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Everything posted by Maddog10
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Dropped to a 0.6 this morning. My goal was to get to scratch by the end of next year, but I'm on track to make it quicker than that. I don't think I can make it to scratch by the end of this season, but hopefully late spring/mid-summer of next year I can make it. I have the game to be scratch right now until I get on the green. HAVE to improve in that 5-6 feet range.
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Awesome! My grandfather got a double eagle once, and never had a hole in one. It was the coolest thing ever to see. He hit Driver, 3W on a par 5 and we couldn't find the ball. Looked all around the green, short, long, left, right. Finally I went a peeked in the hole and sure enough there it was. I said "Hey Papa, you forgot to look here!" I've been about 5-6 feet from one but that's as close as I've got.
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Wanted to re-visit my thread and post a new video. I've been working on my swing a lot this year and have been playing some good golf. I feel that my posture has improved from when I posted my original swing earlier in the year, but I would love to hear your comments. I apologize that the quality of the video is so poor in terms of providing a good view for instruction. I will try to get some videos later this week with a better DTL angle as well as a face-on, and I also will use our DSLR camera instead of my iPhone . If you can tell anything from this video though I would love to hear your thoughts. This is a 50* PW.
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Congrats! I did the same when I first broke 80. I expected to leak in with a 79 or 78, but just had one of those days where it came together and blew right through it like you did.
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There's a guy I play with a lot at a local 9 hole course. I would say he's in his early 50's and a good single digit guy, probably a 3-4 handicap. He's got 9 aces in his career, which is incredible to me. Also, another cool stat he can claim is that on that 9 hole course, which consists of three Par 3's, three Par 4's, and three Par 5's, he has eagled every single hole. There is a correlation between skill level and having several aces. There's not nearly as much of a correlation between skill level and having one or two aces though. My wife, who rarely plays golf, got a hole in one the first year she started playing. I've been playing all my life (only 23 though) and am still waiting on my first.
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1. Handicap: 1.1 2. Anti-handicap: 4.2 3. How long: This year 4. Improvements: Started the season around a 2.0, so I've dropped nearly a stroke and have been trending downward for several revisions.
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I see what you did there...
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I don't get nervous about casual rounds because I play them all the time, usually with the same group of guys... However, I'm ALWAYS nervous on the first tee of a tournament. It's probably my favorite part of tournament play though, so if I ever stop getting nervous then I'll just stop playing in them I guess. It typically works to my advantage too because I focus even more than usual to overcome the nerves. I make a lot of first hole pars in tournaments. There's nothing wrong with being nervous though, it's normal. If anyone thinks the pros aren't nervous when they step on the first tee of a big tournament, you're crazy. No matter how good you are, or how many tournaments you have played in, there are always some first tee jitters. I remember reading how Nicklaus said he gets nervous to come out and hit the opening drive of the Master's each year, even though he knows it doesn't matter where he hits it... What helped me is just learning to embrace it and enjoy that one shot where I get to be nervous instead of backing down from it. I may hit 100 shots that day (Lord, I hope not) but I may only get to be nervous over that one single shot. Enjoy it, as it's all part of the beauty of tournament play.
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Down to a 1.1. Was going to dip into the zeros but bumped a good round out of my last 20 and replaced it with a not-so-good round.
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Anyone that refers to it as "packing heat" should have their weapon and permit removed anyways...
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I'm a CCW permit holder and I exercise my rights every day. I carry with me basically everywhere I go, aside from places that are illegal to carry such as bars. I elect not to carry on the course just because I don't like having anything on me while swinging, but I certainly don't have an issue with those that do. In fact, taking my gun with me in my bag probably wouldn't be a bad idea. I likely will continue to leave mine locked away in a box in my truck though while on the course just so I don't have to worry about kids or anyone messing with it. Some people will never understand why others feel the need to carry a weapon. After all, that's what the cops are for, right? Others, like myself, elect to have the added assurance that we can protect our families in the event that the police can't make it in time. By choosing this route though, it brings an additional level of responsibility to your everyday life. By choosing to be a licensed carrier, you are now under a responsibility to avoid escalating any conflict at all. IMO, drawing your weapon on a person without the intention of firing is rarely a good idea, and thus the only time you would draw would be with intent to eliminate a deadly threat. Some states require you to attempt to retreat before taking action and some don't. My state does not, but even still if a witness says that I was escalating the situation and then later used lethal force, this case just got much more murky in terms of legality. I obviously hope to never have to put my license to use. If I do though, my plan is to make it very clear that I am trying to avoid this conflict and will do so in a loud and public manner so that if there are any witnesses then it will be clear who is the instigator. That way if the situation escalates to the point where lethal force is necessary, the story should tell that I was innocent. There needs to be no "macho" or "protector" ego associated with being a CCW permit holder. That will do nothing more than land you in jail.
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Dropped another 2 tenths to get down to a 1.4... Been on a pretty steady trend this since May and hope to keep it going. Here's my H.I. history this summer. 4-1-14: 0.9 (This one was not real accurate. Didn't have 20 rounds submitted so it was heavily weighted by a couple low rounds.) 4-15-14: 2.0 5-1-14: 2.6 5-15-14: 1.7 6-1-14: 1.6 6-15-14: 1.4 My goal is to be scratch by the end of 2015. Just need to keep things trending downwards.
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My wife just took up the game this year, and it has been a great experience for us so far. We have a hobby now that we can share together for the rest of our lives. Amazing how quickly beginners improve in terms of shaving strokes from the score. Especially when I compare how difficult it is for me to knock half a stroke off of my handicap.
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Cool report. Emma Talley played for the U.S. team and is a local girl here where I live. Very nice, down to earth young lady, and an unbelievable golf talent. She's a U.S. Amateur champion and currently plays for the Univ. of Alabama. This area is very proud of her.
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Played in a big tournament over the weekend with 200+ entrants. Played well for the most part but the second day was a struggle. Shot 68 (-4) the first day to get myself into the leader group and 1 shot off the lead, but shot 74 (+2) the second day to finish with a 142 (-2) for the tourney. That was good enough for 4th in the tournament, which earned me a decent script payout. Putting really cost me the second day though. I couldn't make anything, but I lipped out about 6 putts. Never made a putt outside of 5 feet. Also I made a complete mess of the front 9 by carding a 40 (+4) at the turn, and it is the easier nine on the course... Overall, if you would have told me before the tournament that I would have finished with a 142 and 4th place, I would have taken it. After being in good position to win after the first day though, I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't put together a better final round. I hit the ball well enough to go low again, but my putting just wouldn't allow it.
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I'm at a similar stage as you. Speaking for myself, I think the difference is going to come in proximity to the hole on approach shots, and putts in the 5-10 feet range. The pros make these at a 25-30% clip, whereas I'd say I make them around 15-20% of the time. They also get more of these putts than I do, because I normally hit the green for a 20 foot putt that I have roughly a 3-5% chance of making and then two putt from there. If I can reduce my proximity to the hole closer to 10 feet instead of 20ish feet whenever I'm hitting wedges and short irons into the green, I'll give myself more putts in that range while also putting with much better percentages. I think that's the most likely way for me to shave a stroke or two consistently. My best rounds are always when I'm hitting above average (for me) approach shots and am able to make 2 or 3 more putts outside of 5 feet than I normally would.
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I agree with johnclayton, in theory. If you are playing (as a foursome) within the parameters set my the course in terms of pace of play, then you are fine by me. If you are a twosome, I think it's only fair that you should play in less than the required pace of play and not jack around so that you drag it out to the POP requirement, but I think that's obvious. The key to me is to just be mindful and courteous to the other groups on the course. I don't talk on the phone at the course, but it's because I don't like to, not because I think it's wrong. I'll usually answer and tell them that I'm golfing and will have to call them later. If it's my wife, she knows to text me and I will respond when I can. I do think it's wrong to sit and talk on the phone if a group is currently waiting on you, even if you are still going to make it within the POP limits. If you need to take the call and you think it may take a few minutes, let the group play through. Like I said, just be respectful of the other groups and I think you will find the whole process works pretty smoothly. Like johnclayton, I do not enjoy a rushed round. In fact, I probably enjoy it less than a marathon round. As with most people, I will always offer to let faster groups play through given that there is room for them in front of us. I don't know their plans for the day, they may have a kid's baseball game to get to, or an anniversary dinner with their wife. I have no idea, but if they are in that big of a hurry and I'm not, come on through. It makes the day more enjoyable for both of us. But if the course is backed up and every group is waiting, don't sit back there and huff and puff or hit into our group because you are impatient. Nobody is going anywhere fast, so you might as well just enjoy the day.
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Shaved a tenth off of my index with the latest revision and have now dropped down to a 1.6 Trying to keep the momentum going. Index: 1.6 Stroke Average: 73.0 Anti-Index: 6.2
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I think this is true for my course as well. I would argue that it's rated too low for a person that doesn't play it often because it can actually be quite difficult some days. It is pretty short, but can be quite penalizing if you don't hit the ball straight or miss in the right areas. There are a lot of elevation changes so some fairways have a lot of slope resulting in awkward stances, there are a few holes where OB is very much in play, there's an island green that I've seen numbers north of 10 on several occasions, and also some constricted par 5's that dogleg through the woods and don't leave much room for error. I know the system is based on how a scratch golfer would play the course, and assuming he keeps the ball in the fairway he would light it up, making the rating pretty accurate. I've had friends with similar handicaps as me though come play thinking they would go low on a course rated 67.4 and end up struggling to break 80. The course is only difficult if you make it difficult, but it can play pretty tough some days. I agree with you though MEfree. The difficulty of a course can't always be judged based on it's rating IMO. I play a course that's rated 72 something and I find it very easy. It just has a lot of water and that's it. If you don't hit in the water, it's really an easy course. I don't know how it's rating is so high.
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I actually agree with that completely. My two lowest differentials are on more difficult courses. I shot a 70 (-2) on a course rated 71.6/132 for a differential of -1.3. For me to achieve that same differential at my home course I would have to shoot a 66 (-6), which is difficult for me to do. That's just a lot of birdies to make without any room for bogeys. Really the only difference I see is that my stroke average is lower than most with similar handicaps because of the low course rating. I usually hover around even par at home and with some under par rounds thrown in just to maintain a handicap of nearly 2.
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I know the handicap system is meant to provide a baseline number that measures a player's ability, and is also meant to be equal for all people regardless of the course they play on. I was just curious though if you guys feel there is a correlation between handicaps that are established by people who belong to a home course that is very easy from a course rating standpoint compared to those that establish their handicaps on difficult courses? For example, is a handicap based primarily on a 68/115 course any different than that from a 72.5/135 course? In theory it's not, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. The reason I bring this up is because the course I belong to is rated at 67.4/112. It's not ideal and I wish I belonged to a more difficult course, but this one is practical, economical, and allows me to play nearly every day after work as it is just a mile from my house. It is also pretty well maintained and is usually in nice shape. This is really my first year playing a lot of competitive golf since being out of high school (23 years old now), and I was concerned that my handicap wasn't going to translate well to other courses when playing in tournaments and such. I was afraid that it may be "padded" in a sense because it was established on such an easy course... However, thus far I have found that to be false. I am actually quite impressed at the accuracy of the handicap system so far. I'm at a 1.7 right now with 6 of my 10 scores coming from my home course, but the differentials when I play more difficult courses have held very true to my handicap thus far. For example, the other day I played a course rated 72.8/136 and I shot a 75, leaving me with a 1.8 differential. That compares to what would basically be a 69 (-3) at my home course, which is a differential of 1.6. I had always been under the impression that handicaps established on easy courses were going to generally be a little lower than they should be. However, I'm starting to wonder if that's truly the case. Considering a 69 at my course is equal to a 75 at another course, I think the system really does do a good job of evening the playing field. Anyways, I rambled more than I planned on but I would like to hear your thoughts. I try to play other courses frequently so that I have a variety of scores and courses in my handicap, mainly because I didn't want my tournament scores to not match up with what I claim as a handicap. So far though I have been pleasantly surprised. I would love to hear the CR/slope of the course you play the most, and how your handicap translates to courses that are easier/harder? Do you find it to hold pretty true?
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I agree with others that there is basically no chance of you being able to do it. Even if you live in an area that allows you to play year-round, that is just too much progress and too little time. You will progress very quickly at first and it will seem attainable, but the journey of getting from a 5 handicap to a scratch golfer is typically a multi-year process. To go from a 22 to a 0 is just too ambitious. I would say you could get down to an 8-10 and should be thrilled with that if you do, but even then you are a looooong way from being scratch. A 22 to scratch in 3 years would have been a better bet. That would still be quite ambitious and would be difficult to do, but if you could dedicate as much time as you say then it's at least possible.
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I play with a guy who is a full-blown righty and swings righty, but he putts lefty which I find to be very strange. He's an excellent putter too. I don't know what made him develop this strategy, but it definitely works for him.
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I'm not 100% certain that I could use your system and calculate actual percentages so I'm not going to do it that way, but I will try to model my thoughts better than I did earlier. You mention me always being able to one putt for a sand save, but I would be able to two-putt for a sand save. If I hit a bunker shot onto the green, I've still got two putts at making par and should have a reasonable birdie look... Basically the way I see it is I need to be able to carry something 220 or more and be able to hit a target that I'm estimating to be 50 yards wide (green and surrounding fairway) to be safe. That doesn't necessarily put me on the green, but I'm not in the hazard and I've got some sort of chip/pitch/bunker shot into the green. From this position, I would expect myself to end up with a reasonable chance of getting up and down for birdie with par being worst case. Then on the occasions that I do hit the green, I'm going to expect to two-putt for birdie. I think your 20% chance of eagle number is way too high for me, and the 10% chance of par is way too low. I'm going to make par far more often than I make eagle. In fact, par most likely should be my highest percentage. Now, I can't ignore the obvious scenario where a mishit puts me in the water, and that would be quite a penalty because there is not a good drop. Basically I would just have to re-tee as if I had hit the ball out of bounds or had a lost ball. Regardless, given the width of the landing area, I am comfortable with this shot and believe I could land it safely somewhere near the green 80%+ of the time. For me this hole happens to work out perfectly for my 5 wood, which I can hit high and land softly. The fact that there is no trouble immediately long makes this a much easier shot. If there was water directly behind the green and no safe area long, the hole would be considerably tougher. I said I wasn't going to try percentages, but I'll give it a shot. Essentially the goal is to put myself in a position to make birdie, and even a greenside bunker shot is a higher percentage shot at getting inside 5 feet than playing from the lay up area. Therefore, if I avoided the water on the tee shot, which I feel I could do at an 85% rate, then I am usually looking at a birdie opportunity with a worst case par. For me, that reward is worth taking the risk of hitting in the water, especially when the lay-up also presents an opportunity to hit the ball in the water. Here are my estimated percentages. I can't claim their accuracy, but it's the best I can do. 5% chance at making eagle 35% chance at making birdie 40% chance at making par 5% chance at making bogey (least because if I clear the hazard I should do no worse than par. If I don't I'm looking at a double considering the long drop.) 10% chance at making double or worse Therefore based on those percentages, if I played the hole 20 times I am estimating myself to be -4 (assuming no "worses", just double bogeys) on the hole. I'll take it. GolfingDad, I must have skimmed over where the OP mentioned that the rough is nothing to worry about. That makes laying up a much better option even though it doesn't change my opinion on what I personally would do. If you didn't have to worry about being buried with a bad lie, that makes the second shot pretty easy and essentially should take the water out of play.
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If the layup was a safe option I think it would make the decision more difficult, though I would still go for it no matter what Option B was. However, this particular hole presents a lot of risk with the layup shot as well so to me it just doesn't make sense to lay up unless you don't feel capable of carrying the water. If that is the case though, then you likely don't feel capable of carrying the hazard to the right of the lay up area either... Either option, a miss left is a hazard. Also with either option, a miss right potentially introduces a hazard, although it can be eliminated on the layup if you carry the hazard. If I'm assessing the risk/reward for each option, I see significant risk for significant reward in going for it. If I lay up, I still see significant risk (though less, admittedly), but I see very little reward. How often are you going to hit a 17 yard wide fairway if you have to carry it 200 yards to eliminate the right hazard? If it's not often, then you are now playing a shot from the rough that has to carry water as well, and have introduced risk on two shots instead of one. If you are capable of hitting the ball 250, I think this one is a no-brainer. You have to go for it. Typically a lay up is shot that produces very little risk, but that is not the case here. If I'm going to accept risk, I want the reward as well... Cool hole.
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