bbwrenn

I wouldn't worry too much about Golfbarefoot, DutchLeon. I just started playing a couple months ago, my best round is 123 after 9 rounds, 3 buckets at the driving range, and 1 lesson, and I'm sure I'm not entitled to an opinion either. But the fact that he has 522 posts and is only "off to a great start" also tells me something about the general quality of his posts. Nevertheless, all of this is ... it's just hard to resist feeding the troll when they swim right up to you from the murky depths. So on topic, TDP continuing to compare himself to Tiger... Anybody not on tour should know better than to compare themselves to pretty much the best golfer of all time and think it's actually some kind of legitimate thought. I really believe that hard work makes a huge difference in your goals, and it's required every bit as much as talent is. Since he believes that's all it really is, it would be great to see TDP get off his high horse, start hitting buckets a day, stop monkeying around with equipment, get a decent coach, and get to scratch before he runs out of money. Then at least he could say "someone who's never been athletic was able to become a good golfer by dedicating themselves to it. You can be great at something too if you care that much about it." At least he'd have an accomplishment that some could appreciate. Instead we're still going to the masters in 2018...

I don't know that it's going to be a huge deal, and I say that because as a newer golfer I know that before I was following golf closely, as a general "sports enthusiast", all I ever heard about was Jack vs. Tiger. I heard about their majors and I knew a general outline of what each one had won and how many. I'd heard of Snead, Hogan, Hagen, Palmer, and a lot of other famous guys from the last 50-75 years, but it was always Jack vs. Tiger. So I can't see it blowing up on TGC or golf related websites. Honestly, I think you'd hear more about it here than most other places. With that said, it seems like a great milestone to me. I've watched tennis my whole life and I've clearly seen from that the old "the talent level gets deeper over time" argument is maybe somewhat true, but that doesn't stop the greats from being the greats. Everybody thought Sampras was clearly better than Laver or Rosewall in the 90s when he won 14 Grand Slams and it was clearly unreachable, then less than 10 years after he retires Roger Federer breaks that record. Now people argue Federer didn't have the best competition and the guys coming up now will put him to shame. Sports are cyclical I think and the greats will always rise to the top and dominate their peers. For that reason, I think that some might dismiss it but those who can appreciate the level of domination Tiger has shown in a game that's nearly impossible to be the best at week in and week out will see it as a big accomplishment. That post above that points out how Tiger's career has been a series of basically career high-water marks for other great players really says it all. Guy is good, and that's a big record for him if he gets it, whether the media plays it up or not.

I am relatively new to golf, so I can't speak to the far and wide policies regarding riders, but unfortunately both of my "local" (less than 30 minutes away) courses charge this way as well. They basically argue that you're paying a "riding fee", regardless of how many carts are used and who rides them. If an individual is going to be on a cart, you're charged for a cart, whether it's 1 or 5 people total and whether you're playing golf or not. One of the two courses has a weekend crew that runs the course and won't charge me extra for a rider because "we ain't doin' that crap here." (That's a quote haha) So I will go there on the weekend when my girlfriend would like to ride along and read or listen to her music and enjoy being outside. I definitely understand times are tight for courses in most areas and golf course maintenance prices are sky high... but like you basically said, when they're not busy at all and I'm playing alone, I don't see the logic in wanting $10 to $15 extra dollars for a rider. Maybe a nominal fee ($2 to $5) for insurance and record keeping purposes. That would be more agreeable to me.

To the average player who might look up some tour news, swing mechanics, mental game tips, or what have you on the internet, I think Dan probably comes off as fairly inspiring. They won't read the entire blog unless they're incredibly bored and won't be able to see that he's fallen rather sharply behind where he needs to be to meet his goal. I think if Titleist is indeed giving him clubs and equipment, they could probably spend their money a lot worse. A few sets of equipment isn't that big of an investment. I don't think Dan is going to bring in a boatload of sales for them, but I still think he comes off as a conscientious, hard worker, if you don't delve too deep into the details of TDP. That's something that part of the market would be inspired by. On a personal level, I like what Dan has done, I think it's mildly inspiring, but at the same time you have to be grounded in reality. I think he's done decently well, but would add that his plateauing off seems to suggest exactly what he set out to disprove - there is definitely some talent involved in being Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy. Even if you don't think there's specific "golf talent", at the very least I think athleticism is a huge factor in developing a tour level swing. I just picked up this game recently, but even if I had started as a child, I just don't see myself swinging the club the way those guys do - it's not in me. I could be wrong, but that's what I see. My six pence. The other problem I have with TDP on a personal level is what others have pointed out - as his skills have plateaued out, it seems like his drive and determination has done the same. At this point he's either got to make some major changes so he can try and at least become a scratch golfer, or he can be a good recreational golfer like he is now and milk this thing for what it's worth.

I'm a really, really, really bad player. I actually had a friend of mine who's just a somewhat bad player (~25 handicap) play with me this past week and he shot around 110, which is pretty awful for him. I think it just gets in your head. I've played around 40 disc golf tournaments and at first I used to play much better with players similar to or better than myself, but over the years it's evened out. It's basically just yet another mental facet of the game you have to get used to. I think if you practice staying in the zone you hit your shots in throughout the round, and play with high cappers more often, you'll probably stabilize the tendency to shoot really poorly. Just remember to keep in mind there's a difference between bad players and bad etiquette. In my years on the disc golf course, I've picked up 90% of the same etiquette that goes for real golf. A lot of new players have obviously never played any form of golf, so I'm sure that their behavior (that they don't even realize is rude or unacceptable) could be throwing you off. Best thing to do would be teach them - if they can't take a quick lesson on staying well behind and to the side of someone swinging, they probably don't have the patience and mindset to play this game anyway.

Played my third round ever at Myrick Hills CC in Littleton, NC this weekend. 5498 yards, 65.8 rating, 106 slope. Shot 125 this time. Definitely seeing some improvement! It's amazing what having a handful of drives land in the fairway and 2 putting a lot of holes instead of 3 and 4 putting will do for you, haha. Two more rounds and I'll have an unofficial handicap. I'm a statistics guy, so I'm super stoked about that. Can't wait.

Played my second round ever yesterday out at Valley Pine Country Club in Lasker, NC. White tees, 5696 yards rating 66.5. Improved by 17 strokes to shoot a 138 this time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to the range twice this week, only once, and I didn't get my lesson in either. I'll have to do both this week. Still, the one time I did hit a medium bucket at the range seems to have paid off big time, as the main thing my 17 strokes got shaved off by was keeping my drives in the fairway for the most part. My distance is still pitiful (solid connection with the ball produces ~180 yards) but I'm sure that will improve when I get driving lessons. (The only lesson I've had was 15 minutes of instruction on swinging a 7 iron properly.) Still love this game.

First round of golf ever Friday, played at Valley Pine Country Club in Lasker, NC. Shot a 155 off the middle white tees, 5696 yards rating 66.5. Awful, I know, but I've never swung a club until I had my first lesson this last week and it was only 45 minutes of putting and 15 minutes of swinging a 7-iron to teach me the basics of both. So, needless to say the few drives I got out there more than 150 yards were huge slice shots off the fairway. I did hit a single GIR on a very short (316 yard) par 4! About a 175 yard drive off to the right and then I crushed (for me) my 7 iron straight onto the green! Still took a 6! Haha. One thing is for sure though, I had a blast and can't wait to go play the same layout again this weekend after another lesson and a couple times at the driving range. I don't want to count on too much, but I think I might break into the 120s or at least about 130 this time, because of how much better my driving should be. What a great game :-)

Thanks for the welcome and responses everyone! I appreciate it. I got my gear together and am planning on scheduling a few lessons starting this week or next with an instructor in Raleigh, NC named Mike Sullivan. I hope he is one of the good ones! I am pretty excited! :)

For what it's worth, I've got a basic set of equipment, some clubs, clothes, gloves, shoes - I just need to know where to start with playing. I inherited all the gear I need to start from my old man. It's not the best, but it's not complete junk - I think it will let me learn the game just fine.

Hey all, I've got a brother who recently got into golf and he's having a great time. I've played enough frisbee golf over the years to know I like the game of golf itself, and would definitely like to learn the real thing. So, having never swung a club, I'm thinking the first thing to do is get some lessons - but I wanted to double check on that with people who've been there and done that. So basically my question boils down to this - do you think I should get some lessons starting from absolute scratch, or go and practice a bit on my own first and get lessons to help with what I'm doing wrong? The answer seems obvious - the first one, but before I go and spend several hundred dollars banking on that, I thought it would be wise to get a bit of advice from you guys. Thanks for your help.