Golf Talk Tuesdays - 2021

[garyt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frayne Sounds like a pretty cool concept and you could trade off after nine holes if the walker gets tired or needs a change of pace.

Yep, did that too when the other guy wanted to get some steps in also. Also alternate every other hole. Whatever works.

[Huston55]

Got to play Spyglass Hill for the first time and it was glorious; both the course and the weather! Went with a buddy and we played as a twosome, which was great. And, we decided to splurge and share a forecaddie, since it was our first time on the course. We are NCGA members and get a nice discount on the greens fee so, it wasn't too outrageously expensive.

[jcretire77]

I was able to play nine holes Tuesday. Cold, but sunny with no wind. I played okay, but I had one notable hole that would only happen on a frozen fairway. The ninth hole is downhill 338yd par 4. I typically have about 125 yards to go after the drive. Tuesday I hit it well, but it must have hit just the right rock hard ground. It took me awhile to find it because it was about 30 yards from the green. The gps said it was a 307 yd drive. It made me smile, if only I could really do that. I hit a nice second shot (8 iron bump and run) and even made the birdie putt. A nice way to end the round and be able to say that I played golf in January.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcretire77 I was able to play nine holes Tuesday. Cold, but sunny with no wind. I played okay, but I had one notable hole that would only happen on a frozen fairway. The ninth hole is downhill 338yd par 4. I typically have about 125 yards to go after the drive. Tuesday I hit it well, but it must have hit just the right rock hard ground. It took me awhile to find it because it was about 30 yards from the green. The gps said it was a 307 yd drive. It made me smile, if only I could really do that. I hit a nice second shot (8 iron bump and run) and even made the birdie putt. A nice way to end the round and be able to say that I played golf in January.

I hit a 303 yd drive last year, but same dis-qualifier. Par 4 343 yard dogleg left with cart path left. My drive must have landed on the path on the fly because I found it just short of the green...

[pb4uski]

I played with a couple guys that I didn't know last Monday. On the way to the first tee I asked them how far the hit their drives so I could recommend what tees we should play from.... they said 200 to 260 yards... I responded something like "Wow, that's quite a range!" and my BS meter went on red alert. I suggested that we play the senior tees "since you've never played the course before".

I had an ok day but they were all over the place. On the last part 5 I hit a good drive for me so I hit the button on my GPS... I was 10-20 yards beyond them but was only 210 from the tee. I don't think either of them exceeded 200 more than once all day.

[garyt]

Anybody here playing after hip replacement? How long after surgery were you able to play? I've seen elsewhere some guys were playing after 3 months.
My surgeon says I'm in danger of dislocation until 3 months are up and total and full healing can take 6 months to a year. I'm still following the protocols they put in after surgery, no crossing legs, no bending over 90*, etc.
I feel good, walking fine, stairs no problem, PT released me a few weeks ago saying I'm doing fine. However I do get some pain if I forget to move my feet and just pivot. Got a sharp pain yesterday doing this. Still a little sore today.
I don't feel like I could swing a club with any speed yet. We were planning on a golf trip in mid April which would be 4 months but don't want to book anything if I can't play. What's your experience?

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyt Anybody here playing after hip replacement? How long after surgery were you able to play? I've seen elsewhere some guys were playing after 3 months.

I have a golf buddy who came back to the course after what seemed like well less than 3 mos. He told me that his surgeon used a new, less invasive technique which minimizes both tissue damage and recovery time. Don't know the specifics.

[garyt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huston55 I have a golf buddy who came back to the course after what seemed like well less than 3 mos. He told me that his surgeon used a new, less invasive technique which minimizes both tissue damage and recovery time. Don't know the specifics.

Yea, probably anterior approach. I had posterior.

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyt Yea, probably anterior approach. I had posterior.

I can see how that would be a real PITA!


Sorry, just couldn't help myself.

[garyt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huston55 I can see how that would be a real PITA! Sorry, just couldn't help myself.

That it was, that it was

[zinger1457]

Any golf club tinkerer's here? I tend to do most things myself like changing grips, adjusting lie/loft, adjusting length, checking swing weight, etc.

Been reading some of the discussions on the golfwrx forum about golf club MOI matching but haven't tried it. It's an alternate way, instead of using swing weight, to get your golf club set to match so that they all feel the same when swinging. Seems to be based on first selecting the club that's your favorite (consistent center hits) then adjusting the length increments by 3/8" based off of that club. So if your favorite club is a PW you would increase the length of your 9I to be 3/8" longer and use that same gap for the rest of the set, the standard gapping for most iron sets is 1/2". Many on the golfwrx forum swear by it, some fitting centers now use it when building a set for a customer. Anyone have any experience using this method?

[frayne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinger1457 Any golf club tinkerer's here? I tend to do most things myself like changing grips, adjusting lie/loft, adjusting length, checking swing weight, etc. Been reading some of the discussions on the golfwrx forum about golf club MOI matching but haven't tried it. It's an alternate way, instead of using swing weight, to get your golf club set to match so that they all feel the same when swinging. Seems to be based on first selecting the club that's your favorite (consistent center hits) then adjusting the length increments by 3/8" based off of that club. So if your favorite club is a PW you would increase the length of your 9I to be 3/8" longer and use that same gap for the rest of the set, the standard gapping for most iron sets is 1/2". Many on the golfwrx forum swear by it, some fitting centers now use it when building a set for a customer. Anyone have any experience using this method?

My theory is that as I age and my body and flexibility changes, all I have to do is make minor adjustments in order to square the club face. There are already so many variables in golf, tinkering with my clubs would be the last thing I would have any desire to do but YMMV.

[garyt]

I used to build clubs all the time. It was fun then but just a chore now. I'll still swap shafts now and again but not too often.

[Midpack]

I’ve played a few tour level “bucket list” golf courses, but Tobacco Road is the most unique, rustic and interesting course I’ve ever played - it’s fascinating. You’ve never seen another course like it. If the Pinehurst area is on your list of places to play I’d highly recommend Tobacco Road. It’s #52 on the Golf Digest Top 100 list of public courses if that matters. It’s a tough course, but you can score better than expected if you manage well, all 8 of us scored a little better than we expected. I’m a 12-15 HI player and expected to lose a bunch of balls, didn’t lose any - though there were some lost balls in our group!

If you like classic, traditional, formal, elite courses - you won’t find that at Tobacco Road, you might hate it. If you don’t like risk-reward challenges stay away. You have to think on almost every shot, but good shots are immensely satisfying, and waste areas-bunkers aren’t the end of the world - sometimes you can recover. If you like courses where you can always see everything in front of you and blast away, you won’t like Tobacco Road.

Greens, tees and fairways are top notch, but the rough is thick in places and there are waste bunkers/areas everywhere. The clubhouse is nice, but small and unpretentious (with quality merch) - unlike grand courses. The practice putting green is two tiers about 6 feet in elevation change, made us laugh. There’s no out of bounds, and no sand traps - but again there are waste areas everywhere so you’ll have sand shots, more than 20 feet below the green on #9 and #11! There are lots of blind shots and you can’t hit driver on every hole, so study the course carefully before you play or hire a walking caddie or forecaddie. We bought course guides, and used them a lot, mine was full of notes before I played. Some of the greens are reasonably forgiving but a couple are brutal with big elevation changes, and punishing false fronts on a few like #5 and #8. The #13 green is set in a punch bowl like I’ve never seen anywhere else with just a narrow path! Teeing off on #1 is intimidating, with a very narrow gap in front of you, though the fairway opens up nicely beyond - so not as tough as it looks. Only one water hole, the par 3 #14. #16 is scary looking, a blind tee shot and blind approach - but it’s a short hole so not hard if you’re accurate. I’d love to go on and on about each hole, but I’ll stop...

I can’t wait to play it again in a couple months when it greens up more (it was greener than I expected in Feb). The video below is very entertaining, but not work safe language.

https://tobaccoroadgolf.com

https://youtu.be/Ys7dQZUKKWE

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyt Anybody here playing after hip replacement? How long after surgery were you able to play? I've seen elsewhere some guys were playing after 3 months. My surgeon says I'm in danger of dislocation until 3 months are up and total and full healing can take 6 months to a year. I'm still following the protocols they put in after surgery, no crossing legs, no bending over 90*, etc. I feel good, walking fine, stairs no problem, PT released me a few weeks ago saying I'm doing fine. However I do get some pain if I forget to move my feet and just pivot. Got a sharp pain yesterday doing this. Still a little sore today. I don't feel like I could swing a club with any speed yet. We were planning on a golf trip in mid April which would be 4 months but don't want to book anything if I can't play. What's your experience?

I have had both hips replaced (12 years apart) and the most recent on 11/2/2019. Both were done using the anterior procedure. I started playing golf after the second one last September so I was well healed and 77 years old, BTW. I am playing at least as good as I played in my 50's again. Maybe it's the slower swing?

I can't give you any advice about being able to play after 4 months of healing, but I was pretty much all healed and walking 10,000 steps per day after three months past surgery for sure. Good luck!

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I’ve played a few tour level “bucket list” golf courses, but Tobacco Road is the most unique, rustic and interesting course I’ve ever played - it’s fascinating.

Watched the video. All I can say is, "Holy Bunkers Batman!"

Doubt I'd score well on this course but, it would certainly be memorable.

[garyt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 I have had both hips replaced (12 years apart) and the most recent on 11/2/2019. Both were done using the anterior procedure. I started playing golf after the second one last September so I was well healed and 77 years old, BTW. I am playing at least as good as I played in my 50's again. Maybe it's the slower swing? I can't give you any advice about being able to play after 4 months of healing, but I was pretty much all healed and walking 10,000 steps per day after three months past surgery for sure. Good luck!

Thanks, walking is no problem. The torque of a golf swing still seems to be a bit much yet, I'd say. Still a month to go, so we'll see,

[garyt]

I'd like to play Tobacco Road once. I don't like that type of course all the time but as a once off, why not? Sort of like Wolf Creek in Mesquite, it's more E ticket Disney ride then golf course but a lot of fun occasionally.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huston55 Watched the video. All I can say is, "Holy Bunkers Batman!" Doubt I'd score well on this course but, it would certainly be memorable.

I was careful to avoid the deep waste bunkers. A few of my buddies did go in, one never even found the ball on #9 (2nd pic below) and dropped, took him two tries to get out. Another we couldn't see 20 feet below us on #11 (first pic below), but after a minute or two he came walking out with his ball in his hand, told us he made three tries and the ball rolled back to him three times - so he gave up and picked up his ball. There are railroad tie steps out of several of the waste areas or you'd need climbing gear to get out...

[Jerry1]

S.E. Michigan had a few nice days and I got out today for my first round of the year. Probably last round was in November. Shot a 96, which anything under 100 is good for me, so had a pretty good day. At my skill level, it was also good that I carded no snowmen. Then had lunch with my golf buddy. Pretty good day in retirement land!