Leaderboard

On the golf course, I’m under par At least for today 36-35 71 with one bad swing for a double - 3 birdies and the rest pars. It wast Stan Kenton or Metro Goldman but rather my Mezz.1 and everyone else in my bag that made me a star. Hit it really well, had putter in my hand a lot. Only hit 9 wood once, because I felt like it on 17 to lay up.

Got out for a round last Friday at my local course and played the front with a group in front, but then it cleared up on the back. It was getting hot. I was able to keep it together on the front shooting 3 over 39, with an iffy couple of chips costing the score (I may have given the ChipR another look). Then the heat got to me on the back and everything fell apart until I basically stop keeping score as I could not keep my head in the game. Its been a long time since I played at the end of the day need to get used to that. Trying out the new driver shaft was great though and did feel like at the very least it is easier to swing later in the round even when I am tired. Looking forward to the next round.

Played Saturday morning and had a decent round except off the tee. Shot 78 (41-37), with two doubles, and three penalties, and my two birdies were on 1 and 18! I should’ve had three more. The round could’ve been special, but on both par 5s that I normally hit in 2, I screwed-up the second shots costing me at least one stroke each hole. The Honma driver is outperforming the Stealth at this point, and I’m considering cutting-down the shaft of the Stealth and adding head weight like I did with the Honma. We’ll see.

It's time to experiment by taking a 4 min power nap on the 7th & 13th tees.

Hit the range yesterday in the sweltering heat. 110* heat index, but there was a little breeze, so it wasn’t awful. Hit a large bucket and finished the last 30 really well with the same swing thought and mechanics. One of these days this stuff has to finally sink-in so I can stop playing “golf swing” on the course!!! I was pleased when I left the range.

Went back out to my old home course early this morning for a 76. Had 2 birdies and some great up and downs to save par. 2 penalties on the back cost me some shots but I found the ball both times so didn't lose any. 2 notes on balls, I played the Maxfli Tour it's a really good ball, very comparable to my Z-Star. And I'm done with X balls I've tried just about all of them and not one works in the short game the way I like to play.

I had a chance to play Riverside and Highlands GC's in Pocatello, ID yesterday afternoon and this morning on my return trip from AZ. What a pair of fantastic, old style, parkland courses that are beautifully maintained and great tests. I walked both and they served well at stretching out my legs from the long drive. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend playing these courses. The single I played with at Riverside was doing the blue/white combo. I didn't even look at the yardage before signing up for that... 6495 yards . I managed a 41/44. To be honest, I was starting to feel a bit gassed from holes 14 on in, and forgot to grab another water at the turn. Standing up from marking my ball on #18, I started feeling dizzy. I had thought about playing a second time, but no way... walking anyway. That is too much length for me anymore - too many holes just out of reach with a solid drive and second shot. This early morning, I played Highlands and went solo. I chose the white tee and even this was on the long side at 6372. I played a Z-Star vs. a PV1. The PV1 started with B2B birdies; though one was the ugly version that involved a gutted iron that left me an 8' putt. I had two other birdies though the round and was (unbeknownst to me at the time) playing cam phasers in synch golf . Okay, not that good, but good for me . The PV1 finished with a 37/39 and the Z-Star a 40/42. I had a handful of mid iron shots that were all over the flag like white on rice. I also rolled some great putts that helped make up for the handful of holes that were just out of reach in regulation. All-in-all, a solid ball striking and level of play considering my last round was with @GrumpyGolfat Timberstone a couple weeks ago. Riverside GC Highlands GC

I played yesterday, but rather than post in the How'd you play? thread, I thought it would be more appropriate here in this practice thread. Apparently, I played a practice round instead of playing golf because this wasn't golf. I practiced all the bad shots I could possibly have on a golf course! I felt fine; just nothing went right (I even hit my tee shot on #9 so far left that I was in the driving range; never done that... ever!). I spent the remainder of the round trying to focus on just the shot at hand and deal with it. Rather unsuccessfully I might add. However, I live to golf another day!

Been a rough 24 hours. Our Great Dane was diagnosed a few months ago with a heart condition that unfortunately cannot be treated anymore with medicine. Had to call the vet today to make her final appointment and it absolutely gutted me. Spent my entire drive from VA to NY with tears in my eyes. Spent most of last night with her and it just kills me to have to say goodbye. Today and tomorrow are just going to flat out suck.

3rd hole, par 3, 198 yds pulled out my new (to me) Callaway epic max 5 wood with jailblades. Took a smooth swing and landed 3 yds left and 3 yds above the hole. Missed the birdie of course. next hole par 5, hit the new 5 wood perfectly next hole long par 4, second shot 188 up hill. Landed on the green, with 20 foot birdie putt that I missed. anyways, the point was the new 5 wood is sweet

You aren't stretching!?! Well then, at your age I wouldn't start now. It could be tragic! I'd hate to hear about you not reaching your #2 hole dogleg left uphill to the green in two shots anymore!! As for getting older... sorry it's gonna happen!!

If you just hit it perfectly every time you wont have any issues!

I think for forgiveness they noted talking about thing like ball speed and distance retention on off-center hits, with accuracy being the distance from the center line type measurement. I was confused the first time I read it too, had to read it a couple times.

Note to self, when playing backyard soccer barefoot with your nephew make sure you maintain your footing. Slipped/slid yesterday and definitely pulled something from my knee up the inside of my thigh. I don't go easy, nephew is a champ and going to be a very good soccer player down the road.

How are the PGA any different, better or worse (likely better as they are a member run association) then any other professional sport? NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL and the other major sports? All have similar structure in they are the pinnicle of the sport. They are not the monopoly, there is the DP World Tour, Asian Tour, KFC and other tours much like the NBA has Euro leagues, Asian leagues, G league. If anything the PGA Tour and the members that make it up are better off because the players are the tour and have a larger say where NBA have to go through collective bargaining against multibillionaire owners. LIV leads to a fractured golf world where we won't see all the best in one place excpet for a couple times a year at majors. They have no feeder league or program, it is just a inviitational... so how will that be any better if you get one someones bad side and get the boot just because he doesn't like you anymore? Make no mistake LIV has significantly greater risk at becoming a dictatorship then the PGA will ever be and also has a much higher risk at blowing up and folding into nothing in a instant. The PGA should go to PGL and ask for support and work with them, that I am all in for. However LIV is not that or the long term answer as it is by no means a sustainable business model, nor is it meant or built to be.

Just confirmed the rental car. funny how the bigger car was $40 cheaper. Apparently they dont know a I driver a truck to work lol. Got Tickets, and ready. Not interested in getting fit but would like to observe. Can always pick up a pointer or two.

Finally joined the SS revolution and have real data on my game! Love this device and what it has done for me. I sure thought my chipping was the weakest part of my game, but after 4rds logged I noticed that it’s really my iron/approach play that is my greatest weakness…which then leads to an excessive amount of chips, haha. Thankfully i start and finish each hole fairly strong , so looks like some lessons and range time to reconfigure my irons is in order!

Seems like “consistency” would be a better name for that. If accuracy is just being straight, but one could be 20 yards long, or 20 yards short, it doesn’t sound very “accurate” to me. If one has 200 to carry water, I wouldn’t brag about how accurate my hybrid is if I kept putting the ball in the water short. “Dang! That was SO straight! Too bad it cost me a stroke!” Thanks for the clarification!!!

WHAT! I have to start stretching now. I didn't get the memo once I got into my 60's. Forget it, I'm just not going to get any older! That will fix it!

Because if they New Level are more than a month or two old, then it by all means is time to buy both X and Y....Why would you only choose one when tere are two great sets like that to be had

I thoroughly enjoyed the Open this year, regardless of score relative to par. I found it more enjoyable of a watch than last year's and it still comes down to who can navigate the course the best through 4 days. Even if it was a "wedge fest" I found the final round compelling stuff.

I don't think so. My knee swelled up a little bit and iced it last night. Yea going to continue ice and will throw in some band work towards the end of the week. Not super tight right now which is good but I can tell my internal hip is a little bound up. Can tell its going to take a few weeks of good stretching though

Sounds like what I did lifting this past winter. I assume it was the sartorius muscle. Definitely keep an eye on it - mine severely limited the internal rotation inside my right hip. I ended up going to PT for about five times this past May because of it. Thankfully several good assisted stretching sessions and some band work got me back to better than before!

@fixyurdivot I agree, I was real tired of the wrap up shows lamenting a Rory loss more so than celebrating the astounding back nine 30 of Cam Smith.

I believe the PGA is going to be in for a big surprise. The PGA has long been the biggest part of golf (99.99%). But the PGA is NOT the game of Golf. Have they done more up until this point in time for the game, without question they have. Has just doing whatever they wanted, and no competition, given them the impression that they ARE THE GAME, it certainly has. But as hard for it is for them to accept, they are NOT the game of golf. They are a company who up until now has held the only means for people who play golf really well to make a living at it. I believe that the justice department will find that to have rules in place, that squash competition, and threaten your emloyees with financial, and other penalties for seeking a better job, will violate anti-trust, or some other federal employment standard. The PGA through theats and coercion, are trying to keep its employees, indebted, and borderline hostage to the PGA. About the only thing separating the PGA, from the coal industry of the late 1800's is that at least the PGA is not paying its players in "script", which then had to be used "at the company store", so the money all went right back to the mine owners. Make no mistake for all its talk, the game of golf is still an "Elitist snobbish game", you are seeing it from Monahan and whoever is in charge of the R&A. They are NOT PROTECTING THE GAME OF GOLF, they are trying to protect their greed, and their monopoly, on a BILLION dollar a year industry. They clearly don't care about me, because I haven't gotten my questionarre from the PGA as to if I would like to see all these guys play on both, becasue I would.

Toasty 107 degrees today so I figured why not hit the range in the middle of the afternoon after being in the sun all day Friday and Saturday. It was a poor choice. I've been making some good progress recently, but today things were just out of sorts. After getting pretty frustrated, I walked away and went over to the putting green for awhile to calm down. Spent some time chipping, practicing a few different trajectories to give myself some options should the need arise.

... Is it just me or are other members suspicious of first Foz and then Rick winning two in row when they live a hybrid and a wedge away from each other? Has anyone checked to see if their real names are Rick and Foz Corleone?

For those who like to warm up on the range like I used to, I’ve found the Orange Whip is excellent to loosen me up at the first tee. I do 10-20 one handed tennis swings and then 10-20 full swings (forced to pause at the top) and I’m ready to play. Luckily it also reminds/forces me to slow down my transition at the top - highly beneficial for me, though not an affliction everyone suffers from.

Another pretty good round for me today. I can definitely get use to this!! 44/47 for another 91. Putting hurt me today with 1 three putt and 36 total putts. Wasn’t getting into too much trouble off the tee and short irons were playing really well for the most part. Doubles on 17 & 18 were frustrating but that’s golf.

I had a special round today. No bogies and two birdies for a 69. What made it really special were two things. The first is, I parred hole #2. Its just a bear of a hole. 200 yards to the dog leg. Then you are left with anywhere from 160 yards to 200 up a large hill playing 3 clubs longer. Its also guarded by two large bunkers and the green slopes from back to front. The second was, somehow I got between the guy mowing the greens and the guy rolling the greens. The guy mowing leaves the flag out for the guy rolling. So for 4 holes I had no flag to shoot for. I aimed for green center and hoped for the best. Of course not one flag was near the center. But I parred them all. This just shows that flag hunting isn't always the best choice when the flag is tucked in tight locations. My second putts were all less than a foot. Now for the dreaded yard work!

Worked on some putting after the gym. Drove to the course and started with 15 ft, then 25-40ft lag putts. Some ladder drill and then three sets of 20 ft, 12ft, 15ft and trying to sink them.

Not disputing some of your points but the chances of not playing there or any significant layout changes are low... really low. way too much history and heritage. Keep in mind that weather is this courses biggest defense, and it did not show up this year.

Forgiveness and accuracy are not the same, but odd to see a club named “best for accuracy” with a poor forgiveness score.

I recently came into a free set of Volkey SM9 wedges I won from the PGA Championship pool. I have the black, 50, 54 and 60, with the KBS shafts. Previously played the SM6 52, 56 and 60. The SM9s are the best wedges I have played. They are soft, easy to control. I can get them to stop on my courses hard, fast greens and get them to release when I need them to. These wedges have saved me a few strokes around the green side as I am chipping in 1 to 2 times a round. Anyone looking for wedges, I recommend these. I would go out and buy these now that I know how much different they are from other wedges.

Thanks everyone for the excellent input. Heater is coming south!

1.5 - 2 apparently.

Actually had 3 shots of the day 15 foot chip in for par .. had 196 up hill took a 5 wood and put it around 8 feet and then 165 out took a 7i and put it 6 feet out … all my other shots were terrible haha

My truly great shots usually come when I get into 'well, screw it' mode. My last one was while I was playing a particularly poor round a few weeks ago. Stepped up to a par 4 halfway through the back 9, and over drew the ball into the rough, then toed my approach to the side of the green into a sort of grass bunker. Now I'm about 3 feet below the level of the green, which is about 7-8 feet away from my ball, and short sided with the pin only a yard and half from the fringe. I said screw it, and proceeded to hit a perfect flop shot. Straight up in the air, dropped down and spun to 6 inches from the hole for a tap in par save. My playing partner burst out laughing, because of course I would hit an amazing shot like that when my score is already trash.

... Well, maybe I am just pi$$ed off my Major Contest Evil Nemesis "NEUMA..." I mean "BENZ!" finished 49th and I was 217th so I am taking it out on two of our favorite Sunshine State residents.

They are so close - pick the one that gives you more confidence at address.

By all the laughing emoji's, I think you have your answer.

Let me just say I am weak! I know I have the course to myself every Sunday morning from 8 am to about 10 :30. The range is wide open. But so is the first tee. You have to go right past the first tee to get to the range. Looking down the fairway you can actually take 10 steps to your left from the first tee box and be on the range. Years of conditioning going to public courses has me in a certain mindset. When you see the tee box empty you go for it. 16 years later, I still can't walk past the first tee if it's empty.

... I must have impeccable taste when it comes to golf equipment. It seems every time I visit any golf site to look at specs, or new clubs or anything really ... I get a message from them 10 minutes after my visit that warns me: Your recently viewed items are selling fast

Shot a great 74 yesterday. Took the 50 and 54 out of the bag and put the 52 in and didn’t miss a beat. Had two penalty strokes, off the tee. One from a pull hook and one from a bomb that landed in the idle of the fairway and bounces so hard because of the lack of rain and bounced through the fairway and into a hazard. Putting was special. Had 4 birdies but could have had more. Birdied the 10th and then here are the scores and putt distances I made on the next four holes: 11- 1 inch, Par 12- 1 foot, Par 13- 3 inches, Par 14- 8 inches, Par Had looks a birdie all day today an my putter was so good, but man it could have been a personal best day. Excited to get the ChipR in play

I drove north yesterday to meet a few friends and played at Honey Brook for the first time. A nice layout in good shape in Lancaster county farm country and the pace of play was pretty good for a Sat morning. Instead of Amen Corner, they have Amish Corner - really that is what they call it! Not long at 6300 from the tips but 4 of the 5 the par 3's ranged from 190 to 230 and two par 5's were 560 plus so it didn't seem too short. Its mostly equal travel time for each of us and we will definitely play it again. The changes I have been working on with the putting are showing improvement. The old Anser is staying in the bag. I did adjust from cross handed on longer putts to conventional after about 7 holes as I could not get the feel for speed on those longer putts. Staring at my aim spot rather than the ball worked well for hitting my line all day.