Shank Aaron

Vessel Players 4 all day! It's my third Vessel Players bag and is (IMO) one of best bags you could possibly buy.

Yeah buddy!!! Congrats, brogey. Let me know if you want to throw a shaft upgrade on that pretty mofo. I got you covered.

What a day, what an experience. This was why I joined the VGA. This, right here. I got to play a US Open/PGA/Ryder Cup course with three of my closest friends. The experience was so good that not a single one of us cared about the scorecard. I can't imagine topping this. Golf side of the day, I couldn't really find the driver, but my putting and short game bailed me out all day. I ended the day tied for first in C Flight and lost the hardware by the scorecard aggregate. 87 here is a score I am absolutely not ashamed of. Tough, but fair. Rewarding, but quick to take you down a peg, or 5. You guys should seriously consider joining us in June. We're playing the best back-to-back in the North Region. Links at Ferry Point, and Bethpage Red.

I dont think there's anything in the ways of volunteers for events, but I'm sure that all help and support is welcomed. I would say show up and find the directors of the match and introduce yourself. We have quite a few events regularly on the Island.

Just got settled into the Vessel Players 4 stand bag, coming out of the Players 3. They finally listened to the customer and made the club pockets fully encapsulated so your grips don't stick to eachother on the way out/in. This is now the most perfect bag ever built.

More often than not, yes, but I only take maybe 25-30 swings max spread out between a few clubs just to loosen my back up. I spend more time chipping and putting before the round than I did when I started 6 years ago.

The countdown to Bethpage Black has begun!!!!!! Is anyone in this thread going? Would love to meet some board brothers.

Nice, welcome, and good luck. Where are you playing?

I'm very certain there's been quite a few more than one sign up because of this thread. You're doing good work, brogey.

You won't be sorry. Good luck this season.

Looks/sounds like a really challenging course to play, good luck brogey! I'm off until the 10th for Bethpage Black, then hitting the summer swing hardcore. Bethpage Red, Ferry Point, and a couple of exclusive clubs in NJ.

I can feel this pain very deep down........the sucking part, and the back issues.

Man, we were all really impressed by the course conditions given the time of year and the weather they got the day/night before. One thing that did stick out in my mind that still makes me laugh- you have to cross the 12th and 17th fairways on foot to get to the driving range. The range itself is roughly 10 yards from the fringe of the middle of 17's fairway. In the 30 minutes I took to warms up, I had to take cover 9 times, with 4 landing within a few yards. Each time the guys would politely come over and apologize profusely. After the 3rd apology, and completely off the cuff, I looked the guy with a smile and said "Nah, no worries, bud. We've all been shot at before, so you're good". That became the standard response for the rest of the day. Making memories, y'all.

Ok, so Sunday did not go as planned, at least by my expectations. The course was in GREAT shape given the time of the year, and the massive amount of rain it got the day before, and the entire Staff went out of their ways to make us feel welcomed. I'm from Florida and do my best with cold weather playing, but even with the lack of wind and copious amounts of golf specific winter layers, I was frozen to the bone the entire day. Matter of fact, by the time I drove the 90 minutes home, my hands were still cold to the touch. But, like us Veterans do, I suffered in silence, and offer zero excuses. I sucked, plain and simple. The good news has MANY sides. I didn't suffer alone, my buddies had me laughing all day, and I got to play golf at a very sneaky difficult course I wouldn't be allowed to play otherwise. All in all, still a great day to play golf with my brothers. Our presence was even graced by our Regional Director, and if you don't know of him, he does a great job taking care of all of us regardless of State. Next week is Twisted Dune down near Atlantic City, NJ, and it looks like it will be a true challenge. Links course with legit links style winds? Bring it on, and just send it!

I've got my kick-off the calendar year this Sunday at Lu Lu Country Club in Pa. Never played there, but just going through the preview on my Arccos app it's not a long course (my flight plays from the whites), but those elevation changes!! HOLY @*#^%$!! From +63' to a 63' drop and everything in between. I very seriously hope the current weather picture holds.......

First round of the year last Sunday, first swing with the new Paradym, first round with the new wedge shafts, first round with the new irons, and first swing of anything golf related in months. Just a day full of firsts and frustrations, but the company was awesome, and golf is golf. And, as most of us are prone to do, I had my "shots that keep you coming back" on the 17th. It was windy and about 45° with a lot of overcast, but the picture tells the tale of a new first- my first ever hole out sandsave!

Mobile Clubmaker Golf on YT is another really good resource for club building. Between AJ and Jim's how-to videos, I've saved myself thousands over the years in mistakes.

6 total. The wedge shafts are the newest of the batch having installed them in my SM9's about a month ago for the 2023 season. Driver- Ventus TR UW- Fuji Atmos TS 4H- Ventus Hybrid Irons- KBS $-Taper Wedges- Accra iWedge Tour Putter- BGT Stability Carbon

I could not agree with this anymore. The guys I prefer to play with are all in the 19+ range and we group up every event we play. We just have a good time together, and it makes for a very enjoyable round. And if I'm being perfectly honest here, I have my share of holding up our group just as much as anyone on the course for any number of reasons. Lost tee shot, multiple chip shots, hit a tree or 5, or (my personal fav) the 4 shots it took me to get out of pot bunker. Dont let that kind of stuff stop you from trying it out. You'll for sure be surprised at how easy and fun the round is regardless of how you played/finished.

Short answer is yes! You only compete directly against other players in your flight, and the D flight (15 and higher) you play net scoring and at 20-21 you'll be at the upper edge of your flight. Play an event I'm 10000000% certain you will quickly find out that 1- you aren't as bad as you think you are, and 2- everyone else around you has their fair share of mistakes just like the rest of us. I think that's one major thing a lot of us players contemplating trying one of these amateur tours misunderstand. Playing on one of these tours doesn't automatically make one a better player. My first 3 events were the WORST scores I had ever posted before, or since. Took me that long to figure out I just needed to play golf instead of worrying about POP, or other distractions we all face. At the end of the day, it's still, and just golf.

Oh, and the Armed Forces Cup. Forgot to mention that. To those who don't know, every branch from every region puts together a team based on a season long points and qualifying tournaments to compete head-to-head in a match play event every season. The last few seasons have been at Pinehurst #2, but this year it's at Champions Retreat (https://www.championsretreat.net/). Definitely an event I hope to play in future.

Welcome to the Tour, brother! This will be my 3rd full season on the VGA Tour. So far, it's been a great experience. It's a great way for Veterans to come together and compete with others who truly get "us". So far I've met some lifelong friends, reconnected with old buddy's from my days in uniform, won a few tournaments, and feel confident enough to really compete everytime I show up. The Tour is structured so you can literally play any event you can make regardless of your home State/region. And that includes any state championship, which is really cool. This year I'll get to play Bethpage Black in May, Trump Ferry Point and Bethpage Red (back-to-back) in June, and a host of other courses spread out between Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and maybe even Connecticut. With any kind of luck, I'll be able to play at Centennial later in the summer, and hopefully at Baltimore CC if I can qualify for the Regional Championship in August. Best advice I can give is to just be yourself, play your game regardless of anything, and definitely take it in that you're on a golf course playing a game with others who knows what you've been through. That last one applies big time when you're on a course you wouldn't be allowed to play otherwise, which happens often. Again- welcome, good luck, and have fun.

The Betti Inovai 6 Poison Proto is the only thing safe. Everything else should be very afraid.....

Did you get a house big enough to fit all that sand you carry around on the NJ Am Tour?

Reviving this thread. Anyone try stamping based on the info here? How'd it turn out for you? Pics?