johnny2balls

Even the guy in the video is using a tee and it seems anything but "barely adequate"

I'll argue all day long that a tee is hardly adequate. I've been fixing ball marks with a tee for decades and they are as adequate as it gets. In fact I'll argue that it's the best tool to use. The tool companies will disagree because it's basically a free divot repair tool and they are in business to sell their own tools. I've tested most tools. Now they are even making tool that resemble tee's. Callaway has one out. They only have one prong instead of the old standart two. The one prong looks like a skinny tee but the problem with those is that they are too skinny. The two prong tool is good to fix marks the wrong way by sticking and pulling up but I don't find them as effective to fix the correct way. In fact I have found they actually do more damage to the green especially compared to a tee.

I was taught the same way your video shows when I started caddying at Bob-O-Link in Chicago while in highschool. That's how they taught us to do it. I still fix all marks this way and know it is the best way toi fix a mark. But, no one else fixes that way :) 99% of people I play with fix them the way you first describe, they push in and pull up breaking the roots. Even the pros fix them that way. Watch on t.v or in person if you can. Almost every single pro will stick in their tool and pull up. I've been watching that specific act for decades. I think people feel this is the best way to get a flat surface. If that's not it, I don't know why so many fix it like that especially the pros. I also use a tee as I feel it's the best tool to use to fix ball marks.

Interesting, what exactly is a "formal club" I've never heard that before. Do they play by their own rules? I'm asking in all sincerity. I played Scioto in Columbus, OH last week and there is certainly no one ball on green rule, so if Scioto is not a formal club then what is? Because everything seems pretty formal at that great place. No hats in mens grill, no cell phones on course etc.. I've played hundreds of courses all over, many top notch just like Scioto, I've never heard of, seen or been told of a one ball at a time on the green etiquette rule. If it's true and some courses have that rule, then I must say what an insane stupid rule. It serves no purpose except to slow down play.

First of all great question. I've thought about it many times as I like to keep things going and often time will put my ball down at the same time someone else is replacing theirs b/c it's their turn to putt. I don't do it when my ball is anywhere near their line. Nor do I do it when they have started their pre-shot routine. I'm pro-active and do it at the same time they are replacing their own ball. Here's the way I've always seen this issue--#2 should sum it all up: 1) who says you even need to mark your ball and clean it if it's not on someones line? If your ball is clean (or you simply don't care about cleaning your ball as many don't care) who says you can't just leave it be after your shot onto the green and step up and hit it when it's your turn. 2) If it's not on anybody's line you're fine to leave it after your approach shot. So if you're fine to leave your ball and never mark it to begin with then what's the big deal about replacing it before it's your turn. Answer is, it's not a big deal. Some people may have an issue with it but that's their problem not yours. Because I would assume (or hope) they have no issue with you not even marking your ball as long as it's not on or close to their line. This whole idea of marking every single putt is from watching the pros do it on tv. If I leave a long putt 4' short and someone else is still out and my ball is not on their line, I leave it most of the time. I don't go then mark it for a second time. I leave it and then putt it when it's my turn and nobody has a problem with that.

From you post, to me it sounds like you are slow. What jumped out at me is the extra 45 seconds you say take right before you hit your putt. That is a heck of a long time. This is after you have looked at all angles and paced it off. Then an extra 45 more seconds. Wow! It's way too long my friend. You are gaining nothing by all of that extra stuff. You don't do it on the preactice green and you probably putt fairly well there. No need for it on the course. Final score does not matter in slow play, just like it does not matter on tour. Slow play is slow play regardless of score.

I'm a Holly fan. Although she has good angles and not so good ones. She does love to stick that chest out I was a big Wynn fan but then one day her fake announcers voice and phrasing hit me like a ton of bricks and now I can't watch her. Well I should say listen to her. It is so over the top and put on that it drives me nuts. She's like the female version of Ryan Seacrest. Yucking it up with her announcers voice. It's only getting worse. Here she is in 2009. It's there, I can hear it but it's not too bad: Now listen to her in 2012. All it takes (for me) is her first few words. It's such a calculated fake announcers voice. Yuckity Yuck: http://www.golfchannel.com/media/dot-com-extra-2012-season-preview-010312/ I hope I don't ruin Wynn for any of you fans, but for me I can't listen anymore.

Do you know the story of why "they" banned Sam's style? If Tiger gets what he wants, it could be history repeating itself. Since Sam's style does not have to involve a long putter and it's not anchored to the body would people opposed to long or belly be fine with it? Can anybody name the one person who used a non-conventional putter that finally seemed to make it OK for all to use and seemed to make some feel OK about using it i.e. Phil? HInt: think back no longer than the start of last year.

why don't you post a picture of the golf shoes you wear. Take a pic on your phones and let us all see. I say Etonics.

Well 1:50 is not considered slow. in fact a 3 hour and 40 min round is a great time. I'm not sure why you thought you would be waiting on the ladies. More times than not I have found that ladies are plenty fast. Old men (in general) on the other hand are the slowest golfers on a course 99.9% of the time. As you note, they move slow, they do stupid things and most of all could care less about someone (never mind a single) waiting behind them. glad you enjoyed some time on the course. good to hear

Time with my family. I have 3 small kids. 6 years ago I played approx. 60 rounds a year. Last year I played 11. The only reason I know that is because I started the year with 9 2009 scores on my GHIN. But I don't miss not being out with my buddies on Sat morning when I'm playing my my kids. I still find time to play. I play in the major tournaments at our course. I do nights during the week. And now 2 of my kids are getting old enough to play so we are starting to play at night as well. Most of the time we just hit the range, which is good for my game. I've met numerous guys that have told me that once their kids were old enough to want to do things on the weekend they hung up the clubs. They are all playing again but took time off. I know I'll never do that since my kids enjoy playing and I enjoy it way too much to ever quit or even take a sabbatical

This is actually a good way to approach it. Use a little humor but make sure your point is not lost in the humor. I just had a situation in match this past weekend. My partner and I spent over 5 minutes searching for our competitors balls on the first 4 out 6 holes. I did not saying anything directly but did say well I think 5 minutes is up etc... On about the 9th hole we now were looking for my drive. I looked at my watch when we started looking and at 5 minutes I called off the search. Our 2 competitors (who are very nice guys) said "no worries we can keep looking for a little while longer" I said "no we can't. The rules allow for 5 minutes. 5 minutes is up and the search is over." We searched for their balls about 5 more times that round and never spent over 5 minutes. From what I observed they took what I said to heart and possibly changed their ways for good.

Best golfer ever and my favorite. Any man that can say to hi wife, how about if I go win all 4 majors this year and then I can retire to our life. And then DOES IT, is the best in my book. And they by no means were cake walk wins. as a side note I play the Bobby Jones hybrids 21* and 19* anybody else? great hybrids in my opinion. very iron like ball flight.

2 guys, 4 and a half hours minimum! Wow. Ultra slow. That's very slow for 4 guys or 4 women or any combo. 4 guys all under 15 caps should never take more than 3:50-4:00. Assuming the course is open, it should never take that long. 18 holes of golf simply does not take that long to play unless you are slow. And slow for all of the wrong reasons. I think it was Davis Love III who a few year ago played solo all 4 rounds at the Mercedez in Hawaii. He went from 2:25 min rounds to 1:45 by the last round. The only thing that would bother me with your mate is his slow play. You either have to nicely drop him out of your rotation. Simply by getting in other groups. Or you must talk to him about pace of play. He can't play that slow and expect anything else. If he does he needs a reality check. I know it's not easy. But in reality it seems that golf groups come and go. I used to play with the same group always, then kids came along and certain guys could no longer play at this time or that time and new groups and times were formed. I still play with everybody from all of the groups maybe just at odd times.

I love it! Thanks for posting

nail meet the head. I've known Bubba since the Nationwide days and he was bad then and 1000 times worse now. He is a tall skinny phony. I posted this on another thread about the biggest jerks on the tour but I think it needs repeating. There is an unwritten rule at CBS to only show Bubba when they have to. He has gone from a guy well liked (by at least the CBS crew---producers, field announcers, booth guys....) to a guy they can no longer stand and hate putting on t.v.. Why, because he has become an out of control arrogant jerk. And nobody likes arrogant jerks who are out of control. At least I and the guys at CBS don't.

Well my mother certainly does not agree that it's a gentleman's game. Hell, with her I can't even call them the ladies tee's. They are the red tee's. and she's right. Tee's are just a color not a gender. There is no gender to the game. It's a game for all not a gentleman's game. That's old school male chauvinist crap going back to when they would not let a certain breed of chap from the lower ranks grace the course with their peasant filth. That stuff used to go and still does at some courses. Of course you follow rules and be proper but that golf, nothing to do with being a male. The language I hear day in and day out and cheating I observe certainly does not say it's a gentlemans game. Go to most any public course in America with tank tops and jean shorts and tell me what's gentleman about any of that. But I don't care about any of that. It's all fine with me. flip flops and no shirt is fine with me. Just like Bob-O-Link, the course I grew up caddying at in Chicago. They play with their shirts off. Is that gentlemanly? I've seen marshalls ask people to leave a course due to slow play is that gentleman like? What's not fine with me is slow play. Talk about being rude. Slow play is the biggest rudeness found on a golfcourse. There is nothing more rude, self-serving and impropper than nonsense slow play. And if someone does not believe that then they need a reality check. It's even a rule of golf. If 90 something percent of golfers believe thay are not slow than that means that 50% of slow golfers have never been told they are slow. They will go the rest of their lives playing slow and slowly killing the game. The USGA, PGA, R&A;, GCSAA all agree with me. or I should say I agree with them. Sergio played most of his life as a slow player. I'm sure people were just afraid to say something to him. Finally, he gets to the PGA tour and realizes he must changs his ways. And he did. Slow play is the single worst thing for golf and to do nothing about it except be polite and gentleman like solves nothing. Of course "being rude" is all persepective. What many be considered rude in Alabama may be considered a compliment in New York. When I say rude, I don't mean belittle a person or be out of line. What I am saying is that slow players need to be told they are slow. Moving on and not saying anything does nobody in the game of golf any good. I have told players before that there are certain things they can do to speed up their play and I bet it will even lower their scores. It's not fun but if it's someone you play with regularly and you approach it the right way it's makes life much easier. Indecision is a game killer. You are 150 yards out in the middle of the fairway. It's a 7 iron. If it's carts on path bring a 6,7 and 8 and be done with it. Don't walk out there empty handed, think about it for 3 minutes and then walk back to the cart to get a club. Sound crazy---I see it all too often.

Yeah I guess you are right, it's all about what others think.

It's obvious in this thread when we say ace, we are meaning a hole in one on a par three. Of course a hole in one on a par 4 is also called an ace but it's more often than not referred to as a double eagle or albatross . an ace or hole in one on a par 3 is 2 under par. an albatross on a par 4 or 5 is 3 under par and the hardest score to get in the game of golf (besides a hole in one on a par 5 which I have never heard of) so tell me again why anybody in their right mind would rather have an ace over an albatross? how many people in the US get a hole in one on any given day. Maybe 100? how about an albatross, maybe 1 or less than that? Look at the PGA stats on both of them.

why be polite (which I really would but...) they are not being polite to an entire golf course waiting behind them. They are being the opposite of polite. Slow players need to realize that being slow is being rude to the people behind you and saying to them their time is not as important as yours. 18 should never take more that 4 hours. OK, I'll give you 4 hours and 20 minutes but that's it. Just played last Friday at Scioto in Columbus OH. Several groups were ahead of us, we had 4 players 2 of which were 20+ caps and we finished in a smooth 3 hours and 30 minutes. No rushing whatsoever. Just a normal nice pace of play. Played again Yesterday at a different course in a different state. 4th of July, 4 players, 3 hours and 50 minutes. It does not take 4:20 to play 18 holes of golf. If it does either you or someone in your group is slow. (unless you are waiting on the goups in front of you all day) It's funny, the golf digest article that was just published about slow play says that about 90% of players do not think they are slow. The time it takes to 18 holes many days would suggest otherwise. What it tells me is that slow people do not think they are slow. And if they are never told they are slow things will never change. I have always given a HUGE kudos to Sergio. Unlike Ben Crane, Jim Furyk and John Holmes, he was told he was slow and worked hard to change his ways. Those 3 could care less and they are killing the game, viewers and t.v. producers.

I've heard there is an unwritten rule at CBS to only show Bubba Watson on t.v. when they have to. They have become sick of his attitude which has been building up to what we have with him now. His press conference after his cut last weekend was the nice icing on the cake. One guy I've spent some time with and would not spend an elevator ride with: Stuart Appleby (arrogant jerk) Guys that have been super nice to me that I hear others say are jerks: Phil, Vijay, Daly. Super nice guys: Joe Ogilvie, Jason Gore, Paul Casey, Charlie Hoffman, Sean O'hair etc... that list can go on and on. I think the nice guys outweight the jerks by a lot. But there are a lot of jerks.

no big deal at all. Heck, even Arnold Palmer and Rory Sabatini had to bail on their partners mid round. If guys are that slow, tell them how slow they are and how they are ruining the game and then leave them in your dust. They are not ready to hit their show when it's their turn! Biggest reason for slow play right there.

This is right on. Anybody who says they will take an ace over a double eagle can not understand how hard it is to get a double eagle. Hardest score to get in golf. BY FAR!

Besides this thread, the only other people I ever see talk about Americans v Europeans are the guys on the Golf Channel. They are the only ones. I assume to drive ratings and get viewers. In my life I have never talked about A v E with my friends, family, golf pro etc... I only hear about it on t.v. and it always seems like nonsense. I like guys from all over the world. Just like in my personal life. There are several Americans I like and several I don't (mostly from personal experience). After watching the LPGA #1 on golf central last night I now really like this girl. She's awesome.