pivo

My last round of golf certainly had the potential to be great. Hole # 1 - Three Putt Bogey Hole # 2 - Birdie Hole # 3 - Three Putt Bogey Hole # 4 - Birdie Hole # 5 is a short par 3 which my tee shot when into the water. Another 2 feet left it would have been dancing on the green. Ended up with a double. I finished that 9 with two more (one more three putt) and two more pars for a 40. Second 9 I played well, I was sitting at 2 under thru 7 holes. I made a bogey on number 17 and parred the 18th for a 35. So take away the 3 three putts and I shoot par and then if my one tee shot was 2 feet left I could have easily been under par today. But you can always say "could have, would have, should have" in golf.

Last week I finished my round birdie, birdie, par, eagle. I also had another birdie on the front 9. Ended up shooting a 74. That tied my record with the most birdies/eagles I have ever had in a round. Ended up also pulling in a decent amount of skin money which was a nice bonus.

I got a MazdaSpeed 3 and absolutely love it. I have taken long trips and get 29-32 MPG for all highway miles. I usually get 25 per normal tank. And that is pretty decent milage for a car that has 263 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. Extremely fun car to drive and comfortable enough for really long trips. So i second the Speed 3 or Speed 6.

Just have fun.....I did the same thing in a tournament this year. I shot a 82 with 3 double bogeys and one triple. 2 doubles and a triple were on the front 9 shooting a 45. Just went out and had fun not putting any pressure on myself on the back and shot a 37. Another thing I have been trying to do this year is to just play smart. If your in trouble it is usually better to take the safe route instead of trying to be the hero and make an next to impossible shot creating the doubles and triples if not executed.

here is the USGA Odds of Shooting an Exceptional Tournament Score http://www.usga.org/playing/handicap...eanstable.html So if we use this chart to calculate the odds of a 10 handicap shooting a 74 on a example course with a rating of 72/130 would be: (74-72)*(113/130) = 1.7 - Handicap Differential Formula So the net differential would be 10-1.7 = 8.3 The odds of that happening is 1138:1 The odds of someone shooting a 74 and 75 on the same example course within there last 20 rounds would be 9716:1 Not the greatest odds but atleast they are better than winning the lottery.

I used to tee the ball up high, center to bottom of the ball at the top of the club face. But with in the last few months I have moved the tee a little bit down. So the top of the ball is inline with the top of the club. And I have had much better control and consistency. Not like I was slicing or hooking the ball before but just lowering the ball helped me control the ball a little better. A typical drive for me is between 280-300. And lowering the ball had no real effect on the distance.

I have used 3 drivers since I started playing golf when i was about 12. And the first one was an actual wood driver. So since I am 23 now I guess you could say that i get a new driver ever 3 years or so. Although this is my second season with my current driver and I have no plans on getting a new one anytime soon. It is had for me to justify buying a new driver when I hit my current one well.

ok that makes more sense.....when i was looking at the stats i thought that was a little high also. Thanks for the catch

Total putts are putts made on the green...if your in the fringe that does not count as a putt. Also the pros average higher than you may think. Yes they do have round when they only have 25 putts. But currently the best putter on tour is Fredrik Jacobson. He averages 1.73 putts per green which equal to 31.14 putts per round. So I would say as an amateur 33-34 putts/round is pretty good.

Yea I did see Golfsmith, but there are none in my area. When you go to purchase it asks for you location and the only one in NY are not in my area. I will find out what it cost today when I go to my local club. I think my dad said it is less than 70 bucks. Plus that allows you to play in their club championship if you post enough scores there.

Thanks. The prices are in the ball park that I was thinking. I will be stopping by the course near my house to sign up. My dad got his handicap this year for the first time in a long time. And it is making me want to get one. Especially since I have been practicing and playing very well this year. And who knows, maybe get in a few tournaments when I have an established handicap.

I am thinking of going to get an official USGA handicap today after work. I am curious, how much do you pay for your handicap? Also does it last one calender year before you have to renew or is it just to the end of the season? Thanks

Well most people have already said it. Practice PUTTING AND CHIPPING. You have the same goal that I had at the beginning of the year. The way I went about it was to go to the practice green at least 4 days a week for 1-2 hours just practice putting and chipping. I also try to get to the driving range a few time a week. And then I take all this practice to the course at least once a week. I have since broken 80 twice this year. I shot a 79 with a double on the last hole and then shot a 73 a few weeks ago. I had everything working that day. I hit 15 greens in regulation and made pretty much everything inside 10 feet. My new goal for this year is to be under par on 9 holes. Then it will be under par for 18. Just keep practicing and you will achieve your goal.

I average anywhere from 275 to 300 with my driver. I hit my 3 iron 225 yards and my 7 iron around 170 yards. A few years ago we had a group of guys that were on the long drive tour (I didn't even know there was such a thing). Anyway I can say that was the first time I ever have seen a 380+ yard drive. It was amazing. The reason we don't know exactly how far it went is because he hit it in the creek that was 50 yards from the green and 380 yards from the tee. It was unbelievable.

Taylor Made r5 Type N 9.5degrees. Stiff Shaft

I don't even know how old my irons are but I still love them. They were my grandfathers who past away close to 15 years now. I actually broke the shaft on my 3 iron a few weeks ago and went to have it replaced. They guy at the golf shop looked at me funny and said "you do know that this new shaft will cost more than the whole set is worth right". The new shaft installed costed $30. I thought it was kinda funny. They don't look to old and they still feel just as nice as anything new I have tried. My current set of irons is RAM Tom Watson Pro Custom. Anyway back to the point my father finally decided to get rid of his irons. He was playing Hogan Apex Tour Blades that he got about 30 years ago. He moved to Mizuno MP-60's. He loves the feel and says they are more forgiving that the old blades. They also look great when addressing the ball. I have also tried them and love them too. I will be buying new irons in a few years and I would put these on the top of my list

My goals for this year were to break into the 70's. Last year I was in the low to mid 80's on a good day. I have forced myself to practice more this year. Putting, Chipping and at the driving range. I try to at least putt and chip 4 time a week for 1-2 hours. This is the part of the game that I and most amateurs struggle with. This year I have had a lot of improvement. I also try to hit balls at least twice a week. Well at the end of May I achieved my goal for the year. I shot a 79 and that was with a double bogey on the last hole. GRRRR. Since then I have played quite a few times and have played very consistent. Then just last weekend I had everything working. I started the day out birdie, par, birdie. I was just waiting all day for that one bad hole or two I usually have, but they never came. I ended the day with a 73, hitting 14/18 GIR. Hopefully I can keep playing consistent and shoot in the 70's a few more times this year.

I don't play it that often but a big slicing fade with my 3 iron. I remember about 3 weeks ago on the first hole I had a poor tee shot off to the right. This was a par 5 so I had about 235 yards left to the green and I had a tree about 30 yards in front of me. This was a perfect set up for a big fade. I couldn't have hit the ball any better. The ball worked back and ended up just on the front of the green. 2 putted for birdie. Same day different par 5 I had the same situation. Hit another perfect shot and ended with the same results. So I would say that is the most enjoyable shot for me (when it is executed properly) because I have just started practicing moving the ball from left to right and right to left.

When I am in the fringe I generally don't use a wedge. I use something between a 7 and 9 iron, keeping the ball low and acting more like a putt. When I am farther off the green it really depends on the situation. If there isn't much green to work with and have to go over a bunker I may take out the 60 and flop it. If I have to get it to the back of the green I may use my 56 degree. But all in all, I would say I use my 56 degree wedge the most for chipping.

I would have never bought a hybrid iron. But a few weeks ago I was in a scramble and won a hybrid 2 iron. And I actually love it. I hit my 4 iron about 210 and my 3 iron about 220-225. Before I had the 2 iron I had a large gap between my 3 iron and my 3 wood. I don't carry a 5 wood. I hit my 3 wood about 260 yards. Now I have this hybrid 2 iron I don't have to try to kill a 3 iron or take an easy 3 wood when I have 240 yards. Wish I would have purchased something like this sooner.

I currently own the r5 type N and love it. This is the second year I have been playing it. I personally think it is the best driver for the money. It has a wonderful feel and miss hits still go far. I recently went to a demo days in the area and tried out the latest and greatest. I found nothing that I like better than what I am currently hitting. The only thing I may be upgrading soon on it is the shaft. This is truly a great club for the price.

My favorite ball that is cheap is the Maxfli Revolution Solid. You can pick up 2 dozen balls for $20. This ball feels good and is very usable around the green. You won't get as much spin as say a Pro V1 but it still spins fairly good. I shoot in the Low 80 occasionally in the 70's. I have been playing this ball for a few year and like it a lot. I still once in a while buy Pro V1s but I still find it hard to justify the price.

I had everything working on Saturday. I had a 36 on the front and a 37 on the back. I had 15 GIR. Made almost every putt inside 12 feet. I did miss a 2 and a half footer. GRRR. O well I can't complain at all since this beat my previous best score by 5 (78) which I had earlier this year. I have been playing great golf in the past few weeks. In my last 6 round I have shot a 73,78,80,80,81,83. The course I play wasn't the easiest course either. The course rating was a 72.2 with a slope of 119.

This frustrates me a lot. I can understand when people don't putt out 1 foot putts, maybe 2 foot. But when people like a few of my friends start giving themselves 3 foot putts it start to bother me. And the best is when they try to make the 3 and a half foot putt and miss but give it to them selves anyway. Those 3 foot putts can sometimes be the hardest to make, especially when it is to get your lowest round to date or save par or whatever. I always putt out. If I miss a 2 foot putt then I add a stroke. I like to know at the end of the day the score I shot is my true score.

Here in Rochester, NY you can get on a middle of the road course for 25-45 bucks. More upscale courses will cost you more than $50 but usually no more than $75. My two favorite courses in the area are Greystone and Mill Creek. They are both upscale courses and will run you around $60.