Splendid Splinter

In case you're wondering how your handicap stacks up against EVERYONE that has a handicap in the US. https://golf.com/news/how-your-handicap-index-compares/amp/

Congrats on breaking 80! That sucks about your golf team. Esp for the 2 seniors. Interesting that your golf season is in the fall. It's in the spring for Indiana. We had 2 seniors who didn't get to play this spring although our golf team is just ok at the moment. As far as of the new handicap system, It's based on your 8 best scores. IMO, you should take out your 4 best and 4 worse. Then average the remaining 12 rounds, subtract the par of your home course, etc... I feel like the new system brings everyone handicap down too much IMO compare to what they truly average. I'll def be paying attention to it more next season as I'll be going to quite a few different courses that are more difficult. This year I pretty much just stayed at my home course all season. I'm a 0 handicap under this system instead of a 2-3 with the old.

He was Theo's first pick.

If any of you are ever in the Branson area I can't recommend Buffalo Ridge, Ozarks National or Payne's Valley enough. They're legit world class courses and among the prettiest you'll ever see. 2nd the bold. Ozarks was amazing. I didn't get the chance to play the other 2 when I lived in Arkansas, but I'll have to try to fit those in the next time I go visit. That would be an awesome event to go watch in person just to say you were there (similar to a majors or the 16th hole at waste management open), but I rather watch it on TV.

Just give it up. Keep that stat forever and brag how you never missed a fairway in your life. It'll only go downhill now if you keep playing. :lol:

Ok. I know umps are terrible and they do miss calls down the pipe every once in a while over the whole 162 games season, but is it me or it's on a new whole level this year?

Ok. The shafts should be fine, but you're right there where you might need a stiffer or a heavier standard shaft. Will say that the next time you check your club speed and it's consistently 90+, you might want to think about getting stiff flex instead of standard or regular flex. It's also your longer clubs so it's more "flexible" than your irons even though it's the same stiffness.

Yeah. Everyone is different. My weakness is my 4 iron. That's my thinking that the shafts "could" be the problem with the driver all the way to his hybrids. Might be a reason why he's so inconsistent with them week to week. Esp if his hybrids were his best clubs a couple weeks ago. I wouldn't think he tinkered his swing enough in that timeframe that it would just stop working for him. It's why I don't have any fairway woods or hybrids in my bag right now because I was so inconsistent with them the past year and half that I gave up on them and I was hardly ever using them during my rounds so it wasn't hurting me if I didn't have them. I will say that I will be getting fitted this winter for them or possibly utility irons. People would be so surprised just how much it does for your game just by getting the right shaft in your club. It really does make a difference. That being said, you need to figure out what your swing is first before getting fitted.

Ok. Regarding the shafts, I was curious on if they were regular or stiff, graphite or steel, etc. Just a little tip that has helped me in the short game (50-100 yards) is I use half to 3/4 swing on my PW and UW (50°) instead of trying to full swing on my 54 and 58. Seems like I cut down my misses (whether I chunk it or blade it over the green) when I started doing that. Might not work out for you, but thought I would throw this out there to you or anyone else who's reading this.

I know they are hard to find nowadays, but have you thought about getting irons 1,2,4,5 or something? If you're hitting your short irons well and your hybrids suck, be like the pros and amaze your friends with the ability to hit a 2 iron. I wouldn't recommend anyone hitting a 2 or 3 iron and maybe even a 4 iron depending on their swing speed. If you're not swinging 110-115+ with your driver, you're going to have a hell of a time trying to get the ball in the air with the 2-3 iron and even some 4 irons nowadays (the loft on some of these new/recent 4 irons are now what 3 irons used to be). Now the utility irons are different as it's bulkier and more like a hybrid, but even then, you need to have a fast swing speed to get them in the air. There's a reason why you don't see them on tour that much unless it's a specific course or you're going to be a playing a certain shot (Tiger's stinger for example).

Kyle... can you tell me what kind of shafts you have in your golf set? Just curious to see what's in your driver/3 wood/4 and 5 hybrid compared to your irons and wedges.

Think of it as the chip is a shorten version of a swing instead. I know it's the same thing you're saying, but it works better mentally for some odd reason. Your iron swing shouldn't have ruined your swing with the driver and hybrid. It should be the "same" swing. Esp with the hybrid, you want to hit it like an iron. It's just a longer club so it'll take a little time to get used to that. Are you a digger or sweeper when it comes to irons?

Ok. I could be wrong on which course she's at, but I'm 99% sure she's in Chino Hills now. She started there a week ago. She used to be with Tony Brooks at Lion Golf Academy if you ever heard of that place.

Kyle... wow! The few things I was going to tell you from the last video, your nephew made those adjustments. Looks really good. The only thing I could possibly see is maybe his hand placement when he address the ball before he starts the swing. It should be slightly in front of the ball, but can't tell from that angle. It's very minor, but it could make him push the ball to the right over time if he lined up hands with the ball or slightly behind. Next step would be breaking/hinging the wrist some so his club can be parallel to the ground. Right now he's fine with what he's doing, but that step will help him lengthen his backswing which will generate more speed and power. I would wait til he's completely comfortable with his swing before you do that. It's very easy to get away and start over swinging or get out of whack so let him develop some muscle memory with his swing first. Also... you mentioned you're around Tiger's HS. Are you close to Chino Hills? I only ask because I have a really good friend who is an assistant golf pro at Los Serranos (I think I got that right) and she does lessons with kids.

Kyle, if you want some tips for your nephew and his swing, just let me know and I'll PM you. I see like 3-4 minor things from that video that he can work on. You should take a video from behind as well.

9 holes executive courses are a great way to start off on what it's like being on a course. Sure, it can be repetitive yardage wise with all those par 3s, but you'll get the experience of bunkers, trees, water (if there is any). You'll actually learn about shot placement, what club to hit at a certain distance, what kind of shot you need to hit, etc. rather than just hitting balls at the range with no worries about how far or where it ends up. Another good thing is it won't take a long time to play 9 holes so it won't eat up your day. That's awesome your nephew loves to chip. I would keep him on those short games. If he can get that dialed down, it'll go a long way to shoot well. Eventually as he gets older and stronger, the distance will come, but he would come out ahead of other kids because he got the "touch" of his short game. I was the opposite when I started back when I was in 7th grade. I was all distance/no touch. It took me forever to figure out the short game until I did a complete swing change about 6 years ago where I started to understand my swing mechanics, how to approach the game/shots, etc. that everything just clicked for me.

Taylormade, Ping, Titleist, Mizuno, Callaway, Cobra all would be good choices. Regular flex in steel shaft for irons probably would suit you just fine for now unless you swing really HARD. For example, I have extra stiff graphite shaft in my driver and 1 hybrid, but stiff steel shaft in my irons. I was around 100-105 mph swing speed with my irons at my last fitting and low 110s with my driver. If you're curious on what that translates for distance with my clubs, here's my yardages. Titleist 917 D3 Driver: 270-280 Titleist 909 1 hybrid: 240-250 Ping i500 4 iron: 205 Ping i210 5: 185 6: 175 7: 165 8: 155 9: 145 PW: 135 UW (50°): 125 Titleist Vokey SM6 54°: 105 Titleist Vokey SM6 58°: 90

IMO, I would never recommend buying a beginner set. Out of everyone I know that bought one (including junior/high school kids, adults starting out, etc), 95% either broke a club or dented their driver/fairway wood within 6 months of buying. They're just not quality work which is why they're super cheap. I always recommend getting an used big name brand iron set and driver/woods. You can even go back like 8 yrs for an iron set if needed to fit your budget. Pack has the right idea for your whiffs and tops. Just stay down on the ball. Count to 3 and then look at where your ball is going. It's the same way with putts. Most ppl look up to see where it's going too quick. As far as gimmes and putting out, it depends on what you're doing and who you're playing. I'm a 0 handicap and the guys I play with (all within 0-10 handicap) probably do gimmes (within a putter length unless it got a nasty break to it or it's for eagle/birdie) 90% of the time when we play. It's a big time saver when you do that. If you have a foursome and all 4 of the guys have around 3ft putts, it can take a couple mins to finish out due to each one having to putt in order, then get the ball out of the cup, or someone miss one and have to putt again whereas if you do gimmes, you're done and walking off the green. I bet you probably save at least 20-30 mins in a 18 hole round doing that as a foursome. Now if I'm playing by myself or just a twosome, I putt everything out just to practice and make sure you stay aggressive/firm on those short putts. For handicap, my highest score can be a double bogey because I'm a 0. If I was like a 3 handicap for example, it's still a double bogey except for the 3 hardest holes. You can have a triple bogey on those holes as you got a handicap stroke on those holes. If you're a 20 handicap, the 2 hardest holes can be a quad while the rest are triple. I hope that explains it a little better for you guys.

One of those games was the 2015 Wild Card game that singlehandedly ended the Pirates' mini-window. It felt well in hand at 1-0 in the first, then Schwarber making it 3-0 in the third felt like a dagger. Still the best tweet of all time...

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+.

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

Pace... go sign Larry Warford.

This is going to be arguably the worst draft of all time at least. There’s so little talent. Or at least star/impact talent. I don't follow college, but can it really be worse than 2000? I don't think it'll be worse. From Wikipedia Going to be damn tough to beat that, but this year's group could actually come close IMO. This class is pretty damn bad.

Season and then playoffs I'm assuming? I'm sure they're going to have a week or 2 of practice to get back in game shape. They won't get done til August. Maybe even Sept. Draft/FA like 2 days after Finals end then training camp/pre season like 2 weeks later. They're just better off just ending the season as is and start with playoffs.