Beukes

No problem, iacas, leaving. Just revise your selection of 'Forum Leaders', okay? Even if they have like 17000 posts and tucked out shirts. Adieu.

Oh, little Seanie loves it - he has nothing else.. apart from being a non-boutiqued 'Forum Leader' on a very, very famous golf forum, where he has got like 17000 posts. Really? Yippie-Ki-Yay.

Just go **** yourself, bud.

Do I sense a studenticose inferiority? Oh no, its a FORUM LEADER... Take some time off and actually read the thread. Then even unboutiqued, unbranded fanboys could understand the 'elitist' reference was not self-referential, but indeed a reference to corporate branding made earlier in the thread. Please tuck in your shirt or get another avatar.

It is, isn't it? You have to maintain a sense of humor in this thread, given the rather 'unique' positions put forward re "Will I play golf?" or "Will I play real golf according to the real rules of golf?". And real golfers, sir, kick kickboxers' ass.

I have played ProV1X for a long time now and swear by the product, as I do with Titleist in general and all its sub-brands (FootJoy, Vokey & Scotty Cameron). I am not merely loyal to the brand, but to the notion of unsurpassable quality. Yes, the balls are expensive, but worth every cent. Yes, they do carry an elitist image (I admit), but at the very least you could never blame the equipment. On the other hand: do you really watch what ball another guy is playing? Or rather how far that ball goes beyond yours, tee-wise? I have had a 20 handicap outdriving me 80 yards with grandpa's old Big Bertha and rockhard vintage balls, by the mere sound of it - on more than one hole in the same round. I was a worried man that day.

Does anyone know of any established and clinically proven relation between the psychological experience of anxiety and nervousness within the context of golf or any other competitive sport, and the physiological experience of blood sugar dropping (nausea, tremor, cold sweat, dry mouth, dilated pupils, etc)? Which is the cause and which is the effect? It has happened a few times to me now that even if take care to eat a protein bar consisting of 30 grams of whey protein and low carbs, slushed down with my homebrew mix of flat Coke and water, before the round as well as after 9 holes, I feel my blood sugar dropping, presenting the above symptoms, whenever I am nervous or anxious before or during the round. I am not diabetic, not overweight and actually physically very fit. These symptoms never manifest outside the context of competitive golf - only when the cards are down or I have to scramble constantly to stay in contention. The closest I have come to a medical explanation is: "Traditionally considered a stress hormone, epinephrine (or adrenalin) is made in the adrenal gland and in certain cells in the central nervous system. Epinephrine also elevates blood glucose levels by making glucose available for the body during a time of stress.When this mechanism is not working properly, hypoglycemia can result". Any advice from anyone please? Thanks in advance.

If I carry my own bag on any of my two days of competitive golf per week, I will spent only 60 minutes in the gym before the round. If I take a caddie on one or both those two rounds, I will do my normal 90 minute workout - I have never felt too tired afterwards to swing properly. Actually, it is the other way around - my muscles feel supple and ready to go after a proper workout. Carrying one's own bag after a workout does take a toll though - that's why only 60 minutes if that is the case. I do the normal 90 minute workout after my weekly practice round, which is early morning, when the course is empty and one can have a solid practice round over 18 holes in under 3 and a half hours. I do all five basic muscle groups (legs, chest, arms [biceps & triceps], lats and abs), 4 x 15 reps, 70 percent power, five days per week. I only do two cardio sessions per week, on the two remaining days, normally per super circuit. Bulky muscles don't work for golf, so I work on toning, suppleness and moderate strength, rather than straight power. I make time for at least 10 minutes proper stretching after a workout, especially on quads, hamstrings, calves and lats. So, basically I go to gym every day of the week, but I cut back slightly on my two days of competitive golf.

To all those that did react to my note (and clearly there are many of you who obviously dislike the rules of golf): I did stress in my note above that one should rigidly adhere and conform to the rules of golf when one intends to hand in a scorecard for whatever official reason or for handicap indexing. If you are leisuring about or practicing on the course (I do both often) you simply should keep that "score" to yourself, report a Not-Recorded Round on the system and have a few beers. I do not care. What I do care about, is that these leisure- and practice rounds are entered as proper, serious, competitive and committed rounds of golf by people who do not respect the tradition, history and spirit of the game. They are the guys suddenly making 54 points in a formal betterball competition (God only knows after how many Mulligans, gimmies, reshoots, lay changes, ets). I do not care about the cute little bread toaster they will be taking home to soften mommy up a little, viz. the alcohol stench. I do care that they screw up the best game in the world. Golf, when rigidly played by its rules, is the most demanding, ruthless and vicious game in the world - far worse than kickboxing actually. When not played by its rules, on the other hand, there is nothing to it - literally just a walk in the park.

I am amazed and rather annoyed by the frivolous nature of some of the contributions in this thread. The Rules of Golf are not open for ad hoc revision. They exist to guarantee the integrity of the sport. If you have ever provided a score for official or handicap purposes without being certain and honest that you have knowingly not broken any rules or compromised the integrity of the game, you are a cheat and should not be playing golf. It is that simple and that rigid, and that is how it should be. Anything less makes a mockery of the tradition, history and spirit of the game. In that sense I will cast the first stone, if that is how it is.

Even in difficult financial times, in South Africa as well, my home club, Randpark in Johannesburg, sporting two outstanding courses, namely Randpark Course (a championship course which has hosted the South African Open) and Windsor Park (a classic parklands course, currently being upgraded), has in 2010 put through more than 80 000 rounds between the two of the courses. That makes Randpark one of the most popular courses in South Africa, confirmed by a recent survey in the local Golf Digest. We have a fantastic management team and the club is going from strength to strength. Other upmarket clubs in Johannesburg, such as Bryanston, Houghton, Johburg CC Woodmead and Parkview seem to be doing very good as well.

1. Getting back from the current 8 to the previous 5: I injured my left wrist and right elbow in April this year, after overdoing it on the range and being too avid-rabid in general - and a fiasco with a fairway bunker shot that I'd rather not elaborate upon. I lost 3-5 shots in general per round since April, dropping me from 5 to 8. I am still solid single-figure-good from 85 meters in, but need to find my swing on the longer clubs again, hitting more fairways, allowing my short game to kick in as quick as possible on every hole. 2. More 3-wood from the tee: Again, relying on driver and wedge + 2 putts for par will work for no-one consistently. I have to be willing to hit 3-wood more often, hitting more fairways, and be prepared to play a longer club in, still making good GIR's. I have already reconfigured my Titleist 910F 15 degree to a 14.2 degree to find a few extra meters and keep the ball flight lower. 3. Crisper Irons: Taking proper divots as I used to, not trying to sweep a 7 iron as if it was a hybrid. I am willing to invest in the new AP2's if they could aid me hitting proper divots again. 4. Play the 18th as if it was the 1st : I tend to drop concentration and lose some zest on the final hole, especially if I have been playing well. It aint over till the fat lady sings. 5. More dignity, less self-pity: No need to employ gynaecology jargon towards yourself when things go bad. You are not a c..t, even if you have just acted like one... No need for sulking either - golf is not an easy game, that is why you love it, remember?

Academic > Theology & Clergy, specializing in Medieval Philosophy, with PhD's in both philosophy and theology. Ever heard about a golf-playing 14th century monk who got misplaced in the 21st century?

Very valid point, and I have experienced myself how counter-productive hitting range balls bucket after bucket can actually be - apart from injuries (right elbow, left wrist in particular, dropping me from 5 to 8 from April this year, when I injured myself overdoing range work), it disturbs my timing and rhythm, as one would seldom hit two balls on the course within seconds of each other. One has to be technically very good to make good use of the range without the aid of a coach: otherwise, it becomes just a barbaric kind of hockey. Actually, I tend to become 'frenzied' on the range, hitting more and more balls faster and faster, often leading to poor striking in the follow-up round. I nowadays try to follow Nick Faldo's advice and play a practice round early morning on my home course, hitting two from the tee, three to the green, and spend at least 10 minutes around and on every green. I find that it is quality practice time. Apart from the practice round, I then play my normal two competitive rounds per week. Kudos to thread starter Travis who realizes the risks of too many buckets and will have a swing coach evaluate his posture, striking, timing and so on, even if only digitally.

Good day everyone, I have stumbled upon this forum when I searched via Google for a review on Titleist's new AP2 series - and I am absolutely amazed by the wealth of information, knowledge, advice and even some wisdom (!) available here! I plan to become a regular forum member and contribute as meaningful as I can to those topics that interest me. We have entered spring down here in South Africa and the Johburg courses that I love (Houghton, Johannesburg CC, Parkview, Randpark, Windsor, Eagle Canyon and Ruimsig) are already greening up beautifully. Thanks for having the opportunity to join the forum. Regards, Beukes