ncwoz

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

Feeling like I'm getting back on track and playing more up to where I was hoping to be this season. Driver continues to be the weak spot of my game and I need to work on that as it costs me a couple of strokes each round it seems.
But today was a good day, carding a +1 73 after coming to 16 one-under. Three-putted a tough, tough pin placement on 16 for bogey after burning the edge and watching the ball roll out way too much. Followed by a missed five footer par save on 17, and on 18 I smother hooked a drive leaving me 190+ into the green. Nice 6 iron to 30 feet, my birdie putt for even par 72 hit the lip and rimmed out... oh well!
Ten of my last 15 rounds have been 79 or better so that's a positive streak to have going for me right now.

Life has gotten busy and kept me from being as active as I'd like on the forum, but this was too good not to post!
First 9 holes under par!!!
34 (-2, net -5)
3/7 FIR, 8/9 GIR, 15 putts
Everything was just humming today! Really good off the tee, approach game was fantastic for me, and I think I scared the hole every single putt but one. Actually had it to 3 under after 8, bogied the 9th for the only blemish of the day, but one that I'm not upset about at all!! So pumped!!!

Life has gotten busy and kept me from being as active as I'd like on the forum, but this was too good not to post!
First 9 holes under par!!!
34 (-2, net -5)
3/7 FIR, 8/9 GIR, 15 putts
Everything was just humming today! Really good off the tee, approach game was fantastic for me, and I think I scared the hole every single putt but one. Actually had it to 3 under after 8, bogied the 9th for the only blemish of the day, but one that I'm not upset about at all!! So pumped!!!

Life has gotten busy and kept me from being as active as I'd like on the forum, but this was too good not to post!
First 9 holes under par!!!
34 (-2, net -5)
3/7 FIR, 8/9 GIR, 15 putts
Everything was just humming today! Really good off the tee, approach game was fantastic for me, and I think I scared the hole every single putt but one. Actually had it to 3 under after 8, bogied the 9th for the only blemish of the day, but one that I'm not upset about at all!! So pumped!!!

Life has gotten busy and kept me from being as active as I'd like on the forum, but this was too good not to post!
First 9 holes under par!!!
34 (-2, net -5)
3/7 FIR, 8/9 GIR, 15 putts
Everything was just humming today! Really good off the tee, approach game was fantastic for me, and I think I scared the hole every single putt but one. Actually had it to 3 under after 8, bogied the 9th for the only blemish of the day, but one that I'm not upset about at all!! So pumped!!!

I certainly agree on the subject of the TS4. It's a fun club but needs to be respected. It truly rewards an aggressive swing.
It also really brings back memories of the OG, MMB.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

Adding to my arsenal...
So for the past couple of years, I've been getting more direct guidance at golf through online instruction. Chiefly, I've worked with Jayson Nickol on my swing and have taken a lesson on putting from Chase Davis, both through Skillest.
Through Twitter, I've also developed some pretty good (albeit mostly virtual) relationships with other instructors that I hold in high regard. One of those is Adam Young, probably best known for his book The Practice Manual. Although we've still not met in person, Adam and I have had a number of interesting conversations (about golf, philosophy, theology, etc); he's also been really helpful keeping an eye on Kirke's swing over the years, since we don't have local coaching.
I've recently decided to dive in and register for Adam's 8-week online program. The first session was yesterday, as Adam introduces a lot of his golf philosophy and what we'll be doing over the next 8 weeks. If you've followed his work at all, you know that Adam focuses mostly on impact and strike, rather than swing aesthetics. And he puts a great deal of emphasis on data: knowing exactly what you're doing (both on the range and on the course), so that you really know what you have to work on to get better.
So I watched the first session yesterday, and went out this morning to play a quick nine with Kirke. Shot my best 9-hole score in a long time (and I think my best ever on our front nine, which is much trickier [at least for me] than the back).

Obviously, this means that this program is the turning point in my golf life 🙂
In all seriousness: I think the big parts of my swing movement are, more or less, sound. My short game and putting are not perfect, but they're good enough to reach my golf goal of reaching a stable single-figure handicap. I do believe that concentrated work on strike, with structure and intent, will help me get the rest of the way to my goal.

Looks like I'll be giving Arccos another go since I was able to get the sensors for free with a 45-day trial. I left my Shot Scope H4 at the golf course last week and figured why not. I was able to get a replacement H4 at a discount though so Arccos is really going to have to impress me this time around if they want me to pony up an annual fee. I understand why they do it, but I still think their pricing is out of whack. 
I'll be using it with my Apple Watch SE2 and can share my thoughts on that experience for anyone interested.

Had the pleasure of being invited to play a scramble at American Dunes in Grand Haven yesterday. For those unfamiliar with American Dunes, it is a recently-opened Jack Nicklaus redesign of Grand Haven Golf Club that is dedicated to the Folds of Honor project. Folds of Honor is a nonprofit organization that helps provide the families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders with educational scholarships. Typically a $155 round this time of year so to get on for an outing was a nice day!
They stripped down several inches of top soil during the redesign and got back to the sand base as it is basically a huge sand dune near Lake Michigan.




My tee game was pretty solid, short game was really good, putting was better than I expected but my iron play was poor. Still an excellent day and a lot of fun.
My cliff notes course review:
Be sure to review the satellite maps or the scorecard holes closely. There's several blind shots around the course. On the par 5 No. 13 hole I thought it was particularly unfair, as your second shot goes up blind over a hill and funnels down to a green surrounded by bunkers. I don't know that you could possibly hit the green other than through blind luck. Shotmaker's dream around the greens. Lots of fun to be had with different options for high shots, low runners, etc. Tough but fair setup. If I had been playing solo I'd have played away from most of the trouble and been OK. The par 3s are brutal. It's very good golf, but there is a lot of good golf in West Michigan and there are courses with rates in the $60-$90 range that are just as good. Obviously, the proceeds from American Dunes go to a good cause so keeping that in mind it's somewhere I'd love to play every couple of years as a treat.

MyGolfSpy Forum is very excited to announce our testers for the Bag Boy Nitron Cart!

We have 4 great members and testers set to take push cart mafia to a new level with the Nitron!
Please welcome and congratulate our testers!
@Lacassem
@edingc
@Preeway
@Hobert

I’ll hurry these up for a quicker read…
had an eagle last Thursday on a par 5, and missed a repeat eagle the next day on a lip out.
todays shots were a 9 iron on 10, a 7 iron on 11, and then an 8 iron on 12- missed all birdie putts. Actually a 9 iron on 13 as well. Well I guess I shouldn’t omit the 3 nine wood shots that were soaring beauties as well… but missed all those birdie putts too- come to think of it, I didn’t make a single birdie all day
but the irons were just soooooo crispy today- so fun

Literally had the same discussion with the owner of my course yesterday. Someone Sunday complained about the weekend 18 riding rate increasing to $48 from $42 last season and basically told the person in the club house that they would be hurting because of the cost. Owner said they turned away 60-70 phone calls on Sunday for tee times during the afternoon (it was beautiful outside) and had a line waiting to use the driving range. No shortage of people willing to pay the price.
As far as this topic goes, we have three "uber-elite" country clubs near us that I believe are doing OK financially, but I don't know that there is a wait to join. I believe the initiation fees are in excess of $10,000 each, so they are kind of self-limiting.
Their is another group of courses that are more affordable, with membership being something like $5,000-$6,000/yearly. They are always looking for members but I don't believe there are money problems either. Nice courses, nothing special.
It's getting harder to find "affordable" golf in general, but it is unfortunate there is such a spread between a public course membership, the mid-tier club and the high-end country clubs. I paid $1,200 this year for unlimited walking and unlimited range balls (not at the same place due to logistics of where I work vs. where I play). I can't see paying three or four times that for the mid-tiers as, like you, I don't find much value in restaurants, pools or poorly-equipped workout facilities.

After comparing the TS3 7 iron to the Tour Edge C721 counterpart, I ended up pulling the C721 heads and selling them on the bay.  Kept the KGS TGI 80 shafts and installed the 5 thru P of TS3 iron heads.  
While the click/firm feeling of the 721's were ok, the sole of the 721's just didn't work/feel right.  It is crazy that the TS3, when struck well, hardly feel like you even struck a golf ball.  League starts this coming Thursday.  Can hardly wait.
 
In case anyone is interested, I have attached a chart with the Maltby TS line of irons.  It compares loft and offsets for each model.
 
 

1792 bourbon as I marinate on my front porch and catch up with my fellow spies. Cheers!

Disappointing weekend after a couple of good range days this week. My tee game is comical at the moment. Over 27 holes of golf I hit only 2 of 23 fairways.
I recovered well, but it's hard to score when you're blocked out by trees for your second shot. Still incredibly wet. Playing lift, clean and place heading into the second week of May is no fun.
Of course, I parred my last two holes this morning with some pretty good golf. Hopefully I can carry that over into my round Tuesday.

I mean TrackMan is over $10k.  GC Quad is over $10k and then you have to pay more for the club data.  GC3 is $7k and you get path and angle of attack, and Bushnell Launch Pro is $3k but you have to pay the subscription yearly or unlock it to get path and angle of attack.  Uneekor models are $4.5k - over $10k and include some club data
So if it is accurate, it is the most cost effective version that gives you club and ball data.  My biggest question is the accuracy of ball data with still just one camera when all other units seem to use at least two.  And the Doppler will need to be proven as most other radar units are behind the ball, so this is a new way to use it.  

First night of league last night! It was cold and WINDY, but great to be starting back up. My short game was unreal, I chipped twice to within 2 feet, and had a couple longer putts drop. Off the tee and approach wasn't terrible, but off just enough. It felt like each hole if it wasn't the tee shot it was my approach - if it was good contact it was misjudging the wind. Just one of those days. Ended up with a 43, but tons of great things to take from the round. Hoping next week the weather is a little more mild!

First night of league last night! It was cold and WINDY, but great to be starting back up. My short game was unreal, I chipped twice to within 2 feet, and had a couple longer putts drop. Off the tee and approach wasn't terrible, but off just enough. It felt like each hole if it wasn't the tee shot it was my approach - if it was good contact it was misjudging the wind. Just one of those days. Ended up with a 43, but tons of great things to take from the round. Hoping next week the weather is a little more mild!

https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/first-look/first-look-skytrak-launch-monitor-review/
A good little recap. 
I am interested. WIll be curious though if we could get a comparison to the new Rapsodo side by side. This years most wanted for launch monitors may be the best year yet. 

you must have a special link,  per the skytrak site it is $2995.  

First night of league last night! It was cold and WINDY, but great to be starting back up. My short game was unreal, I chipped twice to within 2 feet, and had a couple longer putts drop. Off the tee and approach wasn't terrible, but off just enough. It felt like each hole if it wasn't the tee shot it was my approach - if it was good contact it was misjudging the wind. Just one of those days. Ended up with a 43, but tons of great things to take from the round. Hoping next week the weather is a little more mild!

First night of league last night! It was cold and WINDY, but great to be starting back up. My short game was unreal, I chipped twice to within 2 feet, and had a couple longer putts drop. Off the tee and approach wasn't terrible, but off just enough. It felt like each hole if it wasn't the tee shot it was my approach - if it was good contact it was misjudging the wind. Just one of those days. Ended up with a 43, but tons of great things to take from the round. Hoping next week the weather is a little more mild!

First night of league last night! It was cold and WINDY, but great to be starting back up. My short game was unreal, I chipped twice to within 2 feet, and had a couple longer putts drop. Off the tee and approach wasn't terrible, but off just enough. It felt like each hole if it wasn't the tee shot it was my approach - if it was good contact it was misjudging the wind. Just one of those days. Ended up with a 43, but tons of great things to take from the round. Hoping next week the weather is a little more mild!

First night of league last night! It was cold and WINDY, but great to be starting back up. My short game was unreal, I chipped twice to within 2 feet, and had a couple longer putts drop. Off the tee and approach wasn't terrible, but off just enough. It felt like each hole if it wasn't the tee shot it was my approach - if it was good contact it was misjudging the wind. Just one of those days. Ended up with a 43, but tons of great things to take from the round. Hoping next week the weather is a little more mild!