It hit a tree and dropped. Thought I was in play. It had rolled under a gap in the fence somehow and was inches oob
Pace of play would dictate a drop
Has anyone here ever played Pebble Beach? My dad is 64 with two hip replacements, plays once a week. Was thinking about getting him to play at Pebble once while his health is still good.
I’ve played it tons of times on the Wii
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Have you ever played a round with someone who is actually good? I used to play a lot but quit about 15 years ago. Lot of rounds with people who played college golf which killed any illusion that I would ever be “good” or even decent, at least not without committing a ton of time to lessons from good pros.
There was one time I played an executive course called Scholl Canyon in Glendale, CA. It was a course I could routinely shoot near par on in my prime before I moved too far away to play anymore.
One day, I was in a group with a college kid. The first hole is a par 4 that’s drivable if you’re decent but very narrow with no room for error. If you don’t hit it bone straight it’s suicide to hit driver. It had a savage slope to the green, so it was never a guarantee to make a birdie even if you drove the green.
He teed off and puts it within a few feet of the hole (I’ve generally been the best golfer in most groups I played on public courses). I said, ‘nice shot’ and he said, ‘that’s why I got a scholarship to Arizona State’. That rubbed me the wrong way and I decided to see how good his mental makeup was by subtly digging at him on the front nine. Just little things that would throw his cockiness back at him and make him think maybe he wasn’t the best golfer in that group (he was).
After he said what he did, I just said, ‘I hope you make the putt’. He three putted and all my little digs really started getting in his head. He basically played bogey golf after that and walked off after 9 holes. I was probably 2 or 3 over after the front 9. If you’re good at golf just let it speak for itself and say thank you. Otherwise that might happen to you.
Probably the best golfer I can remember playing with was very against type. He looked like he was maybe 50, a really tall fat boy farmer wearing jeans overalls. He had an absolutely beautiful swing and hit the ball a ton. It was the type of swing that only comes from starting at a very young age.
Define good. I’ve played with a few guys who are single digit handicaps.
I don’t really care though. I’m not playing to be a pro. I don’t try to play like I’m a pro. I’ve done other sports at a reasonably high level (college and high level club soccer), enough to know that there’s always going to be someone better than you.
I like getting outside. I like the reasonable amount of exercise. I like the problem solving. I like meeting random people ftmp. Hitting a great shot is fucking awesome.
If I ever hit a shot and then get pissed someone hit a better one than me I’ve lost my way.
I knew my son’s friend was a good high school golfer. The four of us went out to hit 9 one day. Goofing around he shot a couple over par. He Happy Gilmored a shot in the bunker pin high on a short par 4 (320? 330?).
He played D1 and actually took a leave of absence during grad school to take a shot. He did win once on whatever is the nut low beginner tour in Florida but after 1.5(?) years he went back and got his masters in chemistry and works in industry. I never got a chance to talk to him about why he stopped the golf pursuit. Assume he kills just about anyone he plays with.
Yeah good at golf is such a relative term.
At a 4.5 index, I’m probably in the 98th percentile of regular golfers but don’t consider myself “Good”
You go one level up and there are plenty of scratch golfers or plus handicaps that can easily shoot under par on a normal setup but would struggle to break 80 on a US Amateur setup
Then the next level up, there are tons of college or mini tour players that can go out and shoot 62 on a normal course that can’t sniff the Korn Ferry Tour
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Anyone who averages under 90 is good. Stop holding yourself to impossible standards. Scratch golfers are miles ahead of a 4.5. The pros are miles ahead of them. Most people who play golf will never break 100 and for the vast majority of golfers breaking 90 feels nearly impossible to them. It’s as challenging as it is for a 10 to break 80. It’s almost always in reach but often goes wrong somewhere.
I was a 3 at my best, single for most of the time I was playing. And yet except for a brief stretch, I was a mediocre ball striker the entire time with a great short game and course management. Crazy to think that even that level put me (and you) way up in the top echelon. That’s how hard golf really is.
But I also played with my share of mini-tour pros and the difference between me and them was night and day.
I recently played with a guy who is ranked around 3k in the world (I looked him up). He was so far beyond anyone I’d ever played with before.
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Like D2 / NAIA level. I once played with a kid who came from one of the famous course designer families (can’t remember which) who was competing in NAIA at the time. The ease with which he could stripe laser after laser down the middle was eye opening. Looked like me playing Microsoft Links 2003 where you click the spot you want the ball to land with the mouse. Elite ball striking and then the scoring aspect was whatever, but I remember that he was effortlessly always in position to score.
Hold yourself to that standard and it would certainly make you quit golf. Unless you were playing a lot since you were 5 you’re never getting there.
When I was growing up you weren’t allowed to play on a regulation course until you were 10. I could have easily played them from the day I began playing basically. I picked up the game very easily and naturally at 8 but was held back for a long time. I was also a massive tourney choker, so that didn’t help. I was given all kinds of hand me down clubs for the early stages. When I got to my best my dad gave me his steel stiff flex 1959 Wilson Pro Staffs because they were too heavy for him and he was bigger than me. I’d guess those clubs stunted my golf growth more than anything else. By the time I was 22 they were straight up shank city lol. I didn’t have a pro lesson until after I was married when I got my wife into the game. The lessons did not make me better.
My dad’s side of the family had a touring pro who was very old and at least four or five club champions. I vastly preferred baseball and never put in the work. I was also and still am a terrible putter who hates practice.
In the old days I could take 3 years off golf, not go to the driving range, and shoot an 84 cold. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago after a long break, I never thought I’d break 100 again. Then the next year it was right back to the old me where it would be hard to shoot above 90.
Golf is a weird game.
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Nah, wouldn’t change my thinking at all. Would enjoy watching them hit tbh. I’ve played 15 rounds now since tearing my acl and not playing for about 15 years or so. Goal is to break 100 consistently first. Scores are downtrending as I practice/play more. Average for the past 5 rounds is 100.8. Once I start doing that I’ll re-evaluate, probably upgrade my new clubs if I can get to 90-95 and go from there. I’m not going to try to be a scratch golfer.
I dunno, it depends on what you think is fun. Constantly scrambling from under the tree line and out of the briar patch wasn’t fun regardless of what scores I shot.
Sometimes I think I could really get into golf, but when I do play occasionally something always ends up sore and I place super high priority on playing tennis. My Dad did both but I don’t know how.
Yeah, that’ll definitely make you quit too
- Golf uses a lot of muscles that people don’t usually use. It takes some getting used to if you’re shoulders and back are a little sore.
- My issue is some finger/hand pain that comes if I play 3-4 rounds in a week but goes away in a few days. I think I’ll get some bigger grips to help with that when I get new clubs
Just a reminder that my mentor once told me the story of a newspaper covering the worst flight of a tournament instead of the best flight just to see how it would go. The many time repeating champion lost and this was what he had to say about his opponent:
He started out bogey, double, bogey, triple, par. What was I supposed to do?