hendog

The thing that baffles me is that it is just Bluetooth and that is a specification that is independent from the OS or hardware. What is most likely happening is that Apple adds features or slightly modifies the spec to keep some accessory market share for itself and partners. This then forces companies like Garmin to either pick one or potentially over extend themselves from an IT perspective to support both. Regarding the original question, I have seen no where on the internet that explicitly confirms the support (first hand user experience), even on Garmin's site. The best I found was this page: http://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId=%7bbbfc9660-8f77-11e3-d5f4-000000000000%7d This would lead most fair minded people to believe the Approach S4 WILL work on Android for the listed devices. In the end I opted to go with the Bushnell Neo XS. I decided simpler was better. I don't need a smart watch, just a number to the center. (If I want a smart watch I'll grab a Samsung watch which I am tempted to do...) Thanks for the discussion.

Searched all over the forums but could not find a definitive answer. I have a Galaxy S4 phone running Android 4.4.4. Will the Garmin S4 talk to it? Make or break for me on this device. Thx!

Mathematical average is rarely a useful stat for the reasons being expressed here. Standard Deviation, Median and other methods yield much better results (for example removing outliers such as topped drives, drives into a hazard or even extra long drives down wind or in unusual conditions). Remember that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. Numbers can be sliced and diced many ways to help prove whatever point you're trying to make.

Curious how people do this Easiest is just to mentally take note of things that have been costing you strokes and working on them. I've seen and currently use the Short Game / Long Game Handicaps to split it into those two areas. Lately I've been going all OCD on it and breaking it into 6 areas: Tee Shots, Putting, Iron Accuracy, Iron Ball Striking, Club Selection and Chipping/Pitching. I'll go back through a round and attribute each dropped stroke to one category and then see if one particular area stands out over several rounds. For example the last couple rounds my Iron Accuracy and Ball Striking has cost me the most strokes (push/pull or hook, thin or fat etc) so tonight I headed to the range and focused on those two things the most. Of course all these areas can always get better but I am trying to keep everything moving steadily in the right direction and don't want one particular area to get way out of whack (e.g. my game is great but I just can't putt or I just can't get off the tee in good shape etc).

I think for the most part we are agreeing. I don't have the greatest mechanics but I am pretty good at making adjustments during a round. But if my tempo is all over the place then the results are all over the place and its harder for me to make an adjustment. If my tempo overall is consistent then the results start to normalize and if I am doing something mechanically wrong the evidence piles up and I can make an adjustment. So I guess I am saying that my tempo or lack there of can distort my results thus preventing me from understanding what is going on. Of course I don't work with an instructor so I have to rely on my feel and ultimately the results where as an instructor could see through the inconsistent results and identify a root cause. Perhaps that is the real point of contention here.

This made me laugh. Your head has a mind of its own :) I know the feeling.

I certainly won't sit here and tell you Tempo is the difference between a 20 handicap and a 10 but I know personally for me that a poor tempo can get in the way of what I am trying to do and add 3-5 strokes if the mistakes are big enough. Perfect example last weekend. Two almost identical par 3s. First one my tempo was perfect and I hit a 4i hole high and made birdie. Next one I got a little quick with my body and wiped it and was lucky it didn't get wet. Chipped it on and 2 putted for a Bogey. So I guess my point is that a good tempo won't fix bad mechanics but a bad tempo can mess up good mechanics. (edit) Phan52 said it well

Try the Tour Tempo stuff. They have some nice tempo beats and songs for several different tempo ratios. As was said before, you can listen on your phone or ipod while you practice and just follow the beats. They have some good theory too on the ratio of the back swing and down swing. I have not used it religiously but I will come back to it from time to time or even just make the sounds myself if I get in a funk. Bump, BumpBump. Bump, BumpBump. Check it out and the Bumps will make more sense :)

"Stay There" "Be Right" "Come Back" "Keep Coming" "Hang On" "Go!" "STOP!!!" "Get Down!" "Get Up!" "Be Nice" "Sit Down" These are but a few of the choice phrases that my ball and I use to communicate.

Ok I am out of your range but it was not long ago that I was in it. The way I made the jump was by eliminating the blow ups. Play smarter. Take my medicine when I hit a bad shot and get it back into the fairway rather than taking any more chances. Club down off the tee. And yes, short game is big especially if you are up in the upper 30's in putts but I almost found it better to worry less about it and just roll the ball instead of hovering over it and stressing about it. Get out of your own my. Finally, when you play, play. Your only focus should be "make ball go towards target". Work on your swing at the range and play golf on the course.

IMHO, if you have played enough golf then this should be clear. Your best rounds don't come because you suddenly had 20 putts compared to your normal 34 or chipped in 5 times. The variances just aren't that big. Your best rounds are (usually) when you were in the zone off the tee. I play with a guy (around 18-19 HI) who hits a huge slice. Always gets him in trouble and he's got an uphill battle on just about every hole. One round he just wasn't slicing it as bad and it was more of a fade. He hit fairway after fairway and that same swing translated to his approaches and he hit green after green. Ironically he missed a bunch of putts that he could have made and still shot a 77. Not because his short game got better but because his terrible long game took a day off. By the way, the next round the slice was back and he didn't break 100.

I keep all-time stats (353 rounds over 10 years) and then stats for only those rounds that contribute to my handicap (so best 10 of last 20). Here are the stats from the latter with all-time in ( ): Handicap: 9.3 Average GIR: 6.4 (5.18) Putts per hole: 1.73 (1.83) Putts per GIR: 1.92 (2.08) Average score: 82.1 (89.88) Par 3 avg: 3.66 (3.84) Par 4 avg: 4.69 (5.08) Par 5 avg: 5.18 (5.99) Fairways: 41% (38%) Birdies: 1.6 (.76) Pars: 7.3 (5.93) Bogies: 6.8 (6.52) Double Bogies: 1.6 (2.99)

The last couple of days I have been giving my R9 one last chance at range to see if I can save some money. I've been gripping down on it about an inch and just focusing on hitting straight. I've had pretty good success and I think I could survive with it but what I can't tell at the range is if those shots would be any longer than my 3W. They come out so low that they are very "safe" but will require quite a bit of roll out to get extra distance beyond the 3W. I'll have to go and find a vacant hole tonight and hit a couple of each to see. If the distance is basically equivalent then I am going to have to make a change and I will start over with a good fitting.

In short yes. I only play in these things for charity events so I don't care. The guys in my group will usually cheat also but its usually just taking an extra mulligan that you didn't "buy" which already negates anything you do out there. The only time I ever played in what I would consider a "real" tournament that was a scramble format was a 3-man event and you had two groups together policing each other. Mulligans were allowed but they were strictly limited per player and you had to declare them and the other team kept track. In that event I did not assume cheating by the winner and not surprisingly we didn't see any ridiculous scores. I'm not saying there is always cheating in scrambles and I know that 4 good golfers can go crazy low but I just assume there will be pencil whipping, accept it and have fun.

Good tip. I guess I would have to order a custom shaft from TM since they have those special tips on them.

I play a TM R9 8.5 driver. It is my Achilles heel. I love the driver in general but I just can't make it work. My theory is this, please tell me if I am crazy. I swing at about 100-105 for the driver. I play a TM R9 3W which is 15 degrees. I can hit the $#@% out it. Smooth and easy, never try to kill it. If I swing my driver the same way, it goes no where mostly because it does not get up in the air at all and goes barely further than the 3W So I end up tee'ing it way up and completely changing my swing to try and get it in the air. Results: Duck hooks, push fades, occasional bombs down the middle. So the other night I demo'd the R1 and played with the loft. I ended up at 12 degrees and swung just like my 3W. The ball elevated easily and flew fairly straight. It was hard to tell distance because it was range balls and it was late and they all seem to land in the same spot (3W and Driver) even though it could be a considerable difference. Now I am thinking about buying the R1. Does this at all seem reasonable (I understand that its impossible to know for sure without being there or knowing my swing and game so just looking for opinions and thoughts) Edit: I never said what my theory was :) More loft, swing like 3W, ball goes in the air and I get more distance than 3W without having to change my swing.

Guys who are good and get to the green in 2-3 shots have a different idea of what would be faster than guys who take 3-5 shots to get to the green. If you are getting to the green (on a par 4) in two shots, then you have the luxury of taking a little more time over your putt and still be quick. When a person takes 4 shots to get there on the same hole and then proceeds to take the same amount of time you did over their putt then they are being slow. This article has nothing to do with golf but I think it is the same basic reason why golf is slow: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2013/10/02/nine-in-10-airline-passengers-want-reclining-seats-banned-poll-shows/ Here's a telling excerpt: "Women aged from 18-24 were the most likely to display 'altruistic soul' tendencies, while men over the age of 35 were more likely to exhibit 'selfish ego' characteristics."

When I am struggling and get tired of losing expensive balls I will switch to cheap ones. Also has the advantage of reducing side spin and helping me crawl out of what ever funk I am in. Slowly I will move back towards a better ball. Ironically just when I think I am ready to switch back, I put a good ball on the tee and it immediately goes in the water or woods. Switch back to cheap ball and play the whole round with it.

My answer doesn't seem to fit any of the available. I would take a bit more chance in a personal round because that is the time to challenge myself. If I don't pull it off then my score may be a few strokes higher but I will have that experience under my belt. In a tournament or competition, I am focused on high percentage, smart plays that will give me a chance to win not challenging myself with difficult shots. Basically when I play a competition, I play with the game I have at that time. In personal rounds I will push myself to get better and that sometimes means over reaching.

Yellow every time probably for me. Maybe Red if it fit my eye but hard to say without standing there. I always say, "don't take the bat out of the wedge's hand" (ex baseball player)

Speaking purely in generalities, when people enter their scores for their handicap, you should be sure that ESC is being applied. I know many people who don't know what this is and as a result their handicap is much higher than it should be. So if they are playing 14 or so holes around bogey and then have 4 or so triples or worse and then enter 101 or something like that then they will clean your clock in any net game except maybe a net stroke game when the totality of their strokes is counted together. But in a hole by hole game or a game in which they have a partner to erase their big mistake holes, they will clean up. Track their score one day, apply ESC and then check the handicap system later to see what got entered. You may even find a true sandbagger in there too, not that I am suggesting a witch hunt or anything. As for your immediate situation, I suggest some side games. Gross skins maybe. Even net skins might get you back some cash. I know some guys who play the coin game (couple different variations) and that can tilt things in your favor a little. If its a good group like you said then let them know what you're thinking and see if they have any ideas.

Mine was really weird. I was a 16-17 handicapper at the time. Usually played about 13-14 holes of good golf and then had 4-5 doubles, triples or worse each round. Then one day I was playing the same old course and every shot seemed to go on target. I was completely in the zone. I finished with a 77. That was about 8 years ago. I went right back to my normal game after that and it was not until a few months ago that i bested that score by shooting a 76. I am much better now and maybe 1 in 10 rounds is sub-80 but that first one was so strange.

I pretty much like any golfer who plays fast and dislike any golfer who plays slow. Snedeker is currently my favorite. Just seems like a happy, fun guy. An "Ah Shucks" kinda guy. Don't know him from Adam but that is my perception. Never liked Harrington very much. He's slow and whines a lot so I'm sure that is why.

Not as fun as any so far but last week I hit a putt that went in dead center, hit the edge of the inner metal cup and bounced out. For a humorous one, years ago a friend was hitting from the rough right next to a house that was near the course. He shanks it and hit the house. A guy comes running out (I'm sure it sounded like a gun shot) and looks up where it hit and there is a hole is the siding. At this point he turns to see where it came from and is visibly shocked to see my friend standing right outside his fence. He then points at the green and says something like "The hole is over there!!" My friend goes from apologetic to pissed in about a nano-second and they start yelling at each other. I was dying laughing. The guy was elderly and there was no chance of escalation but it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Pseudo Transcript: Elderly Guy: "The hole is over there!!" My Friend: "Oh Really!! Oh Really!! I didn't know that. Thanks a lot!!" Elderly Guy: "How can you hit my house from there!!!" My Friend: "Maybe you shouldn't live on a golf course!!!" Me: "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!"