Oceans Eleven Confessions to break a man's heart....

[Matt J]

I've always liked that this group can discuss controversial issues without becoming argumentative. Anyone that thinks feeding nearly 7 billion people is a simple issue is an idiot.

 

My family doesn't have a lot of disposable income, but we choose to eat organic produce and meat, mostly due to my wife. I agree with you, Chief, that a lot of the GMO stuff is pretty safe. Although I do understand why people are dubious as to the bias of some of the studies. Most environmental change research is done by academia that liberals are less paranoid of than the petro-chemical research. The true question becomes how quickly we see any effects. It's very hard for us to accept that if modern medicine cured all disease we would still die of cancer. Cancer is a sophisticated word for old age. The more I learn about cell division and cell biology the more I realize that eventually all cells will mutate. It's both their greatest asset and greatest risk. Mutation helps the species while potentially hurting the organism.

 

My wife started getting sick when she ate any bread when we moved back to the United States from Central America. I think she still thinks that is due to the GMO flour although I tend to think it's due to the Azodicarbonamide the big mills started using to bleach the flour. Some of you may remember it as the "yoga mat" chemical that Subway quit using. I theorize that some people are more sensitive to it than others.

 

Chief thanks for the pelvis exercises link. Those are very similar to the ones the chiropractor recommended for me. I'm definitely adding them into my stretching routine.

[MMB1500]

I've always liked that this group can discuss controversial issues without becoming argumentative. Anyone that thinks feeding nearly 7 billion people is a simple issue is an idiot.

 

My family doesn't have a lot of disposable income, but we choose to eat organic produce and meat, mostly due to my wife. I agree with you, Chief, that a lot of the GMO stuff is pretty safe. Although I do understand why people are dubious as to the bias of some of the studies. Most environmental change research is done by academia that liberals are less paranoid of than the petro-chemical research. The true question becomes how quickly we see any effects. It's very hard for us to accept that if modern medicine cured all disease we would still die of cancer. Cancer is a sophisticated word for old age. The more I learn about cell division and cell biology the more I realize that eventually all cells will mutate. It's both their greatest asset and greatest risk. Mutation helps the species while potentially hurting the organism.

 

My wife started getting sick when she ate any bread when we moved back to the United States from Central America. I think she still thinks that is due to the GMO flour although I tend to think it's due to the Azodicarbonamide the big mills started using to bleach the flour. Some of you may remember it as the "yoga mat" chemical that Subway quit using. I theorize that some people are more sensitive to it than others.

 

Chief thanks for the pelvis exercises link. Those are very similar to the ones the chiropractor recommended for me. I'm definitely adding them into my stretching routine.

 

Could be the bleach in the bread for sure, especially if she was OK with bread in Central America.

 

Personally I do not eat grains in any shape or form. As far as I'm concerned they are the devil, and should be treated as such (sorry Chief, I know you are a farmer and I'm not trying be an arse, just my personal opinion of course).

[Chief Illiniwek]

Oh I understand Wolf. And agree with Matt that it's awesome to keep things civil.

 

Ideally everyone in the world could eat paleo. But the amount of resources to produce paleo food vs the number of people on this planet simply don't add up. Luckily for us, most people on a golf message board are fortunate enough to choose pretty much any diet we want. Unless you wanna go 100% caviar or something haha!

 

Edit: and I should add, I'm not married to corn or soybeans. If I could put a fence around every acre and raise grass fed beef for more money I'd be sowing grass right now! :-)

[Michael C.]

The Chief is right. It's a rainy day here.

 

So....

 

I took my one day only 20% off coupon to Dick's and bought a Bushnell V3 for $199. Sweet!!. Always used a GPS. my first Rangefinder. Got the Patriot Pack. It usually goes for around $299. They had them for $249.

 

I'm psyched.

 

Looking at a little more methodical approach to my short game just to get a feel and develop some positive reinforcement. Find targets from 10 to 120 and dial in a mechanical feel then play with ball position and face orientation.

 

Good conversation today. I'm pretty open-minded and understand the points of view expressed. There are simple answers to complex problems but people, myself included, are only willing to solve problems when the effect is for others and not themselves.

 

My unhealthy attitude is this. No one gets out of this thing alive. Try to stay informed and do the best you can. Everyone spins the numbers to benefit their causes. The numbers don't lie but the agenda does.

 

MJ, I'm glad to hear that your back seems better. My back will sometimes get tight from pushing my cart. My job is physical but, it isn't heavy work per se, but I'm on my feet 10 hours a night. Hitting balls rarely bothers me. But, pushing that darn cart up and down slopes will tighten me up. Foam roller helps keep the the hams and IT bands loose.

 

Oh yeah....TOOLED!

[MMB1500]

Oh I understand Wolf. And agree with Matt that it's awesome to keep things civil.

 

Ideally everyone in the world could eat paleo. But the amount of resources to produce paleo food vs the number of people on this planet simply don't add up. Luckily for us, most people on a golf message board are fortunate enough to choose pretty much any diet we want. Unless you wanna go 100% caviar or something haha!

 

Agreed. I do the whole Primal / Paleo thing and ditching grains was honestly one of the best things I ever did for my health. However, I agree with you that the Paleo thing is not necessarily a sustainable way of eating for the entire planet with farming practices as they are now. Although there is a big emphasis on vegetables, it's would be impossible to produce meat in sufficient quantities to feed 7+ billion people. And that's the thing about grains. They are cheap and taste good, so it makes sense for many people to eat them.

 

On a side note I hear the next big thing in the world of farming is entomophagy - i.e. eating insects and harvesting them as a food source for humans. Apparently they are full of protein, vitamins and minerals and some big agricultural players are getting in on the act now. They are also a much more sustainable food source than, say, cattle, using far less energy to produce for the same or greater output. Cricket protein bars anyone!?

 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-eat-insects/

 

https://www.exoprotein.com/

[Matt J]

Thanks, MC! Congrats on the laser. You'll like it. I leave a GPS on my push cart handle bar, but often still shoot the pin position with a laser.

 

I agree with you, too. Fear of death is a primal instinct, but it doesn't have to control our every decision. She's coming for us all, but I don't make any effort to throw out a welcome mat either.

[Conrad1953]

I agree with many of the points that have been made. Sometimes I want to

kick myself for wandering into these issues where disagreements are likely.

 

And I agree Matt that I like that we all are civil and accord each other respect

and realize none of us has all the answers.

 

I give little regard to statistics and especially studies, that are often done either

with an agenda or the data spun to support an agenda. I think everyone of us

has been duped in one way or another simply for the reason we don't have

the time or resources to investigate matters for our own edification.

 

I have my own world view and that is the prism through which I view many

matters and I suspect everyone does the same......and we fit what we find into

that world view and then carry on.

 

As such, like golf swings, none of us will swing or view world affairs in the same

way.

 

Now, having brought that back to golf, lol, I'm finding myself in a hoing mood

lately and I've been perusing the bay just itching for something to buy. So far

I have restrained myself but it's only a matter of time.....................

[Conrad1953]

Nice get on the rangefinder MC. Everyone I play with has one while I still use

my outdated Garmin GPS watch. I am often able to compare the laser numbers

to my GPS and sometimes the numbers are very close and sometimes my GPS

numbers are pretty far off. For sure the rangefinder is the way to go.

[PeanutsDaddy]

Interesting read today gents (especially reading the perspective of a farmer).

 

I'll weight in by stating that I like food and golf clubs.

 

To stick to the latter topic . . .

 

Let's say that there was a set of irons that retailed for $2K (knowing that I'd never purchase a set for that price) and you stumbled onto a single iron for $36 USD (about $45 CAD). Would you purchase the iron to see if the performance justified the initial cost?

 

Here's my quandary, I could put those funds toward a new Wishon 565 iron (both of which I don't need, but am intrigued about)

[PeanutsDaddy]

I gave up on my GPS device two years ago when I purchased a range finder. Don't know if I'll ever go back.

 

Look forward to a performance review MC.

[Conrad1953]

Hammer this is for you this is the business end of the Behringer board and me running it about a year ago before I lost all the weight. The computer closest to you in the photo is the one for the power point and the overhead screen. The one above me is for video and audio recording and I have a hand held remote to move the camera around. I had lost these photos somewhere in the cyberspace of my computer

 

 

 

 

 

I'm jealous of all that hair Stu. What I have left has grown thin and

wispy, lol. I no longer preen in front of the mirror and perhaps my

eyesight has deteriorated for good reason, haha.

[PeanutsDaddy]

Here's the state of my game . . .

 

Irons/hybrids/woods = best I've ever seen

 

Driver = feast or famine

 

Wedges = adequate

 

Putter = hot and cold

 

Where are all of you at the moment?

[Conrad1953]

Here's the state of my game . . .

 

Irons/hybrids/woods = best I've ever seen

 

Driver = feast or famine

 

Wedges = adequate

 

Putter = hot and cold

 

Where are all of you at the moment?

 

Here's where I am.

 

My total game = famine

[Chief Illiniwek]

Here's the state of my game . . .

 

Irons/hybrids/woods = best I've ever seen

 

Driver = feast or famine

 

Wedges = adequate

 

Putter = hot and cold

 

Where are all of you at the moment?

 

MC you'll love the rangefinder! Maybe my favorite aspects is being able to shoot landing areas. Things like a tree that is just through the fairway on a dogleg, bunkers, water hazards, etc. Feel naked without mine now.

 

State of my game:

 

Driver- trending up. Duck hooks and gentle push fades still sneak in but overall I'm happy. I've lost some distance this year. Hopefully just a lack of play and not age catching up

 

Fairway Woods and hybrid- about like they've always been. Solid off the tee. I don't trust them on risk reward par 5's, but if there's room to miss I give them a go

 

Irons- really weak the last couple years after being a big strength in my game from '14 back. Dramatic distance loss in irons so far this year. But trending up the last few times I've been out

 

Chipping- I used to be fairly noteworthy at throwing the ball most of the way to the cup and spinning it to a quick stop among my regular playing partners. I specifically remember being at Rivercut in Springfield Mo on a golf getaway and trying to show a group of guys how to do it. They weren't getting it and I couldn't explain it any better. Well I don't remember how many years ago it was now but one spring I couldn't do it and for the life of me couldn't figure out why. Never have recovered it. I think ever since then I've struggled. My urge is to throw it all the way to the cup, which if I follow through with leads to being passed. Or I fight the urge and decel. Even worse!

 

Putter- can be very hot and very cold. Matt's shoulders back tip had me trending hot this week. Didn't make a lot but was hitting it sweet. My friends joke I'm the best 8' and in putter in league. I dunno though. Maybe I remember the misses more than the makes. When my confidence is up I do feel like I should be giving everything inside 20' at least a run.

 

Now I'll play with Michael this summer, be a complete hack, and shoot 120 lol

[Michael C.]

Driver - pretty good

 

3w-meh

 

Hybrid - good

 

Irons - dialing in my distances but overall good

 

Wedges - shots are fine. Distance control is rusty.

 

Putter - hit and miss, per usual

 

I have the same trouble as the chief. I want to throw all my pitches at the cup and the greens have no bite in them right now.

 

Chief, I know The Rail has an early bird before 7. It's $29 w/cart. I get off work @ 530 am. Will meet out there some morning or Lincoln Greens or Edgewood...wherever. Play the whites and have a casual round. We'll both shoot 72 or 120. Lol. It'll be fun to play with a WRXer AND a Confessioner.

[DeNinny]

Just curious, which Confessors have played? So far I know of only dan360 and I, but also didn't scotee and Conrad1953 play once? What about PeanutsDaddy and Pigems?

[DeNinny]

Here's the state of my game . . .

 

Irons/hybrids/woods = best I've ever seen

 

Driver = feast or famine

 

Wedges = adequate

 

Putter = hot and cold

 

Where are all of you at the moment?

 

Here's where I am.

 

My total game = famine

 

Ditto. 94 today. At my home course. Just shoot me now.

[DeNinny]

Hammer this is for you this is the business end of the Behringer board and me running it about a year ago before I lost all the weight. The computer closest to you in the photo is the one for the power point and the overhead screen. The one above me is for video and audio recording and I have a hand held remote to move the camera around. I had lost these photos somewhere in the cyberspace of my computer

 

 

 

 

 

I'm jealous of all that hair Stu. What I have left has grown thin and

wispy, lol. I no longer preen in front of the mirror and perhaps my

eyesight has deteriorated for good reason, haha.

 

He's about 1mm away from a full on mullet too. Just like STU: all business up front and a party in the back.

[billh17]

Ham...Thanks man...its taking a little longer than I planned,but its getting there.I was cautioned to not push it too hard and to work with the therapy,and

thats what i'm trying.

 

Thug and Rad: Very good discussion. My own feelings...after the TOTAL BS way OUR goverment treated the Nam vets.,reference Agent Orange, is that the

American public is...and has been..lied to by the Goverment...Feds. State and local...for the last 70 years,all in the interest of the JOBS CREATORS.

And a company's profits. I truly believe that in our grandchildrens,or maybe our great grandchildens lifetime,the truth will come out.

#1 : The high rate of cancer in this country is directly derived from the use of chemicals and pesticides and preservatives used in the growing,processing and

and marketing of the food. Sure,the Goverment,the company making the chemicals,and the stock markets all tell us and the farmers for years

that the chemicals and pesticides are not in a high enough concentrate to harm humans. Maybe not. But when they dont leave the body,and

the amount is just increased year after year after year, suddenly it is now a high enough amount to kill us. I feel the day will come when

the American people will be told the truth.

#2: The scientist......the big research facilities....the big corporations... these personas can clone an animal......they can clone a human......

all the miracles of modern medicine......put a man on the moon.....have 2 objects join together,while moving at 17000 miles per hour...

fire a missle and hit an object the size of a house from 3000 miles away...fly a pilotless drone from the ground...with reality camera operation

......all of this......and we are led to believe that there is still no cure for cancer ..... follow the money.....how much does the cancer society

rake in each year.....how many of their people are making huge yearly paychecks......

#3 Reference the agent orange...,,the "slow growth" agents that the power companies are using under the power lines seems to ...oddly...end up

looking exactly like a lot of places in Nam looked like...after Agent Orange was applied....Amazing....Took....and takes....about two weeks and its all

turning brown or fading....three weeks and it is all dead...but it isn't harmful to humans.....

Sorry if I am on a soapbox,but i simply think we have been lied to for a long ,long time,......we will never know the truth....but someday maybe our childrens

children will.

 

I'm done,and i do apologize to you guys for the long post

 

I had a friend who was a helicopter pilot in Nam. Body was riddled

with cancer and died at age 29..............agent orange.

 

Far too many died from that government approved garbage...and the company producing it made millions on their backs.

And our goverment fought for years to keep from even covering them under the VA benefits. Terrible event in our history.

LOL... another example of the underhanded actions was the hypocrisy of our government giving hundred million to the Polish union to help them in their strike

against the Polish government,while the U.S. was firing the Air Traffic Controllers for striking here. I'm not saying the strike was

right,but the two faced standard of the governments actions always struck me as wrong. I love this country, but over the last 60 years,it has made

me question any thing the people in Washington come up with. Far too many lies,and ulterior motives, with profits for some company being the

norm.

[PapaJohick]

Here's the state of my game . . .

 

Irons/hybrids/woods = best I've ever seen

 

Driver = feast or famine

 

Wedges = adequate

 

Putter = hot and cold

 

Where are all of you at the moment?

 

Putter- party central

Wedges- making putting easier haha

Irons- best I've hit them in probably 2-3 years contact wise. Directionally is still my biggest issue

Hybrid/fw- oiy........

Driver- party at animal house or the hangover the day after hahaha

[mdgboxx]

^ Good stuff Conrad. Most of all, you have to keep playing to keep your short game in tune. No matter how 'good' you are at it, you have to constantly keep playing and practicing to just sustain it.

 

Oh ya. Short game is the first thing to go when you don't play much. My short

game is atrocious. I can't "feel" the shots. I might as well be playing wearing

boxing gloves, lol.

 

Yesterday, Friday, I got to meet (have lunch) with *myspinonit* who is on vacation here, at a nearby hotel, from Vancouver. Just so I didn't look like a hack, last Tuesday, I went to my fave Putt-Putt, to shake my putter out of a deeeeep sleep. Then I went to the combo range and played the executive par 3/4, 11 holes (twice), lol. Then, hit a medium size, 85 balls, bucket at the range....TBH, I should've spent 45 mins or more on the short game facility instead.

 

All of this, simply to confirm that the first thing to go is...The Short Game!!!

 

To my greatest surprise, it seems that my driver is offering me an invitation to become my BFF. I never expected that, after all this time...! Maybe it thinks I put it in time out, ----------->[ ] over the last couple of years. :cheesy:

 

But, it turned out, myspinonit, didn't have time to play/practice, so we only went for lunch.

[mdgboxx]

Thanks for all the great tips and advise everyone!! It's really appreciated!! Took today off completely to clear my head, I'll go back at it tomorrow. Just gotta take my time, stay focused and not let bad shots get me off my game. One swing at a time!! :)

 

There IS no other way!!!!!

[mdgboxx]

True, 'Rad. I've always felt like I putt better at really expensive courses like the ones they play every week. The rare opportunities I have had to experience those type greens, I liked them.

 

But, there that. They are playing at a different course every week, on different greens. I play at my home course where I should know where the putts break. But, they do have a caddie that expends a lot of time and energy to figure each green out before they play it.

 

I just wanted to check and see where the best of the world are in putting. Obviously my bar is much lower, but I was curious how much distance effects make percentage.

 

It's useful to an extent but like in most cases comparing our games to

the best in the world is difficult to do.

 

Did you know the PGA Tour brings their own sand to every course?

You wonder why these guys are so good out of bunkers, lol? They're

great for sure but they get the same sand every week.

 

Do they really? Haha that's crazy. We have fast greens here on many courses but if the course is open to the public at all, it's not rolling that smooth because people suck and don't fix their pitch marks or feet scuffs.

 

Only public courses that can retain smooth greens are ones that have rock hard greens that don't get many pitch marks for the most part. Only issue there is a lot of them out cups in impossible places on slopes haha

 

You need to leave yourself uphill putts!

 

I know, easy to say. But, you have to admit, it does sound Einstein'ish. :beruo: :rofl:

[Conrad1953]

I'm in a funky mindset. Unusual for me. I need to go to Ebay and buy

something. Be back in a bit.

[MMB1500]

I'm in a funky mindset. Unusual for me. I need to go to Ebay and buy

something. Be back in a bit.

 

I'm fully expecting you to come back having bought a Uro Club, or a set of Miura Baby Blades. Or both.

[Pigems]

Just curious, which Confessors have played? So far I know of only dan360 and I, but also didn't scotee and Conrad1953 play once? What about PeanutsDaddy and Pigems?

 

I've got 6 Rounds in so far, 4 last week and 2 this week. It's been sunny and between 2* and 10*C but has been very windy. Got one really good round and 5 very choppy rounds, chalking it up to early season rust and not much practice over this winter. I'll get it sorted out soon enough. I think going from flat, clean simulator shots to a real course where you rarely have a flat lie after your tee shot isn't helping either lol. Gotta love this game eh ;)

 

 

Here's the state of my game . . .

 

Irons/hybrids/woods = best I've ever seen

 

Driver = feast or famine

 

Wedges = adequate

 

Putter = hot and cold

 

Where are all of you at the moment?

 

That sound like a pretty good start to the season so far PD :D

 

For me it's been as follows...

 

Driver, much like yourself. I either smoke it beautifully, or slice it 2 fairways to the left with the odd duck hook to the right mixed in. Right now it's about a 50/50 chance of either and it doesn't not make me feel confident standing over the big stick ATM.

 

Woods, have only hit them a few times so far but not hitting them terribly. Not great but not terrible, getting mostly low stinger fades out of them.

 

Irons, waaaaaay off right now. Struggling with shutting the face down and coming in steep this week after struggling with thin hits last week. I'll flush one and then mega miss hit the next 4. Can't even find a consistent miss right now with them to play. I think I may be trying to swing them a little too hard possibly.

 

Wedges, my saving grace lol. The only reason I haven't hit triple digit scores yet, Period lol. Haven't been Great but have definitely been the best part of the game so far this season.

 

Putter, have hit some really good putts and distance control has been stellar so far. Once I get a better feel and read on these greens I can see me hitting some great putts this season.

 

So basically right now I only have Game from 100y and in and even then it ain't much right now haha. ;)

[Pigems]

I've used a $3 app called Skydroid for the passed 3 seasons and love it. Courses are hilly around here and have lots of trees, you can't always see the pin for a rangefinder, it would be nice to have both though I guess :)

[billh17]

B17, concur with your assessment on current state of affairs. In 2015, 89% of corn, 94% of soybeans, 89% of cotton grown in this country were from GMO sourced seed. For the expressed purpose of being Glyphosate (Roundup) tolerant. What are the long term effects of this? Residual buildup over time? No studies that I've seen, other than those provided by Monsanto, deals with the question. Not to mention the continued GM hybridization further and further away from the original genetic makeup of the seed. Dangerous stuff, for us and our Grandchildren.

 

The Mrs. and I have been making every possible effort to buy what we eat local. Where we have some idea (hopefully) of where and how our foodstuffs are derived. We're fortunate in that we live relatively rural. So there are an ever expanding number of local farmers that take pride in offering full disclosure of the product they grow or raise. And that doesn't necessarily mean they are labeled "Organically Grown". (That's a rather confusing issue in and of itself). Direct to market and the consumer. Most all of our beef, pork and chicken we purchase direct from the source. And as much of the produce as we can locally source at farmer's markets. Obviously, seasonally adjusted to availability.

 

I do not trust agri-business. Yes, they can grow lots of foodstuffs, but how healthy is it? What do the processors do to the base materials turning it into a product that goes on the shelf? Making it healthy is something not high on the list of priorities IMO. We've all probably seen the documentary "Food, Inc." Real eye opener if you haven't.

 

But there are those who promote deregulation. Remove the shackles of unnecessary regulation by the USDA (FSIS) and the FDA. Let the marketplace decide. Assuming that we as consumers, would ever be able to ascertain full information to make rational decisions. From an industry that essentially controls the regulators.

 

So we do what we can being aware of the issues and controlling what we eat. To the best of our abilities in a complex world.

 

well said and well thought out.

[Palauan Hammer]

Stu, that's a sweet soundboard set up! Your Church must be awesome, that's a better set up than 96% of the gigs I've played LOL!

 

 

State of my game :dntknw:

 

Everything BUT pitching and chipping is a big ?

 

For those of you struggling with flying your pitches to the hole I suggest really focusing on your landing spot. It's easy to let the mind wander to the hole then your brain will naturally help you hit your pitch to the hole. Really focus on the landing spot, that single thing really changed my short game. Good luck :)

[Conrad1953]

I'm in a funky mindset. Unusual for me. I need to go to Ebay and buy

something. Be back in a bit.

 

I'm fully expecting you to come back having bought a Uro Club, or a set of Miura Baby Blades. Or both.

 

Haha, I went small

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391444150069?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT