dmz

I shot a 77. My scores have been going up lately...I was right around par every time I played early in the season, but I was pleased with today's effort. I made some good putts and felt like I had my head in the right place for the most part...

I agree...through high school and college I worked at courses in a variety of capacities from caddy, bag room attendant, to a cart boy. It always pissed me off that I would do all the hard work for the beer cart girls like gassing, loading, and washing the beer cart. Taking out their trash at the end of the night. Not to mention all the other things I did for course patrons like picking up range balls, raking bunkers, cleaning nasty course restrooms, etc...etc...etc, and I rarely saw an extra dime. I know that waitresses, who completely live on tips will throw the dish washers and line cooks a cut of their tips, but the beer girls and bar girls never gave us anything, and we were always making less per hour than they were, and they still got tips. I actually quit working at a club because the pay difference was so skewed not including the tips they received. Whoever said something about night club rules ($1 per drink) is insane. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but their job is not the equivalent of a night club bartender...they don't hang out in a smoked filled room all night with people screaming at them for drinks. At worst they'll have some dirty old men staring at their chest. They sit on a cart, drive around, get in the way, and sell a beer or two. THEY DO NOT DESERVE $1 per drink per person not matter how much you make. If you think that she'll like you more because you're a big tipper, you're wrong...she's only thinking: "SUCKER!!!" My suggestion: the next time you're at a course have your group save all those dollars per drink you'd normally give to the beer girl, and slide a $20 or $50 to the manager or superintendent, and tell them to split it amongst the people who really made your course experience worthwhile, the cart boys, the range kid, the maintenance staff. These people work hard and provide a better service to us players than the beer cart girl, and I'm sure that your gesture will A) be more appreciated by them than a big tip to the beer girl and B) will make their boss appreciate the work they do too. Because if you think those folks see a deserving cut of your greens fees you're completely wrong...!!!

This is kinda funny, not really cheating but funny nonetheless. I was playing in an amateur golf tournament that gets all kinds of players...good...bad...and really bad. I was the marker for a really bad one. On the 3rd hole (the 12th of the round...we started on the back), he hit his first shot into the trees...found it...took an unplayable lie. So he was lying two, hit three on the green about 30 feet past the pin. He rolled his fourth shot past the hole. Hit his fifth past the hole again...angry that he missed the putt...he reached across the hole and dragged the ball back to where he had hit his fifth shot. He realized his mistake, reached down, picked up the ball, realized what he had done again and quickly dropped the ball. I think I scored it a 9, but that may be a low ball estimate. I've tried to figure it out since, but I get bored and haven't had a calculator ready. The next day...I busted him for tapping down "spike marks" along his line of putt. He argued with me for twenty minutes or so. The rules official even said that I was being too nit-picky, but I said that the rules are very clear...you cannot press anything down in your intended line of play, and the imperfections he tapped down looked suspiciously unlike ball marks (I was only a few feet away). The player insisted that I was out to ruin his score. He even said that the previous day's action (see above) was my fault. Yeah i think he shot 96...95...I really made a huge impact on his scores...

First of all...let me say from the outset that I HATE the beer cart. It's a distraction. The majority of the people (male or female) courses hire to drive that damn cart don't know anything about the game. I don't know how many times I've had them drive up in the middle of my swing, lock up the brakes on the course, gas up the cart right next to the putting green, etc, etc, etc. And then there's the fact that they, slow play way down. Don't get me wrong, I'll toss back a beer or two during a casual round, but I always buy from the clubhouse pre-round or at the turn. Only rarely will I buy something from the beer cart. Usually it's a really hot day and I'm looking for a gatorade (Michigan made it really hard for courses to have water on the course). If I buy something, I will tip, but I'm not going to tip a dollar for a $2 gatorade, that's a tip of 50%. No One in their right mind would tip a waiter or waitress that much. Imagine grabbing a post round meal at $15 bucks and throwing down a $7.50 tip. I'm not sure any of us would lay out that kind of cash except to show off.

It's definitely not how long/how often....it should be what and how you practice. Not everyone is Vijay and can stand up on the range pounding balls (that's what she said) for hours at a time. I tend to be more like Billy Mayfair. I'll hit the short game area (if there is one, if there isn't I'll make my own) for about 60% of my practice time, however long that is. I work on tempo, feel, and pre-shot routine trying to make every shot. I'll hit lobs, pitches, chips, bump and runs, and bunker shots. I try to put myself in situations that I might see on the course (everyone can make 20 foot chips from the fairway). I'll spend 30% of the time putting working on again feel, my routine, and making putts (especially 4 to 5 footers). I get a kick out of people who do nothing but miss putts in practice and then wonder why they don't make them on the course. Then I'll hit the range working on target selection, you guessed it, pre-shot routine, and trusting my swing. If something doesn't feel right I'll work it out but without hitting any balls. I want to make sure that every time I make contact with a ball I trust my mechanics completely. Most days this is a 2 or 3 hour affair, but I've worked out everywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to 4 or 5 hours. I don't like the marathon sessions, and some weeks I'll work out every day, every other day, or less but that really all depends.

the only thing i can think of...the plastics in the balls could have the potential to contaminate the water. but you might have to hit a million balls or more depending on the size of the lake to cause a noticeable problem.

i like bowl games. it's what truly separates college football from the NFL, but I think that we need to do away with the BCS and go back to the old days.

Big Ten vs. SEC 2-1 record against SEC teams in bowl games last season 8-6 record against SEC teams in bowl games the last five years 15 BCS berths to the SEC's 13 5 Heisman Trophy winners in the past 15 years, compared to the SEC's one but apparently cold hard facts just don't hold sway against the talking heads at ESPN. there's also a question of academic standards, the Big Ten has some of the toughest academic standards for athletes outside the ivy league.

has anyone ever considered how hard it is to win 1 major let alone multiple majors. anyone who wins one major is a great player, but there will only be one tiger woods, but some one will be better...someday to those of you brining in the whole MJ/kobe/lebron arguent...it is impossible to compare golf to other team sports because this is an individual sport.

i'm a fan of throwbacks...there used to be a time when everyone was expected to wear a jacket and ties, and then there was the golf course. honestly i think less is expected of us. what happened to plus 4's and ties. golf clothes used to be stylish (harry vardon was known as the stylist), and now they're kinda boring; at least in the states. i agree that it is up to the course to enact and enforce their own rules, but it is up to the player to check those rules beforehand. i really wish more courses would enforce their own rules. they could make twice the money by selling collared golf shirts

i carded a couple of 68's back when i was playing in college. my handicap was around a 1.5 back then. i shot a 70 once this year and closed a round with a 31 on the back this year.

i'm a grad student working on a masters in urban planning

agreed...slow play blows...

out in 41 came in with a 78...made 8 straight pars on the back.

Hole Number 12 is at the University of Michigan Golf Course is a long 246 yard par 3. I hit the four iron of my life there this past week to about 2 feet. If it would have had cut spin on it it would have gone in...!!!