gbogey

I did see a big burly young guy tee off in front of me a few weeks ago. His partner asked what were the gloves he was wearing. He said they were his football gloves from playing in college - since COVID the golf stores are out of XXL gloves and they are the only thing that fits him.

I haven't played a few of the private courses that are highly regarded locally but of the ones I've played: Spring Creek Ranch (private) Colonial (private) Mirimichi (public) TPC Southwind (private) Glen Eagle (public)

I took up golf 11 years ago. During the eight years I played in NJ I probably had 30-40 lessons, first every 6-8 weeks and eventually having 1-2 a year. I give lots of credit to my instructor for taking me from trying to break 100 to a pretty solid 6-7 handicap by the time I moved. I haven't had a lesson since I moved although a few slumps have had me looking for a new pro. I think I got really lucky. I was struggling at the range and I signed up for a lesson. The pro there just happened to be a well respected former club pro who had semi-retired. He was a little of a Harvey Penick type - get to know you, what your goals are, and how do you learn. After the first couple of lessons where we stressed fundamentals (grip, posture, etc.) it was about how to make "my swing" better and how to find a teaching style that would help me understand (for me, telling me what to do doesn't work unless he also explained, often with the video, why I should it). From what I've seen and heard, where most players need lessons or have problems with lessons are either: 1. Player not addressing fundamentals; 2. Pro doesn't work with your swing; 3. Pro doesn't take time to understand your learning style. I recently started playing in the 4-5 range. I don't know if it's a fluke or if I've gotten better but I'm playing great. Biggest reason why is that my driving has improved tremendously. Why? Some of it is finally doing what my instructor told me several years ago.

I'm certainly not an expert but I'm reasonably sure it's not an equipment problem or equipment mis-match. If there's really a bigger than usual drop off in performance below 7i, you're either doing something differently with longer clubs (tempo, trying to lift, etc.) or your swing flaw (we all have them) gets accented with longer clubs (which is normal). Suggest you get some video of you hitting both clubs, maybe with a pro giving a lesson, to what is causing the issue.

If you are hitting your 7i consistently +160 carry, then you have the swing speed to play long irons. I don't think you need an equipment change unless you wanted a 4H for your 4i. Totally agree. In addition, the urge to try to help the ball into the air is much greater with longer irons. I would suggest: Choke down an inch on these clubs, at least until you feel more comfortable with how you hit them Work on maintaining the same tempo with long irons as your 7i Learn to trust the loft of the club. It took me a long time to trust that my 5i has 26 degrees of loft - it doesn't look like it compared to a 7i, but it does.

While I agree with much of what this guy is saying (and disagree in some areas based upon what other medical experts are saying), the problem is that Covid keeps overwhelming our medical system. So how does society follow his directions if the virus is going to make medical treatments limited for those in need? Not saying I have solutions, but it's a problem he isn't addressing. Plus he lost a lot of credibility when talking about the malaria drug - he may believe that it works but the data shows over wise.

If you're scratch I'm going to guess that your average score is around 73. I think the ladies will average par or slightly better, so over the course of several rounds you'll get beat by several strokes. My best guess is that the 2.8 is similar to the ladies. But I'll also guess that even if they are shooting the same score, the male has more birdies and bogeys and ladies make more pars. LPGA consistency is unreal.

If this is the case, we should all be playing more golf, not less.

I got to think that most of these type situations are fake news from people with a slanted point of view. Not saying the reporting is perfect, but I don't think this is happening on a regular basis. Plus some of the reporting requirements are confusing, so that leads to less than perfect reporting / data. We truly live in strange times. One thing that is happening, though, if you were to go to a hospital right now for any reason, covid or not, you would be tested for Covid and a positive results makes you a case. So for crazy example, if you show no symptons and fall and break your leg, but then test positive while getting your leg set, you are now a covid statistic. There have been some similar issues with deaths in some states - a person with Covid who dies of a heart attack might be listed as a Covid death. I think the issue is that in these situations there can always be problems with the absolute accuracy of the numbers. The general macro trend, however, cannot be manipulated by such factors. The general statistical trend is going the wrong way.

I've read multiple putting books and yes, most good putters will line up with their eyes directly eyes or just over the ball. I don't know what your putting aid is but most golf stores sell a putting mirror to help you line up. I use mine during conference calls when I work from home. It does help.

My experience with these situations is that it has less to do with pin placements and more to do with the course using modern green speeds for a course that was built for lower speeds. This was certainly the case of a course I used to play in NJ. The course was built in the 70's on the side of a mountain. A few years ago that ramped up the greens to the point that several were unplayable. It got to the point where I stopped playing it. While I think this is more likely to happen with public courses versus private, I've seen it at a private club as well. Also, if the course is a municipal, you are more likely to less knowledgeable staff who will occasionally put pins in bad places. To answer your question, if the green speeds are right, the pins should be matched by the difficulty of the course. If it's a tough course, then there's bound to be a few tough pins.

I've noticed something similar around here but at a lower level, say scratch-3.0. There were several guys in a tournament last year with that type of game but obviously play more often than they post scores. My guess is that betting is such a big part of the golf culture here that they like their stroke position in their weekly golf group and don't want to mess it up by posting more scores.

Looking at the picture, if it's indicative of your swing I'm going to take back my earlier comments - you likely have a very closed club face and are likely having a back swing to the inside, so it is possible that you have the same swing with your 5i as you do with your 7i with very different results. The reason being is that the shorter club allows you to fix your impact and the longer club doesn't. Therefore if the 5i has a very closed club face it won't get off the ground, much in the manner you describe. What I can't figure out is how you hit driver that far using the same technique. But in short, seek out some instruction and new clubs aren't going to fix this issue.

You are clearly doing something different with these clubs than with your 7i and below, so new equipment isn't going to help as much as lessons. Find a pro you like and ask him to help you address these specific problems (btw - posture and set up issues are places where sometimes lessons can help the most). In the meantime, try this: 1) hit several 7i's on the range and try to get the feel of a good 7i swing; 2) take your 6i, choke down 3/4's of an inch on the club more than normal, then swing the club like a 7i. If you start hitting good 6i's, you can unchoke the club and then try it with a 5i. Sounds silly, but I go through periods where I don't hit my 5i and 6i well and this is how I make a correction.

I play with what is considered to be a strong grip. Nothing intentional, just started using something that felt comfortable. When I went through a period of time hooking the ball, the pro I took lessons from told me that I could either learn to use a less strong grip or learn to play with a strong one - he used Tom Lehman and Paul Azinger as players with similar grips. I practiced several times with a neutral grip and then said the heck with it, it's not comfortable. So now I use it knowing my miss is often left. I'm a better player now than I was then so I guess it's working.

I'll update to "6" since that's where I've been most of the two years. Let's see how July plays out before believing that today's 4.4 isn't a fluke.

So I've had 5 unusually good rounds in June and have noticed two things: Stating the obvious, since it is now best of 8 instead of 10 your handicap can move down much faster than before. My handicap is now .4 better than it was under the old system - that's the highest differential I've seen so far.

Yes, I believe the ponds are connected by the creek. The course is The Links at Galloway. #7.

I'll ask @DaveP043 to weigh in - you aren't really going to the far side of the hazard as much as going back in a straight line. That may be the difference.

I thought that this might have gone away as part of the rules changing. If not, this is good to know. The picture doesn't do it justice. A small part of your circle is safe, but most of it slopes away from the sharply from the green. As I mentioned, the ground is hard there so the ball really runs and lies aren't pleasant. Even if it stops short of the creek, it's a tough pitch to get on the green safely since the pitch is uphill over the ridge and then the green runs towards the water pretty fast. Four is a really good score from down there. The right play is to always go for the front fat part of the green. Really not a difficult shot, probably an 9i or 8i at most. If pin is up, good birdie chance. Middle pin, should be easy two putt. Back pin is a very long two putt but taking four this way is better than chasing the back pin. I see way too may guys go after the back or middle pin - of course they think left is better than right - but there's still a lot of trouble left and often that puts five and six into play. Me, last night I just shut the club face and went long left which is one of my misses - ball hit the down slope and made the creek.

The course isn't well marked for hazards - its a muni - but I'm comfortable that #1 is an option. #2 was an option under the old rules, not sure about the new rules. #3 - IDK - if you followed a straight line from the hazard along the flag you eventually get there and are further from the hole. Of course, there's always #4 - go back to the tee.

This hasn't happened yet but it occurred to me last night that it could happen. On #7, par 3, it's not unusual to miss long left (seems safer). If you do, it's downhill hard pan and the ball likely runs into a creek that runs behind the green (highlighted in yellow). From there, what are the drop options: Most players drop at #1 where the ball crossed the hazard. Problem is that the lies are often difficult and you are pitching to an uphill green that runs downhill towards the water. Very difficult shot. It occurred to me last night that if you crossed the creek away from the green, there would be better suitable lies around the 9th green with a good view of the flag. Might be an easier shot. Is #2 an option? Finally, #3 is where players would drop after hitting a ball short into the water. If you knew you were in the hazard long could you drop there providing you were no nearer to the hole (you typically wouldn't be). Is #3 an option?

To be clear, it's the hole where a bogey golfer needs a stroke versus a scratch golfer. A good example was my old home course in NJ. The 3rd hole #1 handicap was 391 from my tees - a scratch golfer with his 250 yard drive would have 141 into the green - probably a wedge. A bogey golfer with his 200 yard drive would have 191 into the green - probably a FW to an elevated green with deep rough right and a hill left that ran into the woods. The 7th hole #3 handicap (355 yards) was harder but it hard for everyone - regardless of whether your drive was 200 or 250, you had an awkward side hill lie into a diabolical green.

So I hate to over generalize, but taking a quick glance at the scorecard / GPS flyover, there appears to be 6-7 holes where a reliable 210 yard shot puts you in good position, so no need to hit driver there if you thought the course was tight or if you were wilder than usual that day. That doesn't include the par 5's, which depending on how tight they were and whether you could reach in two, you might also avoid driver. So I guess what I'm saying is that on a tight, tree lined course ditch the driver unless the risk / reward is worth it. Also you mention trying to clear corners. My guess is that the course opened up further out than you think. Or, if you were trying to hit around the dog legs to get closer to the hole, my bet is that is generally a bad idea except for really advanced golfers. Generally, unless you are risking hitting through a fairway, you'd likely be better off just hitting your stock driver down the fairway without cutting the corner. Again, risk /reward of going around a dog leg is usually poor in my experience.

I won't repeat what the others said but the question I would ask is "did you hit driver on every hole?" Tree lined courses tend to be tighter and less forgiving (obviously), but often they are also shorter. There were probably several holes where a +200 yard hybrid would have put you in good position. My home course in NJ, @billchao knows which one, was short but tree lined for the first 16 holes. Unless you were having a great day, you were going to hit at least 1-2 drives per round into the trees. There were a couple of holes where driver was a stupid play for most golfers. I would hit 4-6 FW/hybrids off the tee per round because I figured out over time that was my best option to make par. However, some of this will depend on your game and what your strengths are.