ProfessorGAC

Thanks. I found it. I just didn't scroll down far enough.

I was around a little while here, but dropped away and kind of forgot to come back. But, i remember liking this forum, so i'm back. I'd like to edit my "What's in the bag" but i can't figure out how to edit sig line. I've updated my profile, but would like to change the sig line because i do have different gear. Thanks in advance.

I'm a technical manager for a chemical company. Trained as a scientist. Still "do" science on the job, but really manage the engineering team for a $300 million dollar plant. Not an engineer though. Trained more in theory and less in the practical. I just know the practical now because i've been around forever.

While i've never had a hole in one, i've a whole bunch of eagles. I believe it's up to 16. Could be off by one, in either direction, but pretty sure that's right. Some of them were pitches onto a par 5, so only 30 to 60 yards out. Still luck, though. My first was on a par 5 at the course i played at in junior high and highschool. I was 15. I remember it was the last year i couldn't drive myself to the course. The shortest par 5 was about 480 or so. I hit a really good drive (maybe mid 240's). Remember that i was playing in the early 70's at that point, so there were no metal drivers, balls didn't have the consistency or performance of today's ball, etc. With modern equipment i might have been hitting 10 or 15 yards farther. We'll never know. I hit a 4 wood. (For reasons i don't remember, i didn't have a 3 wood. Driver, 4 wood and the irons.) I hit the 4 wood really good and i'm not sure why, maybe i hit a hard spot or something, but the ball ran forever. I probably hit the 4 wood within 15 yards of how far i hit the driver. So, i was to the right of the green and just right of the trap. I pitched it over the trap and i actually hit it too firmly. But, it hit the stick DEAD CENTER and dropped into the hole. If it misses the flagstick, it goes 15 feet past the cup. But it didn't. My best eagle though, was about 8 years ago. Playing a 410 yard par 4 into a 20 mph wind. Hit my drive as good as i can hit one, and when i was in my late 40's that probably meant mid-260's. For sure no farther. But, into that wind, it didn't even go 240. So, i'm nearly 180 out, pin is back, and i'm still hitting at that wind. So, i hit 5 wood, figuring it would lose another 25 or 30 yards, so it would go around 200 into that wind. Didn't think i could get the hybrid 3 to the green, especially with the pin back. I hit the dead straight but a little low. But, i could tell it was going to roll up onto the green so i put the club back and got in the cart. I drove up and the ball wasn't on the green. Thought maybe it rolled all the way through the green. I look behind the green in the rough back there, and nothing. The guy i'm playing with (husband and wife in another cart) says, "What are you doing back there?" I tell him, i'm looking for the ball. He says "It went in the hole. What do you think we were clapping for?" So, i made an eagle from 180 out into a 20 mph wind. Almost like a double eagle on a short par 5. Best hole i ever played and i never saw the ball go in!

He's got to have one terrible accountant. Top federal tax rate isn't even 40%. Now at 10% CA taxes, and that being a deduction on federal returns, that's only 46%. The largest part of payroll taxation is FICA and that maxes out at around $120k. So, he doesn't pay any of that on the other $44.88 million. That means his tax rate is around $8500 out of $45 million. That's under two hundredths of a percent. So, he has to pay both halves. Now we're around 3 eightieths of a percent. Since some part of his income is yield on what he already made in the past, he's paying 15 to 30% on those monies. And there would be no payroll tax impact on that money. Methinks he really doesn't know how much he's paying in taxes. No rich people pay that much in taxes. Even Warren Buffet, who has 100 times what Phil has, has acknowledged publicly that he pays under 30%. He made the comment that his secretary's total tax burden is lower than his, and she pays a total of 30%. It was in Fortune Magazine. Not only should he have shut up about this, but if was going to puke his feeling out, he should have at least been right.

Too long for a round to last. The four hour round is an anachronism. It's based upon four guys walking. Most weekend players are in carts, the carts cruise at 12 to 15 mph. Since most people, carrying clubs, walk a little over 3mph, and the typical course (including walking from green to tee) is about four and a half miles, it takes 80 or so minutes to WALK the course. That number should be cut by a MINIMUM of 50%. The goal should be to lower the time a round ought to take to 3.5 hours tops. My two guys and me play really early. I'll admit it's not the most crowded course, but we're usually first or second off. It's typical for us to play 18 in two and a half hours. Scores for the crowd will be typically between 2 and 12 over. Two of us are 4 to 5 and the other guys is about a 10. So, we're not hackers but we're not scaring the guys on TV with the quality of our game, either. And, i'm willing to acknowledge that people not hitting the ball as straight cause one guy to drive to one side of the fairway and the other to the opposite side. That of course takes time off the clock. But, i'm talking an hour extra. Four hours is too darned long for a round of golf to last. Creating a goal of 4 hours means they're really not trying to speed up play, they're just trying to slow the rate of increase in the time it takes to play a round. The goal needs to be far more ambitious.

I'll participate. Probably won't play, but would like to meet and greet. I'm in the far south reaches of Chicagoland and golf is really cheap down here, so i have a hard time justifying playing expensive courses. And to me, anything much over 30 bucks is expensive. And, i can't walk the course because i have MS and RA. Can still play some (finished 4.5 last year), but can't walk 4 miles carrying clubs anymore. So, when i say 30 bucks, i'm including the cart. Yeah, golf is cheap down here. GAC

I'm in complete agreement with the OP. I'm a little better than a 5 (CDGA) on a course with a rating of 71.3 and slope of 128. I NEVER work the ball. I believe that's for competitive players well into the plus category. The mechanics of the swing dictate that someone who needs to hit it 55 times before they putt is someone who should do very little to change the swing, shot to shot. They should just try to hit the best shot they can with their natural trajectory, shape, and positions. The odds are in your favor if you do that. It's already hard enough for a bogey golfer to hit the ball they way they want to, without changing things or cluttering the mind with changes. Now, i do alter trajectory off the tee into the wind, but that's just a matter of lowering the tee. I just try to hit the ball with my normal tiny draw (15 feet at 250 yards) and low trajectory. Trying to do anything different, shot to shot, just seems like asking for trouble. Now to those who were talking about trouble shots, i get that. Since i'm a percentages player, if i'm behind a tree i'd probably just hit a little punch and make sure i did no worse than bogey, rather than try to hit a hero shot. But, that's a style choice, not a technique thing. I prefer to keep my score under control by making sure i make my 14 pars and 4 bogeys, and not try to be more aggressive than my skills permit.

I'm with you. I don't get the "i don't have sympathy for singles" thing. So, if someone reallly enjoys the game, but don't have any friends that do, they should give up the game? I play alone A LOT. Some of the folks at the course i like don't like to play as early as i do. Only one of my friends plays, and he plays as many rounds in 2 years as i do in a month. So, when i go to the club, there is about 50% chance i'll play alone. I like the game with or without company. And, i have NEVER asked to play through. That being said, i play REALLY fast, (125 minutes for 18 holes when alone, 2:45 with a twosome) and if there's nobody in front of the next group, i really do expect to be asked to go through. It's common golf courtesy. Like i said, i'd never ask to go through, but i have expectations about being asked, and with my pace of play, i'm never going to be in the way of the group that just let me through. Being discourteous just because somebody is playing alone, is ridiculous.

Requiring walking? Really? I have MS and cannot walk and carry the clubs for the 4+ miles. I can walk the four miles, but not if i'm carrying or dragging the clubs. Sometimes yes, but not routinely. So, your plan would have me barred from the course, because i simply couldn't walk it. Doesn't seem right. GAC

I don't take off my wedding ring. (I think it would act like it's welded there.) But, there are no stones in it. My wife gave me a b-stone ring that i wear on my right hand, and i always take that off, along with my watch. So, i guess i'm not a yes or a no, but a sort of.

I've done that too. It wasn't boring for me! Not at all! (Well, i did only hit 11 greens in reg. So, i had to do 7 up and downs.) Another time, on the back nine i made 4's on every hole. Bogeyed both par 3's, birdied both par 5's, and pars on all the 4's. Pretty easy to calculate that score, huh? Learned 9 x 4 in 3rd grade, doing the times tables!

For us, the two of the three hardest par 4's on the course are 1 and 2. One because it's the longest and has fairway and greenside bunkers, (plus a tricky, undulating green). Two because it's 390 yards but with a 30 degree dogleg right at the 150 yard marker. Trees left, trees right, and bunkers through the turn. Even though i expect to shoot in the mid to high 70's, if i play those two in bogey, i'm ok! I know i can roll up some pars as the day goes on. Then if i make 3 more bogeys the other 16 holes, i still shoot 77. Toss in a birdie, and i'm 76. Anytime i make those first two in par, i'm happy.

Not me. I'm a "skinner". I just scar the grass because my angle of approach at impact is too shallow to get much spin. I'm happy if i hit a wedge and it only goes 8 feet forward! I play a lot of greens like i'm in Britain, or something. Land it short and run it up. I hear "just like the British Open" a lot! The only time i get any real juice on the ball is from the bunker. GAC

A silly post by someone who clearly wasn't watching. Just silly.

That shot on 18 is one of his best ever. Just when he needed it, he hit that shot to 10". That's the stuff. And Tiger has more "stuff" than anyone i've ever seen. I've been watching golf for 35 years, or more. That was THE STUFF!

Cool for you. I had a fantastic nine the other day. Front nine, not so much. But, back nine i played and got a nosebleed. So i understand your excitement.

LOL! I'm not laughing at you, but at me! I have a very shallow angle of attack on nearly everything i hit. I probably hit the ball with less backspin than any 4 handicap in the world! LOL, again! I'd love to help you out, but geez, if i knew i wouldn't have had to read the other people's advice here! I even read the Pelz article, and i like Dave a lot, but i do all those things, and i hit the ball crisply. I just can't spin the stupid thing. Perhaps i should quit being so cheap and buy better golf balls! GAC

That's some good advice! I've heard before that people will tend to block or push more when wearing more layers of clothes. So, it makes sense that could cause a fade too. Nice post, Higgy GAC

Cool topic. I strongly believe that there are limits to "buying a game". Now, i KNOW that i wouldn't hit 70's style blades the way in hit my Mizuno irons because they are far less forgiving. I play ok, but i don't hit every shot on an area the size of a dime on the face. So, those decent, but still not perfect hits would never be as good. As far as driving, i have a titanium driver. I hit it straight, but when i went from stainless to titanium, i didn't notice any real improvement in distance. If it did go up, it wasn't enough to matter! If i hit it an extra 4 yards, i'm still hitting 6 iron. That 4 yards doesn't put the 7 iron in my hands. Honestly, i think the problem for a lot of folks is that they spend too much on drivers and not enough on putters. I have, a few times in my golf history, changed to higher tech putters that made me a better putter. The XG7 i have now has made my much more reliable in the 4 to 8 foot range, which saves a lot of strokes. Yeah, i worked on my stroke too, but i did that before i got the better putter. So, i think the technology in putters could really help a lot of folks, but they are busy spending $500 on a driver instead of $120 on a better putter. The rest of the tech i don't think matters that much. Like i said, there would be a huge disadvantage to playing 60's or 70's technology because of forgiveness. I just have a hard time believing that things change that much year by year. GAC

It was used appropriately. And it was meant to be condenscending. Pseudoscience is not mark to deep intellect. Being a grammar nazi isn't either.

And from Hogan, Nicklaus, and Trevino, as well. If it's good enough for them, it sure is good enough for me! GAC

If you say so. Apparently you don't know any stockbrokers. Looking at stocks isn't the mark of genius. If you knew many, you'd know that to be the truth. And, since the vibrations of the club would occur after impact, the difference in vibration on different kinds of turf is apropos of nothing. Knowing that doesn't make one smart. It means that you don't really understand science.

Fortunately, only an umbrella that i did leave in the cart. I went back about 20 minutes later and it was gone. Since i played there all the time, the people that worked there wouldn't have taken it. Someone else did. But, that's small potatoes. GAC