The Good Morning Thread

[slash25rc]

Happy Thursday folks!

Hopefully nothing crazy at work happens this evening so I can hop on the CC later on. Can't wait!

They days are getting shorter now and with the little one's bedtime around 7-7:30, it is way too dark for my LM to accurately pick up balls hit into the net with just the outdoor flood lights--looking forward to having a garage with 12 ft ceilings and plenty of light for nighttime practice in the near future! 

Enjoy the day and hit em' straight if you can get out there! 

[Cfhandyman]

A fine good morning to all.  Much cooler this morning but still expected to reach 12*C (low 50's F).  Very nice for this time of year.  Hoping to squeeze out 1-2 more weeks of golf, pending the weather gods here in Canada.  A particularly good round yesterday on a beautiful October day.

[slash25rc]

13 minutes ago, Swood1994 said:

The family is settling in nicely with the newest addition. I took advantage of the really nice weather we have been having and got out to play 9 holes with our oldest. She loved it and rode in the cart like a champ! If any new dads are looking for ways to play 9 in an hour or so and have a modular stroller I highly recommend ratchet strapping the toddler seat the seat of the golf cart. Worked like a charm .

That's what we have done with our 19 month old with her Nuna stroller seat--its awesome and she enjoys it a lot and offers additional sun coverage!

[Shrek74]

Good morning, Spies!! Happy Thursday. Or as I like to call it, Pre-Friday.

Nothing starts off a day better than coming into your office to see your work laptop had been forcibly rebooted to push updates. No warnings or countdown clock. Just one day things are good, and the next anything that was open for working on is gone. Some of my Chrome tabs did come back after the reboot, but not all of them. Luckily, I had closed pretty much everything else before logging off yesterday so I didn't actually lose any actual work. It's just really annoying when they push the updates without any warnings. So my day is off to a great start.

I did get the rest of the backyard work done yesterday. Or I should say the landscapers did.  The old ugly fence and rocks are all gone and sod is installed, looking more like a happy, welcoming backyard. I REALLY didn't like that fence and rock. Couldn't use the area at all, unless you were a dog or some other animal. Here are pictures of it originally, old stuff removed, and sod installed.

It's amazing how a little change like this can make such a huge impact on the look and feel of the yard and house. It felt so closed off and almost like the occupants were "trapped." Now, it's so much more open and inviting. Plus, this morning I woke up to a deer feeding on the extra sod in the back and a buck was laying down next to one of the backyard trees.  The irrigation guy is coming out this afternoon to dial in the system to ensure it's functioning properly and the zones are hitting the areas properly. I don't think the original/previous owners ever used the system, as the main backflow valve was missing. Once that's dialed in, I'll be able to survive the dry summers without too much brown.

Well, everyone have an awesome day!!

[Josh Parker]

Turned out great @Shrek74

Much better than the rock. 

[Jim Shaw]

On 10/23/2024 at 6:40 AM, Cfhandyman said:

A fine good morning to all.  Starting slowly this morning. Getting another round in today while the weather is still warm with the beautiful fall colours. Enjoy your day.

I see on CBC that the weather is fantastic in your neck of the woods, enjoy that for sure, your area in the fall is spectacular at the best of times... 

[Cfhandyman]

20 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

I see on CBC that the weather is fantastic in your neck of the woods, enjoy that for sure, your area in the fall is spectacular at the best of times... 

Jim, I cannot lie.  20-24* C the last several days, playing in short sleeves with the fall colours in full splendour in late October.  Spectacular and normally unheard of, but boy am I enjoying it.  Keep playing well.

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Good morning fellow spies and happy Thursday! Today is my Friday as we are off to Jacksonville, FL, tomorrow for the weekend. We are heading to the Packers game on Sunday and are traveling with clubs to play a round of golf while we are down there. And speaking of golf, a recent change has just been made to my bag . Check out my latest blog entry for more information!

 

[EnderinAZ]

Good morning spies! Well the Wild Bunch old guys had to deal with cart path only for the day, and for the next two weeks to give the overseeded fairways time to grow. I went out last as a fivesome. This included the guy who cheats (in my fivesome). He claims he cannot remember his score and always calls out less than he shoots. Regardless of how the low number is called, a memory issue or on purpose, when money is on the line, it is cheating. Yesterday's pot was 230 bucks. 

Anyway the fivesome had a 17, 20, 22, 24, and my 4 for handicaps. It is really hard to stay focused on a team game - we played a stableford - when 2 of your team mates with big handicaps land on the green at or 1 stroke below the zero points given for their score. Plus the guy who is the pseudo ruler of the Wild Bunch was trying to get the cheater to score the game correctly. This made us slower and the tee boxes were noisy with things like "No, he didn't get the seven, he did, and you scored an 8"

It wasn't much fun...

[Jim Shaw]

12 minutes ago, Cfhandyman said:

Jim, I cannot lie.  20-24* C the last several days, playing in short sleeves with the fall colours in full splendour in late October.  Spectacular and normally unheard of, but boy am I enjoying it.  Keep playing well.

you too... Hey, I am still stuck on this LAB putting system or whatever you want to call it... I read the article on Mygolfspy and saw all the testing and comparisons, in this article, in my mind, it is a no brainer to shift to LAB. 1.5-2 strokes gained putting is huge in any instance but in competition and at my level it is a game changer...

I don't know if you can help me with this question but why aren't more the best players in the world, the ones that are making a living at this game week to week using them? 

 

12 minutes ago, Cfhandyman said:

Jim, I cannot lie.  20-24* C the last several days, playing in short sleeves with the fall colours in full splendour in late October.  Spectacular and normally unheard of, but boy am I enjoying it.  Keep playing well.

 

[Rob Person]

2 hours ago, rkj427 said:

Good morning Spies on a much cooler, back to expected temperature Community Call Thursday here.

Congratulations to @Northern Monkey for his solid, steady play and finish, to @Lefty11 for his successful surgery and road to better health.

Have fun @sirchunksalot on your weekend round, always good to be out with friends enjoying time together and experiencing new places.

Have fun @Rickp, something fun to do before the courses open back up there.

Best today to you Chuck, @cksurfdude, hope all goes better than you expect.

For me, the next few days will be spent in the garage, as I am detailing a show car for another individual so he can have it ready for a couple big shows here over the winter months.

Hope to get a round in on Sunday, although it is only expected to be 50 degrees, and then again next week Tuesday or Wednesday, when we are supposed to see the 70's again.

Hope all have the best day they possibly can, and hope to see all on the call later. 

Thanks for the shareable recap! Ditto on the post to everyone!

@Swood1994. Time to get a stroller club holder! 

@Shrek74 looks amazing!

@GolfSpy_KFT. Great blog! Look forward to more updates!

Good late morning to all! On duty day and the shenanigans are running muck! We are trying not to have to much stir up, as one of our rookies are being deployed Monday and we are just having some funning and ribbing with him for his last day, he is leaving for a year!

He's young and has a bright future in law enforcement when he returns.

Hoping to catch some of the CC later, but hard to do from work.

Have a grand day spies!

 

[Javs]

1 hour ago, Shrek74 said:

Good morning, Spies!! Happy Thursday. Or as I like to call it, Pre-Friday.

Nothing starts off a day better than coming into your office to see your work laptop had been forcibly rebooted to push updates. No warnings or countdown clock. Just one day things are good, and the next anything that was open for working on is gone. Some of my Chrome tabs did come back after the reboot, but not all of them. Luckily, I had closed pretty much everything else before logging off yesterday so I didn't actually lose any actual work. It's just really annoying when they push the updates without any warnings. So my day is off to a great start.

I did get the rest of the backyard work done yesterday. Or I should say the landscapers did.  The old ugly fence and rocks are all gone and sod is installed, looking more like a happy, welcoming backyard. I REALLY didn't like that fence and rock. Couldn't use the area at all, unless you were a dog or some other animal. Here are pictures of it originally, old stuff removed, and sod installed.

It's amazing how a little change like this can make such a huge impact on the look and feel of the yard and house. It felt so closed off and almost like the occupants were "trapped." Now, it's so much more open and inviting. Plus, this morning I woke up to a deer feeding on the extra sod in the back and a buck was laying down next to one of the backyard trees.  The irrigation guy is coming out this afternoon to dial in the system to ensure it's functioning properly and the zones are hitting the areas properly. I don't think the original/previous owners ever used the system, as the main backflow valve was missing. Once that's dialed in, I'll be able to survive the dry summers without too much brown.

Well, everyone have an awesome day!!

Great work on the yard!

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Good morning spies!

Was going to go to the range this morning but I hate driving in this 

Freaking fog. So maybe later. In other news, I believe I have the line on an internship coming up which I am excited for. Will know more next week!

Besides that, I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Edited Thursday at 02:31 PM by Michael.Sandoval33

[Rob Person]

2 minutes ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

Good morning spies!

Was going to go to the range this morning but I hate driving in this 

Freaking fog. So maybe later. In other news, I believe I have the line on an internship coming up which I am excited for. Will know more next week!

Besides that, I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Best of luck!

[cnosil]

20 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

 

I don't know if you can help me with this question but why aren't more the best players in the world, the ones that are making a living at this game week to week using them? 

 

More players are switching. Ricky Fowler just witched a couple of weeks ago.   They aren’t a big PGA sponsor so you have to pay attention to who is using them.   Reason for not switching:

• Equipment contract prohibits you from switching/ paid to play a specific putter brand.
• you have spent your life and thousands of hours with a particular style so you don’t want to switch and possibly have to change how you putt.
• they don’t fit their stroke needs or little improvement is actually seen.  They have exceptional skills and already do a good job of starting the ball on intended line.  
• they don’t like the looks of them.
• you just don’t see the players on TV using them or don’t recognize them. The Link is harder to identify.  

Basically same reasons why amateur golfers don’t switch.   Why haven’t you already switched?

Edited Thursday at 02:49 PM by cnosil

[Jmikecpa]

3 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Happy CC Thursday golf spies! 

Thx to those with concern about my back. Sorry to complain but it's been happening more this past year and this time kinda hurt. And double hurt with missing range and course time during this stretch of unreal weather.. But hey if this is the worst of my problems then I'm doing ok! 

Heading out for pre surgical testing soon. I'm sure there's a pile of forms that need to know my birthdate and preferred pronouns

Hope you have a great day, and hope to see a bunch of you on the community call!

When you get back in action we can compare our back pain and have a beer or two about it. I am currently trying to avoid the knife and hoping I can just get 80% right. 

[Jim Shaw]

3 minutes ago, cnosil said:

More players are switching. Ricky Fowler just witched a couple of weeks ago.   They aren’t a big PGA sponsor so you have to pay attention to who is using them.   Reason for not switching:

• Equipment contract prohibits you from switching/ paid to play a specific putter brand.
• you have spent your life and thousands of hours with a particular style so you don’t want to switch and possibly have to change how you putt.
• they don’t fit their stroke needs or little improvement is actually seen.  They have exceptional skills and already do a good job of starting the ball on intended line.  
• they don’t like the looks of them.
• you just don’t see the players on TV using them or don’t recognize them. The Link is harder to identify.  

Basically same reasons why amateur golfers don’t switch.   Why haven’t you already switched?

Great answers @cnosil I disagree with number 1, but he rest make sense. 

I haven't had access to test one for an extended period of time, a change for me, just my personality, is like pulling teeth, I do not like to do it as I have been relatively successful for 50 years or more. 

I would need to test it on the practice green, during social games and under extreme pressure for them to find a spot in my bag. 

This site has helped me to loosen up a little and to be honest so have you, but it is a big deal for me. 

 

[ILMgolfnut]

16 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Okay gang. Anybody thinking about a summer-2025 bucket list trip to Scotland, listen up (it will not include the Old Course, for reasons I will detail shortly, but it will include some awesome golf).

I applied in August for 2025 tee times at the Old Course, with the results to be announced in mid-October. Mid-October has come and gone. No tee times, but also no "sorry you didn't make it" emails either. So I began to wonder if I had cerebral flatus and failed to hit send on the application. Checked my email for confirmation of the application in August. Nope, but I could have deleted it. So I emailed St. Andrews to see if I had actually applied. The answer? Nope. Dumb-arse strikes again.

But instead of spending $810 for the Old Course, Castle Course, a food and beverage voucher and two buckets of range balls at the Golf Academy, I can put that money toward a trip with a lot more golf. With the 10-day itinerary I put together today, including tournaments at two of the world's top 100 courses (Cruden Bay and Machrihanish) and two more tournaments as well, the total expenditure for golf would be less than $300 in high season (August). That does include golf at my club, which would be free for me, but I could get you on there cheap, and if you wanted to hit other courses in those areas (like Royal Dornoch, Shiskine, Royal Aberdeen and Brora) we could make that happen too.

So anyone interested in cruising Scotland for 10 days with @ILMgolfnut, drop me a PM. I can suggest ways to do this trip without spending an arm and a leg (this will be my third straight year in Scotland and I still have all the appendages).

Just for fun, I sent a quote request to Hidden Links for an 8-day, 7-night itinerary, without a guaranteed OC tee time (daily ballot), but playing Carnoustie, Crail, the New Course, and entering the OC ballot each day. Total price: $7492, for four rounds of golf -- maybe. I spent two weeks there last year, played the OC, and spent way less than $5000. In fact I landed at EDI one year ago today.

He emailed me back. A guaranteed OC time is another $1800. Or more. (The actual cost of 2025 OC green fees, at current exchange rate, is $440).

Edited Thursday at 05:07 PM by ILMgolfnut

[EasyPutter]

2 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

I took advantage of the really nice weather we have been having and got out to play 9 holes with our oldest. She loved it and rode in the cart like a champ! If any new dads are looking for ways to play 9 in an hour or so and have a modular stroller I highly recommend ratchet strapping the toddler seat the seat of the golf cart. Worked like a charm .

Yesterday there was a dad who arrived at the course parking lot when I was locking my vehicle up who pulled out a stroller with nice wheels with wire spokes and got out his golf bag.  A friend of his was already there and went over to him.  Next I saw him was walking up the 1st fairway towards the green after I teed off on the 2nd and I didn't see his golf bag but his toddler was looking well comfortable riding up front.  They were having a good round keeping pace with my twosome and when I was packing up in the parking lot I complimented him on his candidacy for Dad of the Year.  He said he had one of those stroller golf club attachment things and had all his golf bag on the push stroller.

2 hours ago, slash25rc said:

That's what we have done with our 19 month old with her Nuna stroller seat--its awesome and she enjoys it a lot and offers additional sun coverage!

Tagged you in on this to make sure you didn't miss the comment.  I think someone had reviewed this before.

https://www.kidcaddiegolf.com/

Had I been a golfer when my kids were that young, I know they would have been on the course with me.  As it was, I discovered golf when they were 12 and 10 while I was stateside deployed in Kansas and a month after I started playing they came out to visit me on the holiday week from school when they had their first taste of going on the course to golf with dad.  Moments that live in the memory forever 

Edited Thursday at 03:22 PM by EasyPutter

[slash25rc]

21 minutes ago, EasyPutter said:

Yesterday there was a dad who arrived at the course parking lot when I was locking my vehicle up who pulled out a stroller with nice wheels with wire spokes and got out his golf bag.  A friend of his was already there and went over to him.  Next I saw him was walking up the 1st fairway towards the green after I teed off on the 2nd and I didn't see his golf bag but his toddler was looking well comfortable riding up front.  They were having a good round keeping pace with my twosome and when I was packing up in the parking lot I complimented him on his candidacy for Dad of the Year.  He said he had one of those stroller golf club attachment things and had all his golf bag on the push stroller.

Tagged you in on this to make sure you didn't miss the comment.  I think someone had reviewed this before.

https://www.kidcaddiegolf.com/

Had I been a golfer when my kids were that young, I know they would have been on the course with me.  As it was, I discovered golf when they were 12 and 10 while I was stateside deployed in Kansas and a month after I started playing they came out to visit me on the holiday week from school when they had their first taste of going on the course to golf with dad.  Moments that live in the memory forever 

That's awesome! Yes! I have seen the kid caddie before--it would work perfectly on our Bob stroller. When she was really small, I took a lightweight/skinny bag and put my clubs in it and put the base of the bag in the bottom carrier and put a bungee strap around the top of the bag and fixed it to the handlebar on the stroller. It was light enough that with her in it, it didn't tip over or anything. Now that she is older, I think she likes the cart a little more since can have her snacks a little more accessible and gets to sit beside me and tolerates the quickness of having a cart a bit more, but I might revisit that for when she's a bit older and can get out of the stroller and walk around while I putt and such. 

[cnosil]

54 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

Great answers @cnosil I disagree with number 1, but he rest make sense. 

I haven't had access to test one for an extended period of time, a change for me, just my personality, is like pulling teeth, I do not like to do it as I have been relatively successful for 50 years or more. 

I would need to test it on the practice green, during social games and under extreme pressure for them to find a spot in my bag. 

This site has helped me to loosen up a little and to be honest so have you, but it is a big deal for me. 

 

If you are contracted with ping it generally has a putter requirement.  
 

regarding Lab here is another differing opinion: https://ralphmaltby.com/questions/question/evolution-of-putter-designs-and-zero-torque/

 

[Wheelieb]

Morning All,

I have not forgotten about the thread I spoke of for the pictures of Peru. Work has been the forefront though as we are attempting to do a bunch of training the next few months. So, planning and creating matrices for each event we are wanting to do has been a headache. Why? It's because the training events have not been done with the people we are training before. Like never has anyone done the training for them. This is leading to having to create a whole new training writeup for them. Anyway, weekend is almost here for me. Hope to get out and play a round. Hope everyone has a great day.

[mpatrickriley]

9 minutes ago, cnosil said:

regarding Lab here is another differing opinion: https://ralphmaltby.com/questions/question/evolution-of-putter-designs-and-zero-torque/

I read through this. I'm not sure I grasp the full physics of the argument, but what strikes me immediately as off: my L.A.B. has a Garsen Quad grip, not one of L.A.B.'s Press grips. You can also get L.A.B. putters directly from them with other "standard" grips installed. They use the weights in the head to balance the putter for that putter build. The suggestion (accusation?) that the Press grip is doing the work of zero torque in the Revealer seems wrong to me, then.

Edited Thursday at 04:03 PM by mpatrickriley

[Jim Shaw]

10 minutes ago, cnosil said:

If you are contracted with ping it generally has a putter requirement.  
 

regarding Lab here is another differing opinion: https://ralphmaltby.com/questions/question/evolution-of-putter-designs-and-zero-torque/

 

Nice to have that other opinion…”fair and balanced” lol

[Jim Shaw]

tough morning for a hot tub on the ocean!! Have a great day everyone 

[David Leighton Reid]

Good morning, fellow Spies!  It was a little chilly on the golf course this morning thanks to the wind.  I should have worn joggers over my shorts.

 

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, mpatrickriley said:

I read through this. I'm not sure I grasp the full physics of the argument, but what strikes me immediately as off: my L.A.B. has a Garsen Quad grip, not one of L.A.B.'s Press grips. You can also get L.A.B. putters directly from them with other "standard" grips installed. They use the weights in the head to balance the putter for that putter build. The suggestion (accusation?) that the Press grip is doing the work of zero torque in the Revealer seems wrong to me, then.

The Axis1 video may help explain what is being discussed about the grip.  

 

 

[mpatrickriley]

20 minutes ago, cnosil said:

The Axis1 video may help explain what is being discussed about the grip.  

 

 

That's interesting and helpful, but my counterpoint remains: I can get a L.A.B. putter—more to the point, I have a L.A.B. putter—in which the grip axis and the shaft axis are the same. I think there may be an interesting critique (and there certainly seems to be a difference) in how the balance works in the a L.A.B. with a Press grip. But unless my putter would fail the Revealer test, I can't by the argument on the Maltby page that the zero torque of L.A.B.'s putters is created by or dependent on the Press grip.

[rkj427]

1 hour ago, David Leighton Reid said:

Good morning, fellow Spies!  It was a little chilly on the golf course this morning thanks to the wind.  I should have worn joggers over my shorts.

 

Funny you mention the joggers over shorts, as that is what a regular partner did when we played on a cooler morning, then took them off and played in shorts once it warmed up.

Myself, I wore warm, long pants and did get hotter as it got into the mid 70's.

Edited Thursday at 06:15 PM by rkj427

[Swood1994]

3 hours ago, EasyPutter said:

I complimented him on his candidacy for Dad of the Year.  He said he had one of those stroller golf club attachment things and had all his golf bag on the push stroller.

 

2 hours ago, slash25rc said:

When she was really small, I took a lightweight/skinny bag and put my clubs in it and put the base of the bag in the bottom carrier and put a bungee strap around the top of the bag and fixed it to the handlebar on the stroller.

I did the same when our first born was around 7 months old except I emptied my bag with the bare essentials and carried it and pushed the stroller. Luckily it was a course I’ve played a lot so I pretty much knew what shots/clubs to hit every time. I tend to also not keep score and am out there really focused on involving the little one. Hoping this pays off and she picks up the game and loves it as much as I do!

I will say it is funny to me the attention and comments it draws when I’m at the course with a toddler, I guess I just find it normal having been doing it for 2 seasons now.