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Have You Met Him

Thanks for visiting again or for the first time. As you may know (from reading this Blog) I’ve recently published a book called If Golf Balls Could Talk – Collected Golf Poems (available on Amazon). Here is a poem from the book that tells a familiar story:

 HE TALKS A GOOD GAME

He talks a good game
You know the guy

He judges each swing

With a critical eye. 

He talks a good game
Awash with advice

He’s off to the races

When he sees you slice. 

He talks a good game
He studies the pros

He is eager to tell you

All that he knows. 

He talks a good game
Can he turn a phrase

He talks a good game

But it’s not how he plays. 

He talks and he talks
With eyeballs that glisten
But even the duffers
No longer listen. 

If you’ve met this guy, you are welcome to share the experience in the comments section.

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What do you think?

A succinct observation:

Comparing the Tour to LIV

What’s the Tour to LIV?
Maybe a mink to a skunk?
Or if that’s a bit too harsh for you,
Try Classical to Punk.

Leon S White, PhD

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Vaccine for a Duffer

I woke up early this morning with a poem idea. The result is below:

A Vaccine for a Duffer

2020, golf’s crazy year
When Covid made its call.
The Masters played in November
And the Open, not at all.

Quarantine closed the courses;
The return in fits and starts.
Partners socially distancing,
Riding in separate carts.

Now optimism’s in the air,
A vaccine’s on the way.
Though winter will be difficult,
We have hopes for a better day
.

And as long as we are hopeful,
A second vaccine would be nice.
This, a duffers dream come true,
One to prevent a slice.

Leon S White, PhD


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New Year’s Greetings

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New Year’s Greetings

Greetings my golfing friends
From capable to bad,
Next season remember
To smile not get mad –

When a putt rings the cup
Or a drive goes way wide,
It’s the work of the golf Gods –
You’re along for the ride.

Leon S White, PhD

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Too Many

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 My own experience. How about yours?

TOO MANY

Guitars or putters,
If you’ve ever bought any;
Chances are good
That you’ve bought too many.

Leon S White, PhD

 

Note: My book Golf Course of Rhymes is currently selling for $7.28 on Amazon (a 25% discount). Haven’t seen that before. Stories of golf and golf history illustrated with poetry going back to 1638. Put in two years of research; an interesting read if the link between golf and poetry is of interest.

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Wood$

TigerWoods1997

My last Blog post looked at Tiger’s impressive return from the true golf fan’s point of view. Below is a more cynical view of Tiger’s latest comeback.

Wood$
Tiger’s play –
The best in years;
Golf’s retailers –
Leading the cheers.

Leon S White, PhD

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Hooks and Slices

opposites

Two years ago I published a group of poems under the title, Opposites in Golf. All of the the book’s poems focus on golf terms and their opposites. The fun is in the poetic path I take to get from one to the other. In order to give my poems wider availability, I have decided to share them my Blog. So here is the first with more to come.

HOOKS AND SLICES  

What is the opposite of hook?
Eye you say with a fishy look.
Fish reminds of hook and line,
Then bait’s the answer to assign.

A hook is also a cager’s shot;
A jumper might oppose or not.
But with golf, what the duffer fears –
Get rid of a hook and a slice appears.

( Note: For non-basketball fans, a “cager” is a basketball player and “hooks” and “jumpers” are descriptive of two kinds of basketball shots.)

If you need an inexpensive present for an avid golfer, the book is available on Amazon for $4.50. (https://www.amazon.com/Opposites-Golf-Portrayed-Poetry-Opposed/dp/0983213712/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525799821&sr=1-1&keywords=Opposites+in+golf

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What’s Hot

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I’ve been away from the New England cold. Now I’m back and still focused on temperature.

What’s Hot that Matters

Golf Digest is out with its “hot list,” clubs that will not lag.
A list of drivers, irons and such, the hottest swinging sticks.
But my concern, at 82, is not with the heat of my bag;
It’s my internal heat that needs to remain at 98.6!

Leon S White, PhD

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He’s Back

TigerWoods1997

With all the pointless talk about what Tiger might or might not do now that he’s completed one tournament, I couldn’t resist chiming in.


He’s Back

The new golf season,
Starting kind of strange.
That incoming Hawaiian missile –
A Tiger launch from his driving range.

Leon S White, PhD

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With Thanks to Richard Wilber

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Last year I published a book called Opposites in Golf. The 32 poems in the book were all based on the idea of taking a word (in my book the word was related to golf) and then going on a poetic search for its opposite. The idea was originated by the great American poet, Richard Wilber. Wilber passed away a few days ago at age 96. 

One of Wilber’s shortest opposites poem may also be one of his best,

What is the opposite of two?
A lonely me, a lonely you.

 In my book, I also included a two line poem,

What’s the opposite of flub?
To hit it flush with any club.

When I first began to write opposites poems, I sent a few to Mr. Wilber. He wrote back, “Tennis has always been my game …but I see enough golf … to understand you very well, and to know that a number of words like putt and tee are waiting to claim your attention.” And they did and here’s one of them,

What is the opposite of tea?
It’s coffee we would all agree.
But avid golfers might start yelling,
Insisting on a different spelling.

For them,

A tee is wooden; its top is round
To place a golf ball above ground.
Remove the tee and then alas,
A tee’s opposite must be grass.

May Mr. Wilber’s memory be an abiding blessing.

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