vo-man

I got a promotional green fee 'bag tag' as part of the goodie bag at a tournament last year. 32 free rounds of golf. Only downside was that the 'promotional' cart fee for each course was almost as much as the standard green fee. At one course the cart fee was $25. at another the promotional cart fee was $40 and at that same course they had a Spring special of $33 including cart going on. All those 'coupon' type golf promotions are BS if you ask me. You can save money by visiting the course websites and looking for promotional discount coupons, which is where the $33 with cart discount was.

??? I play one ball per round. Last week I made it to the 18th hole before I lost a ball in a water hazard and had to pull a 2nd ball from my bag. 20 balls off the tee, in any direction....? 3 balls? What is up with that? You should read the book on Titanic Thompson. One of his betting tactics was letting his opponent hit 3 balls off each tee and play the best ball. It usually wore them out by the end of the first nine so they didn't have any good shots left for the back nine.

Maybe he should seek some sort of sponsorship if he hasn't already done that. If the girls are truly gifted at the sport it would seem likely that some corporate sponsor would kick in some financial support. On the other hand, maybe they should think about playing with less expensive gear and getting a club membership with unlimited golf. Gymnastics is an expensive sport too but I didn't buy my daughter a $1000 leotard.

I went down the exact same road 11 yrs ago. Bulging disc, sciatic pain, right leg and foot numbness, chiropractor, etc. I had endured it for about six months then one day I was changing a flat tire and the bulging disc ruptured. All the symptoms then magnified and within 30 days I could hardly walk. After I suffered several sudden spasms that would take my legs right out from under me without any warning, I went back to my doctor, but this time they had to bring a wheel chair out to the car to wheel me into the office. I was then sent to a surgical consult. By then I could not rise from a seat without assistance and once up on my feet I was walking like Igor, dragging my uncontrollable numb right foot, using a cane, and already experiencing nerve damage that the surgeon said couldn't be repaired. After more imaging, cat scan, mylogram, etc, he found the problem and said he could stop the progress of the nerve damage but could not repair it, and after the surgery and I'd be dependent on using a cane from then on. Post surgery, 9 weeks later, when he finally released me to return to work I asked him if I'd be able to play golf and he basically said, "I can't tell you yes or no cause I'm not a golfer, but go out there and swing a club and your back will tell you if you can or can't". He also said that, with therapy, if I got back 65-70% normal use of my right leg and foot that would be as much as I could expect. After all that I still needed a cane and kept a portable TENS unit strapped to my belt massaging my lower back with electricity 24 hours a day. Then, approx 4 months after going back to work a coworker convinced me to get some acupuncture treatments, which ended up having an enormous positive effect on the nerve damage in my hip, leg, and foot. 4 months of acupuncture treatments, 3 times a week, brought me back to approx 90% recovery, which I have learned to live with. I did have to give up golfing for a while and once I got back into it, my back swing was shorter. But that turned out to be a good thing. In the end, if I'd known that nerve damage is not repairable, at least with Allopathic medical treatment, I would have seen the surgeon much sooner than I did. Golf, by itself, may not be worth surgery, but quality of life certainly is.

It seems that so many people, involved in all types of sports, find it necessary to compare their skill level to the sports professionals. Those of us who are not Pro's, despite the sport we may participate in, are amateurs. And by definition, amateurs are not expected to perform or score at Pro levels. Once a person is able to accept that, and find satisfaction in playing to his/her own level, no matter what ones handicap may be, the game becomes less frustrating and more enjoyable. When I play a round I play against the course, try to manage course strategy as well as my physicality, and play a good round at my skill level, even if we have some sort of betting game going. And playing the course usually helps me come out ahead. It's when I lose focus on my game and try to compete against other players that I usually botch a hole or two. If I score what I consider to be a 'win' against the course then I feel I've had a good round. I have an old friend who, when he hits a wild shot, says "Blue Sky-Green Grass-Isn't it wonderful". That's his way of letting the bad ones go and reminding himself that any day on the golf course is better than a day spent at work.

Nope, I buy what I need when I need it. My golfing partner is just the opposite. He's addicted to garage sale golf gear. Last weekend he gave me two Ping 1 irons that he didn't want and last month an old persimmon 3 wood. All garage sale clubs. He's got so much golf junk accumulated he's started giving it away to help reduce the clutter in his garage. But it's only increasing the clutter in mine. I suggested he put them on Ebay or donate them to the "buy a club for $5 bucks and donate to charity" bucket at the course pro shop.

By that standard, and the stats that claim that only 24% of all weekend golfers break 90, 76% of us are hackers. 50% shoot over 100. I'm proud to be in the 26% that shoot 90-99 despite what label may be put on it.

I played with a guy once who played by "Willie Rules "; IE: "put the ball where it would have gone if the tree or pond wasn't there". Even with those rules forgiving every errant shot he made he still scored well over 100. The way I see it, making your own rules for the round won't help improve your game...practicing on the range will though. When you get out on the course, despite the game you play between your friends, it's you against the course. Why would you want to cheat yourself out of that opportunity to find out how well you can really do? Otherwise the round really doesn't mean much. A bucket of balls on the practice range is $8 bucks or so. That's money well spent compared to paying a green fee and cart fee just to practice.

My personal theory is that, as an amateur, weekend golfer, if I can play bogey golf then I'm playing a good game for my skill level, so that's what I strive for. I recall hearing Arnold Palmer say something to that affect many years ago and it's always stuck with me. And with that goal in mind, pars, birdies or better are a nice bonus to the round. I don't get frustrated with double bogeys but try to learn from my mistakes on the course so I can improve on those with my next round. It's not so different from pro baseball and amateur league softball. I'm not a pro so I don't pretend to be able to swing a club or a bat like one and try to enjoy the game I play. Afterall, it beats the hell out of being in an office for 4 or 5 hours.

Palmer

I neither offer or accept swing advice while on the course.

I find myself wondering when the beer girl will be coming around again.

the only damage I'd expect would be to the club grips and rubber components in your bag.

Doesn't matter to me. I'm not aiming for a wall of steel and play Top Flight Xls anyway.

I'd say 1 in 50. I'm usually solid from that distance ... sometimes a rise at the lip of the cup from the hole cutter can cause a close putt to miss.

Had to hit out of a deep bunker onto the green this past week where the grass was about a foot higher than my head. The terrain rose from the grass line so much I could only see the top of the flagstick. So I gave it my best. My partner, who was on the green, yelled with excitement as my ball landed on the green. I had hit what I thought was a far too hard and low shot and expected the ball to sail past the pin to the other side of the green. Turned out that I had put enough backspin on the ball that it hit the green and reversed course, ending up about 4 feet from the pin. Wish I had been able to see it!

I had two great shots yesterday. First was on hole #13, a par 5 and the #1 hardest hole on the course. They had a young gal at the tee box video recording each players swing to be emailed to the players later in the week. So I tee up the ball and pull off the best drive of the day. Right down the middle long and low. Ended up parring the hole. Second was hole #17. Almost worn out from the heat and drove about a foot short of a water hazard to the right of the fairway. But my 2nd shot, with my trusty rusty vokey 52, put the ball two feet from the pin. Beautiful, just beautiful. Birdy.

Practice your short game. That's where it counts. Chip, pitch, putt.

My old Bag Boy pull cart has a folding side seat. Comes in handy when I'm waiting at the green.

be ready for heat and lots of it.

I don't recall the source but I read recently that of all weekend amateur golfers in the USA; 26% break 90 50% shoot 100 or higher.

My all time best was a 79. I was regularly shooting in the low 80's at the time and had a good day. Shortly after that I broke my right ankle, left arm, left clavicle, separated my left shoulder socket, displaced my right elbow, and broke my right hand in two places...all in an auto accident. I'm still trying to get back to the 80's. Got close a couple of weeks ago and shot a 92. My back swing is much shorter than it use to be, which is a good thing.

Early tee time lots of water light weight cotton clothing shade biggest problem I had last weekend was my driver grip slipping/rotating on impact with the ball due to sweat. Had a moisture wicking towel in my bag that helped a lot with that after the first time it happened...which was on the first tee box. Even at 9am it was already a scorcher!

I have a 21 Hybrid and a 24 Wood and hit them both almost the same distance...right at 175 yds. Of the two, for me, the hybrid is easier to hit consistently on target.

I've got an old friend who is a 7 handicapper and plays a regular Friday round at one of the local country clubs with his long time foursome for $1000 to the low scorer. When December comes around the one who's won the thousand bucks the most during the year spends the grand on dinner for the group & their wives at a high dollar steak house. As for me, I stick to .25 cents per hole, no carry overs, with .25 cent birdies and longest drives on the fives. It's surprising how much more concentration goes into the round when there's a quarter on the line!