The golf thread - 2019
Discussion
Rosscow said:
Grobag said:
The Dukes
I played the Marquess last year, very nice indeed.GloverMart said:
We were sat at home bored on Thursday so decided to stick the clubs in the car and find a course to play a cheap round of golf at.
Stumbled across Clevedon Golf Centre and what a lovely little course. Very short with 15 Par 3 holes and 3 Par 4's, even the longest of those was 282 yards. Lovely views across the Bristol Channel, course in very good nick and some really interesting little holes there. Shot a 73 which I'm pleased with, thinking of going back again today to try to crack the magical 70 mark.
Best of all, it was £9 each to play.
Have been back to this little gem three times since then, the last of which was yesterday.Stumbled across Clevedon Golf Centre and what a lovely little course. Very short with 15 Par 3 holes and 3 Par 4's, even the longest of those was 282 yards. Lovely views across the Bristol Channel, course in very good nick and some really interesting little holes there. Shot a 73 which I'm pleased with, thinking of going back again today to try to crack the magical 70 mark.
Best of all, it was £9 each to play.
Had shot a couple of 72's which had shown slight improvement on the first round but yesterday, felt as good as I've done in years. Driving was pretty accurate, shots into the green were good and although not too many long putts were dropping, most six-footers or less were going in. Overall result was a 69, going out in 34 and back in 35. Had a six footer on the last which I knew was to break 70 and nearly got the yips...
My two lads have recently started getting into playing again, and this course is perfect for them. Both of them got their lowest scores too yesterday, a 77 and a 78 with one putting in from way off the green. This course is helping me regain my love for the game, just hope it's transferable to a "big" course when the time comes.
Grobag said:
It was my first visit there so haven't played that one, although the Dukes was pretty much tree-lined every hole and apparently the Marquess is tighter!! Was a great course though, you can see why there's a 4 year waiting list.
Marquess is wider, Duchess tighter but Dukes the most challenging off the whites!Stunning doesn't do Woburn justice, it really is an amazing place to visit.
Regarding Kuchar, he was right, I've seen a video of the ball zipping back into his pitch mark. Everyone loves to hate Kuch, and yes it's mostly deserved I guess!
thebraketester said:
IMO. (And I do realise it counts for nothing) if your ball lands on the fairway and ends up in an existing un-repaired divot then you should be able to take relief. If it were an animal scraping then would relief be given?
I think it should be played as it lies, in both cases (divot and scraping). Golf is a cross-country affair, and just about the only ball sport in which 'natural' conditions are a key, integral part of the game, and it should be kept as simple as possible, IMO.It might be unfair on you this time, but it'll be unfair on the next guy next time, and it'll even out.
Cursing bad luck is all part and parcel of the good walk spoiled.
Recently come back from 3 days at Prince’s in Kent - great courses (3 different 9’s) in superb condition, particularly the greens.
The weather was great and, if you stay at the lodge, the food and hospitality were great too.
It was breezy when we played, but I can’t imagine you get many days when it isn’t windy, and clearly that’s a key part of links golf.
Highly recommended!
Royal St George’s next door looked immaculate, but I’m not sure it would be worth 3-4x the price!
The weather was great and, if you stay at the lodge, the food and hospitality were great too.
It was breezy when we played, but I can’t imagine you get many days when it isn’t windy, and clearly that’s a key part of links golf.
Highly recommended!
Royal St George’s next door looked immaculate, but I’m not sure it would be worth 3-4x the price!
A mate of mine isn’t very good and he has blades, which I notice a lot of you say you shouldn’t have unless your pretty good. Am I right I’m saying they’re unforgiving, but hit one out the sweet spot and it’ll go for miles? Is it worth the fluff ups just for the benefits of the good ones?
Abc321 said:
A mate of mine isn’t very good and he has blades, which I notice a lot of you say you shouldn’t have unless your pretty good. Am I right I’m saying they’re unforgiving, but hit one out the sweet spot and it’ll go for miles? Is it worth the fluff ups just for the benefits of the good ones?
It won’t go far. It’ll just feel like cream wrapped in butter.I've recently sold my Ping G10s (a great recommendation by SpeckledJim) so that I have no option but to play my secondhand Titleist MB blades, and am so glad I did. Playing best golf of my life just now. Finding I'm hitting them well 80% of the time. Even when you mis
t them, the ball goes in generally the right direction. They oblige you to swing properly which is good discipline.
ETA mine have stiff shafts of course which I thought might be problem but it doesn't seem to be. Nor is distance.
t them, the ball goes in generally the right direction. They oblige you to swing properly which is good discipline. ETA mine have stiff shafts of course which I thought might be problem but it doesn't seem to be. Nor is distance.
Edited by Blackpuddin on Saturday 1st June 07:45
Blackpuddin said:
I've recently sold my Ping G10s (a great recommendation by SpeckledJim) so that I have no option but to play my secondhand Titleist MB blades, and am so glad I did. Playing best golf of my life just now. Finding I'm hitting them well 80% of the time. Even when you mist them, the ball goes in generally the right direction. They oblige you to swing properly which is good discipline.
ETA mine have stiff shafts of course which I thought might be problem but it doesn't seem to be. Nor is distance.
t them, the ball goes in generally the right direction. They oblige you to swing properly which is good discipline. ETA mine have stiff shafts of course which I thought might be problem but it doesn't seem to be. Nor is distance.
Edited by Blackpuddin on Saturday 1st June 07:45
The big problem with blades is when you catch them high on the club face. They go absolutely nowhere. There’s just no meat behind the ball to produce any ball speed, and no springy cavity to get you out of jail.
If your tendency is to catch it a bit thin then they work just as well as comparatively lofted cavity backs, which is lucky for me
In truth I don’t play blades. I bottled it and went for MP18 SC instead, but they are quite bladey. Just not a full on butter knife.
If your tendency is to catch it a bit thin then they work just as well as comparatively lofted cavity backs, which is lucky for me
In truth I don’t play blades. I bottled it and went for MP18 SC instead, but they are quite bladey. Just not a full on butter knife.
I was back out on our course here in Accra, Ghana yesterday AM. Unbelievable the difference between the course here and the courses I was playing recently in South Africa.
In SA they are now becoming hard and fast as we enter winter, but here in Ghana its the rainy season and the fairways and greens are soft, very soft.
Had some decent holes and some not so decent holes. The only real highlight was an eagle on the par 5 15th. From 40 years away, out of extremely thick rough, I managed to put my third shot on to the green and in she rolled - ya beauty.
Bank holiday here on Wednesday, so hopefully back on the course.
In SA they are now becoming hard and fast as we enter winter, but here in Ghana its the rainy season and the fairways and greens are soft, very soft.
Had some decent holes and some not so decent holes. The only real highlight was an eagle on the par 5 15th. From 40 years away, out of extremely thick rough, I managed to put my third shot on to the green and in she rolled - ya beauty.
Bank holiday here on Wednesday, so hopefully back on the course.
HaplessBoyLard said:
The big problem with blades is when you catch them high on the club face. They go absolutely nowhere. There’s just no meat behind the ball to produce any ball speed, and no springy cavity to get you out of jail.
If your tendency is to catch it a bit thin then they work just as well as comparatively lofted cavity backs, which is lucky for me
In truth I don’t play blades. I bottled it and went for MP18 SC instead, but they are quite bladey. Just not a full on butter knife.
Yep, blades are all about the misIf your tendency is to catch it a bit thin then they work just as well as comparatively lofted cavity backs, which is lucky for me
In truth I don’t play blades. I bottled it and went for MP18 SC instead, but they are quite bladey. Just not a full on butter knife.
ts - catch it out of the toe or high up and you are going nowhere, low or out of the heel and you aren't giving anything up at all. I've used them for 15 years or so, currently on a set of Nike VR Pros, so I've "trained" my miss to one I can get away with. In truth my long game is that schizophrenic that a decent score is usually long gone by the time I get an iron in my hands. Take yesterday's round, shot three doubles and a triple, all due to wayward tee shots, then my "good" driver swing woke up, and was one under gross for the last 5. I made some good progress over winter getting rid of the killer "over the top" movement, but now the season has started up, it comes back when I'm playing off whites.
Blackpuddin said:
I'd be interested to try a more modern club at some point, something combining the sharpness and thin top line of a blade with a bit more latitude on poor strikes.
I honestly think things are into the regions of seriously diminishing returns for quantifiable performance improvements from irons now. The best club for you may be brand new, 5 years old or 10 years old. You've just got to find it. And even then, the shaft will be miles more important than the club head.
All finally came good this weekend, +4 gross (9 handicap) despite the driver not being 100%, including a lost ball on the 8th...
The putter was the biggest change....I've gone from near-40 putt's (6+ 3-putts) to only 28, everything within 20 foot was drained, occasionally some from further too! Just a shame it wasn't a medal.....still got my lunch paid for though
The putter was the biggest change....I've gone from near-40 putt's (6+ 3-putts) to only 28, everything within 20 foot was drained, occasionally some from further too! Just a shame it wasn't a medal.....still got my lunch paid for though
SpeckledJim said:
Blackpuddin said:
I'd be interested to try a more modern club at some point, something combining the sharpness and thin top line of a blade with a bit more latitude on poor strikes.
I honestly think things are into the regions of seriously diminishing returns for quantifiable performance improvements from irons now. The best club for you may be brand new, 5 years old or 10 years old. You've just got to find it. And even then, the shaft will be miles more important than the club head.
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