GolfSpy_BEN

I’ll make you and the rest of the newbies proud!!!

Ah well, it’s the hope that kills you.
A heartfelt and sincere congratulations to these 6 wonderful contributors to this community! I will be following along with this thread and I anticipate great things to come. On a side note, I’ll be rooting for @CFreddie, as we joined the forum around the same time. Good luck gentlemen!

Number 18 a par 5 hit a nice drive, had 150 yds to clear the lake 260 to the green. Hit a worm Burner 3 wood short of the lake, had 178 left to the green. Hit 4 hybrid at middle of green, looked really nice. Can't find ball, looked in cup, it's in the hole for an eagle.

OK; here's a strange one that I have never experienced before, and I have been playing golf for 38 years and playing in golf leagues for almost that long.  Tonight, in one of my 9-hole leagues, I shot 35 (even par) with two birdies and an eagle (pasr-5 hole; driver, 8-iron and 18 foot putt). I also had two double bogeys.  I was playing against a 12-handicap (for 9 holes), who shot 41, and I got SMOKED.  Not only did I lose my match, all but one member of my team got beaten in similar fashion.  Only one golfer on my team shot higher than 40 (he had a 41), yet 5 of our 6 members lost their matches.  Only my #6 player, who has a 12 handicap and shot 40 for a net 28, won any points.  I have never seen almost an entire team shoot in the low to mid 30s as our opponents did tonight (with the exception of my 12-handicap opponent).  The majority of these guys are good golfers with 3 to 7 handicaps, but having every one of them shoot in the low to mid 30s was what I would call exceptional (or, more appropriately, UNBELIEVABLE!)

Not sure how much this counts but I walked seven holes on the back nine at River Heights today after dropping Owen off at work.  Started out with a triple bogey including the first of three 3-putts.  Settled down somewhat.  Driver was good except for one that I yanked left into the tree line.  Hybrids were great including a fantastic stinger save out of that tree line.  Irons were awful; hooking everything badly.  Wedges were bad save for one good lob over a bunker.  Putting was abysmal; 17 putts over 7 holes will not get the job done.  Skipped two holes to jump ahead of a couple really slow groups to finish par-bogey.  (+10) 37.  Given weather and other plans it might be my only opportunity this week.  

I’m momgamous with putters.I’ve owned 4 putters in 50+ years of playing.  All are still in the family.
Ping Anser which I bought new in 1968 for $20.  I still have and it is still usable with the original ping man grip.
Odyssey Rosie 2.  1st mallet purchased in 1998.  Used for 11 years. Grandson uses it now with a kid size shaft.
Ping Anser from 2010. Strong arc blade.  Used for 5 years and it stays in my office for me to practice my stroke indoors.
Odyssey 7 first 34 inch purchased 2015 and still use it. It needs to have a new grip or get a grip wrap soon.

How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?
Since I was 10 (24 years) / 0.1 HDCP currently (lowest handy ever is + 3)
What do you love about golf?
The Challenge, that when you think you have it close to figured out, something changes and makes you feel like you are back on square 1.
What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?
Information always seems very unbiased and useful.
Where are you from? What is your home course?
Belleville, IL (By St Louis) The Orchards Golf Club
What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?
The best thing is the number of courses, a lot of courses within an hour of home. The worse thing is that the prices just keep going higher and higher.
What do you do for a living?
Teacher
How’d you pick your user name?
Email and favorite number.

Played 18 at Majestic Springs yesterday afternoon. Breaking 80 came down to a 12’ putt on 18 (right speed, wrong line)and I tapped in for 80. Overall, I am encouraged. I hit the driver fairly well, including a 320 yd drive off the first tee that wound up pin high, off the green to the right. Also, my putting was steady and the work I have been putting in to get used to the mallet I added to the bag this winter, feels like it is starting to pay off. My misses were line related rather than distance control and that is a good feeling.  

Generally a 45/45 90 would be frustrating for me. Today though, I played a LPGA caliber course, in a tournament, and tournament conditioning.  I've never been on a golf course as immaculate as Saticoy CC was today.  I actually played pretty well, but I made the mistake of being above the hole on the greens too many times.  Something like 4/ 3-putts on the day + at least 4 doubles.  😑  My first putt was a 4 footer that broke heavily left to right.  I aimed 45 degrees left, put a 1" stroke on it, then watched it slide by and trickle out to 20'.  Slippery...  It finally got to the point where I realized that I could not go at the pin if I was above it.  I turned those downhill birdie putts into defensive lateral putts to flat areas closer to the hole.   It worked and the three putts stopped.  There was also a lot of elevation change and wind later in the day.  Tournament -- so no slope function allowed on the laser.  I did pretty well judging, but there's definitely a few strokes in there that I dropped because of it.  
Highlights on the day:
195 yard (playing 210-15?) 3 hybrid to 12' (unfortunately above the hole, but it was a par)
30 yard uphill greenside bunker shot to 1" for par.
Bunker shot over the lip to 2' to 'save' bogey
Lots of fun short game shots today.  The greens though slippery were relatively easy to read from a chipping perspective and I had one of my best days in a long time on short approach.   Plus, legit sand in the bunkers was a pleasure.  Its surprisingly easy to get the ball out when there's sand in bunkers and not compacted clay under dust.  
Pretty good day on a tough site unseen course in tough conditions.  
Par 3 with 110 ' of elevation drop and water.  This caused the group behind us a LOT of trouble.   150 Yards into the teeth of the wind.

Par 5 wrapping around the cliff edge.

Same Par 5 from the top of the hole.  (you can see the 50' downhill putt for birdie I have left)  

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I tend to pick a putter and stick with it. I played a Scotty Cameron California Monterrey from 2009 until December of last year. Before that, it was a used Scotty Newport from 2004-2009 and a Odyssey rossie that I inherited as a teenager and played from 1995 until I bought that first Scotty. 
 
This past winter I tried out an Evnroll ER7v and I liked it, so that is currently in the bag. Having played blades the past 20 years, there has been a little bit of a learning curve thus far, but I am pleased with its overall performance.
While I tend to be fairly monogamous about my putters, I did sign up for the LAB golf test, as their putters are so radically different from what I am used to, I would welcome the opportunity to compare and contrast how they might affect my game.

Used my new “Freddy Couples” swing today, and ended up at 79, not bad considering two dumb doubles. Lots of clean hits with slightly better distance. Also a slight baby draw on the well hit balls.
the swing consists of just picking up your arms then a little turn at the top, and then just letting it fall down into the ball. I’m sure it doesn’t resemble Freddy to anyone watching, but it feels good in my head…

I am still working shopping the title for this and will likely change it. 
Here is what this thread is meant to be about. What part of your game is trending? Up or down? As most all of us are amateurs and have streaky play at best or have areas that get hot or extremely cold I and I think the rest of us would love to hear about. 
For starters my biggest strength has always been putting. Hands down I feel as though I get on the green I am able to get a good 2 putt at worst. However recently it is certainly trending in the wrong direction. Pace is good and there are moments of brilliant putts, but I am 3 putting more often and making really bad mistakes on the greens. 
Trending upwards is my short game. My goodness it is on a high and thankfully it has masked a lot of the putting errors I have been having. 
Finally another downward trend is iron play. It just isnt there and it makes me wonder if I need to start spending more time on the range vs on the course... 

I tend to pick a putter and stick with it. I played a Scotty Cameron California Monterrey from 2009 until December of last year. Before that, it was a used Scotty Newport from 2004-2009 and a Odyssey rossie that I inherited as a teenager and played from 1995 until I bought that first Scotty. 
 
This past winter I tried out an Evnroll ER7v and I liked it, so that is currently in the bag. Having played blades the past 20 years, there has been a little bit of a learning curve thus far, but I am pleased with its overall performance.
While I tend to be fairly monogamous about my putters, I did sign up for the LAB golf test, as their putters are so radically different from what I am used to, I would welcome the opportunity to compare and contrast how they might affect my game.

This sounds like good fun, but the oldest has a soccer tournament in Oxford all weekend. I will keep an eye on this thread for when you guys make the southern swing of the Ohio MGS Am Tour. Lot of nice courses down Cincinnati way, just saying… If the weather holds out have a great round!

I tend to pick a putter and stick with it. I played a Scotty Cameron California Monterrey from 2009 until December of last year. Before that, it was a used Scotty Newport from 2004-2009 and a Odyssey rossie that I inherited as a teenager and played from 1995 until I bought that first Scotty. 
 
This past winter I tried out an Evnroll ER7v and I liked it, so that is currently in the bag. Having played blades the past 20 years, there has been a little bit of a learning curve thus far, but I am pleased with its overall performance.
While I tend to be fairly monogamous about my putters, I did sign up for the LAB golf test, as their putters are so radically different from what I am used to, I would welcome the opportunity to compare and contrast how they might affect my game.

A new set of clubs would help my libido so much...

Tied for my best round ever (scored both in the last 2 weekends!) and I am really feeling like I can do no wrong. Had a couple blowup holes that I recovered for double-bogeys. It's not very often that I don't score a triple or worse, but my greenside control has improved a little and has drastically improved my scoring. Also, putting is getting better while staying under a 2 putt average which is all I am looking for at the moment. It snowed on Saturday (04/22) about 3" but luckily my tee time was the following day at 3pm and the weather was sunny and 60 all day, so there was not even a drop of snow around the course AND the fairways weren't all muddy! My goal is to get below a 10hcp so I'm going to continue to push scoring and playing smart as I work towards that goal.

Played 18 at Majestic Springs yesterday afternoon. Breaking 80 came down to a 12’ putt on 18 (right speed, wrong line)and I tapped in for 80. Overall, I am encouraged. I hit the driver fairly well, including a 320 yd drive off the first tee that wound up pin high, off the green to the right. Also, my putting was steady and the work I have been putting in to get used to the mallet I added to the bag this winter, feels like it is starting to pay off. My misses were line related rather than distance control and that is a good feeling.  

Had my first lesson on Friday, in which we worked on my biggest weakness which was chipping, so I was eager to get out on the course this weekend. The rain on Saturday had other ideas for my weekend however. I was able to get out and walk the back nine yesterday. The weather was perfect, 70° and just a couple of clouds. Overall I played ok, one big blow up hole on a par 5 where i ended up slicing a bit and it caught a tree on the bend and shot back towards the front of the fairway, and then preceded to duff or mishit every shot all the way to about 40 yards from the green, where I chipped up and 2 putted for a quad. Putting was a big strength though, 14 putts through 9 and no 3 putts. Everything either went in or ended up within 2 ft of the hole for a nice tap in. Working my way towards my goal of breaking 90 this summer.
Double, bogey, par, bogey, bogey, quad, double, par, double. 49

46/47 93 oof. Played with @DiscipleofPenick at Windmill again. One of us dressed for the weather, the other (me) dressed like it should be spring in shorts, polo and sleeveless zip up vest...it sleeted and I couldn't feel my hands.

Also, this happened on 11 hitting out of thick rough. Mizuno has already been contacted.

Played 18 at Majestic Springs yesterday afternoon. Breaking 80 came down to a 12’ putt on 18 (right speed, wrong line)and I tapped in for 80. Overall, I am encouraged. I hit the driver fairly well, including a 320 yd drive off the first tee that wound up pin high, off the green to the right. Also, my putting was steady and the work I have been putting in to get used to the mallet I added to the bag this winter, feels like it is starting to pay off. My misses were line related rather than distance control and that is a good feeling.  

This sounds like good fun, but the oldest has a soccer tournament in Oxford all weekend. I will keep an eye on this thread for when you guys make the southern swing of the Ohio MGS Am Tour. Lot of nice courses down Cincinnati way, just saying… If the weather holds out have a great round!

This sounds like good fun, but the oldest has a soccer tournament in Oxford all weekend. I will keep an eye on this thread for when you guys make the southern swing of the Ohio MGS Am Tour. Lot of nice courses down Cincinnati way, just saying… If the weather holds out have a great round!

Played 18 at Majestic Springs yesterday afternoon. Breaking 80 came down to a 12’ putt on 18 (right speed, wrong line)and I tapped in for 80. Overall, I am encouraged. I hit the driver fairly well, including a 320 yd drive off the first tee that wound up pin high, off the green to the right. Also, my putting was steady and the work I have been putting in to get used to the mallet I added to the bag this winter, feels like it is starting to pay off. My misses were line related rather than distance control and that is a good feeling.