drjeff
Well-known member
Great round there Jay! Just be carefull as the golf gods can giveth, but they sure as hell can invoke some viscious revenge quickly too!
:lol: 
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2010 Golf
- Thread starter campgottagopee
- Start date
Great round there Jay! Just be carefull as the golf gods can giveth, but they sure as hell can invoke some viscious revenge quickly too!
:lol: 
jaywbigred
Active member
I always refer to golf as something addictive and frustrating that I do between ski seasons. I function under no pretenses that it is generally fun, because it is not. It might be "enjoyable" sometimes when the weather/bugs/pace of play all align to be nice; or it might be exhilarating when something amazing happens (a hole in one, driving a green, chipping in or making a long putt); but "fun" and "golf" generally do not go together, in my experience. It's too addictive to give up, plus I enjoy being outside and enjoy the way you get a little exercise but are distracted by the game throughout. My small office is full of golfers, and it helped me get my current job and will likely continue to be part of my professional life, so I have stake in continuing to play and in improving. But I am sure, no matter how much I improve or what have you, it will always be somewhat frustrating.
Great round there Jay! Just be carefull as the golf gods can giveth, but they sure as hell can invoke some viscious revenge quickly too!
Ha! Well, of course this is a self-centered viewpoint, but yesterday it seemed like the golf gods only took-eth... Didn't get a bounce from the OB trees I was going right at, DID get a bounce from the world tiniest branch on my approach shot, had 3 shots at a hole in one, all of which just missed, and to cap it all off, somehow forgot my putter on the practice green, which resulted in me 3 putting the first green (a par 5 I was on in 2) and not making a 12 foot birdie putt on 2 before I had the pleasure of a 10 minute roundtrip jog to the club house, in my golf shoes, and in the 95 degree weather, to retrieve the club, because the club house workers, who I called from the first green on my cell, were too busy to drive it out.
All things my fault, but all things the golf gods could have smiled on me for.
Warp Daddy
Active member
I'm heading out in a hr for 18.
I always try like hell NOT to analyze and just relax and hit the damn ball . Easy to say - hard to do . e.g.Saturday i was going into my last hole with a 36 and was a cinch to bust 40 on a par 3 final hole -- well KNOWING that and thinking about that i effed up the drive took a penalty then fn 3 putted for a damn triple .
I'm shutting off the brain today -screw it
I always try like hell NOT to analyze and just relax and hit the damn ball . Easy to say - hard to do . e.g.Saturday i was going into my last hole with a 36 and was a cinch to bust 40 on a par 3 final hole -- well KNOWING that and thinking about that i effed up the drive took a penalty then fn 3 putted for a damn triple .
I'm shutting off the brain today -screw it
jaywbigred
Active member
I'm heading out in a hr for 18.
I always try like hell NOT to analyze and just relax and hit the damn ball . Easy to say - hard to do . e.g.Saturday i was going into my last hole with a 36 and was a cinch to bust 40 on a par 3 final hole -- well KNOWING that and thinking about that i effed up the drive took a penalty then fn 3 putted for a damn triple .
I'm shutting off the brain today -screw it
I really disagree with you guys here. If I don't think analytically about my game, I wind up playing way, way too aggressively all the time. I also get upset about mistakes (missing a fairway, for example), that might not actually hurt me.
I generally don't count my own score, but I do keep a running total of GIRs in my head now. It really helps me focus, and also helps my temper. E.g. yesterday, on the 17th hole I hit my ball WAY right, into another fairway, but instead of getting mad, I was thinking about how to turn it into a GIR, and when I realized I had a decent chance at hoisting a PW over the trees and onto the green, my mental frame of mind turned very positive. My GPS on the Droid said 148 yds to the middle, I hit a full pitching wedge about 150 and it stopped about 12 feet from the hole. 2 putt, par. So instead of steaming about how far right my drive went and how I'd been hitting draws all day, where did the slice come from? I instead converted the opportunity.
So I think mid-round analysis can certainly help your mental game. But I agree with you guys, I do not count up my score as I go. I usually know coming home that I have a good chance to break 40 for a 9, but not the exact score I need on that hole to do it.
campgottagopee
New member
The Players Championship was an exciting tourney to watch---full of GREAT shots and drama. Dustin Johnson is one of the coolest cats on the planet. He handled that 2 stroke penalty like a man and a true ambassador of the game. Good for you Dustin, you will get yours!!!
Warp Daddy
Active member
Yeah i thought he took that like a stand up guy -- had to be a very tough moment , but his CLASS came shining thru -- Good on Him . BTW those was some recovery shots he made on the last couple of holes . Man THAT course was awesome and tougher than hell
jaywbigred
Active member
My hot streak continues. Played 9 holes on Friday after work and I actually lost my swing. Still scrambled around for a 39. Went to the range afterwards, and couldn't quite find the swing again. Played Saturday morning and it was basically more of the same for the first 15 holes (shot 42 on the front), then the swing came back (16th hole = second longest drive of my life!!!!!!) and wound up with a 79. Managed to break 80 because I had 0 blow up holes. Nothing bigger than a 5. Weather was nice so we decided to play an extra 9, but a couple holes in I got pretty tired of walking and feet started to hurt, and concentration level started to sag. Made some dumb course management decisions and shot 44 which I can live with paired with the 39 from Friday for an 83.
Sunday morning went to hit balls to try to figure out where my swing was, and how to get it back to Wednesday's form, and actually didn't make any progress. Then, 15 minutes later on the first tee, like magic, the swing came back. Don't understand how or why, but I destroyed my drive on the 475 yard par 5, and had 120 yards in from there. 3 putt par :/ Things progressed from there, wound up with a personal best 76 on 2 double bogeys, 3 bogeys, and 3 birdies.
How are everyone's local courses? We have one down here (county course that I played on Friday and Sunday) that is very, very burnt out and dry. I think they have stopped watering the fairways altogether. Greens are in good shape, but it doesn't look pretty. Meanwhile, 6 miles away at another county course (same county, too), the course is in very good shape considering the weather. Fairways still green. Courses are similarly styled, pretty open, some trees but not too many. We couldn't figure it out.
Sunday morning went to hit balls to try to figure out where my swing was, and how to get it back to Wednesday's form, and actually didn't make any progress. Then, 15 minutes later on the first tee, like magic, the swing came back. Don't understand how or why, but I destroyed my drive on the 475 yard par 5, and had 120 yards in from there. 3 putt par :/ Things progressed from there, wound up with a personal best 76 on 2 double bogeys, 3 bogeys, and 3 birdies.
How are everyone's local courses? We have one down here (county course that I played on Friday and Sunday) that is very, very burnt out and dry. I think they have stopped watering the fairways altogether. Greens are in good shape, but it doesn't look pretty. Meanwhile, 6 miles away at another county course (same county, too), the course is in very good shape considering the weather. Fairways still green. Courses are similarly styled, pretty open, some trees but not too many. We couldn't figure it out.
SkiDork
New member
Analysis please:
My son had gotten Golf For Dummies (DVD) so I watched it the other day.
I've always had somewhat of a slice. So in the video Gary McCord says to cure a slice you turn your back to the target (or as much as you can turn) and hit that way. I believe this is only a drill, not a new way to hit the ball.
Well, we were at the driving range the other day and for kicks I tried this. I turned myself about 45 - 55 degrees to the right (I'm a righty) and hit that way. HOLY CRAP! I can hit the ball straight and far. No slice whatsoever. I was driving 250 yards this way. Also my long irons were looking like great shots too (something I've always had trouble with). I told my son, maybe I should just hit this way from now on.
Well, here's the question: How am I supposed to take that and bring it back to a regular stance? Or should I just hit that way all the time?
My son had gotten Golf For Dummies (DVD) so I watched it the other day.
I've always had somewhat of a slice. So in the video Gary McCord says to cure a slice you turn your back to the target (or as much as you can turn) and hit that way. I believe this is only a drill, not a new way to hit the ball.
Well, we were at the driving range the other day and for kicks I tried this. I turned myself about 45 - 55 degrees to the right (I'm a righty) and hit that way. HOLY CRAP! I can hit the ball straight and far. No slice whatsoever. I was driving 250 yards this way. Also my long irons were looking like great shots too (something I've always had trouble with). I told my son, maybe I should just hit this way from now on.
Well, here's the question: How am I supposed to take that and bring it back to a regular stance? Or should I just hit that way all the time?
campgottagopee
New member
Honestly, I'm not sure I could've done the same thing, would like to think so, but don't know. Think I may have been a little "verbal" about things......not any the officials, but at the situation. The whole thing stinks, I understand the rule, he broke the rule, he knows he did, but how the hell was he to know he was in a bunker when 25 people were standing in it with him!!!????
Warp Daddy
Active member
Campster I Farkin KNOW what ur sayin !! Damn how in blazes was that spot a damn bunker??? I was frankly AMAZED both by the call and the way he responded . I admire his composure and applaud it as a classy move . BTW how much $$$ did THAT call cost him ??
Between 600k and a million.
At the time it did not look like a bunker. When they showed the replay it did in fact look like one. That is a big OOPS.
campgottagopee
New member
I would say TJ is correct w/ the $$$$ amount. It is a bunker, BUT why the hell did the PGA allow people to stand in it, yes, it was outside the ropes, but was trampled beyond recogniton so I understand how he never thought he was in a bunker. I feel bad for the kid---that's all. The PGA made the correct call, he took it like a man and will play better golf because of it.
drjeff
Well-known member
As I was waiting to tee off this morning, I was talking with my course superintendent about Dustin Johnson's incident yesterday. As my course super put it(he's a 3 handicap, mega golf historian BTW), "when I first saw him in there, I was thinking bunker immediately, then I also realized that if I ever presented a bunker to you guys (the members at my course) for play that was in that condition, it would be my last day working here!"
IMHO, the PGA Rules officials botched that one bigtime, with NOT having any bunker that was outside the gallery ropes and NOT maintained during the tourney designated as a waste area. And my guess is for years to come, folks won't remember that Martin Kaymer won the 2010 PGA, but that Dustin Johnson got screwed by a BAD local ruling
Warp Daddy
Active member
campgottagopee
New member
I understand AND agree with you, BUT the PGA had very specific rules in place (all over the place in fact) pointing out that:
1. Bunkers: All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers (hazards), whether or not they have been raked. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available form these conditions.
With that in place I say the PGA DID make the right call, but I hope they change the rule for tourneys played there in the future....
PS--our super would be gone too!!!
jaywbigred
Active member
The Dustin Johnson incident got us talking about this at the course yesterday, and it got me to thinking: what is really the point of the rule against grounding your club in a bunker? I mean, MAYBE I can see the logic behind a rule disallowing practice swings that make any kind of impact against the sand; it would give the player (arguably unfair) information about the density and moisture of the sand which he could use to judge his real stroke by. But a penalty for grounding of the Dustin Johnson type, no swing, just placing the club on the sand prior to and at address, that seems draconian, and no one could give me a proper explanation for the genesis of the rule.
And don't even try the argument "that has always been the rule so it should continue to be." Rules in sports are adapted all the time, and as the game evolves, the equipment evolves, course design evolves, etc...so should the rules, where necessary.
The last issue I have, and there may be a definite answer to this, is how do you know where a bunker ends? For example, at our county courses, which are generally good, we do have an issue where you can tell at certain points that you are in the bunker, but then there is an area "on the edge" that has a sandy base but lots of grass growing out of it too. When you hit your shot from there, you may have such a sandy base that you need to play it like a bunker shot. Other times, the sand isn't very deep and you can chip or pitch it like it was in the rough or on hardpan or the like. If I can't tell whether I am in a bunker or not, absent a posted local rule (as there was during the PGA), what is the default rule??
And don't even try the argument "that has always been the rule so it should continue to be." Rules in sports are adapted all the time, and as the game evolves, the equipment evolves, course design evolves, etc...so should the rules, where necessary.
The last issue I have, and there may be a definite answer to this, is how do you know where a bunker ends? For example, at our county courses, which are generally good, we do have an issue where you can tell at certain points that you are in the bunker, but then there is an area "on the edge" that has a sandy base but lots of grass growing out of it too. When you hit your shot from there, you may have such a sandy base that you need to play it like a bunker shot. Other times, the sand isn't very deep and you can chip or pitch it like it was in the rough or on hardpan or the like. If I can't tell whether I am in a bunker or not, absent a posted local rule (as there was during the PGA), what is the default rule??
campgottagopee
New member
The reason for not being able to ground your club is to NOT be able to improve your lie, or being able to "test" the surface--- How firm, wet, loose, grainy etc, etc.
As for local courses, or any course-----anytime there is question of proper play one should consult with playing partners or officials. If no agreement can be reached one shopuld play the ball as it lies, then play another ball (however you feel it shpould be played) , record both scores then at the end of the round consult the rule book or the local PGA pro for proper scoring/ruling.
jaywbigred
Active member
I fail to see how grounding you club, in the way Johnson did it (without any swinging motion), could either improve his lie or allow him to test the surface in any valuable way. As I said earlier "I can see the logic behind a rule disallowing practice swings that make any kind of impact against the sand; it would give the player (arguably unfair) information about the density and moisture of the sand which he could use to judge his real stroke by."
In other words, I do not see why the rule couldn't be rewritten to say something like "A player whose ball has come to rest in a sand bunker may ground his club prior to and at address only if such grounding in no way effects his lie. If such grounding effects the player's lie, he will be assessed a two stroke penalty. Additionally, any swinging motion or grounding of the club which results in an impact being made with the sand is strictly prohibited and shall result in a two stroke penalty."
I do not see how a non-swinging grounding of the club creates any kind of significant advantage for the player. I am almost certain it would do nothing to improve most player's sand game. All it would do would be to reduce the draconian nature of golf's rules, many of which were established long ago for unknown reason.
So how would this work??????? My ball is on the amorphous edge of a bunker. There is some sand, and there is a bunch of grass growing out of it. There is absolutely no way to tell where the bunker ends and the rough begins. Can I ground my club? I'm going to play the ball as it lies either way, so I don't see how your answer addresses the issue. Playing a second ball doesn't really accomplish anything. To me, the decision has to be made before I play the first ball.
campgottagopee
New member
If I were your playing partner I would say yes you could ground your club. If there was a disagreement a official would have to come over (in local case a pga pro) and give a ruling. Again, in Dustin's case yesterday I had know idea he was in a bunker----noboday did except the officials and that part of it stinks. His caddy should've read the rules sheet and grabbed an official be4 Dustin even got there. That's there friggin job.
Actually, the rules of golf wre designed to "protect" the field, or have a level playing field. As players it also our duty to "protect" the filed by enforcing the rules if we see them broken. Many time the rules of golf will actualy help a player---look at Bubba Watson yesterday on the 18th. I think he made a mistake by dropping his third shot down in that hollow when he could've taken relief on the other side of the creek almost in the fairway.
jaywbigred
Active member
Check this explanation out.
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/golf/news/story?id=5468051
Wow. That is totally effed. So he was basically penalized because he was on TV. It really begs the question as to how equitably this rule was enforced. How many untelevised swings missed such close scrutiny? If we had video of every swing Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer took, might we find something similar? Let's see 1000-1200 "bunkers", something around 30,800 total strokes (70 players who made the cut with let's say an average of 290 strokes, plus another 70 who were cut with an average of let's say 150 strokes), only, what, maybe a few dozen TV cameras, limited coverage times...how many violations of this rule do you think were missed?
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/golf/news/story?id=5468051
Wow. That is totally effed. So he was basically penalized because he was on TV. It really begs the question as to how equitably this rule was enforced. How many untelevised swings missed such close scrutiny? If we had video of every swing Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer took, might we find something similar? Let's see 1000-1200 "bunkers", something around 30,800 total strokes (70 players who made the cut with let's say an average of 290 strokes, plus another 70 who were cut with an average of let's say 150 strokes), only, what, maybe a few dozen TV cameras, limited coverage times...how many violations of this rule do you think were missed?
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