BoomerGolfAnon

Yes, that is me. I borrowed my son's hand-made, paper mâché Anonymous mask from Venice, Italy when I had the picture taken. I'll be sure to leave it at home and be properly attired as well (black tapered golf pants, a proper golf shirt, and a nice cardigan vest). I'm going to go for a Bubba Watson look, but with a different golf hat.

Will do, my friend. Your name is at the TOP of the list! And yes: we've already exchanged a couple of text messages, so it's legit.

Thanks for this information, Ben. It's great advice. Having said that, it looks like my quest may be over! Here's the story: Yesterday, I was driving around Bellevue, WA on errands, and on a whim I decided to swing by Puetz Golf to try out a new putter (a Stroke Labs V-Line double-bend mallet putter that I've had my eye on for over a month). Normally, I only go to Puetz when I need a new grip for clubs I buy at Value Village, but this day was different. There was another customer already at the indoor 'putting green'. We quietly putted from opposite ends of the 15-foot green for several minutes, and both of us were either sinking or rimming most of our long putts. I broke the ice by by asking him what kind of new putter he was looking for and why, and we started talking about golf. It quickly became clear to me that this guy knew his stuff, and eventually he asked me about my own golf story and where I like to golf. I said: "Honestly, I don't really golf much. I'm a range rat and spend most of my time practicing - I try to practice every day." He said, "Come on, you must golf somewhere!" I replied: "Yeah, you're right. My local public course is Twin Rivers in Fall City. BUT...the course I *really* want to play is Aldarra Golf Course in Sammamish. I drive by it each time I head out to the range. It's an exclusive, private club that's gorgeous, and I'm desperate to meet someone who is a member there so I can play a round. And, if that doesn't work, I may try some kind of social engineering troll to sneak onto the course!" Then he said: "Well, I may be able to help, because I am a member at Aldarra, and I'd be happy to take you out for a round whenever you want." I almost dropped my putter. What a stroke of luck! The stars had aligned in my favor! We kept on putting and talking about golf and exchanged contact info. So there you have it. There's no longer any need for any social engineering (or digital) shenanigans. All I had to do was try out a new putter on a whim...and get the timing JUST right. It worked, but I still can't believe it happened! I'll need to do A LOT of prep work prior to the big day (probably sometime in the early spring when things have dried out). The guy I met is also rehabbing a shoulder injury, so (presumably) he'll need to get past that, too. In the meantime, I'll be spending a lot more time actually PLAYING GOLF at the nearby public courses so I can make a good initial impression and do just justice to this amazing golf course. Maybe I'll even get a lesson for the first time in my life. Thanks to everyone who weighed in with advice. And a big shout out the Double Mocha Man for all his hilarious banter. Looks like Aldarra is off my radar for a 2020 "Sneak In"...but don't fret: there's always Newcastle!

I'm not sure which approach is more dangerous: hacking into Aldarra's computers (a digital troll) or sneaking onto the course (an IRL troll)...let me think about this for a bit...

I've been an avid reader of the magazine "2600" for two decades now - "2600" is a hacker's quarterly with tips on how to hack things electronically {for learning purposes only} and how to employ social engineering to achieve similar ends. In this case, I think the social engineering approach is the right one. Social engineering (security) - Wikipedia

Thanks for all the feedback. I think my best bet is to simply start playing more rounds at the local public and municipal courses. Truth be told, I am a committed range rat and I spend way too much time practicing golf instead of playing golf. I guess I'm the Boomer Golf Anon version of the 20-year-old NEET who lives in his parent's basement, playing dank video games all day long instead of interacting with actual humans IRL. If I play as a single to round out a 4some, there's at least the opportunity to meet 3 new people...one of whom may know someone who knows someone...

I talked to some shops today, and they all said that a change that small (8-10 grams) was not worth worrying about. Also, no one carries the hex-nut counterweights, so I'd have to order one online. The undersized grip I want is 35 grams versus 50 for a standard grip, but the Aldila NV 65 shaft is 8 grams heavier than the stock Fujikura 57 gram shaft. It's almost a wash. I'll do the swap, give it a try for a week or two, and then decide if I need to either add weight or switch to a standard grip.

When I bought my last car, I made sure to try it out more than once AND on separate days - I didn't want to make a snap decision about something so expensive. The car-buying analogy is a good one. I felt a little bad for the first salesman, knowing that I wasn't planning to pull the trigger immediately, but that's just how things work, and it was his job to make the experience a good one for me. If I get the timing right, and touch base with the membership folks on a slow day, I won't lose too much sleep, especially since I'm not asking them to go golfing with me.

Today, I went out to the Twin Rivers Golf Course in Fall City, WA to hit my daily bucket of balls. It was very cold, with sheets of sleet and slightly icy rain. The wind was blowing straight into my face with 20 MPH gusts. I had to cover my bag with a cloth to keep my head covers dry. It also felt like I was hitting small granite balls, not the Srixon soft balls I normally game. Even so, I gave it my best shot and tried to finish up the 51 balls in bucket as fast as I could (I have no idea why they settled on "51" balls and not "50", but I'm not complaining). I don't think I've ever hit 51 balls so quickly. Screw the weather, I say! As long as the range isn't closed, I'll be there if time permits.

I would imagine that the first step for me would be to establish (for the first time) what my ACTUAL handicap is, whether I'm trying to 'sneak' on to Aldarra or joining some kind of Men's League to gain street credibility. This is one of my big goals for 2020...alas, it was also one of my goals for 2019, but it didn't happen. I spend most of my time at the local ranges (Twin Rivers, Willows Run, and Bellevue Municipal) but very little time actually out on the course. Let me know if you're ever part of a 4some but are missing a player. There may be a nice bottle of Costco-branded single-malt whiskey in the mix for you and your buddies if you make it happen!

I agree. And the "Kirkland" label would be a dead give-away. But nothing is keeping me from: A) buying the good stuff with a proper bottle and label; B) emptying the good stuff into a vessel; C) then pouring the Kirkland stuff into the now-empty Laphroig bottle. The only challenge is finding a tool to attach a new and unblemished cap to the Laphroig bottle. Time for more Internet research, I guess...

I just did some quick research, and it seems that back in 2017, Costco was selling this stuff for $38 per bottle. Here are the details: How Does Costco Sell 18-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch for $38? - PUNCH There’s a recent groundswell of support for Costco’s Kirkland Signature whiskies. Just two questions: Where do they come from, and why are they... I'm heading there tomorrow for a food run, so I'll add this to my list.

Actually, I hadn't thought of this. I spent several years in Eastern Europe right after the Berlin Wall came down, and the easiest way to "get stuff done" was to either pay off someone with cash or a nice bottle of American-made whiskey.

I fearlessly guard my anonymity, so (technically speaking) I do not even have a reputation to sacrifice. Looks like we're a go for a 2020 Sneak-In at the Aldarra Golf Course in Sammamish, WA!

To quote Nike: "Believe in something...even if it means sacrificing everything!"

Well, if you're ever in the area, send me a PM and we can see whether your troll works for boomer golf anons!

lol. Thank you for sharing this hilarious and very well-written summary about how to sneak onto a private country club, albeit as you note the summary really only applies to teenagers. Your story reminded me of something I used to do regularly when I was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder back in the mid-1980's. Whenever there was a rock concert or music performance at the basketball arena, my friends and I would get dressed up in nice clothing, then we'd start pounding on one of the side doors at the venue. Eventually, when one of the security guards opened the door to see what was going on, I'd say: "Hi, I'm private McCalister with the Army ROTC Clean Up Crew. We volunteered as part of our ROTC training to pick up trash after the performance. Sgt. Billington, our commander, told us to show up at this door at 21 hundred hours, so we're here and at your disposal. How can we help?" It worked EVERY SINGLE TIME! I even got to see a performance by Frank Sinatra at the tail end of his career using the vaunted "Army ROTC Clean Up Crew" troll. Good times, good memories.

I live in an eastside suburb of Seattle near Issaquah, Washington, and there is a very exclusive, private golf course less than 10 minutes from my home. I drive by this course each time I'm heading out to the local PUBLIC range to hit my daily bucket of balls. This summer, I mustered the courage to drive through the front gate (properly attired) to check things out in person, and I was suitably impressed. Here's a link to the Aldarra Golf Course website: Seattle-Sammamish Golf Course | Aldarra Golf Club - Aldarra Golf Club Just minutes east of Seattle, Aldarra Golf Club is a private membership only prestine golf course located in Sammamish Washington. What are some methods that other folks have used to secure a round of golf at a private course if: A) you're not a member at a private club; and B) you don't know anyone who is a member who could invite you for a round? Who knows: if the stars align properly, I would join in a heartbeat if I had enough disposable cash to do so, but that's not an option for me right now. I wonder whether the folks at Aldarra would laugh at me if I asked for a permission to play a round to set the stage for a longer-term goal of saving up enough money to join at some point down the road. Any tips, tricks or suggestions (other than the obvious one of sneaking on to the course armed with a pitching wedge) would be appreciated.

Hello, I recently purchased a used TaylorMade SLDR Mini Driver (12-degrees of loft) and while I LOVE both the head *and* the concept behind this club, I haven't really bonded with the stock shaft which is a Fujikura Speeder 57 regular shaft. Among other things, the diameter on the stock shaft is very big compared to my other fairway woods and it just feels unnaturally oversized at address. I also recently purchased an uncut New-Old Stock green Aldila NV 65 shaft on eBay after I bought some older Cleveland Launcher 2005-2006 fairway woods that were equipped with these shafts. I hit both of these fairway woods (a 15-degree 3 wood and a 19-degree 5 wood) very consistently, so I'd like to get the Aldila NV 65 cut down to size and installed on the SLDR Mini Driver. I have two questions: 1) How much should I expect to pay to get the new shaft installed? I need the old shaft removed, then the new NV 65 shaft needs to get tip trimmed one inch, then butt trimmed to 43.5" (which is standard for the SLDR Mini Driver). I can manage the grip install myself, so that work doesn't need to be done by a big shop or a smaller club builder. 2) Should I be worried about changing the swing weight? Normally, I don't get too worked up about swing weights, but FWIW the two fairway woods I hit really well with this shaft are D1 and D1.5, respectively. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on my first golf swing video. I'm a dedicated "range rat", and have been going to the local range almost everyday, rain or shine. Initially, I tried to incorporate too much feedback at the same time, and the results were not good. I've now learned to only make one small change at a time before moving on to the next bit of feedback. Currently, I am working hard to pivot my left knee forwards during the back swing (instead of collapsing it into the middle of my stance) and to reduce the height of my left heel raise. These changes have helped me make better and more consistent strikes near the center of the face. As soon as the weather breaks here, I'll get a new video posted.

I appreciate the link, DaveP043 I've been trying out the "Wall Drill" all night long whenever I'm walking around around my house. What a simple AND useful drill. Thanks! I can really feel the difference trying to push my trailing hip as far away from the wall as possible during my backswing. I've also noticed that it's harder for me to life my left heel up as high as I normally do. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing in terms of making an athletic turn, but it *IS* forcing me to be more deliberate in the way I raise my left heel. Now I'm curious to learn whether I can do something similar outside using an alignment stick stuck in the ground vertically. I'm going to give this idea a try tomorrow (weather permitting).

Thanks for the feedback, Vinsk Yes, the video makes clear that I'm swaying all over the place, especially my lower body. At address, I'm lined up over the ball, but at impact my head and core have moved behind the ball. This is likely creating more dynamic loft with more backspin, which may encourage the ballooning flight trajectory I get on most "clean" shots. I'll do some research on drills to stay centered during the swing. Maybe I can use a tall mirror with vertical stripes of blue tape to retrain myself. Or, maybe I can use some back-lighting in the garage to cast a shadow on a white sheet to watch for sway. I also noticed that Francesco Molinari pushes his left leg and knee forwards during his heel rise, whereas I am bowing (or collapsing) my left leg and knee to the inside. Maybe I can fix this by having A LOT more pressure on my right leg during the backswing.

Hi Vinsk, I finally got around to making and posting my first swing video. Feel free to take a peek and offer any words of wisdom you may have. https://thesandtrap.com/forums/topic/102445-my-swing-boomergolfanon/

I should also mention that I'm a "true sweeper". I never take a divot (by design) and I've already replaced my longer irons with fairway woods. My remaining short irons and wedges are all Cleveland Launcher HBs with very wide soles, and I don't take divots with these clubs, either. So, any advice I receive should be appropriate for a sweeper, not a digger.

Hey there, Sand Trappers, I've finally mustered the courage to post my first swing video to the forum. I've been playing golf for a LONG time, but have never had a lesson or any formal instruction. I like to learn new things by experimenting, making note of what seems to work and what doesn't. The result is what you'll see in the video: an odd-looking windup in which my left heel comes up very high and is then slammed down hard as I shift my weight in the downswing. (I just learned that Francesco Molinari started lifting his left heel in 2018 to gain more distance, so I feel like I'm in good company!) As you'll see, there's also a lot of lower-body sway in my swing that I need to tame. I use a 10-finger baseball grip as I had to abandon the interlocking grip recently due to a pinky injury on my right hand caused by golf. In addition, I use a VERY strong left- and right-hand grip. I'm willing to make the grip less strong, but the baseball grip is non-negotiable. I've always played with a BIG left heel raise during the upswing which slams down hard and transitions quickly to a BIG right heel raise near impact time. Most of my shots fly straight & true (with maybe a tiny, baby fade), but without much penetration or distance. Instead, my swing results in a 'beautiful' ballooning ball flight. I can't carry my 17-degree 3 fairway wood more than 185-190 yards. What are some things I can work on without re-inventing my golf swing from the ground up? I've been Playing Golf for: 40+ years My current handicap index or average score is: Unknown (probably close to a 15 handicap) My typical ball flight is: Non-penetrating, ballooning ball flight, either dead straight or with a baby fade The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: I am mostly trying to gain distance by replacing my ballooning ball flight with one that penetrates at a lower trajectory Videos: