Golfer gal

Thanks, @billchao! Taylormade says my wedges are 43.5*, 49.5*, and 55.5*; that was way easier than a protractor! Good article on bounce, but I still don't really understand grind. I doubt it's important for my level of play, but I am worried about not having my 60-degree! It was just a little off-brand nothing club, but it was my go-to for bunkers.

@billchao Can you explain bounce and grind? Also, how do I find out the degree of my wedges... a protractor? I have P, A, and S in the same brand, but yesterday I lost my 60* (which I use exclusively out of the sand).

Yesterday I shot a 89 at a new course. I was super excited because I started with par, par, bogey, and another par! All those pars were one-putts of considerable difficulty. I had a 41 on the front, which is my best for sure this year and maybe ever. The back nine wasn't nearly as pretty, but I didn't have any triples. The last three holes I was getting cold and cranky and out of focus because I couldn't stop thinking about cheeseburgers. (Also, the beverage cart never showed up.) I gotta work on that, being able to concentrate under such adverse conditions! Today I shot a 95 at a different course. I've played this one before; they call it a links course and it was certainly windy like I'd imagine a links course would be. The greens were not in good condition with wicked pin placements, and in fact the entire course seemed a bit neglected, but maybe some would just call it "rugged." Anyhow, it was a very different experience for me, but fun trying to figure out what the wind was going to do to my shot, how to get around or over the bunkers and berms and burns, and what the heck the break was! My husband and I were practically alone on the course, so we sometimes threw down another ball to try the shot we just messed up. Always counted the real one for my score though. I'm still figuring out the whole handicap index thing, and it was interesting to note that, though both these rounds counted in my best 10 of 20, today's score had almost the same differential as yesterday's.

hahaha... good point!

@RJN12 Why IS that? These guys wouldn't offer unsolicited advice to another guy, but they feel a need to "help" a woman... 8-)

@RJN12 and @Maric771 especially, and any other women golfers out there -- a book that helped me a lot is The Women's Guide to Consistent Golf, by Kellie Stenzel. I don't know how old you are, but I am 56 and have been playing almost 5 years, average fitness but nothing great. (Age and fitness level are factors for both expectations and maybe ability to improve quickly.) I hit my driver around 160 on a good day. Anyhow, this book helped me a lot with my short game, and also with putting together a plan for ME to get better. Since I don't hit it long and have very few GIRs, I need to be a wizard around the greens if I'm going to make many pars or better. My thinking is that to break 100 consistently, you need good enough ball contact to keep moving the ball forward, and be able to putt pretty well. And putting is definitely something anyone can improve! A good resource for that is Bulletproof Putting, by a guy named Michael McTeigue. (I'm a bookworm.) You're still new to the game! When I started, I didn't keep score at all... Like Maric says, if it's a good hole, write it down, otherwise just focus on having better ball contact. I had a friend whose scorecard had smiley faces or frowny faces on it her first year. Emphasize the good times with friends, the exercise, and learning this fabulous game! Another good book, especially for the mental/emotional side of the game, is by Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, called Every Shot Must Have a Purpose. This book seems to be aimed at lower handicap or even scratch golfers, so I feel that a lot of it is irrelevant to me, but the basic idea of focusing on "Just.This.Shot." has helped me immensely. In 2017, I brought my handicap index down to 15.1 from around 28, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of learning. Once you're making good contact with a repeatable swing, you can create a plan for your progress. Oh, and if you have any "fatal flaws," like I had a terrible wonky grip, get a lesson or two and fix that first! One of my 2018 goals is to catch up and keep up with my blog... I don't know how to add it to TST, but you can check it out at www.golfgirl.net Also, I'm not sure how many women we have on TST, but maybe a thread focusing on women's golf issues would be fun? Hit 'em straight! Barbara

My son gave us a vintage ball-washer for our backyard practice area. Stepson #1 gave me a nice Nike pullover, stepson #2 gave me Puma shoes, and stepdaughter gave me a dozen of my favorite balls plus a cute shirt! My husband forgot to get me anything, .

I re-gifted those emoji balls to my step-son...

A lot of the courses I play have GPS on the carts, and I like it for the most part. We've had an issue at one course, where the GPS is just plain wrong, which sucks if you're used to using the function. I've never bothered with the score-keeping function on them; it seems tedious, and I want more information about my game to take home with me for analysis. I've never ordered food or beverages from the cart, I just wait for the turn or the cart girl. I would be interested in the cart girl's opinion of ordering from the GPS, if it would be better or worse for her and her tips. Whenever I play a new course, I really appreciate a cart GPS, and @phillyk for your mountainous course it sounds like a winner! At a new course especially, it's helpful to have pro tips on the various holes (though honestly they never give any info about playing from the forward tees...). Some GPS carts only give front/middle/back, and others give distance to the pin, and most that I've seen have distances to hazards, which I like because I sometimes have trouble training my rangefinder on anything flat like a creek. I've used some with a cool touch function, where you can tap (like on your smart phone) anywhere and it will give the distance to that spot and from that spot to the pin. I don't think I've ever seen ads on any, but perhaps I'm immune... @phillyk your course sounds fabulous!

@Ty_Webb Did you get a gps watch, and if so, which one? I've been half wanting the S60, but it seems pricey for my level of play. I agree that heart rate monitor against the rules seems silly... what about the whole gps thing, isn't that an artificial device that assists your game?

Man, those look great! I don't suppose they make women's shoes? No, they don't.

That's so sad. I played with the women's club this morning and shot a crappy 95. Started and ended with triple bogeys, wah.

Well now the pressure’s on to get over there and update it! So I will... going to work right now, but after golf tomorrow I will post.

Mine are a bit backwards, then. My driver and 3W are 50, and all the others are 45, even my wedges! And the 5H I just ordered is 55; that's why I asked, I'm wondering if I would notice it is heavier. Thanks! My Hole in One was so UGLY, that I swore to improve my golf so that I actually deserve it if it happens again! I'm pretty nerdy about tracking my stats, and interested in Game Golf or something like that which will pair with a gps watch to track shots. I know I'm still inconsistent, but getting better, and I think I'm at a point where that knowledge would be more helpful than frustrating. what I've done recently to improve is note the most frustrating shots in my rounds, and working on that one thing for a practice session hopefully before the next round. Back to shaft weight: I have close to ZERO feel! Thanks for your help, guys. At some point maybe soon or this year, I'll probably go get fitted for clubs, but I'm still too nervous for that.

9:12. First time I've ever done a jigsaw puzzle without physical pieces, that's a fun waste of time!

I searched the site, but didn't see my question answered... Can someone explain how shaft weight works, and what differences would I notice with different shaft weights, and should all my clubs have the same or similar shaft weights? Barbara

I agree totally. When I play with certain people who let loose on every bad shot, I just think it’s stupid and childish. Cussing up a storm shows a lack of composure, and it probably isn’t going to help on the next shot. But dropping a brief expletive can be a way of showing frustration and then just letting it go. Maybe?

I play with a woman whose New Years resolution is not to drop f-bombs playing golf. That lasted about two holes... it really is just part of our culture, part of some people’s personality, part of golf, and not a big deal. I try not to swear in front of old ladies, or if I’m put with people I don’t know, unless they swear first! Just because it may make them uncomfortable.

Is Ben Brown also called Aliso Creek? That was the first SoCal course I ever played, and yes, the deer were amazing! My husband and I played a pretty little course up in Cupertino last year called Deep Cliff. It's an 18-hole par 60, tucked in the hills west of highway 85. Cool place! And if you're looking for a different kind of challenge up there, check out The Ranch in San Jose!

Once a week with my women's club and once a week with girlfriends totals around $4000! On weekends and vacations, another $4 grand probably comes out of my husband's wallet for me to play. Wow.

2018 golfer gal goals: Goal #1) Work hard to get my handicap index under 10. This may seem far-fetched, but I just think of it as ambitious! In the past 10 months, I've gone from a 28 to a 15, so I have some success under my belt, and I trust the process. How am I going to accomplish this lofty goal? Well, at first I'm just going to continue what I've been doing and see how low that can take me. What I've been doing that has helped my game so much is a three-step per shot process. My mantra is "Just. This. Shot." Step 1 - play smart. Tons has been written on this, and it includes course management skills, emotional control and letting go of poor past performances, choosing the best shot for my skill level of the day, and so on. Step 2 - precise set-up. Because I'm not very good yet, I need to keep my routines and set-ups as identical as possible each time, otherwise my mind is racing all over the place and I won't even know what caused the problem when it all goes awry. Step 3 - one single swing thought. For a long time, my single thought is "turn back, turn through." I like to think it keeps me in a good rhythm and helps me go to the finish, mostly it keeps my mind quiet. Goal #2) Get into a regular practice routine. How? Check out the 5 Minutes Daily challenge, and set aside at least an hour each Thursday for a session. Maybe a lesson once in awhile, and get friends to play practice games with me. Use my big back yard for chipping and sand work. Goal #3) fire up golfgirl.net again How? Just DO it! Tell my friends about it so they check it out and encourage me. Goal #4) play 10 new courses How? Get active with bigger women's groups, like PubLinks or the LA County group. Scout out courses hubby hasn't played when we go to Arizona or up north.

ah, I think I get it. I played around with searching Six Footer Challenge and No Sixes Challenge, and first they both came up with those dang plus signs. And when I searched for gps watch, it made no sense to me... I absolutely KNEW there would be tons of opinions on this site.

Sorry, Erik, I did search the site using "gps watch," but nothing came up. Then again I'm not all that tech-savvy... do I have to run an actual Google search? Seems way too cumbersome...

I've ordered a 5 Hybrid which is 25* loft, so between my 22* 4H and my 28* (I think) 5-iron. The shaft is the same as all my other clubs except the weight will be 50 instead of 45... I guess that's grams? dont really know the importance of that... I hit all my irons pretty well, so I thought a 4-iron might also fit the bill, but this new hybrid will be just like the rest of the clubs in my bag. One big happy family, and I couldn't find a 4-iron with the same shaft. The new kid should arrive by Thursday, and I'll try it out next weekend and let y'all know how it goes! Barbara