jrm1493

Ok - I do think most of you have a point that my comment about one guy wearing pants was out of line. I was just generally frustrated and I shouldn't have commented on his clothes; I wouldn't have cared if he had been wearing cutoff jean shorts and a wife beater if he had just played fast. He was better dressed than me, there's no question about that. I think I just expected better ettiquite from someone who looked like he cared about the game. For better or worse, when you see someone who is well dressed, you expect that they know how to play, or at least know some basic golf ettiquite (as in not holding up a larger less experienced group behind). And, I know I'm lucky to be able to play this time of year... it was just that I don't get out there as much as I'd like due to other commitments and I was really frustrated to have this happen to me when I finally did get out there.

Went out to play today with my wife and a couple friends from work. We were at the 1st tee along with 3 young guys who were well dressed and were playing from the tips so we let the go ahead and go before us, thinking we would hold them up. They took a little longer that I thought they should and hit some poor shots but I didn't think we'd see them again considering we had myself (12 handicap), a couple of ~110 shooters and my wife who is a beginner. The first hole is a par 5, downwind; I smoked my drive and was within hybrid range so had to wait for the green to clear. No big deal; it was the first hole. We finished up and went to the 2nd tee. As we're approaching, the best dressed guy in the group ahead (wearing long pants even though it was probably close to 80°), comes back in his cart, holding a handheld GPS, and says "I just hit one about 340". I almost said "no you didn't" right there, but decided to hold my tongue. Of course when he actually got up to the tee and took his mark he failed to mention how far he had actually hit it (my guess is maybe 260). This is a 351 yard dogleg right par 4 with water on both sides and behind the green, so if he really hit one 340 it would be on or near the green. I guess he had already "chipped on" or whatever because we never saw where he hit his second from, but rest assured that the rest of the day (and I had plenty of time to watch) I never saw him more than about 230 yards from the tee box. And I never was able to hit before they hit their second shots, and I top out around 250 unless I have a tailwind (and we waited on every tee to hit). Its really quite hard to describe how slow and clueless these guys were. I was expecting things to be slow, given my partners (who are not great golfers but are great company), but this was truly amazing. A marshall talked to them at one point (when they had 3 groups backed up on a par 3 tee box behind them) and it sped them up for about 2 holes and then it was back to how it was. It was so bad that my wife and I had to leave after 16 holes, having been on the course for 4 hours and 45 minutes. On the 15th (par 5) we had to wait to hit our approach shots, and then all four of us hit approaches, chipped/putted out and proceeded to the 16th tee (par 3) where the group in front was only starting to hit their shots. Simply amazing. And it wasn't like we played quickly around the 15th; like I said before, 3 of the 4 in our group were not good golfers. They never offered to let us play through (I'm not really one to ask but maybe I should have). When we finally left I was happy to be off the course, and I love golf... I think this is one of the things that keeps people from playing. These guys seemed to be completely clueless about how slow they were - there was a 5some in front of them they could not keep up with, and and a 4some of 2 hackers and one beginner female were riding their butt all day and they still seemed oblivious. Sorry about the rant but its better for me to do it here than get in a fight on the course.

Yep, I am one of them. Current index is an 11.4 and my last 10 rounds are: 83, 87, 100, 89, 78, 103, 88, 89, 83, 98 Course and slope rating seem to have almost no bearing on my scores - its part mental (I get down on myself when I start playing bad) and part fatigue, because I recently realized that the 100, 103 and 98 were when I was carrying my bag and all the other scores I was using a pull cart. Since the handicap formula throws out the worst 50% of your scores, you could alternate shooing 75 and 150 and be a single digit handicap. I think I'm a bit unusual because my good shots are really good, easily low single digit quality, but I still hit quite a few chunks, blades, monster hooks, etc. My dad is a 6 or 7 handicap and he can't hit some of the shots I can, but he hits it solid or close to solid almost every time.

Yep, I am one of them. Current index is an 11.4 and my last 10 rounds are: 83, 87, 100, 89, 78, 103, 88, 89, 83, 98 Course and slope rating seem to have almost no bearing on my scores - its part mental (I get down on myself when I start playing bad) and part fatigue, because I recently realized that the 100, 103 and 98 were when I was carrying my bag and all the other scores I was using a pull cart. Since the handicap formula throws out the worst 50% of your scores, you could alternate shooing 75 and 150 and be a single digit handicap. I think I'm a bit unusual because my good shots are really good, easily low single digit quality, but I still hit quite a few chunks, blades, monster hooks, etc. My dad is a 6 or 7 handicap and he can't hit some of the shots I can, but he hits it solid or close to solid almost every time.

You know I think you may have hit on something with the injury because the 4 worst rounds of the 10 I posted (100,103, 89 & 98) were all when I was carrying my bag. The 89 was on a 73/130 rated course so it wasn't too bad but still. Normally I use a pull cart but forgot it or lent it to my wife for those 4 rounds. The other rounds I'm pretty sure I was using the pull cart (If I am remembering correctly - one may have been riding but I almost never ride). I guess I'll be sure to remember my pull cart from now on (and we just got another one for my wife so she won't be using mine any more).

Hey guys, Its been a while since I've posted here, but recently my inconsistency has gotten really high - my good rounds are getting better and my bad round getting worse. From about this time last year through the end of the summer I was pretty consistently in the low/mid 80's to low 90's. My last 10 rounds are: 83, 87, 100, 89, 78, 103, 88, 89, 83, 98 These scores were all achieved on courses which are more or less "normal" difficulty from either the back tees or second from back tees - average rating probably 71/125 ish. Is this at all normal - I mean a 78 followed 3 days later by a 103, on the same course from the same tees??? I'm just wondering if anyone else sees this kind of thing. My handicap has continued to slowly fall through all this (currently 11.4) because all the 103 type crap gets dropped and I am still shooting some good scores, but its just weird.

I have a similar issue between my 3h and 4i, but I think its worth it to have an extra wedge in my bag. I can choke up on the hybrid and hit a slice with it which takes care of the problem for the most part, except that sometimes I end up hitting it straight and end up left of where I want to be. I can also try to hit a low draw with the 4i which goes a little farther than my natural push-fade, but that is a harder shot for me to pull off so I don't attempt it that often unless I have to (risk of a double cross).

I shot a 99 the last time I played and lost about 8 balls. Started off with a 10 so things were bad from the beginning! The funny thing was I didn't even feel like I was hitting it all that bad just got every possible bad break that I could have (good drives 1 ft off fairway into US Open thick rough, terribly awkward fairway lies, putting over dead parts of greens, etc). I've played the same course and shot in the high 80's and felt like I played worse that I did with the 99... strange game.

My wife and I got the same coupon after playing in a charity tournament. She needed a "real" sand wedge since the one in her set is pretty much garbage (literally about a 1 inch sole width - looks like a hybrid). So we figured for $30 we didn't have much to lose, and since they let you customize it she could get it shorter and with a ladies flex shaft instead of just buying a used men's wedge at Golfsmith. It took about 4 weeks to get the club (like the coupon said) and we were pretty impressed with it. The grip looks cheap but the club head itself is pretty nice looking. Since I had my coupon as well I ordered a 60 just to play around with (since I didn't have one at the time), and I have to say I like it. Its probably not as good as a Vokey but for something I'll only use a couple times a round and never really hit a full shot with I'm pretty happy. I'm sure the parts are made in China, but at least its assembled here. The club head itself is really nice looking..... and I'll fix the grip this fall when I regrip everything.

Yep, watch your gaps. I carry a 3 hybrid and 3 iron. They hybrid is 19° and the iron is 21° but the longer lighter shaft of the hybrid makes it play quite a bit longer. I like having both in the bag, I can hit low shots into the wind with the 3 iron and high approaches into par 5s and long par 4's with the hybrid (into the wind they go about the same distance due to the trajectories). The ball flights are so different that they end up not being redundant at all. I know some folks will say that as a 14 hdcp I shouldn't be hitting a 3 iron but I love the club. As was said above, you'll have to lose a wedge if you keep your 3i in the bag. I'm not a big believer in having more than 3 wedges, you can learn to hit all the shots you should ever attempt with a 56 - If you are really stuck where you need a 60 the odds of you pulling off the shot are low and you should just play safe and try to make a longer putt (of course opinions will differ).

I think the temperature of the atmosphere will typically have an even greater effect. For example, on a cold dry sunny winter day (after a cold front), say at 40 degrees, with 30.30 inches pressure and 20 degree dewpoint, the density altitude at sea level would be about -1700 feet. On a warm humid summer day, say 90 degrees, 29.90 pressure, and 70 degree dewpoint (typical gulf coast summer day), the density altitude is about 2300 feet. That is about a 3500 ft difference in effective altitude, which will make a huge distance in how far a ball will fly, and will be in addition to the ball temperature advantage.

Thanks for the replies. I like the idea of hitting an iron off a tee and making sure I hit that from the inside - I hit plenty off the deck with a little draw but didn't tee anything up but the driver. Also its very likely I was overswinging as I was getting pretty frustrated after I kept getting the same result. I doubt the shaft in my driver is the problem as my SS maxes out around 98-100 - I don't think I should be hitting X as I''m only midrange for an S. I have also noticed when on a launch monitor that when I really try to swing hard I lose about 5mph swing speed, which is something I should probably keep in mind when I get frustrated out on the range or course...

Went to the range today and was hitting everything off the ground pretty well, with a little straight or slightly pushed draw like I prefer. However, with my driver I was hitting weak super high pull fades... obviously I'm coming over the top but I just couldn't figure out how to fix it. I did manage to hit a few pull hooks... just got the clubface closed I guess. I think its a setup problem but I tried everything I could think of with the same result... anyone have any ideas? Its just strange to me that I would hit everything off the ground so well but not off a tee. I can live with a little fade, but I don't want to be coming over the top and I was hitting the ball so unbelievability high I was probably only getting 220 yards out of most of them. I really take big divots and hit down on the ball so there is some pretty big difference between my driver and other swings but usually I'm pretty good with the driver. Most of them honestly were not fading too far (about 10 yards) which I can live with but so high up in the air that I was losing major distance. Any advice on keeping the ball down?

Weekend full rate is $50, weekday twilight is $24, however on non-twilight rounds they have a stamp card so you get every 6th round free, which helps. Cart fee is $15, but I walk 75+% of the time; I do ride occasionally when playing with those that won't walk, but I much much prefer to walk.

I will only post numbers I have gotten on a launch monitor (which itself may not even be accurate but probably better than outside where wind, slope, etc have much more to do with it). Driver - average about 235-245 carry (ss 95-100) 6 Iron - average about 160-165 carry (ss 82-84) At the range I seem to hit everything shorter than this, I think its the balls. On the course these number seem reasonably accurate. One time I hit a GPS-verified drive 310 on a level hole, however I did have about a 30 mph tailwind, so some of the "300 hitters" may just be like me where they got it once or twice with a huge tailwind and assume that is their average.

One other thing that a 3 iron is good for is if you play in the wind. I hit my driver and hybrid about a mile in the air but I can keep the 3i low by putting it back in my stance. We often have 30+ mph wind here at the confluence of the gulf coast and great plains and it is very useful. Of course I carry both a 3H and 3I because of the different shots you can play; I find that there is a small distance gap with no wind but the ball flight difference is quite pronounced (hybrid is 19° and iron is 21°). I don't believe in lob wedges which is why I have room for both 3 iron and hybrid.

Go read Paper Tiger by Tom Coyne. he started as a ~15 and got to + within 9 months or so, but flamed out at all the big tournaments / q schools that he was able to get iinto. Obviously you would be starting from a much better initial position, but he was able to save up enough money so he didn't have to work at all, he just hit balls and played golf 12 hours a day for 9 months, even left his girlfriend behind in another state. Sounds like you don't have the money to do that if you're working but I don't know, maybe you could find some sponsors. It sounds like you might have the talent, but I think at the highest levels everyone has that; its all drive and mental focus that gets you to the next level.

I like the service, everything is online and you can print out a card when you need it. I haven't used it to play any tournaments but it is a USGA handicap so I don't see how that could be an issue.

Golfsmith has a service that I use. It uses something called NGN instead of GHIN but its a USGA legal handicap.

My previous set was 5-pw with a 3 & 4 hybrid and the best club for me in the set was the 5i, far better than the hybrids which I can hook off the planet. My current set I got the 3 & 4 iron because of the good vibes with the old 5i, and also carry a "2.5" hybrid, but the honest truth is if I have to be in the fairway I go to the heavy steel-shafted 3-iron because I know where it will go and can't easily hit a snap hook with it like I can with the hybrid. The hybrid goes about 10 yards farther and usually higher (though not always) but I am quite a bit less consistent with it. The 3-iron is a steady old girl and I'm not going to give her up anytime soon.

They are great, I have them on my irons. I got them from Callaway preowned and they were the new grips that were on the used clubs. They almost look like have tire tread and have the Michelin man on the back, pretty cool. So far they have held up really well and they are quite grippy, much more so than any other rubber grip I've used.

I used to use them before I started buying used Pro V1s. I tried all the 3-piece balls in the $30 range and the Burner TP was the best I found (close second was the TF Gamer, but they get chewed up real fast), but now that I've started using used Pro V1's I won't go back, and even with shipping and tax from lostgolfballs (since we are both in Houston) the used Pro V's are cheaper when bought in bulk. I really didn't see any distance difference between any of the balls, just short game spin on partial shots - the burners spin as much as a Pro V on full shots but not on partial pitches.

Reading reviews on the shaft I have in my driver, it plays more like an X-stiff than stiff, but I love it even with my moderate swing speed (~100 mph). I like the control I get with it, even if it costs me a few yards. Hit what you like. I have a regular flex in my hybrid which I can hit 3 miles if I catch it right, but I can also hit some "power draws" with it from time to time so I use it mostly for recovery shots or when I have some room for error on the left.... thinking about getting a stiff shafted hybrid at some point but it is a carry over from my previous iron set and it super workable for low benders from behind trees and stuff.

The condition was great, especially for December and considering the course was under 6 feet of the gulf of Mexico 15 months ago (Hurricane Ike)... It was just set up hard. I agree on the short yardage, we should have played other tees because it was probably "too short" for us, we both teed off with 3 iron on about half the par 4/5s because of hazards that we didn't want to reach.

I think you are probably right. Several times we were weren't sure where to hit our shots and we had to guess... on one par 5 my dad hit a beautiful little 5-wood with a draw to the green, bounced in front ran all the way through and off the back (we had a tail wind). next time I'm sure he'd lay up so he could hit a wedge in there for his 3rd to hold the green. not to mention the greens which were some kind of (saltwater tolerant I guess) grass we had never seen before - they looked like astroturf but were real grass... and fast!