Fish Club: June 2008 Archives

In The Rough, June 23, 2008

By Fish Club on June 23, 2008 4:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Golf mirrors life..........
 
The high of the thrilling U.S. Open between Tiger and Rocco.......The low of Tiger's announcement regarding his knee/ leg injury.......The sounds...."thud", "screech"....... The sights of  "velcro ripping"
 
"Thud"- The sound Tim Finchem's jaw made as it hit the floor at PGA headquarters last Tuesday.
 
"Screech" - The sound of golf's prime time success hitting the brakes to avoid the sudden impact of Tiger's injury announcement.
 
"Velcro ripping"- The sight of Tim Finchem struggling against his restraints as he placed on a suicide watch following Tiger's injury announcement.
 
Golf fans take solace; golf-like life will go on in 2008.
 
 As many of our loyal readers know, I have the propensity to get a little excited about certain topics.....The more involved I am with different forms of media; this blog, a radio show and some public announcement work that I do, my appreciation grows for the people who work professionally in the industry. People trust me, it is not as easy at it looks, sounds and reads. I may be a golf professional who occasionally breaks par but in the media business I am a struggling 20-handicapper, who some say” has some promise but really needs to work on my game". Sound familiar fellow choppers?
 
My point, we all criticize TV or radio announcers for being unoriginal, lacking personality, stating the obvious, using to many clichés and the always popular "I could do a better job than that idiot Gary McCord.”
 
However, when an announcer tries to inject a little personality or humor into his announcing we kill them for it. I am a Johnny Miller fan. He may not be the smoothest guy in the booth, but he "keeps it real" as the kids like to say, and he sure as heck knows what he's talking about when it comes to golf.

This whole flap over his comments regarding Rocco Mediate and cleaning Tiger's pool is completely out of hand. Italian-Americans called for this firing. Why? I am part-Italian and that thought never came to my mind that he was insulting my ethnicity. I took the reference as a tour journeyman with limited success knocking off the sports royalty, not as an ethnic slur.

Besides what's wrong with cleaning pools? It’s an honest living and I know a pool cleaner who is very successful and has several people working for him, unfortunately none of them are Italian so I couldn't get an insider's opinion. However, I did get some advice on surfing, living in your your parents’ basement,  and an address to score some righteous weed if I was in the market. But, I’m not.
 
Think about the pool cleaning industry and its many benefits:
 
No nights
Plenty of sunshine
Bored housewives, girlfriends, housekeepers.......Bada Bing!
 
People, let’s not be so sensitive.  Be like Buttermaker, the coach of The Bad News Bears and the most famous pool cleaner of all, have a drink and relax!  I wonder if Buttermaker is short for Buttermakeroprano, I'll have to check that out.
 
From the fashion file.....It's hot outside, but that doesn't mean it’s ok to wear your bathing suit to the golf course. For that matter, please no coaches shorts, sweatpant shorts or cut-offs and leave your "nice" denim shorts at home. Most courses will not let you play in those and don't even ask me if it’s okay to take your shirt off once you are out of sight of the clubhouse. A little dignity please!
 
Fast fix........
 
If your golf ball is moving from left to right at contact, you are cutting, fading or slicing depending on the degree of ball movement. To help stop this, move your right hand on top of the club, where you can see at least 2 knuckles of the right hand if you are looking straight down at your grip.
 
Come play True Blue or Caledonia! Our June aerification is over and the golf courses are returning to their normal excellent condition. Visit our special page on this website for great summer golf rates for you and the kids.
 
Don't forget to tune into ESPN Radio at 93.7fm, 1050am or 93.9 fm on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. when you are in Myrtle Beach. You may have a chance to win green fees to True Blue and Caledonia. Call in and talk some golf with yours truly, and the Legendary Matt Lincoln on The Michelob Light Golf Guys.
 
Don't forget your sunscreen!
 
Bob Seganti
Head Golf Professional
True Blue Golf Plantation
 

Diary of a Club Pro in Myrtle Beach

By Fish Club on June 4, 2008 3:30 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 

I have changed the names of the people in this story because most of us need this job. I have been a member of the Professional Golf Association of America since August of 2000 and am currently the head golf professional of a Golf Digest “America’s Top 100 Public Golf Course.” I am also the clubhouse manager of this particular facility which essentially means that anyone who has a complaint or wants to lodge a beef to be shouted from the heavens in language reserved for shanked wedges and 3 putts is referred to me as quickly as possible by every staff member in the joint... I am also the first guy to be notified when the toilets are backed up and the dumpster is overflowing. When the staff is busy with customers, guess who is plunging away and dumpster diving? If I had a dollar for every dry-cleaned pair of pants I have stained showing some 18-year-old kid who thinks he can play on TOUR how to strategically place a trash bag in a dumpster, I could start my own TOUR and tell that silver-spooned kid to kiss my grease-stained back nine.
 
Enough with the sour grapes, I actually chose this profession and although it is often less than I thought it would be, it is actually more than I ever could imagine. After all, if it wasn’t for guys or gals like me, golf would really be more like a trip to the supermarket.
 
I’ll explain. The supermarket I go to doesn’t give a hoot about me or my preferences. It just wants to get my money and get me out the door. “Please no checks and bag your own groceries.” Who do you think you are - Tiger Woods? Does anyone who plays golf think that a guy like Tiger is going to sell them a shirt or make them dinner reservations or pretend to listen with interest while they describe their latest escapade with the putter or the myriad of physical problems that prevent them from making a good backswing? Of course not, it’s your local PGA professional who is going to do all that and make you believe he or she would almost rather be fitting you for clubs than playing in the upcoming U.S Open at Torrey Pines.
 
We generally like all of our customers, except for the cell phone happy guy or gal. By the way, if you are one of those people, we in the business think you are annoying. Between phone calls from the golf course regarding pace of play other strange behavior in the pro shop, grillroom, driving range etc., I can say that I have pretty much seen it all. Think about the cell phone abuse a minute. I wouldn’t walk into your office at Smith, Smith and Smith and start talking about how drunk I got the night before while you are on a conference call. The pro shop is my office, a little respect please. Don’t get me started on the clowns (males only unfortunately) who try on shirts in the middle of the pro shop when a perfectly-useful dressing room is just steps away. It’s rare to see bodies in that bad a condition outside of the demolition derby at The Myrtle Beach Speedway.
 
Regarding pace of play, do any of you think we like it? After all, it keeps us here longer, increases our operating expenses and upsets our customers. I know, I know. If it were up to you, you and your gun could solve the problem, haven’t heard that one before… Is a murder beef really worth having a extra fifteen minutes to drink beer and flirt with the grill staff before you have to go home and act like a responsible husband and parent? Be patient, go with the flow and know that we are doing our best to keep things moving.
Place the blame where it really belongs on the PGA TOUR and by all of the “chops,” I mean our valued customers who emulate them. Enough said. Have to go, a 50-year-old CEO of a multi-national corporation decided to change his pants in the dining room.
 
Bob Seganti
Head Golf Professional
Check out our Sizzlin' Summer Specials on the website,
 
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