That’ll be a fucking blast. I’m a new full season member at Marlborough CC this year and my buddy at The Governors Club in Nashville has invited me as his guest so I’m returning the favor at my club. I’m irrationally excited for both of those weekends.
2018 Golf Thread
- Thread starter jercra
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I have to find out when my clubs member guest is. If anyone is local to SE MA and wants to swap member guests I’d be open to that.
Shot an 83 first time out. Greens are so fuzzy it was hard to make any putts, but man it felt great to be out there. Easily the best opening score I’ve ever had.
Shot an 83 first time out. Greens are so fuzzy it was hard to make any putts, but man it felt great to be out there. Easily the best opening score I’ve ever had.
I’m annoyed because I planned on an hour of chipping later. But it’s non consequential to any later in week/weekend rounds.
Anyone mess with AimPoint Express putting? Looks interesting and there’s a local instructor who does a two hour clinic for $200.
Anyone mess with AimPoint Express putting? Looks interesting and there’s a local instructor who does a two hour clinic for $200.
So I guess I shouldn't complain about shitty my game is right now despite playing Friday, Saturday, Sunday and later again today? It sure is total shit, but I guess that's a good problem to have for the NE contingent here.
Well they’re saying maybe more snow on Friday and it’s gonna be real cold all weekend (but maybe playable). It’s not looking promising at this point. Plus, this goes past logic, I’m just sick of this shit and want to get out on the course.
While I appreciate you lending your expertise...this is even more depressing.
Hey I love playing in the cold, but it's more enjoyable in the fall than in spring when it should be warmer.
I played an early April round last year and it was about 45 degrees with a driving mist. Just desperate to get out there but I'll never do that again...probably...
My worst round ever was a few years ago at Newport National on Masters Friday. It was probably 35 and raining when we teed off, by the 5th hole my hands were purple and frozen solid. And I had forgotten my rain gloves. It was the closest I’ve ever come to just leaving a course mid-round. Thankfully it warmed up for the back 9 and I thawed out.
I can definitely deal with the cold, but the cold rain sucks. I’m hoping to get out Friday AM this weekend, fingers crossed it cooperates.
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I played in early November a few years ago and had a similar experience except instead of rain, it was sleet. We came close to bailing but stuck it out.
I'm watching the weather like a hawk this week (even going so far as to venture in americanwx forums) because we are supposed to play on Saturday afternoon
I wonder what @ConigliarosPotential thinks of your moaning about golfing in the cold rain. I think 45 and misty is a nice summer day in Scotland. As a 10 year vet of golfing in Portland, Or. I can attest that you @southshoresoxfan is right and you need to toughen up and dress right. If you don't golf in the cold rain in Portland, you don't golf for 80% of the year. Cold? Fine, dress right. Wet? Fine, dress right. It's not that bad if you have rain gear, wear layers, carry hand warmers and, most importantly, a flask of whiskey or brandy.
Well sure, I thought I was pretty clear I forgot my warm weather gloves, which was stupid. It was also 35 and raining, not 45 and misty. I can deal with most weather, except when my hands get very wet and cold. That's pretty impossible for me to overcome, maybe because I'm a wimp, but so be it.
If I lived in Scotland or Portland, I'd have more appropriate attire and be more used to it. Since I live here, I have cold gear and warm gloves, but not rain stuff. I now just ordered rain gloves though, in case Friday gets a little soggy. But there's maybe 2-3 rounds a year where I get caught out in the rain out there, so it's not a high priority.
That was definitely more you than me. I would have kept playing (but didn't care that we quit after 12 - the round was free for me), but I didn't want to play by myself while you were in the cart watching. Plus we caught up to a slow group.
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It was @Light-Tower-Power who said 45 and misty. I chose that one on purpose 
I've played Bandon in 35, sleet and howling wind more than once and it's always unpleasant. I've not finished a round, but I'm geared up to the tits when I'm there.
Anyone who's willing to play in unpleasant weather should do themselves a favor and buy a big ol' box of hot hands (or whatever) and keep 6 in your bag at all times. They weigh almost nothing and they are invaluable in a round when it gets cold late or starts cold early. Having warm hands makes all the difference in the world to a pleasant round vs. a miserable round. Rain gloves, while great for grip, make cold hands even worse. They're cheap, easy and don't go bad for a really long time.
I've played Bandon in 35, sleet and howling wind more than once and it's always unpleasant. I've not finished a round, but I'm geared up to the tits when I'm there. Anyone who's willing to play in unpleasant weather should do themselves a favor and buy a big ol' box of hot hands (or whatever) and keep 6 in your bag at all times. They weigh almost nothing and they are invaluable in a round when it gets cold late or starts cold early. Having warm hands makes all the difference in the world to a pleasant round vs. a miserable round. Rain gloves, while great for grip, make cold hands even worse. They're cheap, easy and don't go bad for a really long time.
Those footjoy soft gloves are great when it’s a little chilly to start a round. But yeah, hand warmers are where it’s at.
Soon we’ll all be bitching that it’s scorching hot and humid. I’ll take the 40s and 50s all day
Soon we’ll all be bitching that it’s scorching hot and humid. I’ll take the 40s and 50s all day
The footjoy wet gloves are freakin amazing, I’m not sure if you mean those or the wintersof. First time I wore the rain ones, I was playing Golf Pride wraps and my buddy told me ‘wipe them on the roof of the cart if you want them to work’. I looked at him like he was crazy, then was stunned that they actually need to be wet to work properly.
I mean if I was playing Bandon I'd be out there no matter what. Some average track in CT? Not so much.
I have the winter ones already (they’re not bad), just ordered the rain ones today. I’ve heard the same thing about the rain ones, which is encouraging.
You made it through the whole winter in Seattle without rain gear? Even when it's not raining you need rain pants to keep the mud and muck off of your actual pants. If you are looking to gear up for next winter though, Columbia and Mountain Hardware are my favorite rain gear. If I head to Portland again before I come to Seattle in June I can get into the employee store and get gear at 50% off. I'll let you know.
Please do.
I didn't play from October through February, so it was easy! I've just been playing on sporadic non-rain days since then and practicing in the covered range when it's raining. I'm pretty resourceful when it comes to avoiding playing in rain.
I didn't play from October through February, so it was easy! I've just been playing on sporadic non-rain days since then and practicing in the covered range when it's raining. I'm pretty resourceful when it comes to avoiding playing in rain.
I don't enjoy playing golf in cold rain, and I wouldn't encourage anyone to try to enjoy it. But I am getting soft in my old age.
I do have my first full round of the year booked for Wednesday morning, mind you, likely in rain with the temperature around 50. What better way to prepare for the Masters than playing an Alister MacKenzie course the day of the Par 3 tournament?
Details and maybe a few pics to come...
I’m in the market for new shoes this year. I’ll be walking the bulk of my rounds on a flat ish course. Anything I should b eyeing?
Whatever you do, don't go cheap. If you're walking a lot, pay the money for a good pair.
I've walked up to 50+ rounds in a year and if you don't have a quality pair of shoes, you'll be wishing you did.
I also think it's personal preference. I'm not a big fan of FootJoy because of the way they fit my foot and usually buy the premium addidas shoe every year, but all my friends swear by the FootJoy DNA.
Although I say that and I'm currently sporting a pair of FootJoy spikeless that I bought last year when I forgot my shoes and had to buy some at the clubhouse. They're pretty comfy, but falling apart already after maybe 20 rounds.
Where are you playing?I don't enjoy playing golf in cold rain, and I wouldn't encourage anyone to try to enjoy it. But I am getting soft in my old age.
I do have my first full round of the year booked for Wednesday morning, mind you, likely in rain with the temperature around 50. What better way to prepare for the Masters than playing an Alister MacKenzie course the day of the Par 3 tournament?
I’ve started doing a ton of research on Scotland golf in preparation for a trip...in 4 years. I’m soaking it all up though and trying to learn as much as I can.
I'm actually down in Leeds, in Yorkshire, doing my ice hockey commentary job, so with the morning off tomorrow I'm playing at Alwoodley. In fact, I've now booked a separate tee time on Friday at Moortown, another MacKenzie course almost literally across the road from Alwoodley which hosted one of the first Ryder Cups. By consensus these are the second and third best courses in Yorkshire behind Ganton, the recent Walker Cup venue and a really delightful course I've played three times now (twice in competition), so I'm pretty excited even though I expect to suck pretty badly.
Incidentally, re: coming to Scotland, if you or anyone else have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. And by all means I'd very happily host any SoSHer at Dunbar, if you fancy a game on a very pleasant and scenic links and Open Qualifying venue.
I will definitely take you up on the advice. It’s a 40th birthday trip for me and my buddies that we’ve had on the books for a while now. Not sure you want to host 8-12 of us ruffians at your course but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
One general piece of Scottish trip advice I can give you and anyone else thinking about coming to Scotland: don't try to travel too much. Or rather, you're better off basing yourself in one location for at least 3-4 days at a time before moving on, if indeed you then move on at all. The worst thing I did in my one big two-week blowout trip around Scotland was to have us stay in different B&Bs in different towns almost every night, which made everything unnecessarily exhausting. Far better to pick a few central points like St. Andrews (from where you can get to anywhere in Fife and even Carnoustie quite easily), North Berwick (for Muirfield/Gullane et al.), Troon (for Prestwick/Turnberry et al.), Aberdeen (Royal Aberdeen/Cruden Bay et al.), Inverness (Dornoch/Castle Stuart/Nairn et al.), even Machrihanish (Machrihanish/Machrihanish Dunes/Machrie/Dunaverty) and enjoy the heck out of them. And don't just stick to the big name courses, either - some of the best experiences you'll have may come at second-tier courses you've never heard of, not least because there may be fewer tourists there and your experience may seem more authentic, and the golf will likely be unexpectedly good as well.
That's exactly my plan based on the research I've done. Obviously it's still far out and the length of the trip is TBD, but I was thinking 10ish days split between St Andrews and Inverness (hopefully being able to use the Inverness airport for one leg of the trip). If we expand to 2 weeks, would probably throw Aberdeen/Northeast Coast into the mix on the way between the two. Hiring a luxury van to do all transportation, and setting up shop in each area to allow us to explore and not be on a regimented schedule would be ideal.
For St. Andrews, obviously I'll want to play the Old Course (with all the tee time challenges) but Kingsbarns, Crail, Carnoustie, The New Course, Jubiliee, and even a local spot like Leven Links or something similar would be a blast. Then in Inverness, Royal Dornoch, Castle Stuart, and Nairn are must plays (I think) but I'm always open to suggestions. Plus then we get to sample the local pubs and explore the areas a bit, while having flexibility to adjust if we decide we want to replay courses or duck over to a distillery.
It's exciting to think about, no matter how far away it is.
Sounds good. A nickel's worth of free advice about your choice of courses, granting that you're still a long time from any of this becoming real:
--For the St. Andrews leg, definitely play the Old Course (if you can), the New Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie (which is not at all a personal favorite but still worth having on the bucket list). After that, I would give the Jubilee Course a miss, which is just a harder and inferior version of the New Course. Crail (Balcomie) is fine but rather quirky; I prefer both Elie and Lundin Links to Crail, and strongly prefer them to Leven (and the Jubilee, or Crail-Craighead which should definitely not be on your list). Panmure, near Carnoustie, is also a very good alternative. And it's about 90-100 minutes from St. Andrews to my neck of the woods (Muirfield, Gullane, North Berwick and Dunbar), if you want to do one of those as a day trip.
--From Inverness, there are a ton of fun courses within reach. Dornoch is probably my favorite course in Scotland, non-Old Course division; it and Castle Stuart are definites. Nairn is good, but it also has lots of gorse on both sides of many fairways, and there are many holes with no obvious bail-out options, so if you've got a lot of high handicappers, I'd consider going elsewhere. Lossiemouth, a little beyond Nairn, is stern but solid and slightly more user-friendly than Nairn. The one other course around Dornoch really worth seeing is Brora, a really fun but also well-designed links with a back-of-beyond charm all of its own (e.g., it has electric fences around the greens to keep the sheep away). Golspie is another fun and quiet mishmash of links and parkland golf near Dornoch. Other people vouch for Tain (which I played once, a long time ago) and Fortrose & Rosemarkie as other quaint options nearer to Inverness than Brora or Golspie, but I can't call myself an expert about either of them. If you want a non-links option during your trip, Boat of Garten - south of Inverness - is also full of character, and probably unlike any inland course you've seen.
--One other point I've made before: most of these clubs have Open Competitions that anyone with a formal handicap can enter, even an American handicap. If you really want to go to town, schedule your trip around one of these competitions and get everyone to enter it - and see what *real*, competitive Scottish golf is all about. (Every club will list its schedule of Open Competitions on their website, and the dates rarely change from year to year.)
Oh, I've got plenty more where all of this came from as well...
[EDIT - typo]
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So much for my game at MacKenzie's Alwoodley today - the course was completely waterlogged, and no play was possible. So the weather is screwing me over here in Britain; it's not just you guys in and around Boston! But below is a picture I took from the 10th tee; you can't really get a sense of scale from it, but this hole is a short par 5 with a massive dogleg to the left, and the fairway is steeply pitched from right-to-left in such a way that you really want to cut the corner as much as possible and be down the left to get the most level lie if you're going to go for the green in two. If that sounds familiar, it's because this concept is apparently what MacKenzie had in mind later on when he designed the 13th at Augusta National.
Also, this bunker is pretty awesome - I love me some heather:
This bunker would also be nice if it weren't impersonating a pond:
Also, this bunker is pretty awesome - I love me some heather:
This bunker would also be nice if it weren't impersonating a pond:
I did manage to play 13 holes at Moortown, the first European host venue for the Ryder Cup back in 1929. Waterlogging meant five holes were closed, but what I saw and played was truly delightful - there was a real MacKenzie feel about the place, even more pronounced than Alwoodley. And the par-3 10th hole, known as "Gibraltar", was a little gem; I took a rubbish photo on my phone, but here's a better one on the internet. The pin today was in the narrow little bowl at the front of the green, and I learned firsthand just how deep and awesome that bunker on the left is.
That 1929 USA team at the Ryder Cup was captained by Walter Hagen and also featured the first two victors of The Masters, Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen. (But they lost 7-5 to Team GB&I.) There are many Ryder Cup photos and some memorabilia dotted around the clubhouse, but my favorite item was this story accompanying a framed illustration regarding a tournament in 1974:
That 1929 USA team at the Ryder Cup was captained by Walter Hagen and also featured the first two victors of The Masters, Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen. (But they lost 7-5 to Team GB&I.) There are many Ryder Cup photos and some memorabilia dotted around the clubhouse, but my favorite item was this story accompanying a framed illustration regarding a tournament in 1974:
This story was not only told by Peter Dobereiner in his Book of Golf Disasters, one of my favorite volumes from my childhood, but - after discovering from a Google search - featured on its cover, along with the same illustration now framed in the clubhouse. (I met Peter once or twice when I was working at Golf Digest - he was a lovely man and a great writer, and this was all the more wonderful a discovery for me on that basis.)
First round of handicap season for me tomorrow and it’s going to be 40 when I hit my first tee shot. The good news is the 10 day forecast looks remarkably better now than a couple days ago
We planned to play today but at the last minute we bailed. Instead we spent 6 hours at 19th Golf and Grill in Bellingham playing 36 in a private bay while watching the masters in ESPN and laughing at the snowfall outside.
It was a great day.
It was a great day.
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