NoRebound

Low amateur: Neal Shipley Cut Line: +4

I normally park a ball when it develops a scuff or chip on the cover that I can feel. Aerodynamics are critical to a new golf ball so I don't push things after big contact with a cart path or a tree. Right now I have a yellow ProV1 that has made it through two rounds unscathed. That's unusual for me but it goes back on the first tee just as soon as it stops raining.

I've been tracking my game for years with a GolfLogix app on my Android phone. It works reasonably well showing a map of each hole, distances to various features on the hole, and suggesting clubs for each shot based on my stored history. Once a free app it now costs upwards of $50 a year to use but that does come with a database that covers every course in North America. The downside besides the cost is that in a five-hour round, it can fairly well run down the battery in a barely two-year-old phone. I hate that I find myself on the back 9 having to plug my phone into the cart just to make sure I have enough battery to get back to the car. Is anyone else using an app that has become their go-to that doesn't have all of the downsides of GolfLogix?

I feel like I am getting a bit behind the curve in this department but I have been using the Golf Logix app on my phone to track shots, suggest club selections, and track scores. It's been fine for all of these years but I am starting to look around to see if something better is out there.

Had a great fitting several years ago at my local Golf Tec. When we got to the end of the fitting I was told that I was borderline between Callaway Apex irons and Mizuno. The difference was about 3-4 yards and about 100rpm. The Mizunos were way cheaper and he had no problem with my decision. He also left me with the same driver and putter. Sadly he's left the area and I'm in need of a new set.

I'd be OK with a year-old club. My present set is more than a few years old and in bad need of replacement. Everything in my set is custom-fitted so I'd have the data on hand to see how much of a difference there would be. I can live with, say, 3 or 4 yards or 100-200 rpm if the year-old club would save me a reasonable amount of money (read more than $100).

Several years ago at Disney Magnolia in Orlando. On-season golf in Florida these days is not for those with limited funds. The course was in good shape and not really crowded for late spring but it still felt overpriced. I flushed the later thought out of my mind by shooting a more than respectable 78.

Still hanging onto my Mizuno JPX-825s now heading into a 9th season. Presently carry a 48 PW, 50 degree lob, 54 and 58 degree wedges. Noticed during my Trackman session last week that a full out swing with the 58 degree is barely getting me 9000 rpm with a new Pro V1. Me thinks its time for a new set.

Sadly, my bucket list has been rather stagnant for the last few years. It largely remains: St. Andrews, Pebble Beach, Oakmont, Bandon, Pinehurst. My wife has now acquired the European river cruise bug and doesn't play so I suspect that my golf bucket list will die with me.

My golf has evolved over the last two years. After moving from being a full-time Caregiver for my wife to being semi-retired I've almost completely given up weekend golf. It's too crowded and expensive. With one set of friends, we're on the tee box just after noon on weekdays. With the other, it's late afternoons trying to dodge leagues at local public courses.

My grandfather was a scratch handicap deep into his 60s and continued to play until he was 83. I was with him the day he shot his last round at even par sometime in his mid-70s. The smile on his face said everything. In his mind, he had just played a perfect round of golf. I've now reached the age where his game gently started falling apart and I'm watching friends forced to give up the game because it's too painful to tee it up I appreciate that I'm still out here and still trying to get better. I'd say more but I have a tee time at 5 Iron Golf. The season has begun.

I remember back a couple of years ago when the USGA and R&A "updated" the handicap system. It was supposed to make it simpler and encourage everyone to have a certified handicap. Then we discovered that meant the USGA took away the ability of clubs to handle handicaps in-house and suddenly there was a $45-60 membership fee for a USGA local. Many of us dropped our handicaps. Now the same people are telling me that a less dynamic ball will be good for the game. That it's fine if I can't drive a ball 250 anymore or that my present 7 iron water carry will be fine at a 5 iron. Their track record on these rulings has been out of touch with 99% of us who go play once a week. I suspect that companies like LostGolfBalls.com are going to make a fortune in the years ahead.

My Scotty Cameron Newport 2 is off-limits. I've kidded friends that I might be buried with the club. Since I won it at a club event almost 10 years ago not only has it not left my bag but I haven't seriously considered another putter. We'll see what happens at the next fitting but I imagine its staying.

I'm in the 30-40 round a year range, but I also wear my shoes at the range and occasionally even in indoor simulators. I normally game two pair of shoes so that if I am playing on back-to-back days I have a dry, clean pair. I also change the spikes at least once a year. Having said all of that it's not unusual for me to get four-five years out of a pair of shoes. My last two pair were Nike Lunar-Ion that finally lost enough stability that they were not playable. At the beginning of the season, I swapped them for two pair of Nike Victory Pro 2 shoes. We'll see how many rounds I can rack up with them.

I learned the etiquette of golf from my grandfather who taught me the game and by the country club where I caddied in high school. The club had a mandatory class for new caddies that covered everything and if you didn't pass you got sent home for the season. There was a "refresher" course during the season if you were reported a couple of times by members and, again, if you failed you were gone. It was seemingly little stuff to a kid like where to stand to keep your shadow out of the line of a putt and not to lean the end of the pin into the putting surface. But all of it made you aware that there was a proper way to play the game and you were expected to conform. I would hope that a high school golf coach would be mindful of teaching his players etiquette if for no other reason than how it reflects on him/her and their program.