Fon Duc Tow

For you long-time golfers.... the recent popularity surge with golf, coupled with the baby boomers all retiring... ...party's over.

I just started playing last July. Literally picked up my first club besides a putter...last July. Made sure I practiced at least a little every day. Started taking lessons right away. Well I played a couple regular 9 hole games but it was taking me par just to reach the green. Then the standard 3+ putt. At first, I thought it made me feel bad from an etiquette standpoint. But then I realized I wasn't playing slow. I made sure I kept up with everyone else. And to compensate for my extra strokes, I wouldn't even bother looking for a lost ball. I would just take the penalty and move on. What I realized is, the only thing bothering me was the fact that it wa taking me 8 strokes per hole. So I started going to the par 3's by myself, at least 3 or 4 times a week. (Queue Rocky music. Just kidding. ) Anyway, the first couple games I shot in the 50's. But then I cracked the 40's. Just broke another personal record yesterday and shot a 34. It has been invaluable to my short iron, chipping, and putting. My goal is to hit par on the par 3's before I even set foot on a full 9 or 18. Hopefully that happens by the end of the summer. We'll see. Now let me tie all of this together. The guys I played with on the full 9's were not good. They could drive the ball 250 yards, but more often than not, the balls landed in the woods. Then when it came time to chip and putt, many times I wasn't the only one 3 and 4 and even 5 putting. These are the guys I could see making fun of par 3's. As they shank another chip shot and 4 putt for the 2nd hole in a row. Best part is, they are hardly ever busy. The public one I go to, 2 days ago was a Saturday, I played 2 rounds in 2 hours and only saw 4 other people the whole time. Many times, as stated by others above, I will hit three or four balls at a time if there is no one behind me. I consider the par 3's to be an ignored resource by a sizable portion of the golf community (mostly by the "my driver is bigger than your driver" crowd). I hope it stays that way. This message will self destruct in 5 seconds. ;)

well done!

Right, because if you are lousy at golf, clearly you should be required to have beat up, outdated equipment, and be dressed in rags.

Because they don't put the effort into it. Not because they "can't." The group I was with a few days ago were all talking to this guy. Fawning over him might be a bit more accurate. They told me afterward that he was a pro. And not the pro-shop employee kind of pro. The 5 percentile pro that makes his living on tournaments. Seemed like a nice guy. Late 30's early 40's maybe. Slender, but with a big ole beer gut. Bet he gets his practice reps in, though. Play every day, all day and tell me you don't see improvement.

I am a new golfer. I ALWAYS play by the rules, even by myself, even on the par 3's. I'm pretty anal about it, and because of all the "good buddy rules" I have seen in my short time playing, I usually just keep it to myself. But when playing with others, I'm not really competing against them because I keep my own score and tell them not to bother with mine. Their scores are usually "good buddy" scores, so really, what's the point? As social as the game is, the competition aspect is solely between me, myself, and I. And if I need 8 shots to get to the hole, I will take my 8 shots. As long as I am keeping within the time constraints of the course, I see no problem. I never have a problem letting someone play through either. So I guess I fall somewhere in the middle here. And I think how you play the game over the course of your life is perhaps a small indication of character, but there are just too many variables to make such a broad stroke statement like "how you play golf is who you are." Wishy washy answer I know...

Sorry. I guess it doesn't seem like as big of a shock to me, since the US pretty much does the same thing. Sounds familar...

guess you didn't pick up my sarcasm. :ninja: on many forums, the "ninja" simile indicates sarcasm. My apologies.

Its nothing that Florida and South Carolina haven't been through already. :ninja:

Noticed this when I left my golf bag (with balls in it) in the car all day and then played after work. The balls, clubs, etc, were all very warm. But to get to the point, the balls seemed to travel 20 to 30 yards father than when they cooled down to outside temperature. Does anyone have any experience/advice with this?

What about the index finger and thumb of the right hand?

well I know I am a small fish in a big pond, but I just made par on a hole for the first time...on the par 3 course I have been playing at. ;) Don't laugh... I picked this game up about a month ago and have been hitting the par 3s a lot while I work on my low irons and driver at the range. Scores started out in the 50s, then jumped to low 40's, now I'm in the high 30's. Baby steps. What a frustrating but rewarding sport this is. :)

Mine is low enough to leave about an inch and a half of space between my lower hand and the bottom of the grip. Is that too low? How far do you choke down on the putter?

I play it even with the front side of my back foot. Is that bad? No one else has said that one yet...

Something just clicked one day with me. Kind of a "where have you been all my life" moment. The game suits my personality. So strange that it took me this long to pick it up.