http://golfrewound.com/forums For general golf topics such as etiquette, rules, golf stories, Golf Channel programming, etc. en Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:14:11 GMT vBulletin 60 http://golfrewound.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://golfrewound.com/forums http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11383-logistics-attending-masters.html Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:19:10 GMT Hello to everyone on this wonderful site. I've used the search function but haven't found an answer to my question. I've been fortunate to receive practice round tickets for the 2011 Masters. I've waited thirty years and can't wait to go. My question is what is the easiest way to get from the regional airport (Bush Field) to the golf course, and back? Rent a car, take a taxi, do they have a shuttle from the airport and back. I'm hoping someone has solid reliable advice for this first timer.

Thank you,

Jim - Semper Fi ]]> General Golf Discussion jmcf1949 http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11383-logistics-attending-masters.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11380-personal-best-kinda-sorta.html Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:51:57 GMT I may get long winded here; I realize now that when people post their new personal best scores, it's as much for them to be able to go and recount their day as it is to share with the folks who will appreciate it the most!

I haven't played on a Friday for some time now, and I haven't played my old home course in months. They have too many tournaments and I just got discouraged. Plus the last time I went I noted that the green fee had gone up, so I was doubly aggravated. A course you can't get on and then when you finally can have to pay more for isn't the place you always want to go. I know that the tournaments bring the good easy money, and I see that they're trying to otherwise maximize their dollar. The good news of this was the course was empty on a Friday afternoon holiday weekend, so my round only took 2 hours and 45 minutes (I don't necessarily like to play fast, but I do like to play efficiently!). I had the afternoon, so I played...

We have been getting tons of rain (played my usual Monday round right after 3 days of downpours - lakes all over the course where there hadn't been before) so this was the first day they'd been able to cut grass well. All in all the course was in pretty good shape. They'd recently punched the greens and sanded them; I think that helped a lot because they were smooth.

The day started off nondescript. First 2 holes are easy-ish par 4's; I'm usually happy if I get through them +1 - I parred them both. 3rd hole is a par 5, only about 500 yards. I proceeded to hit the same shot I'd just hit on 2, a bad push. Only this time there was OB right... I haven't taken a mulligan in some time now; I keep a handicap and I don't want to fudge it. But that was such a wild shot, I thought I might take one there... I hit 3 down the middle, laid up on 4, and 5 on the green. I thought forget the mully, you still have a good chance for bogey. Putt didn't move like I thought it would but I gave it a good run and took double. Hit another push off the tee on 4 - OB - and took double there too (so now I'm a bit perturbed, because if I hit the same shots without the penalties, I'm even...). +4. Parred #5 #6 is normally a short par 5 of less than 500, but yesterday it was even shorter, only playing 467. Of course I'm thinking birdie, eagle if lucky, par at worst. Pulled tee shot into the rough, which is up due to the rain, chop it out to the front of the green. Hit one of the worst shots of the day, a punky chip basically sideways, leaving about 30 feet for birdie. Not even close. Then missed the 7 foot par putt; 3 putt for bogey. Bogeyed 7 & 8, parred 9 with a really good second shot.

So I'm +7 at the turn, a normal-ish round. I'm a bogey golfer and I'm thinking I'm looking good to break 90. If I don't have the stroke and distance penalties on 3 & 4, I'm +3, which would have been my best 9, so I'm cool.

Back nine. Par 10. Birdie 11, a short par 4. Got to 12... it's a short 4, a canal down the right, and bunkers right and left of the fairway. I normally hit my 3 wood, but it's in time out and I had an older 3 wood in the bag, but I hadn't hit it yet so I didn't trust it. I should have pulled out the 5 wood instead and just laid back, but I had hit the driver well on the last 2 holes. I decided to choke down on the driver just a bit and smooth it into the fairway. I held off on it and it stayed right, but safe. Tough second out of rough and a bad pitch left me with too long a par putt - bogey.
13 is my nemesis hole; I've talked about it often. Par 4, 381 yds, water all down the left, OB right and bunkers pinching the landing area to about 25 yards. Confident stroke, nice tight draw to the center of the fairway. On in 2, good putt just stayed high. Par. The 14th, coupled with 13, may have been the holes of the day; and were the reason for my excitement. Bladed a wedge over the short par 3, then hit a nice recovery and made a good 4 footer for par.

OK, we are through 14 holes and I'm still +7 (and I STILL could really be +3!). I'm even on the back. Never been here before.

Roll around the corner to the 15th, a par 4, the #1 handicap hole. Here's where the kinda sorta comes in. I was playing behind a 3 some, but they were moving - the only hole I waited on them was the 13th, and I only caught up to them on the back - I flew through the front in an hour and 15 minutes. As I pull up to 15 there are about 6-7 guys apparently playing a game. They'd let the 3-some in front of me go through, apparently. They asked if I was a single and decided to let me through. Uh-oh... I'm not usually concerned with a crowd, but here I was. I'm playing the round of my life, moving along, and now I see my scores, so my number is in my head (if I par in, I break 80 for the first time ever!) and I've got an audience on a hole that is not easy... One guy says "OK, we'll let you through but if you hit a bad shot, we're gonna talk about you!" - Thanks for that negative thought that becomes the last thought in my head, which is already swimming, before I hit... Push right - OB. Reload. Push right - OB. I rushed and absolutely couldn't regain focus because I became too concerned with them. I can't just sit there and hit again with them letting me through, so I apologize and drive away. I dropped a ball up near where I went OB, but I decided right then that I was coming back to play this hole again. I know it's not legal, but I also didn't have a ball in play. Finished out that hole. Parred 16 and 17. On the par 5 18th blew my tee shot WAY right - OB. Third shot fairway, laid up on 4, missed the green left on 5, chipped to 2 feet and took a 7...

I then returned to 15. Hit my tee shot a bit right and took a while to find it plugged in the mud. Pushed my second OB. Hit my 4th into the fairway, got on in 5 and made about a 45 footer for double.

So I shot an 83. Kinda, sorta... that's a career low. I feel weird about it because of the scenario at 15, but I also feel good. I hit 3 balls OB from the tee (not counting 15 the first time), stroke and distance penalties. If I remove those 2 strokes per hole, I shoot +5 for the day. If I make the putts I left short but were on line, I probably shoot +3 on the day.

If I look at it another way, and take my medicine (which I don't know if I could because I left the hole), on 15 I'd have taken a 10 - the two OB from the tee, then the 6 strokes I took when I came back around to play it again... that would give me an 87, but I could only take a 7 on that hole for handicapping purposes, so it would have been an 84, which would still have been a PB (I once shot an 82, playing 2 balls at one time as 2 separate rounds, but I don't count that; shot a 76 on a par 62 course...).

The big difference for the day was simple - I hit more greens than normal. 6 fairways - typical; 9 greens - atypical. And I putted well - 30 putts is good, not great, but I rolled the ball well and just barely missed on quite a few putts.

This summer I've gone from the absolute worst golf of my life, hitting shots I've never seen before, to this round, where I feel had a great possiblilty to break 80. Looking forward to my Monday round with my buddy! I've taken him down the last 2 rounds and now I feel great about the next round! ]]> General Golf Discussion TwillDog http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11380-personal-best-kinda-sorta.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11378-par-3s-do-you-use-tee-hit-off-ground-grass.html Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:06:43 GMT Just curious.... this has resonated a few times playing with my wife who has evolved to hitting the ball off the ground, without a tee, on par 3's. I've asked why she doesn't take the advantage allowed her by using a tee (especially when she chunks it fat :whistle:) and in one episode of Playing Tips from the Pro's on the Golf Channel, Arnold Palmer chided the golf announcer playing partner he was with for doing the same thing, saying "you'll never see a PGA pro doing that", which has me wondering, do pro's mostly use a tee or do some just plop it on the ground? And I guess it's an irrelevent point if the pro's do because they have much more consistency in their stroke than amateurs from sheer repetition and swing mechanics. ]]> General Golf Discussion Bulls9999 http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11378-par-3s-do-you-use-tee-hit-off-ground-grass.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11367-so-what-have-you-done.html Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:43:19 GMT Just came across this story on yahoo and boy I feel bad for the guy..lol


Golfer's swing sparks 25-acre California blaze - Devil Ball Golf - Golf* - Yahoo! Sports ]]> General Golf Discussion Ametzler http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11367-so-what-have-you-done.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11347-made-two-changes-shot-best-round-ever.html Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:54:46 GMT This morning I applied two changes. ....that we have all read about dozens of times....

I "stopped at the top"...and I used one stronger club than normal on all approachs to the greens. I went from a former best of 92 to an 86. OK.. I know that 92 or 86 is not a great score for most of you...but...for this 70 yr old..it was like heaven.

Seven pars; one birdie..and if I hadn't shanked that d&%$ ball into the pond on the 105 yd. par 3..it would have been even better. Balls were landing on, and sticking on, the greens. Drives were a good ten yards longer than normal...and mostly in the fairway. Is this what I"ve been missing all of these years?

I have no doubt that my next outings won't be as good...but..wow...what a morning. Had to tell somone!!! regards, Rich ]]> General Golf Discussion richg99 http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11347-made-two-changes-shot-best-round-ever.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11314-skip-ball-hit-gong-200-yards.html Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:56:10 GMT Could David Howell, Paul McGinley, Marcel Siem or Rhys Davies skim a ball 200 yards across a lake and hit a 9 inch gong?

YouTube - The 200 yard Gong Shot ]]> General Golf Discussion drstroud http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11314-skip-ball-hit-gong-200-yards.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11310-handicap-any-free-software.html Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:24:39 GMT My four/five-some is finally going to try to establish handicaps. I know that there are online handicap calculators, and have tried one or two, but keep finding my 9-hole course confuses things - mainly because I don't know how to use them with a 9-hole course. I've looked for freeware handicap software, but there don't seem to be any that are foolproof enough to work when I try them. I'm a little disappointed in the number of such software that turn up on searches as "free" but in fact, are not free, just "free to try".

Does anybody know of any really free handicap software? I'd prefer a downloadable program to an online calculator. I have used an online calculator that seemed to walk me through it understandably, but then the 9-hole thing jumped up and I didn't get to an end-point with number I believed.

For what it's worth, my "home" course is shown in the USGA course database as having the following numbers for the white tees we play:

USGA Course Rating (18): 62.8
Slope Rating (18): 91

I take it that these numbers are for 18 holes, but don't know how to apply them when using them with a 9-hole course.

Thanks!
Optiker ]]> General Golf Discussion Optiker http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11310-handicap-any-free-software.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11288-unfair-pin-placement-stupid-hole-part-2-a.html Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:47:46 GMT I already posted about the par 3 with 2 greens where I play connected by a hump that's not part of either and how they should make it one big green instead of having a green of wasted space from which you get a free drop.

There's another par 3 there that drives me crazy. In fact there is only one, of 4, that I consider a good hole. The 3rd is 175 and framed by 2 oak trees that guard part of both the left & right sides of the green. Hit it low and straight is the answer there. Actually a chain saw would be a better answer but I digress. The good one is actually a great one and one of my favorite par 3s. It's a peninsula green with water front, right & back. It plays about 185, demanding, but fair and very cool looking.

My specific gripe today is about the 190-ish #3 and pin placements in general. This hole has a 2 tiered green. The back right tier is 2-3' lower than the front left. It's bisected front to back by a steep narrow slope and the back right lower is invisable from the tee due to a hump in front which also pretty much prevents you from running it up.

I played the front twice yesterday, due to a logjam on the back, and hit the green both times ... the left top tier. Unless you slice it in I don't know how anyone hits the lower tier. I don't have a 190 yard club that checks up and the lower tier is rather shallow. But that isn't my gripe. My gripe is about the pin placement. Most of the greens there are very undulating and tricky. They like to get cute with the pin placements. Usually they're fair and there's a way to get it close if you read it right, but this one was ridiculous and it's not the first time I've seen it there. I think it's one of their regular spots. They had the pin on the lower tier not more than 3' from the bottom of the sharp dropoff from the upper tier. Any putt from the upper tier was going to run at least 8' past the hole, which is exactly what mine did both times. I missed them both as well. The best chance at par there is to hit it in the rough right of the green and get it up & down. But you shouldn't have to play a par 3 like that.

I know the USGA has recommendations against this sort of thing but I don't think many places pay attention to them from what I've seen.

Do you have to deal with any "unfair" pin placements where you play ? ]]> General Golf Discussion Wazmankg http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11288-unfair-pin-placement-stupid-hole-part-2-a.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11283-least-favourite-brands.html Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:55:19 GMT There is always a brand that many of us just seem to hate, almost for no reason. For some reason I can't stand Nike. I haven't tried their clubs, but I have tried their balls. I hit them no different than any other ball but I just hate them.

Anyone else have this unconditional hate for a golf brand for almost no reason? ]]> General Golf Discussion NathanD37 http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11283-least-favourite-brands.html http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11269-government-1-golf-0-a.html Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:22:43 GMT a pete dye course no less, one i happened to play this year...

Munson to buy Fowler's Mill Golf Course - The News-Herald News : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio ]]> General Golf Discussion golfcarte http://golfrewound.com/forums/general-golf-discussion/11269-government-1-golf-0-a.html