Sando

Very helpful article. I had read something similar not too long ago but not as clearly spelled out. Not where I play, which is virtually all public courses. I have made it a mission to fix at least 3 ball marks on every green I see. That usually means 3 marks from others but now and again it can mean mine too. I'm working on that... Never knew that. I thought I was doing right by replacing it but won't now. Does this apply to most/all types of grasses? Now... I use a tool similar in style to the 2nd and 3rd from the left. Why is that "unexceptable?" How am I showing a complete disregard for the game? I can see how a thinner fork may be better but the other is entirely ineffective?

Slow play is the worst thing in a day-to-day round. For all the reasons mentioned above, plus those that insist on finishing that 4th putt for a 13. That guy is always in the foursome ahead of me. Pick it up already! In tournament play, cheating is the worst. It's mostly ego driven. Cousin to the hacker who pulls a 9-iron for that 150 yard shot over water.

Isn't that "knitting"? Playing the same course two different times would present different conditions. Weather, your attitude, playing conditions, etc. I don't know that it is definitely wrong for handicap purposes but it doesn't seem right. I have two different indexes. A 9-hole and an 18-hole neither of which is worth crowing about.

There's an old country club less than a mile form my house. $40K to get in the door plus $800 a month for food, drink, lockers, etc whether you use it or not. Eat/drink more and you pay more. The course is magnificent looking and plays great by all reports. The men's clubhouse is something else. Everything you could want. But for that kind of money I'd have to be there 24/7. They charge that kind of dough to keep me and the rest of the riff-raff out. I'd say that these rates are about middle of the road for So. Cal. There are more clubs for much more bucks and some for less. The deal you are looking at sounds much better than anything I've heard of around here.

I use a Melitta filter. Ol' fashioned hot water over grounds in a paper filter but it works for me. I buy green beans and roast them to my liking. It's a little hassle but I couldn't drink another cup of crappy coffee again. I think most machines are hit or miss. It comes down to a combo of your taste matching a particular brewer.

Mine landed 2 days ago. I haven't looked at it yet but it's got something about HOT CLUBS!!! or some such. A bunch of stuff I'll never afford.

I nominate this for Post of the Year Award. Any post that starts "So there I was in Vegas for the porn awards..." and then spends 4 paragraphs talking about golf is too damn funny. Sounds like it was a great time. Sounds tough even before the wind. I've heard of that course but I've never talked to anyone who's played it.

I'm with you, Slice. Appleby deserves credit for winning this week. News greens, wind, pressure to three-peat, wind, 1st tourney of the year and all that wind. The guy did a great job coming from behind against ... what's his name? Oh yeah, Vijay! First the tie and then the win almost holeing out that bunker shot. Great stuff. BTW, Kapalua's 18th is alot of fun to watch. Those guys make it look easy but curling a shot 220+ yards onto that green is something else.

I usually say "Hit a house." That's the only thing that can keep my shots in play.

I thought so. I figured that the intentional act of blowing the horn may have had some impact. His drive was not OB, it was just really bad.

The 4th tee at my favorite local course backs up to the High School. Some joker pulling out of the parking lot blew his horn just as someone was in their backswing. He proceeds to make the ugliest pull hook ever. He immediately tees up another. I don't know him, it's a casual round and we're not playing for money so no big deal to me. Buuuuuuuttt...say we were playing for money. What's the ruling? Play it as it lies? Outside influence has no effect? New shot allowed? I looked on the USGA Rules website but couldn't find anything that fit that situation.

My F2 arrived today, thanks to the speedy efforts of the UPS Man. So I thought I'd give you my initial impressions. It's different. The hosel is up high, which pushes the clubhead forward. Otherwise, it appears to me to be a traditional clubhead in style and shape. The face is smoth with grooves that appear thinner and less deep than in my old, no name 56. I jammed up to my local course to hit some shots on the chipping green. The ball seems to spin vertically moreso than I'm used to. It also lands softly and rolls out more than my old 56. I was able to compensate for this rather easily. I absolutely COULD NOT shank it. Believe me I know how. I tried my best. I found that the more shallow I took the club back caused a more flop-like result in ball flight. I'm used to taking the club back more vertically when using the 56 greenside. I did hit some fat shots but that was because of bad technique. All told, I hit at least 100 shots. 10 fat, 2 thin and the rest workable if not downright good. I like it because I was able to make it work with very little effort. That earns it a thumbs up from me, at least on the practice green.

UPS says it's only a few days away. It seems gimmicky but they can't lie in an infomercial, can they?

I fell for the brainwash. After seing the F2 wedge commercial on TGC for the umpteenth time, I actually bought the damn thing from a guy on EBay. I can't go wrong at $75 shipped. Supposedly the face forward of the hosel allows for better shots. Course, nobody on tour plays it so how good can it be? Does this thing work? I gots to know...

iacas: "TGC sucks as far as keeping their programming schedule up to date with useful information." I have heard they set their start times at odd minutes to screw up Tivo. True? John Daly's show is going to be a winner for sure. My favorite part of TGC is "Playing with the Pros." I'm watching Jim Furyk right now. One of my favorite players. Any pro talking about how they think, practice, pre-shot routine is only good for me...

I have made a real effort at reducing my backswing lately. It's a big improvement in terms of accuracy when things go right. But I also notice a tendency to push the ball right. Possibly a timing issue but I'm not sure. I am sticking with it. I feel it is helping my game by reducing my backswing.

Arroyo Trabuco is another place you should look into. http://www.arroyotrabuco.com/general/html/home.html I played there last month on a Sunday afternoon. Two holes in front and two holes in back were wide open. Nobody there, which is a very rare around here. A brand new, beautiful course for $85 and well worth it.

Check out Aviara http://www.golfsd.com/aviara.html . It's 5 min from La Costa. It's pricey also but I was there last week and had a great time. Nice layout in very good shape. Industry Hills has two championship courses. I've never been there but it has a very good rep. Plus it's alot cheaper than the others. http://www.ihgolfclub.com/courses.htm

Must be me then. I don't like the feel of hitting it fat off the mat and still having a good looking shot. A range local to me has two grass areas and one mat area. They rotate the grass so that one is always in use while the other is rehabbing. It can be done with the right amount of space and we know how grass grows in Ireland.

Heh. Yeah, he must have been referring to his old self...

Thanks for sharing NCG. Is Mark Long a friend? Nice to have connections. Funk is definitely a regular guy. I heard Monty talking on the TV about others touting him as so accurate into the green. His point was that because he was in the fairway off the tee that allowed him to hit as many greens as he did. Accuracy off the tee makes a long course shorter. Obvious stuff but easily forgotten.

Do yourself a favor and go get fitted by a pro. You are a tall guy like me. Golf is hard enough for us as it is - don't give anything away by playing ill fitting clubs. Get the specs and get what is right for you. You could wear a hand me down suit for awhile but it ain't going to do the trick for long. I don't know anything about the ebay clubs but $300 would be much better spent on clubs that are fitted for you and then tested by you. You'll know what's right by how they feel and how the ball flies.

Did anybody mention hitting from grass? That's a must for me. Hitting from turf just screws me up even more...

Was it just me or did others think there was some bad golf out there today? Love pulling/pushing drives waaayyy off course. He was an ugly +4 on the front 9. Phil missing short birdie putts. Vijay stiffing putts. Elkington chunking a pitch. I now this is a hard course but these are pros. Some are supposed to be the best of their time. The best rise to the occasion. Phil let the entire field back into this thing with an entirely friendly gallery and a chance at his second major. It seemed to me that he is making it harder than necessary.

My money is on Tiger to win at -11. DiMarco is not much of a sleeper but I think he will have a strong weekend.