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
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
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.
Par Four Golf Poems – 4: Gift Horse
May 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
On this Blog, for the past three weeks, I have published four line golf poems with a similar characteristic: the last word of the third line is the same as the first word of the fourth line.
That’s Golf
Step up to the ball
Stance just so wide
Swing with abandon
Abandon your pride.
Reality
To the first tee
With the driver you trust
Follow your plan
Plan to adjust.
Thoughts
Game under water
Voices of dread
Running on empty
Empty your head.
I’ve written one more that is relevant but not limited to golf.
Gift Horse
When favored by luck
Don’t take a pass
Find the next step
Step on the gas.
Leon S White, PhD
Par Four Golf Poems – 3: Thoughts
May 2, 2017 by Leave a Comment
We continue this week with another four line poem, this one titled “Thoughts.” I’d be interested in yours after you read/recite it.
Thoughts
Game under water
Voices of dread
Running on empty
Empty your head.
Leon S White, PhD
A Sugarcoated Solution to Hitting it Wide
November 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment
In a growing number of U. S. cities, officials have convinced voters to approve a tax on sugary drinks, like those made by Coke and Pepsi. Excess sugar consumption is linked to a growing obesity epidemic (especially in young people) by doctors, nutritionists and public health officials. These taxes are expected to reduce and temper the demand for sugary soft drinks.
All of this got me to thinking about new incentives that might help golfers improve. Here is what I came up with.
A Sugarcoated Solution to Hitting it Wide
Golf pros give tips to stop hitting it wide.
How often we’ve listened and then really tried;
But habits persist, like a head full of lice,
Drives keep on hooking if they don’t slice.
Of late I’ve been reading how sugar is bad;
And sodas deliver more than a tad.
So voters are giving sodas the ax,
The solution straight forward, a sugary tax.
Now thinking again about slices and hooks
What can be done with these fairway crooks?
Maybe an answer that’s never been tried,
Have your pro slap a tax on balls that go wide.
Leon S White, PhD
Golf Course of Rhymes 
Recent Comments