NYJayhawk

Got paired up with a guy doing this recently. It's like a lacrosse stick that launches the ball overhand with a carry of about 150 yards, and a lot of roll. On long shots, this guy was probably getting 175. Pros: Ball goes dead straight. Barring a bad roll out, you'd never have to worry about not being in the center of the fairway. Ditto for the underhand chips. Imagine standing 10 yards off the green and being allowed to toss the ball underhand toward the hole. You'd get up and down a LOT more often this way. Good revenue source for golf courses who need to fill up tee times as it opens things up to non-golfers (more on that later). No damage to the golf course. No divots and unless you really screw up, you won't be in the sand. Also the flat trajectory of the flight reduces pitch marks on greens. Fast play. No club selection to worry about, not a wide variety of shots to try, and you'd have to be REALLY bad to ever lose a ball. Expand the game: just like Top Golf or indoor golf simulators, this provides an additional access point to introduce people to the game and (hopefully) keeps it healthy going forward. Cons: It's quite simply NOT golf, so playing "with" a "fling golfer" in the group raises some issues, and everyone needs to understand this. To me the closest comparison I can draw is the ski/snowboard battle that was waged in the 1980s-90s before snowboarding was more commonly accepted. During that time period, there was very much a "skier vs. snowboarder" mentality, and both sides fed the animosity. Skiers felt like they were being "invaded" by punk kids on board, and boarders often took on the "rebel" attitude and exacerbated the issue. Today, it's really not an issue and participants and resorts have figured out that everyone can co-exist and be happy doing their thing. The problem, I believe, is that if you're the "new" sport coming into the established sport's venue, you need to behave like a guest rather than an invader. For golf, I'd recommend that "fling golfers" really bone up on their golf etiquette and adhere to golf's sometimes-quirky traditions while they're out there. Over time, things will continue to evolve if/when the sport gains popularity, but in the short run, if you're one of the only people doing it, you need to stick to what makes golfers comfortable. Fair? Probably not. Too bad. You're outnumbered for the time being.

I hate slow play. The only thing I hate more is when nothing is done about it. Recently (public course) it was crowded and slow (5 1/2 hour pace). I asked one of the rangers about it and he responded with, "they paid, so there's not much we can do." I almost lost it. By that same logic, as long as I pay for my food, I can raise a ruckus in a restaurant and disturb other diners, because I paid the check. Or I can go to the theater and shout at the performers and ruin everyone's night because I paid for my ticket. I'm sorry, that excuse doesn't cut it. You paid to play golf, but you DIDN'T pay to disrupt the other 140 people on the course who you're holding up. I used to belong to a semi-private course and they had what I thought was an excellent policy. When you teed off, you were given a stamped time card by the starter. When you walked off 18, you returned the card to the starter. If you played in 4:20 or better, OR finished within 10 minutes of the group ahead of you, you were fine. If you didn't, you were given a warning, and the next "bad time" would result in you being blocked from getting an early morning tee time on weekends. You could still play, but you'd be going off around noon. If you were able to demonstrate a certain number of "good times" going forward, you could be reinstated into morning tee times. The system worked great, and slow players just adjusted to playing later in the day. I would think that this same policy could be adopted by municipal courses. They have your ID anyway, and as long as they clearly state the policy, it could be easily enforced. Further, I strongly believe in empowering rangers to enforce the rules. If you're out of position, give them the authority to tell groups that they need to pick up and move to the next hole. If they give the ranger any flack, kick 'em off the course and/or call the cops. My guess is that it wouldn't take very many "enforcement actions" before people would get the message.

How do you feel about somebody blowing cigar/cigarette smoke in your face? How do you feel about somebody interrupting a conversation you're having? Typically, I fall into the "MY rights extend only as far as they interfere with YOUR rights" mentality. If somebody is going to light up a stogie, cigarette or joint and has a cart mate, it's polite to ask if your partner would be bothered. If we're walking or I'm in another cart, no need to ask. Music is the same thing. I'm personally not a fan, despite the fact that a.) I'm a musician and b.) I really love music. What I may NOT love, however, is your playlist. Nor can I expect you to like mine. So if somebody asks, I'll usually say ok, but my preference would be that you just use earbuds than making me enjoy your playlist.

Hi everyone: New to the forum and looking forward to interacting with everyone. Been playing off and on for 40+ years and started taking lessons when I was in elementary school. Took a few years off in HS/College and got back into it as an adult. 14 handicap as of today. What do I love about it? Hard to explain. Golf provided me with the best job I ever had (caddy as a teenager). Golf provided me with an opportunity to spend a lot of great time with my dad. Now it's a bunch of little things. It's opened doors for me and allowed me to meet people and do things I wouldn't have otherwise been exposed to. Love hitting the rare "perfect" shot when everything comes together. What brings me to MyGolfSpy: been reading reviews for years. Interested in getting involved in testing and talking golf with others. I grew up in Michigan and Kansas City but live in suburban NYC now. Home course is Maple Moor Golf Course (county course) in Westchester County, NY. Only about 5 miles from Winged Foot so pretty much the same thing, right? Best thing: lots of golf courses. Worst thing: private clubs are completely unaffordable for 99% of players. Seemed that club membership was a lot more accessible in other parts of the country. Marketing executive. NYJayhawk (username) reflects my current life and where I've lived for over 30 years (NY) and where I came from and went to school (Kansas).

Just had this debate with a group planning a 'competitive' outing along with the topic of footprints in bunkers. With divots, I've always felt that it's the "rub of the green". Moreover, giving relief from divots provides an actual advantage if you hit into one. Let's say we're both side by side in the fairway 100 yards from the hole. You're in a divot, but since we're playing a municipal course with somewhat sketchy maintenance I'm in a small, bare, depressed spot that isn't marked as ground under repair, but is also not a divot. Now you have an unfair advantage. If we're both playing it down, there's no debate. Similarly (and venturing slightly off topic) some of the group want to provide relief in a bunker if your ball is in an unraked footprint. Again, this provides an unfair advantage of hitting into such a print. My moving the ball, you are rewarded with essentially a "pristine" lie in the bunker, which you'd have no expectation of getting if you hit into the bunker and the footprint hadn't been there. The footprint might have saved you from a fried egg, or from rolling into a more awkward spot toward the edge of the bunker. Without knowing what "would have been" being rewarded with a perfect lie seems like too much relief. Additionally, not all footprints are created equal. Some cause no issues at all. Finally, it seems uneven to provide relief from a footprint, but not "bad rake jobs", pitch mark from another shot, or other maintenance issues that aren't caused by feet.