I've been doing this since I was about 12. I rarely make it past the second hole.

The other night it was warmer than usual. Got to the range about an hour after sunset. Near full moon with just a few clouds. I didnt notice that the mat I picked out was darker than those with lights on above them. I figured id go with it and set my expectations low. The clubfaces werent very visible, so I had to use the top edge and the weight of the club as reference. The 3 wood in particular was tough. Its black crown with dark charcoal colored face. Had to really feel the clubhead to get good contact.

I wouldnt recommend doing this often but it was interesting to me as a study.

Can anyone recommend some courses in the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood area? Thanks!

Viktor Hovland is going to play the tournament in Saudi Arabia and is giving the moronic "explanation" that "I'm a golf player, not a politician".

**** you Viktor. **** you.

I'm also not a politician. I'm still not supporting a regime that imprisons, tortures and kills innocents.

I had 2 days of decent range sessions so I think I am good to play again starting tomorrow. Likely will limit myself to 9 holes, really don't want to stress the hand too much.

Got me to thinking about...2021 GOALS!!!

1. Become a + handicap - Lowest I reached in 2020 was a 1.1. This will likely have to happen in the first half of the year if I am back on the road for work in the second half.

2. Practice on my short game more - I rarely did this throughout 2020 and it showed when I played competitions this year. When I am out playing a casual game (with $) I chip better than average. Get to a tourney and it's not even close to being that good.

3. Shoot even par or better in a tournament - I think this is entirely reasonable, especially if I can get to a + cap.

4. Be competitive in my club championship - I have never played well in it. I honestly don't see myself winning it, but there is no reason I can't make the final group.

5. Make the cut in the 40+ FSGA championship. I have failed every year I have played it. Time to get better.

Other things I plan on working on in 2021--------

- I bought Super Speed Golf at the end of the year. Plan to work on it once I get healthy again. Would like to see an increase from 115 to 125. I know it's lofty, but why not aim high.

- Get fitted for a driver again. Probably going to take 2 sessions. I want to try out all of the 2021 stuff and see what works best. The Rogue is getting up there in age. I am 95% certain I have the shaft that works for me, but I would like to try others just to see what is out there. I also would like to experiment with a shorter shaft in the driver. If I can combine the added swing speed and a shorter shaft (looking at 44", then it could be a good offset.

- Get in shape again. Last time I had a serious go at it was when I turned 40. I was in tremendous shape back then and was down to a really strong 180. Right now I am a really doughy 230.


Let's hear what goals everyone else has!

Talking about goals always reminds me of a first date.

"So what are your goals?"

"Stay out of jail"

Then she walked out. Lol.

Ok serious golf goals.

Stay out of the trees.

Hey at least I'm consistent.

Also break 80. Play lots of new fun courses. Meet even more nice people than last year. Dont walk away from friendly talkative females on or off the course. Domt buy a single ball all year (currently have 40 brand new). Get my first eagle on par 5 the natural way by making a putt. Gain muscle and fat until spring then lose fat(currently 198 lbs with a little tummy. Leg and back heavy. Looking to gain 15 to 20 lbs before April by way of eating and lifting weights). Oh and stay out of jail and hospitals(1/2 in 2020). Win us open.

Seems mostly realistic and achievable.

Probably shouldn't be supporting anyone who plays in the US either if that's the standard

"Gain muscle and fat until spring then lose fat(currently 198 lbs with a little tummy. Leg and back heavy. Looking to gain 15 to 20 lbs before April by way of eating and lifting weights)."

This goal just got a boost. Neighborhood friend let me use his squat rack last night. Didn't go too heavy first day. Starting numbers squat 135x2x5, hang clean 105x4. And Deadlift 205x5. Last weigh in was a fee days ago 197.6 lbs. Will report back in spring. Or follow along in health and fitness forum.

I only hit 2 irons, 3 woods , and then 3 irons yesterday at the range. Its artificial turf mats but its still a game of putting the leading edge between the mat and the back of the ball. Hit some really good shots and some really bad shots. Hitting nice high 2 irons is a very pure feeling when you get the sweet spot.

My main goal for 2020 was to break 80 in a tournament round and I did not do that. Had it well under 80-pace on the 18th tee and made a quint-bogie to shoot 82 in one round so it's out there.

Same goal for 2021. I worked hard on my tee game second half of 2020 so I feel confident going into next season that I can build on that. Working on ball striking this winter at the simulator and really need to work on chipping and putting come spring time.

I should play in 4 or 5 2-day stroke play events next summer and a handful (3-6) single day and state golf association qualifiers so that's 10-15 tournament rounds I hope. Time to get it put together.

2021 Goals -- I actually wrote these out a couple weeks ago when I was busy avoiding work.

1. Improve basic fitness. I'd like to walk more often and maybe drop a few pounds in hopes of maintaining whatever athletic ability I have left.

2. Purge excess gear. I have way too much stuff sitting around, it's gotta go. I have a terrible habit of buying stuff to test and when I don't like it it just goes in the basement. Sell it, donate it, toss it already -- one full backup set is enough (plus a reasonable number of putters).

3. Learn how to chip, for real. I had a stretch late in the season where I thought I had it figured out, only for some old demons to pop back up. I have Stan Utley's book on the shelf, seems like when I tried that and practiced a little it worked pretty well -- the issue was that I rarely had the chance to warm up/practice chipping before playing and I didn't have enough confidence when on the course.

4. Invest in a real driver fitting and a new club if the difference is significant. I feel like I'm well self-fitted to something that "feels" good to me and I was pretty happy with the results when I committed to it. But the head is now 4 generations old (Titleist 915D3) and in theory I should be playing a different shaft. If I can gain meaningful distance without losing the tight dispersion, great.

5. When travel looks possible again, start planning a golf trip somewhere. Maybe I'll go play Sand Valley or something.

I use 6 and 7 irons almost exclusively for chipping. I get the club really upright and use a putting grip/stroke a la Raymond Floyd, or as he described it "putting with loft." I find this approach to work best for me.

For long chips I might use a 4 or 5 iron, but the major factor is how far I want it to fly. The roll is controlled by the length and speed of the swing.

Never really got the hang of chipping with wedges. Basically if its more than 3 feet off the green in short grass then I go with the 6 iron as preference unless its a close pin, which gets the 7 iron or even an 8 iron with an extremely close pin.

So what is everyone's cold weather cutoff for playing? Next week looks like highs in the low 40's here in NJ, but sunny and not too windy. Debating it.

It was 35 degrees outside today when I got to the range. I would play but all the courses here are either closed for winter or have lame (but necessary) temporary greens in front of the real greens, usually with an oversized hole and a pin. For me the cutoff for having fun outside without a ski jacket on is about 25 degrees.

I played a fall round at sunrise. It was about 43 degrees out and I was fine in moderate clothing.

After hitting the range a few times in the past week I think I could have a good 2021 if I can remember to choke up 1/4 inch, keep my head down, and get lucky on the greens.

Also I scouted 4 courses in the past 24 hours with the golf logix app. Its pretty convenient and informative.

I just realized that my dream job would be reviewing awesome courses.

I refuse to play if its less than 50* out. But I live in Florida. Only exception is if I am on a golf trip.

If it’s 40, not raining and not windy, that’s fine by me. Even upper 30s isn’t bad. If the wind is blowing, upper 40s. I don’t do cold with rain if I can avoid it.

any combination of three of the following for local courses:
temps in the 30s
wind 25+
super heavy rain (like an inch in a few hours kind of rain)
really soggy course with lots of standing water and plugged drives

soggy courses are almost always a given in the Portland area this time of year and lots of rain the previous couple of days can amplify the conditions, so it really comes down to any two of the first three.

Pretty certain I wouldn't want to play below 50 or in any substantial rain. Not so sure I would like really strong wind at any temperature, but my home course supposedly will be windy during summer afternoons when I will want to be playing so there really won't be much of a choice there. But I unintentionally hit a lot of low shots, which might help for wind blowing towards me.

of course you can't post a handicap in Oregon from the first of December through the end of February, so why not just go out an play?

If it's a tournament or some kind of golf trip I'll play in just about anything that doesn't close the course. If it's just a random Saturday round with buddies I'm not playing if it's much below 60 for a high. Maybe 55 if it's a sunny day. High of 60 means it was 30-40 till around 10:00 and that's about as cold as I want to mess with. I'm spoiled and get too much good weather to be willing to play in bad conditions.

Made a few changes and have been hitting it well at the range. Actually been hitting the best long irons of my life.

A) hogans book never went in depth describing what the right thumb (for righties) does. So I started experimenting. Found that some light thumb pressure with thumb tight against first index finger knuckle feels really solid and allows nice release of power at impact.

B) I started allowing left heel to come up off the ground where it previously only rolled onto the instep slightly. Feels more like Manny Ramirez than coco crisp if u know what I mean.

If it's sunny and calm, playing in the high 30's is no problem. If it's windy it needs to be in the 50's for me. But if I was on the east coast I would need the temps higher because the higher humidity makes it feel a lot colder.

Annika, Gary, Babe, about to receive medal of freedom. Congrats.

Idk much about annika nor babe, but I have a long lasting man crush on Gary Player. I hope hes doing well.

I have a fascination with the British open and links golf in general. Controlling the roll of iron shots is an art in itself imo. We have a local course in Massachusetts called old Scotland links. The front 9 is links style and back 9 is championship course. If you can score on that course then god bless you. I birdied 2/9 on the front once. Really fun course.

But the fascination goes deeper than just fun. Its about the origin of the game. Its mystical.

I've been watching old YouTube videos of tom Watson circa 77 to 83. Wow guy had it all working.

My favorite golf moment was seeing tom finish 2nd in 2009. Just goes to show you. It really is a mind game.