sjduffers

Since I already have a hole-in-one, just one mind you, I am no longer waiting for that elusive feat. If they come fine; if not, that's ok too, as I already have experienced the feeling. So sign me up for the twice yearly hole out eagle from the fairway!

Actually, if you follow the PGA Tour way of counting putts (and some other tournaments too), once you start putting, ie from on the green, all the subsequent strokes are counted as putts, whether off the green or on the green (or penalty strokes). I had this situation happen too but from the other side with the hole cut just on the edge of a false front so a 12 footer that barely missed the hole ended up a good 40 yards away. I should have declared an unplayable a redo the putt from the same location (with a penalty stroke of course) rather than pitch up and then 3-putt from there!

Didn’t see this until now, but I want to join the chorus in offering my congratulations for a great achievement: well done! 👍

A fox strutting along: A hawk and its prey: I also see plenty of deer, some coyotes and rattlesnakes (nearly stepped on a baby one exiting the green a few weeks ago) And these 2, while not completely wild were quite entertaining:

I voted 4-6, on average. Some days are a tad better and some days are worse (and I may not even a single one sometimes!). A lot of the "pure" shots are like 3/4 or flighted approach shots, and some may even be recovery shots. It's only the odd driver that I feel is flushed and heading exactly where I want it, lol.

That's why they sell Bloody Mary's early in the morning! Seriously though, dehydration is something to be aware of in any outdoors activity in the sun: it doesn't even have to be really hot. And water is your friend, beer and other alcohol not so much (until after the proceedings are over, I feel).

35,000 18-holes equivalent in the world, so 630,000 holes. Final answer!

I agree, it's not very often, but it happens. I know several courses that have a par 5 as their #1 handicap and a few more with a par 5 as #2. It's like saying par 3s are always handicap #15, #16, #17 and #18: yes, sometimes, but I have also seen a par 3 as #1 handicap as well as anything between #1 and #18.

You need to travel more. It's not always, of course but it happens: it's usually due to a combination of length and difficulty with penalty areas.

You are probably too steep with the swing of the driver, i.e. similar to using an iron. The driver swing needs more shoulder tilt, or secondary axis tilt (the reverse K setup position), where the spine is angled away from the target a bit, (in addition to being angled towards the ball) which promotes a shallower swing and can even create a positive angle of attack at impact, i.e. hitting the ball on the upswing a bit, instead of downwards. This means the low point of the swing arc should be behind the ball (a few inches), instead of in front of the ball for an iron swing. Perhaps move the ball a bit more forward in your stance and tee the ball a bit higher to help with that.

Keep the drive in play (perhaps using a fairway wood if you are wild with the driver), advance significantly towards the hole on the second shot while avoiding hazards, and then with a short iron or wedge find the middle of the green. Then one (sometimes) or two-putt (most times). That's an easy 5. The culprit here is the going for broke mentality, i.e. trying to get on in 2 by overswinging on both shots, trying to score an eagle or birdie. If you faced a 500 yards par 4, you wouldn't try to make par every time, so why do it if the par changes from 4 to 5? It makes no sense. Put your drive in a spot where you have a somewhat short par 4 left (i.e. 300-350 yards), and from there where you have an easier par 3 left (100-150 yards). The rest will take care of itself.

My guess: no driving range to warm up, it was too difficult for most people and cart path only at all times, with side hills everywhere, target golf across canyons. They tried lowering their green fees and still people wouldn't come... I used to play it about once or twice a year, when I felt like I wanted some punishment: this course will (or would) humble you! The last time I played it was during the winter last year (so like Feb or March 2018). I played by myself and found that I was hitting the last ball in my bag on #15 (the par 3 with a bunker in the middle). I put it in the hazard over the green but was able to find it and finish the round with it. I wasn't hitting the ball particularly well that day and had lost many balls to the canyons, but also some right in the middle of the super-saturated fairways! I probably lost over a dozen (used) balls that day, lol!

Yup! That's a tough one, a Johnny (saddistic) Miller design. Even knowing the greens, it's easy to 3-putt there. Also, there are lots of bunkers, all in terrible shape. They were supposed to embark on a bunker renovation project years ago, but still nothing...

Unless my math is wrong, that's a 5.4 differential. Great round! An 8.0 index means the average of the 10 best rounds (out of 20) is an 8.3 differential (counting for the 0.96 multiplier), meaning the golfer achieves that 8.3 differential 5 times out of 20 on average. As you see, 8.3 is 3 strokes higher than 5.4, so no, as much as he would like to, @lastings doesn't do that all the time!