nevets88

I buy good weather by going down to FLA once a month for 3 or 4 days and do nothing but play or practice golf. Good deals to be had November and December, but January to March is a little more expensive. After all these years, I am really getting to know Florida well.

Interesting bit in NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/sp...tml?ref=sports Old Man par is doing pretty well, financially.

I found Bandon to be an easy walk, but I'm in better shape than most golfers since I run and bike. I only remember one or two uphill holes. I didn't take a caddie, but the caddies in my group were friendly and helped me out. In retrospect, if I were playing a course there for the first time, I'd take a caddie. After that, I'd go solo.

VW Rabbit, Jetta, Golf Toyota Camry, Matrix, Corolla Mini Cooper Scion coupe and that boxy thing Vauxhall hatchback BMW 3 Volvo Mazda 3, 6 Nissan Versa Chevrolet Malibu I rent. Owning a car in NY is expensive. $500/month for parking.

I walk whenever I can. That means, local NY courses or munis anywhere else - walk (moderate pace). Traveling in the US, playing "resort" style courses - ride, against my will. UK - walk (quickly).

I went just once during the fall, but I would recommend taking the coastal route if you're driving there from Portland. The interstate is faster, but of course, the Oregon coast offers alot to admire. Many photo ops. Other than that, they make a good cheeseburger.

I see we don't have many skiers here. Or snowboarders. Ever take the first run after a huge snowfall? Heaven.

I usually take a couple of winter trips and the most important thing to me, is guaranteed good weather. I've frozen my butt off during fall/winter in Pinehurst, Arizona and Georgia. South Florida sounds cliched, but you'll get the warmest climes compared to almost anywhere else in the US during the winter. Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Naples would do. Maybe the Biltmore (biltmorehotel.com) in Coral Gables has some specials.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/wo...ld&oref;=slogin

Not new as in newly built, but first time played. Hillside - Southport, England Inniscrone - Eastern Pennslyvania Neshanic - New Jersey These were ok, but not great Lyman Orchards - Connecticut Heskell - England

Try zipcar.com for car rentals. You go to the garage, zap your card and go.

Just wondering how you deal with the big city w/respect to golf - the traffic, lack of places to play, no car perhaps, etc... I live in Manhattan, and all that driving wears me out by the end of summer.

More Anne Rawson photos: http://www.pbase.com/isogood/anna_rawson

Ernie Els, Steve Elkington, Payne Stewart, David Toms, Geoff Ogilvy. I'm biased towards swings w/smooth tempos.

Going back to original review, I'd agree with the tricked up ness of TR and given the variety of other courses in the area, it's not the first course on my list to play. It does get alot of business though and on a totally unrelated note, it does have one of the more interesting tee markers. WorkerOfTheBall - I forgot 9 has the #1 handicap. I usually get stuck at the bottom of the right bunker - a tough up and down.

I played TR early spring. I liked the last hole, although it the tee shot was blind, over a road. The two par 3s on the back nine too. But the 9th and the par 5 on the back nine near the road was a bit much, with punishing elevated greens. You can barely see the flag, let alone guess there was a green on that par 5. I hit two fairway woods to 100 yards and dumped a wedge into the front right bunker. Tot Hill Farm, another Strantz course is not as bad, but with more elevation changes. One of these days, I'll eventually play a Pinehurst resort course and Pine Needles.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...ds_looking_for

Spyglass, Bandon Dunes, Hillside (next to Royal Birkdale) and Bethpage Black,

I think for better distance control, a heavier head might be better for me. I'm currently using an old model Ping Anser putter and compared to other putters, say Odessey's or Titliest's or the newer Ping Ansers, my putterhead feels light. It's easy for me to get jerky on the backswing. I think more weight will make for a smoother swing. Any opinions?

A slightly bent left arm is okay. You don't want something like 30*.

Check out the latest issue of T&L; golf - on the newsstands - not on internet yet.

Hank Kuehne, who is as long as or probably longer than John Daly, has a bent left arm at the top of the swing. You should have a straight left arm at impact though. Can't think of any now, but more than a few tour players have slightly bent left arms at the top.

Played Wyncote, Honeybrook and Inniscrone (twice). All allowed walking, which is a plus. Loved Inniscrone. Love Irish style courses. Loved the long par 4s. Two quirky holes - the short par 3 and the one with the double fairway. Will go back one day and get revenge on those holes I made a mess of.

Sometimes the phrase "hitting down" is taken too literally. I know I did. It really sunk in I was hitting way too down when I played on a wet course (Hello, wet state of Washington ) and one of my divots dug down 3 inches, maybe more into the soft ground. (Hello, China!) I think the better phrase is to hit through the ball. Your mileage might vary. Hitting down wasn't a good thought for me when my ball was sitting up in the rough. I usually hit a under the ball, catching it high on the clubface. Other drills that worked for me is to make little swings one handed. With the leading hand, the left, if you're a righty. Try hitting sand wedges 50, 75 yards with one hand. Also, this is weird, but try hitting the ball first with the ball way forward in your stance. Another tip, which I think I saw in a Chuck Cook (not sure if the name is right) video is to take a 5 iron and try hit the ball really low (I don't know, 5 yards high?) with a 1/2 swing. You might want to verify your hands are ahead of the ball at impact by taping your swing. Sometimes what you feel or think you see, isn't so. Sounds like you are hitting the ball first, but it never hurts to check out your swing on video. I enjoy hitting punch shots with the ball positioned back. Good for windy days. Bugs the hell out of one of my partners who has a high ball flight. You can hit some super low shots with the ball way back in your stance with a long iron. I once unintentionally hit a shot lower than I wanted, inches, over the water. That was cool to watch. The hydrofoil shot.

I was in a similar rut as well. I was stuck at 90-100 for a couple of years, despite lessons and diligent practice and quit out of frustration. I had the typical wrist breakdown at impact most high handicaps have. Very inconsistent. I could have stuck with the swing and lowered the handicap with the short game, but I was stubborn and wanted to learn to swing correctly. I just couldn't figure it out though. My solution? I quit for 2 years. I got the bug again and worked on impact, hitting the ball first, lowering my ball flight, etc... The goal was to get a technically correct swing, where that definition to me was hands ahead of the ball at impact, divot after the ball, proper release, decent distance, consistent and holds well under pressure. It took awhile, but after hitting so many shanks, chunks and skulls that I lost count, I started to make progress to the point where I can shoot in the mid 80s. I've seen my swing on video and at impact, my hands are ahead of the ball now. Still have much room for improvement (especially when your swing is side by side with a pga pro's), but much better than the rut years. What worked differently this time? - Working on impact, lowering my ball flight, practicing more on grass, working on getting the divot after the ball, connecting where the clubhead actually is (and pointing to) to where I think/feel it is. - Although I read alot of golf instruction during my rut, there was a disconnect between theory and on the course golf. It took awhile for all of it to sink in. Swing plane, cupped wrist, bowed wrist, weight on the insides of the feet, laid off, across the top, etc... Not being especially athletic, it just took alot of time, for me, for the theory to sink in. - I took alot... alot of tension out of my swing - all swings. Especially in the arms. It's amazing how far you can hit the ball when you're loose. My m.o. on instructors is to try different ones, and use what brings results. Although I've used different instructors, there are one or two I go back to. When I was in my rut, one instructor, who has a good reputation, told me after 3 or 4 lessons over a month, that I basically hit a wall and to work with what I had, when I instinctively knew that my swing was not right. To make a long story short, keep plugging away.