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It is Thursday and we have an exciting announcement with a little twist. I want to introduce our new mods, yes plural. We have been fortunate enough to have been given approval for 2 new mods to our team as we go through a slight restructure. No worries, nobody is leaving how with some time commitments and such taking up time in various areas we were able to bring on two new mods. Please welcome @Golfspy_Lukes (former jlukes) and @Golfspy_TCB (former tiftaaft)! We are really excited to have both Joe and Tim join our team and work with us and the forum moving forward. Both have been stellar members and I feel will bring a lot to this community. @Golfspy_Lukes has been a member for a long time and most all of you know him well. He has a wealth of knowledge about the game that suprasses many. He brings a great background in equipment and fitting and is one of the most recognizable names on our forum for many years. We look forward to his experience and expertise and what he can bring moving forward! @golfspy_TCB has been a member for a little over a year and has made great contributions to the forum in that time. He has taken part in the Nippon test where he is now a bit of a shaft expert and has truly provided this community with quality content that is worth reading by all. As with Joe we really look forward to having Tim join the team with his drive and commitment to making the forum a better place for all! Finally I want to thank all who applied. To put it simply we had so many good candidates and it was near impossible to pick. It just goes to show how great this community is and the amazing members we have here, along with the varying skillsets and backgrounds is really cool. I enjoyed getting to know many of you a little better throughout the process and look forward to everyones participation in various areas on the forum! With that welcome to the Mod Team Joe and Tim!

Hello everyone, I would like to first of all say that I am extremely honored and excited to have been selected as a forum moderator for MyGolfSpy. I am sincerely looking forward to working with the MGS Forum Team, and working to make the forum the best it can be for all the members. A bit about me: My name is Tim and I was born and raised in Washington State. I have been playing golf off and on for the past 45 years, with a few breaks from the game for work and family reasons (happily married 27 years with 5 kids – and as fate would have it… none are interested in golf….. yet!) My childhood home is about a drive and wedge away from the 3rd hole at Suntides Golf Course in Yakima, WA (I know this from first-hand experience). I then moved to SW Washington just after getting married and raised my family. 3 years ago I moved to Houston Texas for a work opportunity, and really started to dive back into this sport I love so much. Being able to play golf year round was one of the few advantages to living in South Texas. It was a little over a year ago, I came across MyGolfSpy and the forum. This forum quickly became my home away from the course, and it wasn’t long before I recognized the collective Golf IQ across the forum members was at a different level than any other golf forum I visited. The knowledge about all aspects of the game of golf is tremendous here, and the members are always open and inviting to fellow members – eager to share thoughts and opinions and offer help to better understand all aspects of Golf. I have learned so much by reading through the forum and discussion various topics with the forum members, that when the opportunity was posted to become a forum moderator, I found it a great opportunity to “pay back” what the MGS forum has given me. I was lucky enough to be selected by the MGS Admin team (who deserve so much credit for keeping the forum running so smoothly!) and I am dedicated to and support this forum fully. I am a proud member of the CHA thread – I LOVE LOVE LOVE all things equipment - to my own detriment, I am sure (or at least a detriment to my bank account ). Some of my favorite threads (which should come as no surprise if you have seen many of my forum posts) are the equipment threads. Balls, Irons, Drivers, Putters, Shafts… oh my!! I am also an avid fan of the industry and profession of golf, from the Professional Tour, to the Korn Ferry Tour, the Champions Tour, LPGA, College, Amateur/USGA events, and even the business of golf at the Club Professional level. It is really a fascinating business and it is rare that I don’t have either The Golf Channel on in my house, or if I’m in my car… listening to the PGA Channel on Sirius/XM when I’m not working or on the course. Had my early career path taken a slower turn, I am fairly confident I would have landed somewhere in the golf industry on the business management side. Being a CHA member, picking a favorite club is about the same as picking a favorite child. So I will pick two. Titleist TSi3 Driver – Most accurate club in my bag. If I could hit approach shots to the green with it… my GIR% would go up – no doubt. Having said that… The TSr line looks really good! But it will take something very special to replace the TSi3. Vokey SM9 58*/08 – Up and Down machine! Low runners, medium checking chips, knock my cap off flop shots… yep. Every other club in my bag comes in a very close 3rd for different reasons. As with 100% of all golfers… my golf game is a work in progress. It is cliché but a combination of a teaching professional and practicing with purpose is really the key for me. I am far from technically sound in my swing, but I am trying to focus on a more repeatable through my whole bag – and making better decisions on each shot to give myself the best chance to post lower scores. What I hope to bring to the Forum as Moderator is an ever improving experience for all the members using my business background along with my love of golf. The existing Forum Admins are amazing, and I’m learning that more and more with each passing day. I will be drinking from a fire hose in the coming weeks, and will work diligently to be an asset to the MGS forum and the members. ~Tim @Golfspy_TCB

Ha! I look at my new role as being kind of being part of the PAC on the PGA Tour. Yes I am a mod and we have to do things a certain way, but I am also representing the average poster on the site. If you, or anyone else, has ideas about forum things, please let me know. I want to make this community better, and that means listening to the community!

Most of you know plenty about me, but for those who don't my name is Joe and I am 38 and I'm from Central NJ. I have been playing golf for about 25 years (since I was 12) and I am about a 3.4 HDCP at the moment. I started hitting balls when I was much younger - my grandfather cut down an old 9 iron and 5 wood and gave them to me so I could hit balls in my backyard. I remember my first 9 holes being when I was about 11 years old - I shot 63 with my dad. I starting playing in County tournaments when I was about 13 years old and played varsity golf in High School. My first job when I was at the local driving range/mini golf, and all through High School I worked at golf course taking care of the carts, running bags, and eventually became the starter. I have always enjoyed being around the game of golf in any capacity and I have found that it is truly a game for life. I have 2 boys under the age of 6, a wife, and a dog. When I am not working, spending time with the family, or playing golf, I enjoy cooking, grilling, and playing video games. I joined MGS in 2015 after spending most of my time on another forum. The old forum became a popularity contest driven by who could say the most nice things about equipment companies in order to get selected for events/free stuff. It became less of a community and more of LOOK AT ME forum over time and for those reasons I packed my bags and left. I found MGS and haven't turned back because it just feels like the 19th hole at your local course where you can go and talk about your round, your equipment, or anything else and just have a good time meeting people and learning new things. I spoke about my favorite threads in my application, but I thought my responses would give a good window into why I love MGS: When it comes to my golf game, I would say I have quite a few strengths. I am a long hitter (Carry my driver > 275 yards), I have an okay wedge game, and I am a good putter. Time is my enemy when it comes to golf; not being able to practice and play as much as I’d like (more than once a week or so) prevents me from being consistent. I have rounds where I am pounding it off the tee, but I can’t hit a GIR, and then I have rounds where I am a little wonky off the tee, but my short game saves me. Everything finally came together for me in November 2016 when I shot a personal best of -1 71, beating my previous best of +2 74. I am the type of golfer that can be extremely competitive, but I also love fun, no-pressure rounds with my buddies. A lot of the guys I golf with are not as good as me, but I do not care in the least. I enjoy playing with all skill levels and I have no problem giving advice and helping someone with their game if asked (and only if asked). I enjoy walking the course as much as possible and nothing frustrates me more than long rounds. I see no reason why an average round should take over 4 hours, no matter what the golfers’ skill levels are. My favorite club in the bag right now? Hard to choose. I was fit for almost my entire setup at True Spec (thread linked below) The Ping ChipR is a new addition and I absolutely love it. Switched my wedge setup to 52/58. But the staples remain. Ping G410 LST driver. Ping G425 LST 3W (only because I cave the face in on my G410 LST 3W and they replaced it with a G425 head. Titleist 818 H2 hybrid is the longest tenured club in my bag. Does absolutely everything I need it to. My Mizuno irons are just ideal for me. Showing some wear and tare, but trying to hold onto them as long as possible. New putter in the bag this year with the Ping PLD Milled Anser 2. What a fantastic feeling putter that just matches my stroke beautifully. All in all, nothing crazy changing in my bag until 2024 when I got for my full bag fitting for my 40th birthday! So a little about me, but most of you knew that stuff already I am happy to be on board as a mod to help this forum grow organically and stay true to its roots.

Welcome to the team @Golfspy_TCB and @Golfspy_Lukes! we had so many good applicants and I’m thrilled that we got the bring two excellent new mods instead of just one. thanks Joe and Tim for already being great members and stepping up to join the moderator team!

Hello, it's me. Yes, the quester of putters, the commissioner of your fantasy leagues, and weirdly enough, someone deemed responsible enough to lead a group excursion at a fantastic golf resort in Maryland. In the midst of this introduction, I have a confession to make. I think I might have the short game yips. Now, Webster defines the word 'yips' as "a state of nervous tension affecting an athlete (such as a golfer) in the performance of a crucial action". Most golfers will know it as a crippling affliction that can take one of the strongest parts of your game and make it crumble. For me, that's been my chipping. For whatever reason after making the switch to my current Taylor Made wedges, whenever I have shots around the green which felt simple to me, I've been completely paralyzed over them. We're talking the shortest possible swings, chips from off the green, the low checker, the chunk and run type shot. This has even extended to my typical bump and run shots with my 8 iron, leading to near whiffs and shanks of bump and runs. Simply put, if it isn't a flop type shot right now around the green, it's a 50/50 proposition at best it gets pulled off. For someone who has prided himself on his ability to scramble well and was a strength of my game for so long, this has really hurt me. Somehow I've managed to continue to play well due to bettering my iron play but on holes where I don't hit greens, what was once a routine up or down for par or at worst, a bogey has become the potential for double bogey or worse. I've worked a bit on some technique stuff but admittedly due to work and time spend with my wife, I don't have the time I once had to really drill down and dig it out of the dirt in the way I could have in my younger days, so I looked to technology to help. Enter this... That's right, I knuckled under and after reading how @Golfspy_Lukes (congrats on the promotion big guy) was getting on with his ChipR, a thread you should check out right here, I decided maybe this was the cure to my woes and I ordered myself as one of three new wedges, the Smart Sole 4.0 C! Set at a nice 42* of loft with a lie angle of 66* and a length of 34" with a Tour Issue Dynamic Golf Spinner (same shaft in all the wedges I ordered from Cleveland), it will get it's first test tonight in the final league night of our season. Nothing like the proverbial fire for this frying pan. So what do I hope to do. Well, I'll admit as we reach into September, my season doesn't have much longer to go. I've got probably 6 weeks left, maybe less if my local state park doesn't stop booking tournaments to get rounds in and I want to see ow this club performs. In youtube videos it has shown to be quite more versatile than around just greens to I'm intrigued to see how it may work when I go down to just PW, 49* and 55* for those shots maybe where the 58* or 60* was the play in the past. But the biggest test is going to be around the greens. Early carpet swings seem simple enough as it's about the same length as my putter and not as flat as any other wedge in the bag. I do hope you'll enjoy the next few weeks of this. I can't promise pictures or regular updates like if I had a full summer of review, so thing of this more as an experiment... and maybe we all learn a little about ourselves along the way.

Congrats guys! I was surprised to make the final few and I think they made the right choice in bringing you two guys on. First test, I'm gonna go break some rules and see how fast you clean it up haha. Just kidding, welcome aboard!

Congratulations @Golfspy_Lukes and @Golfspy_TCB!

Back when I was chosen in the MOD role for the first time, my name for a short time was Golfspy_Rob but it was met with much hate anger on the forum, everyone said we know you as Carolina Golfer2 aks CG2 for short. So to please the masses I went with the people choice

Congratulations @Golfspy_Lukes and @Golfspy_TCB! Great choices!! Tim - It must have been one helluva job to move from the PNW to Houston!! Anyway, hope you can make it back for the 2023 MGS PNW Golf Extravaganza.

Way to go gentlemen. I’ll be on my best behavior.

Wonderful news! Congratulations.

Congratulations

Welcome aboard @Golfspy_Lukes and @Golfspy_TCB. You've both been great contributors to the forum as members and now I'm looking forward to having you as mods.

Congrats Joe and Tim! And thank you @Golfspy_Lukes in particular for bucking the three-character name trend. One less acronym to memorize ! We still love you @Golfspy_TCB though! Listen, you play a round in the orange or powder blue suit from your username's movie namesake and I'll stipulate to your handsomeness.

A big huzzah to the new mods! We toast in your honor!

Congrats Joe & Tim, Good luck on the other side of things.

Great idea!! Quick, let's get in a fight, you dumb Seahawk-loving, LIV-Supporting (possibly), other-non-offensive-thing-lover! Come at me (but gently, because I'm far too handsome* to get in a real fight), bro! -S *Not proven, but it FEELS true, and if I've learned anything from the last few years, feelings are truth.

A couple of stellar members becoming mods is always welcome in my books . Congrats @Golfspy_Lukes and @Golfspy_TCBI'm sure you'll both do a fantastic job and help keep us in line!!

Congrats guys, two great selections!

Congrats!

Congrats spies and thank you for stepping up and taking on these roles .

Congrats fellas. And good luck.

Congrats, boys (men. Motown Philly. BBD)!! Excited for you two!!

Yup. Takes about 3 years to become self aware, another few years to develop feelings, and then after that we get to be mods.

Congrats @Golfspy_Lukes and @Golfspy_TCB. Both of you are great additions to the mod team.

Are...are you my soulmate? I'm telling my wife. She's from the Bronx. Expect her to be taking off her hoop earrings as she rings your doorbell, ready. to. go.

Congratulations guys, wish you the best of luck.

The "regular" part of my season is officially over after this morning's round. Mixed emotions as that means summer is pretty much over and now I shift into fall mode. Just not enough daylight early in the mornings anymore to get a full 18 in before work without taking a bunch of vacation time. Weather will soon follow, I'm sure. We've actually had somewhere between 3"-4" of rain fall Sunday evening through Monday evening, and the course was closed until Tuesday evening for cleanup. Everything is pretty wet and still not a joy to play on. Still hitting the ball really well, and I'm slightly bummed that despite trying to play 18 the past two days, I had to quit after nine due to there being a lot of groups off the back right as I made the turn. No way to make it to work in time trying to play through. 41 yesterday, 38 today. Driver was excellent today leading to six pars and a birdie. Just one bogey and a bad double that was unfortunate. I hit a beautiful 4 utility that just caught a branch on the right side and sat down in some trees and had issues getting out. With a few exceptions I'm probably down to playing nine holes for the rest of the season now as I move into the offseason.

Congrats !

Awesome. Congrats guys. Great additions.

Congrats everyone I am sure you will do a great job!

Congrats. to both of you and i am looking forward to your continued support and knowledge in the various forum topics here.

Congrats, guys!

Congrats guys! They will make us proud

Congrats guys! Look forward to seeing some good stuff!

Great news for the forum; congrats gents!

Thanks for the love @mynerds! When asked what I would like my @Golfspy name to be... I quickly reviewed the existing mods/admins ... and assumed the three letter moniker was a requirement ;). Easy... Taking Care of Business in a Flash Then I see @Golfspy_Lukes bucking the trend in the announcement today haha!

Congratulations to you both! @Golfspy_Lukes and @Golfspy_TCB This begs the question, is this how “Spies” evolve?

I've never played as well as I played today. I shot +4 40!! So anyway, Owen and I played the back nine at River Heights today. After all the rain the other day, it was too wet to be enjoyable on Monday and Tuesday and we were just busy yesterday. The whole time I've been visualizing the changes in my swing from my lesson last week and it seems to be sticking. Lately my tee shot on ten has been a weak hook with my hybrid so I've been compensating by aiming left. Today, dead straight. Pin high to the right of the green. Chip and two putt for bogey. The less said about eleven the better. Water ball, double bogey. On twelve I hit it square and actually wound up on the back of the green of the short par four. Just missed the long putt but got the birdie to fall. On thirteen I had a good drive and my PW went to the fringe behind the green. Putt from there just missed leaving a tap in par. Fourteen had another good drive that left me in the fairway but with the ball a little above my feet. Chunked the shot, then put my wedge short. Chipped on and two putted for a double. Fifteen was similar: good drive, wedge came up short. Putted from the front fringe and nearly drained the ninety footer! Tap in par. Sixteen was a straight but short drive followed by slicing my 3wood into the trees. Luck was with me because it bounced off a tree and left me a good look. I put the wedge on the green and two putted for another par. Seventeen was the most satisfying. I hit a solid drive but it was left side of the fairway with trees on the left. Hit a good hybrid but it stayed left, leaving me about pin high. Hit my love wedge over the bunker and stuck it about three feet from the cup. Drained the tricky putt for another bird! Eighteen was a solid drive and an 8 iron that drew back just enough to finish on the green resting against the fringe. Mis hit it badly and finished with a three putt bogey. I had one poor strike but otherwise everything was good contact. I hit every (!) fairway and 4/7 greens, both of which are way above my normal. It was hard to get really excited because Owen wasn't playing great. His driver was way off although the rest of his game wasn't terrible. I wound up beating him by ten strokes. Tried to be nonchalant about the round but on the inside I was like this:

From +1 to +9 just one day later… this game…

I'm going to annoy the s*** out of them!

CONGRATS!! new Mods and thank you both in advance for making the commitment of your time and efforts! Looking forward to an always improving forum experience

@Golfspy_Lukes suggested mine be ICE because I'm an Ice maker and put an awesome top gun gif to go along with it when I was announced. I don't think there are really any rules more just trends. And I've even debated changing mine too golfspy Jamie but APH will stay. Looking forward to working with these guys and seeing what this team can accomplish.

Awesome choices - I know Joe will make great contributions to the mod team!

That is an amazing tat, and an even better story for the moniker. TCB it is! @Golfspy_Lukes is going to have to go with _RTA (Respect The Alpha, for any Critical Role fans out there) just to compete ! That or @Golfspy_CG2 is switching back to _Rob in solidarity. Wait, wait, no fighting on the first day! I take it all back!

Today was my best 9 ever, 46. It included a couple of pars, oh and a 10 on the hardest hole on the course. A long tight par 5 with two balls in the water. This hole gives me fits.

Congrats guys this is great news, both from the interactions I have seen while here will bring some great things onto the other side of us and represent this side of MGS extremely well. Love the intro's both of you and shedding some other light to who you are.

Congrats gents let us not annoy you too much

Kenny, After living vicariously through all the posts and pictures from this year's MGS PNW Golf Tour... I am still kicking myself for not making it this year. I have already been making plans for '23's event!!! I hope to be able to meet you guys and enjoy some good golf at some of the prettiest courses in the country!