I say "thank you" to the attendant who brings the cart out to the parking lot and loads the bags up (I usually have to unload it again to go to the range if it's a nice enough course where they have someone do that).

I generally tip $5 for 2 bags at the end of the round when they "clean" the clubs (IME, they never do a very good job).

This is at public and/or resort courses.

I avoid those guys like the plague. It's uncomfortable to have people do things for me that I could easily and more efficiently do myself. Putting my clubs on the cart is one thing when they're already standing right there. But don't clean my clubs. I like the soles covered in a layer of dried dirt and grass stains tyvm.

I can't help but feel there's something pretentious about this sort of unnecessary service. This should only be allowed at the stuffiest of courses.

Yeah I played at Half Moon Bay recently and that was my nicest course to date. They valet'd us, loaded out clubs on the cart and then cleaned them after the round. I tipped the valet guy and the guy who brought me my cleaned clubs, but guh, there were a lot of times i felt like I should be tipping but didn't know how to pull it off.

Side random question I came here to ask. What is your guy's wedge setup? I play 4-pw(45) with a 50, 56 and 62. I played with a coworker the other day who hadnt yet seen my clubs and ridiculed the guy we were playing with for using a 58 degree. When I said I had a 62 he said it was a stupid idea. Even if I didn't think the 62 was useful, i don't really see what I would replace it with. I guess I could add a 3 iron, but I have a 2 hybrid that is 19 degrees, and my 4 iron is 21 degrees. Guess I just wanted a better feel for what a normal wedge composition is.

Almost all amateurs get nothing out of a 60, let alone a 62. It's just a matter of not knowing how to use that much loft. And your PW is basically the loft of a 9-iron, which is becoming somewhat standard these days, but it can create problems.

If you still wanted three wedges you could go 48,52,56 or 50,54,58 depending on gaps. Regardless, you want equal gaps between your wedges, that is quite important.

My current 9-iron has 44 degrees of loft, I fly it 150. I carry three Vokey wedges in lofts of 48, 54, and 60. I fly them 130, 110, and 90 respectively.

BO

Yeah I use the 62 pretty rarely. It has very little bounce so I use it in shorter, firmer conditions(fairway approach shots and from the fringe). i use my 56 on the majority of my wedge shots around the green.

My iron lofts at the moment are(including lolbad distances):
8-36-130
9-40-115
p-45-100
50-90
56-80
62-65

I feel like those are pretty evenly spaced, no?

Maybe I could pull the 56 and 62 for a 54 and 58?

btw what are the bounce #s on your wedges?

Put a jigger (4-iron loft with shorter shaft) in your bag.

Someone out there still makes them. There good under trees.

There are golfers, and people who play golf. A golfer is someone who will go out and play a round by themselves.

Not going to be playing my local course for awhile after recent rain.


Hole 10 from the Blue tee box (white tees are underwater):


18th hole (Tee box is back right of the picture):

I didn't read what you wrote and am a tad stoned and looked at the 2nd picture with my mind blown for a pretty good while there. Sucks about the course tho.

Really stoked about my mid-season game right now. Handicap keep dropping and my confidence is soaring. Nothing better than playing a strange course and shooting my handicap on it.
My goal was to reach a single digit before the end of the year, but I'm already there mid-season. I guess I have to adjust my goal to try and get it to a 7 or 8 before I'm done

How was it? I'm assuming you meant the Resort course? That's a really fun course, and usually in excellent condition. Did you have a chance to play anywhere else over there? My family lives south of Coeur d'Alene a ways, and Circling Raven is his favorite course in the region by far.

Incidentally, I just learned that my dad uses a baseball grip, and has ever since he took up the game several years ago. Odd that I haven't noticed.

Is the Cd'A course the one with that floating movable green in a lake? Or am I confusing courses?

Random Question:
They were saying that the Canadian Open's golf course this year was an "old style course."
What makes a course old style?

No, that's the one. A lot of fun and insanely well maintained, with some spectacular views.

Does anyone know if it's possible to find a center-shafted ghost putter?

Can ship some monies for help, I can't seem to find any.

Everyone around here tells me how amazing Circling Raven is

My long time friend has used a baseball grip since he was 5 and is very good, somehow...

If I started a "This Week in the LPGA" thread would it end up being me talking to myself?

Women's British Open at Birkdale this week. I was killing time this morning so I got to watch quite a bit of the coverage (9-noon ET on ESPN, on again tomorrow). I always feel kinda bad for the women - they never get nearly the number of cameras that the men do so the broadcasts always just follow 2 or 3 groups.

It must suck to be the third wheel in a group with two big names. Wie and Pettersen were playing together but I don't remember seeing a single shot of the third player in the group (Rui Kitada?). To ESPN's 'credit' they didn't mind showing camera-friendly amateur Kelly Tidy.

Also: The new Ricoh commercials with Paula Creamer are pretty good.

when i think old style, i think narrow tree-lined fairways, small greens, greens and tee boxes close to each other

Can anyone explain to me all this about The Year of the Wedge.

I'm a total noob with golf, and have only been playing for 3 months now.

I bought a Cleveland Niblick 42 degree earlier this year and was going to chip with it because my chip game was awful. (I bought the 42 because I had no clue about degrees)

Since then, I've realized I should not be chipping with a 42, and switched to chipping with my PW, I sucked with that.

Now I chip with my sand wedge which works the best of all three, go figure.

I want to buy some bigger degree'd wedges tho, maybe a 56 or a 60. What is so great about zip grooves?

All i kno right now is that they aren't going to be made next year, and if I want one I have to buy it this year.

Are they worth it, if I want to get wedges while I can should I get them before the year is over?

The whole year of the wedge business is due a change in the rules. After December 31 of this year all the equipment companies must stop making their current wedges and sell wedges with different grooves that produce less spin. The "old" clubs are fine to use for regular play for years to come, you just won't be able to buy them.

For most recreational players it won't make much difference. I can barely spin a ProV1 with "zip grooves". It's a marketing campaign. No reason to panic, although if you are in the market you might as well buy before the end of the year.

Theoretically, zip grooves (or mack daddy grooves, spin milled grooves, whatever) provide extra spin. For a lot of people that's a plus although I suspect for most it's mostly an illusion.

Also: The niblick 42 is very similar to chipping with a PW (the 42 is labeled as a 9i equivalent). I have one and it works quite well for chipping, where you want the ball on the ground and rolling pretty quick. If you need to pitch - carry the ball a ways first - then it's not a great choice and a lofted wedge would be better.

Watching bad putting is tilting. If Suzann Pettersen could putt at ALL she would have shot 58 today not 68. And she was paired with Michelle Wie who couldn't buy a five dollar footlong footer.

Still <3 watching the replay on the 3 though.

Couple of pics of my new club:

Looks nice. Where is that? First and 2nd make it look like Cali, and the 3rd looks like somewhere in the south.

ft worth texas.....finished bar exam yesterday, played today, playing tomorrow, playing sunday

YOU CAN'T STOP ME SWAMPASS