cfritchie

I didn't read all the comments but here is my opinion....right or wrong... Sounds to me like you were driving in the left lane doing the speed limit and didn't like the idea of the guy in the red sports car riding your ass the whole 18 mile trip. You could have simply moved over let him by and you both would have had a more enjoyable ride..... Sometimes being right....is being wrong.

Ouch.. Did anyone watch him on the first tee? It was greatness...you could tell he was about to toss his cookies.

I was B-fit for Bridgestone TOUR B330‑S golf balls. Tiger Woods -14 Lee Westwood - 12 Rory McIlroy-11

Why so angry? The writer chose to write the story and imply this guy is a "average joe" which can be interpreted as an average golfer...he's not. He's an average Joe as his job and the way he pays his bills but if they had mentioned he was a former collage golfer and pro who wasn't able to make a living it wouldn't sell newspapers or get us talking about it... It's not a big deal..it's just a way of drawing interest..

I thought Holly did a very good job, not sure she will be as well received in the NFL world...sideline reporters don't seem to last long and pretty faces are a dime a dozen over there. I thought she was well spoken, had a very good insight and her chemistry with the other host was very good. She could hold her own with any of the other guys.. Page McKenzie is weak..maybe she'll get better but I don't think she is very clever, doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor and everything seems forced and coached. Gary Williams is very good...It seems he could walk all over Page but Holly could hold her own...She is a great looking gal but like I said..great looking gals or guys can be found anywhere. She seemed to know her stuff and was always well prepared.

Looks like I found someone to play with

This is a very common occurrence on suburban golf courses. The fishing isn't a problem in most cases, and honestly I think we should share the course with others as long as they are respectful of the golfers and keep themselves out of danger. With respect to kids playing on the course it shouldn't happen but it does, I had to chase down 3 girls who didn't realize we were on the tee box and they stole my ball out of a fairway bunker...the dad was in the back yard and apologized but didn't really say anything to the kids. If the adults don't play golf they are pretty ignorant to the etiquette as well as the danger...they just don't realize someone could really get hurt. If I see kids making sand castles I'll politely ask them to leave and let them know they could get hurt, it is always a good idea to alert the pro shop. We live on the 9th hole on a suburban course and see dog walkers and cyclists fairly often in the evening when the course is empty. I play some late rounds and it doesn't really bother me.

The only way to really know...for you is to hit two balls with the same club at the same hole...and hope you put the same swing on them...

Watch what happens at 1:30 of this video... These guys are nuts!

Maybe you haven't developed your swing enough to be able to manipulate it with a thought/feel and find success. A swing "thought" actually can create a singular thought that rids the busy mind of other things competing..like "don't hit it left, don't leave it short, there is out of bounds right, etc. It can cause a singular focus that clears up the muddy water. I've had swing thoughts that enable my body to feel what I want the swing to do..a swing thought might last 3-4 holes or 3-4 weeks or even 3-4 years. It is not uncommon to have a thought that helps the body do what it is you want it to do.

Quote: In the words of Justice William O. Douglas: "The associational rights which our system honors permit all white, all black, all brown, and all yellow clubs to be formed. They also permit all Catholic, all Jewish, or all agnostic clubs to be established. Government may not tell a man or woman who his or her associates must be. As an American who embraces "freedom", be it liberal or conservative I would think we would embrace an organization that offers nothing or takes nothing from the general public may have the right to determine their own rules and who and how they associate with others who have "chosen" to join the said organization. Why do we feel we have any right to tell a "private" group how they should make their decisions? Is their decisions sexist, racist, elitist? Well sure it is...so what? I'll go play and hang out with who I want because I don't want to part of "that" club...and when I create my own little private chess club I don't want to be told who I have to invite. I have no problem with a private club setting rules on who can and can not use the facility and when they can do it. But, if a "club" generates revenue or benefit from the general public then the laws that protect those who can use the facility should apply.

I didn't take the time to read every comment...but.. A private club...IS A PRIVATE CLUB! They should have the right to allow only green martians play from 2:00am - 5:00am if they want..yeah...it opens the door for discrimination....but isn't that why it is private? If I build a "PRIVATE" club and get no funding from the government I should be able to decide who can and who can't play whenever I decide. Now if this is a public course then 100% no there should not be any discrimination.

I've found I now use two methods and when done correctly is pretty quick, I use the Busnell to tell me exact distance to the pin. My first look is at the app on my phone that tells me distances to front, middle and back, also it tells me distances to hazards and wide areas of the fairway. Having this knowledge I never walk around the course looking for a sprinkler head. I can make all the decisions right from my ball very quickly.

I can't remember if I've made 6 birdies in a round or not...I had it to -4 after 8 holes a couple weeks ago and ended up shooting even par. -3 on the front and +3 on the back. I know I once had 5 birdies in a row.... I would like to believe I can birdie every hole but I am smart enough to know that I'm not going to. Making a par is a good thing, sure not all birdies are risky shots, I'm not a long hitter so I make most of my birdies getting up and down on par 5's.. I approach a round with the goal of making good golf swings and smart decisions and let everything else take over from there. So many guys could lower there handicap just by making better decisions.

I just don't practice anymore (guitar), about 2 years after I picked up the guitar I left the corporate world and made photography my full time gig. Since then playing guitar has been on the back burner. I have a home course, and then 2-3 other courses I float around and play. One of them I've never broken 82 on, it is the Dye Course at Stonebridge Ranch Country club. That damn course has my number...and it is usually big. I'm playing in a 3 day member guest there in two weeks so will play it quite a bit over the next week or so. I'm "working" on my game but not with the obsession I was back 8-9 years ago, if I get back to a scratch great..I'll keep working on things and taking a few lessons but not with the religion that I once did. I actually think I can get there easier now then I did before, but only because I know what to expect. It is hard..very hard. You need to go through 10-15 rounds of golf and never shoot over 75, throw in some even par rounds and a couple under par and you are there. I taught golf back in the day and only needed my oral interview to have my Class A, decided to leave the business when I bought a landscape company. I miss it now and would go back to teaching...but since I only work with the guys under Hank Haney I have a different appreciation for the knowledge of the swing and I can tell you...most guys have no clue how to teach, I've tried other coaches and it just never worked out. I'd question them hard on why they wanted me to do something and how exactly it would change my impact position or ball flight and they really couldn't give me a good answer. The Haney guys are VERY technical but they can explain exactly why they are asking you to do something...and why it is this that you need to do.

No...I suck at guitar! LOL I totally disagree with trying to make 6 birdies every third round. There isn't a tour pro who averages 5 a round. Heck, the top 150 barely average over 3 per round. But all the top 150 average less then 3 bogey's per round. Becoming a scratch golfer is about developing a solid golf swing, a solid method in course management, and confidence in your ability. I've beat the crap out of a lot of guys who make a bunch of birdies but also take stupid risk, hit tee shots out of bounds and such. I never made 6 birdies a round when I was a zero. but I never made 6 bogeys either. My point on playing a couple of the same courses is "while in the process" of becoming a scratch golfer you can reduce for now one element and that is course management..you still have to do it but nothing like playing a new course every week. Many many golfers only play one course as they are members of a country club.

Sure, my better shots got better. Right now I'm a 2.8 and I can tell you my "big miss" can sometimes cause a penalty stroke or put me in a place where I have no chance for par, this will happen once or twice a round with a driver and maybe a couple times with an iron. On bad days I can really miss all over the place. When I was a zero my big miss with a driver would put me in the rough or just a loss of distance, almost never would it cost me a penalty stroke or leave me with no chance to somehow salvage a par. My point is...the difference between a 2-4 handicap player can sometimes be where they miss and how bad they miss. When you are at a 2-4 penalty shots are pretty rare as it is. But your swing needs to be good enough that the miss puts you in a place where you can get up and down or worst case a bogey, the double bogey's destroy good rounds. Sometimes it is simply course management. choosing to hit to the center of the green instead of the pin that is on the front when there is a chance that a short shot could leave you will a next to impossible up and down because of severe slope or a bunker. Going from a 2-4 to a 0 is not going to be all of a sudden hitting it 30yds further and making 5 or 6 birdies a round. It will be because you almost never make a double bogey and you make on average 3 birdies around instead of 1 and your bogeys go from 5-6 around to 3-4.

I've been where you are... about 10 years ago I was floating around a 2-4 and really wanted to be scratch. I was having some medical issues and was having quite a bit of pain to play plus my girls were at the age where it was getting harder and harder to focus that much time to golf. I made myself a deal that if I could get to a scratch I'd actually quit playing and learn to play the guitar...I did it. Here are the steps I used... I went after the BEST instructor I could find...I was in the golf business and I can tell you 95% of the PGA professionals can't teach a 20 to become a 15, much less take a 1 or 2 to a scratch. I committed to working with 2 different instructors at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in McKinney. The top guy, Tim Cusick and another fella that I can't recall his name. Tim was $125 a lesson and the other guy was $75. When I was way off I went to the cheap guy and when I was felt good I went to Tim. I told myself I'd practice as much as I play.... 2 rounds of golf equalled 8 hours of practice. I did this for about a year....after that I then quit taking the lessons and told myself to "trust it"...it took about 8 months but the handicap card finally came in the mail with a 0 on it...yea I lost the damn thing in a move...I think I can get back to that level, even though I've only been back playing for 7 months after a 8-9 year layoff. Identify your big miss, and work to fix it....your short game must be dead on...and you need to be a good solid putter. Sounds crazy but I'd also suggest playing the same couple of courses for awhile. Playing different courses all the time will have a negative impact on getting to a scratch level...I suspect I lose 2-3 shots a round just because I don't know the course. It is about managing your misses...not really about hitting much better shots. When my game is where it should be it is a pretty boring game to watch...misses just never get me in trouble.

Other then Pebble Beach I'm wondering what "epic" course that is available to play would be on most everyone's bucket list? As well, for those that have played Pebble, was is the most economical way to make this happen? I'm a 3 handicap and would enjoy nothing more then playing it for my 50th birthday this September with my brother. Curious on the best way to make this happen as we both are not...self made millionaire's! I've played most of the really nice courses in Texas, and a few others including Kiawah Island..just not sure what other track I'd consider. Thanks...

Not here in Dallas....I see $40, and $20 for a single.

I have full coverage insurance on my home and vehicles...but if someone else damages it I shouldn't have to file a claim and eat the deductible.

Maybe to many golf courses were built and the market needed a correction... I'd suggest the golf industry follows closely to the housing market..it crashed a few years back and so did golf. Here in Texas some courses are closing, and they probably should as so many were built in the last 10 years. For the average Joe golf is to expensive and takes to much time, most folks have to play on a weekend when the rates are high and the time commitment is long..much easier to do something else with that $100. Courses need to get creative on getting players back to the game..offer deals on monthly range programs that get a discount for walk play in off hours...once someone is hooked they'll find the money to play.

Why would the GPS company insure the product they sold to the course against someone breaking it... Now you're thinking like a lawyer...yeah...we need more of those!

Go talk to the local PGA Professional at the course you play at most of the time. He could suggest a group of guys/players that fit your demographics. Maybe he or one of the assistants would pair you with a couple different groups to see if you are a good fit. Some public courses do have an MGA (Mens Golf Association) that you can join.

I was the buddy for so many years with a best friend. He'd play with other friends and shoot lights out...it didn't matter what he shot when we played I always beat him...he'd usually end up choking, lol....It was kinda fun.