{"id":2227,"date":"2007-11-09T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-09T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/columns\/trap_five\/are_you_an_ocg"},"modified":"2008-07-07T21:41:22","modified_gmt":"2008-07-08T01:41:22","slug":"are_you_an_ocg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/trap_five\/are_you_an_ocg","title":{"rendered":"Are You an OCG?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TrapI’ve always had a little touch of Monk<\/a> to me. But when it comes to golf, I have to admit I’m more than a little touched.<\/p>\n

Here’s what I mean. After returning home from a recent golf trip during which I played seven rounds in four days, I went to the range. I currently subscribe to not one but four<\/em> print golf publications (in my defense, one is a free regional publication). I read several golf sites, listen to podcasts, and, oh yes, write about golf.
\n
\nI also like to play the occasional round. And by “occasional,” I mean as frequently as possible. I don’t skip work to play, but I do play on about 75% of my vacation days. I also squeeze in at least one round on 40+ weekends in an average year (in Central Ohio).<\/p>\n

But I’m not totally one dimensional. I do have other interests. I can discuss many other subjects: maybe identify a few birds or trees outside, speculate on which desperate housewife is truly most desperate, and even put forth my own theory that Monty Python and the Holy Grail<\/em> is a clever spoof of the history of the English language (How else do you explain the French soldiers?). But give me an opening to talk golf, and I’ll be much happier.<\/p>\n

Chances are, as a reader of The Sand Trap<\/em>, you share at least some degree of this illness: a love for the trajectory of a well-struck golf shot; an appreciation of a good oil-can finish on a milled carbon-steel putter; an affinity for the subtleties of a well-designed golf course. As I tell my wife all the time, there are much worse obsessions to have.<\/p>\n

Think you might be an OCG (Obsessive-Compulsive Golfer)? Take this quick quiz to find out. If you answer yes to any of the following, you have at least a touch of the OCG. If you answer yes to all of them, Congratulations! You’re a Level Five OCG. Welcome to the club!<\/p>\n

Number Five: When You’re not Golfing, is Your Mind Still on Golf?<\/strong>
\n\"GolfHow much time do you devote to golf when you’re not golfing<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Is Golf Channel set as a favorite channel on your TV? Do you visit The Sand Trap<\/em> or other golf sites more than three times per week? Per day? Do you find yourself visiting golf shops just for the heck of it?<\/p>\n

If you engage in golf activities away from the course or range more than twice a week, you are at least a tad golf obsessed. And if your idea of a great day is playing golf and then sitting in the clubhouse and watching the pros play golf and then heading back out for a quick nine before dark… well, you just might be OCG!<\/p>\n

Number Four: Do You Make Rational Buying Decisions About Golf Equipment?<\/strong>
\n\"Money\"Or do you rationalize your purchases?<\/p>\n

Do you make rational decisions? Like, “My 1978 Hogan blades have had a nice run, but I could get a lot more forgiveness with some modern cavity backs.”<\/p>\n

Or do you rationalize decisions? As in, “I really need more height out of my sand wedge, so I’ll trade in my year-old 55° for that brand new spin-milled 56° I’ve been checking out for the past week.” Or, “You know, I just can’t seem to hit a consistent fade with my year-old driver. So I think I’ll buy a new one.” (OK, that actually turned out to be a pretty good move for me. I still miss fairways, but now I miss them by a lot less.)<\/p>\n

Number Three: Is Your Over\/Under Differential Above 50?<\/strong>
\nWhat’s your over\/under for a round of golf? That is, how large is the range of temperatures in which you’ll tee it up?<\/p>\n

Some of us who have the sickness worse than others will track our record over\/unders. Mine is about 105\/28. The hottest weather I ever played in was about 105° in Las Vegas (it’s a dry heat), and the lowest was 28° here in Ohio. So, my all time Over\/Under Differential is 77 (105-28).<\/p>\n

\"Winter<\/p>\n

That’s well above 50, but as I’ve said before I honestly think that playing golf during the winter is kind of<\/em> fun<\/a>. And when else can you have an entire course virtually to yourself? I’ve played some very enjoyable three-hour rounds on nearly frozen and deserted golf courses. But I’ve also played during the summer in the low country Carolinas when it’s so hot and humid it’s hard to breathe, and I’ve yet to experience weather so hot I wouldn’t at least take a cart out and play. I admit, I’m a bit in the extreme in this aspect.<\/p>\n

Number Two: Do Your 14 = 20 or Less?<\/strong>
\n\"1Add up the length of time each of your current 14 clubs have been in your bag. Does it add up to 20 years or less? If so, you’re OCG, my friend.<\/p>\n

Sure 20 years seems like a long run, but consider the irons. You probably carry seven or eight. Multiply that number by the length of time they’ve been in the bag. It adds up fast.<\/p>\n

My irons have been in my bag the longest of all my clubs… a mere two years. So the six irons (5-PW) I’m currently carrying add up to 12 years. After that, I have had one of my hybrids for a year and the other is eight months. My putter has reached the relatively ripe old age for flat sticks in my bag: seven months old. My wedges are about six, six, and four months old. My 3-wood is five months old. And my driver is the youngster in my bag with a mere two months of service. So that’s about 17 years for my 14. (Man, I’m a sick puppy. I hope my wife doesn’t read this one!)<\/p>\n

Still, I know of people who will buy multiple putters in a year and even a couple full sets. So I don’t feel too bad. And next year, my irons will push me over 20 years easily. Of course, I am <\/em>starting to eye some of the new offerings. (“Maybe I’ll hit the MP-57s higher,” or, “Gee those forged Srixon’s look nice.”)<\/p>\n

Number One: Are You a Norm?<\/strong>
\nRemember when Norm walked into the bar on Cheers<\/a><\/em> and everyone shouted, “Norm!”? Well, if you can walk into more than one golf shop in your town and at least one person working there knows your name, then your OCG name is now, “Norm.” <\/p>\n

I can see the episode now…
\nWoody: “How’s it going, Mr. Peterson?”
\nNorm: “Up and up, Woody… my weight and my golf scores!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

12 steps aren’t enough to treat this addiction. This one takes 18 holes, at least.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trap_five"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You an OCG? 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