Joe Cartpath

Several years ago I stopped by a little 9 hole course for a quick round. Had my clubs with me, but no golf shoes. No problem...I've often just played in my sneakers. The teeing ground was a little damp. During my follow through my right foot passed my left foot and I ended up on my back. Fortunately, there was no one at the tee or on the clubhouse porch to see my misfortune.

I don't play with a minimalist set, but I rarely have more than about 10 or 11 in the bag. I also walk and carry all the time, and at age 69, reducing the load a bit keeps me from being as tired on the last few holes. I also only carry a few balls with me. No need to have 2 dozen balls weighting down the bag. I choose to carry the driver or not depending on how I've been hitting it or the 3-wood lately. Truth is, I usually hit my old Hogan Apex persimmon 3-wood about as far as the more modern driver anyway. Then I have a choice of 4w, 5w an 6w. If I carry the driver, I usually don't take the 3w (I like the 4w better off the fairway since it has a lower profile). Sometimes I'll carry 2 woods...sometimes 3...just depends on how I've been playing, what the weather is like, etc. I'll often leave the 3 iron at home, especially if I have the 6-wood in the bag. I almost always have all the irons from 4-9, plus the PW and 56 degree SW. My 62 degree wedge rarely sees daylight, and I don't even have a gap wedge. The one constant is my ancient Hogan Radial putter. I would insist that it get buried with me if I weren't going to be cremated

IMHO, the new OB/lost ball rule is too liberal...and may not speed up play much. For one thing, the area in which the player may take his drop is massive. I can picture players taking quite a bit of time surveying that area for the most advantageous location for their drop (avoidance of obstacles, grass providing the best lie, etc.). I also have an issue with the fact that you could completely take a stand of trees (for example) between you and the hole completely out of play and have an unobstructed shot. I'd rather see the player drop within two club lengths of the spot where the ball was thought to have gone OB or been lost. That would certainly be quicker than wandering around the golf course looking for the ideal drop location. I'm far from an "elite" player, and only play casual rounds. The last competition I entered (the local Senior Publinks) was almost 20 years ago. I don't have a USGA handicap. It's my experience that most casual players in those lost ball situations simply drop one where they expected to find the original ball anyway. For that matter, they'll probably continue to do that even with the new rule since they probably don't know the rules anyway

I normally keep a true and accurate score even though I don't belong to a club, don't have an established handicap, and don't play in any tournaments. Still, if I'm playing my usual casual round...and really playing terribly, I'll occasionally toss the scorecard in the trash. It helps me concentrate on just hitting good shots instead of focusing on making a particular score...and my game usually improves somewhat....

Here's my approach to eliminating the big numbers. Work hard on putting and chipping. I've always maintained that anyone can learn to chip and putt. Its the only part of the game that takes zero athletic ability....just practice, technique and confidence. I miss a lot more greens than I hit...but I make a lot of pars with a chip and a putt (or a very long 2 putt). Even if I don't make par, I often have tap in bogeys. Know your strengths and weaknesses...and be honest with yourself. Use that information to determine your "go to" shots. I'm a lousy iron player, but pretty consistent with the fairway woods. If I'm having one of those days where I'm doing nothing with the irons but hitting fat shots and shanks, I'll start hitting fairway woods off the tee in order to have a fairway wood for a 2nd shot (I carry 3, 5 and 6 woods). Even if I miss the green from that distance, I'll usually be withing chip and putt range (see the last paragraph). I'm normally pretty straight with those fairway woods, but can hit a fade or slice at will....but not a draw. If I'm in a spot that requires a draw to hit the green I'll aim for a spot short of the green (or even right of the green) that I know I can hit. Then try my best to make par from there - and be please with bogey. If I'm on the other side of the fairway and need to bend it to the right I'll be more aggressive since that's a high percentage shot for me. I've had days where I'm hitting my irons so poorly, I'll resort to playing bump-and-run any place I can. Yeah, it makes me feel like a chump when I'm bumping a 7 iron from 100 yards instead of flying a wedge in there....but not a much of a chump as hacking the wedge around and making a double or triple.

Scorecards. I've been playing 40+ years. I've got 3 poster size frames on my garage wall containing scorecards from all the courses I've played except two. One of those is from a long gone par 3 course. The other is from a defunct country club. Both of those venues have been gone now for 30+ years, so no hope of finding cards for them.

Since this is my home town event it's always one I look forward to every year. Too bad it has never had a decent enough date to attract more top name players. It seems that there are fewer "names" here this year than usual. Maybe more players decided to get to Chambers Bay earlier since that course is such an unknown to most of them.

...and he finished with an 81 (+10)...bogey, 2 doubles and a triple on the par 5s!!!

Unlimited practice is great!...IF you actually have the time to take advantage of it. Can you spare the time from work, family, etc., to practice 2 or 3 times a week? Is the course close to where you'll be living or working to make that easier to accomplish? The price sound terrific....IF you use the facilities enough. What is the golfing season in Indy? Here, in Memphis, we can play 12 months...although less frequently from about December-February. That still leaves us a solid 9 months to play a LOT. I've had annual memberships at three different courses over the years. The first course I LOVED, the practice facilities were limited, but the price was great. The lack of practice facilities didn't bother me since I wouldn't have gone that far to use them often. I eventually got tired of driving 15+ miles each way to play golf, so I didn't renew. The next one was very close to home, just as cheap, and also lacked practice facilities. I quit that one after only a few months. I hated the course. It was a subdivision course with houses right against the fairways...closer than any course I've ever played. The layout just wasn't fun at all....two of the holes actually played in the opposite direction that they were originally designed. Two other holes were altered (probably to avoid hitting houses) so that the best way to play one par 5 was to hit a 5 iron off the tee, then a 3 wood into another fairway, then a wedge to the green! After I left that one, I joined one that was also close to home - but cost somewhat more. It had a good practice facility and unlimited range balls were part of the deal. I could practice on the way home from work...and even at lunch on occasion. I played about 130 rounds a year there for three years, and it's still one of my favorite courses. I finally quit after 3 years simply because I felt that I needed to play almost all my golf there to make the expenditure worthwhile....and I eventually tired of playing the same course almost exclusively. My membership expired 12/31/1999 and beginning 1/1/2000 I played 35 different courses before I ever repeated one :) Sorry for the long post, but I hope it illustrates some of the things to consider when purchasing a membership...

Short par 5, dogleg right. Pushed my drive into the trees on the right just past the turn, leaving me with about 185 yards to the pin....but forced to start the ball through about a 4 foot gap in the trees and fade it about 10 yards. I hit my persimmon 5 wood (yeah....I'm a short hitter)....hit it dead solid perfect. Made the 10 foot left-to-right breaker for my only eagle of the year. Since that was the 1st hole, it let me begin the round under par....at least for a little while :)

Craigslist, Ebay, local pro shops or used club stores... I'm pretty sure I don't have $500 invested in my clubs even if you include the bag, balls gloves....and extra clubs! :) Hogan CS3 driver: $50 from Craigslist Hogan Edge+ (E-5 irons) & #4 and #3 Hogan Edge CFT hybrids: $75 from Ebay Hogan Apex driver & 3 wood (persimmon): $35 from Ebay (also came with 5 wood, but the head broke) Hogan Speed Slot 4 wood & 5 wood (persimmon): $15 each from Ebay Hogan 6 wood (laminated): $10 from Ebay Hogan Director irons (E-3): $175 at a local used club store Hogan Special 56 wedge: $20 from Ebay Hogan Special 62 wedge: $10 from a local antique mall (!) Hogan 49 degree wedge (can't remember the model right now): $10 from somewhere local...can't remember now... Hogan P01 putter: $19 from the local used club store Hogan stand bag: $69 from Ebay Gloves (Callaway): 3 for $15 at Costco Balls (Pro V1, Pinnacle, Hogan Medallion): Christmas & birthday presents :) Ok maybe I do have $500+ ....I think that adds up to about $518 - but that's for 2 set of irons and multiple woods, hybrids & wedges :)

One course near me (Fair Oaks in Oakland TN) requires that you enter the fairway once, then exit near the green. It's been that way since the course opened years ago. At that time, it was because the fairways were well established but the rough wasn't. After all these years the fairways and rough are still in excellent condition...and it's certainly a LOT quicker than playing cart path only or 90 degrees.

I normally putt everything out, but we'll sometimes take a gimme in a casual round if it's really close - like inside a foot or so. If I'm playing with a stranger and he has a very short one like that I might say "that's good if you want it". They'll either respond "Thanks!" or "I'll putt it". From that point on, I know their preference....

It seems that this issue occurs most with twentysomethings with lots of disposable income. They decide to play golf, buy the "best" equipment...and, of course, want to play the most upscale course around - which usually is one of the more difficult courses in the area. If they're more interested in how many beers they have in the cart (and they always ride!) than in their score, it's a sure sign that it's going to be a long day... When I started playing 40+ years ago I didn't have much money (still don't!). I played with garage sale clubs...at the cheapest course in town - a 9 hole, par 34 executive course. Most of the people playing there were either kids, old folks or other newbies. I once went to a very nice course with a much more experienced and talented golfer, and I was miserable. I was embarrassed at how bad I was playing. I went back to the executive course and played there until I could break 40 consistently. Only then did I feel like I was worthy of "graduating" to a longer, 18 hole course...and even that was one of the shorter, easier courses in town. I never was bothered playing with worse players than myself...as long as they weren't too slow. If they were, I'd find myself constantly looking behind to see where the next group was and rushing my shots to try to make up the difference. That never works out well. My game right now is worse than it has been in years due to advancing age and a triple bypass. I'm driving, chipping and putting well, but struggling with my irons....so I'm now usually the bad player in the group. I try very hard to not let my shortcomings affect the other players in the group. I play quickly and, if I'm making too much of a mess on a hole, I'll put the ball in my pocket and just tend the flag.