First Golf League

[rfeight]

I just joined my first league. At 42 you think it would've happened sooner, since I've been playing since I was 7, but....

Anything i should be aware of?... or know? 

I also just got my game golf tags and am hoping to track my progress/stats so that by the end of season I should have a good plan for the course. My league plays Hawk Hollow and Eagle Eye here in Michigan. Our scramble at the end of the season is at Woodside. Any tips such as course strategy, mapping, etc.  are welcome. 

[bkuehn1952]

Try to learn the "rules" of the league.  My experience with leagues is that they often bend the Rules of Golf significantly.  As an example, I was subbing last year in a league.  We came to the 18th and my opponent hit his ball up against the chain-link fence that defines OB (a public road).  He took a drop and I thought I won the hole with a bogey 5 to his double.  No, the league allows free relief from that fence.  The hole was a push and he won the match 1 up.

Once you learn the "rules" you need to decide whether you will play by the "rules" or the "Rules of Golf".  If you are a member of a team, you will need to get the other members blessings if you are going to not take advantage of the loose "rules". Your teammates won't appreciate your taking a stroke & distance penalty for Lost/OB when the league allows members to drop & take a 1 stroke penalty.

Other than that, go forth and have fun.

p.s. nice courses for your league. I am envious.

[Dan42nepa]

Have fun.. people cheat so take it as a fun experience. League rules in my work league were very forgiving. You could improve your lie up to a club length and swings and misses dont count.. lol. I played with a few who would start with a titelist and by the end of the hole would be using whatever ball he found and claimed as his.. The serious golfers will play serious with you and is fun competition otherwise in my case it was a work league and most just wanted to have fun. I remember playing with someone once and he was terrible. At the green i gave him a putt. he took that to mean that it didnt count and his previous stroke was his score...

[rfeight]

Thanks. I must admit that I'm looking forward to playing the same course and getting some stats on it and seeing if I can improve my game looking at these. I used the game golf program for the first time yesterday and hated it while using it. Then I went back and looked at the stats and it opened my eyes. It showed that I need to work on my short game and putting. Makes sense. I spend so much time on approach shot and driver that I take short game as a given. I can only imagine after a whole season how this is going to help me work through my weaknesses. Then again, while I like the stats and competitiveness, I am more of a social golfer than anything. Anyway, thanks again.

[Dave2512]

Just have fun. I am going to pass on league this year. Mostly because it was a overly long grind, 3 hours and longer to play 9 holes because guys would fuss over every shot. I shot some of my worst 9 hole scores because it was so tedious. Couple times I played the last two holes in the dark.

[boogielicious]

On April 16, 2016 at 0:56 PM, Dave2512 said:

Just have fun. I am going to pass on league this year. Mostly because it was a overly long grind, 3 hours and longer to play 9 holes because guys would fuss over every shot. I shot some of my worst 9 hole scores because it was so tedious. Couple times I played the last two holes in the dark.

That's awful. Our league plays pretty quick. We let each other hear about it when a group plays slow. We do forgive the 70 year old for walking slower though. But he is a pretty good player.

[dave s]

On 4/16/2016 at 0:56 PM, Dave2512 said:

Just have fun. I am going to pass on league this year. Mostly because it was a overly long grind, 3 hours and longer to play 9 holes because guys would fuss over every shot. I shot some of my worst 9 hole scores because it was so tedious. Couple times I played the last two holes in the dark.

I hear you, Dave.  You can finish in the dark in April and maybe even late Aug or into early Sept.  Our league is pretty large with 32 guys playing this year.

One thing we've implemented is that if you're the 5th group off and both teams are there and ready to play ahead of position, that group can move to hole #6 or 7, (if available) tee it there then come back through #1 when it's open completing the round out of sequence.

Another thing we'll do is that if that first group isn't ready for the 4:58 time, whichever group IS there and ready to go tees off and goes. We're fortunate this year that the league in front of us, small but walkers, isn't there this season.  We'll see if that does anything to keep us moving along this season.

Back to your point:  Yes, the 3 hour 9-hole rounds makes for some pretty high scores.  No rhythm or momentum at all.  My league 9-hole scores are usually 2-3 shots worse than playing an 18-hole round that moves along.  Good thing my league is fun, nobody really cares if they win or lose ... it's just about being out there, among friends and catching up with each other.

dave

[Dave2512]

It's a combo of members being overly serious, guys being forced to observe rules they usually don't and the league President has influence on the pin sheet. The last one is really dumb IMO. 

[Jeremie Boop]

On 4/16/2016 at 0:56 PM, Dave2512 said:

Just have fun. I am going to pass on league this year. Mostly because it was a overly long grind, 3 hours and longer to play 9 holes because guys would fuss over every shot. I shot some of my worst 9 hole scores because it was so tedious. Couple times I played the last two holes in the dark.

Yup, almost all of my worst scores were during league, on a ridiculously short and easy course simply because of how long it takes to play because people take more time to chitchat and drink beer instead of actually playing. However, I won't quite because it's one of the only times I get to spend with my father so it's worth dealing with.

[Dave2512]

It's still fun I liked playing in league. I can't get away from the office this year. I was leaving early knowing I might face a 3 hour pace and officially we close at 6PM.

[RFKFREAK]

I was going to join one with some guys from work but then I changed jobs with at times longer hours so can't pull it off.

Have fun!

[Dave2512]

Best part of league was the tournaments. Though I missed a bunch of those because I work Saturday. Dues were $290 and each tournament was $110-150. There were some extras too $5 for the hole in one pot that's like 4 years going without a winner so something like 4K payout. Our league runs Apr-Sep and I only made it about 8 weeks including tournaments. Couple times I showed as a single and couldn't find a league partner. Only money I won was a $10 birdie skin and high flight gross, which actually gets you booed so that wasn't much fun. Shot a 45 which also wasn't fun.

[rfeight]

Thought I'd report back on the first night, last Monday. I played with a couple guys with lower handicaps. One's a golf coach at a local high school. Too cool. I actually played better than I usually do when playing with family or friends. I found myself concentrating more and more methodical. The strategy section in lowest score wins kept me from taking any penalty strokes. I don't think that's ever happened. My partner is an old league veteran (plays 3 leagues a week) who is also new to this league. He shot badly, but we had fun anyway. I think that's key. 

On a side note, game golf tabs functioning was sporadic at best. My playing partners were tolerant, but if I'm going to collect data, I need a tag unit. I returned the tags and will order the classic or live. I'm thinking classic. Thoughts? Should I post in another thread? Or maybe it's been answered.

[WUTiger]

Each league has its own personality.

The Senior league I play in at my club is a friendly bunch, and we play the Rules of Golf with a couple of exceptions. The exceptions mainly involve playing "ready golf."

It's a four-man team system which counts the two best balls. Team points are kept with a modified Stableford format. Overlaid on all this is an individual skins game, with HDCP strokes allowed (except on Par 3 holes).

Also, we card each team member's personal score - everyone holes out on each green. That way, we can post individual scores at the end of the round.

Another thing: It's a "come as you are" party. We get tee times twice a week - usually pre- 8 AM, and people sign up for each day via e-mail. Teams are chosen by lottery 15 minutes before tee-off. About twice a month we'll get a block of tee times at another course.

I don't get to play much until after mid-May when summer break at school starts.

[rfeight]

Reporting back after my first league experience. 

WOW! What a blast. First off, I didn't realize how casual playing with family and friends can be. Our league was golf rules with the exception of the winter rule of rolling the ball. Everyone did it. The other big one was no mulligans. When I play with family, it's almost all mulligans for some. I was okay with no mulligans. 

I missed a couple weeks for work and it sucked. It took some time to get back in the groove and I didn't get to play as much. 

The guys are the best part. Seniors, even though I'm only 42, we had a great time. All nice guys. 

Did we win? Not the first or second half of the league, but we won the fun night scramble at the end. Crazy enough after my skins and winning the fun night, I only ended up playing a couple hundred bucks for  16 weeks of golf and the the fun night. What a deal. 

The other side that I'm so grateful for is I learned a lot about playing a little more seriously. Not that I'm a club pro like some of you guys, but I'd never competed week in and week out against another guy. It definitely made me concentrate a little more. And the game golf helped with my practice plan. 

Maybe over the winter I'll plan the course out using my stats to see if I can come up with a game plan for playing it. Or, I'll just Optishot all winter to stay loose.