heh…that’ll cost you a stroke, mate.
I love golf. All I need to do is remember to bring at least one ball per hole ('cause I can’t find the little bastards!) and at least 2 tees per hole.
In an effort to shortcut a 75 yard elbow off one hole I once shot a ball halfway accross a lake, got about 3 good skips, and would have made the other bank if a duck hadn’t been in the way. Good times…
That’s a kinda interesting topic. I am one of the golfers who likes to play fast. Well, not running, but IMO a 4-some should be able to finish 18 holes in well under 4.5 hours - probably closer to 4. If you are playing at a 4-4.25 hour pace, you have no obligation to let anyone else play through (tho you may choose to do so under various circumstances.).
Bottomline - I like to be able to walk up to my ball, and play the shot without long pauses in between shots. Just seems to keep me more “in the game” for lack of a better word.
I also tend to play early in the mornings, when one of the benefits is that most of the folks out at that time play quickly. So it kinda jars when you get behind someone who is really slow.
Note that I never equated playing “well” with playing “quickly.” The thing that drives most golfers I know crazy is when folks treat it as a completely social activity. 4 players tee off, and none of them even puts his club in the bag until the 4th hits. Then they all head off together to the shortest ball, and 3 stand around chatting while that guy takes several practice swings, hits his shot, bags his club, and they all trundle off as a group to the next guy’s ball… There is a TON of time in a golf round to chat and be social, but you need to take advantage of those times that occur when they don’t inconvenience others.
Or like I said above, when one player is giving the other player lessons on the course.
Or if a golfer takes 5-10 practice swings before dubbing each and every shot.
Or if players don’t watch their balls, causing them to wander around looking for them.
Or they stand around on the green after putting out to write down their scores.
Or they don’t look where the next tee is, so they leave their bag/cart on the side of the green that makes it take the longest possible time to clear the green.
Or they spend more than 5 minutes looking for a lost ball.
Or a guy stands at his ball and refuses to hit his shot, because another player in his group who isn’t ready to hit is “away.”
Or folks circling and plumb-bobbing every putt.
Etc. ad infinitum.
It’s certainly not a race. But neither are you the only people on the course, and there are countless opportunities to show consideration for the folks who are sharing the course with you.
:smack:
Hey! I’m still waking up! Gotta recalibrate my sarcasmometer.
I only enjoy golfing when I don’t take any woods. If I stick to irons I know it’ll be staying on the fairway. And I rather drive off the tee with a 3-iron and not go as far down the fairway than use a wood and have a 4-out-of-5 chance it’s going out of bounds.
I actually had the most fun as a poor college student playing executive par-3 courses. They were cheap, I never lost any balls, never needed a tee time, and actually had a shot at making par.
A league I play in regularly has a “3-club” tournament. You can choose any 3 clubs, but no more. The crazy thing is that the vast majority of folks post scores within a stroke or 2 of their handicap!
This is my advice, take it or leave it. Don’t even bother with a driver. There’s about two dozen reasons why it makes no sense at all for a beginning golfer to bother with a driver: your average 45.5" shaft on a driver is difficult even for skilled players to control, the lesser loft makes it difficult to hit straight, there’s about a 95% chance that beginners will hit a driver roughly the same distance as their 5 iron, and so on. My suggestion would be to leave the driver and 3 wood at home, and practice a lot with a 5 wood, or even a 7 wood if you have it. 5s and 7s are so much easier to hit, either off the tee or the deck. The greater loft makes it easier to get off the ground and the higher backspin helps a bit in avoiding slices.
Once you can hit a 5 wood well, start working on your 3, and then your driver. And think about what clubs you hit consistently: if you have a 60% chance of hitting three 7 irons to get to a green, that’s better than a 20% chance of hitting a driver well, then a 35% chance of a 5 iron, then a 70% chance of a short wedge to get to the green.
As far as my bona fides go, I shoot in the low 80s and use my driver on maybe 3 to 5 holes per my average round.
I get tired - its a 500 yard par five and - if I hit the ball repeatedly well, its will take me four strokes to reach the green. However, I’m not likely to get four strokes with really nice contact - and I duff one, get frustrated, duff another, hit one well (I love this game) and am on the green at eight - usually playing with guys who hit the ball better and have to wait for me (and I’m not someone who likes people to wait on a golf course). So the stress of wanting to be speedy screws me up further. And after a few holes of this, I’m just dead tired. I’ll play nine with the guys and ride in the cart for another nine.
It isn’t erratic - I hit fairly straight (as long as those expensive Callaway woods are bag jewelry and not actually used - I play the whole game with irons), but its the topping the ball.
I’ve taken some lessons and have been meaning to take more - but last year I didn’t get out at all - I keep saying “next year when the kids are a little older.”
Good suggestion. Another alternative would be one of the hybrid/rescue clubs that are quite popular now. I use 2: a 24-degree that is an automatic 200 yards, and an 18-degree that I use primarily on long par 3s or short dogleg 4s. I no longer even carry a fairway wood. (But like an idiot I whale away with my driver every chance I get! :smack: ) The 24-degree hybrid is by far the easiest club to hit I have ever used.
IMO, most golfers - even those with handicaps in the low teens, would do better off carrying a limited number of clubs that they know they can hit well. Very few golfers can hit driver and fairway woods and long, middle and short irons and multiple wedges and putt equally well. At the very least, a beginner could do just fine with 5,7,9 iron, sand wedge, putter, and 1 driving club/wood/hybrid of their choice. If nothing else, it makes decision-making so much easier (and the bag lighter to carry!)
I play alone, never keep score. Really, its almost a form of meditation. And I tried the three club thing and liked it, so I’ll probably just start using 3 from now on.
Being on the green in eight is tough. Even tougher is being within 50 yards of the green in three and taking four or five more to get in. 
Well, you get out on a loop and it’s hard to not talk to the person whose bag you’re carrying. That and it’s much more fun to play golf than walk on a golf course.
If you stay attentive, you should be fine.
Spend enough time at the driving range. get some consistent yardage and a good idea of how far you hit each club. Don’t try to learn on the course
My brother is a pretty good golfer but recently due to lack of play his game was falling apart so he decided to have a few lessons. The former touring pro who he went to asked him what he wanted to achieve. My brother said he just wanted a nice grooved, repeatable swing and to be able to hit the ball where he wanted 80 - 90% of the time.
The teacher said it would be hard to achieve this but if he did he hoped he would enjoy his life on the PGA Tour. He said that if he could even hit the fairway 80 - 90% of the time he would be just about the best driver the game has ever seen. He explained that the game is so hard that even the pros aren’t as good as we spectators think. He says that all you ever see on TV are the guys that are in form this week, we don’t see the guys who are hitting every second shot into the trees but they are there every week. Just not always the same guys.
We looked up the PGA Tour stats and could see what he meant. Only Jim Furyk hits more than 75% of fairways, Tiger Woods hits only 53%. Only John Senden and Jeff Gove hit more than 70% of greens in regulation but even the worst putter on tour averages 31 putts per round, saving 5 shots to par.
He said that Jack Nicklaus used to say that he averaged 4 or 5 shots a round that went exactly where he intended.
So yeah it is hard.
Hell, golf was pretty damned easy for me this morning. 1 under for 7 holes, and 3 over on the other 2.
It’s really funny when golf is going well, because you don’t necessarily do anything spectacular. In fact, it can be downright boring. The only difference is you don’t screw up.
Crazy game.
Sometimes a string of pars is infuriating. You hit a good drive, a good iron, juuuuust missed a put, and tap in a par. That goes on for 4 straight holes. After the 4th, you wanna Woody Austin yourself with your putter.
You can love it one minute, and HATE it the next. I’m watching golf right now (well they just went on a weather delay) and I’m loving it right now. I think I’ll be trying to play tomorrow, at least get out to the range.
I’m going to try and play a lot this summer and hopefully improve my game a little. I need to get some new clubs though. My old Tommy Armor blades aren’t cutting it any more. I also need to get a few new shirts and some golf polos. I’ve grown out of all my golf clothes since I didn’t play much at college so a shopping spree at Lord and Taylor might be in the near future.
Yeah, I’d just cry my damned eyes out if I kept making par. 
I’ve always thought of gold as a game that’s hard to start but easy to master, where as enjoyable sports (football, in its many incarnations for example) is easy to start off with but hard to master.
But…but…but it’s like…all foreplay, and no penetration!
Dammit, it’s frustrating!
pout
Oh no, kind sir. People spend a lifetime with golf. It’s a cruel, cruel mistress.
It’s a great game.