Lilfrier

52-58-110. My back-nine was insanely frustrating. On top of a lot of stuff late, drove me insane. Had to take a drop because I landed near some bees and wasn't playing that way. I putted a bit better than I had been (35 total today), but I clipped a few trees and had some horrendous bounces (like on #4, where I hit short of the green, it bounced right 20 feet, down a hill back 10 more, and into the sand). Just some really bad bounces, really unhappy I went from an OK-ish 52 to an awful 58 on the back.

I wouldn't say I'm the same, but I have similar issues that scare me off of my 4i a lot. I have lengthened shafts because of my height, and it's pretty much a good thing. However, I don't hit my 4i well. I need to try choking up on it sometime, to see if that helps. Usually, I have a bit of a straighter stance with it. I similarly stand up and adjust my stance with my 3H, because it doesn't feel right in my normal stance, and the head is tilted noticeably at address. I guess I just decided that standing up a bit on those clubs was easier than adjusting my grip or paying to have the clubs cut.

None of this stuff bothers me too much. I always get a cart, so the bench thing's a non-factor. I can't remember a time I played a course with benches anyway. I don't concern myself too heavily with the tee markers. The ground quality might matter as I go more and more with a 3-wood off the tee (haven't hit my driver for crap lately), but if I have the ball on a tee, I'm not that worried about some streaks. The cart path luck can be annoying, but only one hole at my course has that issue. #5 is a 150-yard par-3. The area in front is sloped HARD, and there is a cart path across it. So, a 145-yard shot ends up being about 100, maybe less on a particularly unfortunate day. Even then, I blame myself more for mishits than the course designer, given I've been playing there for 2 years and know what I'm getting into. Because of that, I've actually gone up a club from the tee lately. Better to end up 10 over than 5 under on that hole. The drinking water one is a tricky thing. We have coolers out there. However, I still buy a bottle of water (and refill it at a cooler mid-round, if necessary). The problem is the prices. It's $1.75 for a bottle of water. What's more, they don't allow you to bring your own beverages. To me, if you're going to tell me I have to buy something, at least be reasonable with the pricing. At $1.25, even $1.50, they'd probably sell more bottles, and get people to take less of the free water. On the flip side, the place is only $15-25 for 18 holes and a cart, so I am willing to give then some extra change on a bottle of water because the course rates are so much better than everything else here (the others, for 18 and a cart, run $35-60).

124, worst in a long time. I couldn't do much of anything right today, really. The 2.56 putts per-hole was the worst I've had all season. My chipping was really inconsistent. I had some awful luck as well, including getting stuck under two trees, ending up in a bunker I rarely visit while it was in horrendous shape, and hitting a dead tree. I had 3 penalty strokes when it's rare for me to have more than 1 (the 10th hole is basically my only issue with that ever). I only used the driver twice because it wasn't going anywhere. Just all-around bad. Nothing to really take away from it, to be honest. Just gotta not let being screwed by bad course conditions bother me as much as it did on the second hole.

By that chart, I'd have to play the women's tees at my local course. I have only 5 drives over 175 yards this year (in 6 rounds), with a longest of 219 (which had a strong wind at my back). I think I am OK playing from the whites though. I guess the question I have is, what does "correct tees" mean? If we're to hold the belief that the shortest shot possible is the best lie possible (within reason), should EVERYONE aim to use the shortest tees available? Anyway, is there a score goal associated with having the correct tees? My cousin can outdrive me by 20+ yards, but we play to about the same level because the rest of my game is better (relative to my driving). That chart suggests my cousin should be playing about 1,000 yards (or more) longer than I am, but that doesn't seem to line up with the results.

This helped me a bit as well. I tee the ball VERY low. I started putting it higher, and while I still slice badly, it's less pronounced. Also, I don't tend to hit better when a club gets shorter. I'm decent with my woods and my 9i and PW. The 4i-5i are pretty bad for me, the 3H is decent, and the 6-8 irons are barely passable.

Got close out of nowhere on Monday. It was my sixth round of the season. The first 5 were 119-121-112-111-114. My cousin and I both had our best scores ever, his 102 and my 101. I actually managed it with a 9 on the first hole, which has been a mental mess this season (I usually can put up a 5-7 on it without much issue). My putting was very solid (one 3-putt, but multiple 1-putts, for a sub-2 per-hole average). Second-half of my previous round (where I had the 114), I had a horrendous start. The wind was killing me, and I was overswinging (either to fight the wind, or just because). Around 8, I took to just slowing my swing and working on contact quality over a faster swing, which really helped (as did a back-9 with the wind at my back on the hardest holes). I carried that to the round after, and I think it did a lot to help me get the 101. I wasn't having mishits off the tee where I skim/chunk the ground, and I was able to aim well to work with my slice (though my FIR wasn't good, I was just off on a lot of the missed ones because of a strong side spin). Not sure when I'll get to go next. I'd like to go tomorrow, but it's supposed to hit about 20 MPH on the winds. I might just go with that, because I can't go Monday, then it's supposed to rain Tuesday and Wednesday and be 51 or lower Thursday and Friday (meaning the ground will stay wet). I'm not sure I'm patient enough to wait another week to play again.

The choice of ball doesn't really matter to me. I find plenty on the course (my cousin and I went on Monday and found probably 6-8), and I don't lose nearly as many as I used to (just 1 per-round on the same hole every time). My eyesight isn't good, so I can have trouble tracking a ball after 150 yards or so. I use mostly yellow (Slazengers that were on sale a couple of years back) and orange (Nitros that I got as a Christmas gift) balls on the holes I won't lose a ball on, for the added visibility. If I run low on them sometime, maybe I'll try looking into some high- and low-spin balls, to see how they feel in different spots. On the one hand, my slices are already severe, so high-spin balls could mean even more trouble. On the other, my chips don't have great spin, and I run the ball long a lot more than short. Maybe a high-spin ball will stop a bit better.

My teeth are pretty crooked, but I don't think I'd ever go for this. That's because of the consumption habits involved. I'm CONSTANTLY chewing gum, and losing that would drive me insane. That, and I know having people in public ask when I take the thing out would be an annoyance. I know a guy who had it done, and I didn't ever notice the thing on him. I would forget he had it until we ate and he took it out. He was in his late-20s, I'm not sure how long he had it for. If I remember, I'll try to ask him next time I see him. It's just not for me, because I've built too much of a habitual life to make a sweeping change over some crooked teeth, haha. I'm too weak.

When you go to your "Golf Bag" on the site, (the down arrow in the upper-right takes you there), you'll see everything you have used. You use the "+" to add your clubs. On mine, I've got 2 3-woods on there. The one with the tag is the X2 Hot I use now, while the empty one is the X Hot 3 Deep I was using before (I gave it up because I hit it shorter than my driver and with too much of a slice for my liking; the X2 Hot is more consistent and easier to use). So, IF YOU WANT, you can set up the new clubs and use them by dragging the tags to the new irons. If you don't want to keep the old data (I like it for the sake of comparison), there is an 'X' that shows up in the top-right of an empty club when you mouse over it. That will let you delete it. However, like I said, I like having the option of comparing clubs. So, if you want that, you can leave them in that bag, and they won't really affect anything. On the Club Performance page, it will split clubs within a type, so you don't have the old irons' performance messing up the evaluation of the new ones. If you click on my GG from the left, you can go to my profile, and you can see what you get on the right side, under "Clubs." It shows 2 drivers and 2 3-woods.

I went with my cousin after work today. We both had our best rounds ever; his 102 and my 101. I putted really well (for me), with just one 3-putt and 31 putts total. I've yet to get my Game Golf round uploaded and checked over, but I felt I was hitting fairways well, or staying really close, for the most part. My game was better than it has been inside of 50, and I used the heck out of my 3 wood, to mostly great success. Now, I just have to figure out how to get under 100. The biggest help would probably be not losing a ball into the canyon on 10, which I do every time (total mental block). My first-hole play has also been rather poor this year, but that's been greatly affected by bad luck ending up in the right side sand, which is never in good condition (it was pretty wet, almost like mud, today). I had a 9 on that hole, even though it's not all that tough.

I think Phillips just seems to care more about comfort than a ring, or he just hates the clubhouse issues Washington's had. Mesoraco, I agree on, as it's hard to knock a guy who was probably playing hurt, especially over such a short period. On that same note, it's hard to give Cozart too much credit for 53 games that were more not-terrible than actually good. His on-base is still atrocious, and his slugging was carrying his line. Maybe if he can get some better luck/contact quality, the BABIP can get him hitting close to .270. That would present a solid hitter. However, his career line of .245/.284/..375 is incredibly bad.

7244 on mine. My sister and I played this probably a couple of years ago together. It's basically the luck of being dropped near a sign that gives you a clue, more than anything. Heck, in many respects, I would say geography isn't a big deal for being good at this. Luck is obviously the biggest factor. Beyond that, a rudimentary knowledge of foreign languages can help a lot, as can minor cultural knowledge, such as building structures or road laws (left/right side of the road for driving). That said, if you're REALLY good at geography, it's the skill I'd expect to help most in a large sample where you don't surf the roadways for an hour with each picture. Knowing things like how hilly a terrain or what kind of makeshift roadways you'll find in an area (such as the red clay-looking ones I saw in my second image) would be quite helpful.

I don't see what worrying about 162 games does. You don't have to watch them all, and can get by watching maybe half. I thin it's just not liking the sport, because it's not like cutting it to 154 or 148 or something would mean a shorter season. Instead, I think they'd just up the number of off days. As for the time complaint, it's uncommon for 4 hours to happen anymore. An extremely quick search had games under 3 hours, on average (a late-May article had them at 2:53). Now, the Reds? They're bad. The bullpen is built on hopes and dreams and not too much proof. Homer Bailey is listed as their #1, but even if he's healthy and competent, he's more of a #3/4 on a respectable team. Iglesias might be their REAL best starter, but he's still unproven and was more of a #2 at his best last season. DeSclafani might be the #2, but that might also be a bit generous for him (though he had nice rate stats). The offensive really is a hole, though. Cincy needed to get rid of Phillips, since the team won't compete. He won't end up making a bit of difference. Votto's almost all there is on offense, in a way. Hamilton's fast, but that's about it. Cozart's bat MIGHT be league average, with better luck and contact quality. I like Mesoraco, but he's really hard to peg right now (how much of last season was playing hurt vs. just being bad?). They might be better than the Brewers, but the Reds are ultimately fighting to be #4 in the division. It's a steep drop-off after the top-3.

Yeah, I've wondered it myself. The two things that make me hesitant to blame it are that my sister has eczema, and said she got similar breakouts, and that it's not a consistent problem. Like, I've played 5 rounds in the past 3-4 weeks. My hands only broke out once. It's nothing problematic. I have no other issues. I don't itch, my skin doesn't get dry or red, just some small bumps on my hands. So, I figure if it's an allergy, it's incredibly mild, and something that gloves could easily stop.

I need to get myself some gloves still. I'm not sure if it's some kind of allergy or eczema or what, but I occasionally have hand issues after golf where I have some kind of breaking out of my skin on the fingers (especially on the thumb sides of my index fingers). Just a thing I never actually picked them up. The batting glove option is kind of interesting, maybe I'll check some out.

Went out Wednesday afternoon, after work. It was EXTREMELY windy, and kind of a mess of a round. With the wind to my back, I had a well-struck drive that went 216 (before, I think my longest this season was 195). Into the wind a few holes later, I had a well-struck one that went only 133. I took my 3 wood to start a few holes, without a tee, to try to keep it down a bit. I hit it reasonably well most of the day. What the day came down to was a disastrous start (44 through 6, including 2 9's and an 8) with a good (by my standards) finish (34 on the final 6). I even managed to play the one par-5 (543 yards) well for the first time ever, thanks to the wind. I got my third shot just over the back of the green, had an OK chip on, then made a nice putt from about 12 feet to par that hole for the first time (I'm usually happy to leave that thing with a 7, since I don't hit the ball hard). I was pretty frustrated to start. I decided to slow my swing way down to get some control on it, and it worked surprisingly well. I was hitting quite a few fairways and being helped by the wind on some of the holes meant I was getting decent distance. I ended up with a line of 60-54-114. That I shot 6 better on the half of the course that's 2 strokes higher (34 on the front, 36 on the back) and almost 700 yards longer kind of says something about how ugly I started that round, but I feel that I mentally adjusted well. With any luck, I can go out tomorrow and see if I can get the first 10 holes into a better situation and break 110 for the first time this season.

I went golfing Wednesday, and I did this some. I still need to input the GG's round to see how I fared, but it wasn't especially well. I started with it on the first tee, and despite not hitting it too badly, I lost the ball in the grass short of the fairway. It wasn't in a bad spot, just one of those sad times where it must have gotten into some thick roughage and buried, I guess. I did it on a couple of other holes, and I hit the 3 reasonably well. It was a dump of a round to start, but I got it mostly together on the final 8 holes. That included hitting the 3 wood really well from the fairway. I don't know that I drove better with the 3 than the driver, though. The benefit I can have there is that I have a tendency to get well under tee shots at times, so when I take a 3 wood from the tee, I don't use a tee at all. I don't mishit under it as a result, which is nice.

Oh, I thought that if your phone was NFC-capable (and Android-based), then you could tap the tags to your Android device to get the functionality of the GG Live.

If you have an Android device, I think the app is kind of the "Live" version as an app, though someone else would have to verify that. The only thing you could really gain by using a GG beforehand is GPS measurements of your distances, though you can probably get an idea of that on your own (having it as a feature is nice anyway). However, I don't see what negative reason there would be to getting the GG now, rather than later, unless you expect a new version to be out soon after you get the clubs.

I've gone back and forth. When I restarted golfing a couple of years ago, I went into it unable to hit a driver. I got an X Hot 3 Deep to start with off the tee. I did OK, then it developed a rough slice. Just for the heck of it, I grabbed an old driver, and I hit it fairly straight and was pleased. I developed a slice with THAT as well over time. I recently switched to a different (but still too old) driver, just to see how I play it. I can slice it hard just the same, but I do feel better using the second driver. All that said, if I have 3-4 holes of just wretched drives, I'll take the 3 wood for a hole or two. It usually works as an OK "Reset" button for me. I probably hit the two clubs similarly on average, but I think my longest distance on the driver was about 25 yards longer than the 3 Wood, so I try to keep using, and improving with, the driver.

I leave it in for two reasons: 1. I'm lazy and hate having to pull, putt, fetch, and replace. 2. I like letting the group behind me (if there is one) see the hole placement and wind. I think it was in my first round of the year, I had a shot go over the back of the green. I hit a rather fast chip, it clipped the flag, and it killed it to keep it close. It definitely helped. I've understood this benefit for a while now, I just haven't really played to it because it isn't much of a factor, if any. I leave it for convenience of myself and others. If it's a benefit to my game 1/10000 times, I might as well leave it. I don't see a benefit to doing otherwise.

111, one better than last time. My putting carried me HARD today, as I went from 43 on Saturday to 37 today (I even had a chip in from a couple of yards off on the first). I just couldn't drive the ball to save my life, and after a solid 49 on the front, I fell to 62 on the back, thanks to grounding a lot of shots.

I would be fine with it, but I also don't especially care if it didn't happen. I think the hill is the reason I'd support it, though--if the drop area is heavily sloped and forced the ball to roll back into (or very near) the hazard, it's kind of a waste of time to have that as the drop area. I generally don't care one way or the other though. As was already stated, good shots don't guarantee good lies, so bad ones shouldn't either.

So, I'm curious, what do people consider "a lot" of water? I think that's where a lot of these kinds of suggestions lose people. They just say "do something," but the extent is never explained, and that makes goals hard to set. 10 and 11 are a good example, where it tells you to work on the upper body for a minute, then to just to something for an undetermined time with your ankles. You're told to consume certain foods to add good protein and omega-3s, but no mention of where to go to replace the vitamins from your pills. Too much vague information for my liking.