The Good Morning Thread

[CFreddie]

5 minutes ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Understand; that's why I went in October. Five days later and I would have been using mats too (which would have saved me some fat shots, to be honest). If you can have a twosome (your wife would suffice, if her handicap is below 36; they WILL check) you can enter the lottery for the OC 48 hours in advance. Chances of the lottery are not great but better than zero. Or you can pay ridiculous sums to some tour operator for a guaranteed time. Or you can get in line in the wee hours as a single, which is what I did.

Me in line at 3 a.m. (I WAS the line at that point, which was the whole idea; I knew being first in line I would get on):

Agreed on OC strategy - we are going to try for the annual lottery first, and if that doesn't work, the draw a couple days prior.  Worse comes to worse, I'll go wait in line as a single day-of.  I'm not too concerned about getting on, especially that early in the season.

Even crazier - I reached out to Muirfield about 2025 tee times and they open NEXT WEEK!  For that, I'm going to add my name to a waiting list as a single (they don't allow singles / doubles...only foursomes), but I'm hoping that should suffice there if I'm high enough on the list.  

Getting VERY excited!

[ILMgolfnut]

6 minutes ago, CFreddie said:

Getting VERY excited!

I bet! Muirfield is weird. If you are lucky enough to get on, you will not play a normal 18-hole round. You'll either play best ball or alternate shot. Muirfield is renowned as the home of the two-hour round (your partner in alternate shot goes ahead and waits for your ball to come to rest, kind of a golfing relay), followed by the four-hour lunch (jacket and tie required, and there's often significant imbibing along with that).

I entered the OC lottery last September for April 2024 and actually was successful, but the lottery drawing was held while I was in Scotland, I didn't have $600 free at the moment (you have to commit to OC and a second round at another St. Andrews Links course, and pay for both) and the guy who I'd entered the lottery with couldn't commit to an April trip because of his work schedule -- and I had to pay the $600 before Halloween. So I had to let the spots go. Killed me to do that, but it was a lot easier since I had played the OC five days before.

Edited February 23 by ILMgolfnut

[ILMgolfnut]

One more note about Muirfield. If you do get on, be alert to the land just outside the boundaries of the course. It's probably better land for golf than what you're playing on, and the club owns it, but they have decided not to build a second course. But if they ever do it will be an AWESOME links course.

[CFreddie]

Good stuff - thanks so much @ILMgolfnut!

[ILMgolfnut]

One more Muirfield story, which is pretty funny. For years access to the course was guarded by the club secretary, a retired Royal Navy captain named Paddy Hanmer. He became legendary for his ways of saying no, even to incredibly wealthy and powerful people who weren't used to being told no, and if you hadn't made the proper arrangements months in advance, as you are trying to do, "no" was what you were going to hear. Even Payne Stewart was turned down to play at Muirfield once, because he hadn't made arrangements -- and the course was absolutely empty that day.

But there was one exception that Hanmer told. A guy from Idaho walked into his office and asked to play. Hanmer said no. "Are there any cancellations?" Hanmer said he wasn't a fortune teller, how would he know? Then the guy from Idaho said "Can I take your picture?" Hanmer asked why would he want to take a picture? "I want a picture of the man who kept me from playing Muirfield." Hanmer said "That is the most original approach I've ever heard. Go get your clubs; you're playing the course."

Edited February 23 by ILMgolfnut

[Guest-0]

3 hours ago, J7Hawkins said:

George Howell makes great coffee for anyone interested! I owned a craft coffee roastery for a while and George Howell was a inspiration in our roast style very often!

The price point is decent as well for the quality that he produces!! I enjoy his and Cafe Cubano as well as Good Harbor Roasters

[cksurfdude]

On 2/21/2024 at 7:21 AM, EasyPutter said:

 had a great lap counter around the  day 

99 Beep Beep

A few days late (and a few dollars short) but Happy Happy Happy!!

AND the countdown meter drops down into double digits on your birthday?

...

 

On 2/21/2024 at 7:55 AM, Jmikecpa said:

As of this morning I now have three teenagers in my house. Our youngest turns 13 today

Ohh boy.... Hopefully you don't have to switch from CHA on here to having to go to AA meetings somewhere...  

Haha hope she had a FUN birthday!

 

[skraeling]

Well almost morning again so why not.

really had to retrain my iron swing back to peak (for me) form from last year.  Think I got some more stuff figured out.

anyway mostly posting because the prgr snatched a reading for my foam ball practice hit into a net haha.

7i not a driver.  Cool to see with my mechanics from last year thanks to stack I’m up about 5mph on a good swing.  I’ll take it.

[Josh Parker]

Good morning Spies!

Coffee just finished brewing and I am about to start prepping 3 racks of ribs for this evenings dinner with family.  We are hosting my folks and my sisters family so all the kids can splash in the hot tub. 

Early afternoon round planned with the guys and weather should be great.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[Guest-0]

Good morning Spies it's Saturday at 0450am and the coffee is on and iam sitting on my deck staring thru a nightscope on an Iguana kill mission. I am not into killing things just to kill them but these things are destructive as all heck and destroy the golf course so I have a sweet suppressed  .22 mag with a starlight scope and it's my morning mission then tee time at 8am.   Have a great one!!!!

On 2/23/2024 at 4:17 AM, sirchunksalot said:

Happy Friday everyone!

It's a rainy one here and I'm just getting ready to start the work day. It always seems like the wet weather likes to hit around the weekend. 

I hope you all have a great start to your weekend!

17 hours ago, J7Hawkins said:

George Howell makes great coffee for anyone interested! I owned a craft coffee roastery for a while and George Howell was a inspiration in our roast style very often!

The price point is decent as well for the quality that he produces!! I enjoy his and Cafe Cubano as well as Good Harbor Roasters

[tdroma98]

Good Saturday Morning Spies! 
Cool Central Florida morning 54 degrees! Ranger Duties today, yesterday busy as heck! Weather was nice but wind was incredible! 

second day using phone! This technology is neat @Preeway! I was afraid to log out Lol            
Ok on 2nd cup of espresso! 

 what time is dinner @Josh Parker? Mmm ribs
Have a Great Day & Great Weekend Everyone! Stay Warm & Hit’em straight️️

[Josh Parker]

8 minutes ago, tdroma98 said:

 what time is dinner @Josh Parker? Mmm ribs
Have a Great Day & Great Weekend Everyone! Stay Warm & Hit’em straight️️

Haha. About 6pm. 

[Rob Person]

2 hours ago, Marlin Dave said:

Good morning Spies it's Saturday at 0450am and the coffee is on and iam sitting on my deck staring thru a nightscope on an Iguana kill mission. I am not into killing things just to kill them but these things are destructive as all heck and destroy the golf course so I have a sweet suppressed  .22 mag with a starlight scope and it's my morning mission then tee time at 8am.   Have a great one!!!!

The price point is decent as well for the quality that he produces!! I enjoy his and Cafe Cubano as well as Good Harbor Roasters

Is there a resale value for the skins? Heard they make for good tacos too!

Cool that the golf course is allowing you to eradicate the issue too!  I have .22 Rossie with 25rd extended mag. No can on the tip, but this thing is already pretty quiet. Scinty 9x75 scope with dual optics and night range feature on sights.

[Rob Person]

Good Saturday morning spies! Round 2 of mission yard work under progress today. Hopefully no mishaps with equipment this time!. Not sure my hands will take the abuse I dished out to them a few days ago. (plus I'm playing tomorrow and need them in optimal condition. )

Have a great day MSG!

And ooooh! Another ball test!!! Exciting!!!

[ZoonORama]

Morning All!

Well, it was 53 yesterday and sunny. I hit off the mat for a bit and thought today, although I knew would be cooler, was just a cold day before 50s and 60s next week. Well…. I woke up to 2+ inches of snow. Prob get another 1” or so before it’s done. Should make for an interesting day. High 33 around 4pm so some of it will melt and get slushy.

Not much on tap except band practice this morning and a gig tonight. Hope the weather doesn’t dampen turnout. Either way, I will have fun and get to meet some new folks.

Have a great day and weekend wherever you are! Hope you get to play some today.

Cheers! 

[Preeway]

43 minutes ago, tdroma98 said:

second day using phone! This technology is neat @Preeway! I was afraid to log out Lol            
Ok on 2nd cup of espresso! 

Be careful. This phone stuff can be addictive. LOL

[Shapotomous]

9 hours ago, skraeling said:

Well almost morning again so why not.

really had to retrain my iron swing back to peak (for me) form from last year.  Think I got some more stuff figured out.

anyway mostly posting because the prgr snatched a reading for my foam ball practice hit into a net haha.

7i not a driver.  Cool to see with my mechanics from last year thanks to stack I’m up about 5mph on a good swing.  I’ll take it.

Careful posting that data...if the golf gods see that they will roll back to foam balls in the name of distance control to save on colf course real estate! 

Some chores today that i hope to finish so tomorrow afternoon is free for some possible golf 

[Woodrow72]

Good Saturday morn to all ! If you’re playing ,may you have multiple birdies and eagles , no bogeys or others and have the best of days ! If you’re working may  it go quickly and if it’s family time May it drag slowly as those times never last long enough ! Be kind , grateful and truly blessed y’all 

Edited February 24 by Woodrow72

[ParFore74x]

Good morning spies. Day off of work and the dogs still woke me up at 4am. Might be a long day, might need a nap later.

 Have a great Saturday. 

[Wheelieb]

Morning all,

nothing really planned for the day as still not wanting to test the ankle much today. Certain movements still have a slight pain. May go help peel shrimp for our Ruritan Club supper tonight. They are making jambalaya and it’s supposed to be a hit. Hope everyone has a good day. 

[sirchunksalot]

Good morning!

I'm just dragging myself out of bed and taking the first few sips of coffee while fighting off the attention starved animals. I slept way too much last night, not counting the 2 or 3 times I woke up I think it was almost 12 hours. I guess that's one way I feel like a teenager again. 

@Wheelieb I hope your ankle starts feeling better and it's good you're going to take it easy in it for a couple of days. My sausage roll of a dog tried jumping on the couch Thursday night and decided to use mine as a step and aggravated mine. I can't blame her, Mommy and Daddy were cuddled up on the couch and she wanted to be part of the snuggle pile. 

I'm now waiting for FedEx to show up with my wife's computer. We had to send it back to the manufacturer because it was shutting itself down and the fixes they had is try didn't work. I'm no longer computer savvy and do everything on my phone. I am going to get her to show me how to use the webcam and microphone for the community call so maybe I can see the screen better. 

I hope you all have a great start to the weekend!

 

[Rob Person]

32 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

Morning all,

nothing really planned for the day as still not wanting to test the ankle much today. Certain movements still have a slight pain. May go help peel shrimp for our Ruritan Club supper tonight. They are making jambalaya and it’s supposed to be a hit. Hope everyone has a good day. 

Hope it heals quickly!! Are you using an ACE wrap or some sort of immobilizer on it?

[Guest-0]

2 hours ago, Rob Person said:

Is there a resale value for the skins? Heard they make for good tacos too!

Cool that the golf course is allowing you to eradicate the issue too!  I have .22 Rossie with 25rd extended mag. No can on the tip, but this thing is already pretty quiet. Scinty 9x75 scope with dual optics and night range feature on sights.

 

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

Good morning!

I'm just dragging myself out of bed and taking the first few sips of coffee while fighting off the attention starved animals. I slept way too much last night, not counting the 2 or 3 times I woke up I think it was almost 12 hours. I guess that's one way I feel like a teenager again. 

@Wheelieb I hope your ankle starts feeling better and it's good you're going to take it easy in it for a couple of days. My sausage roll of a dog tried jumping on the couch Thursday night and decided to use mine as a step and aggravated mine. I can't blame her, Mommy and Daddy were cuddled up on the couch and she wanted to be part of the snuggle pile. 

I'm now waiting for FedEx to show up with my wife's computer. We had to send it back to the manufacturer because it was shutting itself down and the fixes they had is try didn't work. I'm no longer computer savvy and do everything on my phone. I am going to get her to show me how to use the webcam and microphone for the community call so maybe I can see the screen better. 

I hope you all have a great start to the weekend!

 

Instant jail in the Keys for shooting anything more than a BB gun and I live on the course nobody is letting anyone do anything it just so happens maybe a few go away every morning and I have tried them as the Cubans eat them and I typically like their food but didn't care for the lizard. Love Gator but pass on the Liz. My rifle is dead quiet or I wouldn't think of it. That Rossi is a nice gun. I have a massive collection of Putters, guns and watches I'm a little tweaked that way

 

 

 

 

[jbern]

Good morning! Cold and windy here this morning. Next week is looking nice so I’m trying to plan a little golf outing, maybe just 9 holes.

We’ve got the kids’ indoor soccer games this morning followed by a visit from the grandparents. Should be a fun one!

 Have a good day everyone!

[fixyurdivot]

Top of the pot spies .  After a brief hiatus to try other brands, we recently switched back to McD's ground coffee.  It's always been a favorite of ours and started as part of our "road trip" travel itineary... that is, stop for a breakfast sandwich and coffee soon after hitting the road.  We've been doing this for decades now. I bet we're not the only ones.  

Another glorius winter day here in AZ.  Spring training now adding to the busy time of year here in Surprise (Texas Rangers and KC Royals home).  With nearly all of our part time residents back, the place is really hopping as compared to June-Nov.  The tee sheets on all 4 courses are pretty much booked all day, everyday. My Saturday foursome has a 1052 at Desert Springs.  We always play some paired contest and the purse is losers buy the winners a beer.  Everyone also carries their favorite birdie  juice elixir and there have been some rounds where those get pulled a handful of times .

Have a great Saturday and weekend everyone .

[Erin B]

Good morning MGS Troops! It’s windy in Cheyenne. Too windy to play golf. This was yesterday’s round wind in Northern Colorado.

it made for some challenging play.  It’s gusting ove 50mph in Cheyenne this morning already. Los Poopies graced me with their presence for a cup o Joe outside for about a minute. They do not like the wind. I really wanted to play today but looks like I’m out. Oh well, the wind took its toll on me yesterday so maybe it’s G*Ds way of saying “Mucho take it easy”. Hope everyone is feeling well this morning. As always, Happy Birdie Hunting!!

[Woodrow72]

4 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

Good morning Spies!

Coffee just finished brewing and I am about to start prepping 3 racks of ribs for this evenings dinner with family.  We are hosting my folks and my sisters family so all the kids can splash in the hot tub. 

Early afternoon round planned with the guys and weather should be great.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thinking about firing up my smoker with some wings today , might make  for some tasty snacks this evening 

[fixyurdivot]

18 minutes ago, Marlin Dave said:

 

Instant jail in the Keys for shooting anything more than a BB gun and I live on the course nobody is letting anyone do anything it just so happens maybe a few go away every morning and I have tried them as the Cubans eat them and I typically like their food but didn't care for the lizard. Love Gator but pass on the Liz. My rifle is dead quiet or I wouldn't think of it. That Rossi is a nice gun. I have a massive collection of Putters, guns and watches I'm a little tweaked that way

That collection is cool but I'm way more interested in your avitar and what appears to be you in an boat?  Have numerous fly rods, will travel, and pay for gas .  My last trip to that area was in 2002, Marathon Key and Black Ghost Outfitters (no longer in business). 

It is absolutely true what a school of daisy chaining Tarpon, that look like chrome 55 Buick fenders, does to ones composure.  I'd long read how even the most competent fisherman suddenly cannot find the arse with both hands and thought it was poppycock... nope .

[Rob Person]

30 minutes ago, Marlin Dave said:

 

Instant jail in the Keys for shooting anything more than a BB gun and I live on the course nobody is letting anyone do anything it just so happens maybe a few go away every morning and I have tried them as the Cubans eat them and I typically like their food but didn't care for the lizard. Love Gator but pass on the Liz. My rifle is dead quiet or I wouldn't think of it. That Rossi is a nice gun. I have a massive collection of Putters, guns and watches I'm a little tweaked that way

Sadly, my " "inherited collection" " was lost during a boating accident in 2020. Somehow all the photos and videos of them disappeared as well... 

[fixyurdivot]

18 minutes ago, Erin B said:

Good morning MGS Troops! It’s windy in Cheyenne. Too windy to play golf. This was yesterday’s round wind in Northern Colorado.

it made for some challenging play.  It’s gusting ove 50mph in Cheyenne this morning already. Los Poopies graced me with their presence for a cup o Joe outside for about a minute. They do not like the wind. I really wanted to play today but looks like I’m out. Oh well, the wind took its toll on me yesterday so maybe it’s G*Ds way of saying “Mucho take it easy”. Hope everyone is feeling well this morning. As always, Happy Birdie Hunting!!

Your photo reminds me of the views I had from the courses I played in Montana.  Your forecast reminds me how much I don't miss the prevailing winds through that region .