griecot313

I do not buy golf balls, period. I generally use 1 or 2 golf balls per round. I walk when I play and usually find at least 1 new ProV. Sometimes that ball is found in the water, but it would have been there less than 1 week. I have seen the Snell video in which he claims golf balls can absorb water. So I took a brand new ball I found and weighed it. I then put it in water. After 24 hours, there was negligible weight increase. However, after 1 week, the golf ball weighed an additional 1 gram. After letting the ball sit on my work bench for a week, it returned to it's original weight. I have never seen a performance difference, but would love to see MyGolfSpy Lab do the test.

Using my Q Follow for 6 months now. My observations: 1. Handle is EXTREMELY fragile. My personal opinion (not an engineer though) is that the umbrella mount was not properly factored into the design. I live in Texas and we get 10-15mph breezes. When I have my umbrella up to protect from Rain or Sun, I can see the handle twisting when the wind blows. First thing that broke was the actual umbrella mount inside the handle. They replaced that section, then the handle broke midway down. They replaced the handle and the mount broke again. For 3 months now, I DO Not use the umbrella mount. I carry the umbrella to protect myself. This sucks because I must open and close the umbrella with every shot. However, nothing has cracked or broke since. 2. Because the cart is light in weight (a definite plus for lifting) your clubs make the unit as a whole, top heavy. The slightest incline and the cart leans back on the stabilizer wheels. The problem is, if you try to steer (or are in follow mode) while the cart is leaning back, it over steers because there is no weight on the front wheels. They do have a mode that reduces steering reaction, but if the front wheels are down, it takes 30 yards to make the slightest direction change. 3. When there is dew on the ground in the morning, you have to hold the cart while going up hill. If not, one wheel will loose traction, forcing the cart to turn side hill and then it falls over dumping all your stuff on the ground. I still think it can be the best cart on the market. They need to beef up the handle and get weight over the front wheels. I think if they had the motors and drive wheels out front it would balance out better.

Thanks everyone. I will check out the commercial carpet route. I should have mentioned I don't have room for a separate putting area, artificial turf is out. I also need a surface I can lay down and stretch on. Toyota carpet? Interesting

This may sound odd but I am building a Home Gym and trying to find a surface that works for that plus, I can practice putting on. My plan is to simply go to the flooring supplier and try to find a solution, but thought perhaps someone else has gone through trial and error.

We have an annual event with 50 people. Anyone have a company they would recommend to make giveaways (Towel, bag tag, ball marker etc)?

Guide to Speeding up Pace of Play You want faster play? Make these suggestions to management. It starts when the golfer first arrives at the course. The Pro Shop staff should tell golfers “we strive for and expect players to maintain a 4 hour pace” (or whatever you determine is acceptable for that golf course). They should then hand them a suggestion card and if time, go over the card verbally. #1 Watch when your playing partner is teeing off. If a ball is potentially lost, hit a provisional. #2 Drop off the player with the potentially lost ball. Point them in a general area and then go hit your shot. Most often, they will find the ball on their own while the rest of the group hits. If not, the ball is probably in a lie that would have been impossible to advance anyway. #3 Remind golfers that the USGA allows only 3 minutes to find a ball. By the time the others in the group have hit, 3 minutes will probably have expired. (Sound cruel? Again, if the ball isn’t easy to find, it is probably impossible to hit.) Now, train your “Player Assistants” how to assist players. When they identify a group that is falling behind, simply telling them “you are 5 minutes behind”, is NOT assisting them. They need to become a forecaddie to the group. They tell the group “hey guys, you are falling a little behind, I am going to help you get back on track”. The Assistant then drives down the fairway and watches their tee shots. If someone hits the ball offline, go find it and place a small flag by the ball. If your carts do not supply yardages, let them know what their distance is when they arrive. Fill their divots, rake their bunkers, fix ball marks. Usually, within one hole, they are back on pace. Some groups may get annoyed at this process and speed up just to get rid of you. Others will respond favorably and speed up because of your help. Either way, the result is faster play. If the group does get annoyed, remind the Player Assistant – better to annoy one group then the 20 behind them. If you don’t have fancy tracking on your carts, enlist the beverage cart person to help. If they see an open hole, call the Player Assistant on the radio and let them know. From a maintenance standpoint, make sure the rough is maintained at a reasonable height for your clientele and leaves are picked up. None of this will help you if golfers can’t find their ball a foot off the fairway. I never had a problem with slow play using this plan. Pretty soon your course will gain a reputation that you do not accept slow play. Responsible golfers will appreciate it, slow players will go elsewhere.

Does anyone know a good app that will track the score input of multiple groups and also give you Net? We usually have 12 to 16 players and I have to sit there after the round and figure out bets while everyone else drinks and socializes. I have seen free apps (18 Birdies) that does a foursome and subscription apps that do multiple groups, but these cheap bastards won't all pay to put it on their phones.

For those guys bothered by the heat but want to walk, consider adding 3 things. I play in Texas at a 100+ however, I have a reflective Sun Umbrella that keep it about 10 degrees cooler. I also have a small cooler with water and ice (the course doesn't mind if it is just water). Then I throw a small hydrating towel in the bottom of a cooler. I wipe my face and neck down with that ice cold towel and I am feeling great again. I have also pre-ordered the Alphard V2 to power my cart.

One problem not addressed is home course advantage. I play with a group at the same course every week. When I play the occasional course that I am not familiar with, I generally shoot about 3 strokes higher. They always ask to categorize your scores, why not have a home, away and tournament handicaps. Keep in mind the opposite is true. A golfer with the same index unfamiliar with my course, has no shot at beating me.

I worked a long time in the golf industry. One thing I see severely lacking these days is good Marshalling. Here are some of my suggestions, feel free to add your own. Guide to Good Marshalling First and foremost, it starts at the Pro Shop. They need to tell groups what is expected of them: Less than 15 minutes per hole and keep up with the group in front of you. Marshals should always carry; 4 little flags, extra balls and a tee sheet. When they see an open hole on the golf course, you don't just pull up and say “you're a hole behind, get moving” then pull away. They should say “I noticed a gap in front of you, I'll do my best to help you catch up but if you can't, you'll need to skip a hole”. Then stay with the group and help find errant balls (or give them one out of your basket), rake bunkers and possibly give yardages until they catch up. If they don't catch up, never let the group behind play through, that only slows down everything behind. Simply ask them to skip a hole. Yes, they will probably be offended, but would you rather offend 4 slow players or the 50 behind them that are getting more annoyed by the minute. If they refuse to skip a hole, I like to offer them a certificate for a free round another day. We never honored these certificates on the weekend or holidays when we are busy. ​Side Note, I would tell my Marshals that if they got caught picking up more golf balls then trash, they would be fired. I thought it was working until I found out that they would simply stop at a trash can on the course and put a bunch in their cart.

Lamkin makes a Knock Off of Iomic called iLine. Rumor has it that Iomic actually makes it for them.

It is a precise balancing act that they don't discuss enough on TV. Often, the plan is to Triple mow greens, roll and add very little water during each tournament day. They then back away from that mowing some greens only 1 or 2 times, even 0 to try and get every green exactly the same. But like I said, the Stimp Meter is a very imperfect science, which is why Pelz made his device. Another side note. TV broadcasters often get the concept of rolling greens wrong. It is not to speed up the green but to smooth them out. The speed gained after rolling is lost before the round starts.

Not Really. Usually a bunch of stuffy, boring men, rolling balls all over the place for 30 minutes a green while you stand there staring into space. Only to put the pins within inches of the same place they used the last time. I decided to document the process at one particular Major, only to have my disposable camera smashed in front of me (yes this was before smart phones). One side note, I got very good at manipulating the Stimp Meter to give them whatever reading they were looking for. Dave Pelz actually invented a system to prevent that and get accurate readings and demonstrated it for use. Unfortunately, hardly anyone used it. I think he stopped making them but not sure.

I have set pins for several tours including Majors. Every tour will issue guidelines for pin placements and for many events, will supervise the placement of dots at the beginning of the week. While there are no specific rules, they would never allow a position where the ball rolls up to the hole and then rolls back. It happened once in modern history (US Open at Shinnecock) because the greens became incredibly dry and the governing bodies have never forgotten it. A good rule of thumb for your club should be; 6 easy, 6 medium, 6 hard - 6 front, 6 middle, 6 back - 9 right, 9 left. Easy is considered, away from hazards and 15-20 of relatively flat ground around the pin. Medium is usually flat, the length of the flagstick around the hole. Hard is near a hazard, edge of the green or only 3 feet of flat surface around the hole (about the length of the cup cutter). It is almost impossible to do this as you change the cups, it takes planning. If your superintendent doesn't have preplanned pin placements, I suggest that you and your buddies create one for him/her using the guidelines above. If they don't use it, then you have good reason to ****** and I would loudly.

If you're retired, just watch the weather and take a last minute trip to Kentucky or Tennessee. Good golf and plenty of deals last minute. Or my favorite, fly to Vegas cheap and drive to Saint George Utah. Beautiful course and national parks. Very inexpensive. Sent from my SM-G955U using MyGolfSpy mobile app