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Introducing TST "Clubs!" 08/28/2017
No, we're not getting into the equipment business, but we do have "clubs" here on TST now. Groups. Check them out here:
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sjduffers
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About sjduffers
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"Bad" is a very variable thing. Take a look at me, for example (no, I am not really that narcissistic..). I had a round of 75 (par 70) and another round at 111 (par 72) about one week apart. I have never had such a huge variance before and I still can't explain what happened... other than I was "badder" (or worse, if you really insist) one day than the other. In all seriousness, bad in my opinion has more to do with attitude than skill. I can't stand to play with a bad golfer, where I don't mind one bit one who shoots in the 100s if they move along, pay attention, have some basic manners and are otherwise pleasant to be around.
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Just 2 for me: CA and HI. I also played in Mexico a few times. I am European by birth but have never set foot on a European course... yet (that's in the bucket list)!
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Ian Poulter bullies rule official into wrong decision
sjduffers replied to sjduffers's topic in Rules of Golf
I know the ball was found outside the hazard because I watched the whole thing (on TNT) on my DVR. Not just the abbreviated version posted on the various web sites. They (Poulter and the rulesofficial) decided they had virtual certainty, even though they really didn't, and then Jordan Spieth found the ball before Poulter took his drop. But, because the decision had already been made that they had virtual certainty, they proceeded with the consequence of it, which is to drop under the LWH rule. -
Ian Poulter bullies rule official into wrong decision
sjduffers replied to sjduffers's topic in Rules of Golf
It looks to me that indeed the ball entered the LWH where Poulter took his drop, but it flew in there quite a ways, without touching any tree (and thus nobody heard anything) and finally settled outside the hazard, because the red line was not parallel to the fairway, but made like a big notch deeper into the woods and then got parallel again to the fairway. Poulter's ball went further than he thought: it got into the hazard and then crossed the line outside again, just by keeping on its trajectory (no bounces). The RO got bullied into thinking that they had virtual certainty after Poulter said: it entered here (he's right about that), and everything to this side is marked red (in fact, almost everything) and we've looked outside the red areas and the ball is not there so where else could it be? Supposedly, they even used the video replay to determine that, but they were not looking where the ball actually landed, which is visible on the video replay, something like 20-25 yards further up the hole, and no longer in the hazard. To me, they didn't review the video properly and while in general Poulter was right about his virtual certainty conviction - had the red line had been roughly parallel to the fairway. But in this case, it was not and there was plenty of space for the ball to be outside the hazard, even without being deflected by a tree (a sound that nobody heard). And since that ball was found after 5 minutes, he should have gone back to the tee under 27-1 instead of dropping under 26-1. ETA: There was no spectator involved at all, on that side of the hole. Only marshals, players, caddies and rule officials. -
I would say that without working out your longer clubs elsewhere (on the range, taking lessons, etc...), you need to make sure that those clubs are used regularly in your on-course practice. If that means, going to the blue tees, making a mixture of tees, or hitting drivers and woods from the white tees, you'll have to do something or your game won't be able to travel. Do it in a way where you don't have to "pay" for the consequences, by not keeping score, hitting multiple balls, using shag balls off the tee, etc... You already are not paying in the monetary sense by having "free" access to the course with your membership. The only way to build confidence is to do it: confidence doesn't happen just because one day you wake up and say: "I feel good and confident today". Pay your dues and it'll work out.
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It looks like Ian Poulter got his (wrong) way after bullying the rule official into giving a LWH drop despite the ball not being found in time in the hazard, or virtually certainly known to be into the hazard (nobody saw the ball enter the hazard) http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/08/2017-pga-championship-ian-poulter-hazard-video-rules-official-argument http://golfweek.com/2017/08/13/ian-poulter-argues-over-ball-being-lost-in-interesting-rules-drama/ He makes such a fuss about the ball being into the hazard as where else could it be... and of course someone finds the ball after the 5 minutes have elapsed... outside the hazard! How could Poulter be certain his ball was in the hazard, had his ball not been found, when it turns out to have been (lost) outside the hazard? He should have had to go back to the tee under 27-1 instead of dropping outside the hazard, so he got away with at least one shot in his favor...
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I play the Snell My Tour Ball because I found one once and it is a better ball at a great price! Can I get some? MTB that is. Rory McIlroy: -9 Pat Perez: -9 Shane Lowry: -9
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Yes, sorry, I have been slacking in reading this site lately. Too busy playing golf in Hawaii! Why not? If I can find a way to reliably stay in the single digits (I keep bouncing between 9 and 11), improve my game and figure how to do a vlog and stuff...
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Late to the party (as usual), but a heartfelt congrats to all the selected members of both teams, including of course @bkuehn1952 and @kpaulhus. May the best red team win!
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In Northern California, with relatively low humidity (in the 20-40%), I can manage to walk with a push cart up to 95F, even with some hills, but those really kick my butt. Flat courses are a no brainer but on hilly ones, I really have to think about it, having nearly collapsed once on an elevated 18th green: it was a good thing that I had partners with a cart to drive me back to the club house and get me some cold towels on my head. It was a close call...
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Background: I am a fairly poor greenside bunker player, as I have a tendency to take too much ball and send the ball flying over the green. My hero shot is when I find myself in a greenside bunker above the hole, with a downhill lie (e.g. back of the bunker), when the green slopes away from me and there is a pond/lake beyond, and I still take the shot with a big swing on the off chance that I won't skull the ball and will manage to get it and keep it on the green (close to the hole optional). Once in a zillion times, it actually works! But, I'll keep trying...
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I use a push cart, with a stand bag, and no getting another bag with legs was not a sell-out: I ride or I push the cart, so why do I need legs? I don't! I have a fat grip on my putter. Not a sell out. I put better with it. I had a 4 hybrid in my previous set but when I got another set (and shipped the old one to the other place I go to once in a while), I went without the hybrid and opted for the 4i instead. Not a sell out, or even a reverse sell out. Just happened that way. I have a rangefinder: it's much better than trying to read distances on a phone that takes forever to get its GPS signal sync'd up. Much quicker than pacing off sprinkler heads and guesstimating the flag position from the center. Not a sell out. I got rid of my 3 hybrid in favor of a 60 degree wedge and I may now have a small gap between my 4 (hybrid or iron) and the 5 wood, and not a huge yardage between the 5 wood and the 3 wood, but that's not a sell out. I am not missing that 3 hybrid much and I can use the 60 degree wedge when short sided or for short bunker shots. I am taking lessons (or have for the last 2 years or so, as I am in a pause with them right now). It's helped me a lot and I should have done this a whole lot sooner. Not a sell out. I am always trying to improve, and no sell out in sight: I can use all the help I can get!
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Current index trend is 9.2 (official last revision is 9.6), and current anti-handicap trend is 13.4. The gap between the two, that is about 4 points, has been narrowing in the last year or two. Before that, the gap was easily 6, 7 or 8 points! Still, anti-handicap is driven higher by rounds around 88-91 that are typical of much tougher tracks I go to once in a while, or of the occasional T tournaments where nerves are more at play. My usual (easier) go-to courses that drive most of my handicap yield an average score of 80-83, with the occasional 85-86, and the occasional 77-79.
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Jim "Bones" Mackay's 10 Tips for Reading Greens
sjduffers replied to iacas's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
Absolutely. The (visual) illusion is because when we look at a slope that goes downhill less than the slope we are on, it appears to us like it is (or might be) going uphill instead. Even if you try reading a such a green from below the hole, because you are looking at a steeper slope in the background, you can pick the slight uphill in front of you as going downhill. As Einstein told us, it's all relative! Yes, use your feet and trust them. -
Anchored Putters Rules Change (Effective January 1, 2016)
sjduffers replied to mvmac's topic in Rules of Golf
He's also said that he makes a practice stroke anchored and then moves the butt of the club off his chest for the actual stroke. He's totally fine.