Golf & Mandolins

[Doug Edwards]

I find a strong simularity of the obsession in golf to apply to mandolins in general, other sports and hobbies may apply as well. (a lot of fishing lures catch more fishermen than fish)

In golf the player can become consumed with the effort to lower his score and will often try to buy a game more than practice more. Clubs, balls, training aids, books & especially videos seem to be more sought after than lessons from a good teacher and hard practice. With mandolins it's strings, bridges, tailpeices, CD's & video, PICKS, ect. I can say this as it often applies to me. It must have something to do wanting to "do it myself".

It is often said a good player can beat the pants off you with a 1920's set of clubs. A good player can even make a cheap mandolin sound great. I was blown away at our last show when a much better player tried out my mandolin. I need to get busy.

BTW, I play in the upper 70's low 80's. Any hotter than that I won't get out. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[AlanN]

Golf and mandolin - you ain't the only one who is PAR-ticular to both - ha ha!

Adam Steffey named the opening tune on his solo CD Grateful appropriately enough...'Pitchin' Wedge'. It's a fine tune in E-major, and none too hard to pick, but I usually get a bogey http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[GBG]

The best analogy to golf for me is that you don't have to be a Tiger Woods (or a Chris Thile) to enjoy golf (or mandolin).

[Dfyngravity]

I am right there with ya, although I have never bought any training aids or videos. I have bought my fair share of equipment trying to gain that certain edge over competition. I have been playing mando for a little over two years and have made remarkable progress(in my own mind). However, I am still considerably better at golf. I started at the age of 5 and I am now playing golf in college. So I can say golf has taken me further at this point, but hopefully in the next 10 years I can say the same for mando playing.

[John Flynn]

Interesting observation. There certainly is a significant segment of people in every avocation who are mainly in it for the gear. The actual playing is secondary. I know three guys, just in my local area, with impressive Martin guitar collections, who don't play all that much or all that well. What they typically have is a few cool-sounding "show-off" licks that they have practiced to death. But you get them in a jam and they don't know any tunes and seem to have a hard time even learning a basic three chord accompaniment on the spot.

These guys don't even seem to see the collections as investments, BTW. They just want to have the "stuff" and show it off and/or brag about it. I am also amazed at people who show up at workshops and keep steering the discussion toward the hardware rather than the music. Each to one's own, I guess.

The distinction with sporting equipment, though, is that golf clubs are for playing golf, and fishing gear is for catching fish. Both have some objective measure of success and sometimes technology can help improve the score. If you can afford it and it works for you, fine. But a mandolin is not for "playing mandolin" and a guitar is not for "playing guitar." They are both for making music. That is a creative, artistic endeavor, where hopefully, no one is keeping score.

I have yet to hear a great instrument make a bad player sound like a good player. I have yet to hear a cheap instrument make a good player sound like a bad player. Don't get me wrong, great instruments certainly have thier place. They can make a good player sound even better, no question about it. But for a great player it will always be about the music, not the hardware.

[dtb]

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif I work part-time at a golf course now. I cut grass mostly. and I've trained the boss man very well. he knows I'll leave early on Wednesday, for Wed. Nite Jam. LOL

A couple years ago, my fiddle buddy got the golf bug, and I helped him out, as getting where he could hit that little ball good enough to enjoy going out and playing. So he kinda got into it, and was playing at least once a week. So this one fine Sunday morning, he calls and says lets play. so we agree to meet there around noon. well another picking pal calls me, just before I leave, and says it's such a nice warm day, let's get the fellows and play some music. So I call my fiddle buddy, and he's already left. So I get to the course, and he pulls up, and I tell him David called and wanted to play some music, so we could just play 9 holes or something. Watson says, to hell with golf, let's go picking.

I taught him well. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Links]

Doug:

This topic is especially interesting to me. As some of the folks on this forum know, I am a golf course architect, but long before that I played music. I actually started playing golf and playing banjo about the same time (mandolin came later).

Your analogy of folks trying to "buy a game" and those trying to "buy talent" is resally amusing. I know both. Personally, I still play golf with a set of orginal K-1 Pings that I bought in 1975. I still play my D-28 that I bought brand new in 1974. Quite happy with both. I have friend that have been through fifty sets of clubs since I bought mine and other friends who go through instruments like water through a sieve. What's funny, after they get a new "whatever", they swear it will be the last one they ever buy.

Sometimes when I get a chance, I will tell you the story about sitting in the dungeon (actually the name of the bar) in the bottom of a manor house in Ireland, drinking sherry, smoking cigars, playing guitar, and singing with Dr J (Julius Erving) until 3:00 in the morning. The next day Dr. J was on the third tee at Lahinch golf course when we arrived at 9:00 am (a two hour drive from where we were staying.

Fore!

[GBG]

Along the same line have you ever heard the old golf saying that,"You don't have to be able to play, you just need to TALK a good game".There are a lot of musicians that talk a good game. I think that's what we do here.

[John Flynn]

There are a lot of musicians that talk a good game. I think that's what we do here.
LOL! You've got that right! I have often wondered what a hypothetical "mandolin cafe'" might look like in the future, where technology has enabled a site like this to be more sound- and video-oriented, rather than text and picture oriented. So you could post a question like: "How does X sound?" or "How do you play this?" and reply posters would be challenged to actually turn on the camera and the microphone and play for you in reply, rather than just "talk" about it. My guess is that it would change the whole landscape of the participants and the discussions. And it will happen someday!

[Larry Simonson]

For years I've said my golf clubs are much better than my game, and so it goes with mandos.

[TeleMark]

The same can probably be said for any hobby that entails "stuff." As a runner and triathlete, I know MANY who succumb to gear fever. Usually (especially with the bike) it's the newest titanium gizmo designed to shave a tenth of a gram off the weight of the bike.

The irony is that many who are buying Ti spoke nipples to save 10 grams could easily shed 10+ pounds from their own spare tire!

Gear is good, but getting boresighted on acquisition can be dangerous.

[Ken Sager]

More talk on my good game:

Since ratcheting up my mandolin playing for the last 4 years I've played much less golf and my handicap has gone from 6 to 11. I find my hands don't do well after hitting a couple hundred golf balls on the range, let alone the couple hundred swags it takes to get around the course. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

I went from playing golf 5-7 days a week and music 1-2 days a week to playing music 7 days a week and golf 2-3 times a month. I get far more enjoyment out of playing the mandolin than I do playing golf.

The mandolin isn't nearly as punishing and you can't open the golf bag at the farmer's market and play golf for tips. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Milan Christi]

LOL! You've got that right! I have often wondered what a hypothetical "mandolin cafe'" might look like in the future, where technology has enabled a site like this to be more sound- and video-oriented, rather than text and picture oriented. So you could post a question like: "How does X sound?" or "How do you play this?" and reply posters would be challenged to actually turn on the camera and the microphone and play for you in reply, rather than just "talk" about it. My guess is that it would change the whole landscape of the participants and the discussions. And it will happen someday!
And I can hardly wait for that day - I'll be here waiting with tunes and licks ready to upload. I really enjoy reading the information on this site - I come here twice a day so I don't miss any posts. But I try to manage my computer time and keep it in perspective with my playing time. Right now I play a lot more than I post - I plan to keep it that way. But my playing has improved greatly from my paying attention to the tricks and tips I've learned on these pages. Having music and/or video would be the icing on the cake for me.
BTW - thanks to all of you for keeping this site so lively.
Milan

Oh yeah - almost forgot - I play mandolin much better than I play golf. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying the game. I love it and always will.

[twaaang]

My older son Bart, who plays some golf but no music, has commented more than once that I'd do well at golf based on his observation of me totally absorbed, a half-hour at a time, patiently trying to master some lick or phrase on an instrument.

The real mystery here is how my dependent can afford to play golf, and I can't! -- Paul

[ira]

as telemark said>"The same can probably be said for any hobby that entails "stuff." As a runner and triathlete, I know MANY who succumb to gear fever. "
i don't golf, but i am an avid skier and equiptment is a big deal in that pursuit as well (discussion, magazines, etc...). however, it isn't really an overrated concept. though great equiptment in skiing wont make you a bode miller (the best male american skier at this point in time) level skier, it will help you to improve. as a case in point, i am on an adult ski race team. i switched skis this year and went down over 10 handicap points in average time over last year (approx 2.5 seconds-in ski racing that is like having a cup of coffee at the bottom of the slope and waiting for your opponent). though i've worked hard at improving my times, the better-and more appropriate skis/bindings that i bought in the off season, surely allowed me to improve to a degree that wouldn't have been possible with my old skis.
with mandoins its the same. you wont be a bush, grisman, thile, statman, etc.... with a better mandolin, but you will be able to work on your tone and skills in general far better than when using a starter mando due to the improved action, natural tone and playability that a good instrument allows.
just my 5 cents,
peace,
ira

[Billiam]

It's been said that sex and golf are the two thigns one can enjoy without being good at them. I don't remember who said it, but he probbaly didn't play mandolin!

[Doug Edwards]

I carry a 14 handicap, all in the same Callaway bag. I must say playing music is much more relaxing and you are able to enjoy is far more often than getting out to the links. I haven't played golf very much in the last couple of years, but I've been able to play the mandolin quite frequently. I have become quite obessed with it of late both with practice and equipment. Not much to do equipment wise, except get some of those mandolin sox.

[ronlane3]

I am hopelessly addicted to both golf and mandolins, so that explains where all my money went. BTW, I am closer to a scratch golfer than a mandolin player.

[Links]

[QUOTE]
It's been said that sex and golf are the two thigns one can enjoy without being good at them. I don't remember who said it, but he probbaly didn't play mandolin!


Hey! I resemble that remark!

Some of your comments do bring up an interesting and pretty serious topic. A professional golfer, whom most of you would know by name, played on the same college golf team as a good friend of mine. All through college and for many years as a tour professional, his opinion of people was based on their golf handicap. The better player you were, the better person you were.

I have also known musicians who based other folks worth on how well they played an instrument. How many times have you joined a jam session at a festival, or where ever, and had one or more of the players turn their back to you or "tighten-up" the circle. I have always been able to access my own ability and understood when to lay back and when to jump right in. I pretty much know the jamming ettiquite. However, that does not stop some pompous ### from squeezing you out. As a former Marine, with very little tolerance for rude behavior, I have often been tempted to administer a little "attitude adjustment".

I think we all ought to be aware of our skill level, but understand that ones skill does not determine their value to this forum. I do not necessarily think that you folks out there that are great players necessarily have more insight into instruments (and insome cases playing) than those of lesser talents. Quite often, for someone whose skills are easily learned, they are not able to fully understand how they do things or easily explain them to others.

Back to golf. Alister MacKenzie, the designer of the Augusta National Golf Club (one of the world's finest) could hardly break 90 (for you non golfers - that is not an accomplished player).

[Ken Sager]

Some of your comments do bring up an interesting and pretty serious topic. #
<snip>
...#The better player you were, the better person you were. #

I have also known musicians who based other folks worth on how well they played an instrument...
<snip again>
Pardon the snips on your quote, but I don't see anybody's comments above that suggest that better golfers or mandolinists are better people. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

People in jams, or in clubhouses, can be rude. Yes. If that was the point you were trying to make I'll agree with you. However, I don't see any posts on this board that suggest your point (that better players are better people) that aren't immediately called out for it.

I don't mean any offense, and I'm not suggesting your intention wasn't admirable. If I have wrongly singled out your comments, or have taken them out of context, I'll apologize in advance.

Everyone has something to contribute to this forum - Beginner, Advanced, & Professional Musician - and rarely (if ever?) does anyone suggest otherwise.

All the best,
Ken

[Doug Edwards]

I feel so fortunate. The area I live in is within 20 minutes of four festivals a year. My group hosts a monthly show and jam every 3rd Friday. We are within 45 minutes of a jam every week. It has been the extreme rare occasion someone has been rude or taken over a jam. Everyone has been polite and courtious and above all, encouraging to all skill levels. That's what I love about our BG music community.

Across the road from my favorite Festival site is $22 weekday (senior rate) championship 36 hole beautful golf course.

What's that saying about Heaven and Texas?
(forget about the double, triple, ect. murders in Dallas the last few days)

[Joe F]

Lots of similarities. #I golf about once a week in the spring and summer, and play mandolin about as often. #My bi-weekly mando lesson is on Wednesday nights, same as my golf league. #I play a 1982 Kentucky KM-200S, and swing a "starter" set of clubs I bought at J.C. Penney in 1980. #Finally, the quality of my golf and mando playing is equally lousy!

About the only difference is that my golf clubs are left-handed, while the mandolin is not.

[Links]

Ken:

I am probably mistaken as I went back and read a post that I originally thought implied that folks on this forum would change their "tone" if they had to play their mandolin to other forum members. After reading it agin, I don't think that was meant in a negative way. Neither was it my intention to be negative, as I find it totally inappropriate to treat others in the manner I described.

However, I think we would all be a little naive to think that there are some folks that feel "superior" based on their skill level. In my thirty plus years of playing, I have run into plenty of them. But that is not in any way meant to diminish a hundred times that many who were helpful and quite friendly.


I hope no offense was taken, as none was intended.

[Juice6120]

I cant complain about either of them. I played golf to a scholarship at VCU where we won the sun belt , metro and CAA titles Got me a piece of paper too . A few of my teammates are on tour Congrats Rollins on Winning canadian open and almost beating tiger at accenture match play. I did the Pga member deal , Left after our course was sold 3 times in 2 years.I was never able to learn how to play guitar or mandolin till my golf coach , Jack Bell got me to listen and hit 100s of balls with just my left hand. He taught Craig Stadler so I had to listen. What I am saying was golf made me learn patience and hand eye coordination. Made me learn to practice and that after time with music I would hear a song come out the more i beat on that mandolin . You will meet so many folks at a golf course ,Famous ones and just regular joes, Its so much like playing a gig. Cause after your first gig ya cant wait to do it again. The first birdie , eagle or ace make you want to come back , so its definitely so much in common with each.

I can of course play golf far better than play my mandolin lol

mike

[Links]

Mike:

Sounds like golf has been good to you. You are indeed correct that golf can teach you a lot about patience and other useful things.

I was just at a dinner recently with Gary Player and he mentioned that after holing three shots in a row from a sand bunker at the practce green, a spectator said "you must be the luckiest man in the world". Gary's comment was " yes, the harder I practice, the luckier I get". Boy, isn't that also true about the mandolin.

Golf and mandolins. I love it. I bet most of you all thought i would reply sooner. Well i love golf. I love mandolins. And they seem to mix. I couldn't play the mando without having golf as a hobby. I love to come home from 18 and pick some bluegrass or any kind of mando tune.

[ryru14]

It's been said that sex and golf are the two thigns one can enjoy without being good at them. #I don't remember who said it, but he probbaly didn't play mandolin!
You hit it on the head billiam.
I play more mandolin than golf, mostly because i can pick on the destroyer i am stationed on, and can't find an 18 to play.
Ryan

[hellindc]

Ken Sager mentioned how golf might be a bit hard on the hands. I've noticed this. I play golf once a week (I try to shoot bogey), and I feel soarness in my left wrist sometimes. Of course, if I were a better golfer I might be striking the ball clear and imposing less trauma. I hope the time never comes when I have to choose between hobbies.

[sunburst]

I've seen this thread for a while, but, having no particular interest in golf, I hadn't checked it out until now.
This thread is full of insight! Thanks for all the comments. I particularly like the quote: "the harder I practice, the luckier I get". I think I'll use that one from time to time. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[onlyagibsonisgoodenuff]

I never met anyone-mandolin player or golfer-I couldn't learn something from; no matter what the skill level. If you keep yourself open to new ideas, you'd be surprised when they'll show up!

Congrats to Toms, who won the match play today. He played a very good round.