Gusset

I haven't read the book yet, but I've heard the author make the case for this on his podcast. IIRC, it's aimed at mid-high handicap players, maybe lower. His point is in opposition to the tendency of over-estimating what one will do with a shot. It's best not to plan on getting your "perfect contact" distance, because you generally can't count on it. If a player is good enough that their dispersion is tight and known with high confidence applied under the actual course conditions (weather, lie/stance, your ball vs. range, "first shot" vs. consecutive shots in a practice session, etc.), then maybe the principle isn't aimed at that player. But anecdotally, I see far more shots by myself and my playing partners that end up short than I do that go long, so I think there's something to it.

When my brother and I ventured out in the rain on Friday to Three Rivers in Kelso. It was a wet day, and the parking lot was empty...we saw four other golfers all day. I would not be surprised to learn that only six people played that day. We got a late start, and played the par-5 18th in near darkness. Light rain, rain, and a couple of downpours most of the round. It finally stopped around hole 15 or so. I slipped and went down walking off the 9th tee, which did a number on my injured right rotator cuff. Took 5 minutes to get it to calm down, but I was able to continue. I ended up with a disappointing 98. Lot of slices of non-iron shots, so more chipping out of the trees and otherwise not having clear shots into the green than anyone wants, plus a few fat/thin contacts. My newly bagged putter (Axis1 Umbra) felt really nice, though. It gave me a noticeable confidence boost with direction control. Distance control also felt good, but frankly, slow/wet greens aren't a good test. I had one 3-putt, on #17, from my longest distance of the day (~40'). I like this putter a lot. Despite the slicing, rain, and playing half the day with a muddy backside, it was a great time. It's always fun to get out with my brother, and we knew going in that the weather would be wet, so it was just part of the experience and fun.

The only time I've walked off was on a day that got warmer than I expected, and I was carrying my bag. I enjoy carrying the bag if it's going to be 70s or below, but I'm not so young any more, and it was 85 and climbing. My fault- I hadn't checked the forecast since booking the round a few days prior. Despite drinking plenty of water, by the time we were on about the 13th hole, I couldn't control my lower body and was chronically spraying, fatting, thinning, etc. Every shot, quite frustrating. So I bid my playing partners a pleasant afternoon and hoofed it back to the car.

I'm a mechanical engineer, working for an engineering firm that provides product development services, everything from concept through production- parts of it or all of it, whatever the client needs. Working from home most of the time these days.

No, that wasn't me. Definitely Victor with a "c".

I'm in my early 50s, and after a 10 year hiatus and a couple rounds in 2019 and 2020, decided to start playing semi-regularly again last Spring. Never saw my own swing until earlier this year, when I used my phone to record myself...didn't take long to see why I've been stuck in the mid-high 90s all my life. Bought a net to hit into, ironed out a couple of swing items, and managed to gradually get down to a 17 after my most recent round (per 18Birdies). We'll see how far I can take it. Having lots of fun, figured it would be nice to join an online community. I'm in the Vancouver area of SW Washington state. I try to play a variety of the local courses, with Tri-Mountain being my most common round, generally two rounds/month. Cheers! -Victor