tjy355

Perhaps you didn't realize that both Tiger and Anthony were born in California and are 100% AMERICAN.

My observation is that June is a rough month, as the rye dies off and the bermuda takes over, the hot and dry conditions create a challenge. As July comes along and more humidity, the conditions improve. I always thought the best conditions are in Aug/Sept up until they tear it up for the overseed. Also this time of year is time for aerification, so it's always good to call and find out when they are doing that. Usually 4 weeks after punching until they are starting to roll true again. Hang in there, it'll get better!

To go along with the bad balls, the yardage signs at driving ranges are universally wrong. (check it out with the rangefinder)

I play in the men's club at a local PUBLIC course. We have two championships, a 36-hole stroke play and a 64-player match play. For the match play: 1. The field is split into quarters by handicap and then by random draw. (if it is a handicapped competition, I don't see what difference it makes being a "#1 seed" ??) 2. Ours has no play-in qualification. Field is filled by the first 64 to sign up and pay. 3. There are two weeks for each round. It is up to the players to schedule and play their match before the deadline. I'm not so sure how the seeding makes any difference, but I agree that a play-in qualification should be contested under the same conditions.

I should point out that if you lose a ball in a casual round and you are going to drop one, you should add TWO strokes.

I've found some marginal success with the driver hitting the "wind cheater" - Choke up a little bit - ball back in your stance a little bit - take a 3/4 swing Should give you a low and straight trajectory. Won't go as far but you will keep it in the fairway. Just got back from Maui where I played the Plantation course in steady 30mph wind. Man it was tough, but a hell of a lot of fun!

They may look better, but I disagree that they are more fun to play on. Over-watered, soggy courses and soft greens offer a very one-dimensional playing experience. Firm and fast conditions open up many different options and will generally lead to improvement of one's shotmaking skills. Tom

Papago has just closed at the beginning of the month for a (much needed) $6-8M renovation. I'm not a fan of the Karsten course, but it certainly would be convenient. Not so convenient, but a superlative golf experience would be found at We-Ko-Pa - Saguaro is my 1st choice, but you can't go wrong with either. Longbow in Mesa is a fun layout in super condition and with better rates than the Scottsdale courses. *EDIT* Just noted your recent post regarding your sister. Sorry to hear about that - hope things work out.

You could be right because those systems are run by the golf course. I was thinking more about SkyCaddy and those type systems.

I could be mistaken but don't think any GPS service is aware of the daily pin locations. Tom

Well, all you need is $85 to play at Superstition Springs, a public daily fee course in Mesa. However, Superstition Mountain , the site of this weekend's LPGA tournament is another story. As Mike mentioned, if you are a member of a private club, some clubs may offer reciprocal privileges if you have your pro contact them with an introduction. Otherwise you would need to be invited by a member or perhaps a staff employee. Without connections such as these, you're in the same boat as the rest of us public course golfing schlubs Because SM is part of a planned real estate community, you might possibly score an invitation to play if you pass yourself off as an interested buyer of an upscale ($1M+) home with CC membership. You would probably need to be prepared to spend lots of time with a Realtor and have your checkbook examined to see if you qualify... No sneaking on to Desert Mountain. It's inside a gated community. Plenty of upscale public golf in the Phoenix area however. Just up the road from Desert Mountain is the Gold Canyon resort and the Dinosaur Mountain course that is built on the same terrain and offers the same views of the mountains as it's private neighbor. Tom

Well, all you need is $85 to play at Superstition Springs, a public daily fee course in Mesa. However, Superstition Mountain , the site of this weekend's LPGA tournament is another story. As Mike mentioned, if you are a member of a private club, some clubs may offer reciprocal privileges if you have your pro contact them with an introduction. Otherwise you would need to be invited by a member or perhaps a staff employee. Without connections such as these, you're in the same boat as the rest of us public course golfing schlubs Because SM is part of a planned real estate community, you might possibly score an invitation to play if you pass yourself off as an interested buyer of an upscale ($1M+) home with CC membership. You would probably need to be prepared to spend lots of time with a Realtor and have your checkbook examined to see if you qualify... No sneaking on to Desert Mountain. It's inside a gated community. Plenty of upscale public golf in the Phoenix area however. Just up the road from Desert Mountain is the Gold Canyon resort and the Dinosaur Mountain course that is built on the same terrain and offers the same views of the mountains as it's private neighbor. Tom

It's easy to save image in Google Earth File -> Save -> Save Image Saves as a jpeg.

You are correct that in each situation you describe, you are not entitled to any relief. In situation # 3, you could always try to turn a club upside down and hit it left-handed (you should practice this before trying it because it is easy to whiff!). And in ANY case, you can always declare a ball unplayable and take the drop with penalty. It is good that you develop the attitude that golf is a game of breaks and the ball should be played as it lies. I think it makes you a stronger player mentally. Too many people think they are entitled to relief from every unfortunate situation. However, it is good to know the rules and when you are allowed relief because when you are in a competition you don't want to give away any strokes. Good luck! Tom

I'd be interested to know what course it was? I'm in the Phoenix area and enjoy challenging greens with lots of contour. I play at Longbow a lot and the greens there give me fits! But that's one of the things I like about the course, it would be boring shooting par all the time LOL The combination of fast speed AND big contours can be a problem. I have yet to encounter a course that I would not return to because I though the greens were unfair or too difficult. Tom

You may be thinking of Troon North, where they switched up the nines and made some other tweaks. I don't believe they have done this at Grayhawk. Story about the Troon N. changes: http://www.troonnorthgolf.com/news.p...0543b9f3&from;=

" How do you organize your bag?" Holy cow! Must be winter time!! LOL Tom

In May, you will be out of the high season rates, but faced with warmer weather. Personally, I don't mind it because of the low humidity. My suggestion is to check out We-Ko-Pa. The Saguaro course is a Coore and Crenshaw design that opened about a year ago. It's on an Indian reservation and is a core layout with no housing intrusion. Amazing vistas. There is a second Scott Miller designed course called the Cholla that I haven't played but also garners high praise. You can't go wrong with either. The TPC Scottsdale is nothing special and way overpriced if you ask me. I've not played the Boulders, but the South course always shows up on the lists of AZ top courses. They have done some recent tweaking at Troon North, mixing up the nines on the two courses they have there. Definitely worth checking out despite being surrounded by housing. A couple of others to check into: SunRidge Canyon and Legend Trail. Enjoy your visit - drink LOTS of water! Tom

Haven't played it myself., but there is a lot of buzz about Rustic Canyon in Moorpark.

Ask for Sasha.

Phoenix-based golf course architect Forrest Richardson did the project which re-opened for play earlier this year. I have no personal familiarity with the course before or after, but it seems to be an improvement. Some more info here: http://www.golfgroupltd.com/olivas.html Tom

19 rounds this year so far on 11 different golf courses. Of those 11, 6 are courses I played for the first time. Looking forward to playing a lot of different courses this summer to take advantage of the low season rates (Phoenix AZ). Tom

I like to play around, but I'm a member of the men's club at Longbow Golf Club Tom