Golf Talk Tuesdays 2015-2020

[jollystomper]

Damn! This is tough.

https://www.golf.com/news/2020/04/04/big-fine-playing-golf-coronavirus-canada/

Also, arrests in Rhode Island for crossing state lines to play golf in voilation of out-of-state quarantine:

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/th...d-for-violating-rhode-island-quarantine-order

 

[pb4uski]

We had a visitor on the 10th hole today.

 

[pb4uski]

Close... but no cigar! (or bar tab)!

My tee shot on the ~100 yd, par-3 6th hole yesterday. Closest that I have ever come without going in. Previous closest without going in was about 6"... had my first hole-in-one a couple years ago.

P.S. I made the birdie putt!

 

[Jerry1]

P.S. I made the birdie putt!

No one in your group let you pick that up? Tough group.

 

[pb4uski]

They probably would have given me a gimme... but we normally require that birdies be holed out.... and then there is the satisfaction of having holed it out.

 

[jollystomper]

My tee shot on the ~100 yd, par-3 6th hole yesterday. Closest that I have ever come without going in. Previous closest without going in was about 6"... had my first hole-in-one a couple years ago.

P.S. I made the birdie putt!

You mean there was not a sudden gust of wind or ground rumbling that came along at the right time?

Great shot!

 

[Midpack]

Thank goodness my regular course re-opened and I got to play yesterday. It's walking only, so we could only manage 9, but it was wonderful to play again after 27 days denied!!! Greens fees are $20 no matter how many holes you play. Limited menu in the grille. No touching the flags. Observe social distancing. No carts, walking only. But my favorite...

...the cups are only about 1" deep. As far as I'm concerned they can keep them like that year round - I liked it! MUCH easier to fish the ball out now that we're mostly leaving pins in.

 

[pb4uski]

....But my favorite...

...the cups are only about 1" deep. As far as I'm concerned they can keep them like that year round - I liked it! MUCH easier to fish the ball out now that we're mostly leaving pins in.

+1... ours are set so when the ball is in the hole the top of the ball is about even with the top of the hole.... I wouldn't mind them a little deeper... perhaps so when the ball is in the hole the top of the ball is 1/2" below the top of the hole.

But certainly no need to put them back the way they were pre-COVID-19.

 

[Huston55]

Well done PB!

 

[Jerry1]

I liked using my $100 Garmin Approach G10, it hung from my belt every golf round for 3+ years. I chose it over other brands because it also keeps score and basic stats (putts, GIR, %FW) and decades of positive experiences with Garmin marine GPS. If there are other budget golf GPS or laser rangefinder brands that also keep score & stats, I missed it. That’s the main reason I haven’t been interested in rangefinders.

But I got tired of the having to sync G10 scorecards thru a PC, and course updates were a nightmare. So I just bought a Garmin Approach S20, golf watch with some activity tracking, largely because it syncs and updates automatically via Bluetooth.

I liked my G10, but the S20 is the bomb.

It has all the same golf features PLUS Autoshot. It notes every shot (except putts), distance and position overlaid on hole layout, for review after the round. The user doesn’t have to do anything to record shots but you can choose to be prompted to record what club you used after each shot, or edit/add clubs afterward if you prefer. And you don’t have to add any doo-dads to your clubs. So I’m recording the club used for full shots, and leaving partial shots and outright duffs as the default “unknown” club. That way I’ll have exact distances, average and max, for each club after I get more rounds in my data base. And I don’t know if it does it for every club, but it shows driver dispersion graphically.

All this for $116.98 on sale! Merry Christmas me!

FWIW

So I’d been watching the price on this since you posted this. When I first started it was at $122. I didn’t jump then but should have. As I watched, it went up to almost $150. Today it went down to just under $130 so I jumped. Should be here if a few days. Now all I need is for the golf courses to reopen. Hoping for the best.

 

[Dawg52]

For you golf nerds here is a Shell's golf match between Nicklaus and Snead from 1963 in HD. Amazing quality.

 

[VanWinkle]

For you golf nerds here is a Shell's golf match between Nicklaus and Snead from 1963 in HD. Amazing quality.

Thanks for posting this link, I enjoyed watching the whole match.

VW

 

[Midpack]

Sadly few industries are escaping the Covid-19 scourge, including golf...

Hot starts: TaylorMade back on top of the driver category, Bridgestone’s new Tour B selling well, and Mizuno riding the momentum of MP-20 into the new year… Evaporated – at least for now.

Callaway – while the specific numbers are unconfirmed, Callaway laid off more than 100 people. More than 300 others were furloughed. Some of those remaining are taking pay cuts. CEO Chip Brewer is taking no pay at all.

Titleist – With its Carlsbad club assembly plant and Fairhaven ball plants shutdown, Titleist has furloughed workers whose jobs can’t be done remotely. The plan… the hope… is to bring everyone back as soon as safely possible.

PING – factory floor is closed. It has furloughed workers as well.

Taylormade – It’s a similar story at TaylorMade where operations are effectively shut down. It too has furloughed some employees and executives have taken a pay cut.

Cobra and Mizuno – smaller brands where headcounts run leaner than the industry leaders, have thus far avoided staffing cutbacks. Thus far is the operative phrase as, in situations like these, it’s a rarely spoken truth that everyone is on the clock.

It may get worse before it gets better.

For the golf equipment biz, the timing couldn’t be worse. Depending on when warmer weather arrives, the lion’s share of the revenue – upwards of 50 percent for some brands – is made in a three-month span somewhere between March and June. Thirty days in either direction. Q2 is the lifeblood of the golf equipment industry and in 2020, even under the rosiest of scenarios, it effectively doesn’t exist.

Projections are all over the map but between sales that aren’t happening now and those that may not happen even after restrictions lift, estimated losses are expected to fall somewhere between 25 and 50 per cent. For some, perhaps a bit less. For others, it could be a bit more.

 

[pb4uski]

I have new irons in mind... just checked on Golf Galaxy and the price isn't any better than when I last looked a couple months ago... I'll wait and let them get a bit more desparate.

 

[zinger1457]

I have new irons in mind... just checked on Golf Galaxy and the price isn't any better than when I last looked a couple months ago... I'll wait and let them get a bit more desparate.

The price of golf clubs don't change much until the new models come out. Some golf manufacturers even require retailers to sell clubs at a certain price or they risk losing their right to sell their clubs. I've played Ping irons since the mid-80's and they are notorious for that, not much point in shopping around for their clubs, you'll end up paying the same price at every retailer.

 

[Dawg52]

Speaking of irons I bought a set of Cobra F9's in one length. All the same length as a 7 iron. Even got a sand wedge at the same length. I liked my Callaway hybrids and play those in variable length so my irons are 6-s/w. I really like the irons and like the idea of having the same posture with all my irons. You don't have to swing like Bryson Dechambeau btw. All his irons are set up super upright. Mine are setup with a standard lie and I can swing as normal. I wondered if my playing partners would notice a difference and no one has to this point. I've played with them for about 6 weeks and so far so good.

 

[zinger1457]

Interesting map by the National Golf Foundation (NGF) of golf courses open (green) and closed (red) due to Corvid-19, according to the NGF 48% of courses nationwide are open.

 

[Midpack]

Interesting map by the National Golf Foundation (NGF) of golf courses open (green) and closed (red) due to Corvid-19, according to the NGF 48% of courses nationwide are open.

It is interesting, but other than CA, I’d guess the weather is making the decision for many. It’s not a difficult decision to close northern courses in Mar-Apr when traffic/revenue is slow, they may not stay closed in May. Whereas warmer regions are loathe to be closed in Mar-Apr and lose revenue they won’t get back. My regular course which plays pretty much year round was closed due to coronavirus for three weeks in Mar, and reopened with conditions about two weeks ago - I think the lost revenue woke them up pretty quickly. That’s going to play into reopening decisions for many businesses, not just golf.

 

[Dawg52]

Today was an interesting day. I started off bogey, triple bogey and bogey. Five over after 3 holes but held it together from that point and ended up with a 5 over 77 for the day. Best score I've had this year. Crazy game.

 

[Midpack]

Today was an interesting day. I started off bogey, triple bogey and bogey. Five over after 3 holes but held it together from that point and ended up with a 5 over 77 for the day. Best score I've had this year. Crazy game.

Great round, congrats. I played today, not a good scoring day, but I always enjoy playing.

 

[Dawg52]

Great round, congrats. I played today, not a good scoring day, but I always enjoy playing.

Thanks. The weather was beautiful here today which really made it a good day.

 

[pb4uski]

What's wrong with this picture?

 

[Jerry1]

not a good scoring day, but I always enjoy playing.

That pretty much sums up my golf experience.

 

[pb4uski]

Last time I played was a Jeckl & Hyde round.... 38 (+2) on the front (after starting with 3 bogies) and then 50 on the back. My hopes of breaking 80 were dashed with a 9 on the par-5 10th hole.

 

[jollystomper]

It is interesting, but other than CA, I’d guess the weather is making the decision for many. It’s not a difficult decision to close northern courses in Mar-Apr when traffic/revenue is slow, they may not stay closed in May...

Actually, in my area (DC-MD-VA), the golf courses stay open during the winter, only closing if the temperature drops below freezing or it if snows. This has been a realtively warm winter with little snow., I played golf at least once a week from November until the courses had to shut down.