The Good Morning Thread

[Old New Golfer]

19 minutes ago, EnderinAZ said:

Fairbanks in January is the best place to see the lights. What you would do in Fairbanks in January is a mystery. -30F is kind of normal there then. 

Far up north, the colors are restricted.

When it comes south. It's glorious with all kinds of different colors. I saw a major one in South Dakota back around 2001. That one they saw in Mexico. It was fantastic. Could even see where the sun was. All of it emitting from around one "hole". "Drapes" dancing all the way to the ground. I'll never forget it. I'll never be amused by the biggest fireworks display anymore either.

If they put out the word we may have it in the lower 48. It's big time worth looking for. It's well worth driving away from city lights out to a dark area to view.

Edited Tuesday at 03:03 PM by Old New Golfer

[RichL85]

Morning from the west coast to all. Got a lovely call from my boss yesterday telling me I needed to take some vacation time. Apparently I still have about 3 weeks worth of PTO I have to take by the end of the year. We don't have the option to roll it over, so I started looking through where I can use it. Im already only working two day next week before we take a trip down to LA for some theme park fun with the kids. So I have about 3 weeks to take off in the last 3 months of the year. I remember my last job it became a whole thing because I took a day off when our babysitter canceled last minute and I stayed home with my kids who were 1 and 4 at the time that day. It's amazing how much different the overall work environment can be when you actually treat people like humans instead of a number that punches the clock. Sometimes it good to get a reminder of how much you appreciate the things you have. 

[Shrek74]

Good morning, Spies!!

It's a rather yucky Tuesday morning here. Cloudy, rainy, and chilly. Not the best way to start the day. It's supposed to clear after lunch, but it's ugly now.

Not much to report again this morning. I'm signed up for a free TPI assessment this Saturday. I've wanted to do one for a while, so we'll see how this goes and what the outcome will be. The local Wellness Center is also hiring a new trainer who will work late morning to close, so I may have an option of someone to work with on that front too. So hopefully this off season will be a good one.

Well, everyone have a great day!

[Erin B]

Good morning again spies! I've been working on my next topic of discussion for the member blog. I think we can all relate to it. Hope to have it up tonight.

[Dan1993]

Good Morning Spies!

Late morning into work with a Medical appt this morning. Word of advice for anyone active duty, when you make the decision to get out, start your medical appts ASAP. Especially if your were a designation/MOS that needed to keep some health issues under wraps. The medical process to get everything documented prior to submitting your VA Disability Claim is a long and arduous journey, and medical loves to take their sweet time with everything. Swiftly approaching my 180 days from separation and things are only speeding up!

Lots of rain here this week, but may have a gap on Friday. All my local courses don't have tee times until 15-1700, which puts a damper on things, may try and find an indoor range to get some sim time and get my averages for my club distances now that I have all my clubs in.

Lastly, congratulations to all those that get selected for the Ghost Golf bag testing! Looks like a beautiful bag with lots of features and premium details! 

That's all for now! Hit Em Straight Spies!

[Shankster]

I just read that Bubba Watson was relegated from the LIV tour.  I really wonder how many of these guys truthfully have regrets about joining LIV?  I didn’t even get to have my coffee yet.   Bubba was one of my favorite players on tour, anyone that can control a 300 yard slice is good in my book.

 

[Josh Parker]

2 minutes ago, Shankster said:

I just read that Bubba Watson was relegated from the LIV tour.  I really wonder how many of these guys truthfully have regrets about joining LIV?  I didn’t even get to have my coffee yet.   Bubba was one of my favorite players on tour, anyone that can control a 300 yard slice is good in my book.

 

He can also appeal it and get back in because he is the captain.  He is probably one of the most liked and most active on socials. 

He has also said that he's ok with giving up the spot and remaining captain.  Leaving it to the better/younger players.  Time will tell.

[ILMgolfnut]

2 minutes ago, Shankster said:

I just read that Bubba Watson was relegated from the LIV tour.  I really wonder how many of these guys truthfully have regrets about joining LIV?  I didn’t even get to have my coffee yet.   Bubba was one of my favorite players on tour, anyone that can control a 300 yard slice is good in my book.

 

As I understand it, Bubba is probably going to remain on his team in spite of the "relegation," given that he is a fan draw and captain of one of the more successful LIV teams. Which is kind of a shame, getting to continue thanks to a loophole in their rules. Several other guys who aren't a big name are probably gonna get bounced, including Anthony Kim.

Which brings up the question, who is going to replace Kim and others who get "relegated"? There isn't a LIV minor league. Raid the other tours for people who are willing to sell their golfing soul? (If you get the feeling I don't like LIV, you're right.)

[Shankster]

Not trying to stir up the pot. 
 

I haven’t followed LIV at all, just seems odd to “fire” one of your biggest names.  I watched about 3 minutes of a tournament the first year and instantly realized it wasn’t my cup of noodles.
 

Still haven’t had that coffee yet.

[Josh Parker]

2 minutes ago, ILMgolfnut said:

 Several other guys who aren't a big name are probably gonna get bounced, including Anthony Kim.

Which brings up the question, who is going to replace Kim and others who get "relegated"? There isn't a LIV minor league. Raid the other tours for people who are willing to sell their golfing soul? (If you get the feeling I don't like LIV, you're right.)

I think Kim is safe as well due to a loophole and hes not on a team.

They have already said that they are approaching/poaching the PGA for players.  

They also had a tournament last year to bring on 4 new players from the ones that got relegated last year.

[cnosil]

9 minutes ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Which brings up the question, who is going to replace Kim and others who get "relegated"? There isn't a LIV minor league. Raid the other tours for people who are willing to sell their golfing soul? (If you get the feeling I don't like LIV, you're right.)

You can see the players that were relegated here and the promotion info:  https://golfweek.usatoday.com/lists/liv-golf-players-relegated-2024-bubba-watson/

 

basically the Asian tour orders promotion to LIV 

[Rob Person]

Relegated is from play, but not from the contract pr. They can always challenge and be re-entered into play. Either way, he's getting paid. 

[Shankster]

5 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Relegated is from play, but not from the contract pr. They can always challenge and be re-entered into play. Either way, he's getting paid. 

Yeah. I suppose, but if I were getting paid to play golf I would want to play golf.  Heck, I would take minimum wage if someone wanted to pay me to play golf.  I would have plenty of overtime each week. 

[ILMgolfnut]

21 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

They also had a tournament last year to bring on 4 new players from the ones that got relegated last year.

Was not aware of that, don't follow LIV at all, don't/won't watch any of their tournaments. Just happened to notice the item about Bubba.

[Josh Parker]

2 minutes ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Was not aware of that, don't follow LIV at all, don't/won't watch any of their tournaments. Just happened to notice the item about Bubba.

I don't/haven't watched any either honestly.  I get pop up news feed on the phone and read about it all in the early morning drinking my coffee.  haha

[Old New Golfer]

3 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

I used to treat people who used their back problems as an excuse to get opioid pain medication they didn't really need.

I had a sister who partied enough for both of us. She was dead at 27 yrs old. I quit doing anything upon her death. I tell people she drank enough for both of us.

Now I've put up with this pain from my back locking up for 10 years. All drugs are toxins. I won't touch them.

[BIG STU]

19 hours ago, Old New Golfer said:

There's a Love's about 60 miles west of ST Louie. I made it there once from Denver. 770 miles in 11 hours.

Back to golf. Try practicing real slow, methodical, concentrated. Hit each ball like everything counted on it. You can then speed up. Train your autonomic mind an nervous system to be consistent. .. On putting....gaining touch... Draw a circle the size of a cup on the floor of your garage. Stop the ball within the circle.

Well all I can say is you were hammer down in the Monfort lane to turn that time. LOL if you get the Montfort pun you must be an old school trucker.

Most of my trucking when I was an O/O was heavy haul. LOL I used to taunt the freight haulers as in I got more weight on my Tri axle than you do in your whole wagon. I also used to taunt them as in my payload is more than your gross weight. Good old days when truckers would actually talk to each other on the CB and cut up and no one got mad

[BIG STU]

9 hours ago, Rob Person said:

Good morning spies!  Headed back on duty here in a few minutes. (Please let the next 12 hours go by quick!)

@Northern Monkey hope your trip is epic, and full of awesome swings and lots of birdies!

 

 

Like I told @Northern Monkey  I appreciate all you LEOs wherever you serve at. 

[BIG STU]

7 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Good morning Spies from damp Charlotte. Not raining at the moment, but it will; the storm that clobbered the Casa yesterday is supposed to drift up here by this afternoon. Just saw some NC flooding footage on TV in the hotel breakfast room. Wilmington is on kind of a peninsula between the ocean and the Cape Fear River, and most of it is fairly safe from flooding, the downtown area along the river being an exception. Carolina Beach, though, is on a barrier island and got socked yesterday. But 18 inches of rain will sock just about anywhere. Have two patients to see this morning, then drive to Raleigh for two days.

Got in my first Fit For Golf workout in a while last night. On top of hitting 95 balls at First Tee, it was probably too much and I felt it last night, particularly in the right shoulder and the glutes. I thought it was a productive range session, though. I made a point of holding my finish on good shots to aid with muscle memory. There was some women's (college?) golf team also practicing at First Tee while I was there. They were hitting it a little better than I was, put it that way. (Looked it up. It was the Queens University golf team; recognized one of the names embroidered on her carry bag.)

@Northern Monkey have a great trip!

@IndyBonzo those are some slick greens!

@rkj427 neat pics of the aurora! All kinds of atmospheric weirdness this year. Often wondered if I could have seen the aurora on my trips to Sweden and Alaska to run marathons. Both were in July so not much nighttime available at those latitudes, though.

HMM if you were at The First Tee in Charlotte you must have been over at Charles Sifford golf course. The guy I grew up with his company runs that course along with all the County courses. Charles Sifford was from Charlotte and I knew him well as he was friends with my old man. When I was a kid of course it was Mr. Sifford. Later on I called him Cigar as he told me to do. All the locals that knew him called him Cigar because he almost always had a cigar in his mouth. Yep I was born and raised in North Charlotte

[BIG STU]

4 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Lamis are tricky. You're trying to decompress the nerves without destabilizing, and eventually if you take out enough stuff, you cross that line and need to do a fusion. They trim bulging discs, remove bone spurs and open up the foramens where nerves leave the spine to go down the legs.

My spine is fused, has been since I was 15. I never played golf without a bone graft and a stainless steel rod in my back, so I have no idea what it's like to go from one to the other as a golfer. But having been fused for that long, golf and everything else I've done for nearly 50 years put extra strain on the unfused levels below, and those are worn out now. So I'm dealing with that, including a boat load of bone spurs like I referred to above. Another thing that happens as you get older is the discs dry out and shrink; a disc is similar to a jelly doughnut, and that jelly breaks down over time. So the normal disc space collapses, which also closes off the foramens. That collapse is also a big reason why people shrink as they get older. Lose a quarter inch of disc space from 5-6 discs, and voila, you're an inch and a half shorter.

I used to treat people who used their back problems as an excuse to get opioid pain medication they didn't really need. Occasionally I'd tell one of them, "I've seen your X-rays, and I've seen my X-rays, and mine are much worse than yours. And I don't take anything." In other words, suck it up, buttercup. There were people who had real pain, and we'd prescribe for those, but all too many just wanted that hydrocodone buzz.

You will know exactly where I am coming from here. When I had my accident I cracked both sides of my L-2 and collapsed the disc. Now they did fuse one side. It took a while but the disc inflated itself back up so to speak

At the time they had cracked down on DR. s prescribing Opioids. Now I had some at first but told them I did not want any more. I told my Neurosurgeon I did not want to become an addict. Instead I went the CBD and cannabis route. Never went on alcohol either. I wanted to enjoy the rest of my life and being an addict was not in the plan. since I have started exercising regularly and using a cane I have not used any CBD or cannabis for darn near a year. The Neurosurgeon told me tongue in cheek I was one of the few that did not want more Oxy. I figured I was going to rehab to play golf again without addictive drugs

[BIG STU]

2 hours ago, Shankster said:

I just read that Bubba Watson was relegated from the LIV tour.  I really wonder how many of these guys truthfully have regrets about joining LIV?  I didn’t even get to have my coffee yet.   Bubba was one of my favorite players on tour, anyone that can control a 300 yard slice is good in my book.

 

One of the reasons I watch LIV Bubba is one of the players I love to watch along with Brooks and Bryson. As far as the format I am meeh on it. Lots of the players on that tour I like to watch. I like watching Hatton, Sergio and Rahm too. I do not get into the politics aspect of things just like the golf

[BIG STU]

Well I ended up playing the league this am CPO and all. It was wet and I got around just fine with my Hurry Cane. Now it was wet this morning and the ball was not going anywhere. Ended up with an 82 off an 10 index. Out of 45 players I am stuck in the middle at 20th. One of the 20 handicappers shot 86 today and is in the lead. Funny thing is last week I had him all 3 days in the small money league game and the best he shot all week was a 94. Not having sour grapes here but we will see. Did get 2 birdies on the birdie pool today for $66 total not a bad day money wise. main thing was I did play and had no trouble getting around with the cane. In fact the group behind me commented on how well I got around. I am stoked and I have no pain swelling or stiffness. I told the director I would try 9 and go from there since it was individual and not team. I have came back from the dead before in these events and have had high finishes and have a repetition for it in the league

[Rob Person]

38 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

Like I told @Northern Monkey  I appreciate all you LEOs wherever you serve at. 

Thank you! 

[ILMgolfnut]

56 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

HMM if you were at The First Tee in Charlotte you must have been over at Charles Sifford golf course. The guy I grew up with his company runs that course along with all the County courses. Charles Sifford was from Charlotte and I knew him well as he was friends with my old man. When I was a kid of course it was Mr. Sifford. Later on I called him Cigar as he told me to do. All the locals that knew him called him Cigar because he almost always had a cigar in his mouth. Yep I was born and raised in North Charlotte

Evidently there are two First Tees in Charlotte. There is no golf course at this one which is basically in Pineville.

https://firstteegreatercharlotte.org/first-tee-greater-charlotte-learning-center-at-pineville/

Edited Tuesday at 08:27 PM by ILMgolfnut

[BIG STU]

6 minutes ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Evidently there are two First Tees in Charlotte. There is no golf course at this one which is basically in Pineville.

https://firstteegreatercharlotte.org/first-tee-greater-charlotte-learning-center-at-pineville/

Ok that is a different one I did not know about

[ILMgolfnut]

5 hours ago, cnosil said:

You can see the players that were relegated here and the promotion info:  https://golfweek.usatoday.com/lists/liv-golf-players-relegated-2024-bubba-watson/

 

basically the Asian tour orders promotion to LIV 

I had literally never heard of three of the relegated players. Have to wonder why the Saudis (or Greg Norman) thought they were worth their investment.

[Old New Golfer]

Thought I’d mention with all the rain. If you’re caught in a lightning storm. It’s best to keep only one foot on the ground. That’s because the lightning creates differences in potential all around the strike. You don’t want that difference in potential between your feet. That’s why four legged animals don’t do good with lightning. Running is ok. Golf cart should provide insulation with the tires. Car is better. 

[Mike10487]

2 hours ago, Old New Golfer said:

Thought I’d mention with all the rain. If you’re caught in a lightning storm. It’s best to keep only one foot on the ground. That’s because the lightning creates differences in potential all around the strike. You don’t want that difference in potential between your feet. That’s why four legged animals don’t do good with lightning. Running is ok. Golf cart should provide insulation with the tires. Car is better. 

Interesting concept. I will delve further into this. My curiosity is peaked. Thank you.

[EnderinAZ]

10 hours ago, Old New Golfer said:

Far up north, the colors are restricted.

I cannot agree with that. I worked for years above the Arctic Circle in the Alaskan oilfields. I have seen the swirling vortexes of the lights in reds, greens, gold, white, and blue.  The sun sets in late November and comes up late January up there. So you get to see the lights a lot. 

[tdroma98]

Received the email below from CMC Design. What a GREAT promotional email for MYGOLFSPY! Congrats!!

This is really cool!