Greg

Its been pretty hot lately here in southern il, really notice it at the range, after just a few minutes im sweating so much that i cant see what im doing, have trouble gripping the club even with gloves on(which i hate wearing but have to because of moisture). Was off last week, played 18 with a cart one day, it was prob about 95 with heat index about 110, at least the course had some shade and had water available and drank several powerades but was still thirsty about the whole time. Actually played pretty well, think i shot a 45/48 for a 93 which is above average for me and it wasnt crowded so I think it only took us as a 2 some about 3 1/2 hours and that was as long as I wanted to be out there.

Ive never played at night with a glow in the dark ball, have played a few times at a lighted par 3 course, got one close to me at governors run in carlyle il and another over at Yorktown at Belleville il though yet to play at that one. As long as you hit decent shots you're ok, hit it too far offline and you cant see too well but the holes are real short, most right around 100 yards, with the longest being about 150, 8 iron is the longest club I normally use there, maybe 7 iron if I have wind to contend with. Its a lot of fun on the weekends esp in the summer as its not nearly as hot.

There's a guy in a wednesday league that will pace off yardages from the pin to the fairway 80 yards out. Just his style, he takes forever over putts. I was in the group with him, it didn't bother me at all, he holds the whole league up, but he has the right to play like that, who cares. Im guessing this guy is probably not that good either, pacing yardages, give me a break, thats what the sticks are out there for, take a quick look and make your best guess. Im surprised the league hasnt kicked him out. In reality, he doesnt have the right to play that way, he's not maintaining pace of play and should be banned. One guy is not above the whole league anywhere.

Try ezlinks.com, its kind of like priceline except for tee times instead of hotel room. Sat a friend and I are playing 18 and cart for $17.20 each at a course where it normally costs $43, granted there are a limited number of times available every day but its free to join with no membership fees and yes you do have to pay up front but you can cancell 24 hours in advance. Even where I live in southern il there are a few courses available. You normally have to look probably at least 24-48 hours ahead of time to find a time you prefer, waiting until the same day and you wont find much. Its good for when you know ahead of time when you can play, not so good for last minute trips. This will be the 2nd time we've used it and will continue to use it as long as we find our local courses on there.

Ive recently taken my 3 wood out of the bag and use my 3 hybrid which is a 20 degree. I can hit it basically as far as I could ever hit the 3 wood and can still make decent shots out of the rough and occasionally use it on long par 3's(200 yards+) so its a much more versatile club. I could really only hit the 3 wood off the tee or with a perfect lie in the fairway, end up chunking a lot of shots with it even then. I would add a 3 and 4 hybrid, I think you'll end up using them for those long fairway shots out of the rough, will be easier to get the ball up than the 5 wood. Go to a local store and try out some used ones and see what you like, thats the best way to decide what to buy.

St Andrews actually looks like someplace i could play if i could keep it out of those bunkers, i doubt i will ever be able to travel over there and play but I dont think i would completely embarass myself like at some pga courses. Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines would be a great west coast trip someday. Augusta National would be nice to visit but it looks way too difficult for me to have any fun, same goes for Bethpage. TPC sawgrass would be interesting as well, love to play that 17th hole. I guess it might be one of the most copied holes as there is a course near me in Fairfield, IL in which the 18th hole is very similar, about the same distance and an island green. Last time i played there i thought i hit a good shot, only to have it hit the green firmly and bounce over into the water behind the green, one club too many i guess, ended up getting a 5.

I thought most everyone worked out in some way or another whether to help their game or not. Ive worked out with weights for about 15 years, though the last couple years ive stopped lifting heavy at the gym and have some dumbells i use at home and run for aerobic exercise. I guess i see some benefits on the course, helps keep me stronger and more flexible and not as tired toward the end of the round. Im about 5'11" and just under 200 lbs and work out also to maintain my weight and fitness level. Even playing and practicing although i dont do either for exercise, im sure you do burn some calories which also helps keep my weight at a managable level.

ive worn glasses for 20+ years, never have tried contacts. The one drawback i see to glasses is moisture getting on the lens either from hot and humid condtions or rain and condstantly having to clean them off. As far as seeing the ball otherwise, i dont see any advantage. I would like to get corrective surgery to not have to wear either glasses or contacts but its still too expensive at this point, maybe in a few years.

I play a few courses from the tips even being a high handicapper because they're so short, though i usually play from the 2nd longest tees. Most of the courses have red tees for beginners, white tees for intermediate and blue tees for expert in which i usually play from the whites.

Im single here so i guess dont understand women telling you what to do and so on. After you're married and have kids is not the time to decide to stop letting your wife tell you what to do and when to do it. This sounds very familiar to a friend i have, he has 3 young kids and the only time he ever gets to play is when he goes with me maybe 3-4 times a month, he cant even go alone. Ive known both of them for a long time but it seems she really resents anything he does, she makes being gone 4 hours sound like being gone 4 days. I live quite some distance from him, i always come and play near him even though i know he would like to play some courses near me. I think sometimes she resents the fact that he has any friends, I almost feel unwelcome at times. We're usually lucky to get to play 9 and then have to rush back. Unless you're playing more than 2 times a week, i dont think thats too much for anyone if you keep it local and arent gone all day. If i were in relationship, i would at the very start tell her that i like to play golf quite a bit and if shes not ok with that then Id find someone else. I would of course make time to spend with her but during the day id like to do my own thing. I know for many its ok until the kids come along, does change things. But you cant expect someone to completely abandon a hobby because of kids or anything else, or resent them for doing something fun. If doing something you like in moderation is not ok by your significant other, then you dont have a very strong relationship. You're not cheating, you're not doing anything immoral or illegal, and as long as its not a money issue you're just having fun enjoying life. If your sig other cant handle that, how would they ever handle any adversity in the relationship.

Im a high handicapper and although i havent had any eagles yet, ive had 2 eagle putts in the last 2 months or so. I drove a short par 4(about 245 yards) and reached another short par 5(452 yards) with a great drive and 7 iron and in both cases 2 putted for birdie. I almost chipped in on another short par 5 earlier this year, came up about 20 yards short on my 2nd and chipped to inside a foot. The courses around here arent long and it helps having par 5's under 500 yards. Ive been getting a lot more birdies this year but eagles are tough to get for anyone. But for all these great holes ill get the occasional 6 on a par 3 or 8 on a par 4 that ends up evening things out. Im usually getting bogeys for the most part with about 1-2 pars for every nine with at least one of the previously mentioned bad holes, usually in the mid to uppers 40's for 9 holes and struggling to keep it in the 90's for 18. I have noticed recently ive been getting a bit more distance with my irons, guess im finally making more consistent contact, im probably about a club longer that i was last year at this time, makes a difference on par 3's, shorter irons give me a better chance of hitting the green.

Mine happened yesterday morning at Mcleansboro Golf Club in Mcleansboro, IL. Hole 6, 452 yard par 5. From the elevated tee(which is not usually used on this hole) and with about a 10 mph wind at my back, i hit my longest drive ever, about 290 yards and only had about 160 left for my 2nd shot. Hit a flush 7 iron to the right side of the green, first ever par 5 reached in 2. Almost messed it up by leaving eagle putt about 5 feet short but made the birdie. I guess i used up all my mojo on that hole as I played the last 3 holes at +8 but still shot a 47 for 9 as I made no worse than a bogey on the previous 5 with 2 pars.

If you only hit shots on the range where you could control all the variables it would be a lot easier or on a simulator. Just simply addressing the ball exactly the same each time is hard to do if you think about it, its an inexact science done visually. A fraction of an inch toward the heel or toe and boom bad shot, even if you made the best swing you could personally make, maybe not so much with driver but matters more with the shorter clubs. And on the same plane as well, too high and top it, too low and chunk it and dont forget about alignment with the target and getting the right trajectory to land the ball on the green and get it to stay there. Then throw in adverse weather conditions and factor in fatigue later in the round, both mentally and physically. The list could go on and on.

the pros on tv make it look easy. I never thought it was easy even before i started playing but it has proven to be difficult to stay consistent. Hitting good shots one day and and looking like a decent player and shanking them the next. Golf requires so much precision to hit accurate shots that im surprised i ever hit good shots. Just a fraction of an inch off is the difference of a nice straight beautiful lofted iron shot and one that goes straight right into the trees.

Something new must be about to come out

the only thing i dont like about the show is that the challenges arent explained very well, esp in the first show, i assumed the distance was 30 yards on the chip shots but i dont think they ever said. Same on some of the other challenges as well, i wasnt sure of the distance. Cant wait to see the next show though with Greg Norman on it. Id like to see the girls actually play some holes in elimination but I guess that will come later on in the show.

I missed 2, though i think some of the questions could have had more than one right answer

looks like youve already got a 5 hybrid, not sure why you would need a 5 iron too. That 5 hybrid is going to be much easier to hit, given your listed handicap.

We have these things called cars here where i live, no subways. Only thing underground is probably some moles tearing the crap out of your yard. I guess in big cities people use public transportation, i dont think it even exists here. You have no control over what anyone else does when you get on there. The fact that you're a kid means you'll get no respect from anyone, thats just how many people are. Some people just arent suitable for anything more than alligator bait.

Wet conditions are the toughest for me, my misses with my irons are usually fat shots and wet conditions make the ball sit down more, making it ever easier to hit them fat. Ill lift, clean and place if theres mud in the fairway. Excessive wind(15 mph+) makes for a less than fun day as well. Hot and humid make it less comfortable but it was very hot last sunday when i played and I actually did pretty good and it scares a lot of people off so the courses arent nearly as crowded, much like cold weather does too. I only played 9 holes around midday(meant to start a bit earlier) but I felt drained the rest of the day because of the heat. I think the heat index was right around 110 when we finished. In excessive heat, I hate dealing with sweat running down into my eyes and on my glasses and my hands and grips get all sweaty and have trouble gripping the club(I dont use a glove) I guess ideal conditions would be nice but if we waited for those, we'd play about 5 times a year. Have to deal with less than ideal condtions or just never play.

I wouldnt let anyone hit the driver i have now, I had the shaft break a couple weeks ago on the exact same driver. I found another one on the heartland america website. I know its a cheap nitro driver that costs $30 but somehow i have more success hitting it than anything else ive tried lately(and i tried several used name brand drivers at a local golf store) hoping the shaft breaking on the other one was a fluke(it came from kmart) so who knows what happened to it before i bought it. But im very careful with this one. I get a nice low, piercing ball flight with it which seems to go much straighter than any other driver ive tried and as far as any ive ever hit. i have several drivers but this is my fav. I guess mayb the shaft and grip it has just seems to fit me, its all standard but maybe their standard more closely approximates what ideally fits me. I still bring an extra one with me every time i play, i do have another playing partner who would like to get another driver so ive been letting him try my other ones and see if he likes any of them but hes not gettting this one.

If they saw you on the teebox, they should have gotten out of the way and let you play, then they could have finished what they were doing. They used poor judgement and poor communication from the clubhouse not letting them know you were approaching wanting to play through. That said, you shouldnt have hit your shot on a par 3 while they were near the green. Ive had grounds crew see me coming and move a bit out of the way, not realizing that im not not that good and being 5 yards off the green really isnt that safe from 150 + yards away. Once a guy was literally just a few feet off the green as I was about 175 from the green. He motioned me to go ahead and hit, I guess he was more confident of my ability than i was. I did hit the green and made par but its not a shot i normally pull off, I was very nervous about even attempting it. I think some grounds crew members that are not golfers have no concept of time or care about what you're doing, I think thats what you ran into. They dont realize that they ARE in YOUR way, much like someone stocking shelves at walmart for example as you're shopping. They should always acknowlege your presence, yield to you in a courteous and friendly manner, and then go about their business after you're gone. You should in turn thank them for their cooperation and tip your hat or wave to them as you leave their area and go on. Verbal or even physical confrontations should never happen.

Sounds like its not working too well, id rather have as flat and perfect lie on the teebox for a par 3. I never use tees for irons or hybrids so the ball sitting up on the teebox grass is what i would prefer, id hit the mound of dirt and send it flying everywhere.

Im also thinking, how do the announcers on tv know about it so quickly. As far as the divot repair, how could anyone possibly guess that the ball would end up in the exact same spot, you could probably take a free drop from that spot and not get that to happen. If he were trying to do that again like a trick shot it would be next to impossible to duplicate.

I thought the answer to the first question would be no but on the second one, a putt is a putt, whether on the green or not. I actually had a friend chip from the fringe once to make his stats look better by having less putts on that hole. I almost always putt if im on the fringe, sometimes even farther out than that. If i kept putting stats, i would count those as putts but to be a gir, you have to be completely on the green.