Cory O

Also I think it’s import to note that the course worked just as it was supposed to for every other golfer besides Bryson, even par or worse. DeChambeau was and is a special golfer and he had everything working today. Very few, if any, golfers will be willing or able to do what he is doing (and time will tell if his body will really let him continue doing it). In my mind, they shouldn’t be trying to really limit the distance, but instead just make the distance more risky. If deep rough can’t do it, then mark zones as OB and unplayable for pro tournaments. Few white stakes will make the “bomb and gouge” a much tougher proposition and is a lot easier than trying to completely change the rules or equipment.

Just looked it up, that putter seems like it could open some very large bottles!

All given golf clubs should have a take-back policy ;-)

7am tee time this morning, usually never get out that early, so maybe I came out a bit cold. Scramble-fest on the front, but did alright with a long birdie on 7 really helping (wound up being the only one for the round). Back 9 was generally a lot more steady with 8/9 greens in regulation, but nothing too tight so I wound up with a bunch of two putt pats. Only exception was on 13, a dogleg left perfect for my draw, but I wound up with a pull hook and unlucky bounce off the cart path for my first OB in like a month, leading to an ugly double. 39-38 for a 77 (+5). Currently dropping my handicap below 5, but I’m thinking there should be a PCC adjustment as the blacks and blues were playing essentially the same.

Golfdiscount.com has the Pix 2.0 (along with the regular TP5 and TP5X) practice ball (new balls, cosmetic blemishes only, stamped with practice) for $19.99 a dozen.

I have a bike handlebar phone mount on the handle of my pushcart. Holds it super secure and then I can just position the cart behind me to take swing vids rather than setting up the tripod.

Really never played golf outside of messing around at the range until I was 16/17. A football injury took me out of all my regular sports and I was working at a golf course so I really jumped in. Broke 100, 90, and 80 within the next year. Broke 70 for the first time when I was 19 and maybe 4 times total over the next two years (at fairly easy courses I’ll admit). Gave up the game for about 5 years at 21, then while living in Korea I became a fairly hardcore screen golfer (simulator rooms). I was a +2 handicap at that, but it really is a different game. Shot 71 (-1) last month, that’s the closest I’ve been to the sixties on a full sized course since my university days. Hopefully have one to post about again soon.

And the Honma has arrived! Definitely a “premium” look and feel (the headcover is even line with faux fur). Going immediately in the bag for a 7am tomorrow without any adjustments. Playing another found ball 2019 Pro V1 to keep things as even as possible with that last round with the Atomic. This particular found ball has a nice little custom message that raises an obvious question given that is was a lost ball.

Hey fellow Angelino! I also tend to play the LA city courses, but haven’t been to Penmar yet as I’m more northeast. If you’re ever looking to play the Sepulveda or Griffith Park courses, let me know!

I went with the Garmin S20 as they are gettable for very very cheap and I didn't feel the need to have the full map features of the S60. Garmin is definitely the leader of the pack for golf watches though, so I would stick with them. My S20 does everything I want, front-middle-back yardages, hazard yardages and automatic shot tracking. Not bulky at all, so I wear it as an every day watch. Lasts 3-4 rounds of GPS tracking on a single charge.

...so GigaGolf had a demo set of my exact same irons (which I really like) 5-PW in my specs, but with the same graphite shafts as my hybrids (and I really want to try graphite shafted irons) for like $120 shipped. I had to buy them. Absolutely no choice. EDIT: I came up with a somewhat valid justification! I feel like my gapping between the 4h and the 5i is a bit too big and my PW and AW is a bit too tight. Getting graphite in these might just give me a couple more yards and slot right in where I want my gapping to be.

If you are looking for the most budget option, I’d recommend going with GigaGolf.com That’s where pretty much my whole bag is from and they’ve always been fantastic to work with. They have a basic online fitting tool that will recommend lie/length adjustments based on your height and wrist to floor distance and flex based on usual ball carry. Plenty of options for grips and shafts too that won’t break the bank. I would take them over pretty much any used set.

Following the thread as I'm interested if there are any responses out there. With the amount of golf I've been playing, I casually started looking into clubs to see if the cost was justifiable. Cheapest around I found was La Canada-Flintridge County Club at around $400 a month for their junior membership (under 39 years old). Short-ish but interesting course, no real practice facilities to think of, but I was tempted as it's just down the road from me. Didn't pull the trigger though, $400 is a lot of public golf. I am springing for the ClubCorp "Play Away" membership though, two complementary rounds at their private courses Sun.-Fri. plus some other perks for $60 a month, the course just has to be more than 100 miles from your home, so I'll use it to play in Palm Springs, San Diego, and the occasional trip to Vegas.

Saw blue skies today in LA and the air quality went from “unhealthy” to “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, so felt pretty normal out on the course this afternoon. The public courses are definitely getting the late summer bake though, combined with the constant play have left the greens less than ideal.

Oh it was in the bag for a few rounds and saw some action, literally the only club that would consistently go right on me (but for some reason I never played it on a dogleg right....or aimed left now that I think about it). Here’s a selection (Garmin recorded a few as my 3w as I didn’t have the bag updated). Slice Slice Slice I’m pretty sure this is the only time I went left with this club, pull hook that literally never got more than 10 feet off the ground. Those were the okay-ish contact shots. There were a couple of 100-150 yard toppers as well, nice “lay ups” on Par 5’s that were completely intentional.

Got home from a so-so 9 (I don’t drink on the course generally) and cracked open a Rolling Rock, cuz I’m classy like that.

The club review you've all been waiting for the HEATER F-35 hybrid: So this started out on this thread on scammy email advertisements for something called "Patriot Golf". I recognized the clubhead as a TaylorMade clone I see all the time on eBay. On the eBay ads, I noticed that one of the sellers was fairly local to me and when I looked it up, it seemed like a decently sized component wholesaler/builder, so I reached out to pick something up for myself (and save myself $11.99 shipping). I went with a 15* hybrid, the Heater F-35 as I wanted to check out a low lofted hybrid as a driver-alternative for windy days. Few rounds in and plenty of swings in my exclusive club testing center (a mat placed unevenly between two trees in my side yard) and I'm ready to review. First impressions as I got the club is that it looked alright. Decent paint, no noticeable cosmetic issues, and it was built straight (I suppose Monark Golf is to thank for that). Only thing is that the coloring and design of the "H" in "HEATER" makes it harder to read, so the club name looks more like "EATER", but I suppose no harm there and also I prefer a matte finish instead of the shiny one this has on the crown. Right away, I could see that this clubhead seemed big (maybe more of a "super hybrid"?) as can be seen in the comparison photo with my three wood and 18* three hybrid. Additionally, the clubhead was heavy (and probably a very heavy shaft as well). I've had it out on the course a few times now, hit it from different spots and have some decent impressions on it. My first swing with it was a drive off the 375 yard first at Hansen Dam (down hill but into the wind). The Heater sent it 240 down the right hand side of the fairway, so off to a good start, but this wound up being the best shot it produced for me. Not to say that it was horrible, the club stayed solid and I never had a fear of breaking it, but it just didn't really work for me. The super heavy clubhead made it hard for me to turn over, so I was hitting a bunch of big slices with it (and cue the Judge Smails voice "and I never slice") instead of my usual draw. I think this club needs to be provided a lot of speed to be hit well consistently and you have to provide that speed, no tech in there to help you with it. Bit more practice with it (and maybe hitting the gym) and I bet I could get it working, but meh, probably not going to happen. Heater F-35 Pros: Solid clubhead and well-enough built club (at least the one I got from where I got it) Looks fine in the bag, not going to be confused for a premium club, but not super obviously cheap Hits golf balls and probably won't break Less than $50 Heater F-35 Cons: First glance, looks like it's called the "F-35 EATER" Clubhead weighs as much as a Geo Metro (estimated) Will it stay in the bag? I was honestly surprised at how okay-ish the club was. Guess it goes to show that at the end of the day, golf clubs are just mostly hunks of metal on the end of a stick and if you swing it well, it can hit a little ball a pretty long way. That said, the amount of effort needed for this particular hunk of metal was simply too much. My normal hybrids seem to go fast without me trying, but the Heater required me to really try. It was a solid feeling when it hit the ball (and then watch it slice 30 yards), but nope this F-35 is going to stay parked in the hangar. Added the eBay screen for reference. Now I really want to try it in a sand wedge loft...

For my own play and what I would suggest to others is just to follow the WHS net double bogey rule where the maximum score is double bogey + any handicap strokes given on that hole. In the example above, if it wasn't a handicap hole, a six would have been the maximum score anyways so it wouldn't have mattered. If the course is busy, I really do think everyone should just pick up at their net double bogey and move on. Outside of that, I agree with the general sentiment above that given putts are given and the score should be recorded as such. I also don't really understand a game that is a.) casual enough to give putts in stroke play and b.) serious enough that you're keeping each others' scores and writing down a 7 after a missed "given" putt and causing a fiasco.

Quick suggested use for the testers that I do personally. I'll add 1ml of the full spectrum oil (750mg unflavored) to my second cup of coffee as I'm sitting down at my desk to start work. Combo seems to help me be alert and not edgy for the flood of web conference calls I'm dealing with.

Yep, snap hook into the tree the next drive I had after that one, fortunately it was the only bad drive of the day where my carry/total distance off the tee were longer than normal. Driver: Tommy Armour Atomic (set your 8.5*) 3 wood: GigaGolf TRX 15* Hybrids: GigaGolf TRX 18* and 22* Irons: GigaGolf TRX PowerSlot 5-PW Wedges: GigaGolf TRX 6.0 50*, 55*, 60* Putter: Ray Cook M1 (2020) 34” “Golf is a good walk enhanced”

This drive, I just plain don’t hit it that far (or haven’t in a really long time at least not without significant help) Pushed the hybrid approach a bit, so not on in two, but got up and down for the birdie. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Round this evening started with a disappointment as right when I pulled into the parking lot of the course, I got a FedEx delivery notice for one of those long boxes we love so much. Then things got weird... My normal drive these days has settled right around 250. Getting it 260+ has been an especially good one. Here were some of my drives that my Garmin measured tonight starting with #1: 267 270 299 (wtf?!?!?) 263 271 284 268 There might have been a couple influencing factors. The course was a bit baked (but not incredibly so). I was playing a Pro V1 the whole night when I usually play a Project(s), something I’m now reconsidering. Last, I’ve been working through some swing changes for the past few months, really focused on the driver and tonight the swing off the tee did (generally) feel free and natural. The only bad drive the whole round was a snap hook into the trees the first drive after the 299 blast (I guess I wanted to see how far I could REALLY hit it). Besides that, I have to think the Tommy Armour Atomic thought FedEx had delivered that Honma driver I surprisingly won on eBay and was fighting for its life (the Honma wasn’t delivered today, it was a 3w and a couple hybrids). Overall meh putting kept the scoring from being special, +6 overall so right on the handicap, but some of those drives were certainly fun. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

300cc? Who could ever need a club head that big! Most memorable driver I had back in those days was a Cobra SS Hyper Steel 290cc with a steel shaft. Cracked the face on it (right on the sweet spot) when I was 19. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I also miss my first hybrid! From before “hybrid” was even a word, I had the Taylormade Rescue Mid 17*. It was good for a 240 yard straight down the fairway all day. Went the same way as the Scotty. Really the only two memorable clubs from the bag. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Stealing a topic from the Rick Shiels podcast. Wondering what is a club you regret getting rid of or just wish you still had? (sold/broken or otherwise) For me, it's a putter. Summer before my senior year of high school, I was looking around the used clubs at a large shop and saw a Scotty Cameron Newport Oil Can. I had been serious about golf for maybe a year at this point and spent waaaay too much time in shops like this hitting putters I could never afford. The new Scottys were never out on the floor, but this used one was out there. Hit a few putts with it, fell in love, and was prepared to be depressed when I saw the price tag. I was absolutely shocked to see that it was labeled for $50. I honestly couldn't even afford that, but couldn't resist. I took the club up to the front, looked for the most bored looking cashier who I thought likely to let me get away with this obvious pricing mistake, paid and walked out with my new putter. The grip wasn't in the best of shape, but the pro shop at the course I worked at had gotten a bunch of these weird counter-weighted putter grips in. I don't remember the company name, but this was around the year 2002, so it must have been one of the original counter-weight grips ever. Nobody was buying them, so the pro let me have one and I put it on the Scotty. I must have played at least 400 rounds on this putter over the next 3 years (in Colorado), including in joining the university PGM (Professional Golf Management) program, passing my P.A.T. on the number with a 10 footer on the last, and spending a summer as an assistant pro intern at a country club. That last one made me hate the game of golf and everything about it, so the Scotty and rest of my clubs sat essentially untouched for the next two years. Then, after graduating university, I was prepping to move to Japan and all the clubs went up on Craigslist. I believe I sold the putter by itself for $80 (hey, I made a profit!) Ever since I've gotten back into the game, I've missed that putter (and not just because the kinds of prices I see on Newport oil cans on eBay these days). I don't think I'd game it anymore, because I'm very much a mallet guy now, but I would just want to look at it. Anyone else have any clubs that got away?