Jump to content

Meisce

Member
  • Posts

    21
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About Meisce

  • Birthday 11/30/1974

Personal Information

  • Member Title
    Mini-Golfer

Your Golf Game

  • Index: 18.0
  • Plays: Righty

Meisce's Achievements

Member

Member (2/9)

  • 1st Post

Recent Badges

0

Reputation

  1. i have a buddy who plays in a lot of these ( ex-athlete, gives to charity, gets a lot of invites ). He's pretty competitive. He has a go-to team he usually uses, and they play together a lot. He's a big driver - he'll wait to hit until a ball is safely in the fairway, then crank one out. Another guy has a great short game - lethal at pitching and chipping, very good putter. He chips one in every other time I play with him. Can also drive it big but is erratic. A third guy is much older, takes iron or hybrid off the tee, but is a superb putter/green reader. He'll putt first or last. Fourth guy could be anyone - it's been me a few times. They don't cheat. But they are competitive and play to their strengths as a team. They usually finish top 3.
  2. At the time I thought it was inappropriate. In hindsight, I think Phil knew that he would get heavily criticized but also knew that making his argument in this fashion - at a global press conference, in front of the captain, team and USPGA reps - was the most effective ( only? ) way to instigate real change. I do think part of it was sour grapes - especially given how he was treated on the Saturday. But I think a lot of positive will come from it ( if you're a USA fan.. ). I don't think a quiet word two weeks later behind closed doors would have had nearly this effect.
  3. Uh, so I'm outing myself as a gadget freak here, but I absolutely love the Game Golf. Rocking that, the Garmin S1 and the Zepp now. I'm half golfer, half Robocop on the course these days.
  4. I switched putters for a similar reason to you - I found that a shorter, 'blade' putter suits my preferred posture and stroke better. It's also lighter which gives me more feel, and has allowed me to groove a putting stroke that I'm comfortable with and is consistent. I had the same Super Stroke grips on both putters. The mallet putter ( TM Spider ) I used to have was a great club. I've just found a putting stroke that I like and that club no longer suits my eye for it. I was trying to 'force' a putting stroke to match the old putter for too long ( since I'm cheap... ). My newer putter ( a 34 Yes! Callie ) sits perfectly. Like you, I tried a lot for balance and feel, and kept coming back to it. I was just using the wrong club. It's not a lot different to having irons fitted for lie and length, but probably more impactful. I don't see the improvement going away, per 4Aces post. It's not like you were swapping like for like.
  5. I should mention, the original SwingByte is tough to keep on the club. You may need to send away for additional attachments. The Swingbyte 2 was essentially a stronger clasped version. However, they're both great and the apps are free. I'm assuming you already opened/use the Zepp and are considering returning the SwingByte - you may as well, since it doesn't do much the Zepp doesn't do.
  6. Almost, but not quite. I have both now. I used and enjoyed the Swingbyte for a while. It's a great device, and gives excellent feedback. I found the numbers to be reasonably accurate. However, at some point last year I put it down and never picked it back up again. In hindsight, the reasons for this were ease of use - it would consistently move around on the club after a few swings ( I had the latest model plus attachments, but I have a steep swing and can jar at impact on mats ) and it was difficult to maintain Bluetooth contact with my phone or iPad. I had to constantly calibrate. I just got frustrated with it. I got the Zepp a week ago based on reviews ( and a gift card ). So far, I love it. Very easy to clip on the glove, instantly calibrates and connects, and updates on my phone in < 3 seconds. I very much enjoy the 'training aid' piece, which allows me to instantly compare my swing and gives me a score based on how I'm doing to 'ideal' stats for my talent range. The Swing Byte actually gives you a few more stats - shaft lean, angles at impact, etc. It may be a little more useful for the serious golfer. But the Zepp is far easier to use on the range, especially if you're running through your bag and not hitting the same club over and over. That's the primary difference that I see. You can also use the Zepp for other sports ( same device, different apps ) if that's useful to you. TL:DR - A few more stats from the Swingbyte, but Zepp is a little easier to use.
  7. Understood, but since my post led to this discussion I felt it important to a) add more detail and b) get feedback on this specific example. I also think this discussion would probably be more fruitful ( and more easily 'accessible' to some ) with a variety of examples rather than just talking about the language used in the ruling. I have only one example to offer but I thought it pertinent. Others may have run across this ruling also?
  8. The original post was discussing pace of play. The resulting discussion led me to question their rules further. I'm quite glad I did since it's a course I like to play frequently and I had never been led to believe the rule was any other. That is probably entirely on me, due to my ignorance of the rules and, if I'm being honest, I was happy to take it at face value. Starter probably told us in a that it was a free drop unless we were in a tournament, and given the prevalence of the ESA we were happy to believe it. Now that is still the rule, and according to them you can still post your HCAP under the local rule. So under this ruling I have done nothing wrong, and you are both technically correct. I will say that Iacas is more correct and discussion of removing ESA to play a game of golf is quite ludicrous.
  9. So I bugged them again. Some further info that may ( probably will ) inflame this conversation. The ESA was in place as the course was designed, but they have expanded the areas. It was government designated. The pro shop says that you should state prior to the round which rules you want to play: local, or tournament. Then you submit your handicap as such. In tournaments, the ESA plays as a water hazard. Now I enter my HCAP as 'home' for this course. The pro shop claims that is fine. This, to me, does not seem correct as I've hit into that ESA a lot ( no, never on purpose, but it DOES influence the decision to go for it or not ). Is there that much of a difference when you submit a handicap as tournament vs home/away? Btw someone mentioned that I was insulted. I am not. This is just a local course to me ( an excellent one ) and I have learned a great deal from the conflicting sides of this argument.
  10. I just pulled them from the website, but yes, they look current ( played there 2 weeks ago ).
  11. Since the course I mentioned was the initial example, I'll just say it's exactly as Iacas describes above. It's a dry ESA that protects species ( I recall salamanders and actually some insects listed ). It's permanent. There are additional water, OB, and sand hazards as well as this ESA. I'm attaching two pics where I've outlined the ESA, although the picture does not really do it justice. These are two of the more extreme cases.The first is a 150 yard par 3 with bunkers in front. If the ESA was a hazard here, this would essentially be 17 at Sawgrass. The next is a dogleg par 4, same thing. These holes would be fantastic looking if these were water hazards, but they're not. In both these pics the entire right side of the hole ( as you are looking at them ) is ESA. in most cases the ESA runs through the fairway. In others it's just off to the side of the rough, far closer than where you'd have OB. They do surround it with thick rough so you don't just drop back on the fairway. If treated like a water hazard I could drop back along the line to the fairway if I wanted. In most cases the ESA is offline but where you would expect to be able to recover from. IMO I do not think a golf course architect would have designed these most of these areas as hazards, since the course would look extremely 'tricked up' and uninviting. I personally think their local rule of free drop is a good one - otherwise pace of play would be destroyed. I do wish that they would have clarified how it differs from the USGA ruling more though. Next time I am there I will ask for more detail on the history of this ESA and why they made these choices.
  12. Gents - per the Coyote Creek example - I called the pro shop this morning, after reding this thread. They said that they offer the choice of local rules OR USGA rules ( where the environmental area plays as a hazard ). Now I have only ever been instructed there to play the local rules - but this makes sense to me having read all of this. I wasn't aware that these local rules may no be USGA conforming. That's three rounds in 2014 that I've submitted towards my handicap that I'll have to get a ruling on. Sorry for stirring this discussion, but I'm glad it led me to call and find out. When they told me the local rule was a free drop, I didn't know enough to ask if there was a separate USGA one.
  13. Government designated, I'm pretty sure. Will check again next time I'm out. They have list of the protected species, etc, posted. The local rule is no penalty plus complete relief. Obviously this is a local rule, and a sensible one since it keeps pace of play moving and doesn't frustrate the golfers ( there's a fair amount of these areas, but it's not like the course doesn't have hazards as well ). Since it is government designated, the local rule seems completely legal according to what's been posted? And as long as this is taken into account in the course rating, it won't affect your handicap ( I would think ). Coyote Creek in San Jose, if anyone knows it better than I do. The Tournament course has a ton of it.
  14. Layout of the golf course and good starters make a huge difference. The fastest course that I play has a lot of areas marked as 'environmentally sensitive'. There's a free drop ( always in the thick rough ) but you can't enter those areas, even if you can see your ball. Really speeds up the game when there's no penalty and you can't spend ages looking. I've never been waiting on that course. The starters there seem to have a lot of empowerment as well when it comes to letting people off early, or moving the order of groups depending on who's ready to go. Some of the slowest courses I play are the tighter ones, where if you're off line you inevitably have to wait for people hitting up the adjoining fairways before you can get on with it. I am very conscious of the fact that it usually takes me a few seconds to get comfortable over the ball, I like to take a practice swing, etc. However, I make up for it by not wasting time elsewhere, i.e. not marking my card on the green, not putting clubs back in the bag before I get in the cart, and making up my mind what to do next before it's my turn to hit. To someone's earlier point - the slowest golfer I've ever golfed with was also the best. Problem was, he moved like he owned the golf course, especially around the greens. He was asked to leave our golf society this year, because it frustrated the rest of us so much to play with him ( we append penalty strokes in our tournaments if you finish over 15 mins after the group in front of you ).
  15. Had a similar issue here. I use a setup like the one Shirl describes, which helps a lot. Two improvements I made which have helped: got a larger grip on my putter to quieten my wrists. Now I don't have to think about the stroke as much. And more importantly, keeping my eyes down after I strike the ball; I was following the ball to the hole with my eyes as I hit it, causing me to pull it a lot. Now I listen for the sound of it dropping.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...