roamin

Well, he is the "Wedge Whisperer". I'm sure he's chipping in 4 or 5 of those.

First vlog in a while, footage is from last week. I still need work on the camera placement/angle, but the golf was decent (shot a new personal best: 8 over, 81).

Not sure what hole/area the penalties happened on, but below are stills of two greens from round one coverage on youtube...it's certainly difficult to see a fringe in some areas but in both shots it's clear that there is a fringe, at least in come places. It's seams reasonable for one to assume it goes all the way around the green, no matter what the surface looks like at any particular point. Again, I'd love to see the area in question, though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQi9a_H_04Y

Why, though? You were correct in pointing out that par is just a number. In any case, the average par 5 on tour isn't a gimme birdie for anyone, or the scoring averages would be lower (https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.144.html). So, I see it as actually leveling the playing field a bit. I like the idea of a few holes on the course providing (good) low scoring opportunities to everyone.

Maybe I misunderstood...this is what I was referring to... Cheers!

While a possibility, the clubhead is moving so fast I doubt that what you (think you) see is what's actually happening. Either way, if the ball is slicing, the clubface is open to the path (i.e. your path is 'out to in' relative to the clubface). You could obviously be different, but you sound like me ~6 months ago. I used to swing down on the ball with the driver and had to play the ball in the middle because moving it forward caused slices and sky-balls just like you mentioned. For me, the sky-balls were a result swinging under the ball and hitting it off the top edge of the driver. The two posts below changed everything for me. I now play it forward and tee it high and literally can't remember the last time I had one of those dreaded sky-balls. The slices still happen occasionally, but typically only when I rush the swing or swing too hard. Historically, I've always been a slicer and my friends know this, but just a couple weeks ago, after hitting a big draw off the tee and away from water, a guy we were playing with for the first time remarked, "well that's certainly safe!" and then I heard my buddy say, "oh, he doesn't go right".

No. Learn to hit it. If I could only play with one club and a putter, I'd use my 3- or 4-iron. If I could add a second, it'd be the big dog. Distance is king! FWIW, the link that @DeadMan posted is good one and my go-to when things get out-of-whack with the driver. Don't give up, it's worth the effort.

It's been comical to watch "the kids today" learn how 'sales' and the retail market works and think that they are the first to discover it or that it's even new.

I figured you knew it was coming.

Ahem...

I'm with David on this one as well... if breaking 90 is still a target and you want to shoot lower scores more often, you need to get the ball closer to the hole on your approach shots. IMO, the two big keys here are: 1. Tee Shots (Full Swing) 2. Approach Shots (Full Swing) The ability to scramble is important, but again, this is also helped by improving your full swing as you'll get closer to the green and have shorter short game shots. My current scoring goal is to break 80 and my primary focus is still the full swing. I still practice my short game, but really just to mix it up a bit and not regress. I've noticed improvement in my short game just from playing more. With that said, a few things that save the day for me when my swing isn't working as well as I'd like it to: 1. A low, curving recovery shot to get out from under trees and back to safety while still advancing the ball toward the green 2. The pitch shot (https://thesandtrap.com/forums/topic/39411-quickie-pitching-video-golf-pitch-shot-technique/) 3. Lag Putting YMMV.

This may be my new favorite post.

Oh my goodness, talk about getting my kids hooked on golf! I knew I liked you.

Then what's the point of grilling?? All of this, plus I like using real wood, either mixed in or by itself. I can cook quick with it too, but it's about the experience... ice cold beverages, kids playing in the yard, me pitching plastic golf balls over their heads to my "green" (outdoor carpet with pvc flagstick and a solo cup in the ground ), and a soft plume of sweet smelling smoke in the background, filling the neighborhood and prompting passersby to ask, "What time is dinner?!" The longer that lasts, the better.