Loose Cannon

Should be a great Super Bowl for viewers. Mahomes and the Chiefs are never out of it. Hurts and his Eagles are playing lights out. Some are calling it the Reid Bowl. Chief's coach, Andy Reid, coached quite a few years at the Eagles before coming to KC. First time two brothers have played against each other in the SB. Travis Kelce, Chief's record setting tight end, will face his older brother who is the offensive center for the Eagles. We bleed Chiefs red, out here. They are not good for this old heart, though, seeming to run every game up until the last seconds to win.

An odd duck, but no fairway woods in the bag. When either set of my Pings are in the bag, I carry 3-SW. (Eye 2 SST or Eye 2+ BeCu) When bagging the T300's, 4-GW, SW. Frustrated over this past year with a plethora of fairways. Went to two Callaway Super Hybrids, 3h and 4h. So far, they've been stellar!! (Oh. I'm 76.)

Congrats!!!👏 I've had 3 aces and only saw one of them go in the hole. Don't ever say you won't get another. Keep hittin' 'em straight and Lady Luck will surely smile on one of them!!!

We are a group of old geezers. When all show up, we have 7 or 8. Just never know how many will be there, so have formats for different numbers of players. Two or three players: Par or better Four players: 2 vs. 2, changing partners after every 3 holes Five players: Wolf Six to eight players: Split into two groups of three to four. Play group against group, best ball We trash talk. We take our bets seriously!! We play for quarters. One of our Superintendents said we "fight like sisters". A really great group. Quite a mix of careers we all retired from. Our group has the first tee time at our course, 7 days/week. They say we play NASCAR golf. If our group is 3 or less, we'll play 18 in right at 2 hours. Four or five will take us about 2 hours, 30 minutes. Never had a twosome in a cart be able to catch us. Much better than sitting in our recliners, collecting dust!

From the cadre of phenomenal players out there today, can't think of two nicer guys to go head to head in a Major than Kuch and Spieth. Kuch is a "nice guy"... maybe too nice. Has never appeared to have the "killer instinct" it takes to win decisively and often. OTOH, I don't remember him being in a final group in a Major. That casual demeanor may pay great dividends. Spieth has upchucked on the final day of a Major before. If he goes off the first tee aggressively and trying to make birdies... he will win. If he plays to not lose and gets too tense worrying that someone might catch him, he is apt to tank. Koepka has been playing great all year and has just won a Major. He could easily walk away with this. Looking for a great day of golf on television!!!!

The advent of adjustable clubs has made some of the purchase decision easier. My driver, Mini 1.5, 3-wood, 5-wood, 3h, and 4h are all adjustable. Right now the Mini is benched because of how well I'm hitting the 3-wood. I have everything adjusted to provide excellent gapping between clubs... and fit the requirements of specific holes on our course.

0... ZERO! Picked up a new putter yesterday. Early morning round, today, with no chance to try the putter on grass. Had a 15 footer on #1 for my first putt. No idea how the putter would work. Rolled the 15 footer in. From then on, it was magic. My playing partner and I have probably played close to 100 rounds together. He said he'd never seen me putt "lights out" like I did today. As with any club, there is a honeymoon that can end pretty quickly. Hopefully, the honeymoon with this putter lasts a long, long time. Thanks to the putter... and some excellent ball striking... went 38/38 for a 76. "Goodbye, Mr. Three Jack!"

Exactly the opposite. 89 yesterday, one of the worst rounds in a long time. 79 today. Same course. Same clubs. Same player. 10 strokes different in 24 hours. I am making every attempt to tell this 70 year old body that it can play 18 holes 7 days/week. Some days it is rebelling. Other days, it seems ready to play. "Fluctuation"?? Karsten sold thousands of Ping irons based on the "dot" system. Players were fit to within 1 degree of lie angle. Most of us who play this game for enjoyment could not repeat the same swing two weeks in a row... two days in a row... two swings in a row. Some days, the driver works. Some days it doesn't. Some days the putter needs a talking to. Some days the putter is my best friend. I've learned over the years to take the round the Golf Gods has blessed me with on that day. So many my age are unable to play this Great Game due to physical, emotional, financial, etc. issues. If I shoot 89 again tomorrow, I'll be disappointed... but not upset. I also know I can go out tomorrow and shoot 75. If something hurts tomorrow, I know I woke up. That is much more important than a few strokes fluctuation in the carded score.

Remember golf is a game... entertainment... not work. Play where the game give you the least amount of frustration and the most enjoyment. Do you have a regular group you join? If so, what tees do they play? Sometimes it can make a negative impression on the other folks in the group if one plays from back tees and doesn't have the game to do so. Don't let the ego trip of "playing the tips" negatively affect pace of play. All that said, I enjoy playing from different sets of tees to change up the game. I'm 70 1/2. My weekday group plays from the "geezer tees". I join them and we have a blast. My weekend group is young flat-bellies and they play from back tees. I... sorta... still have the game to play from back there. I can still compete with them from there and keep up pace of play. It changes the clubs you hit into greens and, therefore, adds some "adventure" to the game. Whatever you decide, keep it fun!!! The Game of Golf is something you can enjoy for many, many years. Play from where it is most enjoyable to you while respecting the others on the course.

The old site is still up. Very little activity, but we were a small "family". I do believe some of the others have become active on another golf discussion board. Most certainly, do not take that as anything negative against The Sand Trap. Where we had such a small number of members, some have probably chosen to stick together. Shot Talk, since it had seemed to become such a small family, saw most of us casting barbs back and forth that we would never dare do in a larger group setting. Yes, the Wisconsonites and Canadians were often reminded that sheep were for food and wool and not "recreation". We have a few "ferinjers"... Ireland, South Africa, Australia, Arizona, etc. I've recently... in late February... retired. Between trying to play 18 holes 7-days/week, take the dog for a 4-mile walk after the 18, keep up with lawn and other household chores, make multiple daily log-ons to Facebook and check of kids/grandkids, it doesn't leave a substantial amount of time to post anywhere. And. there is a rumor that I get just a little "wordy" with my posts. We have some feelers out about a couple of members purchasing the site. Currently, the site owners want entirely too much. If the site should fold, who knows whether we will all abandon ship or start a new discussion board. In the meantime, I'll keep passing through and post now and again. If I can't find time, I may just teach the Black Lab to punch keys and let her post for me.

We take a fork or spoon, load it with food, and hit a 1" hole we can't even see. How many times do you stop and try to analyze what it will take to get the bit of steak into your mouth? You don't!!! It comes naturally. Too often, I've seen players suffer paralysis through over-analysis... especially when it comes to putting. A couple things that have helped me over the years.... 1.) Spend less time on the driving range and more time on the putting clock. You hit driver maybe 14 times during a round. You use the putter 30 times or more. Which is most important to be comfortable with? 2.) If you are having distance trouble, play "darts". If you put the ball in the hole, yes you score 10. However, the closer you leave the ball to the hole the better the score. 9, 8, 7, etc. Play like the hole is the bullseye in a 2 foot diameter dart board. A two-putt isn't all that bad. 3.) Become friends with your putter. A guy who has won our club championship a few times uses an old 'no-name' putter he bought for 75 cents at a garage sale 20 years ago. Still has some yellow paint visible from the time it was a putt-putt putter. He's tried Cameron and Odyssey and boutique putters. Goes back to the one he knows and trusts. Great to see you playing golf competitively. Enjoy the game. This Great Game can provide a phenomenal amount of enjoyment over the course of a lifetime... along with some frustration. The enjoyment is what keeps me playing 5 to 7 days/week at age 70. Don't allow the frustration to infringe on the enjoyment the Game can give you.

Golf is a game of integrity... except when it comes to handicaps. After seeing the handicap system raped and pillaged for years in amateur play, I refused to even carry a handicap. Didn't play in any competitive events. Recently retired, have been asked to represent our course in some regional events. So, paid my handicap fee and am keeping one this year. I fully assume I will be soundly beaten when we do get to competition. Too many are more worried about winning than the integrity that should go with the Game. Some years ago, I belonged to a course where the same two won nearly ever event. They would claim double digit handicaps, then shoot near scratch during every event. After a couple years, the course banned them from competition. In the meantime, many quit playing in events because they knew the two "crooks" would take the big money. It's sad, but it happens every day on golf courses. Hurts the Game. In life, it often seems the one who does not play by the rules is the one who succeeds in business. We re-elect politicians we know are two-faced and lie through their teeth. Then, we have difficulty understanding why someone claims a sand-bagging handicap on the golf course.

70 1/2 here. Play 18 holes 6 to 7 days/week. Have a group of "geezers" age 65 to 77 during the week. Play with the young flat-bellies on the weekends. Here's my 2 cents.... 1.) Never belittle a ball in the middle. At our age, we are far better off playing short in the fairway than a tad bit longer in the trees. If those hitting before you are bombing it, try to stick with your smooth swing and place the ball where you have a good second shot. 2.) Short game... short game.... short game!!!! I can shoot in the upper 70's to low 80's and hardly ever hit a green in regulation. (Our course has postage stamp sized greens.) If anywhere around the green, I'll chip to one-putt distance... or chip it in. The youngsters may fly a beautiful 5-iron from 200 yards and stick it on the green. My chip and putt still will score better than their 3-jack. 3.) Leave your "club number ego" at home. If you need to hit a 6-iron from 100 yards, who cares???!!!! I have yet to see a scorecard where the club you use is recorded as part of your score. Hit what gets you there. 4.) As we lose distance, we are often tempted to go to a "distance" ball. The difference between hitting a Top Rock and a ProV for a 80 mph swing speed is nil. OTOH, you will be able to control your short game chips much better with a ball you can stop than a ball that has no conscience about running clear across the green. 5.) They don't draw pictures on the score card. Who cares how you got the ball in the hole? Two of the geezers in our group hit drivers from the fairway. I've seen each go driver, driver, driver, putter, putter to par a par 5. So?? It's what gets the job done. 6.) Live with your clubs until you learn the personality, attitude, and potential of each club. As we lose distance, we are tempted to try to buy a longer game. Each time we change clubs, we lose the personal relationship with them. It's another learning experience. If we are depending on the shorter clubs to be our scoring clubs, we need to know exactly how far we hit each of them... and the shot pattern each has a tendency to follow. Sorry! Guess that might have been more than 2 cents worth. This is a Great Game that we can enjoy many years into our "geezerhood". Find a group you can joke with. Find a group that understands this is a Game and there are much more serious things in life than carding a bogey... or double... or triple once in a while. Good luck!!!!!

Golf is 90% mental. The other 10% is all in your head. Definitely! I'd have the entire set loft and lies checked. If they only check a single iron, you will always have that doubt in the back of your mind about the other irons. If you "know" each has been checked and is correct for your swing, you will have full confidence when stepping up to the shot.

Thanks! Will make every attempt to keep posting some here. You folks have been extremely welcoming. Just need to find the time. Had no idea retirement would be this busy. Play 18 holes of golf each morning. Take dog for 3 1/2 to 4 mile walk after that. Keep up lawn and other household chores. Had soooo much more time when working full time!!!!

About an hour of "fun" reading those 9 pages of posts. Lots of really different experiences and opinions. But, that's life. For many years, I traveled a multi-state area. Took my clubs and would play many different courses. I always asked to be paired with others, rather than play as a single. Having someone to point out the nuances of a course certainly enhanced the experience. And, met lots of super friendly people. During those "young years" ,I was not my own best company on a golf course. Could get really disgusted with myself. Being with others, let the bad shots be easily forgotten and made looking forward to the next more fun. In all the years of being paired with others, can only remember one bad experience. Two of us had called for, and had been given a tee time at a public course. Upon arriving and checking in, was told we would be playing with another two. Great! Checked in with starter and he said the other two had gone on down to the #1 tee. We got to the tee, pulled our drivers, and walked up on the box. One of the guys asked what the H*ll we thought we were doing. I told him the starter sent us down and told us we would be joining them. He went into a tirade, saying that it was "their" tee time, they were not going to have their afternoon ruined by sharing it. Hmmm.... We drove back to the starter and told him of the problem. The starter came out of his shack, jumped on a cart, and headed to the tee box. We heard some loud "discussion". Pretty soon, all three came back. The starter returned to his shack and the two guys continued towards the clubhouse. The starter said, "Looks like your two friends have decided their egos are too large for this course. I apologize, but you will have to play as a two. Have a great round!" The past 15 years, I've belonged to a local course and play with our "group". Now retired, have a 'weekday group' and a 'weekend group'. Yes, a 70+ year old body can play 7 days/week!!! Both groups have our solid core of guys. We can see numerous others rotate in and out depending on work, vacations, illness, etc. Both groups usually have two tee times reserved as we can vary from 4 or 5 to 8 or 10 on any given day. This Great Game is much too fun and the ability to enjoy it with excellent companionship is something we all should be thankful for. Whether a full group or a single, if every person would simply try to make the Game enjoyable for ALL they have the opportunity to interact with on the course, life would be so much easier.

Every golf club has a unique personality. That personality/attitude is breathed into each club during the final assembly process by the Great God of Golf. Depending on how much the old guy is wheezing after breathing life into a few hundred thousand golf clubs/day, decides the attitude instilled in that specific club. I've had a few he must have done early in the day with full, pure grace and goodness. Most of the hundreds of clubs I've owned over the years were undoubtedly done as he was running our of air and patience. They have been sorta like buying a vehicle built on a Friday.

Spent the last 15 years of my career living on the road. Over 2,000 nights in hotels. And, I actually remained healthy and did not gain unwanted pounds. If I ate breakfast at a hotel is was oatmeal and coffee. For years, my lunch was a tin of sardines and some crackers. I never ate out for evenings. Would pick up some healthy frozen dinner from the store on the way to the hotel or have brought something from home and kept in hotel fridge. So tempting, at first, to eat out all the time. Once in the habit, never really had the desire to go to a restaurant. Thought I was retired a year ago. Began playing 18 holes 5 to 7 days/week. Have our own cart so was not getting the walking exercise needed. Adopted a 75 lb. Black Lab. She and I began 3 1/2 to 4 mile walks immediately after I returned home from the golf course. Got called back to work and really missed the dog walks. Have fully retired, now, and am back to walking the dog.

If the old site existed only for the golf we discussed, it would have died long ago. Most of the discussion was spent on what someone ate for supper, who was sneaking into whose house enjoying their better half, who from Wisconsin had the "most experienced" sheep, what wood-working project the resident craftsman was knocking out, where our Irish or Swedish or South African or Australian buddies were playing golf, or how many dozen sets of irons Steve had purchased that very day simply as a hobby. Oh! And how many drivers WBL could actually go through in a single season. Was a really good group of really good guys covering a wide age range.

70 and retired, what else is there to think about? Aches and pains??!! No WAY!!!! I'd much rather be concerned if I need to move one of the weights on my R15 1/4" more forward or deloft my 3-wood 1 degree.... even though not a single screw change will fix a self-taught swing that makes Jim Furyk's look like a ballet dancer. Don't you have some golf to play before Arizona becomes hotter than Satan's home turf??? IOW, I thought you always read each and every word I ever typed on ST!!!!

I still carry a 5-wood... I think. At least that's what it says. A couple years ago, I got entirely too hooked on the adjustability of clubs. Being in engineering/construction my entire career, I tinker way too much. At 70+, I also need all the help at the top of the bag as distance loss through age becomes more noticeable. I have a Mini 1.5 14 degree. If I am hitting the driver well and it is in the bag, I'll take the Mini up to 16 degrees and drop the 3-wood. If the driver is a little balky and needs time out, I'll take the Mini back to 12 or 13 degrees, use it as a driver, and carry both 3 and 5. My 3 wood and 5 wood are adjustable. The 5 is most generally screwed up to 4-wood loft. If the 3-wood is in the bag, I'll weaken the 5-wood loft considerably. Yes, I carry a 5-wood. Love it. Have paralysis through over-analysis with all these bolts and screws, though.

Have played with those who allow their temper to take control. Such actions can negatively affect every other member in the group. A few years ago one of the younger guys in our weekend group would curse loudly, bang clubs into the turf, etc. I finally had a talk with him and told him if he didn't control himself, he would no longer be welcome in the group. Was a difficult conversation as the young man was one of our son-in-laws. He immediately turned it around and is still a regular... and welcome.... participant in the group. Damage to property, whether course or cart??!!!??? That is unforgivable. If they break their own clubs, I can walk away from playing with that person. If they damage course property, I am going to immediately report it. If I have a cell in the bag, I would call the clubhouse. If not, I would report it to the clubhouse at the turn. The person needs held accountable for such actions and damage. Every day on the golf course is a blessing. So many would love to have the opportunity to play this GREAT Game. They don't due to financial, physical, emotional issues beyond their control. At 70+, if I even wake up it's a blessing. You can allow your emotions to show. You can show your disgust with a shot or shots. Allowing those emotions to hamper another's enjoyment of the Game takes it over the line.

And, each of us play the GREAT Game for our own reasons. I did go through that time when it was all for the competition. Now, at age 70+, Golf is social... entertainment... telling jokes we've heard for the third time... talking about grandkids... and satisfying the wife's urge to get me out of the house!!!! If I dropped $500 on a driver, that not only would cut deeply into the Social Security benefits but would be grounds for dissolving of a 50+ year marriage!!!! I understand your comments about vehicles. Were I to win Powerball, I'd not hesitate to drop $100,000 on a Shelby F-150 tomorrow.

We were all "guys". Never could understand why the gals didn't stick around. We were all extremely handsome, polite, and.....