MD/VA/DC Golfers - Ten Seconds or Less

[PAmatt83]

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not until Thursday. I really don't want to have to bail. How much notice do you need?

Travel time with alil leeway.. Late Thursday A.M?

[FAbb]

I can definitely let you know by then. That's a last minute standby for the ages. Thanks a ton. If I don't end up having to call you in, I'll owe you a beer when we finally meet. With you on deck, I'm not so sure eagle wouldn't prefer I bail :).

[David30]

I'm gonna kick you both right in the balls next time I see you, which will hopefully still be Thursday.

 

Good luck with either of those happening, sir. :rockon:

[David30]

So finally got on the grint and checked out some stats against some of the folks out here, including S your FAbbs. Really sad that I cannot hit more GIRs. And it really is more about GIR than S my Bs, isn't it?

[pquarta1]

What's happening?

[PAmatt83]

Lol no worries.. U got better recaps and some balls to kick on Thursday. So man up and give me some good reading material for Friday

[FAbb]

What's happening?

 

I'm kicking sully and eagle in the nuts the next time I see them, which will hopefully still be Thursday.

 

Then, I'm collecting some of the contagion in my house to spray in David30's face next time I see him, which will hopefully still be Thursday.

 

If I don't see either of them Thursday, PAMatt is gonna do me a solid, and fill my void. He's no pquarta1, but he'll do in a pinch.

[SullGolf]

If FAbb shows up, Im gonna need him to make some funny racist comments about Eagle to make up for the lack of PAMatt.

[FAbb]

If FAbb shows up, Im gonna need him to make some funny racist comments about Eagle to make up for the lack of PAMatt.

 

No problem. Kent will be there, so I can get all my material from him. He won't say any of it, but I'll pick it up using my ESP when he's thinking it.

[David30]

What's happening?

 

I'm kicking sully and eagle in the nuts the next time I see them, which will hopefully still be Thursday.

 

Then, I'm collecting some of the contagion in my house to spray in David30's face next time I see him, which will hopefully still be Thursday.

 

If I don't see either of them Thursday, PAMatt is gonna do me a solid, and fill my void. He's no pquarta1, but he'll do in a pinch.

 

You are way too late for that contagion. I'm already a carrier with both my kids sporting 100° fevers on Sunday and Monday. :censored2: Two more days of camp right out the window.

 

Hopefully you can make it. If not, we will see you next time around. Likely Queenstown. DC Tour member update, Grocholtoboggan just moved to Philly and might be into playing Queenstown. I'm trying to line up a few things and hopefully can make it in my new golf outfit I got for my birthday.

 

(Yes, that would be considered a birthday suit)

[2moreTerps]

Argyle correct, Manor not correct. Norbeck another private option.

 

I wouldn't join a place like Norbeck. It's too inferior to the public options.

[eagle1997]

You sending in PAMatt? Sheeeeiiiit FabbGap, that's ALL you had to say.

 

<hangs up phone>

[NNY Lefty]

Argyle correct, Manor not correct. Norbeck another private option.

 

I wouldn't join a place like Norbeck. It's too inferior to the public options.

 

Montgomery CC in Laytonsville is another private option. It's just next door to Blue Mash, and for a private option not that expensive and course is kept in great shape.

[gregh729]

Played PB Dye again yesterday afternoon. I had a tough time getting the speed of the greens. They were a little slow and shaggy, I guess from the rain over the weekend. 38/42, 80. 3 jacked both par 5s on the back. On in 2 on #12. 20 footer for eagle lipped out and I missed the 2 footer for birdie. I 3-jacked #17 from about 100 ft for a double. Ho hum front with 7 pars and 2 bogeys. I am standing on #17 tee 2 over on the back and proceed to hit the biggest block dead right into the high stuff. Reload and hit an heel/slap/fade into the trap. I am about 215 out and nail a hybrid to the front of the green. Unfortunately, the pin was all the way back. 3-putt through the roller coaster woopty woos on that green. No big deal. Hit 3 wood on #18 down the right side of the fairway and the ball bounces dead right and I am blocked by a tree about 155 out. I try to bend one a little and just blast straight into the tree and it drops in the junk. Finish double/double for an 80. Very disappointing.

I am just not finishing rounds. I have been sub 40 on the front in each of my last 7 rounds. I have been over 40 in all but 1 round on the back and have only broken 80 3 of those 7 rounds. Need to work on that.

Fun day, good golf, cold beer

[TheCityGame]

Yeah, play the free agent game for a while.

 

I joined hobbits because my time to play is so specific and limited that I pretty much need the convenience of it. Having a regular game there with city and PQ has been huge for me as well.

"regular".

 

I've played more rounds this year with Halcyan, JJ, Mike, Domes, Nelson, Alf, Mark Hamill AND MANY MORE. . .

 

 

 

Good luck at FINRA, Siegel. They do important work for many people. Investment industry thieves are the worst kind of thieves. My investment strategy is "buy and never sell" but I still know the cheats and crooks have probably gotten into my pile some way or another. I hate the investment "industry". I use that word loosely. It implies an industriousness that they have not earned.

[pquarta1]

I think Fabb means that having guys he can regularly get out with when he wants a game at a course near his home.

 

Don't hate gaping Fabb.

 

And Alf has a surprisingly deft touch around the greens.

[GooseHook]

Life update - accepted a job offer from FINRA in Rockville, starts on the 15th. So I'm probably going to move to the Rockville/Shady Grove metro area to make the commute easier (& get closer to golf courses). That being said, any input on which golf courses in the area are worth looking into for memberships? I know a bunch of guys are at Hobbits (though that's a bit out of the way), WM would be pretty close, and Needwood is like 5 minutes from the Shady Grove metro and has an unlimited range balls/50% off green fees for $60/month which is definitely the cheapest option. Any other courses I should look at that aren't going to break the bank?

 

You'll have Moco and Frederick access from Rockville, I'd say keep things open for a while.

[GooseHook]

Yeah, play the free agent game for a while.

 

I joined hobbits because my time to play is so specific and limited that I pretty much need the convenience of it. Having a regular game there with city and PQ has been huge for me as well.

"regular".

 

I've played more rounds this year with Halcyan, JJ, Mike, Domes, Nelson, Alf, Mark Hamill AND MANY MORE. . .

 

 

 

Good luck at FINRA, Siegel. They do important work for many people. Investment industry thieves are the worst kind of thieves. My investment strategy is "buy and never sell" but I still know the cheats and crooks have probably gotten into my pile some way or another. I hate the investment "industry". I use that word loosely. It implies an industriousness that they have not earned.

 

Unrelated, but are you a documentary guy?

 

If you want to see the worst kind of thievery, watch "The Smartest Guys in the Room."

[FAbb]

I think Fabb means that having guys he can regularly get out with when he wants a game at a course near his home.

 

Don't hate gaping Fabb.

 

And Alf has a surprisingly deft touch around the greens.

 

Yeah, put some respek on my name, city!

 

Regular is relative. Save for my FIL's member-guest, and Cappy Cup, all the golf I've played since this spring has been weekday rounds with yous guys at hobbits.

[David30]

I think Fabb means that having guys he can regularly get out with when he wants a game at a course near his home.

 

Don't hate gaping Fabb.

 

And Alf has a surprisingly deft touch around the greens.

Agreed. Of note, I have never seen a cat on a course he plays.

[FAbb]

[TheCityGame]

Yeah, play the free agent game for a while.

 

I joined hobbits because my time to play is so specific and limited that I pretty much need the convenience of it. Having a regular game there with city and PQ has been huge for me as well.

"regular".

 

I've played more rounds this year with Halcyan, JJ, Mike, Domes, Nelson, Alf, Mark Hamill AND MANY MORE. . .

 

 

 

Good luck at FINRA, Siegel. They do important work for many people. Investment industry thieves are the worst kind of thieves. My investment strategy is "buy and never sell" but I still know the cheats and crooks have probably gotten into my pile some way or another. I hate the investment "industry". I use that word loosely. It implies an industriousness that they have not earned.

 

Unrelated, but are you a documentary guy?

 

If you want to see the worst kind of thievery, watch "The Smartest Guys in the Room."

Yeah. Read it, too. I like a lot of that corporate crook stuff.

 

I read "Liars Poker" by Michael Lewis YEARS ago. (like, way before Moneyball). He tells the story of how he thought he was going to totally discredit Wall St. and make it look disgusting to prospective job applicants, and instead he had college kids coming up to him asking how to break into the industry.

 

"The Big Short" is also good. Haven't read Flash Boys.

 

One of my favorite books is "The Informant" by Kurt Eichenwald (Soderbergh made that into a movie with Matt Damon. Which I also liked.)

 

(actually, now that I think about it, I read Eichenwald's book about Enron, but not "the smartest guys...". But I have seen it.)

 

The book that I think of as the Grandfather of all this stuff is "Barbarians at the Gate". Read that a long time ago. Remember it being good, but a little dryer than the Michael Lewis stuff.

[Ocgolfrick]

Questions for City and Sull and the rest of the financial dabbling guys:

 

1) What site or services are you using to keep your investments at? I started investing with Edward Jones when I was 21 (almost pre-internet) then moved with her to Merrill Lynch. Admittedly, I feel like sometimes I'm getting fee upon fee and it doesn't feel like I get much for it.

 

2) Where are you investing your money right now? I have been putting more in fixed income, and SDY just to follow the market, but I've got some cash building up and just can't pull the trigger on anything.

 

3) More of a question for those with kids, but are you doing a 529 plan? I am for my kids, but it seems like it just is never going to be enough in it anyway.

[ALTSean]

Questions for City and Sull and the rest of the financial dabbling guys:

 

1) What site or services are you using to keep your investments at? I started investing with Edward Jones when I was 21 (almost pre-internet) then moved with her to Merrill Lynch. Admittedly, I feel like sometimes I'm getting fee upon fee and it doesn't feel like I get much for it.

 

2) Where are you investing your money right now? I have been putting more in fixed income, and SDY just to follow the market, but I've got some cash building up and just can't pull the trigger on anything.

 

3) More of a question for those with kids, but are you doing a 529 plan? I am for my kids, but it seems like it just is never going to be enough in it anyway.

 

I have been happy with Vanguard as they are very low fees and highly rated. I've had a Vanguard account for 15+ years.

[TheCityGame]

Questions for City and Sull and the rest of the financial dabbling guys:

 

1) What site or services are you using to keep your investments at? I started investing with Edward Jones when I was 21 (almost pre-internet) then moved with her to Merrill Lynch. Admittedly, I feel like sometimes I'm getting fee upon fee and it doesn't feel like I get much for it.

 

2) Where are you investing your money right now? I have been putting more in fixed income, and SDY just to follow the market, but I've got some cash building up and just can't pull the trigger on anything.

 

3) More of a question for those with kids, but are you doing a 529 plan? I am for my kids, but it seems like it just is never going to be enough in it anyway.

I use TD Ameritrade.

 

I buy index tracking mutual funds and index ETFs. Any fund that pays dividends, I automatically re-invest.

 

Probably about 15% of my portfolio is in bond funds. I get a payment each month, which automatically re-purchases more shares.

 

I am almost entirely in Vanguard funds, but my work distributions go to Schwab. So, anything I get from work is in schwab funds. Anything individual (Roth IRA's, individual account) is all at TD Ameritrade.

 

Stuff I like. . .

 

Small cap funds.

Total market funds.

International funds.

 

But, if you just don't want to think about it, and the best thing you can do, IMO :

 

Target retirement funds. These automatically move you more towards more fixed income as you get closer to the retirement date. I actually set dates for LATER than I plan to retire so that it keeps more in equities. A little more aggressive than they recommend.

 

IMO, the recommendations are too high for fixed income percentages (Buffett has also said as much). We grow older than they used to. I want my stuff still growing pretty aggressively until I'm 75. Growing till I'm 65 and then moving to mostly fixed income is not my target.

[SullGolf]

I'm not sure what I ever did/said to give the impression that I'm a semi responsible adult who does that, but I kind of am.

 

I have all my personal stuff (Roth IRA, rollover IRA from old 401k) in Schwab. They have some good options on low fee index/mutual funds. Mostly just have index funds, mostly S&P with some others thrown in for diversity. My general "strategy", if you can call it that, is to just put a bunch of money in low fee index funds and let it sit for the next 20-30 years. I have a little bit of "play" money that I'll invest in random stocks, but no real idea what I'm doing there. My work 401k is through Fidelity, which I don't really like. The options aren't great, but I don't know how much of that is my work's plan restrictions vs Fidelity as a whole. The Schwab online system is way better than Fidelity though.

 

Since ALTSean mentioned them, I've heard some good things about Vanguard too.

[SullGolf]

This is probably just some elaborate ruse for BethesdaRick to get more info so he can access my financial accounts.

[TheCityGame]

If anyone wants to make themselves smarter than the legion of "financial advisers" that will pester you as you money grows, read some combination of. . .

 

The Intelligent Investor

The Bogelheads Guide to Investing

A Random Walk Down Wall Street.

And, almost anything by Warren Buffett.

 

Any of those books will sum up investing like this. . .

 

No one is good at predicting the market, so don't pay for it. The only thing we can predict are fees will eat you up, so pay the smallest fees you can.

 

So, it looks like I'm giving investing advice, but it's more like anti-investing advice. I'm just saying "hit it down the middle and aim for the center of the green. If you can do that, you'll shoot a good round". I'm not the guy saying, "you can carry that bunker at 275, and the fire in at that pin tucked over the water and if you do that, you'll make a birdie."

[dcmidnight]

I have an old school defined benefit plan from an old employer thats kept at Merrill Lynch. I cant do anything with it but the website seems decent. God bless Northrop for having had that back in the day though. Current work 401k is with T Rowe Price. Good amount of options, I stay mostly with US small cap and large cap funds with a decent amount in one of their retirement date funds. And I have a small personal account at TD Ameritrade. Good website, really easy app to use too. I mostly buy long term, out of the money options in companies like Apple. Even if they never get in the money, 12-18 months is a long time for the option value to go up.

 

Completely, 100% agree with what City said about investment options/age though. My parents are both approaching 70 and @ 10 years ago their financial advisor basically gave them the same advice - we're living a lot longer these days so stay as aggressive as you can handle until you are 70. Pretty good advice IMO.

[JJCOOP7]

My private stuff is with Edward Jones and that's really for my wife. She is skeptically of anyone who has some control of our money and he's the first person that explained it to her so she could understand. We have most of our money with different American funds - Their fees are pretty low

 

At work we use transamerica which I had never used and only seen on ZJ's golf shirts. It started off slow but last 12 months have been 11% so I cannot complain

 

We do have 529's set up. It's a great way to save on taxes while saving for college.

 

I've got like 30 years till I plan to take my money out so I'm very aggressive in the funds that I pick, but in general I'm staying with large mutual funds.