If you are reading this blog, and you are not my wife or parents, it still surprises me a little that you are here. When I started GeekedOnGolf, I didn’t expect that it would ever be more than a collection of musings about my rediscovery of the game 20 years after my junior playing days ended.
With Adventures, Resources, Interviews, and more, the scope of the site has expanded greatly into a broader celebration of what’s great in the game. Jon Cavalier, Simon Haines, Kyle Truax, Peter Korbakes, and my other collaborators have added quality and depth by lending their talents and perspective.
What began as a “me thing” has become a “we thing”, and GeekedOnGolf is so much better as a result. Although the focus of the site has changed, I will continue to share periodic musings and index them all here. Thank you for visiting, and indulging my geekery. I hope that we get a chance to tee it up some day.
MOST RECENT MUSINGS
A NEW STANDARD FOR GREATNESS
The subject of greatness is one that I have spent years now exploring in my golf travels, conversations, debates and attendant musings. What makes a golf course great? What makes one greater than another? Is it even possible to objectively evaluate a course, or are all such attempts hopelessly entangled with the individual’s experience on any given day? Read more…
MORE MUSINGS
COMMUNITY GOLF – SAN GERONIMO GOLF COURSE
For centuries, a story has been unfolding in the San Geronimo Valley, highlighting the relationships between people and the land, and each other. Important questions about stewardship, land use, ecology and community have been raised over the years, with complex and ambiguous answers. The fight to save the San Geronimo Golf Course is just the most recent chapter in the history of an area where tensions between competing interests make finding win-win solutions to problems more challenging. The question about the immediate future of this community course will soon be answered, and the next phase of the relationship between the people and this land will begin. What remains to be seen thereafter is what will become of the relationships among the residents of the valley and Marin County at large. Read more…
GEEK DAD’S DIARY – TIPPING THE SCALES
Golf is a game of invitation and camaraderie. Very few are those players who come to it without being brought by friends, family, colleagues or a mentor. Fewer still are those who stick around long enough for the love of the game to take hold without patient and persistent support from their fellow players. Getting the ball in the hole is difficult. Navigating the rules and norms of etiquette, perhaps even more so. Without the welcoming invitation followed by the supportive camaraderie that are at the heart of what’s best in golf, these challenges prove too daunting for most. Read more…
GEEK DAD’S DIARY – IT’S NOT WHAT YOU’RE LIKE
A line is crossed when one drives a long way to play a golf course. Most of us have a course close by that is good enough to conveniently scratch the itch when it arises. Exerting the effort to road trip signals a focus shift from our own play to the experience of the playing field, which adds a dimension to the game. An even brighter line is crossed when one boards a plane, clubs in tow. My son Jack crossed that line for the first time this year on a trip to Aiken, SC, and I had the pleasure and privilege of being his partner in adventure. Read more…
MORE MUSINGS ON GREATNESS
While listening to a podcast with Ron Whitten, long-time architecture editor with Golf Digest, I was struck by how similar his early experience of falling in love with the game’s playing fields was to my own. Read more…
MUSINGS ON OUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The internet produced a variety of strong reactions to the Open at Shinnecock. Some were well-reasoned and others were hyperbolic in the extreme. Setting reactions aside, following are my musings on what we’ve learned, and where America’s governing body might go from here with our National Championship. Read more…
GEEK DAD’S DIARY – THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT
There is joy to be found in many places in this great game, but nothing mainlines it for me quite like enjoying golf time with my kids. It brings me back to happy days, learning the game with my dad and grandpa, while simultaneously pulling me intensely into the present moment the way that few things can. Read more…
MUSINGS ON GREENKEEPING
These musings are not exactly about greenkeeping. I know only enough to be dangerous. What I do know with certainty is that a Golf Course Superintendent’s job is hard. Read more…
MUSINGS ON GREATNESS
First things first – there is no such thing as objectivity when it comes to assessing the greatness of a golf course. And objectivity in ranking one golf course’s greatness versus another? Please. Fortunately though when it comes to having good geeky fun with your buddies talking golf courses, objectivity is irrelevant. What is relevant when having the endless discussions and debates is the standards by which one assesses a course. Read more…
THE YEAR THAT THE GOG TOUR ENDED
That title has a sad tone to it, but 2017 was anything but a sad year for my golf. In fact, it was the most fulfilling year of my golfing life. Read more…
2016 GEEKED ON GOLF TOUR
A pattern seems to be developing. As I watch the snow fall out my window, I reflect back and think, “It can’t get any better than this year’s golf tour.” And then the next year comes around, and it does. That was the story of 2016. Just when I thought golf adventuring couldn’t get any better, it did. Read more…
2015 GEEKED ON GOLF TOUR
What a year. I took the madness to another level this year, playing 49 different golf courses in 11 different states. 34 of those golf courses were first time plays. As an indication of the quality of the 2015 golf adventure, I would make a point and an effort to go back to 33 of the courses. Read more…
WILSON & ME
I have always been a Wilson guy at heart. I started with Wilson Golf clubs, and I suspect that that is where I will finish. As Wilson has had its ups and downs, I have watched with interest even when I was not playing golf. Read more…
NEW YEAR’S SHIFT
Having a day-at-a-time paradigm, the whole New Year’s thing doesn’t typically do it for me. It has been a long time since I made a New Year’s resolution. My wife’s enthusiasm for the holiday is influencing me this year, and even though there are still no resolutions forthcoming, I do feel compelled to share a shift I am making for 2015. Read more…
MY BUCKET LIST – U.S. OPEN VENUES
Goal setting is important. Having a goal has a tendency to enhance motivation and focus, and increase the likelihood of achievement. In my early career, I was extremely goal oriented and meticulous in my goal setting. My colleagues ribbed me about it and asserted that my approach would not survive the arrival of children. I scoffed at the time, but it turns out they were right. Read more…
2014 GEEKED ON GOLF TOUR
The leaves and the first snow have fallen in Chicago. My golf calendar looks as desolate as the landscape for the remainder of this year. It’s a good time to revisit the wonderful courses I was privileged to play in 2014. Those memories will be enough to take me through the winter. Read more…
WANT TO IMPROVE PACE OF PLAY? START FIRING GOLFERS
The USGA has been studying pace of play extensively and sharing results at their Symposium. They are amassing data that promises to help course operators improve “flow”. Additionally, technological innovations like smart flags, GPS-enabled carts, and others will track players and help them keep the pace. Read more…
SHORT GAME GAME PLAN
One of the factors contributing to the variance between my current index and scratch is inconsistent wedge play. I estimate that I’m leaving 2 shots on the course every round. In reflecting on my short game, it occurs to me that part of the issue is a lack of commitment to one approach. Read more…
THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
Meditation, gardening and golf have commonalities that draw me to them. Over coffee, a friend was recently telling me about his new meditation practice. He had experienced moments of real peace and quiet in his mind, and he was excited about continuing forward. Read more…
MAKING IT RIGHT IS ALRIGHT WITH ME
Having been a leader of sales and customer service teams for years, I accept that no company services its customers perfectly all the time. Certain situations are complicated and certain customers are difficult to please. And to top it off, we all have moments and make mistakes. Therefore, maintaining a standard of perfect service that always keeps customers happy is not possible. Read more…
2013 GEEKED ON GOLF TOUR
2013 was the year that my reconnection to the game of golf took on a whole new dimension. I was given the gift of a lesson with Butch Harmon in Las Vegas in the spring, as well as other rounds for my 40th birthday. To my delight, the birthday celebration seemed to go on all year. Read more…
END OF SEASON WRAP-UP
This weekend was the final session of the season with my coach, Scott Baines. We took some time to recap progress made, and to discuss work to be done during the offseason. 2014 was the second year of my work with Scott. We have “mastery” goals focused on my full swing, wedge and short game, and putting. Read more…
FROM PUTT PUTT TO PUNCHBOWL – REMEMBERING THE POINT OF THE GAME
It’s easy to forget the object of the game of golf. It’s not perfect mechanics. It’s not 300 yard drives. It’s not money, FedEx points, trophies, or the latest greatest equipment. It’s not handicap indexes to playing from the tips. Every one of these things is a part of today’s golf, but none of them is the object of the game. Read more…
A SLIP OF THE MIND, AND IT SLIPPED THROUGH MY FINGERS
I’m standing on the 17th tee at Kingsley Club, with one of my biggest golf goals in hand – I am 1-under and just two holes away from breaking par for the first time since I was 18. The thought of achieving that milestone, as well as telling my coach about it, crossed my mind and lingered for a moment. Read more…
COMING FULL CIRCLE
Standing on the 16th green at Old Elm Club, looking back down the long, rolling fairway with the sunlight filtering through the trees, I remembered why I loved this game so much. I had been invited by my good friend Brian to join him at Old Elm even though I wasn’t really playing golf at the time. He needed a fourth, and he knew that I grew up caddying and playing this marvelous little Donald Ross course in the north shore suburbs of Chicago. Read more…
Copyright 2017 – Jason Way, GeekedOnGolf
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