Official Golf Thread - Page 97

When I was a Player, I would devote whole sessions to knockdowns with each wedge and got a feel for 50%, 75%, 90% yardages.

Yeah, I still hit the ol' 1-iron sometimes myself.

I never, ever got the hang of swinging slower. I did start gripping down and taking a shorter backswing when I needed a few less yards.

+1

Also, lol on the 1 iron comment

They say if you get caught out in a lightning storm you should hold up your one iron, because even God can't hit a one iron.

I want to get a handicap so I joined a club yesterday. Mainly wanted the handicap so I can play some of the good courses back home like Royal Melbourne etc. It only cost 22,000 yen but it doesn't work like memberships back home, you still have to pay green fees but you get a discount. My friend and I were worked out how many times we'd need to play for it to be a good deal and it seemed borderline and getting a handicap was the only real incentive. Then after we payed up they gave us a coupon for one free round, 5,000 yen at the pro shop and 5,000 yen at the dining room and a nice bottle of wine. Made it very good value.

Also the club is having their summer festival this week, one of the things for that is that all visitors get free entry to an off the stick competition for the day. There were over 150 players yesterday and I came 17th off the stick Would have killed it net if I had a handicap based on this seasons rounds.

They had a putting competition, 3 balls 60 feet, from on the fringe. I put all 3 of my balls within a foot and my playing partner sank 1 and lipped out 2.

Plus they had typical Japanese festival food, takoyaki, corn on the cob, yakisoba. It was a very fun day.

My partner and I usually play one hole on each nine for beers, one nearest the pin and one long drive. My partner had been driving well all day and had out driven me a few times so on the long drive hole I had the honour and I thought OK just put one down the middle and it'll put the pressure on him and he might duff it. The hole was a straight 360 yards to the pin down hill par 4, the green is not visible from the tee. I put mine straight down the middle. And predictably my partner hooked into the bushes. So when we get over the hill, my ball is nowhere to be seen. The guys in front are sitting in their cart and they start motioning to the bunker behind the green, apparently my ball landed on the front edge of the green and rolled to the back into a bunker. 380 yard drive, flew 350 F' yeah! Don't think I've hit it that far in 15 years.

What I meant is that I've been practicing hitting all my iron shots with a slower tempo, sacrificing a few yards on all my shots for the gain of consistency, if I need more distance I take an extra club. Actually I'm not really sacrificing distance because I hit the sweet spot more often. It seems to have paid off because my distance control was a problem but yesterday it was very good (by my standards).

I quickly got a reputation at the company I used to work for - they had a golf league and semi-annual tournaments. It only took two really good tee shots with a 1-iron - in the right company - and word spread quickly. In one case I banged one about 300 yards off an elevated tee box - outdrove my manager who was also on my team. A decent 5-wood got us home on the par-5 but we all missed the eagle putts.

That said, I also quickly earned the nick "tree-bone" among my regular partners, which should indicate the highs and ignominious lows of my then-avid golf game.

Everyone take a week off work and lets go to Bandon Dunes.

Want.

I might find myself in the Hilton Head area in a few weeks, sorely tempted to bring my golf clubs but I don't think anyone else who is going would join

Go out and play Harbor Town! I regretted not ponying up the green fee when I was out there.

Oh, I had a great Labor Day weekend up there about 20 years ago. Just me, took the clubs, it was a long weekend in the middle of a project, and I played four rounds in three days. iirc, Hilton Head National, Palmetto Dunes, Old South, and one other. Gaaah I can't believe I remember all this crap. Couldn't get into Harbor Town, though. Always got worked into a group, enjoyed each round.

Ugh, I've never flown with my sticks before, so now I have to get a travelling case. Any recommendations? Don't want to break the bank...

I used a cheap canvas travel case and it took care of them well enough. I play fairly inexpensive sticks though, and only the driver (at the time) had a graphite shaft.

I've flown with mine many times. What I do is cut a broomstick just longer than my driver, (actually last time I used a plastic coated metal garden stake) put it in the bag like a club, then put an upturned plastic waste paper basket or bucket over the top, zip up the hood and close with Saran wrap and masking tape. I also stuff socks, underwear, T-shirts etc between the shafts. Only ever had one problem, one time the hood got a bunch of tiny cuts in it that looked like they were made by some surface with regularly spaced pocky outy things.

I was going to get a Shaft Saver type device, but I think your idea sounds like it would actually be more sturdy and protecting.