ghalfaire

I belong to a private club that is seasonal and we pay our dues in Dec/Jan. It just did open for play albeit with lots of changes to normal operations. But so far no talk of refunding any part of the dues. Maybe if this lock down and modified operation continues into the Summer that will initiate the discussions on annual dues. We'll see.

And I am worried about what happens when people run out of money and food and the ban on evictions/repossessions ends.

For me I walk often on some of the courses in the Phoenix Metro area. Most are flat and not too much distance between greens to the next tee. But I am in my late seventies and there are some courses I just can't walk anymore because of the up & downs and/or they spread out with significant distances between holes. In my summer place here in the mountains of AZ I don't walk more than 9 holes. Just too much up and down for an old guy to handle and enjoy it. Maybe if I would fork over some bucks and get one of those electric powered push carts I could walk more. Pretty expensive on a retire's budget. But I'll think on it. To answer the OP question No I don't think I'll change much when we get back to normal and I somehow doubt many will. Too bad as I like walking better and those that could walk more seem t want to ride.

I thought I'd add to my golf experiences in Metro Phoenix as I had posted my experiences at the course on Tuesday. Got bored yesterday afternoon and went out to walk 9 holes at a small 9 hole course near here. A low end ($15 after Noon) course but something to do and an interesting layout. One par 5, four par 4s and 3s. Unlike my Tuesday, at this course there were ball washers, sand bottles, and all the usual stuff without anything to keep the ball out of hole and no warning about touching the flag sticks. The restaurant was closed but the take out window as open as was the patio where a few had gathered (less than 10). From this I take it that not all courses are following the guide lines. Going out again today to a 18 hole course in another suburb near here, I'll let you know how it goes with the restrictions.

I played yesterday for the first time since the virus alerts. As of yesterday there were no mandatory course shut downs here. But at the course there were changes. No sand bottles, no rakes at the bunkers (or anywhere), PVC pipe had been put in the holes such that the ball could not drop to the bottom (in fact the top of the ball was slightly above the rim of cup) and you were told to not remove the flags, no ball washers, and no cash accepted in the pro shop. The restaurant was open but no seating inside, only outside and limited menu. Since I was out I missed it but a neighbor told me the city had declared "State of Emergency" yesterday. So not sure you can play today. But I'll check and see if true and update Y'all if that is so. It would seem futile around here unless all the Metro Phoenix municipalities followed suite. But then, what do I know, I'm not a Doctor.

Absolutely it has affected my golf. One of the leagues I belong to has an annual tournament in Nevada every year in April. But we had to cancel this year as, while the courses are open and in business, all the hotels and restaurants are closed. Also because no gathering larger than 10 are allowed the following award banquet is impossible. As to the local game we still play, but no shotgun starts are allowed and the courses' cafes are closed so no award lunch after the round, just go home. So the golf experience social aspects are somewhat eliminated, but we still play, so far anyway.

That man said that "golf is a game played in the 6" between your ears". If you believe the ball makes a difference, it probably will. IMO

I got a BS in Engineering in 1971 after I got out of the service. If you're old I must be ancient.

I carry a small tack hammer. But sometimes the ground is so dry and cold you need a sledge hammer. On days like this I just hit fairway woods off the tee.

I try to arrive about an hour prior to my tee time. I do fuss some before the tee time in making sure I'm ready to play. Things like having a wet towel, GPS is on and correctly set, Balls are marked, loosened some old muscles on the range, etc. But I do it so I am ready to play and not screwing around on the course with stuff I should have already completed. On the course I try to be ready when it is my turn and use my time between shots getting ready for the next shot. On the other hand, I make it a point to not feel "rushed" on the course, I try to be efficient when it is my turn, but not feel hurried. So, IMO, being fussy and taking some time to prepare prior to your tee time, doesn't indicate one is a slow player on the course. It also doesn't indicate they are not a slow player. I suspect there is no correlation at all.

I have only played a few times. Sometimes it is one of the formats used in a multi-day tournament.

Of course you're correct and I suppose I should have used more precise language consistent with the USGA rule book. But I only meant that I was in the bunker because I hit a poor shot and was now paying the price, penalty if you will, for such a shot.

It has been my observation it is pretty quick for anybody, especially for a course that has significant walks between green to the next tee.

As it turns out, I don't think many of the courses I play spend much on maintaining the bunkers as they can be very inconsistent from one to the next. But, a few courses do clearly spend some $$ on bunker maintenance. However I personally don't mind less than perfect bunkers (we all have to play the same course) and wouldn't care if the courses turned them all into "grass bunkers". I would like, in the latter case, for the maintenance crew to keep the grass short enough I can find my ball. As I remind myself when in a bunker, it is a penalty area and you shouldn't be here in the first place, so shut up and play.

Indeed it does (ego handicaps hurt in Tournaments). When money is on the line, everyone knows the rules. Some even know rules that don't exist, which is why I carry a rule book in my bag. Don't hear me wrong, I am not a rules Nazi on casual rounds and don't, unless ask, tell people the rules. However when I fork over a couple of hundred bucks or more to play in a tournament, I expect all to play by the rules and I'll speak up if you are not and I see it.

I read many of the posts since my last one where I stated a couple of courses I know will remove slow foursomes if they don't keep up. I don't really agree with that as a universal policy as it wouldn't work in many places. However what I believe is important to help control slow play is that: 1. the course have a policy on pace of play; 2. Player know what the policy is before they tee off; 3. The policy is consistently enforced, whatever it is. Certainly the policy should be reasonable and consistent with the course difficulty and clientele. So while there is no perfect solution I suspect, at least if all courses had a known policy on pace of play, everyone would know what is expected of them before they made the tee time.

IDK: I have seen several threads on the Pace of Play subject and have concluded it is a complex problem. Having said that I do know of courses that insist on a pace of play that leads to a round of not more than 4 hours 30 minutes. They do this by monitoring play and if you get behind you'll be ask to pick up and go the next hole and if you refuse you'll be ask to leave and they refund your green fees. Now, I should add both of these courses are high end resort courses and are very difficult (front tee slopes are like 125 or so). I would suspect their clients are mostly very good golfers and came to town to specifically play these sorts of courses and escape the snow for a week or so. I am not sure this policy would work on a municipal course where in general the green fees are significantly lower and so are the course slopes.

I only meant to intimate that this wind speed has to be considered in club selection and how much it will move the ball flight, therefore complicates the round some. Where I play in the Summer this is also just a breeze, but one you need consider.

I dislike playing in the wind. Which is unfortunate as in our higher elevations where I play mostly in summer, it is often windy. I define windy as over 15mph with gusts higher. I hit a fairly high ball and have never really mastered the "Tiger" stinger (not for lack of effort on my part). Other environmental conditions don't bother me as much as Wind, but certainly any adverse condition can affect you game some.

An interesting thread. Something I had not thought about before. HCP: Well as someone mentioned above if you're the C or D player, no one expects much from you except getting your required drives in. HCB: Getting lessons on the course during a competition. This doesn't help, and frankly if I wanted a lesson I'd make an appointment for one. During a competition I just want to play and contribute as much as I can to the team. I don't mind advice on club selection or reading greens and such. But, I don't want to hear what is wrong or what is correct about my swing during a competition.

No I don't with the exception of when the course has "winter rules" (around here that is usually means over seeding and in the mountains it means aeration).

I am not against people keeping up with the group in front of them, they should. But I was implying that a player who's average with a 3 wood is 200, can probably sometimes, not often, hit is 215-220. Also, as frustrating as slow play is, if often isn't the guys in front of you that are the problem, they were waiting too. So give them a break. Don't bust a blood vessel because a player in front of you is uncomfortable with hitting a shot that MIGHT make the green while the group in front of them is putting out. In my case I got hit while walking off the green. It was a slow day and somewhere more than two groups ahead of my group was a slow group, and the ranger wasn't doing their job. Had the fellow who hit me waited 15 seconds I would have been in the cart and gone. Had he hit me in the head I probably wouldn't be here to write this. So I will repeat in case I wasn't clear the first time. It just isn't worth endangering someone so you can save a few seconds or even a few minutes on the time it takes to compete a round, regardless of circumstances. I dislike slow play as much as you do and groups that don't keep up and don't even try to, piss me off, but I am not going to ever hit a shot that I think has even a remote chance of hurting someone.

Having just played a 4.5 hour round in 95 degree heat yesterday I can understand your frustration. But having been hit by a golf ball on fly ending up in the hospital with blood clots in my leg a few years back, I am not sympathetic. How about it isn't worth taking a chance on doing another golfer permanent damage so you can save 30 seconds on your round? I do share your frustration on slow play. The folks I play with usually finish a round in 10 to 20 minutes under 4 hours. Not real fast but not a bad pace either. IMO slow play is caused from a variety of factors and more complex than just "slow players", although I concur that is part of the problem. But it just isn't worth taking a chance on hurting someone to save a few second/minutes of time. BTW I belong to a private CC and slow play isn't limited to public course.

A few years ago there was an article in one of the golf rags, Golf Digest or Golf, that did a study and concluded that the closer to the pin you are the more important the stroke is to your final score. At first glace one might conclude this supports the theory the short game is more important to scoring. But, if you think about this conclusion and the fact we all know 10' putts are easier than 25' putts and it is easier to hit a green with wedge as opposed to a 7 iron, maybe what this result says is that it is important to get a close to the pin as you can with each shot. That thought leads one to conclude that it is important that you have a long game and that giving yards away to the opponent makes it difficult to win. Well, I don't have a strong opinion on what part of the game is more important. It all is really. My personal experiences are that my best scores are when all the pieces are fitting together and working. I have had some of my best rounds when my tee to green game was great (for me anyway) but my putting was marginal, but I have also had work the other way (sloppy from tee to green but better than normal short game). So my conclusion is that whatever shot you're hitting you want to get it as close to the pin as you can (and keep it playable of course).

When I switched to left hand low I tried different grips. I ended up with sort of upside down Vardon grip. But I suspect as several above suggested, just whatever works for you.