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

[touch]

Great looking course @imkirby34.

 

Fine score. Glad you had an enjoyable afternoon. 🏌️⛳

 

 

[touch]

I have played 17 rounds this year. Over the last two weeks I have played three times.

 

Back two Monday's ago Ryan and I took on Cumming Cove. (photos 1-3)

It's always been my approach when I play Cummings to leave the driver in the car if I am to give myself the best chance at shooting my number. I was set to do just this but when I put my bag on the cart in the parking lot it came to me that I have been hitting my driver over the last three weeks with fantastic accuracy. I told myself to hit driver on all those tight holes to start out and see what gives. If you park a few into trouble early then bench it for the remainder of the round is what I decided to do . It never got benched. I was smiling when I went all day only missing slightly one of those skinny banked fairways. I had 6 pars, 2 bogeys and a double on the front. 4 over. On the back I had two more bogeys and one disaster hole. On the longest Par 3 on the course # 13 I made the worst swing I have made in a month with my 5 wood. I hit it off the toe and it squirted right and was only 20 feet in the air. It went only 75 yards and it went into a tree line. I had to take an unplayable and dropped. I airmailed the green from 90 yards hitting my 3rd shot. I made a triple bogey 6. I ended up shooting 5 over on the back. I made zero birdies all day. Cummings is Par 71. I shot an 80. The day belonged to Ryan. From the tips he fired a right tidy even par 72. Ryan only hit driver 3 times because from the tips 295 yard shots often are not called for as it would bring some trouble into play. I watched him pure his 2 iron many times off the tee and that was cool to watch. 

 

Last Tuesday it was the battle of the CC workers at CCA. (photos 4-6) 

We showed up at 2PM and because it was a fine spring day we were told that the course was packed and possibly around 4 we could go off. We headed to the range. The range was packed with members so we couldn't hit any balls. We decided to go to the putting green. We only rolled about 10 putts when we got the word that there was a spot for us to go off and it was right then. There was a frost delay that morning so all play began on the 10th tee. Oh great I thought, I am about to play the much more difficult 9 and I didn't get to hit a single ball on the range. I opened with a bogey, a double, and bogey. On the par 3 13th I drained a 40 foot birdie putt. I then followed my birdie with a second double. On the no.2 handicap hole #15 I made my second birdie. I finished the 9 with 3 consecutive bogeys. I didn't make a par on my first 9 holes. How unusual that was. I was 7 over at the turn. My game was messy and I figured there would be more of the same on my second 9. I figured I would be shooting something in the mid 80's when the round was over. I didn't see it coming but it turned out to be a tale of two 9's. I haven't had one of those rounds in a long time. On our last hole #9 (photo 5,6,7) on the tee I said to the group OK let's get 4 pars and call it a day. Three of us hit our drives well. Big Frank was the first to hit of the three of us that were 110 yards out. He hits a dandy to 12 feet. Stan went next and stuck his approach shot inside Franks. I hit last and I hit mine inside Stan's. My shot was inside 2 feet. It is way cool when something like that happens in the group. 3 back to back shots right at the pin. The first two putts did not fall. I rolled my yellow Pro V in for my 4th birdie of the day. I shot a one over on the back and finished with an 8 over 79 for the round. Wow, how did I right the wobbling ship and end up breaking 80?  Golf is crazy. 

 

Monday of this week Ryan, Emily, and I played Connestee Falls. (photos 8-10)

We had a solid warm up session prior to teeing off. I was very inconsistent. I had one birdie when I chipped in on #3, 5 bogeys, and a double. 6 over 42 at the turn. It was more of the same on the back. I made a second birdie, 2 bogeys, and a double. Three over 39 on the back. 81 for the round. The day belonged to Ryan who from the tips shot 73. Mr. Driver off the Deck played real well. I didn't lose to the girl as she shot 5 more than the old blonde guy.

 

Red golf shirt, red sun kissed skin, and red eyes. 😃 I just needed a round or two in red numbers to complete the package. 

 

I got to play three rounds over the past two weeks that featured plenty of warm spring sunshine. This winter NC golf warrior says, It's about time ! 🙂

 

2024 Season

17 rounds played on 9 different courses 

High score 85  Low score 74   78.6 stroke average

Current index 6.2  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 26 by touch

[mshills]

@touch that is fantastic, 17 rounds to date this year! 👍🏼

 

This week it looks like play can finally get more regular here in western PA. The weather has been pretty poor, cold and wet, but I’m thinking we are on the back side of that now. In addition to weather, Feb and Mar are pretty intense for me at the office, plus championship time in my boys winter sports mean I have many excuses why I’ve not been playing!

 

I’d better get to it. The USGA event I entered is on May 7 and that will be here in a split second. Iron play is my weakness with the single wing, and that won’t get sorted in a month. I can knock the rust off of the short game to some extent, and I’m confident with driver in my hand. No pressure and no expectations, but I am definitely looking forward to teeing it up with a bunch of other adaptive players and seeing how I do. 

[DLeightonReid]

Good Monday morning, Loungers!  We have much needed rain and high wind today.  It is a perfect day for indoor projects.  

 

 

[sunbeltgolfer]

13 hours ago, touch said:

Today's best in show automobile award went to the Ferrari SF90 Spider though.

Such a gorgeous car.

 

 

 

If that's the daily driver I'd like to get a look at the rest of the stuff in the garage for special occasions.

Edited March 25 by sunbeltgolfer

[mshills]

15 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

... Same. I have two albatross but no hole in one. I have hit two that landed in the hole on the fly and destroyed the side of the cup but both came back out. I spun a wedge off a short par 3 back into the water, re-teed with a 9 iron and holed out for a par. I think the Golf Gods have a warped sense of humor. 

I’ve come really close and have destroyed the cup on multiple times but at the last second my ball has always been “Mutumboed” 😂 out of the hole. 
 

Maybe the closest I’ve come I am glad it did not go in. In college, playing in a scramble fundraiser put on by a sorority. My fraternity entered a couple of teams. It was exactly what you’d expect for a mid-1990s Greek event….the golf was…..not good. Anyhow I hit a textbook shank on a short par 3. Somehow the ball takes like fourteen bounces off these mounds right of the green and ends up kicking down, rolls across the green, and hits the cup. Someone up by the green said they can’t believe it stayed out, but it did. I am glad it did as I would not want that to be my first ace for many reasons. I did win closest to the pin and that was bad enough. 
 

[NCLancer]

11 hours ago, NJBigFish22 said:

Hole in One Counter:

 

A Big Fat 

0 

I have double that many...

[Petethreeput]

"If I give you an aspirin don't take the whole bottle."

"No pretty woman can miss a single shot without the man giving some poor advice."

 

The weather turned to cold and windy Friday night with a dusting of snow on the ground this AM.  Asheville would be shutdown, but out here it is just a nuisance.  The Sunday golf game with the boys was cancelled so my wife wanted to hit the simulator for some golf.  Saturday is when my wife and I play golf, so we trudged out to the sim so my wife can be ready for the season.  I honestly don't think I hit the ball as consistently well in the last 5 years than I did that day.  Because it is a sim, you get all the info, and the irons were straighter, longer, AND higher than I have ever seen them.  The driver was going an extra 20 yards as well.  The Mrs was 5 under her handicap and I was 11 under.  Of course, sim handicaps don't really count, but it is a marker nonetheless.

 

Sunday comes around, and if Harvey Penick didn't descend from the heavens and slap us down like bugs.  Both of the quotes are true.  The trigger for the backswing I have been working on, which is a slight push off the left foot became a full blown slide and I was hitting fat/thin you name it and I offered it.  My wife sensing my issues began to also play poorly, and as always, she asked if I was seeing anything.  Because I am a fool, I answered. 

[Petethreeput]

3 hours ago, mshills said:

@touch that is fantastic, 17 rounds to date this year! 👍🏼

 

This week it looks like play can finally get more regular here in western PA. The weather has been pretty poor, cold and wet, but I’m thinking we are on the back side of that now. In addition to weather, Feb and Mar are pretty intense for me at the office, plus championship time in my boys winter sports mean I have many excuses why I’ve not been playing!

 

I’d better get to it. The USGA event I entered is on May 7 and that will be here in a split second. Iron play is my weakness with the single wing, and that won’t get sorted in a month. I can knock the rust off of the short game to some extent, and I’m confident with driver in my hand. No pressure and no expectations, but I am definitely looking forward to teeing it up with a bunch of other adaptive players and seeing how I do. 

You do have to get your game in shape.  May isn't too far away in the grand scheme of things.  I think it will be great fun for you, and am looking forward to hearing about it.  Our pro is very involved in the Heroes Golf Program.  I am not familiar with it, but he will post stuff when he is in Frisco, TX, or wherever at the PGA meetings, and just finds it really rewarding.

 

I think you have answered this, and I hope this question isn't considered distasteful, but I know you had an accident and lost the use of one arm.  Will you be exclusively competing with others with a single arm, or could you be competing with someone with a prosthetic leg, or loss of sight, or some other physical limitation?

[imkirby34]

My friends know I have a tote full of driver headcovers and I usually change them every round.  One of them gifted one to me yesterday and I didn't think about it until mid-round that it looked eerily familiar.

 

Also, I know it's a bit late but regarding HIOs, I'm also a member of the 2 HIO club.  Got the 2nd one last year.  Both went in on-the-fly.

 

 

[Mrgreen36]

Starting to rethink getting my 12 year old son into golf.  Had a bit of a moment yesterday and he ended up a hole behind me arguing with himself....

[mshills]

7 minutes ago, Petethreeput said:

You do have to get your game in shape.  May isn't too far away in the grand scheme of things.  I think it will be great fun for you, and am looking forward to hearing about it.  Our pro is very involved in the Heroes Golf Program.  I am not familiar with it, but he will post stuff when he is in Frisco, TX, or wherever at the PGA meetings, and just finds it really rewarding.

 

I think you have answered this, and I hope this question isn't considered distasteful, but I know you had an accident and lost the use of one arm.  Will you be exclusively competing with others with a single arm, or could you be competing with someone with a prosthetic leg, or loss of sight, or some other physical limitation?

It is no problem at all, thanks for asking!
 

I am actually not sure. This is the first year the USGA has held qualifying so it’s new territory. I think they took six or eight players in the “ARM” category last year. The highest GHIN of all the entrants was 4.0 😳 so there are some one arm guys out there who can flat out play! My expectations are realistic, no pressure to qualify, and I cannot wait for the experience and see how I measure up. 

 

I am fairly sure I will be playing with a mix of adaptive players. Off the top of my head there are arm, leg, multiple limb, short stature, neurological, cognitive, vision impaired, and seated player divisions. Some of the scores put up last year at Pinehurst are pretty dang remarkable. 

[chisag]

33 minutes ago, Petethreeput said:

"If I give you an aspirin don't take the whole bottle."

"No pretty woman can miss a single shot without the man giving some poor advice."

 

The weather turned to cold and windy Friday night with a dusting of snow on the ground this AM.  Asheville would be shutdown, but out here it is just a nuisance.  The Sunday golf game with the boys was cancelled so my wife wanted to hit the simulator for some golf.  Saturday is when my wife and I play golf, so we trudged out to the sim so my wife can be ready for the season.  I honestly don't think I hit the ball as consistently well in the last 5 years than I did that day.  Because it is a sim, you get all the info, and the irons were straighter, longer, AND higher than I have ever seen them.  The driver was going an extra 20 yards as well.  The Mrs was 5 under her handicap and I was 11 under.  Of course, sim handicaps don't really count, but it is a marker nonetheless.

 

Sunday comes around, and if Harvey Penick didn't descend from the heavens and slap us down like bugs.  Both of the quotes are true.  The trigger for the backswing I have been working on, which is a slight push off the left foot became a full blown slide and I was hitting fat/thin you name it and I offered it.  My wife sensing my issues began to also play poorly, and as always, she asked if I was seeing anything.  Because I am a fool, I answered. 

 

 

... Haha what a great post. When I started teaching a wise old southern Pro told me "when yer given' out infurmayshun, do it by tha teaspoon, not tha shuval". It is so easy to have one thing over take another. The golf swing is a full body synergy and even though some have more of a body swing and others can be more handsy, they still need to work together. Working on individual pieces is sometimes necessary to break a bad habit or correct a flaw but in and of itself, it will eventually cause problems. I think it really is amazingly complicated because one of the few things we remember from high school is every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

... A swing key that gets you to concentrate on or slightly exaggerate a move will almost always go too far in the opposite direction. I remember when Andrew MaGee won two tournaments in a row and was talking to the guys in the booth and said Pro's are just like Am's and always looking for a key or a thought that has them swinging well and they ride it til it doesn't work anymore. Asked what was the longest a swing key worked for him he said once he had one that almost worked for two weeks, but Friday the 2nd week and missing the cut he had to abandon it. It is a little like someone getting in your head playing a match saying "Do you breathe in or out to start your backswing?" 

... Because my disc can make my muscles tight in my lower back I can use my core too much, meaning less torque between my hips and shoulders and I am unable to throw and my swing becomes more of a pull. So I start cocking the club quicker and able to throw but sooner than later I am cocking too quickly and throwing too much and not using my body and the back and forth cycle repeats itself. To the naked eye it doesn't look different but it feels pretty different to me. The problem is it is subtle even if it feels radical and why we over do things. Like everyone, I play my best golf when I am not thinking and everything is working together but feel like that is the middle of the pendulum. For me, on one side a little too much body and on the other side a little too armsy so being in the middle is when the magic happens. I think we all have our tendencies and flaws and we battle them our entire golfing lives. 

... Giving the Mrs instruction is a whole nuther subject. 🤪
 

[DLeightonReid]

19 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

... Same. I have two albatross but no hole in one. I have hit two that landed in the hole on the fly and destroyed the side of the cup but both came back out. I spun a wedge off a short par 3 back into the water, re-teed with a 9 iron and holed out for a par. I think the Golf Gods have a warped sense of humor. 

I have one HIO and still waiting on an albatross.

 

Nov. 14, 2015

GreatLife Golf and Fitness, Lebanon, MO

Hole #14 playing 186 yards

3 hybrid

 

The 14th hole plays uphill so no one in our group saw the ball go in the hole.  I still have the ball.

 

[chisag]

... Not that it will but I imagine it is hard enough being Tigers son and "following" in his footsteps but it would be nice of the media left him alone. He is no Tiger, but then again who is? Just let the kid just be a kid, but 'Murica Media probably ain't gonna let that happen.


"Over the weekend, Charlie Woods made his American Junior Golf Association debut. Woods played in the Will Lowery Junior Championship and finished in a tie for 32nd place of 51 players, shooting +21. Woods shot 78-81-78 in the three rounds. The winner of the event, Patmon Malcom, finished the event at -7."

[NJBigFish22]

3 hours ago, imkirby34 said:

My friends know I have a tote full of driver headcovers and I usually change them every round.  One of them gifted one to me yesterday and I didn't think about it until mid-round that it looked eerily familiar.

 

Also, I know it's a bit late but regarding HIOs, I'm also a member of the 2 HIO club.  Got the 2nd one last year.  Both went in on-the-fly.

 

 

I think I have seen that before somewhere in the Lounge! 😎😂

[chisag]

22 hours ago, miamistomp said:

 Had a weird sorta hole in one today. Very nice private par 3 course-18 hole - longest 140 yards

 90 yard hole . I hit a sand wedge that was so high it went thru the canopy of a large tree next to the green- rattled around like a pachinko ball and ended up in the hole

... You have company! 🥳 

 

 

[NCLancer]

Rachel Heck: Why I'm Remaining An Amateur | No Laying Up

 

 

I found this piece very well-done and impressive.  I guess all is not what you think as behind the scenes a different path can be considered (and taken).  

[aenemated]

4 minutes ago, NCLancer said:

Rachel Heck: Why I'm Remaining An Amateur | No Laying Up

 

 

I found this piece very well-done and impressive.  I guess all is not what you think as behind the scenes a different path can be considered (and taken).  

 

Great read, indeed. 

[touch]

29 minutes ago, NCLancer said:

Rachel Heck: Why I'm Remaining An Amateur | No Laying Up

 

 

I found this piece very well-done and impressive.  I guess all is not what you think as behind the scenes a different path can be considered (and taken).  

 

Very well written and extremely touching.

Thanks Lance. 

[touch]

19 hours ago, aenemated said:

 

And since there'll be no more touring - going back to my old routine of a round at least once a week! And yep, charity tournament at Painted Desert is Saturday! The only kinda charity I donate to ... 

 

 

Never played there so we'll see how it goes! 

 

 

This is great for a couple of reasons. First the cause that is being supported is important. Dogs rule. Second you are playing a course that I played probably 50 times when I lived there. You know aen it had to be a fun course for me to drive all the way from Green Valley to Craig Road to play golf. 😄 I think you will enjoy Painted Desert. 

If I may ask a favor and get you to grab me photos of holes 2,3,17,and 18. I would love to relive some of my Vegas golf memories.  

Don't slice it off the first tee box or you might be paying for a windshield.  😂

[touch]

[touch]

I had a fine afternoon on the golf course.

 

About a month ago I had two valued coworkers take different jobs and leave BFCC. Davion and Aaron are also golf buddies of mine. I have been trying to get us all together for a round for quite some time but due to our different schedules it has been tough. Well it finally came together today and we played Etowah Valley. Stan was our fourth. 

 

It was not sunny and warm. There wasn't much sun for the entire round. On occasion there was a one club wind. It was 53* out there. 

 

We played the Orange tees

6121 yards  70.4/131

 

We hit balls for a half hour and putted some before teeing off. I played real steady. Dare I say compared to my recent rounds that have been featuring doubles and birdies today it was boring out there? With my driver, 3 wood, and 5 wood I managed to hit all the fairways today. I wasn't peppering any pins so I only had two birdie looks from inside 20 feet. I missed them both. I didn't 3 putt. I really like my new putter grip. I made 13 pars and 5 bogeys (2 front 3 back). It was steady. It was a 77.

 

It was fantastic to get out there with Aaron and Davion again. There were lots of laughs. I made sure to tell the Chief that we all enjoyed ourselves on his land today. Chief Etowah said he was happy that we were all having blast. He then grumbled, Hey LP how about giving me a pull off that doobie? 

 

My 18th round of the year was memorable. ⚡

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 27 by touch

[Triple Lindy]

10 minutes ago, touch said:

I didn't 3 putt

Love that kind of round!

[NCLancer]

46 minutes ago, touch said:

It was steady. It was a 77.

That's pretty darn impressive to me.  You were playing 6100 yards on a semi-hilly course in less-than-ideal conditions. 

 

  

[touch]

17 minutes ago, NCLancer said:

That's pretty darn impressive to me.  You were playing 6100 yards on a semi-hilly course in less-than-ideal conditions. 

 

  

 

 

Thanks NCL.

Today we played the West to South out of the three 9's. The North has the most elevation change. To me today I played a flat golf course. The course was damp so it played extra kind. I had flat stances for most of the day and I welcomed that. But yes to reel off that many pars is fun, and it's pretty rare in my game. 

 

 

[touch]

27 minutes ago, NCLancer said:

You were playing 6100 yards 

 

  

 

Yes that was a bit more than I like to bite off, but I was playing with the young laddie boys so we split the difference between the seniors and the blues so we all could play the same tee box. Many of my 5 wood approach shots were spot on. Without those I'm not making as many pars. 🙂 

[aenemated]

4 hours ago, touch said:

 

 

This is great for a couple of reasons. First the cause that is being supported is important. Dogs rule. Second you are playing a course that I played probably 50 times when I lived there. You know aen it had to be a fun course for me to drive all the way from Green Valley to Craig Road to play golf. 😄 I think you will enjoy Painted Desert. 

If I may ask a favor and get you to grab me photos of holes 2,3,17,and 18. I would love to relive some of my Vegas golf memories.  

Don't slice it off the first tee box or you might be paying for a windshield.  😂

 

Hahah I totally will but you're gonna have to remind me on Saturday, buddy! Forecast is looking like upper 60s but cloudy ... which means it's gonna be windy. 

 

Like it was today at another range session. After my standard 56° warmup, it was mostly all working shots with my 7i. Then some drivers for fun and PW flighting cool down. Left to right wind started to really pick up as the sun was getting further down so I was tryna see how hard I could get it to go both ways. Man, that's fun. 

 

A big tee shot? Sure, that's cool bro. Go tell all your friends about it. Get back to me when you can do this ...

 

 

[aenemated]

Earlier ... last kid on the range. Not much changed since I was 10!

 

 

It's always beat to hell ... but it's a 5min drive from the house and sure does have some pretty views. 

[Bob Cat]