Swindon

Hi all, just moved back to Melbourne, Australia after 10 years moving around the world for work. Work is in the SE suburbs, when I was last based here 10 years back the Kingston Links course and driving range were just around the corner in Rowville and I used both frequently. Now I'm back both the KL course and range have shut down. Looking for suggestions on either standalone range facilities or courses with ranges/short game areas/putting practice greens in the area, any advice appreciated! Cheers, Ben

I take the same approach on newly cored greens - it isn't real putting so auto 2 putt once you're on the surface.

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Rehit teeshot scenario - One stroke (first shot that went OB), one penalty, then you're hitting 3 when you reload off the tee box. New local drop scenario - One stroke (first shot that went OB), two penalties, then you're hitting 4 when you hit your drop from OB point.

I'm sure someone probably has a more technical response on gripping down on a 35" putter vs cutting it down to 34" (I'm interested to hear it if you do), but for me it feels far better balanced now that it's shortened. I've felt that with other 35" putters too, I just doesn't feel right to me to have that much of the grip above my hands. (Plus in CV19 lockdown it kept me busy for an hour 🙂 The grip on this Cleveland putter in particular (see photo in link in post #5 above) has a flat surface for your thumbs which tapers to a round grip the further down the grip you hold, so shortening it allows me to have more of the flat section in my hands, again this feels much better than gripping down.

Update - success! I used the coat hanger method, and with a lot of solvent, a lot of patience a lot of grunt to get the coat hanger all the way under the grip it eventually came off pretty easily once the solvent found it's way to all the tape and broke the bond. Shortened the shaft, reinstalled the (undamaged) grip - good result! Thanks all for your input.

Another thought I had - fill something the size of a tennis ball tin with solvent and then sit the grip in the solvent bath to ensure the tape gets thoroughly soaked. Anyone tried this? Any downsides I haven't thought of?

It's the Cleveland Oversize 63g grip with the hard tip and butt cap shown here HUNTINGTON BEACH 3 PUTTER, O/S GRIP Introducing the Cleveland Golf Huntington Beach Collection. Inspired by the beautiful setting of Cleveland Golf's North America headquarters, these putters feature the classic designs that have been revered for generations... , I wasn't sure if that meant I was up against something other than just grip tape. Will give it a go and find out!

Hi, I have the Huntington Beach#4 with the oversized grip. https://www.clevelandgolf.com.au/en_AU/clubs/huntington-beach-4-putter/MHB4.html It's 35 inch but I need to take an inch off it. It's almost new so I'd like to just reuse the grip - any tips on removing the grip without damaging it? (I do all my own grips so familiar with tape/solvent etc, just having trouble telling how the grip is put on this putter to work out what I'm dealing with. Any advice appreciated, Cheers, Ben

Thanks Dave, much appreciated. Not quite sure what you're seeing on page 22 but I can see mention of "recognised overseas equivalent" handicap which sounds like it should put me on the right track. Cheers, Ben

Hi all, Have recently moved from San Diego to Perth, Western Australia (missing Torrey baaaad 🙂 ) Maintained a USGA handicap for a number of years over there - is there any way to convert that to a GA handicap or do I need to 'start' again with 3 cards? Cheers, Ben

Thanks all for your advice - much appreciated.

Quick question on wedge gaps: I play a 50 deg Gap, 56 deg SW, 60 deg Lob. My ‘usual’ distances with these are 100m, 90m, 80m (yes I play metric golf). Those distances with the Gap and SW are consistent, but often I’m finding I come up short (70m) with the lobber. Thinking about putting a 58deg in the bag to bridge this gap, but my question is, will the 2 deg loft difference between a 58 and a 60 really give that much of a distance difference to justify a new toy? (note those distances are carry distance, excluding roll or backspin). Any feedback appreciated, cheers all.

Salt Creek in Chula Vista, San Diego. Sad, shot my career low there.

Thanks all for the quick responses.

Agree. So if I drop in the shallowest part of the water, but then the ball rolls back down to the deepest part, can I place the ball in the shallow part?

Deepest part was approx. 6 inches deep, and of course that's where by ball was.

So with no local rule in place, and nowhere to drop in the bunker no closer the hole that isn't under water, the only option is to drop outside the bunker with a penalty stroke?

Ended up in a trap half full of water from yesterday's rain (see pic). Ball stopped in water at this end of the trap. Rules say I can take relief from casual water with a drop elsewhere in the hazard no closer to the hole, but as you can see from the photo, there's nowhere in this trap I could drop out of the water without being closer to the hole. Do I drop in the far end of the trap (closer to the hole), or back out of the trap on the grass (no closer the hole, but now no longer in the hazard)?

Definitely looking for solo lessons, my current swing needs some special help! :)

Hi all, time to bite the bullet, stop trying to self-diagnose and get some lessons. I'm not far from Stadium Golf in San Diego - can anyone recommend (both for and against) instructors based here? Cheers.

I'm thinking this is the most likely cause.

Thanks for the quick response SS. Should have mentioned that I'd wondered if that was the cause and experimented with a firmer grip, but was still getting the rub.

Hi all, First post here - the forum is a great source of info. Question on grip - RH golfer, using pretty standard overlap grip, glove on LH, no glove on RH. No matter how light I try to keep my grip throughout the swing I keep getting a rub/blister in the area shown below (even through the glove on my LH). Any ideas on why? Or how to stop it?