ncwoz

41/40, 81 (net -2) 7/14 FIR, 7/18 GIR, 33 putts Played an Arnie design from the tips this morning, was the first person off and was able to finish in 2 hrs 40 min. Scored really well and played really solid all around - even though I took a number of penalties off the tee. A couple 1 stroke hazards I was able to bogey, and just one stroke and distance hole that was my lone double for the day. Had a couple clutch par and bogey save putts, but was easily most excited about my approach play. Finally made some smart decisions club-wise and found myself in a lot of really good places. A number of 10-25 foot putts for birdie (and 1 from 3), got 2 of them to drop. Had my Arccos-best Approach Play Handicap of 3.7, an area of my game that's been a bit of a weakness historically. Finally had a round feel like things all mostly came together, even though I left a couple strokes out there off the tee!

Shot a disappointing 81 at a pretty simple & short local course. My approach play was really really good, just had some poor drives and a whole bunch of two putts. 3 fairways, 10 greens, 36 putts. No 3 putts. We were told if we teed off the back at 4:15, by the time we came back around we'd be able to follow leagues down the front to finish 18. Well then they decided to let 3 groups tee off in front of us, and they proceeded to play some of the slowest golf I've seen in a while. We probably finished the first 9 in roughly 2 hours, and we were over 3 for the second 9. Hate to admit it, but I let the frustration of slow play mess with my focus on the back and I got sloppy on a few holes.

Yesterday I was able to play a new-to-me course, The Lynx GC in Otsego, MI. Got matched up with 3 members, who were an absolute blast to play with. The course has some awesome bones and was rounding into good shape. Sounds like they had some issues with a new head greenskeeper this year, but hopefully they can get it figured out because it's a really cool track. Played really really well, outside some iffy putting and a couple duds of swings. The course is mostly tree-lined with a lot of blind dog-legs. Looking back now, I was a little too cute off the tee. A few holes I tried to shape the ball differently than I typically would with more club than was prudent, and that brought in some bigger misses. Approach game was the best it's been in a really long time, and ball striking was really good all day. 42/40 - 82 (net +1) 3/14 FIR, 7/18 GIR, 33 putts 2 birdies First time I've played close to my handicap in a few rounds now, so hoping this is a momentum builder!

Still chipping away at a lot of more local bucket list courses in Michigan, haven't even started thinking about the big boys across the country yet. Here's my list so far: 1. Arcadia Bluffs - Bluffs Course 2. Arcadia Bluffs - South Course 3. Pilgrim's Run 4. Thornapple Point 5. Ravines GC 6. Lakewood Shores - The Gailes 7. Boulder Creek GC 8. Diamond Springs 9. The Falls at Barber Creek 10. Lakewood Shores - Blackshire

Shot of the day was my second on a par 5. Hit a great drive that ended up in some pretty thick rough right. I had 195 to an elevated green, adjusted to ~210. My lie was partially settled down - the kind of lie that feels like you've gotta give it 110% for it to come out decent, otherwise it's coming out dead. This was the view looking into the elevated green, with a bunker guarding in front. Little tough to see, but the pin was middle left over the bunker. Gave it the full treatment, and it came out perfectly. Tracked right for the flag, and was just hoping the distance was good. Ended up pitching about 3 feet past the hole and rolling out to 10 feet just past the flag. Easy 2 putt birdie!

Fricken love those shoes. Walked right through a 2" deep spot of standing water on the course earlier today and didn't even get a hint of dampness through to my socks.

Tough league night tonight. All bogeys and one double. Couldn't scramble or putt worth a darn. I did hit a pretty awesome drive on a hole that I've struggled off the tee from, so that's a positive to take away

Got out to the range tonight for a maintenance session - alignment sticks showed me I've been lining my body up significantly open. Tweaked that back to neutral and was striking the ball well. It's funny how sometimes it's the smallest, simplest things that can make everything go sideways!

I wish I'd gotten a better look at how far they each rolled out, because most of my other drives for the day were more in line with my typical - something in the 290-310ish range depending on wind and elevation. And yeah it was! The 3rd green is the highest point on the property, with severe drop-offs and deep bunkers surrounding it. I had a ~60 yard wedge shot to be on in 3, and the wind carried it off to the right side of the green and proceeded to push it about 40 yards away haha. It really forces you to strike it pure when it's blowing like that.

I've been golfing so much lately that I haven't had time to post! In the last week and a half I've had 2 league nights and a work scramble, in addition to the two rounds I'll share more about: my brother-in-law and I got to play The Bluffs course at Arcadia Bluffs in Northern Michigan two weekends ago, and this past weekend I played in my first "competitive" round ever, a best ball 18 hole tournament at Thornapple Pointe in West Michigan. I'll talk about Arcadia in this post, and say more about the Thornapple round in a different post. For those who haven't heard of it, The Bluffs is an absolutely amazing course. It's basically right on the water of Lake Michigan, with some really interesting holes and some incredible views. Here's a few of my favorites: View from the par 5 third tee-box: View from the par 5 fifth tee-box: From the par 4 twelfth: From the par 3 thirteenth: Every hole is a unique challenge, with dune grass challenging wayward drives, varying elevation and deep bunkers to consider on approach shots, and firm fast greens with plenty of runoff. Being right on the lake, it's hard to imagine the wind is ever calm. For us, it was around 15-20mph most of the day, which certainly added to the degree of difficulty. I ended up shooting 87, even though I was striking the ball really really well. I had a personal best strokes gained day off the tee, +6.5! But I really struggled with my shorter approach shots and chips around the green. It was a really big adjustment playing a lot more rollout than I'm used to, as well as having to deal with a lot of bumps and runoffs around the green complexes. The course does lend itself to a decent amount of driver holes, and if you can stay in the fairway they ran out for days. After a hot dog at the turn, we had a down-wind and down-hill par 4, which ended up going a very long way: I hit it well, but honestly thought it must have hit a rock or the cart path or something to get that far down. However, the next hole was also playing down-hill and down-wind, and this one we could see bounding down the fairway so no funny business with a lucky bounce: Just don't mind the rest of that hole, it was a bit of a mess haha. All in all, it was an awesome day at an amazing course. Even though I lost some shots on & around the greens, we knew it was going to be a challenge so we weren't too worried about trying to go low. Just enjoyed the golf, the weather, and the views! If anyone is planning a Northern Michigan golf trip coming up, this is an absolute must play!

I tell ya what, playing fairways that run out is fun!

First league night last night, shot +5. Round was full of really solid shots and I putted great, just had a few poor swings that kept it from being a great round. I've got the rest of the summer though, so wouldn't want to be all down hill from here haha

The Max Milled looks really cool, I like that it's full faces groves and the weight ports at the back. But the lack of relief in the toe and heel makes me hesitant because I like to manipulate the face open and closed for different shots. I am a little surprised they went with a full face design on a wedge that doesn't really have relief, I would have thought that'd be more helpful when you really open up the face and potentially access high and left on the face.

Totally agree! Even though the scores weren't barn burners, I feel like we played really solid given the conditions. Just another reason to look forward to warmer weather

@therodI could be wrong here, but it sounds like there's a lot of unknowns with what shaft would feel good and perform for you, especially with the new head. You've also listed off a pretty good number of different shafts, is your plan to buy a handful and try them each out? If not, it seems to me like finding a place to get a fitting would be a good next step. When it comes to shafts I, like you, tend to do a ton of research, and sometimes there's just too much unknown for me to sort through on my own. Other times I have a much better idea of what I'm looking for, so narrowing it down to one or two options is much easier.

I've got Android as well, I checked a week or two ago and didn't have the new update but just logged on this morning and it's there now. Maybe check your app store to see if there's an available update? Or maybe they're rolling it out in groups somehow.

First outdoor 9 of the year! I played a super short course near me mostly to knock the rust off and remind myself what real golf actually felt like again. Shot of the day was on a 275 yd par 4, straight away to a green that slopes pretty severely back to front. I hit my 2 hybrid on the nose and it faded right toward the heart of the green. I actually plugged it on the fly into the green about 2 yards on, man it feels good to be golfing again!!

Funny this thread just started, my brother in law just asked if I could install a Superstroke for him. After your guys' recommendations I'll be giving the level/square strategy a shot!

Very nice!! How would you compare CC to Leading Edge over in Okemos? Also, what in the world is that wedge?!? I've never seen anything like that!

Man, wish I knew I could lock in a yes, this kind of thing sounds awesome! I'm a long stretch maybe with the travel, cost and some personal/family commitments, but this is the sort of thing I'd absolutely love to be a part of at some point, even if it is a few years in the future!

Wowza!! Cam Smith just duck hooked his tee shot on 18, I haven't seen a ball flight like that since watching my ball do that last summer lol

Finally getting my butt into some lessons this off season - even though the off season is almost over! Better late than never, right? The last few years I've gotten lessons from a local high school coach who's does a little teaching on the side. Really liked working with him, but his schedule was just super booked which made things difficult. I'm giving online lessons a shot, maybe more details coming on that at a later date. Wanted to post these as a bit of a bookmark for where my swing is at before starting lessons. I'm pretty content with my backswing (I struggle letting my arms and hands getting loose at the top), but I think I have some issues in my downswing and follow through I'd like to get sorted through. Excited to get some feedback from my coach and make some improvements!

That's really cool! Do you feel like you have a lot of new tee ball strategies for different holes now, or was there a lot similar? I've always been curious how golf course strategy that's made based on more championship style courses holds up to the smaller, shorter, tighter courses. There's a few I play around here that frequently stump me, and I always feel like it's much harder to play to the course handicap, but I digress that's probably another topic entirely. I also really enjoy Lou (and the rest of the guys) on Hack it Out, as well as Jon Sherman and Adam Young's podcast

Looks good!! How long did it end up taking?

Thanks for the birthday wishes!