Grumpter

Yes, he is. Tell me what has physically changed from the way he PLAYED the game last year to this year? There is no change in the way he played or even reported. There was a change to the rules set forth by one organization that tries to govern competitive events but that is a change to the rules not the way he played the game last year or this year. Nowhere in the definition of Golf do I see mention of the USGA or that you have to play by the rules set forth by the USGA. They do not own Golf and as much as they would like everyone to conform to their rules you do not have to in order to play golf. You don't even have to conform to their rules in order to generate a handicap under their system. There can be ramifications for not following the rules if you play in a tournament under their rules but in my experience they won't care unless it gives you an advantage. You can vanity cap to your hearts content.

I think you should continue to thumb your nose at the USGA and perhaps anyone that thinks you are not playing golf. You are playing the exact same game you were last year and the years before it. It's as silly as people trying to argue that golf is not a sport. If they look down their nose at it that says something to me. I have gone a different route by not playing nearly as many solo rounds. I had to go out of my way to get the rounds in but I enjoyed it..... when I was able to post the scores. Now that I can't there is that much less time and money spent on golfing. It's a shame you are mostly forced to join the handicap system if you want to play in a league. In my area there are no decent courses in my range that have leagues without signing you up for a handicap.

Identification can be made through statistics. If a person is neglecting to post their low rounds and then lights it up in competitions it is fairly obvious. Isn't their a whole court devoted to kicking out sandbaggers at the national handicap competition? I agree everyone playing by the exact same rules would lead to fairer competition. Weren't there studies done that players are much more likely to have a vanity handicap than to sandbag? Personally, If someone plunks down the amount of money required to play and they want to fudge a rule here and there that ends up helping them score better in a non-competition round I see no reason to get bent out of shape by it when they post it. As long as it doesn't lead to it cheating another player during competition. Frankly I think the rules could use a large revision to simplify the overall rules. Much like our tax codes could use an overhaul. My guess is it won't happen because there is probably incentive, which usually means there is a monetary advantage, to keep it complicated.

I completely disagree that it is a slap in the face. In my experience many of the violations help the player feel better about themselves or only help 'improve' their score during their non-competition rounds. If they want to post those scores that only makes them easier to beat in a competition where they have to follow the rules. Sandbaggers should have their handicaps withdrawn not those that mostly only hurt themselves. You honestly do not have to follow the rules to have an index but I still try to.

Double groups I would think longer par 5's and par 4's. Looking at the breakdowns I would think 2 types of grouping might be the fastest? Players are put into teams of After Death or Before Christ. ie. 2 D's with 2 A's and 2 C's with 2 B's. Might even be interesting to have an overall competition with the total score of each 4-some. For deliberate players it might not hurt to put some thought into it but you can drive yourself crazy with that stuff. I would only put so much effort into it.

Now if they could just talk the government into bigger property tax breaks maybe they would stop selling all the courses in my area?

Sometimes there are other golfers but only occasionally a single and that's hit and miss on only adding 15 minutes. With the transit time to and from the course there is not a lot of room for error. Without a guarantee of being able to post the score it's not worth my time, effort and money. In my book the juice is not worth the squeeze anymore.

Last year I played about 30 rounds solo but expect that to drop to about 3 - 5 total this year. If I can't post the score I see no reason to wake up at 5:30 so I can get to the course to get 9 in before work. The rounds I do play solo will likely be at the end of the day but they will be far and few between as the courses here are jammed up with leagues. It was easy to play by the rules as my goal was to play 9 holes before work 2 to 3 times a week while there was light. No dilly dallying or practicing. My goal was to play the round and get back to my place to take a shower before work.

Features 12 Golf holes

Not for nothing but Golf Galaxy has the speedblades for $500 - http://www.golfgalaxy.com/p/taylormade-speedblade-hl-hybrids-irons---graphite-steel/15tymmspdbldhlstlhir If I couldn't try them before buying I would go with older, less expensive clubs.

Tried it for more than a few months and it just took up space. Not a lot of golfers on it in my area.

I am from the same area and don't run into the awkward experience often, only on rare occasions. Though the last few years I have started trying to find openings where there are 2 twosomes in a row (or with close tee times). That way I can eye up my potential playing partners and pick what looks like the better group.

Apparently making a birdie on all par 5's is not a must. The 1 and only time I broke 70 I had 1 birdie and 2 pars on the 3 par 5's for that round.

Vladimir Putin works on 3/4 Lob Wedge from 240 yards

Change some of them a little bit and I have been everyone of them. Depends on which day you catch me on. A sample size of 1 is not a fair sample size IMO. 1) The humble golfer who says he is not much of a golfer and then pars a lot of holes and gets a birdie or two. * During my 100 to 125 rounds a year I can go through bad stretches. If I am on a bad stretch I am going to actually be humbled by that experience and will undersell my game to someone new. 2) The boasting golfer who says he's a single digit handicapper golf and drives the ball about 270 yards but often misses the fairways and scores an 87 and drives about the same distance as you do. * One day I shot a 1 under 69. I was knocking the snot out of the ball. The next round was with a guy I had been talking to about golf for 10+ years but we had never played together. Of course I had to brag about my 1 under and then proceed to shoot a crowd pleasing 90 playing with him. Variance is a humbling little *$%^$. 3) The frustrated golfer who is angry with how he is playing and blames everything but his swing or attitude as the reason why he's not playing well. * why blame myself when it is so much easier to blame everything else? Whatever gets me through the worst of rounds. I can be very optimistic about everyone else's game. Mine? Not so much. 4) Then there's the generally pleasant golfer (which are most of them) who are just plain good golf company, and are the type you hope to get paired up with again. * I must at least sometimes be this guy because I keep getting people who ask to play with me again.

Same experience here but I take a little better care of the gloves. IMO The StaSof are definitely worth the uptick in price due to lasting longer. I have also been using of the Titleist gloves in the $17 to $20 range and see the same results.

White or black. Usually white for everyday play and black for rain gloves.

I definitely have erratic tee shots and can end up decently right or left. Knowing the issue is toe shots there are too many variables IMO to get an accurate spray pattern for the most erratic days. On the worst days I plan for anything can happen and aim to a point where I have the least probability of having to take a penalty stroke (or two). That may mean aiming into the tree line most of the day or playing more than one short par 4 with Chicken Wedge off the tee and Chicken Wedge for the approach. 2 stroke penalties (O/B) are round/score killers at my handicap level. For a higher handicap I wonder if they might be better off being a little more aggressive with certain shots? A 1 or 2 stroke penalty may not be as devastating to someone with a 25 handicap.

650 yard par 5 at Lederach Golf Club in Harleysville, PA. The first shot is a little downhill but quickly elevates from there. Usually left with a 4 iron or more for the 3rd shot that is blind and into a green that is wide but not very deep. Poorly designed hole IMO.

Seems like reasonable things to complain about to me.

Blackwood is OK. The price is certainly nice but the greens can be sssssllllllooooooowwwwwwwwww. They have some interesting holes though. Closest courses to Bala Cynwyd that I have played would be Jeffersonville, Westover and The Club at Shannondell. Personally I am not a huge fan of any of them but have found Westover OK for a cheap round. Jeffersonville has some nice holes but the greens are a bit overdone which can lead to some poor pin placements. Not a fan of Shannondell but it is cheap. Haven't tried Paxon Hollow and have heard very mixed reviews.

Personally I wouldn't go with Callaway since they change the models so often.

Same here.

I am going under the assumption that this is a format you have signed up to play rather than one you are trying to design/tweak the format. That is how your original post reads. Given the parameters I would say - yes, make bogies early to get to the front tees and then rather than try to make birdie putts just try to get them to tap in range. If you accidently make a birdie it is fairly easy to remedy that by making a bogey on the next hole which keeps you right at par (for those 2 holes). Depending on the last few holes you might start trying to actually make birdies as you get near the end of the course. If it is a net game rather than gross then I would rethink it.

With 2 guys that don't play I agree a scramble is the way to go.