Getting back into golf. I played off 14 HC until I turned 18 years old. Then I quit golf because the fees quadrupled and I went to uni. Played on average probably less than once a year since. Usually shot low to mid 90s depending on course etc. Now 14 years later I have played 5 rounds this year and have caught the bug again. I got myself some nice second hand clubs. Shot an 89 at a potential course to join today, par 71 standard scratch 69. Good value membership only £690 per year, 10 minutes drive from my house. I think I will take the plunge.

I might take a few lessons then do a gap test with a pro to get me back into it. Good idea to gap test this early or should I wait a few months until I'm hitting it more consistently again? I suppose the pro could tell me. I'm definitely coming over the top and not striking well. Lots of high slices and low duck hooks. When I do hit it it goes miles though compared to when I was a youngster, the few times a round anyway. I hit a 230 yd 4 iron, 200 yard 6 iron and a 270 yard 4 wood today for example (all with run out on hard fairways tbf, sick brags). But I also hit a few shanks 20 yards lol.

14 years is a long time. What are any must reads or must have apps that have come out in recent times? Back then it was pre launch monitors (at least in your average club) and before strokes gained and that sort of stuff. I have a Garmin fenix which can do golf but it didn't seem to record reliably for me. Missed many strokes. Is golfshot or thegrint worthwhile? I love me some stats. Are the swing analysers worth it?

i got you fam

https://arizonawildcats.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=9829

I was fit for a putter and was sent a 10 page report afterwards. I had a long game fitting on Trackman and was sent at least a 15 page report afterwards. Get on a Trackman monitor and you'll have all the stats you need.

I don't know what a gap test is unless it's for wedges.

I don't know why you'd need an app, but I also made a comeback last year after ten years or so away, so I'm not up on the apps. I've got a rangefinder which is incredibly helpful.

5% at most if I were to guess. The elite girls skip college often.A ton of spots are tied up by overseas players. The top girls are really good but there isn't a ton of depth in girls college golf

It's basically a test which tells you how far you carry each club, i.e. the yardage gap between them. I don't really know at the moment as it's so different than when I played and also so variable.

So I had a house under contract inside the CC where I am a member at. That one blew up under inspection, including black mold in the air handler. That was actually good news because....



we ended up getting this house. The only downside is that I can't get directly on the course from my backyard unless I want to swim with the gators. If being this close to my club doesn't improve my game than nothing will.

Nice, what will it take you to get to the first tee/practice range, < 5 minutes?

5 minutes or less for sure. That's the 5th hole on our North course, the better of the two courses there. It's a driveable par 4 of around 300 yards on the direct route. The roundabout way is around 340 yards. The best part is a golf course view with no chance of the house getting hit by a golf ball.

My plan now is to get on the cart plan and play 9 before work every day. I also need to figure out a practice routine instead of just winging it.

Do you have your own cart? It always amused me when I'd go by/play a country club community where people own their own carts but the older I get the more appealing the idea gets - just park it in your garage with the clubs on, hop on and drive over anytime you're going to play or practice.

No cart as of yet. I think once my son starts driving in less than 3 years I will look into getting one. Also personal carts are not allowed on our courses. They have been talking about it and then charging an annual trail fee but nothing has happened yet. Hopefully in 3 years that happens.

I would need to get a cart that moves pretty fast though too. The road to the clubhouse is a 30 mph road and it's only one lane each way. When you use to course carts in the community (for shotgun starts) you can back-up traffic a bit. Nothing major though.

Killing time waiting for it to be 5:00 reading up on Sand Valley in Wisconsin. Sounds like a place I need to visit - it's not Bandon but it's a lot closer.

I was at the range today and I saw 3 different people, in their 40s or 50s walking to their spot with 2 large buckets of balls (200 balls total). One of the guys was already there when I got there and he came back with 200 more balls as I was leaving. I have to figure he hit a full bucket prior to that.

How many balls can a person hit?! I'm tired after 100 and really even after 80 in about an 1-1.5 hours.

Played absolutely horrendous today my first time out after my lesson. Shot a 115 on a mediocre par 72 course. I had been driving the ball really well pre-lesson and that was a total disaster today. New swing felt great on the range but could not string 2 good swings together all day. Bought a Voleky 56 14 based on strong recommendations and couldn't hit it for **** on my short game. Frustrating. Playing eagle ridge again Monday which is the course i posted about playing last weekend. Torn whether to go the range, pitch n putt, or the par 60 executive course between now and then. Disappointing

115 for someone just starting out isn't bad at all

^^agree

Lots of little steps backward when making swing changes etc - it takes a long time for most people to incorporate changes

Thanks guys it's just so frustrating. Hit them well on the range then get out there and it's a disaster. My putting has been consistently good (relative to my awful game) where I can pretty much 2 put everything so that saves my score from being even higher.

This course too was not a good one and nothing like the one I shot a 114 on last weekend and am playing again Monday. Every single hole except one was dead straight. My drive was all over the place including down the middle of the fairway without me having any idea. I cannot pick up my ball off my driver with my new swing and its incredibly frustrating. I took a lot of liberties with dropping balls I couldn't find but knew were in play. EVery hole was right next to each other and we had people behind us and I get anxiety looking around for a ball forever while theres people waiting. A drive by with the cart and move on.

I did hit the nicest 9 iron tee shot I've ever hit though to about 8 feet from the hole on the green and that felt amazing. I pussied the putt and left it short so got my only par of the day but that one tee shot is what keeps you coming back for more. Really hope I sort out my drive and short game on Monday even if I try going back to how I used to drive it at the expense of setting myself back. We didnt cover the driver at all in my lesson only irons so I'm hitting a driver as if it's an iron as far as grip posture backswing follow through it goes so maybe that's part of it. Also knowing I'm not gonna see where my ball goes is massively in my head. On the range with no one playing behind you that's a non issue

Golf is its own fitness to a degree, and it depends on what you're doing at the range.

I hit like 250 balls yesterday over 3.5 hours or something, but 85% of those were 50/54/60 degree wedge shots of varying intensity. If I smash 50 drivers I'm gonna feel pretty smoked.

LFC just remember you’re not good enough to get mad at playing bad (like nobody is) so slow down and take your time one shot at a time, and work on the drills your coach gave you. The ball flight will take care of itself

Ha you're so right. I'm an athlete (played basketball in college) so get obsessed about getting better and to a competitive level. It's not so much anger as frustration but I totally get it. Fun to have a forum like this to vent and get positive feedback too

About to take my new clickgear out for the first time on my local executive par 60. Hopefully not too crowded and can work on some thing out solo

Just tee off with 6 iron and don’t worry about it for now. Your playing partners can’t help you locate your shots when you swing?

How many balls you guys lose on average per round? ****s getting expensive. Lost 6 today (2 OB) resulting in a 99 after hitting an 89 wednesday where I only lost 1. 7 pro Vs damn. I found about the same number but mostly top flites and ****. Think I am going to get some yellow balls. Not pro v1s either I am not good enough yet to be using such expensive balls, will just not be economical with how wayward I am. What's a good value ball with high compression and soft round the greens? Like a cheaper tour ball that comes in yellow? I can't use super soft balls they go nowhere for me but medium would be fine I think. I am thinking Chrome Soft or chrome soft X with the truvis from googling.

Another question, I know putts per round is not very meaningful but what's standard for high/mid handicappers in putts per round and putts per GIR? 36 putts Wednesday, 38 today. Do I need that to be like 32 and 2.00 putts per GIR if I am aiming for mid handicap in the short term?

What's a good GIR and FIR to be aiming for with a mid handicap goal while I'm at it? 50% for both?

the image below is from the GHIN database for the last 12 months for me as a 15.2 compared to players between 14.7-15.7 (covers 23 rounds for me and almost 7,000 rounds for the field).

Do you have to manually enter where your ball lands, number of putts, driving distance etc or do you use an app? Or combination everything?

This is one of the infinite reasons why I laugh when idiots say golf isn't a sports. It's physically demanding as hell.

I'm 50 and have range sessions that last 2 hours or more where I'll hit 200 or so balls and work in my Super Speed protocol for good measure. But of course I've hit tons of balls my entire life so my body is well used to it.

There is no right or wrong answer, everybody is different. But once you get tired, don't push it. It will only lead to bad habits.

I didn't say anything when you said you got this on eBay, but now that you hit it like **** I'm going to chime in.

You took club advice from a golfer who shoots 88, that's mistake #1. But why does he think you need a Vokey 56.14? Just because he likes it? That's awful, a good club for one is not necessarily a good club for another. So why is it a good club for you? Do you need 14 degrees of bounce? Are the turf conditions really soft? Is your path around the green steep or shallow? See, the answer to these questions are why or why not this type of wedge could be good for you.

In a weird way, it's probably a good thing you got it cheap on eBay. It's real easy to buy a fake on eBay, you have no idea whether or not you've got the real thing. And if it truly sucks for you, you're not out that much money.

Playing Arcadia Bluffs later this week for the first time! We are also planning to play the newly opened South course:

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/arc...uffs-golf-club