chisag

... Ravens are even better cart raiders and very smart birds. I play all Summer at a course called The Raven and don't put food in my bag, because these sneaky Ravens have a better chance at eating it than I do.

... Homa takin' part in the EV Only challenge at the Scottish Open and providing the answer to "Dude, Where's My Car?"

... Knowing the science, I just don't take any chances with my golf ball. Wedge cut, bunker/tree rash or any other disruption to the surface and I take it out of play. I certainly understand those that keep them in play but I start every round with a new ball and if it gets any cover damage, no matter how small, it goes in my donate to First Tee box. Although I have never done any testing, again I trust the science. The entire article is an interesting read but I quoted a key statement: "Most golf balls have between 300 and 500 dimples, which have an average depth of about 0.010 inch. The lift and drag forces on a golf ball are very sensitive to dimple depth: a depth change of 0.001 inch can produce a radical change to the ball's trajectory and the overall distance it can fly." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-dimples-in-golf-ba/

.... Set your oven for 118* and stick your head in there and let me know how the dry heat works for you. It's kinda interesting because at 94* and single digit humidity it is very pleasant. But once you get to 110* it's just hot. 118* is too hot to be outside. I have leaned the heat is exponential over 110*. the difference between 107* and 110* is barely noticeable. The difference between 110* and 113* is very noticeable. And the difference between 113* and 116* is off the charts.

... 94*!?!?

Date 07/13/2023 Course Name #CobraMemberSpecial Gross Score 70 Course Handicap 0 Gross Strokes over/under par -2 Net Score to Par -2 Net Score 70 Net Birdies or better 2 Longest Drive 0

... Not by many the love guitarists. Watching Clapton's Guitar Specials every year Mayer was always included.

... The desert is calling you!

... I am so spoiled by desert courses. Doglegs you can't fly the ball over are really rare and double doglegs are non existent. At least the tees provided you some shade!

... Good point! You REALLY have to keep your eye on ole CFredo. He uses every trick in the book! Here he is at Disneyworld measuring for a ride where you have to be 47" tall.

... It would just be a ton of fun to play Irons Only from the Golds at 5181! Two of the par 5's measure 362 and 348 which is shorter than most of the par 4's I played. But with a 65.7 rating I would have to shoot my career low just to break even.

... CFredo wants to know which tees you played from. Here is CFredo teeing off from the girls forward tees in his Irons Only challenge. Crazy he swings so hard the rubber tee went as far as his ball but a nice follow through!

... What a great course for women too. My Sumer course is 5759 from the forward tees and rated 71.9/124 (I don't see many women playing here) and my winter course is 5442 and rated 71.6/120. They are both waaaaay too long for the average woman or super senior. Flagstone having an option at 5330 for the longer ladies but 4579 gives than a chance at pars and an occasionally birdie! One of my Snowbird pards and his wife from Canada play with me several times a week in the winter and while she is a good player, she rarely reaches a par 4 in two or a par 5 in three because 5442 is just too long. Your course rocks!

... I hate to burst your manly bubble, I really do but I think that 70.4/114 rating is for women. The Gold, Blue, White and Green ratings are for men. But if you identify as a women there's nothing wrong with that honey. (I had to give you a little bit of a hard time after being relentless with CFredo that obviously would have played the Reds at 4579 and then posted a net 52) ... I'l say this Shanks, I think this is a really tough challenge for a 26 index, especially with only a 6 iron as your longest club so you did really well! Not having expectations is a big key to improving. I'm sure people get tired of hearing it but the only way to play this game is one shot at a time. How you hit that shot dictates your next shot. So a par might be a good score or a double bogie might be a good score, depending on where each previous shot leaves you. It trains you mentally to focus on the shot at hand and not the last shot or the next shot. But you are making progress and that's what really counts!

... Oh I remember Sterling Hills very well and miss that course. If you are hitting your driver well, you can score and just a fun track. Great round!!!

... When I had not been playing very long I was with a 5 time Club Champion on a golf vacation and he sliced his drive into the trees. He had an opening that could get him somewhere around the green, another slightly larger opening to get back to the fairway gaining about 20 yds and a large opening if he played about 10 yds backwards into the fairway. He hit it backwards in the fairway and I was shocked. "Why would someone as good a ball striker as you not go for those openings?" It was my first big lesson in course management "I just missed a fairway that is 200 feet wide, why would I think I can hit it through an opening that's only 6 feet wide?"

... And then some!!! We had .02 inches of rain in March that didn't fall everywhere, so basically ZERO since February. I think even someone suffering from Aquaphobia is wishing for some rain here in the Valley Of The Sun.

... I only play afternoon golf and I don't walk when it gets over 100*. But doubt I could walk at 94* with high humidity. That said do you want to make a trip to Phoenix and join me this weekend? Only gonna be 116* Saturday and 118* Sunday with very low humidity. Better bring a sweater!

... Broadie's book Every Shot Counts was pretty revolutionary and exposed the myth of laying up to a specific yardage, and advancing the ball as far as possible gives you the best chance to score. That said there are other factors that come into play: Is there trouble in play like hazards or trees? Are you more comfortable hitting a full wedge than a partial shot? is there trouble on the side of your usual miss? How are you swinging that day? ... So for some advancing the ball as far as possible with a reasonable chance of success might be a 7iron as the longest club they have confidence hitting so that's the correct choice. Attempting a wood or hybrid or long iron if you have little confidence in those clubs is just a bad play. But if you do have confidence in your hybrids and fairway woods and hit them well, advancing it 220 when faced with 250 to the green is the smart play.

... Amen my man and I think you have exposed one of the reasons some pretty good players don't get to single digits. The game is and always will be both mental as well as physical. You never see a low index player hit a bad shot and then try and "make up for it" with their next shot. Every shot is an entity all its own and you play it the way it gives you the highest possibility to score. The amount of times I see high/mid index players attempt a shot that have far less than a 50% chance of pulling off is just astounding. Get back in position if faced with a shot you can't pull off at least 80% of the time. You still have a chance to save par but you can live with a bogie after a bad shot. It's the doubles/triples or worse when someone tries a hero shot that just wrecks a round ... and sometimes their confidence too.

... Yup, even if you don't score well these challenges are very eye opening. On the long 551yd par 5, I sometimes try to get too much out of my driver or advance a 5 wood too far and over swing juuuust a little, but enough to put me in a position I have to work around trees. Irons only I figured it would be a brutal hole but after a couple 200 yd 4 irons I was left with 145 to a front pin and hit an 8 iron to 10 feet and just missed the birdie. And I have struggled on that hole to make par with a driver and a 5 wood!

... No worries, you are not alone. I tried working with CFrdeo but he lacks patience.

... A different kind of focus I think. I played the front 9 with my best friend in Asheville NC and was 2 over. He had a miserable 9 and was feeing pretty down about it. I told him I would play him for dinner and all I could use was my 5 iron and putter. I shot even par on the back 9. I was a little surprised at how teeing off with a 5 iron, left me close to another 5 iron to the green. Two of the par 3's were 5 irons and the other two I just had to play a 3/4 shot. What was interesting for me was I realized how focused I had to be with every shot and maybe equally important is I had no expectations. It was a valuable lesson and changed my game for the better. ... I think it is the same with these challenges. I had been struggling with some physical issues that effected me mentally before the challenges started, and my first swing with my 205yd hybrid from 145 yards turned on a light bulb and I was out of my funk. We have the capability to hit all kinds of shots, yet we rarely do. Complacency is replaced by intention. So I think as long as our swing is in good shape, a sharper focus with no expectations is a really good combination for scoring.