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Pandaman

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Everything posted by Pandaman

  1. @DaveP043 thanks. That would be my thoughts too. But I figured, as it was a pretty unusual occurence, it would be interesting to put it out there.
  2. Bit of a long story, but... Four of us were playing as a team in a 'waltz', so all four of us were 'partners'. I pitched up onto a green, and saw my ball land and stop, but couldn't judge the location or distance from the pin very well due to the shallow viewing angle I had. I went back to my bag, replaced the wedge, pulled out my putter, walked on to the green found my ball -and 3 putted for double bogey. While walking to the next tee one of the team mentioned that I putted from the wrong spot as another team member had marked my ball and rolled it out of the way of his putt (whilst I was at my bag, and not looking, presumably), but didn't tell me. I just putted from where I found my ball, not thinking that a ball marker I passed, several feet nearer the hole, was where my ball should have been, I just assumed it was for one of the others. So, as the player that moved my ball was on the same 'team' as me I believe he was allowed to mark and move my ball without asking me first, but I would assume a penalty should have been applied, as I clearly putted from the wrong spot, although I had no reason to doubt that my ball was in the right place, and wasn't informed until after we finished the hole and cleared the green, and the 'offending' player then confirmed he moved it. What penalty should be applied and to who? Me for playing from the wrong spot, or the other fellow for not informing me he moved my ball and causing me to play from the wrong spot. (Had my first putt gone in I would have made par, and scored more for the team than we actually wrote down.)
  3. At $575 greenfees, if you get round in 72 then you are looking at nearly $8 each time you hit the ball. Using that logic at least high handicappers will get better value for money.
  4. I presume by 'vision therapy' you mean 'training', as in just learning to use your eyes more efficiently/effectively. Interesting concept.
  5. I got fitted two years ago, my handicap was the same ballpark as yours at the time. I tried two different fitters. The first was a local branch of a large golf retail chain at a club I played at. My experience was to put it politely 'valuable'. I was informed that I 'Wasn't old enough for graphite shafts yet' without being measured. I only tried a couple of types of irons, then he said 'try the Wilsons'. And yes, to be fair, they did perform a little better than the others I tried, he then said 'Ok , the Wilsons is then'. At which point, having only tried 3 models I felt very 'steered' towards what he wanted to sell. it was a similar story with the woods too. I walked away feeling like I'd had a pushy sales pitch, not a 'fitting'. My second fitting was at a specialist fitter. A brief chat about what I wanted and budget etc on the phone when making my appointment and he said 'come with an open mind, you may well end up with a mixed bag'. On the day, first off he measured my swing on the Mizuno 'thingy' to get the shaft options (Turned out my best options were graphite). Then we started testing irons, he said 'try not to look what they are so it doesn't influence you, I want to pinpoint what works best' I tried maybe 10 or so different models. We then repeated the process with hybrids, fairways and driver. I ended up with all the same brand in the end, but only because that's what worked best for me. I didn't get a 'full tour player' type fitting (tweaking individual loft and lie etc for each club). I was (and still am) far too inconsistent for that. But what I did get was the confidence that what bought was the best option for me for my budget.. The right heads, with the right shaft, in the right length, and the right lie angles for me. I couldn't realistically have expected more than that, and the prices were the same as I would have paid at the first place too. Yes I had to wait a few weeks as he ordered the bits specially and built the clubs himself, but it was worth it. In short... find a specialist fitter if you can, rather than a 'fitter'/sales assistant that gets incentivised to fit you into what they have in stock.
  6. A thought... 'Fitting' does not have to mean a full, detailed, analysis of each and every club to tweak the exact loft etc. It can be as basic as checking your swing and making sure you get an appropriate shaft flex. Trying a variety of different models to see what works best for YOU. And making sure you get the right length and lie angles. That's all my 'full bag' fitting was. A detailed gapping session and tweaking lofts to fine tune can easily be done later, if needed, once you get used to the clubs.
  7. I will echo what others have said... Go to a fitter that can work out which brands and models work for YOU. I did that a couple of years back. I am a high handicap, moderate swing speed player. Wanted to upgrade my 10+ year old set for more modern, more forgiving ones. Went with an open mind as to brands, as i wanted the best for me for my budget. He measued my swing to narrow down shaft options that suited me then 'blind tested' (as best as he could) about 8 or 10 different irons options, then did the same with hybrids and woods.
  8. I recently bought an Inesis waterproof stand bag (Decathlon own brand), after comparing with other better known brands. I was a little wary, but decided to give it a try, very pleased with it, especially at under £100, I doubt I would be any happer with any of the other brands offerings at far higher price points. 14 way full length dividers, 5 decent sized pockets, surprisingly comfy to carry. Well worth considering IMHO.
  9. My thoughts... You heart seems to be with martial arts, so go with that. Golf is something you can dip in and out of with as little commitment as you like. You can still play casually if/when time permits, and enjoy it too, as long as you keep your expectations in check, and don't beat yourself up over not scoring as well as you do now.
  10. Go 5 yards past the green on my home course's 170yd par 3 18th and you are nestled against a wall, another 2 or 3 yards and you could be in someones pint glass on the patio (no I haven't yet, before you ask), long and a little right puts you in the clubhouse conservatory. Short is best on that one.
  11. Am I missing something here? (I am in UK, so not on a slope based or WHS type hcp system yet) But shouldn't the handicap system sort that out? Ok, no system is ever 'perfect' I know, but If the slope rating for the set of tees used is worked out properly surely that should even the chances for shorter hitters. I realise that a short, but very accurate hitter may have difficulty actually reaching some fairways, but if they do play from shorter tees doesn't that just give them an unfair advantage? Edit... If the issue is one of carry required to clear deep rough or water etc then surely (knowing that a wide variety of players will be using the longer tees in club comps) that is a course design/layout issue, not player handicap or age problem.
  12. I voted other. A combination mainly of cost and accuracy for me, but also space. If i could get skytrak, or close to it, functionality at around £500 or so I would most likely have bought one. Aside from features and accuracy the doppler ones all need several feet of ball flight, which does limit my usage options a bit too. Edit... unless it's accurate enough for short game distance practice, and cheap enough for me to accept it's limits, for me to use it for meaningful practice i would want some form of shot direction and shape indication too. Otherwise i would use it to get rough club distances then just get frustrated that was all i could do with it.
  13. The Puttout pressure putt 'hole' thingy is good. And as you are effectively getting it free then it's not a bad choice. Their putting mat is nice too, but I don't know how it compares to other 'premium' mats.
  14. Definitely not 'maintenance free' though, but I imagine requiring noticeably less attention than grass. Also, from a playing POV, isn't adapting to different green conditions due to weather etc part of the challenge? I can certainly imagine artificial green (and tees more so) becoming more common over time especially for 'new builds'. But for an established course to rip its turf greens up to replace them would be a huge financial outlay, so unless it is part of a planned redesign it's probably not practical.
  15. I agree with what @turpp said above. A good book that helped my understanding a lot. Lessons are great, and a 'multi lesson' package deal with a pro you get on with is not a bad option. But at least one lesson, maybe two, to give you pointers is needed to make sure you are fixing the right things. The trick though is to remember, and practice, what the lesson highlighted. Which is where the right training aids come in. You need things that give decent feedback to ensure you can see when you do it right or wrong. Depnding on your needs a simple thing using stuff you have to hand, like placing practice balls to guide your swing path, can be as effective as fancy gadgets.
  16. I would say a lesson or two at least as a starting point. Then see how it goes, you csn then get more lessons and/or pointers as to what equipment would be your best options.
  17. Not ideal I know, but if you can't source one, you could get a dirt cheap putter, or an old one from a charity shop, and have a go at grinding or filing it a bit yourself. Or, less destructively, try sticking something to the face to get a similar effect.
  18. How about looking into some form of collaboration with local golf clubs? After all it is potentially helping to recruit more membership for them.
  19. @Kevin E, this happens to most, if not all, of us. When it happens to me it usually creeps up on me over a couple of increasingly erratic rounds. Then it dawns on me what is happening (usually old bad habits sneaking back in and exagerating my natural out-to-in path by not rotating my body enough), so i can then work on getting back to trying to do it properly. Going back to basics is the way to go for me too.
  20. I have an S60 and like it a lot. I think the S40 functions the same golf wise, I like the convenience of a watch over a phone app. Just glance and look, then just fiddle if i need more info. To get 2 full rounds out of a full charge would be a very close run thing, so definitely worth assuming it is not going to manage it. Club tracking is ok, but often misses chips etc. and is independent to the score, which you enter manually. The TomTom2 has an easy to use manual shot entry feature which the Garmin does not. The garmin app I like, much more than the TomTom one. But ot does ignore the missed chips and adds them to the length of the previous shot. If you like the idea of a watch then give it serious consideration.
  21. I was hitting my 3 wood better than driver fairly consistently so, rather than mess with my existing 3 wood I got another the same off eBay and swapped shafts with my driver. So I now have a choice between a 2" shorter driver and 2" longer 3wood. So far the driver is doing well, not lost distance, gained if anything, and more accurate. I need to do more evaluation, but so far shorter driver seems better for me than 'standard'.
  22. If GI or SGI irons make it harder to 'shape' the ball flight how come i can slice it so badly with my Cobra F7s? The problem I have is controlling MY swing, if I could do that well enough I think I could shape my shots more or less how I wanted. Isn't a slice just an unintentional curve on the flight? If it can be done that easily by accident, then with enough skill i don't see why it shouldn't be possible to produce the shape I want. I can't say whether blades would be 'easier' to 'shape' or not, I haven't tried blades, but I can't imagine there would be a great deal of difference between similar lofted irons, certainly for most handicap golfers anyway.
  23. I don't consider myself 'good' yet. Been playing about 13 years total, but the last 3 fairly seriously, recently dropped to 29 hcp and looks like dropping more very soon. Not especially unhappy with my game overall and I would certainly consider myself 'competent' though.
  24. Please correct me if I am wrong here, But if they happen to be different lengths, whether or not it is the same type of shaft, then that could affect lie angle a bit.
  25. As @hckymeyer said above. A basic fitting to ensure you get the right length and lie, or at least somewhere near will help you a lot. I got my first set second hand from a club pro shop and that stuff was checked at the tome i bought them. It is also fairly easy to fix unless they are far off. Shaft weight and stiffness etc are probably less critical, especially for a beginner, but if you can get them optimised for you then do so.
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