JaxBomber17

Playing in my first non-scramble tournament this weekend, my club's 2-day open prior to the club championship next weekend. Any advice on how to go about it? I'm going to the range before work every day this week, and I can honestly say I can't remember a time I was striking the ball better, from half-wedges through the long irons. The only issue I can see going in is I seem to have lost my normal driver swing. Everything feels fine up to contact, then the club feels sluggish and dead, and everything becomes a low hook. My high fade still plays about half the time, but not nearly consistent enough to use. This weekend's tournament is from the white tees, so I can get around fine with long irons off the tees, but if I can play in next weekend's championship from the blues I'm gonna need that driver. So, anyone have any tournament preparation or time management tips? Or has anyone gotten over a similar problem with the driver lately? lol Thanks!

Something awkwardly tall people like me play when they're too slow for football and too goofy for basketball.

I've been wondering this as well. I usually count it as a putt but I have no idea if that's the correct ruling.

My apologies. "...smoothing a 4-iron to a predetermined distance so that I can hit the full club with which I'm most comfortable into the green." That was way easier...

Law 19 is my favorite. Always astounded me, too.

I'll preface this by pointing out that I'm a 6'7" former college baseball player. my swing speed is normally right around 128-132, ball speed in the high 170s-low 180s. With my dying Nike SQ5900, I average around 310 or so plus roll. Just got fitted for the Ping i20 extra-stiff, and I was hitting that with a 310-315 carry (in the simulator of course, but it's a true clubfitting simulator. Not sure it's as accurate as a Trackman, but my readings seem to be pretty consistent with what I see on the course). Normal ball flight is a high draw, but I've been hitting a nice high cut almost on command lately, too. Anybody want to trade some accuracy for a few MPH?

My game took a huge step when I finally realized I was allowed to hit irons off the tee. Bombing it 30 yards past everyone else is cool, but what's cooler (and when it's time to write down the score, more fun) is smoothing a 4-iron just inside the 150 marker so I can hit my full gap wedge in rather pounding the driver, having to get cute with the sand wedge (assuming I can see the green), screwing up, and having to work to save par.

Then just stick with it and you'll be fine. The first time I played beach volleyball, my feet hurt like hell for three days. Next time out I was fine. I'd go to a golf store or a Dick's or something and buy a pair of shoes geared more toward walking; that will help. Don't think about being embarrassed. Tour pros get embarrassed on the course. You're going to be embarrassed at some point, probably quite often. It's a humbling game. The more you practice, the better you get, and the less it will happen, but it will ALWAYS happen. Don't quit if you enjoy it at all. If I had quit baseball in high school I'd be 40 pounds heavier and wouldn't have half of my old high school friends or any of my college friends, including my best friend, who is also a common golf partner. Encourage your family to come to your matches so that they can share that with you. Maybe they'll get into it and eventually start playing with you after high school. I know playing golf with my dad is one of my favorite things in the world.

This was only funny after the victim was laughing when we made it to her. Playing 18 at a pretty nice course in Palm Coast, FL. It was a slow day, so the (very hot) cart girl had been by three times already, and her and my buddy, one of my regular playing partners, seemed to hit it off. We were teeing off on I think 16, a slight dogleg left par 5, and we saw her coming up the cart path. Since we were on the tee box, she stopped along the outer edge of the dogleg under a tree to let us hit. I hit an absolute bomb, and since we have a standing bet for longest drive on par 5s, I guess he felt like he needed to put a little extra into his tee shot. He hit it, and pushed it right. I lost it through the sun, so I shaded my eyes and looked down the right edge. A few seconds later, the cart girl fell out of her cart. We hightailed it to her, and it had ended up going off her knee on the fly. Already had a beautiful welt coming up, but she was actually laughing, and said, "Now you have to get my number. If I have medical bills, you're getting them." So, everything worked out in the end lol

I know it's late, but guys...don't feed the trolls... Yeah, no problem with people hitting two balls as long as it doesn't slow down the pace. At my course, I'm usually all by myself after 6, so I do it if I'm not playing for my 'cap.

Can't expect to be good at anything when you first start. Being somewhere besides my house watching TV was one of my favorite things about high school and college baseball, and in golf, you don't even have to be up at 5 to go work out! Enjoy it, make friends with your teammates (That'll make practice WAY more enjoyable), and DEDICATE. Practice doesn't really pay off until you do. That being said, maybe you should get up at 5 to at least jog a few miles if at 15, walking 18 is wearing you out that much. Just my advice. I've found I play my best golf when I'm in better shape.

As another Braves fan...agreed.

Agreed. I have a couple yardage books I made myself for two of the courses I play most often. Made them using google maps for distances and my course knowledge for the greens. They're really helpful, and making them actually taught me quite a lot about course management. I wish courses published them too.

That's a cool idea. Give the two best teams first-round byes. Also ends the bickering over 162-game season records not counting if the original record was set in a 154-game season.

It's by far the best I found in Jacksonville, especially for the condition the course appeared to be in, and add the fact that it's less than five minutes away...in the long run, it'll save me a lot of money lol. In addition to playing a round on just about every off day at various courses, I hit a $10 bucket at my university's range several times a week, and that's a 15 minute drive.

Only ever played public and semi-private, and I try to stay under $40 a round, although I'll definitely spring for a pricey round at a nice course a few times a year, and I'm a Groupgolfer Florida member (you should join your state's Groupgolfer site if you haven't already. It's free, and it's like Groupon for golfers. My buddy in Melbourne and I are playing a course down there that generally charges $80 for $36 next month), so I use that a lot. I'm about to join a country club just two miles down the street from my apartment. I'm under 40 (24), so it's $195 a month for unlimited range balls and walking, as well as access to the gym, locker room, clubhouse, etc. $20 to ride, but I prefer to walk and apparently so do a lot of the members. Works out to $45 a week over 52 weeks. Definitely worth it for me; I'd hit range balls every day I don't play if they're free. It's one of the courses at which they played the Greater Jacksonville Open before Pete Dye built the Stadium course and it became the PLAYERS. I'm waiting on the call to set up my tour right now. Beyond excited.

I usually pick it up and keep it in the front of the cart if I'm riding, or in the umbrella well of my bag if I'm walking. I haven't left with one yet, but honestly I've only had to turn one in to the clubhouse. Usually it's a wedge, and people tend to miss those quickly.

My parents bought me a nice Bag Boy three-wheel push cart for my 23rd birthday, I love it. I prefer to walk, but when it's mid-summer in Florida, sometimes I just feel like riding, especially if it's crowded because then I'll have somewhere to sit while I wait for the green to clear. I also will ride if I'm playing with a friend that doesn't like to walk.

Up until recently, I was a parallel swinger. I was a college pitcher, and was seriously into yoga for a few years, which combine to give me good flexibility and balance, but I'm starting to see that using all my flexibility isn't necessarily a good thing in this game. That is exactly what the pro who did my fitting told me. My long irons do not hold greens right now. I was carrying the demo six for the MP-53s 230 with my typical swing, and some of them were rolling out to 240-245. When he told me to keep my back knee bent and take it to about 3/4 of parallel, it started carrying about 225 and actually checking up a little, which I was ecstatic about. I ordered them an inch and a half long, same as my old ones, but also 1* upright to eliminate my constant toe digs and 2* weak on the lofts. When I took my short irons (still from the old set; apparently my new Mizunos are on back order) out to the range last night, I tried the same thing. After I got the chunks out of the way, I noticed a much higher ball flight, but surprisingly I didn't seem to lose any distance, and picked up a little accuracy right away. I'm about to head back to the range as soon as the girlfriend gets here. She just bought a new set and wants me to teach her how to play. I don't see a possible win in this situation. But that is another thread...

Amen. I'd love to throw out my 60* and add a 3 iron.

I don't know why it's unreasonable...I'm a big guy (6'7" with long arms; not that that guarantees length, but it seems to help) with a lot of power. Trust me, I'd trade ten yards off every club for a higher ball flight and more accuracy any day. I'd probably shave five strokes off my handicap if I could do that. If a 145 pitching wedge isn't ridiculous, why is 145 with basically a 4* weaker loft ridiculous? My 52 is a true 52, for what it's worth.

That's a solid point. I like the wild card idea, simply because it gives a good team a shot if one team just runs away with a division, or like in the AL East, where they'll routinely have two 90-win teams. But you're right. Win the division if you want a truly fair shake.

When I step on my gap wedge, it comes out low (for a wedge), goes around 145, and sits down fast. It's my absolute favorite shot to hit. Now, I have a ridiculously low ball flight (to the point that I ordered my new irons 2* weak), so that may give it some extra distance. But yes, it's my 145 club.

145 is my full gap wedge (52). PW is 1f55. That's why I ordered my Mizunos 2* weak, and I plan on getting my wedges adjusted when they come in. I wouldn't call it Tigeresque lol...I'd have to hit the green more than occasionally to call it that.

That would be outstanding...my old high school center fielder is in Double-A with the Phils waiting for an opening in that outfield lol