Official Golf Thread

I played 18 while I was on vacation in Florida. I was really shocked at the difference between the course I played at home and the course I played in Florida. The course in Georgia had two water hazards on the entire course and one or two bunkers tops for holes. It also had a lot of topographical changes and tough greens that weren't flat. On the contrary, the Florida course was packed with bunkers and water hazards. However, it was dead flat, both down the fairways and on the greens.

My father in law, who plays constantly, told me that this is because course designers in Florida have to compensate for the lack of natural topography by adding in tons of hazards.

Incidentally, I shot five under par and had two or three 325+ yard drives. I thought it was pretty good, given this was only my second round, but I expect radical improvement in the future.

Seriously, though, I played pretty well. I played with my brother and a good friend. There were a couple of times where I was critical of myself, and my frustration was met with "dude, this is your second round ever. You're doing quite well." That made me feel pretty good - as long as I'm playing well for my experience level I'll be happy (at least for a while). I was making solid contact, especially from the tee, though this was compromised somewhat by the fact that the driver in the set of clubs I rented had a face about the size of a three wood. I also nailed a pretty sick downhill putt from the fringe of the green.

Overall, my game is coming along nicely. I'm seeing improvement with each outing, and I'm to the point where I can spot (and start to correct) issues in my swing.

Originally Posted by Stylish Pilot

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They don't cover my state...

Now you guys know where I live.

Which state? Your location says "Deep South," and it looks to me like the entire Deep South is covered.

****SWING MELTDOWN ALERT*****


That is all

^^ I had one of those days not too long ago. You've just gotta have a short memory, sort of like a quarterback who threw a pick.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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****SWING MELTDOWN ALERT*****


That is all

When this happens, take a few breaths, shorten your backswing, and swing easier through the ball. Long pitches with your 6- or 7-iron, get through the hole, get your confidence back, and take baby steps back up to full swings over the next few holes.

take a few days off. honestly. sounds like you've been doing hitting buckets or playing rounds at least 4-5 days a week. recharge the batteries for a few days and get back at it. you don't want to press the issue and try to fix the mistakes. it'll make things worse.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. This too, shall pass.

Originally Posted by MrG

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Which state? Your location says "Deep South," and it looks to me like the entire Deep South is covered.
Arkansas. When i pulled it up, it didn't have it covered. maybe in the last few days they added stuff??? edit: no they didn't still SOL.

^^ Ah, that explains it; you and I have different definitions of "Deep South." You're correct - Arkansas is not covered.

^^ It's a little too deep for my liking. (here come the jokes)

Originally Posted by bdeuce22

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take a few days off. honestly. sounds like you've been doing hitting buckets or playing rounds at least 4-5 days a week. recharge the batteries for a few days and get back at it. you don't want to press the issue and try to fix the mistakes. it'll make things worse.


Agreed. You will be surprised at what can happen if you take a week off.

Didn't know where to ask this...

I've caught some of the tournament this week and they keep referring to it as "The Open". I always know of it as "The British Open", is that something new or have the announcers always used that reference?

Originally Posted by fir3fox

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Didn't know where to ask this...

I've caught some of the tournament this week and they keep referring to it as "The Open". I always know of it as "The British Open", is that something new or have the announcers always used that reference?

I think that's a British thing. They seem to think they invented the game or something.

^^ Iknorite? Stupid Brits.

Seriously though, as far as I know "British Open" is a uniquely American term, while everyone else has always called it "The Open."

That said, it does seem to me that more American outlets are calling it "The Open" this year, but I just assumed it had something to do with the fact that I'm paying attention for the first time. Before I played golf I would have only heard about it through a handful of sources. However, now that I play I'm paying a lot more attention to the coverage, and thus hearing terms I wouldn't have heard in the past, including Americans using the non-American title.

Originally Posted by fir3fox

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Didn't know where to ask this...

I've caught some of the tournament this week and they keep referring to it as "The Open". I always know of it as "The British Open", is that something new or have the announcers always used that reference?

The actual name of the event is "The Open Championship." When it began in the 1860's (or before) there were no other Open Championships from which it needed to distinguish itself. Most of the world still refers to it as "The Open".

For many years, American Pro's didn't really play in it, because before air travel was so common it would require taking over a month off of the US tour to make the trip over and back. It wasn't really worth it. When they did start going over, they already had an "Open" so the Americans referred to it as "The British Open" to distinguish it from the US Open or the Canadian Open or whatever.

In Britain it's just call "The Open".

Shame it's not the Scottish Open.

Eff'ing Brits.