merklitl

Right now I'm trying to decide between www.mobilegolfstats.com and www.oobgolf.com . I think I like oobgolf better, as it has an easier interface to enter scores/new courses, in my opinion. Edited to add: Now I'm going to try out the demo version of Scorecard just to make my decision harder!

Really? Take a trip down to Northern PA - I'm playing two rounds this weekend for less than $60 - total! Bavarian Hills, St. Marys, PA - $27.00 DuBois Country Club, DuBois, PA - $30.00

If someone takes long shallow divot that stays intact, my buddy will yell out "We're grilling that one!" as they usually resemble strip steaks. Same guy will also murmur "one" if you knock the ball off the tee before your drive.

In some spanish dialects, the v is pronounced like a very soft "b".

Well I arrived 10 minutes early than our agreed upon time, and found the teacher practicing himself on the range. We greeted each other and talked about my experience (2 or so years of going to driving ranges and hacking around with buddies on the course) and what I wanted to achieve (more consistent irons and wedges, better alignment, and strategies for the various lies on the course - uphill, downhill, sidehill, rough, etc...). I basically wanted to be re-built from the ground-up so I didn't try to come up with fixes for bad habits. He told me that he likes to teach with visuals and hands on, so he would manipulate my arms/hands/club while at address, and give me ideas to "visualize" while playing a shot. First, he took out my 8 iron and asked me how I grip the club. That was something I had messed around with lately after reading something on here. I knew the 10 finger grip was "bad" but it was the most comfortable to start with. He mentioned the interlock and the overlap. I tried both, and even though an interlock is best for smaller hands like mine, the overlap was most comfortable so I went with that. He also adjusted my thumb locations and advised me to keep as loose a grip as possible without letting the club sail during follow through. Then we went through ball position at address and had me take a few cuts with my 8-iron. I hit a few good ones, a few bad ones (that he identified as tensing up during the swing) and then we talked about my swing in general. He said I had a lot of good points, that I had the toe up at both 3 and 9 o'clock, and that i had a good tempo, when I focused on it. The shots I hit poorly were mainly due to blips in focus that disrupted my natural tempo or made me worry about things mid-swing and subsequently tense up. After we hit a few with irons, he asked to see my driver. He found that I was addressing the ball with the club face slightly closed, so when I opened that up (and continued with staying loose and smooth) I hit a few arrow-straight drives about 240 carrying yards (long for me). All of that took about 45 minutes, and he had to leave then, so he left me with another bucket to continue work, and asked me to play a round or two, identify anything else that came up, and then we'd schedule my 2nd lesson, to work on alignment and bunker/wedge play. He also gave me a few ideas of things I can do in my yard or basement in the meantime. Overall it was a good experience, and nice to hear that I wasn't doing anything completely wrong. When I focused on a low, smooth takeaway, and staying loose, I pured more iron shots than I ever had before. I'm definitely looking forward to my next chance on the course to try it out. Here's the best part - he gives 3 lessons for $50 total!

This is what I think is going through the head of every experienced player I'm paired with, and why I'm hesitant to head to the course without a foursome intact ahead of time. However, golf is an expensive hobby. I would not want to ruin anyone's day, or waste their time and money if my poor play really affects them. That's why I head to the course after 1 or 2pm and rarely spend more than 2 min looking for my ball before I just move on.

I'm a newcomer to the game and I've gone out to play on my own late in the afternoons recently. I'm always nervous to be paired up with someone a lot better than me, because at times my game resembles polo more than golf (hit...walk a few feet...hit...etc...) and I don't want to ruin anyone's day. Luckily the course has been slow, so I just head out as a single. I will say one day I joined up with a retired couple playing ahead of me. I warned them when they invited me that I was learning. They were friendly and helpful with some rules I wasn't clear on and shared some tips (but not a ton). In return, I made sure to mind my behavior (not that i'm a boor, but when I golf with buddies, we get a bit salty), ask questions, and made sure to thank them for their company when we finished. It was enjoyable! I'll play with anyone as long as they don't condescend me or try to pull a David Leadbetter on every shot. We all have to start somewhere...

Thank you guys. It's all very helpful. I'm looking forward to Monday!

I've been having fun hacking my way around the course (at slow times, of course) and now I want to get better, because two or three times now I've ruined my chance at a birdie with bad approach and wedge shots. So, I signed up to take lessons at my local course. What can I expect in general? What should I expect to get the most out of my time? Any teaching pros on here? Thanks in advance.

When I leave a putt way too short (totally mis-reading green speed) I say to myself, "Throw your purse at it, Sally!"

I went on a round during vacation with my sister's boyfriend. He went through two dozen balls on a wide-open links type course with a little bit of water (of course, if there was water, he found it). Anyway, he took 8-10 practice swings for each shot he had (sometimes 8-10 shots per hole) AND he was making full-on practice swings in the sand traps. Finally we were getting caught from behind, so I told him he was violating etiquette by grounding his club in the sand, and every time he set up for a practice swing I told him to move it along. It was kind of nice to vent on the guy, since I didn't really like him, and luckily my sister realized a few weeks later and gave him the boot as well. Good thing I won't have years of golf with a slow brother-in-law in my future!

bump. anybody? Bueller?

Hey all. Going on vacation next week and I'd like to get in a round while I'm at the shore. I'm looking at a few courses and I was hoping to get some feedback or opinions/suggestions. 1. Cape May National Golf Course 2. Sand Barrens (Troon) 3. Shore Gate 4. Avalon Golf Club About me and my foursome: all pretty much beginners. We're going to take a twilight tee time (after 2ish) to save some greens fees and prevent holding up too many people (I always let those play through if I'm not right behind those in front of me). Any comments? Thanks in advance!

I mark the good balls I play with with my initials, but since I'm learning, I play with a bag of shags, so I have to remember which ball I hit on any particular tee. As a goof one time, we got our boss a box of balls before he was leaving on a golf vacation. Each of us in the office took a sleeve and wrote obscenities or funny phrases on it. He is a Philly Eagles fan, so I wrote a bunch of pro-Steelers stuff, but some guys got pretty dirty. After he returned, he told us about he didn't want to lose the nice Nike balls we got for him (he was just starting out) so he gave the to his father-in-law. Whoops!!

I don't think anyone here wants to exclude new players, but there is a level of respect to your fellow golfers, all of whom pay good money (especially in this economy) to participate in the game they love. Neatness and a respect for the rules of the particular club are all that matters. I think that this is all a gray area (even though I voted it was good for the game) and each individual should adjust their expectations based on the course they are playing at the time.

Bavarian Hills Golf Course in Saint Marys, PA. http://www.bavarianhillsgolf.net

I'm a Construction Project Manager. I work out of my home office about 30% of the time and I'm on the road the rest of the time. Mostly commercial projects. You may have seen my work if you visit Home Depots on Long Island, NY or New Rochelle, and numerous TA Travel Stops along the highways. Also miscellaneous 7-Elevens, Bed Bath and Beyonds, and almost every retail and food concession in Reagan National Airport - Washington DC.