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Everything posted by Chief Broom
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It is within the rules of golf to use your putter to "mark" your ball.
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Tommy Gainey did it. He was an assembly line worker at a water heater factory who played money games and mini tour events on the side. I believe after doing this for a few years and being reasonably successful doing so (making money in the money games and placing well in the mini tour events) he was able to convince a group of business people whom he knew to put up the money (along with winnings he was able to save) for him to devote himself full time to playing golf. It can be done and you don't have to go the route of spending large sums of money on living with a top golf instructor for years in order to hone your ability (although guys have gone that route too and made it).
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Any drills to stop de-lofting the driver?
Chief Broom replied to Chief Broom's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
I wonder how you translate that drill into the full driver swing? -
Find a good vantage point somewhere on the back 9 prior to any of the players making it that far along in their rounds. Stay there and let all the golfers come to you. The herd following Tiger starts showing up a good 2 or 3 holes prior to him coming through, so being there ahead of time is crucial. This has always worked for me Sunday's at the Masters.
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Any drills to stop de-lofting the driver?
Chief Broom posted a topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
I de-loft the driver horribly at impact. I have a very strong grip as a result of being a lifelong slicer of the ball. As I've tamed the slice (somewhat) my ball flight has drastically dropped. In fact the only shot with the driver I can get up in the air is that high slice/cut, otherwise it's low. This is a result of being above plane after I start down on the ball and come into impact outside-in. Any ideas for drills to work on at the range to add more loft or promote hitting up on the ball? -
Well I tried this and it didn't work. My club has 5 sets of tees and I always play the middle tees at 6250yds (70.4/126). Beyond that we've got 6750yds (72.5/130) and 7100yds (74.2/137). Our club championship is coming up this weekend and they'll set it up so that we'll be playing from a mixture of the three longest tees. Incidentally the one's immediately shorter than where I usually play are considered the senior tees at 5450yds (66.6/117) and shortest are the "women's" tees at 5000yds (un-rated for men). Figuring that I should have some experience from the longer tees leading into the competition one golf buddy and I endeavored to play from the first set longer than normal for us (6750). Let me tell you that extra 500 yards beat us up this past weekend (I got to play the front 9 twice and the full 18 once). I'd say on balance the extra yardage only made a real difference on about half of the holes. The rest were marginally harder, but on the ones where it did it was punishing. It doesn't help that driver is the most vexing club in my bag, so on the holes where the yardage was significantly added a poor tee shot left me in a lot worse trouble than I am used to having to deal with on approach. My buddy, who's a 9hdc, and I were grinding to play bogey golf. What made matters worse is that the extra yardage also got into my head. I hit some decent tee shots but I hit some lousy ones too, and when I was in position off the tee I seemed to perform slightly worse than usual. I have the game to play from those kinds of yardages, but after the championship I'm going back where I belong.
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I guess I'd pick b for a larger margin of error. I'd missed that "capture speed" thread originally and it is certainly interesting. I'm definitely not a "rammer" when it comes to putting. That's one of my regular playing partners. He's a better putter than I am and I have found myself at times admiring his ability to firm those shorter putts home. Actually how firm he's hitting them I can't say because I'd put his success rate on those (and this practice stands out primarily on those in the 3'-5' range) around an 80% make rate. This weekend I did spend some time considering this and I'll spend some time on the practice green trying to perfect that 6"-12" capture speed. I have to concede that the firmer stroke may well be an indicator of confidence as much as a capture methodology.
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The pros hit putts firm for a reason. I've got a regular golf buddy who does this and he's deadly on those short putts that can easily bring you to your knees trying to second guess the break and get the ball to die in the hole. As Ben said aim for the back of the cup and hit it hard enough so that it hits it.
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This practice is very widespread. I'd say far more people "roll" the ball than play it down. It doesn't bother me one way or the other. If someone who rolls the ball plays in a handicapped tournament their handicap will reflect the way they play, so any advantage gained will in effect lower their handicap accordingly. The problem I see from rolling the ball is for the "roller" if they ever find them self in a situation where they are not allowed to roll the ball. Then they will lose whatever advantage they have gained from rolling the ball, and constantly have to fight the impulse they have ingrained to bump or nudge the ball to a more favorable lie.
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Selling my clubs to buy Miura?
Chief Broom replied to Sai-Jin's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
Miura draws upon the Japanese cultural traditions of metallurgy, craftsmanship, artistry, etc. It's no coincidence that this approach has been successful for them in the Japanese market and beyond. This multidisciplinary approach has always been a fundamental component of Japanese culture and the Miura company functions under this philosophy. I've always admired this mindset. The Samurai prized the ability to arrange flowers and write poetry as much as skill with arms or military tactics. At the core of this belief is the assumption that better design is to be found through such a multidisciplinary approach. -
65/20/15 Practice Ratios: Where to Devote Your Practice Time
Chief Broom replied to iacas's topic in Swing Thoughts
D'oh! -
impatient waiting for others at golf course
Chief Broom replied to golf55's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
In my experience when you play a course has a lot to do with how busy it will be. Take the time to get to know a course and it's play patterns and it should be fairly easy for you to schedule your rounds when you know you'll stand the best chance of not being held up. The best way I know to be able to play as fast as you want is to be the first group off in the morning. Those times are usually taken by course regulars because they also don't want to have to wait. There have been plenty of times when I showed up at the course prior to their first tee times and was able to convince them to let me go off with those first groupings. You'll also find that many courses are slower the closer you get to twilight or mid-day. Get to know the course and you'll figure out when you should schedule your tee times for maximum benefit. -
65/20/15 Practice Ratios: Where to Devote Your Practice Time
Chief Broom replied to iacas's topic in Swing Thoughts
I don't disagree with your basic premise. But I get the impression that you might not be playing necessarily the same game a lot of these other guys are playing. There is a lot to be said against the current rage of the "bomb and gouge" style of play. You mentioned earlier playing the ball along the ground versus flying it to the hole, and I've played with a lot of older players who routinely will use their putter from 50 yards off the green. That's a style we aren't used to seeing here in the states but it is a style that can be used to great effect. So too can players become obsessed with the power game, and quite frankly I have to say that it isn't always the most effective way to shoot lower scores especially if the player isn't capable of being consistent when they try to apply that power. -
False sense of really getting to the 70's?
Chief Broom replied to Maverick's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
The reason I asked the typical yardages you play from is because that has a huge impact on breaking 80. I'd say if you stick to tees less than 6300 yds and hit your driver 220-230, but always straight, you'll have no trouble occasionally shooting in the 70's. Now if on the other hand you play tees pushing beyond mid 6000 yds to upper 6000's (and beyond) you're going to have a lot of trouble, and in fact have to play lights out in order to break 80. In actuality my average driver distance is certainly in the mid 230 yd range and I always stand a chance (albeit a small one) of breaking 80 on any given day (even on tees pushing beyond mid 6000 yds). Do I hit driver a lot farther than 230, sure, but an average also has to take into account all those lousy drives too and that's what brings my average way down. I'd say if you can hit your driver consistently 220 yds but find the fairway a majority of the time, and you're playing a set of tees a little over 6000 yds your typical approach shots on par 4s should by mid iron or shorter. And a mid iron or better in your hands on typical par 4s is pretty much all anyone can ask for when trying to break 80. -
How is the financial health of golf courses in your community?
Chief Broom replied to bogey joe's topic in Golf Talk
This is the way embezzlement works. The embezzler actively works to maintain the cover up of the funds being stolen. They get caught when someone finally figures out that something is wrong and decides to perform an external audit, or something happens to prevent the embezzler from actively covering up the missing money (e.g. the embezzler retires, gets fired, goes on an unexpected medical leave, or even goes on vacation). One red flag for auditors is when a key employee never takes vacations or only does so for short periods of time and specifically sets it up so that other employees don't have to assume their regular "workload". It's ironic because the person stealing from you isn't the lousy employee who always calls in and never wants to work. Instead it's the key employee who is always there and never wants to leave. They don't want to leave because they are making an incredible amount of money the boss doesn't know about, but it's definitely very counter-intuitive. It's very common to see a situation like this be going on for years or even decades. I've seen businesses go bankrupt because of this and it's always a shock because no one sees it coming or suspects the ultimate culprit of the deed. -
False sense of really getting to the 70's?
Chief Broom replied to Maverick's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
What yardage course/tees do you usually play? I checked my stats/scores going back a few years and the least greens I hit while still breaking 80 (I shot a 79) were 5 (28% GIR). I noted on that score where my chipping was exceptionally good that day and I successfully scrambled for par 7 out of 13 times. I also had 30 putts with 2 3 putts. I don't discount those urging you to work on your long game, and specifically your driving distance, but if your distance is truly maxed out you might want to consider the tees your playing or the length of course. -
People do it all the time. The daily "dog fights" is a format where you see all kinds of stuff, and rarely are the rules of golf followed with much precision. You see guys with bags full of clubs (easily 20 or more), guys making better players use the back tees while they play the forward tees. Then you see some guys getting one or more mulligans a side and a couple of do overs (that's where the better player can have any shot they just made have to be played over, it's a way to handicap the better player). The game changes every time and how it's played is all figured out/negotiated prior to tee off. I live in Augusta, Ga and Charles Howell used to play in these dog fights when he was younger before he turned pro. He's always credited a lot of his experiences as a youth in helping to form his game. And as if all this isn't bad enough the real money is made (or lost) on side bets. The game can change mid-round and usually it's specified that whomever is down at the turn can press the bet or institute such changes. I'm not a big gambler so I never played in any of these matches, but every club around here has some form of these daily matches and for the uninitiated you'd better be careful or else one of those old sharpies will end up walking away with all you cash and leave you wondering how it happened, and if you bring up the rules they'll probably just throw the book at you (literally).
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It's called a "modified stableford" format. The league I'm a member of uses it. It's where you pull points. 1 point for bogie, 2 points par, 4 points birdie, 8 eagle. You miss your bogie you pick up and try again the next hole. It's a pretty common format for league play. The league keeps your point total from prior rounds and uses that (generally a running average of so many rounds) to give each player a total of points they are supposed to "pull". Totals are expressed in terms of plus or minus in relation to the total you are given to pull on any given day. This way players of differing skill levels can compete fairly against each other. I pull 25, a scratch player has to pull 36, wherever we end up in relation to our points determines who wins. I believe some European Golf Unions use this method for their handicaps? ESQ is a similar limiter of strokes or points. I'm an older guy so maybe guys don't try to run smack by me when we play together regarding method of play? I'll put money on the line with guys who roll the ball, but it factors in on strokes given. Most golf gamblers realize that setting the bet is just as important as how you play. It all depends on what you agree to prior to teeing off.
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I don't have a problem comparing my scores played down in league play to those who routinely roll the ball and take adjustments (hand wedge back into the fairway). We all have to pull our own points and I know that those guy's point tallies include their particular playing habits, so it all evens out. Club and state sanctioned play where adhering to the rules of golf is expected is where I draw the line at allowing liberties (to the best of my knowledge) with said rules of golf, but one of the things I enjoy about these formats is that everyone in the foursome understands this and is working together to make sure we all play within the rules. The rules of golf are complicated and at times it takes a foursome of knowledgeable guys to figure out how to proceed. The fact that I do my best to follow the rules even in causal play is a choice I make to help me when I am playing under conditions where adhering to the rules is required. But in my opinion the rules of golf are a bit onerous, especially for the average golfer, and I don't mind when guys play in a fashion that maximizes their enjoyment of the game. Now if I'm playing with someone who "beats" me while taking extreme liberties with the rules and then feels the need to rub in their victory I'll say something about how following the rules could have effected that outcome, but honestly every guy I've ever played with who takes such liberties understood that we were playing different games. Let's face it would anyone who takes mulligans, hand wedges back in play, picks up and still records a score, etc. actually compare their score to someone who does none of that and cards a legitimate number at the end of a round? I've never seen that happen and I've played with a bunch of different folks over the years. What I have seen are buddies who take varing degrees of liberties and then feel that one guy crossed the line. I do agree it's all or nothing, but like I said it's obvious to even the most casual observer when one guy is playing the ball down and the other is just out to have a good time. I say let folks have a good time and after you've played together a few times I bet at some point they will begin to ask you questions about how they can start following the rules and play the game as it is intended to be played. I've found that when leading by example you can best guide people to your way of thinking.
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I know a bunch of caddies from the Augusta National and they use this management firm I mentioned. The National is a winter time course, but they are fairly locked up with full time and part time caddies. The club you caddy at doesn't have any connections to help you with a contact here in the states?
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I know there is a national company that handles caddying at a lot of the upscale clubs here in the US. I can't remember the name but they are more of a management firm that is contracted out by prospective clubs. Sadly caddying is rare here in the US at all but the most exclusive clubs. I'd call around at places like the Bandon Dunes resort or the Pebble Beach Company they have vibrant caddy programs and they should be able to hook you up or give you the contact information for a company that manages caddy programs.
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I agree that rolling to ball doesn't confer any advantage. I play the ball down and my scores wouldn't change simply from rolling the ball to a preferred lie in the fairway (now throwing it out of the woods is a different matter and I know plenty of guys who do that!). It's ironic because so many guys roll the ball regardless of any perceived need but simply as a matter of course. Where the problem arises that I've seen numerous times is that when that guy is specifically banned from being able to "improve" his lie that he takes a big psychological blow to his game. Not to mention the unthinking nature of having to change in ingrained habit in what can be a pressure situation. I play in a few club and local tournaments a year where the rules of are strictly enforced and I find it a whole lot easier to function under those conditions when that is my normal course of action during regular outings in friendly competition.
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I like the idea of calling the proshop to tell them you've picked up a club and will be turning it in after your round. This way if the person who has lost their club checks in with the clubhouse before you've had a chance to turn it in they will be notified that the club has been found and will be turned in shortly. I always pick up any club or personal item I find on the course and turn it in after my round if the owner hasn't approached me prior to finishing. I used to go around the clubhouse after finishing prior to turning the club into the proshop and ask if someone has lost a club, but one time I gave a Vokey wedge I'd picked up to 2 guys who after thinking about it afterward I was pretty sure wasn't their club (they just acted strangely and I wouldn't have given them the club but the second fellow backed up the first by saying it was his so I gave it to them). Now unless someone approaches me about a lost item I immediately turn it in to the proshop. This way the proshop handles the return and whenever anyone loses something on the course the proshop is always the first place they will inquire.
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It doesn't bother me when people roll the ball. I play in a league that allows for rolling it up to a club length no closer to the hole and I'm fine with that because the league maintains everyone's handicap and those of us who don't roll the ball see it reflected in our handicaps just as it is for the rollers of the ball. The problem with being in the habit of rolling the ball is that if you ever get into a situation where you can't roll the ball the adjustment is difficult. Not only will you find yourself instinctively nudging the ball with your club (which if you're being watched means a penalty), but when you find your ball resting in an unfavorable lie you're going to be at a disadvantage to the player who is used to playing the ball down. I played with a guy a few weeks ago who plays in daily dog fights at several local clubs. Those guys all roll the ball and take even more liberties with the rules. They do account for these liberties by laying it out up front as the bets are being made, but when this guy played with my usual group we told him in our game we play the ball down and strictly follow the rules of golf. Right off the bat this guy started struggling. He hit a wayward drive in the woods that with his usual group he would have adjusted his ball practically back into the fairway, but with us he was facing an awkward shot up against a tree deep in the woods. It took him two shots to simply get his ball back in play. I might not have been able to do any better than he did, but it was obvious that was a situation he never has to face because the guys he plays with allow for rolling the ball and using the foot wedge. This guy is a legitimate single digit handicapper, but on that day having to play the ball down he shot an 86 and wound up losing money in the process. He didn't say anything about it but it was obvious to the rest of us that having to play the ball down threw him off his game.