jlbos83

Of course. But a group of two, on the whole, will not match the spending of a group of four. If you never had the opportunity to make the tee time, you obviously won't be buying anything.

I voted yes. If you book the time, and have no shows, you should pay. But that's only the course end of it. (And there is still the issue of not purchasing anything else in the shop, or any food, or any beverages, etc.) If it is an in demand course, and you book with no intent of every spot you book having a golfer in it, your selfishness is preventing someone else the opportunity to play.

In this thread I read a thing that I see in a lot of similar discussions. It seems that a fair number of people call any ball other than the first played from the tee (and, to be fair other locations, though less often) a "provisional", even when it is not. As is the case here. If the player didn't want to play the ball in the woods, and went back to the tee that would not be a provisional ball, of course. The location and status of both of the previous balls is known, there is nothing provisional about it!

I am not sure those would have ever complied, so I don't think they would be grandfathered in as "older" clubs. That might take some research.

The more I think about it, even after reading the USGA stuff, the less I like it. As someone above pointed out, the "elite" players are only playing on a few courses. The "little" courses I play on don't need to be made longer to hold them, they don't play there! Actually, I would like to see what would happen if they played the little greens, shaggy fairways, hardpan rough, tight doglegs, etc. , that some very non-pro courses have. (A subject for another day, but ....) The big jumps in distance happened when "they" let ball and club technology change without regulating more at the time. Now, we are where we are, and golf seems to be popular, the pros can shoot low scores sometimes, at some courses, but there are still a lot of bogeys out there! A few courses (Augusta) add distance to protect their designs, others change rough and bunkers, other allow the scores to be what they are. And no one seems to be hurt by that. As long as the regulations keep things about where they are (other than unregulatable swing speed), what's wrong with the status quo? What is changing the ball protecting the world from? If they want to tweak the ball regulations back for everyone over the course of a few years, I could live with that, though it seems unnecessary. I imagine that could be done without much controversy at all, in fact most might support it.

They only have to if one of them does. But I suppose it isn't likely that one would, so they will all have to, if this happens. If they want to roll it back, just do it for everyone (as much as possible focusing on the top end), and be done with it. I just don't see the point in the whole exercise.

Why would ball manufacturers want to build a different ball (or set of balls) for maybe 1000 players? I just don't see it. I could see a MLR that can't be enforced if they don't buy in.

I am not fan. First, not a fan of bifurcation. Second, what are the ball manufacturers going to do? Focus on balls for the pros, for advertising, or for the rest of us? Or some confused mish-mash? If they want to roll back the ball, just roll back the ball. Maybe some courses will have to move a few tees up for "the rest of us", most will probably play just fine, though we might be disappointed that we shoot one or two higher on the day. I don't really understand why it is so important to dial back the top level players? They are only competing against other top lever players, it's a level playing field for them. So what if they can score a bit better than they did 50 years ago? Though that often doesn't seem to be true. I guess I just don't get the why?

It seems that the USGA could reconcile the Definition and the Rule! A person who carries, transports (such as by cart or trolley) or handles a player’s clubs during play is the player’s caddie even if not named as a caddie by the player, except when done to move the player’s clubs, bag or cart out of the way or as a courtesy (such as getting a club the player left behind). and: Whether or not the player has a caddie, any other person who walks or rides along with the player or who carries other things for the player (such as a rain-suit, umbrella or food and drink) is not the player’s caddie unless they are named as such by the player or also carries, transports or handles the player’s clubs. don't line up very well, at least to me!

Here's the definition of "caddie" according to the USGA. Caddie Someone who helps a player during a round, including in these ways: Carrying, Transporting or Handling Clubs: A person who carries, transports (such as by cart or trolley) or handles a player’s clubs during play is the player’s caddie even if not named as a caddie by the player, except when done to move the player’s clubs, bag or cart out of the way or as a courtesy (such as getting a club the player left behind). Giving Advice: A player’s caddie is the only person (other than a partner or partner’s caddie) a player may ask for advice. A caddie may also help the player in other ways allowed by the Rules (see Rule 10.3b). It sounds to me that as soon as the other guy acted as a caaddie, he was a caddie, and no declaration of such is required.

I voted Champions Tour, though it is a close call. I am not sure he has the temperament to be the commissioner. He has not had a life where he has had to facilitate compromise, and I think that is probably an important part of being commissioner. Plus, I believe he wants to compete even if his body disagrees! Answering the unasked question, I'd prefer Champs tour since it would be more fun to watch him play than sit behind a desk!

How do you vote on each? Can "golf" be used as a verb (i.e. "I'm golfing right now!")? - I'm not losing sleep over it, I have to confess that I have said, I am golfing. Though I prefer "playing golf". If you make a 2 on a par five, is it an "albatross" or a "double eagle"? - It's darn good. Call it whatever you want! You earned it! Is a sandy pit area a "bunker" or a "sand trap"? - Neither. The way I play them, they are hell. "Tied," "All Square," or "Halved"? - They all work for me. I kind of like the traditional "AllSquare", but I do't have any problem with the other terms. "Alternate Shot" or "Foursomes", and "Better Ball" vs. "Fourball"? - I get the "Alternate Shot" and "Better Ball" are more descriptive, but over time, I prefer the traditional. "British Open" or "The Open"? - Either, it's the same thing. "Hole Location" or "Pin Location" or "Pin Placement"? - Probably "Hole Location", thought who cares? The problem is getting the ball to the bottom of said hole!

I appreciate hearing your experience. Saves me learning the hard way! I will stick to Sun Mountain, and make it work!

I am a fan of my MGI ZIP Navigator AT (at least to now only at Costco in the US). Battery lasts over two rounds of the courses I play (probably would make three, based on the indicator, but testing that theory is not on my to do list). I can put my gallon insulated thermos in my bag, and pretty much anything else I want to carry. I confess to not using it in the absolute heat of summer here, but in a hear and a half I am well over 200 miles. I have dumped it, but not lately, I just had to learn how to drive it! Only nits I can pick is that the drink holder is a bit fragile and that my bag will sometime turn on the cart (I have a C-130 by Sun Mountain). Oh, and the clip on one end of the lower strap broke, but if I put that end on first, the tension hold it in place fine. I am thinking of getting a bag through MGI made to fit the base when my bag ever wears out. Everyone that sees it comments, and seems to like it, so that's a positive. I would not be walking at all without it. With the $10 or so savings per round that I use it, it will be paid for in about 150 rounds, that's not that far off!

At first glace, it sounds silly, but I can actually see it being a decent idea! Except for pin collect! On the GPS and pin collect issue... Remember that this a a small, cheap, GPS. So accuracy is not going to be really great. What should be better is relative accuracy, within a smallish area in a smallish time, as the error inducing factor should be "similar". But, that smallish period of time can't be too small, as the GPS does have an update rate. I have noticed that the GPS yardages will change noticeably from the moment I arrive at my ball, and the time I am ready to hit. So if you pin collect "on the fly", you could be adding some error. Even in the best case putting stats are going to be a bit fuzzy. But pausing for a couple of counts before collecting should help.