Golf Thread for the Rest of Us.

[clackamascoug]

I once bought a set of Pings off an American kid down in Tijuana. He wanted to go to the brothel but he was out of cash. I was happy to lift the clubs off him for a steal of a deal. He said he would tell his dad they were stolen, which kind of made me feel bad. Until I sold them on ebay for 4x what I paid for them. Then I felt good again.

I'm not kidding... My older son said his Pings were stolen in TJ. Were they Zing's? This would have been in '08.

[clackamascoug]

Right there.... oohhh it feels good.

For the past 20 years I've had a spot in the middle of my back that itches. It's to the left of my spine, and right where no arms could possibly scratch. Once or twice a day I can be found on the outside corner of a wall rubbing my back on the itchy spot. I hate itches.

I've got another itchy spot when it come to golf clubs, and I've got an outside corner of unexpected $1,600 cash coming in this week. Cash, as in off the books, and my wife doesn't know about it. With my son hawking his golf clubs to buy food a couple of months ago, there's an opening for a new set.

Should I Raise or Check?

As reported, I really love my irons, but the shafts are stiff flex, and I do hit them a tad right on a lazy swing. I'd be more consistent with a regular flex, as I wouldn't have to hit a 98 mph swing just right. I could swing my irons around 92 mph, (more fluid pace) and be more consistent at the pin. Also, I've been working on hitting down on the ball, and a cleaner front edge is a visual help to this task. I've got my eyes on these 3 sets.

Callaway Diablo Forged
Wilson Ci9
PING S56

I think the Diablo is a goofy name, but the tag line "for the rest of us" could offset that deficiency. I like the looks of the Wilson. I've had 4 sets of PINGS, and my older son currently has a set of S57's I bought him last summer.

This is on-going. We'll be in touch.

[Donuthole]

I'm not kidding... My older son said his Pings were stolen in TJ. Were they Zing's? This would have been in '08.

Late summer of 08. The clubs were Zing 2s, if I remember right. I could be wrong though. I seriously thought about keeping them for myself, but when I saw how much they would sell for on ebay, I had to dump them. Money was tight at the time, and my clubs were (are) fine (even if they are knock offs).

FTR, I was kidding about the kid wanting to go to the brothel. I joked with him about it when he sold them to me actually. I don't know what he wanted the money for, but sold them to me right out of the trunk of his Jetta. I didn't get the impression they were stolen. Big, strong kid. I almost wondered if he was going to take my money and then take the clubs back. I couldn't have done anything to stop him, really.

[clackamascoug]

Late summer of 08. The clubs were Zing 2s, if I remember right. I could be wrong though. I seriously thought about keeping them for myself, but when I saw how much they would sell for on ebay, I had to dump them. Money was tight at the time, and my clubs were (are) fine (even if they are knock offs).

FTR, I was kidding about the kid wanting to go to the brothel. I joked with him about it when he sold them to me actually. I don't know what he wanted the money for, but sold them to me right out of the trunk of his Jetta. I didn't get the impression they were stolen. Big, strong kid. I almost wondered if he was going to take my money and then take the clubs back. I couldn't have done anything to stop him, really.

6'4" Kid, close cropped hair, about #200 in a Silver Jetta - TDI perhaps. I'm serious.... the coincidence is too much. I'm positive though that the clubs were Orange Dot Zings - not Zing 2's. He's a RM... and good looking enough that a brothel would be a waste of money considering today's world.

I can just imagine that he and his buddy ran out of gas money, and sold his clubs for a tank, and later told me that they were stolen. What are the odds if we can put this story together.

[clackamascoug]

Overnight I realized I was the recipient of a reverse post.

DH... you're growing on me.

Playing 18 today in a bestball. Film at 11.

[clackamascoug]

Thursday's Report

42+42=84

Golf buddy is in Utah (Heber Valley) at a family reunion, so I played in Men's Club on Thursday instead of my usual Friday round with buddy.

Last round I went birdie/birdie on 1&2. Today I started bogey/bogey. After that I just concentrated on each individual shot, trying to swing within my abilities. Strangely, I forgot about my score, (in mens club you report your score to the scorekeeper when you pull your ball outta the cup) and as the round progressed, I never even thought about a contiguous tally. After 18, I could have shot a 79 or a 88 and not known it. I don't ever recall not knowing where I stood on the round.

Guy #3 today was the 30 year old son of the owner of Forest Hills. He graduated from a golf course superintendent school a couple of years ago, and is now the head super. Talk about a nice kid. He's been putting his personal stamp all over, and has improved the course through tree trimming and bunker improvements to the 80 year old course. Guy #3 will be the eventual owner of the club, and he's really paying his dues. It's really a nice thing to see, a father and son working side by side, and the old man putting him through the paces, and the son earning straight A's on his assignments.

That one of the reasons I like Forest Hills, it's a family owned course, and the staff treats the members like vital parts of the equation. They get it.

[clackamascoug]

Saturday's Report

40+48=88

If you've read my reports, ( an arduous task to be sure) this season, I can now chronicle a full circle of golf drama. In summation, today I putted great, and drove horrible. I've been driving so well, I didn't even know I was capable of driving like I did today. I only hit 2 fairways all day. I was getting up and down all day for bogey's.

Today, like last Saturday, I started birdie/birdie. I then went the next 12 holes till my next birdie. In between, I never had one par. I'm serious. The crown jewel was the 10 on 18. Good drive, - 2nd hit a tree, bounced straight back - 3rd hooked out of bounds - 5th ends up handcuffed by a tree 30 yards from green - 6th chip out sideways - 7th chip to fringe - 8th flubbed chip - 9th chipped to 1" - 10th tap in. Glory Hallelujah.

Why are the best playing partners the crudest of people? I must be a poor playing partner, because I don't drink, tell funny stories, and cuss like a sailor.
My cart buddy today was Jack. Had never played with Jack before, and now we're fast friends. He's a 13, and a good putter. Jack is one of these people who's never met a stranger. Most every time I hit a bad shot, I'd get back into the cart and he's slug me in the shoulder, and tell me I'm better than that. We had a great time until the 9th hole, and "The Incident" as it will become known in future years, happened.

I had a case of the dicy slicy's off the 9th tee, and my ball landed in front of the 2nd tee. A guy who was playing the 1st hole also ended up in front of the second tee's as well. The stranger hit his shot to the first hole, and as we drove up, he picked up my ball and put it in his pocket. Well, Jack apparently has a quick fuse, and he let the guy know where he stood as a thief and a cheater. Stranger 1 then threw the ball back to its original spot, and slunked back to his group. His group asked what the ruckus was, and he told them that he just picked up the ball to identify it. (hard to identify in your pocket) He just fudged the truth so as not to look bad, but a bull dyke he was with, ran (literally ran a good 40 yards) straight to Jack. She went all ape **** on, him and he blasted two barrels back with a lesbo comment thrown in for good favor. It was ugly. But entertaining.

On the back nine he told the following story. This past March, Jack's live in girl friend of 10 years, shot at him, with a .38 from 10 feet and missed him. She was cocked and pointing, as he begged for his life. She was on anti's and was mentally off. In the end, he asked for leniency for her, and she got off with no jail time, and a felony endangerment.

I've got a feeling the next time Jack and I play together, I'll hear even more stories of similar nature.

[Non Sequitur]

My name's not really Jack.

[ERCougar]

Saturday's Report

Today, like last Saturday, I started birdie/birdie. I then went the next 12 holes till my next birdie. In between, I never had one par. I'm serious. The crown jewel was the 10 on 18. Good drive, - hit a tree - bounced straight back - 3rd hooked out of bounds - 5th ends up handcuffed by a tree 30 yards from green - 6th chip out sideways - 7th chip to fringe - 8th flubbed chip - 9th chipped to 1" - 10th tap in. Glory Hallelujah.

This reminds me...does anyone else think the OB rule is a really bad one? First, I think stroke-and-distance is too severe, but even if you disagree with that, why not make it 2 strokes and drop where you went out? I think the ideal would be to treat OB like another hazard--stroke and drop where you went out.

Getting rid of the distance aspect would eliminate provisional balls, which is just one more thing slowing down the game.

[clackamascoug]

This reminds me...does anyone else think the OB rule is a really bad one? First, I think stroke-and-distance is too severe, but even if you disagree with that, why not make it 2 strokes and drop where you went out? I think the ideal would be to treat OB like another hazard--stroke and drop where you went out.

Getting rid of the distance aspect would eliminate provisional balls, which is just one more thing slowing down the game.

I tend to agree. Water and OB should be the same. Point of entry, 1 shot. Lost balls too. Going back to the tee, when called for, can really slow down the game, and is awkward to say the least.

[The_Tick]

I tend to agree. Water and OB should be the same. Point of entry, 1 shot. Lost balls too. Going back to the tee, when called for, can really slow down the game, and is awkward to say the least.

So I want to make sure I have this straight...and I think I may have been playing it wrong.

If you hit a ball OB...you penalize yourself and stroke and go back to hit your ball from the original location?

And it if hit a ball into the water you penalize yourself one stroke and take a drop where the ball went into the water?

Is that how it is?

If so....I have been playing OB like I have been playing water and it has been incorrect.

[ERCougar]

So I want to make sure I have this straight...and I think I may have been playing it wrong.

If you hit a ball OB...you penalize yourself and stroke and go back to hit your ball from the original location?

And it if hit a ball into the water you penalize yourself one stroke and take a drop where the ball went into the water?

Is that how it is?

If so....I have been playing OB like I have been playing water and it has been incorrect.

Yeah, you're playing it wrong, although like I said, I think that's what the rule should be. The only good reason that I've heard it should be more severe is that hazards are in bounds, and usually just a mistake of distance and not direction. However, if you're hitting where you went out of bounds, it's in the rough and usually a worse view of the green (not necessarily so with a hazard), which I think is enough of an extra penalty.

I suspect that lots of people play this wrong. I rarely see anyone trudge back to the tee to hit a new drive. Maybe they're taking a lost ball penalty (I agree that this one's too severe too, clack). This is one instance (well, two, if you count the lost ball penalty) where they should just have a separate rule for amateurs.

[clackamascoug]

Maybe they're taking a lost ball penalty (I agree that this one's too severe too, clack). This is one instance (well, two, if you count the lost ball penalty) where they should just have a separate rule for amateurs.

We already have the precedent of separate pro/am rules with the grooves. I think we're on to something here. You contact the USGA and let them know our thoughts. I'm sure they'll see it our way.

(To be honest - I think that 90% of all golfers play the OB from where the ball went out. It's only under tournament conditions where exactness exerts itself. Men's club is hard rules all the way, and provisionals are often hit to expedite the pace of play.)

[cougjunkie]

So I want to make sure I have this straight...and I think I may have been playing it wrong.

If you hit a ball OB...you penalize yourself and stroke and go back to hit your ball from the original location?

And it if hit a ball into the water you penalize yourself one stroke and take a drop where the ball went into the water?

Is that how it is?

If so....I have been playing OB like I have been playing water and it has been incorrect.

It depends on the type of hazard. White stakes you must re-hit from where you originally hit your ball. Red stakes you can drop from where the ball crossed in to the hazard and take a penalty stroke.

[clackamascoug]

Monday Morning Edition of Global Golf Post

It was an exciting finish at the Barclay's. Matt Kucher in a come from behind victory, while Laird 3 putted from 12 feet to lose.