Grumpter

Right, the only purpose of the drive is for 1 round of golf and then back home. Just like you were traveling to the course 10 minutes away. Yeah, I think the colder ones climate the farther they are willing to drive.

So this thread prompted me to look up the rules on warming golf balls. From what I understand it is OK to warm them up before you play but not while actively playing? Maybe before a colder round this winter I will try heating some balls up on the way to the course. I had a geeky friend growing up who once got a 'cooking with your car engine' cookbook. I have at least a little bit of geek in me so we gave it a try. Good times. I wonder how it would work for golf balls?

I knew it was going be tough to get my question across but let me try to clarify. If you need to use the word 'we' for the trip it is excluded. It is yourself ONLY driving in a car X.X amount of hours, playing 1 single round of golf at an every day course (Bethpage, Pebble Beach and the like excluded) and then driving back home (maybe stopping for a bite to eat on the way home/there). Going to an event, like the TST outing, is also excluded as you are meeting up with people you know (even if it is people you only 'know' through the internet).

If I buy a partial set I wouldn't expect the same pricing as buying a full set. It would be nice to get the same price for individual irons but I can see why they would charge more for a smaller sub set.

You wouldn't have to play as a single once you got to the course but couldn't plan to meet-up for a round with people you know. Getting paired up with other players you didn't know is perfectly acceptable. I think Bethpage (Black I assume) or similar would be an exception. I am talking just a normal every day course. The idea is that trip is for golf alone and then back home after the round. Not a road trip. Also, others going on the trip with you would not be acceptable (only as far as my original question goes).

I am trying to determine how long of a drive I am willing to suffer this winter to get in a single round and wonder what others would set the limit at. So what would you set the limit at for 1 round of golf as a single player without any other plans/meet-ups included in the trip? The only purpose of the trip being 1 round of golf for yourself only. I think my limit is approximately 2 hours one way or 4 hours total.

I lose a lot of distance as it gets colder. Played an outing with and 2 other guys in early December. In 50 degree weather I was hitting 2 clubs up while they only seemed to lose 1 or less. Last week I played 4 days in a row with temps in the mid 50's. Mostly played 1.5 clubs up except for the day it was just that little bit warmer where I only lost about 1 club.

I'm still interested with a plus 1 to bring along. I don't have a preference on which weekend it is.

Welcome. If the 3i is fairly useless to you might consider a 3 hybrid which is much more forgiving. A 4i works almost just as well for those low punch shots IMO. My advice would be to remember to stop and just enjoy the game every once in a while. Improving ones game definitely makes one more excited about the game but there will be days, weeks, months maybe even years where things just won't click. Sometimes you may just need to step back and find enjoyment about the other aspects of the game. IMO you should already be enjoying those other aspects. There is plenty to enjoy about golf even when you aren't playing up to your potential.

With New Years Day falling on a Friday and 1.5 days of vacation left to use I headed south to Richmond, VA to finish off the year and start the New Year. Played 2 good rounds, 1 Ok round and had 1 day where I just couldn't get anything going. They had a ton of rain for most of the week before I arrived so the courses were soaked but all had adequate drainage so it could have been much worse. By Sunday there were even a few fairways where you could get a little roll out. It's a shame Richmond is such a hike but it's a good option for a long weekend for me. Now I have come back to reality as the ground has finally frozen here and probably won't thaw out again until spring. It was great to be able to extend the season into January this year. I'm going to try to drive a few hours south a few times this off-season to try to keep the game going.

It's the Indian not the arrow.

I can't recall having any nightmares about golf. I am sure I have dreamed of golf but off-hand I can't recall any story about such a dream. Then again I can't recall most of my dreams unless it is right after I wake up, the dream was a nightmare or it involved something a little more tantalizing.

Serves me right. Mother Nature is one cruel $%^&*. I got my wish albeit it 2 days early. I am sitting here on a 70 degree day on December 24th and was even given early release from work. The only problem is the ground is soaked from torrential rain last night. Be careful what I wish for. Bah Humbug!

I'll check it out this winter. I usually pack the clubs away once the greens freeze up but would like to keep it going this year. I have the option of Ocean City, MD but that is a haul for me for just weekend golf.

I wouldn't be calling 'HaHa' from the Jersey Shore. Our temps here in the Philly Burbs are pretty similar to Atlantic City. We may be able to play but it's not ideal conditions. I soldiered through it this past weekend (41 degrees, cloudy and windy) but am paying the price with a bit of a cold now.

As with most every other thing in life there is no easy one answer fits all situations.

I want it to rain like cats and dogs while it is 65+ degrees here. Otherwise I will be grumpy that I wasted a day off that I could have been golfing. There is just not enough daylight to get my Xmas obligations done and get a round in.

I have to pick simulator since the closest Golf Domes seem to be about 5+ hours away. I wasn't even aware they had such a thing. My two options seem to be the simulator or an indoor range with very limited room to see the flight of the ball (30'ish feet?). When I use the simulator I pick the Driving Range as I see no benefit to practicing the other parts of the game on a simulator. It is just not the same IMO and many places want to charge you $10+ dollars to 'play' a real course. I just want to keep my swing going.

1) It's a moving target. If I reach a level that is good enough and stay there for extended period then the target line of what is good enough is moved. 2) See 1 3) 700'ish hours a year seems to be about my max if my back cooperates. My idea of devote may be different than yours though. I can't think of much more devotion than committing about 5.5'ish hours of my time and $50'ish x 125 times this year. I'm not much of a range rat and tend to get my practice on the course.

My take is if every group is waiting then the tee times are close together and even with searching for multiple lost balls on one hole you really shouldn't fall that far behind. If you get to the next tee box and the group in front of you is coming off or already off the green then you need to motivate your group to catch up. If that happens a third time then I would say it's a group problem rather than an errant shot problem. For busy times I try to avoid courses that only have 8 minutes (or less) between tee times. 9 minutes is OK and 10 is wonderful IMO.

Could be courses that are very busy. If the course is full there is no room to start on other holes.

Sure, I have started on a hole other than number 1 to avoid being held up or having to play through a group. Some courses I can even wing it during the round. I might play the holes in order of 4,6,5,7 to get around a 4-some on hole 4 going to 5. That way I get all the holes in and they do not have to wait to let me through. It takes a lot of available space in front and back of you though so it is mostly for early spring late fall golf around here.

Since my 4 iron is about the loft of an old 3 iron no need to replace it.

I wouldn't have let the twosome play through. When it gets to this time of year if we are running out of light I don't have the luxury of letting them play through unless I know it will not add time to my round. Even if it was the middle of summer I probably would not let them through as they had another twosome behind them. They have the option to pair up with the other twosome or wait. Their choice.

I'm not sure I would enjoy the 1 club experience as I don't see what I would gain by 'practicing' putting with say a 6-iron or hitting from a green side bunker with a 6-iron. I have done a round with just 3 total irons and putter. I think the lowest I might go is 3 clubs - Short Iron, long iron and putter.