It’s the time of year when people come together to celebrate all the things they’re thankful for and reminisce about the year that will soon end. The golf clubs are, for most, heading into storage for the coming months while their owners daydream about trips to Florida and Carmel.
While the season may be over for many of the duffers, hacks, high-handicappers and weekend warriors, that doesn’t mean that each and every one of them isn’t thankful for something golf-related this holiday season. Here are the nine things that every amateur golfer is thankful for.
Related Link: 9 Golfers We’re Thankful For
GPS Range Finders
Since mostly none of us have the benefit of our own caddie walking the course, dialing yardages and diagramming greens for us, GPS range finders have been a godsend. The best ones can set you back a pretty penny but there are a plethora of options. Some pretty good ones are available as apps on your smart phone and sometimes are provided by the course in the golf cart. Thanks to this bit of technology, we’ve all be been able to stop guessing what club to hit and just pick the right one.
Titleist’s Full Line of Golf Balls
While we all hope to one day play the Pro V1 or your favorite brand’s tour ball, we’re all thankful that in the meantime there are plenty of other options. Titleist has the NXT, NXT-Tour, Velocity and DT Solo lines, making sure that every player gets the performance they deserve from their golf ball.
Golf Carts
Since so much golf is played in a time crunch, late in the day after work or after sneaking away from a significant other, playing at a decent clip is ideal. No one wants to carry their bag (especially if it’s filled with beer,) around for what will surely be close to a five-mile walk. Golf carts are the caddies we love the most since they never disagree with our club selection and have no gripe with you over the amount of head covers you’re carrying around.
PGA Teaching Professionals
As we’ve often been told by the wise old man we were paired with, “laddie, there’s a reason that golf is a four-letter word.” This particular thank you reaches far beyond the amateur ranks and into the professional realm as well, but most PGA teaching professionals are minor-miracle workers for those of us either not-so-blessed in the god-given ability department or so cursed with a full-time job that we find ourselves far short of those 10,000 hours needed to master the craft. Depending on your game, there is, perhaps no more important thank you on this list than your local pro.
Golf Courses that Allow Jeans
Dress codes? Who needs dress codes? Sometimes, we just want to play and we don’t feel that we need to be as loud as John Daly or as dapper as Arnold Palmer to do it. A comfortable pair of blue jeans and a clean shirt will do at these places which often offer up some of the most enjoyable rounds we can remember. It’s hard to play good golf when you’re not relaxed and what could be more relaxing than a t-shirt and your favorite pair of jeans, right?
The 19th Hole
People like to drink when they’re happy as well as when they’re down. Few places elicit both of these emotions in such a short period like the golf course. At any given time, in any 19th hole, you can find yourself surrounded by people drinking in celebration or drowning sorrows. Either way, you’re glad salvation is so close. And, if you can accompany that adult beverage with a good meal and a big screen TV, then you’ve found a second home.
Winter Rules
Any time you can improve your lie or “get out of jail – free!” it’s a plus for the amateur. Winter Rules, though not part of the 34 that make up the game of golf, are often invoked during a round by those of us with more than single-digits next to our name. Despite the name, Winter Rules can be applied at any time of the year but only if the course puts it into play. That won’t necessarily stop the amateur from invoking them during a beautiful June afternoon, since it sounds official and you’ll probably want to do the same yourself at some point.
Myrtle Beach, SC
Myrtle Beach is Mecca for the amateur golfer. No place on earth offers world-class golf and good times so close together as Myrtle Beach. And if you’re not looking for the latter, there is plenty of high-end dining, nightlife and other assorted entertainment. Myrtle Beach is Vegas for golfers. There are dozens of pro shops, great seafood, cigar shops, bars, minor league baseball in the summer and countless other activities away from the links to keep you entertained. Most importantly to the amateur is the average high temperature from December to March, which is 58 degrees.
Their Home Course
For any amateur, this is the most important thank you on the list. This is your home away from home, the place you play most of your golf and thus, get the most out of the game. While it doesn’t have to be in the top 100 public places to play or have greens that run like Augusta, it is your home track and it’s special. The course and the people take care of you and satiate your golfing desires most of your golf year. As one gentleman I was paired with this year said to me about my home course, “she gladly puts up with all your s#!* when your wife won’t.”
And for that, we are all thankful.
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