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

[Reasonability]

The infamous danger of the range.

 

Rather than make statements, maybe questions are in order.

 

 

* Provided it's a higher quality mat and not one of those worn-out and rock hard varieties, is there actually a time and place to practice on the mat? Conversely are there types of swings that will never be learned on a mat?

 

 

Could you elaborate a little more on this question please? The way the question reads it's clear that you have some thoughts on this, and I would love to know more. I've never hit off of a mat. Thanks!

 

Some mats come really close to simulating real turf in that the simulated grass (synthetic fiber) is deeper, thicker, more dense, and made atop thicker and spongier underlay. AND, better mats are always large enough to accommodate both the ball AND the guy standing on it. Compare this to a thin, hard rubber underlay sitting on a concrete pad, with not much more than tin indoor/outdoor carpet glued to it. Worse, the mat itself is sometimes a little strip of fake grass or cheap carpet on a small strip that holds only the ball itself whilst the golfer stands on concrete or natural turf (which in effect causes the ball to be well above the feet).

 

The former is going to feel very much like, and the ball will react very much like a tight like in a decent fairway. The latter is going to send a bone-jarring shock-wave up the shaft and into your hands unless you manage to "pick" the ball off it's perch every time up. (And some golfers are naturally "pickers" while others like very much digging those deep beaver pelt divots).

 

 

Mats are often despised by golfers. Personally I tend to think one of two primary things tends to drive some to have a pretty strong opinion against them.

 

A) They really don't often see much in terms of quality mats. We live in an age of cost controls and the good ones don't come cheap. Expose the golfer who swing down sharply into the ball and expects that feel of a deep divot, such mats are going to drive him to hate them.

B) Other times access to better quality mats happens, but no matter what, some still don't trust anything but mother-earth, AND/OR they don't want to or care to learn when a sweeping shallow angle of attack might be handy to learn. For these golfers, you might notice they hate tight lies, especially from about 100 yards and closer.

 

To give a specific example, golfers become confused and often just plain give-up trying to sort out stuff like this....

 

(a) You're supposed to move the ball a little forward and keep your head back a little to send a ball higher.

 

(b) You're also supposed to compress the ball - get the shaft leaning forward of the ball a little at impact, to spin it and send it farther.

 

For most golfers a shallower angle of attack as the clubhead approaches impact is usually better than swinging down steeply into the back of the ball with a steep angle of attack. For those who naturally swing down sharply with a steep angle of attack, tight lies often freak them out a little.

 

On a QUALITY mat, a golfer can drop is trail foot back behind him and stand that foot on it's toes which leaves the hands and arms with very little choice but hitting the ball first. Even if its little half and 3/4 swings he's going to learn to hit ball-first (unless he moves the ball way forward in his stance). But he might in the process overdo it and swing down too steep in terms of angle of attack. So for that, he puts a little strip of masking tape on the mat a couple-three inches back behind the ball. He should place a second strip of masking tape just in front of the ball.

 

The goal becomes to barely miss the first strip of tape, make contact with the ball, and sweep that second strip of tape after the ball off the mat.

 

About 20 minutes with such a drill on a GOOD mat... and the whole idea of a tight light, good ball-first contact, suddenly feels very dooable on any lie - especially tight lies. And just like the key to your drill in moving the naval toward the spine needs breathing, this drill needs to be a swing not a "stab" at the ball. There's a wrist-release (albeit later and off the lead side leg and foot), but the 'trick' to it is to swing it not jab down hard at it.

 

One stupid drill, two lousy strips of tape, and one good quality mat.

 

Ball first, angle of attack learning of this brand, and play off of tight lies, works up and down through the irons in the bag. And I maintain I "can" do all of this off the mat as well. But have you ever tried to put masking tape on real grass? You're going to be peeling off a lot of tape and wasting a lot of time. The mat (if its a good one) are going to cut the learning curve time WAY down.

 

There's another almost opposite approach and I KNOW Stu will relate to this one. You can grab an old beater wedge, and literally practice off your back deck or an old section of plywood. When you can "pick" the ball off of a hard wooden surface - you'll know exactly how to fly a wedge shot around the greens to a pin. Sounds crazy, right? Stu will explain it if he wants but he's not the only golfer who does this stuff. There's a wrx teaching pro, and buds of mine who've put that one to work and they all swear by it, too.

 

It's OK with me if others disagree with me on all this. Just sharing here. No hard feelings one way or the other. I'm not ready to proclaim a steady diet of mat practice is the only way to go. Just saying if the mat is of good quality and the golfer wants to learn about tight lies and ball-first contact... maybe how to swing with a shallower angle of attack....they're certainly not a bad thing at all.

 

Poor quality mats are bone jarring and literally beat your lie angles out of spec. Not a fan of them. Good mats make a certain sound you can use a feedback during practice and feel very much like real turf shots.

[Spooky67]

The infamous danger of the range.

 

Rather than make statements, maybe questions are in order.

 

 

* Provided it's a higher quality mat and not one of those worn-out and rock hard varieties, is there actually a time and place to practice on the mat? Conversely are there types of swings that will never be learned on a mat?

 

 

Could you elaborate a little more on this question please? The way the question reads it's clear that you have some thoughts on this, and I would love to know more. I've never hit off of a mat. Thanks!

 

Some mats come really close to simulating real turf in that the simulated grass (synthetic fiber) is deeper, thicker, more dense, and made atop thicker and spongier underlay. AND, better mats are always large enough to accommodate both the ball AND the guy standing on it. Compare this to a thin, hard rubber underlay sitting on a concrete pad, with not much more than tin indoor/outdoor carpet glued to it. Worse, the mat itself is sometimes a little strip of fake grass or cheap carpet on a small strip that holds only the ball itself whilst the golfer stands on concrete or natural turf (which in effect causes the ball to be well above the feet).

 

The former is going to feel very much like, and the ball will react very much like a tight like in a decent fairway. The latter is going to send a bone-jarring shock-wave up the shaft and into your hands unless you manage to "pick" the ball off it's perch every time up. (And some golfers are naturally "pickers" while others like very much digging those deep beaver pelt divots).

 

 

Mats are often despised by golfers. Personally I tend to think one of two primary things tends to drive some to have a pretty strong opinion against them.

 

A) They really don't often see much in terms of quality mats. We live in an age of cost controls and the good ones don't come cheap. Expose the golfer who swing down sharply into the ball and expects that feel of a deep divot, such mats are going to drive him to hate them.

B) Other times access to better quality mats happens, but no matter what, some still don't trust anything but mother-earth, AND/OR they don't want to or care to learn when a sweeping shallow angle of attack might be handy to learn. For these golfers, you might notice they hate tight lies, especially from about 100 yards and closer.

 

To give a specific example, golfers become confused and often just plain give-up trying to sort out stuff like this....

 

(a) You're supposed to move the ball a little forward and keep your head back a little to send a ball higher.

 

(b) You're also supposed to compress the ball - get the shaft leaning forward of the ball a little at impact, to spin it and send it farther.

 

For most golfers a shallower angle of attack as the clubhead approaches impact is usually better than swinging down steeply into the back of the ball with a steep angle of attack. For those who naturally swing down sharply with a steep angle of attack, tight lies often freak them out a little.

 

On a QUALITY mat, a golfer can drop is trail foot back behind him and stand that foot on it's toes which leaves the hands and arms with very little choice but hitting the ball first. Even if its little half and 3/4 swings he's going to learn to hit ball-first (unless he moves the ball way forward in his stance). But he might in the process overdo it and swing down too steep in terms of angle of attack. So for that, he puts a little strip of masking tape on the mat a couple-three inches back behind the ball. He should place a second strip of masking tape just in front of the ball.

 

The goal becomes to barely miss the first strip of tape, make contact with the ball, and sweep that second strip of tape after the ball off the mat.

 

About 20 minutes with such a drill on a GOOD mat... and the whole idea of a tight light, good ball-first contact, suddenly feels very dooable on any lie - especially tight lies.

 

One stupid drill, two lousy strips of tape, and one good quality mat.

 

Ball first, angle of attack learning of this brand, and play off of tight lies, works up and down through the irons in the bag. And I maintain I "can" do all of this off the mat as well. But have you ever tried to put masking tape on real grass? You're going to be peeling off a lot of tape and wasting a lot of time. The mat (if its a good one) are going to cut the learning curve time WAY down.

 

There's another almost opposite approach and I KNOW Stu will relate to this one. You can grab an old beater wedge, and literally practice off your back deck or an old section of plywood. When you can "pick" the ball off of a hard wooden surface - you'll know exactly how to fly a wedge shot around the greens to a pin. Sounds crazy, right? Stu will explain it if he wants but he's not the only golfer who does this stuff. There's a wrx teaching pro, and buds of mine who've put that one to work and they all swear by it, too.

 

It's OK with me if others disagree with me on all this. Just sharing here. No hard feelings one way or the other. I'm not ready to proclaim a steady diet of mat practice is the only way to go. Just saying if the mat is of good quality and the golfer wants to learn about tight lies and ball-first contact... maybe how to swing with a shallower angle of attack....they're certainly not a bad thing at all.

 

Poor quality mats are bone jarring and literally beat your lie angles out of spec. Not a fan of them. Good mats make a certain sound you can use a feedback during practice and feel very much like real turf shots.

 

I appreciate the info! Like I mentioned, I've never hit off a mat, and wouldn't know a quality mat from a bad one, but I am intrigued for sure. My natural miss is a fat shot. My swing gets really steep and I usually dig pretty deep with my irons. I have been trying to flatten my swing out and pick the ball more often but it's definitely a work in progress.

 

Any info on where one would buy a quality mat from? Thanks!

[Reasonability]

Anyone else score better when playing alone.? I almost always shoot better paying alone than when playing with friends. I wish that wasn't the case because I'd like my friends to see that I can occasionally play decent golf.

 

Today, played 18 with a couple of friends I haven't seen in a while...shot 105...yikes. The goal this year is mid 80s again, so rounds like this aren't helping. Did play a new to me hybrid for the first time, no range time, just put it in the bag. It went ok, some good shots and a few miss-hits. I am really liking my bag set up but for some reason I can't get any real consistent ball striking going.

 

My card had pars, a birdie and 7s and 8s....I am trying to think my way around the course, within my ability. But it was tough today..lol.

 

I'm more like Stu and Fella when I play alone; which admittedly hasn't been often. I tend to

goof off and use the time for practice and don't keep score. I'm not a range rat either. I'm

probably the epitome of a social golfer. I enjoy having companions when I play.

 

I played most of my solo rounds when I played on the road. If there was someone to play

with I would opt for that but often I would get put out solo because no one else was around.

 

I really enjoyed playing with random strangers when I was playing on the road. I played with

all sorts of interesting characters from many walks of life. It was good for me to do that

because it got me used to playing with all sorts of people at various skill levels. At some

point I grew comfortable with it.

 

We all connect to the game in our own way. And it sure seems to me one of the coolest things is, we're all good with whatever, however, and why others take the journey marching to their own individual drummer.

 

My own Sonny Boy is the opposite of a his dad when it comes to the term range "rat". (Me and all of my ilk are responsible for the plague! :derisive: ). It's OK though, he's in the gym so much I call him a gym rat - so we're both responsible for the plague. He can and does whip my arse out there as often if not more so than not. He wants to do HIS learning on the course with a scorecard in his pocket.

 

Through him and you guys here, I can appreciate how range time doesn't resonate with some golfers. And that's just fine. I enjoy it and do my best to learn from it but it's not for everyone.

[Reasonability]

Interesting comments on the grip. I've now had the opportunity to hit a half dozen balls into the back woods with the interlock. Can't tell anything about ball flight as I'm only observing about 50 yards. But. There is now no doubt that the grip feels more comfortable in hand, like I have more control of the handle. Noticed in two spots. One, relaxed pressure in my left hand, can actually grip the club in my fingers and still feel like I have sufficient grip pressure to hang on to it during the swing. Two, increased feel of my right hand on the lower portion of the grip. In other words, equilibrium. Automatically.

 

I've tried interlock and overlap on successive swings and there is no doubt of what I'm experiencing. Feels quite different, to the better. That my right (lower) hand is better engaged with the handle.

 

Not sure where all this will lead. But based on your comments, may have a positive impact towards improvement. Even a stroke or two over a round would be nice. Once I can get out and hit some balls and observe and see what happens. Creeping incrementalism towards learning how to play better golf.

 

Additional note. Been fooling around with trying to add a more pronounced wrist c0ck and release during the swing. Not real a c0ck in the Hogan sense, more of a cupping ala Nicklaus. Heretofore, avoided doing this. Preferring a flatter wrist (actually not thinking about it a whole lot). But I've been trying different swing things as a means to recapture a few of the lost yards due to age. If I overdue the c0ck, turns into ugly snap pulls. But have seen some positives with trying to set and release the wrists during the swing. Now its become something of a timing issue. Trying this mostly with driver in hand. I've realized some longer than norm drives while trying to consciously adding some "cup and release" into the swing. Much to early to say its become routine, and only have been trying this while playing with the Mrs. But worth further trial and practice, once I can get back out to the range.

 

Described in my best language of swing that I can muster. Continue to lack in the fine points of explaining what I'm trying to do or words to describe it. Flying by the seat of my pants. Watched a couple of vids. Found the posts a couple of days back interesting relative to this wrist c0ck thing. Wish I was more interested in delving into the theory of methodology of golf swing to enhance my understanding. Alas, have to go about the process of trying to improve by small bits and pieces of swing mods. Otherwise, I become confused, lost and bored.

 

The earlier promised short and sweet response.

 

If and when you want to - and if you never want to that's fine, too - I'd dump the tanks cupping my hands under your foot on all this.

 

It sure sounds to me in every way as though you are indeed getting the hands and handle married up and "unitized". It's EXACTLY what you said - worth a stroke or on average and on really good days - way more. I truly think it just makes the experience of golf so much more fun. They say golf is this "feel" thing. To my ear, that's just exactly what you're doing.

 

The wrists...without crapping in the nest here... that a very natural adjunct to a next logical thought process as the grip starts to work. It's just just somehow happens, right? You could be experimenting the wrist c0ck and ask yourself if the grip is right to support it, OR just as easily get the grip going and end up thinking almost immediately about setting the wrists (when and how) and dumping the wrists (when and how) through impact. AND - you're correct in noticing how those wrists cup, and bow, and flatten out.

 

There is literally every imaginable approach to setting the wrists and then dumping the wrist c0ck through the strike. I can share what I think and I promise we could find ten different golfers in the I & A peeing on each other's leg all day and night about who has it right and who has it wrong.

 

Here is what I can offer that might be most supportive with the least amount of rant to go with it. I think what you'll continue to find now that your grip is feeling better and better is this (I think).

 

There are bends and breaks in the wrists. Seems like when the back of one wrist is flat the other is cupped. At the top of the backswing - most like the back of the lead (your left) wrist to be pretty flat to maybe a fraction bowed - which means thanks to good grip puts the back of the right wrist up there "cupped." Some think and feel it more in the lead wrist while others feel it in the trail wrist. But you and pause and look up there to see where you are.

 

On the downswing and ALL THE WAY to the lead side leg, that wrist "set" almost goes for a ride and then the wrists uncock.

 

That's it... the whole enchilada right there. It's when the back of the lead wrist is cupped at the top - with a flatten trail hand wrist to go with it up there.... that's likely to be trouble. Not good for 98%% of us. Anywho, send that whole "package" you've managed to set up there all for a ride on the way back down and dump it a little late off that lead side (left) leg and....KERPOW! Welcome to "ball compression" and "smash factor" and all this other confusing swing babble no one needs at the end of the day.

 

We can touch on "lag" and such some other time - again if you want.

 

There it is - short and sweet (best I could anyway given the topic). Have a BLAST! LMAO Go to the range! Hit off of a mat! Do what I say! Do what I do! I'm always right and never wrong! LMAO...

[Reasonability]

 

This is my range...

http://www.granville...nge/golf-range/

 

She's a beut! Prices for bucket sizes look to be the same in our two locations. I have an uncle in the Marietta area. I've heard him mention your neck of the woods. What the heck is a "neck of the woods" anyway? Do trees have necks? I knew they had a trunk and a crotch but necks???

 

The jumbo bucket is just a little too much for me. Somewhere around 100 balls is about 20 too many for me but the smaller bucket isn't quite enough - lol.

[tolmij]

The infamous danger of the range.

 

Rather than make statements, maybe questions are in order.

 

 

* Provided it's a higher quality mat and not one of those worn-out and rock hard varieties, is there actually a time and place to practice on the mat? Conversely are there types of swings that will never be learned on a mat?

 

 

Could you elaborate a little more on this question please? The way the question reads it's clear that you have some thoughts on this, and I would love to know more. I've never hit off of a mat. Thanks!

 

Some mats come really close to simulating real turf in that the simulated grass (synthetic fiber) is deeper, thicker, more dense, and made atop thicker and spongier underlay. AND, better mats are always large enough to accommodate both the ball AND the guy standing on it. Compare this to a thin, hard rubber underlay sitting on a concrete pad, with not much more than tin indoor/outdoor carpet glued to it. Worse, the mat itself is sometimes a little strip of fake grass or cheap carpet on a small strip that holds only the ball itself whilst the golfer stands on concrete or natural turf (which in effect causes the ball to be well above the feet).

 

The former is going to feel very much like, and the ball will react very much like a tight like in a decent fairway. The latter is going to send a bone-jarring shock-wave up the shaft and into your hands unless you manage to "pick" the ball off it's perch every time up. (And some golfers are naturally "pickers" while others like very much digging those deep beaver pelt divots).

 

 

Mats are often despised by golfers. Personally I tend to think one of two primary things tends to drive some to have a pretty strong opinion against them.

 

A) They really don't often see much in terms of quality mats. We live in an age of cost controls and the good ones don't come cheap. Expose the golfer who swing down sharply into the ball and expects that feel of a deep divot, such mats are going to drive him to hate them.

B) Other times access to better quality mats happens, but no matter what, some still don't trust anything but mother-earth, AND/OR they don't want to or care to learn when a sweeping shallow angle of attack might be handy to learn. For these golfers, you might notice they hate tight lies, especially from about 100 yards and closer.

 

To give a specific example, golfers become confused and often just plain give-up trying to sort out stuff like this....

 

(a) You're supposed to move the ball a little forward and keep your head back a little to send a ball higher.

 

(b) You're also supposed to compress the ball - get the shaft leaning forward of the ball a little at impact, to spin it and send it farther.

 

For most golfers a shallower angle of attack as the clubhead approaches impact is usually better than swinging down steeply into the back of the ball with a steep angle of attack. For those who naturally swing down sharply with a steep angle of attack, tight lies often freak them out a little.

 

On a QUALITY mat, a golfer can drop is trail foot back behind him and stand that foot on it's toes which leaves the hands and arms with very little choice but hitting the ball first. Even if its little half and 3/4 swings he's going to learn to hit ball-first (unless he moves the ball way forward in his stance). But he might in the process overdo it and swing down too steep in terms of angle of attack. So for that, he puts a little strip of masking tape on the mat a couple-three inches back behind the ball. He should place a second strip of masking tape just in front of the ball.

 

The goal becomes to barely miss the first strip of tape, make contact with the ball, and sweep that second strip of tape after the ball off the mat.

 

About 20 minutes with such a drill on a GOOD mat... and the whole idea of a tight light, good ball-first contact, suddenly feels very dooable on any lie - especially tight lies. And just like the key to your drill in moving the naval toward the spine needs breathing, this drill needs to be a swing not a "stab" at the ball. There's a wrist-release (albeit later and off the lead side leg and foot), but the 'trick' to it is to swing it not jab down hard at it.

 

One stupid drill, two lousy strips of tape, and one good quality mat.

 

Ball first, angle of attack learning of this brand, and play off of tight lies, works up and down through the irons in the bag. And I maintain I "can" do all of this off the mat as well. But have you ever tried to put masking tape on real grass? You're going to be peeling off a lot of tape and wasting a lot of time. The mat (if its a good one) are going to cut the learning curve time WAY down.

 

There's another almost opposite approach and I KNOW Stu will relate to this one. You can grab an old beater wedge, and literally practice off your back deck or an old section of plywood. When you can "pick" the ball off of a hard wooden surface - you'll know exactly how to fly a wedge shot around the greens to a pin. Sounds crazy, right? Stu will explain it if he wants but he's not the only golfer who does this stuff. There's a wrx teaching pro, and buds of mine who've put that one to work and they all swear by it, too.

 

It's OK with me if others disagree with me on all this. Just sharing here. No hard feelings one way or the other. I'm not ready to proclaim a steady diet of mat practice is the only way to go. Just saying if the mat is of good quality and the golfer wants to learn about tight lies and ball-first contact... maybe how to swing with a shallower angle of attack....they're certainly not a bad thing at all.

 

Poor quality mats are bone jarring and literally beat your lie angles out of spec. Not a fan of them. Good mats make a certain sound you can use a feedback during practice and feel very much like real turf shots.

 

As a ball picker I never have a problem with range mats. Sixties range looks one of the better ones, my closest range is pretty basic, the highlight is a wrecked car at about the 200yd mark, the pat on the back moment is if you can hit it.

[tolmij]

On a completely different subject, my son has lost it, he has voluntarily gone into the ice box, today he has started his one week vacation at the ski resort Thredbo, it’s one of the favourites in Australia but how can anyone in their right mind go to a place that will freeze the life out of you. Me I am a warm weather person so is DW.

[Reasonability]

The infamous danger of the range.

 

Rather than make statements, maybe questions are in order.

 

 

* Provided it's a higher quality mat and not one of those worn-out and rock hard varieties, is there actually a time and place to practice on the mat? Conversely are there types of swings that will never be learned on a mat?

 

 

Could you elaborate a little more on this question please? The way the question reads it's clear that you have some thoughts on this, and I would love to know more. I've never hit off of a mat. Thanks!

 

Some mats come really close to simulating real turf in that the simulated grass (synthetic fiber) is deeper, thicker, more dense, and made atop thicker and spongier underlay. AND, better mats are always large enough to accommodate both the ball AND the guy standing on it. Compare this to a thin, hard rubber underlay sitting on a concrete pad, with not much more than tin indoor/outdoor carpet glued to it. Worse, the mat itself is sometimes a little strip of fake grass or cheap carpet on a small strip that holds only the ball itself whilst the golfer stands on concrete or natural turf (which in effect causes the ball to be well above the feet).

 

The former is going to feel very much like, and the ball will react very much like a tight like in a decent fairway. The latter is going to send a bone-jarring shock-wave up the shaft and into your hands unless you manage to "pick" the ball off it's perch every time up. (And some golfers are naturally "pickers" while others like very much digging those deep beaver pelt divots).

 

 

Mats are often despised by golfers. Personally I tend to think one of two primary things tends to drive some to have a pretty strong opinion against them.

 

A) They really don't often see much in terms of quality mats. We live in an age of cost controls and the good ones don't come cheap. Expose the golfer who swing down sharply into the ball and expects that feel of a deep divot, such mats are going to drive him to hate them.

B) Other times access to better quality mats happens, but no matter what, some still don't trust anything but mother-earth, AND/OR they don't want to or care to learn when a sweeping shallow angle of attack might be handy to learn. For these golfers, you might notice they hate tight lies, especially from about 100 yards and closer.

 

To give a specific example, golfers become confused and often just plain give-up trying to sort out stuff like this....

 

(a) You're supposed to move the ball a little forward and keep your head back a little to send a ball higher.

 

(b) You're also supposed to compress the ball - get the shaft leaning forward of the ball a little at impact, to spin it and send it farther.

 

For most golfers a shallower angle of attack as the clubhead approaches impact is usually better than swinging down steeply into the back of the ball with a steep angle of attack. For those who naturally swing down sharply with a steep angle of attack, tight lies often freak them out a little.

 

On a QUALITY mat, a golfer can drop is trail foot back behind him and stand that foot on it's toes which leaves the hands and arms with very little choice but hitting the ball first. Even if its little half and 3/4 swings he's going to learn to hit ball-first (unless he moves the ball way forward in his stance). But he might in the process overdo it and swing down too steep in terms of angle of attack. So for that, he puts a little strip of masking tape on the mat a couple-three inches back behind the ball. He should place a second strip of masking tape just in front of the ball.

 

The goal becomes to barely miss the first strip of tape, make contact with the ball, and sweep that second strip of tape after the ball off the mat.

 

About 20 minutes with such a drill on a GOOD mat... and the whole idea of a tight light, good ball-first contact, suddenly feels very dooable on any lie - especially tight lies. And just like the key to your drill in moving the naval toward the spine needs breathing, this drill needs to be a swing not a "stab" at the ball. There's a wrist-release (albeit later and off the lead side leg and foot), but the 'trick' to it is to swing it not jab down hard at it.

 

One stupid drill, two lousy strips of tape, and one good quality mat.

 

Ball first, angle of attack learning of this brand, and play off of tight lies, works up and down through the irons in the bag. And I maintain I "can" do all of this off the mat as well. But have you ever tried to put masking tape on real grass? You're going to be peeling off a lot of tape and wasting a lot of time. The mat (if its a good one) are going to cut the learning curve time WAY down.

 

There's another almost opposite approach and I KNOW Stu will relate to this one. You can grab an old beater wedge, and literally practice off your back deck or an old section of plywood. When you can "pick" the ball off of a hard wooden surface - you'll know exactly how to fly a wedge shot around the greens to a pin. Sounds crazy, right? Stu will explain it if he wants but he's not the only golfer who does this stuff. There's a wrx teaching pro, and buds of mine who've put that one to work and they all swear by it, too.

 

It's OK with me if others disagree with me on all this. Just sharing here. No hard feelings one way or the other. I'm not ready to proclaim a steady diet of mat practice is the only way to go. Just saying if the mat is of good quality and the golfer wants to learn about tight lies and ball-first contact... maybe how to swing with a shallower angle of attack....they're certainly not a bad thing at all.

 

Poor quality mats are bone jarring and literally beat your lie angles out of spec. Not a fan of them. Good mats make a certain sound you can use a feedback during practice and feel very much like real turf shots.

 

As a ball picker I never have a problem with range mats. Sixties range looks one of the better ones, my closest range is pretty basic, the highlight is a wrecked car at about the 200yd mark, the pat on the back moment is if you can hit it.

 

Greg Norman from down under - he's a "picker". Never was a deep divot guy. He says that where he grew up and played the ground was a little too firm for taking much of a divot. This is why I asked you one eve if your local course is a little firm. (And you said "no" as I recall). Thought maybe that part of the world just naturally drove golfers to sweep it ahead of digging it.

 

Your son in the land of the frozen? Man that just shows what happens as the seasons change in different hemispheres. After a harsh winter we're looking at daily temps in the 90s (F). As rough as winter was, it suddenly seems like a long time ago!

 

FYI - My wife is also TOTALLY uninterested in life or recreation in cold environs. I could move her to warmer climates in a heartbeat but colder?

 

Nnnnnnnnnnope - not happening.

[Reasonability]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

[PeanutsDaddy]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

 

As the summer vacation approaches I've got a hankering for the Beach Boys.

 

Hope all are well.

 

Congratulations to the Grillesters on surpassing 600 pages.

 

 

[Spooky67]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

 

Spirit of Radio- Rush

Symptom of the Universe-Black Sabbath

Cowboys From Hell- Pantera- Drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott passed away last night RIP.

[Reasonability]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

 

As the summer vacation approaches I've got a hankering for the Beach Boys.

 

Hope all are well.

 

Congratulations to the Grillesters on surpassing 600 pages.

 

Here ya go PD - a "two-fer" to get things rolling.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNfzkjAy8H0

[Reasonability]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

 

Spirit of Radio- Rush

Symptom of the Universe-Black Sabbath

Cowboys From Hell- Pantera- Drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott passed away last night RIP.

 

Like me some Tom Sawyer but Spirit of Radio is a big thumbs up. You think they're done for good?

 

[billh17]

beautiful weather today...sunny....mid 70's breezy....and got 9 in this evening...hit the driver pretty good....well...pretty good for me !

Putting was on today too..

Stood by the 14th and watched a hawk being chased by sparrows.....lolhe was not having a good day !

[Spooky67]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

 

Spirit of Radio- Rush

Symptom of the Universe-Black Sabbath

Cowboys From Hell- Pantera- Drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott passed away last night RIP.

 

Like me some Tom Sawyer but Spirit of Radio is a big thumbs up. You think they're done for good?

 

 

Yes, I think they are done for good. I hope they don’t show back up when they need a little $$$ and tarnish their rep. “But glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity”

 

Rush was my first concert. Signals tour, I was in 9th grade. I’d never heard Spirit of Radio before and when Geddy sang “for the words of the prophets were written on the studio wall....concert hall” and then the crowd erupted in a cheer...I knew that everyone there knew something I didn’t...lol. Picked up Permanent Waves right after and figured it out. It’s been one of may favorite Rush songs since.

[tolmij]

The infamous danger of the range.

 

Rather than make statements, maybe questions are in order.

 

 

* Provided it's a higher quality mat and not one of those worn-out and rock hard varieties, is there actually a time and place to practice on the mat? Conversely are there types of swings that will never be learned on a mat?

 

 

Could you elaborate a little more on this question please? The way the question reads it's clear that you have some thoughts on this, and I would love to know more. I've never hit off of a mat. Thanks!

 

Some mats come really close to simulating real turf in that the simulated grass (synthetic fiber) is deeper, thicker, more dense, and made atop thicker and spongier underlay. AND, better mats are always large enough to accommodate both the ball AND the guy standing on it. Compare this to a thin, hard rubber underlay sitting on a concrete pad, with not much more than tin indoor/outdoor carpet glued to it. Worse, the mat itself is sometimes a little strip of fake grass or cheap carpet on a small strip that holds only the ball itself whilst the golfer stands on concrete or natural turf (which in effect causes the ball to be well above the feet).

 

The former is going to feel very much like, and the ball will react very much like a tight like in a decent fairway. The latter is going to send a bone-jarring shock-wave up the shaft and into your hands unless you manage to "pick" the ball off it's perch every time up. (And some golfers are naturally "pickers" while others like very much digging those deep beaver pelt divots).

 

 

Mats are often despised by golfers. Personally I tend to think one of two primary things tends to drive some to have a pretty strong opinion against them.

 

A) They really don't often see much in terms of quality mats. We live in an age of cost controls and the good ones don't come cheap. Expose the golfer who swing down sharply into the ball and expects that feel of a deep divot, such mats are going to drive him to hate them.

B) Other times access to better quality mats happens, but no matter what, some still don't trust anything but mother-earth, AND/OR they don't want to or care to learn when a sweeping shallow angle of attack might be handy to learn. For these golfers, you might notice they hate tight lies, especially from about 100 yards and closer.

 

To give a specific example, golfers become confused and often just plain give-up trying to sort out stuff like this....

 

(a) You're supposed to move the ball a little forward and keep your head back a little to send a ball higher.

 

(b) You're also supposed to compress the ball - get the shaft leaning forward of the ball a little at impact, to spin it and send it farther.

 

For most golfers a shallower angle of attack as the clubhead approaches impact is usually better than swinging down steeply into the back of the ball with a steep angle of attack. For those who naturally swing down sharply with a steep angle of attack, tight lies often freak them out a little.

 

On a QUALITY mat, a golfer can drop is trail foot back behind him and stand that foot on it's toes which leaves the hands and arms with very little choice but hitting the ball first. Even if its little half and 3/4 swings he's going to learn to hit ball-first (unless he moves the ball way forward in his stance). But he might in the process overdo it and swing down too steep in terms of angle of attack. So for that, he puts a little strip of masking tape on the mat a couple-three inches back behind the ball. He should place a second strip of masking tape just in front of the ball.

 

The goal becomes to barely miss the first strip of tape, make contact with the ball, and sweep that second strip of tape after the ball off the mat.

 

About 20 minutes with such a drill on a GOOD mat... and the whole idea of a tight light, good ball-first contact, suddenly feels very dooable on any lie - especially tight lies. And just like the key to your drill in moving the naval toward the spine needs breathing, this drill needs to be a swing not a "stab" at the ball. There's a wrist-release (albeit later and off the lead side leg and foot), but the 'trick' to it is to swing it not jab down hard at it.

 

One stupid drill, two lousy strips of tape, and one good quality mat.

 

Ball first, angle of attack learning of this brand, and play off of tight lies, works up and down through the irons in the bag. And I maintain I "can" do all of this off the mat as well. But have you ever tried to put masking tape on real grass? You're going to be peeling off a lot of tape and wasting a lot of time. The mat (if its a good one) are going to cut the learning curve time WAY down.

 

There's another almost opposite approach and I KNOW Stu will relate to this one. You can grab an old beater wedge, and literally practice off your back deck or an old section of plywood. When you can "pick" the ball off of a hard wooden surface - you'll know exactly how to fly a wedge shot around the greens to a pin. Sounds crazy, right? Stu will explain it if he wants but he's not the only golfer who does this stuff. There's a wrx teaching pro, and buds of mine who've put that one to work and they all swear by it, too.

 

It's OK with me if others disagree with me on all this. Just sharing here. No hard feelings one way or the other. I'm not ready to proclaim a steady diet of mat practice is the only way to go. Just saying if the mat is of good quality and the golfer wants to learn about tight lies and ball-first contact... maybe how to swing with a shallower angle of attack....they're certainly not a bad thing at all.

 

Poor quality mats are bone jarring and literally beat your lie angles out of spec. Not a fan of them. Good mats make a certain sound you can use a feedback during practice and feel very much like real turf shots.

 

As a ball picker I never have a problem with range mats. Sixties range looks one of the better ones, my closest range is pretty basic, the highlight is a wrecked car at about the 200yd mark, the pat on the back moment is if you can hit it.

 

Greg Norman from down under - he's a "picker". Never was a deep divot guy. He says that where he grew up and played the ground was a little too firm for taking much of a divot. This is why I asked you one eve if your local course is a little firm. (And you said "no" as I recall). Thought maybe that part of the world just naturally drove golfers to sweep it ahead of digging it.

 

Your son in the land of the frozen? Man that just shows what happens as the seasons change in different hemispheres. After a harsh winter we're looking at daily temps in the 90s (F). As rough as winter was, it suddenly seems like a long time ago!

 

FYI - My wife is also TOTALLY uninterested in life or recreation in cold environs. I could move her to warmer climates in a heartbeat but colder?

 

Nnnnnnnnnnope - not happening.

 

 

Being sub tropical we have plenty of rain to keep the course soft during summer, and ours is a12 month open course with plenty of water for winter irrigation, our dry season. Being always high humidity in summer also helps.

[Reasonability]

beautiful weather today...sunny....mid 70's breezy....and got 9 in this evening...hit the driver pretty good....well...pretty good for me !

Putting was on today too..

Stood by the 14th and watched a hawk being chased by sparrows.....lolhe was not having a good day !

 

Sounds like he left the scene with a few less tail feathers.

 

Send us some of that weather. HOT here. Blistering.

 

Now if you're up later and care to find it on Golf Channel - comes on in about an hour from now. You've got to see the Asian Tour and look for a golfer named Ho Sung Choi. I can promise you this. You have never in your life seen a swing like this guy's. He and the ball leave impact at 90 degrees to each other at almost the same speed.

 

(LMAO - wonder if he hits the range??? - or if he cares!!!)

[scomac2002]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

 

Spirit of Radio- Rush

Symptom of the Universe-Black Sabbath

Cowboys From Hell- Pantera- Drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott passed away last night RIP.

 

Like me some Tom Sawyer but Spirit of Radio is a big thumbs up. You think they're done for good?

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

Yes, I think they are done for good. I hope they don’t show back up when they need a little $$$ and tarnish their rep. “But glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity”

 

Rush was my first concert. Signals tour, I was in 9th grade. I’d never heard Spirit of Radio before and when Geddy sang “for the words of the prophets were written on the studio wall....concert hall” and then the crowd erupted in a cheer...I knew that everyone there knew something I didn’t...lol. Picked up Permanent Waves right after and figured it out. It’s been one of may favorite Rush songs since.

 

Rush was my first concert too, I think, but a few years earlier than your experience. I remember seeing them for the first time at Massey Hall in 1975 or 76 when they were recording the All the World's a Stage live album. I was in high school at the time; grade 12 I think. Saw them a year or so later when I was in college and that was the Farewell to Kings tour. The last time I saw them was maybe 4 or 5 years ago with two of the same guys I went to concerts with in high school. One of the few groups that actually got better with age! Over the years my taste in music evolved, but it was good to see them one last time for old time's sake. :good:

[Spooky67]

 

Any info on where one would buy a quality mat from? Thanks!

 

With all the mat talk earlier I am interested in getting one to have at the house. I do not have a range near me, and my home course will only let you pay to use the range if you are playing a round. A mat and a net would make a lot of sense for me.

[Reasonability]

Any info on where one would buy a quality mat from? Thanks!

 

With all the mat talk earlier I am interested in getting one to have at the house. I do not have a range near me, and my home course will only let you pay to use the range if you are playing a round. A mat and a net would make a lot of sense for me

 

We need to get our buddy Lobs back in here. I believe he built himself a little home practice area with a mat of choice... his "specs" for it I believe are found in this thread back about 6-7 months ago.

 

Next time I'm at the range - I'll find out who makes the ones they buy. They're top notch. I bought one from them when they were replacing them with newer ones. Got the net many moons ago at some sort of local golf shop. I practice in the garage - mostly during winter. BE CAREFUL about swinging on a mat and letting the club shaft or head touch that hangy-down wire on your garage door opener. The static build-up in your club as it swipes over that mat sends enough juice through that antenna wire to render opener deaf. Wife has a way of not quite understanding why she's pushing the button out there and the door doesn't raise up anymore. (OOPS! - DID I DO THAT?)

 

Also, consider getting yourself one or two of those cheapy closet door mirrors while you're at it. Like 10 bucks at Walmart. One can be face-on and one behind you and down-the-line. The reason being if you get interested at some point in videoing your swing, there's a logistics issue. You set a camera in front and swing - then DTL and swing, then go watch the swings on vid - then go back and do swing work - and so on. PITA.

 

Two lousy mirrors and you can glance in a mirror and see live and in person how you're doing with setup - or at the top, if the clubface is open or shut up there - and if your wrists are flat or cupped and such. You don't have to stop - merely pause and glance. The feedback is immediate. (And then you need to turn the mirrors around after a while and just swing it with rhythm and balance and such since we don't get to play golf with mirrors to rely on - lol). And yes - I got into so deep I couldn't swing with confidence knowing my stupid mirrors weren't around. LMAO - too much of good things was another lesson learned.

 

Come to think of it...buying mirrors and swinging in the garage ended costing me a few hundred more than planned!

[scomac2002]

beautiful weather today...sunny....mid 70's breezy....and got 9 in this evening...hit the driver pretty good....well...pretty good for me !

Putting was on today too..

Stood by the 14th and watched a hawk being chased by sparrows.....lolhe was not having a good day !

 

Sounds like he left the scene with a few less tail feathers.

 

Send us some of that weather. HOT here. Blistering.

 

Now if you're up later and care to find it on Golf Channel - comes on in about an hour from now. You've got to see the Asian Tour and look for a golfer named Ho Sung Choi. I can promise you this. You have never in your life seen a swing like this guy's. He and the ball leave impact at 90 degrees to each other at almost the same speed.

 

(LMAO - wonder if he hits the range??? - or if he cares!!!)

 

Cool and wet here this weekend, in fact it has been that way for most of the week and we're expecting more of the same for next week.

 

We're traveling next week to Victoria and then to see the kids in Penticton. It's not going to be overly warm there either with mid 60's out on the coast and then mid 70's in the interior. Much cooler than what we experienced last summer when out there, but at least the sun is supposed to shine.

 

My back has been barking since my aborted backyard range session this morning. Had to resort to pills today for the first time in over two weeks. Not happy about the turn of events when I felt that I had been making progress with swinging a club and hitting a few balls. Hopefully this will pass in a day or two. Should have just stuck with riding my bike I guess... :(

[tolmij]

beautiful weather today...sunny....mid 70's breezy....and got 9 in this evening...hit the driver pretty good....well...pretty good for me !

Putting was on today too..

Stood by the 14th and watched a hawk being chased by sparrows.....lolhe was not having a good day !

 

We have a bird in Australia called a wagtail, it’s only small but heaven help any animal that encroaches on its territory. They dive bomb in large groups and never give up untill it’s clear.

[Conrad1953]

Anyone else score better when playing alone.? I almost always shoot better paying alone than when playing with friends. I wish that wasn't the case because I'd like my friends to see that I can occasionally play decent golf.

 

Today, played 18 with a couple of friends I haven't seen in a while...shot 105...yikes. The goal this year is mid 80s again, so rounds like this aren't helping. Did play a new to me hybrid for the first time, no range time, just put it in the bag. It went ok, some good shots and a few miss-hits. I am really liking my bag set up but for some reason I can't get any real consistent ball striking going.

 

My card had pars, a birdie and 7s and 8s....I am trying to think my way around the course, within my ability. But it was tough today..lol.

 

I'm more like Stu and Fella when I play alone; which admittedly hasn't been often. I tend to

goof off and use the time for practice and don't keep score. I'm not a range rat either. I'm

probably the epitome of a social golfer. I enjoy having companions when I play.

 

I played most of my solo rounds when I played on the road. If there was someone to play

with I would opt for that but often I would get put out solo because no one else was around.

 

I really enjoyed playing with random strangers when I was playing on the road. I played with

all sorts of interesting characters from many walks of life. It was good for me to do that

because it got me used to playing with all sorts of people at various skill levels. At some

point I grew comfortable with it.

 

We all connect to the game in our own way. And it sure seems to me one of the coolest things is, we're all good with whatever, however, and why others take the journey marching to their own individual drummer.

 

My own Sonny Boy is the opposite of a his dad when it comes to the term range "rat". (Me and all of my ilk are responsible for the plague! :derisive: ). It's OK though, he's in the gym so much I call him a gym rat - so we're both responsible for the plague. He can and does whip my arse out there as often if not more so than not. He wants to do HIS learning on the course with a scorecard in his pocket.

 

Through him and you guys here, I can appreciate how range time doesn't resonate with some golfers. And that's just fine. I enjoy it and do my best to learn from it but it's not for everyone.

This is my range...

http://www.granville...nge/golf-range/

 

Wow, this brought back some memories I had forgotten...…...I guess I hadn't completely forgotten; it was just

there in the recesses waiting for a jog...…….back in the early 90s when my stepson and I played a lot of golf

in N. San Diego County there was this big range in Carlsbad just a few miles from our house. It was all lit up

at night and was open til around 10 or 11 pm. We went there many times and hit balls and had a blast. So I

guess I've had my range rat moments.

[tolmij]

Any info on where one would buy a quality mat from? Thanks!

 

With all the mat talk earlier I am interested in getting one to have at the house. I do not have a range near me, and my home course will only let you pay to use the range if you are playing a round. A mat and a net would make a lot of sense for me

 

We need to get our buddy Lobs back in here. I believe he built himself a little home practice area with a mat of choice... his "specs" for it I believe are found in this thread back about 6-7 months ago.

 

Next time I'm at the range - I'll find out who makes the ones they buy. They're top notch. I bought one from them when they were replacing them with newer ones. Got the net many moons ago at some sort of local golf shop. I practice in the garage - mostly during winter. BE CAREFUL about swinging on a mat and letting the club shaft or head touch that hangy-down wire on your garage door opener. The static build-up in your club as it swipes over that mat sends enough juice through that antenna wire to render opener deaf. Wife has a way of not quite understanding why she's pushing the button out there and the door doesn't raise up anymore. (OOPS! - DID I DO THAT?)

 

Also, consider getting yourself one or two of those cheapy closet door mirrors while you're at it. Like 10 bucks at Walmart. One can be face-on and one behind you and down-the-line. The reason being if you get interested at some point in videoing your swing, there's a logistics issue. You set a camera in front and swing - then DTL and swing, then go watch the swings on vid - then go back and do swing work - and so on. PITA.

 

Two lousy mirrors and you can glance in a mirror and see live and in person how you're doing with setup - or at the top, if the clubface is open or shut up there - and if your wrists are flat or cupped and such. You don't have to stop - merely pause and glance. The feedback is immediate. (And then you need to turn the mirrors around after a while and just swing it with rhythm and balance and such since we don't get to play golf with mirrors to rely on - lol). And yes - I got into so deep I couldn't swing with confidence knowing my stupid mirrors weren't around. LMAO - too much of good things was another lesson learned.

 

Come to think of it...buying mirrors and swinging in the garage ended costing me a few hundred more than planned!

 

 

I have a ZEP golf swing analiser, it fits onthe glove and gives feedback via an ap when you get back home, it stores every swing you make. The other good thing is if you have a golf net, you wear the analiser, open the ap on an IPad set it up so the camera can see you and when you swing, it automatically records your swing along with the normal playing data, so you can see what is happening and compare it to the numbers. Has not made me a better golfer but at least I know what is wrong.

[Reasonability]

Anyone else score better when playing alone.? I almost always shoot better paying alone than when playing with friends. I wish that wasn't the case because I'd like my friends to see that I can occasionally play decent golf.

 

Today, played 18 with a couple of friends I haven't seen in a while...shot 105...yikes. The goal this year is mid 80s again, so rounds like this aren't helping. Did play a new to me hybrid for the first time, no range time, just put it in the bag. It went ok, some good shots and a few miss-hits. I am really liking my bag set up but for some reason I can't get any real consistent ball striking going.

 

My card had pars, a birdie and 7s and 8s....I am trying to think my way around the course, within my ability. But it was tough today..lol.

 

I'm more like Stu and Fella when I play alone; which admittedly hasn't been often. I tend to

goof off and use the time for practice and don't keep score. I'm not a range rat either. I'm

probably the epitome of a social golfer. I enjoy having companions when I play.

 

I played most of my solo rounds when I played on the road. If there was someone to play

with I would opt for that but often I would get put out solo because no one else was around.

 

I really enjoyed playing with random strangers when I was playing on the road. I played with

all sorts of interesting characters from many walks of life. It was good for me to do that

because it got me used to playing with all sorts of people at various skill levels. At some

point I grew comfortable with it.

 

We all connect to the game in our own way. And it sure seems to me one of the coolest things is, we're all good with whatever, however, and why others take the journey marching to their own individual drummer.

 

My own Sonny Boy is the opposite of a his dad when it comes to the term range "rat". (Me and all of my ilk are responsible for the plague! :derisive: ). It's OK though, he's in the gym so much I call him a gym rat - so we're both responsible for the plague. He can and does whip my arse out there as often if not more so than not. He wants to do HIS learning on the course with a scorecard in his pocket.

 

Through him and you guys here, I can appreciate how range time doesn't resonate with some golfers. And that's just fine. I enjoy it and do my best to learn from it but it's not for everyone.

This is my range...

http://www.granville...nge/golf-range/

 

Wow, this brought back some memories I had forgotten...…...I guess I hadn't completely forgotten; it was just

there in the recesses waiting for a jog...…….back in the early 90s when my stepson and I played a lot of golf

in N. San Diego County there was this big range in Carlsbad just a few miles from our house. It was all lit up

at night and was open til around 10 or 11 pm. We went there many times and hit balls and had a blast. So I

guess I've had my range rat moments.

 

Was there ever an occasion to get a deal on Callaway goodies in the Carlsbad area?

 

Rad it's interesting that you mention the night lighting. These days ranges are switching to LED lights. Saving thousands of bucks on the electric bill.

 

Many moons ago I almost opened a range but when I did the math... I'd have to sell a lot of buckets to cover costs. Lights, nets (that tear in the wind frequently), lease, building, mowing and picking equipment, insurance, replacing balls that disappear, mats.... A range has to be in the right place location-wise and be managed superbly to make money. Plus, I was thinking, "Oh boy - I'll hit balls all day". Managing a business (if you do it well) doesn't allow time for that. So it was a nice little pipe dream that I ended up talking myself out of.

[tolmij]

Since we're changing topics here...

 

Anyone mind if I light up some Juke Box tunes? Any requests???

 

As the summer vacation approaches I've got a hankering for the Beach Boys.

 

Hope all are well.

 

Congratulations to the Grillesters on surpassing 600 pages.

 

Hi PD, come back from oblivion we miss your input.

 

How is Ethan, has he recovered from his painting class fright, hope he starts up again soon he has potential.

[Reasonability]

Thugs!!!!

[Conrad1953]

 

 

Anyone else score better when playing alone.? I almost always shoot better paying alone than when playing with friends. I wish that wasn't the case because I'd like my friends to see that I can occasionally play decent golf.

 

Today, played 18 with a couple of friends I haven't seen in a while...shot 105...yikes. The goal this year is mid 80s again, so rounds like this aren't helping. Did play a new to me hybrid for the first time, no range time, just put it in the bag. It went ok, some good shots and a few miss-hits. I am really liking my bag set up but for some reason I can't get any real consistent ball striking going.

 

My card had pars, a birdie and 7s and 8s....I am trying to think my way around the course, within my ability. But it was tough today..lol.

 

I'm more like Stu and Fella when I play alone; which admittedly hasn't been often. I tend to

goof off and use the time for practice and don't keep score. I'm not a range rat either. I'm

probably the epitome of a social golfer. I enjoy having companions when I play.

 

I played most of my solo rounds when I played on the road. If there was someone to play

with I would opt for that but often I would get put out solo because no one else was around.

 

I really enjoyed playing with random strangers when I was playing on the road. I played with

all sorts of interesting characters from many walks of life. It was good for me to do that

because it got me used to playing with all sorts of people at various skill levels. At some

point I grew comfortable with it.

 

 

 

Was there ever an occasion to get a deal on Callaway goodies in the Carlsbad area?

 

Rad it's interesting that you mention the night lighting. These days ranges are switching to LED lights. Saving thousands of bucks on the electric bill.

 

Many moons ago I almost opened a range but when I did the math... I'd have to sell a lot of buckets to cover costs. Lights, nets (that tear in the wind frequently), lease, building, mowing and picking equipment, insurance, replacing balls that disappear, mats.... A range has to be in the right place location-wise and be managed superbly to make money. Plus, I was thinking, "Oh boy - I'll hit balls all day". Managing a business (if you do it well) doesn't allow time for that. So it was a nice little pipe dream that I ended up talking myself out of.

 

No Callaway deal that I was aware of though I was unaware of a lot of things in the golf world in

those days. I just kept playing the same clubs; ignorant of the equipment revolution that was going

on.

 

If they had special deals or special fittings going on for locals in the early 90s then I missed out, lol.

[thug the bunny]

Thugster, hey, tell us something else interesting about being a caddie....

 

Edit... well, he was here... come back Thug

 

Maybe he's back working long hours again...…………..hope he didn't run into a mod somewhere.

 

The Sad Grilliad will still be here when he drops back in.

 

Hey Grillers, yeah I got picked up on a temp contract again. After this I think I'm done. Early retirement. Find a good IRA to dump my pension into and become a Walmart greeter or something. I had always thought 'why would I ever retire?', but now that I have been facing the reality of age (and cost) discrimination in the professional arena, I'm tired of it. I contacted the manager of a local exclusive CC about looping, and he said I was about 1 month too late and they were good for now, but he put me on his list.

 

I didn't get picked up this year to loop for an LPGA pro, and I'm OK with that - hauling those 60lb bags around for 5 days for $100 a day is a real grind.

 

I have been checking in once in a while and I'm keeping an eye on you guys! Cheers!

[Reasonability]

Thugster, hey, tell us something else interesting about being a caddie....

 

Edit... well, he was here... come back Thug

 

Maybe he's back working long hours again...…………..hope he didn't run into a mod somewhere.

 

The Sad Grilliad will still be here when he drops back in.

 

Hey Grillers, yeah I got picked up on a temp contract again. After this I think I'm done. Early retirement. Find a good IRA to dump my pension into and become a Walmart greeter or something. I had always thought 'why would I ever retire?', but now that I have been facing the reality of age (and cost) discrimination in the professional arena, I'm tired of it. I contacted the manager of a local exclusive CC about looping, and he said I was about 1 month too late and they were good for now, but he put me on his list.

 

I didn't get picked up this year to loop for an LPGA pro, and I'm OK with that - hauling those 60lb bags around for 5 days for $100 a day is a real grind.

 

I have been checking in once in a while and I'm keeping an eye on you guys! Cheers!

 

Dude, we don't care if you wear a tuxedo to work or a blue apron. You're the same Thugger when you sit down here either way. Glad you came in for a landing this time and don't be a stranger.

 

FWIW - I don't have the hustle in me to do a pro justice looping. I'd make it about three holes and collapse.

 

Hey let's invent something. Hit the lotto. Sue the crap out of some rock star. Or just ride along and see where things go. We'll get there in one good piece!