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

[Fellaheen51]

Great round Brother@Conrad1953! Shooting a 79, even par 36 on the back, on a 131 slope course, in brutal heat is more than solid. Exceptional. Bombing greens with the V2's. The 4th hole looks similar to one we play that's the #1 handicap hole on the course. Trouble back and left, two tier green with the pin seemingly always on the top shelf. Bail out shot to the right if you don't want to tempt it. That's where I try and hit, plait safe. Pitch and putt, hopefully get out there with a bogey and move on to the next hole.
Excellent pics as well. Nice looking course. I enjoy viewing the courses that the Brethren are playing. Same as you. Not close to TMI, a round synopsis is always expected. Although this Northerner may have gotten heat stroke attempting to play in the hot and steamy climatic conditions.

[Conrad1953]

Actually, I did make bogie on the 4th hole. My memory was of a par but the scorecard says bogie.........which means I 3 putted; which wouldn't

be anything new on that hole. Now that I'm thinking about it I remember I had 2 choices. My putt had to start on the green, then go through

about 10 feet of fringe then back on the green to the hole......or I could try a flop shot from the green; which I had zero confidence of pulling

off and the risk of a lost ball if I failed. So I putted and my ball got hung up in the fringe 20 feet from the hole and I ended up 3 putting. I

actually am OK with a bogie like that. It's the 3 doubles I made on the front; 2 of them on par 5s that bug me the most. I was 7 over for the

round and 4 over on the par 5s. That's just typical for me though the par 5s are ranked 1,2,3 and 4 in difficulty.

 

In your mind you think par 5s that run form 467 to 490 yards on that course..........all of them should be easily reachable in 3 yet I was only

on 2 of them in 3 and took the circuitous stroke consuming route to the other 2........because I got into trouble on the left side of the course

when I know I need to stay the he** away from that side if the course. Sometimes the ball just goes where it wants, lol, .....or more

precisely it goes where I hit it because I got a little careless......but that's golf. Gotta focus for 18 holes; not easy.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling and getting too self indulged. Thank you for the kind words. I was talking to Cobi when I got home and she thinks

I shouldn't play when it's this hot. I'm still gonna play but I think I'll cut it down to maybe once a week until it starts to cool down a little.

[Conrad1953]

No one pays attention to that sign, lol. The funny thing is virtually no one plays from the black tees. Only a few have the length

to play from the purple tees. These guys that come here and think they want to play the "whole" course can't make it through

a round playing too far back. They'll either move back up on their own or the marshals will move them up if there's an open

hole ahead of them.......i.e., they're playing too slow.

 

It;s no fun playing from too far back. It's masochism, self flagellation and whatever else you might want to call it but enjoyable

is one thing it's not and neither is it good for the ego. It's just dumb. I've seen it a lot...........guys looking for their drives in the

nasty rough 10 yards in front of the ladies tee box. That is NOT good for the ego, LMAO!

[tolmij]

Hey Billh nice to see you lurking in the back ground, hope your recovery is now complete.

[Fellaheen51]

@Conrad1953 posted: It's no fun playing from too far back. It's masochism, self flagellation and whatever else you might want to call it but enjoyable is one thing it's not and neither is it good for the ego. It's just dumb. I've seen it a lot...........guys looking for their drives in thenasty rough 10 yards in front of the ladies tee box. That is NOT good for the ego, LMAO!Manage to experience 95% of the whole course playing from the forward tees. Including the rough, beach, trees, water and swale, tall grass. Always a circuitous adventure traversing terra firma in search of a hole in the ground.
We have this saying, don't know if others also, if you can't hit pass the ladies tee, have to "drop trou (trousers)" for your next shot. Your man card is momentarily revoked. Not good for the golf ego, or self respect. Some members of the bud's group at times are lacking in gentlemanly decorum. Of course, we know when and who is tolerant of some jazzing.
Last week, duffed a drive about a yard past the ladies tee markers. That was way out there, at least 100 75 (?) yards from the tee we were playing from. And was duly noted by the bums in the other cart. That was a close one. Shorts up. Hit a quality second shot though, gave them a tour sauce spin of the club after. We laughed.

[scomac2002]

I think I can top that @Fellaheen51: Monday past, 3rd hole tee shot with 3W topped and travelled to the front of the tee box. In this instance the forward tees were in the same tee box (255 yd. par 4). Second shot with same club from the rough travelled not much farther than the first! Changed club to 5 h and the result was more in keeping with what one would hope for, but still about 75 yards from the green and shooting 4. Managed a 6 on the hole. I thought that a triumph at that point.

[scomac2002]

At the half way point of the rebuilding process with the Speedblade irons. No wonder they were a handful as there was two extra wraps of grips tape under the jumbo grips!

First time for me using the graphite shaft extensions. They are extruded plastic with a swedge that you drive down into the nipple to expand it against the shaft. They were a darn tight fit even without a swedge in there, but a simple process none-the-less to install. Had the clubs all prepped and ready to go only to discover that my epoxy had leaked out and the hardener was completely empty. Ended up using some quick set epoxy from the building supply store. It's probably all the same stuff anyway so no need to order special stuff in the future.

To be honest, I think that these "graphite extensions" weigh more than steel extensions do once they're cut down to finished length (especially for a 1/2" extension, so I've effectively back-weighted the irons. Probably no worse than they were with jumbo grips and all that extra tape. I added some lead tape to the heads as a bit of a counterblalance. They always feel a bit strange until you get the grips on so I'll see how they feel when I'm done either today or Friday. The plan is to give them a go again on the weekend at the range. If nothing else the bag will be lighter. Also setting myself up for a potential minimalist bag with every other iron.

[Conrad1953]

The Senator course here has some deep rough in front of the tee boxes on some holes. Over the years I have topped a few

into that rough and lost balls 15-30 yards in front of the tee box. It's so much fun when guys ride up in their carts to tee

off and you're there in front of the tee box looking for your topped tee shot. People just smile because they know everyone

has done it at one time or another........but that's different from the guys playing the purple tees and they hit drives that don't

reach the fairway and end up in the rough or surrounding mounds in front of the ladies tee box .

 

Most of the time when we see that it's Koreans; some have big egos and like to play too far back and often play slow. There

are many here because of the big Hyundai plant in Montgomery. Now that I'm retired I don't see that much since I stopped

playing on the weekends. To be fair, most of the Koreans are sensible and play the white or orange tees but some play the

purple tees and have no business being back there.

 

LOL, one time I was playing over at Grand National in Opelika and I got paired with this Korean dude. He was a good guy and

fun to play golf with. I asked him what he was doing playing way over in Opelika and he told me, and I kid not, it was because

there were too many Koreans playing at Capitol Hill. Among themselves......they know.....lol.

[scomac2002]

I play with a Korean fellow in my Saturday morning group. Nice fellow and a decent stick too, but he does insist on playing the blue tees. I hadn't played back there in 3 or 4 years because my senior men's league plays whites. It changes a couple of the par 4's quite a bit as they're 60-70 yds. longer. Tough pill on the first hole because it turns a 3W and a short iron a D and a 3W!

[Sean2]

Why not play the tees you usually play? I play the senior tees regardless where anyone else plays. If they want me to play further back, they can pay my greens fees, lol.

[BIG STU]

I don't honestly know if you looked at my swing if you would see anything good. Mine is strictly home made. One only knows what it will look like after a 5 month hiatus with my back injury. I hve been able to putt even 2 weeks into my injuries and have did some evolving with both my set up and equipment. I am only able to putt 10 minutes at the time and then i sit on the patio beside the putting green and watch others. I have seen guys with beautiful putting strokes that could not hit a wash tub and I have seen guys that jab at the ball and make everything. Like I said before there is no one absolute way etched in stone to properly play this game.

[BIG STU]

One hot weather tip. Get you some of those packets of Pedeylite to mix in your water. In rel hot weather I drink a lot of water so every 4th bottle I spike it up with the stuff. Now maybe you should check with your doctor before doing it. I play golf with mine some and he was the one who turned me on to it

[Sean2]

Yes, I use a product called Daylyte, which serves the same purpose. https://www.amazon.com/Electrolyte-Concentrated-Supplement-Hydration-Electrolytes/dp/B07VLBW3F5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=daylite+drops&qid=1595437601&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyV0lJVkY2UkNFMDVNJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTQyNzc2MVVEREtPUldWOVFaRCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjY2MDEwMlVXNVI4Wk9SNEpRWSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[billh17]

Not complete yet. He has moved me to August 1st. Didn't say why. Guess there was something he wasn't happy with. That makes the 2nd or 3rd change to my release date . Cant remember now ! I am allowed to hit soft wedges..no hard swings, no driver...i think i will just wait until i can play again. Like Conrad, it has been so darn hot and humid here that i wouldn't have been playing anyway. We have been over 98 f the last five days. Dew point around 70/ 75...too muggy for this old man !

Glad to see some guys getting out !

 

[scomac2002]

Finished rejigging the Speedblade irons today. Extended them by 1/2" across the board to match up with my Burner Plus and then installed Lamkin Sonar Plus grips in regular size with a single layer of grip tape. I also added a single strip of heavy weight lead tape in the insignia bar. Probably will need to add another strip or two to get the feel just right, but that will be done following a range session or two.

I weighed the 7 iron when I was done and it came in at a shade under 360 g which is a good 20 g less than they were before I extended them! The grips are 20 g lighter than the jumbo tour wraps, so I guess the extensions weighed the same as all the tape I took off. Who ever owned these clubs before me must have had one helluva set of mitts!

When I pick up the PW in one hand and compare the weight with my steel shafted PW it doesn't seem to be any different at the end of the lever, so I'll assume that they swing weight about the same without having the benefit of a scale to check. Don't know how this is going to work out. Time will tell. Fun project regardless.

[tolmij]

I use a bottle of red wine, not as good but drink enough and you feel nothing.????

[Hankshank]

I second that. Was on a conference back in the early 90’s when there was also a elpga tournament in town. Was down at the bar together with another golfer colleague when Laura and two other young british players came up next to us. We took courage and approached them, saying we were golfers and recognised them. Guess you cannot do that this days but back then you could. My colleague (management course) was(is?) one of those guys that could make anyone chatty so we talked with them an Laura was definitely cozy and humorous. That have kind of made me root for her. She is a strong girl.

[Conrad1953]

I hope these work out for you Sco.

[Conrad1953]

Well, a week can go by pretty quickly and then you'll be playing again. I just looked at our 10 day forecast and the temps

will be dropping back into the high 80s for highs in a few days............the only problem with that is the reason for the drop

in temps is the 30-60% rain chances each day.

[Conrad1953]

Sixty, if you're reading..................I remember you talking about going to your dermatologist and getting things removed and

that you recommended all golfers should visit a dermatologist regularly. I finally took up your advice and asked my primary

doctor to refer me to one.

 

I had my first visit yesterday and had some things frozen off and the dermatologist didn't like a small crusty spot on my

left forearm and so he cut it out (ouch!) and had it biopsied. I got a call from them today (that was fast) and was told the

biopsy showed it was a squamous cell carcinoma so they want me back next month to cut more skin off my forearm to

"increase the margins" around the spot where that skin cancer was found.....to make sure they get it all.

 

I think it was all those years driving with my left arm resting on the door and getting cooked by the sun day after day.

Who knows for sure but these things are caused by excessive exposure to UV rays. I'm not trying to scare anyone but as

Sixty has said, older golfers should keep an eye on their skin and get checked by a dermatologist now and then.

 

After the call was over I spent some time online investigating what a squamous cell carcinoma is. Caught early it's not a

big deal and can be removed with a 95-98% cure rate. If it goes untreated there is a slight chance it will go away on it's

own but there is a large chance it will eventually spread elsewhere where it can become difficult to treat.

 

I wanted to pass this on to my golf buds here to be aware and to thank Sixty for the advice he gave all of us. I'm glad

I finally took his advice and this was caught early. Providence IMO.

 

[SixtySomePing]

Good for you Rad. Yes I've been going to Bethany for probably 12 years now. She removes something every year. I've had several squamous cell carcinoma spots removed, one was on the inside corner of my left eye near the upper led, she removed it right in her office, amazing. Another on my back she had to dig a little deeper on. Usually She'll Just freeze them off. I told her when I was a kid we used to go the the beach at lake Erie and not use suntan lotion. By the next day we would peel off skin in sheets. She said that's the kind of stuff you pay for later. But you can get this anytime, especially when you get older. She's a golfer, and she said golfers are susceptible to this being out in the sun. She has me wearing a wide brim hat and sun tan lotion with SPF of 50, even on shady days as she says it doesn't have to be direct sunlight and UV comes through the clouds too.

If you think you know your skin or spots on it, or new growths, you probably don't. I find dark spots, or crusty things, and she will explain why they are no problem, then she will find stuff I didn't even see, and show me, explain why they are bad, then freeze it off because it was bad. It takes a pro to find the bad stuff, so don't trust your own thoughts or feelings, get checked. I never paid any more that my $25 deductible all those years when I was working, and now that I'm on a medicare advantage plan it's the same.

My father-in-law died at 62 of melanoma. What an unnecessary way to die. He played softball, it was his life. I doubt he ever used suntan lotion, I just know that he died at 62 and he was always out in the sun, he really liked his tan... ...

So my dermatologist does a great job. If you've never gone to one, you may be happy that you did like Rad. It could be a life changer.

Bethany

[Fellaheen51]

A couple of comments to catch up:@billh17. Keep on doing what you're doing Brother. Come to far to screw it up now by not following doctor's (and likely Mrs.) orders. Playing at golf when the temps are in the mid-90's ain't no fun. That's just get though it, survival golf. Can't even hang onto the club when the hands start sweating. Dangerous. Staying ensconced in A/C, cold beverage of choice in hand, chillen' is the more prudent approach. Better days ahead.
Brother @Conrad1953. Smart taking Sixty's dermatological advice and go get suspicious looking skin things checked out. Being proactive early onset, not let conditions escalate in severity. As mentioned, early diagnosis and treatment is paramount in reducing the risk. And adding proper safety protocols whenever out of doors. Hopefully, nothing more than regular application of high SPF sunscreens. We've all see others when out playing golf, often dressed in all white pants and long sleeve shirts, and we knew why. All the best moving forward. Ouch!
______________________________________________
Managed to have my own medical incidence yesterday. Being a moderately cooler day, was an opportunity to mow the "way back" portion of the backyard. An area that gets mowed 3-4x per year just to keep the field grass whacked down and manageable. In the corner where I start, there's a electrical utility junction box of some form. Bang into it while mowing around it. Turning to make my next pass, felt a stinging around my ankles and lower legs. Ouchy, yellow jackets were in the box. Got stung a couple of times. Smarted for a couple of minutes then went away. Not my first rodeo getting stung. Like a dummy, and because there was a small patch left unmowed, went back after it and got stung again!
Anyhow, went about my business for another half hour or so not really thinking about it much. Then stopped to fill the gas tank. And realized I was not feeling so hot. Sweating profusely, my chest had started feeling kinda tight, my whole head started itching like crazy. Very weird feeling. Went inside to set in the A/C, drink some ice water, take a pause. Told the Mrs. what had happened and she said you're not looking so good. Naw, just overheated a bit. But then REALLY started feeling bad. She said "You might be have a reaction to the bee stings, your face is beet red and puffy." Laid down on the bed, trying to get it together. Look at myself in a mirror, wholly sizzles. She gave me a couple of benadryls and told me she's taking me to the nearby Urgent Care immediately.
Upon arriving, could barely walk in, was feeling quite disorientated and dizzy. They hustled me into a patient room (thought I was going to pass out), immediately gave me a high dose shot of steroids, had me lay down, gave me some pills with water that I could barely swallow, put me on oxygen. My neck, back and legs had broken out in hives. Wholly crapola. What's going on here? Was getting concerned that I may be having a heart attack. Asked about that, she assured me that wasn't the case. That I was having an allergic reaction to the stings. Anaphylaxis as it's called, a term that I was unfamiliar with. Never had an allergic reaction to anything in my life so had no reference points.
After about a half hour, felt the symptoms subsiding. But urgent care wanted, insisted, that I be transported by EMS (because of the oxygen) to an area hospital's ER. For continued observation to make sure the symptoms had indeed subsided permanently. Spent three hours in the ER room, the Mrs. joining me after a point. More medicine into the IV tube that was now in my arm. Wired up to the monitor gizmos. But I feeling a whole lot better by now, even managed to slip in a snooze. Felt fine when they released me, asked if wanted a wheelchair. Nope, I'm walking outta here.
Was told by several of those involved that I have to be very cognizant of future bee stings. Because I've had this occur once, I may be at risk for a reoccurrence and it may be of increased severity the next time. Even life threatening if I don't take immediate action. That I should have quick access to Epipen's with some type of medication in them. Ok, great, whatever I gotta do.
Feel fine this morning. No concerns, fit as a fiddle. Going out to finish mowing the yard later, staying the he(ll) away from the yellow jacket nest. All a very weird afternoon yesterday.

[scomac2002]

I've never been to a dermatologist. I always figured that those sorts of things happened on the referral of your GP following up on something that they found.

I'm not dark skinned, but I tan pretty well rather than burn. As a result I don't routinely use sunscreen. I'll use it early in the season until I get a base or in the winter months when on holiday in the Caribbean.

Considering that I'm a golfer, work at a golf course, garden and farmed, I'm probably a high probability candidate for skin cancer. That said, no direct members of my family have had skin cancer.

After getting a doozy of a burn in my early twenties while fishing without a shirt on, I've never gone shirtless or hatless for that matter ever since. Just a matter of self preservation is all. I'm not one to lay in the sun just for the heck of it either. That's not to say that I'm immune, but I'm not completely ambivalent about it either. Can't say that I can get excited about greasing oneself up either though. I figure that the Indians and Arabs had it sorted about a 1000 years ago with their traditional garb of flowing, light weight cotton, robes. Today we have wide-brimmed floppy hats and performance fabrics that works pretty well.

[scomac2002]

Your guess is as good as mine. In fact, I think that you have made it known already Rad when reminding me of previous postings.

There's no real reason why they wouldn't work. I just have to get out of the way of my own personal biases. We'll see if that's a bridge too far. But, Fella was right, it's hard to make a reasoned judgment without the benefit of a half season of play. I didn't think much of the Titleist 913 driver when I first got it, but I grew to like it. It was just a matter of finding the appropriate settings.

I was hitting some pitches and chips yesterday with a couple of the clubs and got along just fine in my back yard. In fact I kind of fancied the lighter weight as I wasn't quite as tentative as I can be as I didn't have the fear of hitting it too far/hard.

[Fellaheen51]

Our similarities are at times ironic. Match up very similar to your epidermal descriptive. Somewhat on the darker skin side, perhaps due to a percentage of Native American genes in me not too many generations removed. Tan easily, can't recall ever having a bad sunburn. Especially after getting the initial "base layer' established. Never have used sunscreen in any form. (Perhaps should rethink that.) Then again I'm not out in the sun constantly, don't do the shirtless outside thing. When I'm done swimming, pull on a tee sort to cover up.

The notion that you mention has crossed my mind as well. There are those of certain ethnicities that have adapted to living in the sun, in higher exposure environments and for longer durations than what I encounter. They've managed. WTS, a fair share of tech fabric golf shirts I wear nowadays have a UV rating. Whatever that's worth. Haven't gone the floppy brim hat route yet though. Don't know what a stylishly suitable one wold be. Not fan of the Panama while golfing, they don't seem to want to stay on the noggin all that well while swinging away.

Perhaps should become smart about this business, slather on some sunscreen to exposed areas once in awhile just to play it safe.

[scomac2002]

Haven't gone the floppy brim hat route yet though. Don't know what a stylishly suitable one would be. Not fan of the Panama while golfing, they don't seem to want to stay on the noggin all that well while swinging away.I'll flog the local product. I've owned three to date. Virtually indestructible, stay on in a gale and they float should it come off while on the water. Military grade as they're part of Canadian Armed Forces kit. Doubt that they'll win the style prize, but lots and lots sold up here. Hiker's Hat | Tilley[Added] Forgot to mention that they're packable.

[Fellaheen51]

TFP. Someone else mentioned Tilley's before (oldschoolrocker comes to mind), but never checked them out. Rather like that Tilley you posted. Has a certain functional, utilitarian style to it that's appealing. Never been a hat wearer of any form, other than the proverbial golf cap. That's mostly about keeping the sun out of my eyes. They are a bit pricey though (noted in CAD). Although recognizing one sometimes must pay a premium to realize value in a quality, well designed product. And your endorsement that they stay affixed on the head. If they are the lid of choice for the Canadian Armed Forces, what better endorsement. Will investigate further. There are times when I wished I had a good hat on hand. Like for those cold, rainy, miserable days in the winter.

[Qqq123xx]

Banggood has some interesting hats are very good prices. Have not ordered from them but have been seriously looking. I usually wear mock shirts to cover up that V area which I always forgot to put sunscreen on with regular collar shirts. And seriously looking into the long sleeve high tech golf stuff. Although the prices are exactly that.

[scomac2002]

The Tilley hat does stay on. I've worn one while sailing more than once. There's a strap that goes under the chin to hold it in place in extremely windy conditions. There's also a strap that goes across the back of the head at the base of your skull which will keep it on in most circumstance that one would incur. (Similar to the strap on a campaign hat worn by a drill sergeant or a state trooper.) That's all you need for golf; I don't care if you're swinging like Da Beast!

[Added] Outdoor Research is another brand that makes adventure type hats

[Conrad1953]

Wow, having one removed from your eyelid...................I read about the crazy places these things can show up at on you. I had a

growth at the base of my nose that he was also concerned about but, thankfully, the biopsy came back negative on that one.

 

So, I'm gathering from what you're saying that Bethany, since you've been going to her for so long and she's familiar with your

skin, just freezes off any carcinomas and anything else she thinks should be removed and doesn't go through the cutting out

and biopsy process on every thing she thinks could be a carcinoma?

 

I hope that's the case cause the freezing thing doesn't hurt much at all but the cutting is painful. When I go back for the

"increase the margins" process for this carcinoma I'm gonna ask for a local; some novocaine or something rather than just

sit there and grin and bear it while he cuts skin off my arm. I can tolerate some pain but I do have my limits, lol.