NJpatbee

I am a 16 handicap and have never been more than a 14 and change. In addition to gauging my progress I primarily used my handicap for money matches and it was fine if the golfers were of similar talent (e.g. +- 2 strokes) but was terrible when a low cap joined in the match. First of all, I would normally lose to the more consistent low cap and even worse, I would occasionally beat the better player. I have had golfers stop speaking to me because I won the cash but they were better golfers. I stopped playing any handicapped money matches over 10 years ago. The OP's case sounds like extreme sandbagging which is a shame. I still keep my handicap to track my progress and I am less than an hour from Pine Valley which requires that you have a 22 or better HCP to play the course (still waiting for my invitation). To the OP, I suggest that you follow this high handicapper and avoid handicapped net matches.

I started at age 40 and hit the ball my longest in my late 40's and 50's (technology?). I started losing serious distance in my early 60's and by 63 had replaced my 2i thru 6i with 2h thru 6h and regained some of the distance. I have lost a good 20-30 yards yards with my driver at age 67 and 220 is about as long as I get. But I still can handle the middle tees for now and golf is still as much fun as ever.

That was quite a clinic that Rory put on. Rory should win a few more majors and is a HOF golfer but to be compared to Tiger he has to be on more often. He has the talent and another 10 years to do it.

I don't follow Hank Haney and would not speculate whether he is a racist or sexist. His statement, however, was belittling and dismissive of the women players because so any of them are Asian and therefore he could not be less interested. As a golf "commentator" he would be wise to be more informed regarding the players on the LPGA and look into why such a small country as South Korea could produce so many talented female golfer (something about Se Ri Pak as a role model?). What is true is that the USA is where the money is and regularly seeing a leader board with few Americans does not help with the purses and general interest in the USA. By the way, I am one golfer that flipped between the Memorial and Women's US Open and quite frankly the Americans made a good showing. The LPGA players are very talented and worth watching even though they could not compete with the PGA Tour. But I would rather watch in football Michigan/Notre Dame, Alabama/Auburn, or Army/Navy than any NFL Super Bowl. Hank, check out the LPGA, you might like it.

Thanks, very good advice. I usually rip through a small bucket of balls in 15 minutes.

Rest and ibuprofen afterwards. I have reached the point where I can only hit about 40 golf balls at the range before my back cramps up but can play 18 without much of a problem because there is a break between swings I try to stretch before swinging but I still get the muscle cramps. As I get older I have to accept the new normal.

Great accomplishment!

If Tiger's iron game is on and his back is healthy he has as good a chance as anyone at Pebble. Bethpage Black did favor the stronger, younger guns but Pebble brings much more of the field into contention. I would like to see Jordan pull out a win and get his game (and head) back in order.

I have been frustrated by an extremely slow group in front of me, but I have never been good enough to get bored at any time playing golf. I too get disappointed to see the round is almost over.

It is not difficult to apply for so I do it each years expecting rejection. i have been to a Wednesday practice and par 3 contest due to a friend winning the lottery.

I am starting to embrace the idea of moving up. I played yesterday from the whites and only had 1 par and had to scramble to shoot a 91. Now, I do not get any better than mid-80’s but it struck me how often my approach shot on par 4’s required a 2-4 hybrid to get the required distance and most times I am not on the green. Perhaps at age 67 it is time!

WHITE 520 325 310 155 370 375 145 345 500 3045 495 365 195 370 180 375 495 435 375 3285 6330 GOLD 495 315 295 150 350 360 130 325 475 2895 480 350 180 355 165 360 475 415 355 3135 6030 Listed above are the actual tee boxes and associated yardages on my current home course. I play from the white tees and i have highlighted in bold the 520 yard par 5 that I have trouble reaching and the 435 yard par 4 that I just cannot reach. I have the ability to reach 16 of the 18 holes but being a 16 handicap of course I do not always reach and have a relatively low GIR, But if I put a couple of good swings (for me) I can reach most of the holes. I have also shown the gold senior tees which i have played but they did not make much of a difference in my score. That being said, I do get a lot of use out of my long hybrids on approach shots. On a good day I will have about 4-5 GIR from either tee. Challenging but fun. Listed below are the new "green tees" which I will eventually move up to. GREEN 485 290 265 135 310 335 120 315 415 2670 465 300 170 310 155 305 465 345 300 2815 5485

My current course has a 425 yard par 4 that I cannot reach in 2 but bogey is fine. One long par 5 I struggle with and a 195 yard par 3 across a hazard if you go right at it (I am talking about the white or middle tees). But the remaining par 4’s range from 310 to 390 yards which I have chance at reaching. I just accept that a few holes are good bogies for me. The gold tees are about 300 yards shorter and do not make a significant difference for my game except on the par 3’s.

I believe that a natural ability to swing the club is a major factor in someone becoming an exceptional golfer. In addition, starting to play golf at a young age is a great advantage since the young seem like sponges absorbing what they are told and then just doing it. I had my grandson on the golf course at 8 years old and with about 10 minutes of instruction he was able to make a good strike, He is a baseball player and only plays 5 or 6 rounds in the Summer, but he can pick the club up and just continue what he was doing last year - just hitting the ball father. My father was an avid golfer and tried to get me involved when I was young but back then baseball and football were he games to play as a kid. I took up golf at age 40 and although I only play about 25 - 30 rounds per season I have to practice often to have any type of decent swing. I do not believe that I could take more lessons and practice enough to be a single digit handicap.

I was glad to see Snead added to the choices and he received my vote. Snead had a tremendous number of wins even if it was against weaker competition by 2019 standards. He also had 11 wins in one season which is great for any era. I believe that Arnie had the largest impact on the popularity of the game of golf with the exception of Tiger and Jack but that is not what we are voting for. As for Phil, I enjoy watching his game and he is a top 10 golfer in my book, but IMO he had the misfortune to play during the Tiger era with the most talented golfer of all time. .