M3S2

I got 11 holes in the other day, literally lived this comment. Two birdies from a 205 and a 195 approach shots (abnormal), three double bogeys, all from pitch shots <25 yds. According to Shot Scope from the last year, driving/tee shots are my strength.

Lot’s of great stuff here. My meager contribution is a finer point on the kettlebell recommendation. Kettlebell windmills. I stared doing them more for flexibility than strength, but you get both. I’m going to progress in weight now that I’m able to flatten my hand on the ground (left side was extremely tight compared to the right, so I had to work into it) and start doing some bent presses to see what they do for me.

This here, 100%. I’ve played the game off and on for over 30 years. I started out just having fun, blissfully ignorant of how to swing or play “properly”, just hit it hard and go hit it hard again. Then I got the idea to get “good”, but didn’t approach it in any moderately productive way. Extreme frustration set in, no more fun. Stepped back and decided to use it as a venue to drink beer and hang out with friends, fun again. Life got in the way, so I didn’t play for ~7 years. A work scramble inspired me to dust the clubs off, hooked again. I’ve been back for three years now. I committed up front to play strict rules of golf (no more “preferred lies” or “I’ll just drop one here”) and pursue improvement in a structured way. That approach, enabled by greater maturity, has allowed me to go from 32 to 17 HI, but more importantly, have a framework that gives me to confidence to fix things when they inevitably go awry. So that brings me to the quoted portion. Now that I feel like I have to tools to fix what’s wrong, I’m not frustrated when a round goes sour, I’m excited to get back at it again. If it goes well, I can do better next round.

Me too, unfortunately no others have had that much impact, although a $39 4 wood was really showing promise this year, got off the ground and went straight consistently, but ballooned too many shots to stay. Fortunately, the honeymoon with the wedge is not fading, so I may have chosen wisely. Almost everything in my bag was bought used; local shops, eBay, 2nd Swing Golf. I’ve had good luck with online used purchases as far as condition, being authentic, etc. But I buy online by exception, prefer to see and touch before purchasing.

Mack Daddy CB 56* following a failed relationship with a Full Toe Raw 56*. Short game has been a struggle. One of the few, if not only, times an equipment purchase had an immediate, clear impact on performance. -4.51 short game strokes against my benchmark handicap over 17 rounds with the FT Raw to -.67 in the first 27 holes with the MD CB. Probably mostly mental, but it was worth the $89.

You can sign up for email alerts for Callaway Preowned. They are constantly running 20-30% off sales on different types of clubs. You won’t have to wait long on a putter sale. Can confirm the quality from them. Bought a wedge last year, better condition than expected.

Good luck!

I think around 5 pm is pretty common. All matches start between 5 and 5:30 pm in my area, depending on the course. I’m fortunate to have some flexibility in my work schedule, so I usually can make it with time for a proper warm up. Sometimes I’m running right up to tee time. I’ve played in 4 different leagues in my area and all are straight tee times, not shotgun. I’ve not had the need to, but understand that the Spark folks behind the app are pretty responsive (email/text). People have got them to add them after registration is closed, remove them from a match after registration closes for valid reasons (usually lose the registration fee if you drop out after closing), etc. You might be able to get you the last tee time to allow you more time. Tee times and pairings are usually generated by the app, using a logic I’ve yet to divine, but there could be human intervention. Additionally, the leagues I’ve played, players are pretty lax with tee times and pairings. “Hey, I need to get done early tonight, can I go off first?” Go for it. “We would rather play with so and so, can we switch?” Go for it. You might be able to leverage the vibe of the league to start later (with the blessing of the starter, of course). The app scoring allows that The problem is the single or team that needs to get out before their paired team arrives, then miraculously comes in at 13 under…….(yes, I’ve witnessed that, 2 person, best ball team net for 9 holes, with the “best” player getting 12 strokes, not common, but it has happened)

I am in my second year of playing Spark Golf. I would recommend giving it a try. I really want to play more formal, 18 hole tournaments, but work during the week and can’t give up weekends. So Spark gives me a 9 hole, weekday evening competitive outlet. Pros: Simple, convenient and easy to use. Everything is coordinated through the app; registration, payment, tee times/pairing, scoring, points/standings, skins payment, etc. I can play three nights a week across 5 courses between work and home. I don’t, I play in one league, but the option is there Flexible in that you can play as a 2 person team or single and can play a single league at one course or different courses. There are individual league and regional standings Relaxed and encourages pace of play, priority is enjoyable environment with an element of competition. OK for high handicappers. Everyone I’ve played with has been cool, ranging from total beginner hacks to scratch golfers Cons: There are going to be cheaters, but the handicapping system accounts for that as good as possible (best 2 scores of last 5). Certainly not unique to Spark and as with all golf competitions, if you play against the course and yourself, you’ll be happy Not “pure” competition in that preferred lies in the fairway and playing OB/lost ball as lateral hazards are standing league rules. No prizes beyond a belt for winning your league for the season and skins pot of $1 per player that comes from the fee (not optional, not additional). I’ve won skins ranging from $.68 to $8. This is not an issue for me. However, the skins are net, which grates on me, but not a big deal. Hope this helps.

Adding my experience onto other feedback. I just bought 4 dozen 2021 Maxfli Tour yellow from Golfworks @ $24.99+ tax & shipping, came to $29 per dozen. I did a trial run of the Maxfli Straightfli to replace the Maxfli Tour this spring. At 100+ driver SS, I found it short off of the driver, wash with the irons, long (springy) off of the wedges and putter. No go for me. Limited play with the Srixon Softfeel this spring, but played side by side with the Maxfli Tour and it compared favorably, but not enough to get me to change. Would recommend over the Straightfli.

Great thread to resurrect. 1. Yes, Maxfli Tour and Tour X golf balls. I’ve been playing them exclusively, aside from occasional trial runs of other balls, since returning to the game ~3 years ago. Not a hard sell, as I liked Maxfli balls in the late ‘90s, but with them being a house brand after falling out of favor, I would have felt like I was leaving something on the table picking them up again without the test results. No specific club purchases, but my clubs are circa 2008-2009, with the exception of wedges and a Callaway utility wood, so I’m not much of a club shopper. 2. Refined my thinking about how to evaluate equipment performance and make choices. Greatly increased my overall golf “IQ”. 3. Yes, my scores and handicap have been improving. Mixture of many things, but using the same ball, for play and practice, has contributed a great deal. 4. Immensely. I’ve begun to play in competitions now and enjoy the increased consistency (still working on how to score). The game is more fun when you hit a bad shot and have some level of understanding of why it occurred. Went many years lost in the wilderness.

Thanks for the heads up on this deal. It resulted in me ordering an Ogio Woode 8 hybrid to replace a ~13 year old Ogio of similar design that has pocket seams tearing. I was ready to pull out needle and thread… Reviews of the woode 8 indicate problems with the organizer material, but they say they’ve improved it in the ‘23 model. For the price with that code, it was worth risking not heeding review warnings. Primarily to used with a push cart and occasional riding cart. Don’t need a staff bag and don’t carry, so good design for my needs.