sjduffers

Even with experienced golfers playing competent ready golf, a 5-some tends to be slower than a 3-some followed by a 2-some, if for no other reason because it takes longer (sometimes quite a bit longer) for them to all putt out. And that time differential (5 putting out vs 2 or 3 putting out) is repeated on every hole and that is time that gets added up for the total time elapsed of the round, as the time seen by another group playing behind the 5 guys. By the end, it can be 5-10 minutes or maybe 30 minutes, depending on how diligent people are while putting out, e.g. continuous putting vs mark and yield to each other's turns.

Just for the record, I don't use my finger down the shaft, but here is somebody who does (and didn't use to do it), with evidently some pretty good results: Ian Poulter! I am not trolling you, @iacas, as I know you don't like the guy, and this may be yet another reason why, but you have to admit it is working pretty well for him. That said, I agree with you, and besides it looks bad, to my eye. Never mind the guys that have both index fingers down the shaft, on both sides! 😂

Creative way of "interpreting the OB rule", I'll say, but we all know better. Another one: knock a ball off the tee with your driver and they go: "1". Clearly the ball is not in play then until a stroke is made at it (whether a whiff or not), and so it doesn't count.

Maybe not the full suit, but definitely the tie. Use Google Image search ("Ben Hogan pictures")... Regardless, he was still wearing dress shirts, much like Phil is doing now, lol!

And to think they were doing it while wearing suits and ties (e.g. Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, etc...)! If they were indeed hitting 300 yards drives, and the measurement of those hasn't really changed much since then, they had to have the swing speed needed to produce those today, and then some given how much better the equipment (and the ball) is today. I think Arnie, Jack and Greg Norman would all be up there, in terms of swing speed, with the best of them today, save perhaps the long drive competitors.

I forgot to mention that Pacific Grove also has a par 3 as its #10, a short 110 yards or so, followed by a short par 4, about 300 yards, headed towards the ocean. Starting on the back 9 wouldn't really help pace of play and you wouldn't want to start on the 9 with the scenic views, and finish with the 9 in the forest, duh! It is an odd course, for sure, but I have never seen it being really slow. To be fair, I haven't played it extensively...

That's exactly what I was thinking about plumb bobbing, shown in a nice picture/photo. In my mind, PB would only "work" (notwithstanding all the other caveats you mention), if people stood perpendicular to the slope, essentially having already "read" the slope with their feet. And perhaps that's what happens with many people, when the slope is only very minor, but they sure wouldn't stand that way when the slope is 10 or 20, or 45 degrees. Thankfully, there are not many greens with a 45 degree slope! And nobody needs to pump bob to feel or see it. Whether with Aimpoint Express or not, reading the greens with our feet is the best thing we can do as your eyes can easily be deceived. Aimpoint provides a quantitative means of reading the putts and determining the putt lines, but even without it, everyone could easily determine some qualitative read: which way the slope goes and relatively speaking how much. IMHO, experience fills in the gap, ie determines the amount of break or borrow to play for.

Sort of. There is only one hole (#12, I believe), a par 5 that doglegs right, that is really along the coast, notwithstanding the road between the golf course and the actual coast (part of 17 miles drive). You get to feel the wind, the salt and all that and the view is nice, even from the other holes after this one, on the back 9, except the last 2 that go back inland, but it's overly priced for a muni that's not really kept in good condition (greens can be really questionable). Granted, the green fee is nowhere what Pebble Beach commands/demands, but the experience is nowhere near the same either. Hence the "Pebble Beach of the poor" nickname. Back to the par 3 opener(s). The interesting bit is that the right side of both first holes is OB, and is a cemetery. Both holes are at about 90 degrees to each other, you go up, about 160yds, for the first, and then turn right and over 200 yards still uphill, for the second. I am sure there are lots of souls not resting in peace with all the balls flung rightward on those first 2 holes!

Pacific Grove (on the Monterey Peninsula, also called "Pebble Beach of the poor" because the back 9 plays along the same stretch of coast) starts with not one, but two par 3s. Interesting to say the least...

I had managed over the years to get down to around 12, thru self-teaching (yeah, right!), practice and play. It probably took a lot longer to get there than it should have, but the progress was steady and enjoyable... Then, I was stuck, for a couple of years. I took that clue to do something about it: get a coach, a teaching plan and a goal (single digit). I took those lessons (about once every 3-4 weeks), did the drills, added a bunch of practice, and continued to play quite a bit. That dropped about 2 points on the index but I got stuck again between 9 and 10. Since I had attained my single goal digit and not thinking I could get much lower, I just kept going to my coach for a quick look every 6 months or so, but stopped actually working on my game formally, just enjoying playing, and being retired, that means 3-4 times a week. Lo and behold, after well over a year, the index started dropping, bigly. Into the 8s, then a couple of really good rounds got it to 7.2 and it has dropped a bit more since, now 6.6, my lowest ever. I don't feel I am doing anything differently, but I am hitting more greens and my short game and putting are just a little bit sharper too. Go figure! I'll take it while it lasts...

I had been hovering between 9.0 and 10.0 for a while (about a year ago), then I was in the 8.x for a few months, and suddenly after a few really good rounds, the index went down to 7.2, and has been dropping further since, now 6.6, my lowest ever, and a full 3 points lower than a year ago. I am not sure what I did differently to justify it, but I am hitting more greens, the short game is a little bit sharper and so is putting, all without any deliberate practice/drills/etc... That part (working on my game formally) I did, 1 to 2 years ago, including taking lessons. I am guessing I am just seeing the long term results now.

I don't see this as gamesmanship. Perhaps he is always like that, same as in friendly games with nothing on the line. I know I am a bit like that, feeling fairly comfortable pretty quickly with strangers I have never met. I guess that's a byproduct of routinely get paired up with said strangers on the first tee... If you want to be quiet with me, that's fine too. I try to be sociable, but I don't mind the quiet type, competition or not. I just find that games with some banter (with friends typically) are a lot more fun! 🙂

I keep playing a ball for several rounds, usually, unless it's badly damaged from a cart path bounce or a tree. Most of the times, you can keep playing on with those too. I once hit an electric transformer can perched atop a pole, and the ball had a nasty grey paint job (dimpled of course) on it afterwards: I kept playing it for at least another round as I recall. Lately, I found an original Kirkland ball (the 4 piece), abandoned at the edge of some woods. Wanting to try it, I put in play and kept playing it for another 3.5+ rounds, before finally returning it to another wooded area... I really liked that ball by the way. In the end, I tend to leave them in my bag and just put a new one in play... and that's how I end up with several dozens scuffed balls in my heavy (cart) bag. I am sure I would cull them out of there a lot quicker if I had to carry the thing! 😉

Congrats! You can now play for free pretty much anywhere: professional "courtesy", you know... 👍

Although I achieved the challenge a while back, I just wanted to mention that 2 of my recent rounds were my lowest scores this year (74 and 75) and they had 1 and 2 6s respectively: a double on a par 4 on each and a bogey on a par 5 for the 75. Yes, this is a tricky challenge! 😉