Fore! Who's playing golf, yo-

[guroo270]

I was lol'ing before you told me it was hilarious. That's a great story.

[4matic]

I played a tournament with a kid once (when I was also a teenager) who hit three balls OB off the tee, and after the third one he grabbed his entire bag and chucked it over a nearby fence before storming off.

It was hilarious.

Far too many of these types playing junior golf:



No personal respect for the game.

[guroo270]

TURD! DOUBLE TURD!!

SPAAAALDING!!

[TahoeJ]

I was lol'ing before you told me it was hilarious. That's a great story.

Turns out he was about a 1 handicap at the time (hence being in his team's #1 spot), got kicked off his high school golf team after the incident, and lost his college scholarship. I'm hoping he eventually went to an anger management class or something. Definitely the easiest head-to-head match I've ever had, that's for sure.

[jfost]

Turns out he was about a 1 handicap at the time (hence being in his team's #1 spot), got kicked off his high school golf team after the incident, and lost his college scholarship. I'm hoping he eventually went to an anger management class or something. Definitely the easiest head-to-head match I've ever had, that's for sure.

probably good he quit before adding the weight of playing for a scholarship to his problems!!!

[JaytaeMoney]

Saturday I went out and shot my best score ever for 18 holes. Almost broke 90 and had 5 pars on the back 9 which for me is unheard of. I was stoked.

Yesterday went out and played well on the first hole and then the wheels came off. I was playing so bad that I had to quit on the 7th hole or I would have broken something.

Fuckin golf, man.

[PassTheDutchie]

Had a wonderful 27 holes of midwestern country golf outside of exotic Harvard, IL on Friday. Perfect afternoon: great track, Audubon sanctuary (nice teeing off into families of cranes and turkeys), cheap-cheap, pristine conditions, empty course, laid back attitude.





Completing the day at the local tavern. Red's been behind the bar for 52 years:

[jz3]

Been lurking on this thread through the summer and yesterday had a strange experiance at the range and figured I'd toss it out for the TGR golf collective.

I've struggled on/off with a driver slice for the 3 years I've been playing. Tried lots of fixes to various degrees of success but typically am fine if I just use a soft swing...which means I don't get great distance either. Yesterday, and I'm not sure why, I lined up but took one step back with my left (forward) foot. Not turning my body at all, just put the left foot back a little. Drives were perfect - straight, long, and I was swinging as hard as I could.

What gives, I know that's not a proper stance, so is it a sign of something else wrong with my swing or should I just go with what seems to be working?

[guroo270]

When I first started playing golf I had a very open stance and hit a wonderful draw. A lot of times you can not do that (move your left foot back and still hit a draw) if you've never felt the proper in to out swing path because most people swing along the same plane as their feet. However, if you do know how to drop it inside, opening your stance like that is a great way to get your hips to clear. A lot of people have trouble closing their stance and still getting their hips out of the way. So in your case, your swing path is fine, but you are able to square the club face at impact because your hips are no longer in the way. That's big. Enjoy it.

[jz3]

Thanks, that actually makes alot of sense - headed back this afternoon to play with it some more. Driving consistency has definitely been the biggest frustration for me so far

[guroo270]

Also, when you're swinging like that, don't puss out and think, hmm, I'm going to swing nice and easy on this one. You'll mess up your timing, lose confidence etc. Instead, look at the shot, tell yourself there is one shot to hit here, it's the golf shot, and go for it.

My dad likes to play different courses, but when he does, he gets freaked out by new layouts, hazards, that sort of thing, and he's fucked before he ever tees it up. So he aims in the middle and if he doesn't get through it, he blocks it out so bad he's on another hole, and if he does get through it, it's left on another hole. Just try to hit ONE shot, a committed shot. If you miss, oh well, but at least you tried.

[spook]

can't wait to play when i have $275 to burn on a green fee.

Golf: Pacific Dunes again edges Pebble Beach as No. 1 public course in country

Pacific Dunes seems to be erasing any doubts about where it belongs among the top public courses in the United States.

The 11-year-old layout at the Bandon Dunes Resort will be No. 1 in Golf magazine's ranking of U.S. public courses in the September issue, a publicist for the magazine said.

Pacific Dunes edged famed Pebble Beach Golf Links for the top spot. It will be the third consecutive time Pacific Dunes takes the top spot in Golf's biennial public course ranking.

The ranking comes of the heels Pacific Dunes' ascension to No. 1 in the ranking of the best golf resorts in North American last year by the other major monthly magazine, Golf Digest

Pacific Dunes' three sister courses all landed in Golf's top 15. The original Bandon Dunes course, which opened in 1999, is at No. 8, a drop of three spots from 2010. The newest layout, Old Macdonald (opened 2010) climbed one spot to No. 9. And Bandon Trails (2005) remained at No. 15.

Three other Oregon courses made the top 100, led by a newcomer. The Nicklaus Course at Pronghorn Golf Club and Resort in Bend debuts in the list at No. 38.

Sunriver Resort's Crosswater course dropped six spots to No. 45, and Pumpkin Ridge's Ghost Creek course fell nine spots to No. 56.

http://www.oregonlive.com/golf/index..._river_default

[jfost]

^ I have mixed feelings about that much $ for golf. On one hand, I'd like to play now when I will get to hit close to 90+ shots for my $, rather than hoping for a few years down the road when I only would get around 80...

[guroo270]

You can play them for $80 at the very beginning of non prime time, and there are almost always good days left. It would be the difference in taking a weekend trip there, or taking a week long trip there, and picking and choosing which days you could go to play golf. Then you could also afford a caddie ($80 + recommended tip of $20, very standard), and you would enjoy your time much more there. There's usually a solid month of good weather left when that starts.

I can't recommend skipping Bandon Trails enough when Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes are sitting right there. Go play Pumpkin Ridge instead if you can get on. If you love golf, there really is no better place to be.

Edit: It appears they have revised the off season times/rates some since I left in '07. Used to be October 1st to Feb. something for $80. Too bad, but there's still a few good options for $75.

[TahoeJ]

I'd rather play Spyglass than Pebble... which is a fairly common statement.

[guroo270]

I'd rather play Spyglass than Pebble... which is a fairly common statement.

No doubt. Hell, quite a few people would rather play Monterey Peninsula CC, although, I have no experience with that course.

I've even heard people say that they could probably play the first four holes of Spyglass the rest of their life.

[dvs8448]

You can play them for $80 at the very beginning of non prime time, and there are almost always good days left. It would be the difference in taking a weekend trip there, or taking a week long trip there, and picking and choosing which days you could go to play golf. Then you could also afford a caddie ($80 + recommended tip of $20, very standard), and you would enjoy your time much more there. There's usually a solid month of good weather left when that starts.

I can't recommend skipping Bandon Trails enough when Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes are sitting right there. Go play Pumpkin Ridge instead if you can get on. If you love golf, there really is no better place to be.

Edit: It appears they have revised the off season times/rates some since I left in '07. Used to be October 1st to Feb. something for $80. Too bad, but there's still a few good options for $75.

I am interested in why you recommend skipping Bandon Trails, a lot of the people who are into golf architecture rank Bandon Trails above Bandon Dunes? And a lot of them put Bandon Dunes at the bottom of the list, it seems they don't think David McKlay Kidd was practiced enough to get the most out of the property. Most have Pacific Dunes or Old MacDonald interchangeably as one and two with Bandon Trails three and then Bandon Dunes in last place. And if you are at the resort you should be playing at least 36 holes a day, so no reason not to see every course there, including the Sheep Ranch and Bandon Preserve.

This is from the best site on the interwebs for golf course architecture. http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/i...c,52677.0.html

[cranked]

Heading to Scottsdale for an annual trip...108 degrees and shenanigans awaits.

Playing Talking Stick, Wildfire, and, of course, the Boulders. If I am not blacked out drunk, will take pics for a TR.

[guroo270]

I am interested in why you recommend skipping Bandon Trails, a lot of the people who are into golf architecture rank Bandon Trails above Bandon Dunes? And a lot of them put Bandon Dunes at the bottom of the list, it seems they don't think David McKlay Kidd was practiced enough to get the most out of the property. Most have Pacific Dunes or Old MacDonald as one and two with Bandon Trails three and the Bandon Dunes in last place. And if you are at the resort you should be playing at least 36 holes a day, so no reason not to see every course there, including the Sheep Ranch and Bandon Preserve.

This is from the best site on the interwebs for golf course architecture. http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/i...c,52677.0.html

Well, first off, Bandon Trails never ever sees the ocean. I think quite a few of BT's greens are too difficult to read, as well as hold the ball on (although that could have had more to do with the fact that it was the newest course when I was there in '07, and it might be better now), even for the most experienced caddies there, and I think there are better courses in other places that have the same vibe, such as Torrey Pines. I really think you go to Bandon for Bandon/links/ground game style of golf, and you just can't play that at BT, which is a main reason I'd assume that many more players that don't get to play Bandon style golf end up enjoying BT more. You have to step out of your comfort zone to play the ocean side courses, and a lot of people don't like that.

Pacific Dunes is the the most awe-inspiring. You just get some views on that course that are totally unique, but two of the par 4's are extremely similar, you have 2 par threes in a row, which is odd, and one green which I can't remember what hole it's on is pretty unfair (It's elevated about 20 yards, is dome shape ish, and it's incredibly hard to hold. Lots of doubles on that hole.

Bandon Dunes on the other hand is literally the most fair course of them all. when it's not windy you can hit your normal shots, when it is windy, there is a total ground game strategy to the course. My favorite round of all time there was when I caddied for one of the original old timers there that carried two putters in his bag. One for the greens, and one beat up one for shots 150-130 in. The guy shot under his age all the time. He REALLY shined on Pacific Dunes because their mounding is more severe, and he could hit more impressive shots, but they are mostly shots that wouldn't enter any sane person's mind. So I'd personally would truly argue that it's the "fans of golf architecture's" golf game
that can't appreciate the layout.

Whenever caddying for someone at BD or PD, I would go out to the putting green 30 mins early and try to find them, have them grab their putter, or 4 iron, or 8 iron at worst, and have them hit some shots from just off the green. You CAN NOT hit a 60 degree wedge on those tight lies, but again, on BT, the soil is softer and you kinda can if you're good with a wedge. The most enjoyable way to play PD and BD, however, is to play them as they were designed to be played. For example, this hole, the 5th at Bandon Dunes...

There is waste area to the left that will ricochet your ball into the ocean, and if you try to hit it down the pipe, there's kind of a waste area bunker right in your way, and you sure as Christ better carry it, but it's usually into a dead stiff wind, so good luck with that. BUT, if you play it way right with a draw, there is a huge fairway, and the hills will help carry your ball back towards that chute you see. My best drive on this hole was when there was a 40 mph wind, and I hit a 4 foot high snap hook that I was trying to play along the right side of the fairway, and it ended up 140 yds out, looking right up that chute. NOW, for the second shot, you can try to hit an iron up in the air, but YOU WILL LOSE it in a stiff wind, almost no matter what. It's flat coming over that green and the wind howls, but if you keep a ball very low in the shoot (You can hit a chip shot with a 3 iron, you can crush a putter with a half swing, you can hood the f out of a 6 iron, whatever) the ball is protected from the wind, and the slopes on each side of the fairway make sure your ball ends up on the green. There are lots of shots like these on the two coastal courses, and probably old mc, too, but they were only plotting that course out when I was there.

So the trick is to play these courses that way. A lot of people go there and try to hit towering 9 irons, 60 degree wedges, and stuff like that, but that's not the way to enjoy those courses to the fullest. People that can't adjust really like Bandon Trails. People that can play the golf ball many different ways tend to enjoy the wind and course management challenges that PD and Bandon offer.

[DasBlunt]

I am interested in why you recommend skipping Bandon Trails, a lot of the people who are into golf architecture rank Bandon Trails above Bandon Dunes? And a lot of them put Bandon Dunes at the bottom of the list, it seems they don't think David McKlay Kidd was practiced enough to get the most out of the property. Most have Pacific Dunes or Old MacDonald interchangeably as one and two with Bandon Trails three and then Bandon Dunes in last place. And if you are at the resort you should be playing at least 36 holes a day, so no reason not to see every course there, including the Sheep Ranch and Bandon Preserve.

This is from the best site on the interwebs for golf course architecture. http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/i...c,52677.0.html

From what I heard Tom Doak's designs are awesome there. I would not skip them for a million bucks regardless of anyone's opinions.

[guroo270]

Sorry, I feel compelled to do this. I'm enjoying a Pliny the Elder and getting nostalgic.
Bandon
Hole 1 is a wonderful starting hole, 4 iron, 5 wood, or maybe a 3 off the tee, to a semi difficult 140ish yard shot over some bunkers to an accessible green. Just don't be short.

Hole two is HARD par 3. Hybrid or 3/4 iron, you just have to hit it solid.

Hole 3 is a great par 5, reachable, you just have to aim as far left as you can. Don't even f with that bunk on the right, it's a bad angle to the green anyhow. The drive is very exposed to wind which can make this difficult.

The 4th hole is my favorite of all holes there. It's a first shot hole, and you don't need more than a 5 wood, but you can really try to get close if you want, but it's not necessary. This is the best ground game second shot out there. It's downhill til the green, and if you putt or chip it along the ground up the right side there are mounds that will put your ball right on the green avoiding all danger. Here's an okay picture of the second shot. It's more downhill than it looks.

7th hole is a blind tee shot that's wide open, then to an severely elevated green with a great backstop. You'll need to hit your wedge on the right tier though, otherwise you might be looking at a putt that breaks over 20 feet.

The 8th hole is one of the most fun par fours with an elevated tee, and you can see numerous pot bunkers that really make you pick a yardage and a line. Then the green is kinda fun because there's a big bunker and a large mound in front of it. All you have to do is land it just on or over that hill depending on the stick. It's a little too easy when the flag is front right though, as is pictured here, but that's not the angle you're hitting to the pin from. You'd be in those bunks if you went that way. Playing left and hitting it over that hill is ideal.


9th hole is a stretch your legs par 5 that's usually down hill, and if you can put your drive on the right line, down wind, you could be hitting 5 iron into the green. Push it right and you'll be struggling to make a par. It's okay to aim the ball at the tiny bunker right in the landing area and hope you don't hit it. It's way better than right. Again, if you miss this green, you can putt from all over, and you should.

10 is tough for a shortie, as shorties should be. You can only see the top of the pin if you go right, so you still want to put it out there with a driver or 3 wood so you are going at the green dead from left so you can see the pin. Very risk reward. You can get really close going right, but you won't be able to see the pin at all.

11 is a bitch, and can cost you some tips as a caddie. You want to be left of these bunkers to have a straight easy shot into the pin at all, even if you're in the rough, but not the gorse. If you are right of them, you have to hit a fade left of the green, hope the wind takes it, and then land soft once the ball is basically going down wind. Good luck with that.

12th hole... tough par 3 to hit the green. If the pin isn't to the right, hit it left of the bunker and try to two putt from off the green. Tough to hold if you hit it over the bunker. This pic is taken way off course, you are looking right at that bunker as if it's in front of the middle of the green.

13 is a slightly tough, very, VERY moundy par 5. Hit it hard and hope you get one of the bounces that gives you an extra 80 yards so you can reach in two, avoid the hazard left. This hole just really test your ability to handle an uneven lie, but there's a fair landing area that's a wedge away.

14 is played similarly to 10, but with a more interesting green, where if you go too deep and left, you'll have a putt where you can ONLY try to leave your next one makable from below the hole. It will break 30 ft right if you really want to. Keeping the ball below the hole is ideal, but if you are huge off the tee you can put it in a green side bunker and do so with ease. But like 10, if you hit it long and left, you can keep your second ball low and guarantee yourself an uphill putt.

#15 is a tough par 3 again. No two ways around that. It's on the coast and you just want to hit the front left of the green, or even short left of it, because long and left is dead, and right leaves you a bunker shot where you can barely see the flag it's so uphill. Usually a 6 iron or so with the wind.

#16 is the epitome of risk reward. If the wind is very favorable, you can go for the green, but I still wouldn't. You'd have a hard time finding the ball if you cleared the shit anyhow, even with a caddie. Go too far right and your off in the ocean. Hit it the wrong yardage and or direction off the tee you're looking at the toughest lie of the day. Hit a pure 3/5 wood up there on the left shelf and you could putt from there onto this green too from 100 yards out with ease.

#17 is great, especially if you've got a great round going. You want to hit it as close to the right side as you can, but the ball rolls out, so you can use a more accurate shorter club, but it's also okay to go left if you can avoid the really random pot bunkers. Very risk reward. Right before the hazard is best, but CHANCES are that you will miss the shit, even if you're left, but you don't want to be in the bunkers at all, so test that right side. Then it's just a wedge, and you get a look at one of the prettier gorges on the course.


#18 is a great finishing hole, and if you put two good shots together you can be looking at eagle on this par 5. It's best to hit it left over some traps for the best angle for your ball to roll up the green, because it will roll up the green if you hit the right angle. Don't lose it right ever here. It looks okay, but it's not, and then a big bunker will be in your way of getting there in two.


I realize no one will probably read all that. That's fine. I enjoyed my round.

[guroo270]

From what I heard Tom Doak's designs are awesome there. I would not skip them for a million bucks regardless of anyone's opinions.

They are all awesome, don't get me wrong. I just would rather play courses other than Bandon Trails. If had ten rounds there, I personally would play it once, maybe. Of course, I would play them all once first, then make your own decisions/change your plans accordingly. They are usually pretty accommodating to that, but if I went there, that is just what I would do.

[Tye 1on]

Bandon is one of two golf destinations that I WILL play some day. For two weeks, every day, drinking in the local pubs every night. The other being Portrush, Northern Ireland.

[guroo270]

#1 is an okay short par 4. Easy with a very uphill wedge that can come all the way back down if you aren't careful. Lots of people swing too easy on the first tee and hook it left and never find it.

#2 is an okay par 3. Downhill, huge green. Meh. Hit it left, and it rolls off left, hit it right and you're in the shit. Hit it right of the hole and you're above the pin. It really is better to hit a solid 7 iron 20 yards short of the green and putt up than blast a 4 or 5 iron somewhere you won't find it, or have it ricochet off the green into the unknown.


#3 is a great par 5 with a tough green to hit it close to the pin, with any club, so go for it in two and hope. one of the best looking holes from the tee, but you are hitting it over a road that cars use to access the course, kinda ruins it. The pic does not show the road. Wonder why.


#4 is an okay par 4 where you have to hit a certain groove in the fairway to have any shot at the green. Again, not clear unless you've played numerous times before, with absolute death left, and a little death to the right. Best place to find pro v1's though.


#5 is a fun, short par three with a really gimicky green. Stupid hole really. Huge ridges in the green, and only fun with one particular pin placement, nearly impossible with others.

#6 is a meh par 4. If you go for the good line, you have to clear a huge death bunker, and hope it doesn't go into the pot bunker in the middle of the fairway which everything channels towards. The penalty really should be somewhere else. A really tough green to hit too. Middle or die.


#7, good long par 4, 440 uphill, another one of the more aesthetic holes from the tee. One that Crenshaw extended a huge bunker on the right on. Just aim at the bunker on the left and don't mess with the one on the right. You ain't gonna hit an uphill 4 or 3 iron to this green. AIM LEFT!


#8 is a stupid short par 4 that every balata playing blow hard goes for, but loses their ball to the left, or has a 50 yard bunker shot. Take out a 7 iron, then hit a wedge.


#9 is one of the best holes on the course. It's a par 5 with a deadly, massively uphill bunker right where you want to hit it, and it's 30 yards above your head from the tee, so tee it high and let it fly. If you clear it, you're golden, if you don't, your dead. You can hit way right of it and play a three shot hole. Hell, it's kindofa 3 shot hole anyhow, but it's a lot tougher, blinder, hillier if you go right. There's another death bunker in the lay up zone though, so this is really a par 5 that wants you to hit a 6 iron in. And if you don't hit a high draw over that bunker, on the right line, there's a massive ridge that will take you where a 5 wood to the right would have been anyways. This picture is taken way far up and to the right. The mens tees are looking right over the second bunker on the left.


#10 I don't remember. Looks like a pretty standard par 4.

#11 is a great hole, where if you hit it right your dead, but if you hit the fairway you're golden. The only really receptive green on the course with a lake on the right. Plenty of room left though. Here's a pic from the second shot. Notice how easy it is for your ball to drift into that right bunker. Your ball can bounce and roll 80 yards right with a fade, and there's no stopping it.


#12 is a one of the hardest holes. A 240+ yard par 3 that's uphill, with death left, and a huge mound on the right side of the green. Most people should play it as a par 4, because most people try to overswing here and make a 9. Everything slants right pretty hard so you have to take it over the trouble.


#13 is a fun par 4 where if you hit it right where you want, but a little too long, you'll never find your ball. That's always fun.

#14 is the dumbest hole of all the holes out there. Just as many 9's here as on the par 3 I just mentioned. An easy iron to the bottom of a hill, then about 60 yds uphill to the tiniest of greens with a bunker short, and death long. The green is long an narrow and drifts from left to right. Honestly, the only way to have fun on this hole is to take a driver to that tiny flat left portion of the green and hope it goes on. This pic is taken from the tee box and zoomed in massively. It's still a huge drive and a major risk. There's forest to the left that is death, and going long right just makes it way more uphill.

[guroo270]

#15 is a great par 4 that's tough to drive and tough to hit the green. You want to get as close to this huge bunker as you can without going in. A draw facilitates that. Then it's straight up to the green and you better not be right of the pin, or long. You will not make a par. The bunker right of the green is death, too. SHORT AND LEFT OF THE PIN, SHORT AND LEFT OF THE PIN. Good hole.


#16 is a dumb, dead uphill par 5 with a very tough green to hit on your second or third shot. If you do hit it, there's a good chance it rolls off. Lots of holes here where you really are playing damage control most of the time, not much risk reward.


#17 is a fun, dangerous but surprisingly accepting par 3. Just go right at the pin and hope you don't end up in that bunker short right.


#18 sucks. It's a wind exposed, looong par 4 that you hit your drive dead into a hill that can make or break your drive. Death left, death right, the hill sucks. This pic is taken from a very elevated position, maybe even a chopper. In the foreground is the hill, and you can't see ANYTHING else that's in this picture. You just have to hope those mounds don't kick you left into the trap to a dead uphill green, or kick you right into the right bunker, which is better than the left one. Really just not much give on this hole at all, a lot like the rest of them.