Golf Talk Tuesdays - 2021

[Big_Hitter]

Thanks...will try this out on the range

you bet - I was a huge arm-swinger and have been reworking my swing since I quit drinking about 4 years ago.

Retiring at the end of 2019 helped speed things up, bigly.

I finally played golf with jcretire77 (twice in the last month) and he witnessed a few bombs.

unfortunately, my range game hasn't caught up to my casual game (and even worse my tourn game) but I'm getting there. Last week I played 9 holes from the golds and had 4 birdies.

 

[Music Lover]

I put my clubs away today...golf season is basically over up here. It was +8C today but below freezing overnight and only +1 to +3 daily for the next week.

 

[harllee]

I put my clubs away today...golf season is basically over up here. It was +8C today but below freezing overnight and only +1 to +3 daily for the next week.

Wow, the best golf season is just getting here--most days in the 70s. It is too hot for me to play most days in the summer (except when I am at my cabin in the NC mountains). We can play pretty much all winter except for that one day when we get an inch of snow and the entire town shuts down because we don't have any snow plows.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Played Bali Hai & Reflection Bay in Vegas, Coyote Springs near Mesquite, and Sand Hollow, Copper Rock & Ledges in St George.

Bali Hai is an interesting course and we have played there a few times when our course was overseeding. We played at Reflection Bay quite a bit in 2016 to 2018 and it is a nice course. We belonged to Southshore Country Club from 2014 to 2016 and then rejoined in 2019 and have only gone back to Reflection Bay a couple of times since then. Our previous home sits above Reflection Bay the Par 5 Hole 3, which has since been re-numbered to 12.

 

[jollystomper]

I put my clubs away today...golf season is basically over up here. It was +8C today but below freezing overnight and only +1 to +3 daily for the next week.

My criteria for golfing is sunny and in the mid 40s F (>6C) with little or no wind. Walking the course dressed in layers with earmuffs and winter golf gloves keeps me warmer than riding.

 

[frayne]

My criteria for golfing is sunny and in the mid 40s F (>6C) with little or no wind. Walking the course dressed in layers with earmuffs and winter golf gloves keeps me warmer than riding.

+1 and play round year. I do notice my scores seem to shoot up a few strokes during the cooler months. I blame it on less roll and shorter ball flight due to increased drag coefficient. Alcohol (anti-freeze) could also be a factor as well.

 

[jollystomper]

Today I scored my most unusual, lucky par.

A 160 yard par 3. I was playing solo, and caught with a foursome who had teed off and had just driven their carts to the green. None of their shots were near the green - the closest was maybe 20 yards away. They saw me at the tee box waved for me to play through. They all moved away from the green.

I teed off, and my ball sailed high and to the right. I thought it would go beyond the green onto a cart path and then get lost in brush beyond that. BUT... they had parked their carts right where my ball came down (fortunately they were not near their carts, they were to the left of the green, probably because they saw I am a lefty golfer).

My ball hits the top of one cart - but instead of bouncing forward, it hit right at one of the ridges on the cart roof - and made a sharp bounce left... sharp enough to bounce onto the green, and stop about six yards from the cup.

I made the par (just missed a birdie). They "razzed" me that I owned them for parking their cart strategically. I offered to buy them their favorite non-alcoholic beverage. I also said that they should take a stroke off their scores for this hole for helping me. Everything was in fun and jest. We wished each other well, and I continued my round.

This beat my previous unusual par from a couple of years ago, a par 4 where my second shot went into a creek in front of the green... and found a rock that bounced it out and onto the green.

Sometimes, I'd rather be lucky than good...

 

[Big_Hitter]

^^ it ain't how, it's how many

 

[pb4uski]

Here is one of my most interesting pars... a par 5... the 6th hole at my former club. I hit a good drive but pulled it into the 4th fairway. For my second shot I'm blocked by trees so I hit my second shot down the 4th fairway beyond the trees and I can now have a clear shot at the green. I push the heck out of my third shot and it ends up in the 7th fairway about 120 yds from the 6th green. I have a pretty good 4th shot but the ball settles on the fringe about 20' from the pin. I end up draining the 20 footer off the fringe for a par 5.

But I was never on my own fairway and never on the green... that's golf for you... very strange game.

 

[Music Lover]

I made a par like this earlier this year:

- tee shot about 240
- chunked a wedge into the water in front of the green
- I dropped a ball in the same spot (hitting 4th shot) and it landed on the green and rolled into the hole.

 

[pb4uski]

Yup, like Big Hitter posted, it ain't how but how many... what a funny game!

 

[Big_Hitter]

aquefied pars are called "splashies"

aquefied bogeys are called good bogeys - I had one yesterday on a hole - splashies are pretty rare tho

 

[RetiredHappy]

Another update - with the shaft change, my husband still did not like his new irons. Last week he ordered the new Cleveland XL Halo Launchers (the ones which I now have). He received them this Monday and played a round with me on Thursday. We are not sure what to do with his custom built T300 Titleist irons. We could trade them in or just set them aside as a spare set for visitors who want to golf with us.

 

[aja8888]

This Veterans Day (11th), I'm playing in a charity golf event sponsored by the West Point Foundation of Greater Houston. We bought two foursomes and will have several of my retired West Point buddies playing in them. Should be a fun scramble and a great day overall.

Coincidentally, 11/11/21 is also my deceased Mom's 120th birthday! She was born 11/11/11.

 

[harllee]

Another update - with the shaft change, my husband still did not like his new irons. Last week he ordered the new Cleveland XL Halo Launchers (the ones which I now have). He received them this Monday and played a round with me on Thursday. We are not sure what to do with his custom built T300 Titleist irons. We could trade them in or just set them aside as a spare set for visitors who want to golf with us.

Or you could sell them, there is a shortage of golf clubs and a big demand. List them on some site like Next-door or Facebook marketplace.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Or you could sell them, there is a shortage of golf clubs and a big demand. List them on some site like Next-door or Facebook marketplace.

We are just not sure to keep them for the occasional friends who visit us. His 2-year old Clevelands are going to my son in CA and similarly my 2-year Clevelands are going to CA for when I play with my son.

 

[zinger1457]

Went to Club Champion to be fitted for irons recently. I've been to fittings before given by specific manufacturers (Ping, Titleist) but not from someone that pretty much carries all brands. I didn't go there with the intent of buying new irons, more out of curiosity and to see how well my current irons fit.
Everything is done with a 6 iron, comparing stats collected from hitting your current club with other combinations of club heads/shafts/grips. I was able to get some good information on my current clubs and where I could make some changes that might help. My lie angle was too upright, hitting shots left, and had more consistency with a heavier stiff shaft then what I currently use. They did price me out for a set of Srixon irons that I liked but thought their price quote was steep, about 2X what I could get the exact same build for if I custom ordered them from an authorized Srixon retailer.

 

[Midpack]

^^ That’s the norm at Club Champion, you really pay through the nose. Most players are better off using one of the custom shafts available directly from the club manufacturer, once you’ve determined the best fit. E.g. Mizuno offers dozens for their irons.

 

[Christine]

I hope I may pick your brains a little...


I'm in my fifties and have never played any Golf. But it looks like something I could enjoy. Is it something I could learn in a reasonable amount of time so that I could enjoy it and not just be irritating myself and others on a golf course?


I do live in wintery Norway so the season ended a couple of months ago. So not much happens until spring.

 

[Midpack]

^^ Golf is an activity that’s easy to learn, but hard to be good at. Being good at it takes patience, practice and for most some lessons to get off to a good start. For most it’s a lifelong pursuit, and 90% of us never get really good at it. But for me at least I enjoy golf for the game, the camaraderie and just being outdoors - so I can enjoy it even if I don’t play well on a given day.

And lots of Americans can only play for half the year or so, having an off season can be good for your mental health.

 

[zinger1457]

Not sure about Norway but from talking to someone from your neighbor in Sweden they wouldn't even allow them on a golf course until they passed an ability test. Have to start out working on your game at the driving range and when you gain enough skill and pass the test can then play on a golf course, probably not a bad idea even if it's not a requirement in Norway.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm not sure that they have them in your area but I would recommend a 2-3 day golf school for someone just starting out to avoid any bad habits that might get into your swing if you try to teach yourself or just pick up a club and start hitting balls.

 

[pb4uski]

Oh... I wanted to share my experience yesterday. First hole... a 444 yd par 5 from the silver tees. I hit a good drive and a good second shot to 127 yds from the green. The right 2/3 of the green is guarded by a large bunker.

Normally I think 9-iron from that distance but the green is slightly elevated so I chose an 8-iron. I aimed for the left side of the green not guarded by the bunker. I made really good contact but pushed the ball a bit right so it was heading to the bunker. I begged the ball to clear the bunker and saw it bounce just beyond the bunker and head towards the green and let out a sigh of relief.

When we got to the green my ball was nowhere to be found... other than eventually in the hole!!!

Unfortunately, our first group had moved onto the second tee so nobody saw it.

It was my first eagle other than my first hole-in-one a few years ago.

Had a good front and had a good back nine going until I tripled 17 and doubled 18. Still a very good day!

 

[harllee]

I would recommend to anyone taking up golf at any age to take lessons from a good instructor. The instructor can also advise you what clubs to buy. I took up golf in my mid 30s because my husband wanted me to play (he is a very good golfer). My DH gave me good advice--he said he did not want to teach me to play, I should go to a professional teacher. I went a a local teaching pro before I ever swung a club which was great--I had no bad habits for the pro to unteach. The pro also helped me buy a starter set of clubs. After I had several lessons then I started to go to the driving range, then to a local par 3 course. After I while I felt comfortable to play with DH on a regular course but at first I would play best ball with my husband--we would both tee off and then I would move my ball up to where his ball was--that was helpful in speeding up my game. After a couple of years I decided I wanted to be a "good" player and so I went to a week long golf school at Pinehurst. That really helped and so I did it a second time the next year.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I am in total agreement to get golf lessons from a good instructor right off the bat before you develop bad habits. 8 years later I am still trying to undo my bad habits and I have hundreds of hours of instructions since then.

Golf is frustrating but that's what gets us back to the course again, in the hope of playing a better round the next time. On Saturday, my playing partners called me the "par girl", to yesterday and more like a "double and triple bogey girl".