Clubhouse Grille (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***) (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION ***)

[BIG STU]

Yeah it does things like that ever since the changes were made------- Could be like Air America--- " we ain't supposed to be here so maybe we aren't here after all"

[tolmij]

Brutal is an understatement, eventually we all walked away to the back of the tee and turned away from him until we recognised the noise of club on ball.

Watched that movie many years ago, many funny parts to it.

[tolmij]

As I have said before and also many others, the IT team making the changes learned from comic books because no one could take them as serious programmers.

[scomac2002]

[tolmij]

Have any of you had something you started and then half way through thought it was not such a good idea. Finished this painting today, Sunday, and that was my situation, happy I continued with it.

Sunflower and humming bird.

 

 

[tolmij]

This is called the Harpy Eagle, the worlds largest bird of prey. Definitely a don't stuff with me bird.

 

 

[tolmij]

Sunday evening supper.

Salmon, avocado, grape tomatoes, and sour dough bread, drenched in lemon. It was good to say the least.

 

[BIG STU]

Is that native to your part of the world? Because I have been all over the Great USA and have never seen or heard of a bird that big. He could definitely do some serious damage with those claws!!!

[tolmij]

From Mexico down to Argentina, the claws and beak could do some serious damage.

[Fellaheen51]

Sheesh!!! 42* outside this a.m. at daybreak. Had to turn on the heat as I was freezing my niblicks. It's the middle of June. Right? To think, there are likely folks out having fun playing this morning. Wearing winter gloves.

[Qqq123xx]

Nice ears.....or whatever those two are? At first I thought it was a superimposed pic. Yikes.

[Reasonability]

So many quality posts. So much corresponding risk of a TLDR response. In random order with apologies for failing to mention anyone.

PD - Your handiwork is always so awesome. Also, have heard better golfers sum up their favorite swing thought as "swing within your feet". If the dreaded shanks ever revisit - Remember that you are among us who swing a fraction flatter. Your shorter clubs invite less "flatness" just by forcing us to stand closer. They also as a result cause our heads to wander forward early in the downswing without sending the trail hip and shoulder through the shot. So stay a little flatter and just keep your head back while sendining your trail side through impact... within the feet - lol.

Scomacer/Fella/PD/Stu - In my wild imagination, I'd truly enjoy a vintage minimalist set with the old reminder grips installed. Believe rubber compound versions are out there. Sold as training aids? We're OGA so I'd proudly game them regardless of the rules change that followed their popularity back in the day.

Tol - Great painting - AGAIN! And yes, I completely understand what it is to stick to a task while wondering if I should have started it. I'm very stubborn in that sense. Known as grinder who perseveres. So I for one admire the simple fact you stuck with it. Oh and Down Under sure seems to be well known for deadly critters on land, sea, and air.

All - The song 'Both Sides Now' has a lyric that says, "Something's lost and something's gained in every day you live." Don't quite understand what's been gained in "reality TV". It's there so I suppose something I don't understand has been gained. It has replaced the variety shows where the Honeymooners squeak by thanks to and often in spite of themselves.... with the occasional overhead cam of the June Taylor dancers.

Doc - I made you a promise recently. Here tiz:

 

[Fellaheen51]

@Reasonability. Quality post yourself.
"In my wild imagination, I'd truly enjoy a vintage minimalist set with the old reminder grips installed. Believe rubber compound versions are out there. Sold as training aids? We're OGA so I'd proudly game them regardless of the rules change that followed their popularity back in the day."
Go fo it!! There is something sublimely anachronistic knowing you're likely the only one playing a classic bag on an appropriate course of choice on any given day. You'd be surprised how inexpensively one can be put together. Find stuff with some measure of regularity. The PB Citation persimmons were a thrift store find for $2.00 per. The Hogan Apex II's I've shown before essentially free. Acquired together with a set of Eye 2's that I sold off to cover the cost of the entirety. Everyone has a favorite or two old putter. Part of the enjoyment with vintage is the "thrill of the hunt" poking around for old implements. Lost track of how much of this stuff I've bought and sold over the years. Which didn't even start until I joined WRX in late 2013, stumbling into the Classic section in search of info about a Ping Anser that had been acquired. Knew absolutely nothing about classic golf clubs.
Value can be found even on the Bay with prudent shopping and performing your due diligence.
As for reminder grips. Golf Pride has the contemporary version called "ALIGN". Available in several flavors. Installed a set of GP Tour Velvet ALIGN grips on a bud's irons couple of months back. Felt quite similar to the old reminder grips. Although they may feel unusual in hand if one manipulates the face of a SW. Prefer wrap grips though for most of my old stuff. The no longer available Lamkin Perma-Wraps were perfect and inexpensive. Had that period correct look.
As a card carrying member of OGA, pay zero attention to stupid "rules" as it applies to the implements I choose to hack around with.

[BIG STU]

Actually I could not game those grips because I manipulate the club in my hands and the training grips will bind me up. But yeah this is the OGA and if you or anyone else wants to play them by all means do so. It will be at least 6 to 8 weeks before I can even think about swinging any kind of club except a few putts with a broom handle putter

[bscinstnct]

 

Gorgeous! Give up the salmon recipe, tol, if you’d be so kind.

 

I do a very basic salmon. Just olive oil, sea salt, ground pepper. Middle rack of the oven at 450* for about 13 minutes and it’s great. But yours looks very gourmet ; )

[tolmij]

We always cook our salmon simple, small amount of olive oil in a pan season with black and white pepper and salt. Medium heat so skin crIsps, cook until half cooked, add grated ginger and garlic to pan to taste we like a reasonable amount, cook until brown, does not take long. Add lemon juice and stock to pan only about two tablespoons, then cook until finished. If it is a thick piece of salmon I cover it so it also cooks from the top. We sometimes also add lemon wedges to the pan after the garlic has browned, they cook down really soft and we place them on top of the salmon when serving. The pan juices are really good poured over the finished salmon.

Be careful as sometimes the stock and lemon will burn so you have to add a little more If it gets too dry. It should be sticky when finished. If this does not make sense and anything requires clarification please ask.

when you try it let me know what you think.??

[Reasonability]

 

Thanks Fella / Stu.

The photo above was the old reminder grips I was mentioning specifically.

For those who've never seen or gamed them, early to mid 1960s Wilson sticks famously had them.. Leather wrap back then over an underpayment of what amounted to a thick cardboard tube glued to the shaft. This view from the butt end of the handle shows a flat spot which which ran down the top/left side of the grip, which "reminded" the golfer to place that hand properly.

The rules Nazis really screwed the pooch when they banned this one. Got a ton of newbies to the game off to a much better start.

[scomac2002]

As a card carrying member of OGA, pay zero attention to stupid "rules" as it applies to the implements I choose to hack around with.Played with a fellow on Saturday that pulled out one of those illegal two sided chippers. He said it's illegal, but I only play it right handed. I chuckled and said that I didn't care, he could play whatever he liked. I mentioned that I played illegal clubs too (referring to the vintage irons I owned that wouldn't pass muster due to never having been tested for the groove rule as if that really matters for anything)! I didn't explain why my clubs were illegal, just that I played some to make him feel like he wasn't alone. I take it that some toolbox had made mention of him using that chipper... Perhaps I should introduce "Tom" to the OGA and thus assuage his conscience.

I'm just waiting to meet that toolbox that says something about my irons I currently play. They were originally released in 2009 and as such were nonconforming, but the set I have are "C" heads which were a later version that had conforming grooves. It's a little bit like the different versions of Eye 2's with box grooves versus V grooves. It's nice to give a know-it-all their comeuppance every now and again. Better yet is to just beat the guy straight up!

[scomac2002]

Here's a legit golf question for y'all. Have any of you decided to park your sand wedge and play without one especially if you don't have sand on your course?

I've mentioned before that the Cleveland CBX hasn't quite yet tripped the light fantasique for me. I find myself more and more turning to my AW as my preferred pitching club. It would probably get me out of the sand if I had to much like the old dual wedges of old. If I get a handle on using the Niblick, I just might drop the SW in the name of finding that elusive 8 for the minimalist set -- D, 7W, 5h, 7, 9, AW, C, P -- has the inside track.

[Fellaheen51]

No, never considered dropping the SW. Then again, not in the process of contemplating how to assemble a minimalist bag. Reads as though you're comfortable manipulating the AW by swing and opening the face a bit to cover the necessary distances. And if you realize greater utility by having the chipper in the bag, as opposed to a SW, seems to be the logical choice. Between the two, what club would be used most frequently and to what result?

Recall one time last year, forgot to add a SW into the classic bag when I took it out for a spin. The highest lofted wedge was a Hogan 51*. Didn't seem to miss having a SW along. As I remember, was able to manipulate the club sufficiently to navigate around the course. If anything, was kinda fun trying different types of shots with it. Good practice. Wasn't in any sand as I remember.

______________________________________________________

Not unlike you at the moment. Been using the GW for all manner of shots from 80 yards and in. A confidence thing. Further, been working on the low(er) pitch and run shot versus the high pitch and stop one. Which rarely seem to check up as intended. Have a higher perceived margin for error with the low shot. And many of the courses played are conducive to that type of shot. When executed correctly being the usual proviso.

I had noted your take on the CBX earlier. Demoed the CBX and 2 back in early March at the LGS. Liked the 2, was hesitantly serious about buying one. But hitting off mats doesn't really tell one much with how it would play off grass or sand. Then everything hit the fan, and lost my inclination. Ended up acquiring a new model 54* Maltby head that matched up with the irons used. Since I already had a shaft around to install, was $50 vs. ~ $130+. Became kind of a no-brainer. It's very nice, has a modern sole grind, forged, yadda. But placed it into play without any adaptation or practice time. Only of late am I getting comfortable with it. Reducing the number of "fats" that I had initially. Still a work in progress though. Determining whether an item offers actual improvement vs. simply a confirmation bias is not always readily apparent.

[Fellaheen51]

I've yet to encounter a "toolbox" out in the wild. Slumming around on the local muni's, no one is concerned about such trifles. Heck, likely everyone in my golfing circle couldn't explain the rules if they had to. Conforming v. non-conforming. Legal v. Illegal. What's the significance of '24 all about. All meaningless nonsense in my golfing realm. Just like Reason's Reminder grips (stand corrected on what he was referring to). May look a bit usual, but whatever works for you is cool by me. Let's play golf.

There was a thread elsewhere awhile back with the OP wondering what will happen when 2024 arrives. Will his gear suddenly have no value. Chuckled to myself. "Yeah, they become worthless junk on 1/1/24." Must be a large number of WRX'villeites that only ball in high level sanctioned events. I don't really know....Can one establish a handicap if using cheater clubs? Suppose that's verboten as well.

On so many levels, being a decidedly average hack simply out to have some fun has its benefits.

[scomac2002]

That CBX SW is definitely a head scratcher. It sure looks like it belongs when I compare it to my set AW in terms of head size, shape, offset and sole, but it hasn't really played the part for me. I probably should do a head to head comparison with the Z Spin SW I have in stock as that was a reliable club provided I didn't shank it! I guess I'm just surprised that I'm not getting the result I was expecting. Perhaps it's more a matter of getting accustomed to the new club as it certainly spins more than the predecessor.

I must be a backwards golfer because I long for a driver that spins a bit more to help with launch and carry while on the other end I want a SW that spins a bit less to help with carry and run-out.

-------------------

Spent some time yesterday going over how my play thus far was impacting my handicap. Turns out it isn't really. In fact, if anything I seem to be on the exact same path as last year's games with about 1 score in 4 of the decent variety while the poorer half of my scores are pretty much the same on average as last year. So, this appears to be me. At least I know what I need to work on: Using the right club off the tee to stay out of trouble. Considering my tendency to smother my first tee shot I should be playing a shorter club off the tee than driver even though that leaves me a longer approach if I can avoid trouble.

Chipping is the big one because it leaves me with putts that are too long for realistic up and down opportunities. Then of course it's the lag putting so that I don't leave myself too many 6 footers, but more 3 footers thus saving strokes there as well.

What that exercise brought to light is that I'm not close to the same player I used to be. Age and infirmity does that. The best stretch of golf I played in recent years was a 4 month stretch in 2017 using what would have been considered almost vintage clubs in that I was using a set of Hogan Apex Plus along with a couple of Nickent hybrids an old R7 425 driver and a Zing putter. That's a far cry from what I'm attempting to scuffle around the course with now and the handicap shows it as I'm a good 5 shots higher post injury. The craziest part of it all is that the sum total cost of that entire bag was something like $200! I've got that much in the current driver and it was used!

--------------------

My gaze of late has turned towards finding a more suitable bicycle. I've had my road bike out a couple of times this spring. I'm fine while I'm riding, but boy do I hurt afterwards! The geometry is just too aggressive and that puts a lot of stress on the back and upper body even after just a half hour. Riding a bike shouldn't be like that. When I was doing physiotherapy after my back injury they had me ride a stationary bike for 20 minutes wearing a TENs machine following every treatment. I always felt great afterwards and there were never any issues with pain, but the riding position was upright and I didn't have to contend with rough road surfaces.

I've identified a couple of different "hybrid" bikes that might do the trick, but I'd want to ride them before committing really. I doubt that is doable at this juncture with COVID restrictions, not to mention that inventory at many shops is sold out until fall if not for the whole season. So looks like I'm just going to have to keep on trying with my current rig and hope that gradually the body will grow accustomed.

In the mean time I've order a couple of blinky lights for front and rear along with a rear view mirror that plugs into the bar end. It's treacherous around here riding from the house due to traffic. They're aren't going as fast as they were out at the farm, but that's more than made up for by sheer volume! There are lovely cycling dedicated routes, it's just getting to them from the house and then developing enough stamina to go for a ride of a couple hours duration without having to make multiple stops.

One thing is for certain; between gardening and golf and work and trying to get the odd bike ride in I'm not suffering from boredom or a lack of things to do. That's not even considering the honey do list that is building as DW identifies yet another project that she wants to undertake. This retirement business is hard work!!

[Sean2]

I have a set of the CBX2 wedges and really like them. My old wedges were getting grooveless, lol.

Just got back from a visit with my mother in upper east Tennessee. She is 90 years old and we went to Mt Mitchell, Mt Roan, Linville Falls, etc. She is still quite the hiker (she walks around 4 miles a day, is always doing yard work, lives in her own house, and drives). What a difference between TN and MA, with regards to Covid-19.

[scotee]

Another nice meal there Tol! Keep it simple and don’t over cook seems to be best for salmon. We always cook it out on the grill so the house never smells fishy. I marinate in olive oil and lemon or lime juice, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. I put it skin side down on foil and baste it to keep it moist and almost poached. I don’t even turn it. We get some really nice fresh Coho here in the Northwest this time of year. 

 

Oh, and another nice painting too.

 

[scotee]

Very nice tune Judge! Chet was the man. A real genius. We are lucky to live in a day where his work can be saved to enjoy like this.

 Funny you picked that song as I just saw this today.

 

[tolmij]

Agree, I cannot see the benefit of all the equipment changes , its as if they only want the professionals to play the game. As with yourself I have no idea if my clubs conform or not and I just do not care anyway, the way I play the game it makes no difference.

[Conrad1953]

Here's another old song; though this one is a guitar duet...........

[tolmij]

One of my favourite green veg on that plate, unfortunately I have gout and too much asparagus brings it on big time

[scomac2002]

It sure makes no difference to me either. My patience is most certainly being tested though. Looking back may not be the best course of action though as all it seems to do for me is frustrate. The game should be enjoyable, but that's a tough nut to crack when I find myself comparing what I'm doing now to what I did back then. I can see why guys quit.

At some point it gets into your head. That's the thing with yips which can probably manifest itself in a number of different ways. I spoke about the guy that was getting stuck at the top of his back swing. That's a form of yip. Mine manifests itself in my complete inability to aim a putt at the hole. I'm beginning to think a blind man could do better! 22 (putts) today for 9 holes. Believe it or not that included two one putts... I ran a couple more right over the edge of the hole, but with far too much pace to fall. I can make putts on the practice green, but not when it counts. That has been my legacy since I took this game up and yet put me on a mini golf track with any old random Bullseye style putter and I can drop the dang things all day long...

I'm not enjoying the game right now and we're only 4 weeks in or so. The people that I play with are fine, but the game is not fun. I'm certainly glad that a round is over after a couple of hours and 9 holes. I couldn't tolerate 18 at this point and it doesn't have a darn thing to do with my physical health.

My wife hasn't played in a couple of years now and today she said she didn't really know when she was going to get to play, inferring that if she doesn't try this year, she may not bother trying again. It's gotten so easy for her to find something else to do. I'm starting to find that I can be the same. I had to cancel a planned game for Wednesday due to car availability. When I returned from the course today I promptly went to the garden center and bought some more bedding plants to add to the front garden. It needs a pop of colour and who knows, maybe my bike accessories will show up later this week and I'll have to mount them and go for a ride. Power wash the siding and garden shed; prep it for stain and then paint and the next thing you know a month has passed, no clubs have been swung and no one is missing it... How's that old saying go? The thrill is gone...

[tolmij]

Right with you on finding plenty to do, I can never understand anyone who says they are bored when they retire, not enough hours in my day to fit everything in. Hopefully we should be going to golf next Friday, not played since my illness started last year, it left me unable to walk very far, two thirds through the treatment now and all is feeling good.