MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[willboyrd]

That’s quite a few assumptions lol

[baddomes]

I thought xhoop was talking about #5 at EPP

[eagle1997]

What a tournament. Fantastic first Major in what felt like forever. US Open and Masters will have a tough time topping it... which is probably the first time in history that statement has ever been made.

[SullGolf]

I'm pretty sure he's talking about 7, because we were talking about it last time we played. On 5 I would agree since there's no real trouble up there and the green is one of the few tough ones on the course.

The PGA was great. Best final round I can think of since the 2016 Open with Phil & Stenson throwing down. I was rooting for a 6-7 way playoff, but the shot Morikawa hit on 16 was worth breaking that up.

JDay's post round interview mentioned that he thought the lack of crowds was to his detriment. Made it seem like he thought Morikawa and Casey would have been more inclined than him to fold if the crowd was there. I don't disagree.

[dcmidnight]

So DJs contention is that he folded because there were no crowds there - but that other guys would have folded if there were crowds there?

GTFO.

DJ spent so much time grinding over putts that he was missing by a wide margin I had to wonder WTF was going on. Meanwhile every announcer is talking about how the greens were flatter than any other course they play on tour. Maybe DJ was just confused by the simplicity of it all.

I took Morikawa this weekend so I was doubly happy to see him win. Brooks folding up was really confusing.

[FAbb]

I don't care what hole Hoop is talking about. I agree with him. Bang the D.

[SullGolf]

I was wrong. It was Day not DJ. But DCs rant about DJ was good.

[dcmidnight]

Well the National Links Trust has some pretty legit golf round options in its fundraising auction. Friars Head, Maidstone, Ohoopee, East Lake, Shinnecock, Merion, Kinloch, RTJ, EPP...you're paying for it but you dont often see rounds like that up for auction.https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/67816/auctions/84355?t=all

[dcmidnight]

I'm just happy Day didn't sneeze and blow out his rotator cuff.

[GooseHook]

Crowds would have been great at this major, it's not often you have 5-7 guys trading the lead on Sunday afternoon. Between Morikawa's chip in and eagle, DJ's crazy hole out on 16, and Casey rolling in putts it would have been rowdy AF. The -10 range seems to be a sweet spot for entertaining majors, not crazy low but enough for guys to go make moves on the weekend.

[Von_Oberhausen]

And I'm pretty sure the one they "can't name" is National Golf Links of America. Definitely don't get the chance to play there often. Interesting to see which course will go for the most--I think Shinnecock is currently in the lead.

[gsrjc]

Anyone watch the LPGA this last weekend and the debacle of Lydia Ko on the 18th hole. Unfortunately doesn’t show the long discussion with the caddie on what she should do after her second shot into the par 5 18

https://www.lpga.com/videos/2020/lydia-ko-final-rd-highlights-marathon-classic

[eagle1997]

It's not that hard to believe that crowds/crowd noise can help some and hurt others. I agree with JDay. He's used to that stuff in a Major - Mori isn't. Paul Casey said himself that the lack of crowds was to his benefit.

The roars would have been spectacular. I don't know that they would have changed the outcome, no one does. Would have been cool to see and hear.

Maybe next year.

[aiyyer]

Thrilled for Morikawa for winning the tournament with his drive on the 16th hole and when he had to. Finau needs to get some bad mofo vibe from Koepka to win something or he will be another Paul Casey. Koepka - less said the better.

Did anybody watch the Womens Am At Woodmont - the course looked spectacular?

[GooseHook]

Might want to buckle up. The origin point of this derecho is similar to 2012, and this guy has now formed a front stretching vertically from Milwaukee down to Kansas City. Dis could be bad.

 

2012 event for reference:

[Golfer827]

I remember that derecho... I went right through the teeth of it going home from Baltimore. It was scary those... 10 minutes or so on 70 near Mt. Airy.

[gsrjc]

I hope it weakens.

2012 was nasty.

[baddomes]

That derecho sounded like a freight train when it got to my house. Will never forget that.

 

Walking around the next day there was only one big tree down, and it landed squarely on an old vw rabbit. Basically split the car in half. It was pretty much the perfect car to get crushed by a large tree from a third party visual entertainment standpoint.

[GooseHook]

So it’s weakening, but it might be a wash later in the weak.

I remember that weekend vividly. I went to bed on a Friday night and woke up thinking my apartment was going to blow apart, and made it to the range at Waverly to play with a few of threadbros at 7:30. Trees were down EVERYWHERE, and I had to release the kraken in candlelight because the clubhouse power was out. Joy was short lived as I got called to work storm duty for the next 14 straight days in triple digit heat. We got an freebie day for working July 4th and for whatever reason I shot the best round I’ve ever had down at River Run went to finally got to the beach.

[FAbb]

I got in my second round this past Sunday. Dang, it's great to be back out golfing.
I filled in last-minute, when Tumor had a guy cancel. We played a match with Tumor and another member, versus Turf J and me. It was the last weekend day (maybe the last day?) of their one course being open, before shutting down for renovations, so Turf J was getting 36 in. He walked off 18, changed socks and shoes, and headed right back out.
Turf J and I got railroaded by Tumor and friend. Three of us played even, and Tumor's partner got 8. No impropriety there, either. The guy is legit. He played a GREAT round, firing 77 from the back tees. He had 3 natural birds, and a few net birds, all while Tumor very quietly made a ton of pars en route to a 75. Turf J and I got down late on the front 9, and just couldn't claw our way back. They had us dormie with 3 to play, and Tumor, with the longest birdie putt in the group on 16, drained it to close out the match. They would have beaten us without his partner getting any strokes, so it was just their day.
We did a closeout, so after the big bet was over on 16, Turf J and I had a chance to save ourselves some pride on the last two holes. It was looking good after I was the only one able to par 17, but Tumor Friend struck again on 18. It was a back-left pin, which is one of the toughest on that green. I had a two-putt par, but Tumor Friend stuck one to like 8ft and drained it for bird, so there was no blood on the 2-hole match.
Tumor's game is definitely improving. Maybe he's just being self-deprecating, but he's said things along the lines of not being whatever handicap he is, or that he's not really playing scratch golf. Newsflash, Tumor - yes, you are. Noticable improvement in his long game, and he didn't even have his best stuff the other day. He's always solid on and around the greens, so nothing new there. I've thought for years that with his natural abilities, and the work ethic he has, he should not have any problem reaching scratch. He's cashing in on that potential.
My game was sloppy, but promising. I've rolled off a couple respectable scores, considering the layoff. And that's with my putting being middling, and my short game being straight garbage. Between cleaning those up, and getting my distances and club selection dialed in, I think I can get the game back in shape to play some good rounds before the season starts fading out.

[TheCityGame]

Tumor is going to be tough to beat straight up at this point next year, unless his health holds him back. He's got a 5th gear off the tee that I'm just starting to realize and if he learns to own it and commit, that's going to be devastating. He and I had a long post-mortem of our match where we both confessed to being pretty sure we were going to beat the other guy. My arguments were far more valid.
I have a lot of fun golf coming up. . .I'm playing two qualifying rounds for the MD Am Tomorrow and Thursday. 36 holes and the top 31 (out of 240) advance to match play. One round is at a Baltimore 'muni', one round at Greenspring Valley. I think a DO-ABLE, but difficult, goal for me is to shoot par and see if that's good enough. Realistically, I'll probably shoot somewhere around 152 and that won't be good enough, but it's also about getting some reps in in a bigger event. I'm feeling surprisingly less nerves than I was feeling for CC. It's possibly related to expectations, which were high for CC.
After that, I'm going to Maine the following weekend for member-guest at my Dad's course.
I'm going to miss Hive Stableford AND Hive CC this year, which is a huge bummer but plans are made.
So after those things, I'll be starting my "2021 Improvement Plan", which is still TBD. but for starters :
1) A renewed focus on putting. I need to increase my percentages on every distance inside 15 feet. I'm going to work on improving being in the right mental state for every single putt -- not hitting a putt I'm not sure about. And, getting the ball rolling better on lower speed putts. I have noticed I tend to skid by ball on shorter putts whereas on long "lag" putts I get the ball rolling very nicely. So, that's a little stroke work.
2) Continue to work on "scoring" shots. We've been playing the "100" game lately. We drop a ball at the 100 yard marker, and play it in as a par 3. If it's a front pin, maybe we have 88 yards. If it's a back pin, maybe we have 115. Specifically, I need to groove a better method for taking something off a club. Whether that's a "go easy swing", "choke down" or "shorter backswing" ,I don't know. That's what is getting tested.
3) I've made a small change to iron set-up that has produced some of my best ball striking rounds and I'm going to work on grooving that. It still looks a little wrong to me, but produces good results, so we're talking reps there.
Equipment wise -- I might be looking to get my irons bent a little upright FLAT but I really want to talk to someone before I do this. I still feel like I'm working the club a little to get the toe down at impact, but this isn't going to be addressed until I've worked on #3 a little.

[SullGolf]

I have noticed I tend to skid by ball on shorter putts whereas on long "lag" putts I get the ball rolling very nicely. So, that's a little stroke work.
Is this bad or abnormal? How would you change it with stroke work? Off the top of my head, I'd think that you should skid it more on short putts: you aren't hitting it as hard, so the initial friction between the ball and the grass is a bigger factor. Maybe that's not a consequential factor in any case though.

[XHoop24]

@TheCityGame @2moreTerpz - Which course are they working on? What is the plan?

[FAbb]

Tumor was moving like the Tin Man because he was sore, TVJ was on his second loop of a feels-like 100 degree day, and the other guy just doesn't hit it far. There were points during the round where those guys were making me feel like PQ. I was WAY past them all on a decent number of holes. Tumor, who I've told this on many occasions, should be comfortably longer than me. He's bigger, taller, and he's athletic. There was a drive he hit playing Blue Mash with City and me last year that was to me, what he should be doing on the reg. It's the best drive I've ever seen him hit, and it's not even close.

[SullGolf]

When I played with Tumor, he reached a point where he consciously started to "Bryson it" rather than steer the ball. Suddenly he start hitting it super high and far on the A+ lines over trees. It was definitely a different gear and he was trying to embrace it.

[TheCityGame]

I think I'm a little "punchy" with short putts. Like I attempt to just poke it at the hole. You can still get that ball rolling end over end. It's same as a long putt. . .a bit more of an upward stroke, and a full stroke, but a softer stroke.
But, clearly, for a short putt vs a long putt, the skid portion is going to be a greater percentage of the putt.
So, that idea is based on a little experimentation I've been doing already. I don't know if it's a "measurable", or if it's just a feel. And if I put in a few hours working on it and it doesn't seem right, I reserve the right to drop it as an improvement technique. But, I don't feel like I get the ball rolling as good as I should on putts inside 7 or 8 feet. It has a lot to do with committing to the putt, and not putting defensively. @XHoop24 They're working on the Original course. Plan isn't crazy. . .move a couple bunkers a LITTLE. Redo the bunkers with the Billy Bunker System. They're going to build up some of the areas of the greens that fall off severely, remove a couple trees, reshape and remake tee boxes, I guess. Then, next year, they're going to do it to the other course.

[TheCityGame]

That's the one.

[dcmidnight]

I'm considering a small equipment change myself this offseason - I know, film at 11.
But as my iron swing has gotten more consistent I am seeing massive yardage gaps in the middle of my set. No surprise really, thats going to happen when you prefer to play a game improvement iron and the yardages are in 5* gaps. But I'm definitely leaning towards going to a set that has a more "traditional" loft structure with 3.5 or 4* gaps. Back to a set with a 33 or 34* 7 iron - not 30*. I'll be in Vegas for a week the weekend of the Masters and am planning on getting fit at one of the golf shops out there. Its always been highly rated/recommended and I know they carry a lot of the stuff I would be looking at. It has been tough to find a chunky GI type iron with a more traditional loft layout - the two normally dont go hand in hand.
I think I've also talked about going there to get fit for at least 3 years. But if the Masters is held without fans we'll be out there for 6 nights instead of 5 to get a fourth round of golf in so it gives me another day.

[dcmidnight]

Played yesterday and IMO the course should not have been open. We got @ 7 inches of rain at the course last week and the rain plus immediate hot weather was a dagger for a couple of the greens. Fairways are great but I think they are worried about at least two of the greens just because of the amount of moisture they had and then they got baked out. Even had two fans running on a couple of them.

[misplacedtexan83]

Yeah.. too much water and a lot heat boils roots. Our fairways have had trouble with that over this period.
But any place with Bermuda should be money