How'd you play?

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Finially starting to feel as good about my game as I did last season. I hit 13 fairways and 13 greens in regulation. I have to work on getting my shots into the green closer to the pin. I didn't have any three putts but I should have made more 1 putts. I had a few 8 footers that had potential.  Overall  I felt really good walking off the course. Three birdies and two bogies for a 70

My two bogies were due to greenside traps. Normally I am a good sand player but I need sand. The traps got compacted from storms last week. Our soil is a red clay base so every heavy rain clay washes in. But my shots bounced off the sand resulting in a skull. But they are in the process of putting grass faces in the traps with better sand in the bottom. The grass faces should hold the clay back. It's a slow process. They did a few last season so now you have extremes. Hard and soft traps. Still great layout and conditions. 

 

[fixyurdivot]

11 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Finially starting to feel as good about my game as I did last season. I hit 13 fairways and 13 greens in regulation. I have to work on getting my shots into the green closer to the pin. I didn't have any three putts but I should have made more 1 putts. I had a few 8 footers that had potential.  Overall  I felt really good walking off the course. Three birdies and two bogies for a 70

Living scratch golf vicariously through you Tom... nice job!   Is the first photo looking from tee box down the fairway?  If so, and I played there, that lone, leaning trees days would be numbered. 

[sirchunksalot]

14 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Living scratch golf vicariously through you Tom... nice job!   Is the first photo looking from tee box down the fairway?  If so, and I played there, that lone, leaning trees days would be numbered. 

I tried taking it down when we played together, but somehow missed it. I was left with a shot where the ball was severely below my feet and just had to hack it back down to the fairway. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

1 minute ago, fixyurdivot said:

Living scratch golf vicariously through you Tom... nice job!   Is the first photo looking from tee box down the fairway?  If so, and I played there, that lone, leaning trees days would be numbered. 

Yes, It's the 8th hole. A par 5 playing 472 from the white tees. That lone leaning tree on the left, for as thin as it is, it deflects more golf balls than you can imagine. You want to aim at the cart path. If you hit it you can get to the green in two. The fairway turns left a bit . The the green is elevated tucked right with large bunkers onthe left side. 

The second photo is the 9th hole. Another par 5 that plays 470. Tight drive uphill. You need to fade the tee shot 20 yards to be able to have an opening to go for the green in two. Anything left of center is blocked by overhanging tree limbs or will go out of play. The fairway goes severely downhill but anything on the right side will roll the ball into a low area off the fairway right and trees block your approach. This hole is everyone's nightmare and its the #7 handicap.

[chisag]

2 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Finially starting to feel as good about my game as I did last season. I hit 13 fairways and 13 greens in regulation. Three birdies and two bogies for a 70

 

... Crazy stats as mine were almost identical yesterday. 13 fairways and 13 greens but flipped your results with 3 bogies and 2 birdies for a 73. After a pin seeking 6 iron from 176 into a slight breeze I missed a 4 footer for birdie that looked dead straight but broke out of the hole with plenty of pace. Otoh I hit a hybrid very thin from 210 that rolled all the way to the middle of the green so as usual things tend to even out. After too many 71's in a row I got my wish for a different score and a 77 Friday    without a single birdie and everything felt just a little off and I was never comfortable hitting any shots. Yesterday was much better but still not quite in sync. Congrats on your 1 under. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

9 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I tried taking it down when we played together, but somehow missed it. I was left with a shot where the ball was severely below my feet and just had to hack it back down to the fairway. 

I can't count the number of times I hit that tree over the past 16 years. The closer you are to the tree, the more fairway you can cut off. 

[fixyurdivot]

41 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Yes, It's the 8th hole. A par 5 playing 472 from the white tees. That lone leaning tree on the left, for as thin as it is, it deflects more golf balls than you can imagine. You want to aim at the cart path. If you hit it you can get to the green in two. The fairway turns left a bit . The the green is elevated tucked right with large bunkers onthe left side. 

The second photo is the 9th hole. Another par 5 that plays 470. Tight drive uphill. You need to fade the tee shot 20 yards to be able to have an opening to go for the green in two. Anything left of center is blocked by overhanging tree limbs or will go out of play. The fairway goes severely downhill but anything on the right side will roll the ball into a low area off the fairway right and trees block your approach. This hole is everyone's nightmare and its the #7 handicap.

#9 fits my ball flight better.  I'd skip #8 and play #9 twice .

 

31 minutes ago, chisag said:

... Crazy stats as mine were almost identical yesterday. 13 fairways and 13 greens but flipped your results with 3 bogies and 2 birdies for a 73.

It seems pretty clear to me that when we eventually have that National Spy Round Up, and put an East vs. West side game together, each team has an anchor-man.

53 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I tried taking it down when we played together, but somehow missed it. I was left with a shot where the ball was severely below my feet and just had to hack it back down to the fairway. 

Based on the yardage and photo, I'm guessing it's every bit of a 220 carry to get past the corner.  That (tree) would be my aim point and natural ball flight, and would be descending at my distance. I'm certain that tree would be a major PITD.

[chisag]

26 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

It seems pretty clear to me that when we eventually have that National Spy Round Up, and put an East vs. West side game together, each team has an anchor-man.

 

... Young Tom is playing different golf. I have gotten so spoiled playing in the heat and the desert. Nothing like carrying a drive 230 and it ending up around 275. I can certainly remember flying it 230 on lush Midwest fairways and getting a good 1 to 2 yds of roll.   

[Tom the Golf Nut]

35 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Young Tom is playing different golf. I have gotten so spoiled playing in the heat and the desert. Nothing like carrying a drive 230 and it ending up around 275. I can certainly remember flying it 230 on lush Midwest fairways and getting a good 1 to 2 yds of roll.   

Well, Tom's not that young.  Early 60's but you nailed it on the head about roll out. What is that? Only roll is if its downhill and that's not much. But I'll take that due to being able to hit off nice grass instead of a hard surface /tight lie.

[chisag]

32 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

But I'll take that due to being able to hit off nice grass instead of a hard surface /tight lie.

 

... Yup the golf gods giveth and taketh away. Playing around the greens can be brutal with extremely tight lies on a rock hard surface. I only used my 58* around the greens back in the soft conditions and I rarely use it here.  And of course while that 230 yd drive rolling to 270 in the middle of the fairway is very nice it is offset by being a little off line and rolling into the desert. 

[Paul Hedrick]

Had a really good day at my local today.  After nine I was at par, and was thinking I have this dicked!  LOL.  Well, not so much.  My friend and I got stuck behind a SLOW foursome who just would not let us play through.  They were playing from the blue tees, and from what I saw really should have been playing from the lady's tees.  They spent most of their time looking for their offline balls, and were slower then hell!  That really put me off, and I finished 5 over par.  Yes, it could have been worse, bud dam, I was 'in the zone' and was really feeling good about this round. I sent a email to the pro asking if we can have course marshals on the weekend to help with this nonsense. 

[chisag]

20 hours ago, Yellow Ball said:

Last season when @Rickp lost his swing, I found it for him. Since Rick is now recovering from his surgery, I'm sure he will let you borrow it. The good news is when Rick gets better it's a swing for two.

 

... You are welcome to come down and join me this week. Has your yellow color ever melted off during a round?






 

[sirchunksalot]

41 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... You are welcome to come down and join me this week. Has your yellow color ever melted off during a round?






 

It's a dry heat, they say. At least it looks like you're going to have some breezes.

That 112+ for a high is insane!

[chisag]

18 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

It's a dry heat, they say. At least it looks like you're going to have some breezes.

That 112+ for a high is insane!

 

... I usually play up to 114* but never 2 days in a row. Yea, the dry heat is the real deal and I would much rather play at 112* and 15% humidity than 92* and 90% humidity. One of the only times I left a golf course before finishing was at Myrtle Beach when it got to 100* and as I made the turn by myself the ranger said I was the only one on the course and they were closing due to the heat so just park my cart next to the barn and put my key through the slot in the door. NO wind at all and after 13 I called it a day and joined my boys in the ocean. 

[sirchunksalot]

17 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I usually play up to 114* but never 2 days in a row. Yea, the dry heat is the real deal and I would much rather play at 112* and 15% humidity than 92* and 90% humidity. One of the only times I left a golf course before finishing was at Myrtle Beach  when it got to 100* and as I made the turn by myself the ranger said I was the only one on the course and they were closing due to the heat so just park my cart next to the barn and put my key through the slot in the door. NO wind at all and after 13 I called it a day and joined my boys in the ocean. 

I couldn't even imagine playing in temps like that. I can empathize with how miserable it is to play in 90 degree heat with humidity, I hardly like being outside in those conditions. I can't say I blame you for hitting the water in those conditions. 

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

It's a dry heat, they say. At least it looks like you're going to have some breezes.

That 112+ for a high is insane!

Nah!  That's nothing... summer is just around the corner.  

[MDGolfHacker]

On 6/2/2022 at 7:28 PM, Rickp said:

Went well, Home around 1:00!!!

Rick - glad it went well.  Take your time healing, the game will be here whenever you return!

 

MDGolfHacker

[FrogginBullfish]

First round in about two years and first time hitting balls. Played about as badly as I expected. Hit a few decent shots and made a couple pars.

Was pretty consistent though, same score on both nines. 

[DStar]

36 hole pairs competition yesterday! Morning was betterball medal, afternoon was foursomes medal.

Played really well in the morning, my score was used on 14 holes. I left the driver in the car as I've not been great with it recently so relied on my F9 3 wood off the tee and it didn't fail me. Iron play was good, around the greens was good and putter was on fire - rolled a lot of good, testing putts. 

Ended on nett 68 - 3 under, 2 off the lead  

Afternoon didn't go so well but it's such a tough format. Neither of us really got going and struggled finding the fairways so had a lot of recovery shots getting back into play. Putts didn't drop and had some back luck with balls ending up right behind trees.

Ended with a nett 77 for the afternoon and out of contention (winners had 139 combined) but it was a great day and the heavy rain that was forecast stayed away. 

[MattF]

Got out for 9 late yesterday afternoon. The NEO Amateur was played at Windmill over the weekend and the good tee times were blocked off and the course had some s***** pin positions.

Shot a 41 on the front. I played as a single behind a 3 and a 4. Pace was excellent but at the turn I sat with the 3 and they didn't even ask if I wanted to join them so I left, which I really hate doing. 

[Ohms]

12 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 I would much rather play at 112* and 15% humidity than 92* and 90% humidity.

I'm exactly the opposite, when I travel West for summer golf, I wish someone would put some water in the air.

[Ohms]

Only got in 1 round this weekend- was striking the ball well and had some good stats. 

12 GIR (15 if I count fringes)

11 Fairways hit

30 putts (33 if I count the fringes)

0 lost balls

Score- 75

Won 4 bets, tied 1

Walked 7.72 miles

Most importantly, enjoyed some great weather with a really good foursome.

Can't wait for it to all go wrong next time!

 

[Parshooter36]

I played in a scramble Saturday and could not hit the ball at all. Sunday I played a local course I had not been to this year and shot a 76! I've played this course at least 100 times and had never broken 80 before. I almost didn't play because of how poorly I played Saturday, it's a funny game sometimes.

On a side note, the honeymoon effect is in full force with my new hybrid. I bought it to be my 190 yard club. I used it 6 times yesterday and averaged 186 yards and dead straight on the 1st 5, with a slight pull on the last.

[azstu324]

On 5/3/2022 at 4:22 PM, Mtbryant01 said:

After my trip with @Ben_Howell34 to Big Cedar Lodge (I’ll update on his post about how that trip was….it was incredible) I got to play with a buddy at my local club today. 

I shot a 75 today (my best this year and one off my personal best ever)

I had a chip in birdie and then….. a hole in one! Can’t even describe the feeling of seeing the ball drop into the hole off the tee. 149 yd shot, downwind. Pin is on the front. I played a full PW with the slightest fade. Hit 5 ft to the left of the flag, checked up on the side hill and started falling to the right towards the hole. The anticipation was real as I didn’t know if it was tracking or not. I saw it roll into the flag stick, catch the lip of the cup, do a 180 around the flag before falling in.

Beautiful weather, incredible day. I’ve had many lows while playing, but this is why I love going out again and again. The chase for perfection and today was pretty dang perfect.

Man how awesome that must be! Until now I only know the feeling of a chip in, long putt, and a cranked drive... But I'm yet to experience an Ace. Too many close calls but still chasing that SOB. Jealousy is definitely running high! 

[cnosil]

Played a 5 hour and 45 minute round yesterday; waited on every tee and approach shot.  I kind of expect this with a tournament, but this was a normal round.  I was surprised at how well I played (41/37:78) considering how slow it was.    Although I didn’t hit a lot of fairways or greens I was never really in bad trouble.  
 

I spent time before the round working on my finesse short game and it carried over to my round.  Really feel like I found a movement pattern that gave me good club/ground interaction and a nice mid trajectory shot with some spin.  
 

At this point I feel like I am hitting the ball well from fairway to green. A lot of the improvement has come from a little better tempo and a better backswing position.  As long as I don’t get quick, ball flight is is pretty straight and my miss is a little thin. With scores starting to drop back into the upper 70s I feel confident that with a little more work, I can get my average down to about 75 and possibly break the 70 barrier for the first time.  
 

also spent some time on my putting and that skill didn’t carry over and where I need the work. What I used to consider a big strength in my game is now a weakness.  I think my Start line is good but I am missing a lot of shot putts.  Need to focus a some  more time on the read/start line of short putts as I might be overrating the break.   Even worse is speed control.  I can’t figure out how far to take the putter back to make it go any distance even on shorter 4-10 foot putts.  I am leaving everything short and it has become very frustrating.  I guess it is time to evaluate putters and see what putter might give me a little more ball speed to get the ball closer to the hole. 

[Kenny B]

7 minutes ago, cnosil said:

What I used to consider a big strength in my game is now a weakness.  I think my Start line is good but I am missing a lot of shot putts.  Need to focus a some  more time on the read/start line of short putts as I might be overrating the break.   Even worse is speed control.  I can’t figure out how far to take the putter back to make it go any distance even on shorter 4-10 foot putts.  I am leaving everything short and it has become very frustrating.  I guess it is time to evaluate putters and see what putter might give me a little more ball speed to get the ball closer to the hole. 

What kind of strike do you use?  Pendulum... back and through same length; or shorter followthrough?  

I used to have the pendulum stroke for many years, and my miss was mostly short.  At a constant speed through the ball, putter speed slowed when the putter impacted the ball... lost energy.

Watching the pros these days, there are some that use the pendulum stroke (more LPGA than PGA it seems), but many seem to have incorporated a shorter followthrough.  Not quite the Snedeker pop stroke, but more Spieth-like.  Last year I thought I'd try it and I have better control of the speed; getting short/medium range putts past the hole more frequently.  

[azstu324]

14 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... I usually play up to 114* but never 2 days in a row. Yea, the dry heat is the real deal and I would much rather play at 112* and 15% humidity than 92* and 90% humidity. One of the only times I left a golf course before finishing was at Myrtle Beach when it got to 100* and as I made the turn by myself the ranger said I was the only one on the course and they were closing due to the heat so just park my cart next to the barn and put my key through the slot in the door. NO wind at all and after 13 I called it a day and joined my boys in the ocean. 

Man you got me beat. I've been playing summer golf here since highschool (I'm 43) and anything north of 110° I say no sir! That said, 110°+ in windy conditions and no humidity, you're basically playing golf in a microwave. That's a HARD pass right there! 

I know the humidity isn't fun either and would definitely take the dry heat but there is still a hard line where a good time and bat $hit crazy are standing nose to nose.

[JerryB]

Owen and I got out to Byron yesterday to play Prairie View for the first time.  Probably the best course I've ever played.  Definitely the toughest, and the most well maintained.  Its a municipal course but they've got plenty of money from the nearby nuclear plant.  Greens were hard, undulating, and way faster that anything I'm used to.  Couldnt putt to save my life.

Overall I played poorly, even by my standards.  Course was busy and we were waiting on every tee box.  Pace of play was actually decent (we finished in under 4.5 hours) but its slower than we're used to and it really affected me personally.  Just couldnt get into a rhythm.  My tee shots traveled but were wayward.  Whether I used driver or 3 wood, they were mostly leaky right.  My second shots were mostly abysmal; lots of chunks.  Not a flat piece of land outside the tee boxes. 

Lost six balls; probably could have found a few of them but I was overly worried about holding up the group behind us even though we had groups in front of us too.  It's a mental thing that I really need to do better about.  I never settled in and took the time for pre shot and pre putt routines. 

Irons are still coming along.  While my aim and setup is better, I now have a tendency to hook them to the left.  But overall they weren't the liability they've been recently.  Owen had recently re-gripped them for me and it has made a big difference. 

I played 51/53 104 (+31) and Owen shot upper 90s.  Despite my miserable time we loved the place and would like to get out there again.  Definitely a challenge we need to conquer!

View from one of the holes:

Edited June 6, 2022 by JerryB
Added picture

[Kenny B]

12 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Man you got me beat. I've been playing summer golf here since highschool (I'm 43) and anything north of 110° I say no sir! That said, 110°+ in windy conditions and no humidity, you're basically playing golf in a microwave. That's a HARD pass right there! 

I know the humidity isn't fun either and would definitely take the dry heat but there is still a hard line where a good time and bat $hit crazy are standing nose to nose.

I don't mind the 110º days (yes, we get them; 118º was the highest last June) as long as I can keep my hat and a cooling towel wet.  My wife can't do it though.  She got heat stroke at a July 4 event one year and has to be careful when temps reach 100.  We played in a tournament at the JW Marriott Starr Pass in July several years ago.  She was riding with one of our buddies from ABQ from a green to the next tee when they crossed a street near the clubhouse; she told him he could either take her to the clubhouse or call an ambulance to meet us on the next hole.  Same thing happened at TPC Scottsdale, but she made all 18 holes... then spent an hour in the locker room.

[cnosil]

16 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

What kind of strike do you use?  Pendulum... back and through same length; or shorter followthrough?  

I used to have the pendulum stroke for many years, and my miss was mostly short.  At a constant speed through the ball, putter speed slowed when the putter impacted the ball... lost energy.

Watching the pros these days, there are some that use the pendulum stroke (more LPGA than PGA it seems), but many seem to have incorporated a shorter followthrough.  Not quite the Snedeker pop stroke, but more Spieth-like.  Last year I thought I'd try it and I have better control of the speed; getting short/medium range putts past the hole more frequently.  

I fall more to the pendulum side.  I am not as far on the mechanical as Bryson, but definitely favor that side of the feel/mechanical spectrum.  Over time, I’ve built the feels for how far to take the putter back/move my hands to get the ball to roll specific distances.  I don’t worry about the follow through as it just happens as part of the stroke.   What f’ed it up seems to be this LAB putter as I have no idea how far to take the putter back and feel like I am making a huge swing just to move the ball any distance.  After leaving an 8 foot eagle putt short, one of my friends laughed and handed me his putter and had me roll the same putt.   While I know it is much easier the time hit a putt the second time, the stroke felt so much better.   At this point, even though I read about how much everyone loves their lab putter, it is time for me to go back to a “normal” putter.