All Things Golf

[splendica]

I enjoy this sport almost too much. I'm the delusional type that thinks if I ever won the lottery I might just take a year and try to make the web.com tour. Life is so cruel, hey?

- I'm about a 17 handicap

- Kind of a stickler when I play, in that, I don't cheat and will putt in anything outside of about 10 inches. I don't toe wedge and reshoot etc. as I see a lot of people do when I play with them. But either way, I don't care too much about what others do, I more care about what I'm doing and how I'm scoring.

- I used to not care to watch golf much, but over the last decade or so my enjoyment level in watching has increased so that I at least follow it most weekends and will keep a leaderboard window open on my phone checking scores etc.

- The thing about following the pros, though, is that like every sport for me (it seems) I feel like I need some connection to a player - like if he's from my home area, or has some other connecting point. I'm bad for that. But the thing with golf, is that most of the players are so bland and many seem like they pretty much grew up as uberprivileged rich kids, that it's hard to root for too many. My favorite players at the moment are: Adam Hadwin, Jason Dufner, Jim Furyk, and Jon Daly. I follow a bunch of others, but those are the ones at the top of my list.

- Jon Daly's My Life In and Out of the Rough is one of the best autobiographies ever. It's one of the most interesting reads you'll ever embark on, period.

- My best 9 holes was a par 36, my best 18 was an 87. Not a great score over 18, but I do keep honest scores so I give myself credit there. I've also had a stretch over like 6 holes where I was I think 2 under par, but, of course, those rounds never seem to keep going and after 9 I was back to 4 over or something frustrating.

- In keeping with that last point, I always tell people that the average golfer could shave off probably 4 or 5 strokes a round because we don't have a gallery telling us where our ball landed and we in many cases aren't privy of practice rounds with books in hand about how to play each hole - unless, of course, we're playing on our home course or something. That may all sound like an excuse, and I don't adjust my scores at all, I'm just saying that I've lost enough balls in first cut rough let alone misshot based on faulty understanding of a hole location etc., to know that pros benefit greatly from galleries who know where their ball went every time, and also the practice round where they can write notes about how to play each hole. It's just something I keep in mind if I'm being too hard on myself during a bad game.

- I've only had 2 eagles. Both par 5s and well-played holes, I didn't luck out too much. I've also had a hole in one on a par 3 but that was sheer fluke as it would have gone way past but it nailed the flag and dropped perfectly.

- I've only played one tournament. I played terribly. But the kicker was that the winner looked like Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons - I kid you not, no exageration. He was probably 5' 5" and 375 lbs with some strange almost Amish scraggly strip of beard and a hot-dog ingredient stained golf shirt. I did all I could not to be astonished when I met him, execting to see someone who looked like Jordan Spieth who shot under 70 per round. Anyway, one of the greatest stories of my golfing life lol.

SO . . . Comment on anything I wrote, or anything else! Golf talk it up!

 

[Drenalin]

I keep wanting to get into golf, but the last thing I need is another expensive hobby. I already blow every penny I make on hunting & fishing.

 

[splendica]

I keep wanting to get into golf, but the last thing I need is another expensive hobby. I already blow every penny I make on hunting & fishing.

You're probably better off doing the hunting and fishing - especially if you keep and eat the game. I'm getting to the point where I'm probably going to give up a lot of the recreational stuff in favor of things like hunting/fishing, developing real world skills . . . And this, in part, because I'm a bit paranoid about the future and want to be prepared.

That said, I'm not kidding when I say that if I won the lottery I would probably take a stab at 6 months or a year of super focused golf play to at least qualify for some big tourney or minor-pro tour. I'm athletic and competitive (in a healthy way) and think I could do just about anything given the opportunity.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

I chip like a champ
I hit off the tee like a chump

 

[Drenalin]

You're probably better off doing the hunting and fishing - especially if you keep and eat the game. I'm getting to the point where I'm probably going to give up a lot of the recreational stuff in favor of things like hunting/fishing, developing real world skills . . . And this, in part, because I'm a bit paranoid about the future and want to be prepared.

That said, I'm not kidding when I say that if I won the lottery I would probably take a stab at 6 months or a year of super focused golf play to at least qualify for some big tourney or minor-pro tour. I'm athletic and competitive (in a healthy way) and think I could do just about anything given the opportunity.

I'm just like you except with bass fishing instead. If I win the lottery, I'll fish bass tournaments all year. I'm already fishing them as much as I can. My goal is to make a living doing it. It's very expensive though. I just fished a tournament a couple weeks ago where the winner won $70,000 for the biggest bass. For now on that same tournament pays out $100,000. Talk about an adrenaline rush everytime you hook a fish.
http://www.midwestfishtournaments.com/bigbassbashhome.html

 

[splendica]

I chip like a champ
I hit off the tee like a chump

It's weird, because for the first ten years or so of adulthood golf (where I could do it semi-regularly because I could afford it), my short to mid-range game was excellent. Everything from like a 5 iron and higher. 170 yards and in I was just dialed in. But my driving was eratic at best during that period. Then, I totally figured out my drives but my mid-range and short game completely went into the toilet. It lasted this way for a long time - quite a few years even. I have to say, that my drives are really straight and quite long, like, with crazy consistency (probably have a 75% fairway shooting). Now, FINALLY, my short game is starting to come around again. It was a rough few years but it seems my whole game is rounding into form. The only down thing is that I've lost probably 30 yards in distance on my drive, and of course I want the overall scoring to drop closer to the scratch golf range. I'm still 10-15 strokes higher than I would like to be.

Cool to hear that you golf though.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

It's weird, because for the first ten years or so of adulthood golf (where I could do it semi-regularly because I could afford it), my short to mid-range game was excellent. Everything from like a 5 iron and higher. 170 yards and in I was just dialed in. But my driving was eratic at best during that period. Then, I totally figured out my drives but my mid-range and short game completely went into the toilet. It lasted this way for a long time - quite a few years even. I have to say, that my drives are really straight and quite long, like, with crazy consistency (probably have a 75% fairway shooting). Now, FINALLY, my short game is starting to come around again. It was a rough few years but it seems my whole game is rounding into form. The only down thing is that I've lost probably 30 yards in distance on my drive, and of course I want the overall scoring to drop closer to the scratch golf range. I'm still 10-15 strokes higher than I would like to be.

Cool to hear that you golf though.

My step dad was a golf scholar at university, you had to be a caddy to get it. He taught me the curse.

 

[splendica]

I'm just like you except with bass fishing instead. If I win the lottery, I'll fish bass tournaments all year. I'm already fishing them as much as I can. My goal is to make a living doing it. It's very expensive though. I just fished a tournament a couple weeks ago where the winner won $70,000 for the biggest bass. For now on that same tournament pays out $100,000. Talk about an adrenaline rush everytime you hook a fish.
http://www.midwestfishtournaments.com/bigbassbashhome.html

For some reason I've never gotten too excited with fishing, I don't know why that is. I've even done some open ocean sport fishing, catching some decent sized salmon, and I just still don't get too much out of it. I might get more of that buzz, though, if I were competing in derbies. I've known people who do that every year and enjoy it a lot.

Another thing, is I've never been properly taught to clean and fillet a fish. One of the best meals I've ever eaten was a stuffed raindbow trout and if I could prepare my own catch like that, it might sweeten the deal for me.

As far as hunting goes, I think I'd like to bow hunt wild turkeys/pheasants. That to me seems really challenging and would be a good survival skill. I have done a fair amount of work in the forests (and have hunted some) and there's nothing like nearly stepping on a pheasant when you're in bear country lol.

Finally, I hope for you that you could do fishing full time. It sounds like something you'd really be into without all the nonsense of day-to-day living lol.

 

[splendica]

My step dad was a golf scholar at university, you had to be a caddy to get it. He taught me the curse.

Wow, never heard of such a thing - a golf scholar lol. Sounds interesting!

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Wow, noever heard of such a thing - a golf scholar lol. Sounds interesting!

Just in the sense that he needed to be a caddy to receive the scholarship, not that he studied golf

He's seventy one and shot his age last year..

 

[splendica]

Just in the sense that he needed to be a caddy to receive the scholarship, not that he studied golf

He's seventy one and shot his age last year..

Oh okay . . . WOW! That's amazing!

Okay, that reminds me of a couple of other cool golf stories.

Part of the problem with golf is you need to have consistent golf buddies and sometimes it can be hit and miss. Like, I worked for quite a few years in a workplace where literally no one golfed. So I'd golf on my own or with some other friend outside of work when we could line up the time. SO, ultimately, I'd drop in with my membership - which is better to do during the week when less people are around. But I'd end up golfing with old men quite often that I didn't know. One of THE best short game golfers I ever played with was a guy - probably about your dad's age, early seventies. He had an oxygen bottle on the riding cart, riding with the tubes in his nose while driving it. He looked a bit like Winston Churchill. Anyway, we only played 9 holes together, but in 9 holes he chipped in 2 and the other 7, he put every shot onto the green within about 2 feet of the hole. It was ridiculous. I kept telling him it was like watching a PGA tour golfer from about 70 yards in. His drive was short and sometimes more of a punch shot than anything, but his short game was beyond sick.

Also, I golfed with another old guy who used to have a bowling alley. He was just fairly average, but not bad once I found out his age. By looking at him I thought during the round that he was early 70s as well. But then he told me near the end he was 87 and I could hardly believe it.

Funny too, because overall I find that old golfers have learned to take the smart shots. And generally, though they may not be long. They are basically on in 2 or 3 and then putting for par or bogey. Real consistent playing with what they have. It's a lesson to be learned for most youngsters without a doubt.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Oh okay . . . WOW! That's amazing!

Okay, that reminds me of a couple of other cool golf stories.

Part of the problem with golf is you need to have consistent golf buddies and sometimes it can be hit and miss. Like, I worked for quite a few years in a workplace where literally no one golfed. So I'd golf on my own or with some other friend outside of work when we could line up the time. SO, ultimately, I'd drop in with my membership - which is better to do during the week when less people are around. But I'd end up golfing with old men quite often that I didn't know. One of THE best short game golfers I ever played with was a guy - probably about your dad's age, early seventies. He had an oxygen bottle on the riding cart, riding with the tubes in his nose while driving it. He looked a bit like Winston Churchill. Anyway, we only played 9 holes together, but in 9 holes he chipped in 2 and the other 7, he put every shot onto the green within about 2 feet of the hole. It was ridiculous. I kept telling him it was like watching a PGA tour golfer from about 70 yards in. His drive was short and sometimes more of a punch shot than anything, but his short game was beyond sick.

Also, I golfed with another old guy who used to have a bowling alley. He was just fairly average, but not bad once I found out his age. By looking at him I thought during the round that he was early 70s as well. But then he told me near the end he was 87 and I could hardly believe it.

Funny too, because overall I find that old golfers have learned to take the smart shots. And generally, though they may not be long. They are basically on in 2 or 3 and then putting for par or bogey. Real consistent playing with what they have. It's a lesson to be learned for most youngsters without a doubt.

Heh.
Know what else?
He's down to one eye as of this year. But his scores suck now. I still owe him dinner for that feat last season.

I don't get to see him enough

 

[splendica]

A funny golf story . . .

I was golfing on a week-day, had joined a twosome as a third wheel. They were a man and wife and had a cart, and I had one that day too. It was one of those days where they were fine golfing with me but might have prefered being on their own. Anyway, I was following them on my power cart and for some reason, I was watching someone hit a golf shot on another fairway, not paying attention to my driving. Unbeknownst to me, the couple had stopped the car in the path for whatever reason. I plowed into the rear of their cart with mine at full speed. Even at like 10 miles an hour, I almost went over the steering wheel and I must have nearly given them whiplash. Oh man, the look of disgust and rage I got from the woman was almost hysterical hours later. I was SO embarassed. I felt like such an idiot. No one was injured, thankfully, but the rest of the round I felt like such a heel.

 

[splendica]

Heh.
Know what else?
He's down to one eye as of this year. But his scores suck now. I still owe him dinner for that feat last season.

I don't get to see him enough

That's crazy man - in a good way!

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

That's crazy man - in a good way!

The only thing that will get him to stop is losing the other eye.
He's addicted

 

[splendica]

The only thing that will get him to stop is losing the other eye.
He's addicted

Sounds like he'll live quite awhile yet with that attitude. It's great that he's into getting exercise still at that age.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Sounds like he'll live quite awhile yet with that attitude. It's great that he's into getting exercise still at that age.

It's one of those things that make younger guys crazy, that he can out drive all of them

 

[splendica]

It's one of those things that make younger guys crazy, that he can out drive all of them

Haha, that's the best!

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Haha, that's the best!

They get out there, and go.
He goes, and I watch reactions.
*double takes*
"Fucking- A!"

 

[splendica]

They get out there, and go.
He goes, and I watch reactions.
*double takes*
"Fucking- A!"

It's such a game of repetitive, trustworthy mechanics. Very mental too. I think this is why pretty much every year Fred Couples is still in contention at The Masters (I think it's the only PGA major he still plays every year). But others too, like Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie can still play at the PGA level even while on the Champions tour. It's crazy.

Like I say, if in the next 3 - 5 years I won the lottery (if I remember to buy tickets lol), I think I'd take a stab at trying to perfect my golf game for like 6 months and then try and compete a bit. If I had the resources and time it'd be fun to try and perfect the game for a short while. I wouldn't consider it a life pursuit, but for a short while anyway. Would be interesting.

But yeah, older people have learned to it's the mechanics that produce the results. I golfed with one guy who was nothing special athletically, and he was early 50s, but he was close to a scratch golfer. But his routine before every shot was meticulous and repetitive to a tee. And it worked. I'd see it with older ladies who had golfed for a long time too.