The trip is still in the early phases (I don't have hotel info yet), but I will have a car. Aside from a travel day, I assume I will have 2 other full days and most half days. The GF will be with me so maybe just 1 full day.

I tried to listen to it and thought the same thing.

Maybe I just have the olds and it just isn't for me. It seemed utterly inane

https://youtu.be/rAcM-T4h-pM

I dont do podcasts and hardly watch tv. But spring 2020 got my interest in golf going for the first time in a decade, and I was always fascinated by links golf. So I ended up watching these guys. The characters are ok, but I just liked the channel for the sights and sounds. This course in particular stands out in memory just because of the sheep.

The timing of these videos on this channel makes it seem like the guys were stuck on Scotland during the first stages of outbreak. Idk what happened to them as I havent watched these in a while.

In any event, enjoy.

so much of it will depend on where you're at on the days you're committed to being somewhere. do you know enough to block out a rough day-by-day itinerary of where you'll be?

if you're only going to have 1 full day around Shannon, Lahinch is the play. if you think you can squeeze out a few other half days (understanding a round in Ireland/Scotland is typically played in 3-3.5 hours, plus travel to and from the course) you may be able to find something else close to Shannon. i've never heard of Spanish Point, but it's a local 9 holer over a century old, Coyne loved it, and it's about as close to Shannon as Lahinch.

Saw this on twitter but can't find it again to give credit. If you could have one of the following golf super powers, which would it be?

- Automatic 2-putt if on the green
- Automatic up and down if within 10 yards of the green
- Hit every fairway
- Hit every drive 300 yards
- Hit every iron perfectly pure

I think I strike "hit every fairway" and "auto 2-putt" right off the bat. My 3-putt percentage is low enough that I wouldn't gain many strokes, and same with hit every fairway. Hit every drive 300 yards is probably much more attractive to someone like me who is way, WAY below that yardage than someone who hits closer to it, and I think a lot (and post a lot about thinking a lot) about how much better I'd score if I could hit it 300 yards every time, so that one's attractive to me and would make the game more fun, whereas up and down every time is good for the score, but maybe gets boring.

strokes gained approach just seems like so much fun...would have the driving iron in the bag in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately not just yet, but hopefully soon.



I think there's a lot of daylight that time of year and I don't sleep a lot, so I'm not really worried about getting a full round in. I was more concerned with time to the course. Driving ~4 hours to get a full round in is doable on a half day, but I'm not sure I want to. I hadn't thought about just playing 9, but thanks for the suggestion!


Any course within 2 hours should be fine.

Irons imo and don’t think it’s too close

It’s either irons or the auto up and down. Given my game I almost think the latter would be more impactful. Especially if it includes bunkers.

wasn't suggesting playing 9, just found a 9 hole course that looked fun. typically you go around twice.
honestly, another option is to play Lahinch, stay in Doolin and take in the great traditional music scene at the pubs, then play Lahinch again the next day. the Cliffs of Moher are really close as well.

I like it! Thanks again, I really do appreciate it.




With regards to Porters question... I feel like irons is the correct answer although getting up an down is really tempting.

one more Doolin thought: it was 10ish years ago since we went, but the B&B we stayed in was great and hand's down the best breakfast on our two week trip. the owners have moved from the previous place and opened a new place called Sheedy's of Doolin right in the middle of town https://sheedysdoolin.com/

Auto two-putt would save me 2-4 shots per round as I seem to 3-putt at least twice per round as unfortunately sometimes 4 or 5.

Auto up-and-in would save me 5-6 shots per round. I hit right at 50% of greens in regulation and I get up and down about 1/3 of the time. Those other 6-ish getting up and in would be huge.

Hitting every fairway might yield me 1-3 shots per round. I've mostly ridded myself of penalty shots off the tee by working on the driver and using "less than" when appropriate, but the one, two or more bad drives out of play or behind a tree or in thick rough would probably add up to a few shots per round.

Hitting it 300 yards with a driver would be huge for me. As someone that averages 255-260 it would be a whole lot more wedges (best part of my game) and getting on or near the green in par-5s in 2, etc. I'd guess this might be 4-6 shots; although if I hit it 300 consistently I'd probably want to (incorrectly I'm sure) want to play the back tees.

Hitting every iron perfectly would of course be amazing; probably never make worse than par on the par-3s and pure strikes could be aimed in such a way that you'll hit a lot of greens. Hard to say how many shots but I lose a few per round for sure based on poor strikes. Maybe 3-6 improvement?

Hit every fairway I'm on the PGA tour. I'd even settle for "hit every drive within the tree line".

Putting is decent enough to get really hot/not 3 putt, my chipping is filth, my iron game is pretty solid, and I hit it hard... just get uncomfortable off the tee in pressure spots, often clubbing down.

I'd take 300 yards all day if I can have the consistency I have now where even my miss hits are not to far offline, I don't have much curvature to my ball either. I only hit 230 average and sometimes get them out there to 250-260 given the right conditions. Really should get round to get fit for some clubs so I can try out some new ones and see if there are any gains to be made. My clubs are probably like 10+ years old except the wedges.

So after replying to that, I actually went and reviewed my shotscope data,

Here is what I have for yardages

I would dis-regard the 54 and 60 yardages I never really hit full shots in if I'm within 100 yards I'd normally knock down a 48 almost always unless it need some sort so requirement to stop it quick.

Looks like I'm not getting the most out of my longer irons. Just a FYI H16 is a new club in the bag and won't have many shots with it so not reading anything into that number yet, For me it just has a stronger flight on it vs the H19 (Which is obv as the loft is 16 Degree vs 19).

1st image is all shots combined, 2nd image is approaches. I would say I'm defo the type of player to take more club and swing softly, If I try and swing hard and stuff it normally either results in a draw/pull shot I cannot control or I get a high balloon shot. These are all Performance Averages which means they take out the bad shots (Tops, Fats, Thins that fly way further).

Bit weird with the shot scope app I cannot filter it the same desktop vs Ipad app. Would be good to have more filters because I'd be interested to see data from my local course vs other courses I play. My local fairways are somewhat not cut great and I'd say are pretty soft and don't get a lot of roll (These are totals not carries).






Just a fyi none of the clubs have been fitted for me.

Just going to take a guess and say you feel really comfortable taking full swings with 7 iron and shorter and the 4-6 you would rather take an extra club and swing softer?

Yeah that's true,

I need to use irons more around my local. My local is fairly short, Like first 9 holes go something like this for me.

1st (Par 4) Driver Wedge
2nd (Par 4 Driver Wedge
3rd (Par 5) Driver Wood/Hybrid Wedge
4th (Par 3) Hybrid
5th (Par 3) PW or 9 Iron
6th (Par 4) Driver Wood/Hybrid
7th (Par 3) 48 Degree
8th (Par 4) 7 iron Wedge
9th (Par 4)I can hit anything off this tbh but most of the time it's either driver or like a 6/7 Iron and then a wedge

Probably should make this course a bit longer by using irons off the tee to practice them a bit more. Iron striking is somewhat problematic when going to other courses. I just normally always play to my strengths which is my driver and short game.

Here is a fun video. That James Hart makes his Driver look like a 7 iron with how tall he is

I thought a few of you might be interested in beta testing a golf practice app I recently created.

Dynamic Golf Practice is a digital training aid that helps golfers easily measure improvement through simple, effective practice games.

The software is designed to help solve the golf improvement prerequisite problem. In an oversimplified way, improvement requires measurement. The emotion filled driving range improv sessions that most golfers display will almost never produce actual sustained improvement. The day to day variance that exists even for golfers who practice well is so high that long term commitment becomes next to impossible.

The application is currently a prototype and I'm looking for beta testers to help find bugs and provide initial feedback on the general utility and features. The prototype features 3 practice games. The cornerstone game is called "Performance" and features a randomized list of 18 shots and targets with an even mix of tee shots and approaches. Golfers won't hit the same shot twice in a row and are virtually guaranteed to never get the same list of 18 shots more than once.

The other prototype games are slightly more straightforward. They are called "Direction" and "Contact." They both allow golfers to track their direction or ground contact outcomes with a dynamic club mix. Each game comes with it's own set of filtered charts to help identify weaknesses, track progress, and encourage long term commitment.

https://dynamicgolfpractice.com/

https://dynamicgolfpractice.com/preview

The preview link provides screenshots for those that might need to see under the hood a little more before creating an account.

When I first took up golf my longest club was 3 iron. Found a local course with zero water, wide fairways, and the longest par 4s were 400 or so from the tips. Never did hit either of those greens in regulation back then, but it made for good training. I did chip in for par once on 13th 400 yard uphill par 4 that turns back towards the clubhouse against the prevailing winds, but never a birdie putt back then.

In other news, playing sanded greens was an interesting experience. I felt like it would be incorrect to ground the putter. Until I topped one lol. Then I started grounding it. Only part that bugged me was that they were doing the punching and sanding on 3/9 greens right when I got to those approaches. Hit 2/3(greens not groundskeepers). Picked up all 3 shots and moved on to the next hole. It was actually pretty interesting playing non standard conditions. 3/9 greens hadnt been punched nor sanded. I think this is more fun than temporary greens. As all the course intended trouble remains in play.

Kevin Na just broke the news of 2+2er leatherass' death on instagram...

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXAPrQ4pc0n/

Damn RIP I remember reading his story years ago somewhere. Not sure if it was in his poker book.

what a shame.