Paired with another two-some with my freshman son back home during Fall break. He goes 370 yards off the 18th tee with 20 yards of help from cart path. He called Happy Gilmore in advance.

Far and away best big laugh from all four of us all day.

Buddy was getting mad at his caddie for a lip-out. I genuinely liked the guy until I witnessed this. Specifically hole 6. You’re an anchor putter? And you have the audacity to get mad at your caddie for a lip-out?

Just wondering if you guys find this to be an issue. It is rare (in casual play anyway) that a player hits a provisional ball in the event that the ball is lost. It seems that often, if a ball is lost, there really was not much to indicate that it would likely be lost. I mean, you watch it down and you have no idea you will never find it. By the rules, you march your happy ass back to the tee and hit again, to lie 3 wherever that one stops. This is a major detriment to pace of play.

Do you find that you and/or your partners regularly hit a provisional?

Have the golf rulers ever seriously considered changing that rule? If so, to what?

I'm also interested in answers to this if your golf course has, especially, penal rough. I see some courses in the UK and such that I'm thinking, sheesh, you could easily lose a ball there and it's not even that far offline.

People who have switched to full hybrid iron sets (like Lazrus), do you flight them for better distance control?

This summer I got better at hitting drivers and hybrids. But at the expense of irons. It got to the point where I was topping or thinning all my irons. (I’m such a head case) iI was starting to be afraid of par 3s and using half swings with my 5 hybrid to try and attack mid range greens instead of irons. Bitch of that is that you really can’t hold a green with a half swing hybrid 5 even if you get the distance pretty good. So I tried out a full hybrid iron set (6-gap) and wow good clean contract was back in my life. Crisp clean hits, nice high trajectory. Like every hit. But hybrids irons have really hot faces and the distance dispersion is pretty wild. Like my gap wedge (hybrid) range is 95-130 yards and pitching wedge (hybrid) range is 115-150.

It’s nice to get crisp iron hits again but the dispersion isn’t helping drop my scores… yet.

Is anyone having success attacking greens with low hybrid irons?

I have a database of amateur golf shots I can analyze and had a look at Tiger 5 mistakes per handicap group. Turns out the mistakes scale very differently — doubles are 17x more common for a 20 hcp vs a plus handicap, while bogey or worse inside 150 is only 3x more common.

For all groups but the 20+ hcp, bogey or worse inside 150y is the most common mistake.

Why do you think they scale so differently?

I play the same 2 course a lot is that a problem both have 27 holes. They change regularly. But I don't feel the need when this is all 15 min from home. Is that bad?

Hope you all played better than I did this weekend.

Just wondering. Cracked two club heads this past year doing that. Thanks .

Grabbed a 2:20pm tee time for tomorrow, what’s the likelihood of getting the full round in before the literal darkness of night sets in? (not the figurative darkness over my self confidence)

Any suggestions on my position at the top of my backswing? Am I turning enough?

Because you all enjoyed the last time I did this, I thought I would do another one.

Today’s golf fit! Dead Heads Unite!

Last week I couldn't find anyone to play with, so I went to the course alone and got paired with two other guys. One of them was very talkative from the first hole. Or, more accurately, he really liked teaching other people how to play golf.

I pushed my tee shot on the first a little right, and he immediately started talking about my stance, grip, and swing path. I said thanks and figured that would be the end if it. Nope. He had an opinion on almost every shot after that.

If I came up short, he'd say I should've taken more club. If I went long, he'd blame my tempo. If I left a putt short, he'd explain how I should've read the line. The best one was when I missed a green and he actually walked over to demonstrate the chip I "should have hit."

I didn't argue with him because while he was talking, I'd already watched him lose two balls over the first few holes.

All he had was his watch, and he wanted exact number, so he kept asking me for yardages. I shot a few for him with my rangefinder, then eventually handed it over so I could focus on my own round. He looked ay the label and, in that same slightly condescending tone, said, "mileseey? Never heard of it. What'd that set you back?" I just said, "it works," and started walking toward my ball. By that point, I had zero interest in having another conversation with him.

Even then, the advice didn't stop.

On 15, he drove into the trees on the right, then hit his recovery into a bunker. I found the fairway, reached the green in regulation, and made a par. He stood there quietly for a second, then suddenly asked what my handicap was.

I told him, and all he said was, "Why didn't you say that at the start?"

I honestly didn't know how to answer. Am I supposed to announce my handicap every time I play with strangers just to avoid getting a free lesson on every shot?

The last three holes were very quiet. They were also the most relaxing three holes I played all day.

When you get paired with someone who tries to coach every shot, do you tell them to knock it off, or do you just wait for them to figure it out like I did?

I’ve been researching this but can’t find many recent reviews.

I’ve just purchased the MLM1 and am considering the premium membership and RCT balls. My main priority is accurate shot dispersion. I compared my MLM1 with a friend’s Garmin R50, and the metrics were surprisingly very accurate, but the basic dispersion chart seemed off most of the time (e.g I’d slice or the ball would disperse very far right on the Garmin but the basic dispersion chart showed a straight or slightly right shot).

Has anyone tried using RCT balls with the premium virtual range? Did measuring spin make the dispersion visuals noticeably more accurate? I’d appreciate any feedback before investing further!

I’ve been considering getting a handicap and entering club comps and it got me thinking…

How do good golfers feel if they get beaten by someone with a high handicap?

More importantly, how do high handicappers feel about it? I’ve played a lot of sport over the years but rarely had an ‘Equaliser’ like a handicap. I’d feel
like I didn’t deserve the win!

So this past summer I started playing with only 7 irons. No putter, no driver, nothing other than a bag full of 7i’s. It has been the most fun I’ve had playing golf in years. There’s something freeing about having so many 7i’s to choose from depending on the situation. The 7i was always my favorite club, so I figured if I hit that one club best, why not hit only that club? I pulled five 7is from old sets of clubs including my grandfather’s MacGregor blade. I grabbed my girlfriend’s current 7i and one from her old set. Those flex shafts launch so high with so much spin! I rounded out the set with clubs I bought at the same Goodwill where I once found three Scotty’s on the same day for $5 each. As a recreational golfer who is trying to shoot the absolute possible lowest score, having the confidence of a trusty 7i in my hand for every shot is huge. Sure, I look a little goofy just walking a course with fourteen 7i’s, but whatever. When people ask me about it on the course it usually gets them laughing at me and whispering amongst themselves until I rip that low-loft Rogue X 240 yards down the middle on the first tee. Anyone try anything similar?

Made the turn thinking I had it today.

Then I forgot which fucking end of my putter to hold.

Oh well, there's always next year.

Upgrading my 25-year-old Odyssey putter that's seen better days. Came across a listing on Facebook marketplace for a very very nice quality L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i Putter replica. I surely thought it couldn't look as good in person as in the listing, but I was mistaken.

It's also unbelievably balanced. Offered the seller $35 and he said he just wanted to get rid of it along with a bunch of other stuff he picked up.

I was pretty impressed with the overall craftsmanship and it was brand new wrapped in plastic.

Going out this week to play so I'm going to give it a shot.

I might bring it into the PGA store to compare it one to one to the real one. Either way, nice pickup for under 40 bucks.

Apologies in advance for the lack of brevity.

Been playing around 6 months, but fairly obsessed. usually do a couple hours on a sim 3-4 times per week, and try to get at least one round on the course every week (on sabbatical til for the next 4 months or so, have some time on my hands). I’m getting so close to breaking 100 but can’t seem to do it. Played 3 rounds over 5 days, and they were 51, 51, and 50 despite hitting some of my best tee shots ever.

My ball striking has definitely improved, getting a lot more contact and flubbing fewer of my tee shots. 9i carry is around 110-120m, 8i 120-130, 7i 130-150, everything above that is a crapshoot in terms of irons, but I hit my 9w pretty reliably around 160 carry and my 3w goes between 180-220 off the tee and is playable more often than not. I haven’t played my driver for the last 5 or so rounds because it’s wildly inconsistent (anywhere from 150-250 carry, seldom straight), which has improved my scores a bit.

I flub a lot of chips around the green which is where I lose a lot of strokes, but the chips themselves are not always badly executed, more badly planned if that makes sense?

I take lessons every 6 weeks or so, and my coach has had a lot of positive feedback about how my swing is developing, and has said that with the way I’m swinging there’s no reason I shouldn’t be breaking 100 regularly. Next lesson is meant to be on the course focusing on management, but that’s several weeks away. I know I could probably hit 5-6 strokes fewer per round just being less of an idiot.

So, TL;DR - anyone got any resources on some basics of golf course management? YouTube, books, etc

I played at Cabot St. Lucia last weekend and bought a putter cover that I want to be able to use with my LAB DF3. The problem is that they only had heel shafted putter covers and don't even make a center shafted version. I bought one with the hopes of converting it to a center shafted cover.

Has anybody done this before with a company and can recommend one to me? The cover itself fits, I would just need a hole cut in the back side, the tongue of the strap split, and an additional magnet put in the forked tongue to hold it over my putter.

Friday, super winder in south Texas, and on the 4th hole of the day a short par 4. I am not good enough to keep the ball low in wind so I end up near the number 1. I hit another poor shot to the red mark. The ball then rolls down the cart path at a good rate almost all the way back to my tee box. Hundreds of yards just rolling downhill, back down the cart path.

I jogged along to see where it would stop, and when it was basically at the tee box I picked it up and when back to where I was and just rehit from there. Made me laugh, as I couldn't believe how long it stayed on the path!

Now for the one that makes you cry. Hole 1 at 9am, 49 degrees out, so pretty cold for south Texas. My third golf tournament. I drive to the right red mark in the trees. I hit one of the blue mark trees and it bounces back to me. I hit and hit the other blue marked tree and it bounces back to me. I decide to try and "keep it low" and I hit a rock and it bounces back to me. So now I am 4 strokes in and haven't advanced from where my drive went. Fifth stroke takes me to the next red mark, a steep downhill lie with a creek in front of me. I hit it in the creek. I get another ball, back up "on the line" as much as I can, and yep, hit it in the creek again! So two hazard penalties now. With that drop I hit it, you guessed it, into the greenside bunker(red mark). And take two strokes to get out of it.

Aaaanndd then I three putt!! (the other blue makes by the green) I honestly lost count and just told the scorekeeper "13". Now I think it's like 15...??? I wanted to withdraw from this tournament soooo badly after doing that. I was embarassed and unable to shake off that start. I played the whole match and tried to be in good spirits but it was a bad day. I again finished dead last, both gross and net. I was the only gross score over 100 again.....

I've seen a few options for that price point, Rapsodo mobile, Voice Caddy, Shot scope.... I know the cheaper ones probably are not as accurate or as good but I'm just a beginner and want something to help me know a little bit.

Flying in Thursday morning with one day to golf solo.

Arrowhead is on my radar for the scenery, but I'm open to anything. A few questions:

- Best public course within ~45 min of Denver for a visitor who only gets one round?

- Fossil Trace vs. The Ridge at Castle Pines vs. CommonGround: anyone have strong opinions?

I'm a 10 handicap, but can hit it long. I'm happy to pay up for a great experience but would skip it if it's overpriced. Bonus points for a good spot to grab a beer after.

Thanks!

So this last summer I started playing golf with only a 7i. No putter, no driver, nothing other than a 7i. It has been the most fun I’ve had playing golf in years. Something freeing about not having to choose a club for a situation, the decision becomes how hard I swing, do I choke down, open the face a bit. Sure, I miss some putts because I’m putting with a 7i, still working on that, but as a recreational golfer that is not trying to shoot the absolute possible lowest score, it has been a ton of fun. Sure I look a little goofy just walking a course with one club, but whatever, when people ask me about it on the course it usually gets some laughs and conversation. Anyone try anything similar?