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About this blog

The occasional random golf-related thoughts pop into my head. The blog efforts of several other TST members has inspired me to give it a try again. No one should anticipate a cohesive series of blog entries.  I go where the mental winds blow.  ;-)

The photo was taken at Carnoustie as I and my fellow golfers/caddies walk down the fairway. I am on the far left.

Entries in this blog

“Single Digit”

It seems like most serious golfers, at one time or another, want to be “single digit” players.  Of course, once one has achieved that status it becomes a fight to be a low “single digit”, then scratch, then plus... One problem with this progression is we can’t even truly agree as to what “single digit” means.  I read a post where a player was quite elated to have reached an index of 9.9 and now felt he was a “single digit” golfer.  Another poster quickly added that 9.4 needed to be achieved
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

19

I Hate Scrambles

I hate 4-person golf scrambles. Yes, charities raise a fair amount of money holding these events.  I also appreciate that many non-golfers and bad golfers like the 4-person scramble because there is no pressure to perform.  That’s fine, just don’t call me to round out the team. I did not always hate 4-person scrambles.  For a while, long ago, I actually liked joining my buddies in these events.  Swing out of my shoes, drink some beer and chill out for 5+ hours.  What was not to like? 
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

11

The End to Sand Bagging?

Each summer for the past 7 years I have played in a series of 12-14 “net” tournaments with 100+ fellow senior golfers.  Over the years I have enjoyed some success but nothing out of the ordinary.  We typically have 4 flights of 25-30 players with each flight competing against similar handicapped individuals.  Everyone uses their full USGA-certified handicap index to develop their tournament course handicap.  Our prize structure is $100/$80/$60/$40/$20 for the top 5 “net” scores (plus ties) in ea
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

23

Trees (and Patience Rewarded)

I recently read a short posting by an excellent golf blogger, Charles Prokop.  A link is below.  I highly recommend his blog for short, well-written essays on golf and life in the Texas Hill Country. http://fairwaywords.com/2015/11/06/patience-in-golf-really-does-pay/ His tongue-in-cheek conclusion about the virtues of being patient got me thinking.  I have played golf in SE Michigan for 40 years.  Over those four decades I have played around, over and through a number of trees tha
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

28

Head Covers

With the advent of metal-headed drivers, some golfers dispensed with head covers for their “woods.”  The thinking is the head is no longer wood and any damage is limited.  I admit the clanging of metal heads hitting together is a bit of a bother to me but not so for the irons clacking.  So I use head covers on just my “woods” both as a noise dampening method as well as a tip of the cap to traditionalism.  A golf bag just does not look complete without a couple of head covers. Many people u
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

6

Learning "Clutch"

I imagine some people are just born with the ability to perform when the game is on the line.  These are the guys who tee off and putt last in scrambles and are avoided as opponents in match play.  For the rest of us, performing under pressure is a learned skill, if we ever acquire the talent at all. A golf buddy, “Bob”, helped me a bit over the past couple years with performance pressure.  He is a gambler and always likes to have something on the line, nothing too big, more of a bragging r
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

5

Driver Evolution

I have been fortunate to have played golf for close to 55 years.  A lot has stayed the same in golf during that time but much has changed.  I started thinking about the evolution in my driver (or 1 Wood/1 Metal/1 Multi Compound). My first non-junior driver was a laminated maple, steel shafted, leather gripped brown behemoth.  On those rare swings that I hit it on the sweet spot, I could literally state I had hit it on the screws as it had a screwed in insert.  Through high school and colleg
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

9

Looking back, I wish I had …

It is not good to spend a lot of time regretting decisions we have made.  We don’t have time machines so we can’t go back and change things.  What is past is past.  Learn from your errors and move forward.  Still, it is hard not to occasionally think about prior events. Looking back, I wish I had … …saved my first set of golf clubs.  Or more properly OUR first set of golf clubs because they were shared with my sister and then subsequently my younger brother.  The set would certainly no
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

18

The Life & Death of Golf Forums

Many people start golf blogs or forums with good intentions of maintaining the site for an infinite period of time.  The sad truth is most rarely make it for more than a year or two.   I first became acquainted with the idea of a golf blog/forum when a site called “Last Minute Golfer (LMG)” existed.  Really, the forum was just an afterthought.  The main reason for LMG was to sell spots 24-48 hours prior to the tee time.  They must have done reasonably well because eventually GolfNow swallow
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

7

Winter Golf

When I use the term “winter golf” I am not talking about trudging through snow drifts and playing orange golf balls.  There are certainly people who engage in that sort of activity and enjoy it.  Hitting out of a snow drift to a rock hard green, however, isn’t close enough to golf for me.  I played in one “Chilly Open” and while it was fun there was no need to repeat that experience. “Winter golf” to me is the time period in SE Michigan that starts around Thanksgiving and ends when snow bla
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

2

Wildlife Encounters

One of the many reasons I enjoy golf is that it is an outdoor game.  One has the opportunity to view nature up close, especially when one’s golf game is as erratic as mine.  Too often I have opportunities to view both woodland and aquatic habitats while attempting to play golf. Over the past 50 years I have had numerous encounters with our local wildlife.  While I have had to escape a swarm of bees when I inadvertently disturbed their nest with my follow through and watched a golf buddy ge
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

15

The Older We Get, The Further We Used to Hit It

Getting older is inevitable unless you are a vampire or one of the walking dead.  As a golfer, the aging process becomes noticeable in a number of ways. While many of us senior citizens remain in reasonably good shape and still have some limberness, one can’t help but notice the inevitable signs of getting older.  My physician has started the process of freezing off bits of my head and hands from years of sun exposure.  Hats and sun screen were for sissies back in the day.  Haircuts for we
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

14

Last

Recently a local course was closed and is now in the process of being turned into a subdivision.  I was trying to recall the most recent time I had played there.  I think it was with my former golf buddy, Dave, just prior to his moving out of state.  Neither of us realized it but that round was the last time, the last time we would be at that course and the last time we would play golf together.  Over the course of one’s golf life, there are going to be a number of “last times” somewhere or with
bkuehn1952

bkuehn1952

7


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  • Blogs

  • Blog Comments

    • saevel25
      Moving Up

      By saevel25 · Posted

      Big thumbs up @bkuehn1952.  I think this is a key for the enjoyment of the game.  Average leave after a tee shot on the PGA tour is 171 yards. Which would probably be an 8 or 7 iron. That includes par 5's. So, on Par 4's they are probably having 8 iron or less on average. If every shot into a par 4 is a hybrid or long iron, move up. If PGA Tour get to have mid and short irons as approach shots, we as amateurs don't need to make the game tougher for ourselves. 🤣 I have found that I
    • dennyjones
      Moving Up

      By dennyjones · Posted

      I think it is great to see others move forward.   My group has been playing tees around 5800 since my surgery, and it likes that distance.     My takeaway from this:  Be thankful you're healthy enough to swing a club.   I think it's great that there is an option to play golf from shorter distances  
    • iacas
      Moving Up

      By iacas · Posted

      I've always been a big fan of "play the tees you want to play." Golf is supposed to be about fun for most people. @Hardspoon regularly plays up a set of tees or two on most trips and courses; good! That's what should happen. John won't take that as a shot at him, and I've not intended it as one.
    • Philip Belgium
      Reflections on Golf and Life After ECU Injury - Part 14

      By Philip Belgium · Posted

      Hi, thanks for the 14 updates. I’ll post my situation….   Begging June 2025, warming up for club comp and 5th shot in, felt a crack at ball impact kept trying to play, no good no broken bones in right wrist Eco showed nothing either during June I could not pour a kettle of use power drill etc..something not right at all. Tendon would pop/flip out.. End June had MRI, wrist surgeon spotted issue straight away, the sheath holding the ECU tendon in was torn.. due t
    • DaveP043
      Shooting Your Age

      By DaveP043 · Posted

      Interesting thought.  Today I shot 77, I passed 69 when I got to 17 green.  A few weeks ago I shot 74 from the senior tees, made it through 17 complete before getting to my age.
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