Who Knows?
“Do it”; “Don’t do it,”
Nutritional advice.
Just like you hear
About curing your slice!
Leon S White, PhD
Who Knows?
September 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Slow It Down
September 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I had my first guitar lesson in 35 years last week. At 81, I have decided to try to really learn how to play guitar. My teacher almost immediately reminded me that a fundamental rule of practice, regardless of what you are practicing, is to slow down and get it right. Hence, this week’s verse.
Slow It Down
Slow it down when practicing
The best advice by far;
When you’re swinging a golf club
Or strumming a old guitar.
Leon S White, PhD
You might consider taking these words with you the next time you head for a practice facility. Reading them once more before you start practicing will make a difference. Guaranteed!
The Shakespeare Connection
August 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I thought I’d give this week’s Post a little class by linking it to a real poet.
The Shakespeare Connection
Just as Shakespeare
links to bard,
So does “Swing easy”
To “Hit it hard.”
Leon S White, PhD
A Golfing Sin
July 31, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Another Monday, another Post. I think all golfers can relate to these four short lines.
A Golfing Sin
A putt left short —
A golfing sin;
An inner voice reminds —
Never up, never in.
Leon S White, PhD
Come back next Monday for another four line golf poem to start your week.
And, if you are new to this Blog, please know that I have a recent book, Opposites in Golf, for sale on Amazon for $4.50. It’s a great gift to slip into someone’s golf bag. If you have time, check it out at https://golfpoet.com/category/opposites-in-golf/.
Understanding Golf in Four Lines
July 17, 2017 by 2 Comments
I recommend that you memorize this week’s four line advisory. It will come in handy the next time anger gets the best of you on the golf course. And if you have friends who need this advice, please feel free to recite it to them.
In all seriousness, these four lines will help you to enjoy golf more, if you take their meaning to heart.
Understanding Golf
When on-course failings
Set your mind aflame,
Try to remember
Golf’s just a game.
LSW
Old Golf Axioms
July 10, 2017 by Leave a Comment
As an old mathematician, I like axioms, even if they are related to golf rather than to probability theory. I found the ones below in Robert H. K. Browning’s classic book, “A History of Golf.” Please excuse slight liberties taken in turning them into a rhyming poem.
Old Golf Axioms*
Here are three axioms I discovered in Browning.
Basic but true, please take them down,
That driving is strictly an art,
Approach play a science apart,
And putting’s an inspiration – this one is crowning.
Leon S White, PhD
*From Robert H. K. Browning’s “A History of Golf”
Tee It Forward
July 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week I played behind a foursome of 60-some year olds who were playing from the white tees. Over nine holes I would bet that none of them ever reached a green in regulation. It seems that for some men teeing it forward (playing from the tee that gives you a decent chance to make a par) is as difficult as adjusting to a receding hair line. Golf course designers offer closer tees so that men (and women) who drive shorter distances can still have fun and sometimes make a decent score. Failure in golf is the rule, but to insure failure by playing from the wrong tees just doesn’t make sense and slows down the game for the groups following.
With these thoughts in mind, I offer the following verse, which reduces the above paragraph to four lines (the beauty of poetry),
Tee it Forward
When you’re coming up short on every hole,
and not lighting any cigars;
When you’re totally frustrated with how you play,
Tee it forward and start making pars.
LSW
If you want to pass on the idea at your club, post this four-liner on the bulletin board. (Attribution is not required.)
Golfing Truths
June 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I’ve been offering some of my four line golf poems for a while now. But such short verses of golf advice or “wisdom” certainly didn’t begin with me. Below are two on the same theme from an earlier time.
From the December 1875 issue of Blackwood”s Edinburgh Magazine:
The apple-faced sage with
His nostrum for all,
“Dinna hurry your swing, keep
Your e’e on the ball.”
And from the English Golf Magazine of February 1891:
In playing strokes of every kind,
This rule remember above all:
Let confidence possess your mind,
And “keep your eye upon the ball.”
And we still have to be reminded today!!
Jason Dufner on Putting
June 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It was reported today (June 5, 2017) that Jason Dufner, the winner of last week’s Memorial Tournament, has found a way to improve his putting. When over the ball, he concentrates on his breathing.
“I’m just focused on my breathing,” Dufner said. “That’s a conscious thought for me and then I let the putt and the motion of the stroke be subconscious and natural.”
He may have something there, but then again . . . . .
Jason Dufner on Putting
Think about your breathing’s what Dufner says
Calls it “subconscious” putting, give it a spin
But while you’re at it, keep your head still
Then you really have a chance that your putt goes in.
Leon S White, PhD
Please come back next week for the next golf poetry Post.
Help With Your Putting
May 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment
We’re back to four line poems with a focus on putting.
I’m sure that most of you have missed a putt and then later thrown down a second ball on the same spot and made that one. The poem below suggests a way to incorporate this experience into your putting routine.
Putting Help
To improve your putting without a doubt
And avoid the usual pain and chagrin
Pretend you’ve already putted and missed
Your “second try” will always go in.
Leon S White, PhD
With Father’s Day coming soon, let me suggest the most unexpected and entertaining gift you could select: One of my two soft-cover books, Golf Course of Rhymes – Links between Golf and Poetry Through the Ages or Opposite in Golf – Portrayed in Poetry as Opposed to Prose. Both are available on Amazon. Thanks for taking a look.
Golf Course of Rhymes 
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