mkrolewski

Most modern equipment with a USB cable should be recognized -- if only as a storage device ( photos are files in a storage device ). Just to be sure, you are using the provided cable. The camera is turned on. Required for most devices. Only flash storage does not need (or have) power. The USB outlet is powered. Some devices need to be attached a powered USB outlet. They are ones in the computer itself or ones that have a separate AC cord and generally a led indicating the power is on. Finally, there may be software need/provided with the camera. Generally this is need for editing images -- but not for collecting the files off the device.

Golf guru allows tracking of shots and selecting the club and lie. It currently does allow playback at the end of the round. There are no stats or graphics or average per club information. I generally only track the distance -- I track club/distance/fairways/etc using my PDA while on the course using Intelligolf. It does all that averaging, etc.

Actually did Disney World and a carbibean cruise for a honeymoon. About 30 honeymoon couples were on board. They are relatively inexpensive and the cruise includes most of the meals. Look for ones that have lots of days in port. I think the windjammer type are more interesting. I think your marriage will be pretty short if you play even one round during the honeymoon (without her). Living together is not a free pass to making the honeymoon less than special. Sacrifices need to be made. This should be an easy one.

The numbers are reasonable. I am not sure about the head speed. If you are doing these all the time, you definitely can play well. Like you said, work on consistency and you should be good.

There are trainers (at a fair expense) that can take you through a workout. I believe they have a series of 6,12, or 18 sessions, one hour each for about $50 ? per session. I found that you can state what you want eg just cardio, the Arnold look, flexibility, etc and they can in a few weeks get you a complete workout. They write it all down on a chart which is yours. If you do not like the trainer, try another one. They are generally hunger for clients. I believe you can get a basic 30 minute run through of the machines for free. As at the desk. I found the machines were relatively straight forward. They tend to be designed to isolate a particular muscle group, so you are only working that group and you really cannot do the exercise wrong. The muscle groups on typically drawn/displayed on the machine. The only serious issue is the weight sizes. Many of the machines in my gym appear to be off. But in general 10 is less than 20 and so on. So take the actual mass you are lifting with a grain of salt. Free weights are more challenging and harder to develop good form. The cabled machines eg you are pulling a cord rather than pushing a lever are in the middle. You need to decide or decide with the trainer on how often and what muscle groups you want to work. I think the other references are for specific work outs. I generally do 3 sets of 15 lifts per machine. I do 10 or so machines -- upper and lower body once a week. My recommendation is enough weight that you are tired when doing the last 3 or 5 lifts. For me, that is 50-120 lbs, except for leg lifts were I can do 200+. I prefer light and quick -- 30-60 seconds of lifting, 30 second recover. Then 1-2 minutes between machines. About a hour total. This routine is sufficient to tone your muscles and even add muscle mass. Do not be afraid to set the bar low. I cannot do churls; I think I started under 30 for a two handed machine. No one really cares. And it is really hard to impress anyone. I am most impressed with the people who are in there a lot, no matter their physical condition. Personally, I prefer cardio workouts -- most Golds have a cardio theater and players on the bikes, ellipicals, etc. 30 minutes and you are out of there. I would run but age and mass prevent it right now. Big issue is getting in often and regularly. I think 3 times a week is a minimum. And keep it up. Good luck.

As far as scramble format, there is a way to determine the team handicap on the fly -- preoria scramble see below. I personally like two man teams -- with minimum number of drives and/or second shoots. Scramble This is a comfortable format for golfers of various skill levels, easing some pressure from less skilled golfers. Each member of the foursome hits her own ball from the tee box. The best shot is chosen from every stroke, with each team member then playing from the best location. This continues until the hole is finished. Variations of the basic scramble level the playing field and allow everyone to contribute. Variations include the Texas Scramble (at least four drives of every player must be used), the Florida Scramble (the player whose shot is chosen cannot play the very next shot) and the Ambrose Competition or 4-person scramble (a calculation transforms individual handicaps into a group handicap). Best Ball (or Four Ball) While still a team effort, this format appeals to better golfers who like to play their own ball. Everyone plays her own ball for the whole round, with the best score on each hole serving as the team’s tournament score. Modified Scramble This format also appeals to golfers who want to play their own ball, but it can speed up play. This is similar to a scramble in that each player hits their own drive, the best shot is chosen and the second shot is hit from the best location. From here each golfer plays her own ball to the hole. Like the ‘best ball’ format, the best score on each hole serves as the team’s tournament score. Peoria System (or Secret Holes) The Peoria System is a one-day handicap system used when most players don't have established handicaps. It allows all players to calculate something resembling a handicap allowance, following the round, and apply it to their scores. Peoria involves totaling a score on six pre-selected holes (which are unknown to golfers) and then each player's net score is calculated with a formula. Callaway System Like Peoria, the Callaway System is a scoring system that substitutes for handicaps and generally evens out the field. The Callaway System involves consulting a chart following the round to determine a handicap deduction and handicap allowance. Competitive Formats Formats selected for competitive golfing include match play (including skins games ) and stroke play (also known as medal play ). One variation of stroke play is the Stableford competition , where the goal is to have the highest score based on points awarded at each hole. A birdie, for example, might be worth 2 points.

I just got a $200 MSRP Ecco shoes for $70 on ebay including shipping. Are they better than my previous $45 shoes? Sure are. Will they improve my game? I actually think so. No sore feet at the end of the round. Maybe a little more bounce in my step. Will I drop 10 strokes? Sure, if I practice enough. Granted, I too have a hard time buying $200+ shoes. The wife has to push me into getting them. Then again, I now have several pairs and they are really a lot better than even $100 ones. I can say the same thing for suits -- your first tailored suit is really a wonderful item to wear. Sometime a more expensive item is really better and really worth the price. Luckily this does not apply to everything.

Well there are a few things. You are buying a hardened system: it is sitting outside in all kinds of weather, occasional hosing down with soda, beer or the hose when the cart is washed, punches from fists, hands, clubs and who knows what else. Given a warranty, it really should be able to handle all of this. The other thing is the radio to the club house. The other end -- the base station includes the receiver in the pro shop, maybe the kitchen, computer to record information, send ads, software, etc. This alone could really raise the costs. Even when average over all the units. Since the market is pretty small ( and that price is making it smaller ), there are production costs -- manufacturing equipment, labor, etc. -- to be divided by only a few units. Obviously, this is a high profit item!! Having said that, it still is a pretty high priced item. Personally, I would rent uPro or hand held GPS or lasers on a credit card (full price -- you will return it) If the course really has that kind of money, hire fore caddies or caddies. Give them free to everyone. Maybe try a very detailed audio (video) description of the course with appropriate course books. Something like a master caddy pre-recorded. Ever with production costs, it would not be that high. Make it for PDA or cell phones, and everyone is happy.

I read it and well, I do not get it. The basic premise(s) seems OK. But there is really nothing in the book to tell or train or practice to make it happen. Just doing it is great slogan for a shoe, but how am I supposed to make it happen? Mike K

There is no standard. I have seen: one color -- colored top on the 150 yd stake one color -- with a pin locator card red, white and blue a top flag with another flag set a various heights. and my all time favorite: white, blue&white; checker, black&white; checker. Try determining which color it is from 150 yds on a sunny afternoon.

To build a yardage book, you are really drawing a scale map of the course. You need accurate measuring equipment to measure both distance and angles. In the old days, one would use a transit and steel measuring tape. The simplest tool is a good commercial gps which outputs coordinates. You need only stand at or over the object to get a position. There are differential gps systems which use the satellites and a second local gps unit to create a more precise measurement. Both systems are rentable. You should do good job of measuring the greens. You need to: determine the center's coordinates, the width and depth of the green. Additionally it would be useful to have an approximate outline and orientation of the green. This involves a lot of distances from the center at many angles. If the greens are highly undulated, a map of the green contours is useful. You of course need to determine what is useful to the golfer. Generally I would think some idea of distance to doglegs and through doglegs, water carries and layup areas. Distances from a notable objects on or near the fairway to the green. Driving distances from each tee box to some definitive object on the fairway.

Just to clarify, almost any object is reflective. It is most likely impossible to create a pure dark body, something that absorbs all light. Many objects reflect light in many directions due to the texture of the surface. This diffusion of light reduces that amount of light that is reflected. To detect this, one either need a more power light source or a more sensitive detector. Modern rangefinders are these more sensitive detectors. The laser beam or more accurately some part of that light pulse reflected off objects and is returned to the rangefinder. The electronics times the interval, and converts this into distance. The measurement is most likely an average of several round trips. In addition, rangefinder have mechanisms to reduce errors. If you attempt to measure a flag in front of some trees, the rangefinder is most likely receiving both a signal for the flag and for the trees. For golf, the rangefinder "picks" the first distance. For rain, it assumes that the object is some distance away, so ignores nearby objects. The gps works off a different model. The gps receives signals from several satellites ( 4 or more ) to determine its position on the planet. The gps compares this position to pre-recorded positions on the course to determine/calculates distances to objects. This is the information that is displayed to you. Obviously the GPS is limited to objects that it has the coordinates for. Shot distance calculation are just like any other GPS measurement. The GPS can measure shot distances by recording a position, then calculating the distance to that spot from where it currently is. The better GPS can do a fair amount of math. If you are getting the front and back edge to the green like SkyCaddie or GolfGuru, the GPS is determining its' position, determining a straight line through the pin and the intersection points of the green edge with this line. It then converts all those points into distance information. Not bad. IMHO the GPS is faster and easier to use, as the information can be continuous displayed. The rangefinder has the major advantage of being able to measure distance to any point that can be seen.

I would suggest many of the digital camcorders. The swing is in the range of a 1 second. The actual swing is really short -- 0.2 - 0.4 seconds. I would suggest that you have a frame rate in the order of 1/1000 second. For instance, the Sony Webbie HD (about $200) has a frame rate of 1/30 - 1/4,000 second. Higher end camcorders have 1/10,000 sec recording rates. Most camcorder do not have more than one playback speed. But that is almost exactly what you want, high record, slow playback. There are all sorts of issues though with recording your swing. The biggest one is you are looking at a two dimensional image of your very 3-dimensional swing. It is often hard to see all the major mistakes, and still harder to see minor mistakes. One might suggest that you want to see front, side and overhead views simultaneously to get a "good" look. Then there is the issue of figuring what to change/how to change it. There is software that will help convert the video into useful information -- like what you get from a techie golf analysis. So you can see if you are moving your hips too soon, or if your stance is too narrow, etc. One school of thought is the swing is not as significant as what is happening at the point of impact. Kenny Perry comes to mind. He has a rather unorthodox swing, but good results. To look at the point of impact -- a still shorter time interval requiring still shorter frame times. There are other swing aids like the p3proswing analyser can "see" your swing at impact. It can give you other things like: swing speed, angle of attack, face position, plane of swing, etc. These analysers often than translate that into a ball flight. Of course, you still have to attempt to change your swing to get better numbers.

I use intelligolf and a gps. Intelligolf allows you to track as much or little of your game that you like -- just score and/or putts or every shot, its distance, where placed, etc. I gives you stats on the round, etc. They have a database of courses or you can enter your own data. It runs on most PDAs and many cell phones ( not iPhone). There is a PC version. I have been using it for 4 or so years. I really like it. Good support, too. Cost about $50.

Most people place their chip back in their slightly open stance, weight on the front foot. As stated, the goal is just enough height and length to reach the green/fringe and roll the rest of the way. Again many play the SW for 2:1 flight:roll, PW for 1:1, 9i for 1:2, 8i for 1:3, etc. My personal demons are the slightly elevated green (hard to get enough lift to land on the green -- often switch to a pitch, even if close) or downhill lies. Pitches -- long, high flight, very short/no roll are in the middle of the stance.

We have fewer private courses in the great NW. Generally $30-$40 per round (walking) for many courses especially the munis and the older courses. However you can get up there. Chambers Bay, Tacoma is $170 on the weekend, $140 on weekday. There are several courses in the $50-100 range. Most courses do not have any season passes or the like. A few have punch cards. The only smart thing may be to take advantage of the twilight rates. Due to our latitude, dusk is as late as 10PM. So going off at 3PM still leaves you a good chunk of time to complete a round.

I have played as a single numerous times. Depending on the course, most courses try to send foursomes out. Most course do not take reservations for singles, so you are forced to show up to get into the queue. (With the economy slowing, single reservations are showing up on the websites) Most courses have a list of people waiting for an opening. So you could be paired with anyone. I have noticed that very early even on weekend, there are openings. For instance, one of the courses has a men's club and women's club tee time at opening. Often there is a couple of slots between and after them. Lots of walkon can get in. Mike Krolewski

Roll the face open at contact. Given the expected constraints (mine is Pelz swing), one might think it is impossible. I believe it is from getting outside of your swing line and then bringing it inside quickly to compensate. Or getting the club too vertical as opposed to the head/face being way back in your swing. But I have done it, albeit not that many times in a row. 140 must be some kind of record. Mike K.

Obviously not married. "Relationship built on compromise". When did that ever happen? Fortunately, I have been married long enough that the wife WANTS me out of the house. So the only grief is from leaving grass/dirt in the back of her car after a round. I feel bad for the newly engaged/married/young kids-family golfers. It is a lot harder to get out for 6-8 hours. Mike K.

If you want an interesting golfing experience, go to Thailand. I must admit Hawaii, Scotland, Australia or New Zealand have a lot of appeal. Mike Krolewski

There are better products for almost anything. Granted some of the cost is marketing and brand name. Like any clothing, there are high and low end items. From personal experience, often the high end clothes are REALLY better products. Try on a hand sown custom cut suit. This is not a JC Penny suit. A rental tux does not compare to a tux fitted for you. The same for shoes. There are lots of high end shoes, that are really better quality. The fit, the arch, their wear characteristics, their overall performance are better. You put them on and you realize this is what a shoe should feel like. I personally do not want to pay $200-$400 for a pair of golf shoes, especially for a shoe I am wearing maybe twice a month. However, if I can get them for $70, I am thinking this could be a good purchase. Ah the wonders of the internet.

I use intelligolf (IG) and a gps. IG runs on my Palm T5 (and a bunch of pda and cell phones but apparently not the iPhone). I can track the stats as I am playing in 30-60 seconds per hole. When in a foursome, there is really a fair amount of time to record things. When in a twosome, I am a bit rushed. In additon IG can track upto 5 players per round and betting games. IG supports/has a PC based tool for display more information and cumulative statistics. As to getting accurate distances, a GPS is really the only way. I use the golfGuru. It actually tracks all the stroke distances per hole if you want along with some scoring. Although it is there I tend to read distances and remember as I play.

It sounds like the face being (really) open at contact. Why you are doing that or what do you do to correct it, that is a question for the pro. There are toys/tools out there that can determine the face angle (and other things) at contact. I am thinking p3proswing for example. Video is most likely too slow to capture it. Good luck on the swing improvements.

You might want to look at Dave Pelz "Short Game Bible". I use many of my clubs for chipping, thought most typically SW(54)-PW(48)-9i-8i-7i. Basically applying the 12 rule stated above. Same grip, swing for all the clubs. The major goals are short air time, landing on or near the green as soon as possible, and rolling to the hole. I think you can learn it with any club, but need to train with a variety of clubs. For pitching, I use a variety of clubs though typically LW(60)-SW(54)-PW(48) and follow Dave Pelz clock positions. Again the same swing, different clubs. I cannot believe someone would suggest a single club. I guess there are still those out there that like IMHO a complicated method of getting different results with the same club.

Not being a trainer, I might suggest adding weight workouts to your training. Light weights with many repetitions serves to tone tendons and muscles. The added strength stabilizes joints and facilitates motion. Using the weights at the maximum range of motion will allow you to slowly increase motion. Personally, I notice that most people really do not workout hard or long enough. You should be looking at 3-4 30 minute workouts per week. Add this should be at your predictive maximum heart rate (PMHR) You may have seen this computation PMHR= 80% * (205 minus 1/2 your age). I have heard the idea of during at least 130 beats per minute as another measure. Note for most people walking the course -- your heart rate may never get to that level at any given time. And resting between holes cancels a lot of the rigor of the walk.