Golf Talk Tuesdays 2015-2020

[Big_Hitter]

I like that. But, I'm having to "relearn" how to fade the ball. It seems to be a delicate process now so that I don't over cook it.

When I was taking indoor video lessons at Jim's golf in Houston many years ago, one of the drills we did was to hit 3 draws, 3 fades and 3 straight with a 6 iron. Good drill.

I think Jim is in KC now.


I don't think you will see many pros miss an approach shot left, for a reason. I'm a lefty and I hate missing it right.

 

[pb4uski]

I'd be happy with hitting 9 straight.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I'd be happy with hitting 9 straight.

that's the most difficult shot in golf isn't it? when I get behind trees I find it useful to hit that punch hook around them. Hitting a fade around a tree is much more difficult for me.

 

[Huston55]

When I was taking indoor video lessons at Jim's golf in Houston many years ago, one of the drills we did was to hit 3 draws, 3 fades and 3 straight with a 6 iron. Good drill.

Sounds like a great drill. I'll have to try that next time I'm on the range.

 

[gcgang]

Just got done with my 3rd year as Walking Scorer for Shotlink at the Hyundai TOC. While Spieths golf is amazing, the anecdotal stories about how high quality of a person he is are almost more amazing.
I enjoy walking with the pros, but on Saturday I was on "Administration" duty, having to sit in a tent and check in/out the equipment. Too much like a job. Yuck.

 

[48Fire]

Just got done with my 3rd year as Walking Scorer for Shotlink at the Hyundai TOC. While Spieths golf is amazing, the anecdotal stories about how high quality of a person he is are almost more amazing.
I enjoy walking with the pros, but on Saturday I was on "Administration" duty, having to sit in a tent and check in/out the equipment. Too much like a job. Yuck.

My wife volunteers, and I get all the freebies. She even orders her shirts in my size

Sent from my XT1254 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[Huston55]

Just got done with my 3rd year as Walking Scorer for Shotlink at the Hyundai TOC. While Spieths golf is amazing, the anecdotal stories about how high quality of a person he is are almost more amazing.
I enjoy walking with the pros, but on Saturday I was on "Administration" duty, having to sit in a tent and check in/out the equipment. Too much like a job. Yuck.

Good for you! What a great tournament to work.

I volunteered for the WGC @ Harding Park in San Francisco in March 2015. I ran Shotlink lasers. It was a blast!

I think walking scorer is the only job that's better. Hope I get a chance to do that in the future.


You may be whatever you resolve to be.

 

[Huston55]

Two-by-Two

Well, the rain stopped and the waters parted---and the golfers returned to the courses two-by-two.

After cancelling weekly golf on Tuesday, because I'm not very good at water polo, I was able to get in a good practice session yesterday @ Peacock Gap in San Rafael, CA. After a while, the sun actually came out & it got...well, warm.

I see that the forecast for this coming week has us getting back into the 60s with a generous amount of sun. Looking forward to that.

 

[Huston55]

Discounted Greens Fees

I'm booking an upcoming vacation trip & started to investigate golf courses in that area. I'm curious what discounted greens fees websites/services you all have used, and which ones you'd recommend.

In the past, I've used "GolfNow" and "HawaiiTeeTimes.com" and I'd recommend them both.

 

[gcgang]

Just had our Member Guest. It was a match play format, six teams per flight, playing 27 holes Saturday and 18 Sunday so you have 9 hole match against all teams in your flight. The six flight winners then went out and played a 3 hole, total score " playoff", no handicap, but different tees based on your handicap.

I closed with six birdies in the last 11 holes as we won our flight, making a ridiculous amount of 20-30 footers, but came up a shot short in the playoff. Our team was 2 over. I thought 3 over would win, but another team was two over, and the winners were one shot better.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I closed with six birdies in the last 11 holes

great playing!

 

[jcretire77]

Played nine holes Saturday and eighteen Sunday. The weather in Boise was darn nice Saturday, but pretty chilly yesterday. Regardless it was the earliest that I have played in a calendar year. For some unknown reason my golf game had not improved since my last round December 8th.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Played nine holes Saturday and eighteen Sunday. The weather in Boise was darn nice Saturday, but pretty chilly yesterday. Regardless it was the earliest that I have played in a calendar year. For some unknown reason my golf game had not improved since my last round December 8th.

how wet was it out there? were the greens frozen?

 

[jcretire77]

The greens were fuzzy and slow, but not frozen. It did not feel all that wet on the course itself. It was just down right soggy the last rounds of 2015.

 

[Big_Hitter]

The greens were fuzzy and slow, but not frozen. It did not feel all that wet on the course itself. It was just down right soggy the last rounds of 2015.

guess I need to get my cart out of storage....

 

[Huston55]

Simulator

Took a golf lesson yesterday...with a twist. Instead of a normal lesson in the training bay, I played a virtual 9-holes with observation & commentary from my instructor. It was a blast!

I hit all the shots except putts. We did automatic 2-putts unless I was inside 3 ft, which was a one putt. I scored well, which made me feel good. But, in the simulator, every lie is perfect & the matt is forgiving so, that's a bit different than the real world. The true test will be whether it translates to the real course when I play today.

 

[Big_Hitter]

my old indoor instructor had one of those simulators - hitting off a mat promotes a draw - good luck!


got a tee time Friday but it looks like rain (weekend too) - boo!

 

[pb4uski]

A friend sent me this today.

Golf Poem

In My Hand I Hold A Ball,
White And Dimpled, And Rather Small.
Oh, How Bland It Does Appear,
This Harmless Looking Little Sphere.

By Its Size I Could Not Guess
The Awesome Strength It Does Possess.
But Since I Fell Beneath Its Spell,
I've Wandered Through The Fires Of Hell.

My Life Has Not Been Quite The Same
Since I Chose To Play This Stupid Game.
It Rules My Mind For Hours On End;
A Fortune It Has Made Me Spend.

It Has Made Me Curse And Made Me Cry,
And Hate Myself And Want To Die.
It Promises Me A Thing Called Par,
If I Hit It Straight And Far.

To Master Such A Tiny Ball,
Should Not Be Very Hard At All.
But My Desires The Ball Refuses,
And Does Exactly As It Chooses.

It Hooks And Slices, Dribbles And Dies,
And Disappears Before My Eyes.
Often It Will Have A Whim,
To Hit A Tree Or Take A Swim.

With Miles Of Grass On Which To Land,
It Finds A Tiny Patch Of Sand.
Then Has Me Offering Up My Soul,
If Only It Would Find The Hole.

It's Made Me Whimper Like A Pup,
And Swear That I Will Give It Up.
And Take To Drink To Ease My Sorrow,
But The Ball Knows ... I'll Be Back Tomorrow.

Stand proud you noble swingers of clubs
And losers of balls!

A recent study found that the average golfer
Walks about 900 miles a year.

Another study found that golfers drink, on
Average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.

This means that, on average, golfers get about
41 miles to the gallon!

Kind of makes you proud. Almost makes you
Feel like a hybrid........​

 

[48Fire]

haha, that's great, thanks

 

[48Fire]

So a question I get occasionally is, "Did retirement improve your golf game?". At first, no, because just doing the same thing does not really improve anything. But now after 4 lessons, a lot of practice, and three years, I have shaved 3 strokes off my 18 hole average. Not bad for an old guy. Just happy to be out there most of the time, but it is nice to score well occasionally.

 

[Runner]

So a question I get occasionally is, "Did retirement improve your golf game?". At first, no, because just doing the same thing does not really improve anything. But now after 4 lessons, a lot of practice, and three years, I have shaved 3 strokes off my 18 hole average. Not bad for an old guy. Just happy to be out there most of the time, but it is nice to score well occasionally.

What retirement has done for me, strangely enough, is greatly increase my distance - which, at age 66, is freaking out my longtime playing partners. I bought a quality radar unit and discovered that my smooth swing (which everyone, including instructors, had always praised) was generating a whopping 89-90 mph. Just by working on my own with a net in the backyard and discovering what moves correlated directly with clubhead speed (for me), as well as lifting weights, I've been able to increase my speed to 98-102 mph, which means a solid 25 yards more. Yes, I am somewhat wilder - but after 50 years of 220-yard drives, I'll take the trade-off. I am not prepared to make any concessions whatsoever to being an "old guy" until my body actually says "you're an old guy."

 

[frayne]

To echo Runner, exercise has helped my distance. I workout 1.5 hours, six days a week at a Plant Fitness about five miles from the house. My routine is walking three miles on the treadmill, five miles on the bike, a small amount of lifting weights for the upper body and using the ab workout stations. The exercises help keep me limber as much as anything and I find myself getting more weight shift through the swing, hence more power, swing speed resulting in more distance.

 

[Huston55]

What retirement has done for me, strangely enough, is greatly increase my distance - which, at age 66, is freaking out my longtime playing partners. I bought a quality radar unit and discovered that my smooth swing (which everyone, including instructors, had always praised) was generating a whopping 89-90 mph. Just by working on my own with a net in the backyard and discovering what moves correlated directly with clubhead speed (for me), as well as lifting weights, I've been able to increase my speed to 98-102 mph, which means a solid 25 yards more. Yes, I am somewhat wilder - but after 50 years of 220-yard drives, I'll take the trade-off. I am not prepared to make any concessions whatsoever to being an "old guy" until my body actually says "you're an old guy."

Get a bit of roll in Winslow?

I can tell you that I wish we were getting some roll here in NorCal. Lately, we just pull it out of its mud divot in the fairway, move it to a place with no standing water, then hit it again.

 

[Huston55]

To echo Runner, exercise has helped my distance. I workout 1.5 hours, six days a week at a Plant Fitness about five miles from the house. My routine is walking three miles on the treadmill, five miles on the bike, a small amount of lifting weights for the upper body and using the ab workout stations. The exercises help keep me limber as much as anything and I find myself getting more weight shift through the swing, hence more power, swing speed resulting in more distance.

What about yoga? Does anyone do yoga to increase flexibility & strength...and their golf game?

I've started taking a weekly yoga class and the movements seem to improve flexibility in my hips & shoulders, which are very tight. But, I need to do it more often to get significant, long term results.

 

[48Fire]

What retirement has done for me, strangely enough, is greatly increase my distance - which, at age 66, is freaking out my longtime playing partners. I bought a quality radar unit and discovered that my smooth swing (which everyone, including instructors, had always praised) was generating a whopping 89-90 mph. Just by working on my own with a net in the backyard and discovering what moves correlated directly with clubhead speed (for me), as well as lifting weights, I've been able to increase my speed to 98-102 mph, which means a solid 25 yards more. Yes, I am somewhat wilder - but after 50 years of 220-yard drives, I'll take the trade-off. I am not prepared to make any concessions whatsoever to being an "old guy" until my body actually says "you're an old guy."

That's great! I gained in accuracy, not length. Actually a little shorter now on irons especially.