Any Golfers Here?

[RhodyRams]

oh and I took one lesson and he helped me with grip, stance, swing tempo and balance. He had me hit a large bucket of balls with my 7 iron with my toes on a 2x4 to help we keep me weight back on my heels. Dont know what it does, but I guess it works LOL

 

[dieterbrock]

I grew up playing golf whenever I could. Would ride my bike with my golf bag over my shoulder (that's a skill in itself) to the local public course. We loved next to a vacant baseball field and I bought a couple hundred shag balls from Florida. I laid a carpet on our side yard and would hit balls off of it in to the vacant field all day.
I literally lived for golf, played on the county college team we actually made it to the qualifier for the Junior College national championship one year.
Lowest my handicap ever got to was 7.
Needless to say, working for a living, being married, having kids etc etc took all my desire to play away. Just cant justify the 6-7 hours away from home on a weekend and didnt want to spend 2-3 nights at the range. I wasnt great, but could make some birdies. So as time went on and I played so infrequently, I lost all desire to play. I just dont find any enjoyable about it now. Maybe its ego or what not but I just dont find any pleasure in skanking it aroun and trying to break 100.
Funny how life is. If you would have told me 25 years ago that I'd never pick up a club again, I'd assume that meant I lost a limb or something. Lol
My 9 year old daughter wants to learn and we have a driving range a mile from our house. I'll teach her some basics and maybe hit some balls. Who knows

 

[RamFan503]

@snackdaddy when I first started golfing about 13 years ago, I joined a bar league with a bunch of friends (which is why I started golf) as a sub, filling in whenever needed, or just grabbing the last tee time with the 3 other subs. My first week I played with a retired teacher, Whitey, who was about 70 with a 4 handicap. He carried a 3 wood,5 iron,wedge and putter...thats it. He hit every club str8 down the middle 100-200 yards and he told me that day, "don't worry about distance, worry about placement. It takes at least 2 good shots to make up for 1 bad shot into the woods. Keep it in the middle, and you will keep it under 100"

Yeah but how freaking boring is that? That little white ball must pay for all my week's irritations.

 

[snackdaddy]

@snackdaddy when I first started golfing about 13 years ago, I joined a bar league with a bunch of friends (which is why I started golf) as a sub, filling in whenever needed, or just grabbing the last tee time with the 3 other subs. My first week I played with a retired teacher, Whitey, who was about 70 with a 4 handicap. He carried a 3 wood,5 iron,wedge and putter...thats it. He hit every club str8 down the middle 100-200 yards and he told me that day, "don't worry about distance, worry about placement. It takes at least 2 good shots to make up for 1 bad shot into the woods. Keep it in the middle, and you will keep it under 100"

I remember playing with a guy in his 70's. He didn't use a driver just his 3 wood. Never hit it over 180 yards, but didn't miss a fairway. He'd use that 3 wood off the tee then again off the fairway. He either hit the green in two or didn't miss it by much every time. Never 3 putted and never had less than a par putt. He shot a 78. He made it look so easy and effortless. He kept saying "Its not complicated. You just gotta give yourself a chance by reaching in 2 or 3 shots." That was almost 30 years ago and I still remember it to this day.

 

[snackdaddy]

I grew up playing golf whenever I could. Would ride my bike with my golf bag over my shoulder (that's a skill in itself) to the local public course. We loved next to a vacant baseball field and I bought a couple hundred shag balls from Florida. I laid a carpet on our side yard and would hit balls off of it in to the vacant field all day.
I literally lived for golf, played on the county college team we actually made it to the qualifier for the Junior College national championship one year.
Lowest my handicap ever got to was 7.
Needless to say, working for a living, being married, having kids etc etc took all my desire to play away. Just cant justify the 6-7 hours away from home on a weekend and didnt want to spend 2-3 nights at the range. I wasnt great, but could make some birdies. So as time went on and I played so infrequently, I lost all desire to play. I just dont find any enjoyable about it now. Maybe its ego or what not but I just dont find any pleasure in skanking it aroun and trying to break 100.
Funny how life is. If you would have told me 25 years ago that I'd never pick up a club again, I'd assume that meant I lost a limb or something. Lol
My 9 year old daughter wants to learn and we have a driving range a mile from our house. I'll teach her some basics and maybe hit some balls. Who knows

I was there too. I just never got the handicap down like you. But I golfed every weekend for a couple years in my early 20's. Never rode a cart. I would walk 36 holes sometimes. But then the family came and there wasn't time. Between trying to earn a living and trying to be a good dad doing family things on weekends, I stopped playing for about 15 years. I continued playing softball because my family could go with me for the out of town tournaments.

Now the kids are grown and have their own lives. My wife likes doing her own thing on Saturdays. So I started again late last summer. I didn't play an actual round of golf for the first 3 months. I went to a practice range on Saturdays and went to a school close by during the evening to practice chipping. When I finally played a round in December, I figured I was ready. Well, not so much. The course is not the same as the range. I didn't break 100. Shot a 104. Didn't help that I took a 10 on the first hole. But that didn't discourage me. I went back to the range and waited till late December to try again. Shot a 97.

Last week I had my best round in a long time with a 92. Its still a work in progress but I'm a very competitive guy. I will keep working and practicing so I can break 90. Mainly gotta cut down on the chunk shots or squib shots. I do that and I'll be right there with my playing buddies.

 

[Ramhusker]

I haven't played but maybe once or twice since my kids were born 3 years ago.
Also opened a Day Spa for the misses. She works every weekend, leaving me without the time to play.

Great game. The fun part is the difficulty of it. It's you vs the course.

My handicap was around 15 before I stopped playing regularly. Just when I was starting to improve.

I'll get back into it eventually. Love playing the game. How could you not love playing a sport that you can drink beer while playing?

And at 9 in the morning!

 

[Ramhusker]

I was there too. I just never got the handicap down like you. But I golfed every weekend for a couple years in my early 20's. Never rode a cart. I would walk 36 holes sometimes. But then the family came and there wasn't time. Between trying to earn a living and trying to be a good dad doing family things on weekends, I stopped playing for about 15 years. I continued playing softball because my family could go with me for the out of town tournaments.

Now the kids are grown and have their own lives. My wife likes doing her own thing on Saturdays. So I started again late last summer. I didn't play an actual round of golf for the first 3 months. I went to a practice range on Saturdays and went to a school close by during the evening to practice chipping. When I finally played a round in December, I figured I was ready. Well, not so much. The course is not the same as the range. I didn't break 100. Shot a 104. Didn't help that I took a 10 on the first hole. But that didn't discourage me. I went back to the range and waited till late December to try again. Shot a 97.

Last week I had my best round in a long time with a 92. Its still a work in progress but I'm a very competitive guy. I will keep working and practicing so I can break 90. Mainly gotta cut down on the chunk shots or squib shots. I do that and I'll be right there with my playing buddies.

About 90% of golfers rarely break 90 so don't feel bad. You have to golf at least once a week to maintain a decent handicap. I've never done it. Most of my life, I 'd manage to make it to the golf course about half a dozen times a year. I love it but finding the time and the extra change has always seemed to be a problem. Now that I now have the time and change, I can't seem to find people to play with because of my schedule so I just don't go. I really plan on getting back out there soon so maybe I can start breaking 90 consistently. Bogey golf is good enough for me too as long as I can sprinkle in a few pars and an occasional birdie for good measure. I have to say it is the most challenging game I have ever played. You think you have it figured out and then you shank the next shot. I refrain from throwing my clubs though.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Whenever I can get away from the grip of winter I am golfing (spring, summer, fall)! I never calculated a handicap but I shoot in the low 80's - high 70's. My favorite club is the driver where I average about 285 yards with the occasional 300+. I will be 65 next month and I'm only about 155 lbs but I've always had a good swing (lefty). Nice to see that there are other golfers out there!

 

[Rmfnlt]

I remember playing with a guy in his 70's. He didn't use a driver just his 3 wood. Never hit it over 180 yards, but didn't miss a fairway. He'd use that 3 wood off the tee then again off the fairway. He either hit the green in two or didn't miss it by much every time. Never 3 putted and never had less than a par putt. He shot a 78. He made it look so easy and effortless. He kept saying "Its not complicated. You just gotta give yourself a chance by reaching in 2 or 3 shots." That was almost 30 years ago and I still remember it to this day.

Yup... we call it "old man golf".

My father played old man golf. Pretty much down the middle all the time.

Once a year, a bunch of friends pile in a van and we play for three days, 2 rounds per day. One of the guys is retired and the same thing.... not long at all... but steady.... shoots in the 70's.

Seeing as I'm approaching 60 now... I'm working on my Old Man Golf game.

It's actually working... just don't try to kill it. Helps to have a new Ping driver too

Breaking 90 fairly regularly now.

 

[Rmfnlt]

How could you not love playing a sport that you can drink beer while playing?

I have found that the score is enhanced directly by the number of beers consumed..

 

[Dodgersrf]

And at 9 in the morning!

I'm also the cook in the house.
She opens early on the weekends. Sat and Sunday are her busiest days.

 

[RamFan503]

I have found that the score is enhanced directly by the number of beers consumed..

Yeah I tend to forget a few strokes after a couple beers too.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Yeah I tend to forget a few strokes after a couple beers too.

Yeah, I usually walk off the course smashed, having shot a 68!

 

[snackdaddy]

Yeah, I usually walk off the course smashed, having shot a 68!

I once shot a 68. I was too drunk to play the the back 9 though.

 

[snackdaddy]

Whenever I can get away from the grip of winter I am golfing (spring, summer, fall)! I never calculated a handicap but I shoot in the low 80's - high 70's. My favorite club is the driver where I average about 285 yards with the occasional 300+. I will be 65 next month and I'm only about 155 lbs but I've always had a good swing (lefty). Nice to see that there are other golfers out there!

Good to see you OC. I'm fortunate I live in an area where I can play year round. Other than an occasional rain, most days are ok to play. Summers get hot, but when you're out there you don't notice it that much.

 

[Yamahopper]

I used to play a lot. Played all over the states. Got to play on some of the best courses in the country and even in Ireland. I was decent, scratch most of the time. A upstanding member of a club, played n the evening leagues, hustled money. Blah , Blah, Blah.
I used to like on weekdays before work being on the 1st tee at sunrise, first one out. The dew still on the grass. Serenity.
Then 8 years ago I lost totally lost my game over a month. I tried to get it back but no luck. In a month I went from par to 20 over on a good day.
So I gave my clubs away and quit.
If I had always been a hack it would have been fine. But after writing legit sub par scores on a semi regular basis it just became maddeningly frustrating.

 

[rhinobean]

I used to play a lot. Played all over the states. Got to play on some of the best courses in the country and even in Ireland. I was decent, scratch most of the time. A upstanding member of a club, played n the evening leagues, hustled money. Blah , Blah, Blah.
I used to like on weekdays before work being on the 1st tee at sunrise, first one out. The dew still on the grass. Serenity.
Then 8 years ago I lost totally lost my game over a month. I tried to get it back but no luck. In a month I went from par to 20 over on a good day.
So I gave my clubs away and quit.
If I had always been a hack it would have been fine. But after writing legit sub par scores on a semi regular basis it just became maddeningly frustrating.

I had the same sort of thing happen to me! Hurt my back and laid out for couple of months. When I started back, I wasn't able to score in the 70's or the 80's for that matter! Didn't quit as I have friends who play and wouldn't let me! Glad they didn't as I enjoy the outdoor aspect a lot! And my friends!

 

[RhodyRams]

I had the same sort of thing happen to me! Hurt my back and laid out for couple of months. When I started back, I wasn't able to score in the 70's or the 80's for that matter! Didn't quit as I have friends who play and wouldn't let me! Glad they didn't as I enjoy the outdoor aspect a lot! And my friends!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN , allow me to introduce the one and only TIGER WOODS !!!!!

 

[dieterbrock]

I used to play a lot. Played all over the states. Got to play on some of the best courses in the country and even in Ireland. I was decent, scratch most of the time. A upstanding member of a club, played n the evening leagues, hustled money. Blah , Blah, Blah.
I used to like on weekdays before work being on the 1st tee at sunrise, first one out. The dew still on the grass. Serenity.
Then 8 years ago I lost totally lost my game over a month. I tried to get it back but no luck. In a month I went from par to 20 over on a good day.
So I gave my clubs away and quit.
If I had always been a hack it would have been fine. But after writing legit sub par scores on a semi regular basis it just became maddeningly frustrating.

I wasnt scratch, but I can totally relate
How did it go south over a month though? Did you stop practicing and a playing a lot and then took a month off? I know for me I lost the driver and my game suffered immensely. All this stuff about drive for dough and putt for dough is nonsense. To play low handicap golf on a tipped out course, you've got to be able to carry the ball quite a ways. In my last couple rounds I was hitting a 4 iron off the tee just to keep it in play. No fun at all.

 

[Yamahopper]

I wasnt scratch, but I can totally relate
How did it go south over a month though? Did you stop practicing and a playing a lot and then took a month off? I know for me I lost the driver and my game suffered immensely. All this stuff about drive for dough and putt for dough is nonsense. To play low handicap golf on a tipped out course, you've got to be able to carry the ball quite a ways. In my last couple rounds I was hitting a 4 iron off the tee just to keep it in play. No fun at all.

It went over a couple weeks.
I never was a practice guy, I just made adjustments during the round. I worked hard for awhile trying to get it back, changed a few things, tried new clubs etc. No luck.
Then I took a winter off from golf in hopes my muscle memory would return. Nada. game was in still as bad as I left it n the fall. So that was that.

It was my short game that died. I could and still can drive the ball 300 with a fair roll down the middle or even shape a drive. But from up close I can't hit a green or sink a putt.
It's fine muscle control. It goes when you get old.

And that's what happened, I got old.