Desert

GOLF

Coachella Valley's Golf Newspaper

Golf In Cyberspace

By Gary M. Pinkston (1650 word feature. Originally published April, 1998)

When Golf met the Internet it was love at first byte. The tremendous popularity of the game has created in its enthusiasts a craving for golf related information that seems almost insatiable. The Internet feeds this craving in ways no other medium can. At the touch of a mouse the game’s deciples can open an electronic window into any of the more than 5000 golf sites currently availible on the World Wide Web. These windows provide high and low handicapper alike instantaneous access to up-to-the-minute tournament scores and leader-boards; info on the latest and greatest high-tech equipment; bios and pictures of their favorite players; intimate details of even the most prestegious of golf courses or next Wednesday’s weather forecast at their local muni.

Available 24 hours a day and providing a two-way communication capability, the Internet allows its users an interactivity with its sites that other media cannot. They can first investigate hundreds of golfing get-a-way vacation packages, then book their reservations and pay for them, all on-line. Order the hottest new video from a popular teaching Pro. Choose a golf camp and then book their children into. Or find the perfect fairway home at a club on the other side of the continent, then request specific information on the neighborhood’s schools, shopping and transportation.

Unfortunately, the Internet is also the most disorganized database ever created by man. No central index or directory exists and there is no reference librarian on duty in cyberspace. Upon entry, its vast complexity can be quite intimidating. You are on your own with only the dim glow of your computer screen to guide you and all paths look the same. Some lead to Mega-sites like Golfweb while others lead into little backwaters like Joe’s used golf ball shop--and some, like staircases in Sarah Winchester’s mansion, simply go nowhere at all. One can soon find themselves bumbling about like a blind man with a too-short cane.

In trying to overcome this one glaring weakness in the wonderful world of golf on the Internet Desert Golf offers the following attempt at bringing some order to the chaos. So here, take my hand. Hold on tight now and don’t be afraid. I promise to return you, unscathed, from our brief journey through cyberspace.
Ready. . . “CLICK”

Organizations:

http://www.usga.org
Official web site of the United States Golf Association. Think of it as the amateur golfer’s homepage. Includes the rules of golf on-line, USGA membership info, press releases and articles on current news items. Plus, info on “Golf House,” the USGA handicapping system, the history of golf and much more. A must see for all.

http://www.pga.com
Official site of the Professional Golf Association for both the Men’s and Senior’s tours. Presented in electronic magazine format, this site includes event schedules, news articles, junior golf, playing tips, articles on physical fitness, golf books, Ryder Cup standings and more.

http://www.lpga.com
Official site of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Similar to the Men’s site, only better. With player bios, up-to-the-minute status of this week’s event, even an on-line golf apparel store.

http://www.canoe.ca/SlamGolfCPGA/home.html
Official site of the Canadian PGA.

The Mega-sites:

These are huge commercial sites which attempt to cover all aspects of golf. Access is free. The sites are paid for by the banner advertising that appears throughout.

http://www.golf.com
Outstanding. This site is the result of a collaboration between NBC Sports Television and Golf Digest Magazine. Having everything from classified ads to teaching pro’s, this site includes: Equipment info; news articles; tourney info; player bios; course guides; lessons and tips; Real Estate info and much, much more. May be the best golf site on the web.

http://www.golfweb.com
Another terrific “everything golf” site. Searchable. Includes: Golf course guide; tourney info; on-line pro shop; player profiles and homepage links; news, feature articles and more.

http://www.igolf.com
Similar to Golfweb. An excellent site.

http://golfcircuit.com
In addition to its coverage of the PGA, LPGA and SPGA tours Golf Circuit also includes coverage of the Nike, Hooters, European and Asian tours. Includes: Pro shop; rules section; golf travel; classifieds; tips; humor; equipment auction and a chat room.

http://www.webfairway.com
Along with tour info this site includes: Lessons; a good searchable national course guide; book reviews, stories, cartoons and humor.

The search engine sites:

Similar to the Mega-sites but include many more external “hot-links” to other golf related web sites.
http://golf.yahoo.com/pga
http://golf.yahoo.com/lpga
http://golf.yahoo.com/spga
The Yahoo(tm) pro golf sites for the Men’s, Women’s and Senior’s tours. These are excellent sites, including: Player bios and pictures; event schedules and up to the minute standings and scores; news articles and stats and Ryder and President’s Cup standings and news. A national guide to golf courses and a run down on the courses hosting the current week’s pro events. TV broadcast schedules. Links to other golfing web sites, TV sports networks, golf magazines, the USGA, UK and Ireland golf sites and a BBS style discussion forum. All the major search engines offer similar sites.

Directories and guides:

http://www.amerigolf.com
Contains reviews of over 2000 golf related sites on the web. Subjects of reviewed sites include: Golf products/equip/clubs and their manufactures; courses; Collegiate golf; pro tourneys; golf travel; player’s and teaching pro’s homepages and more.

http://www.golfuniverse.com
An international guide to over 24,000 golf courses. Detailed info on each course. Course reviews, location maps, fees, the resident Pro and even the current weather forecast.

http://www.shawguides.com
A directory of golf camps and schools.

http://bestofhawaii.com/golf.htm
A directory of Hawaiian courses and golf holiday packages.

http://www.teeitupgolf.com
A guide to Canadian golf courses.

http://www.golfholidays.com
An international golf holiday planning and reservations service and guide.

The specialty sites:

Where the Mega-sites try to be all things to all golfers these specialty sites try to do one thing and do it well.

On-line pro shops:

http://www.balatabills.com
http://www.theworldofgolf.com
Laid out like supermarkets you cruise the isles clicking golf products into your shopping cart. A shiny new exotic alloy driver, a sleeve of titanium centered balls, a new bullet-proof glove. When finished shopping just click “Checkout”. Your selections are instantly paid for via an encrypted, secure, credit card transaction. A few days later the new toys arrive on your doorstep in a plain, brown, wrapper. The spouse need never know.

Components:

http://www.csggolf.com
http://www.dynacraftgolf.com
http://www.golfsmith.com
http://www.proclubgolf.com
http://www.rmishow.com
http://www.golfworks.com
But does the latest high tech weaponry give you sticker shock? Are you good with your hands? Then check out these do-it-yourself club building sites. They carry everything you’ll need to build your own powerful fairway assault arsenal. From the sexiest variable flex-point, carbon fiber shafts to the newest low profile, 260cc titanium heads--plus, all the tools, fixtures, supplies and instructions required to accomplish this act of magic. And all at about a third the cost of an equivalent Big Berth(tm).

http://www.ult-standrews-golf.com
The Royal & Ancient St. Andrews Golf Club on-line pro shop. Golf accessories and gifts. From classy to tacky and from inexpensive to, well, you can imagine.

Just for kids:

Planning your retirement around Junior’s winnings on the tour? Better get him started early. Remember, Tiger struck his first drive before he was three.
http://golf.com/kidz/kidzad.htm
Kid’s version of the terrific NBCsports/Golf Digest site.
http://www.uskidsgolf.com
Golf clubs and equipment for kids.

Real Estate:

http://www.npnetwork.com
Everything from golf courses, pro shops and driving ranges for sale to fairway homes and condos for sale or rent. Also includes golf school packages and golf resort vacation packages.

E-zines:

http://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Sports/Golf/News_and_Media/Magazines
A listing of on-line electronic magazines pertaining to golf.
http://www.akweb.com/search/dbgolfca.html
The Golf Digest archive of articles from past issues.

Equipment manufacturers:

http://www.loraincounty.net/ncgolf/NCGLinks.htm#anchor66689
“Hot links” to all the top brand-name club and equipment manufacturers. From the Alien(tm) wedge to the KillerBee(tm) driver, it’s way more than you really wanted to know about every club, ball and bag you’ve ever heard of--and many that you haven’t.

Software:

Rained out? Don’t worry. You can still ignore your significant other by spending the day playing golf--on your computer.
http://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Games/Computer_Games/Titles/Sports/Golf
“Hot links” to home computer golf game makers. Down-load the games directly onto your hard drive, then pay for them via encrypted, secure, credit card transaction. See? You don’t even have to go out into the rain to buy them.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=golf%2Bonline%2Bgames
Or try these on-line games in which you play against other golfers from around the world in real time.

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=golf%2Bsoftware%2Bhandicap
“Hot links” to 17 handicapping software packages and on-line handicapping services. Most include a statistical capability for tracking the progress of your game.

Usenet, list-serv and Chat:

And having saved the best for last; what would the game be--other than a good walk, spoiled--without friends with whom to share your golfing experiences?
rec.sport.golf
RSG is the most popular golf newsgroup on Usenet. Here you will find hundreds of folks just like yourself who simply enjoy talking about the game. It’s like having the 19th hole on your own computer. You can join in conversations on the most current happenings in golf or simply find someone to commiserate with over that snowman you took yesterday on #16. Also lurking about you will find rules experts, master club makers and honest-to-God teaching pros. All amiable and eager to answer any questions you may have. However, it is considered poor “Netiquette” to enter into any newsgroup without first reading its FAQs. For RSG these can be found at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/sports/golf-faq/faq.html
For people who don’t have access to Usenet RSG is also available via email from the List-serv, GOLF-L. You can sign up for this email list at: http://www.netspace.org/cgi-bin/lwgate/GOLF-L

Chat:

http://events.yahoo.com/est5edt/Sports/Golf
A comprehensive listing of golf chat rooms. Also provides a schedule of upcoming “chat events” hosted by both touring and teaching pros.

“CLICK”

There, we’re back. Safe and sound, just like I promised. I hope our little tour has given you the confidence to jump right in and start surfing the Internet’s golf sites on your own. They really are a wonderful resource for golfers of all levels and ages. Enjoy.