Rants and Raves...

[HoganApexBlades]

I hope that affliction doesn't spread to the Goodwills in my area.

There is no goodwil in an overpriced beat up club.

 

Words of wisdom Randy, words of wisdom!

[HoganApexBlades]

I hope that affliction doesn't spread to the Goodwills in my area.

There is no goodwil in an overpriced beat up club.

I do not know what is going on here my local Goodwill has not had much of anything but either no name or cloned junk for a while. And the yard at work has not had anything decent for a while. Now if they start that outrageous up marking crap like I have been reading about then I will be finished with them for good period DONATIONS too

 

STU -

 

You tell 'em! They'll close down without your donations!!!

[HoganApexBlades]

[begin Rant]

 

So I go to the thrift store on a half day of vacation on Monday and what do I find? A Dunlop ALTA driver with the following marked on the tag:

 

"Retail value $120!" (handwritten) and the price?$30

 

Now back in the day, when these things were new, they sold at K-Mart & Fleet Farm for $29.95. Here we are about 30 years later, and some rube who thinks they are an expert in evaluating golf clubs thinks that club has not lost ANY value. You should have seen it. They didn't even bother to CLEAN IT! The thing was all beat up, chips everywhere, and it looked like someone had used it to hit rocks with.

 

I had one back in the day, and it wasn't a bad club. Today it's worth, at best $1. Not $30. All of their drivers have similar stickers on them. Someone has taken to the INTERNET and fancies themselves as an expert, and has over priced all of their clubs. Memo: ITS A THRIFT STORE YOU @#$%^&**&^%$#@!

 

[End of rant]

You mean they sold golf clubs at Mills Farm and Fleet? I never saw that but then again it has been at least 25 years since I have been in the Midwest. When I was trucking I ran up there a lot so I needed good winter clothes especially boots and coveralls. The coveralls you could buy in the Midwest were better insulated than the ones you could buy down south. I am a equipment and hardware junkie and I loved those Mills Farm and Fleet stores. I also used to buy some of the hardware I used on the truck there like chains binders and shackles. I could blow $500 in the drop of a hat there

 

Stu-

 

The ones in northern Illinois are now called Blain's Farm & Fleet.

Like I said it has been at least 25 years since I have been to the Midwest. I never went to one in Illinois always went to the ones in Wisconsin or Minnesota. We have sorta a half Word not alloweded version down south called Tractor Supply but it is nothing compared to the Midwestern Farm and Fleet stores that I remembered. Yep I thought I had seen some farmers in Eastern NC growing up (my grandparents were tobacco farmers) but when I went to the Midwest the first time I was WOW! now these are some FARMERS! Wow! what equipment!! A few years later I was hauling some of the equipment from all the major factories. Even hauled Steiger tractors from out of Indiana. Never knew what a Minnepolis- Moline tractor was until then. Never ever saw those down South. Actually my wife and I were temporarly assigned to the Midwestern Farm Fleet for a while hauled out of the quad cities in Illinois and Deere in Waterloo Iowa. Actually the winter of 90 we rented a house in Walcott Iowa and based out of there for 4 months. We basically ran Illinois, Iowa and Indiana and were at our temporary home every night and off on weekends. It was too damn cold to do much but we did buy a POS car and got out some on the weekends. One night that old farm house got so cold we said screw it and fired off the Kenworth tractor and generator and slept real warm in it. But looking back that was a fun winter even with the cold

 

Ha! Winters have been relatively mild around Northern Illinois recently. Must be that global warming stuff!

[TimV]

How to "Grow the Game" ...

 

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/harold-varner-iii-pga-tour/

[gsea33]

Unfreaking believable

 

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/08/08/being-moody-donald-trump-golf-orig-bw.cnn/video/playlists/being-moody-sponsored/

[Tumbleweed_1968]

Unfreaking believable

 

http://www.cnn.com/v...oody-sponsored/

Are we surprised?

[Chris122]

What planet do USPGA officials come from?

It's readily apparent that they are completely unaware of the fact that they are primarily in the entertainment industry and that the production of boring snoozefests as we saw last weekend does absolutely nothing to grow the game or entertain on-course or tv viewers,not to mention the fact that they managed to make some of their star performers look like hackers.

Much talk about modern technology and the distances involved yet they play their flagship event on a 7,800 yard course with greens that were obviously not designed to receive shots from 200 yards out and which on day one looked more like the greens on a local municipal rather than those of a major championship.

That in itself brings me to the question of why the USPGA championship is classified as a major.

Entry is restricted (as is The Masters) so how can it pretend to be a contender for consideration as a major title?

Perhaps it's a throwback to the days when America ruled the world of golf but that's not the case these days,maybe it's time to review the status of both the USPGA and Masters and look further afield for a true major where entry is by qualification and open to all potential contenders.

So Justin Thomas won,was he the best golfer over the weekend or the luckiest?

There's an old golfing adage which is relevant here 'It's better to be lucky than good'.

My rant endeth with a poke at those smug USPGA luvvies who stood there patting themselves on the back,they should get out of the bubble and try to see the real world.

[scomac2002]

What planet do USPGA officials come from?

It's readily apparent that they are completely unaware of the fact that they are primarily in the entertainment industry and that the production of boring snoozefests as we saw last weekend does absolutely nothing to grow the game or entertain on-course or tv viewers,not to mention the fact that they managed to make some of their star performers look like hackers.

Much talk about modern technology and the distances involved yet they play their flagship event on a 7,800 yard course with greens that were obviously not designed to receive shots from 200 yards out and which on day one looked more like the greens on a local municipal rather than those of a major championship.

That in itself brings me to the question of why the USPGA championship is classified as a major.

Entry is restricted (as is The Masters) so how can it pretend to be a contender for consideration as a major title?

Perhaps it's a throwback to the days when America ruled the world of golf but that's not the case these days,maybe it's time to review the status of both the USPGA and Masters and look further afield for a true major where entry is by qualification and open to all potential contenders.

So Justin Thomas won,was he the best golfer over the weekend or the luckiest?

There's an old golfing adage which is relevant here 'It's better to be lucky than good'.

My rant endeth with a poke at those smug USPGA luvvies who stood there patting themselves on the back,they should get out of the bubble and try to see the real world.

 

Did we even watch the same tournament? I'd be curious to know what it is that you feel would make for an exciting tournament?

[Sean2]

Unfreaking believable

 

http://www.cnn.com/v...oody-sponsored/

 

He only accepts $1.00 as his salary as president. The rest he donates. Even then CNN would find something negative to say.

[Tumbleweed_1968]

Unfreaking believable

 

http://www.cnn.com/v...oody-sponsored/

 

He only accepts $1.00 as his salary as president. The rest he donates. Even then CNN would find something negative to say.

I used to have a book on presidential golf. The bottom line is that DT's behavior is really not that much different that a lot of other men who are in positions of power. What they display is observed in every aspect of their lives; arrogance. It is rare to find a powerful man who is truly humble.

 

That said, it really wouldn't matter what he did. That's why I am not consuming the national news anymore. I watch reruns.

[Chris122]

Scomac; A tournament becomes exciting when there is a fair competition between those involved and is not decided by greens that penalised decent golf shots or a course that is made stupidly difficult in order to protect par.

The weather helped quieten them down but still there were good shots taking a hard bounce and flying or rolling off the green into thickish rough,other shots like Thomas' tee shot on the final par-3 took a soft bounce and rolled closer,please don't tell me that it was the result of a skilled shot to hit the one square yard of receptive turf that would give the sideways kick to put him in for a deuce.

On day one it was possible to see the ball wobble laterally as it rolled across the greens,Jon Rahm putted superbly and hardly made anything and even though the players tend to ham it up a bit there were putts that he was sure were in and yet turned away on the lip.

The entertainment value in watching some of the best golfers in the world hit shots like I'm capable of is limited,the 'Ha! I could do that' thing is only funny for a short time and if you thought that this tournament was exciting you must have wet your pants watching Mickelson and Stenson in last year's Open Championship.

The R&A don't always get it right mainly due to the vagaries of British weather but generally they present a golf course that is hard but fair,with the exception of Carnoustie (Carnasty) a few years ago.

The previous R&A secretary said that their policy was not to make the course unplayable but to allow scoring to find its own level.

That is the way to eliminate luck and allow the best golfers to flourish.

[Sean2]

Unfreaking believable

 

http://www.cnn.com/v...oody-sponsored/

 

He only accepts $1.00 as his salary as president. The rest he donates. Even then CNN would find something negative to say.

I used to have a book on presidential golf. The bottom line is that DT's behavior is really not that much different that a lot of other men who are in positions of power. What they display is observed in every aspect of their lives; arrogance. It is rare to find a powerful man who is truly humble.

 

That said, it really wouldn't matter what he did. That's why I am not consuming the national news anymore. I watch reruns.

 

I agree...we heard all the stories.

 

I don't watch/read it either, more often than not, their aim is to push a narrative, not report the actual news.

[ctmason_98]

I hope that affliction doesn't spread to the Goodwills in my area.

There is no goodwil in an overpriced beat up club.

I do not know what is going on here my local Goodwill has not had much of anything but either no name or cloned junk for a while. And the yard at work has not had anything decent for a while. Now if they start that outrageous up marking crap like I have been reading about then I will be finished with them for good period DONATIONS too

 

STU -

 

You tell 'em! They'll close down without your donations!!!

 

Goodwill of Southern Nevada currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.

[kaboboom]

Read that the un-anchored long putters (Langer/McCarron) are causing controversy and scrutiny regarding whether they are inadvertently touching their chests/shirts during the stroke. Some do intentionally during their practice strokes. It seems like yet another distraction similar to the recent ball marking incidents where viewers are calling in perceived violations...ugh. The rules state clubs may not exceed 48 inches, except for putters. Never used one, but this distraction has me wondering if that exception for putters should be stricken from the rule. My rant here is about the distraction which I see growing, and a fairly obvious fix. Thoughts? Thanks.

[scomac2002]

You're asking the wrong person here. I have always been against the decision to ban anchoring/long putters as that was never in the best interests of the game IMO, particularly within the rank and file membership. It always struck me as a decision that was made to cater to a few select special interests that didn't like the way it looked. I think it's pretty comical that an arm-lock putter is OK and yet the other methods weren't, especially when the long putters had been around and legal for over 40 years! That said, if you're going to have a rule, I guess you had better enforce it and I'll be darned if I can tell if Langer is anchoring or not.

 

As far as viewers calling in violations, there's no way that should be actionable. There are plenty of officials on site to make rulings and it flies in the face of golf's rich tradition of calling a penalty on one's self. I've grown to hate review based on instant replay in almost all sports if it doesn't involve a scoring play as it is often being used to strategize and game the situation.

[kaboboom]

Scomac, that position works just as well...I cringe at the possibility of multiple replays to see is if a guy touched his shirt through the stroke.

[BIG STU]

You're asking the wrong person here. I have always been against the decision to ban anchoring/long putters as that was never in the best interests of the game IMO, particularly within the rank and file membership. It always struck me as a decision that was made to cater to a few select special interests that didn't like the way it looked. I think it's pretty comical that an arm-lock putter is OK and yet the other methods weren't, especially when the long putters had been around and legal for over 40 years! That said, if you're going to have a rule, I guess you had better enforce it and I'll be darned if I can tell if Langer is anchoring or not.

 

As far as viewers calling in violations, there's no way that should be actionable. There are plenty of officials on site to make rulings and it flies in the face of golf's rich tradition of calling a penalty on one's self. I've grown to hate review based on instant replay in almost all sports if it doesn't involve a scoring play as it is often being used to strategize and game the situation.

Great Post!!! I agree 110% with everything you said which is my sentiments exactly

[Soloman1]

Shot under my age yesterday. First time and I'm shocked. As lousy as I was playing a few months ago, I thought I'd need another 20 years to have a chance.

 

Shot 62 and should have been lower, but I gagged on the last hole.

 

Sorry to blow my own horn like this....

[Tumbleweed_1968]

Shot under my age yesterday. First time and I'm shocked. As lousy as I was playing a few months ago, I thought I'd need another 20 years to have a chance.

 

Shot 62 and should have been lower, but I gagged on the last hole.

 

Sorry to blow my own horn like this....

Nice! Congrats! :)

[oldschoolrocker]

Solo,

BZ, on your accomplishment. With a score like that Toot Away!!!

[BIG STU]

Shot under my age yesterday. First time and I'm shocked. As lousy as I was playing a few months ago, I thought I'd need another 20 years to have a chance.

 

Shot 62 and should have been lower, but I gagged on the last hole.

 

Sorry to blow my own horn like this....

Congrats in all honesty I think my lowest ever on a par 72 was 63 or 64. I do know for a fact I shot a 63 on a par 70. Man that has been many many moons ago. Congrats again

[Tumbleweed_1968]

I have no trouble shooting my age. For nine........

:to_become_senile:

[scomac2002]

Shot under my age yesterday. First time and I'm shocked. As lousy as I was playing a few months ago, I thought I'd need another 20 years to have a chance.

 

Shot 62 and should have been lower, but I gagged on the last hole.

 

Sorry to blow my own horn like this....

 

Do Not apologize for a score like that! Well done brother! :clapping:

[Jiggered]

Shot under my age yesterday. First time and I'm shocked. As lousy as I was playing a few months ago, I thought I'd need another 20 years to have a chance.

 

Shot 62 and should have been lower, but I gagged on the last hole.

 

Sorry to blow my own horn like this....

 

Brilliant, few are the people who can claim that achievement.

 

(But fancy messing up on the last! ;) )

[shotmark]

The BBC appears to have hit an all time low.

I refuse to pay for Sky on the basis that I will not knowingly support criminals but having watched the last two days play of the Open Championship via BBC highlights programmes I can fully understand why people are prepared to pay silly money to watch a national sporting event that should be free to view.

Hazel Irvine has retired but has been replaced by yet another Scotswoman who babbles in such a thick accent that she is virtually unintelligible,there is already the resident idiot Jock in the form of Andrew Cotter who shares a pathetic line in schoolboy humour with Ken Brown,plenty of private jokes and titters and of course the outdated meanderings of Peter Alliss whose tutor Henry Longhurst spoke only when there was something worth describing.

Iain Carter who is the BBC website golf correspondent is at Birkdale working for Radio 5 Live,following Jordan Spieth's game he appeared briefly to inform viewers that the 'club differential' between playing downwind as opposed to into the wind 'could be four or five clubs'.

Pure genius.

I can only assume that he was educated somewhere similar to his colleague Eilidh Barbour the new linkperson who earned(?) a degree in Film and Media at Stirling University,an academic establishment that for many years was a council run leisure centre until the education boom turned such facilities into seats of learning.

The BBC used to be known for its correct use and pronunciation of the English language and for the quality of its productions across the board,drama,sport,news,documentaries.

Now it's celebs,soaps and soccer and following the revelations about the ridiculous salaries paid to so-called stars and executives I might just consider spending a few quid with the old Aussie swagman.

 

I'd rather watch Sky with its proper coverage, than Corbynvision any day

[jsanderso]

I have no trouble shooting my age. For nine........

:to_become_senile:

It becomes easier and easier to do as the years go by and I...get better.

[TimV]

Inkster gives them hell about the inequality the LPGA faces...

 

http://www.morningread.com/features/888b479b-13fa-4f72-bf55-595ccb4ce1c6

[TimV]

Today's WTF...

 

https://deadspin.com/banned-golf-phenom-returns-to-links-keeps-winning-1805642954

[TimV]

Father to Son. What's important and a Golf Legacy...

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/sports/golf/joe-barrow-first-tee.html

[TimV]

Way past time to push for this...

 

http://www.morningread.com/features/a182d54b-5881-4dd0-ac45-c5d4bf2c29ff