murphmjm

I've had days like that, the best thing is just to try to forget about it. You're a better golfer than how you played the other day, just put it behind you and next time your out you will surely do better. It's your first round in a while so don't judge yourself too harshly. If you see something that you were doing wrong maybe you would want to try to fix things out over at the range and turn your negative into a positive. Odds are it's just a fluke, I'm sure things will be just fine! Also maybe if you just go out next time and play without keeping score, that way if you end up getting a high number you wont be thinking "oh here we go again", you'll get it back, wouldn't really worry too much!

$40 would be the max I've spent, I would never spend more than 60 for 18. How am I going to buy beer if I have to pay $300 just to get on the course???!!! Granted I'm 24 and still a student, when I get older I feel that number will increase greatly. I do regret not playing doral for the employee price though :(

don't you mean a manzier?

Just get some black no-show socks, you can wear them with any footwear. I find the womans ones fit more snugly and give more comfort than the mens ones for a size 11 foot, the mens sizes always seem to fit awfully and show way above the shoes even with the low cut, this only goes for the no-show socks though.

If the durability is anything like the ipod touch then its going to suck. I dropped my touch from my comp chair, about 2.5 feet onto the floor in my old apt and the screen completely shattered. Yea you can still use it but why are you going to spend so much money for something that isn't durable, can't multitask and doesn't even have a ws display?? For what they are asking you can get a netbook and actually use software on it or buy an ipod touch that you can just toss in your pocket. Not sure what market they were going for here? I can see a market for school applications like text books etc and interactive lessons but again, durability... Oh well people will still buy it, you could smack an apple logo on a piece of garbage and people would buy it. I'll stick with my shattered touch for now.

When we were playing as kids my brother fractured his skull slightly after being hit in the head with a golf ball, they do hurt and if in the right spot can do some nice damage.

irons were $350 wedges were another $120 putter was about $80 everything else was a gift

It's not so much the distance but the control from 150 in for younger golfers. My sis plays on the boys team, she can only drive the ball around 220 max, but can stick greens from 150 in with quite good accuracy which drives the boys nuts. Last year was her first year at age 12 she was either 1st or 2nd for most of the year shooting 40 or below for most 9 hole tourneys (w/e tees they play i dunno, blue or black prob). It's not like high school kids are consistently firing scores of 4 under a 9 anyways. If you can play at a young age why not challenge yourself with some good competition? Apart from us kids golf, which prob wasnt very big (or even in exsistance) when jb was a kid what were his other options? He did start playing on the pepsi junior golf tour in hs, so maybe he left hs comps at that point?

As others have suggested go over to the store and just try a bunch out and get what you feel is the best fit for you. Don't even look at the prices, your going to be using the putter for around 30-50 strokes a round depending on your hc. It's going to be your most used club so it should be the one your most confident with and truly love. I love my putter, got it a long time ago and wont change it. If you offered me any putter of any value I would still use my current one, that's how personal a putter can be I guess.

My sister played on the varsity boys team last season when she was in middle school, and she will be on the team till she graduates I would imagine. I think in a sport like golf where it is such an individual thing and the risk of injury is minimum due to your physique there shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps in team sports where injury may occur they hold back the younger phenoms due to safety concerns is all I can think of. I know here in MA you have to be under a certain age to compete in the MIAA events (yea the 23yr olds trying to play high school soccer is hilarious). Also you can obtain a wavier for age and other things from the MIAA (governing body for school sports here) which a few of the kids on the soccer team had to do for age reasons.

Best course I've played has to be Blue Rock down the cape. It's an 18 hole par 3 - http://www.redjacketresorts.com/blue...urse/index.cfm The holes range from 108 to 255, so it does force you to use all your clubs. The fact that I played it a bunch with my grandfather makes it even better to me.

As for the weather question, I would plan for the worst. It could be snowing or it could be sunny and warm in march, it's total luck really. If you really want to play golf and the weather isn't cooperating you might be in for a trip to cape cod to find a course that is playable, so be prepared for that, new england weather heh. If you feel like driving theres quite a few courses in the stow area off of 495. Stow Acres has 36 holes Butternut Farm I believe is only 18 They are next to each-other, probably a 30-45 min drive from Andover, odds are if your willing to drive your options would really open up.

congrats!! that's awesome!!

Not sure if any of you are fans of Stonybrook in Southboro but they might be shutting it down... http://tinyurl.com/yfd7vpd I learned how to play golf there and so did my sister, would be sad to see it go, its improved so much over the past few years.

Oh another thing, once you get your first set maybe you might want to start out on a par3 course, but only if you have one in your with yardages from 120-200 yards (a pitch and putt with max yardage of under 100yrds wont do you any good). A course like that will make you use all your irons especially as a beginner. That way even on a poorly struck first shot you still have the opportunity to hit it on the green, which will help you build confidence and you'll also be using most of your irons and getting familiar with exactly how far you are able to hit them.

The course here in town is "semi-private" they allow non-member play Mondays and Tuesdays although it is mostly filled up by league play. It's just a way to get outside money that doesn't come from the members, also you wont see a non member teeing up during any of the usual morning group times. All courses are different though...

If there are stores in your area with a pga pro on staff I would start there. Places like Dicks, Sports Authority (not sure on golfsmith for boxed sets but I would try there as well) have lots of boxed sets at decent prices and you should be able to hit a few before you decide. Just let them know right off what your looking to spend so they dont give you something that your not going to want to buy due to price, also you might be able to find something you see in the store from a respectable online retalier as well for a lower price. Stick with a cavity back for sure and dont forget the lessons, even one will help a lot. Let us know how it works out.

Sent you a pm

What kind of budget are you working with? A boxed set may be a good place to start if your looking to keep it simple and cheap. If you want to spend a bit more I would recommend getting fitted for a set of components. My first "real" set that wasn't my dads old hand me down blades was a set of XPC midsized cavity backs. They served me well for quite a long time and were relatively cheap. You could also look on the websites that some have listed above to find some pre-owned clubs. Most important take at least one lesson, it will help you more than any amount of money you could possibly spend on clubs.

That's very true, if you dont have the ability to shoot low scores try not to worry about the rude people you may play with. Just compete with yourself, if they are being rude and ignoring basic etiquette say something, no reason you should be miserable after paying X amount to play. You're not going to be able to control how they act so just try not to worry about it. My good golfing buddy told me this and i bet some of you have heard it before, in golf you have everything to think about and nothing to worry about, so just go out and have fun. If you end the round shooting a 100 but are super happy with the way you played then what's wrong with that. Let the other person be a miserable rude grouch, dont stoop to their level.

Just have fun, you're going to do excellent!!

I play with a couple of pretty high handicaps and most of the time if they take a good amt of shots getting to the green they are so discouraged by the time they get there they don't even feel like putting. Also when a group is behind us they feel obligated to keep up the pace of play and when your hitting 7 shots to get to the green it makes them feel like they are holding everyone up. I guess its more mental than anything, but by about the 5th hole the beers make everything better and they end up taking more time to putt. We do play on a small public course though so most of the time the pace is kinda slow, which allows them to not worry as much.

If your looking to maybe get some kind of correlation my sister started at age 2 or 3 and is currently 13 with a handicap of 1.2~ She does pratice for at least an hour a day and takes lessons all the time though.

I worked at a club with a 40,000$ initiation fee and 7500$ a year in dues, the people that golfed there were awful. I would cut the tee's greens and approaches, the best spot to be was directly in front of the golfers because they just couldn't hit it straight ;). Don't let the money fool you; let your playing do the talking not the money. I can almost guarantee you if you play with some snooty person who may or may not be rich, they will resent you the rest of the week if you can shoot lower than them :)

i got into golf before i could remember, probably 4 or 5ish. I've never really played enough to be any good but enjoy it quite a lot.