Big C

It's pretty close. The odds of a 50/50 shot going your way 21 times are greater than 1 in a million! I guess your point is, that simple fact is not enough to declare these guys dirty rotten sandbaggers. I disagree, but fair enough. I posted it here on the message board to get different perspectives, after all. I probably won't be digging further into specific scores. I have no dog in this fight beyond a generalized contempt for sandbagging. With that said, it would not surprise if a lot of clubs shared my concern and were grousing about it to the SCGA.

That is true but, theoretically wouldn't that be factored into the Playing Conditions Calculation that was recently added to the handicapping system?

I don't know about that. Put another way, if a guy beat you 21 straight times in a handicapped match, would you think his handicap was legit? Or would you call him a cheating sandbagger?

No, I did not dig into individual scores. But it seems to me the odds of a team winning 21 straight matches in a fairly handicapped competition are quite remote. Maybe not exactly like flipping heads 21 times in a row on a coin but close. To my mind, those odds go beyond explanations such as good play or even good fortune. Do you think I am off base?

A bit of background. The Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) runs an annual event known as "Team Play." It is a wildly popular match play competition where Men's Clubs across the region put together teams of 20+ golfers together to compete against other clubs in a 16 vs. 16 match. In any given year, approximately 80-100 clubs will participate. Each club is grouped into "pods" of 4, and will play 6 total matches - one home and one away match against the other 3 clubs. The winning club from each pod advances to the Team Play Playoffs - a single elimination format - until a winner is crowned. Antelope Valley Country Club just advanced to the championship match for the 3rd consecutive year. They won the championship in both 2022 and 2023. Based on my review of the match history from the past 3 years (linked below), they have won 21 consecutive team matches. Keep in mind, these are handicapped matches, so this is not just a case where a group of sticks bands together to dominate the poor amateurs other SoCal clubs. Even if these guys are grinders who never quit, play their best under pressure and routinely putt the lights out, the law of averages still say that a streak of that nature is mathematically impossible. Is there any plausible explanation beyond institutionalized sandbagging throughout the club? Team Play Page

Most clubs that implement preferred lies also require that the type of lie remain the same. I.E. you cannot move the ball from rough to fairway. Does your league require the same?

Their recent podcast recapped a 2 day NC Amateur event that Mike participated in this February. Playing off a 6 handicap, he shot a 97 and a 102. Kudos to him for facing up to it with a positive attitude. If I had posted similar scores in year 7 of my quest, I would probably just shut the entire project down.

You might be on to something here…

Generally speaking, extended warranties are a terrible deal and should almost always be avoided. They are a huge profit center for the companies that offer them, which should tell you almost everything you need to know about how much value most consumers get when purchasing them. This is correct, and the old adage applies - only buy insurance when you can't afford the loss. This usually doesn't apply to most consumer goods. To your second question, no I don't believe the offer is fair. They are replacing it, but it is not being replaced at "no cost to you". Since the amount being disputed (over $500) is non-trivial, I would probably push the issue. Don't waste your time on the phone with a customer service agent or a supervisor. They have probably given you all they have the authority to do. Rather, I would look at the terms of your agreement and specifically legal disputes. The odds are you probably agreed to binding arbitration in the event of a dispute. The agreement will outline what steps need to be followed, but it will probably look something like this. 1. Mail the Nordic Track legal department outlining your dispute and indicate you are not satisfied with the resolution offered. 2. Open up a case with the AAA (American Arbitration Association), along with the required documentation. 3. Wait about 4-5 weeks for a case to be opened - at which point someone from Nordic Track's legal department will offer to give you the new model at no cost to you. They certainly don't want to spend the time and energy to fight you over $500. 4. Enjoy your new Nordic Track at no cost to you. I recently entered binding arbitration against a fairly large and well known company that screwed me over and refused to make it right. In my demand letter, I made a pretty sizeable request that included compensation for my time and frustration. Once it hit their legal department, they cut me a check - no questions asked. It was far cheaper to settle with me than to send their legal team to defend them in the arbitration.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I found this advice from Phil Mickelson to be some of the worst that I have ever seen posted online. I played two rounds last week and every single time I thought about keeping my "hand speed" up on my chips and pitches, the results were downright disastrous. I laid so much sod over my short game shots that I'm pretty sure the greenskeeper needed to put in overtime this weekend. Bottom line, I understand that different thoughts resonate differently with different people, but it's hard for me to see how getting fast with your hands can ever be considered worthwhile advice. Thoughts? Phil Mickelson Hand Speed Video

Funny. I saw this article and was going to post the same thing. If they continue to take a firm stance with this (and enforce it with the big names as well), then I'll have to tip my cap to them on that front.

Another interesting thought experiment: At one point on the handicap axis would your vote shift to saying the low capper would never lose? For instance, I would feel fairly confident that a +6 (basically a tour pro) would never lose to a 7 handicapper, no matter how many times they played over a 30 year run. But what about a scratch golfer vs. a 13? or a +2 vs. an 11? At some point, the better player becomes so good that their "bad" rounds are still good enough to take care of business 99.9% of the time, given the skill difference.

It would be helpful to know how often they played together. Weekly? Monthly? Few times a year? My first instinct was to say a 16 would never beat a 3. But my 19 handicap dad has bested me on a few nines and come dangerously close to beating me over a full 18 (although I don’t believe he’s ever actually done it). For context we’ve been playing 10-12 times a year for the last 15 years or so. If the 16 and 3 play anything more than monthly than I think the high capper takes him down at some point.

Really mediocre golf year for me - aside from one “lifetime” round in late May, I was basically a 7-8 index posing as a 5-6. I wish I could say that I see it improving in 2024, but with my work travel resumed and kids sports and activities occupying an increasing share of my time, my rounds are going to be limited in the near term. With that being said, I am going to do better at finding pockets of time to hit the range, and be exceedingly intentional with every swing, practice or otherwise.

Recent update: He's got a bit of a Scheffler spin-out going on with the front foot. He can generate pretty good power for his size, but consistency is a struggle. BTW - Merry Christmas to all on this forum!