BrrrrMan78

I am relatively new to this forum as well, but I think at least one of the moderators has a teaching background, maybe @isaacs if I recall. I have always found teacher recommendations from other teachers to be extremely helpful. It's okay to go through a few pros until you find the one you are most comfortable with. When you find the person you trust the most, you'll know it! P.S. I'm personally skeptical when someone has me work on shot shaping during lesson 1. Quite a few fundamentals to work on in this crazy game. Stick with it!

So after hitting a tee shot into a divot for the second time in one round I got to thinking about how I've always thought divots should be classified as GUR. I know not everyone will agree, and that's what this thread is about! If you could alter, tweak, change, modify, or totally eliminate a rule in golf what would it be and why? For me, my rule change is a belief that a divot is an abnormal ground condition, however I am aware that opening this up for interpretation leaves things like footprints in the bunker, and spike marks in a very grey area. Let us know what you would change!

I live in Northern VA and we get crazy temperature swings. As fall arrives I notice a solid 1 club difference in almost all my shots. I think temps, wind, and as many of you have mentioned clothing all play a huge factor in that. Def frustrating hitting 6 iron 145 into the wind in Nov :) This issue is VERY near and dear to my heart! I started a company with 3 friends to solve this problem, and if you got some free time check out our website and let me know what you think! Got a few tour caddies testing it out, and with our USGA approval we should have it on a few pros soon. All feedback is welcome! And @ms256 now you're son won't freeze :) www.qoreperformance.com

The weirdest quirk I have is that I can remember nearly every shot (both club and result) of almost every single round of golf I've played. I also remember every single shot my group hit, for at least a month or two after the round is over. If there is ever a dispute about a score they always come to me and say, "what did Kevin make on 14?" Weird, although I never bring anything up unless asked.

Only checked out a few features, mostly from following on Twitter and Instagram. They have some cool stories from time to time and seem to def be targeting younger people to introduce the game to. If they do what others have said with upcoming tours and NCAA golf, the content could get pretty interesting.

Here's another one. Classic. [VIDEO]http://youtu.be/0u8KUgUqprw[/VIDEO]

Here is the end of the Curb Your Enthusiasm scene, NSFW! but hilarious. If you get the chance, please watch the entire episode, you will love it. [VIDEO]http://youtu.be/UlwkWCsR3zo[/VIDEO]

In a perfect world I would agree with you! But I've played way to many places that define areas based on all kinds of arbitrary ideas. If all courses were designed by The Rules Of Golf, many would be marked quite differently

I think the core to this thread is the perception of intent from whoever made the decision to classify it as ESA. If it was an arbitrary choice to speed up play, that's ridiculous. Anything else, as discussed on this thread, is plausible and has been proven many times here to be within the rules of golf. It does bring up a thought: I have an issue with a few courses where internal OB exists. There is a course near me that tries to discourage players from driving over a set of trees to cut the dogleg on a Par-5 by placing OB stakes down the left side of the hole. On the other side of the trees is the 16th green and fairway. Is this something that can be done legally? Is it within the rules of golf to setup a course like this? It infuriates me anytime I come across this.

What is the coldest temperature you will play in? I typically stop once it drops below 55, but I do get the itch on a few cold sunny days when I haven't played in a while!!

Everyone has mentioned their favorite golf, baseball, boxing movie hundreds of times! What I never see is the discussion of hilarious golf scenes in movies/tv where there is very little sports throughout and it's a nice addition. My favorite is below, but let's get creative and see if we can identify some fun scenes to reminisce about! Curb Your Enthusiasm - Palestinian Chicken Episode Playing on the last hole of the team Club Championship Larry is forced to confront Susie about the noises she makes after taking a sip of a beverage. She flips out at Jeff, their daughter owns up blackmailing Larry about two of their friends having an affair, both of whom are on Larry's team, so they flip out and the whole event is ruined. This scene is the culmination of one of the funniest episodes of all time! Please treat yourself to it, it's 24 minutes of magic with a hilarious golf undertone! Let's hear what you guys got TST'ers!

Yes!! There was a feature on it I saw on The Back 9 Network, and it's awesome. You should check it out!! He has holes from Sawgrass, Augusta, and St. Andrews to hit shots too for up to 100yds. The entire thing is artificial grass, even the rough. Check the link below! http://www.back9network.com/article/this-is-the-most-spectacular-backyard-in-the-history-of-mankind/

Great topic! My club has players of all skill, focus, pace, anger, cheaters, rules know it alls, and guys just out to have fun, so you never know who you might get paired with. I have found the less I care about what anyone else is doing the more I enjoy my rounds. I used to play competition and would be bummed when I played bad, or got paired with a jerk, or with the guy who really didn't care that he was shooting 90 and shouldn't have even entered the tournament, and I realized I never stopped to enjoy some of the great courses I was playing and some of the great shots I was hitting. About 10 years ago I just stopped caring about what my scorecard said at the end of the day, and I just tried to hit the best shot I could at each opportunity. I am competitive, and I love to gamble on the course, but I don't take anything with me once the round is over. One of my best friends, and frequent partners is extremely focused on the course, doesn't talk to our opponents, ever, and seems like a total DB. It def gets under the skin of our competition and he knows it. We play against guys just like him all the time, and I just chuckle because they just end up trying to out DB each other, and I usually coast along and end up with the best score. Golf is fun, competition is what makes it great, and the beauty of being outside is you can simply walk away from the DB's and enjoy the views all to yourself. Focus on your own game, and relish in the fact that you could be stuck working! D

Glad you enjoyed them! My favorite game is called The Wheel, but it's for a large group and is quite complicated to explain. I will give it to you if you guys wish, but I figured I'd keep them straight forward for now. If you want the info on that one let me know and I'll post it here, and then field the follow up questions :) Another really fun game, is Red/White/Blue. The big downside here is you can't count this round in handicap calculations cause you will be playing from multiple tees, but if you're looking to have fun and to play the course different than you ever have, this game is great. Also, a big plus for this game is you can play teams or individuals. The concept is simple, you are going to play 6 holes from the blue (back) tees, 6 holes from white tees, and 6 holes from red tees (front). The beauty of this game is the flexibility. You can choose the holes that you will play from each tee or you can have your opponents do it. Try it both ways and see what you like better. Here is the way we play it. Play a match play team Nassau. Choose your own holes, but you have to play from a different tee than your partner on each hole! You will hit different shots than you have ever hit before, you will be able to drive short par 4's, all kinds of fun shots!! It will make the course you've played hundreds of times quite different. This is prob the most FUN game we play

Hey Ryan, here's a couple easy games that are fun and easy to manage: 1. Left/Right - every hole the 2 people who drive the ball furthest left of center are partners, and 2 who drive it furthest right are partners. Make each hole worth, say $1. Lowest score on hole wins, you get potentially different partners every hole. Very fun, and you get to play with everyone in the group. There is a more complicated way to play this game if you would like it, raises the stakes :) 2. Pig and Wolf - this is another changing partner game. On the first tee determine an order. Let's say you choose- Ryan, Jim, Peter, Brian. Ryan tees off on the first hole first, Jim tees off next and Ryan has the choice to pick Jim as his partner after he sees his tee shot, if he likes it, they will be partners for this hole. If he doesn't pick Jim at this point he can never pick him again on this hole. The format continues until either Ryan has picked a partner, or decides to play alone against the other 3 players for that hole. Each hole is a separate bet for again say $1. On hole 2 Jim will go first, and he will have the option to choose Peter, then Brian, then Ryan or go alone. The rotation continues making you the Wolf every 4 holes. Very fun, with many variations of pressing and such if you choose. Hope this helps, I have plenty more if you'd like!!

Great thread for memory lane!!! Mine was at course I grew up at, Glenn Dale GC in MD. 14th hole is a downhill par 4 plays about 300 because of the elevation drop. Hit driver to about 100yds out (I was 15 playing the Titleist Prestige) and I knocked a wedge in on the fly, slam dunk. Made double or worse on every hole coming home. What a feeling though!

I've played a 15" hole course, and it was quite enjoyable. Play was much faster, 3hrs, and everyone had a good time joking and gambling when someone would miss anything inside 15'. It's just a MUCH better version of mini golf or TopGolf. I don't think walking is the issue it's really just etiquette and course management. I have plenty of friends that are slower when they use a cart, and god forbid its Cart Path Only...forget about it. Lastly I would say tee choice is a huge issue! I have friends that require we play the tips on friendly rounds and it makes me cringe. Their argument of feeling better about shooting 83 from the tips than 75 from one tee up always baffles me. I'm all for playing it back, but sometimes variety can be nice. Also, changes the course quite a bit, sometimes for the better!

Nah just an unwillingness to make a double on a short par 4 ;-) Easier to make 4 from the fairway then the bunker

While posting on another section in the forums I remembered an on course practice technique I used to use regularly. It got me thinking about all of the drills and routines other golfers use that I have probably never heard of, so I figured I would just ask. My routine is below, and it helped me go from a 10 to a solid 4 in under a year. It's been some time since I practiced this much, but I love hearing about others habits and drills. Play 9 holes and hit 2 balls on every shot. Pick the worst of the two shots (reverse scramble) and play 2 more shots from there. Again, pick the worst and continue on until both balls are holed. You will hit a ton of shots, and you will have to think course management way more than usual. Personal best was +3, 38. Try it and enjoy!

The best practice rounds I've ever had were 9 holes by myself! Try playing 2 balls on every shot, and then play the successive shot from the worst of the 2. Continue until holing out. Great practice and you actually hit a ton of different shots. Plus making the first downhill 4 footer makes the second one so difficult!!

Just got notified I'm down to 2.5, haven't played in a month because of a back injury,,and I have a two day event this weekend with friends. I'm officially DEAD MONEY!

I know funny and that's funny. I've had to lay up from 50yds out of Florida rough before!

I recently switched from the Callaway X Forged Irons to the PING S55's. Lost about 5-7 yards with each iron, but improved my contact and ball flight substantially. If you're already playing PING irons I suggest you try the S55's, and since you're trying out different shafts explore both the KBS line and Project X. You won't be disappointed! Also don't get caught up in the equipment minutiae. Blades vs forged vs GI, hit what you have the most confidence in! That's the #1 key IMHO. I have some + handicap friends who still play full cavity back sets with proper shafts because they can't find anything they have more confidence in. Keep at it, greatest game ever played!!

@iacas I totally agree that fixing the path is the most important thing to correct ball flight. However, I'm guessing your success with conversions to a draw should also highlight the first part of the article, slightly improper grip. In my experience amateurs get so enamored with hitting a draw it corrupts all the work you did on swing plane and they end up drop kicking everything because they are stuck inside on the way back and the grip issues take over. Thoughts?