Fighting Leprechaun

Have courage, Friends! It took me six friggen decades of playing golf before I finally made my first ace, last October. And fortunately it happened in front of witnesses, including a fellow looper, at my home course of Chambers Bay, so I didn’t have to worry about self-verification issues. Yours will happen when you least expect it, but it’s gonna happen!

The course where I caddie and also play most frequently has 7 different tee options, none of them colored red. The most forward tees have a total yardage of 5,100, but given the elevation and hazards on many holes, even that set plays longer. But despite us not having “Ladies Tees”, the majority of mid to high index males insist on playing from one or two teebox sets farther back than they should. Then they struggle to break 100, and complain about the course being “unfair”! Purely ego-driven. I caddied for a decent player from the east coast, two separate rounds. The first day he insisted on playing one tee box forward of the tips, and shot 94. Bummed out, said he wasn’t looking forward to coming back. Round 2, I led him to the next forward set of tees; he played to his handicap, had a great time, and shot 76. And have many here pointed out, pace of play really suffers when golfers don’t play from the appropriate tees.

Which type of tees I use depends on the clubs I’m playing. Hickories are paired with bamboo pegs. My 1960-vintage Hogan irons and persimmon woods get either bamboo or my Broken Tee Society hardwood tees. But when I’m gaming my modern clubs, it’s a combination of martini tees (great for windy conditions!), and the aforementioned Flexhead tees…super bright colors make them easy to retrieve, so I don’t piss off the grumpy fun police types who whine about slow play caused by golfers spending a couple of extra seconds looking for plastic tees, instead of littering every teebox with broken wooden pegs.

Although I don’t know if they are still available, the Galway Bay lined rain trousers have proven to be very comfortable during the Fall/early winter golf season in the Seattle region. They’re just right for temps between the low 40s to the high 50s, whether it’s wet or dry.

Reading this post and resulting comments triggered my impulse buying response, and I’m very happy with the outcome! Found a Hy-Wood with my desired specs on sale at an online retailer, delivered two days later. Took it to work with me, hit 30 shots on the range before my caddie loop. 28 of 30 went 200-plus yards, with a slight draw or fade. I chunked one, topped the other. Four days later, played 18 with the Hy-Wood in use on almost every hole. Boom! Deep rough? No problem. Uphill, downhill, side hill lie? 95% success rate. It’s in my bag from now on, including during my upcoming two-week golf trip to Ireland this summer! Thanks to all y’all for publicizing the existence of this awesome club!

As a Player Assistant/Starter at a walking-only links style course, I often see a number of issues creating slower* than normal play: *"Slower than Normal" on our course is defined as 5.5-6 hours to complete 18 holes. 1. Playing from the wrong tees. If your average drive is 200 yds, and you're not consistently striking the ball from the fairway, you shouldn't be playing from the tips. 2. Not playing with intention: You've seen those foursomes who cluster around each other instead of heading for their own ball, and hit 10+ "mulligans" per round. This slows the pace substantially for every group behind them. (And if you launch your ball onto hillsides, or waste areas, consider taking a drop with a penalty stroke, instead of taking four attempts and five extra minutes to get out of the rough stuff.) 3. Sticking with "honors" on the tee, and "who's away" through the green. Play "Ready Golf", with courtesy, awareness, and communication. 4. Stay in contact (1 or 2 shots behind) the group ahead of yours, rather than keeping just ahead of the group behind. And if a marshal/ranger/player assistant/starter requests that you pick up your pace, please don't respond with, "We paid our green fees, and we're going to take as much time as we want!" Believe me, you can still have a relaxing, fun round of golf even with following these guidelines, and so will the players lucky enough to be behind you!