TTH83

Good Evening! My wife bought me a one-hour golf lesson as an anniversary present. I've only got the one lesson and can't afford to buy more right now, so I'm wondering what would be the best use of my one lesson. Assuming I need help in all aspects of my game (...and I do, I'm a super high capper), what should I take my one lesson on?

I usually use whatever spare change is in my car's cupholder when I get to a course, but this summer I've been using the little magnetic ball marker that came on my most recent glove. I think I want to find a two-headed coin, then scratch up one side really bad a la Two Face from Batman. Given my putting, it seems apropos.

I'll usually take a full swing with my gap wedge, but after reading this thread, I'm wondering if I'm going about it all wrong. I probably carry 100-110 with that shot if I make good contact,* and as I reflect on it, I think that when I line up this shot on the course, I'm approaching it from a place of knocking the gap way up in the air to throw a dart onto the green. I bet I'd be better off taking 3/4 of my PW and trying to run it up there if I've got an angle to do so. Thanks for giving me something to try next time I go out. * - Not always a given, see the voluminous and imposing handicap index to your left, ladies and gentlemen, hands and feet inside the cart at all times.

Since this thread got bumped, I suppose I'll add the worst tip I ever received. This piece of advice has caused me so many hours of despair and frustration that I cannot help but think of the person who gave me the trip—a good friend—with a sense of seething resentment. The tip: "You really should give golf a try. You'll love it."

I just started playing last year. My normal playing partner and I are often in this boat (the slow-pokes), and we developed a pretty good sense of gauging how quickly a group behind us was playing and when would be the best time to wave them through. Sometimes it meant we sat around while they were still approaching the green we just cleared because we knew that we would still be chopping away down the hole by the time they reached our tee. That said, we've improved enough that, if it's just the two of us, we no longer really need to let groups play through, and it's made going out so much better. Not having the pressure of feeling like you're holding someone up is great, and when we went out yesterday, we even had other people offer to let us play through (a redemptive feeling if there ever was one). So, I don't have a ton of experience teeing off in front of another group, but I still get nervous teeing off in front of the starter. Last month, me and my buddy took a couple classmates with us. One of them was comparable to us in skill and experience, but the other was a straight-up novice. The starter was visably chuckling at him on the tee, and that wound up getting in all of our heads. I shanked my drive into trees 100 yards off the tee to the right. Sigh.

That makes sense. I think it would be easier for me to pass up playing if I played on a more regular basis. I just finished grad school and am still more or less on a student's budget. If I could afford to play every weekend (and my wife let me get away with doing so), it would be easier to turn down the opportunity to play when it arose. Nice profile picture, although I bet Brutus could totally outdrive Bucky.

Brothers and Sisters, Instead of watching any of the Open Sunday, I went and played. I don't think I would ever choose watching any part of a pro event (on television anyhow) over playing, but I was wondering to what extent I'm representative of the norm. So, as with all things unsettled in the world, I thought I would see what the internet thought about it. Are there ever any circumstances where you would pass up on playing (and for the sake of discussion, I mean playing a regular round with your friends—not a tournament or outing or anything) in order to watch an event, either in person or on television? I suppose I might pass up a round to go see a day of a major or the Ryder Cup/President's Cup in person, but I can't think of any golf I'd watch on TV that would be worth missing a day on the course, except maybe if Tiger gets four more majors and is contention for a fifth. What say ye?

Wow. Tough crowd tonight. I was being tongue-in-cheek, which I hoped would have come through better. The idea behind the joke is interesting, though. Basically, pros play very tough courses under very unique pressures and circumstances (I, for one, never appreciated how intense their focus must be until I went to the Memorial a couple weeks ago and saw just how many people are standing there watching a player make his shot). That said, they also play in some of the most ideal conditions for golf that a player could ask for. I've often wondered how a pro tournament would look if players were dealing with the conditions and inconveniences that amateurs routinely face. How would dealing with slow playing-partners or groups ahead affect their rhythm? How much do they rely on their caddies' study of the course? How would the sloppiness of some public courses affect their play?

I'm pretty excited for the U.S. Open. It's my favorite tournament, as it is for a lot of people. I think one of the reasons so many people especially like the Open is because it's one of those tournaments where pros get beat up the way weekend golfers do every time they go out (of course, a pro getting beat up by a course might mean +5 whereas a duffer getting beat up means a much higher score). I was talking about this with some friends at the office, and we started wondering how pros would do when faced with the conditions that many weekend golfers play in on a regular basis. To that end, we started spitballing rules for a special tournament, the People's Open. I thought I'd toss out what we came up with and see if you guys had any ideas. The People's Open: Tournament Rules 1. The Tournament must take place at a public golf course that fulfills all of the following conditions: -- The course must have never hosted a professional event at any level or an NCAA event; -- The course must not have won any awards for course design or player experience; -- The greens fee for the general public to play 18 holes cannot be any more than $50. 2. The organization responsible for the course may not take any extraordinary steps to prepare the course for the Tournament. The course should in the same condition as it would be for a normal day of play. Course personnel may not deviate from previously established schedules for aerating greens, remediating crab grass, etc. 3. Players must use carts. No caddies are permitted. 4. If the course provides players with a yardage book in its usual course of business, it may provide players with a copy of the same book. If not, players may bring their own yardage books, provided that no other person aided in the preparation of the book. 5. Each day of the tournament, the first groups to start each morning and afternoon will consist of four amateurs. All of the amateurs in each group must have handicaps of at least 17, and at least two of the amateurs must have handicaps of at least 27. The amateurs may not allow any other groups to play through. 6. All other players will play in foursomes consisting of three professionals and one randomly selected amateur. The amateur may, at his or her discretion, carry a cell phone and use it as necessary. The spouses, children, and co-workers of these amateurs will not be informed of the amateur's participation in the tournament. 7. Beer cart girls will circulate the course and may interrupt play as needed. All amateurs will be given a forty dollar allowance for refreshments during the round, all of which must be spent by the round's conclusion. 8. Side-betting is encouraged. Successful side-bets, won skins, won Nassaus, and any other forms of wagering will be factored into the player's tournament score. 9. Official observers are forbidden. All rules remain in force; however, policing the rules will be the sole responsibility of the players. 10. Players must drink no fewer than eight, 12-ounce domestic beers during the course of the round. 11. Players must eat at least one hot dog and snack sized bag of chips at the turn. 12. Galleries will not be permitted; however, no other special measures will be taken to quiet down other groups, course personnel, etc. during a player's shot. 13. The "amateur foursome" groups will be provided portable stereos in their carts, which they may use to play music at any volume they deem appropriate. 14. No special penalties will be enforced for shouting at the ball, loudly celebrating a well-struck shot, loudly bemoaning a poorly-struck shot (which may or may not include profanity), or driving one's club into the turf after a poorly-struck shot.

I'd like to thank the Academy.

thanks for all the tips, guys. Thought I'd give an update. I kept working with the 3W and 5W throughout the late summer and got more consistent with it (not consistent, mind you, but more consistent). I worked on setting up properly, choking up, swinging easy, and using a flatter swing arc, and I've got to where I'm hitting maybe 3 out of 5 shots with it for good yardage in the general direction I'm aiming. Look forward to working on it more over the winter (which reminds me, oh-god-I-need-to-get-to-the-range-I-feel-my-swing-getting-worse-with-each-passing-day).

I played Golf Club of Dublin last week. It's a nice course, pretty well maintained, but not worth the greens fees they want to charge. If you get the chance to play there for reduced prices, it's worth going.

Mornin! I'm a third-year law student, and I've set up my schedule to have large chunks of time during the day for studying golf. To play a lot of golf, my cost per round has to be pretty cheap. I'm in Columbus. You other Ohioans out there, what's the cheapest 18-hole golf around that isn't an utter dog track? Thanks!

How about for practice? Like a good and proper hack, I have no damn clue how far I hit this club versus that club. For instance, I'm relatively sure I hit my PW 120-130 yards, straight, while I hit my 7 iron 130-140 yards in a beautiful, arcing slice to the hole to the right of the one I'm playing. Can you use a rangefinger on the range to peg where your ball landed (or a nearby pin)?