Golf Thread

Played the Montgomerie Course at Celtic Manor yesterday.
Played pretty well overall
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Couple of bad drives which I'm working on fixing (low, left hook), but overall - decent score and was pretty relaxed through it all.
On course conditions: The course was terrible. They offered us money back before we even set off, if we wanted to turn around by hole 4, it was that boggy. We pushed on anyway. Every hole, it was a mission to find our plugged golf ball, a few inches underground. So literally no rollout at all :cry:
 
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MarkA said:
Played the Montgomerie Course at Celtic Manor yesterday.
Played pretty well overall
983my53h.png


Couple of bad drives which I'm working on fixing (low, left hook), but overall - decent score and was pretty relaxed through it all.
On course conditions: The course was terrible. They offered us money back before we even set off, if we wanted to turn around by hole 4, it was that boggy. We pushed on anyway. Every hole, it was a mission to find our plugged golf ball, a few inches underground. So literally no rollout at all :cry:
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Hi we have the roman road tomorrow and montgomerie sunday. are carts allowed atm? cant find anything on the website
 
adencool said:
Hi we have the roman road tomorrow and montgomerie sunday. are carts allowed atm? cant find anything on the website
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Roman Road usually plays better than the Monty, but probably going to still be a bit wet, although the weather today could really help!
Carts as in 4 wheels and drive around in them? Yes.
Trolleys, unsure, as didn't see anyone with a push-trolley of any type.
Me and my friend carried the round.

Good luck for the weekend!
 
So nice out there today, was tempted to wear shorts but thought it might be too muddy, it was definitely shorts weather already :p The course has improved dramatically in just a week, very rare muddy patches but mostly really quite dry/firm with some bounce and rollout, happy days \o/

Played very solidly generally with an 89 overall but that was with 3 triple bogies! (and one double), 1 birdie and 4 pars offset that though :p Could've done a mid-80 but the last hole was one of the triples, just went terribly :(

Still lovely to have some sun and dry fairways! Society match on Sunday and maybe, just maybe, we'll actually get to play the proper 18, since the november game the 5th, 6th and 7th holes have been closed so fingers crossed they're back, even if they are generally some of the harder holes on the course :p
 
Aye, it's definitely getting warmer. Was sat there in a T-shirt at the football last night!

Taking out the new swing for the first time tomorrow after working on club lag for a few weeks with the teacher. Was getting really flippy with the hands as we worked on trying to speed up rotation. Feel semi confident about it, but the lack of grass ranges here means you never really know if it's going to translate smoothly out on the course.
 
Tough day out there today weather-wise but played some really good stuff. Stableford off the white tees and 4x winter greens today. Was +2 for the front 9, steady run of pars and bogeyed the two hardest holes in blustery conditions.

Weather turned really nasty on the back 9, winds 40mph+ and driving rain. Managed to come back +4 for a round of 77 and 38pts, chuffed to bits with that.

Now time to put my feet up and watch the golf for the rest of the weekend :)
 
iGiDK said:
Tough day out there today weather-wise but played some really good stuff. Stableford off the white tees and 4x winter greens today. Was +2 for the front 9, steady run of pars and bogeyed the two hardest holes in blustery conditions.

Weather turned really nasty on the back 9, winds 40mph+ and driving rain. Managed to come back +4 for a round of 77 and 38pts, chuffed to bits with that.

Now time to put my feet up and watch the golf for the rest of the weekend :)
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Same - course was closed yesterday, open today but barely.... Soaking wet still.

Very windy (30/40mph wind) and then got biblical rain on 18th - green was flooded inside 5 minutes.

Shot 38 on the way out with no drama, then lost a ball on 12th (plugged about 2 yards off the fairway but couldn't find it) - and lost another one on 16th so NR for me.

Still a real stuggle with driver / 3 wood at the moment - lost all confidence/feeling at the moment with them both. On the flip side - short game has been excellent. Just wish I could put it all together!!

Currently drying out the clubs/bag at home, then will camp down for the Masters tonight.
 
First comp of the year today, I am not cut out for morning golf! Only did a few last year to get an initial handicap. Going to try and do more this year now I'm a full member and it's not costing me lots of credits.

Utter garbage from first to last pretty much sums it up. 28pts playing off 22 :rolleyes: Shooting 100 gross. Highlights included:
  • seven at the 1st after putting my third shot in the stream that runs in front of the green. Just what you want after deliberately laying up. Nill points.
  • topping at least three drives during the round which must have gone a sum total of 20 yards between them
  • losing another ball at the par three 4th (water) after a hideous 6i off the tee (thankfully despite finding the water one more time this was the last ball I lost)
  • dragging my two playing partners down to my level who also had a couple of tops off the tee
On the plus side:
  • made par (net birdie) at the 550y par five 8th thanks to a very nice one put
  • scored more points coming home making three net birdies (2 of which were legit pars)
  • nearly holed out with a wedge from 75 yards on the last
  • putted well, 34 total and had a couple that grazed the edge but decided not to drop :)
and I now ache like buggery and debating whether to tee it up again tomorrow (new captains drive in, stableford off the whites), I really should get some practice in with my drills on the range...
 
stephenb said:
First comp of the year today, I am not cut out for morning golf! Only did a few last year to get an initial handicap. Going to try and do more this year now I'm a full member and it's not costing me lots of credits.

Utter garbage from first to last pretty much sums it up. 28pts playing off 22 :rolleyes: Shooting 100 gross.
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Don't take this the wrong way - but maybe "reset" your expectations a bit....

  • First comp of the year - don't expect too much then.... Rarely does anyone start the year with great golf.
  • If your handicap is "legit", you should beat it about once every five rounds. You should beat your handicap by three shots only once out of every 20 rounds. So remember that 80% of the time you WON'T play to your handicap.
  • Your handicap is NOT an average of your scores...... It's your best 8 from last 20 (or less if you haven't got 20 rounds in the books yet)
  • Take the "plus" points - remember them and move forward with that. The negatives - forget them - round is over. "Store" the good points away for the next time you find yourself in that position etc.
  • What your playing partners do/how they play - that's nothing to do with you..... Forget about them. They are playing their own game, what you do / how you play is nothing to do with them - I've played with +3 handicappers before and seen them shoot 78/79 before. They don't go out and shoot 66/67 every round - see stats above. I've also gone out and shot 85 and played with a guy off 1 who shot a stunning round of 69.... He was nothing but a pleasure to play with, and I hit it all over the park that day.
  • Focus on yourself - don't worry about "embarassing" yourself / playing poorly - we all do, most of the time. Get back out tomorrow and play as good as you can..... Don't stress the little things.
 
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tired of messing about with nets and what not, so I thought **** it, an bought a reasonably priced 3x3x3 meter net to go on the patio.

Im sure my "suspect" yardages have been hitting off the stones where y current setup is, as it feels "mushy" when I step on the mat, and when standing on it on the concrete in the garage, it felt real solid..

also, on the bay, came across some 923 Forged in my shaft and length so got something to compare the D9's against.

Only problem is being the weekend :( won't get these till through the week coming!

Will update once I get it setup, might need to ask neighbour to help, although im sure he is ****** off enough at hearing me talking out loud to myself after every shot into the net! :cry:
 
A question for the masses, do you think course length has a significant influence on handicap?

A conversion a couple of weeks back with someone who supports one of our systems at work got me thinking about this. Can't recall exactly how it came up but I mentioned I played golf and could immediately hear his ears ***** up, this was over the phone - they live in Northern Ireland. He enquired as to my handicap to which I replied I was a lousy golfer and was currently at 25. He advised he played off three. I was suitably impressed and said you must practice a lot etc. to which he replied 'no, I play once a week on a Saturday morning. It's the one time of the week I get a few hours to myself. away from the wife and kids' I was staggered, I guess the game comes easier to some than others :p

I looked up the club he is a member of afterwards. It's a short 9 hole course which plays 5003 yards off the whites with one par 5 coming in, which must be from a different tee box. It got me thinking I'd probably be a few shots better if I played there, it's 80 yards a hole shorter than the whites where I play. I guess this is the point of course rating, slope rating as no doubt I wouldn't be getting anywhere near 25 shots if I ever played there. But it made me think just comparing handicaps without any context probably doesn't mean as much as I thought it did. Just to be clear I'm still very impressed that he plays off three. At the rate I'm going I'll do well to ever get below twenty!
 
booyaka said:
Don't take this the wrong way - but maybe "reset" your expectations a bit....

  • First comp of the year - don't expect too much then.... Rarely does anyone start the year with great golf.
  • If your handicap is "legit", you should beat it about once every five rounds. You should beat your handicap by three shots only once out of every 20 rounds. So remember that 80% of the time you WON'T play to your handicap.
  • Your handicap is NOT an average of your scores...... It's your best 8 from last 20 (or less if you haven't got 20 rounds in the books yet)
  • Take the "plus" points - remember them and move forward with that. The negatives - forget them - round is over. "Store" the good points away for the next time you find yourself in that position etc.
  • What your playing partners do/how they play - that's nothing to do with you..... Forget about them. They are playing their own game, what you do / how you play is nothing to do with them - I've played with +3 handicappers before and seen them shoot 78/79 before. They don't go out and shoot 66/67 every round - see stats above. I've also gone out and shot 85 and played with a guy off 1 who shot a stunning round of 69.... He was nothing but a pleasure to play with, and I hit it all over the park that day.
  • Focus on yourself - don't worry about "embarassing" yourself / playing poorly - we all do, most of the time. Get back out tomorrow and play as good as you can..... Don't stress the little things.
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Thanks - sound advice :) Point three well worth remembering. Just frustrating that I can't seem to play well on that course at all. Wish they'd mix it up and do the odd comp on the other course. Still they are supposedly going to start doing some afternoon comps this year to go with their new 7 day off peak membership. Will definitely be signing up for those if they happen.
 
stephenb said:
A question for the masses, do you think course length has a significant influence on handicap?

A conversion a couple of weeks back with someone who supports one of our systems at work got me thinking about this. Can't recall exactly how it came up but I mentioned I played golf and could immediately hear his ears ***** up, this was over the phone - they live in Northern Ireland. He enquired as to my handicap to which I replied I was a lousy golfer and was currently at 25. He advised he played off three. I was suitably impressed and said you must practice a lot etc. to which he replied 'no, I play once a week on a Saturday morning. It's the one time of the week I get a few hours to myself. away from the wife and kids' I was staggered, I guess the game comes easier to some than others :p

I looked up the club he is a member of afterwards. It's a short 9 hole course which plays 5003 yards off the whites with one par 5 coming in, which must be from a different tee box. It got me thinking I'd probably be a few shots better if I played there, it's 80 yards a hole shorter than the whites where I play. I guess this is the point of course rating, slope rating as no doubt I wouldn't be getting anywhere near 25 shots if I ever played there. But it made me think just comparing handicaps without any context probably doesn't mean as much as I thought it did. Just to be clear I'm still very impressed that he plays off three. At the rate I'm going I'll do well to ever get below twenty!
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Your handicap is just a number for you.

Remember when you go to another course - you will get a "course" handicap. This takes into account the "difficulty" or not of that course and your playing handicap for that course might be more or less than you get at your home course.

My "index" is 6.4 currently (up 0.6 already this year due to crap golf!! :cry: :cry: )

So at home course I get (as my playing handicap) -

8 off yellow tees and 8 off the white (medal) tees.

However, If I go to play the Royal Troon with my mate...

I get 8 on yellows, 10 on whites and 13 from the blue championship (The Open) tees.... My handicap is still the same (6.4) but adjusted to take into account the difficulty of the course/tees on that day.

So your handicap is all relative - You could argue that a shorter 5000 yard course will potentially get you a lower handicap, but if you then play "away" from that, you are going to get more shots for that other course, but can you deal with a 6600 yard golf course??
 
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