GOLF - 2024

[s94wht]

Happy new year everyone! Must be time to start a new thread!

To kick us off I thought I'd do some analysis of last year's thread...

There were 143 unique posters in the 2023 thread. Congratulations to our top contributor, DuncanM, with 508 posts!

The top ten are as follows:

DuncanM, 508
bodhi, 413
RayDonovan, 276
48Valves, 186
rallye101, 180
s94wht, 169
Hammersia, 165
Deesee, 161
milesgiles, 158
Blackpuddin, 130

I hope I'm not stepping on any toes starting this thread

Edited by s94wht on Tuesday 2nd January 12:18

Edited by s94wht on Tuesday 2nd January 12:26

[s94wht]

I would absolutely love to get to single figures this year, but sitting at 18.4 currently, that may be unlikely. So instead I'll aim to get below 14. 12 would be lovely. First objective, though, will be to get all my 20 scores in. That will give me a much better idea of where I currently sit. I think I have about 8 in at the mo.

My ball striking is going from strength to strength on the range lately, and I'm getting more consistent with driver. Got Dan Grieve's book for my birthday at the end of November, so I want to start working on that proper.

Also, I'd love to play more rounds with you guys! 2024 should be the year of the first PH meetup.

[s94wht]

DuncanM said:

Oh no! More golf and less posting in 2024 perhaps

O really enjoy this thread, a nice place by PH standards, a goal for 2024 would be to play with some of you PH chaps

He says, as he goes back to the 2023 thread and makes it 509

To add to my goals, I really want to play some more new courses this year. I haven't played many in the local area, and I've also really enjoyed my trips away. If that includes playing abroad, even better

[s94wht]

48Valves said:

It’s difficult to get card in at the moment. If I were you I would put one in every time you play if conditions allow. It gets more scores on your record and I find it helps me to keep trying if the wheels start to fall off.

Your ball striking is certainly good enough to get to 12 with a bit of consistency and good shot selection.

We definitely need a get together this year. I’m sure we can at least manage a couple of mini Cambridgeshire meets if nothing else.

Thank you. The main areas I need to focus are a) keeping driver out of trouble and b) short game. With regards to a), at one point driver was the best club in my bag, but as I've added distance and improved my irons it's now where I'm more likely to let myself down.

What is the latest on your course, is the bunker work completed or is there now the other 9 to do?

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

If looking at Arccos I'd take a look at ShotScope as well - similar functionality but the tags on the clubs are less intrusive, no yearly subscription either.

I was literally about to say the same thing. I use Shot Scope and I think it's really good. At the risk of sounding like a shill, I don't realistically think that Arccos can be much more accurate, and Shot Scope is a one-time purchase, as you say.

I am also very impressed by the new strategy planner - you can get an overhead view of any course on the database and lay your club dispersions over it (for tee shots), make notes, and save it, for when you're going round.

[s94wht]

Rick Shiels did a video recently with, iirc, a 2023 driver and a 20 year old driver, and his numbers were about 20yards difference. A 1 yard gain per year.

Which is amusing when he then reviews the new drivers and talks about how far they go

[s94wht]

danneth said:

After 3 years at Chesterfield golf club it's time for a change. Loved it there, proper club and course but the 60 mile round trip just got a bit much at times.

I didn't think choosing a new club would be so difficult, but after seeing the condition of this place the other day and couple that with it being a 9min drive for me, it's a no brainier.

It's not the longest course, but it's quite tight and technical - https://www.hillsboroughgolfclub.co.uk/

I'm really jealous. Hillsborough GC is wonderful. Played it last year and can remember every hole in vivid detail - that's how you know you've enjoyed it!

[s94wht]

leglessAlex said:

What makes it so hard? I googled it and it's not short, but surely not long for a low handicapper, and the bunker side green doesn't look too mean.

Is it a lot more uphill than it looks?

It is uphill quite a lot. I don't mean to brag but as an 18 capper I parred it on my first and only attempt It was the first time I'd hit an iron and heard a noise quite like that, the trees around really made it sound like a gunshot.

The only part of Hillsborough that I wasn't so much of a fan of was holes 6 and 7 - they felt a little bit like they'd been taken from a different course.

The blind tee shot on 14 is also very weird and I can imagine there are some real disasters there! You're basically hitting over a steep wall of turf

[s94wht]

Ashfordian said:

It's more the bulk of the clothing (I am calling the golf polo as one layer). Most layers are thin but the winter jacket is where it changes to where you feel like the Michelin man and that impacts on the freedom to swing.

I just have to accept this is winter golf.

I do err on the side of caution though as I play worse golf when I am cold, so will generally dress to make sure I am warm . I would hate get cold standing around for 5 minutes on a tee box and you can never guarantee that you could play fast enough to stay warm so I dress accordingly.

Some people just feel the cold more than others. I used to, I'm not so bad now. When we went to the range back in December (November?) you commented something along the lines of that it was a cold night, or that you were struggling to warm up, and I remember thinking that I could've actually taken my jumper off and just played in a t-shirt! We're all different. I'm the opposite, actually, I struggle in the heat much more than I do in the cold.

[s94wht]

milesgiles said:

170 straight is top tier on trackman

Toptracer registers 10mph more for me for whatever reason

Yeah I get about 158-162mph on Toptracer and I don't think I'm that. 152 tops, I reckon.

[s94wht]

Hammersia said:

Absolutely appalling, shouldn't be allowed on the course, and a crime against fashion.

CK might be getting back into golf, they went away for a bit, haven't been able to check out their current quality level but used to be extremely good threads.

Don't make me dig out that picture of your tablecloth trousers again!

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

Doesn't surprise me on the Kirkland - I always found them very spinny and very short off the Driver despite being assured they were made in in old Pro V1 factory.

An interesting ball to put this new one up against would be the Pro V1x Left Dash - an interesting ball with even higher compression than the usual Pro V1x and very long off the Driver, but with limited wedge spin. Considering they are £45 a dozen, would be very interesting if they've done a Left Dash equivalent for a quarter of the price.

edit// On Titleist it looks as if they've just launched the new AVX - incremental improvements but at a slightly lower price. The bit about this I don't like, it looks as if they've dropped the Tour Speed, which was close to my favourite ball. Looks like I'll be stocking up again.

Such mixed reviews on the Kirklands. I've just bought another two dozen on them, I quite like them, I love the value and I'm realistically not good enough to warrant a more expensive ball. I've played Pro V1s but only old lake balls, so it would be interesting to try a new sleeve. Maybe I'll get one

[s94wht]

Braved the wind yesterday and played Kilworth Springs. Had a brilliant time, then went and watched Ipswich get a late draw at Leicester. Great day out.

[s94wht]

fat80b said:

That would be my experience as well - Several folks I play with can boom one a long way, but it's not much good if you also lose 3 or 4 balls off the tee and can't break 100. Clearly keeping the ball in play is the first path to better scores.

I suspect that HC crossover is somewhere near where I am (20 hcap). i.e. I am at a point where in order to get lower, I really do need to be a couple of clubs closer on approach, and Arccos is confirming that my biggest weakness is length off the tee.

But as well as being a function of skill / handicap level, maybe it's also a function of the course itself as to the best strategy. i.e. it isn't a one size fits all approach in terms of length at all costs.

Girton is quite tight (lots of trees, nasty bushes, and long ish rough in the summer) and also short (5812 off the yellows) and there are several holes where driver might not make sense anyway because of this.
The defense of the course is really the accuracy required / things like ditches off the tee that come into play with driver; Meaning the amateur bomb and gouge approach will result in a lot of time spent in the trees.

My own personal situation is that I know that I can score well enough round Girton without hitting driver, but I also know it's where I fall short particularly when away at longer courses. Put me on a longer course and I'm hitting 3 wood / hybrids as my second shot way too often so my current theory is that my path to getting better is to be longer off tee.......

I'd love to play Girton when the weather gets a little bit more reliable. Considering it's only down the road from me... I've been putting off playing there for two years

[s94wht]

48Valves said:

Give me a shout and we can make it a 4.

How are Girton and Bar Hill looking after the recent weather?

Bar Hill wasn't too bad a couple of weeks ago, considering. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. We are currently on Red+ status, which is carry preferred, trollies are permissable if carrying isn't an option and they must stick to the edge of the fairway ("90 degree rule"). It did get up to amber status but has dropped back down.

The greens are slow, you really have to give it a whack, but they're in good shape. A few holes are (were) a little squelchy.

[s94wht]

Teatowell said:

Got round to regrouping the irons, easy as some of you said. Dont have a local pro and seemed a simple job. Was surprised how easy the old tape came off with a bit of heat.

All straight and level despite picture showing otherwise!

The arrangement is making my eye twitch. Grips look good though

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

Good to see you getting out there chap - looked a cracking day for it. My guess is after pitching in on the 1st you were thinking "Easy game"

Having said that, if there's one thing in golf I hate doing is birdieing the 1st. Only one way the round can go after that

Can't birdie them all if you don't birdie the first

[s94wht]

My Taylormade Flextech stand bag got the approval for weight from Ashfordian on Monday

[s94wht]

DuncanM said:

I was watching the same vid yesterday, Rick's chipping is painful to watch at the moment, poor bugger.

7,700 is a slog.

Watching Rick on that video resonated with me and how I played this weekend. You go out with all the confidence that you're playing well and slowly but surely it just drains out of you.

I played with Ashfordian on Saturday which was great fun but I didn't play well at all, I think I could count my "usual" quality shots on one hand. Yesterday was very much the same. I set out to play 18, but in the end I played 1-9, 10, 17 and half of 18 (before dunking my ball in the lake) and instead went to the range where, typically, I found my swing again - particularly with driver, where, as Ashfordian will testify, I'd been ballooning and slicing all over the place bar a couple of holes. By the end of the session I'd got the slice down to a very slight fade, sometimes a draw, and my misses were generally a straight pull slightly left of target, which was much better.

[s94wht]

DuncanM said:

Well played, and some great stats there.

I was surprised when he came in just two shots over par, and I mean that as a compliment. It was the sort of golf that was just steady all the way around with nothing spectacular. Short game was very very good.

Maybe I missed the spectacular shots while I was off foraging