Do I hurt myself by playing these courses?

[Mr3Wiggle]

I think as long as you measure yourself against the course rating instead of some arbitrary number there is no harm.

[mdl]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

Based on the above comment in bold...........you need to start playing real golf courses NOW.   If you really want your HC to travel, you need to play better courses.

There is no target average.... quit playing pitch and putt courses if you want to get to the next level.  My 2 cents.....(not trying to bust your chops)

Sure, if you only play very easy, very short courses, your HC is going to travel very poorly.  On the other hand, playing wide open, flat courses lets you practice actual approach shots on most every hole, even if you're spraying the tee shots with driver or 3w, rather than hitting driver into the woods, punching out and forward, then hitting a little half wedge the rest of the distance to the hole or whatever.  That can definitely be useful practice when you're at a certain level.

Maybe you forget what that's like as a +0.9?  When I only have a couple hours on the weekend I'll play the little 9 hole course down the street, par 33, rated 31.8/106 at 2500 yards.  Even if I'm shooting 33-35 there, I don't by any means expect to be able to go to a real course and suddenly shoot 72-76, but for the full shots at least a golf shot is a golf shot.  If you mix up the clubs you tee off with so you get decent practice with driver/3w, long irons, and scoring irons, then that still feels like good practice to me at least.  The short game stuff obviously is not as good practice on a course like that, which tend to have not as good greens and not be set up like real, challenging courses around the greens.  But still, if you can learn to hit most of the fairways with a variety of clubs and a large percentage of the greens in reg also with a variety of clubs (mixed up cause of what you teed off with), then that part of the game at least should travel just fine.

[Chris Stewart]

Well, I feel pretty confident that I can answer my own question with a firm no. I played a new, and far more difficult, course today (33.8/126, 2,848 yards from the whites) and shot a 43. Beautiful course and every shot had it's unique set of challenges. Loved it. Here's my scorecard: http://cl.ly/2Q2G0d2n3m1u2g0N260k Here's the scorecard for the course: http://imavex.vo.llnwd.net/o18/clients/westhamgolfclub/images/Westham_Scorecard1.jpg Pictures from the course: http://f.cl.ly/items/2V2K2t0u3J0e0O0n0l1f/IMG_20120606_144357.jpg http://f.cl.ly/items/0Y2I311N3w383v3n2W45/IMG_20120606_145121.jpg

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by mdl

Sure, if you only play very easy, very short courses, your HC is going to travel very poorly.  On the other hand, playing wide open, flat courses lets you practice actual approach shots on most every hole, even if you're spraying the tee shots with driver or 3w, rather than hitting driver into the woods, punching out and forward, then hitting a little half wedge the rest of the distance to the hole or whatever.  That can definitely be useful practice when you're at a certain level.

Maybe you forget what that's like as a +0.9?  When I only have a couple hours on the weekend I'll play the little 9 hole course down the street, par 33, rated 31.8/106 at 2500 yards.  Even if I'm shooting 33-35 there, I don't by any means expect to be able to go to a real course and suddenly shoot 72-76, but for the full shots at least a golf shot is a golf shot.  If you mix up the clubs you tee off with so you get decent practice with driver/3w, long irons, and scoring irons, then that still feels like good practice to me at least.  The short game stuff obviously is not as good practice on a course like that, which tend to have not as good greens and not be set up like real, challenging courses around the greens.  But still, if you can learn to hit most of the fairways with a variety of clubs and a large percentage of the greens in reg also with a variety of clubs (mixed up cause of what you teed off with), then that part of the game at least should travel just fine.

I can appreciate where you are coming from.......

I will just say this.   My father plays an easy 18 hole course daily.   There isn't much sand or trouble on several holes.......it's short and relatively wide open. We don't play together very often because we now live 750 miles apart, but when he comes to my home course his game always falls to pieces.   He's used to wide open spaces and little stress.  He never plays to his potential because of the stress of playing a real course with trouble.  he just starts hacking and falls apart.  His sand game is also terrible because his course has so few bunkers.   When he's faced with a full shot with trouble lurking everywhere.......the results are usually bad.  He can't play the shots to his potential.  he folds like a cheap lawn-chair.......this is golf reality for people groomed on easy courses.

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by Chris Stewart

Well, I feel pretty confident that I can answer my own question with a firm no.

I played a new, and far more difficult, course today (33.8/126, 2,848 yards from the whites) and shot a 43. Beautiful course and every shot had it's unique set of challenges. Loved it.

Here's my scorecard: http://cl.ly/2Q2G0d2n3m1u2g0N260k

Here's the scorecard for the course: http://imavex.vo.llnwd.net/o18/clients/westhamgolfclub/images/Westham_Scorecard1.jpg

Pictures from the course:

http://f.cl.ly/items/2V2K2t0u3J0e0O0n0l1f/IMG_20120606_144357.jpg

http://f.cl.ly/items/0Y2I311N3w383v3n2W45/IMG_20120606_145121.jpg

That looks like a nice course!

Just keep in my that it's a par 33.8 from the white tees.   I don't know how long you are from the tee so I can't know if the whites are the correct tee.    Choosing the correct tee is key.... 2800 is still pretty short.   The greens maybe?

[Chris Stewart]

That looks like a nice course! Just keep in my that it's a par 33.8 from the white tees.   I don't know how long you are from the tee so I can't know if the whites are the correct tee.    Choosing the correct tee is key.... 2800 is still pretty short.   The greens maybe?

It was beautiful. I wish I had grabbed a lot more pictures. The pair I was playing behind were so slow I could have sat there and taken a hundred. :-) The course was created by Nicklaus Design and it shows. There's distance between holes, so it's not very walking friendly, but the upside is that every hole feels separated from its surroundings and has a certain tranquility to it. It was built in the middle of a new community and was planned to be an 18 hole course. Well, the economy went to shit and they opened in 2010 as a 9 hole course. The final 9, a clubhouse (what they have is better than most around here already), and practice facility are being built currently and they said today the final 9 should be open in late 2013/early 2014. I've been looking around at joining a club and this one provides the most value in my opinion. The annual cost is $1,200 for unlimited greens fees. Around here, a good facility is $2,000/yr minimum. I'd say this is the nicest course I've played in the area, and certainly the most difficult/challenging/thought provoking. There's a lot of risk/reward to be had, and that's fun. It doesn't have a practice facility, but I find myself playing more now than hitting a bucket of balls. The issue with the membership is that it's for a fixed range of 2012 only. So, it's not pro-rated for the remaining 6 months its valid and it's not a rolling 12 months (start 6/612, end 6/5/13). I'd like to "get in" before they raise the rates with the additions they're making, but not sure I'd drop $1,200 for 6 months of benefits. Plus, if they're not ready by Jan 1, I suspect the rates will stay the same anyway. Another plus for this place is it's a little out of the way. It's probably 40-45 minutes from the city, 30 minutes from me, and 15 minutes from the heart of the area it's in. There weren't many people there today and I was able to play as a single with only 30 minutes notice. Granted it was a Wednesday afternoon, but a lot of area courses are booked at that time. I'll try again on a Friday afternoon and again on a weekend to get a real feel for the traffic. I hit around 230-250 off the tee with a driver. I was back and forth between the whites and greens before going out, but opted for the whites given it's still a 126 and I'm a 23 hcp :-). I'd agree the greens are probably better for me. I was getting a number of PW approaches, even some lower than that, throughout. The greens are close on most holes, so I'll probably play from those next time.

[BuckeyeNut]

Chris...

If you are shopping for annual passes.............PROXIMITY is key.   You probably don't want to drive 30mins to the home course.   I don't know where you live, so it's hard for me to say what is too far!!   Your every-day course needs to be convenient....so you can play more often and not be concerned with a commute.  I've had memberships at 5 different courses over the past 20+ years.....one thing is common is they were all within a 15 minute drive.

(2 private- 3 public)

I live in an area where there are a half-dozen legitimate public NICE courses within 15minutes drive.(goat tracks need not apply)  For me......15 minutes give or take is my limit for an every day course.   If I lived somewhere else and there were 3-goat tracks and one really nice course 20 minutes...I may feel differently,......IMO....a 30 minute drive is too far to play every day.   You want to be close enough to be able to go play on an impulse late in the day.........it should be close enough that drive-time is not a consideration.

To really unleash serious golf and play a lot, a membership of some kind is a must.  I couldn't imagine paying every time I tee it up.  When I show up to play....I sometimes just peek my head inside the pro-shop door to say high to check in...LOL

[Chris Stewart]

Unfortunately for me, I only have 2 publicly accessible regulation courses within a 15-20 minute drive. One of which I played this past weekend and really liked ($2,000/yr, [URL=http://www.providencegolfclub.com/images/SCAN0008.jpg]scorecard[/URL]). The other I haven't played yet, but I've seen it and plan to play soon ($2,500/yr). I live in a very residential area, there just aren't that many nice courses close by. I drive 25-30 minutes to and from work each day, so the drive doesn't bother me and my schedule would be very consistent so accounting for the drive wouldn't be an issue. Given my schedule, I can't play every day. I'd likely play 2 9s during the week (say Tuesday and Friday after work) and an 18 on the weekend, or maybe just another 9 on the weekend depending on what's going on. So the numbers don't always add up at some places given their greens fees and how often I'm likely to play. At $1,200 and at their rates, this place would be a bargin for my schedule, assuming I had a full 12 months to utilize it. Since I don't, I suppose its a moot point. I do agree that if I had the option, playing somewhere close by is optimal. I'd love to join one of the two closer courses because they're both nice. They're both also pretty expensive, crowded, and getting on as a single isn't always possible on a weekend morning/mid-day.

[mtsalmela80]

I play on a lot of shorter courses around here, just because they are only $10-$12 to get on for 9.

I find there is a big difference between hitting Driver-GW, and then playing another course where I have to play Driver-7i or Driver-Hybrid.

Of course in the end, a botched GW shot is the same as a botched 7i shot.