I’m always on the lookout for poem ideas. This is one of the odder ones that I have attempted.
The Stoic Golfer
For the Stoic golfer
A good shot’s the goal
But he knows after contact
He’s lost control.
When the ball’s in the air
And the tension mounts
It’s not where it lands
His response is what counts.
He tries for good judgment
Good choices as well
And when disappointed
He doesn’t dwell.
He’s rehearsed the bad shots
Not surprised when they come
Setbacks are chances
To learn on the run.
He prepares for adversity
To block worry and fear
Asking, will it matter
Next month or next year.
His focus is now
Not back or ahead
Replay the last shot
The next one is dead.
He knows his emotions
Are not good or bad
It’s how he reacts
Especially when mad.
The Stoic golfer
Imagined or real
I think we’d agree
Has a certain appeal.
Leon S White, PhD
The Stoic Golfer
July 29, 2026 by Leave a Comment
LIV is History
May 12, 2026 by Leave a Comment
On May 12th, Tara Sullivan, a Boston Globe sportswriter published an article in the digital edition titled "The decision is in: It's the PGA Tour over LIV Golf, by knockout." Here I'm offering a poetic alternative.
LIV is History
Golf is history, LIV is history,
Just a different kind.
Golf’s history covers hundreds of years
To which LIV’s creators were blind.
LIV has no future that’s now for sure,
It’s fading fast or slow;
For golf history books, at best a footnote,
Nothing more to show.
Leon S White, PhD
Author of:
If Golf Balls Could Talk – Collected Golf Poems
Golf Course of Rhymes – Links Between Golf and Poetry Through the Ages
Both on Amazon
Tattooed
October 15, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Tattoos today are popular
With players in many sports;
Arms and more are seen adorned
On fields as well as courts.
Though I’ve not spotted a single one
Golfers must have them too;
As to what they illustrate
I haven’t got a clue — do you?
In any case, I’m thinking
If I were making the call,
Instead of marking up my arms
I’d rather tattoo the ball.
Leon S White, PhD
A New Substack Post – The Golf Widow in Verse
May 13, 2025 by Leave a Comment
I’m using my Substack site to publish longer pieces about the poetry of golf. “The Golf Widow in Verse” is my second post. My poetry and shorter golf poetry pieces will continue to appear on this blog. Also note that the blog already contains more than 260 entries. If you have time, I hope you will find some interesting poetry among them.
Here is the link: https://golfpoet.substack.com/p/the-golf-widow-in-verse?r=zljx
Birdie Flu
February 11, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Newspaper articles about the bird flu and the controversy regarding vaccinations (shots) got me thinking how these concerns might relate to golf. Here is the result:
Birdie Flu
I’ve got the birdie flu
And it's killing me.
No birdie two’s
Or four’s or three.
It starts with driving
Left and right
Birdie chances
Out of sight.
Second shots
Become the test
Pushes and pulls
Lead to pars at best.
With pitches and chips
They’re never near
Leaving putts that even
Good putters fear.
If you catch this bug
And you’re tied in knots
The only prescription
Find better shots.
Leon S White, PhD
Have You Met Him
March 15, 2023 by 1 Comment
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.
Frets
February 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This website is now a little more than 10 years old. It includes more than 200 Posts with poems. You are most welcome to search on popular golf topics or click on one of the many categories in the list on the right. (I particularly encourage Australians to click on Australia).
Though I am now playing more guitar than golf, I intend to keep writing golf-related poems when ideas arise that encourage poetic responses. And for me, some of the best poem ideas involve playing around with a word or words. The following four-liner is an example.
Frets
A gigging guitarist
Fingers over frets;
A gambling golfer
Frets over bets.
Leon S White, PhD
P.S. Right now Amazon (USA) has my book, Golf Course of Rhymes, at over 30% off. Best price I’ve ever seen!
Women and Golf, 1914
April 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
In the early 20th Century, for the most part, golf was a men’s game. One famous amateur golfer/writer of the times, Horace Hutchinson, went so far as to assert, “Constitutionally and physically women are unfitted for golf.”
I recently came across a old golf book, Rhymes of a Duffer (1914), by Philip Q. Loring. Loring apparently was as odds with Hutchinson. At least he was willing to let a woman into the conversation:
So, I have to confess she was quite apropos
When the maiden remarked as she started to go;
“Excepting direction and distance, I’d say,
That drive was as good as I’ve seen today.”
What’s Hot
February 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment
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
He’s Back
January 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment
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
Golf Course of Rhymes 
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