I am going to go play 9 holes tonight, and I think I'll shoot par for the first time

ScooterMcTavish · September 29, 2015

Title says it all.

Thinking positively right now - a great way to start prepping for my round. Will shamefully report back tomorrow.

Fellaheen51 · September 29, 2015

Good luck Scooter! Having a positive attitude is the first step in shooting that par round IMHO. Always start by thinking this is the day when it all comes together, going to be playing in the zone, shooting darts at the pin, all putts >10' are in the cup.
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Unfortunately, the results don't quite match the pre-round vision. With that said, shot a quick, efficient, solo 40 (5900 yds., Par 35) last Sunday. Best nine of the season for me. Could have better but the greens had been aerated during the week, the ball was rolling a little squirrelly. While not par, I was satisfied.

oldschoolrocker · September 29, 2015

Give em hell Scott,

dbuck47 · September 29, 2015

Good luck Scooter!

I started out last week with that same attitude, and man it sure worked for me. It worked so well, that after 7 holes I had already accomplished my goal!!

ScooterMcTavish · September 29, 2015

LOL Bucky, I had done this after 8 holes last week. Shot 5 straight pars, bookended by two pairs of bogeys.

Starting to feel my mega-focus kick in already. I almost feel sorry for the golf course.

And of course, with the flanged bullseye back in the bag, I will light up the greens

ScooterMcTavish · September 29, 2015

Well, as I continue to think about the excellent round I am going to shoot today, I have decided to go back to an interlocking grip from the 10 finger grip I've used the last 8 or so years. The 10 finger grip gets me a better turn and more power, but fails in the accuracy department, as it is very sensitive to the timing of the roll of your wrists.

Plus, reading a recent issue of Golf Digest, it highlighted that only one (yes, one, 1, uno) regular touring pro uses a 10 finger grip.

farmer · September 29, 2015

Nothing predicts success more than a fundamental change two or three hours before playing. Leave it alone, go play, change later.

Fellaheen51 · September 30, 2015

It's 9:11 a.m., the day after, and notta. How'd it go? Inquiring minds........

oldschoolrocker · September 30, 2015

I second the gentleman from just south of the OP.

ScooterMcTavish · September 30, 2015

LOL, and yes, I did play a couple of practice holes first to loosen up and try out the interlocking grip. Decided not to make the fundamental change before the round - LOL.

We'll just say that setting out to shoot par is not fun. I mean like zero fun. One begins to obsess about score, then obsesses about their shot. Much more fun just hitting each shot as best you can, and hope the score works out in the end. Generally the reason I play vintage.

Didn't shoot a bad round - Par, Bogey, Bogey, Bogey, Bogey, Par, Par, Bogey, Par. GIR were the issue (2 of 9), and the flat stick didn't hurt me, but didn't help me either. Missed a nice 8' birdie chance on the first hole. No real trouble, but up and down in two 2/7 times. That is a live by the sword/die by the sword style of play.

The Zings have been fun, but using a GI iron immediately invites "Score!" "Score!" back into the thought process.....a thought that made me tired of golf a few years ago.

So bag changes upcoming!

G10 - out!
5 and 7W - out!
Zings - Out! (though I sure do like the PW)
Bullseye - out!

Staying in the bag....Wilson DW, Wilson LW

Maxfli 1, 3, 5 W set - In!
Wilson Goosenecks - In!
Billy Casper - In!

And then I'll go shoot a round tomorrow night, and enjoy myself with a set that doesn't make me want to puke in my own mouth.

scomac2002 · September 30, 2015

That's a damned fine round by my measure, Scooter! Best of luck tomorrow!

dbuck47 · September 30, 2015

I would have been quite happy with that 9!

ScooterMcTavish · September 30, 2015

Appreciate the kind words guys. When I was golfing a lot a few years ago, I had shot 36 a few times on my home course (par 35), once was two birdies/three bogies, and once was 8 pars, one bogey.

I know I have par in me, but my obsessive attempt to shoot it a few years ago was a bit over the top. Vintage golf has been a great opportunity to step back from this, and return to enjoying the game. As we sometimes say, "I play golf, not golf swing, or golf score". Yesterday's round reminded me of this.

Fellaheen51 · September 30, 2015

Damn straight Scooter! Out with the old, in with the new. At least we have "options" to experiment with and/or blame. But hope springs eternal, tomorrow is another day, look for the positives, etc. etc. But, I agree with DBuck, I'd be content with the round. Lowered expectations increases the opportunity for finding enjoyment (i.e. fun) when they are exceeded.

But what's a score anyway? Nobody remembers what you shoot. Doesn't mean anything if your not enjoying the endeavor. As someone once posted (you), "It's not the destination that's important. It's about the journey getting there".

ScooterMcTavish · October 1, 2015

Funny Fella as we're sort of "out with the new, in with the old" around here. To wit, my bag I played Tuesday, and my bag I'll play tonight:

Tuesday:

Tonight's bag:

Gotta say neither bag looks overtly modern, but there's something abut the uniformity of the Wilson stuff that is very pleasing to the eye. If I could only find a set of Wilson woods I liked - around here, everything is "Tour Block" laminate.

The Maxflis are kind of neat though. They have a very heavy head with a pretty whippy "S Flex" graphite shaft. Hit a few practice ones last night seeing what sort of swing works with it, and a nice smooth one seems to work pretty well.

Fellaheen51 · October 1, 2015

Good luck with Rd. 2 of "In search of par, if not, I'm going to enjoy myself anyway" tonight Scooter. Don't know what the weather is in the GWN, but it's cold as h*** here today. Not much time left to subject ourselves to the joys and frustrations of this silly game. All the more reason to enjoy the licks we have left this season.

That's the neat thing about having an inventory of clubs to pick from. If they're not quite working (i.e. no mojo), it gets benched. Next man (club) up.

Rather like the Maxfli "Black Missiles". Look very......Stealthy......in an "old school" carbon fiber sort of way. Heavy head + whippy shaft = max distance. As long as one can find their ball after.

ScooterMcTavish · October 1, 2015

Well Fella, plan is to enjoy myself tonight - score will simply be a by product of this.

Believe B-S has pointed this out in other threads though, having too much selection can also be bad for the game, as it is a learning experience each time one goes to the course. However, since my purchasing hiatus this spring, I've gotten used to the clubs I have, and know when or when not to bring them out. I used the FWs for a while last year in this set, and certainly liked them, so am optimistic for today's round. At least they have deep faces for vintage clubs.

Temps are in the high 60s (though windy) here today - should make for a very pleasant round.

birly-shirly · October 1, 2015

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1443706263' post='12394972']
[...] there's something abut the uniformity of the Wilson stuff that is very pleasing to the eye. If I could only find a set of Wilson woods I liked - around here, everything is "Tour Block" laminate.[...]
[/quote]

Don't be too hasty to discount the Wilson Tour Block laminates. A pal of mine played the 1980 fairways for years and years, long after oversized metals became ubiquitous. And if he hadn't kept them in his bag, I'd have had them off him. Driver was great too, as I recall. Maybe not quite as glam looking as nice persimmon, but very playable and great feeling.

ScooterMcTavish · October 1, 2015

Hey B-S, for me it's been the results, not really the appearance, as I can perk up just about any club myself.

Even when R shafted, I find the 1W and 3W 80s vintageTour Block II woods I have very "dead" and "heavy" feeling. Typical trajectory with the D is a roping slice. The 3W is much more pleasant to hit, but just doesn't feel good. Have also tried a few others including a GE2000 (?) and an X-31 5W, with only the X-31 being in the family of clubs I'd like to continue hitting.

The vintage W&D set at the lake also has some 60's Wilson Staff "4300" Strata-Bloc woods, and I can't say I'm fond of them either. Same issue - feel heavy and dead.

I've often wondered if it is just that WIlson seemed to use a very soft red fibre/cycolac insert that mutes the sound and feel of the ball. Never had this problem with any other brand of wooden wood I've played.

birly-shirly · October 1, 2015

Ah right. Hadn't realised that you'd actually given those a whirl Scooter. But if they don't float your boat, then that's that.

I have to say, as much as I liked the 1980 Tour Blocks, I had an earlier model myself that wasn't anywhere near as nice. And it had a big red plastic insert that if it wasn't actually at fault for how the club felt and played, certainly looked cheap and nasty compared to later models. The driver I'm thinking of was painted black, but in other respects resembled the 3 and 4 woods in your first pic.

ScooterMcTavish · October 2, 2015

Well, results were a +6 for 9 holes, three pars, six bogies. My GIR issue seems to be still haunting me, as I only hit 1 GIR, and got up and down 2/8 times.

This reminds me that my best rounds have often come when I sneak a few birdies, like a chip in, or sinking an +20' putt.

Enjoyed the Goosenecks, but found them heavy. The Billy Casper was money from 6' in, which is all I want in a putter - and as you can see by no doubles, no three-putts, even on a few poorly lagged efforts. Not sold on the Maxflis however - after hitting the ball, I have no freaking clue what I did. First hole, I hit a high straight drive, but only discovered this by searching the fairway for my ball. 3 and 5W worked well, but same issue - not a hot clue where the ball went based on feedback. May be going back to the MacGregor/Hogan combo, even though I appear to be becoming more and more sensitive to swing weight.

Unfortunately, I found my back tightening up after 3 holes and cramping on the 8th, despite some pre-round stretching. That being said, I was able to fight through it, but wonder if I should maybe take a few weeks off. Would be a shame to do so, as when we hit DST, golf will be pretty much off the table for me.

Sorry, nothing really exciting to report, other than I hit some bizarrely long shots with good connections with the goosenecks. On one hole, downhill to a green, I was 5 feet from the 150 marker, and hit a towering 8i right to the very back of the green. If I hadn't been using a urethane ball, I would have been off the green. On another hole, I put a 110 yd PW from an upslope to the back of then 15' off a green. Strange as these have traditional lofts....