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The reason I thought about it is that there was a study released recently about which countries have the tallest population: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36888541 and I happened to hear one of the authors talking about it on the radio. He basically said some part of height is genetic (one third?) but that most is environmental. Health care and nutrition of both the individual and their mother during pregnancy were major contributing factors. I am pretty sure he talked about being 'middle class' was enough to get you in the taller bracket. So it wouldn't have to be super rich background I guess it means 'on average not poor' which might also overlap with 'people who can afford to play golf'.

Could this be a financial selection thing? The pool of people that play golf tends to be financially advantaged because it is an expensive sport with high barriers to entry. And if financial advantage correlates to being taller on average then increased height in golf pros may be as a result of their backgrounds rather than any advantage in playing the game. I guess it might make sense to compare pga golf pros to doctors or engineers or something to try to filter out the social selection side.

I hit the G driver today against my G30 in exactly the same spec. We swapped clubs every few shots and balls, conditions etc were obviously the same. There was a trackman to measure the results, and the results were the same. You couldn't really tell which club was which looking at the data. if anything I felt that I liked the sound of the g a little bit less than the g30, but it was pretty close. I don't hit driver particularly well so maybe I am below the threshold of really being able to get the most out of them.

The PING rep was at our course today so I went along to see about getting a 3 iron to fill the gap between my 4 iron and 5 wood. This isn't a really big problem for me to be honest but I thought it might be interesting to try a few clubs out. I hit 3 iron in I series (I have s55), g hybrid 3 and 4, 3 and 4 crossover with graphite shaft. None of them really worked because I was either hitting the wrong trajectory or getting too close to the 4i or 5w for distance. Finally the rep gave me a 7 wood to try and it was perfect - right in the middle of my yardage gap and landing really steeply without much roll. I had honestly never thought about a 7w before but it really did seem like the right club. Interested to know if anyone else uses one and how you get on with it.

I bought a Nikon that was on special (I think it is coolshot 150 from memory). It is very basic but does the job and I have found it very useful. If I was getting a new one I would probably want slope and some kind of pin seek. I'd want slope because I think it would be useful to have solid numbers to help train my eyes to see the clubbing difference. Pin seek because I have had a couple of shots where in retrospect I didn't laser the flag properly, hit the yardage and ended up in the bushes behind the green.

I remembered reading something about the state of British teeth - couldn't find the original article I read but this one is similar. (The Simpsons may be a more reliable source depending on your point of view) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12054216/Americans-do-not-have-better-teeth-than-the-British-study-concludes.html Watching Beef yesterday you have to wonder if he is going to be able to keep up with all the high fives and crowd interaction through a 20 year career. At the moment it seems to be working for him and I like watching him play.

Sort of broke 80 for the first time today. Shot 39 on the front nine, and then because there was a group of 3 foursomes in front of me that weren't letting anyone through I did the front nine again, and shot 34! 39+34 = 73 5 birdies and 7 pars with no doubles. I wasn't too unhappy with the 39 but to get an under par nine holes feels like a pretty big deal for me so I'm stoked! It also gives me some confidence that I can start shooting in the 70's on a full 18 pretty soon.

I thought he did pretty well - but then again shouldn't be surprised because he is developing a bit of a track record of showing he can keep things together under unusual pressure!

This isn't a way to make money directly and doesn't replace whatever your main gig is, but if I was in your situation I would think about setting up my own website and start writing or filming golf related content. It seems to me that as a pro your brand is very important and will last you a lifetime so now is always a good time to start building it. Helping people find you and giving them an easy way to get in touch has got to be worth a lot, especially if you are in a career where you may move jobs frequently. There is no guarantee anyone will visit your site or watch your content but if you think of it as an extra string to your bow it could very well pay off. Every time you take a lesson let people know about your site or refer them to a video. Whenever you do any publicity (like flyers for your lessons or business cards) make sure you have your website on it. If you have something to say about golf then shoot a video or write an article and say it. The more practice you get at those things the better, even if nobody looks at them in the beginning. If you can build an email list over time then that can be a very valuable tool for whatever golf related things you end up doing in the future.

Shot 80 yesterday which is my best score since starting up golf again last year. I was 2 under after 7 so part of me feels a little bit disappointed that I let it slip! I was feeling so good on the tee at 8 that I thought I'd hit a little draw into the lateral slope of the fairway to get a better position. Unfortunately my ball missed the ground and went into the trees. Took a few holes to get the wheels back on and back to playing shots I can actually hit.

I would maybe think about walking for the practice round, just to be able to see more of the course at ground level. But I guess it depends how much of the course is accessible by cart. have you got yardage and green charts that you can make notes on and check yardages with?

Do you have a number for how much more distance you are getting out of it? I play the G30 @ 11.5 and have seen some reviews talking about the G being longer but is it a significant difference? Unless the distance difference was significant I think I'd be more interested in the sound and feel of the G when you hit the ball. The G30 to me doesn't sound great and feels a bit odd when you make contact but it goes pretty straight so I can live with it! If they've changed that aspect on the G then I might be tempted to give it a go.

No, like I said, we did ask several times. I don't have a transcript of the entire set of conversations so I can't type it out for you but the net result is we asked, they said no. Whatever their reasoning if they don't move out of the way then you can't play down that hole safely. My OP is meant to be more about the wider issue and if there is something structural that the club could or should be doing about it, rather than this specific day.

I think their view was something along the lines of we always book this time to be first out on the course.

We walked off at about 10:30 when we realised it was looking like 5+ hrs. That's when I started thinking this is crazy to impact the whole course like this from the get go. It seems to me it is down to the club to sort it out as ultimately it affects them. I certainly wouldn't take a guest there on a Saturday or recommend it to a friend because after talking with some of the groups behind us it sounded like it happens most weekends! How that situation can persist is a bit of a mystery to me but maybe there is a reason.

It doesn't bother me at all what people wear on the golf course. Given the choice I would probably prefer to be a member of a club without a code rather than with one, all other things being equal. However, most clubs near me have a dress code and generally the nicer the course the stricter they are. Even over my golfing lifetime the dress codes seem to be getting less strict so in another hundred years, if golf is still around, my prediction is that they will have disappeared!

I played my first (and probably last) round on a Saturday morning this week at the course where I'm a member. In front of us were two fourballs made up of a group that always play together at that time every week (first group out at about 6:45 am). They were slow. Like really slow. We gave up on the twelfth because it was so bad after repeated attempts to ask to play through. But it got me thinking that this group of eight guys were impacting everybody else who was playing on that course that morning. Slow play that day wasn't some complicated combination of factors that was really hard to even conceptualise. It was basically that the two groups at the front of the line were playing like they wanted to spend their entire day on the golf course and apparently the club doesn't have anything in place to make sure it doesn't happen. So it made me wonder if you are one of the first groups out do you have a responsibility to play quickly so that the course doesn't get clogged up early? Do any golf courses actually have rules to address this so that if you set out before say 9am you are told you are on the clock? I was thinking of suggesting something to the club because these guys are going to be there every Saturday all summer and it can't be good for the reputation of the club or for business.

After a particularly bad experience this last Saturday we went to the pro-shop for some guidance on this very topic. Their advice was take out your phone and give us a ring, and we will send out the course marshal to move things along. We were the third group out at 7:10 am but unfortunately in-front of us were two four balls who were 'regulars' that allegedly 'always' play at that time. They must have held up the entire course that day (we walked off at 12). And the good news is they will be back again next week at the same time!

Agree with this - I think the real question is where is the best fitting centre within travelling distance for me! If you can get the range of stock and time on a trackman or gc2 etc with someone who knows what they are doing fitting wise then I think that is worth its weight in gold. (Maybe there should be a thread of recommended fitters somewhere?) fwiw I like the Callaway XR 3w - liked it so much I'm buying the 5w.

I agree - and I could see as I get older I would likely be more interested in 'car as a service' rather than the hassle of owning a vehicle outright. Also in rural areas for public transport you can have a fleet of smaller vehicles that run more 'on demand' rather than one big bus that only goes on a predetermined route and spends a lot of time empty or less than half full. Plus you get more value out of your vehicles as they can be more easily run 24/7, and in theory they last longer with less maintenance and lower running costs as they will be driven more efficiently. It might not be for everyone but the benefits for a large number of people could be significant.

That is probably at a pedestrian crossing - after red it means if there is nobody crossing cars can start moving again but you have to give way if you see a walker. It is probably designed to get traffic moving again if there is nobody crossing, rather than just having cars stopped at red waiting for an empty crossing. Did you get told about the congestion charge and how to pay it?

I could believe that your chances of getting bitten by a mosquito out on a golf course are higher than in a stadium or indoor venue so it could be that there is more risk. But mostly I just don't think the players are feeling it. And as much as some might say they have a responsibility to help grow the game by participating I feel that whoever had the idea to get it added into the Olympic roster has done a very bad job of selling the reasons why.

We've been watching a bit of tennis recently (Wimbledon) and my daughter asked me 'why do they keep making those noises when they hit the ball?' Good question! We did a bit of research online and maybe it doesn't make any difference and players do it because other players do it, but apparently it could be because it puts off your opponent (even if only subconsciously your brain uses some processing power to check the sound and make sure it isn't a sabre tooth tiger) but also there was some research that suggested that a grunt can help you hit a few percent faster. So obviously it go me thinking about golf : (1) do you think grunting when hitting a golf ball would make a difference to how far you hit the ball? (2) if grunting did give you an extra 5% speed (e.g. going from 100 to 105mph = 10 yds of carry on the driver?) - will you start grunting?

Tiger?

He is reported as saying 'For the sake of one week out of every four years, I feel it's a risk I'm potentially willing to take.' I read it a couple of times and wasn't sure if that is a definite or a maybe?!