Midwest: MN, WI, MI, IL, IN, OH, WV

[Lester430 2]

Hi everyone, been playing golf since high school but stopped for 20 years due to a perfectionist Dad's voice in my head.

Picked it up in the last 5 years again and it's been great getting back!

[McFly 12]

Hello fellow golfers
This is the first forum I have joined and only because it's golf related. I am returning to regular play of this great game after spending years raising a family. It's my hope to practice more, take lessons and join a league to establish a real handicap, play new courses and meet new friends along the way.
As you all well know, playing in NEOhio can limit your practice and play during the Winter months so I will be working on getting fitted for clubs and take lessons.

I'm looking forward to hearing from others about golf courses played and recommendations on improving my game.

Cheers! 

[tony@CIC 17,373]

2 hours ago, Keen63 said:

Hey guys. I’ve been playing golf for 30 years and have gotten down to a 7.4 handicap. I love just trying to work and get better at the game and it’s a fun and competitive outlet that you don’t have after you graduate from competitive sports. I came over to mygolfspy because I follow their ratings religiously and wanted to get in on the act. One thing I’m somewhat obsessed over is when personal launch monitors under $1000 becomes a thing. Any insights on that question and how far our phones are in that task is interesting to me. 

Here's a good starting point.

https://mygolfspy.com/best-personal-golf-launch-monitors-of-2020/

 

[3PuttBirdie 3]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?   
   9 Years / Average Score = 93 

2. What do you love about golf?   
   It’s a challenging game that takes a lot of thought and patience! 

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?   
   I love gear, I trust MGS reviews and love the way their written and presented!

4. Where are you from? What is your home course? 
   Western Chicagoland area! Klein Creek GC

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? 
   There’s an abundance of courses! 
   It stops in the winter

6. What do you do for a living?  I am a regional sales manager that oversees teams of account executives and sales specialists. 

7. How’d you pick your user name? Have you ever seen a 3PuttBirdie???

[GolfNut14 3]

On 2/11/2019 at 5:27 PM, GolfSpy MPR said:

• How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?         I have been playing for about 30 years now. My handicap is a 2. 

• What do you love about golf?          The best thing I like about the game of golf is that it is different everyday you go out and play. You can either play by yourself or with a group of friends. Enjoy the competition not only with yourself, the course, but against others. Have played in many local and regional tournaments. 

• What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?       Ran across golf spy by accident when doing some research on golf products. Liked the reviews on golf products as well as the opportunity to try equipment out and review those items. 

• Where are you from? What is your home course?            I am from Indianapolis,IN. Home course is currently The Legends Golf Club, but many of the area courses we have through out the year. 

• What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?              Best thing about golf in our area is that we have some great courses to play not only in the immediate area but also within an hour or two drive. Worst thing is that we have to break for the cold weather, but can sneak in a random round on a 50 degree day in the winter. 

• What do you do for a living?           I am a firefighter.

• How’d you pick your user name?             The name pretty much says it all. I played a lot of sports growing up, but golf is a lifetime sport and I am nuts about it. 

 

[Bluesman57 31]

Hello, I am glad that I found this site!  I am a 64 year-old recent retiree, and have just gotten back to the game this year after a 15+ year layoff (business travel, back, hip and knee issues).  I have what I consider to be the ultimate retired guy's job, working at one of the Fort Wayne municipal courses as Karl the Greenskeeper, without the C4.

It was sure a shock to learn that I am not immune to the loss of 20+ yards off the tee; I thought that was only true for the old guys!  I've taken some lessons and have been diagnosed with that rarest of golfers' diseases, early extension; working on that with some drills and exercises this winter.

I actually don't have any scoring goals for the near future, I just want to get back to striking the ball well.  One thing that I learned about myself 20 years ago or so was that my scores began to magically improve when I stopped judging my enjoyment of a given round inversely on how many strokes I made that day.  Mowing greens before sunrise and then seeing the sun come up on the emerald stripes my mower seems to be painting on the dew-covered greens is sublime.  Life is good!

[jboom1421 5]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?  Been playing since I was a kid.  32 years old now.  Normal score is 80 +/-....short game is the issue haha.

2. What do you love about golf? I love how any day can be the best round of your life or the worst.  It is my place of peace(most days) and my place to escape.  

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? Been following mgs for years, but since covid, have become much more knowledgeable and interested in the minor details of equipment and all the aftermarket type offerings vs buying off the rack.  Eager to learn more.

4. Where are you from? What is your home course?  Grand Rapids, MI.  Don't have a home course, but my favorite in the area thus far is Thornapple Pointe.

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? Shorter seasons.  Scenery can be incredible!  

6. What do you do for a living?  Regional sales for a wood veneer company.

7. How’d you pick your user name? Nickname and picture is a tribute to my dad.

[bubs23 4]

Hi everybody.  Here goes:

• How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? Been playing since I was 6-7 years old, so almost 34 years.

• What do you love about golf?  Honestly I love that I'm already pretty good at it, and most of my friends desperately want to be.  Plus being outdoors, the self-challenge, and collecting clubs.

• What brings you to MyGolfSpy?  I've been coming to this site for years, and I like the podcast quite a bit.

• Where are you from? What is your home course?  From Evanston, my home course is Wilmette.

• What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?   The seasons, for both.  I hate that the winter shuts us down for months on end, but I also feel like I'd burn myself out if I could play 12 months/year.

• What do you do for a living?   I teach 1st grade.

• How’d you pick your user name?    It's my wife's nickname for me, and I dig it.

 

Nice to meet you!

[EddieFranks 6]

1. How long have you been playing golf? I’ve been playing golf roughly 20 years. Every year feels like the first. 
   What’s your handicap or normal score? I’m around a 10-12 Handicap 

2. What do you love about golf? I love the golf community, the competitive nature amongst the scrubs, and hitting that one shot that always keeps you coming back. 

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? Stumbled upon MyGolfSpy after seeing a thread about a simulator build. 

4. Where are you from? What is your home course? I’m from Noblesville, IN. I play mostly at Elwood Golf Links, in Elwood, IN. 

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? Probably the best thing would be the number of quality courses for your everyday amateur to select from. Worst would definitely be the weather. Not being able to play in the winter months. 

6. What do you do for a living? I’m the Chief Operating Officer for a telecommunications company. 

7. How’d you pick your user name? I use EddieFranks for every username. First and middle name and sounds like a restaurant or bar. 

[Dimpledballs 3]

Hi everyone long time lurker on the forum. So much information between the website, forum, and the podcast! So much fun!

1. How long have you been playing golf? 30+ years. Started off with my Dad and Grandpa. 

2. What’s your handicap or normal score? I’m around a 20 Handicap 

3. What do you love about golf? The competitive nature of golf, not only with others but with yourself. The ability to take time away from my daily routine and enjoy being outside and with friends

4. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? My analytic brain needs concrete data that has been missing from golf.  

5. Where are you from? What is your home course? I’m from Ann Arbor, MI. Home course: Pierce Lake in Chelsea, MI

6. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? Probably the best thing would be the number of courses available. Worst is the number of houses located right to the course

7. What do you do for a living? PA at a large hospital system in my area

8. How’d you pick your user name? I use Dimpledballs because of its relation to golf...and I find it funny

[GoBuffs11 5]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?

Had typically played 1-3 times a summer since after college until March of 2020 when I started to play more frequently. Currently at a 20 and hoping for drastic improvements with lessons.

1. What do you love about golf?

Friends, sunshine, ball striking, and equipment in no particular order. I’m a tinkerer and have already re-gripped clubs and built a putter(new insert, shaft, etc).

1. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?

Exceptional articles and information.

1. Where are you from? What is your home course?

Currently live in Chicago and play Harborside most frequently.

1. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?

Not very accessible from the city but great courses if you have the patience to wait in traffic.

1. What do you do for a living?

financial services 

1. How’d you pick your user name?

favorite team!

Cheers,

David

Edited January 2 by GoBuffs11

[g_humphrey 4]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? 

   • I do not remember starting to play golf, so that would put me at almost 25 years of playing. 

   • My handicap is in the 2-3 range.

2. What do you love about golf?

   • I enjoy the vast differences that this game provides. No one course is the same. No one round is the same. You can play the same hole over and over again and it never be the same. I also love the challenge that the game provides. Finally, I love how relatable golf is to life.

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?

   • I'm not exactly sure how I found MyGolfSpy, but I have seen reviews and forums that I enjoy on here for a while now. I decided to join just because I love golf. That's it, I do not know any other spies.

4. Where are you from? What is your home course?

   • I am from a small town just outside of Charleston, WV.

   • My golf time is spent pretty evenly between Esquire Golf Course and Riverside Golf Course.

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?

   • The best thing about golf in my area are the golfers. The majority of golfers play because they love it; therefore, they take care of the courses they play and they play with passion.

   • The worst thing right now about golf in my area is that there are few public courses near me. The closest course to me is 30 minutes away. It's a great layout, but it is a county-owned course. Sadly, they don't put the care into it that they should.

6. What do you do for a living?

   • I am a youth pastor at my local Bible-believing baptist church.

7. How’d you pick your user name?

   • I picked it because I am the least creative person that I know! 

[woruqehi 0]

On 12/8/2020 at 5:44 AM, Bluesman57 said:

Hello, I am glad that I found this site!  I am a 64 year-old recent retiree, and have just gotten back to the game this year after a 15+ year layoff (business travel, back, hip and knee issues).  I have what I consider to be the ultimate retired guy's job, working at one of the Fort Wayne municipal courses as Karl the Greenskeeper, without the C4.

It was sure a shock to learn that I am not immune to the loss of 20+ yards off the tee; I thought that was only true for the old guys!  I've taken some lessons and have been diagnosed with that rarest of golfers' diseases, early extension; working on that with some drills and exercises this winter.

I actually don't have any scoring goals for the near future, I just want to get back to striking the ball well.  One thing that I learned about myself 20 years ago or so was that my scores began to magically improve when I stopped judging my enjoyment of a given round inversely on how many strokes I made that day.  Mowing greens before sunrise and then seeing the sun come up on the emerald stripes my mower seems to be painting on the dew-covered greens is sublime.  Life is good!

Hello and welcome ;)

[RollingGreens 621]

On 12/5/2020 at 9:06 AM, Keen63 said:

Hey guys. I’ve been playing golf for 30 years and have gotten down to a 7.4 handicap. I love just trying to work and get better at the game and it’s a fun and competitive outlet that you don’t have after you graduate from competitive sports. I came over to mygolfspy because I follow their ratings religiously and wanted to get in on the act. One thing I’m somewhat obsessed over is when personal launch monitors under $1000 becomes a thing. Any insights on that question and how far our phones are in that task is interesting to me. 

You may want to take a look at the mevo +. It has a spot for being a personal launch monitor but also operating as a home simulator 

[ashaff13 4]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? I have messed around with golf since I was probably 10. Never treated it too seriously. Had hand me down clubs until college when I bought a set of Taylormade Burner Plus irons. Still had hand me down Burner driver and 3W until this year. I have played 30-50 rounds a year for the last 2-4 years now, but this year I finally became obsessed. Finally got a full bag fitting in the last couple months and can’t get enough.

2. What do you love about golf? What’s not to love? Outdoors, you can take it as seriously or as lightly as you want, bond with your kids and friends and there is no end to the attempt to get better.

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? I don’t know any spies. I am a meticulous research obsessed consumer. I had a spreadsheet for carpet when we were remodeling our house. When I finally made the leap for frequent hobby to absolute love for the game, I dove headfirst into researching every aspect to get better. Independent, unbiased reports is a no-brainer for me.

4. Where are you from? What is your home course? I am a born and raised West Virginian. Originally form Parkersburg and now living in Charleston with my wife and kids. Before this year, I wouldn’t claim a home course, but by default would be Edgewood Country Club

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? The best thing about golf in my area is that no one takes it too seriously and that equates to everyone being able to enjoy the game. The worst parts are that even for the state capital, it is a golf-sparse area. There are only 4 courses in the county, 2 private, 2 munis. Which makes the munis almost unplayable due to being packed. The private courses are pretty decent for the area, but to play any truly nice courses, its 2 hours to the Greenbrier, 90 mins to Glade Springs. And the winters make it tough to play more than about Mid-March until Late October, but there are a few mild days in November and December.

6. What do you do for a living? I am a solo practicing attorney, which makes it a little easier to make some afternoon rounds on the weekdays. 

7. How’d you pick your user name? Nothing original, I have been using the ashaff13 username since WVU assigned it to me for my college email. Creature of habit.

I am glad to be a part of the mygolfspy community and hope everyone stays safe out there!

[JB217 6]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? 1 year, although I played occasionally in my late teens, nothing on a regular basis.  20 handicap. 

2. What do you love about golf? I don’t think about anything else while I’m on the course. It takes all my focus.  

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?  To learn about the life of golf and the tools that are required to play it.  

4. Where are you from? What is your home course?  Central Illinois, home course is The Oaks. 

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?  Cold winters and an off season. Both of them are the best and the worst, off season makes you enjoy the spring all that much more.  

6. What do you do for a living?  Production Manager for a construction company 

7. How’d you pick your user name? Name and area code.  

[yupudule 1]

23 hours ago, JB217 said:

 

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? 1 year, although I played occasionally in my late teens, nothing on a regular basis.  20 handicap. 

2. What do you love about golf? I don’t think about anything else while I’m on the course. It takes all my focus.  

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?  To learn about the life of golf and the tools that are required to play it.  

4. Where are you from? What is your home course?  Central Illinois, home course is The Oaks. 

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?  Cold winters and an off season. Both of them are the best and the worst, off season makes you enjoy the spring all that much more.  

6. What do you do for a living?  Production Manager for a construction company 

7. How’d you pick your user name? Name and area code.  

Hello and welcome ;)

[NRJyzr 447]

On 1/25/2021 at 9:28 PM, JB217 said:

 

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? 1 year, although I played occasionally in my late teens, nothing on a regular basis.  20 handicap. 

2. What do you love about golf? I don’t think about anything else while I’m on the course. It takes all my focus.  

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?  To learn about the life of golf and the tools that are required to play it.  

4. Where are you from? What is your home course?  Central Illinois, home course is The Oaks. 

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?  Cold winters and an off season. Both of them are the best and the worst, off season makes you enjoy the spring all that much more.  

6. What do you do for a living?  Production Manager for a construction company 

7. How’d you pick your user name? Name and area code.  

This sounds similar to my story, when I started poking around golf forums 22+ years ago.

Be careful, though.  I now have 40-50 drivers, double digit iron sets, etc, and do my own club work.  It can be a bit of Alice's rabbit hole. 

 

[JB217 6]

I'm down the rabbit hole!!!  Club work - Check, Drivers - not that many, but growing, Iron sets - Already my third set, Started the year with tommy armour 855s and some big bertha woods that I was using circa 1997.  Moved to some Adams Idea that I got at a second hand store, then onto some Ping G 15 white dots 1" long that I got off facebook market place.  End of the season, I went and got a proper fitting because I was enjoying it so much.  

Edited February 1 by JB217
added a word

[ForeGlass 10]

 

• How long have you been playing golf?
  I grew up on a golf course. I have been playing since the mid 1970s.

• What’s your handicap or normal score?
  I normally score between 80 and 85.

• What do you love about golf?
  I love the challenge. It is great way to spend a day with old or new friends.

• What brings you to MyGolfSpy?
  I like the testing philosophy.

• Do you already know any other Spies?
  I am not sure that I do.

• Where are you from?
  Born and raised in Fort Wayne, IN. I grew up on Lakeside Golf Course (#15). It is closed now. 

• What is your home course?
  Bridgewater East in Auburn, IN

• What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?
  We have a nice variety of courses. The costs are reasonable and getting tee times usually isn't too big of a problem.

• What do you do for a living?
  I am a digital marketing professional for a Fortune 500 company.