Hook DeLoft

I get the feeling a lot of jerks play your local course! It can become a spiral to the bottom. At some point, enough people don't replace divots, rake bunkers and fix ball marks that everyone just gives up and starts exhibiting the same bad behavior. I'm happy to say that everyone in my group does their part to keep the course in shape.

"Aye, there's the rub." -- Hamlet

My feeling is that golf, like life, isn't fair. If you want to know how good you are, play by the rules. If you are in an official competition, play by the rules. On the other hand, for casual rounds with friends, I agree with the author that you can play anyway you want. It's your time and money.

I remember Tiger's father saying if you really wanted to Tiger proof a course, you would make it shorter with wider fairways and low rough. That would nullify his advantages over the other players.

"...even if we move up a bunch we'll still be hitting more club to most greens". Depends on the course and conditions. I carry most of my tee shots around 210 yards. From the front tees at the course I play I have a 9 iron or less into almost all the par 4's and can reach all the par 5's if the fairways are firm. The front tees are around 5000 yards.

I don't necessarily agree with the article about which tees amateurs should be playing but it is an interesting take. I occasionally move up to the shortest tees at our course and enjoy it immensely. If I used this article as a guide, I would play the shortest tees every time. Of course, in just three years, I'll be moving up anyway, at least in my regular group. The reason I'm not sure I agree with the author's suggestion of which course yardage to play is the fact that hitting the ball a long ways is a skill in and of itself. At first glance, this might seem to contradict my being in favor of limiting distance for the best players. But, if the ball roll back works as intended (a big if) long hitters will still have an advantage. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/shocking-new-data-average-driving-distance-tee-boxes-pga-tour?uuid=982340801622498eb16abf989514a2d6

To the original question, whether I can leave a bad shot behind depends on the day. Some days I am relaxed before reaching the golf course and have a feeling of moving slowly. On those days I quickly get over a bad shot. Other days, I am easily distracted and feel unable to slow down. Those are the days when a bad attitude is hard to overcome. I really need to work on that.

It's obvious the Ravens are going to win the Super Bowl this year. Wait, that was last week.

I've somewhat understood the concept of the use of ground force in the swing, but I've never been able to understand how to actually incorporate it. This video really helps. What do you folks think?

Companies charge more for urethane covered balls. I'm wondering if the cover material is actually more expensive to buy and work with than an ionomer. I tried an internet search but couldn't find anything. I suspect the companies simply charge more for the performance. Which is ok. I am willing to pay more for the performance.

My question for the OP is, does your FIL give you 5 or 6 foot putts? If not, then he shouldn't expect you to give him those. In my group, we play a team game with modified Stableford scoring. We used to do "inside the leather" until we realized the distance between head and grip on one guy's putter was longer than everyone else's. Now, we have a mark on our putters that equals the distance of his "inside the leather." We basically don't play golf anyway. We improve our lies everywhere. Interestingly, the worst putter in the group, who has the yips on short putts, is the one who most grumbles about not putting out everything.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I started playing in the early '90s, most quality irons had pretty plain looking backs. The irons sold as part of package sets at KMart and Walmart had backs that looked like many current irons, including this new offering from Cobra. I'm sure they perform well but I can't help thinking they look cheap. Not that that has stopped me from owning some of the irons with the KMart backs.

Hey, I've been wrong before.

I've decided that it is most likely the new Tour Soft ball.

Good review! I'm really glad you're liking them. Give us an update in the spring after the weather improves.

I don't see how being a gym rat would hurt your golf swing as long as you work on your flexibility and core strength. The only negative I can think of is finding the time for both.

I don’t know if golfworks would be willing, but I would love to see tests of Maltby drivers and irons.

I would disagree that 5000 is a good target number for a 7 iron. I think closer to 6000 is needed for holding greens UNLESS your descent angle is steep. Anyhoo, your high spin is most likely the result of your out to in swing path with an open face. I agree that club face and path work is needed.

If you need more shaft lean with your irons, the Tour Striker club is great.

Love it!

I’m just an old fart with old fart taste in music. Get off my lawn!

I've thought of getting one of those, but I can't stand the music... I'm thinking of going with one of the well-reviewed ones on Amazon. I can always return it.

I'm wondering if anyone has had good luck with a cheap hitting mat. By cheap, I mean under $200, but the cheaper the better.

I started doing it earlier this year and find it works better than using a divot tool. Rarely can you even tell there was a ball mark there.

Great post. Years ago, my wife told me she didn't want to learn to play golf because she wouldn't enjoy doing something that she wouldn't be good at (excuse the grammar). Very sensible attitude.