Otis32

When playing with friends I like the early tee times. Groups who snatch up early morning tee times usually play with a purpose and the rounds generally go smoother. Seems like some groups who get out later in the morning are more prone to slower rounds and it only takes 1 or 2 such groups to muck up the course. When playing by myself I like late afternoon. Course is usually quiet and I can often play without getting matched up. This doesn't work during the week on league nights but weekends and after the leagues end it is pretty good.

Finished at 13.7 with some strong scores after Labor Day. Can't post scores after 10/31 in MN but should get a few more rounds in before freeze up.

Shot 91 in some pretty tough conditions yesterday. Should have stayed home. If I can post one sub 90 round between now & 10/31 all or my scores counted for handicap purposes would be in the 80's. That would be some nice improvement for me after a pretty rough stretch during mid-summer this year. In MN you can't post scores after 10/31.

Did it earlier this week. Had about 185 to the pin from the rough and chose a 7-iron trying to just get over some trees and drop it in front of the green. Hit kind of a pulled, running draw flier that must have bounced right past the group in front of me while they were sitting on the cart path behind a bunker on the far side of the green. The ball had to of traveled 200+ yards but I couldn't see where it finished and while looking for it to the front left of the green the guy in the cart directed me to it in an obviously salty manner. I apologized and indicated that I had taken less club but for whatever reason it had carried out much farther than it should. He didn't seem inclined to accept the apology so I let it go and played my ball. Wanted to remind him that if he would write down his scores and do whatever other house keeping he constantly seemed inclined to do at the next tee box instead of near the green no close calls would have been in play. The guy had been doing that all day long but in the big picture I knew I was more at fault in this situation and just kept my mouth shut.

For sure. How high they can hit the ball and still have a penetrating ball flight is amazing. A pretty average tour pro will carry a 4-iron 225 yards over water and still stop it on a well bunkered par 3.

I play a little over half my rounds solo. Just works out that way as the friends I enjoy golfing with either don't have the same commitment to the game as I do or the free time to commit to the game that I currently do. The social aspect of golf is nice but not so important to me to put up with slow play, arrogance or snobbery, bad etiquette, immature behavior etc. etc. If either one of my kids develops a solid interest in the game that number will likely go down considerably.

The Srixons worked great for me this summer but can be almost like camo in the fall when sitting among leaves that are various shades of green to to yellow to brown. Have also found the flujoro-green balls to be good when the sun is high or late in the day when the sun is sinking below the horizon. Not so good when the sun is low in the sky and there is a lot of glare. It's a trade off really. The white balls have their advantages as do the fluoro ones. The primary reason I use the fluoros a lot is they seem to stand out better against the sky and I can pick them up easier off the club face and in the air than the white balls. This more than anything has helped me keep track of my ball and limit search time.

My 11-year old daughter is a relative beginner and plays in from the 150 marker on par 4's & par 5's and the 100 yard marker on the par 3's. Once she can routinely get the ball in the air and easily reach the green in 2-shots from the 150 marker we will move back to 200 yard marker. This works out well because she knows where to go to tee it up without any direction and it generally allows her to play out most of the holes without holding up the groups behind us. If she is having trouble on a given hole we just pick up and move on to the next. At this point I don't emphasize her score for 9-holes but will acknowledge the better scores on the holes she does finish.

I thought the tighten the abs tip was more about getting the correct posture at address not so much about keeping them tight through the swing. I would think any kind of concious tension during the swing would be counter productive to making a good swing.

Previously I fished and the type of fishing I loved to do involved a good deal of traveling up north to the better walleye lakes in our state. About 5-years ago a change in job responsibilities and work travel responsibilities really impacted my ability to get away for fishing. Since I had been a very committed golfer 20-25 years ago I decided why not take it up again. Golf has filled the vacuum nicely and I eventually sold my boat a year ago last spring. Upland bird hunting is still a big interest and since it fits nicely with the end of our golfing season I see it keeping its place. Fishing on the other hand probably won't be back in the rotation until I get near retirement.

I agree that the "Rule of 36" doesn't seem to have much practical merit on either side of the equation. By that math I should be playing courses north of 7000 Yds which at my handicap would be an ugly proposition.

She is a little "stringy" but certainly not unattractive. Her clothing line should definitely be rebranded as Camel Toe Golf Fashions and is probably only marketable to the tiny group of female golfers with single digit body fat. I actually liked the general format of the show and if they can keep from getting too quirky or contrived with the eliminations it should be fun to watch. Also thought Tafoya was just fine in her role. They just should have kept Sparks and moved Tom out to pasture.

Just my observation from watching tournaments but it seemed like early in the swing change Tiger was cutting almost every club in the bag. Even the wedges. This year he has been way more versitile at working the ball but seems to trust the cut more off the tee and is hitting a lot more draws with his irons & fairway clubs. Particularly with the shorter clubs. Can sympathize. For me draws with the driver tend to have catastophic consequences way too often and I have migrated to the cut/fade shot off the tee as well. It isn't completely reliable obviously but the bad shots seem to end up in better places and my handicap is heading in the right direction again. Off topic but I really wish the telecasts would use the Pro Tracer feature way more often. I find it really interesting to see how these guys shape shots in different situations and also would love to see what shots they rely on when the chips are down and they need to keep the ball in play.

The first three seasons of The Wire were great TV. The last two not so much. Deadwood was fantastic for two seasons but fell off so poorly in season three that they didn't even finish. My personal appreciation for Breaking Bad in great part comes from the fact that they could sustain the show at such a high level for the entire life of the series.

I have had a strong urge to shave my head, grow a goatee and find a Pork Pie golf hat.

In my mind Lydia had to go because she was a paranoid, emotional loose cannon and Walt could never trust that his family would be safe as long as she was alive. I believe the writers wanted her killed off because she had almost no redeeming qualities as a human being. The Badfinger song with the Baby Blue lyric did a great job of communicating Walt's love for the "process" but to me was the perfect choice because of the opening line "I guess I got what I deserve".

One place I wouldn't play is Hulman Links in Terre Haute. Have played it twice in the last two years and couldn't have been more disappointed. Scraggly, hard pan rough. Fairways that were actually under repair and had no growth to speak of in June. Terrible sand in the bunkers etc. etc. When I lived in Indiana 25 years ago this course frequently appeared on the top 75 "Best Courses You Can Play" lists. I played it many times back then and always enjoyed it. The course was extremely well maintained and other than the Par 5 #11 very well designed. Too bad it has fallen into such disrepair.

Iron play is the one area of my game that can be pretty good and I definately feel like my best shots/best ball flight from 9-iron to 58-degree includes a good divot. As the clubs get longer though that steep angle of attack seems to yield less than favorable results. Maybe a little "smear" with a 6-iron and a flat out pick with a 4-iron when I have it going. Wasn't Tom Watson mostly a picker or sweeper of the ball?

Indiana State Sycamores MO Val Conference

With a guy like Vijay who is aging but still puts in long practice hours the recovery advantages to certain PED's could be pretty significant. I'm guessing his use was more about that than trying to get an extra 10-yards on the long par fives.

Have played two of those in the last year. Hulman Links in Indiana was in terrible shape. I think the combination of two hot, dry summers and an under funded small-town maintenance budget took a big toll. I'd definately play it again for the $20ish they charge but would be a stretch for it to make any best in state lists in its current condition. Played Superior National in Minnesota last fall. The views of the fall colors in the national forest and the views of Lake Superior were awesome. Course was also in great shape. Won't say it is a great design but it was an absolute pleasure to play. Only real complaint is that the lay out is almost impossible to walk and the cart does take away from the northwoods experience. If my work travels will allow hope to play either Landsmeer in Iowa or Glacier Wood in WI this summer. Good muni golf in small communities is something I seek out every chance I get. The atmosphere just suits me.

I agree that both should be tested fairly just not sure that has to be the case on every hole. It can be done over the course of a round and done in a way to keep a perfectly good 6500 yard track from falling into the catagory of obsolete.

I get that players hitting Driver/Wedge on a 440 yard par 4 can be a problem on even a moderately long course but why does there need to be a generous landing area at 300+ yards. Why not put that target landing area in 230-270 yard range and neck down the fairway after that so the risk/reward is appropriate for the shot. Mowing the rough properly can narrow down a course every bit as effectively as planting trees. Graduate the rough more where you want the golfer to play the ball and graduate it less if they choose to go for the hero shot and bomb it out there.

Was just going to ask if that was still a problem. Have not visited that forum in over a year after being infected two different times.