Golf Thread

MR_Punk said:
We played a 2 man better ball in our fiddle yesterday and on the last hole we count both scores (keeps the interest up in winter). My partner chipped to 2 inches and went to knock it in the hole with his wedge (it was right over the hole) and missed - DOH!

Lost on count back so that point really did matter!
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Oops! :p

I've started doing some short putts with a wedge, e.g. if I've just chipped to within a couple of feet, I find the novelty quite amusing but at the same time was standing over one this morning thinking I'd kick myself if this missed :cry:

That's in solo play that means nothing as well, no way I'd consider it in a comp tbh...
 
SKILL said:
Oops! :p

I've started doing some short putts with a wedge, e.g. if I've just chipped to within a couple of feet, I find the novelty quite amusing but at the same time was standing over one this morning thinking I'd kick myself if this missed :cry:

That's in solo play that means nothing as well, no way I'd consider it in a comp tbh...
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Its only a competition between our fiddle of 20 but yeah there were apologies aplenty following it.
 
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Icrossover comes this week, cant wait. Have a new headcover waiting for it. I will have to take a photo of the set when I get time (and clean them to make them sparkly!)
 
Moar morning golf today \o/ Albeit that 20% chance of rain the met office predicted inevitably turned out to mean it rained :p Not too heavily though, started spitting on the 6th and was getting heavier from there but I finished before it became an issue...

Best score ever around that course, 45 over 9 holes or 10 over par, happy days :D

That's with my chipping being really bad, thinning everything but seemingly getting away with it :p Everything else though is solid, not seemingly hitting it as far as I 'expect' but I think that's cause I've slowed down and swinging a bit smoother so more consistent contact but maybe a few yards shorter so something to adjust to a bit...

I've started getting some elbow pain though in the right elbow, it's on the outside so not 'golfers elbow' but more like 'tennis elbow', although I feel it's more likely a repetitive strain thing from lifting the bag, I've been playing a whole lot recently and carrying so today I probably lifted the bag with my right arm 47/48 times and it was already sore before I started. So cancelled tomorrows round, gonna rest/ice/deep heat it today and got the simulator on Thursday but if it is from lifting the bag that'll be fine obviously.
 
Milestone 1 achieved:

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Next stop is 15 on the journey.
 
Well, I went and paid my yearly membership fee for the driving range, great value at £50 for the year!

I then went and hit 80 balls, 50/50 on good shots, just need to eliminate the damn pull-hook I got going on!

So gonna get some lessons from the pro, and at £13 for 30 minutes, it’s a steal tbh!
 
Played a local course today I was thinking of joining so did a trial round. Course seemed nice despite heavy rain. I birdied the first, then went onto hit 110. It's days like today that I kind of don't know if I have what it takes to ever be good at golf and I feel like just accepting defeat and giving up.
The problem is simply this... I can't hit properly off of grass. Quite a problem with golf I know. Off the tee I'm much more likely to hit a better shot with irons slightly teed up. But off grass I can only really hit chips. I can sometimes hit down to about an 8 or 7 if I'm lucky. Anything lower and it's completely unpredictable. I'll either chunk or top it with nothing in between.

Watch me down a range off mats and I look like someone who can play. Bombing every shot fine. Show me grass and I'm an embarrassment.
I think my issue is compressing down on the ball but now sure. I think I sweep and touch the matt before the ball sometimes.
I don't know. I suck.

I'd also love to have a drive that was consistent and need to work on that. Too often they go anywhere.
Reality check hit me today. I'm really bad.
 
jaybee said:
Played a local course today I was thinking of joining so did a trial round. Course seemed nice despite heavy rain. I birdied the first, then went onto hit 110. It's days like today that I kind of don't know if I have what it takes to ever be good at golf and I feel like just accepting defeat and giving up.
The problem is simply this... I can't hit properly off of grass. Quite a problem with golf I know. Off the tee I'm much more likely to hit a better shot with irons slightly teed up. But off grass I can only really hit chips. I can sometimes hit down to about an 8 or 7 if I'm lucky. Anything lower and it's completely unpredictable. I'll either chunk or top it with nothing in between.

Watch me down a range off mats and I look like someone who can play. Bombing every shot fine. Show me grass and I'm an embarrassment.
I think my issue is compressing down on the ball but now sure. I think I sweep and touch the matt before the ball sometimes.
I don't know. I suck.

I'd also love to have a drive that was consistent and need to work on that. Too often they go anywhere.
Reality check hit me today. I'm really bad.
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Welcome to real golf vs range golf :cry:

Seriously though it is so different, and I find irons especially so, I don't think I've hit my 5 iron in months now tbh as off the deck I'd rather hit a softer 3 hybrid than try to hit a good shot with a 'long' iron... It's especially hard in winter as if you do hit the ground before the ball the club just digs in and stops, in summer with the firmer ground you can get away with it a bit more.

Do you have any hybrids or even fairway woods? I find them so much easier, well my 5 wood and 3 hybrid at least.

But in general you'll also get used to it the more you play, the more I play the less I like using mats at the range because of that, my local range has a grass area but it's still not quite the same and nothing really replicates just playing golf getting the ball into terrible lies and dealing with it the best you can, and eventually it seems to get ever so slightly less hard, slightly.

Golf is hard man. :cry:
 
jaybee said:
Played a local course today I was thinking of joining so did a trial round. Course seemed nice despite heavy rain. I birdied the first, then went onto hit 110. It's days like today that I kind of don't know if I have what it takes to ever be good at golf and I feel like just accepting defeat and giving up.
The problem is simply this... I can't hit properly off of grass. Quite a problem with golf I know. Off the tee I'm much more likely to hit a better shot with irons slightly teed up. But off grass I can only really hit chips. I can sometimes hit down to about an 8 or 7 if I'm lucky. Anything lower and it's completely unpredictable. I'll either chunk or top it with nothing in between.

Watch me down a range off mats and I look like someone who can play. Bombing every shot fine. Show me grass and I'm an embarrassment.
I think my issue is compressing down on the ball but now sure. I think I sweep and touch the matt before the ball sometimes.
I don't know. I suck.

I'd also love to have a drive that was consistent and need to work on that. Too often they go anywhere.
Reality check hit me today. I'm really bad.
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My irons stop at a 6 due to two reasons, gapping and consistency. As a high handicap player per above, my first goal is risk management. It’s the same reason I don’t use a 3 wood. My 5 wood is much easier to hit and way more versatile.

I work the range a lot. For each shot, I take the time to pick a target and do a mini check on the feels in the swing I’m trying to replicate. Importantly I’ve learned what a good, fat and thin feels like off the mat and at each swing I grade myself on the strike. This forces me to not excuse bad shots off the mat and to face reality immediately instead of just reaching for another ball. That above helped me tremendously when transferring to the course. I play an inland links course which is extra punishing on poor contact due to the sand base layer.

Lastly, practice rounds. When I first started playing I noticed anytime people go out they are just focused on scoring. I found that puzzling coming from other disciplines. I play multiple rounds a week where I go out on course for 5-7 holes and test different shots, combinations of clubs, drop two balls in different lies and see how they behave, etc. This has made the ‘scoring rounds’ way less stressful and when I do mess up, there’s no real panic as chances are, I likely have practiced that “escape” on course before.
 
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jaybee said:
Played a local course today I was thinking of joining so did a trial round. Course seemed nice despite heavy rain. I birdied the first, then went onto hit 110. It's days like today that I kind of don't know if I have what it takes to ever be good at golf and I feel like just accepting defeat and giving up.
The problem is simply this... I can't hit properly off of grass. Quite a problem with golf I know. Off the tee I'm much more likely to hit a better shot with irons slightly teed up. But off grass I can only really hit chips. I can sometimes hit down to about an 8 or 7 if I'm lucky. Anything lower and it's completely unpredictable. I'll either chunk or top it with nothing in between.

Watch me down a range off mats and I look like someone who can play. Bombing every shot fine. Show me grass and I'm an embarrassment.
I think my issue is compressing down on the ball but now sure. I think I sweep and touch the matt before the ball sometimes.
I don't know. I suck.

I'd also love to have a drive that was consistent and need to work on that. Too often they go anywhere.
Reality check hit me today. I'm really bad.
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Hey jaybee don't let it dishearten you, I'd suggest book in for another round sometime and as an experiment pick up a cheap winter fairway mat from Amazon or the pro shop. (We have to use these at our course by default in winter so they're fairly common)

Then when you're out on the course, use the mat and see what happens. What I think you may find is it's not the grass itself, it's your feet i.e. you're used to playing from a very stable base position on the driving range but on a wet course it is completely different. Golf mechanics are very much about ground forces and in your situation it may be a case of terra firma vs terra sinky that will take a little adjustment time to adapt to...

Alternatively look into going for a lesson with a PGA professional and they will be able to help you, a lot of courses offer group lessons which are a bit cheaper but you'll still have enough time to get the feedback and practice it, maybe worth enquiring about these at the courses you are trialling
 
iGiDK said:
Hey jaybee don't let it dishearten you, I'd suggest book in for another round sometime and as an experiment pick up a cheap winter fairway mat from Amazon or the pro shop. (We have to use these at our course by default in winter so they're fairly common)

Then when you're out on the course, use the mat and see what happens. What I think you may find is it's not the grass itself, it's your feet i.e. you're used to playing from a very stable base position on the driving range but on a wet course it is completely different. Golf mechanics are very much about ground forces and in your situation it may be a case of terra firma vs terra sinky that will take a little adjustment time to adapt to...

Alternatively look into going for a lesson with a PGA professional and they will be able to help you, a lot of courses offer group lessons which are a bit cheaper but you'll still have enough time to get the feedback and practice it, maybe worth enquiring about these at the courses you are trialling
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Yeah I really struggle with lies that are on any sort of slope where ball is above or below my feet even slightly. I'm super sensitive to that.
I think I need to practice the towel drill and hitting the ball truly before the ground.
 
booyaka said:
Good work - But how are the rounds counting for handicap this time of year?

Normally if it's lift/clean/place or preferred lies etc - then they are non counters.... Unless your course is fully open without any local rules etc....
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https://www.englandgolf.org/news-detail?newsarticleid=170

Can I submit a score with preferred lies? Yes.​

Between 1 October and 30 April, clubs can implement a Local Rule for ‘preferred lies’ to help protect areas of the course and allow fair play.

For scores to be acceptable for handicapping, preferred lies can only be taken on closely mown areas (cut to fairway height or shorter) with the ball within 6” of the original lie, and no closer to the hole.
 
Agree with the scoring submission all year round, it's swings and roundabouts for what's easy/hard. I submit cards all the time (for casual play), as long as it's not ridiculous conditions.

I find it easier in the winter, probably due to clean and place ruling. I can hold the greens more, but I lose about 20y on all my drives (rollout), which is 2 clubs into greens.
I clean and place on fairways, but the rough is a nightmare in the wet, especially chipping.

Although if you play at any links style courses, it's barely any different there tbh, besides the green softness perhaps.
At least with submissions all year round, for club comps in the winter, people's handicaps change throughout with how well their scoring over the whole winter.
 
MarkA said:
Agree with the scoring submission all year round, it's swings and roundabouts for what's easy/hard. I submit cards all the time (for casual play), as long as it's not ridiculous conditions.

I find it easier in the winter, probably due to clean and place ruling. I can hold the greens more, but I lose about 20y on all my drives (rollout), which is 2 clubs into greens.
I clean and place on fairways, but the rough is a nightmare in the wet, especially chipping.

Although if you play at any links style courses, it's barely any different there tbh, besides the green softness perhaps.
At least with submissions all year round, for club comps in the winter, people's handicaps change throughout with how well their scoring over the whole winter.
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yeah - Our club simply states that ALL rounds in Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb are NON counters.... Ultimately based on the fact it's winter greens some mornings, full greens later, holes closed for work, tees moved up some days, not others etc so ultimately it's never the same measured course from one day to the next.

That and lift clean and place etc.

So whatever I finish handicap wise in October is what I start with in 1st March next year.
 
Outside of a couple of frost days this year, we don't have temp greens or tee'ing off from mats or holes closed etc. It plays as normal throughout the year. Makes sense to not count if the course is dramatically different in the winter due to compromises though.
 
@jaybee I suffered from a similar issue and spoke to my teacher about it. We did a bit of work to try and combat it but the best piece of advise he gave me was to abandon the range for a few months and just play on courses. You have to train your brain on a subconscious level to deal with lies that aren't perfectly cut or flat.

I used to love the range and found the idea of playing on a course quite daunting, but it's switched now and I find going to the range to practice technique largely frustrating.
 
Thanks for the encouragement guys. I think I will book some lessons and focus on drills purely to address striking ball first. I will also mainly just try to actually play rounds on grass and maybe experiment a bit and not worry about score. I just feel sometimes the pressure of a real course is not the place to be trying to learn to hit of grass as it's a live course and you have to keep up with play/people behind etc.
 
ArcticHeron said:
@jaybee I suffered from a similar issue and spoke to my teacher about it. We did a bit of work to try and combat it but the best piece of advise he gave me was to abandon the range for a few months and just play on courses. You have to train your brain on a subconscious level to deal with lies that aren't perfectly cut or flat.

I used to love the range and found the idea of playing on a course quite daunting, but it's switched now and I find going to the range to practice technique largely frustrating.
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I'll 100% echo this, as well. @jaybee

Get off the mats for a while and onto the course. I found myself in an almost exact situation so I've almost completely abandoned ever going to the range because of how false it is. Part of the mats at my local have the 'rough' section which is what I hit off on the rare occasion I got because I feel it gives me a better indication on strike as the club can get caught up in the longer stuff. Don't even like playing off the tees there either because they're never high enough for my driver and too high for everything else! :D

Unless you've got a grass range, the only way you'll learn to hit off grass is on the course. Try and not get yourself concerned about what's happening in front of you or behind you - just focus on what you need to do. You'll be surprised how quickly you'll improve.
 
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