Curtis Bryan - The Intelligent Golfer

Published by Universe Publishing
A Division of Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.
300 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
www.rizzoliusa.com

2011 Universe Publishing
Text 2011 Bryan Curtis and Scott Martin

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior consent of the publishers.

Project Editor: Candice Fehrman
Line Art: Christopher King / Dreamstime.com

eISBN: 978-0-7893-2273-9

Library of Congress Catalog Control Number:
2010933492

v3.1

To Andrew

A uthor and publisher Bryan Curtis created an extremely successful series about manners and I am grateful he decided to start a new series, The Intelligent Sportsman. I am honored he invited me to write the first book in the series.

James Fawcett helped me refine my typing skills several years ago and I will always be in his debt.

Andrew Wood and everyone at Legendary Marketing in Lecanto, Florida, are wonderful people and have helped me develop a new skill set and a new approach to writingan approach Im enjoying hugely.

Charles Hipp calls me The Lama. Why? Because I cant hit the ball out of my shadow. Cheers!

Thank you to all the golf professionals who work so hard to make golf the greatest of all games. Without you, wed all be playing darts, or pool, or standing by a slot machine somewhere.

L et me introduce you to a gentleman named Nigel Denham, not perhaps the most famous golfer of all time, but nonetheless a better-than-decent player who competed in the 1974 English Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Moortown Golf Club in Leeds, a bustling city in northern England. Near the conclusion of his round, Denham struck his approach shot to the eighteenth green, only to watch in amazement as his ball went over the green, landed on a path in front of the clubhouse, clambered up some steps, entered an open door, and pinballed to its final resting spot in the bar, which, at the time, was populated with several members who had been enjoying a full afternoon of refreshment and banter.

As Leeds can be a somewhat muddy place, even in a biblical drought, golfers at Moortown must change their shoes before entering certain parts of the clubhouse, including the bar. So Denham dutifully removed his golf shoes and entered the fray to assess the situation. The clubhouse was not out of bounds. Fortunately, Denham discovered that he had a clear shot to the green, albeit through a window, and simply followed the most important rule of all: play the ball as it lies. He had to move some furniture and ask the members to relocate their libations momentarily. Denham selected a club from his bag, opened the window, and hit a fine shot that ended up a mere twelve feet from the hole, much to the amazement of the members, who expressed their admiration for the achievement.

Similar situations are, of course, extremely rare. They are so rare that Denhams initial plight and subsequent recovery created a great deal of headscratching among the people who interpret the rules of golf in the United Kingdom, specifically a group of rules experts in the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews, Scotland. Golf has a set of official rules that fit neatly into a small pocket-sized booklet appropriately titled The Rules of Golf. However, the accompanying tome, Decisions on the Rules of Golf, weighs 1.3 pounds and has 670 pages. This proves that while golf can sometimes seem like an easy game to understand, the written rules are usually mysterious, indecipherable, occluded, baffling, foggy, and bizarre.

Thankfully, and ironically, golfs unwritten rules are easier to understand. Many people who take up golf leave the game shortly after their first forays because they feel intimidated, clumsy, and very much on the outside looking in, most often because their knowledge of basic etiquette is sparse, which is a pity. As Dana Rader, the founder of the Dana Rader Golf School in Charlotte, North Carolina, says, the goal of every golfer and everyone in golf should be to grow the game. So this book represents my way of making that happen by helping you feel at ease with the game, its people, and its surroundings so that you feel confident and comfortable wherever you happen to find yourself in the golf universe.

I hope, in fact, that you find yourself at one of the carefully chosen golf destinations detailed in this book. Here you will find inside information about places such as Pinehurst, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and the superb Bandon Dunes on the wild Oregon coast. It is the duty and responsibility of every golfer to visit one of these shrines at least once in his or her lifeanyone can play them, given the time and inclination. But this book also features numerous less-famous spots that should be on your radar soon, if not right away. Whether you are on the eighteenth tee at Pebble Beach or the first tee at Machrihanish in Scotland, the site of the top opening hole on the planet, you will, after reading and digesting this book, feel like you are part of the golfing world so that golf is what it should always be: civilized without being pompous, and hugely enjoyable without being technically demanding.

This book answers numerous golf questions and will help you navigate through the golf etiquette maze. If your boss invites you to play at his or her club, where should you change your shoes? If a client asks you to attend a golf tournament, what should you wear and how should your spouse dress? Is it appropriate, at said event, to yell You da man! when a professional is putting? What should you do if you are at a club and the person with whom you are playing asks you to concede a four-foot putt on the eighteenth green? Perhaps you are thinking about a golf trip to Scotland and dont know where to start (or finish). Maybe you have been avoiding playing golf with someone important in your business life because you are worried about basic golf manners. Dont worry. This book is here to help you find the great places to play and to help you enjoy them. Its also here to help you feel at ease whether you are standing on the first tee at Pine Valley, usually considered the worlds top golf course, or visiting the Masters for the first time.

Golf is not an easy game. All the top golfers (Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, Danny Noonan, Arnold Palmer, etc.) have had one thing in common: the pulsating and almost obsessive desire to improve and turn a 67 into a 66 or 65. Its impossible to conquer golf, yet the truly intelligent golfer understands that it is possible to enjoy the game, given the right expectations, approach, and attitude. The intelligent golfer understands that golf is much more than the number of shots taken over eighteen holes or the result of the match.

The intelligent golfer seeks the finest places to play. The intelligent golfer understands the games etiquette but is not despotic about the unwritten rules. The intelligent golfer relishes meeting new golfers and making even more golfing friends. The intelligent golfer plans ahead and researches the next golf destination on the agenda but is always willing and able to take an emergency golf trip. The intelligent golfer may not have the time or natural ability to become good enough to compete in amateur or professional tournaments but takes enough quality instruction to be competent enough to play anywhere. The intelligent golfer enjoys golf destinations where golf is more important than creed, color, gender, or political affiliation. The intelligent golfer feels comfortable anywhere in golf and always helps newcomers to the game feel the same way. The intelligent golfer knows at least three (clean) golf jokes and a few of the key lines from