The Links Lounge (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION/LIV ***)

[chisag]

1 hour ago, BIG STU said:

You gotta play what you can hit.

 

 

... With all the technology out there and so many choices, these 7 words really covers it all. My mantra has always been play the most forgiving clubs you can effectively play. Of Course that means different things to different players but for most if you are trying to decide between two clubs, choose the one that is more forgiving. As much as we like to think about our average best shots, it is our average worst shots that determine our scores. I have days where it seems I can't miss and others where the entire round is a struggle and I want clubs that work equally well on both days. If I could play a full bag of hybrids, I would. But my 4 iron might be my favorite club and my 2 iron off the tee is almost automatic for finding fairways. Living in Phoenix with hard fast fairways certainly factors into my club choices. 

... I imagine not too far down the road, I will find I hit a 5 hy better than my 4 iron as well as taking advantage of it's versatility and when that day comes I won't hesitate to make the switch. I like to envision the most difficult shot possible off the tee on a par 3 like a 160 - 200 yd carry over water with steep banks on all sides with a 10 mph right to left wind. If winning or losing depends on this one shot, which club would I have the most confidence in? 

[Petethreeput]

OK, I have cooled down a little bit with the teacher who is frustrated.

 

Having spent 7 years of my adult life (mid life crisis) learning about education probably the most important factoid that stood out to me about education.

 

The best students, and those who did well on the SAT/ACTs had one common theme.  Their socio-economic status was the most likely indicator of educational success.  Correlation doesn't equal causation though:

Is it because wealthier parents are more likely to be educated and therefore impart an importance on their children's education?

Is it because wealthier parents tend to have more common schedules and are available to help their children with school, and/or having read to them at night as little kids.

Is it because     "               "        are able to give kids other experiences like art and music which help with academic aptitude.

or, they tend to be more competitive than others, which might be imparted on their children

or, they tend to have higher social IQs and their kids are therefore able to better read the teacher (another adult)

or, there is so much at play here.

 

Interestingly, those expensive boarding schools?  According to studies, the reason why those kids excel?  It isn't the teachers, it isn't all about class size, it isn't all about money because public school kids have money, it is because of their peers and competition, and in college it is because of their connections formed.  This is why the less wealthy who get scholarships tend to get out of poverty, all of these avenues are opened up.

 

Essentially what I am saying is, educational achievement is largely the result of the sperm lottery.  

[touch]

38 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

Got a big chuckle out of that one. Was going to ask if it was ok if I used it. Then I remembered I do not do weddings or funerals unless I am asked and up top in the sound booth. LOL in the Church I am in now I have been there 5 years. I had to look in my Church Notebook to find this fact. I have done 8 funerals and did not know a single one of the folks who passed away. Have done 5 weddings and did not know the bride or groom and have not seen them darken the doors of that Church since being hitched. My SOP at those things is to wait and shut down after the Battan death march or the bridal march and slip out the side door. I am usually outgoing but for some reason I tend not to hob nob with people at those events

 

Stu, feel free to use any of the funny stuff I post. 

[aenemated]

1 minute ago, chisag said:

I like to envision the most difficult shot possible off the tee on a par 3 like a 160 - 200 yd carry over water with steep banks on all sides with a 10 mph right to left wind.

 

Heh you just described #4 at Paiute: Snow Mountain. I've hit as little as an 9i and as much as a 5W into that one. Wind out there ain't no joke! 

[TiScape]

13 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... With all the technology out there and so many choices, these 7 words really covers it all. My mantra has always been play the most forgiving clubs you can effectively play. Of Course that means different things to different players but for most if you are trying to decide between two clubs, choose the one that is more forgiving. As much as we like to think about our average best shots, it is our average worst shots that determine our scores. I have days where it seems I can't miss and others where the entire round is a struggle and I want clubs that work equally well on both days. If I could play a full bag of hybrids, I would. But my 4 iron might be my favorite club and my 2 iron off the tee is almost automatic for finding fairways. Living in Phoenix with hard fast fairways certainly factors into my club choices. 

... I imagine not too far down the road, I will find I hit a 5 hy better than my 4 iron as well as taking advantage of it's versatility and when that day comes I won't hesitate to make the switch. I like to envision the most difficult shot possible off the tee on a par 3 like a 160 - 200 yd carry over water with steep banks on all sides with a 10 mph right to left wind. If winning or losing depends on this one shot, which club would I have the most confidence in? 

This post got me thinking. A while back someone brought up that the irons I was playing were meant for high level college and professional players… So I just ordered a set of 620 MBs. 

[Triple Lindy]

1 hour ago, Petethreeput said:

OK, I have cooled down a little bit with the teacher who is frustrated.

 

Having spent 7 years of my adult life (mid life crisis) learning about education probably the most important factoid that stood out to me about education.

 

The best students, and those who did well on the SAT/ACTs had one common theme.  Their socio-economic status was the most likely indicator of educational success.  Correlation doesn't equal causation though:

Is it because wealthier parents are more likely to be educated and therefore impart an importance on their children's education?

Is it because wealthier parents tend to have more common schedules and are available to help their children with school, and/or having read to them at night as little kids.

Is it because     "               "        are able to give kids other experiences like art and music which help with academic aptitude.

or, they tend to be more competitive than others, which might be imparted on their children

or, they tend to have higher social IQs and their kids are therefore able to better read the teacher (another adult)

or, there is so much at play here.

 

Interestingly, those expensive boarding schools?  According to studies, the reason why those kids excel?  It isn't the teachers, it isn't all about class size, it isn't all about money because public school kids have money, it is because of their peers and competition, and in college it is because of their connections formed.  This is why the less wealthy who get scholarships tend to get out of poverty, all of these avenues are opened up.

 

Essentially what I am saying is, educational achievement is largely the result of the sperm lottery.  

I’d agree that it’s not wealth, because our kids were spread out over a fairly wide wealth gap. Our oldest was in high school by the time my income was high enough to be considered “comfortable.”  We lived paycheck to paycheck for most of his educational years (not including college). Yet he’s a Fulbright Scholar. He was incredibly focused on education, probably because I emphasized it so much. Our daughter (middle kid) struggled, at least compared to our boys, but worked harder than they did. Our youngest did well, but was mostly on cruise control until college. He just wasn’t as academically competitive as our oldest. They all did well, stayed out of trouble, and were always praised as well-behaved, respectful kids by their teachers when we met with them. Which may refute your last point about the sperm lottery…..

[touch]

An afternoon snack.

Frozen bananas covered in chocolate, peanuts and sprinkles.

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by touch

[Triple Lindy]

Weather is still very comfortable, so I took advantage and grilled some chicken breasts. They make excellent protein for the salad!
 

[NJBigFish22]

5 hours ago, touch said:

Serious question.

 

Gentlemen please watch this video and give suggestions as to what you feel might help improve this situation.

 

I know it first starts at home, but what idea/s might you have that this teacher could use in her classroom that would alleviate some of the nonsense this poor woman deals with so frequently?

 

Do we need to enact some program on a nationwide level in our pubic schools that features far tougher discipline? I was rather disturbed when I came across this video last night. 

I am quite curious to hear what the group says of this situation. Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

 

 

I really shouldn’t touch this subject with a mile long pole. In my opinion, these kids have no idea of right and wrong, or respect for authority or others in general. This a very general statement, but these kids are dumb as s***, not only in terms of academics, but also life skills.  I will expand on this later. The fact that if a teacher tries to discipline a student, they are often assaulted or the kid or his parent report the teacher their hands are effectively tied.  From a “this begins at home” conversation, being most households don’t have stay at home parents, this means the kids are left to do what they want, and the parents try to be friends cause they feel guilty about having to work to provide.  There is no easy answer or real way to fix in general, unless the administration somehow has LE capabilities.  This also isn’t a public school issue, this happens just as much at private schools, the only difference is the private school can and will ask you to leave.  Social media, the internet and technology deserves a large portion of the blame.  Overall we have become a society with no respect or civility.  How many times do you hold a door open and the person doesn’t say thank you.  When they don’t I usually just say you’re welcome.

 

Now back to my general statement, these kids are passed on without learning anything.  Example the other night I was watching National Treasure 2, my 18 year old son was with me.  The scene was about where to have the Presidents birthday party.  They end up having at Mount Vernon, my son turns to me and says what is mount vernon.  I could give 100’s of examples of this, but won’t.  The misses and I started talking about what could be done to address these issues, I said that in order to get a driver’s license, to vote or to even get into college, or get a permit to work (I know this doesn’t exist, but should), the kid needs to pass certain equivalency tests, or they are required to go to the military, peace corp or even back to school to learn basic skills or about the country you live in.  

 

I wish there was a way to fix, but sadly I think that train left the station years ago.

[NJBigFish22]

I used to be interlock grip, but now I’m an overlap guy.  Interlock made me feel like I was going to choke the club to death.

[aenemated]

4 minutes ago, Triple Lindy said:

He was incredibly focused on education, probably because I emphasized it so much. 

 

This was my experience growing up.

 

Both my parents grew up as the kids of dirt poor tobacco farmers. Mom's family was a LITTLE better off than dad's was. But neither got past high school. So getting a good education was super important and impressed upon me and my older brother (who's a civil engineer - also went to NCSU) from a super young age because it was an opportunity they never really had. 

[Mrgreen36]

Storms assembled and first sash assembled. 

[Triple Lindy]

6 minutes ago, Mrgreen36 said:

Storms assembled and first sash assembled. 

Beautiful windows, Mr. Green!

[NJBigFish22]

Went out and played early this morning.  The score didn’t reflect the improvement, because sometimes mistakes are followed by even dumber decisions.  This was proven true on the back nine.  Some of the shots really have me thinking is it me or my clubs being not the right fit.  The new irons should be here by months end so hope that will at least help with some of the technical aspects, mental aspects, that could take a very long time 😂
 

So what were the highlights:

1)  I have worked hard on my FW the last week or so, today I teed off on every hole not a par 3 with a 4W.  Hit 8 fairways.  8 more than usual unless I use a 4 iron.

2) 33 putts and this included 2 three putts.

3) 2 pars

 

Lowlights:

1) wedges were not as sharp as usual.  1 was a bad lie, the rest was just bad swings.

2) Lost Balls.  3 were bad tee shots, 2 were following the bad tee shot with stupidity, 1 was just couldn’t find after I hit my second shot 

3) seems like every hole I make 1 very poor swing and basically adds an unnecessary stroke.

 

I will go to the range on Friday and work on my wedge game again and will also see if my new thoughts with my FWs can translate to Driver.  

 

[braincramp52]

2 hours ago, TiScape said:

Good point! I can’t listen to Flock of Seagulls without punching someone in the face.

I'm that way with disco. 😅

[aenemated]

4 minutes ago, NJBigFish22 said:

seems like every hole I make 1 very poor swing and basically adds an unnecessary stroke.

 

What happens prior to the 1 bad swing? Is it from not being committed to the shot? Like ... being over it and questioning if you can pull it off?

 

Probably the best lesson I ever got was to be 100% committed to the shot you're about to play. If you're over it and you have any doubts; step away and rethink it. 

[Triple Lindy]

3 minutes ago, NJBigFish22 said:

Went out and played early this morning.  The score didn’t reflect the improvement, because sometimes mistakes are followed by even dumber decisions.  This was proven true on the back nine.  Some of the shots really have me thinking is it me or my clubs being not the right fit.  The new irons should be here by months end so hope that will at least help with some of the technical aspects, mental aspects, that could take a very long time 😂
 

So what were the highlights:

1)  I have worked hard on my FW the last week or so, today I teed off on every hole not a par 3 with a 4W.  Hit 8 fairways.  8 more than usual unless I use a 4 iron.

2) 33 putts and this included 2 three putts.

3) 2 pars

 

Lowlights:

1) wedges were not as sharp as usual.  1 was a bad lie, the rest was just bad swings.

2) Lost Balls.  3 were bad tee shots, 2 were following the bad tee shot with stupidity, 1 was just couldn’t find after I hit my second shot 

3) seems like every hole I make 1 very poor swing and basically adds an unnecessary stroke.

 

I will go to the range on Friday and work on my wedge game again and will also see if my new thoughts with my FWs can translate to Driver.  

 

Your game sounds similar to mine, at least in the “1 poor swing” per hole category. I’m ok with driver off the tee, I rarely hit anything else unless the hole dictates a shorter club. I’m making better decisions. Case in point: yesterday, I hit a good drive on #1, which is a short par 5. Good except that I pushed it a little right, about 15’ off the fairway, which is the wrong side to be on. The grass is thick and I have lots of tall, mature trees between my ball and the green. So instead of trying a hero shot to reach in 2, I hit a punch 7i back into the fairway that ended up on top of the hill so that I had a perfect view down to the green - about 110 yards out. Easy PW on and 2 putt for par. In the past, I would have been fretting about wasting a long drive and a rare opportunity to reach a par 5 in 2, so I would have gone for the green and likely lost my ball.

[NJBigFish22]

6 minutes ago, aenemated said:

 

What happens prior to the 1 bad swing? Is it from not being committed to the shot? Like ... being over it and questioning if you can pull it off?

 

Probably the best lesson I ever got was to be 100% committed to the shot you're about to play. If you're over it and you have any doubts; step away and rethink it. 

I don’t think it’s a committed to the shot issue, but maybe it is.  Example I hit my tee shot in the fairway, and I have 200 yards to the pin, don’t have that distance in my bag at the moment, so I pull an iron I hope to get me within 75 yards depending on water or bunker locations.  So I hit it fat, thin or sorta top it.  Now I’m still left with another longer approach shot, and due to my low apex, I’m not confident it will hold the green and will most likely end up in the bunkers, fescue or thick tangled rough around the green, so I’m again trying to hit to that medium length wedge shot, which is normally the strongest part of my game, other than today.  Hope that makes sense?

[Double Mocha Man]

51 minutes ago, Triple Lindy said:

He was incredibly focused on education, probably because I emphasized it so much.

 

My dad only made it through the 8th grade, though he was a very smart man, and my mom finished high school.  3 siblings never considered college.  And my parents didn't know to promote college... they didn't even know what it was about.  Though, to their credit, they never dissuaded the concept of college.

 

I feel college turns you into a more resourceful person, able to see the bigger picture in life, able to be more well-balanced with stronger reasoning skills and it is documented that college grads, in general, will have more income over the course of their life.

 

Sheesh, I only went off to college because my friends were going.  Sticking to it and finishing was one of the best things in my life.

[Triple Lindy]

15 minutes ago, aenemated said:

Probably the best lesson I ever got was to be 100% committed to the shot you're about to play.

I’ve improved in this area, too, mostly with clubbing up. I got sick of leaving approach shots short and realized that I may never get to the same distance I had prior to my shoulder injury. Every now and then someone in my group will rib me about hitting a 6i when they’re hitting an 8. But I’m now hitting more GIR than they are, and usually taking their money on par 3s.

[Triple Lindy]

6 minutes ago, NJBigFish22 said:

I don’t think it’s a committed to the shot issue, but maybe it is.  Example I hit my tee shot in the fairway, and I have 200 yards to the pin, don’t have that distance in my bag at the moment, so I pull an iron I hope to get me within 75 yards depending on water or bunker locations.  So I hit it fat, thin or sorta top it.  Now I’m still left with another longer approach shot, and due to my low apex, I’m not confident it will hold the green and will most likely end up in the bunkers, fescue or thick tangled rough around the green, so I’m again trying to hit to that medium length wedge shot, which is normally the strongest part of my game, other than today.  Hope that makes sense?

Man, I can so relate to your game.

[NJBigFish22]

6 minutes ago, Triple Lindy said:

Your game sounds similar to mine, at least in the “1 poor swing” per hole category. I’m ok with driver off the tee, I rarely hit anything else unless the hole dictates a shorter club. I’m making better decisions. Case in point: yesterday, I hit a good drive on #1, which is a short par 5. Good except that I pushed it a little right, about 15’ off the fairway, which is the wrong side to be on. The grass is thick and I have lots of tall, mature trees between my ball and the green. So instead of trying a hero shot to reach in 2, I hit a punch 7i back into the fairway that ended up on top of the hill so that I had a perfect view down to the green - about 110 yards out. Easy PW on and 2 putt for par. In the past, I would have been fretting about wasting a long drive and a rare opportunity to reach a par 5 in 2, so I would have gone for the green and likely lost my ball.

On the 11th today a Par 5, hit a bad drive, had to take a drop and besides hitting any other club back into the fairway, which I normally do, I tried to hit between 2 trees about 10 yards apart, just pulled left, another lost ball.  Which is why I wrote some bad mistakes are followed by dumber decision.  I honestly think this was solely due to frustration, cause the previous 2 holes I had a chance to make a par or at worst a bogey, but had 2 bad swings on 9 and 1 on 10.

[chisag]

1 minute ago, Triple Lindy said:

I’ve improved in this area, too, mostly with clubbing up. I got sick of leaving approach shots short and realized that I may never get to the same distance I had prior to my shoulder injury. Every now and then someone in my group will rib me about hitting a 6i when they’re hitting an 8. But I’m now hitting more GIR than they are, and usually taking their money on par 3s.

 

 

... When teaching and playing with pards I don't mind giving a little advice, I have recommended playing a round and using 1 more club than normal for every shot. It is an eye opener for most. I imagine most know if they aren't pin high, Pros are long 50% of the time and short 50% of the time. Ams are short 95% of the time.

... Every shot is pin and trouble dependent and there are certainly times short is better than long, but if I don't have a good number and I question the club needed, I always take more club. Like you, it was a game changer for me. If I mishit it I am pin high and if I hit it well I am 10 feet past the pin, but I am not short. I love reading WRX members promoting MBs that talk about being short is always better than being long. Again it is pin and shot dependent, but having a front or middle pin and going long rarely involves hitting it over the green and into trouble. It just means being past the pin and if they greens aren't sloped severely back to front and rolling really fast, 10 feet past is a birdie opportunity. 

 

[miamistomp]

48 minutes ago, braincramp52 said:

I'm that way with disco. 😅

 

[NJBigFish22]

5 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... When teaching and playing with pards I don't mind giving a little advice, I have recommended playing a round and using 1 more club than normal for every shot. It is an eye opener for most. I imagine most know if they aren't pin high, Pros are long 50% of the time and short 50% of the time. Ams are short 95% of the time.

... Every shot is pin and trouble dependent and there are certainly times short is better than long, but if I don't have a good number and I question the club needed, I always take more club. Like you, it was a game changer for me. If I mishit it I am pin high and if I hit it well I am 10 feet past the pin, but I am not short. I love reading WRX members promoting MBs that talk about being short is always better than being long. Again it is pin and shot dependent, but having a front or middle pin and going long rarely involves hitting it over the green and into trouble. It just means being past the pin and if they greens aren't sloped severely back to front and rolling really fast, 10 feet past is a birdie opportunity. 

 

I agree with the take an extra club model and am usually thinking that way if I’m going for the green, depending on the green and potential trouble around it.  Now that I have played this course a half dozen times, I’m definitely more aware of where I want to leave myself, which is helping with being 100% committed to the shot.  There are 2 holes on the front, both par 5’s, and if you can’t reach and hold the green, you better leave in the right spot, and usually that is short of the green.

[aenemated]

8 minutes ago, chisag said:

... When teaching and playing with pards I don't mind giving a little advice, I have recommended playing a round and using 1 more club than normal for every shot. It is an eye opener for most. I imagine most know if they aren't pin high, Pros are long 50% of the time and short 50% of the time. Ams are short 95% of the time.

 

💯💯💯

 

When I played Carnoustie, my caddy was this awesome older Irish fella. The first couple of holes, he'd give me a distance and ask me what I wanted to hit. 

 

By like the 4th hole, he'd figured me out. He'd just hand me an iron and be like "Ay lad, put a 3/4 swing on this one." It was always a club more than I'd have asked for. Total game changer for me and it was one of my best ballstriking days ever. I'm not STOKED about the 81 I shot that day - that is a TOUGH f'n golf course - but I learned so much from him about playing golf, not just playing golf swing. 

[Petethreeput]

13 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... When teaching and playing with pards I don't mind giving a little advice, I have recommended playing a round and using 1 more club than normal for every shot. It is an eye opener for most. I imagine most know if they aren't pin high, Pros are long 50% of the time and short 50% of the time. Ams are short 95% of the time.

... Every shot is pin and trouble dependent and there are certainly times short is better than long, but if I don't have a good number and I question the club needed, I always take more club. Like you, it was a game changer for me. If I mishit it I am pin high and if I hit it well I am 10 feet past the pin, but I am not short. I love reading WRX members promoting MBs that talk about being short is always better than being long. Again it is pin and shot dependent, but having a front or middle pin and going long rarely involves hitting it over the green and into trouble. It just means being past the pin and if they greens aren't sloped severely back to front and rolling really fast, 10 feet past is a birdie opportunity. 

 

Playing with the Mrs on Saturday.  A 120 yard front pin, way up front with bunkers short/equal distant both left and right.  She asks what she should hit and I tell her the 6 hybrid and she explains that can go 135 so it isn't the correct club.  I explain if she miss hits it she may still be on the green, and if she absolutely nuts it she might be on the back fringe (it can go up to 135 with roll) but not much further.  Either event was better than in a shortsided bunker 4' below the green surface.  She hit the hybrid, mishit it but it actually bounced over the left bunker onto the green and she had 20'.  Now obviously the result was 100% luck, but you are correct in my mind, I decide which stick to use based on where the pin is and where I would end up with a good shot.

[touch]

1 hour ago, NJBigFish22 said:

Went out and played early this morning.  The score didn’t reflect the improvement, because sometimes mistakes are followed by even dumber decisions.  This was proven true on the back nine.  Some of the shots really have me thinking is it me or my clubs being not the right fit.  The new irons should be here by months end so hope that will at least help with some of the technical aspects, mental aspects, that could take a very long time 😂
 

So what were the highlights:

1)  I have worked hard on my FW the last week or so, today I teed off on every hole not a par 3 with a 4W.  Hit 8 fairways.  8 more than usual unless I use a 4 iron.

2) 33 putts and this included 2 three putts.

3) 2 pars

 

Lowlights:

1) wedges were not as sharp as usual.  1 was a bad lie, the rest was just bad swings.

2) Lost Balls.  3 were bad tee shots, 2 were following the bad tee shot with stupidity, 1 was just couldn’t find after I hit my second shot 

3) seems like every hole I make 1 very poor swing and basically adds an unnecessary stroke.

 

I will go to the range on Friday and work on my wedge game again and will also see if my new thoughts with my FWs can translate to Driver.  

 

 

 

Enjoyed your recap Big Fish.

Golf is frustrating. We all have to accept that. Give thanks you are SO Back in the Game. 🏌️👍

Here's hoping more of you type a few words after each round and share it with the group. Thanks to those of you that already do. ⚡

[aenemated]

I've come to really enjoy making shots. Obviously not on this level but this sort of thinking ...

 

 

That ish is just fun, man. And my irons striking is back to where I can confidently come up with a thing and pull it off more often than not. Most recent that comes to mind; had about 130 yards in on a par 4 at Paiute - forget which hole - and it was just a unique situation. Uphill, short cut pin with a wide open entry, directly into the wind. Wound up hitting this like chippy, right to left spinny 6 iron to the front left. Caught the front right edge, jumped left and rolled out to about 5'. Dudes I was playing with were like "WTF was that man? Great shot!" 

 

If I were just gonna play that normally; sure ... woulda been a "stock" PW. But with the lie, the wind, the hill, the pin cut ... it'd just spun off the green and probably wound up in the front left bunker. 

 

 

[Triple Lindy]

Forgot I had taken this picture while waiting on the group in front of us. This was from my perch after punching that 7i out of the rough. What you can’t see are all the trees on the right and also a water hazard, which are what I avoided by punching out. It’s hard to tell from this picture, but I’m sitting about 25’ above the green.