Jim Furyk seemed to have this same expression a lot in 2012. (Getty Images)

Golf is full of questions. How do I hit it farther? How do I break 90? What is wrong with Tiger Woods? Why are you such an idiot?

It's a game that will never be figured out in the millions of years people will play it, but it's fun to try to figure it out. Every week it'll be you guys who help us answer the in-depth (and ridiculously fun) questions about the game. Have a question? Fire them our way on Twitter to either @shanebacon or @eyeongolf with the hashtag "#eyeqs". We will pick out the best of the week, answer them as best we can and continue this throughout the rest of the year.

So we begin right here with our weekly Q and A with the readers …


A. Interesting timing for this question since basically Graeme McDowell told a spectator to, um, go do something with himself last week after the guy yelled "mashed potatoes" after a golf swing, but you know we can't do this because most of our world is full of dumb sports fans who will yell anything and everything when a camera is on.

Back in high school, we got this huge grant to start a television studio and air weekly news shows and of course I jumped at the chance to be the next Channel 1 star (spoiler alert: it never happened). My teacher was a very country gentleman but knew a ton about television and his first piece of advice has stuck with me all these years: When that red recording button comes on, people act like complete idiots.

People at golf events are going to be crazy. They might be drunk, they might be insecure, and they most definitely want others to look at them (have you SEEN how many Loudmouth golf pants are worn at a random PGA Tour event in the galleries?).

But the same happens at football games and baseball games and tennis matches. (To be fair, my buddies and I were those idiots some years ago at a grass court event that preceded Wimbledon in London, so much so that one of the Americans playing on centre court turned around and shouted "at least I know where my cheering section is sitting." This didn't help our cause.)

I do wish we could send out a golf memo to everyone simply asking that no more cliche terms be screamed after shots. Seriously, what joy do people get out of "get in the hole"? It has been yelled A BILLION TIMES and even the best players in the world hole out maybe twice a year. I could live with every other golf term ever if we didn't have "get in the hole" -- even the one I get the most as a southpaw: "Hey, you're hitting from the wrong side of the hole." Grrr. OK, I gotta do away with this one as well).

A. While my good sportswriting friend Maggie was partially joking about the appropriate putter for a putt-putt adventure, I do think it brings up an etiquette question about going to putt-putt as a real golfer.

So here are a few of my rules for actual golfers who are invited to go putt-putt with someone:

1.) Don't try to "teach them how to putt" unless they are actually asking you to help them. Putt-putt is as much golf as Wii Bowling is bowling, so maybe ease up on the "you gotta grip it like this" charade that you're doing just to make it seem like you're capable of not making five on every hole. 

2.) Do not take it that seriously. Honestly, it's putt-putt. Go have some fun, hit a couple between your legs, don't forget your beverage between holes and enjoy the goofy and quirky holes. If you go Happy Gilmore at the place, you probably won't be invited back by the staff and your friends.

3.) Never bring your own putter. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever. Please don't. Trust me. I once played putt-putt during the middle of a junior golf tournament and a kid brought his Scotty Cameron to the arcade. This also brings up another one of my big golf no-nos, which is don't wear golf spikes to a golf tournament. You are not a professional, and you really don't need that extra grip. But, yeah, use the rubber putter they give you. 

A. Now this is definitely a fun question so why don't we crack some knuckles and jump right in. 

5.) Phil Mickelson -- A guy with a win can never look back and say he had a "bad year," but this is Phil Mickelson, and he is expected to win multiple times each season and he couldn't do it in 2012. His finishes weren't so bad in regular events, but he struggled in the majors, making triple-bogey early in his Sunday round to fall out of contention at the Masters, and then finishing T-65 at the U.S. Open, missing the cut at the British and never breaking 71 at the PGA. He looked a lot better toward the end of the season, especially during the FedEx Cup playoffs, but his loss at the Ryder Cup was really the turning point for the Americans, no matter if he simply got beat by Justin Rose. 

4.) Camilo Villegas -- He is one of the most recognizable stars on tour, no matter how he plays, but it was a pretty ugly season for the muscled one. Villegas missed nine of 25 cuts, didn't have a single top-10 and finished out of the top-125 on the money list. On top of that, Villegas couldn't earn his full card for 2013 with rounds of 72-73 to finish Q-School, landing T-32, which means his status will be limited next year.

3.) Angel Cabrera -- I know the two-time major winner doesn't seem like a guy who is totally invested in his "legacy," but you'd think he would at least want to have a half-decent year. Cabrera played in 20 PGA Tour events, missed nine cuts, withdrew two other times and never had a top-10. His best finish of the year came at Houston (T-21) and he shot 81 in the second round of the British Open and 80 in the second round of the PGA. 

2.) Jim Furyk -- It's hard to call a guy who made nearly $4 million a disappointment, but this is obviously contextual when you're talking about a guy of Furyk's stature. The former U.S. Open champ lost in a playoff at the Transitions. At the U.S. Open, it seemed he had the thing wrapped up before his nerves got the best of him. His swings toward the end of his Sunday round were horrific, and that was just the start of his struggles in 2012. A par on the final hole at the Bridgestone Invitational would have earned him his first win since 2010, but he made a nasty double-bogey. Then came the Ryder Cup. It was a tough year all around for Furyk, who definitely still has the game to win on tour but struggled with the nerves coming down the stretch.

1.) Kyle Thompson -- Do you know this guy played in 22 events and made just three cuts? And do you know he played in 15 PGA Tour events to start his 2012 season before making a cut? Simply put, it was a tough year for Thompson.