Rachel Golf

This week, I interviewed Wake Forest golfer and Full Swing Season 2 star Rachel Kuehn about her very impressive amateur career. She’s clinched the winning point in two Curtis Cups, she won a team national championship last year, and will compete in her fourth Augusta National Women’s Amateur in a few weeks.

As she wraps up her college career in the coming weeks, I asked her what advice she’d give to herself as a rookie at Wake Forest.

“Rachel Golf.”

I love it.

Of course, “Rachel Golf” is some seriously good golf, as her resume shows.

Every single golfer can get caught up in comparing their game to someone else’s game. We all peer down the driving range with envy, no matter how good we are.

Luke Donald once spoke about playing with Justin Rose in the 2013 U.S. Open. Rose won that week, and Donald reshuffled his priorities to chase distance and try to play more like Justin Rose. He admitted that his envy led him astray.

Meanwhile, there are people watching Luke Donald wishing they had his short game, or they see Rachel Kuehn and wishing they had her putting ability.

This idea isn’t new, but like most ideas, they can float out of our minds. A small reminder can act as a slap in the face.

Kuehn continued to speak about the confidence she has developed over her time at Wake Forest. She said she couldn’t point to a skill on the course that has improved drastically; instead, it’s that self-awareness that when she plays her game, she is at her best.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed that as I consume more content and newsletters and everything else on the Internet, it’s so easy to fall into the trap of wanting to be a version of someone else.

In high school, I used to visit the computer lab (old guy alert!) and check ESPN’s Page 2 because Bill Simmons was the only person I wanted to read. I aspired to write like Simmons. Some might say I went as far as attending the same college as Simmons (we also have the same birthday).

I read guys like Kyle Porter and Brendan Porath and Kevin Van Valkenburg and Geoff Shackelford and Ethan Strauss, and I want to steal bits and pieces of their stuff. I’m jealous of their ideas or witty lines.

I have to remind myself that “Sean Writing” is my best type of writing. I can certainly improve my writing, but my style is my style. My newsletter is my newsletter. My typos are my typos.

We could all use that bit of advice from Rachel Kuehn. Spending time looking around with envy is often a waste of time.

So as the golf season kicks into gear, I hope to play more Sean Golf and not worry about other people on the course and how they’re getting the ball in the hole.

Double Click(s)

I’m going to use this section to “Double Click” on something I discovered or thought about this week.

1. Tiger Woods is listed in the Masters field. Yay?

2. This NYTimes article “Same Old Song: Private Equity is Destroying Our Music Ecosystem,” made me realize that professional golf is currently in the grips of Private Equity and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. These two entities are also negotiating with actual professional golfers in the middle of competing and trying to make as much money as they possibly can on and off the golf course. Last week, during The Players Championship coverage, Paul McGinley used a phrase I had never heard before. He said, “Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.” It was in the context of pro golfers making decisions that will hurt their bottom line instead of making decisions based on the greater good. It’s not a great situation right now, and we’ve got a lot of turkeys with ballots in their hands.

3. The Players Championship was awesome last week. One week does not fix or erase all the nonsense that’s going on. It’s more like the unfaithful boyfriend buying flowers and making dinner, hoping to save the relationship. It’s going to take a lot more. But to have three players with putts on the 18th hole to tie Scottie Scheffler and force a playoff was riveting. Considering that two of those players, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman, were major winners last year and the third, Xander Schauffele, is one of the best players without a major made the drama even more delicious.

4. I don’t care that Rahm and Brooks weren’t at Sawgrass. The folks who were saying, “Image how much better The Players would be with Rahm and Brooks and Bryson,” don’t understand how hard golf is and how rare it is to have three or four guys battling down the stretch. I didn’t actually care that those guys weren’t present on Sunday. Rory McIlroy was also a no-show last week, aside from the curfuffle he stirred about about his drop on Thursday. If Sunday at The Players had three mid-tier players fighting down the stretch, I think complaining about the LIV guys’ absence is fine, but not when it’s four guys who are the best in the world.

5. The NFL is on track to make some wild rule changes for the upcoming season. They are hoping to adopt a new kickoff that would limit head injuries and plan to outlaw the hip-drop. This got me thinking about the golf ball rollback that was announced in December. The uproar and outrage were staggering, meanwhile here is the biggest, most popular sport in the United States, altering kickoffs and tackling. Teams will have to vote on it, but it seems highly likely the changes will occur and it won’t take four years so defenders and special teams coaches can adjust their strategies. I know it’s different than golf, but it’s important to see that every sport is always changing and modifying.

6. Ethan Strauss might have said it best last week when news of the NBA trying to lower scoring by altering how refs were calling the game. This is another wild development within a sport in the middle of the season. Guys were scoring 70 points in games. Teams were scoring 150+ points more regularly. It wasn’t fun to watch and the NBA stepped in and quietly stopped calling so many fouls at the rim. “A game is simply its rules” has popped into my head more than once since I read Strauss’ piece. It translates across professional sports, amateur sports, playground games, and board games.

Merch Table

One way to help support me in my quest to play every course in the Bay State would be to spend a little money on some Bay State Golf swag. I always need gas money! Check it all out here.

When I’m not golfing…

I’m reading…

• A friend and former colleague recommended Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter to me a while back. She writes every day about politics. It’s free and worth the daily email.

• This is a hell of an opener to an article about NFL prospects and their butts… “So you want me to comment about how important a guy’s ass is in the evaluation?” Mike Mayock asked, laughing. “You’re really doing this, huh?” I sure hope the Pats find some high-butt guys…

I’m listening to…

• The Fried Egg Golf boys went to Northern Ireland for ten days and did a very cool podcast series called “Eggsplorations.” Some really great interviews with locals and some guy named Rory.

• I had never heard of Emily Sundberg, but this interview on Making Media was very interesting.

• Listened to Ray LaMontagne’s Gossip in the Grain this week, an excellent album.

I’m eating…

• Girl Scout cookies…

• I had a great Fish and Chips at Waverly in Charlestown on Saturday night. It was a St. Patrick’s Day special. Fish and Chips usually crush me because the portions are so big, but this meal was perfect. And the put malt vinegar on the fries.

• Last year I discovered a delicious peanut butter smoothie recipe on the IG account “3 Pieces of Pecan.” He’s worth a follow.

I’m watching…

• College basketball from November to early March stinks. However, the tournament is awesome. Enjoyed the games on Thursday.

• The Other Shore was a fantastic documentary about Diana Nyad, a 60-year-old who tries to swim from Cuba to Florida. I paused it to write down this quote: “Seeing anyone do what they do best, is beautiful.” Nyad’s coach and friend Bonnie Stoll.

• We’re two episodes into The Gentlemen. It’s tremendous if you enjoy intense scenes and wonder why the hell someone would make one stupid decision after another. I love Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which are also from Guy Richie.

• I love the “Every Hole at…” series. The Lido is worth your time…

PLUGS

New stuff:

• I built a map of the courses I’ve played so far. I’m looking forward to making this a useful tool for anyone looking for a course to play in the Bay State.

• Thinking about planning a weekend trip this summer to play some golf in New England? I share a few options in my latest podcast. Spotify and Apple Pods.

Old stuff: 

I'm (shamelessly) plugging...

• A list of golf courses open in the winter.

• Bay State Picks: Best courses you can walk for less than $60.

• Bay State Picks: Nine-hole courses to play before or after work

• Bay State Picks: 18 public golf that is worth your time

• Bay State Picks: Easy 18-hole public walks

• Bay State Deep Dive: Myopia Hunt Club

   

• "On Course" New England Journal Podcast

  • LISTEN HERE (and subscribe!)

  • WATCH HERE (and subscribe!)

• Amateur Golf Podcast

  • LISTEN HERE (and subscribe!)

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