Clayton

I’m re I’m ready!!!!!

Here is mine for both sorry it took so long to post.

I’ll take halved for that round. Had some problems…

@GolfSpy TCB got my first round in yesterday. Here is the score. I’ll be getting in the next one Monday.

No need. We will just do our very best and KILL it! We are part of the mafia after all.

Looking forward to this. I just played a super tough course and it killed me. So I'm probably due for a good one next time, when it counts!!! Too much lifting at the gym and a sore back = bad turn etc. Dang it.

Was just checking in on this. So still waiting for product. Darn!

He made us an offer we couldn’t refuse… youse guys better watch it too!

Can't wait for "the games to begin" Thanks for fitting me in team MGS and @Bucky CC. I'll do my best to help my teammates @dback and @DonnieGolfs.

Oh darn, I should have joined when I made the first post. I had thought you guys wanted a "for sure" entry and didn't want to steal a spot from someone else if I couldn't commit. Oh well, hopefully I'll still get in.

So, I spoke to the boss and she said "OF COURSE!" So, I'm IN. I'll be playing in the PNW, Bellingham, WA area if any of you guys want to tee it up with me for this event at some point. Maybe a round will be played in Moses Lake as well. Also, if any of you are a member of a swanky club within driving distance, message me

Sounds like fun. Lemme check in with the “boss” and see if that sounds like something I should commit to. It does to me

Now that I’ve read it, I’ll encourage you and say that you most definitely can get to a single digit if you are a 14 now. It’s likely chips and putts (mostly) and keeping your ball in play more often. I went from a longtime high of 14 into the 9s this season. But due to my MIL being sick, we spent the last month with her and I’ve played exactly zero rounds in 5 weeks now . Anyway, I think having a giant putting green as part of your practice sim is gonna make a huge difference over the season, and winter.

Ahhh, last time I looked it was blank.

What are you currently using? Yes, totally forgot about Harbor Freight!

So so many positive comments and reviews of the Sig Pro Softy… I’m thinking to order the small 4x7. It’s $1000, however. Carls will have more of theirs in September, when my actual build occurs. They are running $670 with the fancy insert, and I can use the regular mat insert to set the LM on. My last option is to buy a sig pro softy insert only to cut into a cheaper stance mat (I do have a stance mat from the optishot I can cut) like a golf guru or rukket mat and wait to see what you guys think of this system. My only hang up with that is how thick the softy is and how to build the stance mat up properly. That’s why the birdie ball option is quite attractive.

@Nick_D I am in the process of updating and upgrading my equipment as well. I almost went with the BLP, but with the software offer and impact cameras, I went the Eye Mini route. Should arrive in a week or two. They are both quality units. I’m looking forward to reading your review. For now, I bought 1” thick puzzle mat with artificial turf. They have damaged boxes of it that only cost $130 for 96 sq ft. I’ll use my current pure practice mat to putt while I see how you guys enjoy this product. I could see adding a strip from the hitting mat to the screen for a better putting experience and aim point. I’m having trouble deciding on the hitting mat. Want to go sig pro softy but it’s quite expensive What are you using? Here’s the tiles (not for putting, just a nice look and cushion for bounce back)

Super super high congratulations to those picked. I cannot say that I’m not disappointed I wasn’t picked as I’m ordering all my Optishot net setup to full on Eye Mini Carls Place upgrade stuff now. It’s the one place I AM gonna skimp in my build. I have an inexpensive but adequate putting strip I’ll put into service and just use foam tiles and puzzle piece “turf” on the sides, so it’ll be cool for sim golf but not really good putting practice. I am really looking forward to what everyone has to say about this product because I can see adding a smaller practice area within the sim but not part of the sim at some point in the future. Looking forward to the reviews!

Around 60 rounds on a set and I can’t tell they have been used at all.

I’m in the same boat as you, loving the MCC plus 4 midsize. I bought the UTx at the start of the season and have been gaming them all summer, about 60 rounds so far. No wear and they do great in heat and sweat. Not hard on my hands. I still prefer the plus 4 on wedges and if a low taper grip were available with this rubber and cord combo, I’d definitely prefer them. If you are listening Lamkin, PLEASE make some low tapered versions of these!! I’ll buy them for sure.

I worked at a SIM over the winter and put A LOT of rounds and shots in. What I did is turn the worn ball into a wedge ball and hit all my woods and irons down to 9i or so with a new ball. They really don't wear the ball like a wedge does. When the wedge ball is getting pretty haggard, swap the old "new" ball into wedges service and put a new new ball into play. The ProV1 RCT last a REALLY long time if you do that.

This is a fun thread. I played a lot of courses all over in 2022. Loomis Trail, WA Lake Padden, WA Homestead, WA North Bellingham, WA Raspberry Ridge, WA Torrance, St. Andrews Kittocks, St. Andrews Jubilee, St. Andrews The Old Course, St. Andrews *obviously an incredible experience! Sandefjord, Norway Sorfors, Sweden Larvik, Norway Notteroy, Norway Vestfold, Norway Troia, Portugal *this was a special place, loved it! Pine Cliffs, Portugal Benalup, Spain Almenara, Spain (next door to Valderrama - way too expensive to play there!) Jurmala, Latvia Paarnu Bay, Estonia *this was INCREDIBLE golf - I want to go back here if possible. I think that is everything. Awesome, awesome year for golf!

I've golfed in both countries. Vietnam has some really, really nice golf courses but to be honest, I have no idea how much they cost, etc as they were part of a business trip. I do think they were private courses that you cannot just go play. I see Faldo has one that recently opened there that looks incrediballs. We went to Thailand in November 2019 and I'd send you there because A) it's not communist and B) Thailand is one of the most wonderful places I've ever visited. And I've now visited 28 different countries! November is a good time as it's not yet high season and it's not so dang hot yet either. The golf around Phuket is really expensive and I guess some courses are much nicer than others so do your research. I ended up playing at two places. The first was a Navy base course. It was so hot in our "hut" room that we couldn't sleep and ended up finding a room with AC - so much for the sea breeze cooling things off!. Anyway, the course is called Tublamu Navy Golf Course. It's a fantastic layout, right on the Andaman Sea. It winds back and forth so you have lots of beautiful views of the water and some inland holes - and it's really nice when the breeze is blowing in to cool you off a little bit. I can't imagine how hot it must be to golf there in December!!!!! The course was in around 8/10 condition and certainly nothing to complain about, especially the price. I could play there 3 days in a row as the layout is challenging and fun. The wind can make some holes play really long. https://www.tublamunavygolfcourse.net/index.php If you go there, there's some amazing restaurants on the beach near there and in a town not far away. I don't think it would be wise to try and play 36 holes. You probably won't make it. The next place we went was a few hours drive away (I rented a car - it was like $25 for 21 days!!!). It's called the Katathong Golf Resort and Spa. This is a really, really nice place. We rented what they call the "garden resort" and are kind of tiny homes lined up near to a small pool. They were building a big pool and more rooms when we were there. I just checked prices on Hotels.com and mid November when we went is $38/night for a garden resort room and for the big fancy room it's all the way up to $53/night WITH breakfast! What an incredible value and especially compared to Phuket that is quite expensive (not that I'd completely skip Phuket). It's around $100 to play there but they also have "sport days" with discounts and if you ask about stay and play they probably have a great deal for that too. I HIGHLY recommend going there and playing for 2-3 days. https://www.katathong.com/accommodation/garden-resort/ We also stayed in Phuket but I didn't golf there because of price. If you want any tips on places to stay, I'd recommend the one we stayed in Phuket and Katathong (and can give you a link) but NOT the one in Tublamu - it was to rustic and kind of dirty and smelly. We also stayed in a REALLY cool area that is not near to those other places called Ko Lanta. You can also take a boat over to Phi Phi islands, a very beautiful place to visit. Hope that helps!

I went last May as a single. It. was raining like crazy on the way up (drove from Manchester), but got to have lunch with Alf, a member here. That was so nice. Then I drove the rest of the way to St. Andrews (still raining the whole way). Went to bed with a heavy heart thinking my trip was going to be ruined. My rain jacket was so used, I didn't think it would really keep me dry... Got up 3am and went to wait in line, hoping for a spot on TOC. I was #24 or #26 - pretty far back. When I was finally three back (an American couple was in front of me), they said "last spot!" and after waiting in 7*C for hours I felt a little glum. HOWEVER, the couple didn't have their gear with them as their hotel was just a block away but the last spot was in like 5 minutes - the first of the day. The guy asked if I was ready and I said - "YES, I was born ready!" (I didn't really say that, but thought it LOL). I paid and ran out to the first tee, took like two practice swings and we were off!!! Shot an 82, net 66 but to be fair I pre-played it like 10-15 times on Trackman before going (I was working at a sim business at the time). Mag-i-cal is all I can say. It was sunny but crazy windy with 100 yard drivers and 288 yard 5 woods. I also played the Jubilee course as the New was pretty packed. That turned out to be super nice as A) I got to play alone and B) I got to play the full back tees (they don't let you at the Old) and play 2 balls off each tee and experiment with tee shots. I'll tell you right now, 5w doesn't work there and I'll be bringing my 3 iron on the next trip to St. Andrews. I also spent a day at The Fairmont that is located next to The Castle Course. It was 70 Pounds to play both courses in one day - the Kittocks and Torrance. Very nice, beautiful courses up on the cliffs above St. Andrews just like Castle is. If you have time, that is a great way to spend a day golfing - and if you call just a couple days ahead you'll get that great price vs. booking way ahead of time. I again got to play alone and nearly had the whole course to myself that day. I think there were 3 other cars in the parking lot. It was a good day. Since you are two, your best bet is probably to buy the unlimited 3 day package for 320 pounds. It doesn't include the Old but you can play the others as much as you like and get to make a one advanced tee time per day. As a single I cannot do that package more book more than 24 hours ahead of time. I'd play a rotation of Eden, New, and Jubilee. I like to play those kinds of courses twice if possible because you learn so much the first round on what not to do on a hole. All that being said, I'm going back the last week of April. I will again stay in super low cost AirBnb rooms (like $40-50 per night) and have Crail booked the first day - both courses, then I'm driving up to Cruden bay the next day and playing there twice. I then have 2 days open to play wherever I can - since I cannot book at St. Andrews until 24 hours ahead of time I'm probably going to try and play Eden and New one day and not sure the other day. Maybe just 18 holes after the first two days of 36. I've lost around 30 lbs since that trip and been working out like crazy to try and get in super good shape for the trip. I wanna make it count! One quick funny story about my last night in St. Andrews. I purposely did not drink anything while there as my focus was completely on golf, and I was working on losing weight so I ate healthy food from the grocery store. I copied and pasted from a message I sent to a friend so there's some typos etc. On the last day, I went to a fish and chips place to treat myself after eating all grocery store bought meals here. Added a little vodka bottle as well (haven’t had any drinks in a long time either). Drank that on the walk home and decided to find a “heavy” before I leave as well. Went to Brewdog and had a nice red ale but they said it wasn’t a proper “heavy” and for that I needed to go to the Criterion Bar. Ok, ok… so I went there next and ordered a heavy. They allegedly didn’t know what I needed but we narrowed it down to something. I go outside where it’s quiet (the bar was absolutely packed and I just wanted to drink it in peace). Then an American and a Scotsman are talking away about golf and somehow I get involved in the conversation. At some point the American leaves and the Scot is talking talking talking. I finish my drink and he says I absolutely have to have another as it’s my last night there. Comes back with a really tasty one - not sure what it was but good. It’s “on that guy over there” as he’s getting married tomorrow. So that’s why all these guys have green jackets on. But Im told don’t call them green, they are tweed jackets. We have a few more and I meet someone from the R&A that’s supposed to be high up and a couple more people. Then I have to pee. I go do that, say I’ll be right back and when I come out, everyone is gone. The place is completely empty. I look outside and there’s nobody to be seen. It’s like none of it happened. But I do have pictures so I know it did. That was my last night in St. Andrews. Maybe "the ghosts of Scotland?" If you have any questions, please do ask and I'll try to answer them.