My name is Matt Geer. I’m the guy who runs this site. It’s hard (if not impossible) to connect with a website and its content when you don’t know the person or people behind it. I don’t want to be one of “those” websites, so here is a little info about me and this site.
About Me (Matt)
I don’t want to give you my life story, but I do want to share enough so that you can see I’m not blowing smoke up your ass or trying to shill cheap golf products. Let’s start with what I think is the most important piece of information I can share.
Yes, I play golf, and I’m absolutely obsessed with it.
I’m new to the game. I took my first golf lesson in October 2019, a co-ed group class Bryce Poulin taught at Camas Meadows in Camas, Washington. The course is on the outskirts of Vancouver, Washington, the city I live in.
I decided to take the class after going with a buddy to Top Golf the month before. I used to go with him to the driving range 15-20 years ago, but beyond that I never considered taking golf up as a hobby.
That changed about five years ago. I was looking for a hobby and considered trying golf. I even shopped around a bit for an instructor, but never pulled the trigger. Top Golf pushed me off the fence.
I only wish I had started playing when I first thought about it. That’s five years of zero golf playing I’ll never get back. I guess I’ll have to play even more now to make up for it!
After I finished that four week class, I bought some clubs. These are the clubs I bought (and am using now):
- Driver
- 3 wood
- 3i
- 5i
- 7i
- 9i
- SW
- putter
These are all used clubs, roughly 10-15 years old. I got them from Callaway’s pre-owed website for around $225. Thanks to Black Friday, I got a smoking good deal.
I bought these clubs because I had planned on only playing par 3 courses for my first year or two. So far, I’ve stuck with that plan. I could play on a full course, but since I haven’t yet learned how to use my driver, I’ve decided to wait. I don’t see the point in rushing into it just so that I’d have to form a search party every time I teed off.
In fact, I could’ve gotten away with only buying a putter, 9i, 7i, and 5i. That’s money I could’ve saved and applied to more lessons. But I suppose that’s a lesson in itself.
Anyway, as I write this we’re in the middle of winter 2020-2021. I’ve only been playing and practicing for about a year. Right now, I’m practicing my swing and contact, and will get a lesson or two for how to use my driver, so that I can cut my teeth on a regular 18-hole golf course sometime in spring/summer 2021.
Before Golf There Was Poker
Several years before I started playing golf, I played poker. The years I played the most was 2009-2011. I received coaching and also coached and staked other players.
I decided to stop playing poker seriously in October 2010 when PokerStars stopped accepting real money players from Washington State. I’m fortunate I made the decision when I did too, because the Department of Justice indicted several poker operators on various criminal charges the following April. In doing so, many players’ bankrolls were seized.
I was lucky. I withdrew all my money just a few months before all that happened.
After that, I played live poker here and there, but I could never get into it. Online poker has many benefits live poker doesn’t, such as multi-tabling, a larger variety of tournaments and games to choose from, and lower stakes – which is great for learning and building a bankroll.
The most unfortunate thing about quitting poker was that I didn’t have another hobby to replace it. I dabbled in several things for a few years, but nothing stuck. It was a little depressing.
But then I found golf and was hooked instantly. I think it hooked me because there are many similarities between it and poker — things I need in a hobby or job.
- There’s room for growth and improvement.
- You’re not reliant on other people. You can be as good as you want to be, if you’re willing to put in the work.
- You can use data and odds to play and practice strategically.
- You can receive coaching and learn to coach yourself.
One thing I like about golf that poker doesn’t provide is the ability to play by yourself. You can practice poker solo, but you need at least one person to play a game and preferably many more, depending on whether you prefer cash games or tournaments.
Ultimately, golf ticks all the boxes for me. It’s mental, strategic, and it’s physical too. I need the physical side of it, as I’ve worked from home for the last 12-13 years and can always use an excuse to get outside more.
About The Divot
I decided to start The Divot for a couple of reasons.
- I’ve built or have helped other people build websites for years. I enjoy the work, and enjoy it most when it’s about a topic I’m interested in or passionate about.
- There are lots of great golf websites on the internet, but few of them are one stop shops. You need to visit several websites to gain the knowledge that (I think) beginner and intermediate players need to truly enjoy the game. And, no, I’m not talking about swing advice. I want to build the site I would want to bookmark for whenever I have questions.
Also, most golf sites weigh their websites down with tons of ads, which slow down the site and make it tough to read and enjoy their content. (I plan to take a slightly less intrusive approach to generating revenue from this website.)
Ultimately, I’d like to talk about golf-related topics I’m interested in and think others are too based on what I’m seeing in forums, on Twitter, etc.
- Ball flight laws – To help you can understand why the golf ball goes where it does, which you can use to diagnose and improve your swing.
- Gear reviews – To help you (and me) know what to buy and only buy what we/I need.
- Interviews – I’m far from the smartest or most experienced golfer, which is why I want to interview coaches, pro players, caddies, independent golf product comapnies, and more.
- Course reviews – To help you choose the best courses to play (your golf course bucket list), as not everyone has the time or budget to play every golf course.
- Golf practice drills – To help you improve your golf game, whether that’s to shave a couple strokes off your game or you’re wanting to become a scratch golfer. The truth is that many golfers lack the time, resources, and/or athleticism to get there. But I’ll do what I can to help you get your game where you want it.
And much more.
My goal is to help you learn more about golf and to have more fun playing the game, because why bother playing golf if you don’t enjoy it?
Why Listen to Me?
What makes me qualified to talk about all of this (and more)?
Well, not much. As I said, I’m brand new to the game. I don’t have decades of experience as a player or PGA coach. But I do feel like I bring a few things to the table.
- My plan to interview people. I don’t have to be the guy with all the answers to golf’s most pressing questions. Sometimes I can provide the platform for the guys who do know what they’re talking about to share quality advice.
- I’m in the trenches. I do golf related things every day, whether that’s reading about golf, practicing, playing, watching videos, receiving instruction, and so on. I know what it’s like to be a beginner, because I am one. That’s makes it much easier for me to write about it than someone who has forgotten all this stuff and what it’s like to be new.
- I was a freelance writer between spring 2009 and spring 2020 (I recently took a job with one of the clients I worked with). While I wrote almost exclusively for the gambling industry, the skills I’ve learned there – writing (for the web), communicating well via writing, research, etc. – will help me research topics and relay them to you in an easy-to-understand way. I continue to use all these skills in my current job/role too.
The bottom line – while I’m not a “pro” or “coach,” I think that the skills, passion, and plans I bring to the table will more than make up for it. I’m positive you’ll enjoy the content I publish.
But, that’s ultimately up for you to decide. Look around the site, read a few articles, and see if it’s right for you. And don’t hesitate to ship me an email (mattdgeer[at]gmail[dot]com) with your ideas, feedback, or questions, as it all will help me make The Divot a better source of golf information for everyone.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
P.S. – If you enjoy what I have to say here, and you live along the west coast, you might be interested in my new project, Pacific Coast Golfer. This website focuses on golfing in British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon, and California. If you want to find a golf course, instructor, Topgolf location, equipment, club fitter, and more in any or all of those states, this website might be for you. I’ll also have some general golf content you can use to help improve your game.