Public courses should have a different set of rules because there is never a scenario where I drive up to the green, look for my ball, can't find it, pretty certain it's in the water, than drive back to the fairway and hit. That can and shouldn't ever happen. Rounds are long enough as they are. The only way for somebody like me to legitimately post a real score is to just not lose a ball the entire round. I just haven't been playing long enough to know every single rule or scenario that I encounter.

I get what you are saying for the shot that you think is fine but turns out bad but for a lot of lost balls a provisional was the right call.

I'm back in the game, folks, and excited about it. Regarding this post above, figured some things out, got a good deal on initiation fee, and signed up last weekend. Since then I've played two 18 hole rounds and nine holes twice after work. The course looks boring on paper (it's pretty straight), but trees and subtle greens make it challenging, and little things on each hole make it interesting.

Looking forward to hanging out here more and working on my game. Much easier to do when you're playing a couple times a week (at least) then when you play once every two months. Probably post swing video soon.

http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2...-arnold-palmer

I don't care if any of you think it's dumb, it's perfect in every way.

First time I played Torrey Pines I lost my tee ball in the rough after 3 min I had to go back to the tee since we were playing for money, had to go back to tee and we were walking. The look on those dudes faces on the tee was funny, they weren't too happy.

Pointless story but your post reminded me of it

I played Atlanta Athletic Club today. Course is absolutely amazing and ridiculously hard.

Nice to see how the other side lives.

Discussing a bet with co-workers:

I would like to bet that I can go to a practice green, find the flattest hole location available, and make 500 consecutive putts from inside 1 foot.

Who's the favorite here?

them

I played Torrey a month before the US Open (like, the second to last day before they closed it. My brother isn't really good at game management, and it was pretty comical trying to see him chop out of the rough over and over.

Well the wording of the bet means you can just putt from 1 inch which makes you the favorite

If it's 500 straight 1 footers then probably them

Yeah it was hard enough when it was at the Buick length, can't imagine playing it at US open length. Don't think I tried to hit anything longer than a 7 out of it.

I believe we said 11.5" for the putt length. Just draw a circle around the hole at that distance.

Finding a hole with the least donut effect is probably more important than finding the flattest hole but I suppose this is also what you mean by flattest.

Practice green holes are pretty ****ty because of this.

At first glance it seems like this should be an easy bet for you but man 500 putts is a lot. Seems like 1 time something would just go wrong. I'd be interested in hearing you do it though and see who wins.

I agree with you ARC the thing that would go wrong would be his back giving out. Who would be bending over and getting the ball out of the hole? How many balls will fit in the practice green hole before another will not go in? Is there a time limit?

Discussions right now:

-I don't get the balls out of the hole, somebody else is standing there and pulls them out for me

-No breaks allowed other than quick towel off/water

-2 hour time limit

Who is going to be placing the ball at the 11.5" mark you or someone else?

Interesting, I would suggest skipping the towel off and water. Because you got to make each putt in less than 15 seconds to make the 2 hour time limit.

I still think your back is going to be the biggest issue here.

What type of putter you going to be using?

Optimal play would be to set up 4 balls at a time around the hole, and then you only need 125 rounds and you can take your time at least.

What do you mean by "donut effect"?

Donut effect, I think refers to when the hole is not set properly and creates a raised edge around the hole. Can be all the way around the hole or in just a part of the hole.

It is also caused by people stepping near the hole to pull their ball out. I believe Dave Pelz called it the "mini volcano".

We call it the volcano effect - basically, it happens when the ground staff don't use a board, or use it incorrectly, (or the hole cutter is blunt) and pull up the ground as they remove the plug.

2 hours wow that's short. That's like 12 seconds per putt, including someone grabbing the ball and placing it for you.

And are they going to be stepping within 1 foot of the hole? Keep them away from the hole so they don't **** you over.

Yeah volcano effect sounds like a much better description. It's very real. I can tell on my ****ty course I play I hit many 3-footers fairly solid and dead center then at the last second they just veer right or left because the hole is raised due to footsteps around the perimeter. ****ing sucks dick. And I'm not confident enough to hammer a 3 footer 12 feet just to negate the effect.

What happens if a fly/bug lands in your ball's path and diverts it? If you and the other guy both see this happen? Re-putt or is this counted as a missed putt and you lose? I feel like this bet can come down to something stupid like this happening. Beware the rare event.

Agree that the back and time limit are the issue. If you could make 50, take a 15 minute break, then repeat I'd like your side. Having to do it straight through I think something is the favorite to go wrong.

I am liking those tp black balls even though they are a few model years old. They seem way better from 60 yards and in than the nxt tours or the e6

yeah they should definitely spin more than those, i think they're somewhere between nxt's and prov1's