painter33

Pace of play is my biggest on-course concern. I don’t care how long someone takes to get to the pro shop, I only want people to be considerate on the course. I walk and understand that some who take carts need them, but having worked on a course I can say that walkers play faster generally - one person goes to one ball... but the real slowdown comes from too many trips to the back of a cart. Hit a club, hold that club while riding, then change for the next club after arriving at the ball. There! I just saved you almost 90 trips to the back of the cart! Well, not really 90, but, truthfully, what’s so hard about reducing the number of times one puts clubs in and takes them out? After I hit a shot, I carry the club in my hand (and bag on my shoulder) until I’ve gotten to my ball for the next shot. As I walk up to the ball, I’ve checked yardage (by eye), wind, course conditions (wet/dry, soft/fast/topography) and have decided on club selection. It’s not that hard or does it have to take fa-friggin-eveh! But in a cart, no one seems to do anything but drive/ride/talk - anything but think about the next shot. I can walk the 18 in a comfortable 2½ hrs, so why should it take 4½ - 5 hrs in a cart? If one is healthy enough, get outta the damn cart and walk (if it’s allowed, of course). Alternately, just put one little thought in your head, “Pace. Of. Play.”

I had and still have a similar choice except the closer course (4 minutes) is better conditioned and more expensive than the farther course (20 minutes). However, average pace of play on the nearer course is about 5+ hrs while the farther, lesser conditioned course is under 4 hrs to play, meaning not having to watch people in carts hit from the wrong tees and incessantly go into their bags for an extra hour per round. Sanity matters.

Older thread but.... Franklin Park (no one calls it "Wm. Devine") is a Ross re- design, while George Wright is a Ross original design. Ross had to work with the existing course (second oldest public course in the country) at Franklin Park, but he was the initial and only architect to design George Wright. The two courses play very differently - FP relies on length, whereas the Wright is a shot-maker's course. One must think more one on and hit farther on the other, although some length is needed on some of the Wright's holes. The third course nearest to in-town Boston is Putterham Meadows or the Brookline Golf Club (why they named a course after a guy - Lynch - that wanted to close it down remains a mystery). It's a relaxed kind of course with not too much required other than consistency. Everything is right in front of a golfer except for the tee shot on the 10th hole. Every hole is reachable in regulation, although 15 has become more challenging with the creek near the green that was opened up. The 14th hole can be a round-destroyer as it requires some control off the tee and then a tucked green with water on the front left. The beauty of all three courses is that they are best enjoyed by walking. ( Rant warning )There are very few things as upsetting on a course as a group of twenty- or thirty-somethings in carts, smoking cigars and drinking beer. Otherwise healthy people acting as if golf and NASCAR are co-joined is enough to make a sunny day dark. They also slow the pace of play and rarely replace divots. But, that's not unique to any one course anywhere, sadly.

I'd just have to repaint and change the blue to gray to make them a little cleaner looking; I'm getting tired of the "Ping Blue". These iron just may solve the problem that some have had with the delaminating finish. Yup, right in the bag....

But I have gone retro... hitting MP 30s, retraced my clubs, first to Zing 2 irons (skipped right over the Zings) and now back to Eye 2s. I'm going to put graphite in one set but haven't decided which one. Pro on the Zing 2s is that they have stronger lofts, but the Eye 2s are more workable (more like the Mizzys). What to do, so many choices? The only consolation is that I'm doing the work and can change them as often as I like.

You used the term "firm", which is not the same as "tight", and tight is how most amateurs grip the club. Looking at one's glove for wear can indicate re-gripping and an overly tight grip. Tight grips also restrict the release that in turn results in disappointing contact. A firm grip is indeed one that allows a player to have confidence in the connection between his/her hands and the club. That confidence leads to freedom in the swing. "Holding a bird" might have worked for Sam Snead, but if the rest of us had his fluidity, agility, and timing, we too would be winners on tour. He was; we're not, so finding the correct grip pressure is mostly a matter of a confident swing. One may get that swing with lessons and practice or lots of play (some people get better on the course, others on the range). Firm is good.

I completely agree. Watching Mcilroy swinging within himself, albeit a powerful swing, and seeing his success led me to the same conclusion. Tiger is certainly strong enough but swinging out of his shoes on every shot is absurd and directly the cause of his back problems. Even taking one more club, save for the driver of course, and swinging a bit easier would help him tremendously. His driver rips just give me an image of the ball going anywhere but where he's aiming and a pain in my back! If he played every shot like a 100 yd. wedge, I think he'd be dynamite again. But, you're right - ego is his driver, not the Nike in his hands.

I hate to break it to people and to go back in time, but the two worst people I encountered during the 1988 US Open and the 1999 Ryder Cup held at Brookline, MA, were Lee Trevino and Herman, his caddie. They were disgusting and classless when not on camera, and displayed remarkable depths of anti-Semitism. The vile language they used was an embarrassment to the PGA and golfers worldwide. I was a marshal working at a tee that was inaccessible to the fans and to television, so they didn't have to worry, as if they did, about any of that getting out to the general public. Their remarks were met by silence from the other golfers in the groups, and a few shook their heads. I assumed they were not hearing that kind of talk for the first time. This also appeared to be the universal take on them from all of the other marshals working at other holes. We marshals all had big smiles on our faces as we walked around when not on duty, and even though strangers to one another, we would greet each other with, "Isn't this great?!", only to have, "but isn't that Trevino a p...k?" immediately follow. He was rude, crude, and had no feelings or sensitivity about whom or toward anyone he insulted. This isn't some third-hand story; this is a first-person report. The "Merry Mex" isn't so merry after all and is not the carefully crafted on-camera persona, not by a long shot. The very best guy we met in '88 was Seve Ballesteros - a true gentleman, a man of the people, and the nicest person to meet, golfer or not. We are diminished by his passing. Most PGA golfers are understandably focused on their games and don't interact with others a great deal except during practice rounds. I was assigned to walk with Mark O'Meara while he practiced alone the day before the start of the tournament. He was easy-going and a pleasure to meet and to talk with (and finished tied for 3rd). My last US Open assignment was to forge a path through crowds from green to the next tee during the Faldo/Strange playoff. It was an exciting day, to say the least.

I'm a college president who has played less and less as I've moved up the academic ladder. When only teaching I could play 4-5 times a week and now, well, once or twice a year. No wonder my game has disappeared.

Wait just a minute here! Does this design look familiar? How about a comparison to the Ping Zing 2 irons (followed by the ISI models) - both heel/toe weighted with a center cutout to allow for the club head to glide more easily through the turf. Hmmm.