mailman

I finally strung a half decent front 9 with a tidy back 9 on Wednesday (in our mid week comp) and shot 86 which was good enough for the win (41 points!). The usual woulda, coulda, shoulda applies as I easily left 10 shots on the course through just doing dumb stuff! Anyway here is the gamegolf round from Wednesday. http://www.gamegolf.com/player/mailman/round/479225 The best thing about the round apart from some PURE ball striking was getting my hcp cut from 20.4 to 18.9! This is the first time I've EVER been below 20 :) Regards Mailman

Down from 20.4 to 18.9 :) Well chuffed to finally be BELOW 20!!!!! Regards Mailman

You two should have told him to carry on playing by himself :) Regards Mailman

This is more like it! Finally have two front and back nines that nearly match each other!!! http://www.gamegolf.com/player/mailman/round/479225 Managed to hold things together today in spite of a triple on the first hole and a double on the last hole! The end result being my handicap will now dip below 20 at last!!! :) Regards Mailman

Hahahahaha...that's like hooking a ball out of bounds to see it hit a tree then bounce back on to the fairway only for the ball to roll in to a stream on the opposite side :) Regards Mailman

This is a damn maddening game! Best round ever was an 81 a month ago (which included a 7 on the last hole!). Since then Ive shot 91 (good enough for second with my 22hcp), 90, 83 and 91. The thing killing me is the 50 shots out then coming back in with 41, 40 and 42! The times I've strung together two solid front and back nines I've shot in the 80's but more importly I gave myself a real chance of shooting in the 70's!!! Maybe we are all just masochist at heart eh? :) Regards Mailman

Is this guy really just an amateur though (thinking of it in a much more broader sense to what the meaning of amateur meant back in the day)? I think an amateur from decades ago winning would be a lot different to the "professional" amateurs who play at the top level these days winning. Mailman

Picked up a new toy a couple weeks ago and finally had the chance to go out and play with it :) http://www.gamegolf.com/player/mailman/round/468759 Couple things I liked about last night was playing two of our par 5's as long par 4's and ending up with a couple birdies and a couple 300 yard drives for two of the three times I pulled out the driver...yay me!!! :) Was a little concerned about how putting was handled and how the device would recognise the end of one hole and the start of another but I needn't have worried. Well chuffed with Game Golf as it was pretty accurate for my course. Just need to get a couple photos of the 17th now as it no longer has water flowing through it so I can send off to both Garmin and Game Golf to update their maps. What I did notice was the times I forgot to tap the belt thingy was when putting. Every other time was fine...and of course adding the missed shots in after the round was a pretty simple matter as well. Regards Mailman

Right...I've just got through (finally) all 33 pages "Is distance really all the important" thread! So thanks for the link Ernest or I would never have know that thread existed!!! Iacas, right I can see why your patience is so short on this topic :) I also re-read LSW on the train up and back from Edinburgh on Tuesday and Thursday too (as I had 6 hours to kill). It was actually a good refresher to go through the above thread and to also go through your excellent book again. I shall never post a silly "but wouldn't it be better to lay up to wedge distance" question again!!! :) Regards Mailman

im with you know that you have qualified your earlier statement with the "most of the time". Thanks. I shall now go back and reread "The Rule" :) Regards Mailman

You should see him when he has the saddle on ;) Regards Mailman

For heavens sakes lads. It was an honest question that really didnt deserve a pile on. Christian, sorry for derailing your thread. Dont worry about answering my original question. Regards Mailman

I'm sure he is big and ugly enough to answer a simple question without the need for you to defend him sheesh. Mailman

That's great Ernest but I'd prefer to hear it direct from the horses mouth, for want of a better term :) Regards Mailman

Yup, got it but would really like to hear it direct from the boss himself :) Regards Mailman

Interesting, I'm all ears on this one. Do you think it's better for us high handicappers to pull out long irons, hybrids, fairway woods and go for that 280 yard shot instead of two wedges in to the green? Seems counter intuitive so I'm very interested in your view on this (so I can take your advice and incorporate it into my game:) Regards Mailman

Also fulla, how did your next round go? Another question for you, do you have a 3 wood in your bag? For me, I'm finding this club coming in to play on 11 of 14 holes now as my game and distances off the tee have improved (and provides a safety net as my driver is now too big a club for the tightness of my home course). Regards Mailman

Mate, I was just looking at your score card and noticed your even par on the par 5 third hole. You were going for the green weren't you with your 5 wood after your monster drive??? :) Do you think, and this comes down to course management, the less risky option was a lay up to give yourself a full wedge shot in instead of playing a half shot from 50 odd yards? Also, what do you think is the cause of your back nine collapse? Have you identified anything in particular and what are you doing to address that fault? Regards Mailman

What's the difference between what we do here in the UK and what you guys do in the States? Our handicaps change (or stay the same) after each qualifying round at my club but it seems you guys have to wait for set dates before any changes take place? That just doesn't seem terribly "efficient" in my own uninformed view? Regards Mailman

Rip62, Same here, I was hoping for a team format along the lines of the Ryder Cup with match play, foursomes and individuals to round things off...all being played by the best amateurs. I'm sure it's going to be an enjoyable event regardless but golf has missed a trick here. Mailman

Adam Scott was on golfing world and said he wouldn't be going as his year is structured around the 4 Majors and he doesn't need the Olympics. They mentioned there were others in the same boat not going. Tennis is hardly a good example of a sport needing the Olympics to grow. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for golf being there I just think it could have concentrated on the actual development side instead of, seemingly, on the commercial side. Don't even get me started on the commonwealth games and why golf wasn't in it given the tournament COULD have been held at St Andrews!!! Mailman

There are already a number of pro's who aren't going because it's not important to them. match play would have been awesome...anything but straight strike play!!! Mailman

It's a missed opportunity really. Had hoped they would have gone with a Ryder Cup style format instead of the bog standard we see day in day out on TV. Also think they missed a trick not getting Jack Nichlous involved in the course design given he is in favour of shorter but tougher courses. Final whinge, pity it's not the best amateurs playing instead of pros. Mailman

Finally had my first cut for the year, down from 21.6 to 20.4 after a net 69 on the weekend! I had 50 out and was struggling to see myself saving breaking 100 yet came back in with 41 :) yay me! Regards Mailman

Having said all that though :) If you are truly not comfortable with your coach then cut your losses and move on. Just being me, I'd commit to a number of lessons spaced close together to make the most of not just the lessons but also your practice and games in between lessons. All the best :) Regards Mailman