2020 Golf Thread

Zomp

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HA! They were actually delayed again on the UPS website, however they showed up at 7pm!

They are great looking irons. Simple but elegant. We'll see how they perform this weekend but I am pleasantly surprised that a "player distance" iron is as compact as it is. If you hold them up to my cavity backs they look the exact same size.


30932

30933
 

jercra

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Those look great. That's a pretty simple looking cut-muscle shape. Are those graphite shafts on there? If so, I'm surprised to see a combination of players head and muscle-back iron shape.
 

Average Game James

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Those look great. That's a pretty simple looking cut-muscle shape. Are those graphite shafts on there? If so, I'm surprised to see a combination of players head and muscle-back iron shape.
I’d guess black PVD steel from the looks of it. Nice looking clubs. Little too much club for this 12 cap though...
 

Zomp

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Those look great. That's a pretty simple looking cut-muscle shape. Are those graphite shafts on there? If so, I'm surprised to see a combination of players head and muscle-back iron shape.

Pvd black steel. Kbs $-taper lite.

Is a “player distance” head considered a good players head shape? I don’t know. The technology in these are the same as the Cobra Forged Tec, P790, etc but again I was pleasantly surprised how good they look. You wouldn’t think these are supposed to be forgiving like the ones mentioned above.

I’m excited to try them though, and can’t recommend their customer service enough.
 

Doug Beerabelli

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IIRC, these clubs, like the other clubs Zomp mentioned, are muscleback on outside, but the "muscle" is hollow, so you get more of a permiter weighting effect. Mizuno also has a set like this, which my son uses and like a lot. A little more forgiving than pure muscleback, but you get greater control on shot shaping than the usual cavity back style.
 

Zomp

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Correct. Recently, there is a trend of irons that people are calling “player distance” irons. They look like a muscle back iron but are really slightly bigger than a cavity back. The iron is hollow and injected with foam to promote a hotter face. Supposed to give you better speed off the face and more forgiveness. Every manufacturer has a club like this now I believe. Titleist had the TMB, and now the T200. TaylorMade has P790, Mizunos I believe are JPX I think. Cobra has the forged tec.

Now a lot of these clubs promote more distance but really it’s down to lofts. For example the P790 7 iron loft is 30.5 degrees. In my old clubs that’s basically a 5 and a half iron.

The reason I went with sub 70, aside from being a gorgeous club, is the customization. I did 45 degree PW and went 4 degrees down per club. So basically they should be a half club longer than what I have now, but more forgiving. Also got a 50 degree gap wedge.

Thursday can’t come fast enough. Only problem is they’re so pretty I don’t want to hit them.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Jealous reading about these new clubs. I'm still rocking a Nike SQ Driver (1st generation) and Adams Idea hybrid iron set circa 2005-2006. And a random Cleveland 1-iron hybrid in place of a fairway wood. Was ready to really get an in-store fitting and deliberate between clubs with my $500 of credit to use at Golfers Warehouse or Worldwide Golf Shops. Then the shutdown hit, ugh.

The rounds have been all over the place my first 3 Mondays of our 9-hole golf league too. Shot a 43 after not swinging a club since September in low 40s drizzly weather, but followed up with weeks of 51 and 46 in more favorable conditions. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I am 2-time defending champion of the league so hate to change horses in mid-season, but what do you guys think about seeking replacement clubs once the in-store experience is comfortable/existent? The irons are definitely the first thing to change up, my driver is not long but I can count on around 230 and straight (that is the signature of my game and keeps the irons from submarining me). My "full" (3 & 4) and "partial" (5 & 6) hybrid irons are just not doing it distance-wise, and I ONLY hit my 3 iron consistently out of these. There's only like 50 yards of distance between my pitching wedge and 3 iron so that's not a great sign.
 

jercra

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Correct. Recently, there is a trend of irons that people are calling “player distance” irons. They look like a muscle back iron but are really slightly bigger than a cavity back. The iron is hollow and injected with foam to promote a hotter face. Supposed to give you better speed off the face and more forgiveness. Every manufacturer has a club like this now I believe. Titleist had the TMB, and now the T200. TaylorMade has P790, Mizunos I believe are JPX I think. Cobra has the forged tec.
Ah, right. This is what Titliest sued PXG over and it was PXG's claim to fame when they came out. Yours are the best-looking implementation of that I've seen.

I am 2-time defending champion of the league so hate to change horses in mid-season, but what do you guys think about seeking replacement clubs once the in-store experience is comfortable/existent?
No need to wait. Club fitters should be able to work 1 on 1 with you now. My brother just did a full bag fitting on Saturday (albeit in Co, not Ma).
 

jercra

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I just ordered a wedge and a hybrid from Sub 70. I've some on order with Hogan (my usual wedges) but they seem unable to actually fulfill orders or update status or even send a note saying they'll be delayed so I canceled and will try the Sub 70. There's nothing to lose with their return policy and I currently don't have a hybrid and am playing an old wedge after breaking my 60. Plus, I'm a sucker for all of the small producers (Bombtech, Hogan and now Sub70 will all be in my bag).
 

thestardawg

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I played my first round of the year today and played terrible but that’s not what I took from my round. I played at kettle
Brook in Paxton a course I love and have played for many years.

80% of th e golfers were disabled. For 4 hours. That was the amount of people who claimed to be disabled and used carts. There was a foursome
In front of us of guys in their late 20s and early 30s playing from the tips and using carts. I suppose some of those folks could be disabled but I really don’t think so

Now the club can’t do anything about this right? When I went to pay they asked me if I wanted a cart and even suggested we use one

Also the practice green was open tee times were 10 minutes apart and the snack shack was open. Basically the only thing they had done in accordance with the states order was remove the ball washers

My club is in chapter 11 bankruptcy so I figured I’d be playing kettle brook quite a bit but I assume the way they are flaunting the rules they will be shut down by Memorial Day.

I hope everyone else is having a different experience
 
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TFP

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I’ve played Juniper, Wachusett, Highfields, and a private club today that I’ll leave nameless. I’ve walked every time, legitimately kept social distance, worn a mask until I’ve gotten on the course, and not touched anything on the course.

The worst offender of the rules by far was the private course. Pro shop was open, carts being used by people whose only handicap is 18, 2 people in a cart, ball washers still out, practice green and range open, people hanging out in the parking lot. It was jarring and uncomfortable.

The 3 public courses all completely followed the rules as far as I could tell. Some even have 18 min tee times because it was easier to block off every other 9 min one than reconfigure their tee time system.

It makes me angry. Golf is literally a sport than can be played safely with minimal sacrifice and people or courses aren’t even willing to do that. I don’t fucking get it. Follow the goddamn rules they’re not that restrictive. All of my arguments about golf being safe fall apart when people don’t fucking get it.
 

jercra

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I’ve played Juniper, Wachusett, Highfields, and a private club today that I’ll leave nameless. I’ve walked every time, legitimately kept social distance, worn a mask until I’ve gotten on the course, and not touched anything on the course.

The worst offender of the rules by far was the private course. Pro shop was open, carts being used by people whose only handicap is 18, 2 people in a cart, ball washers still out, practice green and range open, people hanging out in the parking lot. It was jarring and uncomfortable.

The 3 public courses all completely followed the rules as far as I could tell. Some even have 18 min tee times because it was easier to block off every other 9 min one than reconfigure their tee time system.

It makes me angry. Golf is literally a sport than can be played safely with minimal sacrifice and people or courses aren’t even willing to do that. I don’t fucking get it. Follow the goddamn rules they’re not that restrictive. All of my arguments about golf being safe fall apart when people don’t fucking get it.
Yikes. That sounds bad. I've only played one private course a few weeks ago and didn't see any of that but it's not a fancy course at all so maybe the entitlement level was lower. All of the public courses (and I've been play 3-4 days a week) have been very much within the rules so hopefully you're just seeing some real outliers. Maybe it helped that here carts were totally banned for at least the first few weeks of courses being open and have been strictly 1 person per cart since then unless you can prove you live together.
 

Comfortably Lomb

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I'm seeing everyone taking things seriously at my course (5 rounds in since the reopen). Seems to be mostly families out there since we're not allowing guests. Carts only with a doctor's note may be keeping some members away too.
 

steveluck7

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Not sure about MA but RI has now begun allowing carts (1 player per cart, unless you live together) again this week. Also, a few courses that I’m on the email list for have opened up practice greens with limitations (no more than 5 players using at a time, observing social distancing).
still no bunker rakes and the cups are still modified.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Yeah, at Andover, they are following the rules to a tee (pardon the pun). No carts without a doctor's note, no pro shop, no bar, no outside seating. Tee times are 15 minutes apart, and you can't show up until 15 minutes before your tee time and you have to leave the premises immediately after the round. No practice greens, no rakes, no ball washers, raised cups, etc.

I will say though the cart thing is wrong, IMO. When you have 4 people walking, they will invariably end up near each other as they walk off the green to the next tee box. We've got a number of bridges between holes, and it's WAY harder to socially distance when walking than with carts, IMO. I see nothing wrong with having single person carts, and we're all hoping they'll allow it by next week. I have asthma, so walking is really fucking hard (not to mention not being in very good shape) and i don't really have a doctor I know that I can call to write a note.

I probably would have played a couple more rounds this past week if I could have used a cart, but I can't do back to back days walking and carrying a bag (we don't have pull carts there, and they appear to be sold out everywhere unless you want to pay about 10x's the normal price for one), and I know a bunch of members that won't return until they can ride.
 

thestardawg

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I don't believe clubs can technically ask for a doctor's note. Under the disability law all you are required to do is sign a waiver. I think the cart rule should be adjusted but I do resent the fact that people are lying in order to drive. Kind of mirrors everything else that is going on.
 

Doug Beerabelli

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You MA peeps are a month plus behind the “getting the kinks out” stage. Give it some time. Good to hear most courses are doing complying with the rules. It could be good if signs were put up in parking lots and throughout the course too. I’m surprised about 2 per cart being allowed - we are still 1 to power cart in CT (I’ve walked with push cart all year, and will continue to do so).

And in the big picture, getting within 6 feet of another player a couple times outdoors over the course of 2 plus hours is still pretty low risk. A person walking on a trail on a crowded town or state park will have that happen much more often. Unless there’s rampant violations of the 6 feet rule, or a few people are confirmed to get the disease while playing golf, I’d think MA wouldn’t issue a govt order to shut down all courses again. Might be a different story for individual towns with regard to municipal courses. The parking lot crowding is more of a concern, but that can be policed. That problem did get a muni shut down by a town in CT about a month ago.
 

ezemerson

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Played in NH yesterday (they opened on Monday) and like it was mentioned above, everyone seemed to be following the rules to a T (this is a public course). Club house only open for bathroom access, someone washing and sanitizing the carts, no rakes, pool noodles in the cups (but low enough where the ball could still go over the lip), no scorecards, if you lived together you could share carts but i was in a 4some and we all got individual carts - played in exactly 4 hours - tee times were 12 minutes apart i believe and despite the course being packed, never had a backup or people crawling up behind you. It was great to be able to play ready golf and not have to wait or worried about people hitting into you. Good looking drink cart didnt hurt either
 

Deathofthebambino

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Just spoke to our club pro, and apparently, as long as I sign a certification saying i have a pre-existing condition like asthma (although I don't need to tell them why) that necessitates a cart, I can use one. Who has two thumbs and is fucking psyched right now? THIS GUY!!!!!
 

FL4WL3SS

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My course has been following the rules and going above and beyond what has been asked. The membership has all bought in and everyone is going their part. I've played at two other places in the past month with similar results. There will always be a few bad apples, but I think the majority are following the rules.

The club has let our match play brackets (minus the team bracket) kick off, which has been awesome. I got to play my first match yesterday. It was fun being able to get some competitive golf in during this.
 

Doug Beerabelli

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My course has been following the rules and going above and beyond what has been asked. The membership has all bought in and everyone is going their part. I've played at two other places in the past month with similar results. There will always be a few bad apples, but I think the majority are following the rules.

The club has let our match play brackets (minus the team bracket) kick off, which has been awesome. I got to play my first match yesterday. It was fun being able to get some competitive golf in during this.
We've had tournaments since early May, plus the ladder and match play stuff. I'd say our club has done a great job of following the rules, as well as contantly reminding members to follow them via signs and email blasts. Spring M/M on track to be played early June. No shotgun starts, all tee times, one person per power cart. Parking lot we have to leave every other spot open. No indoor group luncheons or pregame continental breakfast indoors, as clubhouse still closed except for two bathrooms that border on outside walls with doors, although this may change a bit post May 20 partial reopening in CT. We get a boxed lunch upon round completion, and someone with gloves and mask hands out waters/soda/canned beer off the outside deck at the turn.

I prefer this model in many ways, as I socially distanced myself as much as possible from the "regulars" at the club in normal times - LOL.
 

cshea

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Got my first round in this morning. So awesome being back out on the course. Hit it well too considering I hadn’t hit a ball since last October.

The 15 minute spacing is pretty damn awesome too. Never saw the groups in front or behind us.
 

Light-Tower-Power

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Is there anything better than waking up early and starting the weekend off with a round? Played pretty damn well for it being my second time out. Front 9 was a little rocky but shot a 45 on the back 9 with 5 pars. Too bad two of the holes blew up on me a little. Found my driver swing on the 8th hole after like a year and half of it being lost and pounded a bunch of drives in the fairway on the back. Lots of good things to hopefully build on.
 

cshea

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Is there anything better than waking up early and starting the weekend off with a round? Played pretty damn well for it being my second time out. Front 9 was a little rocky but shot a 45 on the back 9 with 5 pars. Too bad two of the holes blew up on me a little. Found my driver swing on the 8th hole after like a year and half of it being lost and pounded a bunch of drives in the fairway on the back. Lots of good things to hopefully build on.
Played at 6:30 am today after a round yesterday morning. Nothing better.

Spraying the driver, which is typical for me, but surprisingly hitting it OK despite not hitting a ball for so long. Also went to the claw type putting grip with pretty good results so far. Helps me keep my stroke on plane better than a traditional grip.
 

cshea

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Also- Has DeChambeau or someone come up with some kind or radius for how far a ball can bounced off the raised cup to be considered not holed?
 

PedroSpecialK

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Played at Brookmeadow, Cyprian, and Waverly this week - for the most part, social distancing / cart restrictions / tee time spacing was respected throughout, barring a couple instances:
  • The guys behind us at Waverly teeing off before we got to the first green (sent off early presumably by the starter that barely had his mask hanging off his chin)
  • A shitload of younger, healthy-looking people driving carts at Cyprian
The first two rounds were all about getting some fitness and putting touch back, 85 and 84 respectively - Cyprian walking in particular kicked my ass, I also didn't bring adequate water for a hilly course + warm day. The added reps paid off, tied a PR with a 77 at Waverly yesterday - the shape of these courses given the cold start to the year has been a nice surprise, Brookmeadow in particular has finally finished up some of the changes they'd been working on for what seemed like a few years.

The biggest challenge now is gonna be figuring out how to adequately provision hooky days into this as the weather improves / make up hours on nights and weekends...
 

terrynever

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I played nine holes all by myself at Rehoboth C.C. on Friday. One of my golf traditions over the past 55 years has been to play solo when the home course is almost empty. All by himself. Nobody behind you. Enough time to hit a few extra chips and putts, Reload when a drive reaches the woods.
The sad thing is seeing working class public courses like Rehoboth struggle to make ends meet. Restaurant and bar remain closed. So much lost revenue!
 

Doug Beerabelli

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Played at Brookmeadow, Cyprian, and Waverly this week - for the most part, social distancing / cart restrictions / tee time spacing was respected throughout, barring a couple instances:
  • The guys behind us at Waverly teeing off before we got to the first green (sent off early presumably by the starter that barely had his mask hanging off his chin)
  • A shitload of younger, healthy-looking people driving carts at Cyprian
The first two rounds were all about getting some fitness and putting touch back, 85 and 84 respectively - Cyprian walking in particular kicked my ass, I also didn't bring adequate water for a hilly course + warm day. The added reps paid off, tied a PR with a 77 at Waverly yesterday - the shape of these courses given the cold start to the year has been a nice surprise, Brookmeadow in particular has finally finished up some of the changes they'd been working on for what seemed like a few years.

The biggest challenge now is gonna be figuring out how to adequately provision hooky days into this as the weather improves / make up hours on nights and weekends...
Awesome you got out there. Was there a shortage of carts for those who needed them? If not, it’s a good thing the carts were being used, thus generating more revenue for a hard hit business.
 

Deathofthebambino

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I played Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Inconsistency is the name of the game right now. My God, yesterday I made 3 birdies and 3 pars, and still shot 90. It comes and it goes, but I did finish par, par, birdie, which was nice. Something to build on, planning to play Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday this weekend.

I am now using a cart and frankly, everyone should be, IMO. All you have to do now is sign a waiver. With 15 minute tee times, and one person to a cart, I found it way easier to socially distance than everyone walking to the same places at the same time. The part that is aggravating is that you can't even use the same cart if you live in the same household with someone. Husbands and wives are driving together to the course, and then have to take separate carts. This would be fine, if not preferable, if I was talking about my wife, but in order to play with my 12 year old son, he would have to walk, while I rode, or we both need to walk, and that's just absurd.
 

PedroSpecialK

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I don't believe there was any shortage to be fair (Cyprian's got a ton of carts in their warehouse) - and it may be my ignorance showing, but I was under the impression that carts were specifically to be used for those who require them / have a medical condition.

If it's as easy as signing a waiver now then disregard :)
 

Doug Beerabelli

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I played Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Inconsistency is the name of the game right now. My God, yesterday I made 3 birdies and 3 pars, and still shot 90. It comes and it goes, but I did finish par, par, birdie, which was nice. Something to build on, planning to play Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday this weekend.

I am now using a cart and frankly, everyone should be, IMO. All you have to do now is sign a waiver. With 15 minute tee times, and one person to a cart, I found it way easier to socially distance than everyone walking to the same places at the same time. The part that is aggravating is that you can't even use the same cart if you live in the same household with someone. Husbands and wives are driving together to the course, and then have to take separate carts. This would be fine, if not preferable, if I was talking about my wife, but in order to play with my 12 year old son, he would have to walk, while I rode, or we both need to walk, and that's just absurd.
In CT, we can share carts with family members, including kids who aren't permitted to drive cart because of not having a driver's license yet. Our main family unit always walks, so not an issue. Did have a slight break in protocol yesterday. My brother played with our group, and took a cart. My 14 year old son LEFT HIS GOLF SHOES AT HOME, and was barefoot in the car until we were 2/3s of the way to the club (15-20 minute ride) when he realized he forgot them. To his credit, he had socks. He borrowed my shoes, but it wasn't a great fit for walking (I'm like 9.5 wide, he's 11 regular), so after one hole, I let him ride the cart with his uncle.

Pedro - normal circumstances anyone can use a cart. It actually makes a lot of sense from a quality of play standpoint, even for fully healthy people, if you're playing in a multi-day tournament, on a hot day, with guests in a member/guest tournament, play a course with long distances between holes like in much of ths South, or rainy weather (cart will keep you and your clubs more dry). Also to easily carry drinks. I make it a point to walk as much as possible, because I need the steps more than maximizing my usually horrible results. But YMMV.
 

Comfortably Lomb

Koko the Monkey
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Feb 22, 2004
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I'm not a big fan of carts unless it's hot outside, let's say starting in the 80s, or if the course is super spread out and not really geared toward walking. I find I pay more attention when walking. Glad they're available again though. My dad's legs are toast and I was able to get on the course with him over the weekend since he got his doctor's note.

Anyway, my course got new carts this year. They have yardage GPS screens (neat!) and apparently stop working if you don't stay on cart paths near greens and tees. Fail that and you have to back up to the proper area as some sort of awesome punishment for abusing the course. Watching a bunch of old guys complain because they didn't stay on the cart path was actually kind of fun.

Also, I hate Cyprian.
 

kelpapa

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I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the optishot 2. I did a search and saw a few posts on this, but none in the last year. I have two young kids, and I don't golf much any more - I go about 5-7 times a year for work, but not much outside of that, and have yet to golf this year. I need more reps, and I imagine it'll be fun to play with my family and friends. It's going in the garage. Anything else I need to be aware of?

I have never hit off one before, and it sounds like it can be a little iffy with certain clubs/mat set ups. I guess lighting is important, and something we need to play around with. The reviews I saw on chipping and putting weren't great.

I'm trying to stay under $1,000 at least initially, and I have a mat, optishot, screen and projector for about $900 plus tax. Unsure if I'm mounting the projector or just from the floor. I think the floor would probably be fine.

@Doug Beerabelli did you end up going through with this?
 
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TFP

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I'm not a big fan of carts unless it's hot outside, let's say starting in the 80s, or if the course is super spread out and not really geared toward walking. I find I pay more attention when walking.
So my Bandon trip followed by this spring's forced walking has turned me into a huge walking fan now. I thoroughly enjoy the course more, I get to actually see the whole hole regardless of where I hit it, and I appreciate everything that much more. It's also much more calming and mentally relaxing in between shots, plus the exercise bonus is a huge plus too. Even when the restrictions ease I'm going to walk a majority of the time going forward.

My spring has been marred by a now severe mental block with tee shots. I dunno how it started, but I literally can't get off the tee now. I'm hitting chunk pops, tops, pulls, pushes, slices, everything. I've tried every club in the bag and it's awful with all of them, but those clubs I then hit fine from the fairway/approach shots. It's borderline ruining golf for me, since it ruins the hole before you can even play it. And of course I don't have a range to work it out on, which is all I really need.

Good news is that I've gotten my legacy membership at Pinehurst approved, driving down there later this week to spend a week+ at my gf's mom's house and play as much golf as possible to figure it out. I plan to walk every round I can too, hopefully I can drop some lbs down there as an added bonus.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Apr 12, 2005
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I don't believe there was any shortage to be fair (Cyprian's got a ton of carts in their warehouse) - and it may be my ignorance showing, but I was under the impression that carts were specifically to be used for those who require them / have a medical condition.

If it's as easy as signing a waiver now then disregard :)
This is true, technically you aren't supposed to have a cart unless you have a medical condition. I have asthma, which makes walking brutal, not to mention I'm completely out of shape, but that's irrelevant. The Club can't ask you what your medical condition is, because of HIPPA (not sure if that's the right acronym spelling) and they can't deny it to you due to the American's with Disability Act. At first, they were requiring members to write a letter certifying they have a medical condition, and signing a waiver, but now it's just the waiver. One of my buddies told the pro his medical condition was erectile dysfunction. The pro just laughed and told him to get a cart.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Apr 12, 2005
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I'm not a big fan of carts unless it's hot outside, let's say starting in the 80s, or if the course is super spread out and not really geared toward walking. I find I pay more attention when walking. Glad they're available again though. My dad's legs are toast and I was able to get on the course with him over the weekend since he got his doctor's note.

Anyway, my course got new carts this year. They have yardage GPS screens (neat!) and apparently stop working if you don't stay on cart paths near greens and tees. Fail that and you have to back up to the proper area as some sort of awesome punishment for abusing the course. Watching a bunch of old guys complain because they didn't stay on the cart path was actually kind of fun.

Also, I hate Cyprian.
Yeah, we got new carts this year too, with GPS for the first time. The best part about them, besides the fact the cushions aren't completely beaten down from 40 years of fat asses sitting on them, is they have bluetooth, and multiple USB ports, so now you can connect your phone to the cart, and play music right through the speakers on the cart. They don't have the thing that turns the carts off when you get off track (although I've played many courses that do) or at least, they aren't turned on yet, but it's always funny when people do that and realize they have to reverse to get out of that spot, and the reverse moves at about .00000005 mph. In Austin last year, my buddies got out and pushed the cart as that was faster.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Apr 12, 2005
41,946
I'm not a big fan of carts unless it's hot outside, let's say starting in the 80s, or if the course is super spread out and not really geared toward walking. I find I pay more attention when walking. Glad they're available again though. My dad's legs are toast and I was able to get on the course with him over the weekend since he got his doctor's note.

Anyway, my course got new carts this year. They have yardage GPS screens (neat!) and apparently stop working if you don't stay on cart paths near greens and tees. Fail that and you have to back up to the proper area as some sort of awesome punishment for abusing the course. Watching a bunch of old guys complain because they didn't stay on the cart path was actually kind of fun.

Also, I hate Cyprian.
During normal times, you aren't even allowed to walk our course before noon. Every group in the morning is expected to play in under 3.5 hours. Period. And if you stick a group of walkers out there in the middle of them, it'll slow up the whole course. That's why I never got into it. When I've gone on the road and had a choice between riding or walking with a caddy, I'll take the caddy every time. But I ain't fucking carrying my bag. No sir. I could barely walk for 3 days after last weekend.
 

Doug Beerabelli

Killer Threads
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the optishot 2. I did a search and saw a few posts on this, but none in the last year. I have two young kids, and I don't golf much any more - I go about 5-7 times a year for work, but not much outside of that, and have yet to golf this year. I need more reps, and I imagine it'll be fun to play with my family and friends. It's going in the garage. Anything else I need to be aware of?

I have never hit off one before, and it sounds like it can be a little iffy with certain clubs/mat set ups. I guess lighting is important, and something we need to play around with. The reviews I saw on chipping and putting weren't great.

I'm trying to stay under $1,000 at least initially, and I have a mat, optishot, screen and projector for about $900 plus tax. Unsure if I'm mounting the projector or just from the floor. I think the floor would probably be fine.

@Doug Beerabelli did you end up going through with this?
I did not go through with it. Got waylaid by figuring out where to put it. Room in the house I wanted is right on edge of minimal dimensions. I have a garage bay, but we use it for auto right now. Most viable option would be to do an addition (one that made sense from a value add and functionality standpoint), and wife doesn’t hate that idea, but lots of inertia. Also, we have a good outdoor range facility that updated to Top Tracer, and it’s open year round weather permitting. About 15 minute drive. We hit that weekly in Jan/Feb. Ergo, project lost momentum.
 

kelpapa

Costanza's Hero
SoSH Member
Feb 15, 2010
4,637
I did not go through with it. Got waylaid by figuring out where to put it. Room in the house I wanted is right on edge of minimal dimensions. I have a garage bay, but we use it for auto right now. Most viable option would be to do an addition (one that made sense from a value add and functionality standpoint), and wife doesn’t hate that idea, but lots of inertia. Also, we have a good outdoor range facility that updated to Top Tracer, and it’s open year round weather permitting. About 15 minute drive. We hit that weekly in Jan/Feb. Ergo, project lost momentum.
Damn. Was hoping for some input.

I bought a 6'x8' white canvas. I'm not sure if PVC will be solid enough to hang it. Might have to figure something else out there.. I am hoping a $200 projector will work since the quality doesn't need to be that great. I saw somewhere that 2,000+ lumens should work. My biggest issue might be having space for my left-handed brother when he plays.
 

jercra

No longer respects DeChambeau
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
3,147
Arvada, Co
I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the optishot 2. I did a search and saw a few posts on this, but none in the last year. I have two young kids, and I don't golf much any more - I go about 5-7 times a year for work, but not much outside of that, and have yet to golf this year. I need more reps, and I imagine it'll be fun to play with my family and friends. It's going in the garage. Anything else I need to be aware of?

I have never hit off one before, and it sounds like it can be a little iffy with certain clubs/mat set ups. I guess lighting is important, and something we need to play around with. The reviews I saw on chipping and putting weren't great.

I'm trying to stay under $1,000 at least initially, and I have a mat, optishot, screen and projector for about $900 plus tax. Unsure if I'm mounting the projector or just from the floor. I think the floor would probably be fine.

@Doug Beerabelli did you end up going through with this?
Get the mevo+ instead. It's outside your budget (ok, it's $2k on its own) but it's in the same league as a Trackman. You can can also count on me keeping your garage secure all winter.
 

kelpapa

Costanza's Hero
SoSH Member
Feb 15, 2010
4,637
Get the mevo+ instead. It's outside your budget (ok, it's $2k on its own) but it's in the same league as a Trackman. You can can also count on me keeping your garage secure all winter.
Unfortunately, I can't justify that right now.
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
SoSH Member
Jan 1, 2009
13,154
Carmine's closet
Shot an 88 today and lost at least four balls. Can't figure out what's going wrong w my driver. It feels like my hands aren't turning over. The good news is it can't be worse so making changes is a free roll
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
SoSH Member
Jan 1, 2009
13,154
Carmine's closet
I'm not a big fan of carts unless it's hot outside, let's say starting in the 80s, or if the course is super spread out and not really geared toward walking. I find I pay more attention when walking. Glad they're available again though. My dad's legs are toast and I was able to get on the course with him over the weekend since he got his doctor's note.

Anyway, my course got new carts this year. They have yardage GPS screens (neat!) and apparently stop working if you don't stay on cart paths near greens and tees. Fail that and you have to back up to the proper area as some sort of awesome punishment for abusing the course. Watching a bunch of old guys complain because they didn't stay on the cart path was actually kind of fun.

Also, I hate Cyprian.
You're going to hate when they fuck up. I had to push my buddies cart cuz it just decided it was on the green when it was on the cart path

Get the mevo+ instead. It's outside your budget (ok, it's $2k on its own) but it's in the same league as a Trackman. You can can also count on me keeping your garage secure all winter.
You have one?
 

kelpapa

Costanza's Hero
SoSH Member
Feb 15, 2010
4,637
Not yet. I will once I can talk myself into spending $2k or, better yet, talk @kelpapa into buying one.
A quick googling tells me the mevo+ actually tracks ball data as well as club data, which the optishot obviously only tracks club data. I think it'll be fine for me right now. If in a few years I'm still using this regularly, I should be able to swap out the mevo+. Plus, making solid contact on every shot is an added benefit.

I have to get some clubs for my son and clean out the garage. This is going to be here Friday. Can't wait, even if the first night all I'm doing is hitting it against the wall while I wait for my projector to come. I found a refurbished one for $60 that should be able to work.
 

Comfortably Lomb

Koko the Monkey
SoSH Member
Feb 22, 2004
12,958
The Paris of the 80s
You're going to hate when they fuck up. I had to push my buddies cart cuz it just decided it was on the green when it was on the cart path
My dad managed to Austin Powers his cart over the weekend. Drove on the wrong side of the tee box (the side without the cart path), got stopped by the GPS, then backed up with his tail to a ridge falling into a pond. Carts are really heavy. Especially when you need to push them uphill. He was pretty good about stay on the paths after that one.
 

Riconway3155

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
775
Ma
Fill me in on this. Carts have GPS that only lets them go into certain areas? So if you roam off the cart path it auto stops?

I have honestly never heard of this before. Is the reasoning that the carts were ruining the course?
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,089
Tuukka's refugee camp
Correct. I've seen it happen on more "dangerous" areas like hills and the like (that sometimes make it more dangerous as your cart stops sideways in the middle of hill).
 

jercra

No longer respects DeChambeau
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
3,147
Arvada, Co
Fill me in on this. Carts have GPS that only lets them go into certain areas? So if you roam off the cart path it auto stops?

I have honestly never heard of this before. Is the reasoning that the carts were ruining the course?
It's called geofencing and it's super annoying. It's implemented 20 different ways and some are worse than others. The most annoying disable the cart completely while playing a loud beeping. None of them tell you how to recover from the mistake.

Carts have always been restricted to certain areas (not on greens, or in bunkers or on tees) but now it's enforcable by technology, not just rangers.

On the plus side, they provide easy yardages, shared scorecards, pace of play tracking/warnings and the ability to see where other carts are on the course for blind shots.