Loose Cannon

Good marketing sells automobiles, beer, and elects politicians. We haven't purchased a "new" vehicle in decades. Always let someone else take the depreciation "hit" and we buy with 10,000 +/- miles. My golf bag has evolved to almost all Callaway... except for the driver. NONE is current model or series. Let those with the big bucks... and big ego... spend $500 on a driver. Our 'geezer game' where we may lose 75 cents or win $1.25 has a difficult time justifying such. And, if I showed up with a $500 driver in the bag would probably get laughed out of the group.

Have "lurked" at the Sand Trap for some time. Never very active. Been active with the "family" at a site "Shot Talk". Been a good mix of geezers and young flat-bellies. No politics or religion was permitted. Just good healthy... well "healthy" can be awfully subjective... discussion. The site evidently folded with no notice. So, some of us are looking for a place to land where we can brag about our good days on the course and whine about the bad. And, somewhere I can expect significant criticism about my long and lengthy posts... and turn a deaf ear to that criticism!!! :>)

The RBZ Tour driver was one of the best additions to my bag in many years. Love it!! I went with the R11s 3-wood. I liked the increased adjustability and the recent price drop allowed me to purchase it below the price of the RBZ 3-wood. The R11s 3-wood has been surprisingly good. There was some reluctance to pick up the RBZ driver. I had read lots of posts on many discussion boards that were complimentary and many that were negative. But, has there ever been a club that every player gets along well with? A good friend manages a large off-course golf store. He said their customers had overwhelmingly been positive about the RBZ line. He told me to wait and he'd let me know when an RBZ Tour was traded in and I could try it for a few rounds. He'll need to pry it from my hands if he wants it back!!!!

In 30 to 40 years of playing this game, I cannot remember ever purchasing tees. I'm sure I must have early on, but don't remember. As I pick up my own tee after a drive, I quite often spy one or two more good tees laying right on the tee box. I'll pick them up. Every few months, I need to clean out my "tee pouch" because it gets way too full. I have a box in the basement that probably has 5,000 tees in it I've accumulated over the years. At my age, the chance of ever using up those tees is pretty slim!!! :>) "We have the first tee time on Saturday and Sunday at our course. We find quite a few "lost balls" from the evening before. Have a couple of 5-gallon buckets in the front of our cart shed and the basket behind the cart seat remains well over half full. The question often comes up, "Why would you even stop to pick up a ball when you've got so many that may never see use?" I don't know the answer, except it's difficult to drive by a "found ball" just as it's difficult to walk off and not pick up perfectly good tees. One of these days, I'll probably star on a "hoarder" reality show, surrounded by beat up Molitors, TiTechs, Flying Ladys, and bushel baskets of golf tees!!

Thought the picture of my Silverado with a little snow might make some of us feel a little better in this god-forsaken heat!! I ALWAYS have my clubs in the extended cab. Travel 30,000 to 40,000 miles/year and they are always with me. If I have passengers, the Weatherguard box is extra wide. I'll just take the time to dump the tools, etc. in my garage and I can put a set of clubs in the box... locked. Some have suggested just putting them in the bed of the truck. My truck has a LineX liner. I would never put my bag back there. I love the LineX, but it is extremely abrasive and don't know how the bag would look after a trip. Also... I would be afraid to stop and use the restroom or do anything that would take my eyes off the truck. People will steal anything out of a truck bed and would make a bee line to a set of golf clubs left unattended.

+1 Couldn't get rid of my 5W. I also carry a 3h and it is 7 to 10 yards shorter than the 5W. It all depends on how a particular person's clubs "break" at distance intervals.

Isn't "dibit" the sound a frog makes... when he's had too much beer and no longer can pronounce his "r's"??

Driver is a Ping K-15. I also carry a Cleveland HiBore 2-wood. (The 2-wood has a 16 degree loft... actually 3 wood loft... but has a 400+cc head and a driver length shaft.) TMAG R-9 5-wood. Callaway War Bird 3 hybrid Adams A7 4 hybrid 5 through LW are Ping BeCu Eye 2+ Putter depends on the day. Can be a Scotty Studio Design #5 with MB stamp or an Odyssey White Ice #7 or, today, it's an ancienct Ping My Echo. I also have a couple or Ping Anser 4 BeCu that will make the bag from time to time. All these are hauled around the course in a Titleist Lightweight Cart Bag... an awesome bag. FJ shoes. FJ glove. Titleist ProV ball.

I would have to agree with your "source" that, IMHO, the PGA would be the easiest to win. The two most difficult would be the U.S. Open and The Open. Why? The U.S. Open is a course set up different than anything else these participants play. We have seen the PGA become accustomed to tourneys that see the 72 hole scores anywhere from 10 under to 20 under. If there is discerable rough, it is not tough enough to invoke dire consequences. The U.S Open has higher rough, narrower fairways, and faster greens than any other venue. Many, many years we see the U.S. Open winning 72 hole score at even par... or a shot or two over. The Open can be a test due to weather. If Mother Nature wants to make The Open a challenge, she can... and often does!

Owning or renting a cart boils down to the mathmatics. In my case, I've owned my own cart for the past 5 years. Our course has cart storage sheds... with a waiting list. It takes right at 50 rounds/year to break even with the cost of owning vs. renting. I play a tad over 100 rounds/year and the cost of cart storage, electricity, and trail fee is half of what it would cost me to rent a cart for all of those rounds. But... I play one course 99.9% of the time. I don't own a trailer and have never hauled the cart anywhere off my home course. In our region, about 20 courses went together and have a "reciprocal card program". With our paid membership, each year, we get a card that allows us to play any one of the reciprocating courses for $20... with cart. That's a heck of a deal and allows us to "sniff out" some of the other courses for minimal cost. Few in our area own their own carts and haul them from course to course. Most courses in the area will charge a trail fee. By the time you load up... use more fuel hauling to another location... and pay their trail fee you're about as well off just paying cart rental. Owning a cart and playing my home course all the time is really convenient. Our cart is equipped with a winter cover with lift off doors. And, we have a heater. We can hop in any time of year and play. We can leave clubs/balls/water bottles/shoes... all kinds of "junk" in the cart shed and it's there each time we play. If you do decide to purchase a cart, find a dealer who services what he sells. We have a member who sells a particular brand of cart. If you buy from him, he'll bust his behind to take care of you if anything happens. If you purchase from somewhere else, he cantankerous enough to tell you he won't touch it and to take it back where you bought it. We bought our cart used and it's been virtually trouble free. When we purchased it, we had new batteries installed. That was a $600 expense, but we can play 36 with no problem. Sorry... you'll find I'm a little long winded. Didn't mean to go on and on like that. You can tell, though, I love having my own cart.