Golf Course of Rhymes

The Word is “Golf”

golfpoet — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 20:08:55 +0000

How would you respond quickly if the word “golf” were tossed your way? The poem below imagines how a variety of golfers and others might respond. If you would like to add a stanza leave it as a comment for readers to enjoy.

The Word is “Golf”

Lighting round: “golf,”
What’s the reply?
For the driving range golfer
It’s just likely a sigh.

But a hacker, determined,
Might answer this way:
“With a little more practice
I’ll break 90 one day.”

The frustrated golfer,
His name could be Morrie,
Might offer a drink
And tell a sad story.

For the erratic duffer
Who just hit a slice,
The words would come quickly 
None of them nice.

A pro might just smile
Turn his or her back,
Tee up a ball
And give it a wack. 

A MAGA politician 
Would respond with “Come on,
There’s only one answer,
The answer is Don.”

But you and I know
Just what we’d say,
Our singular reply:
“When can we play?”

Leon S White, PhD

02/06/1936

golfpoet — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:49:21 +0000

My poems are often short with somewhat unexpected endings. The poem below fits that description, but in a unique way. You may not see the last  two lines coming, but up to today, neither did I! 

02/06/1936
 
The number is 90
The goal is to break it

In golf to go lower
In life go to higher

My good luck
I’ve now done both.

Leon S White, PhD

The Riyadh Cup

golfpoet — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:05:29 +0000

This week, LIVs golf season opens at the Riyadh Golf Club. My thoughts.

The Riyadh Cup

The Riyadh Cup
When it made the scene
Was new to golf
And filled with green.

Giving endless cash
For players willing 
To forsake the Tour
And make a killing.

With random teams
Unlike the true Ryder
It's affect on golf
An unfortunate divider.

Leon S White, PhD

New Year’s Greetings to My Readers

golfpoet — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 23:45:48 +0000

“Golf Course of Rhymes” began in December of 2009, when I decided to share what I was learning about the history of golf poetry and to publish my golf poems on the Internet. I had no idea if the poems would attract readers. Now as the Blog begins its 18th year, I can report the following: The Blog has had more than 59,000 visitors from 164 countries. It has also led me to write and publish two books, Golf Course of Rhymes – Links Between Golf and Poetry Through the Ages and If Golf Ball Could Talk - Collected Golf Poems.

New Year’s Greetings to My Readers in 164 Countries

Thank you all for stopping by
To read a poem or two;
Among each country’s visitors
More than 30 from Peru.

The United States is first in line
While only one from Granada;
And one as well from Kyrgyzstan
Cape Verde and Rwanda.

Moving farther up in numbers
There are golfers who let fly
From countries that you might not guess
Djibouti and Brunei.

Other countries, Germany, France,
Belgium, Italy, Spain,
Russia, Poland, Serbia,
Venezuela and Ukraine.

Uganda, Bermuda, Denmark,
Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan;
The Isle of Man, Angola
China and Japan.

Of course, the U.K.’s golfers come
They hardly miss a day;
And Canada’s, Australia’s, and India’s,
For sure some from Bombay.

If your country is among the many
That I just could not include;
All poems have their limits,
Please do not think me rude.

The total one hundred and sixty-four
I never would have guessed;
Golf poetry lives because of you,
Happy New Year, all the best.

Leon S White, PhD

And Yet

golfpoet — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 18:01:05 +0000

The frustration of hitting a slice or hook
Of hitting it out of bounds
Of hitting a shank
Of missing the green.

The frustration of finding the sand
Of leaving it in the sand
Of finding it wet
Of hitting a tree.

The frustration of watching it run off the green
Of leaving it short
Of misjudging the break
Of ringing the cup.

The frustration of selecting the wrong club
Of swinging too fast
Of thinking too much
Of taking bad advice.

And one other as well;
Arguably the worst of all.
The frustration of missing a putt
For a 69, 79, 89 or even 99.

And yet, and yet,
These painful frustrations
Will never diminish
A true golfer’s love of the game.

Leon S White, PhD

Tattooed

golfpoet — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 21:06:55 +0000

Tattoos today are popular
With players in many sports;
Arms and more are seen adorned
On fields as well as courts.

Though I’ve not spotted a single one
Golfers must have them too;
As to what they illustrate
I haven’t got a clue — do you?

In any case, I’m thinking
If I were making the call,
Instead of marking up my arms
I’d rather tattoo the ball.

Leon S White, PhD

An Irish Golf Poem: “Groans of an Irish Caddie”

golfpoet — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:06:05 +0000

I started my research on the historic links between golf and poetry around 2008. At the same time I started composing golf poems. I turned my research efforts into a book, Golf Course of Rhymes, that was published in 2011. The book includes poems by golfers from Scotland, England, Canada and the United States. This blog also includes a poem by an Australian. However, up to now I’ve never discovered a golf poem by an Irish poet. So, as we prepare for this year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, I am happy to finally offer an Irish Golf Poem, “Groans of an Irish Caddie” by Mr. W. F. Collier, LL. D. (1831-1904). According to Google AI, “Collier was born in Dublin and attended Trinity College there, earning both a B.A. and an LL.D. While he worked at a school in Glasgow, he spent thirty years as the English master at the Belfast Royal Academy.” Here is his poem:

Groans of an Irish Caddie

Oh! Paddy dear, an’ did ye hear
The news that’s in the pubs?
Them golfers is removin’
All the shamrocks wid their clubs.
The puttin’ grass so nately swep.
Is nowheres to be seen,
For the mischiefs in that mashie-club
That’s rippin’ up the green.
I met wid Arty Balfour,
An’ he tuk me by the hand,
An’ sez he—“I’ve sliced the soil mysel’,
So, shure, I onderstand.”
It’s the most uprippit coun-thery
That I’ve ever seen:
From Dollymount to swate Portrush
They’re wearin’ out the green.
Oh! Some in coats o’ cruel red,
An’ some in tartan knicks,
An’ some wid ties o’ chancy blue,
Bud all o’ them wid sticks.
An’ they batthers at a weenie ball
That’s lyin’ in the sod,
An’ hits it—no! they hammers it,
An’ digs out pounds o’ clod.

If the ball wint wid the surface thin
Them two’d complate the scene—
But no! it’s sleepin’ where it lay,
Like a mushroom, white an’ clean.
It’s the most uprooted coun-thery
That iver yit was seen:
From Aughnacloy to Kinnegar
They’re slicin’ off the green.
They comes wid drivers, cleeks, an’ spoons,
An’ clubs o’ quarest name,
An’ they calls a hape o’ sand their tay,
But it’s whishky that they mane.
An’ they calls the sods they’re flittherin’ out
Big “divots” as they fly,
For they can’t spake dacent English,
Like yersilf, Paudeen, an’ I.
Oh! who’s to save poor Oireland
Whin they’ve sthript our Immirald Queen,
An’ nothin’s left bud bogs an’ rocks
Contagious to be seen
In the most un-grass-ful coun-thery
That iver yit has been—
Augh! divil take that mashie-stick,
For it’s KILLIN’ out the green.

If you are an Irish golfer or have golfed in Ireland, you can probably understand the “groans” pretty well. For the rest of us, there are some difficulties. I’ll try to help a little. Arty Balfour is Arthur Balfour who was British statesman and Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. He was also an avid golfer. The line, “From Dollymount to swate Portrush,” can be understood as, halfway across Ireland from great golf courses on the east coast all the way north to Portrush and other great golf courses. Finally, the name “Paudeen” probably comes from W.B. Yeats’ poem of the same name. The name is used to represent an ordinary, perhaps unremarkable Irishman.

Comments are always welcome.

A Pitch for Golf Poetry

golfpoet — Sat, 24 May 2025 02:29:36 +0000

I’ve been writing golf poems for this blog for more than 15 years. (Most are included in my book, If Golf Balls Could Talk, available on Amazon.) But, I’ve never written a poem that promotes golf poetry, that is until now. Let me know what you think.

A Pitch for Golf Poetry

Why not learn golf
A different way?
Read a golf poem
At least one a day.

I’m betting the poems
Will lower your score;
If that’s not the case
Then search for more.

Some titles to start with
Hope they attract;
I know it’s poetry
But don’t hold back.

The first one is called
“Far and Sure;”
If your drives are unnerving
It may be the cure.

How about this one,
“The Futility of Thinking;”
It’s a definite winner
If your putts aren’t sinking.

“Dedicated to a Duffer”
May be for you
If you’re just starting out
And haven’t a clue.

By now it should 
Be clear as a bell;
Choose poetry not Pros
And your game might gel.

Leon S White, PhD

("Far and Sure" is both a song, by a Canadian, Edward Atherton  and a poem by "the late Sheriff Logan." Don't know anything more about the sheriff. "The Futility of Thinking" is one of mine. And "Dedicated to a Duffer" was written by the great sports poet and writer Grantland Rice.)

A New Substack Post – The Golf Widow in Verse

golfpoet — Tue, 13 May 2025 20:02:08 +0000

I’m using my Substack site to publish longer pieces about the poetry of golf. “The Golf Widow in Verse” is my second post. My poetry and shorter golf poetry pieces will continue to appear on this blog. Also note that the blog already contains more than 260 entries. If you have time, I hope you will find some interesting poetry among them.

Here is the link: https://golfpoet.substack.com/p/the-golf-widow-in-verse?r=zljx

Substack Site

golfpoet — Wed, 07 May 2025 19:10:41 +0000

I’ve decided to create a Substack Site for longer articles. I just published my first one which you can read at https://golfpoet.substack.com/p/links-between-golf-and-poetry-from. Here is a summary of of what I wrote:

“Links Between Golf and Poetry from the Earliest Days” delves into the rich history of golf and its poetic connections, providing many examples. It begins with a charming anecdote from 1894, where Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, gave golf lessons to Rudyard Kipling. Doyle, a lifelong golfer, expressed his love for the game in a poem titled “A Lay of the Links.”

The earliest known golf poem dates back to 1687, written by Thomas Kincaid, an Edinburgh medical student. The first book of golf poetry, The Goff, was published in 1743. The rise of golf clubs in Scotland in the 18th century led to a flourishing of golf poetry, with many early golf writings being in verse form. George Fullerton Carnegie, known as “The Golfer’s Poet,” published Golfiana in 1833, a significant collection of golf poems.

David Jackson, another notable golf poet, published Golf – Songs and Recitations in 1886, expressing his love for the game through poetry. The article also mentions the role of golf magazines in promoting golf poetry, with publications like Golf Illustrated and The American Golfer featuring poems extensively.

The article contains poems from the humorous to serious, with poems addressing topic including the frustrations of the game, the notion of the “golf widow,” and even political and social issues. Notably, Sarah N. Cleghorn used golf imagery to protest child labor in her poem “Through the Needle’s Eye.”

Overall, the article illustrates how golf and poetry have been intertwined for centuries, with writers using aspects of the game as the starting points for their poems. This historical connection identifies a unique and enriching dimension to the literature of golf.