2020 Golf Thread

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
Is that abnormal? There are lots of short par 5s. I hit 8 and 50 into 2 par 5s tonight and I know there are bigger hitters on here than me.
Probably not? I mean, there’s plenty of courses and plenty of factors, but I’ve never played with anyone regularly before that is hitting a short iron or wedge on second shot into a 5, even low cap guys, a couple of which are pros at good courses. I mean I guess if it’s short downhill par 5, but we generally play second tees for men and most courses on our rotation are 470-490, if I had to guess? Any shorter and there’s either usually elevation or requires shaping off the tee to get close enough for that. I dunno, it just impressed me, but I by no means at your level. I’m about 270-280 off the tee (sometimes straight :) ) and a 9 for me is around 145-150. I’m the longest guy in our regular group so I’ve never seen it at least.
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
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Jan 1, 2009
13,154
Carmine's closet
He hit a 9i into a par 5? Damn, Hercules!
I didn't see the drive but I heard it and it was smashed

Is that abnormal? There are lots of short par 5s. I hit 8 and 50 into 2 par 5s tonight and I know there are bigger hitters on here than me.
What? No wonder you play so well, you're playing a course made for ants!

This hole is like 500-520. Reachable but I wouldn't say short. The forced carry is like 230 with OB right and water left. The hole curves left and the the water and a bunker protect the green. I usually aim a little right so even if I pull or push it I'm still safe
 

jercra

No longer respects DeChambeau
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Jul 31, 2006
3,147
Arvada, Co
I didn't see the drive but I heard it and it was smashed


What? No wonder you play so well, you're playing a course made for ants!

This hole is like 500-520. Reachable but I wouldn't say short. The forced carry is like 230 with OB right and water left. The hole curves left and the the water and a bunker protect the green. I usually aim a little right so even if I pull or push it I'm still safe
Well, you've seen me play so you know a good drive for me at sea level is 300+. A little down, wind or cutting a corner is easily Driver, 9-iron. And at least @FL4WL3SS is decently longer than I am and I play with a lot of guys longer than me these days (damn kids and their youth). I'm not trying to take anything away from the accomplishement. I was just surprised by the surprise is all.
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
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Jan 1, 2009
13,154
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Well, you've seen me play so you know a good drive for me at sea level is 300+. A little down, wind or cutting a corner is easily Driver, 9-iron. And at least @FL4WL3SS is decently longer than I am and I play with a lot of guys longer than me these days (damn kids and their youth). I'm not trying to take anything away from the accomplishement. I was just surprised by the surprise is all.
Ahhh right. I thought you were saying you hit 8-iron then gap wedge into a par 5. That would be golf for ants!
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
I'm a well-above-average hitter (distance-wise) and I think that a 500 yard hole with a driver and a 9-iron is pretty amazing. For me, a solid drive is 310. That means 190 left to the pin and no chance at all I can reach that with a 9-iron. That's a 6 or 5 for me, depending on slope and wind.
 

Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2005
4,461
Worcester
There is a 5 at my local that is about 470. But it is uphill all the way, and, as a rightly, you are pretty much guaranteed a ball 3" below your feet. Before the rains came in August, I hit a drive that was...probably about 50 yards longer than my previous long on the hole. I had an 8 iron in... but for you long hitters, that is probably a PW (130 or so) . My previous shortest yardage into that hole was 170... so it was a combo of good drive, good line (more right it would have kicked OB) , hard turf
As a point of reference, my carry is usually in the 220 range with a driver, so this was just one of those tee shots where everything synced up.
 

FL4WL3SS

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Jul 31, 2006
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Andy Brickley's potty mouth
I'm a well-above-average hitter (distance-wise) and I think that a 500 yard hole with a driver and a 9-iron is pretty amazing. For me, a solid drive is 310. That means 190 left to the pin and no chance at all I can reach that with a 9-iron. That's a 6 or 5 for me, depending on slope and wind.
Sorry mate, but if you're hitting your driver 310 then you would have a swing speed in the 120s and be hitting your 5i at least 208.

I don't like to talk about my distances much because who cares, but I haven't played with someone that can outdrive me in a very long time and I'm only carrying my driver 280-290 and my swing speed is between 115-118. Granted my smash factor is usually right at 1.49-1.50, so I'm very efficient with my (driver) swing. My 5i carries 210.

I would say with that 5i distance (which is still really good and about tour average) your good drives are more like 275.

Unless you've been on a fine tuned trackman lately, I wouldn't trust your on course calculations.
 

jercra

No longer respects DeChambeau
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Jul 31, 2006
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Arvada, Co
Sorry mate, but if you're hitting your driver 310 then you would have a swing speed in the 120s and be hitting your 5i at least 208.

I don't like to talk about my distances much because who cares, but I haven't played with someone that can outdrive me in a very long time and I'm only carrying my driver 280-290 and my swing speed is between 115-118. Granted my smash factor is usually right at 1.49-1.50, so I'm very efficient with my (driver) swing. My 5i carries 210.

I would say with that 5i distance (which is still really good and about tour average) your good drives are more like 275.

Unless you've been on a fine tuned trackman lately, I wouldn't trust your on course calculations.
You hit lots of drives well in execess of 310. All it takes is a little roll out and you're probably more in the range of 320-330 in the summer, total distance. Your swing speed estimate is probably right on or maybe a little a low. My last Trackman session had me at 108-114 swing speed (a couple of months ago) and you hit it further than me for sure. I don't find 310 total with those other stats to be very far off. Since I just played in Portland, I can say that a good average drive for me was 290-300 but I had crushed drives in the 320 range too. FWIW, my 5 is my 200 club at sea level. In the end, it doesn't really matter. I'd rather be 290 down the middle than 320 in the shit, but carry distance isn't the same as total distance. Give me Morikowa's game over Cam Champ's game any day of the week.
 

barbed wire Bob

crippled by fear
SoSH Member
Fwiw, this table shows the TrackMan PGA Tour Average Stats and it’s useful to see how far the best golfers in the world hit their clubs. Sometimes when I read this thread I think people are stretching the truth a bit when they say they hit their clubs X number of yards. But then I remember the average height and weight for a SoSH member is 6’ 4” and 225lbs, so the distances posted here are probably conservative. ;)
33948
https://blog.trackmangolf.com/trackman-average-tour-stats/
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
Sorry mate, but if you're hitting your driver 310 then you would have a swing speed in the 120s and be hitting your 5i at least 208.

I don't like to talk about my distances much because who cares, but I haven't played with someone that can outdrive me in a very long time and I'm only carrying my driver 280-290 and my swing speed is between 115-118. Granted my smash factor is usually right at 1.49-1.50, so I'm very efficient with my (driver) swing. My 5i carries 210.

I would say with that 5i distance (which is still really good and about tour average) your good drives are more like 275.

Unless you've been on a fine tuned trackman lately, I wouldn't trust your on course calculations.
Don’t know what to tell you. I’ve got yardages from my course gps. I start with X yardage, hit driver, then have Y yardage left, and do a simple subtraction calculation.

A few weeks ago I hit a number of 300+ yard drives. First hole: very short, straight par 4, 340 yards according to the gps. Hit driver. Next shot the gps had me at 30 yards out. What am I supposed to tell you?

No WAY can I hit my nine iron 190. I’ve never come close to that. Why? I don’t know. My 9-iron maxes out at 160 if I really crush it.

So we can talk Trackman and swing speed all we want, im telling you what I hit in the real world.
 
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Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
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Nov 29, 2005
4,461
Worcester
That LPGA tour column has me feeling pretty good, as those are pretty much my exact numbers. And they are some of the best golfers in the world.
At this point in my life and career, I don't think I'll find the time to put in the work to get from 95mph to 100 , so as littleOGG says, "You get what you get, and you don't get upset".
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
The Trackman chart seems pretty right on for me. I wouldn't say my average drive's carry is 275. I'd say my average drive *length* is about 270, but with a pretty wide variance - sometimes I only hit it 240 and sometimes I hit it 310. That's my max though. I'm not as young as I used to be. But even there, the pros crushing driver with a 275 yard carry on average are only hitting a 9-iron 148 (and of course, they don't get much added roll off a 9-iron). So my numbers seem pretty right where they ought to be. I see nothing in there that says I should be hitting a 9-iron 190 yards.
 

Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
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Nov 29, 2005
4,461
Worcester
So this is out of the blue, I know. But I figured what better place to go than here?

My brother, recently in the process of divorce, wants to give one of his sons the full "club" experience as an "end of summer" gift. (the other son couldn't care less about golf.. he is a gifted musician, but that is a story for a different thread). So the valet, club washing, pristine range balls, etc. This is central MA, but they have been known to travel. I don't know if the International is open/playable again? If anyone here could, or knows someone who could host them (I may tag along and drag my 12.4 with me as a 4th if needed), please PM me.

Hit them far, but not often.
ogg
 

Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2005
4,461
Worcester
Unfortunately it is not - and they wouldn't have been that full experience if they were haha.

I am club-less this summer, so unfortunately I cannot assist here.
No worries @TFP And I am not expecting/wanting people here to bend over backwards. My bro played in one of the RMPS golf bashes, so he asked if I could ask my "hockey friends"... and I decided to bring it to a broader audience. And I know some of us are getting pretty broad (he says as he looks in the mirror).
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2005
41,947
Here's a useful chart, assuming your smash factor is on point:

View attachment 33947

FTR, this is completely wrong for me. I carry my driver about 250-260 when I hit it flush, but I absolutely laser my irons when I hit them. I'm hitting my PW around 135, 9I about 150, 8I 160, and 7I up to 175. I'll hit the 6I 175-190, and then hit 5wood or 3wood for anything longer (I shouldn't even bother carrying my 5 iron anymore, but we have a couple of par 3's that can play right around 195 and if they are playing downwind, I can't go to the 5 wood).

We always joke that the only clubs I get backspin on are my woods. Everything else in my bag rolls out a little bit, but when I say "carry" with my driver, my ball usually lands and stops or spins back a yard. I get no roll. I have a fucked up baseball grip, so not sure if that's the reason my woods don't go as long as my irons. I'm playing at an 8.7 right now (I was a 7.7 last week, shot 82,83,83, but they knocked out a 78,79,80, so I went up, which is awesome).

My partner for 3 days this weekend for our Labor Day tournament is a 31year old who works at Google. About 6'3', and lanky. He'll be 320-340 off the tee all weekend. He's a 3.9 index going into the weekend, but I destroy him on the greens. The putter is the best club in my bag, which saves me about 5 shots a round. I wouldn't even say he's one of the 5 longest hitters in our club though. Some of these kids are fucking outrageous.
 
That LPGA tour column has me feeling pretty good, as those are pretty much my exact numbers. And they are some of the best golfers in the world.
At this point in my life and career, I don't think I'll find the time to put in the work to get from 95mph to 100 , so as littleOGG says, "You get what you get, and you don't get upset".
Apparently, I belong on the LPGA Tour as well. (I hit my irons a touch longer than that, but my average less-than-solid drive a bit shorter.) I generally tend to make it work for me, but man, I would love to know what it feels like to average 300+ off the tee. Or even to average 260+.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
Apparently, I belong on the LPGA Tour as well. (I hit my irons a touch longer than that, but my average less-than-solid drive a bit shorter.) I generally tend to make it work for me, but man, I would love to know what it feels like to average 300+ off the tee. Or even to average 260+.
It's nice to hit long. But I'd trade it all in a nanosecond to post the scores you do.
 

Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2005
4,461
Worcester
Apparently, I belong on the LPGA Tour as well. (I hit my irons a touch longer than that, but my average less-than-solid drive a bit shorter.) I generally tend to make it work for me, but man, I would love to know what it feels like to average 300+ off the tee. Or even to average 260+.
Those are yards, not metres. :)
There was a time in my life where I would be playing with people and they'd be debating between and 8 or 9 iron, and I would be standing there with a 6, and feel frustrated/embarrassed. But as you said, you make it work. Something something no pictures on a scorecard, and all that.
 

FL4WL3SS

Member
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Jul 31, 2006
14,913
Andy Brickley's potty mouth
Everyone over-estimates their distances and conflates carry distance vs total distance.

Also, those tour guys are hitting at 75-80%, so no you don't belong on tour. They all have at least one extra gear, if not two.
 
Those are yards, not metres.
I'm almost sure you're joking, but in case you're not, we do use yards on the golf course here in the UK - they're called imperial measurements for a reason. ;)
There was a time in my life where I would be playing with people and they'd be debating between and 8 or 9 iron, and I would be standing there with a 6, and feel frustrated/embarrassed. But as you said, you make it work. Something something no pictures on a scorecard, and all that.
This has been me my entire golfing life, FWIW. I have become pretty adept at hitting driver off the deck - out of necessity - and as long as I'm not out of range of the green when my playing partners or likely competitors are within range, I don't feel too bothered. But there are plenty of times when that is the case, and that's when I really lament my lack of length.

(By the by, it does crack me up when I play with someone I've never played with before and they ask me what club I've hit on a hole, with no previous or follow-up question about how long I normally hit that club or my irons more generally. That's probably the most obvious warning sign that someone has a low golfing IQ.)
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
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Jan 1, 2009
13,154
Carmine's closet
Here's a useful chart, assuming your smash factor is on point:

View attachment 33947
This is helpful, thanks

FTR, this is completely wrong for me. I carry my driver about 250-260 when I hit it flush, but I absolutely laser my irons when I hit them. I'm hitting my PW around 135, 9I about 150, 8I 160, and 7I up to 175. I'll hit the 6I 175-190, and then hit 5wood or 3wood for anything longer (I shouldn't even bother carrying my 5 iron anymore, but we have a couple of par 3's that can play right around 195 and if they are playing downwind, I can't go to the 5 wood).

We always joke that the only clubs I get backspin on are my woods. Everything else in my bag rolls out a little bit, but when I say "carry" with my driver, my ball usually lands and stops or spins back a yard. I get no roll. I have a fucked up baseball grip, so not sure if that's the reason my woods don't go as long as my irons. I'm playing at an 8.7 right now (I was a 7.7 last week, shot 82,83,83, but they knocked out a 78,79,80, so I went up, which is awesome).

My partner for 3 days this weekend for our Labor Day tournament is a 31year old who works at Google. About 6'3', and lanky. He'll be 320-340 off the tee all weekend. He's a 3.9 index going into the weekend, but I destroy him on the greens. The putter is the best club in my bag, which saves me about 5 shots a round. I wouldn't even say he's one of the 5 longest hitters in our club though. Some of these kids are fucking outrageous.
Sounds like you may deloft your irons alot. Not sure. I'm the same way with my 4 and 5 iron -- can't hit them. 6 iron out to 190 and choke down hybrid for 195 plus. 4 and 5 are in my bag for punch shots only
 

Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
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Nov 29, 2005
4,461
Worcester
I'm almost sure you're joking, but in case you're not, we do use yards on the golf course here in the UK - they're called imperial measurements for a reason. ;)
I was mostly joking. When I played at the old course in Pau (my only round across the pond) back in the late 90s, it was all in metres, so I had to quickly add 10% to every distance. Fortunately, my paces are in metres and not yards, so stepping off distances wasn't an issue. After several days backpacking/riding the train through southern France, I don't think I could have done that much more math.
 
I was mostly joking. When I played at the old course in Pau (my only round across the pond) back in the late 90s, it was all in metres, so I had to quickly add 10% to every distance. Fortunately, my paces are in metres and not yards, so stepping off distances wasn't an issue. After several days backpacking/riding the train through southern France, I don't think I could have done that much more math.
I have played a few times in continental Europe and had this issue with meters-to-yards conversions, and also in Australia as well - I don't like having to make the conversion at all. But it's not an issue here.

Speaking of courses in continental Europe, I meant to say a few days ago that the photos @Dogman shared of the course in Montana where he made his ace sort of reminded me of a course I played in Chamonix (France) many years ago - there's something truly glorious about hitting a shot and watching the ball fly against a mountain backdrop instead of the sky.
 

FL4WL3SS

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Jul 31, 2006
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Andy Brickley's potty mouth
You hit lots of drives well in execess of 310. All it takes is a little roll out and you're probably more in the range of 320-330 in the summer, total distance. Your swing speed estimate is probably right on or maybe a little a low. My last Trackman session had me at 108-114 swing speed (a couple of months ago) and you hit it further than me for sure. I don't find 310 total with those other stats to be very far off. Since I just played in Portland, I can say that a good average drive for me was 290-300 but I had crushed drives in the 320 range too. FWIW, my 5 is my 200 club at sea level. In the end, it doesn't really matter. I'd rather be 290 down the middle than 320 in the shit, but carry distance isn't the same as total distance. Give me Morikowa's game over Cam Champ's game any day of the week.
So I was curious about this and haven't hit on a trackman in about two years. I needed to get my driver repaired, so headed to a local place that a buddy is the GM of and he let me hit for a while today.

I was spot on. My normal swings are averaging 115-118, carrying 290, rolling out to 305-310. Averaging 1.49 smash factor. I definitely have a second gear if I need it which got me into the 120s and got a couple to roll out into the 320s with the longest at 329.

I reserve that gear for places like Bandon where I can't get into too much trouble off the tee.
 

FL4WL3SS

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Jul 31, 2006
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Andy Brickley's potty mouth
On another note, I've been using the Golf Pride align grips on my clubs for a few years and the setup I was using in the shop had a normal round grip. I couldn't believe how much that messed me up at first, took me at least 10 swings to feel somewhat comfortable.
 

doldmoose34

impregnated Melissa Theuriau
SoSH Member
Another great day on the links, 6 pars, 3 bogeys. I was even on the 5th tee when two couples playing behind up came up to tee (it was slow) it’s a short par 4, ob left jail on right side and forced carry in front. I hit my 5 hybrid deep down the middle of fairway and was walking to my cart while the ball was still in the air. I looked at one of the husbands and said ‘that’ll play’ as the ball landed
Only problem was I had about a 10’ slider from above the hole on 9 that lipped out for what would’ve been my first 39 on the front at the ‘Walk ever. (Front par 37)
 
I'm back from my open competition round at Kilspindie, just up the road from Gullane and North Berwick on Scotland's "Golf Coast". Kilspindie is a really quaint, fun course most of the time - 5,500 yards from the tips (par is 69) with quite a few par 4s under 300 yards. And its 8th hole is one of the most interesting and picturesque par 3s in Scotland, played over a corner of the beach (which is out of bounds) and a pleasantly rickety-looking fence to an undulating green:



There's a good write-up of the course on GolfClubAtlas, if you're interested. Anyway, I said it's normally fun to play, but today the wind was a steady 30-40 miles per hour: the first hole was a crosswind par 3, and then the next three holes were straight into the wind, with the out-of-bounds beach running up the right side of each hole and scaring the hell out of me. I hit eight drivers on those three holes, one of which was a repeat attempt following a lost ball: for example, on the 515-yard 2nd hole, I hit driver-driver-driver and still had an 8-iron left, and at the 365-yard 4th hole I hit driver-driver and then a 50-yard wedge. (I didn't hit them great, but still.)

To make potentially a long story shorter, I was +5 through five holes after that really tough start - including a triple at the 3rd when I lost my ball - and then +8 through 11. But I somehow managed to post a 75 (+6), with three birdies on my last seven holes: two of them being driveable par 4s where I got up and down from not far off the green, the other being a long but downwind par 4 where I hit an 8-iron to four feet with the help of a really fortuitous bounce. I actually had an eagle chip at the 18th which hit the pin and stopped a foot from the hole; that would have been a heck of an ending, but I can't really complain. It was the sort of day where I really could have lost it but managed to hang onto a score I can be fairly proud of; sometimes those rounds can be among the most satisfying.
 

Koufax

Well-Known Member
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Jul 15, 2005
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You guys are way ahead of me skills-wise (handicap 21), so I don't often say much here. However, I'll mention that I took a vacation day yesterday and drove up to Owl's Nest in New Hampshire. It is a picturesque course and fairly hilly, as you might imagine in the White Mountains. I was the only person walking the course, which made me a bit conscious of not slowing down the players that I was matched with. I was pleased that they did not require that I take a cart and did not mind at all paying the same a someone who took a cart. The greens were more heavily sloped than I was used to - it's mountain golf, after all. The course was lovely. If you're tempted to go there, consider yourself encouraged. It's only 2 miles off of I-93 and thus quite accessible.
 

mostman

Member
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Jun 3, 2003
18,739
FTR, this is completely wrong for me. I carry my driver about 250-260 when I hit it flush, but I absolutely laser my irons when I hit them. I'm hitting my PW around 135, 9I about 150, 8I 160, and 7I up to 175. I'll hit the 6I 175-190, and then hit 5wood or 3wood for anything longer (I shouldn't even bother carrying my 5 iron anymore, but we have a couple of par 3's that can play right around 195 and if they are playing downwind, I can't go to the 5 wood).

We always joke that the only clubs I get backspin on are my woods. Everything else in my bag rolls out a little bit, but when I say "carry" with my driver, my ball usually lands and stops or spins back a yard. I get no roll. I have a fucked up baseball grip, so not sure if that's the reason my woods don't go as long as my irons. I'm playing at an 8.7 right now (I was a 7.7 last week, shot 82,83,83, but they knocked out a 78,79,80, so I went up, which is awesome).

My partner for 3 days this weekend for our Labor Day tournament is a 31year old who works at Google. About 6'3', and lanky. He'll be 320-340 off the tee all weekend. He's a 3.9 index going into the weekend, but I destroy him on the greens. The putter is the best club in my bag, which saves me about 5 shots a round. I wouldn't even say he's one of the 5 longest hitters in our club though. Some of these kids are fucking outrageous.
This is me. Almost the same yardages for my clubs. I leak power on my driver. I just blame it on the fact that I’m short (5’7). Although it’s really because I’m not great with driver.
 

TFP

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Dec 10, 2007
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My partner for 3 days this weekend for our Labor Day tournament is a 31year old who works at Google. About 6'3', and lanky. He'll be 320-340 off the tee all weekend. He's a 3.9 index going into the weekend, but I destroy him on the greens.
Reid? I played with him two weeks ago at your track. He smashes the ball.
 

jercra

No longer respects DeChambeau
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
3,147
Arvada, Co
This is me. Almost the same yardages for my clubs. I leak power on my driver. I just blame it on the fact that I’m short (5’7). Although it’s really because I’m not great with driver.
You all may have noticed but @FL4WL3SS noted that his smash factor is 1.49 on his driver. He's also custom fit into a head and shaft to fit his swing. If you pure your irons but not your woods, it's almost always one or both of 3 things. Off-center hits (low smash factor), too low/high launch angle or too low/high spin rate. Get fit for the right clubs and your woods should catch up to your irons.
 

mostman

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Jun 3, 2003
18,739
You all may have noticed but @FL4WL3SS noted that his smash factor is 1.49 on his driver. He's also custom fit into a head and shaft to fit his swing. If you pure your irons but not your woods, it's almost always one or both of 3 things. Off-center hits (low smash factor), too low/high launch angle or too low/high spin rate. Get fit for the right clubs and your woods should catch up to your irons.
Makes sense since my irons are fit for me and my driver isn’t quite. The shaft is, but I’ve got to get on the monitor and tool the head.
 
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But I somehow managed to post a 75 (+6)
Just a quick postscript on my tournament yesterday: the scores have just been posted, and I finished T9 gross and T11 net in a field of 124. But I was only one back of a six-way tie for 3rd in the gross category, so if I hadn't lost that ball on the 3rd hole and made a bogey instead of a triple, I would have been in the money (probably something like a £50 voucher I could redeem in any Scottish pro shop). And I was only four behind the gross winner...so on a 5,500-yard par 69, nobody managed to break 71, which gives you a pretty good sense of how tough the conditions were. (The best net score was 67.)
 

jercra

No longer respects DeChambeau
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
3,147
Arvada, Co
Just a quick postscript on my tournament yesterday: the scores have just been posted, and I finished T9 gross and T11 net in a field of 124. But I was only one back of a six-way tie for 3rd in the gross category, so if I hadn't lost that ball on the 3rd hole and made a bogey instead of a triple, I would have been in the money (probably something like a £50 voucher I could redeem in any Scottish pro shop). And I was only four behind the gross winner...so on a 5,500-yard par 69, nobody managed to break 71, which gives you a pretty good sense of how tough the conditions were. (The best net score was 67.)
I love the way people think about golf. I never hear people say "But I would have shot a 93 if I hadn't made that 12 foot downhill breaker, gotten that bounce off the tree back into the fairway or if my ball had just rolled a little bit further and went into that creek". I'm not trying to pick on you. I hear it all the time and have certainly been guilty of it myself. People only focus on the things that made their score higher, not the multiple times things went right.
 
I love the way people think about golf. I never hear people say "But I would have shot a 93 if I hadn't made that 12 foot downhill breaker, gotten that bounce off the tree back into the fairway or if my ball had just rolled a little bit further and went into that creek". I'm not trying to pick on you. I hear it all the time and have certainly been guilty of it myself. People only focus on the things that made their score higher, not the multiple times things went right.
Oh, no worries - you're definitely not picking on me. Certainly not any more than my wife, who constantly rolls her eyes both literally and figuratively when I say stuff like this to her after a round! (In my defense, I did cite the very fortuitous bounce on the 8-iron shot that led to my second birdie yesterday - and which I mentioned to my playing partner at the time as well in the same vein.)

I wonder how specific this is to golf, by the way. I once gave a talk at my church in which I compared the way a golfer thinks about himself as a golfer to the way we all think about ourselves as people. Just as this...
Everyone over-estimates their distances and conflates carry distance vs total distance.
...is almost definitely the case for most of us, and just as the USGA handicap system actively encourages us to think of ourselves as golfers in terms of our potential more than our ability, how often do we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt in other areas of our lives and think of ourselves as somewhat better people than we actually are if we truly dispassionately analyzed what we've done and how we behave? I'd wager the phenomenon you put your finger on here is actually more universal than you might think.
 

barbed wire Bob

crippled by fear
SoSH Member
I love the way people think about golf. I never hear people say "But I would have shot a 93 if I hadn't made that 12 foot downhill breaker, gotten that bounce off the tree back into the fairway or if my ball had just rolled a little bit further and went into that creek". I'm not trying to pick on you. I hear it all the time and have certainly been guilty of it myself. People only focus on the things that made their score higher, not the multiple times things went right.
That’s human nature. Broadly speaking, we attribute anything that goes well to our skill, competency, talent, and things within our control while anything that goes badly is attributed to things that are out of our control. You will find that behavior common in pretty much everything people do.
 
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BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
That’s human nature. Broadly speaking, we attribute anything that goes well to our skill, competency, talent, and things within our control while anything that goes badly is attributed to things that our out of our control. You will find that behavior common in pretty much everything people do.
Its the same in other sports too. The Celtics should be up 3-1 if not for a crazy great play by Toronto at the buzzer in game 3.

Forgetting that in order to win game 2 they had to have Marcus Smart of all people drain five straight three pointers late in the game. Which will never happen again.
 

FL4WL3SS

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
14,913
Andy Brickley's potty mouth
I love the way people think about golf. I never hear people say "But I would have shot a 93 if I hadn't made that 12 foot downhill breaker, gotten that bounce off the tree back into the fairway or if my ball had just rolled a little bit further and went into that creek". I'm not trying to pick on you. I hear it all the time and have certainly been guilty of it myself. People only focus on the things that made their score higher, not the multiple times things went right.
It's funny you mention this. Yesterday I got a huge kick after hitting an iron right of the green and ended up on the green with a mid-range putt. After getting a par on the hole, I said to my playing partner that I felt like I stole a shot there and his immediate response was to point out the bad bounce I had on the previous hole that cost me a stroke and that it all evens out so don't apologize. It was a salient point.

We shoot the scores we're supposed to.
 
It's funny you mention this. Yesterday I got a huge kick after hitting an iron right of the green and ended up on the green with a mid-range putt. After getting a par on the hole, I said to my playing partner that I felt like I stole a shot there and his immediate response was to point out the bad bounce I had on the previous hole that cost me a stroke and that it all evens out so don't apologize. It was a salient point.
Absolutely. Often enough when get a good break I'll then play the next shot like I didn't deserve to be there - I have to remind myself to stay positive and aggressive, and almost to pretend I'm arrogant enough to have deserved it, like I have to keep my foot on Lady Luck's throat. Yesterday I had that great break on my 8-iron approach one hole after I'd hit a shot right at the flag which rode the wind and finished 30 yards past the hole and over the green, leading to a bogey; that made it easier to accept my luck and make a positive stroke on my four-footer for birdie, but I need to be better at removing the question of what I "deserve" from the equation even without getting a bad break first. (Not least because there's every chance I'll get a bad break thereafter.)
 

Gunca

New Member
Mar 5, 2020
44
Playing my 3rd round in as many days this morning. We’ll be playing Metacomet at 9:00AM. I’ve only ever played it once before, and aside from a few weird holes, I’ve fallen in love with it. It’s a shame it could be possibly closing by the end of the month.
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2005
41,947
Reid? I played with him two weeks ago at your track. He smashes the ball.
Yep, that's my boy. Played with him Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We played well, but the greens were running so fucking slow that we left every putt short for 3 days, and then missed every 4-5 footer, and then we'd overcorrect. It was a mess. If you ever come up here again, you better let me know.
 

TFP

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Dec 10, 2007
20,380
Yep, that's my boy. Played with him Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We played well, but the greens were running so fucking slow that we left every putt short for 3 days, and then missed every 4-5 footer, and then we'd overcorrect. It was a mess. If you ever come up here again, you better let me know.
Haha I will. I was the last min 4th on a Thursday late afternoon with his old boss and another friend. I played like shit but it was fun.
 

Doug Beerabelli

Killer Threads
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
I think I had my One Good Round of the Year. Shot an 86 in a morning tournament, including my low 9 on the back - a 40. And I putted out on all but maybe two holes, and those exceptions were for bogey. Putting was on - sank a bunch of 10-15 footers. I’ll be curious to see how much this knocks down the handicap. I’m an 18.6, I’ve only broken 90 one other time this year - an 89 over two days.

Good day for Clan Beerabelli - wise played in afternoon with the boy. She shot 41 from hybrid tees, and he shot 36 from the second longest tees - blues at our course, which is a little over 6500 yds.

Husband-wife next week - alternate shot. Pray for us. Lol.
 

Doug Beerabelli

Killer Threads
Lifetime Member
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The attractive assistant golf pros, tennis pros and swim coach help with the divorce fomenting.

I misspoke slightly - format is Modified Scotch. Each hit own drive, pick best one, then alternate shot from there. Must take at least 4 drives from each player. She'll be hitting from the gold tees (senior) not green (hybrid sr./womens), so it'll be a little more difficult. Our only chance is in low net category. Less stressful than pure alternate shot, but still plenty of foment potential. She's a 21.4 right now.

This used to be the format for the monthly Husband/Wife (or signif other/signif other) Pinehurst for years when sociopaths set up the tournamants, and many did refer to it as "The Divorce Open." Someone finally figured out this was not fun, and switched to a foursome-based scramble teams, and unleashed the bar carts. We very much look forward to the Pinehurts now.


UPDATE: my one good score dropped index from 18.6 to 18.
 

Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2005
4,461
Worcester
This is probably a question more towards the mid-high handicappers, but maybe the low ones can answer. Sometimes, in the middle of a round, I just lose my swing. This past weekend, for instance, I was 2 over after 4. Not a bad start for me. The back half of the front 9 is usually where I can score. Just sets up better for my game. But on 5 I ended up picking up, as I put 1 into the water and 2 into the woods. it was like somebody unplugged the controller for my swing.
It wasn't a gradual slip of the swing... 4 was a par 3 where I hit a nice mid iron in. Any thoughts on how to get things back together when things go awry like that?
What I started to do, and it was thanks to this thread, was trying to think "Swing like Annika"-- I had gone to a golf camp about 20 years ago, and when I was making good swings, I felt like it was easy/effortless/solid. My problem was that I was saying "swing like Annikin"
 

TFP

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Dec 10, 2007
20,380
This is probably a question more towards the mid-high handicappers, but maybe the low ones can answer. Sometimes, in the middle of a round, I just lose my swing. This past weekend, for instance, I was 2 over after 4. Not a bad start for me. The back half of the front 9 is usually where I can score. Just sets up better for my game. But on 5 I ended up picking up, as I put 1 into the water and 2 into the woods. it was like somebody unplugged the controller for my swing.
It wasn't a gradual slip of the swing... 4 was a par 3 where I hit a nice mid iron in. Any thoughts on how to get things back together when things go awry like that?
What I started to do, and it was thanks to this thread, was trying to think "Swing like Annika"-- I had gone to a golf camp about 20 years ago, and when I was making good swings, I felt like it was easy/effortless/solid. My problem was that I was saying "swing like Annikin"
Man I wish I knew. Saturday I couldn't miss off the tee. Was putting the ball literally where I wanted, felt so confident, was smoking it with driver and 3 wood. Even including my other full shots, I probably only truly mishit 3-4 balls all day (which for me is very low). Sure I pissed away strokes around the green, but I felt great swing. At the end I finished birdie, birdie, par. Was legit happy with my golf game.

Sunday I think I only hit 3-4 balls square. I straight topped at least 10 balls including maybe 5 tee shots. This is not a normal miss for me, and a mere 24 hours later and I couldn't find the clubface. I had no idea what was different, the swing felt the same. But was walking off the course wondering if I'd ever find the club face again.

Fucking golf.