sjduffers

The “$22 game”, which is $1 per hole for skins plus $1 per par 3 for “greenies” (closest to the pin, but must make par or better to count) is pretty popular with my group. Other times it’s $5 Nassau with automatic 2 down presses. Sometimes we have 4 or 5 bets going at once (eg 3 or 4 presses) and it makes the last 2-3 holes of a nine really interesting!

Ok, perhaps in the ball search case, as you have to be aware “something” happened so that know you have to replace the ball. But in the other cases (play as it lies), it’s the definition of simpler, as it is no longer different (or a special case) from any other ball hit that now needs to be played as it lies. You don’t even have to be aware that it was a special case before: now it’s just like any other shot, where you hit it, go find it and hit it again! It’s not simpler from the standpoint of the number of times the ball is struck or moved, but it’s simpler from a rule standpoint (and also from the number of strokes used standpoint). 👍

I think the rules are a bit simpler with removal of things like the double hit, hitting your own equipment, stepping on the ball during a search and allowing grounding of clubs in penalty areas (only bunkers have special treatment now) and maybe others that I can’t think of right now. The new rules may also speed up play with shorter lost balls searches, local rule dropping in the fairway for OB and lost balls, flag left in while putting, etc. If nothing else, the rules are easier to read and visualize with the diagrams and should be more approachable to new players. All in all, not bad. ETA I voted simpler a little.

It was at the Ryder Cup, in France. It was a Brooks Koepka drive, going for it on a short par 4 (around 300 yards), like most players were doing. He yelled fore, but of course couldn't be heard and the marshals by the green didn't relay the information in time. It caught that poor lady in the eye, on the fly.

I walk most of my rounds (with a push cart) and feel that I score better when I walk then when I ride. As has been said, it's because of a better rhythm and a chance to absorb the environment better including the layout of the reminder of the hole, when walking. It's probably also because those courses where I ride tend to be less familiar to me and also harder, in general. That said, I don't think it should make a difference in handicaps. There are always circumstances that favor one golfer over an other, e.g. some courses are better suited to people who draw to to people who fade, and some are better suited to long hitters and some are better suited to people that can keep the ball in the middle with narrow tree-lined fairways... Once you decide to play in an event, knowing what it entails, just do the best you can with the skills (handicap) you've got. That's all.

This was a good year for me. I saw my handicap drop significantly, greenside bunker play is more average than a glaring weakness now. To the specifics: 1) Nope. My GIR% is still stuck at 35% It's better now on par 5s (46%) than par 3s (38%) so there is some progress in a sense. The proximity of the nGIRs improved though, which translated in easier up-and-downs (scrambling did improve by about 5%). Pretty much everything else that helps with scoring has improved: scrambling, short game, number of penalties, distance (just a few yards), fewer doubles and occasional triples, with the scoring now being more pars and better than bogeys or worse... 2) I didn't take a lesson on bunker play, but did a little bit of practice and it helped. The main thing for me was to not look at the ball at all, but at that spot 2 inches behind the ball. I sort of had the right idea before about what to do but kept hitting the ball and that's why: don't focus on it, dummy! I am not a bunker magician by any means, but the ball gets out, sometimes close, with a 11.2% bunker save success rate (vs 4% last year). So, success? Kinda. 3) Not only did I achieve my goal but exceeded it by quite a bit: the lowest index was 6.6 for 1 revision, it has stayed below 8.0 since July and below 9.0 for the whole year except for two revisions, at 9.1. This was driven not by GIR% improvement (which did not happen), although the swing did improve some, but by better course management and sharper short game all around (chip, pitch, sand, putting). 4) Yes. I shot 74 (blue tees) on a par 70 course (3.8 differential) and a 71 (also blue tees, on a different but easier par 70 course, 2.5 differential) that I couldn't post as I played that one by myself. 5) Nope. I had 3 more rounds with 3 birdies but the 4th birdie remains elusive. 6) Yes. 3-putt stat is at 3% (so just over 1 3-putt every other round) and the total putts just under 30 for the year, and at 29.2 for 20 rounds at its lowest). I played on really fast(er) greens a handful of times and limited the damage on those to no more than 2 3-putts per round, so somewhat of a success there. It was a good year, I feel and I am probably going to recycle the same types of goal (a bit higher bar) for 2019.

Well done! It could have been a lot worse obviously. Your score on the last hole had a huge influence, so good for you that you came through under pressure.

I like the idea of you being your own best-ball team. If you don't like a shot, hit another one from the same spot and it will usually be better (remember player B is nearly always better than player A, when both A and B are the same person)! Use that second ball as the point from which to hit your next shot. That's a lot more fair, and you may not even need 3 strokes a side, probably just 3-4 overall.

Well, that's mostly your short game then. Instead of banging drivers and long irons at the driving range, hit some wedges and 8 and 9 irons, at a defined target, not randomly. Then spend some serious time at the chipping green and the putting green. You can't be a 20 index with such a good long game and not have your short game being a glaring weakness. You can easily save 5-7 shots (and maybe more) per round by practicing the short game. Note: this does not apply to everyone. She's an exception in the sense that she has a good long game (because she practiced it a lot) but has neglected her short game to the point that it's costing her many shots.

I have down the GolfTEC route, about 25 lessons overall, spaced out every 3-4 weeks, or about 2 years worth of time. I started with a pronounced weak fade, bordering on a slice and an index around 12-13. I had a goal of going to an 8 index. I did the drills and used the time in between lessons to focus on the (usually) only thing the previous lesson was about. The scores went up for a while and didn't drop all that much even after I stopped taking the lessons. But... I am now hitting mostly a gentle draw, except with the driver which is normally a little draw to a gentle fade, but occasionally turns into an ugly duck hook (when I am not sync'd). I have gained a bit of distance (despite having aged a few years since I started), more so with the woods than other clubs. My swing positions are much better (particularly the extension after impact), and the index has dropped to between 7 and 8 (6.6 at the lowest), so a gain of roughly 5, although some of that is in the short game too. More than half of that index improvement has come well after I stopped taking the lessons, because I kept practicing (and playing), focusing on the changes I had made, and reminding me what they were (e.g. reviewing the previous videos of lessons once in while)... I think that to be successful with the GolfTEC approach, you have to buy into the premise that they are trying to fit into a common range of motions that are produced during a "good swing" and that the numbers don't lie, and work on fixing one thing at a time until they are in that range. Of course, you have to put in the effort. In the end, it's not cheap but to me it was worth it. Given my (limited) athletic abilities and age catching up (turning 60 in a few months), I don't think I can improve that much more and will certainly never be scratch or average 280 yds carries, but I'll strive to stay a single digits for several more years: after all, I have only been one for about 1.5 years so far. In the end, I am happy with my experience and journey.

IMHO, unless you are really on that day (hey, it could happen!), prepare to fork over some dough. Your 7-8 4 vs 4 and 8 or 5 and 7, even with 3 strokes a side, is unlikely. You can only count on yourself whereas in a 2-ball, there is a pretty good chance (say 75%) that one guy picks the other one up... Have fun, though and tell us about it!

Another Leupold guy here (GX-3i): I love the small size, quick reading and bright screen. I turn off the beep on lock: it's a gimmick anyway for those who don't know how to aim properly with a rangefinder (hint, make a tripod with your forehead and elbows in your side). In the right hands, you get a reading in under a couple of seconds, and that includes taking it out of its pouch. So much for those who claim that rangefinders are a cause of slow play, lol. I use it on pretty much every approach shot, but also from the tee on every par 3 (where there is the most variance from the distance on the card) and even for some tee shots to get distance to hazards and bunkers, or to find out how far down the fairway the previous group is... ETA: The battery (CR2) lasts maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of the whole year, and I play over 100 rounds per year, so you are not fiddling with recharging batteries all the time, either.

Why don't you? Short game practice is easy... and fun (so many variations to play vs. hit long and straight). I was a very poor short game golfer many years ago, and fixed that before I started working on my long game again. You're right, you'd score a lot better. Also short game is not as hard on your body, so I would definitely spend some time there if I was in your shoes. The main short game key (even with putting to some extent)? Preset your weight forward. It took me waaaayyy too long to figure this out, but when I did, eventually, rapid progress ensued. Good luck!

Health permitting I will never quit either. I am that close to 60 and still improving (I dropped a couple of points in the index in the last year) and even when I won't at some point, I'll move to the next tee box up and keep playing. My long term goal is to shoot my age so realistically, I't will have to wait for another 20 years or so and I'll be on the furthest up tee box by then...

A welcome change by me. I've grown tired of Johnny Miller trying to read putts from the broadcasting booth: "this one is right edge", when the players lines it up two cups to the right and still misses low! That and the overdone anti-Tiger sentiment. He finally had to relent after the win at Tour Championship, but all year long, it was negative stuff... probably worse than Brandel Chamblee.