Sidehatch

Shot an 82 yesterday, and my driver was horrible for 11 of the 14 driver holes. Short game was pretty good, and putter was better because I practiced on the carpet before the round as our local course still has the practice greens closed. Also was putting 9 iron less than 10 feet from the hole a few times, and had two birdies. Highlight of the day was a 20-25 foot uphill putt for par, center cup.

Shot an 84 last Saturday at Brookside #2 from the whites, which had tiny greens and sucker pins all day. Had a enjoyable laid back round where I actually made a few putts, long irons were a little off, and my wedges were perfect at some key times that saved me 10 strokes. (Did have about 3-4 stinkers with the wedges too.) Shot of the day was 86 yards in with a tree in the way, so I hit a fade through a gap in the tree that looked like this > that went 84 yards. Missed the birdie putt but was happy to not be in tree jail and pick up a par. My problem with the long irons was I was hitting them farther than usual. That meant I was flying trouble and traps up front, but also going over the back of the green. It was certainly better than being in the sand all day!

Almost broke 80 for the third time in my life - knew I needed a birdie on par 5 18th hole to get 79. Striped a drive, 200+ yard hybrid, then put a 86 yard chip on for a 12 foot putt. Had the line, swore I wasn’t gonna leave it short, and .... hit it a little too hard and it lipped out of the cup. Easily knocked in the 3 footer for 80 and am very happy. Best round of the year after many ups and downs, lessons, completely reformatting my swing, and am still learning. Best part was that I had about 7 other shots that could have gone in, ie putts or chips. Only had three dribblers today (hybrid, hybrid, 9 iron). Lastly, when I did have a really bad shot, my next shot was surprisingly good - so wasn’t letting a bad shot create another bad shot. Golf is fun!

We've all had those days where you get paired up with some tool who is just going to rub you the wrong way all day. Gotta love that feeling as you leave the teebox on Hole 1! Seems like I always take a month off after that happens.

Shot an 86. Usually play the blues but today they were teed up with the blacks. As with my last round, I can count the eff ups that led to me not sniffing 80 - including a par putt a half inch short and an approach shot with a bunch of chatter mid backswing. What I was most happy about is that I did that with a C driver all day. Didn’t have a slice the day and week before, but I brought it with me today haha. So instead of 260-280 drives I was 230, but making up for it. Most importantly, I stopped turning easy two putts into three putts by working on my distance/speed. Saved me a lot of frustration. And for the most part, I stopped overthinking shots and just committed to them, and that worked out pretty well. Felt nice for a change.

Here in Southern California, there are simply better courses that can be played for $100-$300 less per round. From a strictly monetary perspective, kind of hard to justify when those are far closer to me. If I'm paying $200-$400 a round, I'll consider it if I'm on vacation or on a trip, but it better be nice (Maui, Cancun, etc). My old golf teacher has a relative who worked at Trump National and said the Donald bankrolled his relative's wedding because he was a good employee, so he was obviously very pro-Trump because the guy apparently got a free $50,000 wedding. I'm not a fan of the Donald, so even if he had the best course in the country and it was in my backyard, I'd still strongly consider skipping it. Without getting into politics, my family from South Jersey knew back in the 80s and 90s that the guy was a scam. I remember going to his Atlantic City properties and thinking "what a dump" compared to the places I'd see in Vegas. I wouldn't be surprised if his golf courses have some similarities.

Shot a 88 on Saturday from the whites on a 119 slope 6025 yard course with plenty of hills and trees. My driver game was way off for 75% of the day which is unusual, but at least I know the path to get down below 80 is to improve the longer clubs and putter now. Did have the wedges working, was able to put 50 and 100 yard shots close to the pin, and got the ball out of the two traps I hit into without risking destruction.

I did a gamblers six pack on who would win, made the bets on Wednesday. I threw a few extra bucks on BK because he’s been playing well but is also one of the longest drivers, and this was touted as an incredibly long course. BK and DJ were my safe bets at 11-1 and 10-1, long shots were Spieth (63-1!!!), Finau 40–1, Bryson 44-1, Fleetwood 26-1. When I saw Spieth at 63-1, I had to double check if a) he’s healthy and b) if he was still actually playing. That was clearly a mistake by the bookies. He had played well coming into this one and while he didn’t look happy, he has the tools and the drive to put it all together. He could win either Open and be a 40-1 play. Honestly, golf betting needs trifectas. quinellas, superfectas, etc. Sweating a $5 trifecta that pays four figures would be a lot of fun lol

Shot a 90 a few days ago. Meant to post it on here. Best hole of the day was a birdie on a par 4 - drove 280 and almost holed out from 70 yards away. That hole used to drive me crazy, it’s what made me take my first lessons 15 years ago. Now I tapped it in for a bird and my buddy jokingly compared my approach shot to Phil Mickelson And if anyone thinks they had a bad day today, I put a $600 hole in my ceiling why trying to do rat prevention in the attic, and also just sprained my knee. I would have gladly traded all that in for a bad day at the golf course.

Shot an 87 on Saturday, which was about 6-10 shots better than my recent trend, and more in line with what I'm used to playing. Probably would have done better if it wasn't for half-sandy greens, some of which were very slow while others were almost normal speed. Oh and the guys behind our foursome complained about playing slow, so I invited them to play through. We finished in 4:40, so if they want to rush, that's okay, but a walking foursome on a hilly municipal golf course playing in 4:40 is pretty good in my book. I wasn't the guy slowing down the group, but I do hate feeling rushed.

Put up a 50 on the front nine of an easy course in horrible winds. I had a few mishits which resulted in lost balls, but otherwise was driving the living heck outta the ball. After shooting an 80 last November, I've been in the 90s ever since. Need more accuracy on the mid-to-short range chips now.

Thanks, my coach has instructed me to put the ball back. Because of that, I tend to skull it some of the time and can hit it beautifully at other times. On the other hand, when I put it mid or slightly forward I can sometimes have more consistency. I'm going to approach with the open mind you've recommended, as every lie is different.

Well, I paid $75 for the "premium rentals" and rented the Callaway Rogues I've been interested in and played in some 30-40 mph winds. I found a putter that I really enjoyed and made some big putts with. Had some problems with distance control, but as the low-handicappers I played with said, it's not worth bringing your clubs on the plane if you are only playing one round. If you're playing multiple rounds, then bring 'em. Those low handicappers said they only cost about $25 to bring them on the airline, and that you can even buy a metal tube around the top of your travel bag on some golf sites to protect your clubs. And on the problems with distance control, I hit a hybrid 230+, which is pretty rare for me. I think I usually max out at about 210-220 yards. But the wind was so strong it was definitely a factor, one of the low handicappers just gave up on a hole after a 4-putt, so that definitely threw a wrench into our games. The thing I was most worried about - driver - wasn't the club's fault, it was more some swing errors on my part. So I was pleased with the new driver's control. All in all, great advice everyone! Mahalo!

Good point, I think I'm going to be on the market for some new ones in 2019. And I'm a 14 handicap, and I agree, it's usually more my fault than the clubs' fault.

Thanks guys, rental clubs sounds like pretty good advice. Only thing is I am used to hitting a draw driver, draw hybrids, and my 58. While those clubs are key to my game, it’s also not worth the risk of breaking those either. Why not just avoid the hassle and do some rentals then!

I'm headed to Kaipulua Maui, and want to play the Old Blue course because it's close to the hotel. I'd love to ship my own clubs. I don't own a travel bag, but am considering buying a cheap one. Unfortunately, bringing the clubs as checked baggage on the airplane doesn't work due to kid's luggage requirements. What service do you recommend? Should I buy a travel bag? How long before should I make arrangements?

Shot an 87 at Hansen Dam while walking in the tough heat. We all got gassed at the same time, then all recovered around the same time. Hybrid long clubs were off (pushing them right), but I made up for it with short game. Best shot of the day was a par 3, into the bunker. Second shot hit the lip and rolled into my footprint. Hit that out onto the fringe, asked them to pull the stick, and made about a 30 foot putt with about a 6 foot right to left break into the center cup. I’m happy with that score on a day where I was almost never GIR, but giving myself a chance at pars still.

Goal: Break 80 again. Did it last year, now it's time to repeat and beat the 79 I shot last year. Improve my iron play. This has been much better the last two rounds in June, so I'm happy to be on the right path with this one. Make more birdie putts. I was 0-5 last round, and cost me a sub-80 round. That's it! Good luck and hit 'em straight!

Reason why I was disappointed is he started off one shot back on the day, then it looked like the run was on with holes 9, 10, 11. Then on Hole 12 approach he hooked his approach into the sand, which torpedoed his chances. Then that got into his head a little and he hit another bad shot, bogeying 12. It was disappointing because it killed the run, and pretty much took him out of the competition. By the time 18 rolled around, he was ready to get off the course. I am pretty sure he'll put it all together one of these majors though. He's been playing pretty well this year, and now has notched strong appearances in both majors and a few other tourneys. Finau will be back!

IDK when it became a thing, but the most memorable music moments for me are: Playing the last few holes of a nice country club with the mansion up above playing Sinatra full blast every Sunday. Not a big Frank fan, but it's a pretty cool vibe. Playing at a public course next to a Jewish festival with lots of Israeli hardcore techno. Most people didn't seem to mind, found it funny. It probably cost all of us a few shots though. Playing at another muni across from a big event, with DJ Cash Mooooooney on the mike. He was so bad it was hilarious. I can't imagine he gets many gigs.

I was disappointed in Finau. I had a few bucks on him at 74-1. It's not so much that he didn't win (can't be holding your breath on 74-1 guys to win), but how he went about falling out of the competition on Sunday. I think he wins a major someday. What do you guys think?

The reason why I did that is I was implementing 3-5 New swing tips after each lesson. After one lesson, I hit 200 shanks the next two times at the range before finally learning that new skill. For me it worked, for others it might not.

Go to your local municipal course and ask who teaches. I played poorly for about a decade before signing up for a lesson 6-pack that cost about $180. Take one lesson every 3-4 weeks and go to the driving range at least twice a week, minimum 45 minutes each time. And go play a round at least 1-2 times a month, preferably on weekday afternoons when it’s empty so there is nobody rushing you. If you decide you like the game, you can get all spendy with new clubs. But I would go with used clubs at the start just in case you don’t like it. Regardless of what clubs you buy, I highly recommend getting new grips for them. You want the same exact style of grip on every club (except putter can be different). This will simplify the learning process.

Best thing about an injury is just focus on putting for 2 months. It can vastly improve your game.