Golf culture is preventing us from getting better … and having fun

In golf culture, it appears the only goal of the game is to 'get better.' In many ways, that dogged pursuit prevents us from getting what we want and from savouring all that golf has to offer. The following was written by Peter Mumford, Publisher and Editor of Fairways Magazine, the Greater Toronto Area golf publication, and is based on an interview Peter conducted with me. I've edited it slightly for length. Geez, I can talk! As … [Read more...]

Golf Ontario names 2020 Hall of Fame class … and OMG, I’m in it

Golf Ontario announced last week that I have been awarded the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award "presented annually to accredited members of the Ontario media for major contributions to golf." It's incredible to receive an award named after Lorne Rubenstein, my greatest influence in becoming a golf writer. Thanks Golf Ontario for this great honour, and congratulationsto Danny Mijovic for being named to the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame. ONTARIO … [Read more...]

The perils of pressure—Part Three

Following Monday's and Wednesday's posts that looked at how young university golfers melted down at the Ontario championship and the common reasons why, I conclude this thread with thoughts on how you can keep it together both on the golf course and off.   October 27, 2017—So how to do you stop yourself from getting to the point that you might break a psychic gasket? The following are techniques that will help during a round when you … [Read more...]

How Lou Reed taught me to play better golf

Ezine #4—I had the coolest job in the world. In my world, at least. In 1986, I was the music critic for the Canadian Press news agency in Toronto. I was paid to listen to albums, go to concerts and interview rock stars, and write about it all. Among the folks I interviewed one-on-one were David Bowie, Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel and Joe Strummer. Usually, I was pretty cool about meeting these people, but every once in a while I’d get … [Read more...]

My 2016 Club Championship Confessional

Among the surprises in the 2016 edition of my annual Club Championship Confessional, I learned a late-in-life lesson about lagging, experienced the electrical energy of a missed short putt, and renewed my relationship with Mr. Shank. As your friendly neighbourhood performance coach and writer, I love Club Cs for the post-round stories of quads, yips, chilli dips and four-whacks. And the Club C is a great opportunity for learning—about myself … [Read more...]