mailman

I played golf in NZ when visiting family a few months ago and used a set from the golf club from the dark ages (no idea when from BUT they looked old and were a brand Id never heard of...and did I say they looked old?). Anyway, my misses were just as big with my Titliest bats, my drives were just as long as my Titliest driver and my chipping was just as bad as with my vokeys! Of course that was a completely unscientific way of looking at this from a data pool of one round but hey, from the 4 hours of loving I had with this old set of bats I really couldn't tell just how much different they were from my more modern set of bats. So take this with about as much seriousness as you pay for advice on the intraweb :) Regards Mailman

Ah...then that makes sense. Although for $500 that to me seems like a really expensive way of trying to work out your gapping when maybe a $50 session on a launch monitor would be a more cost effective way of doing this? Having said that, because its a toy, its related to golf, and I have absolutely no need for it then it goes straight to the top of my list of "Must Buys"!! :) Regards Mailman

Seems accurate with irons and a bit hit and miss with the driver. I guess the real question is once you have the numbers from a swing what do you do with them? How do you fix what you are seeing? Regards Mailman

I think the simple truthful answer is NO. Ive been stuck on 18 for what feels like an eternity and worst still, this year Ive been struggling with a power hook! Coupled with being busy at work and having no time for practice and lessons its really been killing my enjoyment of the game (where it got to the point I was going to chuck it in when it came to renewing my membership in June because i wasn't able to get out and play golf as much as I wanted to!). However I put my man pants on, invested in a few lessons and set aside time for practice to try and sort these things out and the enjoyment is back. Shot at 84 two weeks ago that included three triples and 4 doubles but also had 2 birdies and 4 other realistic birdie chances! That round was enjoyable BECAUSE I had been working on eliminating the hook and instead of losing eight balls off the tee box I only lost 2 :)

Ive a GPS and a laser range finder and love them both. I use the GPS for fixes on trouble that I can't see and as a confirmation if a lasered distance is looking dodgy. Each has its strength and weakness and really at the end of the day it just comes down to what works for you. I have an old Garmin Approach G3 that is actually pretty good but thank god AA batteries cost a pound for 8 at Poundland otherwise this thing would chew through them like a fat chick at a smarties factory! Regards Mailman

Not so much best shot of the day but best recovery of the day. First drive was a big wide ugly push right so wide that it went OB in to the driving range next to the first fairway! Third shot was a nice little 260 yard drive down the guts. Fourth shot was an 8 iron bang on the money (160 yard carry) coming to rest about 6 feet from the pin. One put for a bogey and a half as it was match play. Take 5 on this whole any day of the week :) Regards Mailman

I think once upon a time the Majors used to be important but the reality is you are pretty much getting the best of the best at every PGA tour event anyways. Mailman

Bloody hell...how have I let this one get away from me! Clearly need to work on objectives for 2017 but am pleased to see that Ive managed to take achieve one of the "when hell freezes over" goals :) Objectives for when Hell freezes over 1. handicap under 10 2. Score under 80 - ACHIEVED 30/10/16 with 5 over par 76! 2. Round at even par 3. Hole in one 4. Win my first competition - ACHIEVED 5 times now with the latest win on 30/10/16 Objectives for 2014 1. Handicap under 20 - ACHIEVED 22/7//15 2. Score under 90 in a competition - achieved 13/9/14 (89!) 3. 5 FIRs and GIRs - achieved 29/6/14 (6FIR, 5GIR) 4. Under 30 putts - achieved 13/9/14 (28 putts, 8x1 putt, 11x2 putt) 5. Round with no three putts - achieved 13/9/14 5. First Eagle - achieved 6/6/15 6. Develop and reliable and consistent swing. Ongoing! Objectivesfor 2013: 1. First official handicap - achieved and now at the lofty heights of 24.9 2. Round with two 3 putts - achieved 12/5/13 3. Four FIRs and GIRs, achieved 12/3/13 4. No lost balls in a round - achieved 19/5/13 5. Six 1 putts - achieved 12/10/13 at my clubs annual Masters competition (I came 11th). 6. Score under 100 - achieved 17/8/13 7. Enter first competition - achieved 6/4/13 (with a massive medal score of 116!) 8. Under 40 putts per round - achieved 30/3/13 9. Round with no quadruple bogies - achieved 27/10/13 10. First handicap drop - achieved 18/8/13 11. First chip in - achieved 20/5/13 Regards Mailman

Broseph! What a transformation! Just saw a picture of you in post #64! You are a physically different person now eh! Well done on the positive change. Regards Mailman

40 out - 5 par, 4 bogeys, 1x1 putt, 8x2 putt 36 back - 2 birdies, 4 par, 3 bogeys, 3x1 putt, 6x2 putt 76 (5 over par) - First time Ive had 2 birdies in a round. - First time Ive ever broken 80 in a competition round at my golf club (actually, first time Ive broken 80 full stop). - First time Ive broken 40 for a front or back 9 in a competition. Just one of those days where everything went my way :) Regards Mailman

Don't know about you BUT my driver does all of that to me!! It should be listed as a health risk! Regards Mailman

Toting up all my best scores gives me a gross 59 (par 71 course) on Howdidido. That doesn't have all my rounds in it so probably closer to mid 50's now? Wish I could do this in one round instead of spread out over 2 years! Mind you, if I could do that in a single round I most likely wouldn't be posting here :) Regards Mailman

Yes, absolutely agree with you. The thing is, two of the guys I was playing with were proper single figure handicappers who played exceptional golf! Turns out the other chap knew my dad from the Vietnam war days! Small world eh :) Regards Mailman

38 and 42 for 80 yesterday, which is my lowest score yet. The thing is this could have been MUCH lower had it not been for a careless bogey on the 16th with a stupid three putt and a ridiculous triple on the 17th! Regards Mailman

I travelled back to NZ (from England) to visit family and had a chance to play a round of golf while there. I turned up dressed as I normally would for golf in England (longs, shirt, jersey) and bugger me...these guys must have thought I was a PGA Tour pro! They were all dressed in tatty shorts, tee shirts, no gloves and tennis shoes!! Thankfully I managed to keep the lie going (that I was a PGA Tour Pro) for at least the first drive! By the time Real Life (tm) caught up with me I was comfortably down the fairway and out of site of everyone else (apart from the 3 chaps I was playing with) :) Regards Mailman

So he drove his buggy in to the Ponds? Sorry, ill get my coat! :) Regards Mailman

I am really struggling with the putter at the moment! Far too many stupid three putts! On the other hand, I was really pleased with the comparison against a stretch player for 125-150 yard approach shots (or anything!!) ...first time Ive ever been under for my handicap in the comparison to a scratch player :) But yeah, putting is killing me big time! Regards Mailman

My best shot was actually the third shot of the hole. First was put in to a bunker, then the second I chunked the ball out of the sand AND it only just stopped about an inch short of falling in to water! But it was the third shot, which I had 90 yards to the pin and I stopped the ball 2 feet from the hole after getting the ball to check up immediately. One putt and a par! The real challenge though is doing everything again without scoring a double figure number on the hole! Regards Mailman

Had an interesting day on Saturday. The conditions were the best of the year so far and it was a bogey competition against the course where the winner is usually somewhere between +5-+8. I won the comp by being +3 at the end of the round :) Had a even par 46 out (for my handicap) with pretty much nothing really happening apart from not being able to putt to save myself (opened with a 3 putt to bogey the first hole). Then had 41 back (3 under for my handicap) with several big saves along the way including hitting a bunker at 280 yards off the 17th tee, then chunking my shot out of the sand to an inch of falling in to water to then putting the next shot 2 foot to past the pin for a big up and down and a win to take me to +2. Parred the final hole after sinking a 10 foot final putt after leaving the first putt shorter than a really short thing! So an 87 on the day in what turned out to be a really low scoring competition. Only 5 people were up against the course out of nearly 100 participants (to be fair when the grounds men put the pins "back" it does make the course a much harder prospect. End result is my name up on a board AND, more importantly, got my handicap under 18 for the first time in my life (and heading in the right direction)!!! :) Regards Mailman

My club has comps on pretty much every day of the week as well as comps that run through the summer and Winters (pairs and singles knock outs etc). Each comp costs to join (depending on importance with a maximum of £5 of its a major competition) and the money is then split between 1st, 2nd and 3rd on a percentage basis (50% prize money and 50% goes in to the club fund to pay for prizes and end of year Booz up! All winnings are added to our pro shop or bar accounts at the end of each month. Some of the comps will run longest drive and closest to the pin (either on the par threes or in two shots on the par fours) mini comps and all comps have an optional 2's comp that costs a pound with the proceeds being split between everyone that birdies par 3's or eagles or albatrosses on the par 4 and 5's. Sometimes you can end up getting a tenner or other times if people are going mental on the par 3's you might just end up with £1.25 :) We aren't talking much here, but it can be enough, over time, to allow one to splash out on a new toy every now and then :) By the sounds of it we are fairly unique in our local area with the number of comps we run and the variety, from medal to stableford, foursomes, greensomes, Texas scramble, yellow ball, bogey and so on. Regards Mailman

http://www.gamegolf.com/player/mailman/round/755479 Really pleased with todays efforts and surprised myself with a sparkling back 9 including a par on the final par 3 that I haven't hit in living memory! Regards Mailman

45 out, not a lot happening apart from a birdie wedge in between 3 doubles and 4 lost balls on the first 5 holes! 38 back for a total of 83 :) Very fortunate today though it was most likely the most benign day to play in for the last 4 months! Very gentle weather conditions where the sun even made an appearance! Regards Mailman

Had an 85. No idea how I even managed that score given I had three 3 putts in the front 9 which included a quadruple bogey for 45 out. Back 9 was better, coming back in with 40. But yeah, where's as the last 45 holes I was sinking everything on the greens this week I couldn't buy a putt! Regards Mailman

Quite some rant there Bones :) To be honest, what does your friends golf have to do with you though? Instead of slagging him off you should be grateful you guys actually have something in common with each other. Regards Mailman

43 out (1 triple, 1 double, 2 bogey, 5 pars 7x 2 putt, 2x1 putt) 42 in (3 doubles, 1 bogey, 5 pars, 5x 2 putts, 3x1 putt) Total 85 in bloody cold, damp and windy conditions! The big problem Im having is hitting FIR and GIRs! Hit 4/14 fairways and 4 GIR's and only pretty good putting saved the other 5 holes that I pared today. But that brings me on to what is going well! This is the second round in a row with no three putts. In fact the last three putt I had is now 45 holes ago :) Regards Mailman