Topper

Peter Kostis says she’s the real deal so it must be true. 😉

Well said.

Nice post. Pretty much sums it up. As much as I love the endless shots of a golf ball in the sky, the extensive use of sky tracker was a nice change. And I can wait until CBS coverage to get a year's worth of commercials and fluff in a single event.

Dog owners love their dogs so naturally assume everyone else loves their dog too which is far from reality. Spend time with your dog....but not at the course.

It sounds like you are saying that people who play golf because they enjoy the game but are not necessarily driven to improve their handicap are somehow "second class golf citizens." I'm not sure that I agree with that. Although I'd love to get better, I can generally golf only once per week with an occasional mid-week trip to the local par 3 because of very demanding work and family schedules. At my frequency of play, there is not much chance of getting a whole lot better once I lose the winter rust in the Spring. But I still love to play even though I might be on the course to "smack the ball around."

I have a suggestion that fits your specs. I use the following car-top carrier (X-Cargo) and it can fit 2-4 sets of clubs depending on the bag type and how much other stuff you want to put into the carrier. It's a good price, weather resistant, and lockable. The only negative is that it can be a little challenging to load/unload on tall vehicles like vans and SUVs. Sears/Kmart sells them.

From her perspective, Spieth is the hotter deal right now....probably in more ways than just his golf game. What the heck is wrong with that and why should she be forced to take down her tweet? I'm so sick of anything that even remotely resembles "political correctness." From my perspective (like her dad), I'd love to play a round with TW for my birthday.

i have a similar balance issue....but with a different cause...and my condition is permanent. I lost the hearing and balance mechanisms in my left ear 3-4 years ago due to a viral or auto-immune illness (doctors don't really know) and my balance has never been the same. When I get a comprehensive physical, my doctor does a series of tests that check balance. I'm rock-solid on many and he gets to one test in particular, and with a very slight push, I begin to wobble and lose my balance. It's kind of freaky really. I'm convinced that it does have an impact on my golf swing but I'm not sure about reading greens.

How many shag balls can you buy for the cost of a ball return and the novelty of hitting the same ball into the net over and over?

0 - I carry a 3W and 7W and then 4i. I use my 7W like a hybrid.

Your post made me chuckle a little. In my younger years, I remember when snow boards first started appearing on the ski slopes and I said almost exactly the same thing about them. Even the part about tearing up the slopes. Snowboards were (and still are) responsible for bringing a different demographic to the slopes. Although I'm in the 50+ demographic, I'd definitely be open to trying them....as long as the weight limit was sufficient. I'm not exactly a small guy. And I'd rather share the course with these than foot golfers.

i was able to work from home and had it on in the background. I really enjoyed watching the event and I like the new format that includes match play. Unfortunately, I'll be travelling for the next few days for work and probably won't be able to watch much of the guys championship. On the bright side, I'm hoping to get onto Bethpage Red on Saturday morning before I return home.

I normally don't experience pace of play issues for the courses at which I play....but it happens occasionally....like this weekend. The starter let a 4-some start on #10 despite #1 being wide open and a steady flow of traffic already on the course. Compounding the problem, is that this 4-some felt like they owned the course and proceeded to hit numerous drives. We watched one idiot top about 6 consecutive tee shots. The rest were not much better and equally entitled to get a good tee shot. They weren't that good from the fairway either and naturally had to find and collect all the balls hit from the tee. The result was that the 3-some in front of us, my partner and I, the 2-some behind us and the 4-some behind them are stacked up at #10. We complained to the starter and then re-played the front 9. What makes this really irritating is the blatancy. The slow group could see the growing crowd gathering behind them on the 10th tee. They didn't appear to give a damn.

We need legislation that requires a losing party to pay the legal expenses of the winning part in the U.S. to minimize frivolous law suits. Suing because you've been privately notified that you are a sandbagger is frivolous....especially when it's true.

Ridiculous question which you answered in your own post. She's American unless you feel Hawaiians are not Americans. But your question now has me "confused" if I'm American (or not) since I have a mixed heritage which does not include Native American. [sarcasm alert]

It would be interesting to see a true evaluation of the economics. I suspect the very high initial capital costs for artificial turf courses (relative to the probable life span of the turf) combined with ongoing course maintenance costs result in economics that are not dramatically different than natural courses that utilize environmentally friendly practices. I'd be willing to give it a try....as long as I wasn't roasted on a sunny day.

Here's what happened: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2007/jul/31/artificial-turf-real-deal-for-golf/

VJ

I like FJ and wear 13W. However, fit depends on more than just length and width. The volume of the shoe matters a lot and some styles have a high volume while others not. According to those on FJ's forum, the highest volume FJ shoe styles are Contour, MProject, and DNA. I wear Contours. The FJ Casual spikeless seems OK, but I've only tried them on and not worn them while playing. I tried FJ Sports and couldn't even get my foot into a 13W.

I don't blame you for carrying. Last year, I regularly played a 9-hole round with a gentlemen who was about 60 years old. I believe he worked in the finance department for a local municipality. Our schedules were similar and we often arrived at the same time. One day I show up as usual and found out that he was mugged and severely beaten the previous day by a couple of city youths who apparently needed some pocket change. He's never been back....and I don't blame him. I wish he had a gun with him. At about the same time, a group of 5 or 6 city youths ranging in age from maybe 12-16 cut across the golf course on their way back from the public pool located nearby. One of them walks onto a green and picks up this guy's ball and refused to give it back. He looked like he was 12 or 13 and shouted a long string of obscenities and challenged the guy to get his ball back. The only thing that finally drove them from the course was a couple of us pulling out our cell phone cameras. The act of taking the ball was an act of aggression and defiance, but what was more disturbing and fearful was that they were effectively acting like a "pack". Had they elected to escalate the situation, I'm not sure what we could have done. I suppose I could have used a golf club as a weapon if I had to....but I'd prefer a gun in that situation. I am glad the cell phone camera worked. This year at a local park (not golf course) 4 city youths probably in their late teens (3 male and 1 female) were observed by members of our local park preservation society torturing and ultimately killing a baby duck with their bare hands. They tried to get good photos but only got them on camera from behind. Persons who are capable of torturing animals are mentally prepared to inflict harm on people. These individuals deserve to be shot as a community service. I identify these incidents as specifically related to city youths but these risks and behaviors are certainly not limited to the urban areas...but the risk for these types of encounters is probably greater in urban areas. Paranoid or not....I'd consider carrying a gun if I had the option. In NY, we can barely by ammunition for guns much less the guns themselves. Except the criminals who apparently don't obey gun laws. And for the record, I don't own a gun but would (as I said) appreciate a real option to carry one if I wanted.....on or off the course.

Fair enough. I like to play older irons....Ping in particular as of late. I am limited (because manufacturers are limited) by the groove rule to 2 clubs to replace any that may become damaged/worn or to fill-in missing clubs. Not 2 clubs per order but 2 clubs per my lifetime of owning the set. I'd like to fill-in the set with a gap wedge and sand wedge but then I'm forever prevented from replacing a damaged or worn club in the future and we know wedges won't last forever (although many Ping wedges seem almost indestructible) and accidents happen. But even if the groove rule had no impact on me and even if I buy a new conforming set in the next 10 years (probably will), what's the point in having a rule that doesn't do what it was intended to do?

IMO, the answer is "maybe." I generally regard lasers as being for low handicappers who really benefit from the accuracy because their ball-striking is consistent. For most mid/high handicappers (myself included), a gps is more than accurate....most of the time....especially since many devices provide layup and hazard distances as well as to the green. I can "fine tune" my club selection based on pin position relative to the center. Your question leads me to one of my own relative to GPS database accuracy which is relevant to the gps vs laser discussion. I use a gps device based on the iGolf database and it periodically has holes that are significantly off. Not all the time, but enough that I have to be aware of the possibility. How many different gps databases are there and is anyone aware of any independent evaluation of gps database (not device) accuracy?

I don't know about replacing the USGA.....but certainly the USGA should re-evaluate it's consideration of their impact on amateur/recreational golfers. You know....the ones who pay dues, attend tournaments, and watch golf on TV that then encourages sponsors to pay larger sponsor fees. Recreational/Amateur golfers are still part of "the game." The USGA should also be able to eat some "humble pie" and acknowledge its failures (such as the groove rule). The groove rule in particular has achieved 0% of its intended purpose of restraining professional golfers and has disproportional impact on recreational golfers. Even if you're not a big spinner of the golf ball, it's still a nuisance to deal with if you compete in sanctioned events and will eventually affect recording rounds for handicapping. It will be a surprise to some SandTrappers that not everyone will be on their 10th set of new irons by 2024. It should be revoked as unnecessary and ineffective.

OK so I shouldn't say that don't have enough time for golf because my time is really limited due to family and work obligations. I should say...I CHOOSE to go to baptisms, communions, birthdays, holiday events, etc. and I CHOOSE to fix my house when repairs are needed and I CHOOSE to complete work projects with ridiculous schedules and answer email at all hours so I can keep my job rather than spending more time playing golf which I would love to do. I can see your point. The first sentence is totally nonsensical and I can understand how you would be annoyed. The latter sentence clearly indicates that my priorities are out of whack because I choose them to be so and should therefore not have any remorse at not being able to play more golf.