bornfishy

I concur with the - many - other responses in this thread, insofaras I also think it's an interesting topic. This is a discussion forum, after all, so I'd rather discuss than disparage a fair number of the OP's for their topics. The club I'm a member of is £10 / £16 (9/18) regardless of time of day. Over here, I've yet to see any clubs that offer twilight / offpeak rates. We're lucky in that we have quite a few council courses (municipals) here, including the one I mention above. The girlfriends dad is a member at a private club nearby, but even that isn't extortionate, at the equivalent of $120 for 18. A few of the nicer public courses would run you around $70. A little further away there are one or two that are around $250, but they're championship tracks. andy.

Hey, I'm glad you guys all think buying him some Nike balls was a good way to say thanks :) I'm seeing him Thursday when we tee off, so I'll let you know how the game goes! I definitely hope I can do the same for someone else sometime - I saw that movie :) Dayll - go for it! :) Thanks! andy.

Cool, glad you guys thought the same as I did :) I just went down there and bought a box of Nike Ignite balls for him, see if they'll help him with drive distance (he uses a Nike SQ driver / 3 wood combo). They're not Pro V1 expensive, but they're nice balls all the same. andy.

This is the second time I've typed this - lost it first time around - so it'll be a bit brief. I'm a new player, and usually play by myself. Today, I'd caught up to the two ball in front, who were waiting on some kids in front of them. They asked me to join them, and I said yeah, as I don't like playing by myself. Anyway, the younger of the two helped me with my 3 wood, which I started hitting quite well off the tee (unusual for me). He then said to try his Wilson Fat Shaft utility for the rest of the round, as he didn't get on with it at all. At the end of the round, we agreed to play again in a few days time, and I went to hand him back the utility. He said to keep it! I said no several times, and offered to pay him for the club, again several times. He insisted I keep it, as he couldn't exchange it; it's brand new, and costs about £70 or £80 I'm sure! I'm very, very grateful to him, but I do feel bad. I'm gonna buy him a box of premium balls to say thank you, as he plays nice Srixon's atm, and doesn't lose many, despite being new to the game. Comments and opinions, please. andy.

OJ Simpson - you got away with it ;) andy.

I wanna give you a big hug! I understand how you feel - I'm very extrovert and sociable, but my little brother was exactly the same way as you, for years and years. Then he went to the gym, got built like a brick shit house, and is now on the verge of arrogant. Let golf be your gym! Let me preface (the remainder of) this post. I'm awful at golf. Crap. Useless. Woeful. Shambolic. Diabolical!!!!! I go myself, and luckily enough, I'm never paired up. Like one of the responders above, I find soft spots in the course schedule, and having been there a few times before, I now know when it's busy and when it's not. Even on 23 degree days in the middle of summer, it'll not always be busy. I always let people play through; today, I did the usual, and let two two-balls go in front. On the second tee, I caught up with them, and one asked me if I'd like to play along. I'd seen they were both beginners, like me - no handicap - and so I said yes. Duffed my first well left, took a second and it was crap. But it went past the ladies tee so I played on. And you know what? I had the best round ever with these two strangers (became three on the fourth hole). They weren't great, neither was I, but it was such great fun! And the great thing is, you don't have to talk loads - you're not sitting having a chat, you're playing golf. You don't need to worry about filling in silences, or thinking up topics of conversation. You're playing golf! When you hit a slice, that'll be the topic, when you hit a 200yd carry over water, that'll be the topic, etc. etc. Anyway, to conclude - enjoy being paired up. It's an opportunity to meet new playing partners; at the end of a round, don't be afraid to offer your number, or ask for theirs. If you've had a fun round together, they'll not say no. Sorry for the length. andy. Edit: And btw, if you're ever in Belfast (unlikely, I know) let me know! Only my work colleagues play golf, none of my friends!

I think ya took that a bit personally. I dunno if you've been around black people much, but those of us that have black friends really have no trouble referring to them as just that - and they've no problem with it either. My little brother - who has no friends outside of his own ethnicity - always questions it, and none of us understand it. It's purely because he doesn't know how to act, what he can and can't say, etc. From the post, I inferred that perhaps the abuse was related to his friends ethnicity; even if that wasn't the point, it's hardly offensive. bornfishy. Oh and btw, that course sounds bad!

Hey! Welcome to the site. I'm also new :0 My girlfriends brother played Ballybunion a few weeks back, and absolutely loved it. I live in Belfast, but just had my first round of golf, EVER, today! Went really badly, but hey, was great fun, and I can only get better. Well done on the trip to Northern / Southern Ireland! bornfishy.