The Golf Thread

[landpoke]

Got out for the first time this year for a quick nine after work. But for (I know, if ifs and buts were beer and nuts then we'd all have a party) two holes it was a pretty encouraging start to the season. I was a bit off target on my drives, but my mid range and short game showed only minimal rust.

Of course all my optimism and excitement will be shattered the next time I play, but such is golf.

[cougjunkie]

Got out for the first time this year for a quick nine after work. But for (I know, if ifs and buts were beer and nuts then we'd all have a party) two holes it was a pretty encouraging start to the season. I was a bit off target on my drives, but my mid range and short game showed only minimal rust.

Of course all my optimism and excitement will be shattered the next time I play, but such is golf.

That is how I feel, the more I play the worse I get.

[byu71]

This reminds me, I have to call the UGA. I haven't been playing so well this year. Based on the handicap system I should be a 8.5 now. However, when I look it up it says 7.0 R. Back in July of '08 I shot a 75 in a tournament at Oakridge. Supposedly that is afftecting the handicap. That is bull crap as I have at least 40 scores in since I shot that score.

By the way. Any of you going to Texas for the Oklahoma game they have a course there that mimics some of the best golf holes. 3 of the holes copy holes at Augusta and I am pretty sure one of the holes mimics 17 at Sawgrass.

[OhioBlue]

like landpoke, I too got out for the first time today. It was great just to be out on a course again, and spring in Utah is beautiful. Sure I could live in a place where I could golf all year, but man there's something about going out for the first time every spring after a wait through winter that's awesome.

I haven't even picked up a club and swung it in a few months so I was worried. Played the front 9 at Fox Hollow. No. 1 is a 465 yarder, I hit 310 with my little draw I've developed the past couple years, and that was about the most satisfying moment I've had for the last month. 8 iron pin high, two putt for a tap-in par. Then I parred two of the next three after that and thought I was into a great round.

4 doubles, a triple, and one more par later, I finished with 47. Golf, you are a cruel, cruel mistress indeed. And a freakin' tease. Oh well. For the first time out this season, it was a blast.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I played last week for the first time in four months and shot an 86 (at Poppy Ridge, the NCGA's sister course to Poppy Hills). This was truly remarkable, given the steady 15+ mph wind. But like many of you, my first round after a long layoff is often pretty good, followed by horrific outings in subsequent attempts. Seriously, I wonder if the layoff allows the brain to discard all the crappy habits and to focus solely on the mental image of a good swing; then with time all the screw-ups work their way back. Perhaps I'll wait until the OU or FSU games to play again and I can take some of '71's money. Perhaps not.

[Donuthole]

Perhaps I'll wait until the OU or FSU games to play again and I can take some of '71's money. Perhaps not.

I would definitely be interested in a CUF golf scramble. I realize that the CB one got so big it was a major hassle, but a CUF-size tourney wouldn't be that hard to orchestrate, would it?*



*I say this having never orchestrated a golf tournament of any kind before. Accordingly, any wrongful assumptions should be attributed to my naivete as a golf organizer, and not my overall stupidity, which already gets more than enough credit, on most days.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Rule question. Due to my rough start on Saturday, my cartmate (and fellow golf bettor) had a 6- stroke lead at the turn. However, he continued his pace of play, and with my good back nine, I was within a stroke when we teed off at 18. His tee shot landed on the beach next to the water (really just a fairway bunker that runs the entire side of the water) and rather than play it safe and chip into the fairway, he went for the green. He landed in the water, and dropped to hit again. But rather than drop in the hazard, he backed up further and dropped on the grass.

I ended up bogeying the hole, and he doubled, meaning we both ended with an 83. However, I was under the impression that you could not improve your lie when dropping, and going from a bunker to the grass to drop is definitely an improved lie.

What's the official rule? I have lunch riding on the outcome.

Maybe I don't want to golf with you if you are this technical about the rules. My golf bets are usually call out bets on my round partners shots, like 5-1 you don't make this putt. 10-1 you don't land it on the green from here, etc.

I am also not much for straight up bets, but I love golf betting games like Animals or Wolf.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I got an email yesterday with an invite from one of the companies we buy radio ads from inviting me to their foursome in the Mike Bellotti golf tournament on Monday morning at the Eugene Country Club.

I accepted because I usually only get to play the CC about once a year, however after by the time I get home from hell week of getting the campgrounds open in Washington I am not even sure I will be able to hold a golf club for 18 holes. Sadly I see myself shooting like a 150.

[cougjunkie]

I figure if I am going to post my good scores I better post my crappy ones too, blew up at Fox Hollow yesterday shot a 96.

Rough day all around.

[Indy Coug]

like landpoke, I too got out for the first time today. It was great just to be out on a course again, and spring in Utah is beautiful. Sure I could live in a place where I could golf all year, but man there's something about going out for the first time every spring after a wait through winter that's awesome.

I haven't even picked up a club and swung it in a few months so I was worried. Played the front 9 at Fox Hollow. No. 1 is a 465 yarder, I hit 310 with my little draw I've developed the past couple years, and that was about the most satisfying moment I've had for the last month. 8 iron pin high, two putt for a tap-in par. Then I parred two of the next three after that and thought I was into a great round.

4 doubles, a triple, and one more par later, I finished with 47. Golf, you are a cruel, cruel mistress indeed. And a freakin' tease. Oh well. For the first time out this season, it was a blast.

I shot 1 over during an eight hole stretch at Kapalua and then shot +27 on the other 10 holes.

[il Padrino Ute]

I shot 1 over during an eight hole stretch at Kapalua and then shot +27 on the other 10 holes.

Ouch. This is an example of why golf is the cruelest of mistresses.

I'm playing tomorrow morning with a friend at Willow Creek CC. I'll report afterward. Hopefully it will be a good day.

[byu71]

Ouch. This is an example of why golf is the cruelest of mistresses.

I'm playing tomorrow morning with a friend at Willow Creek CC. I'll report afterward. Hopefully it will be a good day.

Willow Creek is a good course, real good course. You will enjoy it if you haven't already played the course.

[Donuthole]

Maybe I don't want to golf with you if you are this technical about the rules. My golf bets are usually call out bets on my round partners shots, like 5-1 you don't make this putt. 10-1 you don't land it on the green from here, etc.

I am also not much for straight up bets, but I love golf betting games like Animals or Wolf.

This is a friend who regularly shoots 72-74, usually 10-12 strokes up on me. In fact, our usual wager give me a 10 stroke handicap. We didn't have our usual bet last Saturday because I hadn't golfed in almost 3 months, and didn't feel up to it. But with 3 holes to play, I was two back, and we made a small wager. This might be the only chance I had to best him straight up for a while. Hence the nitpicking.

[il Padrino Ute]

Willow Creek is a good course, real good course. You will enjoy it if you haven't already played the course.

This is the first time I'll have played Willow Creek. I'm looking forward to it.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

What a great day for golf yesterday. I woke up to do some work early in the morning and it looked like it was going to rain, however by 8:30 when we teed off it was turning into a gorgeous day. Low 70s by the time we finished. It was a scramble format, which is usually nice for me since I am not a great golfer, however I was hitting the ball so well yesterday that I was bummed because I think I would have pretty easily broken 100.

I always play with Lady iQ 180 Pink balls, in fact last year I ordered about 3 dozen with my name on them. It helps me stay calm and not get to upset about things while playing, and has worked pretty well as a mental trick to slow myself down and keep composure. However I often get ribbed for it, which is fine.

Yesterday my foursome started on 16 and I was just killing the ball, and could tell it was going to be a good day. When we made the turn and teed off on #1 they took out group picture (I played with the people that own the IHOP in town and the local sports radio guy) I was last on the rotation to tee off. My group all hit pretty good drives and then I teed up. One of the people behind made a joke about a pink golf ball, I followed with probably the best drive of my entire life about 285 right down the middle leaving about 80 yards to a back pin. One of the IHOP owners said "Can we use your drive or did we use it last time?" The guy that made the pink ball joke then said "He must be a good golfer to not care what color ball he uses." That was a good golf moment for me.

One last fun moment yesterday for me. Jonathan Stewart and Dennis Dixon were going around taking pictures with people and then you could pay $10 to have the photo signed and pick it up at the end of your round. They got out of the cart they were riding in and just started shaking hands, we were among the last groups and you could tell they were pretty bored and just going through the motions. As Stewart came up to me he went to shake my hand then did a double take and nearly tripped over his own feet as he said to me "Damn you have a big beard!" So I an out of shape, roll of toilet paper nearly brought a first round pick down with nothing but my beard. Great day.


Slightly creepy stalker picture I took of Dixon and Stewart after the round as I was debating getting another picture taken with them, then I realized I was not going to look any less fat than I did in the one taken 45 minutes previously.

[byu71]

What a great day for golf yesterday. I woke up to do some work early in the morning and it looked like it was going to rain, however by 8:30 when we teed off it was turning into a gorgeous day. Low 70s by the time we finished. It was a scramble format, which is usually nice for me since I am not a great golfer, however I was hitting the ball so well yesterday that I was bummed because I think I would have pretty easily broken 100.

I always play with Lady iQ 180 Pink balls, in fact last year I ordered about 3 dozen with my name on them. It helps me stay calm and not get to upset about things while playing, and has worked pretty well as a mental trick to slow myself down and keep composure. However I often get ribbed for it, which is fine.

Yesterday my foursome started on 16 and I was just killing the ball, and could tell it was going to be a good day. When we made the turn and teed off on #1 they took out group picture (I played with the people that own the IHOP in town and the local sports radio guy) I was last on the rotation to tee off. My group all hit pretty good drives and then I teed up. One of the people behind made a joke about a pink golf ball, I followed with probably the best drive of my entire life about 285 right down the middle leaving about 80 yards to a back pin. One of the IHOP owners said "Can we use your drive or did we use it last time?" The guy that made the pink ball joke then said "He must be a good golfer to not care what color ball he uses." That was a good golf moment for me.

One last fun moment yesterday for me. Jonathan Stewart and Dennis Dixon were going around taking pictures with people and then you could pay $10 to have the photo signed and pick it up at the end of your round. They got out of the cart they were riding in and just started shaking hands, we were among the last groups and you could tell they were pretty bored and just going through the motions. As Stewart came up to me he went to shake my hand then did a double take and nearly tripped over his own feet as he said to me "Damn you have a big beard!" So I an out of shape, roll of toilet paper nearly brought a first round pick down with nothing but my beard. Great day.


Slightly creepy stalker picture I took of Dixon and Stewart after the round as I was debating getting another picture taken with them, then I realized I was not going to look any less fat than I did in the one taken 45 minutes previously.

That was pretty nice. Great setting and hanging out with pro football players. Can't ask for more.

It does amaze me though that guys with beards like you have can earn enough money to play golf at nice places.

[il Padrino Ute]

I played Willow Creek Saturday and shot an 87. It was the first time I had played there and I really liked it. It took me most of the front 9 to get used to the green speed - it was a lot faster than it looked. Far too many 3 putts than I would have liked, but I'll take a bad day on the course over not being on the course.

[byu71]

I played Willow Creek Saturday and shot an 87. It was the first time I had played there and I really liked it. It took me most of the front 9 to get used to the green speed - it was a lot faster than it looked. Far too many 3 putts than I would have liked, but I'll take a bad day on the course over not being on the course.

That's a repsectable score, unless you played from the girls tee's.

[il Padrino Ute]

That's a repsectable score, unless you played from the girls tee's.

No, we played from the back tees.

[byu71]

No, we played from the back tees.

Last year I shot a 85 from the blues. It was one of my better rounds of the year considering how tough the course is and that I had taken a 9 on number 8.

[Hazzard]

Seriously, I wonder if the layoff allows the brain to discard all the crappy habits and to focus solely on the mental image of a good swing; then with time all the screw-ups work their way back.

See Tiger Woods, 2009 comeback.

It seemed like when he first came back he was hitting the ball well, but his putting sucked. Then his putting started coming back, but his swing went awry. I've actually heard him say exactly what you said -- that he often hits the ball really well when he first comes back after any kind of a layoff, but then he struggles and it takes some time to get it all back together.

It's comforting to know that even the greatest goes through these patterns. Actually, it's depressing because when he goes through it, he pulls out one victory and four top-10's in his first five stroke play events in 2009 against the toughest fields in the world. When I go through it, I shoot 93 and quit the game for the hundredth time.

Tiger's record this year is remarkable considering the way he's hitting the ball. He's right at the tour average in greens in reg, just below in driving accuracy, and just above in driving distance, but he's getting up and down 11% more often than the tour average (putting him in 4th place on tour).

Kind of a side note, but I just took a look back at his historical scrambling percentage rank on tour. His best stretch, not surprisingly, was 2000 - 2002, when he ranked 3rd, 1st, and 1st, respectively. He's said it before, but we're loathe to believe him because of how well he hits the ball: the difference from 2000 - 2002 was his short game. Of course, he was in the top 6 in driving distance in each of those years, too ...

[landpoke]

I've played twice this week. Shot a 62* on Tuesday. Played a quick nine this morning and shot a 46, which is about where I should be.
























*For nine

[cougjunkie]

I played 36 yesterday.

Played 18 yesterday morning at Fox Hollow, shot an 89.

Went to work for about 3 hours got a call from a friend to use his corporate pass at Thanksgiving point. Went out at 4:30 and shot an 87 (from the Golds, not the tips) at T-point. Can someone please tell me how in the hell I can shoot a better score at T-Point then I can at Fox Hollow which is about half as hard?

[byu71]

I played 36 yesterday.

Played 18 yesterday morning at Fox Hollow, shot an 89.

Went to work for about 3 hours got a call from a friend to use his corporate pass at Thanksgiving point. Went out at 4:30 and shot an 87 (from the Golds, not the tips) at T-point. Can someone please tell me how in the hell I can shoot a better score at T-Point then I can at Fox Hollow which is about half as hard?

Was the wind blowing at TP. I personally believe when the wind isn't blowing TP is not harder than Fox Hollow. Fox Hollow is actually tougher for me than TP.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I have driven around all week with my clubs sitting on the backseat of my truck. I kept hoping that I would get a chance to at least stop and hit a bucket, but the one day I would have had time it was pouring rain. Next week after this crazy Memorial Day, I am going to play at least twice.

[cougjunkie]

Was the wind blowing at TP. I personally believe when the wind isn't blowing TP is not harder than Fox Hollow. Fox Hollow is actually tougher for me than TP.

I think that might have been the reason, it was windy at Thanksgiving Point but not as windy as usual. Except the wind really picked up on hole 5, the downhill par 5, with the wind at our back, the hole is 550 yards long, and not one person was more then 200 out after their tee shot. Of course with 35mph winds and a steep decline its easy to bomb away at that hole.

Then the next hole is 420 with the wind in your face straight up hill and I was about 220 out after my tee shot.

[byu71]

I think that might have been the reason, it was windy at Thanksgiving Point but not as windy as usual. Except the wind really picked up on hole 5, the downhill par 5, with the wind at our back, the hole is 550 yards long, and not one person was more then 200 out after their tee shot. Of course with 35mph winds and a steep decline its easy to bomb away at that hole.

Then the next hole is 420 with the wind in your face straight up hill and I was about 220 out after my tee shot.

Did the wind shift. As I remeber it number 5 goes South and number six goes kind of Southeast. The distances and downhill and uphill are correct as I remember.

[cougjunkie]

Did the wind shift. As I remeber it number 5 goes South and number six goes kind of Southeast. The distances and downhill and uphill are correct as I remember.

It didnt necessarily shift but more started to swirl, as opposed to being right at our back, add that to the fact that the hole is uphill and it was not pretty.

I play in the Huntsman Cancer tournament at T-pointe ever year and they have a guy that does those Remax Longest drive challenges who is also a cancer survivor giving tips on one of the holes each year, then he bombs a drive and for $10 you can use his drive or take one of yours. I just realized that he is on hole 5 every year and now I know why.

[byu71]

It didnt necessarily shift but more started to swirl, as opposed to being right at our back, add that to the fact that the hole is uphill and it was not pretty.

I play in the Huntsman Cancer tournament at T-pointe ever year and they have a guy that does those Remax Longest drive challenges who is also a cancer survivor giving tips on one of the holes each year, then he bombs a drive and for $10 you can use his drive or take one of yours. I just realized that he is on hole 5 every year and now I know why.

Six is a brutal hole with wind blowing or not. The best drive I ever hit on that hole still left me with a 5 iron, which I promptly pushed way right into the crap.

[DrumNFeather]

I put a shot 3 feet from the cup on #2 at Mulligans and ended up paring the hole.

I am not very good.

I hang my hat on my mini-golf triumphs, but even those have been few and far between after my wife said, "you don't have to announce both our scores after every hole!"

I get a little competitive. : )

I just wish I had the time and $$$ to dedicate to getting better at golf.