mattttt25

I'm wondering where the OP and several other posters live. I live in a very affluent part of the country. The vast majority of the golfers on the courses around me show up in luxury vehicles, pull out expensive gear, and are appropriately dressed in name brand clothing. Some can play, some can't. I doubt you could tell until the first tee. Still, good story.

Who defines slow? Someone said 12 minutes for a par 4. Just trying to visualize your story, it seems you were probably within 12 minutes. While I agree that slow play sucks, I think its played up too much on these boards. Sometimes a course just gets loaded up and you're going to have a slow round no matter what you or the marshals do. Relax, take some practice swings, shoot the shit with your partners.

MD, VA, DC, NJ, DE - yes. Does cost of golf relate to whether a course has marshals? Most of the courses I play are $65-80 weekday and $80-100 weekend, and have marshals.

My buddies and I used to play that game when we were back in HS. Loosen the strap when the other wasn't looking. Just saying........

Playing football and spending 11 years in the military.... I can pace off any yardage and be dead accurate. Advice above is correct, but I would measure out a longer yardage using a tape measure. Measure off 5, 10 and 15 yards on a level area. Spend some time pacing each distance and you'll figure it out soon enough.

I didn't read all the pages, but things that jump out at me: Surprising that golf is more important to you than seeing your daughter get on the bus or walk into the classroom. And wife aside, did you think about your daughter? Would she be upset if you were not there to support her? I've missed plenty of things with my kids because of work and it sucks. Usually not worth it. They grow up fast, and that's advice coming from someone with a 4 and 7 yr old.

Classic... love it

10/18. Was on a roll, getting the first 7 correct. Then much like my golf game, it was crash and burn from there.

My 6 is also 32 degrees. And it also irritates me when others walk up to the tee, ask what the distance is, and boldly announce a wedge.

My friends and I share and offer advice. Looks like you're doing this, or looks like you stopped doing that. Rarely with a stranger unless they ask or offer.

Thanks again for the discussion. I better understand what a hdcp is and what it really is trying to accomplish.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I really need to read up and understand all of this better. Maybe I need to just start carrying an official handicap to better understand it. I truly understand what a handicap is meant to show. I understand how it factors in course difficulty with slope and rating. And I also understand that it reflects your potential, not average score. What I am still missing is this equitable stroke thing and how we define potential. Maybe I'm looking at extremes, but what about the guy that shoots 14 pars every time he plays, but also hits double par on those other 4 holes. Every time. It sounds like his hdcp would be low because he'd adjust those 4 holes every time. But in reality, he would never break 85.

OK, somewhat making more sense. I do understand that it doesn't directly relate to par, and that the course slope and rating factor into the equation. But I guess I still struggle with not recording an actual score. Your example- depends on how you define ability. If you truly shot par on everything and then a 22 on the final hole, well I'd say you got a serious problem, and maybe I am the one with more ability in being able to scrape by with 5's and 6's on every hole. I don't keep a true handicap, but lets say I did. So I go out and shoot a mix of pars, bogeys, and doubles. One nasty hole I shoot a 10. When I enter my score, will the system adjust for that 10? Take it away? I guess I just want to fully understand this, my engineering mind can't let it go.

You guys should swing through Maryland and play my home course of Renditions. 18 championship holes from around the world, including TPC 17th, all for around $100 on weekends. To the OP, great story, even better that it was shared with your daughters.

Can you guys better explain? This makes no sense to me. The guy shoots an honest 7. Why does he not record a 7? Doesn't the handicap system depend on honest, actual scores to be recorded? Doesn't the best 10 of the past 20 rounds thing eliminate the ba round anyway? I'm just confused.

Played the other day with a self-proclaimed single digit handicap. He was good, no reason not to believe him. But during the round and a particularly bad hole on his part, we were discussing handicap and he stated something to the affect of not being able to take more than a double because of his handicap. The idea was it would somehow skew his handicap and wasn't what he should do. I thought it sounded like complete BS, if he shot a snowman, it should be recorded. Tell me he was completely wrong and that I'm not missing something.

Blues, mostly. Long course, whites. Most courses I play have 4 or 5 tee locations, so I'm playing from the middle.

I follow Leadbetter's guidance and I think it makes sense. Place the ball in the same location regardless of what club you're holding. Just inside the front foot. What changes is the width of your stance. So with the driver, you have the widest stance and the ball appears to be far forward. Wedge, narrow stance, ball appears to be more centered.

I can somewhat believe you to a point. I played Friday with a young kid, tough course, from the blues. He proceeded to shoot 14 pars and made them look very easy. The other four holes- three doubles and a triple. It sure didn't look like a 9 over round, but he just lost it on those holes. I'd call him an inconsistent great ball striker.

Hush money. But not to keep quiet about the •••••s. Think about it, what could absolutely destroy his legacy? Really only one thing.... And no, it won't be $750 mil. Aim high, expect to hit the middle.

I suggest The Golf Swing by David Leadbetter. Older book, cheesy illustrations, but focuses on basics and fundamentals.

That's what should happen. Those that struggle with a 'wicked' slice need to feel and see the ball turning in the opposite direction, sometimes just to prove to themselevs that its possible. The idea is to then return the back foot and keep the same swing principles. Could be considered a quick fix, but I look at it more of a teachning aid.

be nice..... be nice.... so hard.....

Thanks, definitely looking forward to it. Do you think he will he play alongside or just watch me hack it up?

# 10 -- Golfer: "Think I'm going to drown myself in the lake." Caddy: "Think you can keep your head down that long?" # 9 -- Golfer: "I'd move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course." Caddy: "Try heaven, you've already moved most of the earth." # 8 -- Golfer: "Do you think my game is improving?" Caddy: "Yes sir, you miss the ball much closer now." # 7 -- Golfer: "Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?" Caddy: "Eventually." # 6 -- Golfer: "You've got to be the worst caddy in the world." Caddy: "I don't think so sir. That would be too much of a coincidence." # 5 -- Golfer: "Please stop checking your watch all the time. It's too much of A distraction." Caddy: "It's not a watch - it's a compass." # 4 -- Golfer: "How do you like my game?" Caddy: "Very good sir, but personally, I prefer golf." # 3 -- Golfer: "Do you think it's a sin to play on Sunday?" Caddy: "The way you play, sir, it's a sin on any day." # 2 -- Golfer: "This is the worst course I've ever played on." Caddy: "This isn't the golf course. We left that an hour ago." # 1 -- Best Caddy Comment: Golfer: "That can't be my ball, it's too old." Caddy: "It's been a long time since we teed off, sir.