I just got an update on the 4 people hit by lightning in my area. Apparently the horn sounded when they were on 18 but they decided to finish the hole. Here's a first-hand summary from a guy who is a marshall at the course (he later found out they were hit on the 18th green and not the parking lot):

They would have been safe had they carried a 1 iron

Sounds good. It's really up to my dad (I'm supposed to take him out for a round for fathers day since we cancelled today).

He's not sure if he can make Thursday and will let me know tomorrow (Wednesday). If he's out, then I'll hit you up for Friday morning golf for sure.

hopefully that isn't the kiss of death for him, but at least it looks like he's been playing their clubs for a bit (hmmmm...one could infer from this article that Nike got their hooks into him a few months ago)

http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/pa...oins-nike-golf

If those people got struck by lightning on a MURICA #1 course they'd all sue the course for not physically removing them from the premises with known lightning in the area.

Yeah he should be fine. I think the only thing that was a real recent switch was going from his Cameron to the Nike putter. He seems to be playing just fine with the other clubs. I think he may make an immediate impact on tour

Spotts : My dad is the most busy semi-retired man I know. He's out for tomorrow which means I can free up Friday morning for the Hoot.
Are you still up for it?

I'm in, let's rock. I'll PM you to figure it out. We don't need a tee time there, so we can pretty much go out whenever we want to. The earlier the better though as I want to head downtown afterwards for some festival at the Harbourfront.

and yea, earlier the better

Since folks are asking bag set-up questions, here's mine:

I'm a 17 handicap carrying all the following in Ping's G10 line:
D, 3W, 18+20 Degree hybrids, 4-9, PW, "U" wedge (gap wedge).

My 100 yards and in club (I use it for 90 percent of shots within 70 yards) is a 54 degree Ping tour wedge.

Here are my issues:

1) I hardly ever hit my pitching wedge. I hit my gap wedge 115 (and have a reliable 100 yard swing with it, too). My 9 iron goes 133. The rare times I hit the pitching wedge, it's good for around 125, but unless it's exactly that number, I will hit the 9 iron for 128+ and the gap wedge for below 120. Should I intentionally use my pitching wedge more or just drop it entirely to free up another club?

2) My game is improving a lot and has improved a lot. Namely, I'm a far more consistent ball striker and waste fewer strokes. When things are working together, I score in the mid 80s. When things are out of whack, I'm in the mid-90s. I feel like my game is getting to the point where I might benefit from a little more loft in my around-the-green wedge. Or I'd at least benefit to have something I could use when short sided or hitting over a bunker so I don't end up with 50 foot putts all the time. Would it be reasonable for me to get a 58 in lieu of my PW?

3) Finally, I find myself needing to hit several very low trajectory shots per game (usually when I miss a fairway, I need to knock it out of the woods (often advancing it a little in the process). However, I can't advance it terribly far while keeping it low enough to stay under tree branches because my clubs gain elevation to quickly. I use my 4 iron for these shots, as my hybrids seems to get up in the air even more quickly than the 4 iron. Would it be crazy to get a 2 iron specifically to use for these types of shots (I would never play it out of the fairway)? Or is there just likely some problem in my knockdown shot that needs correction?

4) I hit my G10 Driver very well 2/3 of the days I golf (really, whether I have a good round or a bad round is mostly contingent on my driver. I don't bomb it, but I outdrive most people I play with (I carry it 240ish). Should I look into upgrading my driver to take advantage of technological improvements/yardage gains or should I just leave it alone since it is one of the better parts of my game?

Appreciate thoughts on any or all questions.

Getting a 2i (and thus having to remove a club from your bag) specifically to hit punch shots out of rough under trees when you have a 4i is wasteful. You should have no problem punching these with the 4i - so I'd say fix your punch shot instead of getting a flatter club that you'll never use otherwise.

Its seems weird to carry a specific club for playing out of the trees. I'd get to the root of the problem and take some lessons and learn the hit the ball straighter.

I've recently been playing punch shots under trees with either my driver or 3-wood and found myself to be much more consistent after practice.

I used to use my 5-iron back in the stance but found that because it was not a full swing I would sometimes set up too close to the ball and shank it - and then that worm got into my head, so I lost confidence. Using a big faced club seems a lot easier now. I treat it pretty much like a very long putt.

ICWYDT

Made a crazy eagle on Monday. 515 yd par 5 plays like 570 because it goes straight up a big him. Hit a weak drive, half thinned my layup shot to about 135, then holed out a 9i!

THEN missed a three foot par putt on the following short par three AND the next long par three to negate the eagle, but finished strong anyways and birdied 9 for what may be my first nine holes under par ever!

Followed that with 40 on the back, but I'm blaming the fact that my back started hurting. Still a smooth 75, low round of the year!

Not sure if a brag or beat but I got my Am status back today. Time to battle Bo and Ship on the old man circuit.

Matthew Fitzpatrick turns pro this week. My question is how does one decide to turn pro? Do they all have to go to Q School? Did Tiger go to Q School? Sorry for the noob question.

they can get sponsors exemptions (not sure how many maybe 7 or 8) then if they don't make the top 125 then Q school.

Tiger won in Vegas one of those sponsor exemptions therefore never had to go to Q school.

Don't be late to the tee:

that's actually not bad for a small-time production like a state golf association.

you can be a pro golfer without being a member of any kind of tour. they have mini tour events here in vegas where entry is like $400 and first prize is like $2000.

I'm gonna go pro in August. I don't expect to make any money at golf but I will not be eligible for any kind of amateur events just fyi.

Technically, you're a pro if you accept a cash prize from even a scramble.

To keep your amateur status, I think you have to accept non-cash prizes of < $600 value (though that may have changed since I last saw the rule back in HS).

$750 now I believe in each event.

If this is actually the case, this forum has a lot more pros them one might think.