LeftyWhiff

I just want to apologize for the way I worded this in the beginning. Using terms like "chickenshit" or "standoff-ish" even in a hypothetical, on the other hand, can be viewed very offensively, and I've offended people. I am truly sorry. The guy in the example in the round I described was not a stranger; he was a friend. He was known to some of us quite well, but hadn't golfed in this group, so some of us were strangers to him. On the issue of what's the expectation/norm with regard to the common scorecard, the message from the responses seems clear: there isn't any and it's perfectly fine not to participate. To expect otherwise or to be judgmental is rude. Treat people with respect, OK, I'm good with that and learned something from this. AGain, I apologize for the offense. I'm the ass here; not the people I golf with. ONe group I play with doesn't ever keep a common scorecard; one does. When I started I played alone and hooked up through the scorer or from folks nice enough to ask me to play with them. Most of the folks who came to the course together to play did seem to keep a common scorecard. I find the practice interesting. Good game; good folks. I learn a lot from all aspects of it.

Good enough, sorry for the confusion. To me it's not so much what happened on the actual round, but what the general expectation is, so: Another way to frame the issue is this: If I personally refused to participate and post my score on a common scorecard when asked to play with a group that did that I had some connection to, would I be violating a norm and come off as "chickenshit" or "standoffish" at some level. Is there a common expectation with regard to this practice? if so what is it? I don't know the answer to either of these questions. The "odd distance" was there didn't seem to me to be as much sharing and discussing during the round, but no one mentioned it, so it could have been my impression. I'm pretty sure with strangers it's never an expectation, and it's never been with any group I've ever played with. Beyond that, I'm ignorant. One group I play with regularly keeps a common scorecard, one doesn't. I've played with a few others that did keep the common scorecard, mostly as a stranger.

Interesting responses. Noone I play with keeps a handicap, so that's not the issue. I don't think anyone treated anyone poorly, and nothing was said or discussed about it then or after. I noticed it and have wondered about it. The issue is etiquette and expectations. My limited experience is that some folks who play regularly together keep a common scorecard, others don't. When I have played as a stranger with other groups, some did and asked me if they wanted me to keep score with them and I declined. I guess there are no expectations or rules of etiquette regarding how much of the experience you share, or are expected to share. Good enough.

I have an etiquette question, but there may not be a standard answer for it.I play in two groups. One keeps a common scorecard and we report our scores to the person in the 4-some keeping score per hole. We also show an interest in one another's game and round. It's a great group to play with. The other group doesn't keep a common scorecard, ever, and some don't claim to keep score at all. The first group is obviously more serious. Anyway, an associate was invited to play in the more serious foursome and refused to report his score to the group's scorekeeper at the first hole. None of the regulars said anything about it, but there was an odd distance in the round not common for this group. What's the etiquette here? If the convention is a common scorecard for the group, should golfers share their score with the group, especially when they are invited to play with them? On one hand, what difference does it make? We weren't betting, certainly not with a relative stranger in the group. If someone wants to put up a fantasy score, let 'em have it. On the other hand, not sharing with folks who invited you to play with them seems rather chicken-shit and stand-offish. Of course, when we play with strangers, noone shares scores per hole or uses a common scorecard. I generally have a good time playing with strangers this way--low stress and you learn a lot about new people and golf stuff. What's the convention, opinion on this?

Interesting topic/discussion thread. Personally, I play much better walking with a push cart. Riding breaks up my rhythm, especially when sharing the cart, and I'm not as tuned to the conditions affecting shots using it. I also find chasing/locating balls, managing cart paths and such a pain, especially riding with a partner, and all that can affect shots as well. All that said, there is one course that I play that is very hilly, and on the last couple of holes there fatigue does affect my score when walking, particularly on a hot day. This year I've walked it most times and I'm in better shape so I notice it less. NO opinion on handicap effects, or adjusting them to walking or riding.

1. Develop more consistent method/routine for chipping; 2. keep the bag setup as is, and play/practice with 3 hybrids I'm using now for long yardage (forget woods and long irons); 3. work on strategizing/playing the course better during rounds.

My first year playing (when 55yrs. old) I purchased a Thomas Golf 1H (16L) on the internet, looking for a 1 iron. The plan was to use it to replace the driver, which I could not hit straight enough to save me at that time. The club looked great and was ok, but I was new to the game and I got as much distance from Cleveland Mashie 2H, and played with the Mashie 2H (18L) and 4H(23L) for several years thereafter. Didn't really give the Thomas club a chance. I use Callaway 5H and 4H now, not off the tee, but for long clubs off the fairway. I do tend to pull the hybrids and have to adjust for that. Hybrids are probably the best of my options for shots 170 yards and over. I experiment from time to time with woods and long irons, but the hybrids quickly find there way back to my bag.

It's odd but I've had the same experience. You would think bright orange would be great both in the air and on the fairway/rough, but I lose them faster than any other color. Optic yellow seems to work best for me.

Sorry to hear that you are frustrated and are contemplating quitting. Why are we in this? If it is about continuing to improve to the point we reach scratch golf or make the tour, then most of us will fail and plateau out long before we're there. If we don't keep at it regularly, we'll certainly get worse. Sometimes we get worse the more we do,. A lot of people burn out and quit when they reach a plateau, and refocus their time on other things. I've run into several of these. Those who keep at it achieving less than we might have hoped for adjust our expectations and learn to be comfortable with goals that are achievable for us. For me now it's consistent scores in the 90s. I aim to break 90 occasionally, and I probably won't get much better. That's fine. I enjoy the rounds, the banter and socializing in the foursomes that I play in, the relaxation I get from hitting my clubs well at the range, even the rounds I play by myself. It helps that I started golf when I was in my fifties and never had grand expectations to begin with. I had to quit for a few weeks this season due to temporary injury. The break did me good. I put golf in perspective--did other things and didn't miss it as much as I thought I would--and when I came back, I found it more enjoyable and played a bit better. Golf is an odd thing, very demanding, very complex, and very hard on our egos. YOu don't have to quit all at once, just take a prolonged break and focus on other things. Come back and test the waters again when the cobwebs clear. Could be you've made up your mind and are done, and want confirmation that its ok to give it up. Then, it's ok. Golf basically is about hitting a ball and rolling it into a hole. We shouldn't let it torture us.

Driver and I've already purchased its replaced. Current Driver = Cobra AMP cell. I hit this the best of any I've owned, but it is getting old and has a dent in it. I purchased a Cobra F6 to replace it at the beginning of this season, but haven't worked it into the bag yet. The goal is next year. Hope to get a bit more distance with the newer one.

sell them to a local 2nd hand sports shop.

I've tried them all during my first few years of playing golf regularly when I really struggled with Driver. I've used mini-driver, strong 3 wood, regular 3 wood, 1 hybrid, 2 hybrid. Nothing stuck, and it wasn't the loss of distance so much--my first few shots with the mini-driver were quite promising, but the same issues that plagued my driver would eventually work down to the replacement club. None of the replacements worked well off the turf either. A few years ago, I started hitting the driver much better after lots of youtube videos. I quit swinging out of my shoes, made sure my hands and arms were relaxed, slowed my backswing and accelerated through the ball. I now hit fairways and close rough most of the time with the driver, rarely in the trees now. My next club in the bag is a 5W or 3H for turf shots and par 3s, and I'm not particularly accurate or happy with either. Glad I stuck it out with the driver.

thanks for the heads up. I would prefer the old gamers in yellow, but they are discontinued. I started using some of the D2 soft balls I bought earlier in the season a couple of weeks ago, since it's been very wet here and greens are soft and fairways are mushy to swampy with a whole lot of rain. I've been very happy with my results with these balls. They do check up a bit if I hit down on them properly and I'm not rolling them off the green. I'll see what happens when the ground firms up, if it ever does here. You can't beat the price for a new ball. I bought a couple of more boxes and will finish out the season with them.

Long par 3s can wreck your scorecard. As far as laying up, if you can chip reasonably well, I also think it is the way to go. I'm better off short in front of the green with a decent lie for a low chip or short pitch than I am with a topped shot, or a shot in the trees, or a shot pin high 20 yards right or left of the green with a lob shot over a bunker. Lay up with a club you have confidence n gives you a chip and a par putt, a bogey if you miss the putt close. Swinging for the fences with a club I don't use much generally gives me a lot worse.

Wish I had a good driver alternative, but when I'm duffing the driver I don't do much better with the other clubs in my bag that would be logical alternatives---woods or hybrids. Don't quite know why, could be psychological. Slow down, tell myself to relax my arms, slow backswing and initial downswing, then accelerate and finish swinging out usually works.