MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[FAbb]

I really don't get it, either.

 

Like I said, the pool noodle worked ok, but the upside down cup liner was a disaster. Funny enough, their putting green just had normal putting green cup liners in the holes.

 

We're treating flag sticks, and rakes like they're covid infested super spreading devices. Is there expert advice to back that idea up? I'm certainly grateful to be playing at all, and would rather continue to do so with these modifications if that's the only way, but it seems like one of those things that looks really good from 40,000 feet but maybe doesn't make as much sense when you really get down to it.

[FAbb]

Also, I hate putting with the flag in from close range, so an entire season of this is gonna MEGA tilt me lol.

[FAbb]

I got out for a round yesterday afternoon with Domes, Hoop, and Eagle, at Blue Mash. It felt less strange to be out doing something "normal" than it did last week, which was nice. It was a really nice time, and the weather totally turned out better than expected for us.

The course was in great shape. Apparently 60-75 straight days of wind really gets the courses firmed up, and playing fast. I don't know that I've ever really seen the ball roll more than a couple yards at Blue Mash, but the ball was really running out in the fairways yesterday. It was fun. The greens were firm, too. Definitely had to take some release into consideration when clubbing, as opposed to the typical formula for golf around here of just always flying it your full target distance.

I hope eagle took a picture of Domes, to make a "my plans-2020" meme from. He's fully embraced the quarantine beard, and lack of haircut.

Domes carried me around most of the day, but my lack of contribution eventually caught up to us, with the steady duo of Eagle and Hoop closing us out on the 17th.

The upside down cup liner catastrophe provided some great shiggles, at the end of the front 9. Eagle had a 15-20 footer on 7, to halve the hole. It hit the flag dead center and popped out. From my perspective, it looked like it had enough speed to go about 10 feet by, if there wasn't a hole. He immediately called his own putt good, but Domes and I eventually called it no good. Eagle wasn't happy. We're on the 8th tee, talking about how we don't want to have to make subjective calls, and would prefer to just play it if the ball goes in, it goes in - if it doesn't, it doesn't. Hoop proceeds to hit a little flip wedge to about 6ft on 8, and hits the hole dead center with barely enough speed to go 6" by, only to see the ball bounce right back at him. Domes and I agree to give that putt, bringing Eagle's feelings of injustice full tilt lol. I had about a 4-footer get rejected on the very next hole.

My feel for the game is totally lacking. I took a long hiatus on purpose over the winter, which would have been enough to dig out of on it's own. An additional 2 months really put it over the top. I'm mis-clubbing too often. I get around the greens, and my hands feel like they're made of brick. On the first hole, I hit a pitch solidly, but didn't even make it to the green. On 4, I pitched one that ran all the way over the green. Lots of chips otherwise that were struck fine, but just 10-20ft off in terms of speed. No feel. Ball striking feels like it's coming around. I definitely hit enough solid shots to feel like I'm not far off from getting to a respectable point. I think I'll need maybe another 4 rounds or so, to really get up to my full playing speed. I legit feel like I was gaining distance over the course of the round yesterday.

[OCCantChip]

Any recommendations on push carts? They seem to be a hot commodity right now and I'm finding a lot of places online don't have some models right now. I'd rather not pay an arm and a leg, but I really don't want something too cheap either. Also, it needs to handle side hill lies because when I chip shank sometimes I do it more than once and continually walk a circle to the right around the green. Always left tire higher than the right. Never the other way around.

[FAbb]

 

[dcmidnight]

I've seen quite a few guys buying the TGW branded carts. They have a $100/$150/$200 models available although they were all sold out as of last weekend. I've heard that they randomly restock them at odd times so it might be worth checking back.

[2moreTerpz]

no high stalk grass for my chips last night. i was looking.

 

got beat in my match and pounded in the dot game.

on 3 they both make birdie for 7 dots. on 4 one guy made birdie for 4 dots. on 5 one guy missed the fairway and green by a combined 4" for the "missed fairway missed green" dot. how about this one. on 6 i got the greenie. they both made long par putts and we lost a dot. on 8 one guy hit it into the woods, took his drop, hit it to 20 feet and made the putt for two dots. i could keep going lol. they ended up 16 dots on my partner and i in a nine hole match. my partner and i were not good. but it was just their night.

 

my game is weird. i'm hitting some good solid shots. i'm appropriately taking some more aggressive lines with driver and that's been good. i throw in a random F- shot and i'm not scoring. bad combo.

[GooseHook]

Bag Boy Quad gets my vote. Stable, lighter than a Clicgear, and has a better bag holding design (especially for stand bags). It sets up and breaks down faster, and stores flat.

[thechief16]

Wall Street Journal had a story late last week.early this week about the run on push carts.

 

 

[Von_Oberhausen]

Thanks, DC. I imagine the quality at Bandon is going to be consistently higher than a place like Pinehurst, which pulls in a lot of young kids of dubious loopering ability from the surrounding town. But I'll check it out and see if we can't get one that at least a few people can vouch for.

[dcmidnight]

Yeah I also get the feeling from reading those threads that on the offchance you do get a dud its super easy to swap out after your first round.

PH is the one place I really had a dud caddie, thankfully Cfree/Sullys caddie was hilarious and broke up the tension.

[misplacedtexan83]

@Von_Oberhausen
Tony Shuster was recommended by patrick the rv guy

[HighBoomingDraws]

Who cares about the cups. At least the freaking courses are open now.

[baddomes]

Our caddie was John The Baptist and I'd highly recommend him.

[ALTSean]

Link Soul has a garage sale going on with some pretty good deals like rain jackets for $40:

Garage Sale

[SullGolf]

WoMan has the pool noodles and I’m pretty sure I saw at least 1 putt miss that would have been captured. It was a fast putt that went over the inside edge and rolled over the foam and out. It probably drops without the foam, but it’s not guaranteed. It wasn’t really “unfair” that it didn’t go in.

 

 

 

[TheCityGame]

we have the pool noodles and they don't seem to have much of an effect but it's hard to tell.

I think the number of infections that have been prevented by not having the ball go all the way into the cup is ZERO.

I like no rakes. I bet this has cost golfers on average about .001 strokes during the plague.

[dcmidnight]

I like no rakes. I bet this has cost golfers on average about .001 strokes during the plague.

Agreed. I bet its also saved a ton of maintenance time/costs too.

[Terphack]

Since reopening I have played 3 different courses that each did the hole differently. Waverly Woods used a piece of PVC pipe (1.25" or maybe 1.5" diameter x approx 1.5" high) that fit loosely around the stick. This allowed the ball to drop into the hole just below the putting surface and since the PVC is loose in the cup it absorbed the impact. Nobody in our foursome had a ball pop back out of the hole. I thought this worked well. Rocky Point used the noodle, cut so the ball would fall into the hole approximately 7/8 below the putting surface. No problems all day. Yesterday at UMD the cups were upside down, unfortunately the depth was a little inconsistent. We didn't experience any issues but I could see it happening on a hole or two.

I really thought the Waverly solution performed best.

[misplacedtexan83]

100%

[baddomes]

The guy who loses money because his ball pops out of the hole when he thinks it would have been holed otherwise.

[FAbb]

We got to the 6th hole, and Eagle looked over at me and asked if "smooth it over, and place the ball" or something like that was ok.

Me:

https://media.giphy.com/media/XeXzWgD6P4LG8/giphy.gifApparently that's how people have been handling it. I didn't really care. I hit it in a couple bunkers, and just played it. They weren't perfect lies, but I wasn't in big footprints or gouges, either. Unlike the modified cups thing, I don't think the USGA has made any kind of statement on bunkers, right? So I think the real answer is just play it, and do you best to smooth it before you leave. I'm a-ok with that.

Beyond our multiple "covid protocol" incidents, we had other moments yesterday where it's like we forgot how to play golf. I accidentally stole the tee box from Hoop and Eagle. Domes forgot how to count at least once. I took a drop on 17, and dropped my ball into a divot in the rough.

And worst of all, now when you play golf with Hoop, he can't even bring mangoes to share with the group.

[TheCityGame]

I think the course is still raking them overnight.

But, people have been really good about smoothing them, too. Just the old "foot wipe" and throwing a little dirt around with the club head.

I haven't noticed more bad lies though. Balls do crazy things in the sand.

[thechief16]

 

Can't beat $20 polos. I'm in for 3. Because what I really need are more golf shirts.

[HighBoomingDraws]

he wasn't even able to bet the money 15-20 days ago though. and everyone is putting into the same cup? i'd rather have "rub of the green" issues instead of "i have to drive 70 minutes across state lines to find tee times" issues.

[TheCityGame]

I had to shut the page down after looking at it for 1 minute. I was about to buy hoodies, rain jackets and polos , none of which I need.

 

[XHoop24]

The pool noodles worked much better than the upside down cups. I didn't have a good look at Eagle's, so I didn't stick up for my partner, but the upside down cup had three metalish prongs that were only an inch or so below the cup that would just reject putts. It was actually comical after Eagle's putt missed and then my putt got the Mutumbo.

 

https://media.giphy.com/media/cadaCsfL11zDq/giphy.gif

 

 

[dcmidnight]

The USGA has actually made it as easy as possible for clubs to decide on their own how to handle the bunkers. They had an extensive rules page setup but basically left it up to the Committee at each club to decide how to handle it. We've been playing lift/smooth/place since this started. Its worked fine. Honestly I think other than "sounding weird" it makes no difference. Either you can generally get a ball out of the bunker or you cant. I think this has significantly affected scores not at all.

[misplacedtexan83]

Same could be said about playing on freshly punched greens...

[eagle1997]

obviously the golf gods were in my favor in the long run, as both hoop and i cashed out on 17 with his par net birdie. note: a net par would have won. :)

look, local golf with upside down cups that occasionally reject a "might have gone in" putt is better than no golf at all. that's not up for debate. the question is how best to handle it when betting is involved, without a subjective ruling coming into play.