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Golf Writing and Playing – An Editor’s Fond Farewell (Video)

By Elizabeth Bethel

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA - APRIL 02: In Gee Chun of South Korea plays her second shot at the par 5, 18th hole during the third round of the 2016 ANA Inspiration at the Mission Hills Country Club on April 2, 2016 in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
RANCHO MIRAGE, CA - APRIL 02: In Gee Chun of South Korea plays her second shot at the par 5, 18th hole during the third round of the 2016 ANA Inspiration at the Mission Hills Country Club on April 2, 2016 in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) /
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There is much to learn about the game of golf and there is much to be written about the game.

Golf is an endlessly engaging, always fascinating, occasionally torturous game. I love to play and I enjoy writing about the game, sharing the drama, the life lessons, the sheer exhilaration of that perfect shot. If you’re a writer, as I am, being able to write about that which you love in collaboration with people you enjoy is just about a perfect job.

Three years ago Les Bailey, then editor of ProGolfNow, recruited me as a writer. He saw something in my blog, Staying in the Short Grass, that made him think I could develop into a golf sports writer. I’d like to thank Les for seeing that quality that was invisible to me and I’d like to think I’ve proved him right.

Eighteen months ago Chris Headrick and Joel Wagner offered me the opportunity to move into an editorial role at ProGolfNow. I’d like to thank them for the opportunity and I hope I’ve made good on that opportunity. It’s been a splendid ride.

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I’ve published more than 1,000 golf articles over the past three years.  And thanks to some very fine coaching from Les and Chris and Joel, I’ve refined those sportswriting skills that were so very rudimentary when Les recruited me.

I’ve worked with an amazing team of writers, a witty group of people connected only through the interweb, bound together by our love of the game. We work hard. We cover each other from time-to-time. We enjoy serving you, our readers, who also love golf for many and diverse reasons.

Chris and Joel have proved skilled coaches, guiding me through the nuances of the editor’s craft. I wasn’t entirely without experience – I was a college professor in an earlier iteration and critiqued countless student efforts to put thoughts and ideas on paper. That was good preparation but there’s more to editing a golf blog with an international readership than skilled copyediting of student writing. There’s content balance, scheduling, search engine optimization and Twitter, just to give you a short list. Chris worked closely and patiently with me. I couldn’t have asked for a finer coach and teacher.

When Time, Inc. bought the FanSided Network there was a corporate merger to cope with and if you’ve been through one you know what I’m talking about. Through the uncertainties and personnel changes and rumors and anxieties that were shared in a flurry of emails swirling through the ether, from the editorial managers to the individual writers, the ProGolfNow team chugged right along without missing a beat.

Frankly, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the past 18 months. I am so very proud of the entire team. I’ve been challenged. I’ve learned and grown as a writer. I’ve worked with splendid people. I’ve guided the development of a blog that reaches golf fans around the world.

And now it’s time for me to step back, take a deep breath, and seek new direction.

Golf and writing have this in common: In the end, they’re both solitary activities that demand a balance of technical skill with mental agility. Golfers who play only one course don’t learn the nuances of the game. Writers who produce in only one venue or genre can get stuck in a rut.

I will cherish the time I have spent with ProGolfNow, first as a contributor and then as the blog’s editor. But I have found myself now longing to find new ways to write about this game I love. Between Dash Day and Ida Pieracci, there are about 60 million of us playing golf around the world.

That’s a lot of golf remaining to be written about! I’m leaving ProGolfNow in the very capable hands of a well-oiled team as I step into an uncertain future and go find some of those stories.

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