elementz

Abuse of power by wearing a badge...

2 rounds this weekend, one at my home course and another course that I know well. Played well for 3 of the 4 nines. Ended up with an 80 and an 88. Breaking it down by 9, it was 38, 42, 41, and a tough 47 where I somehow ended up with chipping/pitching shanks where I dropped at least 6 strokes on the last 6 holes.

Gooch ended up getting the invite...

I am confident that it will happen eventually that a path opening for LIV players to play in PGAT events. Same goes for the Ryder Cup.

I have made 2 eagles in my playing career lol.

For our Mens night at my public course, it is a 10 week, 4 ball - match play format. The matches are all pre-arranged prior to the start of the 10 week competition by the course/pro shop, however, it is up to the players to agree on the tee-time. All results are recorded via spreadsheet....no fancy software needed. It is kind of unusual (I think) on how they handle handicaps for the match play but seems to work well.

Wonder if Tiger had someone from LIV come up with that name/design.....woof. Not what I was expecting and not a fan....maybe it will grow on me but I doubt it.

Not to downplay the round as a 57 is a 57 and you have to hit the shots....but it seems odd that the tournament was held on a course playing from 6,200 yards at 9,000 ft elevation. Course shows as 68.8/123. Seems that course would play like an executive course to these guys.

Rory would make a great politician....sounds like he is flip flopping again by wanting the LIV players eligible to play in PGA tournaments.

Smart play IMO.....school will always be there. My understanding that if he did not turn pro, he would lose a year's eligibility for the PGAT. Not to mention he can play in all of the elevated events (guaranteed $$$), 3/4 majors and could still qualify for the PGA.....and the Fedex for this season. He can finish up his degree anytime. You never know what can happen....he could suffer an injury which could his affect his future ability. (Thinking Zalatoris and how he hasn't been the same recently)

According to Morikawa, receiving the call for this farce holds just as much prestige as receiving the call to be on the Ryder Cup team.

The Massacre at Marco Simone….is this the first time that the US did not finish with at least one win?

You love to see it. Euros are fire right now.

I don't disagree with you on either points.....I think I just used the wrong terminology. However, I believe TF is now the person who has the most career earning with out a win. Of course, I would take that deal but it just seems he plays well for 3 of 4 days and then finds ways to either come up just short or play himself out of contention. His PGA Tour rounds played have to be into the triple digits by now. The way Glover is putting now and his calm demeanor, I would seriously consider on adding him. Maybe it is recency bias, but I would be going with the hot hand....not overall RC records from years prior. I am a HUGE JT fan but he just doesn't seem to have it right now. Although I will still root for him to be on the team (full transparency, I will be cheering for the Euros). I would also be inclined to at least take a look at Bryson as well.

It was a club length, definitely not a score cards length....the most blatant example I saw yesterday ( can't remember who, Spieth on a par 3) where player hit an approach to their green. They likely would have had to chip it on, however, they were allowed to LCP a club length over which gave them a much better angle (and lie) to allow them to putt it on the green. I may still have it on the PVR so I will check once I get home later this evening.

Between almost a 90 minute weather delay, Glover's swamp ass and Cantlay with the non stop shuffling of his feet when lining up a putt......Was not a very enjoyable viewing experience to open up the playoffs. Not to mention the LCP in effect....I can live with that but it is BS when you get to completely improve your line rather than place your ball to it's original spot, or as close as possible. Was hoping Fleetwood would have finally got over the hump but he just doesn't seem to have that killer instinct to close out a PGA tournament. Gotta think Glover should be an easy captains pick for the RC at this point.

Loved seeing Rory completely whiff the ball on 18....very relatable. Good to see DJ and Mac Hughes have solid rounds.

They claim they want to showcase the best of the best for YT golfers, and those two are right up there, personal differences aside. I am not so certain on Grant as it appears he is focusing on the teaching side of the game, however, since Tig is working hard to take off as a pro, I would think he would definitely be interested. Also, sounds like Rick Shields will be offering up a similar type of tournament....I could definitely see those two playing in there.

Curious as to why these channels would be black listed for you? Good Good is black listed but you watch GM Golf (co-creator of Good Good) and their former members. Bob Does Sports is currently my favorite but I can understand that may not be everyone's cup of tea. What does everyone think of the Good Good Championship coming up in May. Free to enter with a $100k purse with the winner receiving $50k. I believe they are only paying out the top 12. As far as I am aware, the GG folks will not be playing in this event....but I am very curious to see if Micha and Grant will sign up (read: allowed) to play.

Welcome aboard from a fellow NBer

I can think of a couple from last year....not in a tourney or a sanctioned match but it was with one of my regular playing partners who is always striving to beat me. We started off at one of our favorite local courses and it was a battle right from the beginning with matching scores up until the 5th hole. (Both went Par-DB-Par-Bog). I went down two shots on Hole 5 with a brutal Triple but gained a shot back by the end of the front 9. At the turn I was 1 back (44 v 43). I had a great par to start on 10, but alas, my FC made a birdie leaving me two back. A similar story on hole 11 where I bogeyed and he parred, now 3 shots behind Fast forward to Hole 15 where I am 3 shots down with 4 holes to go (15) long but straight/wide Par 4, (16) A monster Par 5 that can be tough to get there in 3 at times, (17) short par 3 but can be tricky, and (18) which is a long up hill Par 4 with a severely sloped back to front green. Hole 15 - Both hit good drives, he sticks his 15' away and I miss the green. I chip on and 2 putt for my bogey lamenting the fact I will likely be down 4 shots with 3 to go. Surprisingly, he 3 jacks to match my bogey. 3 shots back with 3 to go. Hole 16 - I hit two pretty good shots to put me in firing distance to the green, he was hitting 3 off the tee. I ended up making a 1 putt par, he doubles. Sweet....I am now 1 shot back with 2 holes. Hole 17 - My tee shot finds back edge of green, he misses right. I 2 putt for the par, and he fails to get up and down and manages a bogey. Brought it back to even with 1 hole to play. I smoke a drive up the hill leaving me a wedge, he's behind me. Both miss our approaches, but I get up and down for my par and he doesn't and ends up with bogey. He thought he had me dead to rights but admitted that the 3 putt from 15' tilted him. I took pride in my resilience in having one of my better finishes by finishing the round with 3 consecutive pars. A side note, we were playing with 2 other buddies with a similar skill level (HDCP ranges from 17-20) and all 4 of us heading into the 18th were all tied....I don't think I have ever seen that before with my group. Less detailed story for this one but same buddy....we go into 18 and he is up by 3 shots and won't let me hear the end of it. Long story short, I birdied (4) the hole while he tripled (8) which had me win by 1 shot. He still has nightmares about that one.

Visited my hometown this weekend and played Rockwood Park Golf Course - Par 70, 68.0 / 114 - 5,677y/ Although the course plays short, it is very tricky....you can have perfectly straight drives on each hole and still have a very awkward lie. There is a lot of hills, mounds, slopes, etc that can make it very challenging. I was in good shape off the tee most of the day but had more than a few challenging lies that I struggled with. Hole 1&2 - Standard Bogeys Hole 3 - Par 3 - 185y - Duffed a 5i off the tee and ended up in penalty area. Long story short, took a 7 on par 3. Hole 4 - Perfect 3w leaving me about 140ish.....took me 5 more shots to get in the hole for a double bogey....could be a long day. Finally by Hole 5, I settle down. On holes 5-8, I hit all 4 greens in regulation but could only muster out 2 pars and 2 - 3 putt bogeys. Finished 9 with a bogey as well. Front 9 - 46 Started back with a bogey and double. Hole 12 is a short 280y Par 4 with a massive bunker right in front. Everytime I hit driver, I end up in that bunker. Tried 3W this time and stayed about 10' short of bunker. Flipped a nice lob wedge up there and drained the birdie putt. All 5 of my rounds so far, I have made at least one birdie. Last 6 holes were fairly standard with a couple of pars, bogeys, and doubles. On 18, I needed par on the 125y Par 3 to break 90....and I did. 46/43 - 89 Stats 1 Birdie 4 Pars 8 Bogeys 5 Double + 6 GIR 35 Putts 1 Penalty

Played Saturday at one of the tougher courses (for me) in my area which plays as a Par 72, 70.3/124 - 6,245 yds. Some highlights/lowlights. First hole is a 490 y Par 5 - Hit my tee shot weak right and the put a 5w out leaving me 180 to a downhill green. Hit a 5i clean and looked to be online but once it cleared the hill, I lost sight of it. As I get closer to the green, my ball is sitting not even 3' from the hole....miracle shot. For the 3rd consecutive round, I birdie the first hole. Made bogeys on 2-5. Hole 6 - 143y Par 3 - had one of my best iron shots of the day. 2 putt par. Hole 8 - Par 4 that is about 230 to the water from the tee. Always have played this with my 3w to land safely before the water hazard. It may be time to switch to 5w or 4i as my tee shot went into the water. Ended up with Double Bogey. Finished the front 9 with a 44 which is always excellent here. Back 9 started off terribly as I went +7 over three holes. This includes a triple bogey on hole 12. Tee shot left me ~ 165 to the green. Flew over it and landed in this spongey type of moss on the back tree line. Took me 3 freaking shots to get back on the green. Back 9 was not much to write home about....had back to back pars but that was it. Came in on 48 44/48 - 92.....I will say, my tee shots, irons, and putter were all working. Even with a 92, I must have easily lost 10-12 shots from just around the green. Frustrating but it tells me what to focus on. Stats 1 Birdie 3 Pars 9 Bogeys 5 Double + 4 GIR 35 Putts 1 Penalty Sunday, I played at my home course. Front 9 was nothing special as I went out with a 45 and I then proceeded to light it up on the first half of the back 9. I started out Par, Birdie, Par, Par putting me -1 after 4 holes and E after 5 holes. I then had a disappointing finish of Double, Par, Bogey, Double. Finished 45/41 - 86 for the lowest round of the year. 4 rounds in with scores of 89,87,92,86 so hopefully that is a sign of things to come. I am feeling much more comfortable on most shots from a driver to a putter. Just need to get the feel back for around the green and hopefully the scores/handicap will drop. In those 4 rounds, I have 5 birdies. In 2019, it took me 16 rounds to get 5 birdies. Stats 1 Birdie 6 Pars 7 Bogeys 4 Double + 6 GIR 32 Putts 1 Penalty

Played back 9 last night at home course. Goal is always to keep any nine holes under 45 (+9) The black flies were out in full force that I thought they would carry me away....still scratching me legs this morning. 10 - Par 3. 147yd - Missed green right, behind a tree of course. Took two chips and two putts to get in hole. (Double Bogey +2) 11 - Par 5, 513y - Kinda topped a drive, which I never do but still rolled out about 80 yards..duffed 3w and then hit solid 3w up the left (further than first two shots combined). 4th shot was still about 180 out ...missed green left side and short sided myself. Chip and 2 putts. (Double Bogey +4) 12 - Par 4, 330y - Seriously pulled/hooked a 3W off the tee than found GUR. Even with free relief, had not choice but to pitch back out to 100 yd marker. Hit center green with 2 putts. (Bogey +5) 13 - Par 4, 345y - Duffed 5W off the tee that barely made it past ladies tee box. Hit a nice 7i out of crap to put me to the 100 y marker. Flew it to back of green, 2 putt (Bogey +6) 14 - Par 4, 357y - Hit a great drive finally up the left side, leaving me about 110y. Pin was back left corner, but I was aiming at middle green....missed my line and went long & left. Hit a really nice chip that put me in tap in distance. (Par +6) 15 - Par 4, 336y - Huge dog leg right, my 3w went left but still in fairway. Typically a straight shot will put you about 120 out from green, I was 160 out. Hit my 7i and hit back right of green and bounced in water. Took my drop and chipped in for a Par somehow. Don't think I have ever parred a hole after taking a penalty stroke. (Par +6) Hole 16 - Par 3, 140y - Missed long and right, an okay chip back and 2 putt. (Bogey +7) Hole 17 - Par 5, 459y - Nightmare hole....sliced tee shot OOB. Eventually made my way down to my lay up spot, just in front of 100y marker. Went long into the water. Two penalties on one hole. (Triple Bogey +10) Hole 18 - Par 4, 280y - Sliced drive but was able to punch out. As usual, approach went long. Chipping 4 from back of the green and just like on hole 15, it went in the cup. (Par +10) Finished with a 46 total, but it felt like a low 50. Got extremely lucky on the 2 holes that I chipped in. For about the last 4 holes, I did almost zero preparation as I just wanted to hit it and run from the black flies. Overall, I did hit some good shots, but not too much felt good like it did in my first two rounds of the season. Have two rounds lined up this weekend.....Saturday at an away course that is a pretty tough track for me. (70.3/124, 6,245yd) with enourmous greens....but its a fun course. Sunday's round will be at the home course.

I used to add to this topic but haven't in at least a couple of years but figure I will try and get back to it. As a refresher, I am an 18 and seem to have remained there for the past few seasons. Part of the reason is that I feel my course is rated lower than it should be (69.1/116 - 5,815 yds)...I have no idea what I think it should be but it seems that I fair better on other courses that are rated more difficult. I think going forward I will try and make a good at the blue tees which are longer and has a more appropriate rating (70.8 / 122 - 6.314 yds). Last year I played the fewest rounds since I started taking the game seriously 6-7 years ago. There were a few factors that lead to that which I won't get into but I am hoping to play more (Covid-19 aside). Played 25 rounds with a scoring avg of 91.28...Ranged anywhere from an 85-98 across 10 different courses. Both of these rounds were from last weekend but will do my best to recap. Round 1 - Country Meadows (Home Course) - Par 72 White Tees - 5,815 yds (69.1 / 116) - Course was pretty wet, non water proof shoes, tight back...should be fun round. Hole 1 - Par 4 - 325y - Doglegs around 220 yrds for an easy line at the green. Drive went right under a tree but I had a shot with about 100 yds left to green....choked down on 52* and hit a miracle shot that rolled up to the hole leaving 4'. Nice birdie to start first hole of the year (Birdie -1) Hole 2 - Par 4 - 350y - Dead straight, good size fairway with OOB on both sides. Historically, I never seem to have a good drive on this hole, but today I did. Unfortunately, ball plugged leaving me 140ish in. Left short of green, bad chip that lead to a standard two putt. (Bogey - E) Hole 3 - Par 3 - 128y - Straight forward par 3, just don't go long where there is water. Missed green on right close to pin high, chip and 2 putt. (Bogey +1) Hole 4 - Par 4 - 349y - My nemesis hole. Terrible tee shot which sliced OOB, played it okay besides that shot...(Double Bogey +3) Hole 5 - Par 5 - 451y - I go from one of my hated holes to one of my fave….nice short par 5. Hit decent drive that left about 225 to the green. Smoked a 3W like I never have before and was tracking right at the flag towards a slightly elevated green. Hit just before but bounced and rolled up about 15' from the pin. Missed the eagle putt but had a tap in bird. First time I have ever hit any par 5 in 2. (Birdie - +2) Hole 6 - Par 3 - 145y - Tricky par 3 where left is the miss since short is water, right is woods, long is parking lot. Slightly pulled my 7 but caught a nice bounce on the left and rolled on the green. Missed birdie putt, easy 3. (Par +2) Hole 7 - Par 5 - 527y - Hit a solid drive up left side fwy. Pulled my 3w terribly which left me about 160 to green with water short. Flared it right missing the green and water. Bad pitch which did not get on the green. Chip and a two putt. (Double Bogey +4) Hole 8 - Par 4 - 325y - Nice 3w and approach to 12'. Have my 4th birdie putt in the first 8 holes which is unheard of. Missed it but tapped in par. (Par +4) Hole 9 - Par 4 - 308y - Kind of funny that previous hole is probably one of the easiest on the course and I consider the 9th one of the tougher holes even though it plays shorter. Nuked 3w and landed my approach pin high on right side of the green where the flag was on the left about 30-35' away. 3 putt to end the front. (Bogey +5) 41 on the front 9 for first round of the year. Hell yeah, I will take it....let's keep it going. Hole 10 - Par 3 - 147y - landed on green short of flag with a long putt....lagged it about 5' past but made the comebacker. (Par +5) Hole 11 - Par 5 - 513y - Very straightforward Par 5 with next to no trouble....OOB both sides but generous fairway. To make a long story short, I forgot how to swing any type of club on this hole. Duffed the tee shot, put my 2nd in a ditch (was playable) yadda yadda, mark me for a snowman (Triple Bogey +8) Hole 12 - Par 4 - 330y - Tee shot is opposite from the last hole where it is all about placement....really favors a fade. Hit a 3w to straight which ran to the edge of the woods. Played out sideways to the 100 marker. Hit the green with a 2 putt. (Bogey +9) Hole 13 - Par 4 - 345y - Dog leg left which the angle of this hole always throws me off. Sign on the tee box points out that it is 211 to the pond. Hit 5w on a great line (or so I thought) and flew it into the water. Never done that before. One of those feelings where I was pissed, but at the same time, impressed that I flew my 5w that distance. (Double Bogey +11) Hole 14 - Par 4 - 357y - Another one of my fave holes but not today. Sliced drive where I can usually find it but no luck (probably plugged) Back to back penalties...(Double Bogey +13) Hole 15 - Par 4 - 336y - Another right dogleg....hit 3w that went right and got really lucky with a tree kicking it back to the edge of the fwy. Still no shot at the green so had to cut the corner a bit to get back to the fwy around the 100 yd marker. Hit a great shot to the green and sank the putt. Finally. (Par +13) Hole 16 - Par 3 - 140y - Straight forward Par 3 but toughest green on course. Missed right, duffed a chip, next chip was on and 2 putt. (Double Bogey +15) Hole 17 - Par 5 - 459y - Short but tough par 5 with dog leg and a green surrounded by water (kind of an island green) - Great tee shot but got unlucky as I had tree in my line. 2nd shot hit the tree and knocked it straight down. 3rd was where I wanted it in my lay up position. On the green, 2 putt. (Bogey +16) Hole 18 - Par 4 - 280y - Probably the 2nd easiest hole on the course if you get your tee shot in play....which I did but I flew my pitch way to the back. 3 putt to finish (Bogey +17) Went 41/48 for 89. Exceeded my expectations by only being +5 after 10 holes and then went +12 on the remaining 8 holes. Chalk it up to rust, wet feet and general fatigue. But I am taking away the positives. Stats 2 birdies 4 pars 6 bogeys 6 Double + 33 putts 3 penalties Round 2 - Mountain Woods - Par 72 Blue Tees (68.5 / 117 - 6,195 yds) Won't go into detail on this one as I am not super familiar with this course and can't remember too many of the specifics. Just like round 1 - came out and birdied the first hole of the day which is one of the toughest on the course. Next hole is the shortest Par 3 on the course and proceeded to hack it up for a triple. Rest of the front was a nice mixture of pars and bogeys and again, finished strong with a 41 on the front. Back 9 was not much to write home about and ended with a 46. 41-46 - 87. Stats 1 birdie 7 pars 5 bogeys 5 double + 35 putts 3 penalties Overall, for the first two rounds of the year and scoring in the 80s, I am definitely happy with that and how I played for the most part. Take away the birdies and interestingly enough, out of 33 holes, I had 11 pars, 11 bogeys, 11 doubles or worse. Going out for 9 at the home course and have a round lined up on Saturday at another course that is one of the more difficult ones in my area....but also one I really enjoy. They have made some changes recently that I am interested to see.