Fore! Who's playing golf, yo-

[GeezerSteve]

This is why you only get 80% of your handicap in match play and no shots on 8 , 9 , 17 or 18

Huh? If a guy gives his bud 5 strokes and holes # 8 and 18 are the 3 and 4 HCP holes, then the bud gets a stroke on 8 and a stroke on 18, right? What's with the 80% thing? Are you talking about certain types of team play and/or group play? See http://www.usga.org/handicapping/pub...ferent-Events/

[spook]

Class 5A girls golf: Churchill's Caroline Inglis, with record fourth title in hand, is disqualified

http://highschoolsports.oregonlive.c...-disqualified/

bummer

[MTT]

i like the idea of match play better than stroke play. my buddy i usually play with rarely counts all his penalty strokes and then always scores lower in stroke play and i don't care enough to say anything about it and am too wrapped up in my own shit to count his. i count everything according to the rules for my score. i'm just trying to learn to play so i don't give a shit that much, but i told him this summer we're playing match play. though since i don't have a handicap yet i wouldn't know how to use it to my advantage. i wouldn't play anybody for money at this point.

I get a bit miffed when I play with people like that. They keep score, they talk about thier score, but they are lying to everyone and themself about where there really are.

I have palyed with alot of people who think they shoot in the 80's but would really be hard pressed to break 100 palying the ball down and counting all the penalties.

I have a 2PM tee time for the Mountain Course in Incline Village today. I thinks its a par 3 course. Never played it before so I guess I will see. Maybe I will bring Camera and do a TR

[TahoeJ]

A real 79 is better than a bullshit 75 every time, and deep down you know it. The sooner people come to terms with that, the more they'll enjoy themselves on the course. On the other hand, I'm okay with breaking the rules (not in a tournament) when they're dumb and really anti-competitive / sportsmanslike. And golf has several of the dumbest rules in all of sports. For example, if I'm playing against someone - even for money - and they drill the ball down the middle of the fairway and it ends up in a divot, I'll tell them to just move it because that's a stupid rule that will probably be changed some day. I'd rather beat someone straight-up, not because they had shitty luck.

[spook]

I have a hard time calling it RedTail, it will always be Progress to me. I think they did a good job when they re-did the course (specifically the back nine -now the front nine- years ago)
before that it was pretty marginal on the the backside (nearer the range)

Bang for the buck I think the best options are:
-Progress / RedTail (fair, not too punishing, wide open),
-Eastmoreland (I really like this course, lot's of variety to the front and back),
-Great Blue at Heron Lakes (never played the Green, get out there on the Blue it is probably the prettiest and most challenging of all the city courses),
-Glendoveer (old school, love the huge trees, pretty easy as there is basically no rough)

some others that are worth exploring
-Quail Valley (out in Banks, nice design and a fun course, worth the trip)
-Colwood and Broadmoor (both cheap and empty, not real challenging courses, but nice walks, both out north on Columbia Blvd)
-Kilarney West (near and like McKay, kinda shitty, but something different and definitely cheap)

-there are also some fun courses out on the coast and towards Hood that we used to make a day of, some worth it others not (I'll elaborate if you'd like)

I was lucky and grew up playing a lot with my grandpa, I worked at Portland GC and had friends working at other clubs so I also got to play most of the private courses in the area as well, if you can, go out if you're ever invited. Then worked out at Black Butte in college as a greenkeeper (we kept it all green, not just the greens) and played most all of central Oregon both private and public as well as the coast during those summers, such fun times, I reminisce about those times and my handicap back then...

DO NOT worry about your skills not being up to snuff, absolute hacks play every course everyday, get out there and go for it! you might be surprised what you can do with a positive attitude and a relaxed swing.

Where are you heading to? even a fancy club has a range and a chipping and putting green (just gear up like a rich dude and act the part, asking questions of whether people belong or not is often frowned upon by management).
-I too will be away for the summer and won't play until August, leaving in 11 days.

edit: I should have mentioned Lakeview Par 3 Golf Challenge right on Vancouver Lake,
the "Hardest Par 3 Course in the World"-as stated by the Guinness Book
-Absolutely a hoot, bring extra balls and have a few beers, you get to go for some of the craziest shots there

i like eastmoreland, too. that's the course i play second most, particularly when i can't play earlybird at redtail on tuesdays because of the ladies league.

i'm in a poor south american country in a major city where the very few golf courses there are are parts of exclusive members only clubs. i can't get in unless i know somebody and at this point, i don't. still working on it. since i couldn't bring my clubs, i'm just trying to get hold of a putter and one other iron at this point and (pipe dream) some of those foam balls so i can at least make some swings where i'm staying.

i played a par 3 east of portland that was fun, but i can't remember the name. i played claremont one of my first times out my first season not realizing it had narrow fairways (for me) surrounded by houses until i got there and then i was terrified. sliced my first tee shot into a house and was completely screwed mentally from then and hit 4 more houses. i was terrified to do anything but putt by the time i was done. just played king city a couple times before i left on a groupon and it was comparable to mckay i guess. i thought wildwood on st. helens road north of portland looked interesting, but haven't been able to make it yet.

edit: eagle landing is the par 3 http://www.eaglelandingsite.com/

[Tye 1on]

I get a bit miffed when I play with people like that. They keep score, they talk about thier score, but they are lying to everyone and themself about where there really are.

I have palyed with alot of people who think they shoot in the 80's but would really be hard pressed to break 100 palying the ball down and counting all the penalties.

I have a 2PM tee time for the Mountain Course in Incline Village today. I thinks its a par 3 course. Never played it before so I guess I will see. Maybe I will bring Camera and do a TR

My group all play the ball down, count all strokes except sometimes not playing a provisional on a possibly lost tee ball and taking the distance, and we generally don't bet. And have a blast. Local tradition is shotgunning a beer on the 12th tee, at any/every course, and typically a shot of whiskey for the golfer after a birdie. Not too serious...

[spook]

A real 79 is better than a bullshit 75 every time, and deep down you know it. The sooner people come to terms with that, the more they'll enjoy themselves on the course. On the other hand, I'm okay with breaking the rules (not in a tournament) when they're dumb and really anti-competitive / sportsmanslike. And golf has several of the dumbest rules in all of sports. For example, if I'm playing against someone - even for money - and they drill the ball down the middle of the fairway and it ends up in a divot, I'll tell them to just move it because that's a stupid rule that will probably be changed some day. I'd rather beat someone straight-up, not because they had shitty luck.

i agree, i'm not really upset about his scoring, it's just mildly irritating and i don't really understand why people would do it. it's basically fantasy.

one thing i'm doing this season so far when i'm alone since i'm not keeping score is not trying to play every shitty shot i end up with. for instance, if i end up right next to a tree stump or something, it doesn't really make any sense for me to take those shots all the time because i need to work on teh regular shots that will keep me from ending up there. i still take enough of them to practice hitting off of pine needles and with severely abbreviated swings under tree limbs, but this season i've been willing to pick it up and put it somewhere i can make a decent attempt. or i'll just take the shot from under the tree realizing that that happens and i should know how to get myself back to the fairway in one swing.

[GeezerSteve]

I generally agree re people fudging scores. But the former pro at Kayak Point persuaded me that all non-tournament play on most courses W of the crest in the PNW should be per winter rules, with the possible exception of June through August. I also have no problem with the group agreeing to a free lie from a divot in the middle of the fairway in a skins game.

[Steven S. Dallas]

I will always pick up out of a divot. Why should I be screwed because some lazy fuck didn't bring and use divot mix? Same if my ball ends up in someone's footprint in a bunker.

My most consistent shot is a knocked-down 5 iron punch- critical if you hit most of your second shots from under a tree off the side of the fairway . I hit a lot more fairways now but still have occasion to use that shot once or so per round.

[guroo270]

HMmm, kinda surprised about having to play out of a divot. That's golf. Do you let your friends scoot out of fried egg lies in the bunker, build a stance in a hazard, or ground the club inside the stakes? I mean, I think I'm pretty liberal with my use of "unmarked ground under repair", but hitting out of a divot is part of golf. I know that my father in law moves his ball out of any bad lie, but he can do whatever he wants. The only time I move my ball when I shouldn't if I'm in fear of hurting myself or damaging my clubs, i.e. tree roots right under or damaging rocks near my ball. It's golf ya'll. Play the ball as it lies.

Edit- TahoeJ - If you're playing partner hits a ball one foot short of the green on a front pin, but he hits a sprinkler head and it jumps over the green, do you let him put it back? I kinda understand you letting them move the ball out of a divot, but I think your argument is a slippery slope. Golf is definitely a battle between you and the course, and overcoming adversity, bad lies included. There's even a specific rule in golf that if you allow someone else to knowingly break a rule, that you too incur a penalty. I realize that might make you even, but just saying. I was playing a long par 5 the other day, boomed a drive, water on the right by the green so I lay up with a pure 4 iron to be safe, put myself 90 yards out in the center of the fairway, land in a divot. I sure as fuck deserved a good lie, but I didn't move my ball even though I was not playing against anyone for anything.

[wooley12]

When playing with my family the basic rules are : count all your strokes, play it as it lies and fix two ball marks on every green. We also have "The Tiger Rule". If your ball is lost on the course you may drop and play a shot from where you think it would be with no penalty. If Tiger had hit it, one or more spectators would be pointing it out to him.

[GeezerSteve]

Do you let your friends scoot out of fried egg lies in the bunker, build a stance in a hazard, or ground the club inside the stakes?

Of course not. Those are hazards, irrelevant to a group agreeing to everyone getting a free lie out of a divot in the middle of a fairway. FWIW, Jack Nicklaus once suggested that a sand-filled divot should be considered ground under repair.

[Steven S. Dallas]

It's golf ya'll. Play the ball as it lies.

That's true, but repairing your divots and raking the bunker are also part of golf.

[guroo270]

Of course not. Those are hazards, irrelevant to a group agreeing to everyone getting a free lie out of a divot in the middle of a fairway. FWIW, Jack Nicklaus once suggested that a sand-filled divot should be considered ground under repair.

Okay, you hit a ball to 4 feet on a dead flat green, but some dick wad dragged his spikes for a foot right in your line and didn't repair his putter divot after getting mad about missing his put and he just left it, do you expect to get to move your ball to a different 4 foot putt?
I'm not getting angry or trying to be over argumentative, just trying to point some things out..
If your playing partner hits the ball in the trees, ends up right next to a small one, there are numerous other trees like it that are staked, but the one in the way had the stakes removed, free drop?
I wouldn't mind one bit if sand filled divots were considered ground under repair, but even then the term sand filled brings up other problems. What about divots where the divot was replaced, but you got in the one missing inch of it, or in the trenches on the side of it. And should you really only be able to declare divots made by people in golf carts that have sand at their disposal the ones that are unmarked ground under repair? I really wouldn't mind if all divots were considered unmarked ground under repair...would prefer it really, but it's not the rule. Golf is a four letter word for a reason.

[guroo270]

That's true, but repairing your divots and raking the bunker are also part of golf.

Right. And not doing so is a blemish on the person who does not do so's character. It's maddening, but doesn't make cheating right. I'm really not this big of a score, cheating nazi, and don't REALLY care if anyone else does it, but for myself, overcoming such obstacles is more rewarding than avoiding them.
I totally hucked over this couloir once that would have killed me if I fell in. I had it completely covered with a sheet of glass with pillows over it though so that I couldn't get hurt. If I had gone through that though, I totally would have died. It was gnarly.

[TahoeJ]

HMmm, kinda surprised about having to play out of a divot. That's golf. Do you let your friends scoot out of fried egg lies in the bunker, build a stance in a hazard, or ground the club inside the stakes? I mean, I think I'm pretty liberal with my use of "unmarked ground under repair", but hitting out of a divot is part of golf. I know that my father in law moves his ball out of any bad lie, but he can do whatever he wants. The only time I move my ball when I shouldn't if I'm in fear of hurting myself or damaging my clubs, i.e. tree roots right under or damaging rocks near my ball. It's golf ya'll. Play the ball as it lies.

Edit- TahoeJ - If you're playing partner hits a ball one foot short of the green on a front pin, but he hits a sprinkler head and it jumps over the green, do you let him put it back? I kinda understand you letting them move the ball out of a divot, but I think your argument is a slippery slope. Golf is definitely a battle between you and the course, and overcoming adversity, bad lies included. There's even a specific rule in golf that if you allow someone else to knowingly break a rule, that you too incur a penalty. I realize that might make you even, but just saying. I was playing a long par 5 the other day, boomed a drive, water on the right by the green so I lay up with a pure 4 iron to be safe, put myself 90 yards out in the center of the fairway, land in a divot. I sure as fuck deserved a good lie, but I didn't move my ball even though I was not playing against anyone for anything.

The obvious difference between a footprint in the bunker and a divot in the fairway is not being punished for hitting the ball exactly where you were supposed to. A divot in the fairway being classified as ground under repair will probably become a rule change in the next 10 years, as I believe it's come up to vote before by the USGA rules committee.

I'm not saying luck both good and bad shouldn't be part of the game - and of course in your sprinkler scenario I wouldn't let them move it, but the ground under repair argument in this specific case is pretty valid. BTW - when playing on my own and I'm in a fairway divot, I'll generally just play it as it lies because it's good practice for tournament conditions.

[TahoeJ]

Another example... if I'm playing against someone and it's windy and they're putting and the ball wiggles while at address, I wouldn't dock them a stroke because that's just fucking stupid. And now they've officially changed that rule, just in the last few months.

[guroo270]

Well, if it wiggles and returns to it's original position, that's not a penalty and hasn't been for a long time, which is a good rule. I agree though, that a ball moving that really had nothing to do with you, addressed or not, is a stupid rule.

[PassTheDutchie]

This thread inspired me to hit balls at lunch; first time I've swung a club since 2010. This is pitiful to admit, but I'm fucking sore.

[guroo270]

I play as frequently as I can, and almost every day after I play, the left and right side of my thighs are sore and feel like I need to stretch them for an hour. Don't feel bad. My bro-in-law, that plays a little less than me but is a top of his age group triathlete, always bitches that his stomach is sore after playing golf.

[TahoeJ]

Well, if it wiggles and returns to it's original position, that's not a penalty and hasn't been for a long time, which is a good rule. I agree though, that a ball moving that really had nothing to do with you, addressed or not, is a stupid rule.

Yes, that's what I meant (it wiggled and moved) and that's the rule they finally changed.

[GeezerSteve]

I'm not getting angry or trying to be over argumentative. . . .

Well, of course you are. You get butthurt if a group of guys who live 1,000 miles from you agrees to a private ground rule for a free lie from a divot in the middle of the fairway in a damn private skins game? Too bad for you pal. The biggest problem with golf is control freaks like you doing all they can to take the fun out of the game. FWIW, I once walked on the Jubilee course at St. Andrews and played with a local who advised the custom there was to take free lies from divots in the fairway. The horror!

[guroo270]

I'm not getting butt hurt, just pointing out that doing so is also against the rules.

[spook]

I generally agree re people fudging scores. But the former pro at Kayak Point persuaded me that all non-tournament play on most courses W of the crest in the PNW should be per winter rules, with the possible exception of June through August. I also have no problem with the group agreeing to a free lie from a divot in the middle of the fairway in a skins game.

yeah, i forgot about winter rules when i started this season. my first 6 rounds this season were really wet. of course, i don't know all of them, but i thought the gist was that you can move a plugged ball out of the plug no closer to the hole. i should probably read them, but by the time i get home i won't have to worry about it.

[GeezerSteve]

spook, you seem to be confusing the embedded ball rule with winter rules. The embedded ball rule is always in effect in closely mown areas (unless modified by local rules, I suppose). Winter rules allow you to always pick, clean and place in closely mown areas, embedded or not. Some local courses extend winter rules to the rough. Many course pros on the west side in WA, OR and BC encourage people to play winter rules all year. I don't expect dry land golfers to understand the wisdom of that.