Rickins

Of all of the fantasies that I've had regarding the game over the years, I can say, without any hesitation, that this isn't something that ever entered my mind. However, I'd be willing to give Adam the nod as the hottest male golfer as long as Erik doesn't rat me out to Tiger. Rick

No holes-in-one for me. In fact, the closest I can recall was probably just inside three feet on a little 125-yarder. The thing that made it memorable was that it was during a makeshift "scramble" on a "closest-to-the-pin" hole and the foursome ahead of us included two of my brothers-in-law, one of whom had stopped his about four feet away while the other was video-recording my shot. Can't say a whole lot about the quality of the video footage but the remarks picked up by the camera mike were priceless though, as one might guess, somewhat off-color. (The family member I "bettered" was jumping up and down indicating that I had the "number one" shot. At least that's what I think the single finger he had raised high in the air meant. ) Rick

Okay, Erik... How can an average golfer cut through the "hype" and make an informed, and intelligent, decision on the selection of new golf clubs? (Paraphrase if you like but I believe that millions of dollars are spent every year, by average players, based on the "perception" that new equipment will improve their games when the fact is that it doesn't.) Rick Jenkins Michigan

The local muni where 80% of my rounds are played would be categorized as a "grip it and rip it" sort of course by the standards of the better players but the average player will find "chutes" off some of the tees and some narrow landing areas for average drives - ponds cut into the fairway and "strategically" placed trees and bunkers. Pretty typical... Rick

Love the recommendations listed on Saint_Viper's attachment. My question about #3 is, "Secure my safety against what , exactly?" (Perhaps I don't really want to know... ) Rick

Don't give up yet, Erik and Rafcin. I'll wait 'til it's here before I believe it but, they're predicting partly sunny skies with highs in the low to mid 60's in S.E. Michigan on Thursday and Friday this week. Might make it to you guys by the weekend. Great rounds for both of you. (Now I've got to find a course that doesn't close as of today. ) Rick

Now, we're talkin'! While we're at it, I'd like to add the late Payne Stewart into the mix. As pretty a swing as I can remember. Rick

True but he is French and their customs may be different than those of real people. Rick

I don't seem to remember where the women's tours have openly, or discreetly, made any effort to push their members into the men's tour events. Far from it since it only serves to hurt the women's tours when a high-profiler "jumps ship" for a men's event as Annika did by skipping the 2003 Corning Classic to play at Colonial. (At least Annika had shown the good taste to stomp the daylights out of every professional female golfer in sight before accepting a sponsor's exemption unlike an unproven child we know.) Jean Van de Velde is proving absolutely nothing by attempting to enter the Women's British Open...other than displaying that his thinking isn't any more mature than that of a 10-year-old schoolboy. The vast majority of the ladies aren't to blame here and Van de Velde's foolishness is a disservice to all of the women who take their own tours seriously. Rick

I generally pick a spot between the ball and the hole as a target and attempt to gauge the speed so that the ball will die to the hole from that point. Rick

Congratulations, Jeff! You've gotta feel like a million bucks after that one! Looks like it got the remainder of the round back on track, too. Rick

Sounds that way to me, Erik. Jeez, he even gave 'em a "read"... Rick

Ooooh...that should be against the Rules! Rick

I suppose there are two ways to look at this one, Larry. Like you, lots of folks are tickled to death to be in the fairway whatever the lie may be. (I've had more than my share of rounds where I've shared that sentiment exactly!) Others justify rolling 'em out of divots for the same reason that they're allowed to repair ball marks on the green, i.e. divots are an unfair "interference" created by another player. I may agree with the rationale to some extent but the Rules don't and that's what we have to live with. Rick

Very true and goes, at least in part, to my point. The situations you cite are going to occur - hopefully not too frequently, but... I've asked myself a number of questions based on the responses to this thread and, in a sometimes roundabout way, they've always come back to whether, or not, I'm looking to improve my game. Okay, sure, who doesn't? A good start, I think, was going back to playing the game the way it was meant to be played. Just a start and not particularly noteworthy to anyone but me. The rest may, or may not, follow but I'm sure it'll include divots and deep rough. Oh, I just know it's going to include deep rough! Rick

Michelle Wie was the "sole judge" as to whether, or not, her ball was unplayable in the first place. From that point forward, everything that transpired fell on her shoulders including the procedure she opted to take for an unplayable ball. She had three options here and selected the one which provided the least margin for error. Wie was called on a "possible" Rules violation, provided the Rules official with information about the second drop and was DQ'd based on what she told the official. Those are the "facts". Did the ball come to rest closer to the hole than its original position and, did she play it from that position? Wie accepted that that's what happened. We can tar-and-feather Michael Bamberger for the (inexcusably?) late call, send Grace Park to her room with no supper for her supposed indifference and burn the Tournament Committee in effigy for not having the course swarming with officials but, it won't change the outcome in this case. The articles cited bring up some decent points about how this may have been avoided but I, personally, don't see that they've cleared up any questions of fact. Rick

The integrity and sanctity of the game aside for a moment, this is a "bottom line" of sorts. We don't improve when we eliminate the incentive to do so. Inherently, I think most of us realize this but think we'll take the fun out of the game for ourselves and our playing partners by sticking hard and fast to the Rules. My last few rounds have been back "by the book" and I haven't noticed a quantifiable difference in my scores, frankly. Looks like I've been blowing smoke up my own kilt all along. Rick

Let's also remember that Hagen made a fortune off of his status as a professional moreso than his tournament winnings. His exhibition fees were many, many times what first-place money paid in the majority of tournaments in the day. (Hagen once paid his caddie the entire purse after winning the British Open, cheesing off the UK crowd no end, I might add. Of course, Hagen estimated that the round trip to play in England cost him $10,000 and the purse was $375, mere "folding money" to him.) Hagen and Tommy Armour nearly convinced Jones to turn professional during a very unsatisfying period selling real estate in Florida. Hagen was also heavily involved in real estate speculation in Florida during the same time and came up with the idea of a head-to-head match play outing between he and Jones, 36 holes over two different courses. (Jones fans don't want to know how badly Sir Walter beat him. ) Hagen was able to do what few could which was to get into Jones' head during a match. Jones pragmatically concluded that he wasn't about to stake his next mortgage payment on his ability to beat the abilities and gamesmanship of guys like Hagen and Armour. Jones will always be my sentimental favorite based on a combination of personality, ability and accomplishment but, when he chose to "turn it on", Hagen would be the guy I'd put my money on. Does that turn out as a tie? Rick

No apology needed, Peter. Your reaction was completely understandable. Rick P.S. Let those fellas at your club win a hole, or two, next time out. You'll get lots of golfing buddies.

Sorry, Erik, it's not "closed". I owe Peter an apology. Yes, I did climb on my "high horse" a little. There was no offense intended. In a friendly round, I would never expect you to play out of a pile of rubbish. Pull it out and we call it "good". I apologize for the "BS" statement and to you, Peter. Rick

I'm not saying a word, Erik. (I'm already in enough trouble.) Rick

In '53, Hogan won the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open (Erik is correct in that it's the only British Open he ever competed in). The PGA conflicted with the British Open that year which prevented him from competing in that tournament as well. (He won six of the seven PGA events he competed in that year. Not bad for a man who had to soak in a hot bath and completely wrap his legs, complete with support stockings, in order to even walk out on the course.) Monday and Tuesday qualifiers of 36-hole match play prior to the tournaments... 36-hole final rounds... Annika will surpass Ben Hogan's record as some already have. She's a tremendous talent with a work ethic to match. But, there will never be another Hogan... Rick

Congrats. You just made the "short list", bn. (I'm beyond the "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" point. Now, it's, "Hey, books are going to cost $360... just for my Psych course." (Heavy sigh...)) I'll play it as tight, or loose, as the round calls for. Wanna play it tight? Pepe and Peter better call an "unplayable lie" and penalize themselves. Wanna play it loose? Pepe and Peter get a freebie with no questions asked. I started this mess and have no issue with Erik calling me up on it. Cheating is cheating and, in whatever form it takes, it hurts the integrity of the game. We all like to think that we participate in a sport that's "above" other sports. We don't need "refs" or "umps". We're "honest". The fact is, a lot of us aren't. Whether you move a ball to "save a club" or fluff one in the rough to give yourself a chance at a high cut over the trees, it's an infraction. Just don't justify it by saying that you play by the Rules 99% of the time. You play by the Rules all of the time or, you don't. Plain and simple. Not "judging" a single person out here but let's cut the bullshit... Rick

What constitutes "any other place"? One ball moved about a quarter turn. No-brainer there. In my judgement, the other two "moved" as well. Perhaps no one else would have called it on themselves. I did and the score stands. Let's see... Played the wrong Nike ball out of the rough for another two-stroke penalty (should have identified it but didn't), two water hazards and two unplayable lies for a total of nine penalty strokes on the round. Added to five four-putt greens and my 105 still looks pretty damned dismal. Anyway, to answer your question, Rule 18-2 states that you may not purposely touch a ball in play to remove loose impediments unless you're on the putting green. Paraphrasing a bit but, that's the gist of it. Rick

Well, Erik, I took your admonition to heart. Every shot today was played as it laid. Penalized myself three times for the ball moving when I moved a leaf - which there was no small shortage of. No mullies - which I wouldn't play when I'm with my wife anyway. 20+ mile-per-hour winds and, if I could get my hands around the throat of the ---hole that placed the pins, I'd be in jail right now. (Found out, at the turn, that they did it as a "prank" on one of their own employees. Holes cut on the lips of tiered greens, holes cut 2 1/2 feet past the "first cut" behind greenside bunkers, that sort of thing.) Four-putted five greens - one after sticking a drive on a par-3 less than ten feet from the hole. (First missed the cup and rolled off the green, second rolled up and back down, third hung but didn't drop...) "Rolling 'em" wouldn't have changed a thing, quite honestly. Wouldn't have changed my score by a single stroke. I'm confident of that. For whatever it's worth, I didn't "cheat". "You might as well praise me for not robbing banks." Bobby Jones Rick