How'd you play?

[DoubleBogeyDad]

Could...not...find it today. Was giving 6 strokes in our 9 hole match play league. Great drive about 300 right down the pipe on one, 180 yards out on a par 5, proceeded to chunk a 6-iron into the creek and make 7 .

Felt pressed from there on and things didn't get much better. Was down 5-1 thru 6, cleaned it up a little on the last 3 holes to get it to 5-4, but the match was already over at that point.

Pretty demoralizing honestly. Will have to shake it off and get some range work in.

[richk9holes]

Played okay, putted like a doofus. Today put me over 300 bogeys for the season and closing in on 500 bogey or worse like it'll happen this week at this rate.

 

[berkeleybob]

6 hours ago, richk9holes said:

Played okay, putted like a doofus. Today put me over 300 bogeys for the season and closing in on 500 bogey or worse like it'll happen this week at this rate.

 

Is bogey counting an app benefit? Are your double bogeys lessening?

Hang in there! 

[berkeleybob]

Second outing with the morning rain. Ended up with the same scores as yesterday, just no penalties this time, so that’s good. I just couldn’t get the right pace on the wet green.

Also, landed this one from the tee. 

Parred this one, but did the same yesterday and got my birdie. Overall, I’m happy enough with the outcome.

[GaryF]

On 7/12/2023 at 1:22 AM, FreddyTheBearCat said:

Broke 90 for the first time last weekend with an 88, folks. Everything is coming up Milhouse! 

Congratulations!  A year or two ago Golf Digest had an article on general characteristics of play that result in breaking 100, 90, 80…..  it really simplifies what it takes and what needs to be reduced or eliminated.  I don’t recall the specifics and no longer have that issue, but breaking 90 means reducing triple bogies, reducing 3 putts, maybe getting a couple pars, hitting X fairways, etc.

Breaking 90 is bogie golf.  Hitting a bad tee shot should not cause a big mental burden because bogie is still very realistic (unless a lost, out of bounds or unplayable); a hero shot isn’t necessary.  My 16-18 hdcp friends generally stay pretty even keeled while playing and usually accept a bad shot and follow with a decent shot.  One rule I have is that if I hit a bad shot or start feeling frustrated, I give myself 15-20 seconds to get over it, then just move on.  I used to let the frustration build and turn into anger and at that point there was no recovery.  I’ve played with some recently that let it build, their play never gets any better.  The most important shot is the next shot.

Keep up the good work! 

Edited July 13, 2023 by GaryF

[Girldad18]

Played yesterday, it was hot.  By the 9th hole I was really wondering why I did it.  But I played better than expected.  Still working on swing changes but as the round progressed it got better, even though I got tired.  The long irons are the tyrant right now.  Two three putts on the back nine and two shortish missed birdie putts and the round could've been better, but all in all, I was pleased with how I played.  

Supposed to play this afternoon, another hot one.  We will see.

[richk9holes]

4 hours ago, berkeleybob said:

Is bogey counting an app benefit? Are your double bogeys lessening?

Hang in there! 

I started inputting all my rounds into my Bushnell gps. Their app keeps track of it. Every round since April.

[tdroma98]

That's a pretty cool tracking system @richk9holes! 

[richk9holes]

1 minute ago, tdroma98 said:

That's a pretty cool tracking system @richk9holes! 

I'm still getting used to manually inputting on the gps as I go along, but even rounds I forget to record I can go onto the app and input them.

It's probably easier to sit down with a stack of cards and put them in the app via my phone than fiddling with the gps unit 18 times during the round.

[skraeling]

On 7/8/2023 at 10:31 PM, skraeling said:

Played a par 3/4 course this morning.  Me and my coworker both needed a mojo re-gainer round. Plus we both wanted to work on some stuff.

After an absolutely abysmal round on the 4th, I found my stroke again.  my mechanics are good.... when I dont rush myself.  Regained that tempo that I was seriously lacking.

For MY swing..  Start back swing straight away as I can... wait for the waggle at the top as the trigger... go through the ball.

Hit my 3h the best Ive hit it this entire year... which with my modest swing speed ended up being ~209yd or so... now it was also a steep backstop of a green so 220 wasnt out the range of possibility.

 

THIS though was the LIGHTBULB moment that those of us who play enough go... "ARE YOU FK*ING kidding ME?!?!?!?" and go.... my tempo was SOOOOOOOO far off till that 3h swing.

Now... Im thinking... will this translate to my driver?  My driver has been... pretty good lately.  Till the last time I tried to hit it on the 4th of july and I didnt hit one farther than 200yd..... and that I managed, ONCE over 9 holes.  

No joke I could not get off the TEE box.  It was brutal.

So me going... "am I just rushing myself?!?" +the other thousand swing thoughts we get.

Yes.... yes I was.  So on this modest par 4.. I 50/50'd the ball off the top of the driver and crown.. this f****** thing still stopped at around the 250yd mark.

 

But... Sir Ryan (you may ask yourself)... is that impressive?

Yes... yes it is... im like a teens handicap so hitting it 250 even total distance not carry... is a god damn good day for us hacks.

This is where it gets really fun ladies and gentlemen.  My co-consipriator is a VERY new golfer... I typically play more rounds in a month than he has... (EVER).

This dude... PRAISE BE UNTO SIR DARREN...

Hit his driver which he is loath to do... a respectable.. 221yd (we dont mention the fact Ive seen him hit his hybrid that far).... be that as it may.. it was an absolutely beautiful draw ball flgiht....

This mother ****** then proceeds to pull out an approximately 600* wedge with a full swing and drop this ******... I dunno... 6feet from the pin on his second shot?

This guy gets his FIRST BIRDIE EVER.  Not only that... he straight up DUNKS me on this hole even driving the ball 30yd farther.. (I three putt as is tradition).

It was frankly an AMAZING 9holes of two dudes going out and learning some stuff.  He asks me questions like I have the answer and... really I dont 

 

Ok so league on tuesday didnt quite... enjoy the benefit of the mojo round that I was hoping for.  I lost.... 6 balls... in the most comical of ways.

randomly developed a fade... (cost 2 balls).

Over drove a fairway (into a creek) that cost me (1 ball).

Dropped and grabbed the wrong wedge which left me 15yds short of clearing the lake (second ball cost on the same hole).

Faded another drive right and into the woods (1 more ball).

Clipped a tree branch which then dropped the ball... yep right into the water.

The good news was I didnt fat a single iron shot or thin one.  The wedges were doing well, putting was... not bad.

It was the best worst round ive played this year.

A 50 with SIX penalty strokes is almost borderline impressive haha.

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by skraeling

[Spikehammer]

Finally feels like the game is turning around this season. After a rough first 10 or so rounds to the season, I was able to play Tuesday and Wednesday. First round on Tuesday was a full 18. Shot an 8 with 2 doubles so some things to still clean up but overall a good round. Also felt good to stick an 8 iron to 3 feet on my second shot into a par 5 for a tap in eagle. Wednesday was similar. Had two blow up holes on my 9 hole match but was able to win and shot a 41. Closing in on move frequent rounds in the 70s.

[Paul Hedrick]

On 7/11/2023 at 8:49 PM, KC Golf said:

Paul, I'm sure you will turn it around.  Enjoy Pinehurst!  Very envious.  

I played a second round of golf yesterday, and did much better.  As I previously mentioned, my first round was terrible.  Yesterday, while still not where I wanted to be, was better.

[JerryB]

Played the back half of my irons only challenge walking the back nine at River Heights today.  Rained a lot yesterday and was still looking iffy this morning so Owen decided to pass.  

Started out rather comical as I thinned my 7 iron off the tee and it rode the cart path to just short of the green.  Chip and a two putt for a bogey.

On eleven I mis-hit my eight iron off the tee but it managed to skip across the pond and make it to the other side.  Then I took my GW and caught the end of the toe, skittering further to the right.  Wound up with a triple.

On twelve I hit a decent 7 iron, then a GW that wound up in the fringe off the green.  Two putts from there for a par.

Thirteen saw a 7, then an 8, then I chunked my GW leaving me short of the green.  Hit one of my better chips with my PW to tap in for bogey.

Got doubles on the next four holes on my way to 18, where the wheels really fell off.  Some really poor contact and also overshot the green twice on my way to a really ugly quintuple bogey to finish.

Getting into my head a lot lately.  Went (+18) 54.  

[ParFore74x]

Decided to try out the “irons only” challenge that the testers in the Cobra Challenge are doing this week. I played the local muni that I play the most and moved up one set of tees, from yellow (6299 yds) to white (6042 yds) because the par 5 doglegs would have been unreachable for the most part. On the par 3s and 4s, the difference is less than 10 yds but on the 5s it’s 15-40 yds difference depending on the hole. 

I took my 4 iron and used it on all 14 holes to tee off. I don’t normally carry this club because I could not hit it well. Turns out that I cannot hit it to save my life off of the deck but, off the tee is a different story. It was fairly straight and consistently longer than I expected.

The biggest thing that I noticed was that my thinking and course management seemed more relaxed. Shorter irons on the par 3s, longer irons for the second shot on 4s and 5s as well as third shot on 5s. Ball striking was the best that it’s been all year so I was stoked about that.

Final score was 42/46, 88 which included a couple of triples and a double. The 7 pars and 6 GIRs helped to keep things under control.

My favorite hole was definitely the par 5 9th that was playing around 440 yds and uphill 50 feet. My tee shot had good distance but was a bit right and made my second shot blocked by trees. I attempted to go over them but a poorly struck 9 iron went bouncing along the ground to a clearing in the rough that left me 124yds and uphill around 10 feet to the green. The not-so-great shots from both my 4 iron and 9 iron were negated by the beautiful arch of a ball flight as my PW sent my ball to the green and just stopped. Set me up perfect for a 2 putt par.

Overall I have to admit that playing irons only was enjoyable, I really liked the change in thought process. 

[BallsLeon]

Last night I played 9 at the same course (Falcon Valley) that I played Sunday. My hope was to build on that first outing and make some improvements, but that didn't quite work out as expected haha. Had my yearly vision checkup beforehand, and they decided my eyes needed to be dilated for the exam .  So that made things pretty interesting, definitely relied more on feel .

While I did not intend to participate in the "irons only" challenge, after the 3rd bad swing with my 5 wood I stuck to teeing off with my 6 iron for the rest of the round. Hit all the fairways after that. My GIR% remained the same as the previous round, but I had 4 more putts for a total of 20 (up from 16).  Ended up shooting 53 (up from previous 52).

Also, on hole 4 I had the best chip shot I've had yet! I wish it had been for par or birdie, but it was still awesome. My approach shot went long past the green, and rolled up a slope in the rough. I took my sand wedge, and just tried to chip it out into the middle of the green. It dropped and just got on the perfect line to the hole. Didn't get any pictures in the moment, but mocked it up on maps:

[Krowland]

Got a round in yesterday afternoon, very hot and windy conditions. After the first 9 I was sitting at a 44, not great but not the worst.    Back 9, I had figured out my driver giving me some better scoring opportunities... however as much as i'd love that to be the plan, and to stick to the plan, I went with plan B. That plan is me under or overhitting and missing greens. However, it gave me a chance to really work my wedges.  I just recently bought new wedges so i was actually quite excited to  play those shots.  I wasn't frustrated, mad, or let emotions of my mishits get to me at all.   Just looked at it as an opportunity.  
 

Finished that back 9 at 41. Total on the day 85.  I'm usually somewhere in the high 70's-mid 80's, so with the conditions I was content with my round.   There is always something to take away from each round. Its the one great shot, its the easily avoidable mistakes, its the one long putt, the hole you played last time terribly but this time made a birdie on, there is always something.  When the game stops being fun, it's time for me to stop playing. I don't see that happening anytime soon so until then i'll take it one shot at a time. There's always and always will be, the next shot!  Good luck out there, stay positive, and may the rounds be low! Cheers ️

[cksurfdude]

On 7/12/2023 at 1:22 AM, FreddyTheBearCat said:

Broke 90 for the first time last weekend with an 88, folks. Everything is coming up Milhouse! 

CONGRATS!!! on that major accomplishment!!

PS: #jealous

PPS: love The Simpsons!

[sirchunksalot]

20 hours ago, ParFore74x said:

Decided to try out the “irons only” challenge that the testers in the Cobra Challenge are doing this week. I played the local muni that I play the most and moved up one set of tees, from yellow (6299 yds) to white (6042 yds) because the par 5 doglegs would have been unreachable for the most part. On the par 3s and 4s, the difference is less than 10 yds but on the 5s it’s 15-40 yds difference depending on the hole. 

I took my 4 iron and used it on all 14 holes to tee off. I don’t normally carry this club because I could not hit it well. Turns out that I cannot hit it to save my life off of the deck but, off the tee is a different story. It was fairly straight and consistently longer than I expected.

The biggest thing that I noticed was that my thinking and course management seemed more relaxed. Shorter irons on the par 3s, longer irons for the second shot on 4s and 5s as well as third shot on 5s. Ball striking was the best that it’s been all year so I was stoked about that.

Final score was 42/46, 88 which included a couple of triples and a double. The 7 pars and 6 GIRs helped to keep things under control.

My favorite hole was definitely the par 5 9th that was playing around 440 yds and uphill 50 feet. My tee shot had good distance but was a bit right and made my second shot blocked by trees. I attempted to go over them but a poorly struck 9 iron went bouncing along the ground to a clearing in the rough that left me 124yds and uphill around 10 feet to the green. The not-so-great shots from both my 4 iron and 9 iron were negated by the beautiful arch of a ball flight as my PW sent my ball to the green and just stopped. Set me up perfect for a 2 putt par.

Overall I have to admit that playing irons only was enjoyable, I really liked the change in thought process. 

Great round and I'm glad you got out to play along with the irons only challenge. It definitely has an effect on how you approach the course and keeps the mind sharp throughout the round. 

It's awesome you were able to hit the 4 iron so well off the tee. That's a tough club to hit well under any circumstance. 

Thank for sharing!

[sirchunksalot]

22 hours ago, JerryB said:

Played the back half of my irons only challenge walking the back nine at River Heights today.  Rained a lot yesterday and was still looking iffy this morning so Owen decided to pass.  

Started out rather comical as I thinned my 7 iron off the tee and it rode the cart path to just short of the green.  Chip and a two putt for a bogey.

On eleven I mis-hit my eight iron off the tee but it managed to skip across the pond and make it to the other side.  Then I took my GW and caught the end of the toe, skittering further to the right.  Wound up with a triple.

On twelve I hit a decent 7 iron, then a GW that wound up in the fringe off the green.  Two putts from there for a par.

Thirteen saw a 7, then an 8, then I chunked my GW leaving me short of the green.  Hit one of my better chips with my PW to tap in for bogey.

Got doubles on the next four holes on my way to 18, where the wheels really fell off.  Some really poor contact and also overshot the green twice on my way to a really ugly quintuple bogey to finish.

Getting into my head a lot lately.  Went (+18) 54.  

In a practice round for the irons only challenge, I had about the same luck. I was pressing hard to score well and completely fell apart. I was coming out of my golf shoes trying to get more distance and my ability to hit the ball was terrible.

Also, I could not putt. I had 5 3 putts and 22 overall. It was a very bad day that had me beating myself up.

I went in without any kind of mental preparation and it showed. I couldn't tell you how many times I looked at the course scorecard and Google Earth leading up to my round Wednesday. I broke down the holes and how far each shot would have to travel to reach the green in three shots on par 4's and four shots on par 5's. In other words, my par for any given hole was bogey.

I'm still amazed how relaxed my mind was throughout the round and it showed. Granted, I moved up a set of tees from where I usually play, but the goal was to be able to compete with better golfers. 

It worked out well, I shot a 98 and I'm feeling better about my game than I have in ages. 

[JerryB]

Great round @sirchunksalot and it's inspiring to hear how you approach the mental aspect.  

[sirchunksalot]

29 minutes ago, JerryB said:

Great round @sirchunksalot and it's inspiring to hear how you approach the mental aspect.  

I appreciate it Jerry. I've been playing golf on and off for about thirty years and the two great mental rounds I've played in that time have occurred in the last two weeks. 

I guess that's a pretty good number. 

[Shlax]

Broke 80 for the first time at my home course (on the par 72 course this time)!

I tried some new stuff with driver so I had a very deliberate swing. I wasn’t long at all so I found myself in unusual spots on the approach shots. Iron play delivered though and putting wasn’t bad.

I had 3 birdies and other good chances, which is quite rare. I usually rack pars up more than go for birdies. I don’t even average a bridie per round.

Still incurred my usual/dreaded penalty stroke with driver on the 16th hole so I almost lost my focus but responded with a birdie on the 17th.

Very happy with my round this afternoon. All that’s left is taking care of driver and break 75 will be in the cards!

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Shlax
MGS virtual tour link

[ParFore74x]

3 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Great round and I'm glad you got out to play along with the irons only challenge. It definitely has an effect on how you approach the course and keeps the mind sharp throughout the round. 

It's awesome you were able to hit the 4 iron so well off the tee. That's a tough club to hit well under any circumstance. 

Thank for sharing!

I totally agree with you on that. It seemed to help me focus a bit better overall. I really enjoyed it and might play 9 like that once in a while just to reset my head. 

[That’s Mr. Dirt]

I have not played in weeks!  Honestly, I cannot remember.  Here in west central Florida, the heat & humidity have been ridiculous AND I’m going through a home renovation, which is currently 3+ months over scheduled completion time.  I think I’ll get back in to golf in the fall after the summer heat passes and, hopefully, this house project is done.  I’m deliberating on getting a new set of clubs next year, but I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose when I read all the info about the new clubs.  So much research.  To all of you who are still playing during the summer good luck.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Shot a 45 today on my second weekly nine and that was with an opening hole quad where I just wasn’t mentally focused. 4 GIRs today. Putting was much better after calibrating my speed before the round. Had 1 3 putt that I just underread the break on a 6’ and had to tap in left after the beautiful 7w drive below.

Almost chipped in for par on 15.

My swing with 7i on down is really taking in the feels from my coach. Driver was hit and miss today. Also hoseled a wedge on 18 that I should have easily gotten on the green from 60 yards out. It was odd. 

[fozcycle]

Most consistent round of the summer……40/40:80 with only 24 putts!  No birdies but No Doubles or Triples! FIR 9/14 64% GIR 3/18 17%. My GIR was way down but had a lot of short chips leading to 10 one putts!

My Up & Downs we’re 63% as compared to my season 32%.

Hoping this will continue.

[GaryF]

12 hours ago, That’s Mr. Dirt said:

I have not played in weeks!  Honestly, I cannot remember.  Here in west central Florida, the heat & humidity have been ridiculous AND I’m going through a home renovation, which is currently 3+ months over scheduled completion time.  I think I’ll get back in to golf in the fall after the summer heat passes and, hopefully, this house project is done.  I’m deliberating on getting a new set of clubs next year, but I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose when I read all the info about the new clubs.  So much research.  To all of you who are still playing during the summer good luck.

I spent a lot of time researching clubs and if I were to admit the truth, goes back 2-3 years, mainly because I wasn’t in a hurry.  I finally resolved to complete my search with approval from my boss…..I mean wife.

Did a number of club fittings, each time feeling 90% I found THE irons, only to realize something was a bit off.  I finally found a local fitter that was brand agnostic, took a couple lessons from him first, then did the fitting.  The first irons I fell in love with were the mizuno JPX923s, but then over time, on my own, felt the Titliest T200s were my best. Finally wrote the mizunos off.

During the fitting, I did very well with the Titliest. Also did well with Callaway ST Rogues.  But some things come full circle and the winner was the JPX923s. 

My first only advice, hit them all, take your time, find a fitter you are comfortable with, trust him/her.  Btw, I’m mostly in GA but have owned a home in Orlando suburbs for 40 years that my dau and family have taken over.  It’s hotter here than Fl! 
 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by GaryF

[Jim Shaw]

another solid round today, 71, 1 under par, still need to sink a few putts so working on that

 

[ruliz]

Shot 85 today. Not the worst. Felt like a solid day because I made 9 pars. Made 4 double bogeys (1 OB, 2 three-putts, 1 flop shot went wrong) and 5 bogeys

[GaryF]

Unfortunately had to cancel golf for today.  Been laying low since Thurs night.  Had a tooth partially loose a filling 2 weeks ago (well structured wisdom tooth) with very minor discomfort. Have a great dentist in Fl so was biding my time for a visit. Thurs night, the tooth above broke.  Tried getting established with my neighbor dentist but couldn’t get past his front office on Friday after multiple calls.  Did get an appt for tomorrow. Been a pretty miserable weekend.  The 2 or 3 times I had an emergency in Fl, the gal that that schedules would always tell me - we are slammed today - get here by 3 and we will get you in.  Here on Friday was just told, sorry, we don’t have a chair to put you in. I don’t know my neighbor very well so didn’t pull the neighbor card, but tomorrow will be an interesting discussion.  Sorry, just needed to vent….

Edited July 16, 2023 by GaryF