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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

Filed Under: golf, golf humor, golf poetry, humor, poetry, sports poetry Tagged With: , , , , ,
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Looking Back Once More

November 1, 2024 by 1 Comment

I published a poem a while ago with the title, Looking Back. I guess the regret of having to give up golf weighs on me enough to compose a second retrospective.

Looking Back Once More

Old age has its limits,
There’s no way to rebut;
I’ll never have another dog
Or make another putt.

Reality can be difficult;
But all’s not lost by far.
I’ve found a number of new pursuits
Like playing jazz guitar.

Some of what keeps me happy:
Being present in my mind,
Letting gratitude be my attitude, 
Trying to be kind.

The fairways of life are many,
I’ve been lucky that some were green.
Thirty years of chasing a small white ball,
Great memories on which to lean.

Leon S White, PhD

P.S. A reminder: If you need an unusual $7.00 holiday gift for a golfer, consider my book, If Golf Balls Could Talk, available at Amazon. Thanks.

Filed Under: golf, golf poetry Tagged With: , ,
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The Ball (Again)

October 11, 2024 by Leave a Comment

I began this blog in December 2008 to introduce golfers to a golf history they were not likely to have encountered – poetry about golf. I also wanted to share golf poetry that I was writing. Now, after more than 15 years, the blog has grown to maybe 250 or so entries and lately interest seems to be increasing. Understanding that blog readers have limited time to spend on the internet, and recognizing that many entries have been read rarely, I have decided to re-introduce some of the poetry that you might have missed and would enjoy. I’ll begin with a poem I wrote in 2013 called “The Ball.”

The poem was inspired by one written by Raymond Carver (1938-1988), a famous American short story writer and also a poet. His poem was called “The Car.” It begins,

The car with a cracked windshield.
The car that threw a rod.
The car without brakes.
The car with a faulty U-joint.

And continues in a similar fashion for 44 additional lines!

Using Mr. Carver’s poem as a model, I wrote a more modest poem of 20 lines:

 THE BALL

The ball with a smile.
The ball with dimples.
The ball with two colors.
The ball with a liquid center.
The ball with mud on it.

The hard wooden round ball.
Old Tom’s featherie ball.
The  Woodley Flyer ball.
The balata ball.
The three piece ball.

The ball that missed the tree.
The ball that hit the spectator.
The ball that hung on the edge.
The ball that sits on the tee.
The ball that lands in a trap.

The ball lofted in the air.
The ball lost in the gorse.
The ball left on the range.
The ball belted with a driver.
The ball signed by Tiger.

Leon S White, PhD

(“The Ball” is included in my book, “If Golf Balls Could Talk,” available on Amazon for $6.95.)

Filed Under: golf, golf poetry, golf poetry books, The book "If Golf Balls Could Talk - Collected Golf Poems", Tiger Woods Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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Swing It

September 12, 2024 by Leave a Comment

My older son has been trying to improve his golf swing and add distance to his shots, a common goal among golfers. He has been focusing on using the count, one and two, to control the rhythm of his swing and it’s working. I, on the other hand, gave up my clubs and picked up the guitar several years ago with the goal of playing jazz standards. Most jazz standards are written with four beats to the measure. So, as I have often done, I put these swing thoughts into a poem.

Swing It

Swing’s the thing in jazz and golf,
With rhythm is how you do it.
In jazz the count is 1,2, 3, 4;
In golf you 1 and 2 it.

Leon S White, PhD

A book of my poetry, If Golf Balls Could Talk, is still available on Amazon. But it may disappear if it continues to go unsold!!! Please consider giving it as a gift to a literate golfer. Thanks.

Filed Under: golf, golf poetry, golf poetry books Tagged With: , , , ,
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Golf and Behavioral Science

March 31, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Thinking Fast and Slow by the late Daniel Kahneman has been on the New York Times best seller list for 387 weeks! In it, the Nobel Prize winner in economics includes some research on the psychology of putting to illustrate an observation on how golfers react to situations regarding potential gains or losses. I put the observation to verse.

The Psychology of Putting According to Kahneman

A putt for par, no matter how far
Is a cause for concern for a golfer.
His blood pressure rises, he wants no surprises;
If it misses, he’s liable to mutter.

Research reveals for a birdie putt
The pressure more steady and down.
No matter how far, it’s two in for par
So, a miss will at most cause a frown.

Losses are feared more than gains are valued
Say behaviorists who’ve studied the game;
So, next game track your par putts and birdie,
Is the stress that you’re feeling the same?

Leon S White, PhD

Filed Under: golf humor, golf poetry, Golf psychology, poetry Tagged With: , ,
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Looking Back

February 20, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Looking Back

I wish I could still play the game
I’d surely shoot my age;
A lack of balance holds me back,
I’ve had to turn the page.

I came so close, more than once
Not too long ago;
But missed my chance by a putt or two,
One thrill I’ll never know.

I did have luck with a hole-in-one
A wonder to be sure;
Though I didn’t see the ball go in,
It was in the hole secure.

Satchel Paige said don’t look back
With golf it must be done;
The tales that need retelling,
The frustrations and the fun.

I hope that when you’re eighty-eight
Your thoughts like mine, the same;
Recalling many years of joy
For having played the game.

Leon S White, PhD

Filed Under: golf, golf poetry Tagged With: , ,
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The Golfer’s Epitaph

October 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I recently found this poem among my golf poetry materials. It appears to be from a book, but I can’t provide a reference.

The Golfer’s Epitaph

When I have played my last stroke through,
When I have putted my last ball down,
Dig my grave ‘neath the sky’s own blue,
Far from the smoke and din of the town.
Plant me beneath the 18th green
With never a tear when I am done,
My epitaph by all men seen;
“Dead to the hole and down in one.”

Filed Under: golf, golf humor, golf poetry Tagged With:
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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.

Filed Under: golf, golf humor, golf poetry, golf poetry books, humor, poetry, sports poetry, The book "If Golf Balls Could Talk - Collected Golf Poems" Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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A Golf Poem from ChatGBT

December 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I asked ChatGBT, OpenAI’s chatbot to offer a guest poem for the website. Here’s what it came up with:

Golf is a game that’s oh so grand,

But sometimes it can get quite bland.

You swing and you swing, and you hope for a hole-in-one,

But often you end up with a missed shot, undone.

The greens are so smooth, and the fairways so wide,

But sometimes the sand traps are where you reside.

So if you’re feeling down, and your game is a mess,

Just remember, golf is just a game, nothing less.

I’m not ready to turn the Blog over to ChatGBT, but it’s a decent effort.

Note: If you need a last minute gift for a golfer, please consider my new book, “lf Golf Balls Could Talk – Collected Golf Poems” available on Amazon.com.

Filed Under: AI poetry, golf Tagged With:
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What do you think?

October 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: golf humor, golf poetry, LIV, The Tour Tagged With: , ,
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