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
The Shakespeare Connection
August 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Roughly Speaking
August 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week I mentioned my book, Opposites in Golf. It consists of a series of 32 poems. Each takes a golfing term or expression and then embarks on a poetic adventure seeking its opposite. Here is an example.
ROUGHLY SPEAKING
What is the opposite of rough?
Smooth an answer, not too tough.
But golfers might say, “Wait a minute,
Rough, we’d rather not be in it.
The fairway that is our suggestion.
The opposite of rough, no question.”
Leon S White, PhD
Please come back next week for another golf poem to remember when you are in the rough!
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.)
Recite Golf Poetry
June 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment
What do you think of my Father’s Day present?
My golf secret is revealed in this week’s poem. It contains a tip that your won’t get from your golf pro.
Recite Golf Poetry
Recite golf poetry
To lower your score
If one doesn’t do it
Recite two or three more!
LSW
It works for me. Let me know how it works for you. But remember, it only works for golf poetry!
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!!
When Golf is not a Metaphor for Life
May 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Golf is often described as a metaphor for life. Well, recently I read an article in the Boston Globe that got me to thinking maybe there are exceptions.
The story was about an employer who interviewed four your people for a job. He selected one and decided to be honest with the other three as to why they were not chosen. He told one of the unselected that she was disqualified because of her casual dress. In response the woman said that she would sue! Not sure for what, but the criticism was not well taken, to say the least.
That got me to thinking about responses to criticism. And here is what I came up with:
When Golf is not Life’s Metaphor
More often than not when criticized
The chance to improve is rejected
In golf when critical advice is offered
More often than not it’s respected.
Leon S White, PhD
Given Tiger’s recent problem and the reactions to it, the latest on the op-ed page of the New York Times today (June 3, 2017), I thought I’d add an additional four lines:
For Tiger
Tiger’s down but he’s not out
Haters jumped at the chance to shout
But quieter voices now have his ear
With heartening words he needs to hear.
LSW
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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