Hairy Feet

If it works for you, go for it. Personally, For every Hollywood shot I've hit with a lob wedge, there's been plenty that would make horror movies. Its a high reward if hit well but its too high a risk for me. The most loft I have in the bag is 56*.

Ditto... Once upon a time, many years ago, I could only play if I found some golf balls to play with. The bag was a mismatch of secondhand clubs, and the bag itself wasn't pretty. What I couldn't afford was to play at the top courses. Once I'd scraped enough to join a club, it was then scraping enough each week for competition fees. Never really experienced much in the way of snobbishness.

I started the year on 6.3. Had a fantastic year, shot under par twice and level par several times and beat my handicap several times more. End result 4.4. Can you get to scratch? Possibly, but you are going to have to shoot phenominal rounds pretty much every time out.

Tom Watson. He has genuine grace to go with superb skills. When he was at his prime, competing for Majors, he had serious competition from some of the best players the game has ever seen, and he still knocked it around with ease. The best Major I ever saw, and one which I don't think will ever be bettered, was the 1977 British Open. The last two rounds by Tom & Jack... WOW!

2012 wasn't a great year for me, and saw my handicap rise from 5.2 to 6.3. During that time, and well into spring this year I couldn't hit a cow's ass with a banjo. I posted rounds the like of which I hadn't seen for over 30 years - I game totally deserted me. I changed the bag, bar my old faithful putter. I've had a great year... two rounds spring to mind. One was a level par round on a wet and windy day in a competition at a course I'd never played before. The round included 7 birdies, the last one being on the 18th and I won the competition by one shot. The second round of distinction saw me play the front nine in one under gross, inc a bogey and two birdies, then playing the back nine exactly the same, i.e. with one bogey and two birdies. A gross score of 2 under, and winning the competition by 4 clear shots. This also saw my handicap reduced to the lowest its been for a long long time, 4.4.

I've played approx 50 competitive rounds this year, so yes my h'cap is accurate and managed by my club.

Thankfully, never more than a few bounces and a nudge on the leg. I've been hit on the back about 35yrs ago, on the head about 25yrs ago. And the cruncher, hit in the mouth last August. The ambulance paramedics weren't happy, so called in the helicopter ambulance.

A couple of swings to loosen up before a round, and maybe a few putts on the practice green.

For me, each of those numbers was a milestone till it was broken. Broke par a number of times but the stick out round is a level par with no bogeys or birdies - the tension on the last few holes was immense.

I occasionally sneak one past 260yds but my average is 245yds according to Google Earth. Why don't I work at hitting it further? There's no need to. The course I play most of my golf at is 6800yds and I can hit all the greens in regulation. The longest par 4 is 460yds, and a reasonable drive will see me going in with a hybrid or 4 iron. 95% of my practice is spent chipping and putting. So why WON'T I practice the long game? The score card doesn't come with pictures. My par, off a 245yd drive is just as good as the par off someone else's 270yd drive. And for the willy wavers and pissing contestants, my best round of the year included 7 birdies and my putting average is just a point over 29. Here's one 54yr old that is very happy with the way he plays the game.

Shat flex and blades/cavities are very different issues. You could be swinging it at 110mph, i.e. a stiff flex, but still need GI irons. (Obviously) match your shaft to your swing speed but after that go with what you fancy. Have a look at what the top 10 on the world rankings play. Last time I looked it was a 50:50 split between blades and cavities.

I couldn't careless if the guys I'm playing against uses a belly putter or not BUT I do care if I'm going to continue to endure 5 hour rounds. That, added to rising costs of a game as many players drift away is of far greater concern to me than someone with a belly putter. Look at the putting stats of top 5 belly putters 'v' the top 5 'traditional' putters. There's little to choose between them, so why worry? There is no advantage.

Is Rory overrated? Is he a match for Tiger? If you compare their careers to date you will see many records set by Tiger have since fallen to Rory, youngest to do x, youngest to achieve y. More recently Rory's World number 1 status also bears up similarly, including the gap he's building between himself and the current world #2. To date I'd say Rory shades it BUT will he match Tiger's achievements over the next few years? Who knows but if I was having a bet on it I'd say "no." Tiger was awesome when at his very best, although I don't subscribe to the hype that he had no competition. He had several very good golfers chasing him. I also believe that there is still life in Tiger's game, and that Tiger and Rory may well have some serious battles in the next few years.

This thread brings back some fantastic memories, and I hope there will still be some to add to the memory banks for later years. I didn't push my boys into the game, but when they were old enough they wanted to play anyway. We played most evenings through the summers, and quite often in competitions at weekends. We've had Dads and lads golf trip with other father and son combinations to all sorts of courses, including Carnoustie and St Andrews. They've both long since flown the nest, and as a result we don't get the chance very often - maybe a couple of times a year. One only plays occasionally but the other one is a pro. This year I had the tremendous honour and pleasure of caddying for him in Final Qualifying for the British Open. I probably cost him a couple of shots, definitely one for a misread putt, but he said before and after that that those two rounds were for me whatever the outcome - sadly he didn't qualify. They've both filled me with pride, from how they behave on the course to the many times I've applauded when they've been picking up prizes. Fantastic memories!

My goals are to play more great courses, preferably with good friends.As to the score..., maybe once upon a time but, these days, to me its more about enjoying being out there having a great laugh with the guys.

Desire and a (negative) belief I'm just not good enough. I've played 40+yrs, shot on or about par many times and posted up to 7 birdies in a round on a few occasions but I lack consistency and, after so many near misses, my handicap is starting to slide in the wrong direction. Add to that, even when I'm on my game the young bucks are now knocking it way past me. My short game has always been excellent, and remains so but my FIR & GIR have always been poor. Some people are good enough, and some people aren't... and I'm an aren't.

I'll try an educate you a wee bit. On a ye olde links course the depth of soil on the fairways before you hit sand isn't very deep. Some holes on the landward side you can dig down a fair bit but the closer you get to the beach the less soil there is. Quite often when you take a divot on a true links course it explodes to nothing. Break through to the sand base and you ain't going to get any grass growing without the Green's staff patching the fairway. Once that break through has happened you'll also get wind erosion, and left long enough especially in winter when there is little growth, you'll end up with a patch of sand dustbin lid size. And that's why I'll "fluff" the ball in a divot hole, but as it says above, only in a practice round. And as for being uncomfortable in a competition with a tight lie, 45yrs of golf most of which has been at low single figure handicap on a tight, windy long links course... lol Hope that wasn't too difficult for you.

If this is a willey waving contest, can I just say you don't have to be long to score well. 2 weeks ago I had 6 birdies, 3 bogies and a double yet my longest drive probably didn't get past 250yds, course length 6702, par 72... 22 putts made a world of a difference. If you can hit it half decent, learn to chip and putt. It'll make more difference. And when you're sat in the bar the stories of half a dozen 300+yd drives doesn't get listened to half as much as 6 birdies and 22 putts.

I don't honestly know what my lowest round is... its in the 60's somewhere, and at least 10 years ago.

What would you want to happen if it was one of your clubs? I always pick them up then drop them off at the clubhouse. If they're left out there they may not be spotted by the person coming back looking for them - he didn't know where he lost them. They may be picked up by someone who isn't quite so honest. They may be left out overnight in the rain, and th shaft fill with water... At the end of the day, replacing a club isn't cheap and would you want to be in the position that it was you needing to splash the cash.

The choice is two relatively small divot holes or a crater. Have look the next time you're on the course at how quickly shallow divot holes recover compared to those that are deeper. You will also find that a shallow divot hole will still have grass roots in it, which will see grass coming through relatively quickly from the base of the hole providing its in the growing season, whereas a deeper divot hole will propogate from the sides only and will take a lot longer for the hole to germinate right across - I'm on the Green's

If I'm out on my own, having a practice knock, I'll move it if its in a divot hole to protect the course. Other than that its play it as it lies. How can someone believe their score is genuine if they've moved the ball?

I started playing golf at 9 years of age but as you'll appreciate it was a long time before I broke 100 let alone got near the 70's. By 16 I was shooting high 70's but then went away to college, finding beer and women along the way, golf took a back seat for a few years. I returned to golf in my early 20's and was shooting in the 80's fairly quickly. Pretty soon I was living for golf, and shooting in the high 70's within a few years. At that point I was probably playing 3 or 4 rounds a week, and practicing a couple of times too. By 1989, age 30, I was off 5 and shooting mid/low 70's fairly regularly, with the occasional round lower. 23 years later I play 2 or 3 times a month, and don't practice, shooting somewhere around 77-78, last week was a 71. Current average is 77.59 but in truth its my putting average that saves me at 28.68 - a fair indication that my long game is waning and its my chipping and putting that are keeping me low. Its the long hours spent on the course and practice ground through the 80's and 90's that mean I can put my clubs away for weeks on end but after a couple of rounds, shoot in the 70's.

Sometimes in life you can just get plain bored with something, and maybe that's you with golf. For me, after 45yrs playing the game, my priorities have changed. Once upon a time I practiced several times a week, and played 2 or 3 times a week, at least one of which was a competition. Now there is no practice, and I play 2 or 3 times a month. I would love to practice and play as much as I used to but I accept that, physically, I can't. I would love to score like I used to, and very nearly do, but I accept that I'm the wrong side of being fit enough... and do you know, I'm not frustrated by it. I love the shots that go where they are supposed to, and recognise the bad ones are just because that's life. The big buzz is the banter with the friends I play with, and the wicked ribbing in the bar afterwards. Without the company of so many good friends the game itself would be quite hollow. I do hope your self-reflection brings you the answers you seek. Whether still inside this wonderful vehicle for friendship, or outside it, I do hope you find the buzz for life.