billinga

I managed to get my first round in for 2011 and I shot 95. A great start to the year for me as one of my goals for 2011 was to break 100 again. I hit 6 fairways and only one green (the ninth). I missed a five foot putt for birdie on that hole. Overall I was very pleased.

I received a uPro GPS unit and a gift card which will be used for a new 5 wood. I also received 13 movies. Tomorrow I head to my parents to hopefully get another gift card.

Update since I played today. I should be father of the year for this one... I played today with my 11 year old son. It was 59 degrees when it started but cloudy out. I told him to wear slacks instead of shorts and he gave me a fit. I was not going to back down so he wore slacks with a short sleeve collared shirt. Anyway we start off from 10 today and I shoot 47 on that 9. I honestly left another four or five shots out there. I was hitting more fairways and I was hitting the sweet spot more (probably related). I really felt comfortable for the 2nd straight round. We get to our 10th hole (hole number one) and I double bogey that hole but I get up and down from a bunker on 11 for par. At that time my son decides he is too cold to continue. I put on a happy face and tell him "no problem" and we head home. I posted the 9 hole score for my handicap. A question for you all is what should of I posted? Did I do the right thing but just posting the 9 hole score?

Congrats to you as well. It just does not seem logical that I can even think about breaking 90 right now. If I can hit in the 90s consistently then I can think about it. Doing it just once tells me that I do have the ability since I did not bounce off of trees or hit other lucky shots. As I posted earlier, I did not hit many fairways, and I only hit one green. There is tons to improve upon. Since the weather is looking good I am going to play Wednesday and Thursday instead of just Thursday.

Thanks so much. I am going to keep practicing that short game. I count anything 75 yards and in as chips. I am sure that is not supposed to be the technical distance, but that is what I do. With "only" 17 chips and 31 putts + 1 bunker shot from that distance that is 49 strokes for 18 holes or a 2.72 stroke avg to get in from 75 yards. I figure that is pretty good and I should keep practicing with my goal to be sub 45 from that distance for next year. My last full round before this it took me 60 shots and I shot 112. My average from that distance per round is 56 shots and my average score is 106.2 it looks like sub 50 will be a good key to helping me break 100 more consistently. Keep in mind while I count anything 75 yards and in a "chip" most of those come from much closer usually since I do not hit greens in regulation at all. Does anyone else look at this stuff, or do I have too much time on my hands?

I wish I could help you out but the only problem I would have if I was hitting my 3 wood 275-280 would be which one of my friends or family members do I call first to brag about it.

I do not for one second expect to break 100 on Thursday. Yesterday a ton just came together at once, some of which I hope to duplicate. My only focus will be on the shot at hand, and trying to manage the course as best as I can. Even though I shot my best score by a mile, there were a few shots that I left on the course. A couple of shots that I topped when I pulled up (a common mistake for me). I only hit four fairways, though my misses were much closer than normal and I hit only one GIR. Safe to say I scrambled pretty well.

I think breaking 85 is pretty unrealistic since this is the first time I have gotten lower than 102. That would be a pretty dramatic drop. I do like those games though. I will incorporate those in my practice routine. I normally do take 3 balls and try to see if I can get up and down from various areas on the practice green. Kind of my version of round the world.

I shot a 93 today. One of my goals for 2011 was to finally break 100, but I guess I did it a touch early. After two full weeks of no golf other than watching the Golf Academy, I went out to play today and had a round with no others, which I have never done before. My previous lowest round was 102 on this course which is a tough one. I am still stunned. When I put my score in the handicap system said that this score is much lower than normal, press post again to submit.

Good question. The past couple of weeks I have been watching that 12 nights of golf academy and just picking up tips and images. Today I wanted to focus on two things - 1) Keeping my head down and watching the club hit the ball and 2) Accelerating through the ball. I noticed that I got a little more distance and my chips were much better. Normally on chips I have a tendency to slow down the swing through the ball. This time I took a shorter backswing but accelerated through the ball. That helped me tremendously. I managed the course a little better. A perfect example was on hole 9. I hit my drive in the fairway and left myself 150 to the green. Now the green has a creek that runs in front of the green and down the left side. Instead of trying for the green I hit a gap wedge that landed before the creek, chipped on and two putted for bogey. Normally I go for the green and you know what happens there - go in the creek, get mad, and get double or triple bogey. The image of accelerating through the shot combined with watching the ball helped me a ton. I went to post my score in the handicap system and I get met with the message "this score is much lower than normal, hit post again to submit".

Ok I know that this is not a big deal for many of you out there, but it is huge for me. One of my goals for 2011 is to finally break 100. My low score at my club is 102. Today, the 2nd to last round for me in 2010 I shot a 93!!! 46 on the front, and 47 on the back. No others which is another first for me and 3 pars. What is interesting is I always hear how the pros aim for a really small target on the green and at our club we have tarps on the back third of the green and the pins in the front or the middle. I never hit a tarp. I find that hard to believe myself but it is true. So do I cross the goal off or do I have to do it again next year???

Our home course has the greens covered if it gets too cold. We have had the greens covered for at least half this month already but I will be out there playing tomorrow if the Weather Channel is even close to correct.

Normally this is when I reply with a "yeah it is great living in Georgia" but we have been frozen for most of this month. Between my travel schedule for work and this weather I have not played a single round this month. I am optimistic that this streak will end tomorrow as we are expecting 50 degree weather and sunny. When I lived in New York I had a regular foursome that would start our year playing on Good Friday and then we would play every Sunday and end our season on Black Friday (we did not care about shopping). One year that saw us playing as snow was falling. It was us and one other group of idiots/diehards on the course. Now I am spoiled and I will only play if it is above 45 degrees.

I would agree with the response of Lefty Golfer. There is so much more than just the actual golf that makes joining a club wonderful. I joined the club where I live in June and have not looked back in regret. The club I joined has a very active mens and ladies group. They run tournaments every month and we have a group that goes out on Thursday twilight and play for a little extra incentive each week. During the week you can decide at the last minute and walk on without an issue and the weekends are not packed like you would see at your local public course. I can count the amount of 4+ hour rounds on one hand with fingers left over. There are also so many social activities as well. Our club has a beautiful practice facility, a very nice tennis center with pro shop, and two pools with one of them being an adults only pool. This year I will be able to buy the "unlimited golf cart" and my goal is to play 100 rounds at this facility. If I need to change of scenery a bit I will jump on to a local course or maybe choose a different tee box to change it up.

I have been a big fan of Phil since he showed up on the tour. I love his imagination around the green and his willingess to go for it no matter what the cost.

I signed up. Now at least we know who will finish last.

I have done this twice. I know you guys do not know me enough to trust me, but both are true. First one is one the tee of a par 5. I swing too hard as usual and the ball goes on a low line drive and hits a fallen tree and goes over my head, over the fence behind me, bounces on the street behind the course, and hits a woman who is in her car waiting to pick up her kid from school. She starts screaming as if I executed this shot on purpose. The second time was very funny for two of us in our group. On the 17 hole my buddies hit their shot to the 200 yard par 3 17th hole. For some stupid reason on of my buddies goes to his cart and stands next to it which is off to to the right. I am having a ton of trouble with my lefty slice and my other buddy says, "aim at Sean and you will slice it towards the green". Of course I hit the only straight shot of my day and it hits Sean right in the arm. He starts cursing (which he never does) and then throws my ball. I tell him we are assessing a penalty for playing someone elses ball. He starts chasing me but I was laughing too hard to run.

1) Have fun 2) Practice more 3) Break 100 4) Reduce index to 25 or lower 5) Play 100 rounds

Our club had a pop the balloon special today getting you anywhere from 30-70% off of apparel. Originally it was just slacks/shirts/shorts/skirts but they decided to throw shoes into the equation. I ended up getting a pair of FootJoy contours and three shirts for $150.

Www.brookstonecc.com

It takes a little more effort but we golf year round here in Georgia.

Boy I knew I was a bad golfer, but this thread makes me feel horrible. The only time I have ever reached a par 5 in two was a 492 yard par 5 that I used a 5 wood to get to twelve feet away from the pin. I missed the eagle putt but I did make my birdie putt. I have only one eagle so far. That was when I drove a short 300 yard par 4. I was playing with my son and two of my buddies when I hit a great drive and saw it bounce on the green. After everyone reached the green I went for my putter and my buddies said they were giving me the eagle. I told them that you cannot give me an eagle that I have to putt it out. They told me that I could blow the ball into the cup. It was then I saw that it stopped an inch away from the cup. My son does a funny impression of me shaking over my one inch eagle putt.

Thanks guys. I will do my best to make sure future posts are so well received.

My home course is Brookstone Country Club, http://www.brookstonecc.com/ My favorite holes are the par 5 3rd hole and the par 5 18th hole. The 3rd hole plays 518 yards from the blue tees. There is a creek that runs to the right of the fairway and runs through the fairway at about 300 yards. You then have a lake that runs from that point out to the green on the left hand side. There is a three tier narrow green that is surrounded by grass bunkers. The 18th hole only plays 478 from the blues and is downhill. Seems easy at first especially since the fairway is lined with hills on either side that funnels stray balls back to the fairway. However after that you have a choice. Do I hit a shot from a downhill lie across a pond to another three tiered green that is surrounded by bunkers on both sides? For me that answer is a heck no. But then you have to lay up to the right which is a narrow landing area with trees to the right. After that shot you still have to make sure your approach hits the right tier and holds the green without going into the bunker on either side. The hole that I hate? Well that is easy. The par 4 14th hole. It plays at 415 yards from an elevated tee. The entire left side is lined by a creek which eventually crosses the fairway at about 275 yards. It then continues on the left side all the way to an elevated green that has a false front and also slopes off the back. You get more of these grass bunkers mixed with sand bunkers. It is a tough hole that I cannot conquer. If I ever par that hole I may quit this sport. The course itself is very fun yet extremely challenging. The rough is thick, the greens roll at a 12, and there is water in play on 11 of the holes. You will play every club in your bag at this place.

I have to go with Jack because of who he was competing against at the time. If you put Jack first or second and Tiger in the other spot, the majority of the rest of the top 10 would be players that Jack competed against. Just my two cents.