North Central: ND, SD, NE, IA, CO, KS, MO

[GolfSpy MPR 11,379]

MGS New Member Introduction: North Central Region

North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri

Welcome to the MyGolfSpy forums! We’re always glad to have new members contributing to the best golf discussions on the internet.  If you’ve already created an introduction thread, feel free to re-introduce yourself here!

If you haven’t yet done so, take a moment to check out the Moral Codes that shape how we treat each other here.

You’ll find that this community is very welcoming to newcomers so come on in, take off your shoes, and get comfortable. Tell us all about yourself. To help us get to know you, here are some questions you might answer in your new member post. Feel free to share some fun pictures of your golfing ventures as well!

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

2. What do you love about golf?

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

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

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

6. What do you do for a living?

7. How’d you pick your user name?

[Ascott320 4]

36 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

MGS New Member Introduction: North Central Region

North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri

Welcome to the MyGolfSpy forums! We’re always glad to have new members contributing to the best golf discussions on the internet.  If you’ve already created an introduction thread, feel free to re-introduce yourself here!

If you haven’t yet done so, take a moment to check out the Moral Codes that shape how we treat each other here.

You’ll find that this community is very welcoming to newcomers so come on in, take off your shoes, and get comfortable. Tell us all about yourself. To help us get to know you, here are some questions you might answer in your new member post. Feel free to share some fun pictures of your golfing ventures as well!

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

2. What do you love about golf?

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

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

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

6. What do you do for a living?

7. How’d you pick your user name?

Hey fellas,

Started playing at age 6. Played competitive through high school. Been 27 years now. 

I love having pursued a career in the industry. I don’t work, I just hang out on a golf course all day long.. at least that’s what I tell people

Saw some opportunities to test equipment, but eager to thumb through some of the other forums and product reviews. 

From Kansas City, still reside here. Grew up playing the OP courses. Have worked at 8 facilities, could call them my temporary homes  

Winter sucks and summers are hot but plenty of golfable days to be found. 

Im a golf course superintendent at a nice club in town. 

Username is my go-to. Nothing creative. 

[NC IA Hacker 5]

Hey folks, 

I started playing in early middle school. My grandma would pick up a couple of my buddies and drop us off at the course while she played bridge over the summer.  That makes about 24 years playing now.  I currently play of around a 10 index.

I just love the game. It's more like my down time to clear my head. I'm beginning to learn the joy of teaching it to my two kiddos.

I was originally drawn to mgs checking out product reviews.

Always lived in Iowa, but had plenty of travel opportunity through work. I work as a quality manager at a major ag company based out of Minnesota.  

My home course is a nice little 18 hole muni in Fort Dodge, IA for now.  Switching to a semi-private 9 hole CC nearby next year. 

Love the range of conditions we get to play through in Iowa, but the winters can get long. 

Username...seemed like a good idea at the time, not sure I would've picked it again haha. 

[TR1PTIK 3,030]

I'm not new, but since the introduction forum has been split by region, I thought I'd go ahead and do a second intro.

 

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? I have been playing golf off and on since I was roughly 10 years old, but I finally jumped in with both feet around 25. I turn 32 in April so about 7 years of golf as my main hobby. Current handicap is 10.6 with an average score of 84.8.

2. What do you love about golf? What I love about golf is the challenge, the scenery, and the opportunity to slow down and debrief from the daily grind. I like to walk 18 in the early morning and take in the surroundings.

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? I've been on a few other forums in the past, but MGS is home primarily because of the way everyone treats each other here. I have yet to see anyone really making fun of anyone else or trying to make them feel stupid on a particular matter. It doesn't mean we all agree on everything (or anything), but discussions are generally open-minded and civil. I've had great conversations with plenty of other spies, but I don't know anyone here personally.

4. Where are you from? What is your home course? I currently live in Joplin, Missouri. I was born in Baton Rouge, LA, did a 2 year "stint" in Austin, TX when my family moved there in '95. Had the opportunity of a lifetime to go live in Hamilton, New Zealand for another 2 years after that (because of my dad's job). Finally, settled in Joplin in '99 - where my dad and much of his family are from originally. My home course is the Carthage Municipal Golf Course located in Carthage, MO (www.carthagegolfcourse.com). 

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? Best thing about golf around here is that it's fairly inexpensive and there are plenty of public courses around to play at. Worst thing is definitely the winter weather for me. I have eczema so anything much colder than 50 degrees outside and my hands start to split open which is incredibly painful.

6. What do you do for a living? Currently, I work as a trainer for a local manufacturing company . We produce a variety of batteries for commercial, medical, space, and military uses.

7. How’d you pick your user name? There's nothing fun or incredibly exciting about the story behind my username. It's a twist on the word "triptych" which is the name of my favorite album by my favorite band - Demon Hunter. Triptych simply means a set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical works (it was DH's 3rd album). Anyway, when I was younger and playing video games I adapted the word to "TR1PTIK" after discovering someone else was already using "Triptych" as their gamer tag.

That's me in a nutshell as it pertains to MGS. Welcome to all the new spies.  

[chemclub 1,026]

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

Probably since I was about 10. Went with my dad a few times and just got hooked. I took about 10 years off for school. Trying to play as much as possible but I have a young family which cuts into it. I'm lucky if I can play once a week (couple times a month in the summer is the norm) I'm a solid low 80's player but I can usually sneak a few 70's rounds into the mix.

• What do you love about golf?

I like that it's a hard game with the constant pursuit of perfection. I love the feeling when you hit that one perfectly pure shot that hangs in the air all the way to the target. It's what drives me to hit 100 more shots just to get that one feeling back. 

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

I've been around a while, though I'm not as active on here as some folks. Came originally to learn more about clubs and never left. I was definitely one of those "standard loft" guys when I first started. It's interesting how much you pick up reading around on here.

• Where are you from? What is your home course?

Canadian, born and raised. Boston for grad school. Madison for bit. Now Ames. I play a variety of courses in the area.

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

There are a bunch of great tracks in my area that I think punch above their weight in terms of quality golf.  You can play courses with a lot of elevation changes and some that are pure links. Des Moines also has some great courses as well.

• What do you do for a living?

• How’d you pick your user name?

I can kind of answer both of these. I panicked when trying to come up with a user name. I'm a chemist. We swing clubs. Alliteration is always fun = chemclub.

[blackngold_blood 5,774]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?    I have been playing golf since I was 17 so about 22 years.  My current handicap is 8 trending down!

2. What do you love about golf?  I love everything about golf even slow play since it means I am on the course!  That feeling of trying to hit a baby draw or cut and watching the ball fly exactly how I was trying to execute it is an amazing feeling.  Like others have stated that one perfect shot keeps me coming back again and again for the same feeling.

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? I like so many others was first introduced to MyGolfSpy after seeing an advertisement for a giveaway.  It took me a while to start to contribute but now this place feels like home.  My wife says I am addicted as I am on here a lot.  I don't know any spies personally (that I know of) but I am hoping that changes sooner rather than later.

4. Where are you from? What is your home course?  I live in Wesley, a small town in North Central Iowa about 40 miles west of Mason City.  My home course this year is going to be a small 9 hole public course about 4 miles from my house.  In the past I have just played a bunch of different courses throughout the year including a real hidden gem about 10 miles from my house called Spring Valley Golf Course.  

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?  The best thing about golf in my area is the combination of cost ($256+tax yearly membership or $40 or less green fees + cart on weekends) and being able to go to the course at anytime during the day on weekends and never have a 4.5 hour round!  For anybody that has lived in Iowa they know that the golf season is only 6 months a year if we are lucky, which never seems long enough.

6. What do you do for a living?  I actually just finished my schooling on December 31st for my Mechanical Journeymen's License (HVAC).  During the winter months in Iowa there is definitely a need for people that work on furnaces, especially this year!

7. How’d you pick your user name?  My username is the same as my email and usernames elsewhere.  As a Hawkeye fan my entire life, I do bleed BlacknGold!

[TR1PTIK 3,030]

11 hours ago, blackngold_blood said:

What do you do for a living?  I actually just finished my schooling on December 31st for my Mechanical Journeymen's License (HVAC).  During the winter months in Iowa there is definitely a need for people that work on furnaces, especially this year!

Congratulations! 

[blackngold_blood 5,774]

Congratulations! 

Thank you!

Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[Cmaherw 3]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? - Started golfing as a young kid with my grandfather. With high school golf season in Iowa in the Fall, I played football and took a number of years off from playing regularly. The last 4-5 years it seems to be consuming my life and I couldn't love it more. Currently at a 12 hcp, a lot of people I play with say I should be mid-low single digit, but Im just out there having fun, and play extremely aggressive since we dont play for much money. I like trying to pull off the miracle shots, although they are very rarely successful.

2. What do you love about golf? - Hard to beat being outside with friends enjoying something you love. I love being able to compete against myself and trying to improve.

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? - Love the in depth reviews and honesty that MyGolfSpy provides. Have read a lot of articles over the years and used them to influence a fair portion of my bag. Figured I am on here enough I might as well jump into the forums.

4. Where are you from? What is your home course? - Living in Des Moines, IA currently, Most often I play at Waveland (Oldest Muni west of the Mississippi) since its only a couple minutes drive. Grew up in the Cedar Rapids area playing and working at Hunters Ridge in Marion.

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? - Best, abundance of golf courses. No idea if this is true, but I have been told Iowa has the most golf courses per capita in the country. Worst, easily the long winters. Lots of die hards here though who brave the cold as long as there is no snow on the course.

6. What do you do for a living? IT Recruitment

7. How’d you pick your user name? CmaherW - Middle name enclosed by my initials

Edited February 22, 2019 by Cmaherw

[tyler621 39]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? - I started playing golf in my mid 20's and have been playng for about 20 years. I currently play to a 9.1 and scores typically in the low 80's. 

2. What do you love about golf? - I love that it can be either competitive or casual. I can go and play with lifelong friends or total strangers. My true passion for golf however is making memories with my 8 year old son and watching the fun he has hitting good shots and the teaching moments that come when he doesn't. 

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? - I love the in depth testing and unbiased results. I do not know any Spies but would like to change that.

4. Where are you from? What is your home course? - I currently live in Chandler, AZ and don't really have a home course. We are moving to Colorado Springs this summer and can't wait to get there so I can enjoy the golf there. That being said, if there are any Spies from that area, please send me a message. I would love to pick your brain about the golf there.

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? - In Arizona, the best thing is that there is no shortage of great golf and the worst is the cost to play when it isn't 110 outside. I am excited to see what the future holds in Colorado and this next chapter of my life.

6. What do you do for a living? Quality Systems Ananlyst

[Slazman 2]

Hey folks,

Been playing since I was in my teens, carry about a 12. Have lived in Rapid City SD since 1990, great golf when you can play, March-November. Was an original member at 4 Gea but it seems to have disappeared, so I was drawn here mainly because it seems to stress civility,a hard thing to come by these days. Best things about golf are the challenge the game presents and the chance to meet folks from around the country. I was in the Air Force for 23 years and spent a total of 42 years as a Surgical Tech. Semi-retired last year and work part time as a delivery driver for a local pharmacy. Home Course is the beautiful Hart Ranch just south of Rapid City.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Slazman

[Tylerwestra59 2]

1. How long have you been playing golf? I’ve been playing golf since I could walk. Having a dad as a teaching pro you just kinda grow up into all of it! What’s your handicap or normal score?    I have a +2.5 handicap, I play in a lot of local and some out of state amateur events. Looking to go pro someday.

2. What do you love about golf?  About the game of golf what I love is the constant challenges it presents to you. The problem solving you need to do during a round to hit high quality shots. Then just the bigger picture on how it’s more than a game. I love how it’s a journey you’re on meeting so many different people. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Been a longtime follower of the Instagram account and really enjoy your guys content then saw there’s actually an opportunity for us golfers out there to give back our feedback on the new equipment out this year! I saw the ping g410 and me having the G400 was excited to see how they compared. Do you already know any other Spies? I do not know any other spies at the moment.

3. Where are you from? I’m from South Dakota. What is your home course? My home course is Prairie Green and Elmwood both our the two public courses in Sioux Falls and I play in a fair number of local tournaments at them. As well as money games with some of my golfing buds. I also work at a private club called Minnehaha Country Club where we have a champions tour event and I get to play there a decent amount.

4. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? The best I would say is the competition between all of the top players we have. There’s the Dakota Tour which is a great mini tour for guys to start out. Being in South Dakota it’s definitely a disadvantage trying to make a living with a shorter season due to winter. The Jr golf here isn’t anything special and you have to travel pretty far to play in some national ranked events. That’s one thing I’d really want to change for the next generation of young guys!

5. What do you do for a living? I work on the grounds crew at Minnehaha cc as well I help my dad out at the family business where we have a mini golf, driving range, and do club repairs.

6. How’d you pick your user name? I don’t get to crazy and like people to see my name then I added the 59 cause that’s a goal of mine is to shoot a 59!

[atschuor 1]

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?  Long time now, abut 20 years, played junior golf on through college golf at Creighton University.  Probably about a 3-4 these days

2. What do you love about golf?  About as much as anything in my life really, it's afforded me a lot of opportunities, great friends and experiences.

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? Reputation mostly, looks to be a great group of folk with a love for the game.  Probably do, not sure though. 

4. Where are you from? What is your home course?  Omaha, NE, usually play out of The Players Club at Deer Creek

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? Solid selection of courses aorund...worst is the winters, offseason...no good indoor options.

6. What do you do for a living?  IT Services consulting

7. How’d you pick your user name?  same one I usually go with 

Edited March 1, 2019 by atschuor
Premature post

[GrGmEvPl18! 33]

1.  How long have you been playing golf?  What is your handicap/typical score?  Started playing golf seriously after college.  Played just a little bit in college but was involved in other sports and played racquetball competitively in college and after which took up most of my free time.  Long story short been playing in some capacity for 25 plus years as I am now 47 years old.  My handicap ranges from 1-3 depending on the time of year.  Tend to start slow with all the time off and improve as the year goes on.  Typically scoring average is 74-75.  Lowest score is 65 twice at my home course.

2.  What do you love about golf?  All of it.  Love being outdoors with my friends and family.  I love the challenge of trying to improve and compete.  Hard to beat hitting a well struck shot!

3.  What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Know any other Spies?  I tend to over think all of my purchases.  Especially golf equipment.  So many options today makes it difficult to narrow things down.  I am inherently skeptical when it comes to marketing claims thus when researching things on the web I ran into this site and have used the unbiased information for several years.  I don't know any other Spies.  Interested in trying out this forum thing with active participation- usually just a reader of the posts.

4.  Where are you from/Home course?  From Mason City, IA.  Play the Mason City Country Club primarily.  Make an effort to play and compete around the state when I am able to.  Try to play lots of different courses.

5.  Best/Worst things about golf in my area?  Best- Golf is relatively inexpensive in my area which is a plus.  Summers are great and there are some terrific courses throughout the state.  Worst- short seasons and weather during the season can be rough

6.  What do you do for a living?  Orthopedic Medical Device Sales

7.  How did you pick your user name?  This group should be able to figure out what it stands for- It is why we are on this site.  

Edited March 1, 2019 by GrGmEvPl18!

[blackngold_blood 5,774]

1.  How long have you been playing golf?  What is your handicap/typical score?  Started playing golf seriously after college.  Played just a little bit in college but was involved in other sports and played racquetball competitively in college and after which took up most of my free time.  Long story short been playing in some capacity for 25 plus years as I am now 47 years old.  My handicap ranges from 1-3 depending on the time of year.  Tend to start slow with all the time off and improve as the year goes on.  Typically scoring average is 74-75.  Lowest score is 65 twice at my home course.
2.  What do you love about golf?  All of it.  Love being outdoors with my friends and family.  I love the challenge of trying to improve and compete.  Hard to beat hitting a well struck shot!
3.  What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Know any other Spies?  I tend to over think all of my purchases.  Especially golf equipment.  So many options today makes it difficult to narrow things down.  I am inherently skeptical when it comes to marketing claims thus when researching things on the web I ran into this site and have used the unbiased information for several years.  I don't know any other Spies.  Interested in trying out this forum thing with active participation- usually just a reader of the posts.
4.  Where are you from/Home course?  From Mason City, IA.  Play the Mason City Country Club primarily.  Make an effort to play and compete around the state when I am able to.  Try to play lots of different courses.
5.  Best/Worst things about golf in my area?  Best- Golf is relatively inexpensive in my area which is a plus.  Summers are great and there are some terrific courses throughout the state.  Worst- short seasons and weather during the season can be rough
6.  What do you do for a living?  Orthopedic Medical Device Sales
7.  How did you pick your user name?  This group should be able to figure out what it stands for- It is why we are on this site.  

Holy crap a local fellow spy. Welcome to the greatest place on Earth for golf enthusiasts!

Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[chemclub 1,026]

5 hours ago, blackngold_blood said:

Holy crap a local fellow spy. Welcome to the greatest place on Earth for golf enthusiasts!

Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using MyGolfSpy mobile app
 

Seems to be a good representation of Iowa folks in this thread!

[Hung Like a Jury 1]

Howdy fellow golfers,

I've been a MGS reader for a number of years, but never posted anything in the forum (or any other forum for that matter), but stumbled upon this and figured I'd give it a go.  Hopefully one of you will tell me if I'm doing it wrong.  Here goes nothing.

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

   • I've been playing for eight years. I don't keep an official handicap, but I score anywhere between 84 and high 90's depending on any number of variables.  Needless to say, I'm not real consistent.

2. What do you love about golf?

   • I love the challenge and I love the (general) peace and quiet and the verdant green beauty of a golf course.

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

   • I found MGS a number of years ago while I was surfing the net instead of taking notes in class.  I was interested in golf, but had just started playing.  MGS's style and mission intrigued me and I've been a loyal reader ever since. I don't know any other spies, but I'm not particularly tech savvy so I've never really done much with the forum other than browse and read reviews.

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

   • I'm from central North Dakota.  I don't have a home course as I like playing all over.  I play all the courses in my city multiple times a season, though.

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

   • I'd say the best thing about golf in my region is that it's relatively affordable.  The worst thing is that I generally can't play real golf (e.g. not on a simulator) between the months of November and May.  Sometimes courses are open by mid to late April, but that usually means playing in sub-50 degree weather, which I'm not a fan of; makes it tough for me to hold a club because my hands are too cold.

6. What do you do for a living?

   • I'm a real estate/oil and gas attorney.

7. How’d you pick your user name?

   • Honestly, it just popped into my head one day as a play on the whole lawyer bit.  I try not to take myself too seriously if I don't have to.

[GrGmEvPl18! 33]

Holy crap a local fellow spy. Welcome to the greatest place on Earth for golf enthusiasts!

Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Thanks. I feel like a beginning golfer. Not sure what I’m doing. Been struggling with the app not allowing replies. Have you had that issue?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Getoffmylawn 3,769]

So I’ve lurked on this forum for a year or so now but never actually took the time to introduce myself so I figured I should rectify that...

I’m a Lt Col stationed at Offutt AFB near Omaha, Nebraska.  I’ve been in the Air Force for about 18 years now and have moved around quite a bit; I’m originally from a small town outside of Buffalo, NY.

I started playing golf about 5 years ago, and am currently a 9 handicap.  I’m a “member” at the base’s Willow Lakes Golf Course, which is actually a Robert Trent Jones Sr design.  I’ve taken about 5 lessons from GOLFTEC in the hopes of driving that handicap down this year; last year I had a lot of rounds where I was cruising right along just a few shots over par and then I’d have a big miss off the tee and a big number on the card.

But, I love the game with a passion.  It’s tough to get out as much as I’d like...in addition to the Air Force’s demands on my time, my kids are 5, 3, and 1, and the wife doesn’t share my passion for the game if you get my drift.

Excited to be a part of this forum, especially while I wait for the winter to end!

Edited March 6, 2019 by AFGolfer

[ZJBogey2 209]

Just joined the forum. Have been reading MGS for the last few months and absolutely love the content so far. 

1. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? I've been golfing for about 6 years now and normally shoot in the mid 90s. The goal this year is to break 90 and recently started a few swing lessons. 

2. What do you love about golf? I love competing with myself each round and trying to improve my game. 

3. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? The content is top notch. 

4. Where are you from? What is your home course? Denver, CO - metro area. Home course would probably be Plum Creek/Red Hawk Ridge. 

5. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? Worst is easily the winter/snow/cold. The best is the elevation and longer distances. 

6. What do you do for a living? Agricultural Banking