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HardcoreLooper

 
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Everything posted by HardcoreLooper

  1. Even a major is a tough ask. The USGA will take a bit of a top-line hit (they won't lose any money, but they'll make less) going to Shinnecock because of the history and because they'll make it up by covering Torrey Pines with merch tents and corporate hospitality. I've only been to one PGA Championship (Quail Hollow 2017), but that's even more for sale. The USGA and PGA of America make a significant amount of their operating budgets with their majors. They're unlikely to mess with a formula that works.
  2. I'm going from memory here, but I'd say yes. What I really can't remember is if I can hit a straight push into the penalty area, or if that gets knocked down by the trees. A push-fade definitely puts me in the PA.
  3. Exactly. And considering that while I was playing pretty poorly both days, I managed to play it +1. So I definitely minimized the damage.
  4. Sorry it's been a while since I posted. First off - The tree is gone. I know, all that agonizing, and the tree is gone. The satellite imagery is pretty old (from before the renovation). I'd played the hole so many times with the tree there that I just assumed it was still there when I pulled up Google Earth. I've played the hole twice since 7/2. The first time, I hit the 3 hybrid, just to try it. I was hooking everything that day, and I snapped one straight into the left trees. I didn't have an angle at the green, but I was able to punch it out pin high and right of the green. I left myself a manageable chip, but I didn't hit it that well and made bogey. The second time I played it, I'd snapped the shaft on my driver a few holes prior (it just gave way right after impact), so I hit 3 wood (cranked down to 13 degrees) and hooked that (I'm now hooking just about everything) just into the left trees. I was able to punch-hook that just over the green for an easy par. Thanks to everyone for all the help!
  5. Yeah, if I start another one of these topics, I'll be sure to be more descriptive. And based on what I've learned here; I'll be hitting the hybrid tomorrow.
  6. That's the key. I play better when I have a game plan in advance. If have a strategy for the hole that I trust, then I can hit the tee shot with some commitment. And if I hit an awful tee shot, I can let it go, because it was a bad swing and we all make bad swings. But at least the game plan was solid.
  7. I've only played the front nine at TR about 10 years ago before getting chased off the course on the last day of our Pinehurst trip. I remember that: I was getting my ass kicked I really wanted to see the rest of the course I've played RNK a few times, and it's amazing. I haven't played it since it reopened, but my girls want to take me there to play it with them. I've only played Stonehouse once, and I remember having a pretty good round going till the 18th. The yardage book made it look like the fairway narrowed down significantly at about 250 with rough on the left. I pulled up to find out that it was a cliff on the left, not rough. I'd basically hit my tee shot off the planet. And I'd only missed the fairway by about 10 feet.
  8. I think you've done a good job of working out the math behind what feels like such a coin flip of a decision off the tee. And that's what makes an otherwise forgettable mid-length par 4 a real challenge.
  9. The circle you drew is not on the tee box. If it were, I'd stand at the right edge of your circle and have plenty of room to aim left of the center of my dispersion but far enough right that a "normal" pull or alignment problem wouldn't put me in the tree. The tee is uncomfortably far to the left and it brings the tree into play for a fader. The tree makes the hole. If I could hit driver over the tree, or if I felt comfortable drawing the driver, it wouldn't be an issue. The left trees aren't that penal. The right trees aren't that penal. There's an easy 65+ yards left of the penalty area if the tree isn't in play for you off the tee. I see what you're saying about starting the ball just to the right of the cart path, but a pull is going to put me into the tree. It's in the left side of my dispersion. I wish I never hit a Thurman Munson, but I usually hit one a round. I shot 75 on Father's Day and hit one. But the hole was plenty wide, my aim point was good, I hit the ball into the rough, and had a chance to hit the green. I missed the green and made bogey, but the tee shot didn't kill me and neither did the bogey. If I could fit the ball into 50-ish yards side to side with a driver, I'd be a much, much better player than I am.
  10. The balls may be made in the same plants, but Snell's IP is their own. Cut, I'm pretty sure, do not do their own design or R&D.
  11. I'm becoming a big fan of TheGrint. I really like the notes feature. It's great to have a place to put your thoughts down if you're gameplanning or notice something on a hole that you don't want to forget.
  12. 220 definitely takes the penalty area out of play. It's about 210 to carry the bunker left, so it comes into play with the 19*. But, I can hedge out to the right to avoid the bunker. The right trees are pretty playable; it's the penalty area that's a problem.
  13. So just to make sure we're talking about the same thing - I wouldn't aim to start the ball down the centerline to hit the center of my dispersion cone. Like Fawcett, I'll aim left of the center line to try to fade it back to the middle. That's what makes that tree down the left close to the tee so maddening. But if it weren't there, this hole would be a pushover. There'd be no reason whatsoever to wind up in the penalty area right.
  14. Henrico County (owner of the course) looked for a group to take over the management of the course after years of neglect and losing money. First Tee of Greater Richmond wound up winning the bid. They decided to take the first six holes and turn them into a range (the course had no range), a short game practice area, a six hole par 3 course (similar to The Cradle at Pinehurst) and a massive putting course. Then they renovated holes 7-18 into a 12 hole golf course. They did a great job - they restored original green sizes and countours (many of the greens are really wild and fun to putt), they rebuilt and deepened all of the bunkers (much better to play from but much harder to get out of), they brought back some of the old back tees on some of the holes and basically revitalized it. There have been some vocal complaints about losing 6 holes, but no one I've played with has complained about it. I've played it four times since reopening, each time getting paired with other people. I kinda like either being done after 12, playing the par 3 course, or going out and playing another 12. Seniors who used to be able to play the course for around $25 have a legitimate complaint. It's now $60 during the week to play it twice or $45 to play the 12 full-size holes and the par 3 course. Seniors get a 10% discount. Full disclosure, I've been a volunteer coach for about a decade, my younger daughter is a program participant and my older daughter is a camp counselor and former participant.
  15. 57 yards is definitely narrower than my dispersion cone with my driver. I'd be a much better player if I could average 250 off the tee and keep it to 57 yards side to side. If I set my start line down the left side of the triangle, just to the right of the tree, don't I bring that tree into play nearly 50% of the time? I haven't done any analysis on this, but I'd have to think that I'm going to start the ball left of my intended start line about 50% of the time. I've always thought that you need to aim to hit the center of your dispersion cone, because you're going to miss your start line left half the time and right half the time.
  16. This was a good question, and I should have pointed it out from the start. My goal is to make the lowest average score on the hole over multiple rounds. This course is basically my new home course.
  17. Sorry, it's the end of the quarter and things are a little nuts at work, so I didn't have time to respond. Thanks to all who offered their opinions. @DaveP043 - What you're stating is what I'm thinking. Here's the modified diagram: It's a bit of a SWAG, but I figure I'm giving away about 10-15 yards of the left side of the fairway with the left-to-right ball flight of my driver. So yes, my effective cone width is probably more like 40 yards or so. The fact that I can't hit the ball over those trees on the left side with a driver is a killer for me. Hugging the left side of the fairway with my start line seems to me like shifting the center of the cone toward the trees left and brings them into play if my start line is anything left off perfect. The 19* hybrid is a bit more accurate, and it definitely takes the penalty area out of play on the right (I can't reach it). It also flies right to left (I draw everything but the driver; I can't hit a driver right to left and keep it on the planet so I set mine up for a fade). If I put it in the trees to the left, I can punch out and advance the ball toward the green. They aren't nearly as big an issue as the penalty area to the right.
  18. 8th Hole - Belmont Golf Course - Richmond, VA 350 Yards The triangle is 250 yards long (my average with the driver). The width is 57 yards. You can't see it from this image, but there's a small penalty area to the right of the triangle with very high grass around it (likely lost ball and nearly impossible to get out of if you do find it). My usual driver shot shape is left-to-right, and I can't hit driver over the trees to the left that are closer to the tee. And sometimes the fade is just a pull, so I need to start a driver far enough right to miss the trees short left. I usually hit driver if I have 65 yards to use, so I feel like it's a little too narrow here to hit driver. My 19* hybrid goes about 220 and should still leave me a full PW into the green. I've just started playing here again after a recent renovation (the Google Earth images are old), so I've only played this hole a couple of times recently, tried several clubs off the tee, haven't hit any of them well. I'm thinking that the hybrid is the play, just because those trees short and left won't let me bail out way left away from the penalty area. What do you guys recommend?
  19. Driver issues can be absolutely maddening. I don't know exactly what's going on with you with the driver. I'd recommend taking a look at this video and mapping out your course. If you don't watch the whole thing, skip to about 15:25 or so and watch the Rules of Thumb and the driving flowchart. Fawcett is pretty polarizing, but the strategy works for lots of people. It's worked for me. Good luck!
  20. I had a one-brand bag for the extent of the Cobra Connect Challenge 2 (including the bag itself). As soon as the challenge was over, the hybrid came out of the bag and the clubs went back into my Sun Mountain 2.5. And as you can see from my signature, I'm all over the map now.
  21. Check out eBay. I bought a bunch of the Cobra grips a year or so ago.
  22. It really works on the law of large numbers. If you have a limited number of shots with a club, it's going to include everything into the sample. I've solved this for long irons by playing a quick nine and teeing off with them. I realize that if you're paying greens fees, that's not a great solution. I wish they'd give you a way to generate data other than just playing. But once you play enough, their outlier detection works pretty well. I used to be a huge fan of Arccos, but it's become somewhat problematic for me lately. Arccos works horribly with my phone (Moto G7) I have a Link, but it's yet another device to leave at home (which I do) or forget to charge (which I do) When I do remember my Link and remember to charge it, it frequently loses contact with my phone If I'm playing with other people, I don't want to mess with my phone I used to have good luck with Arccos using both a really cheap Android phone (Samsung J7) and an old iPhone. So I'm pretty sure that the problem is my phone and not Arccos itself. I'll dig out the old iPhone and see if it works better, but then that's another device I need to remember to bring with me. Is anyone using Arccos with a recent Android phone and having good results (I need a new phone and I'm not an iPhone fan)? Even if a new phone works better with Link, I'd like to have my phone as a fallback for the times I forget to bring/charge my Link. I'm willing to buy a phone based on its success with Arccos as long as it's not ridiculously expensive.
  23. My daughters didn't want to get up early and play with me last Sunday (they'd played a tournament with me the day before, so they get a pass), so I played as a single and got paired with a group of three younger guys (I'm 50, they were early 30s). They were nice enough to let me know that they weren't very good, so I suggested we play the 6000 yard tees and they had a good time with that. They cranked up the tunes, and I told them I was fine with that. I'm not really the biggest fan of rap, but it must have worked for me - I shot 75. They were good dudes, we had a blast, they insisted I have a couple of their beers, and it was a good time all around. And one of the guys is now applying for a job with my company with my referral, since I got to spend 4 hours with him.
  24. If you buy in to the Strokes Gained-based strategy systems, chipping is important, but tee shots and approach shots are generally seen as more important. That being said... nearly everyone can find a way to practice short shots at home without a ton of investment. So there's much less of an excuse to ignore it.
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