Golf thread

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I just started playing as something to do that I feel comfortable with during the pandemic. I’m having a lot of fun but man, I didn’t appreciate how many things you have to do right to get a good swing on the ball. Right now my consistency isn’t there at all. But I like being able to go to the course and get paired up with strangers and just have fun. I feel like you get to see the better side of just about everyone on the course. It’s great.

 

Lemme heavily recommend stack and tilt. It won't get you to the tour or impress anyone with distance, but in a few weeks it's got me from no idea where the ball is going to hitting consistently high and straight iron shots.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Kind of a weird brag but I'm proud of it. In this morning's 9, seven par-3s and two par-4s, I needed 11 shots to get to the general vicinity of the green. I didn't actually hit most of the greens, but I got to within chipping distance. I didn't have any tops or shanks or fat duffs that roll 30 yards. I need a stat for GIR-ish.

 

Score wasn't quite as good as I wanted because of one blow-up hole (Managed to get behind that stupid lone tree by the green *again*) and my putting was garbage, but I felt like I'm really playing golf out there.

[weis21]

I never could have imagined the “Kyle learns golf” narrative would be one of the highlights of 2020.

 

Go ahead and mark it off your bingo card.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I never could have imagined the “Kyle learns golf” narrative would be one of the highlights of 2020.

 

Go ahead and mark it off your bingo card.

 

Maybe someday I’ll share some video. I manage to make a middle-aged fat nerd hitting 105-yard 7-irons sound way cooler than it is. And it doesn’t even sound that cool.

 

Here’s the nephew sticking a tee shot. If you force it to show you hi-def you can see the ball hit near the little mound on the left then roll out to the front center of the green. Mine is in front of the bunker short and right

 

 

He had two more looks at birdie today. He wants one so bad.

 

Funny, the camera keeps catching him cheating when I’m not looking. But not cheating to do better, cheating to make sure he has cool stories to tell. Like making his missed putt hang over the edge instead of being three inches off, or moving his ball five yards so it ends up right next to mine.

[stitchface]

horsefeathering smoke preventing me from golfing. Is it worth going out in a filtered mask?

[Soul]

They’ve started aerating the greens and shutting down some of the courses near me now. It’s likely I’ll have to drop my new hobby and pick it up again in Spring. I’ve concluded I need to have someone look at my swing who knows what the heck he/she is talking about. I’ve never taken a lesson that I didn’t get something valuable from. The YouTube vids are OK but not as valuable as live, active feedback. At least for me.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Nephew made his first par today:

 

https://streamable.com/ncft8z

 

 

I had a weird round. I tried a more standard putting grip this week and it helps a *ton*. I went from my standard ~20 putts for 9 holes to just 15 with only one three-putt.

 

I also have more or less abandoned chipping in favor of bump and runs and those went pretty well.

 

But after three straight outings where my full swings were solid, I couldn’t get them going today. I had a bunch of shots where it felt perfect but it just went on a different line that I was expecting, usually ~20 degrees left. Not curving, just a different straight line than I thought I would get. And I had one where I thought I hit a perfect, majestic 8-iron right to the center of the green but it just sailed and went 25 yards further than my 8-iron usually goes.

 

I did manage to do nothing worse than a double, but also has nothing better than bogey.

[stitchface]

This sounds similar to a problem I have been having - when I pull left, my irons go like 20% farther. And short on everything straight. I ultimately concluded that I had a serious out to in swing and further that I was too close to the ball to swing in to out or in-line. I've been working on it and the difference is amazing - I backed up and have been focused on swinging in to out. Only problem is my footwork isn't worked out correctly yet.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This sounds similar to a problem I have been having - when I pull left, my irons go like 20% farther. And short on everything straight. I ultimately concluded that I had a serious out to in swing and further that I was too close to the ball to swing in to out or in-line. I've been working on it and the difference is amazing - I backed up and have been focused on swinging in to out. Only problem is my footwork isn't worked out correctly yet.

 

Looking at the video, that is *exactly* what my problem was. I had been doing pretty well getting a slight in-to-out, but you can see yesterday that one frame before impact, I’m almost a full clubhead outside the ball and having to pull it in quickly. And my duffed shots were all off the heel.

 

This is why my irons were all going left most of the time, and I was doing unusually well with my longer clubs, which were starting left but slicing back on target.

 

It all makes sense now.

[stitchface]

https://www.golftec.com/blog/2016/08/golf-ball-flight-laws/

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Crushed my PR today with a 94. I probably averaged just short of 3 putts a hole, which is the worst I've done in years, by a lot. Really fun and frustrating all at once. I had two different times where I had a 20 foot putt for eagle, and got a bogey and a double bogey, respectively. Just gross. Apart from putting and chipping, I only mishit the ball TWICE, which is just...bonkers for me.

[Soul]

Crushed my PR today with a 94. I probably averaged just short of 3 putts a hole, which is the worst I've done in years, by a lot. Really fun and frustrating all at once. I had two different times where I had a 20 foot putt for eagle, and got a bogey and a double bogey, respectively. Just gross. Apart from putting and chipping, I only horsefeathers the ball TWICE, which is just...bonkers for me.

 

That’s my feeling about golf in general.

[squally1313]

Crushed my PR today with a 94. I probably averaged just short of 3 putts a hole, which is the worst I've done in years, by a lot. Really fun and frustrating all at once. I had two different times where I had a 20 foot putt for eagle, and got a bogey and a double bogey, respectively. Just gross. Apart from putting and chipping, I only horsefeathers the ball TWICE, which is just...bonkers for me.

What you do with the ball is your own business, no need to bring it in to the wholesome Golf thread.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Crushed my PR today with a 94. I probably averaged just short of 3 putts a hole, which is the worst I've done in years, by a lot. Really fun and frustrating all at once. I had two different times where I had a 20 foot putt for eagle, and got a bogey and a double bogey, respectively. Just gross. Apart from putting and chipping, I only horsefeathers the ball TWICE, which is just...bonkers for me.

What you do with the ball is your own business, no need to bring it in to the wholesome Golf thread.

I actually typed mis-hit without the hyphen, and there we are. (The profanity filter is insanely horsefeathering dumb.)

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Today I got to check off another of my "now I feel like a real golfer" experiences: Playing on greens that were freshly watered, punched and sanded. First tee shot, I thought I hit it *perfectly* and it was going to roll up for a tap-in birdie. Instead it just plopped down and embedded where it hit, 10 feet short. I'm not nearly good enough not to be happy with a par, though.

 

Nephew had a similar experience on the 7th. Hole is 127, he usually maxes his driver about 110, but he absolutely crushed one perfectly on line. On a normal day it rolls up next to the hole, but it slowed down way too fast and ended up about 15 feet short. (https://streamable.com/9xncpw)

 

Other highlights:

 

After a wet fart drive, I still had 150 to the front of the green on a par-4. My hybrid goes about 135 most of the time, but it's by far more reliable than anything longer and leaving it short takes the bunkers out of play. I hit it as cleanly as I possibly could and it took off like a rocket, perfectly straight. I found it past the green, past the rough behind the green, past the cart path, almost to the next tee box. A full 40 yards past target.

 

Last hole, I hit one proper distance but pull it onto the hill way off to the left. In the rough, on a hill looking down, probably 50 feet from the hole, and I got it down to within 4 feet and made the putt. My first up-and-down that wasn't just from the fringe.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'll just continue to be the Fred of the golf thread.

 

I've been doing the same 9-hole par-29 course. I get up for the earliest tee time, take the nephew, and we're usually home before my kid wakes up, so it minimizes the need for other adults in the house to watch him. But kid starts school in person next week and I'll have 5 glorious 4-hour windows a week in which to do things, many of those things will be golf related. None of the full courses around here have 9-hole options right now, would it be weird to just book a regular tee time and plan on leaving at the turn? I'd like to start branching out to other courses.

 

This morning's round was the best I've ever hit the ball, which was only slightly brought down by how awful my putting was. My last round was 23 non-putts and 18 putts. Today was 17 non-putts and 24 putts for the same score.

 

I finally got past my nemeses: the two par-4s. I had never done better than bogey on either of them, but I went fairway to green to two-putt on both of them.

 

I need to figure out my driver. I'm definitely doing something wrong. I only hit it once today, and felt like I got all of it and it went straight, but the GPS said it only went 160 yards. I don't need to be a bomber, but I need to be able to threaten 200 consistently to have a chance at the larger courses.

[stitchface]

Definitely not weird at all to leave after 9 holes. I would also ask when you get there - not uncommon to have unadvertised rates. The local course here lets you play the back 9 first thing in the morning for about 1/3 price for instance. Also, you can play a twilight rate where you don't have enough light to play 18 anyway.

 

I am slowly correcting my swing deficiencies - every time I think I have it figured out . . .

[BigbadB]

I'll just continue to be the Fred of the golf thread.

 

I've been doing the same 9-hole par-29 course. I get up for the earliest tee time, take the nephew, and we're usually home before my kid wakes up, so it minimizes the need for other adults in the house to watch him. But kid starts school in person next week and I'll have 5 glorious 4-hour windows a week in which to do things, many of those things will be golf related. None of the full courses around here have 9-hole options right now, would it be weird to just book a regular tee time and plan on leaving at the turn? I'd like to start branching out to other courses.

 

This morning's round was the best I've ever hit the ball, which was only slightly brought down by how awful my putting was. My last round was 23 non-putts and 18 putts. Today was 17 non-putts and 24 putts for the same score.

 

I finally got past my nemeses: the two par-4s. I had never done better than bogey on either of them, but I went fairway to green to two-putt on both of them.

 

I need to figure out my driver. I'm definitely doing something wrong. I only hit it once today, and felt like I got all of it and it went straight, but the GPS said it only went 160 yards. I don't need to be a bomber, but I need to be able to threaten 200 consistently to have a chance at the larger courses.

 

Check with each course. Some will let you tee off on the back 9 before the 18 hole golfers get to the 10th hole. If you go early enough, you should be able to blow right through those holes pretty quickly.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'll just continue to be the Fred of the golf thread.

 

I've been doing the same 9-hole par-29 course. I get up for the earliest tee time, take the nephew, and we're usually home before my kid wakes up, so it minimizes the need for other adults in the house to watch him. But kid starts school in person next week and I'll have 5 glorious 4-hour windows a week in which to do things, many of those things will be golf related. None of the full courses around here have 9-hole options right now, would it be weird to just book a regular tee time and plan on leaving at the turn? I'd like to start branching out to other courses.

 

This morning's round was the best I've ever hit the ball, which was only slightly brought down by how awful my putting was. My last round was 23 non-putts and 18 putts. Today was 17 non-putts and 24 putts for the same score.

 

I finally got past my nemeses: the two par-4s. I had never done better than bogey on either of them, but I went fairway to green to two-putt on both of them.

 

I need to figure out my driver. I'm definitely doing something wrong. I only hit it once today, and felt like I got all of it and it went straight, but the GPS said it only went 160 yards. I don't need to be a bomber, but I need to be able to threaten 200 consistently to have a chance at the larger courses.

 

Check with each course. Some will let you tee off on the back 9 before the 18 hole golfers get to the 10th hole. If you go early enough, you should be able to blow right through those holes pretty quickly.

 

I saw a couple of courses around here do that, but I have a very specific window of time and I can’t quite get there early enough.

[squally1313]

I'll just continue to be the Fred of the golf thread.

 

I've been doing the same 9-hole par-29 course. I get up for the earliest tee time, take the nephew, and we're usually home before my kid wakes up, so it minimizes the need for other adults in the house to watch him. But kid starts school in person next week and I'll have 5 glorious 4-hour windows a week in which to do things, many of those things will be golf related. None of the full courses around here have 9-hole options right now, would it be weird to just book a regular tee time and plan on leaving at the turn? I'd like to start branching out to other courses.

 

This morning's round was the best I've ever hit the ball, which was only slightly brought down by how awful my putting was. My last round was 23 non-putts and 18 putts. Today was 17 non-putts and 24 putts for the same score.

 

I finally got past my nemeses: the two par-4s. I had never done better than bogey on either of them, but I went fairway to green to two-putt on both of them.

 

I need to figure out my driver. I'm definitely doing something wrong. I only hit it once today, and felt like I got all of it and it went straight, but the GPS said it only went 160 yards. I don't need to be a bomber, but I need to be able to threaten 200 consistently to have a chance at the larger courses.

 

Check with each course. Some will let you tee off on the back 9 before the 18 hole golfers get to the 10th hole. If you go early enough, you should be able to blow right through those holes pretty quickly.

 

I saw a couple of courses around here do that, but I have a very specific window of time and I can’t quite get there early enough.

 

Every course I've played in the Chicago area will let you play 9 and pay a reduced amount. It usually isn't half, but the cheaper courses are like $30 for 18, $20 for 9.

 

Keep going with the posts. Great reading.

[stitchface]

Had some "fun" playing in 20-30 mph wind yesterday. Tough tough day and difficult to evaluate how I did.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

One thing I enjoy is how there's a little bit of a disconnect between your score and how you're playing. I had an approach shot last week where I didn't have enough club, thinned it, pulled it and sliced it. That covers all four directions so somehow it all balanced out and it ended up 8 feet from the hole.

 

Today was just kind of medium all around. I got into a pretty good rhythm of tee shot, chip from close rough or fringe putt, two-putt for bogey, with just two hiccup doubles but no pars to balance them out, so +11 40, which is on the good side but not my best. I was mostly sticking my long putts to inside 3 feet, which is huge. The difference in my odds of making a 2.5 foot putt versus a 5-foot putt are way higher than I realized they would be when I started golfing.

[stitchface]

One thing I enjoy is how there's a little bit of a disconnect between your score and how you're playing. I had an approach shot last week where I didn't have enough club, thinned it, pulled it and sliced it. That covers all four directions so somehow it all balanced out and it ended up 8 feet from the hole.

 

Today was just kind of medium all around. I got into a pretty good rhythm of tee shot, chip from close rough or fringe putt, two-putt for bogey, with just two hiccup doubles but no pars to balance them out, so +11 40, which is on the good side but not my best. I was mostly sticking my long putts to inside 3 feet, which is huge. The difference in my odds of making a 2.5 foot putt versus a 5-foot putt are way higher than I realized they would be when I started golfing.

 

One thing I have learned in the last few weeks, is that I cannot hit anything longer than a 6 (except the driver). Stands to reason since most of our rounds are at a course where any decent drive puts you into wedge territory. Time for longer courses but boy are those exhausting when you mishit long clubs.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

One thing I enjoy is how there's a little bit of a disconnect between your score and how you're playing. I had an approach shot last week where I didn't have enough club, thinned it, pulled it and sliced it. That covers all four directions so somehow it all balanced out and it ended up 8 feet from the hole.

 

Today was just kind of medium all around. I got into a pretty good rhythm of tee shot, chip from close rough or fringe putt, two-putt for bogey, with just two hiccup doubles but no pars to balance them out, so +11 40, which is on the good side but not my best. I was mostly sticking my long putts to inside 3 feet, which is huge. The difference in my odds of making a 2.5 foot putt versus a 5-foot putt are way higher than I realized they would be when I started golfing.

 

One thing I have learned in the last few weeks, is that I cannot hit anything longer than a 6 (except the driver). Stands to reason since most of our rounds are at a course where any decent drive puts you into wedge territory. Time for longer courses but boy are those exhausting when you horsefeathers long clubs.

It probably just takes getting used to. My 3 wood is my favorite club, and that wasn't the case until I started playing real courses. After that, for a while I was just using half and quarter swings with my 3 wood or 5 wood to avoid the attrocites that were my long irons, but after I forced myself to use them, they have gotten almost as good as my fairway woods. Now I have a real shot of putting it on or very near the green all the way to 230 yards out. Progress!

[stitchface]

One thing I enjoy is how there's a little bit of a disconnect between your score and how you're playing. I had an approach shot last week where I didn't have enough club, thinned it, pulled it and sliced it. That covers all four directions so somehow it all balanced out and it ended up 8 feet from the hole.

 

Today was just kind of medium all around. I got into a pretty good rhythm of tee shot, chip from close rough or fringe putt, two-putt for bogey, with just two hiccup doubles but no pars to balance them out, so +11 40, which is on the good side but not my best. I was mostly sticking my long putts to inside 3 feet, which is huge. The difference in my odds of making a 2.5 foot putt versus a 5-foot putt are way higher than I realized they would be when I started golfing.

 

One thing I have learned in the last few weeks, is that I cannot hit anything longer than a 6 (except the driver). Stands to reason since most of our rounds are at a course where any decent drive puts you into wedge territory. Time for longer courses but boy are those exhausting when you horsefeathers long clubs.

It probably just takes getting used to. My 3 wood is my favorite club, and that wasn't the case until I started playing real courses. After that, for a while I was just using half and quarter swings with my 3 wood or 5 wood to avoid the attrocites that were my long irons, but after I forced myself to use them, they have gotten almost as good as my fairway woods. Now I have a real shot of putting it on or very near the green all the way to 230 yards out. Progress!

 

yes, that is it exactly. I don't spend enough time at the range to be consistent with those clubs and never hitting them hinders improvement and consistency. The range isn't the same anyway because of the lie factor. Did end yesterday's 6500 yard round by hitting the back of the green from 180 yards so that was nice.