Sad news on that tree

Deer Lakes not to bad, certainly not C.C. but at one point in it's life it was pretty good for a public course. These days they are operating on a shoe string budget. Of course standing there in Hawaii I would imagine most courses on the mainland seems like goat ranches.

And ice storm can devastate a golf course. Losing such a piece of history makes it even worse though.

Just got an email from StubHub.

My extra pair of Wednesday Practice Round tickets for The Masters just sold. Cleared over $1400.

Nice ROI.

I'm still looking for that new putter :D

Looks like I have to get my boy a new set of clubs, since he's outgrown his Callaways. Can you guys recommend a good set? He's kind of throttled back his love for golf, unfortunately.

If he's playing with a full set of men's clubs it's impossible to truly outgrow them. Just put new shafts in them if the clubhead works well.

Regarding recommendations: that depends entirely upon relative skill level: both how straight and how far he hits the ball, and his age and size.

He isn't. He's had a set of Callaway Juniors for a few years.

He's about 5'3" and 12 years old. He hits very straight (****er) and can get about 220 with his driver.

Take him in for a dynamic fitting. Otherwise, it's just guesswork. Avoid player's irons for now like Mizuno or Titleist, and ask around for good fitters in your area that have outdoor ranges so they aren't trying to fit him based solely upon Trackman numbers or a net.

Great, I'll do that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Received an email today from Alvamar. Apparently there's a new deal called "The Club", and for 35 bucks a month, you get access to Alvamar, Winterstone, Eagle's Landing, Tiffany Greens, Dub's Dread and Deer Creek. Pay $20 every time you play, and that covers your cart.

I emailed them to see if that extends to immediate family. Both my daughters lettered in golf last fall, and this would be a hell of a solution after dropping my Lawrence Country Club membership.

LINK

Jesus Christ. I'd kill to get a deal like that.

Around here, public courses think they're giving you a "deal" by asking you to pay $2600 upfront for an annual membership with restrictions - can't play before 11:00 on weekends.

$2600 to play the same course over and over all year, I think I'll pass...

Been around for a couple of years now. I'm considering it this year.

Wish Prairie Highlands was still part of that.

I was going to do it, but when PH dropped out, decided against it.

Instead I think I'm going to join Alvamar. $150/month, 2 courses. Doesn't include carts, obviously, but I walk most of the time anyways.

Also just ordered a set of the Ping S55's

I'm a forged guy, but I hit these last weekend - and IMHO, these are the best feeling cast clubs out there. When you nut one, it feels like a forged head.

Buck and a half isn't bad. I need to cart, so the Club deal is a decent thing for me. Alvamar is less than a mile from my house (I'm down by Southwest Middle School).

I am going to miss Lawrence Country Club. Hopefully, after my wife goes to Full Professor we'll re-up. Big thing for me was letting the kids go to the pool there. Last thing I want is my two teenage daughters going toa city pool.

two greatest up and downs I have ever seen were just played by victor dubuisson during the match play vs jason day

wow

out of the cactus and out from under a tumbleweed

back to back I believe

amazing

Sr PGA tour event coming to Branson sponsored by Bass Pro.

Yeah, it's hard to comprehend how either skilled or lucky or both he was on those two shots. Flat out AMAZING.

Shame the dude couldn't come all the way back, I was rooting for him.

Days gonna bust out soon, maybe win a major this year, IMO.

My wife and kids have been hounding me for YEARS to quit smoking. So, this year I told them, if I quit, I get to use ALL the money I save on golf.

:D

They agreed, so today is my first day on the electronic cigarette.

I should have thought of this YEARS ago. I am a golf NUT.

Not sure if people here have noticed, but we have a native Missourian get his first PGA card this year, and was tied for 7th a couple of weeks ago going into the final round. Brice Garnett is from Gallatin (where I lived for about 10 years) and played college golf at Missouri Western. It just proves anyone can make it big, even those from a town of less then 3,000 and learning on a 9 hole golf course

Looks like Rory may win for the 1st time in a while today at the Honda. Nice to see Jhonny Vegas back in form as well.

Should be an interesting afternoon of golf.

Geezuss. Paul Creamer can help me with my putts anytime. Check this. 75 footer, second playoff hole at the HSBC Championships. Check the break at the end of this.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Stdvw5nsE0w" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Indeed. What a putt that was, and to win the tournament no less.

She can help me straighten out my Longefellow anytime too. :D

Good watch at doral today

Dustin Johnson cracks me up. Love it when he starts shanking balls

Dude can hit it a mile, but his swing type just makes it so hard for him to have any consistency in controlling distances

It's that bowed wrist. Unless he starts hitting wedges with his body, he'll never be consistent.

It's why he hits it a mile, which he's all about, so he will never fix it. He plays with a shut face and de lofts it it's just tough to repeat under pressure

He can get away with it if he uses his body more for his wedge shots. A lot of good players played with a shut face--Paul Azinger is a notable one.

Sure can. I'd like to see him get less handsy with his short irons, but he'd lose some distance and god forbid he's not hitting 200 yard 9 irons.

There's just so much that has to go right to get the club face back to square at impact for him I dunno if he can do it under intense pressure.

Adam Scott vs Keegan Bradley This is a compelling final pairing that bares watching. Bradley's 3 back starting the round but the way these guys play the gap could close in a hurry.

Neither won of those pukes won.

So how long are the forged heads of my MP-14s good for? I got'em new back in the 90s so there over 15 years old. A forged head never gets soft or weak? I was thinking about retooling and in my research the MP-14 is one of the most popular blades ever.

So Mr. Hamas(or anyone else), in your opinion what's the best blade on the market in 2014? To me they're all so similar that I'm beginning to think there's no real difference. I have a good connection on a Mizuno dealer so I was leaning back that way and thinking I could a decent deal on some MP-4s. So?

A forged head will never last as long as a cast one, but a lot of it depends on soil type. Someone like me, who plays on courses made of clay, can use the same irons for years and years. If you play in a sandier soil it will wear down the face and grooves faster.

Browning and bag chatter is going to happen with blades. The true measure of wear is if the face is starting to look concave. If that's happening, or if you can notice a discernible lack of depth in the grooves, it's probably time to get a new pair.

If you have a hookup with Mizuno, just stay with them. They make the softest blades this side of Miura. If you want to drop a lot of extra coin, you can look for Miuras or Miura forgings of Mizunos (which is basically what every iron Tiger has ever played actually is).

It also depends on the amount of playability you want. Ninety-nine plus percent of golfers are better with some type of cavity, even a modified cavity.

The MP4s look beautiful, but are probably a slunt when you mishit them. The 64s can probably give you 90% of the playability and more forgiveness.

I haven't even had the time to play a round, but I've made a concerted effort to stand closer to the ball this year. I also noticed that I don't supinate my right arm very much, which gets me far above plane with a shut face. If I make a conscious move to supinate that arm on the takeaway I'm much more on plane and hitting the ball far more crisply.

A slunt?

So if my MP-14s are still in good condition I'm probably not going to find a better blade. I should probably get a new set of irons so I don't wear out my 14s. :hmmm: Thanks for your input, Hamas.

This is easily the best quick fix for golfers everywhere. I play 1/week and even I find myself drifting too far back from the ball at address. Your posture needs to be such that your arms hang straight down, not reaching for the ball.

Supinate. Never liked that word when talking golf. That's a pretty scary thought to force yourself to supinate. I've never seen you swing but maybe your working to hard to take the club away in one piece? Make sure your club head goes back first.

Maybe this what I need to concentrate on also. I'm a real duffer. For instance this year in 5 rounds I've shot 96, 86, 83, 96, 95.

In all the rounds over 90 I feel like I was reaching and tried to correct it but was unable to do so.

Also, I seem to be snap hooking my irons and even wedges. What causes this? Ball too far forward?

Stand up. Turn your right forearm so that the palm of your hand faces forward. That's supination.

The terms always confounded me before I took an anatomy class.

And a slunt is a combination of a slut and a ****.

Swinging too fast. Your hands are making contact before the rest of your body turns.

It's pretty hard to really snap hook a wedge. You're probably pull-hooking them, which is different. There are four basic ways you can strike a ball

The clubhead's path influences initial direction: Outside in will start left; inside out will start right. The face angle determines the movement of the ball: A shut face will draw the ball, and an open face will cut it.

A combination of these factors influences ball flight.

Inside path with an open face=push slice.
Outside path with an open face=pull slice (by far the most common ball flight).
Outside path with a shut face=pull hook
Inside path with a shut face=push hook.

The degree to which you rotate your forearms will influence the amount of sidespin on the ball. If you snap your right arm fiercely over your left, you get a lot more hook spin. If you hold the angle off, it will cut.

If you are really snap hooking what is happening is you are coming from the inside and rolling your arms over (shaking hands with the target) really fast.

Best fix for that is to feel like you are hitting shots with your legs. It will sync your upper and lower halves.

Supination should be a natural thing. Slunt? I guess I really knew that.

I'm going to be up in Osage Beach (Tan Tara Resort) the weekend of April 5th. Does anyone know what golf course I have to play or just some recommendations. Assuming the weather is ok that is.

Standing to far from the ball and reaching can cause a lot of bad things. Setup and ball position means everything when hitting the golf ball. That's why a good setup routine is so important.

I'd call to make sure the courses up there either haven't already aerated the greens, or aren't about to.

Played Old Kinderhook yesterday and the greens were a ****ing joke.

If you want a recommendation, I think Osage National is the best public track up there.

Thanks for the tip, but I'm not going up there just for the golf. I have to go for work, but was planning on playing a round on Saturday in my free time.

It should be, but video of my plane and face angle showed that I was definitely not doing it.

I definitely just picked up the R11s Taylormade driver, I know I'm a generation or two behind in driver tech but I absolutely crush that thing (straight with a slight fade). I have it set to neutral and 9.5 degree. Can't wait to try it out here in SA or in Houston next week.

Anyone else use Taylormade sticks?

Nothing wrong with old "technology".

Hell, I carry an original Callaway Razr Fit driver - I've tried to knock it out of the bag by trying the X Hot Pro, Razr Fit Extreme, Ping G25, SLDR and Exotics XCG 6 - I get the best results from the old RF.

Yeah, I was using a Callaway IQ-Z I think it was called, 9.5 degree, until the shaft broke and it would cost more to reshaft it with a quality shaft than to just get another club and the R-11s can be had on ebay for sub $100 so I pulled the trigger. 2 years from now I probably will have the SLDR. I just can't justify paying $400 for a driver, this aint the Biggest Big Bertha days.

That's both the upside and downside of TM sticks, IMO.

Downside: They cycle new sticks every 6 months, which devalues the piss out of them.

Upside: If you can resist the urge to buy brand new, you can get good equipment at a great price.

I went through two different Taylormade drivers last year. First I bought the RBZ 1st gen. Played maybe 10 rounds of golf with it, and then the head broke off the shaft right where the shaft enters the head. Then I got the RBZ Stage 2. My 2nd tee shot with it, the exact same thing. So I then went with the Cobra AMP Cell driver and absolutely love it.

I've had two Callaway drivers pretty much split in half parallel to the head, most probably due to the composite tech they put into them.

I buy a driver every 2-3 years and I am always 2-3 years behind on models. I play Callaway and bought one on closeout last year for $119. It was $349 new. I don't have any idea why average golfers can't wait 2 years and clean house.


I also have tons of awesome golf clothing that I buy on closeouts, $19 each for great shirts and pants. I look at the tags and wonder: "$75 for a new Nike shirt? $85 for a pair of nice slacks? Who the hell is buying this stuff at retail??" Not me. $19.

Yeah golf equipment is crazy expensive if you want to stay up with technology. I've never been that guy who gets a new driver every year or even more. Hence the 15+ year old Mizuno's. I'm trying to change my old fashioned ways though. I had a Super Stroke grip put on a putter the other day. That's a little change:)

Every few years I will purchase a Golf Instruction DVD though. I just bought Butch Harmon's 'About Golf' and I also picked up the Joey D Golf Fitness work out DVD. I'm liking the Joey D video and some of the drills/exercises. Working on my turn, trying to add some width to my swing and some strength for balance.

The Butch Harmon video is O.k. with good fundamentals and then he has some of his pupils he's teaching. Pros as well as some Ams.

Fun stuff!

Phil's short game video is outstanding. Essentially he says to keep your wrists locked ("hinge and hold") as you chip or pitch, since doing so prevents the head from coming up and skulling the ball. This simple advice has made shots around the green almost fool proof.

It's difficult to actually do that on really short shots. If you notice Phil's own technique, he doesn't actually use H&H that often.

The carbon fiber crown is epoxied to the titanium face right at that junction. Hundreds of people have had that problem. It's one of the reasons why I would never reshaft a stick and glue FT-9 or Razr head.

Regarding equipment: my irons are 24 years old. The problem is that Ping doesn't and won't make them anymore, so they become harder and harder to find in good condition. The one benefit is that cast Pings are almost indestructible.

I've only ever bought one club at new retail price: a Ping G2 Driver. I had it in my bag for almost five years.

The difference between drivers of the last 7-8 years is pretty miniscule. Most of the benefit will come from properly matching a shaft and finding the right loft for ideal launch conditions.

This may sound kind of crazy, but bear with me. I play left handed. Picked up the game a decade ago. Had always played with a baseball grip, not the interlocked grip.
Two seasons ago, at the behest of my wife's grandfather (a great guy and lifetime golf pro), I went with the interlocking grip. I knew it would be difficult and it resulted in some of the worst shots I've ever hit. I knew there would be a rough patch but after two full seasons I was worse than ever. Ex: I normally hit my 7i a very high and steady 150yds. After two years of interlocking it dropped to 135.

This season, I went back to the baseball grip and have concentrated on hitting down, rather than the usual "picking" of the ball. I'm now hitting my 7i back to 150 but get into these terrible pulls that I can't shake during the round.

It hasn't been warm enough to go to the range yet to get some instruction, but that's on my list of things to do.

Anyway, that's my story. I appreciate the suggestions and will keep them in mind. Any other suggestions would be welcome.

Every pull or slice is caused at connection in my experience. Your clubhead and your turn should be synced. I.e., if your arms come through before your body you will pull. If your arms come in after your body you will slice or fade. If you are pulling then slow down your swing and allow your arms to come thru the zone a bit later.

Yeah that carbon fiber crown just falls apart, literally. Looks like a really cheaply made club when it happens. Luckily the two I had I got for around $30 each on Ebay. I feel for the people that spend upwards of a couple hundred for these clubs. Ripoff.

Hitting down on the ball is essential to good iron play, absolutely essential and it is one of my biggest focuses as well. I use the vardon grip although I used interlock for a few years but it was too weak a grip for me. Never tried the ten finger grip. My model for my swing is Trevino and Trevino took gaping chasm massive divots so I know hitting down on the ball is crucial to good iron play.

And sorry the weather has been crap for you. It's getting near 80 here today and I am going to hit up the range after work!

Two things:

1) The baseball grip will tend to exacerbate a hook, because your dominant hand takes over the swing.

2) Attempts to hit down on the ball are well founded, but in my experience often lead to golfers trying to hit from the top, thus coming over the top. With a baseball grip and a steep downswing you're asking to hit pull hooks.

If you hit the ball with your body first, it is literally impossible to come over the top. You can, however, come too far from the inside and come in way under plane, leading to big push-cuts if you don't release the club.

From the dues/fees department. I went with "The Club", 35 bucks a month with access to some decent courses, including Alvamar, for an additional 20 bucks when I play. Found out that Alvamar is offering a junior golf special - from April 1 through the end August, for players 18 and under, unlimited golf on the public side for $100. TOTAL. Both my girls lettered last year, and my son will be able to play on Alvamar's junior team.

I'll always love Lawrence Country Club, but forking out $500 a month isn't prioritized. This is a hella solution right now.

Dammit.

This is the third time I've had the chance to see Tiger in person, and something gets in the way.

Had tickets to the WCG at Bellerive in 2001 - the event was cancelled due to 9/11.

Went to the BMW championship in 2008 - he missed due to injury.

Have tickets to the Masters next week, and he just had back surgery.

Suck it, Trebek.

I saw him at the PGA Championship 2000 at Valhalla on a Saturday. Literally just caught a glimpse of him as he was walking off the practice putting green and was headed for the first tee. There were so many people I said eff following him and went out to find other players. Watched Mickelson for a long time.

I'll be playing Bethpage State Park when the Masters kicks off.

Nice!

We have tickets for the Wednesday practice round/Par 3 Contest, then are driving to Pursell Farms in Alabama to get a few rounds in on Thursday/Friday.

Meh, watched him at Southern Hills in '01 and again at the Ryder Cup in '12.

He's not worth dealing with the mobs that obsess over him. If you really like golf, you can use this to your advantage because you can follow almost any other golfer very closely.

All this means is that Phil will have a huge following now, since 75% of the people that attend golf tournaments only want to watch Tiger, since he is their only understanding of golf. It's pathetic, since the common fan doesn't know jack shit about golf, other than what Tiger shot? Or how did Tiger play? With Tiger out, that 75% will just cling to the next most popular guy, ie, Phil

Edit - saw that you are only going to the Par 3/practice stuff, so I can see why it would have been cool to see Tiger in a more relaxed setting. I was thinking you weren't really missing anything out with Tiger being gone if you were going Thurs-Sun. Either way, you will have a damn good time on Wednesday.

I'm pretty terrible at golf (but I love it nonetheless) so I think we are just going to play the green course. I'd love to play the black just to say I have, but I don't want to blow $150.

The Dinah Shore Classic the LPGAs first major of the year. Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson tied at -10 going into the 4th round. Pretty compelling stuff.

Never really used a Laser Rangefinder before but I bought one today. A Callaway XHot made by Nikon. I don't know if it's a good one or not but it was on sale at Academy Sports. I probably still over paid at $200.00.

No idea if it was a deal either but sounds cheap enough for a laser rangefinder. Having one makes a hell of a difference when playing playing a course where the yardage is not marked well which is most public courses.

The Black course is considered in the top 10 public courses in the US. Golf Digest ranked it between Pinehurst #2 and TPC Sawgrass which means its pretty ****ing legit.

Seriously play the Black course even if you think your game unworthy and $150 is not that bad for an elite course.

Here is the latest Golf Digest ranking (which includes private courses) and review of the Black course. I don't see how someone could pass at the opportunity to play this.


42. (36) BETHPAGE STATE PARK (Black)
Farmingdale, N.Y. / Joseph H. Burbeck & A.W. Tillinghast (1936)
7,366 yards, Par 71 | Points: 63.1606
The Black was once a scruffy state park haunt that Golf Digest reluctantly ranked at No. 100 only because it was considered a very unpolished diamond in a very dismal rough. But following an extensive remodeling by Rees Jones, the Black has become a must-play cult classic as well as the site of two recent U.S. Opens and a Barclays event on the PGA Tour. Back during its original construction, A.W. Tillinghast wrote that it was Joe Burbeck's idea to make the Black Course, "the public Pine Valley," and Jones's renovations have recaptured that philosophy by re-establishing deep pits and large expanses of sand. Surprisingly, Jones didn't touch the greens, which (with the exception of the putting surface on the 15th) are some of the roundest and flattest in championship golf. Of course, that makes them perfect for today's swift green speeds.

Drive Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta. Those kids gotta be stoked.