Golf thread

[NonProfitCow]

Golf without spectators will be the same as golf with spectators, boring as horsefeathers to watch.

Thanks for the quality input.

[CubinNY]

Golf without spectators will be the same as golf with spectators, boring as horsefeathers to watch.

Thanks for the quality input.

You are welcome!

[jersey cubs fan]

Golf is fairly boring to watch, most of the time. But the majors are great and in this circumstance I'm sure I'd love to just put it on in the background.

 

There will be something missing without a crowd around the 18th tee and people scattering when a shot goes into the gallery. But I also wonder how much of an impact this will make to the broadcasts themselves. Will they have the same number of cameras? Aren't most directors of these things packed into a trailer somewhere switching from view to view on the fly? If the broadcast quality goes down it could make for a very tough watch.

[NonProfitCow]

Golf is fairly boring to watch, most of the time. But the majors are great and in this circumstance I'm sure I'd love to just put it on in the background.

 

There will be something missing without a crowd around the 18th tee and people scattering when a shot goes into the gallery. But I also wonder how much of an impact this will make to the broadcasts themselves. Will they have the same number of cameras? Aren't most directors of these things packed into a trailer somewhere switching from view to view on the fly? If the broadcast quality goes down it could make for a very tough watch.

I don't there will be any difference in the broadcasts. The tech guys are usually crunched together because it's convenient, but it's not a necessity.

 

I'm wondering if the scores are going to be higher since there won't be galleries to stop wayward shots and I'm assuming fewer free drops.

[weis21]

I will probably watch every second of this tournament. I don't have to bet or care who wins, I just am tired of HGTV and infomercials. Jesus, it's 6 weeks from now...

[Cubswin11]

It’s back starting tomorrow, with a really solid field.

 

[Wilson A2000]

Bryson Dechambeau's transformation since last fall has been incredible. He was already fairly long, but he gained 30-40 lbs, he's eating like crazy, working out like a madman, and has started absolutely hammering the ball. He's literally gained in the neighborhood of 30-50 yards with his driver just over the last 8 months. He's obliterating courses and hitting it fairly straight. He's waiting for the green to clear on 390 yard par 4s to clear so he can tee off and nearly hit the green. When Tiger came on Tour and destroyed Augusta in 1997, it was a huge thing. Then when the solid core, urethane golf ball came out and everybody got 10-15 yards longer, that was a thing. What Bryson is doing is another huge leap for golf. I don't think he had more than a 7 or 8 iron into any par 5 and on the par 4s he doesn't have more than a wedge into any even if they are 480 yards long. And Bryson told us he was going to do this last fall and then just went out and did it. Going to be very tough to beat.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

[Cubswin11]

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

I grew up playing baseball only in summers, think I took one golf lesson when I was like 10. Started playing a little in college and after but still played softball mostly in summers until I was ~25 (32 now). Started taking golf serious about 5 years ago and basically taught myself from scratch using YouTube, going to the range a lot, and read a lot/follow golf social media to learn and I would be lucky to stay under 100 on a good day early on. Last 2-3 years I’ve really turned a corner and am down to a 6 handicap, still have my blowup rounds but it’s such a fun sport when you can get to being a consistent sub ~85 golfer. Unless you have a coach or friend who knows their horsefeathers, use YouTube. They have everything you need to basically get started and have lessons.

 

I played whistling straits 2 weeks ago (have had pga championships and was suppose to have the Ryder cup this year) and I shot a 75, including 2 under on the back. It was a really rewarding feeling.

Edited July 10, 2020 by Cubswin11

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

Is it harder than staying put with knives on your feet on top of ice?

[jersey cubs fan]

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

Finishing to learn to golf is more difficult.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I've been watching tons of Youtube. I really like Jay Saguto but I can't tell if he's a good teacher or a nutjob.

 

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

Is it harder than staying put with knives on your feet on top of ice?

 

Easier, but harder than the soccer classes I took.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

I've been watching tons of Youtube. I really like Jay Saguto but I can't tell if he's a good teacher or a nutjob.

 

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

Is it harder than staying put with knives on your feet on top of ice?

 

Easier, but harder than the soccer classes I took.

I used to play with a guy from Liverpool who felt that anyone who wasn't exposed by age 7 was hopeless. I did not agree with him, but he had a point.

[Splendid Splinter]

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

I grew up playing baseball only in summers, think I took one golf lesson when I was like 10. Started playing a little in college and after but still played softball mostly in summers until I was ~25 (32 now). Started taking golf serious about 5 years ago and basically taught myself from scratch using YouTube, going to the range a lot, and read a lot/follow golf social media to learn and I would be lucky to stay under 100 on a good day early on. Last 2-3 years I’ve really turned a corner and am down to a 6 handicap, still have my blowup rounds but it’s such a fun sport when you can get to being a consistent sub ~85 golfer. Unless you have a coach or friend who knows their horsefeathers, use YouTube. They have everything you need to basically get started and have lessons.

 

I played whistling straits 2 weeks ago (have had pga championships and was suppose to have the Ryder cup this year) and I shot a 75, including 2 under on the back. It was a really rewarding feeling.

 

Nice! What tee did you use for that 75 at Whistling Straits? Always awesome when you have a fun round like that, esp. shooting under par on the back. I went there 3 yrs ago with my cousin's husband and his brother. Shot 73 from the blues and then 85 from the black the next day. Black tees is just insanely brutal! That 73 is probably the best round I've ever had (considering the course and tees). Better than my 67 at a local course here although that was a fun round for an entirely different reason.

 

Yeah I agree with using YouTube if you don't have a friend or coach, but will say that you should go to the range as much as possible if you're starting out. It's extremely tough to try to adjust on the fly when you're playing. At least that's what I tell my high school kids that's on the golf team. Of course, they just want to play 9 holes or hit drivers in the range and see who can hit the longest. Lol

[Hairyducked Idiot]

After getting a hitting mat, a $50 driver off amazon, and hitting into a blanket in my backyard enough to feel confident I wouldn't send the club flying out of my hand or hit the ground 2 feet behind the ball, I went to the driving range today for the first time.

 

It went a lot better than I expected. I pulled my share of ground balls foul past the third baseman, but by the end of the session I was hitting about half of them reasonably well and clearing the 167 marker on the fly routinely.

[Splendid Splinter]

After getting a hitting mat, a $50 driver off amazon, and hitting into a blanket in my backyard enough to feel confident I wouldn't send the club flying out of my hand or hit the ground 2 feet behind the ball, I went to the driving range today for the first time.

 

It went a lot better than I expected. I pulled my share of ground balls foul past the third baseman, but by the end of the session I was hitting about half of them reasonably well and clearing the 167 marker on the fly routinely.

 

Just hitting the driver? I know you just started and didn't know if you got irons as well. That's pretty good for first time on the range. A lot of times people have a hard time getting the ball up in the air due to various reasons so good to see you're getting 170+.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

After getting a hitting mat, a $50 driver off amazon, and hitting into a blanket in my backyard enough to feel confident I wouldn't send the club flying out of my hand or hit the ground 2 feet behind the ball, I went to the driving range today for the first time.

 

It went a lot better than I expected. I pulled my share of ground balls foul past the third baseman, but by the end of the session I was hitting about half of them reasonably well and clearing the 167 marker on the fly routinely.

 

Just hitting the driver? I know you just started and didn't know if you got irons as well. That's pretty good for first time on the range. A lot of times people have a hard time getting the ball up in the air due to various reasons so good to see you're getting 170+.

 

Just the driver. I think there's a lot of carryover from hockey that helps. Being conscious of where your weight is on your feet, generating power from the hips, letting your hands lead and the club follow. I'm not an athlete at all but I am a huge nerd about technique.

 

The best tip I've gotten so far is from that Saguto guy. I was twisting myself up trying to turn 90 degrees backwards for the windup with just my shoulders and it felt crazy awkard. He suggested collapsing your back hip to get the first 45 degrees, then turning your shoulders to get the remaining 45 degrees, and that felt *way* more natural and let me uncoil easier.

[stitchface]

After getting a hitting mat, a $50 driver off amazon, and hitting into a blanket in my backyard enough to feel confident I wouldn't send the club flying out of my hand or hit the ground 2 feet behind the ball, I went to the driving range today for the first time.

 

It went a lot better than I expected. I pulled my share of ground balls foul past the third baseman, but by the end of the session I was hitting about half of them reasonably well and clearing the 167 marker on the fly routinely.

 

Just hitting the driver? I know you just started and didn't know if you got irons as well. That's pretty good for first time on the range. A lot of times people have a hard time getting the ball up in the air due to various reasons so good to see you're getting 170+.

 

hell, if you're hitting it straight your doing great. Better to pull than slice.

[Cubswin11]

I am starting to learn to golf. It is difficult, in case anyone didn't know.

I grew up playing baseball only in summers, think I took one golf lesson when I was like 10. Started playing a little in college and after but still played softball mostly in summers until I was ~25 (32 now). Started taking golf serious about 5 years ago and basically taught myself from scratch using YouTube, going to the range a lot, and read a lot/follow golf social media to learn and I would be lucky to stay under 100 on a good day early on. Last 2-3 years I’ve really turned a corner and am down to a 6 handicap, still have my blowup rounds but it’s such a fun sport when you can get to being a consistent sub ~85 golfer. Unless you have a coach or friend who knows their horsefeathers, use YouTube. They have everything you need to basically get started and have lessons.

 

I played whistling straits 2 weeks ago (have had pga championships and was suppose to have the Ryder cup this year) and I shot a 75, including 2 under on the back. It was a really rewarding feeling.

 

Nice! What tee did you use for that 75 at Whistling Straits? Always awesome when you have a fun round like that, esp. shooting under par on the back. I went there 3 yrs ago with my cousin's husband and his brother. Shot 73 from the blues and then 85 from the black the next day. Black tees is just insanely brutal! That 73 is probably the best round I've ever had (considering the course and tees). Better than my 67 at a local course here although that was a fun round for an entirely different reason.

I played the blues and it was the straits course. I was with 2 buddies who work at Kohler and they got a deal and they knew Ryder cup wasn’t happening before it was officially canceled so we got out for cheap and we played 2 of the Par 3s from the pro tees. I live ~20 min away so I’ve played there a bunch on the Irish course and the blacks there have kicked my ass but that was like my 3rd time on straits. Pretty much same with the local course thing though, I’ve gone sub 70 a few times but it doesn’t compare to a “real” course like whistling.

 

Don’t know if you come to the area often but Blackwolf is another great course Kohler owns and I’d highly recommend (in the spring they do their championship 18 combining the 36 holes in to 18 and I’d argue that plays as hard as whistling unless you get a weird Lake Michigan weather day). There’s also The Bull which is a Jack designed course and probably the hardest course I’ve ever played with the Lake Michigan weather caveat again. There’s days I’ve played whistling where the wind off the lake makes it insane.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Nobody cares alert: update on my learning to golf phase

 

I’m going to the practice range a couple of times a week now, still having fun. I usually have one or two swing fixes I want to implement each time, and I have evolved from “idiot who looks like he has never held a club before” to “idiot who is just not good at golf.”

 

I can hit my drives consistently on-target with some left to right that I would describe more as a natural fade than a slice. I got a launch tracker app that has them at a pretty consistent 160-175 carry, which isn’t great but I figure that’s ok for new player + range balls + cheap driver.

 

I spent three sessions trying to figure out why I was pulling my irons badly. I was swinging outside-in for a couple of reasons. First I was too upright and making up for it with too much knee bend, which was making me reach out for the ball and coming through outside-in. Then I noticed I was too close to the ball, forcing me to bring my arms in and again causing an outside-in path. I fixed all that and was still going left with every shot, even though it felt like it was going pretty straight off the club. So finally I laid down some clubs to make sure I was lining up toward the target, and it turns out I was aiming way left. It almost feels like a closed baseball stance when he aim correctly and turn your head toward the target. Once I had that sorted, my irons were going pretty consistently on target.

 

I am right at the tipping point where I need to decide to continue on my own and risk ingraining some bad habits or take some lessons. It’s annoying because there are only two types of golf lesson advertisements:

 

1) crazy advanced indoor simulator packages targeted at advanced players and really seem to be expensive ads for custom-fitter new clubs

 

2) faded printout from local pro on cork board in the range shop. Hotmail email address and phone number out of service. Guy at counter says he comes and goes on his own but you can usually catch him Thursday afternoons if you hang around for a few hours.

 

Tl;dr. Dumb jerk likes overthinking about hitting ball

[BigbadB]

Nobody cares alert: update on my learning to golf phase

 

I’m going to the practice range a couple of times a week now, still having fun. I usually have one or two swing fixes I want to implement each time, and I have evolved from “idiot who looks like he has never held a club before” to “idiot who is just not good at golf.”

 

I can hit my drives consistently on-target with some left to right that I would describe more as a natural fade than a slice. I got a launch tracker app that has them at a pretty consistent 160-175 carry, which isn’t great but I figure that’s ok for new player + range balls + cheap driver.

 

I spent three sessions trying to figure out why I was pulling my irons badly. I was swinging outside-in for a couple of reasons. First I was too upright and making up for it with too much knee bend, which was making me reach out for the ball and coming through outside-in. Then I noticed I was too close to the ball, forcing me to bring my arms in and again causing an outside-in path. I fixed all that and was still going left with every shot, even though it felt like it was going pretty straight off the club. So finally I laid down some clubs to make sure I was lining up toward the target, and it turns out I was aiming way left. It almost feels like a closed baseball stance when he aim correctly and turn your head toward the target. Once I had that sorted, my irons were going pretty consistently on target.

 

I am right at the tipping point where I need to decide to continue on my own and risk ingraining some bad habits or take some lessons. It’s annoying because there are only two types of golf lesson advertisements:

 

1) crazy advanced indoor simulator packages targeted at advanced players and really seem to be expensive ads for custom-fitter new clubs

 

2) faded printout from local pro on cork board in the range shop. Hotmail email address and phone number out of service. Guy at counter says he comes and goes on his own but you can usually catch him Thursday afternoons if you hang around for a few hours.

 

Tl;dr. Dumb jerk likes overthinking about hitting ball

 

it's going to depend on just how good you want to get. I would recommend continuing with the You Tube videos to fix the problems you are having and then practicing more at the range. I've never taken lessons and don't care to. I'm happy with an occasional '70's round and most rounds in the low to mid '80's. I'm 56 now, so I would expect my game to be changing to a much shorter game in the next 5 to 10 years anyway. If you are a nerd to technique, stick with that. Part of my problem from the very start of my life in golf is not being a stickler for the basic mechanics of the swing. I get up there and fire away. I don't always have my feet set the same way. I don't always balance myself. The ball may be a bit forward in my stance, or back in my stance. Sometimes I have an inside out swing with my irons. Sometimes I have an outside in swing with my driver. Those faults lead to blow up holes, but I just can't seem to want to focus on a stringent plan to address the ball.

 

Check with your local course. They may offer monthly deals. My local course has a $40 a month membership (American Golf) that gives cheaper rates to play rounds and 2 free buckets of balls everyday at the range (although the range is currently set up as appointment only). It costs me $20 a round to play golf and I get a free drink ticket. If I walked, it would be even cheaper.

[jumbo]

Nobody cares alert: update on my learning to golf phase

 

I’m going to the practice range a couple of times a week now, still having fun. I usually have one or two swing fixes I want to implement each time, and I have evolved from “idiot who looks like he has never held a club before” to “idiot who is just not good at golf.”

 

I can hit my drives consistently on-target with some left to right that I would describe more as a natural fade than a slice. I got a launch tracker app that has them at a pretty consistent 160-175 carry, which isn’t great but I figure that’s ok for new player + range balls + cheap driver.

 

I spent three sessions trying to figure out why I was pulling my irons badly. I was swinging outside-in for a couple of reasons. First I was too upright and making up for it with too much knee bend, which was making me reach out for the ball and coming through outside-in. Then I noticed I was too close to the ball, forcing me to bring my arms in and again causing an outside-in path. I fixed all that and was still going left with every shot, even though it felt like it was going pretty straight off the club. So finally I laid down some clubs to make sure I was lining up toward the target, and it turns out I was aiming way left. It almost feels like a closed baseball stance when he aim correctly and turn your head toward the target. Once I had that sorted, my irons were going pretty consistently on target.

 

I am right at the tipping point where I need to decide to continue on my own and risk ingraining some bad habits or take some lessons. It’s annoying because there are only two types of golf lesson advertisements:

 

1) crazy advanced indoor simulator packages targeted at advanced players and really seem to be expensive ads for custom-fitter new clubs

 

2) faded printout from local pro on cork board in the range shop. Hotmail email address and phone number out of service. Guy at counter says he comes and goes on his own but you can usually catch him Thursday afternoons if you hang around for a few hours.

 

Tl;dr. Dumb jerk likes overthinking about hitting ball

 

I started learning about 8-10 years ago, started to get serious about playing somewhat regularly 5-6 years ago. I did not have a natural swing, and I could not tell what I'm doing wrong. Watching videos or reading tips in the golf magazines just screwed me up and made me more inconsistent.

 

I would advise you to find an instructor and get 2-3 things to work on. Ideally, fix item A, then move on to item B, C, etc. My ideal instructor is someone who doesn't tell me 100 things about the golf swing, but instead watches my swing and then gives me one or two things to work on.

 

Beyond that, I would advise you to go play golf on courses to get a better sense of what your ball is really doing. People can go tune up on the range but when it's time to only get one chance at each swing you're not always in the rhythm of each club and it gets harder. Further advice would be to read the new simplfied rule book and take all the penalty strokes, putt out every hole instead of taking gimmes. You'll be able to see real results better that way.

[squally1313]

As someone in the early stages of becoming a not-terrible golfer (hoping to break 100 by the end of the year), this has been a great page. The one piece of advice I'd give counter to your last point on the rules, the gimmies, etc....unless you plan on playing with some scratch golfers or in some serious league, just find a general approach and be consistent with it, and that way you'll still see the improvement without some of the frustration that comes with being awful. I'm not saying to not count water penalties or whatever, but if everyone else you're playing with is giving 2 footers, missing one to record an 8 instead of a 7 is not fun.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Maybe I will feel different when I get out there, but the entire concept of “gimmes” bugs me. It takes 5 seconds to tap it in and pick it up.

[stitchface]

As someone in the early stages of becoming a not-terrible golfer (hoping to break 100 by the end of the year), this has been a great page. The one piece of advice I'd give counter to your last point on the rules, the gimmies, etc....unless you plan on playing with some scratch golfers or in some serious league, just find a general approach and be consistent with it, and that way you'll still see the improvement without some of the frustration that comes with being awful. I'm not saying to not count water penalties or whatever, but if everyone else you're playing with is giving 2 footers, missing one to record an 8 instead of a 7 is not fun.

 

 

I'm with you squally! I just started playing regularly a couple months ago. Broke 90 today for the first time (on an easy course). Felt especially good because I parred the last two holes!

 

I do agree on hitting every putt - something about finishing and when you do play more "seriously," you'll feel a lot less pressure if you're used to finishing out.

 

I think mulligans are great for improvement too.