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My grandfather played in this event 90 years ago at the same site at age 21. I was going through some memorabilia and wanted to share these gems. The first image shows the cover of the 25-cent program along with the pairings and starting time sheet with grandpa's name on it. It seems he was star struck and got the signatures of Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen as well as took some photos. The last image shows that he and his opponent carded 84's one day. Looks like he recorded number of putts as well as the putt length. He paid $5 for the entry to sectional qualifying rounds each in 1934 and 1935. Enjoy the tournament!

I'm going to use the same image I used in this thread about good practice being boring practice to kick off a discussion specifically about the word in the title: discipline. That image is to the right here. ---> Whether it's Scottie Scheffler using his training grip every day, or Justin Thomas learning that he needs to re-find his "home base" (X link) for his putting, or Tiger taking a year working on something before he calls Butch (or Hank, or Sean, or Chris) to say "I've got it," or even a golfer on the course aiming away from a flagstick, discipline may be the single most important skill in golf. Top three for sure (don't hold me to that! 🤣). I don't always stay disciplined. I don't record video quite as often as I should… I don't go quite as slowly as I should. And yet… I do those things about 15-20x as often as most golfers. Discipline is making yourself practice something at home at least 15 minutes a day (even if that's five three-minute sessions). Discipline is making yourself see no evil, hear no evil when looking at social media swing tips and just focusing on your one priority piece. Discipline is doing it with nearly constant feedback — recording videos, training aids or "stations" — at the right (almost surely slower than you most can possibly imagine at first) speeds. (Here's a search on X showing a few of my practice stations. They're often pretty similar because… I'm almost always working on similar things.) A typical golfer thinks I'm nuts. I've said on my podcast and written it here on GolfWRX that sometimes, a great practice session includes 50% shanks. Discipline is often not caring where the ball is going. More and more society seems to be chasing instant gratification. Can't beat that game? Just buy a level-up. Want to get some "likes"? Post an (edited, quite often faked in some way) selfie or something from the beach (ignoring the screaming kids 20 feet away, the sand fleas biting your legs, the sunburn you'll get from forgetting to put sunscreen on the back of your calves, etc.) and your friends will like it by rote and you'll feel a smidgen better about yourself. Golf is not that. Golf is not instant gratification. Golf is WORK. Improvement at golf requires trust that the light will be at the end of the tunnel, because unless you're highly sensitive to seeing light in a small change (or a larger change at a slowspeed), the light at the end of the tunnel is often a LONG ways off. (This is one of the reasons why some people — I'm not saying anyone here — love the "work on your short game and putting" approach. It's one of the closest things to instant gratification that you'll find in golf, limited as the gains may be. They can see a few more balls going in the hole and see tangible relatively quick improvement. Again, though, it's often small improvement, and it doesn't necessarily stick.) Few things are more frustrating than giving a great lesson to a 20 handicapper, having them pause, using mirrors, recording every third swing and reviewing it with them, making them hit the ball only 50 yards or so, and leaving them with a very clear message about what and how to practice… only for them to text you the next day with "I went to the range, it went horribly, here's a video of my swing (at full speed, with no rehearsals), what am I doing wrong?" (This is particularly frustrating when you've helped someone for free and they seem to understand and believe everything, and then you see the same type of response and no evidence of them actually putting in the work.) Even super experienced golfers and lower index players often think (subconsciously at least) that they're going to "get better" from just taking a lesson and practicing for 40 minutes during that lesson. After all, most golfers start to hit it better at the end of the lesson than they were at the beginning. But… golf doesn't work that way. Not at full speed, not quickly. Being disciplined isn't much fun (getting better can be, but there are a lot of valleys between the small peaks). It means spending 15-60 minutes a day (or five days a week, or whatever) being focused on taking small steps. It means knowing that some days you may actually take a step back, but it won't be as far back as going two or three days without putting in the work. It means knowing that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. How disciplined are you? Could you spend ten minutes less scrolling Instagram or X and spend that on your golf game? While you're waiting for your popcorn, could you use the reflection in your patio door window to work on your golf swing? Can you go at the right speed, with a station set up, and record yourself frequently? Can you? Or, more importantly… Will you?

Had an outstanding weekend in our annual four-flights two-man two-day tournament - Schaubach Cup. Finished at the top of our flight, got into an alternate shot playoff and finished runners up! Our best finish in last 4 years! We shot a listless 68 (Shambles format) on day one and finished DFL. Pete had a rough day. But then played like mad men and shot shot 59 (best ball) on day two to finish first. Did not drop a single shot. A picture perfect ham-n-egg day. I don't think I have driven the ball better. Irons were mediocre, pitching and chipping decent but my putter of all clubs was my star. My putter of all clubs..! Made 4 spectacular bombs in the 25 to 40 feet range. Pete sang his own swan song. We tied two other teams but won basis of the tie breaking day two best score We played well in the three hole elimination playoff against the other three flight winners but lost to the bomber team who got on the green in two on the par 5 final hole for a tap in birdie while we missed the birdie putt from about 20 feet. All in all, the best weekend Pete and I've had in a few years! 😊

This topic aged like a carton of milk left in room temperature.

Its been almost 10 months since my back problems arose, and I'm still working on getting back to "normal". Between the 10 weeks of forced idleness, and the lingering nerve impingement, my strength and stamina is still not where it once was. I've played a fair amount of golf, with no apparent ill effects, but every round has been played while riding in a cart. Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I managed to walk the first 9 holes, before riding for the back 9. Sure, I'm tired, but I played reasonably well, my handicap is creeping down. All I need now is decent weather and a bit of practice!

I helped a very good female player out today, and we raised her 7I swing speed from 74.6 MPH to 83.8 MPH. Here's how we did it. The short version? This right here. The (slightly) longer version? Here we go: Essentially… the nut of it all is this: If you make a faster backswing that seeks to reach peak speed earlier, you must apply more force to STOP the club. That force is applied in the downswing direction. Thus, you put more force into the club in the downswing direction. I see a lot of slow, long, saggy backswings. This golfer had a LOOOONG backswing. It both took a long time, and the club traveled well past parallel (blue = before, yellow = after): What's interesting is the yellow backswing reached a peak grip speed that was nearly 30% higher: You'll also notice how much EARLIER the player reached the peak grip speed — just above belly button height (yellow) instead of shoulder height (blue). What's also interesting is… a backswing that used to take over 1.4 seconds… now took less than one second (0.994s). The end result? A nearly 10 MPH jump in clubhead speed, from below LPGA Tour average to 5 MPH above it. All from making a FASTER backswing, that reached peak speed EARLIER, requiring the player to apply more force in the downswing direction for longer, shortening the backswing (length AND time), leading to a massive jump in clubhead speed. I posted a Twitter thread about this. Please read it here.

The heckling in these tournaments has come to a point where it’s off-putting and makes me less likely to want to watch.

A little late to the party, but I wanted to follow up with a summary. I had an awesome time, and really enjoyed getting to see everyone again. The weather even cooperated...if you call 89 degrees on a course with no trees "cooperation". The team game was really fun, and competitive both days. Saturday, at Reserve Run, the winning team was the Red team, with @dennyjones, @StuM, @rwolfe, @ChetlovesMer, @DaveP043, and @billchao taking home the victory at 5 under par*. Sunday, at Cranberry Highlands, the Blue team took home the win with a score of 11 under par* - shout-out to me, @iacas, @Daniel Mc, @DrizZzY, @saevel25, @DaveP043, @NeilR, and @rwolfe for pulling out the split. Skins game was interesting. On Saturday, we had a total of 15 skins (7 gross, 8 net) - and Sunday there were only 3 total! Because I'm a dummy, I threw away the record of who won… but someone can chime in if they remember. 🙂 All together a great weekend, and I'm looking forward to next year already! Thank you to everyone who attended! I'll be adding photos in here shortly (need to convert some)...

Thank you @Hardspoon and @iacas for setting up the golf outings. I had a great time today! I had a great time golfing with @DaveP043, @dennyjones, and @billchao I look forward to the next one.

I take my hat off to Rory, WOWOW! That must have been WAY harder than winning it 8-10 years back. To struggle for a decade, and to finally achieve it, one of the great golf stories of the past 20-30 yrs. Boy and he tried to give it away! As for my prediction, obviously off off off. I truly think all the things l listed are real, but to a far less extent I was thinking. Maybe those were more true back in the 2016-2022 period. The pressure was huge, especially-obviously on the back 9. That blocked chip into the creek, that had to be all pressure. And I think the missed putt on 18 in regulation - that was crazy. It seemed like he didn’t take any time at all, that had to be insane pressure. But raising my hand, that pressure and those missed shots were nothing related to any of the factors I listed out! Just pure pressure, built up over 10 years, man o man. And watching the emotion, man that is touching, good for him, his family, for golf. And finally, to the guys I rubbed the wrong way, my bad, really not my style. You guys have been here for years, I’ve been here for 2 days. You’ve built a great site and a great community. Humble apologies, and if you don’t ban me I hope to come back and join up for some lively discussion. Peace!

Got my first hole in one yesterday, playing with son at Yocha Dehe (Cache Creek) in CA. 90% 9 iron, 140 yards, hole 16.

@iacas is a featured guest on the newest AMG video release talking about the top swing faults instructors see from using GEARS. The first one we caught on my first GEARS lesson. I still work on that. Worth a watch.

Still kinda working on the backswing stuff. I can turn < 45°, but I tend to tilt toward the target a little. I can tilt away from the target, but I tend to turn a bit more. Case in point. I can do it, though: This I can do all day (it's more lateral than I want, but it's very linear): Here's what 38° of turn looks like. Almost freaking nothing.

I've been teaching online longer than most, all at Evolvr.com. I've taught (mainly Mike Carroll, the Fit for Golf guy) on CoachNow. I've recently switched over to using Skillest, and would like to invite you to join me there. If you've ever been on Evolvr, you can visit there for a lower cost plan that's similar to what I've always offered on Evolvr. If you're new to working with me, please consider working on your game with me at Skillest. My page is here: https://skillest.com/@iacas. Thanks! I'll see you there.

Played in the Rhode Island CC Senior Member guest, my partner and I won the tournament. 2-day Stableford format, we ended with 104 points, won by 7. Points include 2 holes on each 9, where both players score count, can make up some points if you both play well on those holes. @DaveP043has played a similar format (I played with Dann from RICC).

I know the difference. I wrote farther. Autocorrect sucks. I didn’t proofread. I’m lazy. Deal with it.

First day of a trip to Bandon Dunes. We played Sheep Ranch today. A Coore/Crenshaw designed course. A par 34 on the front and 38 on the back. With 8 holes with either a green, tee box, or the hole runs along the edge of the bluffs at the pacific. It has amazing vistas. With wide fairways and intermixed gorse bushes. The defense of the course are its large, undulated greens and the daily winds from the north. Many times you need to take 3-4 clubs more, if you even barely cross the wind, your ball can be taken offline or come up half to a full club short. A fantastic layout. here are some photos.

In the old days, pre-2020, "playing to your handicap" meant a net score about equal to the Course Rating. that led to problems when people played against each other from different tees, people playing tees with a lower CR would generally shoot lower scores. Course Handicaps were adjusted for each competition to make it even, usually lowering the course handicap for the "forward tee" players. So now if you "play to your handicap", the (68.4-72) term means your score will be even par, no matter which tees you play from. No adjustment needed for people playing from different tees. Look at your example, the guy shoots 82 every time, his Course Handicap of 10 gives him an even par net score every time.

Day 3 down. Today was Pacific Dunes, #2 public course in the USA. I will have to say it lives up to the hype. A fantastic course and layout. Very difficult, where you need to be precise on most all the shots you hit. A thoughtful routing with regards to the two prevailing wind directions, from the north in the summer and from the south in the winter. In some regards, some of the holes I was glad to have the northerly winds, but other holes it made them absolute monsters. Especially the par 3's on the back nine, which all generally go into the wind, except for 14. Hole's 10, 11, 12 and 13 all into the wind. Hole 18, a fantastic par 5, is much easier with the wind. It demands a precise tee shot, and a precise 2nd shot to get in a good spot near the green in two. It would be very hard to hit the green in two. Into the winter southerly wind, it would be a beast of a par 5. Instead of 255 yards into the green, you would probably have 270 yards, and it I would be uphill, and the hole constricts as you get closer to the green. The front nine is mostly back and forth with the wind. Like 1-2-3 into, and 4-5 with. 7-9 really alternate back and forth. The back nine really is a stretch of holes, where holes 10 thru 13 are heading north, and 14 thru 18 are heading generally south. Except for 17. Overall, I would give it like a 9.25/10. Some photo's... The punchbowl green, where you have a putt putt course...

Finished Bandon Trail today. Man what a course. Big upgrade over Sheep Ranch. I am giving Sheep Ranch a 7/10. Mostly views, course was good, and fun. I am giving Bandon Trails 8.25/10. It's up there with Sand Valley in my opinion. Much more demanding of the course. With the wind it just gets brutal. The first two holes are fully exposed to the wind, since they sit on the western edge of the course, open to the pacific. Even though it is tree lined, the wind has a big impact as it rolls over the hills and dunes. You can be surrounded by trees and feel the 20 mph wind at the tee box or fairway. I recommend using the yardage book, as it contains the course layout with a compass rose showing the prevailing wind (almost always from the north in the summer). It's easier to judge which direction the wind is going. I played halfway decent. I hate when the shank gets loaded into the gun. Short game is on point, putting is good. I just need to make better swigs. My shot is definitely not built for wind. 😭 Here are some photos...

Our senior club’s 9th tournament in 2025. Shot a 79 (9.8 differential) at Paint Creek Golf & CC. My first time playing there. I gave away a few strokes but generally played well.

Just reporting in, I've gone a number of events with no unusual or interesting Rules issues. But there WERE some interesting happenings. A few weeks ago, a junior set a course record at a nearby club, posting a 59, 8 strokes clear of his nearest competitor. But even more fun, I saw a young lady make her first hole-in-one on about a 160-yard par 3. Since she couldn't quite see the putting surface, she didn't realize it was in until she got to the green, it was great to see her reaction.

Hold on a tick. Did John steal somebody's kid? 👍😁👍 BTW - I believe I mentioned to anyone who'd listen to me at breakfast that they should take the under on the Pacers/Thunder game 7. ... You are welcome for the free betting advice. That one's free, the next one I charge 20%.

I second this comment. Thanks to all who organized and who golfed. This is truly a great group

It was a lot of fun, thanks @Hardspoon and @iacas for putting this together. It was a lot of fun to play with old friends and new. Looking forward to the next one.

Went to the range yesterday and did some full swings. I didn’t feel any pain or tightness in the surgery area and wasn’t sore this morning. I should be able to start playing now.

Don't stop doing what you do well, but… yes, the pelvis stuff is still pretty big. Get your weight where it needs to be at setup. Do a lot of practice by a countertop.

I listened to it today and I’m very proud of this one. Normally when I do something I am only critical of the things that I could have or should have done better and on this one I really didn’t have a list at all. I’m very pleased with how this interview went and the information shared and the way it was shared and everything. #65 - Digging into the Data Between Pro’s & Amateur’s Swings — Fit For Golf Erik Barzeski, a highly renowned golf coach joins the show to discuss some of the key differences between pro... You can find it on Spotify or Apple podcasts or elsewhere of course but that link will also work. Please give a listen and let me know what you think. And trust me, if you have something critical, that’s good too. That’s generally actually what I want to hear about. 😜

I wanna know how I even came across Prime Tiger in the first place. Does time travel exist? Can I tell him about what happens to him a la Marty Doc in Back to the Future? I'll take the shot at $100m. If I fail, 72 holes with Prime Tiger on a sick course somewhere sounds worth $1m to me. "Dear Tiger, at 1:30am on the night I go back you will be shot by terrorists. Just kidding, but no seriously though, your body is an absolute mess by the time you're 40. You have severe back pain starting in 2014, a career ending car accident in 2021 at Riviera (dude, learn how to drive), and uhhh let's just say you might wanna pump the breaks on those "extracurricular activities" you enjoy so much (I know, bro). Also, remember what I told you about AimPoint and the ball flight laws. Your friend in time, Jetfan1983."

Thank you for sharing that. He was quite good wasn't he? I was curious, so took a look. He played 19 PGA Tour stroke play events in 2000. He was 263 under par (they did point that out at the end of the video). If you look at each event he played in and take the best score in each event for a player not called Tiger Woods, that combined field score was -259. So he beat the field - where the field resets every week - over the course of an entire season. That's mind blowing.

Update: we are officially booked for our Sunday round (6/22) at Cranberry Highlands golf course: Course Tour | Cranberry Township - Official Website Visit our gorgeous course and read descriptions about each hole. 11:10am | 11:20am | 11:30am | 11;40am tee times. Still working on the Saturday course.

The first post is here: Do you have an overly long backswing that ruins sequencing and leads to poor shots? In nearly 20 years of teaching, I've found 5 common faults. You don't have to swing like Jon Rahm, but a shorter swing will probably help you #PlayBetter golf. Which is your fatal flaw? #1 - Trail Elbow Bend Average golfers ♥️ bending their trail elbows. It can feel powerful! Tour players bend their trail elbows MUCH less. A wider trail elbow creates a longer hand path and preserves structure. It also forces more chest turn; not everything longer is bad! Overly bending your trail elbow can wreak havoc on your swing. It pulls your arms across/beside your body. It requires more time to get the elbow bend "out," ruining your sequencing. The lead arm often bends and low point control is destroyed. The misconception is that it will create more speed, but that's often the opposite of what happens. Golfers often feel they swing "easier" but FASTER with wider trail elbows. Want to play better golf with a shorter backswing? Don't bend your elbow so much. #2 - Hip (Pelvis) Turn I see this all the time: a golfer's hips are only 5-10° open at impact, but he turns them back 60°+ in the backswing. Unless your father is The Flash, your hips are probably not getting 40° open at impact from there! That's more rotation than Rory! Golfers who over-rotate their pelvis often over-turn everything - trail thigh/knee, chest/shoulders, etc. They have more work to do in the same ~0.3 seconds as a Tour player who turns back ~40° and turns through to impact 40° or so. Want to shorten the pelvis turn a bit? Learn to internally rotate into the trail hip, externally rotate away from the lead hip, and do "less" with your knees (extending and flexing) in the backswing. Learn some separation between chest and pelvis. #3 - Rolled Inside and Lifted Up Amateurs love to send the club (and their arms) around them. You see the red golfer here all the time at your local range. The problem? Your arms mostly take the club UP, not around. Going around creates no height until you have to hoist the club up in the air because you're halfway through your backswing and the club is waist high and three feet behind your butt! 😄 Learn to use your arms properly. Arms = up/down, body = around. Most golfers learn how little their arms really have to do in the backswing. The picture here is all you've gotta do (but maybe with a properly sized club!). #4 - Wide Takeaway Width is good, no? Yes, if you're wide at the right time and in the right spots. Golfers seeking width often don't hinge the club much early in the backswing… forcing them to hinge it late. Hinging the club late puts a lot of momentum into the club, wrists, and elbow just before we need to make a hairpin turn in transition and go the other direction at the start of the downswing. When you're driving into a hairpin curve, you go into it slowly and accelerate out of it. Waiting to hinge is like coasting down the straightaway and accelerating into the hairpin. Your car ends up off the road, and your golf ball off the course. Give hinging at a faster rate (earlier) then coasting to the top a try. You'll be able to accelerate out of the hairpin without the momentum of the arms and club pulling in the wrong direction. #5 - Sway and Tilt Some sway is good but sometimes I see a golfer who just… keeps… swaying… Their chest leans forward a bit for balance, resulting in a whole lotta lean. The green line below is the GEARS "virtual spine." Pros sway a bit, but stay ~90°. This sway often combines with the extra pelvis turn because this golfer is not putting ANY limits on what the "middle of them" (their pelvis) is doing in the backswing. These golfers spend a lot of energy just to get back to neutral! The best players begin pushing forward EARLY in the backswing. Often before the club gets much past their trail foot! Pushing forward (softly) first stops your backward sway and then begins to get your body moving toward the target. Push softly, but early!

After a couple months of rest, I'm at Streamsong for my first golf in a while. Red course yesterday, 1 birdie, Blue today with one more, but I'm definitely jumping in at the deep end.

This seems like something that might help those opens to have stronger fields more so than changing much about the eventual Masters field. Maybe not so much for the Scottish Open since lots of top players play that as a warm up for the Open, but for Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa I could see this being a big boon.

LIV ceases to exist. LIV Golf announces expanded 72-hole format for 2026 season as next phase of growth for the league continues Move to four days of competition reflects LIV Golf’s global momentum and evolution to deliver more action and entertainment for fans They are going to have to rename themselves LXXII.

Got it. I thought the NYT allowed 1–3 free articles for non-subscribers. (I’m a long-term subscriber.) As a subscriber, I can share “gift articles,” though I’m not sure if they work for multiple readers or just one. Here’s the free gift article link generated via my subscription: nytimes.com

Played 5 more single day tournaments over the past 6 weeks. Scores have only been good enough to occasionally finsh in a tie for 5th or 4th place in my flight. 77-82 gross scores with typically a 5 playing handicap. The old farts I play with are good. It is hard to stay sharp over the course of 5 hours and I have given up shots down the stretch. Only have a few events left. City of Livonia Championship over Labor Day and our club;s Tournament of Champions later in September. It would be nice to play well in both of those to finish out the season.

Just looking some stuff up now. Well, I see where the similarities are there, but the biggest issue is that a provisional was not played. So, the ball can not be assumed to be or taken as the provisional. The only other thing I noticed was, since it can not be identified it is considered a lost ball. So, I guess the ruling would be that both of their balls are considered lost, even though they are found, ironic. They would have to go back to the tee and replay under stroke and distance penalty.

Point taken. 🍺 As it happens, I have just done my last officiating job, 25+ years since I qualified. Really enjoyed it but I'll enjoy not having to get up at 5am even more. I am sure you will enjoy your time Dave and hopefully not have to award too many penalties. Good fortune. 👍

Shot my new low 72 (par 70) today. Had 5 birdies, also a new best, which included a hole out from the bunker on par 3 6th, and another hole out pitch from 15ish yards on the long par 4, 15th. Got a couple of other good breaks. Except for an OB drive on 14th (and ensuing double bogey), not much went wrong. All in all I might have used up a year's worth of luck in a single day.

The definition basically tells you it's a judgment call (I made the words bold and red, but the bullet list also tells you this): Serious Breach In stroke play, when playing from a wrong place could give the player a significant advantage compared to the stroke to be made from the right place. In making this comparison to decide if there was a serious breach, the factors to be taken into account include: The difficulty of the stroke, The distance of the ball from the hole, The effect of obstacles on the line of play, and The conditions affecting the stroke. The concept of a serious breach does not apply in match play, because a player loses the hole if they play from a wrong place. Not that I know of. Bit of a judgment call. If there's a pond you have to carry and you drop on the near side instead of still needing to carry it, that's another example often given in rules schools. So there are examples that serve as the foundation for your judgment but it's your judgment really. He may have, depending on what kind of situation he was in. I've seen people in the middle of so many trees that in trying to punch out, the ball could go anywhere. Particularly if there's OB nearby, and hitting a single tree could kick you OB, in which case… you've got to try the shot again. You have a bullet list to consider. Yeah. It's a judgment call. They can't elaborate on every situation. You can't just say it's an "easier" shot, and you can't even define "significantly easier" either. How much easier of a shot does it have to be before you get to "significantly"?

@Hardspoon I second this. Anything would have had minor complaints about had nothing to do with you (starter at Cranberry Highlands, range being closed). I felt the outing was well organized, we had a clear game that was easy to understand and well explained, and the courses selected were great. Excellent work by you and @iacas who I’m sure helped. It was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to the next one.

Worth a shot, I think, even if it just asks you to learn new things. I think the importance of that — making yourself take on a new challenge — is worth at least as much as the potential change to your scores.

In the first group from Sunday's round we have @vasaribm, @StuM, @NeilR, and @rwolfe. The second group featured @saevel25, @DaveP043, @dennyjones, and @billchao. The penultimate group has @Huffy, @OBlum, @DrizZzY, and @Daniel Mc. The last group has @Hardspoon, @iacas, @ChetlovesMer, and @DinnerTime. I guess @Hardspoon forgot to embed the first day's photos, so they're here:

Can’t wait to hit 79 years old!

I figured out the issue. The guy in charge of match play was trying to post these through golf genius. But when he leaves the scores for holes blank, it defaults to net double bogey. So he was trying to post +10 for 18 holes instead of +5 for 16 holes. There is probably a way to do this correctly in golf genius, but he’s not going to figure it out. I posted the score manually, and it passes the sanity test:

@Hardspoon will check in here tomorrow, I'm told. By a birdie. Named John.