Playing Golf: One Putt Bogey

Sports & Other Games
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So I started I new thread because I feel like the golf thread is better suited for discussing pro golf, and I feel like I’m stepping on toes here. Feel free to jump in with whatever, or completely ignore it. I’ve been having a blast hacking around the courses near me.

Currently I’m a 23.4 handicap, but this is pretty skewed by two outlier rounds where I shot a 97 on my normal course and a +9 on a very easy executive course (translates to a 86 on my home course) that plays to my strengths (120 yards and in).

My short term goal is to break 100 consistently. Lately, my scores have gone from 106-108 to 101-103 range. Long term goal is to break 90 a few times and see what happens. I don’t think my goal will ever be to get to scratch, but I do think that there’s a chance I can get to 8-10 range. Goal will always be to have fun first though.

Other goal is to walk the course consistently. My knee isn’t quite up for it yet, but I want to get the workout of walking 3.5 miles or so per round.

Right now I’m playing with a set of G20 irons (3i-9i, PW, SW, LW), G20 3h, G20 4W and a G20 Driver that my dad had custom fitted for him in 2011. They’re solid clubs, but they’re old. I think the driver might actually be broken in a way I can’t tell obviously. I hit that thing 200-210 or so when I hit it somewhat straight, but I got a new Kirkland driver and I hit it 260-280. Maybe I got that distance wrong, but it sure looked good. Plan is to dial in my swing a bit more, then get fitted for clubs, maybe as a Christmas present. However, my early experience has been so good with a very basic Kirkland driver that I’m considering just getting new clubs sooner. Tech has really improved in the past 15 years. Drivers are a lot more forgiving and adjustable. Irons have much lower lofts but are easier to get in the air, creating more distance and better landing angles.

Currently my problem is getting off the tee. I can’t hit accurately or for distance. I’m hopeful the new driver will help with that, I hit it great in the range yesterday.

Anyways, jump in with your own stuff if you want. Would love to hear what courses you like, especially in Cal/Oregon.

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As someone who never got much golf instruction and has bounced around among YouTube Golf Instruction series, I can say with confidence that the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) stuff is the absolute best out there.

Nowhere else does such a great job of separating out where every swing can be and look unique and different, but what fundamentals they all share.

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Thanks I’ll check that out. I’ve been watch Danny Maude and Golf Sidekick.

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I went probably 30 years of my life (all my adult life as a single digit handicap) and nobody explained what happens in the downswing and when and why like they did in the span of like 5 minutes.

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Got out to the range again today. First few swings were rough, then got the driver grooved again. Carrying 260-280+, the way the range is setup it’s hard to tell that far away. It’s yellow balls on yellow straw/grass. Also had a 10-20mph tail wind so I dunno maybe we’ll see on the course.

Where things got tricky was when I tried to do a simulated round. So I’d hit driver, then a wood or iron, then a wedge, and repeat. If I wasn’t grooved into the driver, I was much less likely to hit it well. Towards the end of this it seemed a lot better. We’ll see how that translates to the course tomorrow.

One thing I noticed that I really improved my contact on my 4w and 3h when I stood a little farther away from the ball, lining up the ball to the outer half of my club. Seems like if I do that and think “put the club head to right field” I’m much more likely to hit the ball pure as hell.

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I could easily break 100. If I only play 9.

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I’ve been trying to get my hcp to 10 for two years now. Lowest I’ve gotten is 12 and change. I’m at 13 rn. I can’t seem to eliminate blow-up holes from my rounds, however. Here’s my scorecard from a round I played this weekend, 3 holes account for 11 strokes over par.

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Is it from long game or short game blowups?

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Unfortunately it’s not consistent, but most can be credited to trouble off the tee. But the two triples on the back nine were explicitly because I fucked up 70-yd pitch shots, which is usually very reliable. It’s very frustrating.

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The real frustrating thing about this round was that other than the 10, I drove the ball very well and I was hitting my irons very well, too. Yet I still carded a 93 which is a below average round.

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I’m a 12.7 atm and that’s def my MO as well. Stretches of play where it feels like you know what you are doing, then bam get fucked. Could be an OB tee ball, or it could be blading a greenside bunker shot 75 yards. The fun part of golf is never knowing how you’ll ruin your next round, right?

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Asking for a friend. You hit a ball just OOB off the tee. It went just under a fence. A friendly pedestrian picks up the ball and puts it back in play without you asking. What’s the score?

  • Play as it lies
  • One stroke and re-tee
  • Two strokes and hit
0 voters
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It’s a penalty for sure. On a crowded course I would just drop and hit four.

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That’s what I did, but had a laugh about it

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Shot a 99 and I’m not sure how. It adjusts to a 98 because of a massive blow up hole. Hit 4 pars in a row on the back nine.

Driving was improved (hit four fairways), but two were bounces off a tree. Lots of slices but smoked one pure 265 yards with no wind. The slices were not nearly as bad generally and were frequently totally playable. Only two punch outs under trees. Old driver was 180-190 with the slice. These were going 210-220

My pitch and chipping was very fucking good and saved me today. Zero double chips. Got out of a hard bunker once in one. Hit every shot 100 yds and in but one on the green.

Putting was awful. 35 putts on the green with 4 from the fringe. Had three one putt tap ins from good chips so bleh.

Not sure what to make of it tbh. Small improvement I guess. It’s only my second round under 100 at this course

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Pretty sure that’s an always re-tee. What someone did with your ball has no bearing on where you hit your ball originally. The exception is if it’s a lateral hazard, which I believe is a one stroke penalty with drop near where you think it went out.

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It’s 100% a retee by rule but this is an always crowded course. Marshall would murder me if I go back.

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My great uncle, who was a professional golfer, would not tell me his scores ever (he always looked like he was around par when he was in his late 60s). He said he never kept them and recommended no one did. That is my recommendation, too.

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You couldn’t tell it was out from the tee?

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If it’s true white stakes OOB, it’s 2 strokes and move the ball laterally to the fairway. You don’t have to re-tee anymore, that’s your choice. It’s either a 1 stroke penalty and you don’t get to take the distance of the shot (i.e. back to the tee box and re-tee hitting 3), or move to the edge of the fairway laterally and keep your distance and hit 4. It’s pretty much always better to hit 4 from the fairway.

That is a local rule for casual play, so that is likely not allowed in highly competitive events, but yah that ain’t this.

Could also hit a provisional if you suspect your ball may be OOB (you must declare it verbally) at your discretion while still on the tee box.