Mr. 82

nice shootin' Tex. [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I played in a one day FSGA event today at the Golf Club of Amelia Island, which is private or only available to resort guests at the Ritz Carlton on property there. Just a side note, I looked at booking a room at the Ritz here and the cheapest basic hotel room I could find, overlooking the dumpster in the parking lot was $752. Rooms overlooking the Atlantic Ocean were well over $1,000 a night. Um yeah, sure, no problem. [emoji849][emoji857][emoji17] And for reference purposes, because I live 3 hours from here, I had to leave home at 4:30 am to allow myself enough time to get there and have time for a proper warm up. And speaking of warm up. Dude, it's 95 degrees with 90% humidity. But here we have DJ, Jr. from head to toe. What's with the pants?? 🤪[emoji23]. I stayed for the awards of this event. DJ, Jr was nowhere to be found. [emoji849] Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

This is my Tuesday night league right before we teed off here at Golden Eagle CC in Tallahassee. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

no deer in FL you say? This is right off of the 2nd tee of Golden Eagle in Tallahassee a few Tuesday nights ago. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

ok, I'll bite. What's a “P6”? Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

This example right here is why I've never had a lesson, and have basically self taught myself for the past 40 years or so, with limited advice and implementation of swing ideas. I'm scared as hell that I'll lose the ability to hit the ball well, and will end up wanting to quit the game because I hit it so bad. I mean, what is this guy's long term goal, PGA Tour? Ultimately that's what you would have to decide PRIOR to embarking on this mission. You decide a time frame for the lessons and the teacher before you give it up and go back to what you knew when. For me that would have been about after a month of playing like total crap. But this sort of thing just isn't an amateur thing. I've seen Martin Kaymer and Padraig Harrington try and remake their swings and their game to try and win the Masters, which meant they had to change their shot shape, both with absolutely horrible results. Kaymer has recovered fairly well, but Harrington absolutely fell off the planet trying to remake his golf swing into something he never had. I mean, the dude has 3 majors and it wasn't good enough? Shoot, keep what you have going, and keep winning Open Championships. So you never win the Masters. There are about 10,000 pros in the history of golf that are in that category. There are worse lots in life. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app

I don't know if I am allowed to pipe in here, but I bought the G700 SW and UW, mostly because I was looking to replace my current wedges which I was not happy with. I am extremely happy with both the look and feel of these clubs, as well as with the performance. The G700 wedges I have do what I want from a SW & UW, which are my 100 and 115 distance full shot clubs. In the few months I've been playing the G700 I've noticed an incredible accuracy with these wedges, when I make solid contact. I've also noticed an incredible amount of forgiveness on misshits too, as they go straight at the hole as well, with a slight bit off left or right. I've been playing PING for as long as I can remember, and the G700 are fantastic wedges for me. I will say that the hollow back creates a bit more distance, and also a different sound at impact, but the sound does not detract from the performance of the club. It's just different but I have the utmost confidence when pulling these clubs for a shot. They deliver time and time again without fail. Again, even my mishits fly close to the target, so these clubs really do perform.

Congratulations! Next stop, breaking 80!

velcro works too. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Well, your numbers are pretty good, even adding 2 or 3 more clubs for that distance. Let me tell you about my 83 year old Dad, who has every sort of physical ailment now that severely limits his golf game. By his own admission he hits his drives about 125, and then proceeds to play the average par 4 (from the senior tees) with at least two more full 3-woods, and then a wedge chip and then putting. Honestly it's painful to watch, because this is a man I never beat in straight up stroke play until he was 70 years old, and I am a 4 handicap now. My Dad just physically struggles to even walk to his ball from the cart, and now only plays 9 holes once a week. When I visited him a couple of weeks ago he admits the game is very tough for him and that he's had 3 doctors tell him to stop playing. But golf is his life, so that's like telling Harrison Ford or Clint Eastwood that they can't act anymore. The one thing I suggested to my Dad was to create his own tees on the course and maybe tee it up in the fairway, where he has a distance where he can actually reach par 4s in regulation, etc. But I think his pride won't allow him to do that. I'm actually thankful that me and my brothers were able to get together a year ago and play 18 holes with him. I took pictures at the end of the round and told my brothers I did so, because that might be the last time we ever play golf with him. My advice to you would be the same as to my Dad. Play a distance that allows you to reach par 4s with a mid iron in two and where you don't struggle to reach par 3s at all. Doesn't matter if you keep score, but just have fun and thank God for every opportunity you've been given to keep playing the game. I'll leave you with an experience from today's round with my regular foresome. One of the men I play with is probably in his mid-70's. Maybe older. Hard to tell. But he's severely obese and puts a handicap flag on his cart so he can drive the cart right up to his ball anywhere on the course. Today, we were on the 6th hole and this guy went to reach down for his ball while sitting in the cart and simply fell out of the cart and needed help in order to be able to get up and back in the cart. I suggested to my group that perhaps this guy needs to hang up his golf clubs permanently. So I'll just say that if you get to the point where you are falling out of the cart and can't get back up, that is when you know it's time to quit the game for good. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I maintain my GHIN handicap through a membership with the FSGA. I signed up online at the FSGA website, and then they give me the login information for the GHIN mobile app, where I post all my scores through. I don't technically have a home club through this mobile app posting, even though I am a member of the local public muni. But there is no peer review of my handicap, beyond discussing what I shot with the guys in my foresome. They don't question my score, beyond knowing that I shot that, and we never play in tournaments together, so peer review isn't really an option for me. I've used my GHIN recently in a FSGA one day event, but the folks at the FSGA are simply taking my handicap in GHIN on the honor system, trusting that what I post is legit. And ultimately, that's basically what it boils down to, my integrity. If I wanted to become a scratch golfer, I could do it tomorrow through GHIN. Or if I wanted to be a lying, cheating, stealing sandbagger, I could become a 20+ handicap tomorrow as well. I am in casual conversation right now with a few friends that are a member of a private club here in town, and I am seriously considering joining their club, where I would definitely be involved in all sorts of matches and weekly money games where my handicap would not only be used, but heavily scrutinized. But right now, I'm not ready to pull the trigger on this yet. Look, I'll be as transparent as I can be - is my handicap a legit 3.8 through my GHIN posting? Absolutely. But again, that's relying solely on my integrity and character to be honest about what I shoot. And I abide by the rules when playing, because if you cheat, your handicap will become invalid when you enter a tournament and really have to play by the rules 100%. But I honestly think that giving someone like me, who isn't a member of a private club, where there is no peer review for posting rounds of golf for your handicap, cheap and easy access to a handicap, really opens up Pandora's Box for sandbagging and glory handicaps coming at you left and right. It's always tempting to cheat the system if you know you can get away with it. Heck, we've got an entire city full of politicians in Washington, DC that should be all the evidence you need that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I've never cracked a ball, but I cracked open an old driver on the range once about 15 years ago.

Stopped by a local course after work and just hit about 100 chip shots around the practice green. You know, it's a beautiful thing when you can just hit the short game practice area at the local course, and spend maybe 30 minutes after work just hitting chip shots from just off the putting surface to different pins. The best part about this sort of practice session is that it's quick enough not to interfere with your life, and it's totally free. When I showed up there, someone had hit all these range balls and left them on the green, so I just went around and sent them to a spot off the green, and commenced at chipping them towards one of the pins. Free and easy chipping practice, which in my opinion is the most important aspect of your game that you can never get good enough at. Such a deal! Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app

I don't carry a 3 wood, because I was too inconsistent with it from the fairway. I switched to a 16.5 degree 4 wood, and tossed both the 3 and 5 wood from the bag. One fairway wood, splitting the difference in loft between the two made the most sense to me. Also, losing 2 fairways woods, and just having one, eliminates a lot of guesswork on those 210+ shots. Before I would get a number and pick between the 3 and 5 wood, not really sure which would be the best club for that shot/distance. With just the 4 wood, I don't even think about it now, and just grab it if the shot is over 210 yards. I can stroke that 4 wood pretty good off of the tee as well. It's sort of my go to club for shots I need to move around a corner, either cut or draw, whereas I am not confident enough with driver to pull off that shot with. Also, before when I had both the 3 and 5 wood, I RARELY hit the 5 wood. If I hit it once every other round it was surprising. And when you don't hit a club very often, the chances of you not hitting it well when you have to only increase exponentially.

Watching Feherty with Ian Poulter right now. I never cared for Michael (6 cups of caffeine all the time) Breed. He was just annoying to me. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Try having a conversation with your 90 yr old MIL... "Mom, what are you watching (on TV)?" Her to me, "What!!!???" "What are you watching on TV?" Her to me, "I don't remember." "What did you do today?" Her to me, "I don't remember." "Did you eat anything today?" Her to me, "I don't remember." There are days when she'll record a movie on TV, and she'll watch it 4 times in a row. Not because she really likes the movie, but when she finishes watching it, she doesn't remember that she watched it or even what it was. Dimentia sucks my friends. Totally sucks. You have a human being in the flesh that has no memory of anything, and is completely worthless for anything but breathing oxygen. Pfft, maybe I should have posted this in the rant thread. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app

not unless they are taking my order. Besides, I prefer brunettes with a brain. [emoji15] [emoji38] Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Surprised they were even open for play. That looks totally unplayable.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I have a Garmin GPS watch, and a non-slope laser, and with this bit of information it now has me seriously rethinking my distance tools.

Tiger Woods and three blondes walk out of a bar...

You know, all this talk about Tiger this and Tiger that has me thinking about this... Sorry for the interruption. Carry on with your Tiger worship.

The player: Current gamer - It's different every round/testing a lot of different balls at the moment Handicap or Ave score - 3.8 7 iron carry distance with current ball - 160 Trajectory - varies on the day what my swing does Putter - PING G5 B60 The ball: Cut Golf Blue (4 Piece Urethane)/Cut Golf Gray (3 Piece Urethane) Distance - Less Trajectory - high Spin - I cannot judge spin as I cannot play spin. Feel - firm Durability (1 round) - it's ok, as I played the same ball for a couple of rounds, but it wears out quicker than other balls I have tested. Rating - Casual Notes or writeup: Cut Golf Company is another direct to consumer brand that markets their balls based on price point. And at $20 per dozen for a 4 or 3-piece urethane ball, it's hard to pass up at least trying them. For $20 (including free shipping) they sent me a dozen trial pack of their 2-piece surlyn, 3-piece surlyn (non USGA conforming), 3 piece urethane, and 4 piece urethane balls. You get a sleeve of each one of them to try out. I honestly wonder about the urethane cover on the more expensive blue and gray balls, as I couldn't tell the difference between those and the surlyn cover balls. I can definitively say that their non-conforming 3-piece surlyn ball is not for me. Out of all four balls I would play the 2-piece surlyn ball, simply because it feels better, and is as cheap ($10 per dozen) as you will find out there. The gray and blue balls, that mirror the ProV1(x) competitors do not match up to the quality of those balls. Because I couldn't say for sure if the more expensive blue and gray balls were actually a true urethane cover, it is hard to give a definitive answer on how well the cover holds up. But I would probably toss the ball after 2 rounds max. I've also been testing the Vice Golf Balls (all 5 types) from the trial pack they sent me that I have already gone through, and I was much more impressed with the quality and playability of the Vice Golf balls. And maybe it's just a coincidence, but my scores were lower with the Vice trial balls, versus the Cut Golf balls. Bottom line, I'll pass on any future investment in the Cut Golf balls, based on the trial balls I played. I would definitely go back to the Vice Pro ball when I go through the 9 dozen golf balls currently sitting in my house. That may be some time before I get there as I usually wear out a golf ball before I lose them.

I'm 50, started playing with I was 7, and I played persimmon woods for many years, wore spikes for many years, and played many years with wound balls, and lost count of how many of those balls I put a smilie face on after one single iron shot. The invention of the ProV1, and balls with a surlyn and urethane cover was a good thing IMHO, because I honestly can't remember the last time I put a cut in a golf ball. Now road rash from the cart path is another thing.

5th hole, par 4, I left my approach shot on the fringe, pin high, but about 60 feet from the hole, with a two tiered green facing my next shot. So I pulled out my trusty pitching wedge, played the perfect chip just like a pro, and watched as the ball landed halfway to the hole, and just rolled perfectly to the bottom of the cup for the birdie. I honestly can't remember my last chip in, but it's been a long, long time for something like that to happen to me. And I just looked at my buddy and shrugged, because up until that point in the round I was playing like total crap. But I'll take a birdie any way I can get it.