[PARAM]

The iron game is what separates the tour pros from the guys who are almost there. I'm too inconsistent with the irons. My playing partners are usually my son in law, grandson and a friend. My son in law hit only two fairways last round and still shot in the low 80's. He's very good on and around the greens. That part of the game makes all the difference.

My grandson is good hitting fairways and greens in regulation. He'll get on a run and have 5 or 6 birdie putts in a row. That is why he shoots in the low 80's. If he was as good as his father with the short game he'd be in the 70's every time out. He tends to miss too many putts in the 5 or 6 foot range. I know those aren't automatic but making them can be the difference between a good round and a great round.

Nobody (except the pros) are going to sink 12 - 15 foot (or longer) putts with regularity. Get them within 3 feet or less and you should be money. With me, it's concentration. Hit a good drive, screw up the 2nd shot. Hit a good second shot, woulda been better with a good drive. Usually my chipping and putting are pretty good but not always at the same time.

But that's golf for amateurs.

[snackdaddy]

Nobody (except the pros) are going to sink 12 - 15 foot (or longer) putts with regularity. Get them within 3 feet or less and you should be money. With me, it's concentration. Hit a good drive, screw up the 2nd shot. Hit a good second shot, woulda been better with a good drive. Usually my chipping and putting are pretty good but not always at the same time.

But that's golf for amateurs.

Yeah, most rounds for me are not what I consider good. Funny thing is, its not like I can pinpoint the problem. Last round my score creeped back into the upper 90's. Driving was good. Short game was ok. It was the irons this time. I kept pulling way too far left. And not just missing the greens left. I pulled several into a yard or a pond. With a hook to it. What saved me from scoring in triple digits was hitting 5 putts between 15 and 25 feet. I've never done that before. I normally might hit one long one in a round. Or not.

[dieterbrock]

The iron game is what separates the tour pros from the guys who are almost there. I'm too inconsistent with the irons. My playing partners are usually my son in law, grandson and a friend. My son in law hit only two fairways last round and still shot in the low 80's. He's very good on and around the greens. That part of the game makes all the difference.
.

Majority of amateur golfers under-club their irons. Cat hits a 7 iron 160 yards one time, and sure enough when he's 160 yards out, he'll hit the 7 iron every time. If he hits a 5 iron, he'll improve immensely. But golfers ego is massive, I'm sure guilty as well. (At least when I played). Dont take my word for it, take notice the next couple rounds you play. From over 120 yards out, see how many times playing partners hit the ball over the green. Probably wont see it unless its a bladed shot. How many shots end up short of the green? Or if left/right of the green, how many shots are short of green high? Guarantee most of them.
Thats why low handicap golfers are so good with their irons, they hit consistent distance every time

[snackdaddy]

Majority of amateur golfers under-club their irons. Cat hits a 7 iron 160 yards one time, and sure enough when he's 160 yards out, he'll hit the 7 iron every time. If he hits a 5 iron, he'll improve immensely. But golfers ego is massive, I'm sure guilty as well. (At least when I played). Dont take my word for it, take notice the next couple rounds you play. From over 120 yards out, see how many times playing partners hit the ball over the green. Probably wont see it unless its a bladed shot. How many shots end up short of the green? Or if left/right of the green, how many shots are short of green high? Guarantee most of them.
Thats why low handicap golfers are so good with their irons, they hit consistent distance every time

I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing. The round I played the other day felt like the worst round in a long time. I couldn't hit an iron to save my life. Pull hooked two out of bounds and another in the water.

But when it was all said and done, I wasn't much over my average. I'm not the scorekeeper in our group and when he told me I shot a 98 I didn't believe him. I thought for sure it was closer to 110. I had to check his math. My short game was better but I wasn't feeling like it because of my mid game.

I'm usually a mid 90's golfer and sometimes upper or lower depending on how things go. I was actually shocked I still broke 100 because I felt I had no answer to the terrible iron game.

[snackdaddy]

Welp, I guess my golf career is going to have to be put on hold for awhile. My home course was the last one in a 100 mile radius that was still open. Just got word they are now closed at least until April 20. The driving range nearby closed too.

No hitting balls. All I can do is a little putting on my patio with my putt back machine. Maybe go the empty park nearby and practice chipping. That is the only thing available. I'm gonna go stir crazy if I can't get out on nice days.

[snackdaddy]

The golf course opened back up. Problem is, its the only one in a 50 mile radius. Not sure how they managed that. But it does get crowded in the afternoons with the nicer weather. Took over 5 hours to play 18 holes on Friday. If no one's in front of us slowing things down we usually get done in less than 4 hours. I'm going this afternoon. My grandson who works there is off at 1:00 and he's got us a tee time for 1:15. Kinda nice to have a connection like that at the course.

[snackdaddy]

Well, the course closed right after I posted they were back open. Now its open again. The last time they had to close was because the Turlock country club complained to the authorities. They were jealous that my course was open. Now its back open again. This time with the blessing of the authorities. I'm not sure how many courses in the valley will be open. I'm just glad my home course is open.

After not hitting any balls for a few weeks, I expected to play poorly. But I scored pretty much what I normally do. Mid 90's. I started with a triple bogey on a par 5. Not unexpected. I usually start slow anyway. But that was the only triple the rest of the round. Overall, I was not disappointed. My putting was the reason I didn't do better. Only one 3 putt. But only one 1 putt. But I've been worse when I can play more. And just being out there was a blessing.

[PARAM]

I'm going this afternoon for the first time since early March in Florida. Don't know what to expect. Not from my game....I know not to expect much there.....but the rules. I heard touching the flag stick is verbotten. I heard they are supposed to have hand sanitizer on every hole. I heard the carts are supposed to be sanitized. I plan to bring lots of alcohol just to be sure. 80 proof JWBlack.

[aeneas1]

apparently this young lady is a hardcore porn "star"... assets aside, check out her friggin' swing....

[snackdaddy]

I'm going this afternoon for the first time since early March in Florida. Don't know what to expect. Not from my game....I know not to expect much there.....but the rules. I heard touching the flag stick is verbotten. I heard they are supposed to have hand sanitizer on every hole. I heard the carts are supposed to be sanitized. I plan to bring lots of alcohol just to be sure. 80 proof JWBlack.

My home course has styrofoam spacers in the cup holding the flags. We just keep the flags in the hole. They say we can pick up balls from the bunkers because there are no rakes to use. But my group has been hitting out of the bunker. We just have one compromise. If the ball is setting in a hole because bunkers can't be raked we move it out of the hole. Which works fine for me.

For some reason I seem to be better out of the sand than from the grass around the green. In fact, my grandson calls me the sand master. I just have a good feel for the trap I guess. No so much from the grass though.

The carts are sanitized. Only one person per cart unless they know the players are in the same household. I don't wear a mask on the course. I only wear it whenever I go to a business indoors. Or if everyone is closer together. Not a problem on the course.

I won't be playing this week. Temp is 104 today and 108 through the week. Supposed to get back to the mid 80's by Sunday. I'll wait till then. We should have a few more weeks before the temps stay near or above triple digits the rest of the summer. Better enjoy it while I can.