Fore Left

Not sure how "weird" I am, but I play best either solo, or during high-pressure tournament situations (which hasn't been in awhile since my game is in the toilet due to lack-of-time) Two total different ends of the spectrum I guess, but really it makes sense to me.... If I'm "focused" I do well (much like walking vs. cart, but that's one of the other 100 threads) If I'm playing in a casual group, especially if I'm playing with hacks, then my game is crap. I play solo/with good competition, and people want to snatch me up for their next golf scramble, and I play awful in scrambles because of the (usually) laid-back nature of them. Heck, I'm playing in back-to-back scrambles where I know the competition is going to be thin, and I hope I can find a way to stay focused enough to play well.

I encountered a lot of luck on my way to those Even Par / Under par rounds..... of course I've encountered some of the craziest luck (good luck) on terrible rounds too.... Even Par over 18 holes shows a consistent skill. You're gonna have good AND bad luck during ANY round. How you utilize it or recover from it, is where the skill comes in (in addition to avoiding bad situations, putting yourself in good situations etc) A hole in one 'can' be a "Fluke" or it can be a bit of "aligning of the stars" after hitting a nice shot...... Either way, I'm sure I'll be happy if I ever get one, but the score on the card is far more gratifying/frustrating than any single shot in any single round.

I've played both of those courses (league play at Tam O' ) and I don't recall any crazy greens, but it's been awhile...... I use to get out to Firestone all the time on Corporate Memberships (by playing with people WAY above my pay-grade!) and that's a completely different kind of frustrating!

Your Irons are 10 years old? I'm currently carrying an 8 handicap, and although I'd be lying if I didn't look at other irons sometimes, I haven't felt the need to pull the trigger yet, and I've been hoofing the same set of irons for 15 years (98' until now) If you think your irons aren't suitable for your skill level, then buy some new ones (used, that's what I'd do... too many nice sets out there for cheap vs. paying MSRP) otherwise, just keep working with what you have.

EDIT: Nevermind.... I'm an idiot. Still don't know what club he has, but I ordered the wrong thing....

Hooked one into the parking lot, hit a prius. Felt great coming off the face.... not serious by the way.

Find some of those "All High-Handicappers out drinking beer golf-scrambles" You'll be playing, without reflecting back on a personal score. Just think of the scramble as a fun way of practicing. If you're having that much trouble with contact etc. too, definitely take some basic lessons, and take what you're told out the range and easier courses in your area, and try to work on those things.

I played a course that has a horseshoe type break in one of the greens. It's a short(er) par-5, so they use to like to cut the hole directly in the middle of the horseshoe of the green. To keep the ball from coming back down to you, you either have to make it (obviously) or put 10 feet past the hole, and the break is big enough that even if you hit the center of the hole when putting from above the hole, it's probably going to be going so fast it won't drop. If you leave it short, it's coming back 12' or so to you, so that particular hole requires you to run in an uphill, 12+ foot putt. If the hole isn't cut on the break, it can be quite forgiving on your approach though. If you're left or right of the hole, I don't even know how it's possible to run that putt in. I said they "Use to like to cut the hole there" because I know the assistant pro at the course, and his brother is a good friend of mine, and they told me, while we were playing it once, that someone took a club or something, and hacked a crude hole somewhere on the green, stabbed the pin into the ground, and made their "own hole" Wanton vandalism is never the answer, but since then, the course no longer puts the hole directly on the ridge. I was told it was put there intentionally to frustrate the golfers though. Watch out for your greenskeepers who are having a bad day I guess.

I'm not seeing the part where you were ever actually a 24 handicapper..... a bad round here or there perhaps, but you seem like you've always been a pretty good golfer from what I'm seeing.

Try not to take my post-made-in-jest so literally. Besides, that kid is 23 and is carrying a +1 handicap right now, right? At his current rate, he'll be shooting in the 50's consistently by next year.

Nothing against the higher-handicappers who play the muni courses, but they probably aren't seeing yardages on the course that are very accurate. I don't have/use a range-finder though, because I just try to focus on enjoying the game, and part of the "challenge" if you will, is determining what club to play from whatever position/lie/elevation etc. I am, using whatever the course lists the yardage as, or what my eyes tell me the distance is.

Don't get married or have any kids and you'll have a good shot at getting on the Champion's Tour.

I was hitting someone's driver, and hitting it well, so I ordered one (I'm an off-the-rack club buyer at the moment) He is a golf-pro, so I'm sure he ordered it to his specifications etc, but here's the dilemma: The club he has is a Callaway Razr X Black, so that's what I ordered (Stiff shaft, 8.5* ) Well, I got my club in the mail before going out of town, so I have yet to hit it etc, but I opened it, and immediately noticed it's not the same club. The club he has is rounder (not the long "tail" like my Octane Tour and this has) and also, his doesn't have a hozel. When I first grabbed it, I thought "Oh, he just had one built without a hozel" but the head size/shape seems completely different too. Is this a different club? I can't find it on the internet, so I have no idea what it is. His clearly says "Razr X Black" on it, the head is much smaller. I'm obviously going to still take my new club out for a few rounds, and if I hit it well I'll just keep it, but I'm puzzled as to what club he has since it's not a model I could find online.

I've shot even par a number of times, never had an ace. I wouldn't give up a single one of my even par rounds for a handful of aces.

Not "trendy" but I have to give my endorsement for my shoes. I wore the same set of Ralph Lauren shoes for YEARS (10+ with 2 trips to the cobbler in-between) and I wanted a pair of "classic" looking golf shoes, and Footjoy no longer made their great "Classic" line of shoes. I ordered a pair of Allen Edmunds "One Up" shoes, after a year or so, a stitch kinda came undone, and I contacted them, sent them in, and received a brand new pair in a week. I think these look fantastic.... I know the "Trend" is tennis-shoe looking golf shoes these days, but man, these things feel GREAT and I think they look pretty snazzy too.

Callaway Pre-Owned is awesome. I had the same Hawkeye driver for 12 years or so, and decided to pull the trigger on an Octane Tour, and my distance increased by a LOT over my old club. After a year and a half or so, I decided to get a club a buddy has that I hit even better, so for only $90 shipped, I managed to snag an 8.5* Razr X Black..... should be here Monday, and I can't wait. My Diablo Octane Tour was listed as "Average" condition, and it looked brand new when I got it...... I've been spying Callaway Pre-Owned's site for a few weeks now, waiting on a set of Mizuno or Titleist blades to show up..... no rush to replace my irons, but it's so cheap (comparatively) to what I paid for my Titleist irons when I got them new, that I don't mind paying the price of what comes out to a few rounds of golf, to get something new.

I guess I'll start this, since I'm on my way out to buy clubs for my son.... I want to help my 5 year old enjoy the game, but all of the Junior-lessons and "Golf Camps" in the area are for "6-17 year olds" and I don't think it'll serve him very well to be put into a large group with such varying skill levels and ages, and I also think he's a little too young to really get the most from individual lessons. I think I'll take him out to the local goat-pasture a few times, and just hope I can hit the most off-peak times.... I'm pretty big on proper etiquette and pace of play etc... so I am certainly not going to hamper anyone else's enjoyment of the game, and I expect getting him to "stick with it" for an entire 9 the first time out will be tough. I think he's small enough that I'll have him hitting balls in the backyard at first, rather than a range, or perhaps down at the park. Do lessons directed at the very young age groups solely actually exist, or do I need to self-teach him for the next couple of years so he doesn't waste my $350 on a 5 day camp (that he's not old enough for now anyways)

Bringing this one back rather than starting a new one..... I'm guessing the options have changed a bit, but if I bought a few clubs at Play-it-again, and had kid-shafts put in them, would it be as good for my 5 year old, or is the club-head going to be too heavy etc? If I got a few used ones in regular flex graphite and cut them down, would that be o.k.? I know a steel shaft would be too heavy/stiff if cut down, but thought graphite might be a possibility. Any insight on this, or am I better off getting him a dedicated Junior set? I'd rather not spend a ton of money on him, I haven't changed my irons in 15 years, and I'm about due for a set for myself!!!!

Nice find. I see they are Buy 1 get 1 half off too.... which is very tempting. I like the light blue, and perhaps the darker blue, or the green. Do they have these available in stores (gotta find one!) so I can check them out for fit/feel before ordering? On topic with the rest of the discussion, I think for people like me (skinny little dudes) it's pretty easy to pull off the bright colors. I like the Nike tech pants (plaid, seer-sucker looking ones, etc) but I don't have any bright solids yet.

I'm a 'just west' of Cleveland guy.

I hit the ball too many times.

While I don't dictate what others should/shouldn't do, I wear pants all the time too.... I put on my shorts and go for a run, but during my daily activities, grocery shopping, golfing, going to a store, doing some yardwork, etc... I wear pants. My reasons are mostly due to skinny little chicken legs though, and for golf, I have shoes that pretty much can't be worn with shorts. EDIT: Also, with the tech-pants that are out now, I would venture to say it's cooler (if you keep the sun off of your legs) than wearing shorts.

If it's very deep, I'd leave my 60* in the bag, for fear of skulling it out of there. I would probably take my 55*, play it WAY back in my stance, and hit down into the ball to 'pop' it out. Follow-through wouldn't even be on my mind.... just trying to pop it up, and out, and depending how hard I swing, I can control the distance pretty well with this method.... it puts some back-spin on the ball, but not enough to stop the ball in it's tracks, so I don't get too aggressive, and plan to get a bit of roll out of it.

The Puma Tech pants (orange, green, blue specifically) are great..... but not made in my skinny/short size unfortunately. I'm due for a new Titleist hat.

I'm just curious, with your current handicap why are you opposed to playing with guys who might improve their lie, ground their club in hazards, not count all of their strokes etc? Just enjoy the company, and follow the proper rules yourself, and put in practice time. If you get to a point in your game where their poor play distracts you, then make a move, but for now, it would seem you should be able to ignore it because you have enough of your own strokes to focus on. If they're playing with extremely poor ettiquite etc... then that's a different story.