I want to rip the testicles off the man who decided that forced carries over bodies of water are good ideas. Actually, that's a bit extreme, so I'll settle for ripping the testicles off the man who decided that forced carries are a good idea on $8 munies.

There's a 520 yard par 4 this week on the pga tour? what?
that's nuts

Saw your detailed explanation in my other thread. Thanks.

no problem.
Last week we had 4 days of H.S. State championships at my course.
I got a lot of practice with the rules.


Here are some actual examples of things I had to rule on:

"I whiffed a putt. Do I have to count it?"
"I have mud on my ball. Can I clean it?"
"My ball is up against a tree. Do I have to play it from there?"

I've played the course probably 10 times, but not since they remodeled it. They must have added another tee on #3. I think it was 495 when i played. It's usually downwind and doesn't really play long at all. The thing that makes the hole so tough is the water on the right. Looks like #15 is 504, total 7100+ and only par 70 that's pretty f'in long.

Here it is Friday night and I'm watching taped coverage of the LPGA on the Golf Channel. Some people would call that pretty sad.

They'd probably be right.

Anyway, apropos of exactly nothing and it's all kinds of ridiculous, but I kind of enjoy the names of all the azn players. YOU try saying "Sun Young YOOOUUUUUUUU" without a smile on your face.

The spanish players are almost as much fun.

Jiyai Shin's engrish is improving rapidly

Beer is good.

I don't get why they dont just abbreviate it like KJ choi and YE yang.

I can't think of another place to put this and I haven't been following this thread, but been meaning to post it.

For the SI Player's preview they did a piece on Anthony Kim (I can't remember if he was on the cover but he would be a cover jinx candidate if so). It was one of those pieces which, while not poorly written, is virtually impossible to garner any sort of sympathy for the subject. It was a puff piece in disguise which discussed his semi-rise and semi-fall and semi-climb back in the last couple of years. It only gave a light dusting to the party rumors, which probably was a very large reason for his tepid results.

So anyway, the story goes into how he moved three friends of his into a house he bought in the Dallas area, a 5000-6000 square foot bachelor pad. One guy is his caddy, one seems to be a PA of sorts. I'm not really sure what the third guy does. It basically shows them hanging around his house and Kim talks about how these are his "boyz" and so on. My favorite part was how two of them came to this point after "an unhappy stint" at an insurance company, which probably meant their boss expected results and they didn't deliver them, and so now they do next to nothing.

That's fine, if it sounds like I'm a jealous hater then maybe it's subconsciously so. But more to the point, I think it would be really emasculating to be part of some guy's posse and to rely on that person for survival, as is the case with a large percentage of hangers-on with celebrities and successful athletes. Also, I'm not sure exactly what emotion this is supposed to elicit from the readers: it's virtually empathy-proof.

(Another pretty funny thing is that there is a woman mentioned who he has put up in another house of his in town, it's really clear the way it's written that he's just banging her NSA-style while he sexes his way around town, which is good for him, but it has to be kind of a beat for her that it's so obvious to the world.)

EDIT: indeed, they are on the cover, in a convertible car, looking up at the camera, so jinx in effect. Also, the reason I thought of this is the issue is still in my bathroom for emergency reading and I noticed it whilst finishing up a dump.

in before posting about dreams is stupid.

I had this really vivid dream last night. I was playing in a team match. We came to a hole that was a 275 yard par 3. I put the driver back and just crushed the hybrid (damn I love alternate realities). It ended inches behind the hole. I pulled the flag and tapped it in.

As soon as everybody else putted out, my opponent stared me down and informed me that I just lost the hole for playing out of turn.

It's been a long time since I've been so crushed in my imagination. And longer - much longer - still since I've had a dream that involved (an incorrect interpretation of) the Rules of Golf.

FML.

I think I know the answer but...

I recently lost my 9iron. Its a taylor made tour burner yr 08/09 with Steel R shaft. My options to replace it (on ironfinder.com) are a 9iron of the same model/year with a graphite shaft, or 9iron from the 09/10 model/yr with a steel R shaft, which would be more comparable, better choice?

def get the one with the same shaft

thx, done.

Ruling q from round on Saturday.

We were playing a scramble tournament where 2, 2 man teams teed off together. On the 9th hole the team we were playing with hit their drive onto a drainage hole in the rough. The players asked us to watch and help with rulings. They put a driver down, facing away from the hole. The point where the driver ended was in the fairway. They were starting to drop the ball in the fairway and my teammate said they werent allowed to improve their lie (rough to fairway) on a drop from an obstruction. I had no idea. Ruling?

You just have to drop the ball one club length from the nearest point of relief. The fairway and rough are both through the green so if the fairway is within a club length, you are allowed to drop there, even though it improves your lie.

Take that with a grain of salt, its that time of year that I haven't quite "re-learned" my basic rules from the winter off yet.

1970s Jack approves!

lol yah, their picture taking abilities (and their website in general) need some work, but it really is a hell of a facility and track.

So the drainage hole is a man-made obstruction, which is why you get relief, correct? And it's always one-club from the nearest point of relief as long as it's not any closer to the pin?

Is there a nice easy to understand list somewhere that categorizes all these different types of hazards/obstructions? Golf rules can be pretty darn wordy.

I believe thats right. The rules do get pretty specific and complicated.

Not as long as Colonial this week, which is known as a perennial beast.

Btw, I have been thinking about the length of courses, and you really have to look at each individual hole (and how it plays) to get a true gauge of length. For example, my home course is a 6850 par 70, but the back 9 is 3581 and has holes that are 442,436, 212, 455, 602, 440, 204, 390, 400.

The 390 hole is basically a forced layup to 170 and none of the holes are downhill and only the 455 yard hole plays somewhat downwind with any regularity. No gimme holes.

Even if you look at my old course, it was only 6300 yards, but it had 0 driveable holes, one of the par 5s was only moderately reachable, and many of the short holes had OB all over them and were layup holes.

And other courses may be 7k yards, but they have 4 reachable par 5s, a couple of driveable holes, short par 3s, and a few really long par 4s which really don't play that much differently once they get over 460.

So about three weeks ago I thought I was on the cusp of completely falling apart. I started hitting shanks again, and was slowly watching myself turn into the horrible golfer that I was 4 years ago. However, I went to the course this weekend and decided to change my attitude a bit and really focused on each shot. I had hit a lot of shots lately when my mind was telling me to back off, this weekend I paid attention to the little voice and stepped off a few shots and it paid off in spades.

I went from thinking my golf game was shattered to being pretty optimistic about the rest of my season again. I hit a shot this weekend that I didn't even have in my bag until recently; a long 3-wood approach to a par 5 which rolled right up on the green. Prior to my rounds lately, I have been working on pitching/chipping and then range but I realize I have neglected my putting during my warm-ups. I either need to shorten one of the other 2 facets of my warm-up, or show up to the course even earlier so I can work all 3 into my practice. 39 putts this weekend with about 4 or 5 3-putts is completely unacceptable.

Lesson #2 with the new guy tomorrow and we are going to spend the next few sessions on 100 yards and in, it's time for me to develop a solid short-game.

First of two golf trips this year is over June 24-27 in the Bremerton/Tacoma area of Washington. Actually going down early on the 24th with half of the group to go play Chambers Bay, site of the 2010 US Amateur and 2015 US Open. Can't wait, will be my first time ever on a PGA tour course and first taste of true links style golf.

I grew up in Gig Harbor (if you're familiar with the Bremerton/Tacoma area at all, you'll know where that is. If not...you won't!). When I lived there, I never played golf. Now, I do. What courses up there are worth checking out (besides Chamber Bay?) I've looked on Google, and it looks like in the Bremerton area there are some good courses, but notsomuch in Tacoma. Is that accurate?

I live up in BC and have never golfed the area, but the two organizers of this trip have golfed a lot down in Washington and are members down at North Bellingham. Anyways, our trip includes rounds at McCormick Woods, Alderbrook, both the Olympic and Cascade courses at Gold Mountain, and then Trophy Lake (as well as Chambers Bay). I'll be sure to give at least a brief TR of what I liked but that's what we're scheduled for.

For some reason I'm craving for Ireland at the moment. I wish I could be golfing on my favourite course in the world, belvoir park. with pics ldo

Playing Half Moon Bay Ocean Course next Saturday. Going to be a super epic day. Waking up early, getting to course around 10, watch USA/England, round starts right as game ends. Should be v fun.