Fore! Who's playing golf, yo-

[Art Shirk]

I think a favorite courses played sub-thread would be cool.

I haven't played too many big name courses but some of my favorites in no particular order:

- Bandon
- Chambers Bay
- Sandpiper at Bacara
- Pebble Beach

Apparently I need to hit AZ and the East Coast

Maybe not world class but close and lucky to have them:
- Gold Mountain
- Trophy Lake
- The Home Course
- Washington National
- Sahalee
- Seattle Country Club
- White Horse
- Broadmoor (not amazingly impressive beyond some interesting holes, save the fact it is located in such an oddly urban area)

Off to play Maplewood. Small cheap track in Maple Valley. Leave the driver in the bag on all but 3 holes and I can get low.

[Steven S. Dallas]

Well, I see it as a tee shot where you have to hit a fade to hold the fairway, and if you do, it looks like you are still shafted with a shitty, ball above your feet lie, to an uphill shot - dead pull waiting to happen.

Yeah, basically. That entire back is hilly, though, which is why I wouldn't call 14 "unfair"- a course designer has to play the cards he's dealt, to some degree. And it's a big, flat green, IIRC, so the blind second (or third) shot is mitigated.

Three over on the front yesterday, then went dead between the ears and puked all over myself on the back. I haven't put a good, complete round together for a while but that is in large part due to lack of sleep- I certainly have technical problems but feel as though my biggest obstacle right now is maintaining focus. Probably why my best rounds are solo or with just one other person.

[spook]

i'm watching the memorial online. i've noticed that the finishing position on a lot of iron shots is holding the club almost straight up in the air, rather than what i thought was a complete followthrough with the club ending up behind the player's back. are these abbreviated swings?

[guroo270]

I'm watching it as well. Abbreviated follow throughs help keep the ball flight lower, I.e. punch shots, which is favorable in windy conditions such as these. They say it's a pretty steady 25mph wind today. It also helps reduce side spin.

On a tangent, I wish more not so good golfers would play with simple, short swing, punch shots more often. So many problems arise from very big swings that borderline are just flailing motions. If people who shoot 100 would simplify and keep a nice small swing under control, they'd score much better and would start to understand what a golf ball hitting the center of the club face is supposed to feel like.

[spook]

I'm watching it as well. Abbreviated follow throughs help keep the ball flight lower, I.e. punch shots, which is favorable in windy conditions such as these. They say it's a pretty steady 25mph wind today. It also helps reduce side spin.

On a tangent, I wish more not so good golfers would play with simple, short swing, punch shots more often. So many problems arise from very big swings that borderline are just flailing motions. If people who shoot 100 would simplify and keep a nice small swing under control, they'd score much better and would start to understand what a golf ball hitting the center of the club face is supposed to feel like.

that's kind of where i'm at. i don't have enough shoulder flexibility after numerous injuries to do what i see on tv (i'm actually hoping bikram yoga will help, though there isn't much focus on shoulders), but i keep trying and it is definitely a flail because i can't keep my left arm (i'm a rightie) straight for the entire backswing. i'm trying to shorten up, slow down and relax. should find out today about the membership at the club. i was wrong about the club rental. if i want to take a set home, it's $80 for the month (which will allow me to take them to the coast trip for the nicklaus course). otherwise, it's $10 a pop every time i play, so i'm going to go ahead and rent them for the month.

also can't remember if i asked what peoples' preferences are for putters, re: mallet v. blade. i've always used a blade and it feels so light it's hard for me to hold back. i bought a crappy used $10 mallet and it immediately felt better.

[Steven S. Dallas]

A novice is usually better off with a heavier-headed putter, since the higher swing weight will help keep the putter head on line as it moves through the ball. As for head type, one consideration is your putting stroke- if you tend to go back and through in a straight line, try a mallet first, if you tend to arc the putter then try some blades with varying amounts of toe weighting. Then there's all this stuff about head offset and your dominant eye but I'm not sure I get it.

[guroo270]

Not this


this


Although, I really feel like any putter that seems to line up comfortably is best for anyone. No matter what that shape is. For me, the Del Mar/ Bobby Jones 3 putter from Callaway
/ and a never compromise mallet (They all are the shape of half of a golf hole) have always set up best for me. However, I use a Scotty Cameron Newport with no sight lines because I like to play by feel alone.

[spook]

thanks for the input, guys. i'll be interested to see what options i have tomorrow when i get signed up. also an open tournament on monday for a caddy who had a serious injury, so if my guts stop exploding everything that gets put in them, i may get into my first competition. i looked at the club's rankings and if a lot of folks play i won't even be the worst one out there. should be fun. too bad i listened to my better half who said "you don't need your golf shoes." i brought my glove and my books but no shoes. i'll be playing in running shoes if they let me. if not, i have no idea where i'm going to find golf shoes down here. i went to marathon sports, which is packed to the gills in all things futbol, and asked where i could buy any golf equipment and they looked at me like i was nuts.

[TahoeJ]

A good swing with a wedge or even a 9 iron usually doesn't result in a full follow-through - which is what you're likely seeing on TV. The biggest improvement I ever made on my wedge game was learning to not make a full back swing and the same for the finish. Improves accuracy and you don't lose any distance whatsoever.

[TahoeJ]

Yeah, basically. That entire back is hilly, though, which is why I wouldn't call 14 "unfair"- a course designer has to play the cards he's dealt, to some degree. And it's a big, flat green, IIRC, so the blind second (or third) shot is mitigated.

Agreed - I actually really like that stretch of holes and usually score pretty well. What I don't like about Stonetree are all of the doglegs with blind shots, not to mention that every pin placement is always within a few steps from the edge of the green, which are a bit overdone themselves (not exactly subtle). I guess they have to do this to prevent it from getting too easy in the mornings, but when the swirling wind comes up in the afternoon it can be a bit goofy.

[spook]

my crappy new $10 mallet putter looks a bit like the del mar. don't remember the brand. it was cheap enough i just bought it try it out and it did feel a lot better. i have messed around with the arcing putt and also the straight putt. my mind seems to want to do the straight putt because it's STRAIGHT even though my body kind of likes arcing motion. my original putter is also a couple inches long for me. i also still have my dad's macgregor putter that is about 40 years old, but it is super light and i've never tried it on the green.

[Steven S. Dallas]

Whatever works. Jim Furyk won the FedEx cup (and $12 million) with a used putter he bought for forty bucks, so don't think you need a $300 Scotty to roll it.

Although they are pretty.

[wooley12]

I was a lousy natural putter who can't read greens. I plumbob and use the "Quiet Eye" technique with practice stroke variation to program the correct distance and I put pretty well.

[Art Shirk]

Trivia Question: How do you know you are playing golf in Maple Valley, WA?



There's a Datsun behind you.



9th to the club house.





SSD, Troon tees everywhere.

[DasBlunt]

Whatever works. Jim Furyk won the FedEx cup (and $12 million) with a used putter he bought for forty bucks, so don't think you need a $300 Scotty to roll it.

Although they are pretty.

Truth.

I love the old Ping putters, I have about 10 just for kicks, ebay sells them really cheap. I putt lefty too. All my Scotty's are second hand rejects of some sort.

Fav courses I have played: no order.

Pasatiempo Santa Cruz, private, Alister MacKenzie designed ( Augusta, Cypress Point, Royal AUS).

Ballyneal

Torrey South and North

Common Ground

Bear's Best, ATL

Pasatiempo Cali

Fossil Trace/Sanctuary/Pradera/ Jim Engh.

Glenmoor cc, colorado

Dunne National

Waveland 9 CHI

[wooley12]

A Putter Quiver!!!

Anyone with some beta on Cascade GC in North Bend?

[DasBlunt]

Putter quiver for sure! I practice at home on my indoor green with a mallet and putt badly on the course with a blade.

Knowing the differences with putters is as important as knowing what you like.

The biggest difference beyond appearance , by far, is how much toe flow vs face balanced a putter has. Toe flow simply means how much the putter will open and shut in an arching stroke.

A fully face balanced putter will rest square when balanced on your hand, conversely, a putter with "full toe flow", will hang down completely when balanced on your hand.

Putter designs in general, are laid out mostly with mallets being face balanced, and blades are not. There are huge and wildly varying degrees of subtle differences of this correct generalization. We are seeing more manufactures making blades with face balanced head/shafts designs. Distance control with a face balanced putter is a bit harder, and a mallet design will help solve that main issue with the shorter putters, so with a blade, weighting is crucial if the putter is face balanced. Long/belly putters have the same issues, and are highlighted even more with the distance issues of face balanced. Advances in materials and perimeter weighting again, has helped people tremendously with the long putter and distance control. Bottom line, you can "hit" the ball easier with a non-face balanced putter, and a face balanced putter is more or less dependent on the stroke. This is proven in the long putter achilles of distance control.

[guroo270]

Whatever works. Jim Furyk won the FedEx cup (and $12 million) with a used putter he bought for forty bucks, so don't think you need a $300 Scotty to roll it.

Although they are pretty.

Truth.

I love the old Ping putters, I have about 10 just for kicks, ebay sells them really cheap. I putt lefty too. All my Scotty's are second hand rejects of some sort.

Right. Not to mention the majority of putters these days, save the ungodly ghost putters, 3 ball putters and such, are exact copies of older ping putters.







They sure are pretty though.

This is the strangest putter that felt good and lined up well for me. I think it was slightly less of a mallet though.

[skiballs]

When asked how he 4 putted , Seve replied " I miss the hole , I miss the hole , I miss the hole , I make putt " .

[guroo270]

Yogi Berra said, "You miss at least 80% of the putts you leave short."

He also said, "Golf is 75% mental, and the other half is physical."

Don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to watch the Fowler/Tiger pairing today. It'd be nice to throw a Kooooch in there, but whateva.

[MotherFucker]

Yogi Berra said, "You miss at least 80% of the putts you leave short."

He also said, "Golf is 75% mental, and the other half is physical."

Don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to watch the Fowler/Tiger pairing today. It'd be nice to throw a Kooooch in there, but whateva.

Thanks for the tips again, man.

All this putter talk has me itching for a new one. My old piece of shit Wilson probably hurts more than helps.

I'm really looking forward to watching that pairing. They're both hitting the ball well and wouldn't be surprised if they were battling it out coming down the stretch. I fucking hate Sabbatini (or however you spell it). Wasn't it he who hit into another group a few years back? Even if it wasn't, I feel like he's a huge douche with his wannabe Shark look.

Gonna have to wait to watch though, heading out to Valmont Bike Park in Boulder. Should be back in time for the back nine.

[guroo270]

How'd your evening golf outing go after that?

I don't know if Rory hit into anyone, but I do believe that it was him that said Tiger was completely beatable in '08, when the majority of other tour players were saying that they were basically out there fighting for second place. I guess he has a chance to finally say, "I told you so" today, even if it is 4 years later.

[guroo270]

I just saw Fowler and Sabbatini on the range... Fowler hit a divot that apparently went behind him and sullied Sabattini's hat. Rory turns towards Rickie and just hits a monster divot at him. I recorded it on my phone but don't know how to put it up here. It appeared to be light hearted on Rory's part, but I'm not sure that was the most kosher way to deal with that in the pros. I'll snap a screen shot of it.

[Tye 1on]

hahaha, classic guroo!

Heading out to the Links at Teton Peaks at 2. $24 to walk. It's a piece of shit, but it's OUR piece of shit! No cart girls, hell, no beer. Guess we'll have to bring our own...

[spook]

well, i'm into one of the most exclusive clubs in the country and am playing a best ball scramble tomorrow. got rental clubs for the month and a free pull cart to go with. considering i've been puking or shitting my guts out for the past 4 days, i'm totally stoked.