ctyankee

I don't think the key point is what tour pros are capable of. They are great. But if Holmes were to hit only two shots and both shots were fantastic - the show ends up with a lame event where the only difference maker would be the guys that totally miss the green and the other targets becoming meaningless. This makes the participants look bad as well. As for the glass ... a fun event but until hitting a shot to pane of glass x feet off the ground and x yards in front of them becomes part of golf - it's simply that.

In my view, you don't need to have been there to see how the segment was 'produced.' There is no way they want to have a PGA Touring Pro embarrassed as that will ensure others won't ever come on the show. What they said was that J.B. Holmes hit two shots to the green and these were used to mark target circles from the pin. I'm sure that's completely true. What they didn't say was that he was given ONLY two shots to hit the green. Let's face it, if Holmes hits two great shots to the pin the contest would stink much as if he were to hit two shots on top of one another (anywhere) much like if he were to hit one or two stinky shots. The only good option is what they showed happen and they can only control that by having him hit several shots and selecting the two that made for a good contest. Unfortunately for the show there has been no drama toward the end. Partly, that's due to the format and part of that is bad luck. So three weeks and three shows where you could have turned it off pretty early and know who was going off. They can hype a miracle recovery shot or a playoff all they want but with the hour coming to a close and knowing that they still are going to another commercial break, you know that's not happening. And that only makes these sound bytes more queasy to digest. You know the 'recap video' the golfer isn't discussing how things could go wrong, he wants to talk about how things went right. So they need to prompt the competitors with pointed questions like 'how could K-Max get back into this thing?' so they have the sound byte to 'produce' suspense. Even though I don't like Blake he had a valid point. It's hard enough to miss a shot in front of a national audience but if that was you and you were coming to the sidelines and one of your competitors said something like 'keep your head up' ... you would be steaming too. He feels bad enough without someone pouring gas on the fire. Andrew's comments come across as condescending - basically saying 'don't get down on yourself for that tragic shot you just hit.' Who the heck is he to give unsolicited advice that no one would want?

I didn't see this week's episode yet, but if Andrew's biggest sin is having diarrhea of the mouth, I'm not going to kill him for it. Heck, I like Lee Trevino and he'd talk to the air as it went by. And that's coming from someone that doesn't say a lot on the course.

Why bring up another euphemism for masturbation? Oh ... you meant Shinnecock.

Sounds like the producers did some sketchy editing to get attention. If the golfer wins, no golfer cares, if the stock car wins then they get the golfers' attention. Pretty sleezy.

Please don't take this harshly, because I appreciate your post, but reading that golf is easy from a 36 handicapper, that's funny. And suggesting to a woman to "toss her arms 45 degrees into the air towards the target" - the questions I suspect one would get is 1. How do I toss my arms? 2. What about the club? 3. 45 degrees from where? 4. And 45 degree would be ... where in the air?

I would have no shot hitting that Tempo 1 iron. None whatsoever.

My guess is that you could pick one up at a golf shop that takes trade-ins.

I don't know how it's your foursome when you're not in it. But, I'd settle for an afternoon with Megan Fox and the heck with golf. If she wants to dress like Wonder Woman for a while, I'm not going to complain.

Have a Ping Eye 2 1 iron, which was my go-to club of choice when I needed a long shot to a tight fairway. I used it off the fairway when I needed to fade the ball. My clubs were stolen, but I still have that Ping Eye 2 because it was being regripped at the time. Obviously there are easier hitting clubs and more versatile clubs but I ought to take it out for old-times sake just to remind myself how much technology has advanced.

I don't claim to be knowledgeable about women, but if you think that the old 'I told you so' is helpful when dealing with women, you are sadly mistaken.

I'm pretty much with FHopper but would suggest a different option. First, that you can golf doesn't mean that you can teach others to golf. So, just tell your GF that. Suggest that she get lessons from a pro. You can also tell her that you look forward to playing with her and look forward to learning how the lessons are going. As it seems reasonable she is only interested in golf because you are interested in golf, she probably won't go through with lessons in the first place. If she does, it's on her dime and time, not yours.

I witnessed both of these happening to the SAME golfer in the same year. Nice guy but with virtually no sense of humor, making these even funnier. He has this deadpan look all the time and looks like the guy from Family Guy. Even though he doesn't look the part, at the time, he was a really good golfer. The first crazy one is on a par 4 on a municipal course. The dude comes up a bit and hits a low screamer toward the next tee. It hits the concrete end-cap of a park bench on the fly and comes right back to land exactly in the spot he hit the shot from. It had to have traveled 120 yards just to reach the bench. I mean, we have plenty of time to watch this ball fly back, almost as if it were happening in slow motion. The look on his face was priceless. The next was at a corporate outing. Oddly, it wasn't a shotgun start so 60+ golfers are watching in an amphitheater like setting by the first tee. So, we have senior execs and the like waiting and watching as the best golfers tee off first. This dude goes to tee off on a heavily banked tee. Under the pressure of all those watching, he nearly whiffs on the ball, just grazing it so that it goes between his legs. It just goes far enough to catch the bank of the elevated tee, going down the steep bank, it hits the cart path and then lands in the brook adjacent to the cart path. If that wasn't funny enough, the dude is still just wearing his deadpan expression. I turn around to see grown men now literally falling about the place laughing so hard.

I have no idea how you would think that would work. What would happen when there is a full rain-out day or two? Wednesday is also a pro-am day for many of the men and the women have their own. How is that going to work? Particularly when charities depend on that money and different charities for both the men and the women. It's also hard to get volunteers to man the courses for a regular tournament, now you need to find volunteers for two tournaments. I don't know how you think costs would go down ... are you reducing LPGA staffers? If so, that means PGA staffers pick up the workload ... how is that going to work?

I saw him play there too. We followed him for a few holes after he bombed a drive on the par 5 4th hole (517 yards). He hit a iron into the green there like he was playing a long par 4. I didn't see anyone going after that green with an iron in the 4-5 groups we watched on that hole. Can't speak to his short game as we were in the wrong spot on the holes we followed him on.

Double Eagle, no contest. It requires two great shots versus the one. That said, I'd rather have a hole-in-one on a par 4 - thus getting the hole-in-one and the double eagle.

Oh, just thought of one ... guys that brag about how fast the greens of their home course are. I don't mean to offend anyone, because some of you have done this, but this bugs me. Bumping up the speed of greens is just another form of keeping up with the Joneses. Basically, 'my course is better than your course because I can't even keep the ball on the greens on my course, they're so fast.' And they tell you this with a big smug smile on their face. No, you're an idiot who somehow thinks that playing in conditions over-his-head has made him a better golfer. It hasn't. This 'I feel better about myself because my greens are tougher than your course' is merely an epic fail. In my neck of the woods, golf superintendents have lost their jobs after losing greens by chasing after faster greens that the members insisted on. Much of it in the name of 'my daddy could whip your daddy.'

Exactly. I put two big red dots on both sides of my golf balls. If you were close enough to notice he's playing a red #2, I guarantee you could have been further away and know it was your ball with adequate markings. Marking your ball on both sides is a requirement in tourney golf at my club. This saves time on the course as well as dramatically reduces the chance of 'I need to turn my ball to identify it' drama. Most importantly, it also reduces the chance of someone making an honest mistake in the first place. It also helps even in your regular group. Nobody cares or keeps track about what number or even brand you're playing that day but they will know your marking and then can just say they've found your ball without this: Player A: I found a ball, what were you playing? Player B: A Titleist? Player A: What number? Player B: I don't remember. I'm playing a Pro-V, is it a Pro-V? Player A: No, it's a NXT. Player B. Oh, yeah, I forgot. That's mine. I also break up the sleeves when I buy a dozen so that there isn't the same numbered ball in any sleeve. So, I'm always playing a different numbered provisional ball.

Yup. This gives me an idea for the pet peeves thread.

The Wall Street Journal did a piece back a couple years back about what really goes on behind the scenes of these reality shows. Unscrupulous producers who give contestants access to unlimited free liquor but (oops) no food. What a surprise after a day in the sun, these contestants make comments they wouldn't ordinarily make. And of course we don't hear the questions, just the responses. If you don't think they're asking leading questions about Andrew (for example) you're kidding yourself. Anything to create a controversy and ratings.

Why? Do you think a single digit handicapper is feeling guilty when he birdies a hole for a net eagle? If your handicap is legit, don't sweat it. There are golfers that pretty much score close to their mean score round after round and others that are all over the place. That's golf. And the reality of how handicaps are calculated, your good scores will affect your handicap much more than steady Eddie (when he has virtually the same mean score). So, the grumblers can stick it. And I'm sure they're not complaining on the days you suck out there. That said, there are always golfers that will come through and those that won't come through (as often) under pressure. Some, will fold with the carry over water, some won't. And we've all played with guys that simply fold knowing that they have a stroke on a hole (when their competitor doesn't). If I'm playing a ABCD 4 - ball event, I would much rather get paired with erratic C and D players than steady Eddies. That's because I want to win the *&$^ing event. And if that doesn't happen I can live with being last because I don't give a &*it about getting second place. Do you change up things and play teams rather than your Skins game? At least that way, there will be one less person to grumble at you when you win.

Hi all. My name's Rich and based on the posted age survey, part of a distinct minority of older golfers here (54). I grew up beating old golf balls with a old piece of crap wedge (probably with the original grip) into the neighbor's yard. My dad didn't care for the game and there were no courses near me so the only way was to play in junior high as they didn't cut players and they gave us a ride to the course. After college, I played a lot more and joined a corporate league and had a regular game on the weekend. When we had our first born, I gave up the game for 10 full years as it wasn't fair to play a 5 1/2 hour round on a municipal course on the weekend when my working wife was home with the kids. That and once the kids were old enough, their sport events occupied a decent part of our weekends. We then joined a private club and I was able to introduce the game to my two sons. Playing as a family has been a lot of fun. My younger son really loves the game and he's the number 1 player on his high school team and will be captain this year. We go out together to play quite often and it's been fun and competitive. We both are handling our losses pretty well. My older son has a terrific swing but doesn't play that much and I never pushed him. Who knows, perhaps he will come back to the game at some point. My game pretty much depends on how much play I get. Last year, very little and I stunk it up. This year quite a bit and I really came on in the second half. I won some individual and team tournaments down the stretch, so things have been good. I really love competitive golf, whether it is a 2 dollar Nassau or tournament golf. Nothing better than a tight competition of match play golf. I've lost on the 19th hole in match play this year when neither of us was up more than 1 up for the entire match. It was one of my favorite matches. I also won another match with a birdie on the 24th hole. Oh, ctyankee is a literary reference. I'm actually part of Red Sox Nation.

Welcome Jeremy from another Nutmeg state guy.

Welcome. Notre Dame plays football?

Anything is possible. But there appears to be a bunch of guys that have less game and/or appear ready to throw-up on themselves before that seems probable. I saw much of it as I flipped to it during the many commercial breaks in the Yankee game. I thought the home run derby was a pretty decent idea of a stunt.