Golf Megathread 2017-24: LIV, Laugh, Love

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Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Whattup new golf thread. Speaking of gear whores, I'm buying new irons with part of my tax refund and got a hybrid for Christmas.

Hybrid:
Old: adams idea v3, x100 shaft (20 degrees)
New: Adams tight lies, matrix altus black shaft (22 degrees)

The new tight lies is just phenomenal. My fitter has one in his bag; he let me hit it and it was love at first strike. I've always loved Adams clubs and am still more than a little depressed that TM is going to reduce Adams to hybrids and super game improvement sets.

Plus this change fixes some weirdness I had at the top end of my bag. I went straight from 3 wood to this hybrid, which left a huge gap in my bag from like 220-250. It made playing long par 3s and short par 5s difficult. This hybrid, plus adding a 5 wood to my bag, really fixed my gapping.

Irons
Old: titleist 712 MBs, x100 shafts (5-pw)
New: Adams xtd forged, steelfibers 115 in x (hard stepped once) (5-pw)

My fitter thought I should go lighter in my irons for consistency reasons. I have a 67 gram driver shaft, high 80s in my woods, low 100s in my hybrid, so 115ish keeps the weighting consistent.

He wasn't keen on me playing blades either. I'm a decent but not exceptional golfer (6 handicap), so he recommended going with a bit more forgiveness.

The major revelation for me was the steelfibers. I'm a young guy with a fast and aggressive swing (generally 115-119 with the driver, though I cracked 120 a few times during the fitting), so I was iffy about going to lighter shafts--particularly steelfibers.

I was totally wrong. My irons, which went from being the strongest part of my game to the weakest over the past year, had much tighter dispersion and better contact than with my previous set. I've been a DG guy my whole life, but the steelfibers won me over. They don't have the same feel through the shot as x100s (more muted--kinda like c-tapers) but man they felt so soft and effortless through the strike.

The stuff they're doing with these graphite steel combo shafts is pretty ridiculous, and I'd strongly suggest giving them a try if you're in the market for new irons. The fitter said that the overwhelming majority of guys that go to them never go back to steel. I'll report back with how they perform when they get delivered.

Grip change:

Finally, I changed how I wrap my grips. I used to do standard with an extra wrap under the right hand. The fitter recommended to wrap them to take out the taper and add another wrap under the right hand. The effect is that I play with a standard grip under the left hand and a midsize grip on the right.

It's a great move for my swing. I have a very aggressive transition and the extra stuff under the right hand stops me from turning over the club face too much. I basically never hook or slice the ball. My mishit is a dead pull, so that change should help quiet my right hand and help me avoid overturning the club face.

So here's what I'll be rocking for the next season:
Driver: taylormade SLDR 9.75 degrees, tour as di 6x tipped .5 inches
3 wood: tour edge exotics cb4 (14 degrees) ad di 8x tipped 1.5 inches
5 wood: callaway x2hot pro 5 wood (19 degrees), tour ad di 8x tipped 1.5 inches
Hybrid: Adams tight lies 22 degrees, matrix Altus black x stiff
Irons: Adams xtd forged, steelfiber i115 hard stepped once, standard loft and length, 1 or 2 degrees upright. Swing weight starts at D0 and ends at D4.
Wedges: vokeys all the way
52 m grind, 8 degrees bounce
56 s grind, 10 degrees bounce
60 L grind, 4 degrees bounce
Putter: Bettinardi Ben hogan blade.
Ball: prov1x and B330-S.

Tldr; check out steelfibers, they're cool.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2015 17:38

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 17:01

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

DJExile posted:

Oh man that Whistling Straits PGA Champ is gonna loving own. Docta, have you had the chance to play it?

Also that is a great OP

I've played whistling straits. It's so hard I can't even imagine playing it from 7700 or whatever absurd distance they're going to set them up at.

The weird thing about whistling straits is that there are very few bunkers that actually come into play.

IMO, the big issues are that you can hit the green and still be in trouble and that hitting it in the rough is basically a one stroke penalty.

Also, I think 17 at whistling straits is probably the most difficult par 3 I've ever played.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2015 03:25

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Josh Lyman posted:

Rory's ball flight gets me so hard: https://twitter.com/europeantour/status/556143867859173376

Does the slot do anything or is it just marketing? The only slotted irons I've really hit are the Rocketbladez Tour and they felt pretty clunky.

Hard for me to say. I'd have to hit them with x100s to give an apples to apples perspective. I hit the xtds with the 115 steelfibers, so I can't say to what extent the different feel was due to the shafts v the head.

Here's what I remember from the fitting:
Mizunos mp-64 and mp-h5
with s300: horrible horrible dispersion, fitter said the shafts were too light. Took maybe 2 swings with them.
Mizunos with steelfiber 115: tight dispersion with next to zero side spin but they looked ultra chunky at address and I couldn't feel anything through the shot. Attempts to shape the ball ended poorly--it ended up looking like a pull or a push.
TM irons (all but the MBs) with various shafts: horribly clunky and with zero feel. Probably my least favorite set of irons I've ever hit.
Xtds with 115s: decent looking at address with more feel through impact though not even close to the 712s. The swing felt like it requires less effort and like I encountered less resistance at impact. Swings with the xtds felt like practice swings with the 712s--I couldn't really feel the compression like I could with my MBs, which isn't surprising at all.

The slot seemed to give impact a springy sensation very similar to my old adams CB2s. You feel like the ball is jumping off the clubface rather than getting sandwiched in between the ground and the club.

Good shots with my current irons and the xtds were small draws though the 712s would turn a few more yards.

I have no idea whether the slot tech is marketing hype or a significant improvement. You could absolutely feel a difference between your MBs and slotted irons; the slotted ones feel like they give a bit before bouncing back. If you really want to feel the club dig into the ball, it's gonna feel bad and weird. For me, it feels better--like the club doesn't stop or slow down through the impact zone. It has the same feel as puring a driver or a 3 wood.

Relatedly, they look really horrible if you're holding the head or looking at them in your bad but actually look very clean at address--probably from the width of the sole. Whatever, it's good for players like me who get steep in bad swings.

I hope that made sense. I'll update my thoughts after I play a few rounds.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2015 21:04

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Played bear's best today. Never again. The course design is cool, but the greens have been absolutely atrocious every time I've played it. I got on for $30 and still don't think it's a good deal.

# ¿ Jan 20, 2015 04:37

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Just say no to fitting charts. Drop the extra $100 or whatever to get a fitting done.

Also, I hit the TM MC irons and thought they were terrible, but I heard the drivers and woods are supposed to be great.

Josh Lyman, what are your trackman stats? I find it hard to believe you'd need more spin given your swing speed.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2015 18:39

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

mattfl posted:

Just a slight fade but more or less straight shot. I need to learn to hit a drat draw though. I can do it most of the time with my 3 wood when I try, but my driver is another store.

This is the path to madness. How about just hitting your driver straight and use your 3 wood when you need to work it off the tee. The game of golf is littered with good players who destroyed their games by trying better control their draw shape when their natural flight was a fade.

Once you get to 115+, it's just hard to hit a draw shape without having the big hook pop up. My swing speed is about the same as you (116-119, a few over 120), and I find it's much safer to play it straight or with a slight fade off the tee. The difference in distance is negligible, and I think people get way too focused on shaping the ball rather than hitting it straight.

Idk maybe that's a possible concern when you're a +1 or better, but I wouldn't care about that until you're hitting 12 or 13 GIRs every round. Til then, I wouldn't worry so much about shape and just focus on getting firs and GIRs.

Somewhat related, I find that I score a lot better when I just aim for the middle of the green. I'm a sucker for sucker pin placements, and my tracking has certainly born out that the birdies I make by sticking it close don't outweigh the bogeys or worse I make when it goes bad. Obviously, I'll play to get on the right side of a hill or whatever, but I'm really going to focus on just hitting the green rather than trying to hit it close.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2015 16:27

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

I have the ad di 6 and am totally obsessed with it. I also have the 8 in my 3 and 5 wood. Phenomenal shaft. I used to have major spin problems, and that shaft (with some work on my swing) brought my spin down to ideal levels.

Edit: went out and played today. 41/35. Hit every par 5 in two, but 3 doubles cancelled that out. Really like how I'm swinging right now, but my reliable fade turned into a draw and it weirds me out. Hopefully it was just a today thing. I like playing a fade.

Omerta fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Feb 21, 2015

# ¿ Feb 21, 2015 17:07

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Played 36 this weekend.

Saturday, I had to drive 45 minutes out for an 8:30 tee time. I show up borderline completely asleep without taking a single practice swing. Finish bogey, bogey, bogey to shoot 73.

Now I'm kinda convinced I should take sleeping pills before I play golf.

Sunday wasn't as good. The course had spiked greens, so putting was a total crapshoot. Ended up shooting 80 but never felt comfortable with my swing.

I've got some good things working and absolutely love my new irons. Just gotta keep at it! I'm working on keeping my hands connected to my chest. It feels insanely over the top to me, but I have to stop my right arm from collapsing and getting stuck against my side.

# ¿ Mar 16, 2015 14:55

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Good news. Played heron bay this past Saturday from the tips and broke par for the first time since I started playing again! 71 playing 7300 yards, so that felt loving awesome.

My swing felt awesome. I FINALLY felt like I'm not getting stuck against my right side and, as a result, my accuracy and consistency was a billion times better.

Bad news. When I get unsynced and my arms get behind my chest, I can't right the ship and the results are very sad. I stopped keeping score Sunday, but the round featured numerous tops and shanks--plus everything felt like a weak sideswipe (because it was).

I've got a new thought working that seems to help me avoid the issue, but so far it's untested other than on practice swings. Practice swings feel phenomenal though.

Also, I'm thinking about taking a trip up to play Cabot Lodge and Cabot Cliffs. Anyone ever been?

# ¿ Apr 1, 2015 00:10

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

DJExile posted:

My god those courses look spectacular.

Yeah, it's priced in CA moon dollars too, so the exchange rates make it pretty favorable. I did the math and my gf and I could play 5 rounds there for less than we could play 3 rounds at nice courses in Hilton head (and we live in Ga).

I'm almost certainly gonna go. If so, I'll write a trip report.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2015 19:23

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Can I get a swing check? Still backing out of it a little, but I'm a lot more synced up than I used to be.

https://youtu.be/BlHg66zoNPU

Also, I'm going to Sage Valley next weekend, which is probably my favorite course ever--maybe second to Seminole. Super jacked about that. I'm gonna practice a ton this weekend so I can put up some low numbers.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2015 16:28

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Edit: royal St. Cloud is pretty sweet. Heard it's already getting pretty hot down in orlando--hope you get a few more weeks before the heat and humidity roll in.

EnsGDT posted:

Things that are jumping out to me:

Your left hand grip (can't quite get a good view of it) looks a little weak to me.

Check it at set up and see how it looks, cause I can't really see it.

Your set up posture and hands are really close to your body, which is pushing your weight back on to your heels.

This is the grip and posture video that I always go back to for my swing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6UdyBiJcS4

Club face looks a little closed at this point in your swing. That's on the way up, btw.

Try those things and see what happens.

Fair warning, I am not a teaching professional, I'm just basing these off my swing checkpoints that I look for when I practice

Thanks for the thoughts! One thing though. A stronger left hand grip would probably make my club face even more closed, so I think I'm ok on that. My left hand grip is basically neutral.

My issue tends to be that I don't take the club up enough and my arms get disconnected from my body (that's why there's a little bit of backing out on the downswing).

Right now, I really like my takeaway except I need to get the face square rather than closed.

Played this weekend, didn't score that great but had some good stuff working. My iron game is getting really top notch right now. I'm hitting lots of greens and getting more than a few inside 15 feet.

My driver/woods were erratic until the last few holes. I was rotating too much and getting overly flat.

After the round, I went out to the range and seemed to get things back in order. I try to feel like jb Holmes on the backswing, then just let the club drop on the downswing.

Really hoping the weather holds up for this weekend. I'm going to go play Sage Valley, and it would suck if it rained the whole time.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2015 15:41

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Played heron bay last weekend. Shot 75 playing about 7300. Super happy with my iron play and short game. I had two stupid holes that stopped a great round from being a perfect round.

I'm most proud of the fact that I was -1 on the par 3s when they were 220, 230, 200, and 180. My par 3 scoring has gotten light years better as I've incorporated some swing changes.

Should be great this weekend. I'm playing heron bay again and peachtree on Sunday gently caress yeah.

Gonna break par soon, all the parts are coming together, and I've carded a few rounds that put me at a scratch index.

# ¿ May 1, 2015 23:50

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Anyone ever play Edel wedges? Thinking about switching to these from my vokeys. I'm going to get a wedge fitting done sometime in the next few weeks.

# ¿ May 16, 2015 00:50

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Everyone is holing out! I played a poo poo ton of golf this weekend and hit a big milestone: my first under par round since I started playing again.

I was even going into 18. Hit a high cut kinda short but in the middle of the fairway. Pin was 155 back right, so I decided to hit a knockdown 8. Ended up jarring it for eagle and a -2 70!

My score the next day was probably better from a quality perspective. I shot 73 playing 7100 on a course I've never played before. Had 6 birdies and a double. Could have been lower because my approach game deserted me at certain points, but I was getting up and down from everywhere.

My other round was a 86, so that was less solid.

Took a lesson on Monday. Confirmed that the swing is progressing and got some good ideas for how to work on it. I've improved from being very steep to just mildly steep, and my coach says I could get into plus territory if I can successfully shallow out my downswing by a few more degrees. Here's to hoping.

# ¿ May 26, 2015 18:34

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Scotty Camerons suck. Bettinardi/Rife for life.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2015 20:11

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

I'm playing the prairie club and Ballyneal next month. Anyone been to either? I've heard good things but don't know anyone who made the trip.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2015 00:36

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Kameh posted:

Jealous. There aren't any courses close enough to me to warrant a membership. It would be an hour one way to the nearest course for which I'd consider a membership.

Got my first official summer round in.

I'm pretty terrible at preparation. I don't hit range balls before warming up, nor do I actually hit range balls between rounds. The former is because I usually get to the course too late to do more than chip and putt, and the latter is because if it's not raining, I'd rather go play golf. I found a stretching routine for golf on Men's Health last night, and it's the warmup to a 4 week golf workout program. I'll do the workout tonight, but I just did the stretching a few hours before my round this morning. I felt pretty good on the first tee.

I drove the ball pretty well. Only missed two fairways, and one of the two misses was still playable (the other being a fairway bunker on a par 5). 10 greens, 26 putts.

Hole 2 - 3 putt for bogey (hit a 6i when I needed a 7i)
Hole 3 - Driver - 3i hybrid to back of green, chip to a few feet for birdie
Hole 5 - 20 footer for birdie from the front fringe.
Hole 6 - Decent drive, fatted a 6i enough to leave a gap wedge instead of a sand wedge for my 3rd. I think I fatted my third as well, but I got away with it. Made a 15 footer.
Hole 8 - Mashed a drive over some bunkers, had a 40 yard pitch, hit it to 3 feet for birdie.
Hole 9 - Decent enough drive, pushed a 5i nearly into a water hazard near the green. Way too easy on my chip, couldn't make a 12 footer for par.
Hole 10 - Driver, sand wedge to 7 feet for birdie.
Hole 11 - Hit a good drive, then nearly lost my 3 wood approach into a hazard. Hit an okay pitch onto the green, but I didn't give my birdie putt enough steam.
Hole 12 - Pushed a 3i hybrid right, then after watching the old guy in our group (who also works at the course) play a neat, sloping pitch from where I was, I played an even better shot and almost holed it for birdie. I'll take a par on that hole any day.
Hole 13 - First fairway I missed all day. Found a fairway bunker, laid up to 160, then blocked another 7i. Really short-sided myself. Had to carry a bunker, then it was straight downhill to the pin. Hit a flop that carried 6 feet past the hole, and I made that for par after a teach from the third guy in our group.
Hole 14 - Tried to muscle an 8i, yanked it left. Up and down for par.
Hole 15 - Very nearly lost my drive in a pampas bush, still had a clear shot at the green. Hit a big SW (for me) from 110, and my putt was pretty straight forward. Maybe 20 feet, uphill, left to right. I couldn't decide how much break there was, so I just hammered it 10 feet past. Missed that one as well. 3 putts are the worst.
Hole 16 and 17 - Good tee shots, sand wedges to 8 feet and 12 feet. Caught the back right lips each time and came out sideways. THOSE are also the worst.
Hole 18 - Decent drive, tried to fade a 7i to a tucked pin but started it too far right. Pulled the pin and tried to hole the chip, but couldn't get it to fall.

Wanted to finish in the 60s, but I really wasn't hitting my irons as accurately as I needed. I think it's not so much a swing flaw that's causing a push, though that's my miss. When I don't play regularly, I have a tendency to set up closed to the target. So I'm pretty much hitting slight fades (my current shot shape) on the wrong line. I should work it out while I'm off during the summer, but again, I'm a punk who'd rather play than put in the time on the range.

Nice round. You got up and down 7/8. That's pretty drat awesome.

I shot, respectively, 84 and 81 this weekend. Was hitting the ball great and just smashing my driver, but I couldn't convert it into a good score. I pitched/chipped the ball very poorly. I've been practicing it a lot and my actual technique has gotten a ton better, but it's still spotty on the course. It's not like I'm chunking it, more that I just haven't been hitting it inside 8 feet.

Good news is that I'm very close to bringing it all together. I think I could get to scratch in the next six months (currently a 2.1 index) but it won't happen if I can't chip or pitch.

I did decide to buy new wedges. The grooves on my 56 and 60 are totally shot, plus they're -1/2 inch below standard (the rest of my clubs are standard) and the swing weight is way off on my 52 and 60 (they're d1. I like mine at d6). So who knows, maybe it's the arrow instead of the archer.

I went with Calloway. I've never played anything but vokeys, so it'll at least be interesting.

# ¿ Jun 9, 2015 03:18

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Kameh posted:

Thanks man. I'm hesitant to agree with Halo14 about putting being my strong suit. Driving and chipping are probably the two best parts of my game. Good drives give me nice looks at pins, and chipping helps cover up mistakes with approaches. Also, the better I chip it, the less I have to rely on my putter to save me. I'm not awful at it, but I *wish* putting were my strong suit. I can always think of a few putts per round I should have made.

Did you get the PM grind on the Callaways? I chipped around with a 60 degree on the putting green at Golfsmith. It's got a taller-toe and less-rounded look than a traditional tear-drop wedge. I think they're trying to emulate old Ping wedges that are exempt from the groove rules (is that still a thing)? Not a bad wedge, but I prefer my Rotex 58* from Cleveland. I've always liked the heft of a Cleveland wedge.

Nice. Chipping has always been a weakness for me. I consider myself to be a great putter, so getting chips inside 10 feet should significantly increase my up and down percentage.

How do you like to practice chipping?

I got a sick deal for a set on golfwrx: 52/56/60 basically brand new cally forged for $130. I have no idea what the grind is. The main reason for the switch was to try higher bounce wedges and get uniform length and swing weight. Also, these have s300 shafts, and I always wanted to try less stiff shafts in my wedges. I still may sub them out for steelfibers.

I hit the new cally wedges and really liked them. I hit a very high ball and seemed to get a lower trajectory with them. Plus I take trenches with my vokeys; the callaways got me way closer to dollar bills.

# ¿ Jun 9, 2015 15:24

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Yeah, if you're 12 greens and sub-30 putts, you're at least a good putter.

Here's the front 9 from my last round this weekend. Like I said earlier, I'm really striking the ball well but can't convert it to scoring. Not sure if my shot selection is off or if I'm just in kinda a weird spot right now.

I can't remember the back 9, but here's what a pretty typical round looks like. Course is Marietta Country Club. Greens are rolling in between 12 and 13. Greenskeeper woke up on the wrong side of the bed; every pin is tucked behind something.

1. 427 par 4, narrow tree-lined fairway. Hit driver to 106. Hit what I think is a perfect sand wedge and just barely go over, really short sided myself in a bunker behind the green. Hit it out to 20 feet (bout the best I could do) and 2 putt for bogey (+1). Looking back, the second shot plays downhill, but it didn't look like that from the fairway.

2. 178 par 3. The pin is wedged between a false front and a shelf, so I play the safe shot to the right side of the green. Have a 30 footer, easy 2 putt. (+1)

3. 348 par 4. Dog leg right. If you carry it about 295 and high enough, you can clear some trees and drive the green. I think why not and hit driver. Ball mark is 10 feet left of the flag, and I'm barely off. Pin is on a top shelf and green slopes away from me, so I kinda dink a putter to about 8 feet below to the hole to ensure I won't run down the slope and leave myself an uphill putt. Birdie putt lips out. (+1).

4. 203 par 3. Pin is tucked back left. I aim middle and hit it there. 30 footer with about 6 feet of right to left break. Tap in for par. (+1).

5. 413 par 4. Another tree lined hole where the play is probably 3 wood to stay out of trouble. I'm hitting my driver well, so I stay with it and just crush it down the left side of the fairway. 90 yard approach. Hit an easy 56 that lands on top of the green and backspins down the false front. My putt from the collection area lips out, easy par. (+1).

6. 451 par 4. Everyone else plays this as a par 5. It's significantly uphill. Hit driver to 170ish. Take an extra club and fly the green. Chip it to 15 feet (it was either take my medicine or try a really really hard flop shot), miss the putt and have a tap in for bogey. (+2).

7. 453 par 4. Really hard hole, very narrow tree lined fairway but plays downhill. I pull my driver about 20 yards but get a lucky bounce off a tree, so I'm just in the rough. Hit 8 iron to 15 feet and the putt is just a touch high. (+2)

8. 558 par 5. Hit a good drive but am semi blocked out from going for it. Hit an easy 6 iron to about 115 yards. The pin is in a borderline unfair spot--just hanging on the top of a false front. I hit it to 8 feet and am still basically forced to lag it so I won't go off the front. (+2).

9. 446 par 4. Hit a perfect drive down the left side of the fairway. I have 145 in and decide to take some off a 9 rather than try to force a PW there. I take a little too much off and hit it in a greenside bunker. My sand shot lips out, gimme par (+2).

So that's 37 but what seems like very little offense. I made a conscious effort over the past few rounds to do less pin seeking and more "just get the GIR." Maybe I'm overdoing it. I could have had a few things go a bit differently and shoot 34, but it seems like that's how it's going every round.

I'm playing on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, so maybe I'll turn the corner, make some birdies, and shoot low 70s.

I registered to play in the U.S. Mid-am qualifier, which is in September. My semi-unrealistic goal is to qualify, but my real goal is to break 80.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2015 16:01

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Played Bobby Jones yesterday and shot 64. It's a par 70, 6000 yard course, so doesn't really count for ~shooting in the 60s~, but it felt good and made me less angsty about my offense.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2015 22:57

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Josh Lyman posted:

LOL Bobby Jones is a goat track. But it has a couple decent holes.

Yup. This guy at work invites me to play all the time. I usually say no because it's so bad, but after like 15 requests I felt obligated to accept.

Played today and shot 70 with 6 birdies (not at bobby jones). Guess I'm out of my birdie slump.

Tomorrow will be the real marker. I'm playing the Manor, which is fairly challenging and about 7150. I'll feel a lot better about my life/handicap if I shoot par or better.

The last two times we played with people, I told them I was a 2 then proceeded to spray my way to an 86 or so.

I've got some very positive thoughts going, and all the time I've spent on fixing my path is starting to really pay off. I basically eliminated the stall pull and feel much less stuck. My arms still lag behind my turn, but it's the exception rather than the rule. Good thing it only took me like a year to implement.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2015 21:08

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Josh Lyman posted:

I'm making some swing changes myself, namely speeding up my upper body on the downswing. I'm going to have a 2 way miss for a while, but it's better in the long run. I played 18 yesterday and on the last 2 holes, striped a 4 iron and 3 iron, respectively, inside 5 feet.

Putting is still sketchy with the new/old Ping. I seriously don't understand how my stroke with a putter is like a 30 handicap but my stroke with a lob wedge is like a scratch player.

Nice, that's exactly what I'm working on right now. It sucks for a while but the payoff is worth it. Helps so much with staying synced and avoiding the dreaded stall flip.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2015 00:16

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

daslog posted:

I hit the flag (not the pole, the actual flag) on a pitch on the 9th hole today and the ball dropped within 2 feet of the cup. Shot a 43.

Nice! Those shots are the best
Yesterday, my girlfriend hit her approach a bit thick, so it was gonna be in a greenside bunker. It hit a rock in the bunker, bounded forward up the lip, and ended up 3 feet from the pin.

That good clean living pays off .

# ¿ Jun 14, 2015 16:27

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Played this course called Country Club of Sapphire Valley this weekend and had my best round in a while. I shot 70 with EIGHT birdies (two stupid doubles stopped me from going real low) from 6750. Three of them were gimme range, the rest were 10-20 footers. Real quality ballstriking but left a few strokes out there for sure. I semi-chunked two chips and badly misplayed another.

The course was really cool. It had some monster par 4s and one big par 5 (610), but the other par 5s were easily reachable in 2. I had an eagle putt on 18 to shoot 69 but had an egregious lip out. It was dying on the high side and made drat close to a 270 degree turn.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2015 23:59

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Never understood why you'd take 3 wood off the tee instead of driver unless you'll run into a hazard or leave a really awkward distance in. The sweet spot on a driver is HUGE.

I've experimented with being more conservative off the tee and all it did was cap me at one or two birdies a round. IMO, the better play is to tee it up lower or choke up on the driver (or both) if you want to take some distance off your tee shot. I tend to save my 3 wood for when I need to keep it very low or if driver leaves me with a bad approach distance.

Re: wind. I've always played a very high ball, so I tend to struggle in wind. I can hit knockdown shots, but they tend to move a good 10-15 yards left to right. Definitely something I need to work on.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2015 15:53

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

squirrelzipper posted:

Because Golf is essentially Schadenfreude and I'm a horrible human who needs someone to suffer to feel good.

Kameh posted:

Stupid, stupid game.

I hate myself, so I play golf.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2015 00:18

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

EnsGDT posted:

Hey are any of you guys in the Atlanta area, cause I might have a film shoot coming there that needs Amateur golfers to hit balls against a pro

I could do it! Josh Lyman and I are certified Atlanta residents.

Josh Lyman posted:

The Georgia Club is hoity toity but the course is boring as gently caress. Literally the most boring layout you could think of. Their membership initiation used to be $17,000 but now it's $1,000 and they advertise in the local paper.

I got paired with a hacker who topped his 1st tee shot AND the mulligan. Scraped out +2 on the front as I tried to avert my eyes every time he swung.

On the back, we got stuck behind 2 couples that looked like Paula Deen with one foot in the grave, so a 3 hour round turned into a 4 hour one. No idea what I shot on the back, but I hit some good shots.

Sucks about your pairing. Good to know that the course is boring. It was on my list to play.

Locked down a round at Peachtree this Sunday :smug:

That course is so grade A it's ridiculous.

Also, I'm biting the bullet and joining a club. After looking around for a while, I decided to go with Ansley Golf Club. Their championship track (Settindown Creek) is so loving hard. I think it's rated 77.9 or something from 7300. Settindown does not allow recovery, just pars, birdies, or doubles.

Maybe I'll get into Peachtree in 25 years.

Omerta fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Sep 22, 2015

# ¿ Sep 22, 2015 02:09

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Josh Lyman posted:

I remember watching Morgan Pressel win her US Amateur at Ansley on TV. Looked like a nice track.

In other nice track news, I got a $22 round at St. Marlo Country Club which I have only heard good things about. 6923 yds, 73.7/140 from the tips. There's a chance of rain late morning and my tee time is early afternoon, so hopefully the course won't be busy.

St. Marlo is supposed to be great.

Yeah, my girlfriend played in that U.S. Am. I'll get you out to Ansley after I get in.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2015 18:43

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Man, I have a sick lineup over the next few days. Practice all day tomorrow, golf tomorrow in Florida, two rounds at Pebble and Spanish Bay, then two rounds at Seminole on Monday and Tuesday. Hope y'all are taking advantage of the unseasonably nice weather. (Sorry Josh Lyman, ATL got drenched.)

Also, I've been doing this drill that's done wonders for my game. Just take it a normal backswing, pause at the top for 2-5 seconds, then a normal downswing. Start off with a 56 and move your way up to driver. If you do it right, you can hit the ball just as far as a normal swing. It's done wonders for syncing up my swing, and I'm striking the ball the best I ever have. Highly recommend it for anyone with transition issues.

# ¿ Dec 27, 2015 05:53

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Well, Pebble was really cool. Don't expect a quick round. I think it took us 5:30. I didn't really play it well--ended up shooting 82. There were some great moments though. I birdied 17 and had a par on 18 after hitting my drive in the hazard. Spanish Bay went better. Shot 74 with 5 birdies.

Both courses have some phenomenal holes but also quite a few that you could find anywhere. 1-7 at Pebble are sort of blah, and the front 9 at Spanish Bay is just ok.

Good news is that I won low medalist for the little mini tournament we had going, so I got $400 in pro shop gift certificates.

Definitely worth the trip out, but I wouldn't make a habit of it unless I was on the west coast. There are a lot of courses in the east or Midwest that I'd take over a Pebble trip again, especially since Pebble is probably 50% more expensive than any other golf trip I've done. Whistling straits and Blackwolf Run (River) are better courses IMO.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 15:07

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

BCRock posted:

Sounds like a fun trip. Great round on SB too!

Since I live in California, almost everyone I golf with has been to Pebble and they all say pretty much the same thing. Every golfer should go there and it's worth every penny the first time, but it's not a place they're all itching to go back to because it's crazy expensive and there are better courses for much less money.

My group of guys is trying to decide between doing Pebble or Bandon sometime this year. I think we're leaning towards Bandon, but we'll see.

Yeah, everyone I've talked to is all about Bandon. I've heard lots of people be lukewarm on Pebble Beach, but I don't think I've ever heard someone give Bandon a less than great review.

Only downside is it's a pain to get to and also not easy on the pocketbook.

Not that golf is in general. I went over my Mint account after the new year and nearly poo poo a brick when I saw how much I spent on golf.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2016 04:31

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

My goal is to stop playing like rear end. I've been working on a swing change to get more upright and not get stuck. It's yielding results, but my my handicap is ballooning. My trackman numbers are good. I just need to get a little more in to out.

My goals are: (1) get to a 0.0 index (lowest last year was a 1.3); (2) never shoot over 85; (3) get my up and down percentage to 1/3 (I'm a bad chipper, good putter); play in Ireland or Scotland.

Here's to hoping! Golf is weird.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2016 06:07

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Got the good news a week ago: I'm joining a club! Good timing too. Last Saturday, I quit after 13 holes so I could say I finished my round in 4.5...

Really looking forward to it. The main clubhouse and 9-hole course are like 1.5 miles from where I work. They also have a full 18 (Settindown Creek) that's like 25 miles away and hard as hell.

Can't wait to sneak in 9 before work or get a little practice in during the week.

# ¿ Mar 15, 2016 05:08

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

daslog posted:

Having watched my handicap creep up from 20 to 21.5, I decided that I needed a new approach to practicing. I went to the range and rather than hit the same club 5 times in a row I did a simulated game from the driving range. For example, I'd hit driver, and select a 4 hybrid, 6 iron, or PW depending on how good the drive was. I also simulated 20 yard pitch shots.

My 4 and 5 hybrids are very inconsistent. I don't take a divot with these and end up with a lot of low shots that go about 150 yards. I hit the 7,8,9 and wedges pretty good, and I did surprisingly well with the 5 wood. 6 Iron was meh.

Any ideas?

Don't hit balls every swing. Instead, take 5-20 practice swings and really focus on trying to implement what you're working on, then hit 1 ball. Repeat as many times as it takes.

It's boring but very effective.

Practice hitting partial shots, like hitting a 9 iron 100 yards. And always use an alignment rod.

# ¿ May 19, 2016 16:15

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

Been out at Kohler for the past three days and have two more lined up (Straits and River tomorrow, River again on Tuesday).

I played the Straits yesterday and it just annihilated me. Played from 7150. I was even through 8, then the wind came out. Rest of the round had sustained winds of 25+ mph and the wheels came off fast. I wouldn't have broken 100 without generous use of the max double.

Even downwind holes were really hard because it was difficult to correctly gauge the distance.

On 18 (dead into the wind), I striped a driver and striped a three wood to end up 15 yards short of the green.

I heard that the US Open and PGA were both during odd heat spells with almost no wind, which explains the low scoring. They're playing the Ryder cup there in 3 or 4 years. It's going to be a nightmare (Ryder cup is later in the year when it's guaranteed to be windy).

Also, one of the guys I played with was stupid long. He hit it pin high on 10 (370, uphill, downwind), but it was hilarious to see what happened when he was in a crosswind. I bet some of his tee shots moved 100 yards due to wind, and he hit a couple hooks that took a full 90 degree turn.

And oh my god, 17. 17 is the scariest hole ever designed. I can't put into words how terrifying it is.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2016 04:01

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

To the bachelors in the thread, I'd highly recommend marrying a golfer. My honeymoon is a 15-day trip to Scotland. We're playing at least one round every day.

Also, I joined a club and gotta say that the benefits are worth the cost. It's been a great professional networking source, and good greens/fast pace of play makes the game so much more enjoyable.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2017 05:43

Omerta: Feb 19, 2007; I thought short arms were good for benching

I shot 77 this weekend in bad conditions. It was the first round since some time in 2019 since I broke 80. I basically stopped playing when COVID started because my game had gone to poo poo, and I wasn�t having fun.

After a lot of work, I�m finally finding my swing again. My all-time low was a 0.2 index, and I�d love to get sub 5 again by the end of the year.

I also went to Portugal and play a few rounds. The courses were amazing!