Rickins

Been (quite) a while and I only did the 5-iron but, it clocked at 105. The 210 range was the distance I was told. For what it's worth... P.S. My clubs haven't gotten any better. Or, maybe it's the guy swinging them... Rick

Frankly, I agree. And, so everyone understands, I'm talking about a couple of inches, tops. We all take the game "seriously" though that may differ by degree. A guy who "never" takes mulligans also fails to call a penalty on himself when he moves a leaf or twig that causes his ball to jiggle. Oops... (Hell, this time of the year in Michigan, you'd be lucky to find your ball for all of leaves on the course. And I'm talking about the fairway! ) How about a "Scramble"? Ever put your ball in the first guy's divot or, do you give yourself a bit of a "preferred lie"? Relief from a cart path? "Yeah, that's about a club length...and now the tree's not in my way." It's not "life or death", folks. It's a game. Rick

Erik started a thread on "Mulligans". Now, how many of you roll the ball a couple of inches or, fluff it a little out of a deep lie? I'll go first. Guilty. Pull it out of a divot onto a little tuft of grass? Yep. Roll it to get the grass away from the "leading edge". Done it. Sorry, no "foot wedges". An unplayable lie is exactly that. Funny where we draw the line on "cheating". Rick

I'm not a "stats" guy, Dave, but I do like the logic you've taken with the approach. Very sound and, in my opinion, a leap above what PGATOUR.com feeds us. (Billy Mayfair at #3 on the Tour All-Around Ranking...hmmm....) Rick

Frustrating as it can be to not get the ball to the hole, I've never been successful putting any way other than what you've described above. Perhaps it falls back to a very early image of lagging the putt to within an imaginary one foot circle around the hole, or whatever, but I find my misses far less likely to result in the dreaded three-putt. The other "handicap" I've succumbed to in the last five years is eye glasses...with blended bi-focals. Peripheral vision is a joke and "seeing" breaks that don't exist goes with the territory. I've learned to compensate for it but I can't say it ain't a pain in the duff. Rick

(Yeah, it's a week old... ) My putting grip is identical to who00knows'. Trigger finger on the back of the shaft. What changes for me is the "uprightness" of my posture. Slow greens, more ala Nicklaus with a bent-over, right lean. Fast greens, more vertical/upright. Must be looking for the "break" on the slow greens that a lot of us over-read on the fast ones. Rick

"The immediate result of a golf lesson is the elimination of the one unconscious move you make that allows you to compensate for all of the other flaws in your swing." Choosing between the two styles you've offered, I, too, would opt for the Technical style. You can let "feel" work into a technically sound game but not the other way around. In fact, I would argue that you must let "feel" be a part of the game. We talk about a 3/4-shot but, was it really 75%? Was it closer to 60% or, was it maybe 85%? It's "feel". On the other hand, if you don't know how to properly execute a shot, you're going to bring just what thousands of other hackers bring to the course every day...with the same, typically, dismal results. (Just me but I wish I had never, ever, heard the term "reverse pivot". I confess to pulling one, or two, per round and then quickly look around to see if anyone noticed. ) Rick

I assume it was the '76' rather than the round itself that was "fairly boring", as you described it in What'd You Shoot Today? Outdriving the high school "big guns" consistently sounds anything but boring. A couple of nice scrambling pars, to boot? A lot of us would take that kind of a round any day. Rick

Birdie-birdie-birdie finish. Wonderful job and long overdue! Rick

Went out today with Mrs. Rickins carrying a couple of new setup, and swing, thoughts. (Blame that on Erik, Dave Koster and a couple of others out here. ) Started rather unceremoniously, in no small part due to greens that were harder and faster than I've ever seen them at "our" course. (I think they stimped higher than my driveway.) Okay, so after stinking up the first two holes and chunking a pitch on the third which yielded a bogey, the Golf Gods must have thought I'd paid my dues for the season. 513-yard dogleg right (sorta). "Okay" drive, but to the right. Cut a 3-wood a mediocre distance but back out in the middle. 120-yard pitching wedge - with new setup thought - hit six feet in front of the pin, rolled over the hole and stopped four feet away. Made the putt for birdie. Continued to par three of the last four including a 35-foot, slightly downhill putt on the 9th that stopped inside the width of the ball from the hole. Sure hope this wasn't the last time the Gods smiled on me. Rick

Been out with a new group of guys, starting somewhat late this season, who allow themselves one per side so I go along with it. (Must be to save ourselves the grief of looking for a couple of "lost" balls per round because no one ever cares, or talks about, what he shot for the day.) The majority of my rounds are with my wife and we don't take "mulligans". She badgered me out of a self-imposed, eight-year "retirement" from the game to teach her how to play. My stipulation was that she'd learn to play by the Rules. Hence, no "freebies" for either of us. (Actually, for the sake of her sanity, and mine, she picks up if not on the green in three over, or less. Her intermediate goal is to eliminate "pick-ups" from her game and it's a hell of a lot easier on our marriage. ) Rick

Frustrating as it must be, you could harp on 90% of the golfing public about the "short game" and not get anything productive out of it. Hard to make the sacrifice in time and money to help those who won't do anything with the assistance they're given. You've got the right to assume a certain amount of "drive" to improve and achieve. Rick

The Oak Tree "link". On the card, there looks like there's a couple of pretty tough holes, i.e. "boogers". Rick

Might be interesting to begin the next season with a challenge like this to identify potential team, and individual, weaknesses. I loved the anecdote from a Ben Hogan bio I finished up a few weeks ago where Hogan was dejectedly talking with his wife about how his putting was ruining his chances for winning tournaments early on. Tee to green he was as good, or better, than anyone on tour but he just couldn't close the door in competition. His wife, Valerie, said, "Well, Ben, dear, why don't you just hit the ball closer to the hole?" Silly as it sounded, Hogan viewed his wife's advice on the level of an epiphany and, dedicating himself to that end, went on to become one of the most ruthlessly accurate ball-strikers in the history of the game. Rick

Nah... Too easy. Hell, I could coach a great team. The boys need you. Rick

Last eagle I ever carded - not in this millenium - did, nearly, the identical thing...without the water. Bladed a 7-iron from the get, down into and out of a bunker, across 25 to 30 feet of green straight into the flagstick...just like I played it. Rick Pulled up your link. There are some "boogers" out there!

Okay, Coach, so what's the plan for next season? Rick

Oh, that Hawaii! Ask BJ to jump in the Pacific and he one-ups me by living in the middle of it. He's crafty, I'll give him that.

Well, we know that "Papa" Wie is playing the master puppeteer in this show. Too bad that, while he was busy "marketing" his daughter's remarkable athletic talent, he didn't foresee anyone actually expecting her interview presence to match her game. As for winning, she hasn't proven that at the highest level. She'll make a ton of money but, then, a good journeyman pro will make more in one year on tour than I will in the remainder of my working life...or lifetime, for that matter. She'll have her chance to dispel the words of naysayers, though. BJ can take a leap into the first water hazard they come to, in my opinion. Hopefully, it'll be the "big one" at Pebble Beach. Rick

Thanks again, Dave. I'm really hoping that the fact that I haven't been leading with my hands on the mid- or long-irons has been a big factor in my game. I realize that the distance I hit a 5-iron isn't going to make or break my score if the rest of the game is solid but there has got to be a reason as to why there's only a thirty yard difference between my 7-iron and my 3-iron. I'm hopeful that the tip you and Erik have shared may help change that. Rick

Au contraire! A 14-shot swing! My bro-in-law did the same thing about three weeks ago and, even though I beat his pants off, I was happier for him than I was for me. P.S. A 41 is nothing to "sniggle" at. Well done! Rick

I wondered about that but I didn't want to say anything. Kinda personal, if you know what I mean. Rick

The "mucky middle" is exactly right, Erik, in more ways than one. "Ed" hits his shot into the trees and can't find it. Takes a drop where he last saw it go in and hits a tree limb trying to get back out onto the fairway. Barely gets it back out on his next and ends up carding a quadruple for the hole...including the penalty his assessed to himself. "Paul" hits the same drive as "Ed" but takes a provisional, just in case. First ball's lost but the provisional is in good shape and "Paul" gets away with a bogey. Three stroke difference and "Paul" played by the Rules. I don't care, personally, if you play by the Rules, or not, in a "friendly" round. You owe it to yourself to know the Rules, though. Ain't that one a booger? Five-footer from the fringe that goes in with the pin in and you're "golden". 20-footer on the putting surface that goes in, with the pin in, and you add two penalty strokes. (Technically, it has to hit the flagstick to incur the penalty but try to putt one in that doesn't hit it. ) Rick

Liked the part where Romeo (Cheech Marin) gets to Roy (Kevin) out on the range and corrects his problems with his 7-iron. Put change, etc. in the right pocket, and so forth. The 7-iron "challenge" between Roy and David (Don Johnson) for Roy's Caddy... The shot Molly sets up for Roy in the clubhouse at the pelican... Yeah, I liked it, too. Rick

I'm not sure whether to be "gleeful" with the information or, to cut my throat over my ignorance. Okay...we'll go with gleeful...this time. Rick