pozzim

Tim putted much better with the LAB putter this time around compared to our previous few rounds about a month ago. He looked much more comfortable and confident with it. Sure there were some where the speed or the read was wrong but there was no avoiding that with the 2 courses that we played, Finkbine in Iowa City and Blue Top Ridge in Riverside, IA.

What the Cut Number Will Be: +3 What the Highest Round of the Week Will Be: 83

Golf is such a ridiculous roller coaster. Thank goodness for memories like this!

Regarding Tim's @pozzit round on Saturday...42 putts for him definitely was ugly. Since I wasn't testing the club but just playing with someone who was testing it, here are a few observations: > I like the look and feel of the LAB putter, which of course is important when you are considering a new purchase. > The putter was fitted to Tim but not to me, so when I hit some putts using the LAB it wasn't necessarily indicative of how a LAB would work for me. > Tim is not a great putter but he is a pretty good solid putter. And he can get on hot streaks like all of us. > The greens were tricky, both in dialing in line and speed, but we've played the course before and managed the greens decently. I had trouble getting the speed on longer lag putts the 1st 3 holes, and made a decision to make an in-round adjustment. I putt with a left hand low grip, but for longer lag putts I switched to a standard grip. The result was an immediate improvement with some really really good lag putts that continued the entire round. if you are testing this club...are you open minded to in-round adjustments or not? (And of course I know that some players never make any adjustments to their putting grip, stance or set-up...) > If I had witnessed Tim blowing me away with his putting- I would surely have had to consider whether I need to consider buying this putter. But instead, his poor putting performance created a lot of doubt in my mind. -If I bought this club would I need to commit to a long learning curve? In the middle of my golf season would I be willing to do that, possibly sacrificing good scoring in my weekly league and weekend rounds? Especially if the potential payoff is not guaranteed? > How much better would my putting need to be to justify the cost of this putter. An analogy here is that I know brand new ProV1's are probably the best available ball I can play and I mostly do play them, but I rarely spend the money to buy them new. I buy used ProV1's, I play a mix of balls, and I manage to find a lot of lost ProV1's on the course. So....I guess for me - to spend $600 for a new putter it would have to offer some fairly quick and significant benefits. Just some random thoughts...

So it was early April of maybe 2000 or 2001...we're on a buddy golf trip with 12 guys to the Asheville, North Carolina area. We are getting ready to play our morning round at Reems Creek in nearby Weaverville. The starter is giving us pointers about the course and what to expect. As he finishes up he says "Oh, and be careful of the crows, we grow them really big down here. They might even take something off your cart." We all kind of shrug and laugh at the starter's exaggeration...sure, whatever. So, our group get's to the 1st hole and as we're standing on the tee box waiting to hit - a crow lands on my cart, gets into the front dashboard area where you put your keys and wallet, and removes a full unopened King Size Snicker bar and flies off with it. Holy Cow! We were all stunned and laughing like crazy at what we just saw. Did that really happen? Fast-forward to the #10 tee box. As we pull up there are a bunch of bushes to the right of the tee box. From the bushes we could hear a ton of very loud bird noises that just went on and on. We determined that this is obviously where the Snicker party was taking place! Fast forward to that night at the hotel, I called home to check in, and I was telling the story to my 12 year old son Tim ( @pozzit ) . I was sure he would be amazed, but to my surprise he says "Dad, it's Lent, I thought you gave up chocolate for Lent?" Gulp! Silence. Uh...Uh... He then says "God sent that crow!" Yes, I guess he did! Two Quick Short stories: #1 - Mid 1980's, I'm in my mid 20's. I'm not yet a very avid golfer or very good. I'm playing with my Dad and my Uncle in my Dad's work golf outing. We get to a par 3 hole. I address the ball. Just before I hit I hear my Dad call out "What are you hitting?" Without looking up I say "7-iron". He responds "Not Enough club!" I still haven't looked up, now I'm angry, and I decide to hit anyway. My shot stops 2 feet-3 inches away from the hole, which ends up winning me the closest to the pin prize for that hole. Of course this made me feel like I finally showed up the old man! I was a lot less full of pride when I sent the first putt over the edge 3 feet long, and left the next putt sitting on the lip. Yep - I won closest to the hole and still 3-putted for a bogey. Ouch! #2 - In 1992 we have a small very informal work golf league at the "old" 9 hole University of Notre Dame Burke Golf Course. We're on the putting green warming up before our round. (The putting green is close to the #9 green.) As we're putting we look up and Lou Holtz, then the Notre Dame Head Football Coach, walks off the #9 green by himself, stops right next to us and says "If you get the ball on the green and can't get it in the hole it's like getting it inside the 10 yard line and not being able to score." Then he just shrugs and walks away. A cool memory from Notre Dame's glory days!

Bring it on! :-) In the immortal words of Mike and Eli...Let's Go Let's Go! #LGLG

Congratulations Tim! Of course I know why you are so excited about the chance to deploy cutting edge putting technology: So that you can "always" beat your Dad! Signed, Dad