The OS Golfer's Thread!

[DonkeyJote]

I played for the first time since December, and only the second time since September today. Hit the ball very well. Hit 2 GIR's and 11 fairways. I'll take it. Just concentrated on a smooth swing and following through, and it worked wonders. However, I had 42 putts, so my score ended up being terrible. And it started raining on my on #15. But it was still a lot of fun.

[Matt10]

Not too bad to start of the preseason DJ - I'm hoping to sneak in a round tomm after work.

[CC]

I played yesterday afternoon for the first time since last summer when I gave up after having the ****** for my last 3 outings last year (Yes I bleeped that unspeakable word out).

Ended up pulling a 43 out of my *** on a difficult course. Could have been alot better too but I had 24 putts, with a four-putt . But they were tough greens and were slow as heck, and I did everything else really well without swinging a club for 6 months so I am quite pleased.

I usually would have been fuming, but it was just nice to get out and play.

[DonkeyJote]

I said I had 42 putts, and that was wrong. It was actually 45. Ouch. Still struck the ball better than I had for a long, long time. I feel pretty good about this season. If I had averaged a two-putt (I'm normally between 32 and 36 putts on that particular course) and hadn't flubbed two chips, that's only 4 strokes of my best score.

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[DonkeyJote]

Bought a putter for $13 at Goodwill today. It's a heavy, face balanced Zebra putter. Just from playing with it in the living room, I love it so far. Once I got a feel for it, all my putts were very true. I can't wait until I can take it out on the course.

[Matt10]

I played 9 hole par 3 yesterday, good round, tweaking with my swing and new ZM Titleist clubs. Short game let me down a bit, and carded a +5 (32). Overall, a good outing - but have got to save the tweaking for the range.

[Skyboxer]

Hoping to get out tomorrow or Wednesday weather permitting!

[st0rmb11]

Planning on going tomorrow, as it's supposed to be in the 70s or 80s, here in South Carolina.

Going to try to remember my own "advice" and just have fun, and not stress over each shot.

[DonkeyJote]

I'm hoping to be able to go out tomorrow. It's supposed to be almost 50 and sunny, and it could be my last shot for a bit, as it's supposed to start snowing on Friday.

[st0rmb11]

Ended up shooting somewhere between 83-88 (didn't keep score, but that's what I would estimate) when I went Thursday.

Driving was great. Irons were awful (which has been the case the last 4 or 5 times I've gone). Chipping was average. Putting was average.

I really used most of the day to experiment with new things. I NEVER use my sand wedge anywhere but in the sand, but I decided to try chipping with it some around the green; bad idea. EVERYTHING was well short. On a positive note, the only shot I had to hit out of the sand, I almost made. The club works great out of bunkers; not so great out of rough. I think I'll just stick with my usual chipping approach - I use either a 7, 8, or 9 iron and try to run the ball, rather than take a direct shot at the hole with a wedge.

The biggest problem with putting was poor distance control. Everything was either way too hard or way too soft, which resulted in some tough second putts. But, I attribute this to trying to use a putter that I haven't used in a while. It's much heavier than the one I'm accustomed to, so I spent the entire day trying to get a feel for it. On a good note, I sank my last putt of the day - a 10 or 15 footer for par.

The biggest change I made was with my grip (on the last 5 holes).I was rubbing a blister on my left hand (top hand) index finger. I have NEVER interlocked my top hand's pointer finger with my bottom hand's pinky (as you're supposed to do). I've just never felt comfortable doing it. It's always felt awkward. Anyway, I decided to give it a go, to relieve some pressure on that finger, and I seemed to lose a bit of distance, but every shot was dead straight. My ball control seemed to improve quite a bit, with my driver, fairway woods, and irons. My distance control was thrown off a little, as I was losing 5 to 10 yards with every club. Not sure if this was a result of the grip, or, a more likely explanation, a result of me swinging a bit easier, to focus on keeping my club on a good line through my back swing.


Overall, it was a solid experience. I got to jump in with 2 older gentlemen to finish my last 3 holes, which I always enjoy doing. They have some great stories and fun banter.

I'll definitely continue to try to interlock my fingers, but as I said, it's quite uncomfortable for me.

Some of you who may have had some formal instruction (which I haven't), I want to know - is it important to interlock the fingers? do you gain anything from that, over not doing so?