LilGasPasser

That shot by Cink was incredible! Around a 250 yard par-3, and he stiffs it to about, what, 6 feet?!

Not really quotes or proverbs, but more like a quip. Heard this the other day: After a bad shot: "Too much loft. Lack Of Firkin Talent" After making a 20 foot put to complete a triple bogey: "Like whipped cream on shti." I don't have the most "refined" playing partners, and I wouldn't have it any other way...

greensidelg, I only have two questions: 1. Where do you live? 2. Do you need any new golfing buddies?

Going to the US Open at Merion. Practice round on Tuesday, going alone, to really walk the course and hopefully not deal with the crowds. Then, I'm going again on Sunday with 3 friends, but I suspect I'll regret not being able to see very much. I did a little "recon" mission today, to just drive around the public access roads near the course. It's pretty cool, watching the regular members hack it up like the rest of us, but with giant TV stand scaffolding all over the place...

Another vote for the Costco Callaway Hex Pro. I'm starting to improve, and not lose so many balls, so I wanted to try a better ball. I've tried the Bridgestone E6 and RXS, Srixon Z-Star and Q-Star, and Pro V1 and V1x. For me, the Costco Callaway Hex Pro, at $24/dz, is a nice combination of quality ball and acceptable price. I don't feel awful when I still lose one, but the better feel is certainly noticeable around the greens. Probably not for everyone, but for other price-conscious players looking to upgrade their ball, it's a fair compromise. I believe it's essentially a Callaway Tour iS from a few years back, with a urethane cover.

I was in a similar situation last year. I joined a local club near my house based purely on geography; I could not care less about the social offerings... I was just getting back into golf after a long hiatus, and lost touch with most of my prior golf friends. So, I was a "single" golfer. Within weeks, I had met dozens of people, and within a few months of playing with different groups, I fell into a social group of guys who are of similar ages, and we all have similar games (ie. poor, but trying to improve). So, I say, go for it at the local club. You're bound to meet up with people soon enough. At my club, the starter watched me on the range for the first few rounds, and made the pairings based on my ability. It worked out well for me. I wish you have the same luck. I found that showing up early on a weekend, and hanging about the putting green or range, was a big help. There's usually a threesome in a need of a fourth within an hour... That was the best part of joining a club: I can show up when I have time to play, and can usually pair up with a familiar face pretty quickly.

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I'm late to the thread, so my apologies if this has been covered... I voted "too difficult", but I really think it's a combination of too difficult, too expensive, and takes too long. If the game was easier, and beginners were quicker to hit those satisfying shots that make us addicts, then I could see them finding a way to justify the cost and the time away from family. But, golf is pretty frustrating to learn, and the newbie usually has to spend time really learning the game to get to the point where the financial and time costs are justified by the enjoyment returned... For example, I work in a field (medicine, anesthesia to be precise) that traditionally has a large number of golfers. I can't think of another golfer under the age of 50 in my work circle of colleagues (an OR staff of about 50 anesthesiologists and around 100 surgeons, plus many nurses and techs that are potential golfers). Plenty of older guys golf, but most of the younger guys are into cycling, tennis, running, adult basketball or soccer leagues. These are all sports where they can quickly do their thing after work or on a weekend morning, then still be home to get the kids/wife to whatever activity it is that day. I can think of maybe 3 or 4 guys that have tried to pick up the game, only to quit after their first year. The reason? They had more fun doing other things that they could excel at with less practice. They had fun golfing, but not ENOUGH fun to justify the time, and they didn't see themselves having the time to practice and get to the point where every round was worth finding a way to make the free time. Similarly, if I make the argument that joining a club would reduce the time obstacle (generally faster rounds vs. public courses, and free access to practice facilities), the money obstacle takes over. Not enough disposable income to justify anywhere from $6k to $15k/year (at least in our area), on a sport that they aren't fully committed to (yet). Oddly, I know about 6 guys, all under 40, that grew up golfing (via parents at a country club), and at one point in their life were pretty good at it. They are now successful in their careers, have the disposable income, enjoy the game, but just don't have the time to play regularly. Wives, kids, career, etc... I'm fortunate enough to have some financial flexibility and a supportive wife, but I see a day in the next few years, as the kids' activities increase, that my rounds per year will go WAY down. Then, if I'm only playing 5-10x per year, giving it up completely isn't that far off. Golf is incredibly fun when you're playing well. Hacking your way through a case of balls over 6 hours? No thanks...

Thanks for pointing this out! I was able to watch some at work today...

I played Talking Stick, in Scottsdale off of Rt 101, a few months ago. It's fairly flat, and relatively inviting for a high handicapper. I found some of the other more famous "desert golf" courses to be a bit frustrating for my game (around a 20 tcp). It's also a bit cheaper than some of the other big name courses... Not value golf, but not $250/round either... http://www.talkingstickgolfclub.com/index.php

No idea of it's value. But, if there were ever a golf bag custom made for a pimp, you've got it! Use it, and live large, baller...

I'm pretty nearsighted, like a 4.5 in contacts, but dry eyes make contacts pretty uncomfortable for me. I've tried multiple prescription sunglasses, and haven't had much success with wraparound sport frames. The result is usually a very narrow area of clarity in the center of the lens, with lots of blurriness on the periphery. I've had more success using a chunky plastic frame (nerd style) intended for regular lenses, and just put tinted lenses in. If price were no object, I've lusted after trying these for years: http://www.sportsoptical.com/prescription_sunglasses.htm They are the equivalent of a custom Scotty Cameron studio putter, at least among cycling geeks...

Looking at setting up a putting green in my basement this year... Does anyone have any experience with "proputt systems" turf? It's a branch of east coast turf, which supplies very nice turf matt material to ranges and clubs... There's a bunch of options out there, from BirdieBall styrofoam http://www.birdieball.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=270 to a $12,000 "dream green" http://www.dreamgreen.com Some are low-profile, where you use impact-absorbing cup pins to slow the ball down, http://www.starprogolf.com/kits.htm And others are built up platforms that allow the ball to actually "fall down" into the cup http://www.tourlinks.net/store/index.php?p=product&id;=2&parent;=1 I'm looking at the ProPutt system, because you can easily add an extra 2 or 4 feet in length, it uses a platform, and the actual turf quality is highly reviewed. But, it's quite pricey, and I'm not sure the extra money is justified. IMO, the two platform systems seem the most realistic... But, I'm curious if any sandtrappers have firsthand experience with it. http://proputtsystems.com Thanks in advance for any advice!

I'm not much better than you, but none of the good golfers seem to be answering, so I'll share my thoughts: First, the "whippy" appearance of your shaft is an artifact of using a camera without a fast enough "frames per second" to catch a fast golf swing. If you are using a camera phone or a cheaper point and shoot, it's unavoidable. Don't worry about it... Second, it appears that you're left knee collapses far too much during your backswing. You then straighten the knee out during the downswing, and that seems to keep you from keeping your hands in front at impact. No idea if that's really holding you back, or how to fix it; sorry! Again, I'm just starting to look at my own swing, so hopefully someone who actually knows what they are talking about will chime in... Good luck!

I suck at golf. But, I would really like to be a scratch golfer. I know that I don't have much natural talent, and I'll never put in the dedicated hours of practice to get low scores, but I'd still like to have a single-digit handicap. Can your bank help me out?