No Mulligans

A course marshall about an hour an hour after we tee'd off told us two cars were burned. From the looks of that video, it doesn't look like it. However, that lot was pretty full, maybe they moved some cars?

Balboa Park - 18, Golf Course, San Diego. We couldn't go back to our car as that fire was adjacent to the parking lot. We just went ahead and played golf, a couple of cars got destroyed, but ours was fine. That is my wife in the foreground about to tee off on hole #1, hole 18 green in front of her.

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38, or 2 over Torrey North from the Greens 35.7/122, shot 42 on the back... still haven't broken 80 on Torrey.

15 handicappers can have a lot of variance. With only two competing I think it would be maybe a 50% chance that one of them would run away with it which would make it less than interesting. Unless they modified the scoring to more heavily weight the later holes.

I think it's a problem when I do it. At least for me it's not very effective as a release, it just puts me more on edge which is bad for my game. It's also a little bit uncomfortable for others to be around an emotional outburst. It's not so much the F word for me, after all it's just a word, it's the emotional outburst, not fun to be around, not fun to watch... unless you get joy from others pain.

Finally broke 80, Bear Mountain golf course. Not sure it counts, it's a par 70, but you play the same 9 holes twice to play 18, which I did and shot a 78. Surprisingly for me as it's one of the hardest courses I play because of the speed and slopes of the green.

Start with the principles behind the rules of golf. There are only three of them. PLAY THE COURSE AS WE FIND IT. PLAY THE BALL AS IT LIES. IF WE CAN'T CARRY OUT THE FIRST TWO, PLAY FAIR. The third one is complex. In your example, you should be penalized for being in a hazard, don't improve your lie seems fair enough. Nearer the hole, come on... the rules shouldn't be left up to each individuals interpretation. What are you going to do, just move a bit closer to pick out the nicest lie. That is taking advantage. If you move your ball in the rough you should access yourself a penalty.

A fun course. 9 holes par 35. Lot's of trouble if you don't keep it straight. The greens are fast, probably too fast. And some photos: The plume of the Apple Fire 10 miles away with nothing but forrest between the fire and Big Bear. Is there gas in the car? Yes there's gas in the car... a full tank.

Yeah I just reread that, sorry, changed my post.

Lob wedge, hold on tight, make sure you get out and don't have to repeat the same shot, I'm playing for the center of the green.

I'm a bit limited on this as I haven't played many of the expensive courses in the area, of the ones I've played and like the most: 1. Torrey North - I play here most every week, a great value at $31 for city resident seniors ($122 for nonresidents), bonus points as it's a great course to walk. 2. Torrey South - If I can't get a tee time on the North, also a great value at $44 for city resident seniors ($202 for nonresidents!), also a great walking course. Minus some points as it can be a bit too difficult for me with it's length and well bunkered elevated greens that seem to repeal my "good shots". When the rough is up, forget about it. 3. Grand Del Mar (not in my price range, did play there as part of a wedding event) 4. Rancho Santa Fe Country Club (invited to play there by my boss's boss) 5. Coronado - a good value and a good place to take out of towners as the price is the same for residents and nonresidents. Coronado is an easy course to walk.

I happen to live close to Torrey Pines which is a great bargain for those of us with a city card. I play the North course with the Monday to Thursday senior rate of $31. Torrey's pretty reasonable for us mid handicappers. But for the pros, it's really tough. Most ot the year it's a really fun course to play and the rough is cut down. But, from mid October to mid February they have narrow fairways and the rough is high. During that time they have a local rule that you can only look for your ball in the rough for 1 minute and then it's a free drop in the rough where you think the ball would be. About half the time I can't find my ball. Then for me it's a hack-it-out with a sand wedge. I'd rather all that rough would just be water so I could just take a penalty and drop in the fairway. It's really not very much fun, at least not for me and most people I know. Typically, we play it once in October and then say, "not playing here again until they cut down the rough". I wish they wouldn't take out 4 months of the year with tournament height rough. Not sure why they do that. The pros make it look relatively easy though. But the course setup is tough. The course rating from the green tees (3rd from the back) of 71.2/122 seems about right to me given the rough is cut shorter. When the rough is up, for me it plays at least 10 strokes harder. I'm guessing they rate the course based on the rough being cut shorter.

Aside from my personal health issues, I think it is really beneficial to be able to practice at home in that it is so convenient. It takes me about 15 minutes to drive to the range (there are 4 driving ranges that are all about that distance from my house). In addition the whole packing up the car, parking etc. The backyard, my clubs, the net, balls and matt are all in place ready to go. It takes about, well pretty much no time at all to get started. Because it is so convenient, I practice every day (except the one day a week I play a round at Torrey Pines). Knowing myself, I wouldn't drive to the range every day, twice a week at most. So is it better to 1) practice every day to a net with foam balls and a Skylz ball-first trainer, or 2) practice twice a day at a range with real balls but also off of matts? And practicing at home... I save money. Just putting it out there for consideration. (But for me, because of my health condition, I'm not going to a range)

Since you asked...I had leukemia, a bone marrow transplant, graft vs. host, I'm on immune suppression, and consequently immune compromised. I'll play a round of golf, but don't go to the range. A weekly round of golf, and semi-monthly visits to a Dr. (hematology-oncologist) are the only two things I do outside of my house and yard.