gortyl

Not sure about Dunes Golf Course. Went to Maui a couple years ago and played four rounds. Obviously, you have the courses up at Kapalua. Those are the best on the island, bar none. There are three courses there, the Village, the Bay and the Plantation. Although the Plantation has the prestige since it's used for the Mercedes, all three are very nice and you can't go wrong. Unfortunately for me, when I was there, the Plantation course was having it's fairways renovated, so it was shut down. Didn't play Village either as I was staying down in Wailea where I played most of my golf. I did, however, play the Bay Course and loved it....gorgeous part of the island with breathtaking ocean views. Then you have the courses at Wailea - Emerald, Gold and Blue (I think). I played the Emerald and Gold since those two have had tour stops at some point or another (Champions, LPGA, etc.). They were both meticulously maintained, had some decent views of the ocean and Molokini and saw a few whales from a couple holes. Gold is the superior course. You find yourself always looking out at the ocean and the surroundings and just loving life. Lots of lava that you probably want to avoid as well! Finally, I played the South course at Makena. I've read varying reviews - some say South is better than North and vice versa. Haven't played the North, but all I can say is, outside of Kapalua, Makena's South course was my favorite on Maui. Couple of great holes along the ocean....which I later saw very easily while snorkeling out near Molokini. There are a couple of courses up at Ka'anapali as well, but from everything I read, they don't compare to the ones I just walked you through. My rankings - Kapalua Plantation, Makena South, Kapalua Bay, Wailea Gold, Wailea Emerald. I'm am very jealous of you right now. Maui is the best place on earth, in me and my wife's opinion. Hard not to have fun there, but have fun anyway and go do the powered hang-gliding over at the Hana Airport (google it)....

i had two, almost identical shots, that were the highlight for my round a few days back. both out of the rough. i clubbed up in both cases to a 5-iron, even though i had about 165-170 each time. put the ball in the middle of my stance, steep backswing and got a lot of ball both times. each time the ball came out with a bit lower ball flight and a slight fade. ended up with about 10 footers each time. felt great. missed both putts though. but long irons out of the rough have been my nemesis this year, so i was content.....at least for that day!

thank you crazy horst! my thoughts precisely....

i do subscribe to the theory that some folks are predisposed to never being able to reach scratch. i'd say there are definitely people out there who could practice all they wanted and never reach scratch. i'm probably one of them. i'm not saying i won't improve. on the contrary, i will improve, but i'll probably max out in the mid-single digits or so. when i got serious about golf about 4-5 years ago and began keeping track of my handicap, i was about a 28. in fact i remember in late 04 when i went to scotland, i had to lie about my handicap to carnoustie because they had a maximum men's handicap rule. i was a 26 and told them 22. so in four years, i got to where i am today - 8.8. i have played around 80 times this year. but i have a couple friends who have played less than 12 times who consistently score about the same as i do or better. most of us probably have friends like this. some are blessed with a good, smooth swing that they can repeat. i'm not one of them. i have to work and work and work on my golf swing to keep it "usable". if i lay off for a few weeks, i'm done man. an analogy that i think may fit is throwing a baseball. i played college baseball and threw a fastball probably 86-87 at my peak (18 handicap). it wouldn't have mattered how much i stretched, threw, lifted or trained, i was not ever going to throw 98, period. you have to be blessed to throw 98 (scratch). you probably don't start out throwing 98, but when you go out for your high school team, you're throwing in the low-90s (single digit handicap) - you have a chance!

i have to agree with those that say these poll numbers don't really make much sense, especially when looking at these handicaps associated with them. i've played over 80 rounds this year and have seen a lot of golfers from a lot of handicap ranges and i can't believe how many guys say they can reach 540 in two "easily" or "without any problem". and yes, it obviously depends on the set up of the hole (i.e. not many folks are going to whip out the fairway wood if the second shot requires a 230 yard carry over water) and many other factors. but if the question is 'what's the best you've ever been after two shots on a par 5', then sure, i'd expect more of the answers we got here. but if a 15 handicap can "easily" reach a 540 par 5 in two shots, what the hell is he doing with a 15 handicap? putting with a wet newspaper? if i pure, and i mean pure my driver, which probably happens 2, maybe 3 times a round, i can put it out there 300+ (again how hard is the fairway? wind? elevation?) but my average drive is probably 280-285. so with an average drive, i'm 255 out. assuming i'm in the middle of the fairway and the green isn't around a dogleg and i have a flat lie and there are no hazards in front of the green to allow for the final 20-25 yards to be roll AND i pure my 4-wood, i could probably reach it. but here again, how often do i pure my 4-wood? not often at all. this is a club that fades a bit on me when i hit it well and slices on me when i miss it, so my average is about 230-240. so i actually put 21-50 yards out. if i hit my averages, i'm about 15 yards out, chipping in. but even if i pured both driver and 4-wood, the odds of me being on the green from 240+ yards out is slim, so i'd probably be chipping from the left or right. yep, i'm probably reading too much into the question as well, but jesus, that's what the forum is for fellas. if everyone answered "10 yards" or "on the green", what fun would that be? i love this game!

if i had a location in the contiguous 48 for january golf, i'd go to southwest florida, scottsdale or las vegas. but if you're saying the airfare is too high to these places, you should check out austin, texas. hell, you might even be able to drive down if you don't mind a long trip. if you haven't been to austin, you absolutely have to make it down at least once, so why not now? i got married in austin and have been there 20+ times - what an awesome town! golf - the great courses at the barton creek resort (which would also make a nice 1st anniversary hotel), falconhead, teravista, the university of texas home course, avery ranch. all good tracks. but if you stayed at barton, those four courses would be enough to keep you busy. hotel - barton creek resort & spa (upscale, gorgeous location in hillcountry), the historic driskill in downtown, the miller crockett house (century-old b&b; just south of downtown) or a couple boutique hotels i could give you more information on. food/entertainment - tons of great restaurants, 6th street entertainment district, the warehouse district. great outlet malls for the wife. i could go on and on, but i'll spare you....

If you get up to the San Francisco area, Harding Park is a fabulous muni. Had it's heyday in 50s and 60s hosting many tournaments. A older acquaintance of mine won a pro tournament there back in the 60s. It fell into disrepair I believe in the 1990s and was redone a few years back and what a course! It's got the muni feel, yet the service is top end. It was in good shape when I played it a couple years ago and has had some tour stops lately. It's a great setting just across the water from Olympic Club (which you can see from a couple holes on the back 9).

hey wireless - first of all, you've got me curious as to who you work for since i'm in a sector of the wireless industry. secondly, maryland heights is an odd part of town for golf. the closest public course is crystal springs quarry http://http://crystalspringsquarry.com/ . it's an okay golf course with an interesting layout that lies where a quarry used to be (imagine that!). but most of the time it's just not in that great of shape. if you're just out to play a quick round near work, i'd shoot out there. creve coeur, the adjacent municipality to maryland heights, also has an okay muni that you can look up. if you've got some time, say 20-30 minutes to drive, there are a few classics that i can point out to you in the st. charles area, the sunset hills area and just across the river in illinois. if you're interested, let me know, otherwise, those two above are the closest. the maryland heights area just doesn't have a lot to offer in the way of public golf nearby.... love talking about golf in the lou, so let me know if i can help further....

Reesh - I imagine it's possible to have them do it on-site while you wait, but you'd probably have to "make it worth their while", if you know what I mean since there would, hypothetically, be several (if not, dozens) of orders in front of you. The turn around time from your order until you receive at your house, if memory serves, can be from a few days to a couple of weeks. The factors that dictate this include whether they have the shafts/clubs on-site or not and how many orders are in their backlog. doublesuited - Check out their website for a few locations. I recall they were investing in some Mobile Hot Stix vehicles that would make visits to clubs throughout the country, but I didn't have time to browse the site to see if they still have those or what the story is with them. http://www.hotstixgolf.com/index.php?action=entrance

true and so true....thx.

The other thing I failed to mention is that there is zero high pressure sales there. None whatsoever. In fact, I didn't even buy my Mizunos for about five weeks after my visit. And I really didn't have to buy them from Hot Stix either since they provide you with all of the data you need. But they make them right there and if the club makers have any questions, they have the fitter on-site right there. Yes, they make the clubs on-site, same place they do the fittings....it's like a golf factory. And yes, you pay a bit more probably having them do everything, but you know it's going to be right. And I've loved my Mizunos even though it was a surprise pick coming out of my fitting....

FINALLY, I've found a place to jabber about golf, my addiction. It started with my dad waking me up when I was a kid at the butt crack of dawn. At first I'd just ride around with him and watch him play and then, after some cheap lessons, I'd play a few times a year. To this day, those are some of the best memories I have of my dad. As I grew up, I never caught the bug and would play 3-4 times a year. Had some of my best friends who had the fever and would play every Saturday. They told me they did, but I didn't care. In 2001, they started a Myrtle trip that I went on, but was more focused on the "other" things in Myrtle than golf. But in 2003, the trip almost died, but a couple of us decided on a whim to go to Scottsdale for a trip. This is where the bug bit me.....followed quickly by my wife approving the purchase of all new clubs and bag.....followed by a trip to Scotland to play the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. By that trip, the fever was in full pitch, but needless to say, that put it over the top. I've played 74 times this year and about 160 different courses in my life. I can't play it enough, ready about it enough, talk about it enough, practice it enough or watch it enough. Admitting your an addict is the first step, right? I'm hopelessly, and happily I might add, a golf addict

first of all, forgive my "newbie" status. i have to get my three posts in so i can introduce myself and edit my signature, so this thread jumped out at me (you'll see why). i was out in scottsdale last october and went to hotstix to get fitted for my irons and my putter (i had JUST gotten fitted for my driver and fairway woods in summer 2006). the first thing you have to come to grips with is the cost. it's relatively pricey compared to your local gigantic golf retailer or your local pro, period. if you're not worried about what it costs as you're going through the fitting.....YOU'LL F'NG LOVE IT! i was in some '04 big berthas and was dead set on the x-18s or some other callaways. hotstix assigns you a fitter for your session and the first thing they do in the "stall" that you are assigned is evaluate what you're currently playing - the #s, the lofts, the lie angles, the length, the swing weights, etc. for me, having originally purchased them "off the rack" and having had 2-3 of the clubs re-shafted over the years, it was clear immediately that my clubs were all screwed up. and while they're evaluating each and every one of your current irons, they're educating you on why certain things are important and giving examples of what the effect will be with the issues your clubs may have. everything is computer-driven and they have flat-panels in the stall that displays all of the information from your current clubs. FINALLY....on to the new clubs. they first measure you for the right shaft length based on your 6-iron (although i think the club they use varies). they gather your swing speed and launch angle, side spin, etc. based on this, they recommend 3-4 different brands/models/shafts (shafts being the key). one of the cool things about hot stix is that they are not married to any brand, so based upon the preliminary information, they'll recommend these brands. in my case, it was the x18s, mizuno mx-25s and callaway fusions (at the time i was probably a 15). they then let you hit those clubs and use impact tape and the launch monitor to measure everything from clubhead speed to ball speed to launch angle to side spin and more. they continue to tinker with the lie angle until you're squaring up a vast majority of your shots on the sweet spot. after a while, you've got the right shaft, the right lie angle and the right length....at that point, it's up to you. and while you're cranking balls into the net (they also have an outdoor facility which i did not use), all of the statistics are immediately being projected onto the flat-panel for you to compare to your previous swings with the previous clubs/brands. my mind said x18s, but my swing and the result kept saying mx25s. the guy just let me keep hitting those two over and over, for probably 15 minutes straight until my mind caught up with my swing and i decided on the mx25s. i'd do it again in a heartbeat. as for the putter fitting, it too is cool. they have something like 8 different cameras from all different angles and you putt a few. they can tell the tiniest flaws from this. unfortunately for me, i happened to have a steady stroke that day and they really could not tell me anything to do differently as i drained about 9 in a row from 6 feet - this was very unusual and i was pretty pissed that this happened since i was really looking forward to switching putters. they did, however, educate me on the different weighting of putters and the different swing paths of putters and which path i had a tendency to follow. bottom line, i'd highly recommend hot stix to anyone who happens to be in the scottsdale area and who is looking for the absolute best possible fitting they'll ever have. i'm done rambling, but if i'm asking a serious question later on in this forum about a particular topic, i hope someone takes it as serious as this.

Even though I "grew up" on golf with Tiger, until El Tigre surpasses Jack's record of Majors, you have to give the benefit of the doubt to the Golden Bear.....the greatest ever (at least so far!)

i'm a sales guy for a start-up telecommunications company that sells bandwidth to the wireless carriers via licensed point-to-point microwave and sonet-fiber rings......huh?