Welcome to 5 Wood Lies!
This publication has been created to share thoughts on the game of golf—as a spectator, a recreational player, and a parent of young golfers. You’ll also hear from other members of my family. There are five of us (“5 Woods”): my wife, our two sons (ages 12 and 15), and our goldendoodle. The dog won’t have many opinions, but the rest of us spend a lot of time watching, playing, and talking about golf. I plan to weave those family conversations into this blog, hopefully offering a fresh, relatable perspective on the game.
Fairway Lie
Let’s begin our first 5 Wood swing from the fairway, with what I believe is the most fundamental truth about golf: Golf is hard.
Everything we publish here will begin with that simple fact. If you’ve ever played, you understand the challenge. It seems like it should be simple. But whether you approach the game scientifically or play by feel, you know that fractions of an inch can mean the difference between joy and disappointment.
The better you get, the more those fractions matter. That putt that just burns the edge on the final hole for a score of 80 (or 90… or 100) stings far more than the same putt on hole two when you’re headed for a 92.
Golf is hard because the almost exact same swing can produce two very different results. A shot struck with a clubface open by just a fraction of a degree that gets nudged by the slightest puff of wind, lands an inch too far to the right and trickles into a bunker might look exactly the same, up until impact, as a shot hit with a closed face, through a still sky that lands just left catches a slope, and rolls toward the pin.
It’s hard because even what we can control is affected by subtle variations. We might know exactly what we want to do, but executing with the precision needed can be maddening. And it’s hard (and wonderful) because everything is relative. Who hasn’t watched a playing partner dunk their third straight tee shot into the water at the local muni and react with the same frustration as a Tour pro blowing a chance to win?
Even watching golf can be hard. Your favorite player might only win a handful of times in their career. And part of the magic—and the misery—is that they can suddenly look just like us, splashing a ball into the water or chunking a chip. Don’t even get me started on how tough it is to watch your own child compete.
But here’s the thing—the beauty of golf is that it’s hard. It challenges us for a lifetime. It connects us to others. It brings us into nature. And it constantly asks us to compete—not just against others, but against ourselves.
The Next Loop
So there’s our first swing. We had a good lie in the fairway and hopefully we didn’t completely duff our shot. While future posts may be less philosophical, we’ll keep tapping into the emotions that come with playing and watching this great game.
In the coming weeks, we’ll:
Share our thoughts on the Valero Texas Open
Report in person from Augusta National (Monday and Tuesday)
Bring you our living room commentary when we are back home during the competitive rounds of the Masters
Recap our trip to Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage
And follow wherever else the game of golf leads us—including (hopefully) a few rounds of our own.
Until then… play it as it lies.