Patch

I played about 60+/-, 18 hole rounds, and a few more 9 holers. Played in 7 different states. NV, CA, UT, AZ, OR, NM, and TX. Lots of different courses, who's names I didn't bother to collect. Saw a "Golf Sign" and stopped and played. Most were in NV, and AZ. Back in NV now for the holidays. Probably will get 7-8 more in before the new year.

I'm still competitive from the whites, which is where I play most if my rounds from. My Granddaughter and I played from the whites today in fact. That's where she likes to play from. It was a close round for us (79-81) If I moved up to the Ladies tee, I can usually shoot lower scores, but not by much. Maybe a stroke or two. It's just the opposite if I move back farther. Just about everyone i play with tee off from the tips, or whites. Our super senior league uses the whites.

It serious to me in as much as I always play/practice with my best effort always put forth. I like shooting lower scores, and some serious practice regimes help with that. Am I so serious that I don't have fun with my golf game? Nope. I always have fun when out playing.

Might try something easier first. Just move the ball back in your stance. It possible you are contacting the ball after the putter face has started to close a little. A good drill is to put a coin down 18" inches in front of the ball and practice putting the ball over the coin. If you can hit the coin consistently, you are hitting a straight putt, with a square putter face.

I think any hdcp of 15, or lower is decent. Stats may say different, idk. I also think any number higher is not a terrible thing either. Every golfer has been there. As for one's hdcp, and pace of play, that's not a big deal either. Pace of play will always be what it is that day, for that round. I'm a decent enough golfer that I play with higher hdcps all the time. Quite a few don't even have hndcps. Again, it's not a big deal. I think playing with better golfers breeds better, more relaxed comfort levels. Those comfort levels breed better scores. Again, most every golfer who has stayed with the game were not as good as others with more expirience. Just play your game, and don't worry what others might be thinking.

My last 10 rounds have been from the 68/121 tees. During that stretch I have averaged 80.7 per round. My 11th round, this morning, was good for 78. Pretty pleased with my progress in shooting more consistent lower scores. Eagles, birds, pars, bogies, and double bogies have all contributed to this run. Luckily no 6s involved.

I do this quite often. i will start out planning on just playing 9 holes. Then after the 9th hole, I figure why not, and play the other 9 holes. I'm warmed up, and usually playing well after 9 holes. Why waste the moment. As for stats on this, I have no idea where to look, or if there is any.

Unfortunately at my home course the difference between tee boxes is not very much. I have played from the forward tees at other courses, and the only difference was club selection for my second shot. Scores were usually about the same, or at least with in 2-3 strokes when playing from my normal tees. On a few occasions the shorter tees were poorer scoring rounds for me. Pace of play was pretty much the same also.

When I warm up, depending on the abient temp, or the the time of day, I will do some slow exercises. When I get to my swing warm, up, I will start with my 9i, and graduate to my longer clubs from there. I start with 1/4-1/2 swings, getting my body loosened up for the swing movements. Once I start getting crispy contacts on the ball, i move to longer, clubs, and swings, until I have my normal swing tempo/timing down with my longest club. Fortunately for me out here, the great weather makes warming up a hit, and miss thing. That, and I play and practice so much, my swing is pretty much ready to go on a moments notice. When warming up prior to playing, the last warm up club I swing is the club I will use of the first tee.

Like most things in life, there's a time and place for almost anything. Gimmes are no different. Casual , for fun rounds, where a true score is not an issue, golfers should play how ever they want. Gimmes do offer a faster pace of play in these types of round. I do believe the unmade, picked up putt should be counted, but to each their own. If the round being played is sanctioned, or for handicap purposes, then gimmes are a form cheating.

When I find myself losing interest on the d-range, i either quit for the day, or go to the short game area. Practice with out thought is a waste of time.

3 minutes is fine. Then again if no one is behind you, take an extra 30 seconds.

1-3-1-1. I don't think I've yelled "fore" in several years.

Winter time out here in the desert is great practice weather. Never too hot, and never too cold....most of the time. I will continue to practice various shots when ever possible. By that I mean shots I encounter when playing. A lot of my practice time will be devoted to 100 yards, and closer to greens. Probably 80%-90%, which would also include putting. Part of my putting, and chipping practice would also involve green reading. I won't neglect my tee, and fairway game, but those two aspects of my game are as good as they are going to get. Just no need to spend much practice time on them. In my golf reality, a lot of my practice time, in addition to various shots/conditions, is mainly geared to just staying in golf playing shape. For me,doing battle with "father time" is fun. It's a losing battle, but being able to slow it down a little is a significant win for me.

The 19th Hole is your favorite Sports Bar. You just got to be around golf as much as possible.

I'd probably go with the representation of a golfers skill level, and how much quality practice time they have invested in their game.

78s-81s are good scores, and are not to uncommon for me. I owe my consistent, lower scores to my various practice routines. I voted for low/mid 80s

A par 5 eagle came first. Next was a hole in one. Then a bunker hole out. Bunker hole outs are at the bottom of my list on hole outs. I tend to stay out of green side bunkers.

I carry 14 clubs every time I play. Distance gaps are not problem for me. I'm not very precise with my distances, but I'm consistent with my misses.. Thing is, even though I carry 14 clubs, other than my putter, I never use all of the of the other 13 clubs in one round. I usually only need to use 7-8 of them, in different mixes. Just depends on how I'm playing that day, and what the course has to offer. .

I put in an hour (+/-) of practice (most) every day that I am not playing. It usually involves more than one aspect of my game. I very seldom spend the whole hour (+/-) on just one aspect of my game. Some days it will be d-range work with my longer clubs, hitting various shots, from different lies if possible. I use my own diy fairway to land balls in. Other days it will be short game stuff, like flops, pitches, chips, and putts. Sometimes I will combine putting with the other three shots for a practice score. Some days I might use both the d-range, and the short game areas. For a change, I will hit balls from trouble spots. Spots like uneven lies, bunkers, 2nd cut rough, unmowed rough, over trees, from under trees, bare/thin lies. Anything I can think of, that I might encounter when playing. I don't spend any particular amount of percentage time on any one aspect of my game. Just what ever I think I need, or want to work on that day.

Part of the problem is a few issues. First there's arrogance. Quite a few golfers feel special that they only slice the ball 10 yards less than the other guy. (I'm being a little facetious here) Next when we see the pros play, we only see the end results of all the hard work, and training they had to go through to get where they are. We do not see all they had to do to get, and stay at their highest level of play. What we see is the pga professional making the game look easy. Being delusional is a good word, but being "gullable" adds to their delusion. They believe everything they hear about building a better game. Last, I don't think a lot of golfers take responsibility for their own poor play. They don't own what they did, and will find false rxcuses for their poor play. The blame it on the guy scenario. Pretty sure in my beginnings in this game, I did all of the above. Not so much for a long time now.

Yeah my bad. I don't follow the news media much anymore. Sports, or other wise. Didn't read the date on the article. 2021 it is.

It's just a putt. Don't take it to seriously, and don't pay any attention to those folks around you. Don't let anyone intimidate you. Strengthen your mental game. Think positive at all times. I tell a lot golfers that every golfer, regardless of their talent, hdcp level have all made the the same mistakes. Everyone hits bad shots, and everyone misses putts. Even the the easier ones. Just play, and think your way through your own game. Let the pga pros worry about missing that 2 footer that might cost them $500k or more..

Did R&A really cancell the Ooen Championship? Too bad if they did, but not really surprising.