You know you're an Old Golfer when...

[BIG STU]

6 hours ago, OnTheBag said:

Good stuff @dalehead.  There's another thread about funny stuff seen on or off the course.  I was telling a story there about when the air traffic controllers strike happened and a bunch of us rented a van so the clubs didn't get lost going to the next event.  Some guy said, "Why didn't you just ship them."  Had to explain to youngster offline that UPS was 1/100 of what it is now  Quick shipping anything wasn't an option back then.

 

Still one of the greatest road trips of my life.  3 golfers and 3 caddies in a rented POS van with all our luggage and gear driving 16 hours to the next event.  

Aint a drop in the bucket compared to a trip with the late Billy Glisson in a old funeral home Cadillac going to Texas. I know you have been around and knew Billy

[OnTheBag]

4 hours ago, BIG STU said:

Aint a drop in the bucket compared to a trip with the late Billy Glisson in a old funeral home Cadillac going to Texas. I know you have been around and knew Billy

I knew Billy.......God Rest his Soul.  He and I played a few rounds together on one of the Florida mini Tours back in the day  (maybe Space Coast or maybe it was the North Florida Tour.)  What a character.  Thank the lord there weren't camera phones back then.  I remember one night during the Longboat Key Open (or something like that) where things got way out of hand. 

 

Ah the good old days.    

[dan360]

Played a quick 9 holes the other day.   Paired with a "kid", early 20s.   He found a Tour Balata 100 in the pond and says "what does balata mean?"   Pronounced like it rhymed with PALiduh

 

I died a little more inside that day....

 

 

[rd1959]

6 minutes ago, dan360 said:

Played a quick 9 holes the other day.   Paired with a "kid", early 20s.   He found a Tour Balata 100 in the pond and says "what does balata mean?"   Pronounced like it rhymed with PALiduh

 

I died a little more inside that day....

 

 

You should have told him it is a rare Titleist protoype that's supposed to spin 20,000 rpm off a wedge and fly 450 yards off a driver. That's one of the good things about being old. We've forgotten more than a youngster knows. Have a little fun with it 😉

[touch]

This is a fabulous thread.

I started this game when there were no such things as a stand bag or battery powered push carts. Like many of you I also began the game in the era of wood woods and Wilson blades. I feel fortunate I got to experience metal spiked golf shoes and the spin of wound balata balls. I didn't have the head covers that were all held together by one string or cord but I did have the 1970's knitted pom pom style covers protecting my woods.  

 

I will add rotary ball washers. 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2022 by touch

[Edsland]

175 yd par 3 you pull out driver

[Robert72]

7 minutes ago, Edsland said:

175 yd par 3 you pull out driver

 

It's how do you know you're old....not decrepit!

[platgof]

When you have watered every bush on the course.

[JimmyC59]

3 hours ago, platgof said:

When you have watered every bush on the course.

One of the old timers I sometimes play with says I remind him of his dog, he pees on every tree too.

[NJpatbee]

The only irons I now use are the pitching and sand wedges.  1, 3, and 5 wood, 2,3 4,5,6,7,9 hybrids.  A crushed drive is 185 yards.  Still glad to be playing at age 70 and occasionally breaking 90!  Thankful for technology and Alleve back and muscle pain reliever.  

[BombinJim]

When your lead hip pops every first driver swing of the day. Chunk hook every time. Have to remember to pre-pop it.

[Wooley12]

It happened again.  Standing on the par 3 tee next to the guy scoping it. "173" I say. "173.4" he relied. 

[RobotDoctor]

On 6/14/2022 at 2:07 PM, alittleoverpar said:

I remember playing with Titleist Professional 100s.  You could spin those things like crazy and you could split them open just as easily.  

I still have a stash of good ole Titleist Tour 100 balatas.  I loved them a lot more than the Titleist Professional.  I occasionally take one of my persimmon drivers out with a sleeve of Titleist balatas and just love to hit persimmon on balata.

[RobotDoctor]

On 6/15/2022 at 7:14 AM, Kingkat54 said:

Miss the golf shoes with the kilties. Especially black and white wingtip. Heavy, but stylish. Leather soles, metal spikes.

 

Matching wood covers and bag. 

The Wilson 8802 blade putter. Or Acushnet Reuter putter. Everyone had one.

 

Titleist Black,Red,Green dot.  Dunlop same. 

 

I loved the sound of the metal spikes on a cart path!  Note the spikes on my old pair of Footjoy Classic white pebble grain wing tip shoes (yes, I was younger and didn't clean them as I should have).

 

[farmer]

I remember how good a well struck wood with a balata sounded when there were trees around the tee.  Seriously, sounded like a gun.  We used to check balls out of the sleeve for roundness, and the best one became the putting ball du jour.  Changing out spikes that were rusted into place, and skating on a slick halfway house bathroom floor.  Walking because I wanted to rather than for health purposes.  It may be old guy stuff, but even strangers seemed to be friendly and had some solid foundation in golf etiquette.

[rd1959]

11 hours ago, BombinJim said:

When your lead hip pops every first driver swing of the day. Chunk hook every time. Have to remember to pre-pop it.

My sacroiliitis acts up after a round of golf so. instead of spending time with my playing partners afterward, I'm at home using ice, heat, and hanging upside down on my inversion table. Am I dedicated or what? 😁

[BIG STU]

On 6/24/2022 at 7:32 AM, ChipNRun said:

Old golfer:

 

When the health craze hit and golfers

quite smoking, it added three strokes

to your score.

 

Reason: You could no longer use

cigarette butts along the fairway

as alignment tools.

Or the smoke to check wind direction

[BIG STU]

On 6/24/2022 at 6:26 PM, OnTheBag said:

I knew Billy.......God Rest his Soul.  He and I played a few rounds together on one of the Florida mini Tours back in the day  (maybe Space Coast or maybe it was the North Florida Tour.)  What a character.  Thank the lord there weren't camera phones back then.  I remember one night during the Longboat Key Open (or something like that) where things got way out of hand. 

 

Ah the good old days.    

Man you and I have crossed paths I played old JC Goosies Space Coast Tour some. Billy got killed about 15 miles below me on the Winyah Bay bridge in Georgetown. He was riding a moped and a car hit him. He was working as an assistant Pro down at Founders Club in Pawleys at the time of his death. LOL if you played behind him you could tell where he hit from because more than likely there was a Viceroy Cigarette butt there. In fact he was the only person I ever met who smoked those. 

[BIG STU]

21 hours ago, BombinJim said:

When your lead hip pops every first driver swing of the day. Chunk hook every time. Have to remember to pre-pop it.

That is one of the health issues I have going on right now itself along with my right knee

[BIG STU]

11 hours ago, RobotDoctor said:

 

I loved the sound of the metal spikes on a cart path!  Note the spikes on my old pair of Footjoy Classic white pebble grain wing tip shoes (yes, I was younger and didn't clean them as I should have).

 

Levis and dirty FJ Classics ----- Sure sign of a Golf Hustler

[OnTheBag]

8 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

Man you and I have crossed paths I played old JC Goosies Space Coast Tour some. Billy got killed about 15 miles below me on the Winyah Bay bridge in Georgetown. He was riding a moped and a car hit him. He was working as an assistant Pro down at Founders Club in Pawleys at the time of his death. LOL if you played behind him you could tell where he hit from because more than likely there was a Viceroy Cigarette butt there. In fact he was the only person I ever met who smoked those. 

I remember Billy showing up at a D-Level event in Louisiana one time with like 9 clubs in a worn out bag.  It seems he had pawned his normal set for drinking money and Viceroy's then got a last minute invite to the tournament.  He pulled up in an old Buick that was screaming hot from 12 hours straight driving, jumped out and went straight to the sign-in shed.  

 

I only remember that one because I won it and the $615 first place check.  That's right folks.......$615 winner's purse.

 

I miss characters like him from the old game.  Too many social media manufactured personalities and story lines in today's game.  None of these current players would drive all night, then sleep in their car for a chance to make $600.  But we did it just to stay in the game that we all loved.

[Soloman1]

Remember when warming up consisted of bending over to pick up the styrofoam cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and the cigarette after hitting your drive in the first hole? Sometimes with your laces still untied.

 

And the only wedges you carried were a PW and a SW?

 

And that’s right, no stand golf bags or ergonomically designed straps? Throw that sucker on the ground after you pulled a club.

 

And three yardage markers, tops. One for 200, one for 150 and one for 100 on the side of the fairway. Figure it out yourself and we had calibrated eyeballs.

 

”Yep, looks 155 to me.”

 

Bang, pin high.

 

And you had to knock the poop out of it to get a 25’ foot putt to the hole.

[OnTheBag]

10 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

And the only wedges you carried were a PW and a SW?

 

 

Very true.  But our PW's were 48-50° loft back then too instead of the 44° or even 42° you see today.  I was listening to a youngster brag about how far he hit his PW last weekend.  I asked him what the loft was, he didn't know.  I checked when I got home.  His PW was the same loft as my 8i.  But he had bragging rights.  

[Nels55]

I remember blue chip stamps!  My mom had books of them and I sort of remember her not being that happy with what she got with them.  Her grocery budget was $10 per week.  Everybody was really angry when cokes went from 5 cents to 10 cents per bottle in the vending machines.  I loved my 2 wood!  Later on I had aluminum shafted woods and fiber glass shafted irons, lol I thought they were great!  

[anser85029]

When you can remember when...as a kid growing up during the 1960s...

 

1. you were considered a long hitter at your club with a "massive" 250 yard tee shot with a 43" MacGregor driver, a 130g Dynamic S shaft and a Titleist K2A balata

 

2. you paid $3.00 for a sleeve of Titleist K2A balatas and could only get those at a pro shop...and you asked the pro for a specific number and he would smile and break a box searching for the #1 ball sleeve you requested...of course, you could also buy Acushnet Club Specials for 50 cents a ball and your pro would sell you a single ball out of a bowl of them on the counter when your wallet was light

 

3. you remember the smell of a sleeve of balata balls...for some reason, a fresh sleeve of tour balata balls had a wonderful smell that no modern urethane ball has ever come close to

 

4. and the smell of a refinished persimmon driver after 2-3 coats of fresh polyurethane...intoxicating, you almost got high

[BIG STU]

2 hours ago, OnTheBag said:

I remember Billy showing up at a D-Level event in Louisiana one time with like 9 clubs in a worn out bag.  It seems he had pawned his normal set for drinking money and Viceroy's then got a last minute invite to the tournament.  He pulled up in an old Buick that was screaming hot from 12 hours straight driving, jumped out and went straight to the sign-in shed.  

 

I only remember that one because I won it and the $615 first place check.  That's right folks.......$615 winner's purse.

 

I miss characters like him from the old game.  Too many social media manufactured personalities and story lines in today's game.  None of these current players would drive all night, then sleep in their car for a chance to make $600.  But we did it just to stay in the game that we all loved.

And I have played in events where I caught lightning in a jar and won more in the side skins pot than the winner won for an event. And of course you had the bet sweaters that if they won would "tip" you. Yeah those were the days. 

i was staying in Winter Park in a trailer that a carny friend of mine owned in fact 3 of us stayed there rent free to keep the place aired out etc. We all chipped in for groceries and of course Beer and paid a couple of local ladies to clean up. Billy was the one who nicknamed me "Trailer Park". LOL he got me good one day. I found a Holiday Inn Towel in a parking lot took it home and washed it. Billy wanted to know who I stole it from because he knew darn well I was staying in the trailer park. He also said if I did good I was only a Motel 6 player.

I think I remember the Buick it was a clapped out 66 Wildcat. The funeral home car was a limo like the relatives rode in. And you know how he was he claimed he won it from a funeral home director in a Poker game. One crazy character.

Edited June 27, 2022 by BIG STU

[BIG STU]

2 hours ago, OnTheBag said:

Very true.  But our PW's were 48-50° loft back then too instead of the 44° or even 42° you see today.  I was listening to a youngster brag about how far he hit his PW last weekend.  I asked him what the loft was, he didn't know.  I checked when I got home.  His PW was the same loft as my 8i.  But he had bragging rights.  

LOL mine still are--- Yeah one of my sometimes Shootout partners has one of the newest sets of Cleveland whatevers. His clubs have both the loft and degree stamped on them and yes his PW is stamped 41* which is the same as my 8 iron. He tried to do my bump and run thing with his 5 iron I got him back to using his 7 iron which I told him is the same thing as my 5 iron. 

[BIG STU]

44 minutes ago, anser85029 said:

When you can remember when...as a kid growing up during the 1960s...

 

1. you were considered a long hitter at your club with a "massive" 250 yard tee shot with a 43" MacGregor driver, a 130g Dynamic S shaft and a Titleist K2A balata

 

2. you paid $3.00 for a sleeve of Titleist K2A balatas and could only get those at a pro shop...and you asked the pro for a specific number and he would smile and break a box searching for the #1 ball sleeve you requested...of course, you could also buy Acushnet Club Specials for 50 cents a ball and your pro would sell you a single ball out of a bowl of them on the counter when your wallet was light

 

3. you remember the smell of a sleeve of balata balls...for some reason, a fresh sleeve of tour balata balls had a wonderful smell that no modern urethane ball has ever come close to

 

4. and the smell of a refinished persimmon driver after 2-3 coats of fresh polyurethane...intoxicating, you almost got high

Yep and the locker room had a real leather smell from the real leather golf bags and golf shoes LOL I never could get low numbered Titleist balls at my course because my old man ran it and got all the #1 and #2 balls when the shipment came in. No one wanted the 6 7 and 8 balls so I bought them at cost which was around 0.85 each. Club Specials he had in a huge glass Lance cookie jar on the counter. The other cookie jar had lake balls I think like 6 for a dollar. He had zilch in the lake balls because a guy got them out and split the bags with him. If you were like a regular weekend duffer and he liked you he would tell you grab 10 or 12 and give me a dollar. Yeah I loved my trips to his friend's repair shop yeah the smell of refinished drivers Varasol and leather grips heaven to my nose.

[rd1959]

4 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

Remember when warming up consisted of bending over to pick up the styrofoam cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and the cigarette after hitting your drive in the first hole? Sometimes with your laces still untied.

 

And the only wedges you carried were a PW and a SW?

 

And that’s right, no stand golf bags or ergonomically designed straps? Throw that sucker on the ground after you pulled a club.

 

And three yardage markers, tops. One for 200, one for 150 and one for 100 on the side of the fairway. Figure it out yourself and we had calibrated eyeballs.

 

”Yep, looks 155 to me.”

 

Bang, pin high.

 

And you had to knock the poop out of it to get a 25’ foot putt to the hole.

Maybe that's why I always hit bad drives... I never took the cigarette out of my mouth.

[RobotDoctor]

11 hours ago, BIG STU said:

Levis and dirty FJ Classics ----- Sure sign of a Golf Hustler

Not sure about being a hustler. I really never gambled on the course.  That’s is of course until I met a couple of guys and started playing with their group.  About 8-12 of us would gather during the week or on weekends. 
I can’t tell you how many times a $1 Nassau ended up costing me $25-$35 in a round.  Lot of presses and we always instilled an automatic press when you were 2 down.  Those were the days!!!