MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[ALTSean]

1 minute ago, thechief16 said:

I figured someone would take it that way. Kinda hard to have a knowledgable discussion about the topic without relating personal experiences.

 

FWIW, are there any actual golfers who care about "growing the game"? I suppose in a secondary sense in that it makes sure that their courses stay open.  But those who want to "grow the game" are those who make money off it -- equipment manufacturers, public golf course owners, TV networks and USGA/PGA.  I'd prefer we not grow game and let Brad and Chad go back to playing darts and beer pong.

 

First Tee and their volunteers.  First Tee is a non-profit and has a larger goal of teaching life skills along with teaching golf.  

[GooseHook]

50 minutes ago, J13 said:

I've played Congo quite a few times and Caves.  All great places but all very different.  Caves is very corporate and they don't want to see you much even if you are a member haha.  Congo is great, love the Blue course and the clubhouse is sick. 

 

With that said I belong to Eagles Nest CC which had everything i wanted.  It's a family oriented club without pretentious nonsense, very much a burger and beer type of crowd that likes to play music while they play and have a great time.  We have a decent amount of good players so i can always find a money game.  I looked at BCC especially when i was under 40 and I loved the courses but the people and rules were not for me.  

 

 

 

Yeah in the Bmore area it's very much hit or miss what you get in terms of the membership/policies.  I will refrain from my rants. 

[thechief16]

9 minutes ago, ALTSean said:

 

First Tee and their volunteers.  First Tee is a non-profit and has a larger goal of teaching life skills along with teaching golf.  

So stipulated.

Edited December 3, 2020 by thechief16

[ALTSean]

4 minutes ago, thechief16 said:

So stipulated.

 

Please explain.

[thechief16]

3 minutes ago, ALTSean said:

 

Please explain.

I was acknowledging your point.

[FAbb]

I made my personal assessment of top 100 lists as "harmless" very clear.  And I didn't use the discussion as a springboard to talk about where I have and haven't played.

 

As for "growing the game" I'm very indifferent about whether Brad and Chad next door take up golf.  They've got the means do whatever they please.  I am in favor of increasing access to the game for kids, regardless of their financial means.

[mizuno player]

I have played Congo, Caves, Chevy, BCC, Columbia, Bethesda and Woodmont. Fortunate to know some people certainly not because I have money. 

 

Caves has changed a lot over the last 20 years or so. There was a time you had to wear slacks. It also could not be your primary club. Thus couldn't play it very often. I think they were going for a Augusta feel.  They have some sleeping quarters as well. Those rules have all changed. 

 

I like a more laid back club. Good people cold beer and some good money games. If I had that kind of money I'd join a club as an out of state member. Oakmont or Kinloch or even something in the CA desert. Otherwise I'd rather be at a place like Holy Hills, because I live close and my wife and I are looking into. 

 

 

[J13]

1 hour ago, mizuno player said:

I have played Congo, Caves, Chevy, BCC, Columbia, Bethesda and Woodmont. Fortunate to know some people certainly not because I have money. 

 

Caves has changed a lot over the last 20 years or so. There was a time you had to wear slacks. It also could not be your primary club. Thus couldn't play it very often. I think they were going for a Augusta feel.  They have some sleeping quarters as well. Those rules have all changed. 

 

I like a more laid back club. Good people cold beer and some good money games. If I had that kind of money I'd join a club as an out of state member. Oakmont or Kinloch or even something in the CA desert. Otherwise I'd rather be at a place like Holy Hills, because I live close and my wife and I are looking into. 

 

 

 

Absolutely.  My congo connection is a friend who married into it.  It's good to have friends who married into high places 🤣

[GooseHook]

This groundhog day-type period of working from home might actually make the offseason go by faster. I can't believe it's already December, and soon enough the days are going to start getting longer.

 

Being mostly sedentary all these months has definitely taken its toll on strength. For the first time ever I'm going to start running regularly and just made a few upgrades to our home office/fitness room, and smartly played the "recovery is key" card to justify purchasing a theragun knockoff. No more feeling like crap in the mornings if I can control it. 

[ceejay81]

It's too competitive to get decent tee times at public courses anymore.  Even worse at my own club.

 

#SHRINKTHEGAME

 

[ALTSean]

13 minutes ago, ceejay81 said:

It's too competitive to get decent tee times at public courses anymore.  Even worse at my own club.

 

#SHRINKTHEGAME

 

 

Tony Kornheiser was complaining on his podcast about not being able to get a tee time at Columbia CC so it's not just us commoners who are struggling for tee times.  #firstworldproblems

 

 

[dcmidnight]

15 minutes ago, ceejay81 said:

It's too competitive to get decent tee times at public courses anymore.  Even worse at my own club.

 

#SHRINKTHEGAME

 

 

I'm in with this, team CJ.

[thechief16]

I knew y'all would come around.

[TheCityGame]

Tom Doak did a list in Golf magazine that was "10 courses that aren't on the top 100 list" and it was more interesting than anything that was on that list. 

 

The top 100 list just has no context. 

 

You could not convince me that 4 guys on a golf trip would have more "fun" playing Congressional (and having to walk on eggshells and worry about their behavior and have to wear pants and hang out in the DC/Maryland surburbs and whatever else that entails) than playing Tobacco Road and getting some pork barbeque 5 miles down the road after the game. No way. I don't think it's a better hang. I don't think you'll hit as many fun golf shots, or as memorable golf shots. So, why is it top ten and Tobacco Road isn't on the list? Because. . .tradition?  I have no idea what criteria gets a course on that list. 

 

And, I don't care about "growing the game" but yeah, that list certainly ain't it. 

[TheCityGame]

I've played a few rounds with the G400 LST I got from Fabb. I put in the X-torsion 60g S shaft that I've used in my G400 MAX for a while now. Much more muted sounding than the Max. Maybe that's the hot melt that Fabb didn't tell me about. 

 

I've murdered a few balls with it and it doesn't seem any more susceptible to a big miss than the Max. I've played a couple rounds with people I'm familiar with and it SEEMS LIKE I'm picking up a few Wye-Dees on them. Temperature and wind and wetness are always changing, but yesterday on 11 and 12 (back to back in opposite directions), I had 140 in on a 410 hole and followed it up with 190 in on a 490 yard hole. That 300 yarder is the eye-opener for me. It came out dead straight, lower traj than the max (but just as much carry) and it got a lot of roll. I've hit RARE balls there with the Max and those were in the middle of the summer and "perfect" drives. This was just a solid strike down the pipe. 

 

I need to get my feels right, though, because I'll put a swing on a ball and look up and expect to see one thing and I'm seeing another. Mostly, balls have faded a bit more than I expect. I find it easier to fade, but harder to draw. I kind of like that because I can just attack it from the inside and not worry about the snapper. I've started balls up the right that don't come back and even fade a little when I expect them to draw. 

 

Best LST story. . .I've been playing 7 clubs a lot in the off-season and on that same 490 hole the other day, I actually hit one right, but a tree kicked it back to the FW. Had about 220 and I only had a 4 iron. We were playing LCP so I got a really good lie and hit the DOTD to about 9 feet for eagle. 

 

I had a match going with TVJ so I said to him, "will you concede the birdie so I can try to make eagle with the driver?"

 

He agreed. 

 

I hit a good putt with the D, but it rolled 2 feet past, and then I left the 2 footer 1 inch short DFC coming back. LOL. Par using only driver, though. I've tried to pull that off for years and have never done it. (Fabb has done it at least twice). 

 

I was 4 up on TVJ that day with 5 to play and I went

3 putt double (loss)

3 putt double (loss)

Par (loss)

Lost ball (loss)

 

So it was even going into 18 and I hit a nice shot to middle of green into a strong breeze and nipped him.

[FAbb]

I'm not sure whether these tales of driving greatness are running up the price of the 400 LST, or making me not want to sell.

[dcmidnight]

2 minutes ago, FAbb said:

I'm not sure whether these tales of driving greatness are running up the price of the 400 LST, or making me not want to sell.

 

The former...

[TheCityGame]

Fabb's price is whatever he would get from second swing plus one cent. 

[FAbb]

I'm not surprised in the least that the LST is showing great potential for City.  I've seen him play a lot of golf with the 400 Max at 10.5.  He drives the ball extremely well, with high draw tendencies.  I've always thought a little bit of flattening it out would really open up some additional yardage for him.  The LST at 10 seems like it ought to provide that little bit of difference, without being too extreme like that time 2nd Swing tried to get him into a 9 degree x-flex club.  And the neutral to right bias fits well with his pattern, compared to the Max being a little more left bias.  It just seems like it will give him a little extra edge, while maintaining the same level of playability as the Max. 

 

I've been playing that driver for the last few seasons, and I've never had a better run of driving.  It's probably dumb that I'm changing it up at all, but I'm confident I'll find a new stick.  Hopefully it's the 410 LST I've got now.

[TheCityGame]

I was definitely the driver of getting me in to the 9 degree X-flex, not 2nd swing. Don't want to throw the blame on them. 

 

[Ocgolfrick]

We talked about "Growing the Game" last year vis a vis First Tee, etc.  And I know right now with the popularity of the game back up a lot of you are having full tee sheets and slow play.  But when COVID ends, (Soon please) I think a lot of casual golfers go back to what they did before in their leisure time, and we're back on a declining track of golf popularity.  Of course we'd all like to have ease of tee time availability and sub 4 hour rounds- but "Growing the Game" is fairly essential to all of our future golf.  I know @ALTSean has this problem at Army/Navy, as do I at OCGC in that when we show up for Men's league- we're usually the youngest people there.  I SEE younger people out there- but not avid golfers- more like "I do this 4x a year and mostly to drink beer to excess" golfers.  And the younger golfers we do have don't play the events- there's only a couple members younger than me who play Member/Guest and Member/Member- and a few more come out for club championship, but not for regular money games and organized league play. 

And maybe this is a more Private/Semi-private club problem in  a rural area than Muni/Public course in a populated area, but I just don't see that many younger people rushing into the game who could truly support a club.  And that probably seems elitist as well, but without the truly avid- weekly,twice weekly golfer- who spends some real money at the club- how can some clubs survive? And I know that people golf more as they age, but I'd rather see people taking up the game now than later.

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Ocgolfrick
Engrish mistake

[XHoop24]

47 minutes ago, FAbb said:

I'm not sure whether these tales of driving greatness are running up the price of the 400 LST, or making me not want to sell.

This exact thing happened with me and @baddomes when I let him borrow the G400 Max. He wanted to give it a try and started hitting it really well right off the bat. Was able to sell it to him for over MSRP. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by XHoop24

[Boogs2]

Off topic but can anyone recommend a good moving company??

[dcmidnight]

14 minutes ago, Ocgolfrick said:

We talked about "Growing the Game" last year vis a vis First Tee, etc.  And I know right now with the popularity of the game back up a lot of you are having full tee sheets and slow play.  But when COVID ends, (Soon please) I think a lot of casual golfers go back to what they did before in their leisure time, and we're back on a declining track of golf popularity.  Of course we'd all like to have ease of tee time availability and sub 4 hour rounds- but "Growing the Game" is fairly essential to all of our future golf.  I know @ALTSean has this problem at Army/Navy, as do I at OCGC in that when we show up for Men's league- we're usually the youngest people there.  I SEE younger people out there- but not avid golfers- more like "I do this 4x a year and mostly to drink beer to excess" golfers.  And the younger golfers we do have don't play the events- there's only a couple members younger than me who play Member/Guest and Member/Member- and a few more come out for club championship, but not for regular money games and organized league play. 

And maybe this is a more Private/Semi-private club problem in  a rural area than Muni/Public course in a populated area, but I just don't see that many younger people rushing into the game who could truly support a club.  And that probably seems elitist as well, but without the truly avid- weekly,twice weekly golfer- who spends some real money at the club- how can some clubs survive? And I know that people golf more as they age, but I'd rather see people taking up the game now than later.

 

 

I think this is the catch-22 at private clubs. I could whine about not being able to walk on weekdays right now like I have been able to do every other year. Or I could shutup and realize that hey, we are finally full on golf memberships and have a waiting list, thats good for the club financially all the way round. I know its good - but I selfishly dont have to like it. And yeah its even better when a lot of the new members are younger families with kids who play golf and eventually some of those will be dues paying members too.

 

I do know there were a handful of guys that wanted the membership cut by 10-20% - not cut but allowed to go down through attrition/death - and just raise the dues 10-20%. I was not against that idea.

[dcmidnight]

3 minutes ago, Boogs2 said:

Off topic but can anyone recommend a good moving company??

 

Only moved twice in 25 yrs but Beltway Movers was good both times.

[Ocgolfrick]

4 minutes ago, Boogs2 said:

Off topic but can anyone recommend a good moving company??

Atlas Moving handled all the items from my wife's grandmother's estate to us from Chicago, and they were amazing- everything fragile was packaged- 2 guys unloaded everything.  But $$$.

[misplacedtexan83]

Knowledge bomb dropping

 

X-torsion is counter balance so the extra hot melt actually helps the head weight. The cb shafts tend to lighten the head weight 

[FAbb]

To the best of my knowledge, there is no hot melt in the driver head City is testing.  Though I am not the original owner, it was not stated to me that there was any melt in there when I bought it.  And it does not (to me) sound/feel like a head with melt.

 

The 410 LST I'm testing does have some melt in it.

 

 

[Kent01putt]

23 hours ago, mizuno player said:

 

Caves has changed a lot over the last 20 years or so. There was a time you had to wear slacks. It also could not be your primary club. Thus couldn't play it very often. I think they were going for a Augusta feel.  They have some sleeping quarters as well. Those rules have all changed. 

What makes you think these have changed, cause I don't think they have.

[dcmidnight]

100% chance I wore shorts at Caves and didnt get kicked out.

 

Its funny, the whole "you have to tuck your shirt in and wear your hat forward" doesnt bother me in the least. Its one of those things that I think 6 years ago when I joined MV I thought it was just dumb. But its really the simplest of rules and doesnt impinge upon my enjoyment of the round one bit. 

 

But we also allow people to wear jeans in the clubhouse and dining room/grill in the winter - which most private clubs would absolute never ever allow. So, I guess I'm lucky.