The Enthusiasm Thread

[barragan]

First topic message reminder :

In these gloomy times [boggin winter about to set in etc.], I thought it would be nice to have a thread about golf related things we are enthusiastic about.

I've just been invited to play at a little course called Kilspindie on Thursday, and i'm feeling very enthusiastic at the prospect - in fact, I cannae wait! I've never played it before, but have not heard a bad word against the place:

www.kilspindiegolfclub.co.uk

So, what's gettin the thusiasmos spinning with thee?

[barragan]

hey mac

i'm not sure what the winter rate is - one of our group at duddingston is a member there and has invited me on twice in the last month - the guest fee is £8. another guy from our group is due to get his membership accepted in january so i hope there will be plenty more opportunities to get down there in the new year.

it might not be a bad option for yourself if you really like the place in terms of membership. i think the current subs are around £400-450ish, though the joining fee is £900 ish (paid over the first 2 years). current waiting list seems to be approx 1.5 - 2 years, as another of our group is on it too, and he's hoping to get in january 2013.

it's definitely one i'd consider in the future if living more centrally in edinburgh. the only turn off would be trying to keep a handicap there, as the sss rating is a tricky 66. i guess a bit of local knowledge would help in keeping scores around the 70 mark though.

[number1hacker]

This weekend has got me all enthusiastic!! A two day comp at a good little course in Kanchanaburi (Thailand). Two rounds of golf, alcoholic drinks!!, dinner, breakfast, one nights stay and caddie all for 64 quid. Forgot to mention, a comfortable 28 degrees....

[url]
http://www.evergreenhillsgolfclub.co.th/[/url] If you want to look...

[barragan]

slightly disappointing round at kilspindie yesterday. the starter held us back 2 slots to allow a pair of local groups out in front (which was fair enough). the problem was we were then out as a fourball straight infront of a steady stream of ladies 2balls playing in a medal. we let three groups through over the course of the round, and completed it in just over 3hrs, but still felt slightly rushed around, and like we were holding the course up - despite doing our best to hurry along. will be giving the thursday morning tee time a miss in future - or just go out after them.

golf-wise a mixed bag for me. my regular partner and i took on a pair of 20+ handicappers (including the guy who shot 48pts last week). depite holding onto their tails the whole way round we lost 2&1 when a 4 nett 3 on 17 was enough to extinguish our challenge. that said it was impressive we managed to hold onto them so long seeing as our 32 and 31 pts totals were eclipsed by their 38 and 47 pts... that's 95pts in two rounds for our host - jings-ma-jobbies

still, it was great to get out and it was a lovely day down there 3 days before christmas, with only a gentle 3-club wind to test. highlights were a few decent birdies - holed good putts on 5th and 13th (the 2 being matched with a tap in 3nett2 to my disgust!!), and a few reasonable up and downs. a handy 345 yard drive downwind on the 15th was a nice moment too - even if i didn't quite catch it with the 3-wood.

off up north tomorrow, and will hopefully tee it up again on sunday, (monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday and saturday)... cannae wait!

[lorus59]

It was a beautiful day and I too hit my 3-wood a nice handy 345 yards with a nice draw to leave myself a soft wedge to the green, when all of a sudden...my alarm went off and I woke up from my dream.

[barragan]

my enthusiasm is being shaken... rocked up on saturday, arrived too late for any golf. sundays weather was nothing short of horrific, got as far as the car park before turning back. nipped out on monday morning. bright but unbelievably windy. 8 club wind perhaps. 2nd hole is normally 3wood, 9iron for me. needed two well struck 3 woods and a bump and run 7 iron for the last 60 yards! only managed 13 holes and several were repeats as we stuck to the north side of the peninsula for fear of being blown off the south side! tuesday was the complete opposite. hardly a breath of wind and had a great wee match with 3 guys i used to play regularly. shot a 73 which included 3 lost balls - winter tees are shortening the course a fair bit so nothing special, but it was good to hit a few decent shots. yesterday was another wash out with fairly strong winds so headed into town with my wife and sis. dropped them off and went in search of some golfing bargains. picked up a 48 degree vokey wedge to replace the set wedge in my bag which was needing reshafted and a couple of gloves. hoping to get a few holes in today before tomorrows 'Last Blast' stableford comp.

[McLaren]

Hi ban

Where have you been playing?

[lorus59]

73 for 13 holes sounds about right for my game.

[barragan]

Hi ban

Where have you been playing?

fortrose & rosemarkie gc mac. check it out on google map and on the website. photos dont really do it justice (amateur ones rarely do).

just back from another attempt. managed 5 holes before we had to take shelter. unfortunately we were right down at the end of the point so no chance of nipping quickly into the clubhouse. managed another hole before nipping pnto the 12th and playing our way in. rain started heavily again on 17 so we called it a day. its unusual to see so much ponding as the course usually drains like a sieve. not sure how tomorrow will go. forecast doesnt look promising. just had a long shower but i'm still feeling a chill...brrrrr

[barragan]

enthusiasm is off the scale at the moment - i became a dad to a beautiful baby boy yesterday!

(only downer is mummy and baby were kept in overnight and i don't get to see them until 10am.)

[Doon the Water]

Congratulations Ban ban.

Precious moments.

[Sand]

Congratulations to you and your family Bam bam.

[McLaren]

Good stuff ban, although I hope you dont read this at the hospital.

[1GrumpyGolfer]

Congrats B_B. Hope all is well with mum and baby. Life will never be the same. Enjoy

[Skydriver]

Many congrats, and best wishes to mum & baby b_b.

[super_realist]

Well done B_B, keep the little blighter quiet though, you know I'm only just along the road.

[Diggers]

We done mate, a life changer indeed. I hope you slept deeply last night, my one week old little girl gave me about 3 hours.

[dynamark]

Well done BB.
Diggers have you had another?
My beautiful baby boy is 20 years old and just started his first proper job this week.Didnt stop him going out last night for a skinful.
Enjoy the time Bam cos it flys by.

[kwinigolfer]

Congratulations ban_bam, there's something to be enthusiastic about.

Love these children, mine anyway, just as much fun now they're young adults, them and their friends, as ever they were.

Diggers, Have you been at it too? Congratulations, a little Diggette . . . .

[Diggers]

Yes, mine came along on the 24th so I now have a house full of ladies as already had a 2 year old little girl.
Fun but challenging I'd say. Golf anytime soon.......unlikely.

[dynamark]

Congrats.Need to get back out on the course though,maybe some sort of converted powcaddy?

[McLaren]

Not sure I would give up golf to have kids.

[Diggers]

Well on the plus side you get to sit around and watch a lot of golf Mac.
Actually playing a bit of golf with one is fine, within reason. Not so sure with two.
Then again why have kids if you'd rather be knocking a ball around a field all weekend. Anyway only another 12 years or so and I can play when I want......

[super_realist]

Mac, I wouldn't give up anything to have kids.

Not my cup of tea at all. There are enough children in the world as it is without me siring any (not that I could even pull a rotten tooth out of a dead horse)

[Fader]

Who says you need to give up anything to have kids.

I've taken up more hobbies since having, alas even more than that now she cleared off Chester with them Still look forward to when I do have them.

[McLaren]

Fader

How many kids did you have?

You must have really pis sed her off to get her to move that far away?

[Diggers]

It's all a balance I guess Fader. Golf takes up a lot of time and realistically to be any good you have to play and practice regularly. So for me to have a bit of quality time , and the wife to have some time to herself , plus spending time as a family (during the week I leave home at 7 and get back at 7) I'm not sure golf is the right option for me right now.
See where I am in 12 months but just try and play a round or two when I can this year I think.

[Fader]

Mac:2 a boy and a girl. I did nothing to urinate her off, exact opposite she decided that our nice home, car and lifestyle wasn't enough so went off slumming it behind my back with some jobless bum. Bloody ho bag! So that was us over, I don't do foregiveness for cheating. So she has since moved to Chester with him and my kids into to some filth ridden estate in Ellesmere Port, yet has the cheek to say its whats best for my kids! Still I keep the house here nice and things for them as them coming to stay lights up my days.

Diggers, thats a fair comment and I can understand that I've only taken the game up since mine have been absconded away from me. Before that MMA and squash were my sports of choice.

[barragan]

many thanks to all for your best wishes. the boy is 10 days old now and doing very well. its a very surreal time!

[barragan]

so, enthusiasm back on the radar this week - a society(sort of) outing to crieff. not my favorite 27 holes i've played by any means, but enjoyed my game last year shooting +4 on the main course on my first visit. very unusual for me to score well at an unfamiliar course (thanks to skycaddie perhaps) so looking forward to getting back out there and giving it another go. hacked my way round the short course last year so hoping for an improvement there too.

also of note... the wee man slept through nearly 10hrs on the trot last night!

[barragan]

good day out on wednesday. retained our team title by just 4 points, and shot level handicap over the main course and 1 over handicap around the wee course to finish in a tie for 4th in the individual standings. course was in decent nick, though the greens were deceptively slow - that is to say they looked a lot faster than they were and i left countless putts short. scorching day, not much breeze and about 25-27deg for the entire 36 holes. good times.

[barragan]

another trip out to kilspindie this morning. very breezey and got horribly wet on the 11th when it lashed down for 10mins. very enjoyable game though and extremely pleased to hit the ground running with my new irons. bit nervous on the first tee, but hit a lovely 7iron just short of the green and made an easy par. had a couple of three putts, and missed a couple of 3 footers after a couple of excellent flop shots... but didn't really do much else wrong. pretty unspectacular par golf and finished off +3, for a 72. the irons are dreamy - lots to be enthusiastic about!

[navyblueshorts]

Which irons did you get bara? Sure you must have said somewhere but I've a memory like a sieve these days...........

[barragan]

Titleist 712 forged combo. 3-6 CB, 7-P MB, standard lie, loft and length specs, with KBS Tour S shafts, and funky red Golf Pride VDR grips.
Just need to shift my Mizuno MP32 blades now....Mac, are you interested?!

[navyblueshorts]

Sweet. Jealous? Me?? Be a few years I think before I can persuade the wife that I really, honestly need a new set of irons! In the meantime, I'll just have to drool at stuff on the web and in pro shops.

[barragan]

funded mainly by vouchers and the plan to sell off old sets of clubs. my other half is delighted at the prospect of a bit of extra space in the cupboards once old clubs are off-loaded!

[barragan]

kingsbarns booked end of next month - muchos thusiasmos

[barragan]

funded mainly by vouchers and the plan to sell off old sets of clubs. my other half is delighted at the prospect of a bit of extra space in the cupboards once old clubs are off-loaded!

amazing... between selling off old clubs and adding vouchers those new irons cost me less than £150 in the end vive la gumtree

[SetupDeterminesTheMotion]

http://www.nicklaus.com/design/alhama/

Booked for end of May.

[BlueCoverman]

Three days golf booked at Thorpeness, Suffolk as from this Sunday

[1GrumpyGolfer]

Pee off the lot of you! Three days snow removal more like it for me

[barragan]

Surely you've got something to be enthusiastic about Grumps...care to share?...

[1GrumpyGolfer]

Well it was that the course was opening on good Friday but more poxy snow might well put paid to that. And I booked the day off too

[barragan]

A well im sure you'll find something useful to do indoors...
good chance our season opener will fall foul this weekend. Settled weather today and tomorrow , but looks poor Friday Saturday .

[ralphjohn69]

Found out today that getting to play Trump on Mon May 6th for £45, 20% of the normal price! Work outing....also getting on muirfield for £25 the Tuesday 9 days after the Open finishes, grandstands will still be up hopefully; won't say who I work for!

Need something to look forward to with this horrific weather at the moment..

[barragan]

Guessing RBS - so that's where all the taxpayers moolah is going...subsidising your golf!

[SetupDeterminesTheMotion]

Only 3 weeks to the Masters.

Always something to look forward to.

[raycastleunited]

http://www.nicklaus.com/design/alhama/

Booked for end of May.

sorry to rain on your enthusiasm but alhama is boring and uninspiring. Are you playing any other courses in the area? I recommend el valle and hacienda riquelme. Both much better.

[McLaren]

raycastleunited

You say you hate to rain on setup's parade but you sure as hell hated when I pi55ed all over yours.

Remember this response to my very reasonable assessment of the golf on offer in spain?

Mac,

My question was specifically about Spain and not Scotland. I will report you to the Admin if you come back on this thread to WUM again.

[raycastleunited]

raycastleunited

You say you hate to rain on setup's parade but you sure as hell hated when I pi55ed all over yours.

Remember this response to my very reasonable assessment of the golf on offer in spain?

Mac,

My question was specifically about Spain and not Scotland. I will report you to the Admin if you come back on this thread to WUM again.

haha! Mac do you keep a log of everyone's posts and anything said to you so you can bring them up? I seem to remember that i was successful in shutting you up as you were off topic and my replyhere most certainly isn't!

[hend085]

anyone played these?
first time playing in the algarve this week over easter. any tips welcome!

http://www.oceanicogolf.com/our-courses/portugal-the-algarve/oceanico-old-course/course-overview.html
http://www.valedolobo.com/en/golf/royal-golf-course/
http://www.valedolobo.com/en/golf/ocean-golf-course/
http://www.sanlorenzogolfcourse.com/

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