MWL_9

During one of their sales around the holidays, I picked up a 3 wood headcover from Seamus. It looks great, seems to be high quality, and not bulky at all. Highly recommend!

I didn't have any goals going into 2021, but I dropped my handicap from 6.4 to 5.0, made a lot of upgrades to my bag, and was much more consistent scoring wise. My 2022 goals: 1. play more 2. practice more/better 3. lower my handicap into the 3's 4. break par on a round of 18 (broken par on 9, but +1 is my best for 18) 5. hole in one

I have been using a TaylorMade Spider for the last few years, but have been wanting to go back to a blade. When I originally switched to the Spider, it really helped my putting. I think it was partially because I was starting to learn more about technique and get better at the game and partially because of the weight. My putter before that was a Taylormade Rossa blade, which was pretty light. Without being 100% sure if I'd prefer the blade, I didn't want to spend $300 on a new putter. Right before Christmas, I got lucky on eBay and purchased my new putter- Mizuno M Craft I in blue. Brand new and came with the weight set. I was going back and forth between getting it in black or blue. I couldn't find one locally to try out/see in person so I took a chance on getting it in blue and I am glad I did! I love the look of it! After hitting a few putts in my hallway, I love the way it feels! I could definitely feel the difference even before I went back and forth between the two putters hitting putts. I think I'm going with the middle weight set (8's). The light weight set (3's) was decent, but I like the additional weight that the 8's provided. The heavy weight set (13's) made putts feel more like a thud that I didn't like. I'll have to get it on the course to see distance control with the different weight sets though. The one thing I might change is the grip. It came with a smaller, hard Mizuno black grip. I liked the thicker, softer SuperStroke on my Spider, but I will try it out for a little before changing grips. I paid $155 + $15 shipping so even if I end up preferring the mallet, I can resell this and not take much of a hit, if at all.

I'm hoping they will do another run of them because I'd love to pick one up!

My wife got me a Top Golf gift card, UA polo and 1/4 zip. My parents gave me a TXG towel, a No Laying Up polo, and a US Amateur polo (grew up and live about 10 minutes from Oakmont CC) - I may have helped with selecting these items haha With some luck on eBay, I gave myself a new putter for $155 + $15 for shipping

I recently picked up a TXG ball marker during their black Friday sale so I'll be putting that into the rotation next year

For $2000, I'd plan a golf trip in Florida during MLB spring training

I am going to give 5 wedges a try for the beginning of next season. PW - 45* P790, 130-145 yards AW - 50* P790, 115-130 yards 52 - Cleveland RTX4, 95-110 yards 56 - Cleveland RTX4, 0-95 yards I'm adding a 60 degree as a final club in my bag. I had an older hybrid, but it was being overlapped on distance by my new 4 and 5 irons. Although I have a gap between 4 iron and 3 wood, I rarely find myself in that range. I'm sure a new hybrid or driving iron would take care of that gap, but I think I'd get more use out of a 60 degree wedge around the green. That TXG video came out at the perfect time because I was just discussing wanting to dial in partial wedge distances for next season. The matrix is a great and simple way to accomplish it.

I dropped my unofficial handicap to 5.0 to finish the year. I don't belong to a country club, play in any events, etc. so never got an official handicap. I just keep an Excel spreadsheet with my scores for the year. Last year was the first year I tracked all of my scores and I finished at 6.4 so I'm definitely trending in the right direction. My goal is to be a 4.0 (or lower) for my President's Cup trip in September.

I play 9 after work once a week with my dad. If it is cooler out, we will walk. There are not a ton of courses in Pittsburgh that you would want to walk or are even allowed to.

I'm currently at 3 (Callaway driver & 3 wood), Taylormade (irons & putter), and Cleveland (wedges)

Recently added Apple TV. We just binge watched Ted Lasso and are a few episodes into the Morning Show. Highly recommend both!

I purchased Arccos at the end of June/early July and I'm a big fan. It has definitely helped my game for two main reasons - 1. getting accurate distances for my clubs (I've never done a true gapping session and got new P790s last fall) 2. the caddie feature on each shot that tells you the distance, adjusted distance (takes into account elevation change, wind, temperature, altitude, humidity), and recommended club based on your distances. I had some issues the first few weeks with the app not picking up shots, but I haven't had a missed shot in 2+ months. I don't know if it just needs to get acclimated or what, but no issues since then. The one thing that is not real accurate is the putting. I usually double check to make sure the putts are accurate after each hole, but I have the app up to see the next hole and it's a quick tap of a +1 on the putts. **They just put out or are putting out an improvement to the putt tracking I got the sensors that you screw into the end of your grips. I did not get the belt clip because from what I've read, it's the first model and a number of people are having issues. You do need to keep your phone in your front pocket. It took me a few rounds to get used to that.

I was looking at this same bag and was holding out for an offseason sale until I saw your post - THANK YOU! I bought it in black and received it much quicker than I expected. I've walked two rounds with it and have been very happy with it. It looks great, enough pockets for everything I take on the course, light, individual slots for each club, water resistant, and I saved $100 over some of other bags I was looking at. I typically walk my weekly 9 in the spring and fall, but this is the first bag I have carried instead of using a push cart. I'm having no issues as it's a light comfortable carry. Yes, the zippers are a little tighter due to it being a water resistant bag, but I personally don't see it as a big deal. I have not had any issues opening/closing the cooler zipper with one hand while carrying the bag, which was a concern for me. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a new bag!

I wear a glove for driver through 6-7 iron, no glove for the rest unless I'm in deep rough. I don't wear my wedding ring while golfing.

I typically toss my hat in the sink and drench it for a few minutes after each round. It seems to be giving the hats a longer shelf life

Use whatever works for you - I've always used a baseball grip since I grew up playing baseball. The only thing I have adjusted is either strengthening or weakening my grip.

I don't understand why people get so worked up about some people using iron covers. Worry about your own bag *this can be said about a lot of things in life these days though My old bag, the irons would click together when they were in my car so I got cheap iron covers just to stop the annoyance when I was driving. For whatever reason, I haven't noticed it as much with my new bag.

I'll take the major

A friend and I are planning a trip down to the President's Cup next year. Any must play courses or hidden gems in the Charlotte area? We are going to start looking at the various top 10 lists online, but figured I'd ask here as well. Any local breweries, bars or restaurants that we must try? Schedule: Thur: travel (I'm driving in from Pittsburgh, he is flying in from Philly), play 18 Fri: play 36 OR play 18 and brewery hop around town Sat: attend the President's Cup Sun: play 18, travel home Thur and Sun need to be near the Charlotte airport. We have a hotel booked by the airport. We do want to play at least one round in South Carolina so we can add that state to our lists of states we have played in. Thanks in advance!

Will do - appreciate it! When we went down in the spring for our anniversary weekend, I played The Links at Lighthouse Sound, which I was a big fan of and I believe is under the same management/ownership as Rum Pointe and a few others. Unfortunately, Lighthouse Sound and some of the other local coursers were booked most of the week. I guess there were/are a lot of end of summer golf packages going on. I ended up at Bear Trap Dunes because we spent the afternoon at the outlets (no sales tax in Delaware). The wife got some work down and then a little shopping while I was golfing so it all worked out. Also why I didn't play the third 9 haha

Just got back from a week vacation with my wife in OCMD. I got two rounds in. The first was at Rum Pointe (gorgeous course - highly recommend). It was challenging, especially with a strong, inconsistent wind. I shot a 81 from the blue tees with 4 balls OB. Overall, I played well - pretty strong off the tee, irons were good, solid around the green, but didn't get anything to drop. A little unlucky with 2 of the balls OB due to wind dying or picking up as I hit. A 3rd OB was a 3 wood that I started in the fairway of the neighboring hole and it was still blown into the water after a big bounce in the middle of fairway. Best shot of the round was a 211 yard par 3 that I hit a low 5 iron to pin high. Unfortunately left the putt on the high edge as I thought the wind would turn it a little more. Funniest shot was the next par 3, where I hit a 7 iron pin high, but 30 yards right of the pin because it was a little spinny and the wind took it. My second round was at Bear Trap Dunes (highly recommend - not a "resort" course on the water). There are three 9's and I played the Grizzley and Kodiak courses. I tried playing the third 9 (Black Bear), but would have had to wait another hour to tee off so decided to pass. I had my best round of the year 73 (+1) from the white tees. I was hitting some putts when they asked if I wanted to get out 30 min early. The three guys I was joined with already teed off so I just played from where they were. Course is short so you have to be strategic and accurate off the tee otherwise it's going to be a difficult round. Most of the holes had bunker(s) cut in around 220-250 yards so I didn't touch my driver all day. You could try to go over the bunker(s), but it gets pretty narrow afterwards with either water, trees, rough, or more bunkers. It was mostly 4, 5 or 6 irons off the tee unless it was dead into the wind, then I used my 3 wood. If I was playing off the blue tees, I still wouldn't have used my driver, just more 3 woods. I played very well - accurate off the tee, strong iron play into the greens, had a chip in, couple of up and downs, and even made a few putts. Always a plus when you end the round with the same ball you started it with! It dropped my (unofficial) handicap to 5.8, which is the first time I've been below a 6. I enjoy and typically play better on courses where I'm forced to figure out what to hit off the tee instead of just mindlessly grabbing the driver out of the bag

I ride most of the time, but will carry/push cart occasionally in the spring/fall. I just purchased a Big Max Dri Lite Summit. It just arrived and although I haven't had it out on the course yet, it's everything I wanted - looks great, water resistant, easy to clean, enough pockets for everything I carry, much lighter than my previous cart bag, stand system looks to be sturdy and reliable, and 14 club dividers. I found it on Costco's website for $140. Typically it is $230 from Big Max's website. Overall, the reviews on various websites are very strong.

Very good question there - currently, I'm debating on what to do for club #14. I have an old 3H, but my new irons overlap it in distance so it isn't used. I'm debating on a 5W, 3H, or 60 degree wedge. I need to see the distances on the new 5W and 3H. I'm probably going to go 5W with club #14 so I'd add the 60 degree wedge for club #15.

In my bag: 2 golf gloves (attached to outside of bag), balls (sleeve of new ones, handful of gently used ones, and handful of found ones), tees, ball marker/divot tool, black or blue sharpie, 2 Gatorade towels, club brush, range finder, tool to adjust driver Advil, tums, athletic tape, Icy Hot, bug spray, suntan lotion Umbrella, short sleeve rain jacket (keep a long sleeve waterproof jacket and pants in my car - I'm the one driving 99% of the time so can easily grab them if forecast calls for it), rain hood for bag In the cart: keys, wallet, chap stick, eye drops, water/gatorade, snack (granola bar of some sort most likely), portable cell phone charger, sunglasses case, cigar w/ cutter and lighter