How'd you play?

[revkev]

Yep. Stupid game. I topped it on 17 and took double bogey. Then birdied the 643 yard 18th in a 25mph crosswind.

 

 

Just glad to hear that I'm not the only one that has this sort of stuff occur on occasion.  I almost whiffed on one tee ball on Sunday afternoon but it was Sunday afternoon, I had a huge morning at church and was two beers and two cigars into my round when I almost whiffed - I chalked it up to one of those things.  The grounder to short was on the 4th hole, competitive round.  I went against my strategy which was to not hit the stupid 3 wood - my options on the short par 4 were to hit driver which brings OB or a hazard into play or 3 hybrid which leaves 110 to 120 - wedge or perhaps easy 9 iron.  Why I didn't hit 3 hybrid is beyond me but after the grounder I get to hit it on my second shot, a forced draw around a palm tree with a bunker and the same OB that I would have been concerned about with the driver all lurking. 

 

I'm so stupid - now I'm 2 over after 4 holes with lots of hard holes coming up.  A par 5 that's normally not bad is playing dead into the wind and I roll in a 15 footer for birdie, suddently I'm only 1 over and in much better position until I go bogey, bogey only to make birdie on our 8th hole (17) and then having to curve a hybrid around another palm tree into an incredibly tight spot with three difficult traps guarding it.  Pulled that shot off to make par but duck hooked the next one under another tree (3 wood again - what could I have been thinking?) punched it under the tree with a 7 iron from 130 onto the front of the green and lipped out for birdie.

 

It was such an adventure - I really took the scenic route all day.

 

I need some serious range time with the fairway wood and my irons - serious range time.

[dru_]

Got out in the heat of the afternoon.  Played 9.  Discovered a wicked hard draw off the tee that I've never played with before.  Discovered that I hate the 2014 B-330RX. 

 

Opened up the round with on OOB tee shot. recovered, made a bogey 5.  ground my why through the first 5 holes, which are pars 4,5,4,3 scoring a 5 on each and every one of them.  Finally found my swing on the 5th hole.  Unfortunately I was lined up for the results of the swings from the first 3 holes, so I ended up playing  from the right side rough.  Scrambled my way to another bogey. Hit a perfect tee shot on 7, down the right side, drawing ever so slightly, probably going into the sand trap.  Nope, lands on the rake, bounces about 60 feet left and comes to rest on a sprinkler head.  Drop for relief, it rolls 15 feet down the hill. Le sigh.  Take a bogey.  Yay!  Par 3 time, I can do this. It's a longish par 3 card says 185, laser says it's setting up to about 197 with elevated tee box.  5i, teed up just a little to help it come down a little steeper. Wind is at my back, above the tree line, but pretty calm where I'm standing.  swing feels good, contact sounds good, but my eyes never see the ball. I have no visual track of it at all. None.  play a provisional.  top the carp out of it, it clears the ladies tee, barely. Still have no idea where the original ball is.  Walk up, hit the provisional. Yay, on the green in 2.  30 feet away, but on the putting surface. get to the green.  still no sign of ball #1 ( well TaylorMade Project (a) #22, but you know what I mean ). Go ahead and putt it out.  Look another 5.  What a popular number.  Walk back to the bag, and what do you know, there is the first ball, sitting pin high on the pine straw, next to a day lily, in an island, in the middle of a cart path roundabout.  What the hell, play that out just to see ... chip to the green, 3 putt, curse, swear "I Hate this game".  Well may as well play out the 9th.  I'm already here.

 

Blast driver, launching slightly right of center, drawing left across the center line and coming down on the left side on the down/ & forward slope of the hill.  bounce hard, roll out for a solid 35+ yards. final resting place. 2 yards left of center, 65 yards from the pin.  Yay, Chunk Zone with a 60*.  Hello bogey! Or not.  Perfect chip, hops and stops 3 feet short of the pin, gentle putt up hill into the grain. In the hole for birdie.  I Love this Game!.  The score card?  

 

par

4,5,4,3,5,3,4,3,4

score

5,5,5,5,6,5,5,5,3

 

Golf is a Love/Hate relationship, and it swings between the two in the time it takes to make a single swing.

[revkev]

Got out in the heat of the afternoon.  Played 9.  Discovered a wicked hard draw off the tee that I've never played with before.  Discovered that I hate the 2014 B-330RX. 

 

Opened up the round with on OOB tee shot. recovered, made a bogey 5.  ground my why through the first 5 holes, which are pars 4,5,4,3 scoring a 5 on each and every one of them.  Finally found my swing on the 5th hole.  Unfortunately I was lined up for the results of the swings from the first 3 holes, so I ended up playing  from the right side rough.  Scrambled my way to another bogey. Hit a perfect tee shot on 7, down the right side, drawing ever so slightly, probably going into the sand trap.  Nope, lands on the rake, bounces about 60 feet left and comes to rest on a sprinkler head.  Drop for relief, it rolls 15 feet down the hill. Le sigh.  Take a bogey.  Yay!  Par 3 time, I can do this. It's a longish par 3 card says 185, laser says it's setting up to about 197 with elevated tee box.  5i, teed up just a little to help it come down a little steeper. Wind is at my back, above the tree line, but pretty calm where I'm standing.  swing feels good, contact sounds good, but my eyes never see the ball. I have no visual track of it at all. None.  play a provisional.  top the carp out of it, it clears the ladies tee, barely. Still have no idea where the original ball is.  Walk up, hit the provisional. Yay, on the green in 2.  30 feet away, but on the putting surface. get to the green.  still no sign of ball #1 ( well TaylorMade Project (a) #22, but you know what I mean ). Go ahead and putt it out.  Look another 5.  What a popular number.  Walk back to the bag, and what do you know, there is the first ball, sitting pin high on the pine straw, next to a day lily, in an island, in the middle of a cart path roundabout.  What the hell, play that out just to see ... chip to the green, 3 putt, curse, swear "I Hate this game".  Well may as well play out the 9th.  I'm already here.

 

Blast driver, launching slightly right of center, drawing left across the center line and coming down on the left side on the down/ & forward slope of the hill.  bounce hard, roll out for a solid 35+ yards. final resting place. 2 yards left of center, 65 yards from the pin.  Yay, Chunk Zone with a 60*.  Hello bogey! Or not.  Perfect chip, hops and stops 3 feet short of the pin, gentle putt up hill into the grain. In the hole for birdie.  I Love this Game!.  The score card?  

 

par

4,5,4,3,5,3,4,3,4

score

5,5,5,5,6,5,5,5,3

 

Golf is a Love/Hate relationship, and it swings between the two in the time it takes to make a single swing.

Yes, yes it does and it really doesn't matter where you are at ability wise.  I played with a guy tuesday whose game is similar to what I'd imagine yours to be Dru.  He's a former tennis pro, only been playing about four years or so but he hits the crap out of the ball even though he's a 19.   He started out the round on Tuesday by making five straight pars and he was striping it.  He hits a nice four iron to around 30 feet on a 195 yard par 3 but 3 putts, 3 putts the next hole from 40 feet and then tries to stretch a 3 wood from 255 on the par 5 to "make up" for the 3 putts.  He blockes it a bit right (the pin was left so he was going for the proper side of the green), it catches the cart path that juts in and bounces into the junk - bogey.  He then takes 3 to get out of the trap on 9 which he was in because he tried to force a 4 iron into the tight back right corner of the green - good luck there - I was next to him and hit 4 hybrid to the fat side of the green away from the trap and 2 putted for my par.

 

So - he hits the ball more solidly and longer than I did all nine and he really didn't putt poorly despite the 3 putts, both of those holes were cut in tough places and I missed a short par putt on one of them.  He shoots 42 and I shoot 38 for the nine - that's the difference sometimes between a mid-high handicapper and a low handicapper.  I expect to shoot in the mid to low 70's and I find a way to do it.  He expects to shoot in the mid 80's to low 90's and he finds a way to do it too.  He shot 45 on the back and I shot 36 BTW.

[dru_]

You are right, and his game sounds very much like where I was back in the fall and early this year. I still back slide every now and then.  You totally nailed it with the 'trying to make up'.  It is such an easy mistake to make.

 

This was one of my worst rounds in the last month or so. Is it possible to be too rested?  I haven't played a full round of 18 in 12 days. and only one other set of 9 in that time.  I usually struggle to get around and so my normal 'miss' is right side fade, but I had a 4 days layoff from running or cycling due to an unplanned trip. Was unusually 'loose' no muscle fatigue, nothing, and lust struggled with a significant draw instead of my preferred baby draw.  

 

Interestingly, I only played driver on 3 of the 9 holes. And other than one 3 putt, putted pretty well.  Spent more time in the sand than usual though, and that cost me, because I simply am not very good in out of the sand.  I'm getting better, and honestly you nailed the biggest key.  What you EXPECT from yourself.  

 

I find these days, I look at each hole with the expectation of making bogey.  I quit trying to 'go low' and simply take what I get. The result is mostly positive, but I swing VERY few 3w or 3h shots. In the round above, I played my neither the 3w or the 3h the entire round.  Driver on 3 tee boxes. An iron off every other box.  These days, I generally would prefer to play 4i, 4i, 7i on most par 5's than try to stretch driver, 3w to 'get there'. Sure, I *could* but it's low percentage, high risk, for a potential savings of -1 at a risk of going +4. 

 

This is the mental side of the game that I have begun to feel is the single biggest hurdle for most people playing the game.  There are physical limits, no question, but conquering the 'ego' and the 'can' for the shot you 'will' make is a huge hurdle. Conquering the negative thoughts about shots "OMG don't top this" is even harder. The confidence that you will make the shot you want is the hardest thing to gain, and yet it seems to be the biggest key to success.  Not just on the golf course, but in life. 

 

The difference between success and failure is often simply not entertaining the thoughts of failure.

[revkev]

So true to all of the above.  I have two young people on staff.  They are delightful.  The one has totally gotten that you need to take ownership of stuff if you're going to be succesful.  The other is a pass the buck type.  The one is thriving the other is not.

 

You just have to be in control of things internally and externally whenever you're able and then learn to work through those things you have no control over without laying the blame elsewhere.

 

It's a tricky balance but very rewarding once you get it.

[JBones]

I gave some gentleman that wanted to play for money a couple of harsh lessons the other day.  I have played with these guys before, but never for money.  I don't know if they were overconfident about their own game or just didn't know how much work I have put in this off season.  They asked if I wanted to play with them and if I wanted to get in on the money, I asked if they were sure and one of them made the comment "short and straight will beat long and wild any day".  First lesson, don't talk smack before the first swing is made.  I took my "long and wild" and went off to the tune of 12/14 fairways at about a 315 avg, 14/18 greens, 28 putts, and a 68.......won $62.  Second lesson, don't bring short and straight to a bomb fight.  Short and straight MAY beat long and wild, but it will never beat long and straight.

[dru_]

What a strange weekend of golf.

 

Saturday Men's Group, played pretty consistent to my handicap, but not up to my current trends.  Admittedly, impossible to judge the greens since it was spitting rain off and on.   Shot an even 90. Lot's of Bogeys, a couple pars, a couple doubles. No penalties, but a little too much sand for my tastes.

 

Sunday evening 9, with one of the club pro's was a different round.  2 bogeys, 1 double. 6 pars.  Both bogey's came from misjudged breaking putts in the middle of 3 putting these holes.  

 

Still not overly fond of the 3h.  Think after tonight, it's coming out of the bag.  Have to decide what to replace it with.  I do have a 5w that might be the better answer. 

[revkev]

I gave some gentleman that wanted to play for money a couple of harsh lessons the other day.  I have played with these guys before, but never for money.  I don't know if they were overconfident about their own game or just didn't know how much work I have put in this off season.  They asked if I wanted to play with them and if I wanted to get in on the money, I asked if they were sure and one of them made the comment "short and straight will beat long and wild any day".  First lesson, don't talk smack before the first swing is made.  I took my "long and wild" and went off to the tune of 12/14 fairways at about a 315 avg, 14/18 greens, 28 putts, and a 68.......won $62.  Second lesson, don't bring short and straight to a bomb fight.  Short and straight MAY beat long and wild, but it will never beat long and straight.

Long straight, long wild, short straight not many guys are beating a 68. Great round

[MattF]

First round in anger since October. Haven't swung a club since then either.

 

New G20 12* driver is outstanding. It's staying in the bag.

 

As for the score...it's better than last years effort at a...........wait for it 101. Left a lot out on the course including putts, but hopefully the rust has been knocked off a bit and we'll see what happens next Sunday.

[fozcycle]

I am loving my Cobra's.....I am much longer than with my Nike's.....and staying in the Fairways......I shot an 83 on Saturday in my weekly game.  We had 43 players.  It was a 38/45.....7 Pars on the front with a double.   The back nine was into the wind.......My issues today were in my chipping on the back.  I am gaming a 35 year old Wilson R90 sand wedge. For the most part, it is working great, however, I had trouble getting out of two the bunkers.  But that's my swing, not the club.  Even against the wind, I was able to get pin high in three and chipped in a birdie on the #13 Par 5. The 83 is my best round at Pebble Creek in almost 3 years.   Maybe my game is coming back.

[revkev]

Well predictably after the lesson I didn't score as well as last week. Shot a reasonable enough 76 had a triple and a double both when I fell back into an old bad habit for a swing. Other than those swings I hit it well and the putting stroke remained spot on.

[Jmikecpa]

Played at Plainfield CC in New Jersey today, site for next year's Barclays, in a private outing hosted by one of my banking contacts. Very nice track and very challenging with rough that just swallows the ball. The format was best ball of the foursome with one member of the foursome playing the tips on every hole...I got nominated to play the course from the tips for the round. Managed to scrape out an 81 with three doubles all caused by the rough. I had two lies that my caddy laughed and told me to hit it hard and hope it goes ten yards back into the fairway.

 

As an added bonus I got a few minutes with Phil Mickelson after he finished his practice round.

[revkev]

Had a great time on the course this morning - For it to be in the low 80's with little humidity this time of year in Florida - priceless!

 

Shot 77 which sounds good but I very much reverted in regards to my ball striking.  It didn't help that my back is a mess, I couldn't make a turn and that's what I'm working on.  I putted my rock though and drove it straight if not far.  I'm starting to play with a guy who's scratch so that's driving me to focus on scoring - he shot 73 - it seemed like I must have shot a billion more than he but that's what making long putts will do for you.

 

The course we played used to host an LPGA event - very nice, lots of doglegs so plays longer, it was in great shape.

[jpcgolf]

Shot 76, I was one over at the turn, shot 36 40.  I had three birdies, 5 bogeys, and 2 doubles on 10 and 11.  Those two holes always get me.  They are honestly the two hardest holes I have ever played.

[Mrs.Manbearpig]

Yesterday Dan and I played Cove Links a nine hole. Working on bringing the new tee off routine from the range to the golf course. First shot was a disaster but after that I was fairly consistent (bogey train as Zach mentioned on GameBook).

 

I stayed up late last night so I really didn't anticipate going to play today but the weather guy was wrong again. So as Dan was doing the dishes I called from bed "are we playing today?"

 

We're out on the course for redemption today. Will tell you how it goes or you can follow on GameBook

[Salmon]

Played yesterday to help out the pennant team avoid relegation. Managed to hit the ball a lot better than I expected to as I have been working on getting my hands forward of the ball through impact. Couldn't sink a putt to save myself though which was a little dissapointing but still was able to get a win for the team 3 up with 2 to play. The team as a whole played well also winning for the day 5 games to 2 to avoid relegation. Even better was that due to the result of the other game played that day we have snuck into the finals

[Mrs.Manbearpig]

I say I had a win today. 5 shots better than yesterday. I really need to work on my getting some confidence with my chipping game. I could easily shave off a few strokes if I worked on it.

[Mr_Theoo]

Shot 113 today which isn't great but I played better on the back 9 than I ever have. Had 4 holes with consecutive bogeies and hit the driver great. I still need to get better acquainted with the new irons but there were some glimpses of what I'm capable of

[RoverRick]

I was a tad sluggish to start today.  I have a putt to win the first hole, but missed.  And missed the putt to tie.  And had a double bogey.  At the second hole, same story.  Three putt double bogey.  Third hole, I did the same thing, and another double.  Fourth hole, I did the same thing.  So after 4 holes, I was 8 over with 12 putts and down 4 holes out of 9.  Ouch.

 

And on the 7th hole one of my opponents tied my par to make losing the front 9 official.  I made two birdies and the rest pars, to shoot a 42 on the front.  So I played hard on the back 9 and shot 33 to win the back 9 and break even on the bet.  It was a heroic effort after the first 4 holes.  I was certain they would be singing songs about me for a thousand years, but then I played 18 more holes.  No heroics there.

 

The second round was mediocre at best.  Made a lot of good shots and a couple bad but nothing great and it turned out to be my second over 80 round of the past 4 weeks.  I broke even on the bets again on the last 18 holes. 

[MattF]

Shot 102 yesterday at Fox Den Golf Club in Stow, OH. I had moments of brilliance but usually follow them up with shot of such disaster it makes me sick thinking about them.

 

Like Mr Theoo, I played the back 9 better than the front. The G20 is definitely staying in the bag. I'm constantly amazed at how much more distance and how much straighter it is.

[SeeRed]

Like crap. I don't even have the stomach to get into more detail. Suffice to say I had back-to-back 7's...and one of them was a par 3.

[Jmikecpa]

Played in a scramble today at the Cedarbrook Club on the North Shore of Long Island.  Not the longest of golf courses, but the layout uses the elevation changes really well to make the shorter holes play longer than the number on the card.  Had a really nice day out with three nice gentlemen and it did not hurt that we shot -10 62 to win by four shots.  I put  a new set of irons in the bag on Friday and after my second round with them they are exactly what I was looking for. 

[revkev]

What a debacle. 46-38 and there were no penalty shots, none, buried lies in traps, divots in the fairway when I finally found one, 3 putts, plenty of those but no penalty shots. At least I had none of those.

[wbealsd]

I'm a happy (and tired) guy, with the first real stretch of nice weather we've had this spring, I managed to get in 27 holes today and have tee times the rest of the week.

 

My standards aren't as high as revkev's, but my handicap is 11 strokes higher

 

44-42-44 with only a couple of "blow up" holes where I lost the ball in the wilderness.

 

Driving was solid until a bad stretch on the final 9, but managed to recover for the last two holes.  Iron play and putting were comfortable, but I was oddly inconsistent with my hybrids (which is usually my strong suit).  Wedge play pretty good for this early in the season, but there's always room for improvement.

 

Given the lack of consistent playing time, I'm pleased to be playing at the handicap I finished with last season, so there's hope I can keep making improvement this year!

[dru_]

Went out of town for a week of work.  Came back home and played Saturday with jet lag. I was not in a good place mentally or physically and the result was a predictably huge number.  The back was better than the front by 7 strokes, and it was STILL a huge  number.  That really hurt.  So I went home, took the pedal bike out for a middling distance ride of about 30 miles (in the drizzling rain) to get my head right and then flopped on the sofa to do some serious contemplation of the insides of my eyelids.  

 

Sunday was a day to get caught up on some neglected housework.

 

Monday was a day of being back in the office (after a week out of the office and the commensurate mountains of backlogged stuff to do). The afternoon was pretty though, so once I had finished up the work day, I snuck out to the course to walk 9 holes with a friend that is 2.5 weeks removed from the birth of his first child.  We walked, we talked, we enjoyed.  We played like goose poo.  

 

It was ugly.  

 

So ugly that I did something I haven't done in months.  Tuesday, I finished up my triathlon training session (500m swim, 20 miles on the bike and 4 miles on the run), cleaned up and hit the range.

 

3 bags of balls and an hour of time later, I concluded that whatever was wrong over the weekend seems to have cured itself during the other training.  I love/hate/love this game.  It'll keep you humble.  Monday I was ready to give the game up.  Tuesday I couldn't wait for Saturday to come.  Looking forward to my regular Saturday game, and then another event on Memorial day to keep me out of trouble.

[wbealsd]

I think I'm going to blow up my handicap this month...  Until this year almost all of my golf has been 9 holes at a time and I've managed to get a respectable handicap.  Now that I'm retired and playing a full 18, I'm playing at or below my handicap and then blowing up the back nine.  This is my first year playing this course, but I'm sure the back 9 isn't anymore difficult than the front, I'm just not able to keep my body and mind together consistently enough to score as well as.  Today I shot a 41 on the front and a 49 on the back...  I hate to say it, but that's an improvement!  That's the first time I've broken 50 on the back...

 

Oh well, it gives me something else to strive for

[RoverRick]

I shot a 736 this weekend.

 

Ok, 101 holes over a 4 day period.  99 would have been 18-27-27-27 but the wife came out and played the last 9 and we were having good time so decided to play 18, then the rain started on the 11th and she wanted to stop.  I did not mind.  101 holes was plenty.

 

All my scores were right around par.  I had a bad 9 where I shot 40 and a great 9 where I shot 34.  Either way, I would consider it pretty solid golf.  I had one round with 15 pars, a birdie and two bogies.  This morning was a crazy up and down round with 7 bogies, 2 birdies and 3 eagles.  I have never had 3 eagles in a round.

 

The story of the day was the wedges.  Starting on the first hole, I was 4 or 5 inches from a perfect pitch that hung in the fringe.  Then lipped out the next one and bogied.  Same story on the second hole.  Third hole, a par 5, third shot from 56 yards hits the flag and another ball and stops 1/2" from the hole, near eagle, but tap in par.  Lipped out a chip for birdie on 4.  On 5, another par 5, I hit a hybrid that found the green and sank a 30'er for eagle.

 

From that point on, I had a series of wedge shots that were really good or almost really good.  However, I pitched in for another eagle on 11.  Almost pitched in on 12 and 13 and then pitched in on 14 for another eagle.  And then on 15 chilli dipped.  Haha.

 

Actually, the wedges to me are the story of every day.  Good wedges on par 5's mean birdies.  Wedges on 3's and 4's mean pars.

 

I had a great weekend and all in all, I played some great golf.  I hope you did as well.

[revkev]

RRs post cracked me up. I played in an outing today for one of the local high schools. Played with a MGS Luther named Dogpro. We had a great time, finished 3rd which speaks more to the competition than our play. I did stuff some irons which is a positive sign the my swing is improving. Not satisfied with my iron distance yet.

 

Biggest shocker is how straight and controlled I hit the SLDR. I didn't miss a fairway with it last week and only missed a couple or three today. One of those misses was on a hole where I typically would not hit driver. I also hit that baby very high which means I shouldn't loose that much distance off the tee when the rainy season starts.

 

Just a fun day on the course today. I have a lesson again Monday and we are going to do another iron fitting and order them. Probably Wilson C 100s but with the Matrix studio 6.1 shaft.

[westy]

Played Friday night in a club match, finished at 8.30pm. Back at our place at 7.20 the next morning on the first tee. I think ideally I need longer between rounds that 11 hours.

 

First tee shot topped out of the heel, rolled along the cart path and hit the marshals hut and went out of bounds. Nice double to start, but from then on hit it smooth and got up and down on the last three to shoot 74.

 

Made some nice putts, chipped nicely and held my nerve down the stretch.

 

Had just popped up to 7 last week so this should get me back to 6.

 

Just wish the weather would improve - may have to trade the sticks in for an ark soon.

[fozcycle]

Well, since I officially joined Pebble Creek, I have played well, but also lousy.

 

I just can't seem to crack the back nine.

 

Sat 41/45 86

Sun 41/48 89

 

Anyway, I am having fun. My drives have been pure and I have been getting better on my short game.