The Golf Thread - 2018!

[Noodle1982]

thebraketester said:

You can get 15 chromesofts off amazon for 19.99 which i think is pretty good value for a premium ball.... I like to gift lucky finders of my lost balls to decent ones :-)

I swore I would never use Chromesofts again after finding a truvis last year. I used it for my following round and played my worst round of the year!

[thebraketester]

Haha.. funny how things like that can "psych" you out.

I actually find the trivis harder to see than a plain white ball. I would not buy them again either.

Edited by thebraketester on Sunday 24th March 21:55

[Rosscow]

Juanco20 said:

45 points in our March medal today with a blob on the 2nd after my ball disappeared. 26 points coming back, 1under gross. Easily the best I've played since getting back into it last year

45 points?!!!!

[Rosscow]

I played some good stuff on the back 9 yesterday (19 points) to finish with 32 points. Enough to win the Sunday morning roll up money.

Quite pleased with myself - remember it's 6300+ yards and only a par 68 so pretty brutal especially when the wind is up! Only 1 par 5 as well, and that's the first hole.

[toasty]

Rosscow said:

Juanco20 said:

45 points in our March medal today with a blob on the 2nd after my ball disappeared. 26 points coming back, 1under gross. Easily the best I've played since getting back into it last year

45 points?!!!!

I had 45 points last year after a cracking round at Pine Ridge but only came 3rd out of 22 players. The winner got 51 points. I justifiably got cut by 4 but then scored 12 on the next round. Such is the inconsistency of a high handicapper.

[Noodle1982]

Played another round today with the Topflite D2 balls.

Glorious weather, the course was in immaculate condition. Shot 37 points off a 9 handicap. These balls are going to be my ball of choice for the season. Bloody love them.

Anyone know where I can buy a topflite cap from? ....I love them that much!

[rsbmw]

I just played 11 holes in the nice spring weather. Was hitting the ball straight and making putts, that's odd!

Also grabbed 80 Bridgestone e6 on ebay for about £35. I've been playing premium balls (pro v1, z star, b330 etc) but really at my 'ability' level I expect I'm better off with something that reduces spin like the e6

[bodhi]

I've still got about 7 dozen Nike RZN that I bought for £20 a dozen when they stopped making them and they will probably be my ball of choice for the season (again). However as I can't help buying other stuff to see what to use next I've also got 3 dozen Bridgestone Tour B XS (great balls, very similar to the RZN Platinum), a dozen AVX (very low spin and trajectory, not sure I can stomach £40 a dozen tho) and some Titleist Tour Soft. I'm particularly impressed by the Tour Soft - great in the softer conditions we have at the moment, and I'd be more tempted to buy more of these than the AVX,but will see how they work when the courses dry out.

Went for 13 holes yesterday to soothe a bad hangover (damn you Brewdog) and give the Nike Putter another go - was 1 over gross when I finished, after draining 3 birdie putts. I'd love to get down to 5 from my current 9 handicap this season, keep that sort of round up I think it just might be possible.

[Abbott]

Incredible weekend in Inverness. Nairn yesterday sunshine and dry, Castle Stuart today dry and warm no wind and tomorrow Royal Dornoch.
The sun is shining now and still no sign of proper rain.

[Tom_Spotley_When]

Any recommendations for someone who hasn't been on a course for 10 years, but is keen to get back into it?

I need some new shoes and some balls, but apart from that, where do I start?

Last time I played, on a really good day, I could get round in 18 over. My irons were a cheap set and could probably do with being replaced. ebay or a golf shop? Bearing in mind, I'm left handed, that seems like it could be a nightmare....

Anything else I need? I was planning to go to the local 9 hole courses on a Friday afternoon to begin with and take it from there. Will I need lessons? What am I missing?

[siovey]

Tom, I did that too recently. I just went to the driving range a couple of times to make sure I could still hit the ball, rather than embarrass myself on the course. Lol
Same old crappy clubs, balls, bag, etc. No point wasting money if I couldn't get back into it again! Now I'm addicted again and playing 4 to 5 times a week. I'm still crap, ranging between 80-95 per round. Great fun though. Just get back out after a couple of range sessions and you'll be fine with your existing stuff. Good luck!

[DuncanM]

Tom_Spotley_When said:

Any recommendations for someone who hasn't been on a course for 10 years, but is keen to get back into it?

I need some new shoes and some balls, but apart from that, where do I start?

Last time I played, on a really good day, I could get round in 18 over. My irons were a cheap set and could probably do with being replaced. ebay or a golf shop? Bearing in mind, I'm left handed, that seems like it could be a nightmare....

Anything else I need? I was planning to go to the local 9 hole courses on a Friday afternoon to begin with and take it from there. Will I need lessons? What am I missing?

Hello,

If you haven't played for 10 years, I'd recommend trying the soft spike golf shoes, they're like trainers and very comfortable. I have some Slazenger ones which I love, not expensive and available from Sports Direct. Whilst you're there, pick up some Slazenger 300 Soft Golf Balls. they are cheap but very good.

Regarding clubs, I'm a fellow lefty and feel your pain! I would go for Ebay clubs, preferably something half decent but older. Golf clubs have not moved forwards that much in the last 20 years imo. DGS300 or DGR300 shafts, and off you go.

Good luck and enjoy

[deckster]

DuncanM said:

Hello,

If you haven't played for 10 years, I'd recommend trying the soft spike golf shoes, they're like trainers and very comfortable. I have some Slazenger ones which I love, not expensive and available from Sports Direct. Whilst you're there, pick up some Slazenger 300 Soft Golf Balls. they are cheap but very good.

Regarding clubs, I'm a fellow lefty and feel your pain! I would go for Ebay clubs, preferably something half decent but older. Golf clubs have not moved forwards that much in the last 20 years imo. DGS300 or DGR300 shafts, and off you go.

Good luck and enjoy

Great advice. But do all that after you've been playing for a couple of months.

Right now, you don't need to do anything bar dust off the old kit and get on a golf course. It'll all still work just as well as it did 10 years ago.

[Andy 308GTB]

DuncanM said:

Whilst you're there, pick up some Slazenger 300 Soft Golf Balls. they are cheap but very good.

This.
£18 for 48 balls - I was very happy with them.

[mikal83]

toasty said:

Rosscow said:

Juanco20 said:

45 points in our March medal today with a blob on the 2nd after my ball disappeared. 26 points coming back, 1under gross. Easily the best I've played since getting back into it last year

45 points?!!!!

I had 45 points last year after a cracking round at Pine Ridge but only came 3rd out of 22 players. The winner got 51 points. I justifiably got cut by 4 but then scored 12 on the next round. Such is the inconsistency of a high handicapper.

Who the heck does your handicaps.......a clown.

[SpeckledJim]

And this is why competitions should be based on half-handicaps or similar. Or results should be measured in percentages against handicap.

A good golfer has almost zero chance of beating his handicap by half a dozen shots. A poor golfer can easily do that on the front nine.

Once you've got half a dozen poor golfers in the competition, chances are at least one or two of them will have a good day and there's then no chance for the rest of the field.

This might not be a popular opinion!

[DuncanM]

SpeckledJim said:

And this is why competitions should be based on half-handicaps or similar. Or results should be measured in percentages against handicap.

A good golfer has almost zero chance of beating his handicap by half a dozen shots. A poor golfer can easily do that on the front nine.

Once you've got half a dozen poor golfers in the competition, chances are at least one or two of them will have a good day and there's then no chance for the rest of the field.

This might not be a popular opinion!

Absolutely is true, especially in big events with people chucking in "social" handicaps etc.

To be honest, if your goal isn't to be as good as you can be, instead, sandbagging to protect your HC; then I don't count you as a real golfer.

A lot of clubs sensibly split the comps into cat1/2 together, and cat3/4 together. A cat 2 golfer has less room for an amazing round, making the comp a shambles.

Then there's the real playas playing for best gross .

[mikal83]

DuncanM said:

SpeckledJim said:

And this is why competitions should be based on half-handicaps or similar. Or results should be measured in percentages against handicap.

A good golfer has almost zero chance of beating his handicap by half a dozen shots. A poor golfer can easily do that on the front nine.

Once you've got half a dozen poor golfers in the competition, chances are at least one or two of them will have a good day and there's then no chance for the rest of the field.

This might not be a popular opinion!

Absolutely is true, especially in big events with people chucking in "social" handicaps etc.

To be honest, if your goal isn't to be as good as you can be, instead, sandbagging to protect your HC; then I don't count you as a real golfer.

A lot of clubs sensibly split the comps into cat1/2 together, and cat3/4 together. A cat 2 golfer has less room for an amazing round, making the comp a shambles.

Then there's the real playas playing for best gross .

Most of our BIG championships we had 7/8's or 3/4's of handicaps for various comps

[Blackpuddin]

Can anybody recommend a good quality set of club organisers, those plastic clip in-bag thingies that separate your clubs and do away with the need for headcovers? Or all they all cheap and nasty? Fed up with losing headcovers!

[Noodle1982]

Andy 308GTB said:

DuncanM said:

Whilst you're there, pick up some Slazenger 300 Soft Golf Balls. they are cheap but very good.

This.
£18 for 48 balls - I was very happy with them.

I'm a big fan of cheap balls and have been playing the slazenger v100 and inesis 100 balls for the last few weeks. I popped into sports direct a few days ago and bought 48 of the V300 balls in orange.

Very impressed with them.

I can see these being my ball of choice for a while.