OCdude12

Every year I play the US Midam qualifier somewhere within driving distance of the San Francisco bay area, but this year I wanted to branch out to see if I could combine vacation time with tournament golf. I don't mind making a road trip if it means I can play a course that has a good reputation and brings me somewhere I've never been before. Mix in some good food and I'll go about anywhere. Wanted to start this thread to create discussion for others that play in the national qualifiers and have suggestions for the courses in their local area. Currently I'm looking at the US 4-ball qualifier in Ohio at the Mayfield Sand Ridge Club on 8/18. My Giants play on the road in Pittsburgh later that week, so if I can convince my partner to fly out with me I might have to look for some other local gems in the area. Anyone else do the same?

Of course it would. The point of me asking was so maybe I could go in and request certain shafts depending on what people may or may not suggest here. Making an educated decision is a little more helpful when you have some insight from those with first hand experience.

I play the Callaway RAZR Fit Extreme Driver with the stock 65g S shaft, but I'm looking to replace it with some form of upgraded shaft since I need something a little more consistent. The little adjustment piece on the head of my driver broke so I figured this would be a good time to just replace the shaft also, but not sure what to get. The stock shaft just feels a little too whippy and I think I need something that's a little more stick to swing. The thing is that I'm in between a heavy S or a light X, but I think going with a 65-72 g stiff is probably more fitting since my swing speed comes and goes. I like to be able to work it both ways when I'm swinging it well, but when my swing speed isn't quite there, I go to the low controlled fade. Just curious what people have put in their drivers without spending $300+. I'm looking for something in the $100-$200 range. Or do I just got and hit a bunch of different shafts until I find one that feels right?

Hope I'm not intruding, not sure if this is for a specific league, but I have a question that you guys may be able to help me out with. My league is set up where every team has 11 players and you start 7 each week. On my bench is Tim Clark who has been non-existent so far this year and I don't know if I should just drop him for someone else or keep him riding the pine until he shows up. I know he withdrew due to injury in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any updates since then. Anyone know what his deal is? Guy has turned into a ghost!

So my buddy bought a long putter off ebay couple weeks ago and I tried it out a bit on the putting green last Saturday. My goodness, no wonder every player is switching to one these days. I have always been hesitant in using one just because I have had difficulty with feel any time I've tried one before, but maybe it was just finally using one that was the right length, because now I see how useful they really are. Buddy told me Dave Love III uses one just for practice, then switches back to his normal short putter for the round. Haven't done any research on that, but I think he's on to something. Immediately I could feel the difference between my good/bad strokes with the long putter and started working on finding the same feeling when going back to my regular one. I've searched ebay a bit and think I'm going to try and find a decent one that's not too expensive also just for practice purposes, but who knows how long it will be before using it full time. Guess I'm due for a new toy anyways. Any recommendations?

So with all the wind they'll be seeing the first couple days, anyone think they'll be guys at a disadvantage now? I think McDowell and Oosthuizen might make a little extra noise considering they've been playing well of late and can play in the wind, Rory jumps up my list some more considering the damp conditions. Any big names that don't play the best in the wind to rule out? Thoughts?

PS...forgot to ask of other similar stories people have had. Maybe its been a simple tip someone else could try or a new drill?

Had to just share this somewhere, I'm sure most everyone has had this feeling at least once and for some many times during their golfing life. Today was one of those days that reminded me why I love this game so much and has me itching to hit a golf ball as soon as possible again. I've been really struggling with my irons of late (and driver now that I think about it), not thinking my grips were making that big of a difference. Boy was I wrong. Went and re-gripped my clubs last night since I've got a tournament this weekend, then played about 7 holes this afternoon on an empty course and I can't even come up with the words that describe how unbelievable it felt to actually feel where the ball is going. If you have been thinking you need new grips, go do it. I usually play a little fade, but lately it had turned into a pretty big slice and not finding the sweet spot very often. Almost every iron shot today felt sooooooooo good, not sure if thats the result of switching to midsize grips or just having new tacky grips that I don't have to grip very hard, but by the last hole I was even able to get the feeling back I could sling the ball with a draw again. I didn't want to stop hitting balls, I think I hit about 9 into the last green, it was that fun. Even the chip shots were making me act like a kid in the candy store I was so giddy. Guess I learned that my old grips really were making quite the difference, hoping the same feeling can continue into the weekend though, hot damn!!!!!!

Looks like the round was played quite some time ago, but I've got a good story (won't sound very good initially) about Poppy Hills that involves me hitting my playing partner with my drive. Was there about 8 months ago with a co-worker, we took the day off and made the drive down from SF for the day. I'm playing the back tees and he's playing the middle tees, our round is going well, sun is just coming out and he made 4 pars in a row, having a pretty good round so far. On #9, the back tee is set back about 35-40 yds in the trees, as I walk back to hit my tee ball my friend just waits next to the cart while I hit. I'm a little hungover and still trying to find my swing but never thought to tell my buddy to watch out in case of a misshit. I set up just like any other drive, he's just standing there waiting for his turn up ahead, until I flat out top-shank my driver and it is heading right towards him, hits him and goes ricocheting off 30 yards into the bushes. I thought I got his shoe cause it made a loud sound, but as he is hobbling around the tee box in agony and telling me to just shut up as he tries to walk it off, he points out it hit him in the shin, lifts up his pantleg for the first time and there is a hole in his shin the size of a quarter with blood running out. Needless to say, round over. We go back to the clubhouse, they quickly call a fire truck that comes about 10 minutes later to take a look at it since while its going on he's in mild shock and about to pass out. He calmed down after a bit enough for the fire fighters to ask if I can drive him to the hospital instead of needing an ambulance, so we go down to the local ER for him to get stitched up. By this point we're able to laugh a little bit about it, thinking of the odds of that happening and thinking of the consequences if it had hit him anywhere else. Best part is that while he's getting stitched up, he texts me to call the course to see if we can come back and finish our round. What a gamer. We end up going back out, bandaged up and finish the back 9, this time making sure he is behind me on every tee shot. I now always tell people to move behind me cause I think about that every time I notice someone in a potential bad spot. Goes to show you can never take enough caution in knowing where you are in relation to those hitting around you. I have a picture somewhere, but my friend was telling me after the doctor cleaned the wound out he could see the tendons moving inside when he rolled his ankle around, gross.

Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz is also a course with greens that will make you scratch your head if you're not putting yourself in the correct places on your approach shots. Awesome golf course, but very demanding on the greens. Also a MacKenzie design. There's also a course close by to where I grew up in the bay area, Peacock Gap, that redid their greens a few years back and turned most of the green complexes into miniature golf. Here's a link with some pictures and explanations of the changes they made. You can see in a few of the pictures some extreme examples of how an architect can completely f*** up a course by the design of the greens. Before, the course had greens that weren't in the best shape but were standard with different tiers and subtle breaks, then the new guy came in and changed it for the worse. Maybe he took some LSD before drawing up the designs or never played a round of golf in his life before, that is the only explanation for how I can see someone thinking the work they did was for the better. http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?topic=34336.0

For me, I prefer fast greens because thats a sign that its a course thats taken care of well and is a good test of your abilities. I agree with the points above where the 5-10 footers are easier since you're taking a shorter stroke, making it fun to be able to score a little better. However, because I'm not the best putter I struggle on fast greens and can think of a few tournaments I've played in that I've struck the ball very well and just completely thrown away a round because I suck at putting on the fast greens. You really have to have your stroke dialed in and this is what makes the pros so much better than us because so many strokes are gained and lost with the putter. Just as an example, last year I played a course in Tahoe, Martis Camp, for Mid-am qualifying and they had the greens rolling very fast with lots of subtle breaks, you really have to have the correct reads on longer putts and lag the ball well to not throw away a round. I did not accomplish that at all, 42 shots with 39 putts. Fast greens will give you a lot of feedback on your putting abilities and is the major difference in what makes a good player great.

In stroke play, a player’s tee shot came to rest on the putting green. In making a practice swing, he accidentally strikes the ball and moves it six inches to the right of its original location. The player makes a stroke at the ball from its new position into the hole. What is the ruling?

Thinking about heading down to watch some of tomorrow's practice round since one of my buddies is working the driving range, but I noticed they're having the pro-am tomorrow along with the rest of player's practice rounds I would assume? Am I right, do players not playing in the pro-am still play a practice round before/after the pro-am's usually? I told my buddy I would go down one of the days this week while he was there, can't make Thursday but I don't really want to go down tomorrow if there's going to be minimal pro golf to watch. Any insight would help, thanks.

Alright, just got back a couple days ago from the trip up to Tahoe and all I have to say is, SWEET BABY JESUS!! If you ever get the chance to get out to Martis Camp, do whatever you can to check out this piece of property. It's tucked in the mountains just below the Northstar Ski resort and is phenomenal from the minute you drive through the gates. Massive mountain homes that blend in nicely with the scenery while you drive up the main road, until you take a right, come around a bend and are greeted by the $48M clubhouse that they just opened on July 5th. It's pretty exclusive I guess, thats the only reason we signed up for the qualifier 4 hours away from home. Nice that we had a place to stay close by, one of the best weekends I've had in a LONG time. Course is a Tom Fazio design, about 7800 yds from the tips with a rating of 75.9/141. We only had to play from the 2nd to back tees on most holes, about 7250 yds, not too tough from tee to green, but once you got to the greens, watch out! Some of the nicest greens I've ever played on and extremely quick with all sorts of undulations making it extremely hard to judge the speed if you were on the wrong side of the hole. I took a few pictures, will try and figure out how to load them on here to take a peek, but the pictures won't do the place justice. ProV1's on the range, carts that went about 25-30 mph with headlights and brakelights, and o yea, their own 18 hole putting park! Even the putting park greens were nicer than 95% of courses I've played. They really do everything right at this place, you think of something and they've already done it for you. Most similar place I can compare to it is Mayacama GC in Santa Rosa (top 100), both isolated, minimal play, outstanding conditions, and I'd say Martis blows it out of the water. Course isn't the toughest off the tee, favors a fade, but its all about the second shots and staying out of the bunkers that sometimes have 12-13 ft high lips on them. Unbelievable course that definitely has cracked my top 3 I'd say.

I second the We-Ko-Pa suggestion. Group of us went down there in September last year for the AZ vs Iowa football game and played a few rounds over the weekend. We played the Cholla course, pretty open with a few elevation changes, water comes into play on a few holes, but very fair for any skill level. They treat you real well there too, load everything up for you, give you a nice cool wet towel to throw around the neck which is just what the doctor ordered, and they give you a small lithograph of one of the holes as a parting gift. That was the morning round, then headed over and played the Pinnacle course at Troon North, which this time of year I believe they only charge like $59 compared to the $300 or whatever it is in the cooler season. Definitely enjoyed Troon a little more just because the conditions seemed a little nicer and was a tougher challenge of golf. Greens were spectacular and the scenery from atop some of the hills is pretty sweet. True desert golf there, but beware of the cactus right by the walkways, I got nailed on the ankle on about #15 when walking off the tee. Scared the hell out of me thinking it was a snake right away. WELL worth your dollar, we were in heaven playing into the warm evening. Great food in the bar as well, chicken caesar, BOMB!!

Playing Martis Camp later this month for US Mid-am qualifying, never played the course before but have heard great things about it. Anyone here played it and have some insight or tips to get around the place? Gonna be able to get one practice round in the day before and also going to probably try and hang out there for awhile after the round. Apparently they have an 18 hole putting course? Haven't played mini golf in awhile, but I'll give that a shot.

I'm sorry, I just mean if you have easy access to practice before or after work or even during breaks. I know working in golf is tough and although some may get sick of being around the golf course and not want to stay there any longer than you have to, given the opportunity, how much do you think it helps your game to be at or around the course as much as you are? I read the book about Rich Beem, "Bud, Sweat and Tees" and he worked at El Paso CC I believe and his boss basically made him play in the big money game with members because Beem had insane game. Are there certain courses on the west coast that talented club pros aspire to work at for similar reasons? Even just to be able to play a couple times a week and practice for an hour or two a day, is that reasonable? From his thread it still sounds like Ben is able to play a pretty good amount of tournaments and get enough practice in to compete in them, no?

For those that have worked as a cubicle monkey and then decided it wasn't for them and went the golf route, can you explain how you were able to make your decision to take that leap? At what point does working at a golf course and being able to practice as much as you'd like to see how good you can get outweigh the decision of trying to build a different career? At 25, I know the next job I take I will have to put a lot of work in to be successful and I'm afraid (kind of a no brainer) that it will take away from the quality of golf I've been playing lately. I love playing in the local amateur tournaments, as I never played college golf and love the competition now, but I wonder how good someone can get if they actually are put in a position to really work on their game. I'd love to find a job where I can still make some decent money and have the time to practice a bit on the side, wouldn't everyone, but I'm not necessarily stoked on going back to the insurance industry where I was before. I need to find a hookup like that guy Nathan Smith and become a relationship manager type guy, do those jobs even exist? Any ideas?

Iacas, that's definitely a question my friends and I thought about, how much the additional weight changes the stroke. Also, when putting the phone on the putter, do you have to really make sure the phone is completely perpendicular to the face of the putter to get the correct results? What if you put it on 1 degree open or closed? As I write this, I'm not even sure I know where I put the cradle thing. Should I be disappointed? What putting aids are the best value do you think and see the most feedback from?

Finally!!! I've finally broken the 0.0 barrier this month after playing some pretty solid golf the last couple months and I want to keep going lower. I've finally broken par on multiple courses now, but all those rounds have been 70's, I still have yet to shoot in the 60's in my life, but each time I shot 70, either lipped out putts or just burned the edge. Aside from the trying to break the 70 barrier, my index has gone down from a 3.2 on 5/1, 1.4 on 6/1, 0.8 on 7/1 and now a +0.2 this month. However I will put out a disclaimer that I haven't been working the last month which obviously helps, but I've been playing with a 4 year old driver and a set of irons that barely have any grooves left on them. Once I get a new job and some more steady income, I'm going to order some new irons and hopefully I can keep the good playing up still, but I'm kinda stuck whether I want to try and go back to a corporate job or find something in golf that I might be able to keep practicing a lot. Since finally having a car in the last month, I've been able to get out and actually practice the short game and putting a little bit, something I haven't really done much of before. What are some of the most helpful drills out there to improve putting? Making those 10-15 ft birdie putts is one of the things that is really holding be back from finally shooting in the 60's I think and its beginning to bug me. Scratch golfers out there, what was the biggest thing for you to keep it going? Fitness, putting practice, wedge practice, new equipment? Feels like a whole new world, now I just need to shoot in the 60's damnit.

Anyone else been using this app more in the last month or so? Picked up the cradle at golfsmith in downtown SF a couple weeks back and have used it a couple times, but still haven't found the best way to use it efficiently while practicing. I've tried to compare my results to some of the pros and from what I can tell the most, the tempo of my stroke is what I need to work on the most as I'm around 2/1 most the time and lots of the pros seem to be closer to 1.5/1 or even 1/1. Pretty fun to use, I think one of the most important things you can take from the app might be in making sure your setup is the same every single time. Ball positioning is something I really need to focus on in making sure the other parts stay consistent. Any suggestions on helpful practice drills with this app would be awesome.

I know this won't be a popular pick, but why not Jim Furyk? His game has not been superb this year, however the man does have a US Open title to his name, hits it very straight, and when the AT&T; National was last at Congressional, his finishes include: '07- T3, '08- T3, '09- T7. He likes the golf course, just a matter of whether he can finally start dropping some putts.