How'd you play?

[NRJyzr]

Played yesterday, my wife decided she would come along for the ride (actually playing, not just a "ride-along").  In the last couple weekends, I've made some changes to my bag; put a Maltby ASP-2 putter in the bag (complete with attractive lime green GripMaster grip), swapped out my MP37s with Recoil Protos for Golden Rams with NV105, switched to a 55/60 wedge config (Ram PW is 49*), and yesterday, after a few weeks experiment with my King LTD, I put my Original One back in the bag.

TLDR version of yesterday:  I shot a 2021 season-best 75.  I was -3 after five holes, having birdied #1, #4, and #5.  It's obviously the driver change!   And the wife's presence!

The reality...  I hit the OO pretty well, but smothered it left twice (7th & 8th holes), one of those resulting in a double after snuggling my ball up against a tree and not recovering.  I hit my irons reasonably well on the front, but had a several hole stretch of hitting everything fat, which resulted in a +5 back nine.  It was really the wedges, and especially the putter.

I'm not sure what about this putter makes it work for me, but I'm making a metric sh-t ton of putts with this thing.  It's 33.75", has a DGX iron shaft.  It's the Zing-analogue in the Maltby Accusite putter line.  It could be the hosel and offset (arc stroke), could be the length, could be the grooves on the putter face.  I suppose it could even be the attractive grip that matches the now faded and dirty wheels on my ClicGear and faded trim on my Ping Pioneer bag.  Or maybe I'm finally learning to putt after 20+ years.  Ultimately, it doesn't matter, I'm making a lot more putts.  And my friends alternately comment positively and give me a lot of crap over that.   LOL

Amusingly, I biffed a chance to be two under at the turn by missing a short putt for bird on #9, because I didn't trust that I had to play it that far outside the hole, and was too timid to ram it in off the pin.  First World Problems.  /rolleyes at me

Anyway, there you have it, a 75 by a 7 hdcp.  Posted the score, index shaved by a half stroke with that one score. 
 

Edited July 11, 2021 by NRJyzr

[GolfSpy TCB]

Headed out at daybreak today... first off in a twosome.... 2 hour 15 minute round.  That is the highlight 

My driver was ok today, kept it in play, 11 fairways... average to low distance off tee.  Course is pretty wet in places and soft all over (it has been rainy in Houston the past week or so) - so that limited my driver roll-out.   But my irons left me - I would like to be able to use the wet ground as an excuse, but really it comes down to the fact that I had trouble finding a solid strike.  To put it mildly, I was in scramble mode most of the day, and it drove the point home that I need to spend more time practicing pitches and chips.   Putted pretty well, but you can never practice too much putting.  Scrambled to an 84 - left several strokes out on the course that should be in my bag (and revisiting most of them in my head as I type... ugh - that 4 iron on 18... really? haha).

I will take another run tomorrow at 0-dark-thirty and hopefully play to my handicap.

But, again... a round of golf in less than 2:30 is a GREAT day.  

 

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Tiftaaft

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Got out for 18 this morning. All the rain we have had it was “wet” to say the least. Fog burned off about 6 holes in.

86 46/40. 3 doubles 9 Bogeys 5 pars 1 birdie (3 penalties all off the tee )

I came alive on the back 9. This course that’s typically what happens to me to, have always struggled on the front for whatever reason. I also did not get off the tee well and I really butchered about 4 115 or so yard approach shots that I’m chalking up to really wet conditions and being a smidge steep.

best part of the day was around the green putting some <40 out within a couple feet and putting, 30 Putts, a lot due to leaving several approach shots on the fringe but only 1 3 putt and 7 1 putts.

Can see how much rain we have had from how much washout the traps had (glad I didn’t get any in there today!)

[PMookie]

2 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

Noooooo!!!  Save yourself!  Don't give in to the Dark Side!
 

Which is the “light” side???

[NRJyzr]

27 minutes ago, PMookie said:

Which is the “light” side???

Anything not Titleist

 

[Chip Strokes]

46/41 87 today 

3 fairways, 4 greens, 32 putts. 

another round where nothing was great, but nothing was terrible either. 

played with the three slowest people i’ve ever been paired with and it really threw me out of rhythm and led to a few careless mistakes. 

[PMookie]

1 hour ago, NRJyzr said:

Anything not Titleist

 

Ahhh! Well, I’ve been on the Dark Side for a couple years now. Pro V1X 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

45 minutes ago, Chip Strokes said:

46/41 87 today 

3 fairways, 4 greens, 32 putts. 

another round where nothing was great, but nothing was terrible either. 

played with the three slowest people i’ve ever been paired with and it really threw me out of rhythm and led to a few careless mistakes. 

Sounds like you need some playing partners!

[fozcycle]

Shot another 43/41:84 today with no birdies. You can tell they are closing soon…..no sand on carts and not cutting any rough.

[Chip Strokes]

20 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

Sounds like you need some playing partners!

dude, desperately. that’s why i’ve been looking at joining a club 

[Rickp]

2 minutes ago, fozcycle said:

Shot another 43/41:84 today with no birdies. You can tell they are closing soon…..no sand on carts and not cutting any rough.

Not spending anymore than they have to.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

5 minutes ago, Chip Strokes said:

dude, desperately. that’s why i’ve been looking at joining a club 

Move closer to us ya can shame our driving distances lol

[cksurfdude]

On 7/3/2021 at 6:39 PM, cnosil said:

..if you structure your approaches based on distance ...

Yes!!! I'd also add in to that all the obvious factors like... hazards around the green, bailout areas ("good misses"), elevation, wind, etc. - but especially how you're feeling about your swing that day! 

I'm pretty conservative (or: I try to be on-course) .. often will play a layup .. but as my swing skills and confidence start to improve - and it looks like more of a let's-go-for-it shot - I'm starting to occasionally attempt approaches from outside my current comfort zone which is usually at inside 150 currently.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

New personal best again, and almost broke 90

47/45 with two of the last three holes having a water ball and an OB shank

irons were amazingly on today. Greens were wicked fast.  Will touch more in my breaking 90 thread. Also tested the new SIK. Worked well. Learned I needed to follow through more. Helped ball keep rolling just enough. 
 

here was the breakdown

hole 1: hooked a hybrid drive almost into the range. Blind 6i punch out downhill on the green. Left birdie short and made par

hole 2: faded drive into a fairway bunker. Hybrid out of the bunker topped. 7i in at 14ft. Missed. Birdie short and made par

hole 3: driver almost Sliced OB but hit a tree. Punch out and then 54* to the green to 13ft. Missed the par and the ball hit the slope. 3 putt double

hole 4: long par three. Sliced my hybrid. Bladed wedge. Pw chip rolled long 3 putt triple

hole 5: shanked driver and ricochet farther back to the next holes fairway. Hybrid then super hybrid (shoulda just played the next hole backward instead of trying to get back in play). Then 6i on the green. Tough long putt, ended up three putting for triple. 

hole 6: double dog par 5. Great drive. 5i layup. PW from 120 I though was a tap in. Sadly was 20 ft. Birdie short. Par good

hole 7: thinned an 8i but got on within 15 ft. Birdie missed made par

hole 8: teed with super hybrid. Struck well but it drew behind a tree. Punch out not so good. Chip went long. Nearly holed the par but hit the slope past the hole. 3 putt double

hole 9: pulled my drive into trees short and hit provisional. Found my original ball and played it. Punched out to where provisional drive was. 4i from 205 struck pure with a nice draw to 16ft of a pin tucked behind a bunker. Two putted for bogey

hole 10: drive to the right rough. Hit 9i over a tree and just missed the green. It kinda kicked down a slope. Chipped up and had 17ft for par on a wicked slope from the fringe. Snuck it!

hole 11: downhill par 3, just missed my pw and was pin high but right in the rough. Chipped to about 7ft and made par

hole 12: nice drive to right rough. Had to try and punch a 5i to get under a branch and it caught the beach instead. 8i then struck beautifully to 9ft. Birdie

hole 13: bladed a GW past the green. PW chip was a dud. Super long put for par, nearly made. Again fast greens, ball just hit a ridge past the hole. Two more putts, double. 
 

hole 14: SH tee ball dead straight 235. 54* pitch hit too solid to back of green. Soft chip was needed since hole was in middle of huge slope. Nearly holed it. 25ft par uphill just short. Bogey

hole 15: slices drive to side of tree. 5i punch to 140 in the fairway. 9i flushed to green but back side. Downhill 35ft birdie just short by 3 inches. Par. 

hole 16: teed with super hybrid since fairway has a hill 240 out that feeds to a pond. Sliced the drive. On some hard pan with ball above feet to elevated green I had a window over a small tree. I toed a 7i and it drew and hit a brach on a tree and in the water. Finally lost my original ball. Drop and I just missed my pitch. Landed short and rolled down a slope a little. Chip rolled long. 26ft double just missed. Made a triple

hole 17: Downhill par three. Hit 6i from 175 and hooked it 40yrds left. 58* pitch landed on green but hit a slope and rolled off away from hole. Chip to ten feet. Sadly two putted

hole 18: new I was close to breaking 90. Shanked drive OB. Crushed my 3rd 278 to fairway. Then chucked a 3H , ugh. Got on with a nice pitch and two putter for a double. 

TL/DR: iron game saved my butt. Driving game was poor. Putted well despite fast greens. Short game never adjusted to green speed. Nearly broke 90. Had fun. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

Rainout today, but I need to talk about yesterday's round. I shot a 74, but it felt like it could've been the day. I played my home course. And I'm getting fed up with my home course. I had 2 short putts hit the cup and spin out, and some fat shots.

I've been playing this course for 5 years now and reach year tee to green the course has improved and they've fixed a ton of drainage problems. But the greens are still total s*** and that's what's killing me.

Problems: they do not have an automated irrigation system and outdated pumps so there are 6-8 greens that just don't hold. I mean I've watched 54* jump off the back. On #4, the highest green a flip 58* almost went off the back. Also they only set the pins once a week and they have an 80-year-old doing it. He doesn't have the strength and every cup was crooked as hell Saturday.

I'm good at guessing, but I'm friggin tired of guessing. Is this green gonna hold today? Is this chip gonna release or not? What is this ball gonna do at the cup because it's crooked and mounded up? I just want consistency on the greens. 

I play here because the pro and staff are nice. I basically have a standing tee time for 6:15 AM on Sat & Sun all year. My yearly membership is $650/1 round per day and I only pay $10 if I want a cart, which is rare. 

The price makes it tough to leave. The next lowest season passes I found near me are $1700 & $2200, and those courses carts are required. Other courses offer players club cards, but it's 8-10 rounds @ $35-$55 a pop to get a free one. Any other deal is a course that's close to an hour away. I can't afford to spend thousands on greens every summer.

I'm open to suggestions... What's a player to do???

Tl:dr decent golfer fed up with poor greens at home course, but affordability & ease of access of said course make it hard to leave. Looking for suggestions.

[sirchunksalot]

23 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

New personal best again, and almost broke 90

47/45 with two of the last three holes having a water ball and an OB shank

irons were amazingly on today. Greens were wicked fast.  Will touch more in my breaking 90 thread. Also tested the new SIK. Worked well. Learned I needed to follow through more. Helped ball keep rolling just enough. 
 

here was the breakdown

hole 1: hooked a hybrid drive almost into the range. Blind 6i punch out downhill on the green. Left birdie short and made par

hole 2: faded drive into a fairway bunker. Hybrid out of the bunker topped. 7i in at 14ft. Missed. Birdie short and made par

hole 3: driver almost Sliced OB but hit a tree. Punch out and then 54* to the green to 13ft. Missed the par and the ball hit the slope. 3 putt double

hole 4: long par three. Sliced my hybrid. Bladed wedge. Pw chip rolled long 3 putt triple

hole 5: shanked driver and ricochet farther back to the next holes fairway. Hybrid then super hybrid (shoulda just played the next hole backward instead of trying to get back in play). Then 6i on the green. Tough long putt, ended up three putting for triple. 

hole 6: double dog par 5. Great drive. 5i layup. PW from 120 I though was a tap in. Sadly was 20 ft. Birdie short. Par good

hole 7: thinned an 8i but got on within 15 ft. Birdie missed made par

hole 8: teed with super hybrid. Struck well but it drew behind a tree. Punch out not so good. Chip went long. Nearly holed the par but hit the slope past the hole. 3 putt double

hole 9: pulled my drive into trees short and hit provisional. Found my original ball and played it. Punched out to where provisional drive was. 4i from 205 struck pure with a nice draw to 16ft of a pin tucked behind a bunker. Two putted for bogey

hole 10: drive to the right rough. Hit 9i over a tree and just missed the green. It kinda kicked down a slope. Chipped up and had 17ft for par on a wicked slope from the fringe. Snuck it!

hole 11: downhill par 3, just missed my pw and was pin high but right in the rough. Chipped to about 7ft and made par

hole 12: nice drive to right rough. Had to try and punch a 5i to get under a branch and it caught the beach instead. 8i then struck beautifully to 9ft. Birdie

hole 13: bladed a GW past the green. PW chip was a dud. Super long put for par, nearly made. Again fast greens, ball just hit a ridge past the hole. Two more putts, double. 
 

hole 14: SH tee ball dead straight 235. 54* pitch hit too solid to back of green. Soft chip was needed since hole was in middle of huge slope. Nearly holed it. 25ft par uphill just short. Bogey

hole 15: slices drive to side of tree. 5i punch to 140 in the fairway. 9i flushed to green but back side. Downhill 35ft birdie just short by 3 inches. Par. 

hole 16: teed with super hybrid since fairway has a hill 240 out that feeds to a pond. Sliced the drive. On some hard pan with ball above feet to elevated green I had a window over a small tree. I toed a 7i and it drew and hit a brach on a tree and in the water. Finally lost my original ball. Drop and I just missed my pitch. Landed short and rolled down a slope a little. Chip rolled long. 26ft double just missed. Made a triple

hole 17: Downhill par three. Hit 6i from 175 and hooked it 40yrds left. 58* pitch landed on green but hit a slope and rolled off away from hole. Chip to ten feet. Sadly two putted

hole 18: new I was close to breaking 90. Shanked drive OB. Crushed my 3rd 278 to fairway. Then chucked a 3H , ugh. Got on with a nice pitch and two putter for a double. 

TL/DR: iron game saved my butt. Driving game was poor. Putted well despite fast greens. Short game never adjusted to green speed. Nearly broke 90. Had fun. 

Congratulations on the new, new personal best! It's great to see all your hard work paying off. 

[Jmikecpa]

What a difference a day makes. I hit it all over the map yesterday and went out today and shot 68 at a course that was 7,200 yards and a slope and rating of 75.5/155. I thought I played well with a one over front that should have been nine pars but threw in one stupid bogie just for fun. Got to 10 and hit a bomb off the tee then a 4 hybrid to 3 feet for eagle. On 11 hit a great drive and a 9 iron to inside a foot. Sprinkled in 2 more birds on the back to shoot 31 coming in for 68. Not sure how it changed but I hit it well today. Changes to the bag were adding a 4 hybrid instead of my 4 iron and back to the broomstick. 

[Kenny B]

4 hours ago, rbsiedsc said:

New personal best again, and almost broke 90

47/45 with two of the last three holes having a water ball and an OB shank

irons were amazingly on today. Greens were wicked fast.  Will touch more in my breaking 90 thread. Also tested the new SIK. Worked well. Learned I needed to follow through more. Helped ball keep rolling just enough. 
 

here was the breakdown

hole 1: hooked a hybrid drive almost into the range. Blind 6i punch out downhill on the green. Left birdie short and made par

hole 2: faded drive into a fairway bunker. Hybrid out of the bunker topped. 7i in at 14ft. Missed. Birdie short and made par

hole 3: driver almost Sliced OB but hit a tree. Punch out and then 54* to the green to 13ft. Missed the par and the ball hit the slope. 3 putt double

hole 4: long par three. Sliced my hybrid. Bladed wedge. Pw chip rolled long 3 putt triple

hole 5: shanked driver and ricochet farther back to the next holes fairway. Hybrid then super hybrid (shoulda just played the next hole backward instead of trying to get back in play). Then 6i on the green. Tough long putt, ended up three putting for triple. 

hole 6: double dog par 5. Great drive. 5i layup. PW from 120 I though was a tap in. Sadly was 20 ft. Birdie short. Par good

hole 7: thinned an 8i but got on within 15 ft. Birdie missed made par

hole 8: teed with super hybrid. Struck well but it drew behind a tree. Punch out not so good. Chip went long. Nearly holed the par but hit the slope past the hole. 3 putt double

hole 9: pulled my drive into trees short and hit provisional. Found my original ball and played it. Punched out to where provisional drive was. 4i from 205 struck pure with a nice draw to 16ft of a pin tucked behind a bunker. Two putted for bogey

hole 10: drive to the right rough. Hit 9i over a tree and just missed the green. It kinda kicked down a slope. Chipped up and had 17ft for par on a wicked slope from the fringe. Snuck it!

hole 11: downhill par 3, just missed my pw and was pin high but right in the rough. Chipped to about 7ft and made par

hole 12: nice drive to right rough. Had to try and punch a 5i to get under a branch and it caught the beach instead. 8i then struck beautifully to 9ft. Birdie

hole 13: bladed a GW past the green. PW chip was a dud. Super long put for par, nearly made. Again fast greens, ball just hit a ridge past the hole. Two more putts, double. 
 

hole 14: SH tee ball dead straight 235. 54* pitch hit too solid to back of green. Soft chip was needed since hole was in middle of huge slope. Nearly holed it. 25ft par uphill just short. Bogey

hole 15: slices drive to side of tree. 5i punch to 140 in the fairway. 9i flushed to green but back side. Downhill 35ft birdie just short by 3 inches. Par. 

hole 16: teed with super hybrid since fairway has a hill 240 out that feeds to a pond. Sliced the drive. On some hard pan with ball above feet to elevated green I had a window over a small tree. I toed a 7i and it drew and hit a brach on a tree and in the water. Finally lost my original ball. Drop and I just missed my pitch. Landed short and rolled down a slope a little. Chip rolled long. 26ft double just missed. Made a triple

hole 17: Downhill par three. Hit 6i from 175 and hooked it 40yrds left. 58* pitch landed on green but hit a slope and rolled off away from hole. Chip to ten feet. Sadly two putted

hole 18: new I was close to breaking 90. Shanked drive OB. Crushed my 3rd 278 to fairway. Then chucked a 3H , ugh. Got on with a nice pitch and two putter for a double. 

TL/DR: iron game saved my butt. Driving game was poor. Putted well despite fast greens. Short game never adjusted to green speed. Nearly broke 90. Had fun. 

Congratulations!!  You certainly have the skills to break 90, and it will come soon.  Keep up the hard work!

[MattF]

I also go rained out yesterday. Started on #1 with a super fade and that killed me for a 7. Birdied the next, then par, double, par, double. Teed off on 7 and the rain wouldn't let up so I picked up and walked back to the club house and went home to dry out.

[edingc]

12 hours ago, DiscipleofPenick said:

Rainout today, but I need to talk about yesterday's round. I shot a 74, but it felt like it could've been the day. I played my home course. And I'm getting fed up with my home course. I had 2 short putts hit the cup and spin out, and some fat shots.

I've been playing this course for 5 years now and reach year tee to green the course has improved and they've fixed a ton of drainage problems. But the greens are still total s*** and that's what's killing me.

Problems: they do not have an automated irrigation system and outdated pumps so there are 6-8 greens that just don't hold. I mean I've watched 54* jump off the back. On #4, the highest green a flip 58* almost went off the back. Also they only set the pins once a week and they have an 80-year-old doing it. He doesn't have the strength and every cup was crooked as hell Saturday.

I'm good at guessing, but I'm friggin tired of guessing. Is this green gonna hold today? Is this chip gonna release or not? What is this ball gonna do at the cup because it's crooked and mounded up? I just want consistency on the greens. 

I play here because the pro and staff are nice. I basically have a standing tee time for 6:15 AM on Sat & Sun all year. My yearly membership is $650/1 round per day and I only pay $10 if I want a cart, which is rare. 

The price makes it tough to leave. The next lowest season passes I found near me are $1700 & $2200, and those courses carts are required. Other courses offer players club cards, but it's 8-10 rounds @ $35-$55 a pop to get a free one. Any other deal is a course that's close to an hour away. I can't afford to spend thousands on greens every summer.

I'm open to suggestions... What's a player to do???

Tl:dr decent golfer fed up with poor greens at home course, but affordability & ease of access of said course make it hard to leave. Looking for suggestions.

I understand your frustrations as I play at a similar style course. The owner does a great job with what he has, but he basically has a full-time staff of one (himself) and then three or four part-timers, plus some high school kids during the summer. He's the cheapest course in the area now as well, so it takes a beating as there are a lot of beer drinkers who don't have an ounce of etiquette or care for the course. Pins move maybe once a week, the fairways are long, drainage has improved but there are still many, many trees that need removal to make the course open up and play fairly. Like you, I'd have to spend $600-$800 more to play less and with less flexibility at the next course I'd move to.

All I can offer is that you take it in stride knowing that there are going to be days where the cups are mounded, or you get a bad break with a thick lie from the middle of the fairway. Some days you'll be lucky, other days you won't. It's tough when you're playing for scores or handicaps, but eventually you'll have a day where all of the stars align and you'll shoot that great score, even in less than perfect conditions.

[GolfSpy TCB]

21 hours ago, Tiftaaft said:

will take another run tomorrow at 0-dark-thirty and hopefully play to my handicap.

MUCH better day ball striking today.  Pretty consistent through the round. 

79 (68.9/122), 1 bird, 0 doubles, 8/14 FIR, 10/18 GIR, 32 putts.   

I identified some things to work out (with chisag's suggestions on the 'post your swing' thread) such as takeaway path, getting on plane, and clearing my right elbow for good hip turn.  Also noticed I was a little outside in on my approach irons today (based on the divot) which the drills from above will help with that as well I'm sure.  

[DiscipleofPenick]

1 hour ago, edingc said:

I understand your frustrations as I play at a similar style course. The owner does a great job with what he has, but he basically has a full-time staff of one (himself) and then three or four part-timers, plus some high school kids during the summer. He's the cheapest course in the area now as well, so it takes a beating as there are a lot of beer drinkers who don't have an ounce of etiquette or care for the course. Pins move maybe once a week, the fairways are long, drainage has improved but there are still many, many trees that need removal to make the course open up and play fairly. Like you, I'd have to spend $600-$800 more to play less and with less flexibility at the next course I'd move to.

All I can offer is that you take it in stride knowing that there are going to be days where the cups are mounded, or you get a bad break with a thick lie from the middle of the fairway. Some days you'll be lucky, other days you won't. It's tough when you're playing for scores or handicaps, but eventually you'll have a day where all of the stars align and you'll shoot that great score, even in less than perfect conditions.

Thanks, it's good to know that someone else is in my boat. My course has almost the exact same clientele. I am playing for score, so I can tell it hurts me when I get on a course with actual break and speed in their greens. At home I'm just trying to bang the putts through the bumps, mounds, and crookedness. I could go to another course, but then that is 100% of the golf budget, and the only course I play all year, as we mentioned it's too expensive to travel around twice a week.

It's frustrating because to me, greens should be every courses #1 priority. It's the only part that every golfer plays on.

[TBS]

On 7/10/2021 at 8:29 PM, Ben_Howell34 said:

I have never taken lessons but I think I’m about to take the plunge. Need something to lean on and stick with, especially in the short game. 

Take the plunge. It's worth it if you find someone good. Get a pack of 4 lessons and spread them out over a few months. After your first one, you will probably play like crap because you are mixing old swing with new but eventually, you will pick up the right feel.

[Rickp]

Monday morning 9, guess I needed a couple days off.  Course was wet but not CPO.  7 Pars & 3 Bogies for 3 over. 
Mostly everything was working including  chipping & putting.  
Felt good to make solid contact.

[GolfSpy TCB]

1 hour ago, TBS said:

if you find someone good.

This is the challenge....

[dlow206]

Played about as poorly yesterday as I have played in a while. Grip was getting sloppy, and when grip gets sloppy, it just makes things harder for me to execute. Going to make sure to hold my training grip periodically during the day to make sure the grip becomes more automatic and consistent. 

[ejgaudette]

This weekend was a meh round, didn't really keep score as I was hitting multiple balls to practice some shots, and head just was not in it to focus and score well. Still working to get the driver figured out, and putter was a bit off going from cut to uncut/wet greens as I got out very early. As we all know those rounds just happen. Hopefully the next one goes better, and I will keep practicing to that effect.

[Kenny B]

20 hours ago, DiscipleofPenick said:

Rainout today, but I need to talk about yesterday's round. I shot a 74, but it felt like it could've been the day. I played my home course. And I'm getting fed up with my home course. I had 2 short putts hit the cup and spin out, and some fat shots.

I've been playing this course for 5 years now and reach year tee to green the course has improved and they've fixed a ton of drainage problems. But the greens are still total s*** and that's what's killing me.

Problems: they do not have an automated irrigation system and outdated pumps so there are 6-8 greens that just don't hold. I mean I've watched 54* jump off the back. On #4, the highest green a flip 58* almost went off the back. Also they only set the pins once a week and they have an 80-year-old doing it. He doesn't have the strength and every cup was crooked as hell Saturday.

I'm good at guessing, but I'm friggin tired of guessing. Is this green gonna hold today? Is this chip gonna release or not? What is this ball gonna do at the cup because it's crooked and mounded up? I just want consistency on the greens. 

I play here because the pro and staff are nice. I basically have a standing tee time for 6:15 AM on Sat & Sun all year. My yearly membership is $650/1 round per day and I only pay $10 if I want a cart, which is rare. 

The price makes it tough to leave. The next lowest season passes I found near me are $1700 & $2200, and those courses carts are required. Other courses offer players club cards, but it's 8-10 rounds @ $35-$55 a pop to get a free one. Any other deal is a course that's close to an hour away. I can't afford to spend thousands on greens every summer.

I'm open to suggestions... What's a player to do???

Tl:dr decent golfer fed up with poor greens at home course, but affordability & ease of access of said course make it hard to leave. Looking for suggestions.

I dealt with the same issue for many years.  My wife and I could play all the golf we wanted on a 9-hole executive course: one par 5, 2 par 3's, 6 par 4's.  Fun layout built by one of the local pros, and he did most all of the daily work himself.  Annual fee was $900 for the both of us, including cart if we wanted.  The greens were small and stimped about 6-7, far below any other course in the area.  I didn't treat the course as a place to keep score, but rather a place to practice.  We had some fun rounds with the pro in one group of 6 or 7 or however many showed up!!  It didn't have any bunkers, so I never got to practice out of sand.  

When I retired, I told my wife I wanted to play at a full course with practice facility, so we moved to the most cost-effective course in our area.  However, it costs us almost $3000 a year to play a muni.  It's the price we have to live with to play a decent course in our area.  The good news is that playing here has helped my short game immensely, and I play sand shots reasonably well now... after lots of practice!!

[Kenny B]

My wife and I played Sat. and Sun, earlier than usual.  Nice because it was cooler, but apparently I was quite awake yet.  Teeing off on Sat at 5:45am, I struggled to even hit the ball.  I didn't make my first par until hole #7, but I did have a triple double; I hear that's pretty good... in basketball!!  Shot 87.

Sunday was a little better teeing off at 6:20am; shot 83 but still had 3 doubles.  I did manage a 15 foot downhill birdie on the par 3 #4 playing 139 yards and a short birdie putt on the par 3 #8 hole playing 216 yards.

The 5 days of 109-118º and 3 weeks of over 100º heat has taken a toll on our course.  The tops of the grassy mounds can't get enough water when irrigating and the grass has died in many spots.  Hole #3:

On the par 5 #6 hole, my drive was in the middle of the fairway... right here:

Didn't hit the best of shots, but missed this dead patch... I was in the next one closer to the green.  

I got a lucky bounce on the par 3 #8 hole playing 216 yards for this putt for birdie.  Mine is the closest to the pin.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but....... I wish it would rain!!!!!!!!

[GolfSpy BOS]

Had a good round yesterday morning despite the soggy conditions.  Greens were rolling well for the most part and while everything was wet there was less casual water than I was expecting.  

As for my performance I was VERY up and down with some really good shots and some head scratchers.  I started out with a double bogey and a 3-putt on one.  OUCH but it happens.  Second hole I hit OB off the tee.  Hit a good second drive 270 just in the left rough.  I then proceeded to hole out from 152 with an 8-iron… for par! Haha

Another example of the up and down nature… I had this 5-iron from 190 on the par 3 8th hole:

Landed just past the hole and trickled down the ridge back towards the hole.  I then managed to miss the 2 foot birdie attempt and walked away with par so that goes down as an unofficial “3-putt” because you just can’t miss those!

Overall though I was happy with most of my play.  Had a strong game off the tee (outside of 3 early penalties) and was very happy to see 255 average and 287 long.  My driver was on fire on the back 9 where I had every drive over 259 including a few in the 270s.  This was despite soft conditions.  Here is my drive on 17:

That was all of 270 on the fly as it bounced back and basically came back a foot from where I landed.

Some highlight holes:

All in all, a great day of golf… it’s always a good time when I can outdrive @Lacassem a few times!