is Hawaii… and damn, the courses are freaking awesome. I mean, I’m here in Chicago, and yes, we have some great courses here, some world class places to play, but….. it’s Hawaii. So damn beautiful. We checked out several enticing places…The Emerald Course at Wailea Golf Club… the Fazio and Palmer courses at Turtle Bay Resort… and of course, the above mentioned Makena Beach on Maui.

And, they’ve got some awesome deals on the site. Some great golf packages. The temptation is killing me.

I want to go. I need to go. I have got to find a way to rationalize going. Hell, maybe Chris could hire me or some thing. Anyway, needless to say, the courses just rock and the pics, although beautifully shot, don’t do them justice. They need the Look Around Golf treatment and I need to sell them on that idea!

So once again, Chris has got me thinking and plotting and scheming… the man always has that effect on me. Hawaii. Golf. What could be better than that? Getting paid to go do it. I’ll keep you guys posted.

Here’s a little pic of Makena to wet your appetite…

But, there’s always the issue of time. As in, there’s just not enough time to keep up with what’s going in the world of golf, let alone our own golf games. So what do you do when you’ve got a serious golf itch? Where do you go for the latest information about the game you just can’t seem to get enough of? My golf junkie buddy Chris turned me onto a great source. For me, a regular stop to feed my golf addiction has become The Golf Channel. I’m sure you’re familiar with it, but for me discovering the online version, PGA Tour, courtesy of Chris, has been a godsend for keeping up on the game and the personalities.

If you haven’t checked it out, do yourself a favor and do so. There’s tons of great stuff. Me, I love to read intelligent, thoughtful golf writing and that’s where this site really shines in my opinion. Of course you can get the latest PGA and more tour standings, tournament info and leader board stats, but I love the writing, especially the Punch Shots and Backspin features. Those are my two favorites.

Punch Shots (www.thegolfchannel.com/punch-shots/) is cool because you get both sides of a story or an issue from two different writers. I personally like that pro/com format a lot as it’s more informative and thought provoking than just reading one columnists viewpoint. Backspin (www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/backspin/) is perfect for when I don’t have a lot of time. It’s fast, quick opinions on a variety of hot topics. Backspin is in a blog format so you can leave your opinion, which I enjoy.

The columnists on thegolfchannel.com are first rate and there’s all the golf video you could ever want to watch, (well almost, there’s lots of video you need to watch here on Look Around Golf, too lol) including cool golf instruction videos featuring tour pros like Bubba Watson.

Video still from The Golf Channel

For me, the hardest part about thegolfchannel.com is not making the time to get to it, it’s forcing myself to stop and get back to work. Thanks Chris.

Exciting news-we have a new contributor here at the Lookaroundgolf blog. So show some support! A brand new contributor to the website and to the great game of golf, a wonderful female golfer who will no doubt find her own in the fantastic arena we all love.

Everything I Don’t Know About Golf.

I know pretty much next to nothing about golf, other than it involves hitting a club like object to a ball.
Sure, I did do miniature golf once, it was a very frustrating experience attempting to get a hole-in-one through moving objects.

Most of my knowledge regarding golf is from the media. As far as the culture of golf, I think it might have something to do with cute clothes involving a lot of argyle prints, great cocktails, country clubs, chatting and business deals. Maybe I should attempt to get into the golf scene, any sport that condones cocktails before, after or during playing, is my kind of sport.

As far as watching the sport on TV I think I’d rather watch grass grow. Unless of course I can watch Tiger Woods play and to be honest I’m not too focused on watching the events of the game when that happens.

So maybe I should give golf a chance to work some magic on me, and if worse comes to worse, at least I can have an excuse to incorporate more argyle prints into my wardrobe.

By Rebekah Rink

So for the next 2 weeks were gonna be giving you a few pointers on how to have some fun and save some money on your way to teeing it up this spring!

See you soon:

The General

I confess, I’ve been a Woods fan, he certainly helped spark my interest in the game. I enjoy when he’s playing well and in the hunt at a tournament. His quest to break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors is something that I would love to see him achieve. Not because I particularly like Woods or dislike Jack, but because it would make for great drama if Woods were to get there. It would bring millions of otherwise casual fans back to the game, and that is really the reason I watch golf and Tiger in particular. Great drama. When Tiger is in the hunt, when he’s on his game, he brings a drama to the course, an electricity to the air.

Now, Woods is struggling big time to find the magic. After watching him these last two times out, it really got me to thinking about life and the ups and downs of the game and how it mirrors so much of life. Yes, Tiger has had plenty of off-the-course issues. The divorce, is, of course, the big one in the media. The split from swing coach Hank Haney, and then there’s the whole thing with the HGH and Dr. Anthony Galea, the Canadian who is facing charges of smuggling banned substances and treating several pro athletes in their homes and hotel rooms between October of 2007 and September of 2009. The Galea story, while it doesn’t get much press, has all sorts of dark connotations. You can read more about it at these links…

The New York Times

ESPN

Washington Examiner
But, what mostly interests me is Tiger’s on-the-course struggles. I certainly am not suggesting we feel “bad” for Woods. Far from it. It’s hard to feel bad for any one with that much money who brought their troubles on themselves. But, while watching Woods self-destruct at Dubai, I found myself considering what the hell that must feel like. We all have things we’re pretty good at. Golf, for me, is not one of them. I spend far too much time shooting pictures of golf courses and promoting them to spend any real time on my game, or at least what could be called my game. Nope, I have no illusions about my golf game. I just enjoy hacking away with my partner Cole, and laughing at my own ineptitude. But there are other things I’m really good at. Some of them related to work, some of them not. I’m sure you have plenty too. Imagine struggling at those things. Imagine the frustration of not being able to do what had once been easy to do.

Now, imagine the colossal frustration and inner agony of Woods. Because Tiger wasn’t merely really good at something. No, Woods was off the charts great at it. Legendary. A once in a generation, perhaps a once in a lifetime talent. Driven, focused and absolutely the very best in the entire world at what he does. And now? Well, it’s been a very long fall from Mount Olympus. A very long and painful fall.

And, unlike the things I, and perhaps you are very good at, Tiger’s crash and burn is very public. It’s right there for every one to see. Every bad shot, every errant putt, every moment of flaming self destruction is right there in front of the world, your peers, the media… in short, everyone. Imagine that feeling. As you struggle with your profession against the back drop of your personal life, the whole thing is right there. The world is waiting for you to fail again.

Yes, Woods makes some damn good money to shoulder that pressure, but I really found myself thinking “Damn… is it worth it? Could I, would I put myself through that?” And while I’d like to say that oh, sure, I wouldn’t give up, I wouldn’t fold under the scrutiny and pressure, I have to admit, I’m really not so sure. What Woods is experiencing is a very hellish thing and I’m quite sure that the money doesn’t it make it any easier when he puts his head on the pillow after a four bogey Sunday.

We have all had our struggles, or, at the least, watched loved ones and friends go through theirs. Watching Woods over this last year or so has been increasingly painful. While I have no pity for him and I’m quite certain that none of the other players do (pro sports, including the genteel, yet mano-e-mano game of golf, is a dog eat dog world), I can’t help but pull for Woods. To hope that he can find it and rise up and challenge, once again, for the top spot.  His quest to reinvent his swing and his game, to find himself once again and try to ward off the young guns of the P.G.A. while chasing down Jack makes for very compelling viewing. But, more so than just the pleasure it would give me to watch it, there’s the part of me that knows my own struggles in life, my own stumbles and failures and watching Woods overcome his, well, it might give this old dog hope that I can overcome some of mine, like that serious flaw in my bunker shots.