den748

I'm playing Pinehurst during the weekend of the Ryder Cup (Sept 23-26). Wondering if anyone has tips for whether to get Caddies, is pace of play pretty good, what is the cart person situation like? Prices for drinks? Here is the itinerary: Sept 23rd: #5, #9 Sept 24th: #4 ; #7 Sept 25th: #2; cradle Sept 26th: #8 (maybe adding another here) Sept 27th: Tobacco Road Thank you in advance

I am not. So it is certainly a possibility. I just feel the same and set up the same as I do with my 3 wood. I also have a very high ball flight which I think is due to me swinging up/setting up too far forward in my stance (or one of a million other things wrong with my swing)

This tip single handedly removed 3 strokes off my handicap. But for the question asked, I hit my hybrids more like a wood. Usually forward in stance and not hitting down on it. Never come close to taking any earth up when swinging.

Gloves: I buy cheaper gloves but prefer leather. I go to MG and buy them like 5 at a time. I do love Titleist gloves but hate the price so I avoid them. Fitting: Get lessons first. Lie wont matter if you can't hit the ball. Get fitted for your second set of clubs once you are more consistent. With that said though, fit yourself for gapping. Try not to have some huge gap between like 90 yards and 130. Rules: This one is the toughest to answer. If you want a handicap, play by the no mulligans, foot wedges, etc. Those ones directly impact your score and if you ever were to get into a cash game you'd be giving too few strokes. But some rules you can almost ignore the entire time until in a competitive round (ex: not touching sand on back swing). Draw a line in the sand if you want all the way up to a true competitive round just so you can get better.

I've heard great things and I'd be open to using them if they had them in my loft (54 degree). though if I lose my 60 degree (it's happened before) I'd probably replace with the 3 pack and maybe just have the 52 and 56 as back ups.

Just tried the GHIN one the other day. The green slope feature is just outstanding. I believe it is only free for a limited time then $40 (?) a year. I'll likely be purchasing the premium just for the greens alone.

This is just so so well said. And yes, I'd play it but as someone said, maybe get a a really solid putter cover.

This one drives me nuts. I do play "slower" walking, but only if I am first out and no one is in front of me. On a busy weekend, walking doesn't slow anything down. In fact, I'd argue if more people walked, they would complain less because they would not be rushing to the next tee box and waiting, it just flows better. I'm not saying carts should go away, I love carts (they carry more beer than my push cart) but I just hate this "walking is way slower" take that courses sometimes take. Marshals are only as useless as the course would allow them to be. They are the league of nations, given power to make rules but no way to enforce it.

Are there any other golfers here who like to slice and dice their handicaps? I got a little bored tonight (or REALLY bored) and created a google sheet with all of my handicaps over the past year plus. Found some things that are interesting to me but not all that surprising. First the good: My handicap is plummeting. This is something I knew but this is also what kicked off my curiosity. I have been playing MUCH more golf at my home course, to the point where 15 of my 20 counted rounds are at home. The good, the bad, and the ugly: My home handicap is a 7.6, my away number is 10.6, and then my competition handicap is an 11.6. And the competition one is only that low because of a few competitions at my home course. Some other interesting tidbits: Avg Handicap Counting Score: 79.13 Average Score: 86.7 Take-a-way: When your friends that don't have a handicap tell you that they have an average score of 90 (for example), their handicap should probably be based on a score of around an 86. Don't give them too many strokes to your detriment. Out of all my scores in the past ~18 months I have only been below my current handicap around 7% of the time. So the takeaway here is that you shouldn't expect to shoot your handicap often. While we should all know this, I think people get overly upset when they are not at their handicap or feel embarrassed if they play with someone and say their a 7 but then shoot a 90...it happens! Another take-a-way is that I'm improving! If you see this number at a high percentage then you're probably trending in the wrong direction. Anyways, thought maybe people would find this a little bit interesting. If you want to see the sheet, feel free to go here and make copies if you want to input your own scores: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qTF_yFM046NESiB35FkJq75t6xCkS894PFyu1ZGH7bQ/edit?usp=sharing I gotta start working on my competition prep and nerves. Being that far off my handicap when playing when it matters is no bueno. For discussion sake, is there a point where I am posting too many home scores? I get that it shouldn't matter but lets be honest, you get a lot of benefit from playing the same course over and over again.

Best 2 tips I got were: 1) Weight in front foot. I actually stand on one foot as a pre shot chipping routing to remind myself to do this. 2) Always use the same club. I know there are times where chipping with a 7 iron make sense but I don't have the time to get proficient in it. If I'm not confident it will show in my swing because I'll be thinking through the entire swing. Outside of a necessary lob shot (tucked pin having to go over a bunker) I always use my 54. It gives me more predictable results as I know how it will spin and land and roll out. The less I have to think about the better.

Prefacing with not an expert by any stretch but... I'd imagine the better player you are, the more it matters. If you're not able to strike a ball well, who cares what shaft you have? If you're someone who constantly makes good contact and are pretty consistent in your swing, then I feel like the shaft will start making a much bigger difference. Similar to if you can't hit a ball in the air, a PRO-V1 will perform the same as a top flight on a skulled chip.

I'm generally ok with it but If a course does allow it, there should be a VERY short leash (pun intended) for the owners. If the dog barks or runs off then you're off the course. No strikes, no warnings...just gone. No refund. And they should have to sign something when starting stating they understand the rules.

I started bringing a baseball rosin bag with me for days like that. Also have done the rotating gloves. All work to varying levels.

Communication with the wife has been the biggest adjustment. Keeping a solid calendar and allowing participate in her hobbies. The thing that has disappeared the most is the last second "I'm going to go play golf this afternoon" request. Also, everything said by Kanoito is super helpful. Including the kids when you can makes is so much better. Played 9 holes with my 8 year old the other day and he wanted to keep score for the very first time so I made up some holes for him on the course. 150-170 was a par 5, 100-140 par 4, 50-70 par 3. It was honestly the most enjoyable 9 holes I've ever played.

Depends on what is causing it. I get the shanks (the golf equivalent of the twisties) at least twice a year and this year was the first time I figured out why. I come down too steep. So when it happens now I know what to do at the range, focus on shallowing out and slowing down. Before I knew what the problem was, I'd just take 2 weeks away from golf. Look at my clubs and say "screw you guys, I'm going home". Come back and hopefully it fixes itself.

Views is the predominant factor for me. Layout is also pretty important. I can get over less than ideal conditions as long as the price is right.

Mine so far is Half Moon Bay. I know it has a terrible reputation for the layout but it was the most incredible views at a course I've ever played. I'm trying to become more of a layout snob but views will always be my favorite part of a course. I need to play more mountain courses in the rocky mountain area, love mountain views.

Just purchased and used a push cart for the first time the other day. I think it improved my game to be honest. Always had my clubs near so could change clubs on a whip without thinking "oh man I'm holding it up if I have to run to my cart to get a new club" love it.

You did the right thing walking off. I know that I can be bust chops but there is an art to reading people to make sure they're 1) ok with it 2) will bust my chops right back. You need a few holes to figure this out and make get to know everyone. I'm sorry you experienced this and hope you give the course another try. I also hope that you get your game together and then play with them again to whoop their butts with your off-brand clubs and shoes. Send them home with their tails between their legs.

The sabermetrics of golf! The amount of amateur data that is available now from the various tracking apps should help everyones game if you believe in them. Of course, there are those that will look at the wrong stats (i.e. strikeouts in baseball) and cling to older ways of thinking. This thread has opened my eyes a bit to some of these.

I just found out that there are golf sites that will give credit for balls. Assuming a certain percentage of them are major manufacturer. I had no idea and have actually started looking for balls on the course.

Great thread to read from a "many things are bigger than golf" perspective. Of course I do hate hearing about the lives impacted and wish the thread wasn't necessary. Stay safe out there everyone!

I tend to agree. Where I might see a slight disagreement is that he is working so damn closely with the shaft manufacturer to build a near specialized shaft for him. Now, with that said, I'm sure many players are but he's just better able to communicate to the engineers what he is feeling. If you've ever seen "Days of Thunder" I feel like most players are like Cole Trickle. They know how to hit a ball (drive a car) but have no idea what it means when the middle part of the shaft is too loose and the tip is too tight (car driving loose). But Bryson is a mechanic and can describe things perfectly and make the changes better. Should he be penalized for being more intelligent...maybe not... but they can see that he's making changes too fast and when that trickles down to other players the tour/USGA may intervene. Brysons body change is just one piece of his improvement. He's altering his equipment as well to fit his body changes. This is more relevant than anything. He still has to 1 hit it straight and 2, putt it into the cup. It's an advantage but it's not an end all be all.

This is more a hypothetical exercise but here goes... If you have 2 almost identical players, meaning swing type, perfect mechanics, weight transfer, everything...but one has arms that are 2 inches longer. The guy with 2 inch longer limbs will hit the ball further. But in the real world, there are no 2 identical players, you have to consider everything else. It is just one thing that goes into the distance equation.

If you average 270 you'd be a long hitter here. (Side note, I thought I averaged like 270, then I started tracking and I average 250-260). But I think it is widely accepted that distance lowers scores with the huge caveat that you have to at least keep it in play. I played 9 yesterday afternoon but I took all woods and hybrids out of my bag and played only with my irons (5I through 60 degree) and my take away for me is that I don't "need" my woods on many par 4's (anything under 370) but it really would have helped on the par 5's. I can still get there in 3 but it makes that 3rd shot a lot longer. Funny that I shot pretty much the same score on 9 that I did using my woods. Small sample size but I'm taking it away that I should use my irons more off the tee while I work on getting my driver in play more often.