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Sydney Swans Qualifying Final Victory Report Card
Big congratulations to the Swans for their victory over the Giants at the SCG. It did not look like happening for much of the afternoon, as GWS were on top for three quarters. The Sydney Swans Qualifying Final victory report card must pay the ultimate honours to Isaac Heeney for his enormous four quarter effort. The blonde bombshell is all class and finished with 30 touches, 3 goals, and mark of the year. Heeney was on from the first siren and never stopped lifting his team over the victory line. At times he was a lone hand, however, and there were too many passengers this afternoon.
Sports
Not Been Playing Much Golf Lately
I have a confession to make. It is rather an uncharacteristic sequence of events. A story not in keeping with my behaviour over the last few years. It is not an easy thing to say out loud. Not quite a dirty secret but something I have been keeping under my cap. Well, the long and short of it is that I have not been playing much golf lately. In fact, I have played hardly at all over the last several months, possibly longer. Why? What went wrong I hear you say? I mean a man who played 5, 6 times a week for years, suddenly goes cold turkey. WTF?
Confessional Culture History
Australians Losing Billions Via Gambling & All Those Sports Betting Ads
Australians lose more money gambling per capita than any other nation on earth.
“Gambling is a major public policy issue in Australia, affecting the health and wellbeing of individuals and families in a range of ways. Estimates suggest that Australians lose approximately $25 billion on legal forms of gambling each year, representing the largest per capita losses in the world (Letts 2018; QGSO 2022).”
(https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/gambling)
I watch some of those funny ads promoting gambling on TV and I wonder who their target audience is laughing at? ‘Stupid is as stupid does’, someone in the movies once said. There is public pressure on at the moment to ban gambling ads from our screens. Apparently, plenty of Aussies would like to see them disappear from our screens. The argument from some quarters against their demise is that our TV networks and sporting clubs would disappear along with them because they have become financially dependent upon the revenue from them for their survival. This is poppycock, of course, because they existed prior to the advent of this flood of gambling ads and corporate bookmakers came along. Sporting clubs will adjust, as they always have to whatever the current economic climate is. The demise of free to air TV networks is another matter, as they face obsolescence due to a number of factors. One of which is that people are no longer watching their fare in a changed entertainment space. Technology has passed them by and their business model is out of date.
Mug Punters
Golfer Rollback Rage
The decision by golf’s governing bodies to limit the speed/distance of golf balls has sparked golfer rollback rage in some quarters. ‘How dare they put limits on how far the golf ball can travel,’ can be heard throughout the biosphere. The push back is mainly from men, however, as if it is contrary to something basic inside of them. The desire to hit the golf ball as far as humanly possible is rooted in the modern conception of golf. Indeed, for many guys this is what golf is primarily about for them. To smash that little white pill into a host of tomorrows is one of the game’s greatest satisfactions.
Causes Equipment News
What Are Some Strategies For Attracting Young Golfers?
Probably the greatest challenge faced by the golf industry in the 2020’s is the need for generational change. New blood is urgently required, especially in club land. Golf clubs around the world want to attract new members and young golfers are an essential part of this. In Australia, according to a national survey conducted by Golf Australia, the average age of male golf club members is 58 and for women it is 64. These are the golfers who are most committed to the sport and make the most substantial regular investment in the game of golf via their annual subscription and weekly competition fees. Many of these golfers play multiple times per week and spend money in their pro shops and clubhouse facilities. What are some strategies for attracting younger golfers to the game?
Causes Club Golfer CultureCONTENT
The Stoic Golfer Diet For Optimal Performance
Stoicism is primarily rooted in the power of the mind. The Stoic Golfer employs mental strategies to overcome the many pitfalls and challenges facing the average golfer during a round. However, you cannot achieve these if you are full of crap food and drink. The Stoic Golfer diet for optimal performance can enhance your mental abilities. First up, you are kidding yourself if you think that you can utilise the power of Stoicism if you are a piss head on the golf course. By that I mean, if the game of golf goes hand in hand with lots of drinking alcohol. This is one of the key mistakes that drunks make, they allow themselves to be fooled with ideas about how their drinking doesn’t really affect them.
Club Golfer Golf Books Health Strategic Golf The Mental SideCONTENT
Remember The Cool Logic Of The Stoics
When you are hot under the collar out on the golf course, cause things are not going your way. Remember the cool logic of the Stoics. When the shit hits the fan and your golf ball goes missing in action. Remember the calm poise of the Stoic Golfer. These all too familiar moments on the golf course can rile up the average Joe or Joanne. Yeah, golf is not a game of perfect but gee it can wind you up just the same. Marcus Aurelius tells it like it is. This leading light of the Stoics was a leader of men, women, and an empire.
Golf Books Review The Mental SideCONTENT
Appalling Aussie PGA TV Coverage
The standard of the TV coverage of the Australian PGA Championship was dire in 2023. Please rein in Warren Smith as the voice of golf. If I hear one more inane reference to the ‘party hole’ I will throw up. Yes, there is a bar like atmosphere around a short par 3 and they play really loud music – so bloody what!!! Do we the viewers at home need to be constantly reminded of the bleeding obvious by this ‘so very fake’ presenter. The whole thing detracts from the tournament coverage. It may be a fun concept for on-course attendees but it aint for those wanting to watch the golf on TV. Appalling Aussie PGA coverage never did justice to the event, in my opinion.
Causes Culture News ReviewCONTENT
MiScore MiClub Misery
I have been happily using the MiScore app for a couple of years. It is not perfect but it was a good start. There have been a few glitches along the way but that is to be expected with anything high tech. Communication with this organisation is, however, less than ideal, as I have discovered this week. I have been trying to renew my subscription to MiScore and things have not gone well. I have called the company repeatedly and the staff on the other end have been less than stellar. It is a frustrating state of affairs, as you can imagine. MiScore MiClub misery making my golfing experience malefic.
Club Golfer Readers Letters
Has Cam Smith Fallen Foul Of Greedy Golfer Syndrome?
You take the easy money. The LIV Golf millions. You play Mickey Mouse golf. Exhibition golf, rather than compete with golfers in the real thing over 4 rounds every week. Your game starts to suffer. Has Cam Smith fallen foul of greedy golfer syndrome? This is what generally happens to elite sports people when they take the easy money? The poor boy looked lost out there at Royal Queensland in the Australian PGA Championship. Had he got so relaxed from rolling in all that money that he, maybe, forgot what real golf in a real tournament felt like?
News PlayerCONTENT
Why Are Australian Businesses So Damned Cheap When It Comes To Golf?
I was watching the Victorian PGA final round on tele, a rare Aussie tournament on show, and I was struck by a few things. Firstly, by the low key nature of the championship with competitors pulling their own trolleys sans caddies. Maybe this is a good thing in the bigger scheme of life, but it looked diminished in comparison with the big tours in America and the Middle East. The golf itself looked pretty good but the event lacked camera angles and better production. The absence of money and sponsorship for Australian professional golf is apparent. Australian business and the corporate world here are tight arsed in their commercial neglect of golf. It is pretty shabby when you consider that all these executives play the bloody game recreationally. Why are Australian businesses so damned cheap when it comes to golf?
Causes NewsCONTENT
DP World Doesn’t Pay Its Fair Share Of Taxes
DP World, the naming sponsor of the European Tour, is a major tax minimiser. It is one of those large corporations that does its level best to legally pay as little tax as possible. Perhaps, this is why it can afford to sponsor golf to this extent? However, in my opinion, DP World doesn’t pay its fair share of taxes. As much as I wish for elite professional golfers to be able to earn lots of prize money I reckon that governments like Australia require tax revenue to fund health, education, and infrastructure more.
News
Moore Park Golf: The Sacrificial Scapegoat
I have a disclosure to make first up. Moore Park was one of my regular golfing spots when I first started playing golf. I don’t know if you went through that stage of playing on your own or trying to play at any rate. Not being a member of any club or social club at the very start of my golfing journey I would venture out to public courses like Moore Park and hire clubs. It had a driving range so it made a fair bit of sense. Hearing now that it is for the chop it was a shock to the system. Moore Park Golf: The sacrificial scapegoat.
Causes News
