How'd you play?

[Rob Person]

31 minutes ago, BallsLeon said:

Far from my best work today, but ended up having a lot of fun. Played Winterstone from the red tees (Par 72, 6234yds, 70.6/131) with two guys from Minneapolis. They came down to KC on vacation to play public courses which I thought was pretty cool. 
Weather was the perfect temp, but super windy with averages around 20mph and gusts of 30-40mph. Was a tough scene and I ultimately ended up stop keeping score. Drove the ball super well for me today, but the rest of my game was a struggle; either sending it long or a shank. Still had a lot of fun, happy with my driver after tipping, and glad I met those two guys.

Sometimes the score is a byproduct. It's the fun that keeps us coming back!  Glad you enjoyed it!

[Kenny B]

First round at my course this morning after getting back from a nice, warm golf vacation in Palm Springs.  hated to play in the high-30, low-40 degree after that trip but have to get back at it some time.  The sun was out, but the wind picked up on the 5th hole and I was chillin’ and not in a good way.

I managed to scatter 4 bogeys for a 41 on the front nine.  The back nine was 3 bogeys and a stoopid double on #16, but followed it with a 30 foot birdie putt on #17… so a 39 on the back nine for a round of 80.  Can’t complain really; the short driving distances over this past winter seemed to have left and the wind-aided bombs were back.  Short game had it’s ups and downs… pun intended!  On #11 my approach shot missed a little left and the ball ran down the steep slope and across the cart path.  Can’t see the green surface; hit a decent LW that almost made it onto the green, then rolled back down the slope and across the cart path again to my feet.  Tried again… with better result; landed ball on green and checked up a foot past the hole.  On the par 3 #12 back into the breeze, my tee shot came up short in the bunker, but saved par with a 4 foot putt.

I need to spend some practice time out on the course to get rid of the warm grass blues from SoCal.

[Shapotomous]

Sunny & 62* today so we lined up some elder care and got the 2nd to last open tee time and headed to the course!  It was very crowded, waiting on every shot and we were only able to get in 13 holes before playing #9 again to head back to the parking lot.  Some of the tees were in their normal spots while most are still in the winter tee location so the course is still playing fairly short.  I managed 2 bogies on the first two holes and 1 late birdie with all the others pars.  Three  birdie putts were left a couple rolls short as I couldnt get adjusted to the slower green speed.

My favorite shot of the day was a 7i on the 5th hole, a 90* dogleg right par 4.  The tee shot with the 18* hybrid was hit too high into the wind and came up shorter than i wanted.  In the fairway but was not far enough to be clear of the trees on the corner of the dogleg, I had to fade / slice around them to hit the green.  I opened the face and my stance and did my best cut swing.  The result was a nice high slice that ended up in the middle of the green.  

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I scored horrible today but played well. Makes no sense right. But I’ll explain. I left the house at 7:30 and it was a little foggy. I got to the course and it was dense fog. You couldn’t see the ball after 30 /40 yards. Always being one to take on a golf challenge I teed off.  I had to use a lime green ball just to get a sense of direction after the strike.  The positive, I didn’t lose a ball. The negative I didn’t think to bring a GPS and my laser was useless. Not being able to see a green or even judge distance was a fun challenge. I only parred 3 holes on the front 9 and bogeyed the rest. I consider that a win. By the back 9 it cleared up and the pars were back on track with one birdie.

It was a crazy thing to try but I had fun. 

[Dead Solid Bogey]

3 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I scored horrible today but played well. Makes no sense right. But I’ll explain. I left the house at 7:30 and it was a little foggy. I got to the course and it was dense fog. You couldn’t see the ball after 30 /40 yards. Always being one to take on a golf challenge I teed off.  I had to use a lime green ball just to get a sense of direction after the strike.  The positive, I didn’t lose a ball. The negative I didn’t think to bring a GPS and my laser was useless. Not being able to see a green or even judge distance was a fun challenge. I only parred 3 holes on the front 9 and bogeyed the rest. I consider that a win. By the back 9 it cleared up and the pars were back on track with one birdie.

It was a crazy thing to try but I had fun. 

WOW, just WOW….Who knew; all these years I surely must have been playing in a fog, a heavy dense fog.. . 

[taylorjonasher]

Played 18 yesterday at Twin Pines Municipal in Cedar Rapids, IA. First time out this year, it was 75* on March 3rd, so I couldn't complain too much. Actually, I did complain about the 30 mph sustained winds with gusts 45-50. It was brutal, and I'm pretty sure I used almost an entire stick of Chapstick. But, I played pretty well for the first time outside in 3 months. Shot 84 while playing a modified shamble (I played my own ball the entire day); had two teams of buddies playing the best drive, then playing their own ball in with the lowest individual score counting for the team score. My team shot even par 72 against a +3 75 for the W, a celebratory beer at the clubhouse, and a whole bunch of sh** talking until the next one.

I personally had a pretty good day with the driver, with 5 drives over 300 (with a little wind assist), and then a couple that barely crept past 200 while hitting into the wind. My new driver is definitely narrowing my dispersion and helping me keep the ball in play. Wedge game was respectable, with my best shot of the day coming from 65 yards out on #1 - flighted the ball and hit the green with a one hop and stop to 10' for a two putt par. Putting was pretty good for the unmaintained winter conditions, and the approach game was very difficult trying to keep the ball down and control distance. Zero three putts on the day - a major win for me. All in all, I had a fantastic time out playing with my buddies and minimized mistakes in very difficult conditions. 

[Green4Spinach]

There I am. All set to hole the 5th at Sunbury. My wife's picture even captures the moment. What you don't see is that the ball continued to slide past the hole and came to a rest  about the same distance from the hole on the other side. Putting lessons, any one? 

[NubianRugby]

Working on a new swing that has me striking my long irons better but I'm hitting some shots fat/short. I'm taking solace in the fact that when I'm not hitting it pure, the ball is still flying straight and I'm avoiding the crazy blow up holes. I was also pleased to go nine holes with no three putts, even had a couple of up & downs. Driver was all over the place, only hit one fairway. Scoring is stuck in the high 40's for 9.

 

[CorporateGolfRat]

Tight lies continue to knock me down!! Went 82 when I easily could've went low to mid 70's. Early spring with dormant growth has been horrible for my game. I finally started getting some better chipping motions in my game. I really am not producing the up and downs needed to be very good. I had 2 birdies this weekend but too many bogeys from 3-4ft off the green. Left myself some hard shots I shouldn't have given myself but the short game is definitely the struggle point. 

Looking forward to later in the year to start feeling the greenside game play a bit better. 

[David Leighton Reid]

After having a good round on Friday, I was excited to play in our Saturday morning skins game.  For some reason, my good play and putting didn’t carry over.  I shot 8 strokes higher with an 82 and won 0 skins. 

Edited March 4 by David Leighton Reid

[MaxEntropy]

First round of the season in the books! @MattF and I got out at Windmill Lakes. Very pleasant day that ended up in 60's. I started well with a birdie and a par. More often than not I am very happy with a bogey on #1, so the birdie was very nice. Drove the ball fairly well, especially for first day out. Irons were pretty terrible and short game was, as expected, inconsistent. 2 very big number and too many doubles, but otherwise feel pretty good about it. Ended up with a 96.

[jazz15c]

First round for a few weeks due to wife's hip operation (she's doing fine) and also first round with new irons/hybrids. 

Fairly typically, strokes gained due to short game and putting saved my ass. SG approach should improve once I've gotten used to the irons/hybrids. 

The SG lost to driving...yeah that's fairly common too. I didn't lose a ball (rarely do!), but the SG value is purely due to a lack of distance off the tee (averaged 190 yards yesterday), which is exacerbated in winter due to a lack of roll out after landing (the UK is basically a mud-puddle right now). 

I know I need to address this, especially if I'm to get to my hcap goal of 6 (avg 6 hcap drives it 242 yards according to Arccos), either via Yoga/Pilates or speed training...or both, but always find reasons to not do it. 

[JCgolfer]

Hello Spies, we went out this Past Thursday in a group of 10 to celebrate my little brothers birthday.  He just started taking up the sport and that's what he wanted to do so who are we to suggest otherwise haha.  Good times out there in Marshall Canyon in La Verne, playing amongst the deer's roaming free.   The day was chilly with clouds and at the end we started seeing the sun come out.  The greens are by fair the trickiest around I feel, the hole placements are difficult.  The greens slope so much that if you are above the pin you will roll right past further than you were initially.  I have improved my fairways hit from 30% to 70% by adjusting my grip and working on some split hand drills.  Secondary and 3rds shots once again not consistent, but working on that next.

[MattF]

2 hours ago, MaxEntropy said:

First round of the season in the books! @MattF and I got out at Windmill Lakes. Very pleasant day that ended up in 60's. I started well with a birdie and a par. More often than not I am very happy with a bogey on #1, so the birdie was very nice. Drove the ball fairly well, especially for first day out. Irons were pretty terrible and short game was, as expected, inconsistent. 2 very big number and too many doubles, but otherwise feel pretty good about it. Ended up with a 96.

You beat my 97 but I learned a lot yesterday...I have to trust the draw now!

[Another Steve]

Haven’t swung my clubs in about 6 months. Went out yesterday to play a local short 9 hole course to open the season up. It was very wet and squishy. Could almost claim casual water anywhere between tee and green…. carry only, little or no roll out.  Greens were relatively hard and unreceptive… a 56* sw from 80 yards left no ball mark and rolled out 15 feet.  They needed cut but rolled ok and were pretty quick. 

This Course is perfect for working on stuff cuz you can play it with just your irons, or maybe tee off with a 3/5 wood if you must. 6 par 4’s 260 - 356 yards and 3 par 3’s 100-210 yards.

Well, I had a case of the lefts going….. any club that was not a wedge was either pulled left or was a draw with a few fugly hooks tossed in.  Was about what I expected……

 

I need to stretch and get sime range time. 

[MVJameson]

Welp........  Went out this weekend after slowly getting my scoring avg down.  Still shoot in the mid 90's but it has been creeping down over the past year.  Saturday was one of those rounds where I couldn't put it together consistently.  shot a 54 on the front and started the back off with a par, par, bogey, par until the wheels came off.  I lost more balls in that round than I have the previous 6 rounds combined.  I was trying out the Maxfli Tour X and they might be a little to spinny for me.  Penalty strokes killed me this weekend (along with my driver and putter).  Maybe next time.

[sirchunksalot]

I played nine after work today with a couple of my friends. We played again this week at Bear Trace in beautiful 75 degree weather. 

I shot a 56, which isn't too bad for me on this course. I had one of those days where I was striking the ball well, but couldn't get anything done with the scoring clubs. The first two holes I was pin high but off the green and ended with doubles on both of them. I started out with four consecutive doubles before making a bogey on the fifth. 

I immediately had a triple on the next hole.

I was on pace to tie my best nine at this course or possibly beat it until the ninth. I hit a topped drive followed by a bad decision to hit 3 wood through some trees. I shanked my next two shots and the second one ended up in an awkward lie in the bunker. I got it out, barely but hit it into another awkward lie in high rough where I couldn't get proper footing. I ended +5 on that hole. 

Even though I had a bad end to my round there's a lot of positives I took away from it. My driving was decent, my approach play was good with the exception of a couple of shots, and after a couple of holes I was chipping decently. 

I still need some work on putting, but it's still early in the year. 

It was just fun to be able to get out and enjoy a beautiful day. 

 

 

[Josh Parker]

1 minute ago, sirchunksalot said:

I played nine after work today with a couple of my friends. We played again this week at Bear Trace in beautiful 75 degree weather. 

I shot a 56, which isn't too bad for me on this course. I had one of those days where I was striking the ball well, but couldn't get anything done with the scoring clubs. The first two holes I was pin high but off the green and ended with doubles on both of them. I started out with four consecutive doubles before making a bogey on the fifth. 

I immediately had a triple on the next hole.

I was on pace to tie my best nine at this course or possibly beat it until the ninth. I hit a topped drive followed by a bad decision to hit 3 wood through some trees. I shanked my next two shots and the second one ended up in an awkward lie in the bunker. I got it out, barely but hit it into another awkward lie in high rough where I couldn't get proper footing. I ended +5 on that hole. 

Even though I had a bad end to my round there's a lot of positives I took away from it. My driving was decent, my approach play was good with the exception of a couple of shots, and after a couple of holes I was chipping decently. 

I still need some work on putting, but it's still early in the year. 

It was just fun to be able to get out and enjoy a beautiful day. 

 

 

Glad you got to get out and enjoy a round!

[sirchunksalot]

Just now, Josh Parker said:

Glad you got to get out and enjoy a round!

I appreciate it! It's been nice that we've been able to get out and play once a week. 

[Kenny B]

9 hours ago, JCgolfer said:

Hello Spies, we went out this Past Thursday in a group of 10 to celebrate my little brothers birthday.  He just started taking up the sport and that's what he wanted to do so who are we to suggest otherwise haha.  Good times out there in Marshall Canyon in La Verne, playing amongst the deer's roaming free.   The day was chilly with clouds and at the end we started seeing the sun come out.  The greens are by fair the trickiest around I feel, the hole placements are difficult.  The greens slope so much that if you are above the pin you will roll right past further than you were initially.  I have improved my fairways hit from 30% to 70% by adjusting my grip and working on some split hand drills.  Secondary and 3rds shots once again not consistent, but working on that next.

Played out in your area couple of weeks ago after those rains went through…  Morongo at Tukwet Canyon Champions Course.  They started us out Cart Path Only, but after 5 holes the course was so back up, they sent everyone a message on the cart GPS screen that CPO was lifted.  Took 5 hours to play 16 holes and we quit because it was getting dark and we had to drive back to Palm Springs.  Nice course… but tough!!

 

[Swood1994]

I was able to actually play a round of golf Sunday in CNY which is extremely rare.. Hit the driver extremely well and am very pleased with the new shaft I put in play (Ventus Black 6S). I was able to shoot a 79 with 1 Double, 7 Bogeys, 8 Pars, and 2 Birdies. 8/14 FIR, 10/18 GIR, and 37 putts (I blame the greens...) all in all I was extremely pleased for the first round of the year!

[rkj427]

Actually, went and played my first round of 2024 outdoors on Sunday.

Played at a local course I haven't played at in a couple years, but they were the only one open on a sunny and close to 60 degree Sunday.

Went with the idea to use a couple "new to me" hybrids as many times as I could to see if they may make the bag this year.

Had both a 19 degree and a 21 degree and did not hit anything but them or an iron during the whole round.

The 19-degree hybrid flights much lower than I expected more like a 3 iron, and the 21-degree hybrid, although similar in loft to a 4 iron flies considerably longer than my 4 iron, and on possibly a slightly higher trajectory.

Greens were long, shaggy, and were not really good to putt on, but I only had (1) 3 putt green after leaving a lag putt much farther from the hole than I expected.

Probably scored mid 80's without hitting a wood all day long, and that isn't bad considering the par 5's are all 520 - 540 yards, and the par 4's average about 370 for this course.

Weather here like a roller coaster this week, so I am hoping that this upcoming cold and possibly snowy weekend, I may have to get back to a SIM to get another round in.  

[NubianRugby]

Got in 9 after work yesterday, didn't play particularly well but I also didn't lose a ball until the 8th hole on my way to a 50. My fade with the long irons has turned into a full-blown slice 60% of the time, the other 40% I'm hitting lasers so I can't stop hitting them. Very erratic with my driver, but my playing partner yesterday gave me a tip on my setup (stop pushing my hands forward like I do when I'm hitting irons) when I'm hitting woods that paid off. Halfway through the round I switched to hitting 3-wood off the tee and was taking it a consistent 220-240. My short game is starting to come together a bit; I'm hitting those short (20-40 yards off the green) chips much better and my putting has been good (no 3 putts) but not great (no 1 putts).

Best part of the round was there was no one in front of us on the course, so we played 9 holes in about 90 minutes while walking. It's supposed to rain for the rest of the week and the course is already very soggy, no carts yesterday or Sunday, so I probably won't get to hit again until the weekend.

[sp0rtsfan86]

Played second round of 2024: a completely different round and feel than the first. I managed two pars and a birdie and shot a true 43. Ever have a round where you shoot a score and think, yeah that's a true reflection of how I played? It was that kind of round.

I did have two doubles, one from a poor iron shot, flubbed chip and missed 5 footer. The other one was when I hit driver OB then managed to make the par after the fact. The other noteworthy is the first birdie of 2024. Driver, 8 iron chip to 25 feet and about a 3 inch break to dead center. 

The good news is my driving is finally showing signs of coming back after being all over the place. The one OB was to be expected as I tinker and figure things out but the rest of the round was largely what I was hoping for.

With the weather turning cooler, not sure when I'm getting out again, it may be a week or so of hitting the range whenever I can.

[VernL4]

I was able to play a round using the Maxfli test balls. I was happy with my fairways hit rate. I was slicing the ball much less. (I even hooked a few! ) I'm not sure if it's due to improvements in my swing, the new clubs, or the balls, but any improvement is good! I ended up with a score of 96. It wasn't my best outing, but golfing in early March in Indiana is good! I did lose 4 balls. One went into a ditch. I could see it and was going to pick it up. I hit another from where I was, went back to the cart after the shot and completely forgot about the old ball. One ball made an awesome sploosh into a pond. Two other balls went mushroom hunting in the woods. 

Edited March 5 by VernL4

[Big moose]

Shot 80 at quailwood in Dewey Arizona, it's a par 68. For the first time out this year hit my driver really well. Hit one bad shot with my 5 hybrid, hit it off the toe. Chipping and putting were even good. Have a wonderful day everyone. 

[Kenny B]

My wife went out with her lady friends after the 1.5 hour frost delay.  I decided to wait until it warmed up a little and joined them when they made the turn to #10.  Sunny and 47º and not much wind for a change.  

I decided to walk the par 35 back nine since it’s flatter than the par 37 front nine.  Went bogey, par, bogey, bogey… then made birdie on the par 4 #14.  Missed a 12 foot birdie putt on the par 3 #15 by an inch, then made a 20 foot birdie putt on the par 4 #16 (got a double there on Sunday, so that was nice)… par and bogey on 17 and 18.  Overall, shot 37.  Still made some mistakes, but it is nice to be home on familiar and fast greens after the slow greens in the Palm Springs area where everything breaks toward the Salton Sea… about 240 feet below sea level.

[Syks7]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:52 AM, Syks7 said:

Had a very weird day for my first tournament of the year.  Harding continues to be a golf course that causes me issues.  44/44 93.  My last three rounds at Harding have been 91, 97, 93.  Maybe it just doesn't fit my game or its gotten into my head.  First time all year that I haven't been able to hold onto my goal of having fun.  Lots of frustration, some bad luck, and a few silly mental mistakes. 49/44 93.  The good news is that I can identify every stroke that I gave away and 90% of it was not being able to string a good tee shot and approach shot together.  I'd either hit a great tee shot then a terrible approach shot followed by a third onto the green or I'd grossly mishit a tee shot, hit a good recovery, then hit the green with the third.  It was intensely frustrating capped off by a wildly inconsistent day on the greens (partially because of wildly inconsistent greens with though pin positions).  Green speed varied wildly from one hole to the next.  It did not help that I was trying to one-putt most of them.  

Venting aside, most of my issue was the pressuring myself to hit a good shot.  Something I've been very good at avoiding this year.  When I remembered to relax I was fine, when I was too worried about the shot or putt I didn't.  Too much going on in my head and not playing loose.   It was a very distinct contrast to how I've been playing lately... relaxed with confidence and an attitude that sometimes I'll hit bad shots.  If I can the solution is probably to make myself step off the ball when I'm thinking too much or feeling too much pressure.   I also need to focus on the positive.  I made some great putts, and hit a lot of very good shots.  I just lost sight of that in my frustration.  

I was feeling a little down after the round, so I went and saw Dune 2 and it was awesome.  So at least there was that.  

 

 

 

Results posted and I feel much less bad.  PCC was +3! (I've only seen +2 once) for the day and everyone in the tourney aside from the gross winner got thumped -- I wouldn't be shocked if they didn't have a great day either with a 78 in the top flight.  Only a single person shot net par and the next closest was a net 78.  It was a good reminder for me of what my instructor told me once.  "If you're getting beat up by the course and your group is getting beat up,  there's a chance that the rest of the players are too."    I feel bad for anyone that went out for a random golf day and got hit with the pin positions and rough we ran into.

[berkeleybob]

On 3/6/2024 at 12:35 AM, Kenny B said:

… after the slow greens in the Palm Springs area where everything breaks toward the Salton Sea… about 240 feet below sea level.

As it happens, you were there at a terrific time. February is bird migration season and Salton Sea is the big pitstop for all kinds of birds on their way back from Central and South America. It’s on my list to get to Palm Springs at some point.

[berkeleybob]

Heyo!

Back at the sim range this morning—I had an intention of posting a score on the VCT Solo Scramble Challenge, but I was feeling like I was in a groove, so I did 18 holes without a mulligan instead.

For reasons I’ll get into at some point, my driver was a bit all over the place, particularly on the front nine. The third hole has become one of my favorite places to blow up. I think the word “quadruple” was invented for the purpose of sounding as though you’re exaggerating when in fact you’re stating a truth. As in:

“How did you do?”

”I got a quadruple bogey.”

“That sounds worse than it is.”

”No, it is exactly as it sounds.”

Nonetheless, I was in a groove. 

Now, I know this is an exercise that doesn’t test my putting aptitude. Still,

• seven fairways found
• seven greens in regulation.

I keep thinking that it’s too cold to play outside on the course right now, but maybe I should go out anyway. Because right now, I am on fire.