Griglygrak

I've been in the area only a little over a year and usually stick with the publics so I don't have any 1st hand info on the private courses. But, I've heard that both 12 Oaks and Devils Ridge in Holly Springs are both really nice courses.

I've played a lot of golf and never had a hole-in-one. This would sure help my chances. I better go stock up on plaques and trophies.

Key West has the most to offer when it comes to concentrated restaurants, activities and nightlife. If your objective is to just relax, take in a few sights, enjoy the water, eat & drink well then I'd spend most of my time there. The trip from mainland to Key West will take nearly all day with the speed limit zones (caution, do obey) and frequent stopping so try to get an early flight. Maybe pick a few places along the way beforehand that you want to visit then use any extra time for something that cathces your eye.

You can certainly get away without having a car in Key West. Public transportation is pretty good but I recommed renting a bike to get around to all the sites. If it's in your budget, I would recommend flying into Miami or Ft. Laurderdale then doing a one-way car rental to get to Key West. Generally flights are cheaper into FLL vs Key West (EYW) plus the experience of driving the Overseas Highway the entire length of the Keys is pretty awesome. The drive alone is really cool plus there are a ton of cool places to stop along the way.

I can totally relate to ejim. Most of my play is with buddies who are high handicappers or as a walk-on single. In these situations I get around the course pretty good and typically shoot in the range of 82 - 85. About five years ago I wanted to try my hand at tournaments so I joined a Saturday club. I never quite played to my potential and typically shot 6 - 8 strokes higher than normal. In addition to my poor performance I soon got turned off by guys in my flight carding low 70's. Instead of sticking with it and adjusting to the pressure, I only played one year with the club and went back to my usual casual play. A few years later I wanted to give it another try and joined a 9 hole after-work league. At the time I was playing well enough and generally shot 39 - 41 during the weeks leading up to the league. I told myself that my score didn't matter and I was just going out to hang with the guys, have fun and play golf. It still didn't matter, in the back of my mind I wanted to play well and I knew my score mattered so my scores reflected the pressure. I don't think I ever turned in anything less than 43 for the season. I don't think that I'm cut out for pressure play. Sure I could keep trying and perhaps improve but I think at this point I'm ok with the situation. So, for now I'll just stick with casual play.

I'm on my 3rd go around with the Atkins diet. I'm pretty good at making the diet work for the period that I'm loosing weight but not very good at sticking to a lifestyle change. The first two times I did Atkins was early 2000's and I lost my goal weight each time, about 20 to 25lbs. I like the way Atkins has revised and updated the diet to account for 'net' carbs and suggest a daily intake of the foundation veggies. I also like the updates to the diet phases and hope that I can progress through to the point where staying within the carb constraints is comfortable and second nature. At this point my weight is down, I'm exercising and feel & look much better than when I started. I won't know the true affects until my next exam and blood work but if they way I feel is any indication than I'm expecting good results.

I still carry a 5 wood and mostly use it from the Tee for short par 4's, doglegs and long par 3's. On rare occasions I'll use it from the fairway if trouble around my landing zone is minimal. When I want to advance the ball the furthest and still maintain accuracy I'll use my 3H.

Hello from Raleigh NC. I've been playing golf off-n-on for about 25 years but pretty regularly for the last ten. I typically shoot low to mid 80's but this year I'm on a mission to improve. Trouble is I'm a slow learner, LOL. I bought a 5-pack of lessons and I've done two so far this year. My goal was to learn how to shape the ball as this was something I've never been able to do. I figured the first lesson or two would be fine tuning my swing then the remainder of the lessons would be on shaping the ball flight. Well, I showed up for the first lesson hitting the ball fairly well for a mid-January afternoon. At least that's what I thought. Then, I saw the video and I didn't even recognize myself. Awful take-away, no weight transfer, slight reverse C and a bit of chicken wing added in for good measure. It's a miracle I was able to hit the ball. Fixing the take-away was set as priority #1 and I was given some drills to help this area. I dutifully hit the range about 2x's a week for about 6 weeks then went back for lesson #2. I was sure I had it nailed and had solved ALL of my faults. In my 'minds-eye,' I now had a PGA swing. Again the video told a different story. In reality, I had only made a minor improvement of the take-away and the rest was still pretty much crap. More homework was assigned and it was back to the range. Only now as I've learned that my minds-eye is a big liar I video myself each session. Progress is a bit slow but I feel that my methods are sound and the effort is there. I guess this means that somewhere down the road after all my other issues worked out I'll start working on shaping shots. Hello again and I look forward to contributing to the community and using it as a learning resource. john