Ed, I think earlier you said that his is not big into sports, so he might not even realize what he is doing is wrong. You can go the following link and educate him that there are proper ways to act when golfing, by printing it out or giving him the link this is a very direct approach.

USGA Golf Etiquette 101

Also another good resource for the beginner is the following link which also contains information of the Etiquette on the golf course along with basic tips on how to play the game, from grips to putting to hitting your clubs and all sorts of things a beginner needs to know. This way he could stumble across the information about etiquette on his own without you pointing him directly to it.

Golf Tips for Beginners

No way. A mini tour guy should no better IMO. They get to play golf tournaments all year long and the working stiffs only have a few chances to compete every year. IMO any mini tour person who wants to play needs to hang it up as they clearly don't recognize the disparity in a club player and professional.

I played my club championship in 2008 and then once I turned professional again after Final Stage I didn't play again until this year in anything. What would the point of playing be? You win...ok, you're supposed to. You lose...what a friggin' embarrassment. If you are trying to play professionally there should be absolutely zero chance you lose unless you have one of the top amateurs in the country at your club.

My club pro specifically called me to tell me that I could play if I wanted to as a full member while I was playing professionally, but there is no question that the other good players at the club would have been a little ticked about it. And after all, a club is meant for friends, not proving that a full time player can beat a loan officer.

For the record I won our stroke play by 11 this year and the match play championship. I also won the 4 stroke play championships in a row leading into turning professional again. We have probably 8 or so + handicaps but the idea of a +1 beating a +6 who plays full time is pretty far fetched over multiple rounds.

got my annual golf trip coming up next week where play 4 days of golf...anyone have an app that they have used for live group scoring so one person in each group with an iphone can update the scores after each hole so we know where everyone is at. I assume there's a decent one out there. thanks

Golfshot?

72 in first round of club championship. Trailing one of the pros by 2.

On another episode of "can they play?", apparently a member signed up for member/guest with a woman as a partner. Thoughts?

I agree they SHOULDN'T play but think that they should be able to. A min pro playing is really weak but if they pay their dues they are a member

GG and gl tomorrow.

I had a similar question at my old club where I was on the MG committee. I was a lone voice that she should be able to play. Their rationale for excluding her was that they wanted to "act like men".

We also had a woman reach the semi's of our club championship one year. She had played in 20-ish USGA events, was multiple time state am winner, played from the back tees, etc. Course played super hard and fast and she got a fortunate draw and beat 2 opponents. A few guys thought it was bad that she got to play mostly cuz they were butthurt at the prospect of being beat by a woman (a very accomplished woman tho).

I'm assuming there's at least a few hundred dollars for first on the line too right? That could be a lot to a mini-tour guy.

Which side would you take in the following bet?

A +6 and a scratch(former college golfer) playing best ball vs. 3 6-handicappers who hit the ball long but don't score overly well scrambling. 9 holes match play. FWIW, the match was proposed by the 3 man team.

BO

I take the scramblers. 3 6-handicappers could potentially birdie every hole. The other team will make 4-5 birdies maybe playing best ball.

9-holes match play is impossible to say/anything can happen, a 6 handicap could beat a tour player in a 9hole match a couple times out of a hundred.

18 hole total score, pretty sure i'd take the 3 scramblers but would have to think about it some more

I'm thinking the scramblers average score for 18 would be around 9-10 under. And the scratch and +6 best ball would be 8-9 under. Have no idea really though lol.

There has to be a mathematical formula that can basically predict who has the edge and by how much, no?

If it doesn't exist, someone (kbfc?) should get a website up!

Looking for some quick advice before a game we're playing tomorrow morning.

Handicapped 2 man best ball (not scramble). Random draw for partners. I don't have a handicap. Here's pertinent info:

My usual course:
6183 yds 120 slope 69 rating

Recent league rounds (par 35): 41,40,40,44,46,47

Tomorrow's course:
6501 yds 130 slope 72.1 rating

I'm probably only 225 off the tee and only hit my 6 iron 150yds. What should my handicap be for this 18 hole match?

I don't know, those ratings look pretty tough. 14?

I would say 13

Your differentials from the top half of your recent scores are going to be upper 4's and lower 5's, so extrapolate that out to 10.0.

A 10.0 index on a 130 slope is a course handicap of 12.

What is the ruling on this situation.

Hitting from the fairway about 130 out. Sky it over the green into a pond behind the green, but it was one of those shots that are blind, so you couldn't tell if it got hung up in the rough. Water hazards are point of entry, so could you actually drop on the green? I read the rule as you can drop anywhere you want behind the point of entry which in this case would be the green.

Incorrect. You cannot drop closer to the hole from point of entry. When you read behind point of entry, that means when you are facing the flag from the point of entry, so in your case that would mean dropping in the water which is obviously wrong.

Go to the USGA Rules of Golf online and read the relief procedures from both regular(yellow) and lateral(red) hazards.

BO

Depends on if its red or yellow. You can't drop closer to the hole then where it crossed the line.

Likely you would take where it entered and take two club lengths no closer to the hole

So where would you drop?

phil harris would say guam, but nobody will get the joke

If you don't know that it went in the hazard then this is actually considered a lost ball

It's quite possible that you could drop on the green if you had a good point of entry and a hazard that has any angle at all from the pin. Not going to figure out how to post a picture, but if you can take 2 club lengths dead sideways from the point of entry that are no closer to the hole you can use that point as a drop. Otherwise you can go to equal and opposite sides as well which often times can work out better too.

Although the way you have it worded makes it hard to imagine how it could maybe hold up in the rough and still get a drop on the green. I think you meant to simply ask if you could use that point of entry or not.

I was saying, from my vantage point I saw the ball bounce on the green, and I knew it was over the green, but I was hoping it got held up in the rough. When we walked up there the ball was nowhere to be found, and there is a pond behind the green. I figured by where the divot was, that it had to have bounced into the water, and I remember somebody saying that you can take a drop at point of entry for water.

I was 130 yards out, so my options I thought were:

A) Rehit from 130 yards, but I am not doing that on a muni course

B) Drop in front of the water behind the green, and try to pitch up.

C) Take the rule as it is worded and just drop in a straight line wherever I want between the 130 yard marker, and the point of entry. The green happened to be between these two points.

There was no drop zone present.

Thread,

Recommendations on good value for casual golf footwear? Along the lines of the Fred Couples Ecco style. Not sure if those are priced well or not. Are they comfy? Do they grip well without spikes?