Tell us about your game today...

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Congrats Super!

Bit of a difference in the prize money though Mac...I won 250 quid and free entrance to the competition next year!

Looks like you're wearing CUFC colours to me Blue.

Blue

Pretty good prize, will you spend it on golf stuff?

Surely you wouldn't be expecting to see me in any other colours kwini?...

Yes I thought so too Mac, it was a voucher to be spent in the pro shop at Woodbridge. My trusty but ancient Golf Buddy GPS is on its last legs so my prize will come in very handy for its replacement!

Well done Pooky. Don't let people on here tell you it's a meaningless win because you didn't shoot lowest gross. Good "W" - I'd take it!

Yeah you've sussed me Ray, that is my nickname. Original isn't it, the old footballers trick of simply adding a y to your surname. Don't tell Super, he'll rip me to shreds!

A rather abrupt turn in form from willett at the end here. Still pretty good opening two days though.

Would it make a big difference if he were to bag another win so soon after the Masters or can he afford to wait a bit longer?

Were you playing with Willett mac? On play station again?

Not so much success at Lundin links yesterday. Reasonably steady start, +2 over after 6 with 5/6 GIR. Spiralled quickly after that - conspired to make 9 on the short 270 yard 7th, then went sideways on my ankle walking onto the bridge on 8 - game over. Was rolling about like a footballer. Swollen up like a peach immediately and lucky I was able to catch a lift up to the clubhouse thanks to a friendly Marshall. not sure I'd have made it otherwise.. Looks like golfs off for a few weeks

barra

Faking tooth ache is easier if the round is going your way and doesn't require the pepe antics.

Finally seem to be getting closer to the kind of form I imagined I would have after my swing changes. After ticking up to 7 last weekend I had a much better day Saturday just gone, never really holed anything of length so no birdies but only 5 bogeys and a wee cut straight back to 6.1.

Went out today hoping to prove it wasn't a fluke, just a bounce round, no comp. Nice bird to start, all was fine in JASworld then I tripled the 2nd, leaked the drive onto the shoulder of another hole's fairway bunker, mistimed the recovery shot into the bundai and to be honest it ended up being a good 7. Nice teeshot to 15 foot at the 3rd but raced the putt 3 foot past and missed the return. Not so long ago that would have been a "head-off" with frustration. Knuckled down though and parred to the turn 3 over.

Nice birdie on 11, an inch short of a repeat on 12. Then on 13 (our stroke 1) into a decent breeze I ballooned a drive right (just like on 2). Managed to recover and limit the damage to bogey so still 3 over. Steady through 16 still 3 over. Stood on par 5 17th tee there's a ditch crosses at 205 and a pond just before the green. The wind was behind and from the left. Could get there with a good drive and rescue. Trouble is there's thick bundai right and even with a good drive you still have to be sure of clearing the pond if going for it. Given how my driving had gone I thought it was a no brainer and despite playing partner banter I went 7 iron off the tee, rescue to 100 yards then stiffed it to 2 feet, another bird and tee shot decision well justified. Coming up 18 I finally hit a nice drive and left 169 uphill into the wind. Drilled a 4 iron too well and ended up over the back. Slightly disappointing chip back (downhill downwind) gave it too much respect, left it 12 foot short and missed the par. Still a 3 over par 74 with a triple I've got to be happy with.

The last piece of the jigsaw would appear to be confidence with the driver. Only used it 6 times, had I been full of confidence and consistently hitting it well I'd have used it in todays wind speed and direction maybe 11 times. But as 17 proved, I don't really need it when there is a good alternative. I do however need to build the confidence with it for when I do really need it.

Clever use of Course Management JAS, just try not to protect a score too much towards the end of a round, can often lead to tension and even worse scoring.

74 is pretty good scoring for a guy who was playing off 7 only a week ago. Well done Jas.


Out of interest why only a 7 from the tee on 18, why not a hybrid or 3 wood?

McLaren wrote:
Out of interest why only a 7 from the tee on 18, why not a hybrid or 3 wood?

Because unlike the xbox, in real life the ball can bounce, especially downwind.

I always find it good to have a go to club for when you have to hit a fairway. My 16 deg rescue and 3 Wood are those for me.
7 iron seems being a bit too careful to me, but it led to a birdie I suppose.

Far beit from me to make assumptions about Jas' game but faced with a ditch at 205 I too would probably hit 7 iron as anything longer, downwind, could go too far.

Probably shouldn't get into a distance row again but if your 7 can make it 205 then surely your 2/3 hybrid would easily clear 205?


PS, never play Xbox I am a playstation guy.

Not on percentage basis - if you account for worst case scenario, anything longer than 7 could go in. Hit 6 out of the screws or 3 wood out of the heel and it's the same result.

McLaren wrote:Probably shouldn't get into a distance row again but if your 7 can make it 205 then surely your 2/3 hybrid would easily clear 205?


PS, never play Xbox I am a playstation guy.

Smithers is spot on.

If I thought my 7 iron could make it 205 then I clearly wouldn't have taken it duh!!. A lay up is a lay up, no point in playing shove ha'penny with the ditch to see how close I could get. As luck would have it I put a 6 iron to within a yard of it on Sat. I was within 6 yards of it today. The ground is hardening up quite a bit down our way, getting quite a bit of downwind run. I reckon only my driver, 3 wood and maybe rescue would definitely make the carry though. Anything less than a flushed driver I wouldn't be able to go for the green in 2 anyway so why risk it?

I was pretty much just being facetious so I could remind everyone of the time I was a accused of talking nonsense for not going for a 170 forced carry with a 4 iron. I would say not going for a 205 with hybrid/5 wood is a pretty similar equation.

McLaren wrote:I was pretty much just being facetious so I could remind everyone of the time I was a accused of talking nonsense for not going for a 170 forced carry with a 4 iron.  I would say not going for a 205 with hybrid/5 wood is a pretty similar equation.  

It may or may not be but in the context of our 17th there's no point in risking it as where the hybrid would end up would not allow a crack at the green in 2. I would then be laying up to about 100yds with a 7 iron. i.e. risky then safe rather than safe and safe.

McLaren wrote:barra

Faking tooth ache is easier if the round is going your way and doesn't require the pepe antics.

haha Mac. Yes Pepe was shameful on Saturday (or any other day for that matter)

Titleist demo day today. Going to try AP2.

Apparently they have superior aerodynamics - so they go further when you fling them after fatting another approach 20 yards!

Another medal, another 0.1 .. and yet I just feel the tide is turning. I seem to be striking the ball much better at the moment (today's round was just really crippled by two 7s and an 8 otherwise it wasn't that bad and I only missed buffer by a shot.

The course is reaching peak condition for club championships next weekend, and the rough and fescue has been allowed to grow hugely - so the course is playing beautifully if you can keep it on the short stuff, but brutal if you are wayward.

Incidentally, played Bearwood Lakes last week in a charity invitational - mixed 4BBB and we got a respectable 37 points, with me getting about 31 on my own ball - that's about the best I've ever played there - it usually destroys me!

One for the scrapbook though - shotgun start, from the 8th; short par 4. 3 wood and 9 iron to greenside bunker then holed the bunker shot for birdie. Next hole, 170 yards almost all over water, and the "beat the pro" hole. Stuck it to about 6 foot to beat the pro and sank the putt to start with two birdies!

Not sure I've ever got 2 birdies in one round before, never mind the first two holes! The course naturally got its own back but that's a start I won't forget in a hurry (you can imagine the look on the faces of the rest of my group when they saw that off my handicap!)

Bloody bandit!   Me and Blue demand a re-count/match.

Roller_Coaster wrote:Titleist demo day today. Going to try AP2.

Apparently they have superior aerodynamics - so they go further when you fling them after fatting another approach 20 yards!

716's or 714's?

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:Bloody bandit!   Me and Blue demand a re-count/match.

My mate who partnered me that memorable day has basically retired from golf these days but both of you are welcome back any time you like!

Next time I may even give you that 3 4 5 6 footer on the last for the half

Thanks Davie    

Bit of fighting talk going on there Grumps...how's your diary looking?

Full! Might need Davie to head East.

McLaren wrote:

Roller_Coaster wrote:Titleist demo day today. Going to try AP2.

Apparently they have superior aerodynamics - so they go further when you fling them after fatting another approach 20 yards!

716's or 714's?

716.

Quite a good experience really. Hit various incarnations of lie/shaft etc for him to say that I've got the right shafts for me/my swing in what I've already got. I could go a little more upright on the lie but the difference to standard was marginal. Actually concluded that what I've got (Cleveland 588 cavity back - KBS stiff and standard set up) wouldn't necessarily be bettered by switching. Figures I can remember from the trackman (7 Iron) was 83 and a bit mph, 7,200 ish rpm on the ball and a smash factor of 1.3 carrying 143 (but didn't pay any attention to whether it was metres or yards! I assume yards). Not a techy golfer so don't really mean anything to me but had a look on t'interwang and found this (if inserting the picture works under my luddite control)



Also tried a few wedges, and the new vokeys do feel quite nice.

Despite being fond of shiny new bats every so often I don't think I'll bother with the irons but I might get a couple of wedges on the back of it.

Better again Saturday, no medal, just a bounce round for £5s in our playing group. 75 net 69, couple of careless 3 putts spoilt a really really good card. 33 putts is my highest putt count for about 6 weeks but 75 my 2nd best score so my longer game is finally tidying itself up a bit. Certainly a lot happier with where I'm at now compared to a couple of months ago. Only the one 0.1 since mid May, 4 buffers and a small cut as well as a 74 and a 75 in bounce rounds. All sets up nicely for the Club Champs this coming Saturday.

We played golf on Cape Cod today and were sent out in a foursome with Joey Mullen (NHL hall of famer) and his son Patrick (also a professional hockey player) .  We had such a good time with them -- friendly, unassuming, and both hit the ball a ton ! John Feinstein once said that of all the pro sportsmen he'd met, the hockey players were the nicest.  Certainly gave Mr. P a day to remember !

Plunky wrote:We played golf on Cape Cod today and were sent out in a foursome with Joey Mullen (NHL hall of famer) and his son Patrick (also a professional hockey player) .  We had such a good time with them -- friendly, unassuming, and both hit the ball a ton ! John Feinstein once said that of all the pro sportsmen he'd met, the hockey players were the nicest.  Certainly gave Mr. P a day to remember !

Hey Plunky, good to see you back on the boards, that sounds like you's had a great day. Any plans for another golf trip back to blighty? How long ago was it we played Saunton together?

Not sure about hockey but I find playing tennis ruins my golf swing. Having to use a different timing to hit a ball in a different sport really seems to mess up the rhythm of my golf swing.

Completely different (and neither "sport" for Super) but I can either play golf OK and not pool or vice versa on any given day.

Or both badly of course.

Someone told me years ago that tennis/golf is not a good combo because in tennis you're mostly hitting up on the ball whereas in golf you're hitting down on it. Have no idea if there's any truth in that. Seems like a hockey slap shot makes for a pretty effective golf swing though.

JAS, it was 3 years ago that we played at Saunton with you. This year is the first for a long time that we haven't traveled over the pond. We're in the process of selling our house on long island and moving to cape cod, so have too much going on to think of traveling for a while. My mum will turn 80 next year so we'll be in big trouble if we don't go over for a visit then !

I recently retired and am delighted to be able to play golf more frequently. I believe my game has improved already simply because I'm playing more often. The golf courses on the cape have a much better selection of tees than Bethpage so I now have several holes where I can reach the green in regulation and I don't have to use my driver on every hole. Best of all, I can now play with Mr. P and our friends (usually match play with losers buy beer) and actually contribute and win the odd hole without having to beg for strokes. Life is good !

Plunky,
Ironic that you should go all the way (not directly, I know!) and find yourself playing golf with an NHL'er from Hell's Kitchen . . . . . .

Have you found yourselves a "home course" yet, or are you still auditioning them?

New Seabury(?) on Cape Cod? Visited there 20 years ago

Davie,
The only time I played New Seabury, it was quite windy, and it was set up for a local championship, firm and fast. Too much golfcourse for me to enjoy at the time. Probably even more so now.

Kwini although I stayed there a week I didn't play it. It was just as I was starting to get an interest in the game again but wasn't playing regularly at the time. Looked magnificent from the clubhouse though

New seabury looks great but it's expensive -- not for nothing do people call it the pebble beach of the east !  Dues from 8-10k annually after paying at least 25k initiation fees I think.  We've joined the Dennis town club.   For 1k annual fee we get to play pretty much whenever we want and there are two courses in Dennis -- the shorter one has undulating fairways and  tricky greens, while the longer one has a lot of trees and a couple of large ponds to worry about.   Both courses are challenging, well looked after, and the people are very friendly.   There's also a reciprocal arrangement so that in spring and fall we can pay reduced rates at a number of other nearby courses. We'll  try this  for a year and see how it goes ! 

I'm playing the East Course at Wentworth tomorrow. Which will be anew experience, especially considering no club swing in appx 2 months. I know its meant to be easier then the big course, but it should be more in keeping with my hacker status. Anyone played it?

Hi Ben I've played it a few times as a friend wangled me on. This was years ago, however. It's obviously shorter than the West, but enjoyable none the less. Same sort of countryside as what you see on the West, but nicer holes to my mind. Pretty much all of the holes can be seen from each tee. It's all out in front of you. Not all flat, there is some up and down. The heather/gorse stuff can be penal. Just make sure you know where you are going at one or two points - the course crosses with the Edinburgh at intervals. I don't know your handicap or how far you can hit a ball, but one or two holes are driveable. Stray too far off line and you will be in someones back garden. I don't know what they have done with the prices in the clubhouse but they were reasonable when I was there. Luckily the first tee is out of sight so any hacking off that one won't be seen by many people, whereas off the West...
Halfway house is after the 6th hole where it is adjacent to the 8th green and 9th tee of the West.
You'll enjoy it.

I did enjoy it! And the weather held until the 18th green. I was my usual erratic self, though did birdie one of the par 3s.

No medal this weekend. Just a friendly 4bb.

I've been struggling with pain in both thumbs this year & I've drifted from the start of the season 10, now up to 12.

Went to drive range on Friday & I must say I thought I had found the answer.

So played Saturday & managed to break 80 for the first time this year. So scored 78 - 12 = 66.

Didn't win the money though as one of the guys had a 63. But signs are hopefull. Ever onward.

Good signs Setup, hope the pain stays away.

Thanks Grumps.

Here's hoping.

I've recently started hitting a lot of shots right, not quite a slice, not quite a Monty fade, just a push.

Anyone got any tips?

super_realist wrote:I've recently started hitting a lot of shots right, not quite a slice, not quite a Monty fade, just a push.

Anyone got any tips?

Is it still a good strike? i.e. still going approx same distance? If so simple alignment check, it's amazing how something like that can creep in. I've had a situation before where I've had a bit of stiffness and niggly pain in my back, went to an Osteo & got it sorted. Went through a phase of hitting it right, couldn't work out why until a mate pointed out my shoulder alignment on the range. Getting the back sorted might have had nothing to do with it but it seemed too much of a coincidence. I'm assuming at your level you're unlikely to be crossing the line (overswinging)

Yeah, good strike and distance, pretty sure my alignment is fine as I line it up as part of my routine right on my target. I just seem to have a habit of one floating right more often. Hit two balls to 3 inches the other day, so some are going well, perhaps it is an overswing.

I hit 14 out of 14 fairways the other day, but only hit 18 greens, missing 7 of those right.

Out today, so if the problem is the same I'll get it checked out with a pro.