David Hillman

If you go by results, it's Bobby Jones today, tomorrow and forever. If you go by changing the game, it's Hogan, who invented practice, among other things. If you go by fans, it's Palmer. Nicklaus and Woods aren't even 1-2 on the list, so can we PLEASE PLEASE change the title of this horrible thread to "Who's Better, Jack or Tiger?" PLEASE.

Do you really think the business model for a range is that great? I'm betting the $30M was for the land, so they could build townhouses on it, or a strip mall. Let's say they have 50 stalls and about 15 acres, which is an estimate of the range I was at last night. With every stall full they can gross up to $350/hour at $7/bucket. That's not bad, but I've never seen more than 20 people hitting there, and I drive by a lot. If they average 2/3rds of that, which they don't, it's ~$100/hour, or about $1000/day gross. Plus they have grass tees for $10/bucket, but hardly anyone uses them. Maybe they get $100/day. Expenses: 1 manager, 2-3 staff, figure $40/hour total. Electic bill to run the lights, etc. Upkeep, 15 acres to mow/trim plus equipment ( $300+/week ). Gas for the ball cart. Range balls. Liability insurance which is probably crazy. That's got to eat up $1100 pretty quick. Labor at $40/hr will be almost half that for a full day. Maybe your range is different, but I'd have grabbed the $30M and run ;)

Favorite without a doubt... when someone makes an ugly good score, like par on a 3 after getting up and down from 60 yards, "You don't have to draw a picture on the scorecard." I never miss a chance to use it. Nothing from Caddyshack ever gets old.

I rarely, if ever, go to the range. Normally, I'd much rather get in a quick nine at my neighborhood par 3 than hit a bucket. When I do go, it's usually with my wife so I'm not concentrating on my game. She bought me a TaylorMade Burner 3-wood for our anniversary and I played it for the first time Sunday evening. I haven't even carried a 3 in more than 10 years, so I had a lot of trouble adapting. I decided I needed to actually practice with it ;) Also, I haven't hit my driver straight in a couple years, except for a brief time last summer. So I hit the range last night at 9, and only took those two clubs. Hit the first third with the driver, and just concentrated on getting my hands through, and I hit it great. Striped every one with the fade that I haven't yet really tried to tackle. Switched to the 3, and hit the first one dead straight but sky-high. Checked the club face, and had a strong imprint right at the top, and noticed I even chipped the paint on the top edge. I always tee the ball low, and have to search the range for the lowest tee, but even that was too high for the 3. I hit the rest of the bucket off the mat with the 3, and striped 'em. I even played around with my grip, which is usually disastrous. I found that by strengthening my grip, in fact rolling my right hand all the way under so that my palm faces up, I actually killed the fade and hit the 3 dead straight. I was even noticing things I'd never noticed before, like the effect of moving my right foot back a couple inches, and to my surprise, I can actually see the club head and some of the shaft out of the corner of my left eye at the top. I didn't think I went that far anymore. Anyway, it was good. Maybe I'll hit the range more often, 'specially since I hit the whole bucket in only 20 minutes ;)

Maybe they like to golf, but don't want people in their yard? There's a house on a course near me with a great sign on their fence... a silhouette of a doberman and this quote, "I can make it to the fence in 2.3 seconds, can you?" I played a course last night with my brother and father-in-laws that winds through an entire neighborhood. They hit several balls that had us wincing and listening for breaking glass. Obviously, the subject came up, and my father-in-law apparently did break a window in Arizona a few years ago. His homeowner's insurance paid the claim. I'm surprised to hear so many people on this list say they expect not to have to pay for damages they cause. Every course around here has signs to that effect, and I have always understood it to be something usually covered by a golfer's own homeowner's policy. I can totally understand golf course residents wanting to keep golfers out of their yard, I'd be the same way if my house wasn't 150 yds from the course, and pretty safe. I saw another example last night of what I can't understand... a backyard hammock in a prime target area. How could you actually relax knowing you were under fire? We all agreed we'd wear a helmet if that were our house.

That had to be historic. Has anyone ever made an eagle 2 to take the lead in the British Open *and* a snowman on the same day? On the same nine? WITHIN FOUR HOLES? If that doesn't sum up Daly's career right there, I don't know what could.

Side note, there are (at least) two courses in the Chicago area called "Twin Lakes". I know this because I live right off #7 of one, and it's not the course described above. It's a nice little muni par 3, though, with enough challenge to be good practice for your 3-iron on down ( longest holes are 200, 185 and 179 ). It's the SW 'burbs, so probably of no interest to the OP, but just so no one else gets confused.

Two related questions... According the second article linked, length is NOT a factor. Is that right? I always heard the opposite. What do you do when a course you play seems to be rated/sloped way off? There's a course I play that is 68/114 but it is much tougher than all the others, some of which are rated 70+ and 120-130. Two par threes over 210, sand protecting every green, several long forced carrries over water, and mature trees everywhere.

Does anyone out there happen to know what, if anything, became of Triumph Golf Company? I've been on the lookout for Triumph clubs for a while, and have seen none at all. Even the Internet turns up almost no trace of the company. All I can find is that apparently a Rhode Island businessman by the name of Bob Adams bought the company in 1993, along with his son. Bob Adams died the following year, but I'm pretty sure the company outlived him, because my Triumph irons were made much later. AFAICT, they were still making clubs in the early part of this decade, but have since totally disappeared. ( As an aside, the man behind Adams Golf is a Barney Adams... different guy from Bob Adams. ) Any leads or other information would be appreciated. I have a Triumph TC-100 1 iron that is now pushing 20 years old, and a set of we-didn't-bother-to-think-up-a-model-name irons that are 1/4 of that.

Don't let people talk you out of trying the 1, if you like it. I'm practically married to my 1 iron... I've had it longer than my wife, and if it came down to picking between them... well I hope it doesn't ;) Your game sounds like mine, except I don't even own any fairway woods. I need to work on hitting my driver straight, but I'm never motivated to, because I just leave it home and hit 1 iron off every tee. It goes ~250 and straight way more often than not. I didn't carry a wood at all for most of last season... which freaks people out, btw. Actually, I'm looking to find a 2 iron, because I get caught between the 1 and 3 on some holes. I may be the only person in the world whose safety-blanket club is their 1 iron, but I'd hit it on every hole if I could. Try it, you might like it.

"Other". I play what appear to be the last set of Triumph irons in the entire world. I've been trying to find any others for sale, for years, unsuccessfully. 1, 3-PW. Graphite shafts with cavity-back heads. I love 'em, and I'm screwed if I break one ;)

What? I think you are vastly underestimating the importance of mental toughness in the game of golf. As much as I may like some of them, Phil, Sergio, Henrik, Vijay, and Rory (?) have the collective mental toughness of a bowl of jello on a hot day. They aren't even playing the same sport that Jack, Arnie, Player, Hogan, and Trevino were. The guys Tiger is playing against are beaten before the round starts. They are just happy to finish in the Top10, cash their huge checks, and move on. That said... this thread is dumb. Hogan is the greatest golfer ever.

Wow, I just read this entire thread, and there isn't one course listed that I've ever played. Anyway, my 'home' course is the 9-hole at the end of my street, Twin Lakes Golf Club. http://www.wpd4fun.org/golf.htm Some of the holes are relatively challenging for a muni par-3 course, and it's nice to walk down there and get in a quick nine ( an hour, usually ). For real golf, I'm a nomad, but I like Oak Meadows ( nee Elmhurst CC ) and River Bend. http://www.riverbendgolfclub.org/ ( Have you ever seen a cheap 9-hole course with a bigger clubhouse? ) http://www.dupagegolf.com/golf/proto...rse/course.htm