DaveP043

I agree with @Hacker James, this type of thought pattern can make you focus on the trouble, and most of us tend to hit it where we're focused. Its completely logical to analyze each shot, and decide where the trouble is. But the next step is to decide where you DO want the ball to go. Once you've decided that, you can safely forget about the trouble, do your best to put it out of your mind. Concentrate on your golf, the spot you've decided to hit the ball. Beyond that, I too like LSW, there's lots of great advice in evaluating your game, planning your practice time, and evaluating each shot you'll hit. Good luck!

Never feel bad about asking a rules question, that's how every one of us learned, and are still learning. You might go here: http://www.rcga.org/_uploads/documents/EasyGuide-ENG.pdf For a really brief explanation of some of the most commonly encountered rules. If you play a provisional, anyone is allowed to look for your original ball. You are required to identify it if its yours, and your provisional is then out of play. On the other hand, if you know your ball is gone, or just prefer not to even look for it, and you hit a second shot without declaring that it's a provisional, the original ball is immediately out of play, even if someone else finds it. As Erik outlines, there are a number of other actions that will put the original ball out of play, and make a provisional the "ball in play."

If I replace anything, it will be my driver. The Titleist 910 D2 has been with me for 7 or 8 years now. I'm considering doing a fitting, to try different clubheads and shafts, and see if I can improve a bit. I know there's a fitter at Mid South in Pinehurst who uses Trackman, on an open range, with ProV1 range balls, who has most or maybe all of the major manufacturers' heads and lots of shafts. I'm not sure how much improvement I'll need to see to convince me to spend the money, but I'm at least thinking about it.

I voted his broadcasting career. I actually DO remember him as a player, an extremely quick rise to be one of the very best, but he only stayed at that level for a relatively short time. His broadcasting career has been much longer. In my view, he also changed golf commentary. He was the first I can remember to actually be critical of a shot, or a decision, or anything about any golfer. He's still one of the few who suggests that an upcoming shot is pretty simple, instead of magnifying the difficulty in advance. He was a brilliant player for a short while, he's been a very good announcer for decades.

I'm a big fan of the Snell balls, I've been playing the MTB for over 2 years, and I just received my shipment of the MTB Black. I don't think there's a better ball made for the money. I'll trade a few of those to a friend in order to try the MTB Red that he ordered, and eventually decide which one I prefer.

I believe our friend @GolfLug travels to India on occasion, perhaps he can contribute here.

I saw this too, and it reminded me that I was "accidentally" listening to Hank Haney (I was in the car with XM, and couldn't find music I preferred to Hank) when the USGA announced the newest distance data. He was all over the USGA, claiming that they were "going to roll back the ball" even though the average golfer was driving it something like 208. And this went on for a good 90 minutes (I couldn't resist going back between songs). I've listened to Haney enough to realize that he hates the USGA and Mike Davis and can be a complete loose cannon, and I've never had that feeling from you, but you did bring back the memory. My hope is that the USGA pays attention to the survey results, and that enough golfers agreed with me. I know the USGA paid attention to the survey on the 2019 Rules, and changed a few of the proposed rules, I'm hoping they do the same in this case. And before anyone asks, I don't see a need to roll back anything. I certainly can't see a rationale for deciding that 1990 was the "standard" distance, any more than deciding that Bobby Jones in the 1920 would be the standard distance, or maybe young Tom Morris in the 1860s. It might be appropriate to find a way to minimize equipment-related distance gains into the future, but I'd hate to see a roll-back, and I'd hate to see separate equipment rules for the best players.

So I'm assuming that under CONGU your handicap is a single number, not an "adjustable" thing like the USGA Handicap Index. In a match, you get the difference between your handicap and your opponent's. If you're playing a scratch player, you're right, a stroke on holes 11-18, and two strokes on #1 to #10. The same would apply if you're in a Stableford competition. But if you're playing a match against a 20 handicapper, you only get 8, and he gets none, and your strokes fall on holes with handicap numbers 1 to 8. And if you're in a straight stroke-play competition, you subtract 28 at the end of the day, it doesn't matter where the strokes fall.

Is there a difference between pushing feet down and standing up by extending the legs? In my case, my left leg extends as my hips rotate, at least that's my goal.

Reading this again, I should probably clarify. For me, a feeling of effort isn't always positive, its comes most often when I'm feeling out of sync, when I'm kind of hitting at the ball. On those days, a golf swing is work! When I'm swing with the proper sequence, I'm not feeling like I'm adding effort. I know I'm using my muscles, throughout the swing and through most of my body, but somehow it seems "easy."

Simply put, yes. At least in my opinion. You can certainly swing the club quickly with only your upper body, but I believe that lower body movement and rotation amplifies everything your upper body does. Personally, I feel like proper lower body movement makes it easier to hit the ball solidly with less apparent effort.

LOL, don't hate me please, there's always hope for every player. I met a gentleman named John Derr. Mr. Derr was a journalist of some repute. As a teenager, he was invited to cover the second Masters for a small NC newspaper. He covered 60-some consecutive Masters, first newspaper, then radio, part of the first TV telecast. He was a life-long golfer, and got his first ace when he was just over 90 years old. Its never too late!

Well done, and a belated welcome! One of the (many) cool things about this site is the recognition of some of our achievements. If you post a quick description of your holes in one to this thread: You'll get a nice little badge under your posts. And before you think you're due, I had about 30 years between my first and second aces. Lucky for me, I managed to catch up to my wife.

I put most of the blame (or credit) on the players. The captains control pairings, and that can have some influence. I believe that everyone had an idea of what the course set up would be, so that gets the least possible vote, in my opinion. Captains probably should have picked players who can play the set up well, and players HAVE to play the course appropriately.

The Jubilee is the "third" course there, and its really solid. Obviously the Old Course is the big daddy, and the New gets lots of well-deserved respect. Jubilee is the closest to the sea, and it has a few of the larger dunes to play through anywhere around. I had one of the old-line caddies, and he thought it was almost too tough, but I enjoyed it.