Pete

I know what you mean. The other three have their identity. You know the course, or courses that are used. USPGA is like a bonus major on random(ish) courses. I'd like to see it taken to different countries around the globe each year. Australia, South Korea, South Africa etc

90 to 110 yard approach (basically gap wedge). Sounds stupid but this is still a struggle for me to hit consistently.

I've had very similar experience to this. Really improved short putting but my feel for distance is worse. I switched based on putt length for a while but didn't stick with it. I wonder why our distance control is affected?

Not golf related but just as annoying for me is football (soccer) commentators saying "the first goal in this match is really important". It happens a lot. It's like there is a script of gap filling obvious statements that sports commentators read from.

I only play full rounds of golf at the moment. No practicing at all. But unless the round is a competition round or club match, It feels like practice to me.

This isn't a concern for golf in UK :) Seriously I have never played golf in anything like 100 f. Maybe 90 max in Spain once. Sun burn would worry me more than heat stroke. It all depends on individual tolerances I suppose.

I did the same in Melbourne on a work trip. I felt like a right clown in trousers and polo shirt when everyone else was in boardies and t shirt. I can't think of a full length golf course in UK without a dress code.

Good point

I changed to left hand low last year and the results are better but it feels worse

Our club have (or at least used to have) a '2 balls only' rule up to 9am to avoid this happening. Perhaps this, or 2/3 balls only rule, up to 8am or 8.30 or something could help?

It is serious. Golf is not about having fun. Fun should be banned along with non-white socks. Kidding, but I see your point. I guess in USA golf is similar to bowling? Having a laugh with your mates whilst drinking beer. In which case, I see why having a dress code is a bit weird. For private clubs it makes sense but for municipal courses you might as well attract more people and let them wear whatever they want providing it's generally acceptable to wear in the street.

It's not unusual for sports to have a dress code. Soccer players are supposed to wear shirts tucked in and socks pulled up. NFL players are fined if their socks aren't up to the knee. Wimbledon has very strict dress code for example. So it is part and parcel of sport. I guess it all contributes to that particular sport's identity. It's a bit like, turning up to a funeral in jeans and a t shirt doesn't mean you have less respect for the dead, but you just wouldn't do it. But yeah, in the grand scheme of things, none of it really matters at all. We can simply put it down to one of those things we do as a humans. A little bit of order is more comfortable than total chaos. Even when it comes to how long your shorts are...

I know none of you will agree but I'm still going to suggest it because I still believe the rules should change in their principle to better reflect reality: Change the rule to forbid players from testing the sand but no penalty for accidentally touching it a little bit where it is obvious they have gained no information about the condition of the bunker. So video evidence is then only really necessary when someone is looking to cheat.

No they just go back from green, to yellow then to red. They don't flash green. Basically, yellow and red is a 'don't move yet, but get ready, green is coming' Yellow by itself is 'ok you may be too close to stop safely as it was green as you were approaching, so you can go through (no red light), but it'll be red any second now'.

I'm definitely the latter. I'd say I know more golfers who are serious and want to improve than those who just play for the fun of it.

yeah check the trackman numbers again. I've used Trackman a lot and I everything stacks up. My guess is perhaps your iron swing is the 6 degrees in to out that you mention, but your driver swing is less than 4 degrees in to out?

6 degrees in to out swing and 4 degree open face is nice draw. 6 degree open face is a push right. Your club face needs to be more open than the swing path to fade or slice. You can swing in to out and slice. A really nasty, starts right and keeps going right, slice. And these would be also be draws, not straight.

Sandtrap members outside of the U.K. this is not representative of UK people generally. These views are quite extreme in our society. Fortunately the votes across age groups show that we are on the way to a much more tolerant, accepting and inclusive society. We just have an ageing population of relatively nationalistic people that took their opportunity. and Syria is in Asia (FFS) - idiocracy

"a third party making most of you laws, and all of your regulations" " It is as corrupt as the Mafia" " The Scots will also vote IN, but to be honest they aren't the brightest stars in the sky" Do you really believe this? Do you really believe that the EU make most of the laws in the UK and all regulations? Do you really think the EU are like the mafia in the way they operate? Do you really think that Scottish people in general have lower intelligence than English people? I cannot comprehend how you could truly believe these things as being facts. I'm actually a little shocked and embarrassed by that. Fortunately your exaggerated and frankly bigoted views are shared by the minority of people in the UK and I suspect the minority around the globe including the US. If we vote to leave or remain, we will accept the result. That is how democracy works. But please spare some time to think about whether what you believe is actually reflective of reality. You will find people more receptive of your opinions if they can see they relate to real things.

@iacas yes I'm exactly saying we should allow accidents and misfortune/fortune to happen when it is so simple to replicate the original situation in order that the luck is negated, especially on the greens. And having 16 clubs isn't something that can be caused by wind or super fast greens so that is not an accurate comparison. I know this is not really possible as you say, because the principle of making judgements about whether an advantage has been gained, would cause even more stupid rules official interpretation and argument by people like me :) Utopian golf would be played where penalties are only ever applied to negate an advantage gained. Why else do penalties exist?

Even if you ground the club, if it is clear that it didn't cause the move, i.e. it is windy AF and the ball moves in the direction of the wind, then no penalty. I totally agree with your suggestion BTW.

If you aren't sure if it was at rest then play it wherever you are sure it is at rest. Replace it as near as possible to the original location. I really like @Hardspoon's suggestion. It reflects reality better than the current rule. In the grand scheme of things, in terms of determining who is the better golfer on a given day, how is the ball rolling due to an uneven or quick green, or the weight distribution of the golfer and the green's reaction to their footsteps or whatever, anything to do with how well someone plays golf? @iacas can you explain to me how someone would gain an advantage by the ball moving as a result of anything but an obvious stroke at the ball, if the result was replacing the ball? You make a stroke at it = 1 stroke regardless of where the ball ends up. You don't and the ball moved anyway = put it back, no penalty, regardless of where the ball ends up. And I'm talking about anywhere on the golf course and by stroke I mean you intend to move the ball.

This is how I would change all rules. The whole point of the rules is to stop people cheating basically. However, they were implemented in a way that does not allow for accidents or unlucky circumstances that, by the letter of the law (rules), count as breaking the rules. It will never change because it requires golfers to be honest about what their intentions were, or to decide whether they gained an advantage or not. Dustin Johnson gained no advantage in any way at all by the ball moving, so regardless of what caused it to move, it should not be a penalty. Sadly, the rules don't work this way and I doubt they will ever change.

This happened to me last year. A crow/rook thing (not sure exactly which is which) picked up my pro v1 from the middle of the fairway and was flying away with it, albeit slowly. I chased it to the next fairway where it finally gave up. If it wasn't a pro v I would have let it take it and drop another ball. If an outside agency moves your ball, you can drop it or replacement ball as near to the previous location as possible without penalty.

I managed -1 twice last year but not in competition. Level is the best I've done in a comp. One of my goals this year is to break par in a club comp.