muskegman

Well, it's been ages since I posted here, former writer at TST. I spent the Tuesday practice round and Thursday at Chambers Bay. It is expansive. Beautiful views of the sound and a golf course that looks very beautiful to me. I was born just a few miles from the course so I'm very pleased to have a U.S. Open close. Tuesday impressions ... The atmosphere was very laid back. I got a feel for where everything was. Spent some time on the 6th fairway and watched Butch walk by with Fowler, Snedeker, and Mickelson (all students). Gulbis was with that group and walked right by. She wasn't hard to look at. Els' legs are so long he looks like a spider. The most interesting golfer in the world had a cigar plugging his yapper. He's my hero. Cool to see Adam and Steve together for the moment. Lots of noise from the 9th green all day long. Ogilvy splashed one out of the sand just shy of the putting surface on 7 and it rolled back to his feet. "Well," he said, "looks like I'll get plenty of practice here." Saw Mcilroy tee off with a long iron on 2 at about 4 ish. First one right, second middle. Thursday impressions ... I enjoyed the site again. I met a friend at parking and rode over in the bus. I had a nice blackened shrimp sandwich and a couple of IPA's. Nom nom. The 7th fairway proved to be a very good viewing area as we had a look at tee shots and seconds into the green. I could easily make out putts on 6 with my little binoculars. Bubba hit it longer than anyone I saw, though D. Johnson's tee shot today looked a little further up and center cut. Tiger's tee shot was long en route to a par. 10 over total. Oops. The amateur Campbell was on fire. I saw him on 15 and 17. I stood right next to the green at 15 and had a great view of a couple of the groups hit into that green. There was a huge backstop to funnel balls around. I lined up behind 10 and some some DTL tee shots by Furyk, Jimenez, Montgomerie, Koepka, Henley, and An. It's a wide fairway, though one of them drove it in the left bunker. Can't remember who. Dufner's waggle looks good from 20 feet away. The lady next to me told me that my man crush for him was okay. Bonus... he's available. Marc Warren hits it hard. If anything struck me about the difference in the pro's game it is the sound at impact and their fluidity. Effortless power abounds. And they nuke it. I would have a tough time breaking 140 there. It is an absolute hike but I loved it. I made it to every corner of the course and the crowds were manageable, except when a crowd 5-20 deep showed up on 7 when Tiger came through. My buddy and I had set up there about 45 minutes before so we had front row seats. I had been planning on going since Chambers Bay was announced and it was a real treat. Everything went great, except for not enough sun tan lotion. Played golf Wednesday in between. I'll be finishing the tournament on Fox Sports. Anyhoo, there you go.

I discovered this thread via Erik's weblog. Regarding the first question... Am I a Christian? If by Christian you mean a good practitioner of a religion called Christianity, then definitely not. I think that began falling apart a few years ago. I do want to humbly live out teachings of Jesus. I hope to be kind, generous, and unselfish. And I think those things are cultivated and encouraged by my faith. And yes, there are plenty of kind, generous, and unselfish agnostics and atheists. I don't believe science and faith are incompatible. I don't agree with the common evangelical Christian notion that an individual has to be a young-earth creationist to walk in faith. Ultimately this has to do with my belief that there are a few essentials and a ton of gray. There's a lot we've got to learn in both faith and science.

Adams A3's are a fantastic--if a little busy looking--set of irons. Since I've been in graduate school I don't have any time for practice and these are forgiving enough without looking bulky at address. Great set of clubs with minimal offset. Search for my review on the Sand Trap site. Peace.

Yeah, modern drivers don't have a great sound, though I don't mind my 905R I've got in the bag. Incidentally, I was watching footage of Nicklaus' 1986 Masters win and loved the sound he was getting off driver and irons. He sure hit the ball solid that day. And a few other days too.

In response to the original post: Realize what TV will always be: a money maker. You're always going to see sports try to capitalize on rivalries even though there might not be much of one. Networks would love it if there was a Nicklaus/Palmer type rivalry these days (which really wasn't a rivalry for long). Its just TV. An informed viewer and golf fan knows that Phil hasn't been able to touch Tiger's success. Incidentally, I think it is at least notable that Phil has two and Tiger has four Masters.

While I love the look of a blade I putt significantly better with a mallet. I keep coming back to the Yes! Olivia.

Golf .com published a Dottie Pepper article recently ( Ochoa vs. Sorenstam is the real rivalry in golf ) that I don't buy. I don't think that Sorenstam, with one win this season, has created a true rivalry. I am a Sorenstam fan but she's been out of the regular winning routine for so long now that I don't think one win with no head-to-head battles with Ochoa constitutes a rivalry. Ochoa has been the central winning figure on the LPGA for about one year and Sorenstam has been non-existent. Rivalry? Not! What say you?

LOL! I was thinking December 22, 2012 at 2:23 p.m. PST.

There are a ton of great mallets out there. It really depends on your taste. Scotty's X-series are beautiful. I've got my eye on the X5. I play a Yes! mallet. It's automatic even though it sounds odd. I've essentially gotten over it since I putt way better with that crazy thing. TaylorMade, Titleist, Odyssey, SeeMore... there are a bunch out there. Plus there's a handful of boutique putter-makers (Slighter comes to mind) that create interesting designs.

If I were in your position I'd try to match whatever was in my bag first. I love Vokey wedges. I may be adding a 50-degree gap soon as I've got a 45- and 54-degree gap to fill. Damn modern PW lofts!

Wow. Never count him out. Never. What is striking was the lack of young talent chasing him. Tiger has separated himself from the field but such a wide margin its laughable.

I'd like to see pictures.

I use a coin I picked up in Mexico. It's huge. As for marking my ball I put a dot above the logo. That's it.

I think he could have a tough time with this one. But if he wins please take pictures of your Titleist dinner.