Orange

I personally don't understand why people hit their own balls either. Like a previous poster already said, I'll only hit my own balls on the range (if they're balls I don't care about) if I need one more shot to leave the range on a positive note. But as someone who works as a cart attendant at a golf course, one of my tasks as an employee is to drive the tractor around the golf course picking up all of the range balls, cleaning them, and then putting them back in the ball dispensing machines. I cannot tell you how many times I have found perfectly fine Pro V1s sitting in the middle of the range. Not only Pro V1s, but other great balls are guaranteed to be picked up when I drive around on the range. Over this past summer I acquired nearly 700 golf balls, about 100 of them being Pro V1s. The rest are Titleist, Bridgestone, Top Flite, Callaway, Nike, or Noodle/Maxfli balls that I would normally buy if I needed to actually buy golf balls. I found a lot of Slazenger, Dunlop, Wilson, and other lower-grade balls, but I prefer to not collect or play with them because I have the option of playing with better balls. I guess it pays to work at a course that doesn't do anything with found golf balls on the range.

Didn't exactly go anywhere spectacular, but I did have quite the golf adventure earlier this summer. Played a round at 5:00 AM with a friend at Highland Woods , the course we both work at. Round went pretty well and we were feelin' good about our game... so good that we decided to play another round. We actually decided to play the next round at another course while in the middle of our back nine. Headed on over to Whisper Creek after we finished our morning round, and we were done with 36 holes by 2:30 PM. Things got interesting after that because I actually still had to work at my course that night starting at 5:00 PM. Got home around 4:00 PM, passed out for 35 minutes, then took a quick shower and headed to work at the course I started my day at. Needless to say, my eyes had never felt so tired in my life and my body was paying for the 36 holes of golf by the time I was done with work at 10:00 PM. I think I fell asleep for the night around 10:30 PM, haha. It was quite the adventurous day, a lot of fun too, but I don't think I would ever do it again. I've golfed 36 holes in a day plenty of times, but throwing in a shift at work at the end of the day was not very fun!

Have any of you ever played at Eagle Ridge Resort in Galena, IL? I'll be going there in a few days to play the East Course, North Course, and The General and was looking for any tips or suggestions for a first timer out there. Heard they're supposed to be nice courses with a lot of elevation change. If you have been there, how was your experience and what courses did you play?

Shot an 83 yesterday in a skins game (my first one). Didn't win any holes, only had two birdies, but it was a fun experience. Also played a quick 9-hole round with my friends today and had my second eagle of the summer (and of my life). Felt really good, but wasn't as exciting as my first eagle a few weeks ago on a par 4. This time I had it on a par 5. I'm glad I'm able to get those eagle opportunities though! I just need to take more advantage of them. Still shot a 40 on 9 holes, would have been nice to have scored a bit less than that.

I have no problem playing in the heat. Since I work at a course, I get to play for free whenever I want (best perk ever). I have been playing everyday for the past five because the course has been extremely empty. Actually got my second eagle today on a par 5 while playing a fun 9-hole round with my friends. They enjoy the discounted golf as well, haha. In short, the heat doesn't bother me. I love golf too much!

Just a Cleveland HiBore XLS 9.5 degree... this is my second summer with it and I couldn't be happier with some of my drives with it.

It's hard to tell because you can't see over the dogleg... I would guess it was between 280-290 though. I sky-rocketed the ball so I don't see how it would have gotten much roll.

Played a pretty decent round today, though it didn't go as well as a few previous rounds when I shot in the low 80s. I walked up to the 18th tee box with 7 pars on the round, hoping to get one more or possibly even a birdie. The 18th hole being one of my favorites on the course, I was pretty excited to hit my drive. The hole is a 374 yard slight dogleg left. I normally cut the dogleg with my drive, but today I did something I haven't quite done before on that hole. I cut the dogleg perfectly, landing my drive on the green. I've gotten close to driving the green before, but never have I been directly on it. After one of my best drives ever (easily 300+, possibly 325?) I walked up to the green hoping to hit my ball close to the hole for a birdie putt. It wasn't going to be an easy putt though... it was a solid 50 footer. Keep in mind, my ball was a few yards off the front of the green, while the pin placement was in the back. Putting isn't exactly my strong point, so I really just wanted to get it close for the birdie. Hit my putt and the ball just dropped into the hole after riding a left-right uphill slope. Needless to say, I was pretty excited, despite the fact that I still ended up with an 86 for the day. Definitely my best hole I've ever played... longest drive of my life, longest putt of my life, and first eagle. I'd say it was a pretty good hole! Sorry about creating a whole thread about this, I'm still overly excited about it, haha. I've had a handful of eagle opportunities before but never gotten one this nice.

My summer goal is to break 80, so I'm in the same boat as you. Last year I played from the blue tees because I have a long drive if I hit it straight. This year, I decided to just play from the white tees until I break 80 or shoot low 80s on a consistent basis. So far out of thirteen rounds this summer, my lowest five scores have been 80, 81, 86, 89, 91. The 80 and 81 have been within the past week so I'm feeling pretty good about my game right now. I definitely think I'll break 80 this summer, I almost did twice. It's just a matter of choosing the right clubs and making sure I'm all lined up correctly before I take my shot. My putting isn't too horrible and this summer I have actually had an extreme amount of confidence hitting out of sand. I don't know what happened, but it just seems easy to me now. My advice is to take it slow and focus on one aspect of your game at a time. Trying to do too much never seemed to help me out in the past.

I work at a golf course and part of my job is to take care of the driving range. The tenth hole is adjacent to the range, so sometimes we get a lot of balls that carry into the range. When I pick them up in the ball-picker, I set those balls aside and can take any of them if I want. You'd also be surprised how many nice golf balls I find in the middle of the range, as if people decide to hit ProV1s on the range instead of a range ball... I currently have a milk crate full of golf balls and a few extra ball boxes filled in my garage... 250 golf balls, about 75 of them are nice ProV1s or equivalent. For this reason, I don't usually go out of my way to find golf balls on the course because I can get them so easily at work. If anyone else wants free golf, free lost balls, and free driving range buckets , you should highly consider working at a golf course!

Yeah, I think I'll just wait it out. Just hit an 81 today, so my chances at breaking 80 before the end of summer is definitely in sight... don't want to ruin that.

A little background information... I have been using a Wilson Air Power beginner set for eight years now. Over the past three summers, I have played about 25-30 rounds of golf. Before that, I only played 5-7 rounds per year. I haven't changed the grips on my clubs for a number of different reasons... but I feel like they aren't valid reasons. Should I change my grips? 1) I'm not really sure if it's worth it. I plan on getting new clubs within two years when I get a real job and can afford them. 2) I hit my irons pretty well and am afraid that if I change my grips, my game will suffer. I just shot an 80 last week (summer goal was to break 80), and I want to keep my momentum going. My grips aren't rock hard or anything, don't exactly slip out of my hands at all, but from common knowledge I feel like most golfers would have definitely changed the grips by now. Has anyone else ever been afraid to change their grips? It would also be nice to save the $50-$75 it would cost to change them.

Ah thanks, I forgot about that guide.

So as usual, I was in the vicinity of a Golfsmith and I had to stop by and look around. I like looking at their pre-owned section because I'm a college student and cheap golf equipment is never a bad thing. Soooo I noticed that they put up a table for $99 "incomplete" iron sets. I saw MP-30 irons (3-9, missing the PW)... is it just me or is this a steal? I could be wrong though, I don't know much about Mizuno clubs. I peeled back the price sticker to see what their original price was for the set and it said something like $117 I think... They clubs are in pretty decent shape, a few of them have some noticeable dings, but nothing bad on the actual club faces. Can someone help me out here? Are these clubs an absolute steal for that price?

Well I tend to pick out all of the Pro V1's if they're in good shape, 95% of them are. I probably have about 40-50 of them. It's surprising to find so many of them at the range...I also like to play Maxfli/Noodle, Callaway, and TopFlite balls so I usually grab those if they're in good shape too.

I work at a course and we collect all of the random balls that people hit from the driving range... let's just say I haven't had to pay for golf balls since I started working there...

I work at a course and get to play for free (it's a wonderful thing) so most of the time I'll just go play on a whim. I like to play early and be the first to tee off for the day (usually around 5AM or so)... sometimes I'll get paired up, sometimes I won't. Like others have stated, it's a good way to clear my mind and much easier to work on certain parts of my game if I'm not with friends (which tends to be more like hanging out together in a golf course, rather than trying to work on your game). If I choose to play with friends it takes much more effort to get a time to work for everyone so usually we will only play 9 holes in the late afternoon. Those 9 holes are just as much fun as the relaxing 18 holes by myself though. The par 3's are the best because we always play closest to the pin for a dollar. It adds some good competition for a little bet.

I work at a golf course and we just started a little match play tourney between all of the employees. I had my round this morning, eager to give it my all. I'm only 20 and I was playing against a guy who was probably 57 or so. After the first 9 holes we were all tied up. In fact, we were still tied after 17 holes thanks to my 12 foot putt to save par to keep it tied. So we walk up to the 18th tee box and I'm getting a bit nervous. I've never played in a tournament or anything, not even a casual match play game with a friend or something, so my heart was starting to beat a little bit faster. My opponent hits his tee shot down the fairway and then it was my turn to give it a go. ... I'll be honest, I was nervous but I wasn't sweating bullets or anything. I tee my ball up and I'm feelin' alright. The 18th hole at my course is actually one of my favorite to drive on - I can usually hit it within 60 yards of the green or so. Anyways, I swing my driver only to be crushed by the fact that I hit my ball off the toe. My ball traveled straight right into the tall grass/forest. So I hit my tee shot again (now hitting three), and I knock about 50 yards from the green. It was all too late though, I had no chance once my opponent was on the green in two. I ended up with a 6 on the hole, he saved par. The worst part is that I had been crushing my drives all day. Consider me bummed out, lol. Lost my match on the very last hole, but hey, that's the way golf goes sometimes, right? Sorry for the long rant... just felt like rambling.

Bump for more pics!

Didn't get a chance to catch it last night... plan on watching it today though.

My thoughts exactly. If it creates such an unfair advantage, then they should be illegal...

Thought I would chime in here since I got a new bag and driver for Christmas. :) The rest of my clubs though? Eek. Did a little comparison between my old driver and my new XLS... gosh, I'm so glad I at least have ONE club worth recognizing, haha. Bought a 60* Cleveland a few years ago because I wanted another wedge... didn't really no any better though, should have bought a 56* but oh well, haha. I love it when I get to use it. ;) (...when I hit it the right way, haha) Damn, you guys are probably really jealous of these bad boys. Titleist what??! :P And hey, I thought I would throw my drumset in here to at least make my post interesting. :]

Thought I should jump into this since I am becoming a big fan of Cleveland. Got a Tour Action 60* wedge a few years ago and loved the feel of it, even though I should have bought a 56* at the time (but I didn't know any better). So eventually, I'll be looking to get another wedge... Just got the HiBore XLS 9.5* Driver to replace to craptastic (yet, I still managed to smash the ball with it... 300+ sometimes) Wilson Air Power driver. I don't even know what it's loft is - doesn't say on the club. Anyways, I went to Top Golf yesterday and gave my new driver a shot and holy cowwww, instant love, haha. I was hitting it far, but straight as an arrow. Normally I would have a slice when using my driver, and now it's gone with this new beast. :]

Finally getting out of my 7 year-old Wilson Air Power clubs/bag... slowly, but surely! I'm so pumped to start using these when I get back home from college.

I just use a ball until I use it... I'll usually go through two or three a round.