If someone hits into you and it is a roll up, take a breath and assess the situation. Chances are they unexpectedly hit one hell of a shot. There was no chance of you being injured. This is not an opportunity to lose your shit.
Happened to me last night at league so I’m eating my own dogfood. Didn’t even turn around to look to see where the ball landed as a I pretended to understand how to read the green. Botched the putt and then congratulated them on a sweet shot.
i did that once, but the guy behind me thought i was doing it sarcastically. he went up to be apologizing profusely. i was like, nah dude, i was cheering for you hahaa, it's all good.
lol, I wish that was universal. Best drive of my life I drove it over the green on a 309 yard par 4. I typically hit a good drive around 250, so I didn't see any issue hitting with a group on the green. I didn't even realize I drove the green until a guy in the group ahead of us drove backwards to our group to yell at me for hitting in to them.
Yep. Fairway is toleratable, behind hill or dogleg even understandable. But on the green it’s inexcusable. This has happened to me a couple of times and I Just throw the ball away. If that makes me an asshole then there is two of us.
i had this recently, 300y par 4 over a crest so you couldn’t see the green. hit an uncharacteristically good drive that took a good bounce and trickled onto the green. was worried the guy ahead would be pissed but he just laughed when i got there
I got my only eagle on a hole like this. 4 old guys on the completely blind green. Crush a drive to 6’, drive up apologizing like crazy, they congratulated me and joked that they were considering kicking it in and telling me I got an albatross hole in one lol.
Definitely doesn’t matter unless it’s super wet. I’ve gotten to the point where if somebody is going to tap a putt in but they are doing some weird stance to avoid my line, I just tell them to step in my line.
I'm with this one 100%. I'm always careful about other people's lines because of etiquette but honestly I couldn't care less if someone steps in mine. I have never played on a green where it would make a bit of difference in how my putts roll.
We should embrace people playing front tees more. Playing 2nd and tips only is why most people don’t enjoy playing after a few holes. Front tees also don’t guarantee the round being easier, it requires a good understanding of course management with less stress about hitting straight on a long fairway. Front tees also allow for a more competitive game between a high handicap and low handicap playing against each other which is beneficial for growing the game for lesser players
Yeah it’s only easier for good player with higher swing speeds. It still puts the same hazards in play for people of lower swing speeds. It also doesn’t change wedges, chipping, putting etc.
Genuinely, it should be based off your 7 iron distance. If you can’t consistently hit a 7 iron 150 yards, you don’t belong on the blues. If it struggles to go 100, go to the front.
Read a good article about using driver distance, 7i distance, and handicap as indicators of the track yardage you should play. I was unsurprisingly just over the front tees on my local course. One rainy day I had course to myself and rain boots in truck and played the fronts. Loved it, completely different looks and a focus on placement and accuracy, was like playing golf again for the first time. Shot an 82 without even knowing where I picked up strokes (was shaping driver instead of swinging out of my shoes mostly). No shame in my game
Instructor here, and you’re sorta not wrong.
Some overcomplicate the swing because they’re not great teachers and don’t understand that giving someone 200 swing thoughts isn’t great. It’s not for repeat customers, it’s just not good teaching. I did this with my earliest clients before I realized I need to simplify and turn lessons into a gradual progression.
On the other hand, there are absolutely people (some former colleagues included) that intentionally fuck up people’s swings so they can get repeat customers. I’ve never understood this because it’s always been my philosophy that if you see improvement you’ll want to keep taking lessons with me and you might tell all your buddies to do the same. Rising tides lift all lost golf balls ya know?
The most improvement I saw in my game was when I stepped away from lessons and just started to focus on hitting better golf shots and lowering my scores. Then my swing followed suit.
Watching men’s golf is amazing, watching women’s golf is the best possible “education” for a 5-20 handicapper. We should all be trying to play more like the women on the LPGA.
Only a couple courses in my city let you book a tee time as a single. Super annoying, like set the online portal to only show tee times with 1 spot left when booking for a single, instead of making me show up in hopes they can get me out. It is stupid, and a waste of my time and revenue for the course.
I play as a single 90% of the time. I just go into the pro shop and pay the fees and drive to the 1st tee. I hang out until I find a twosome or a three some and ask if they would mind my company.
This is right. There's a middle ground between allowing singles to book anything and forcing them to show up at the course.
Once a 3some books a time, that tee time should pop up on whatever booking engine the course uses as an available single time.
I have a buddy who has like a magic six iron.
Need 200+ off the tee, 6 iron will get you that or more.
Need 165, it'll plop you there.
125, sure enough 6 iron.
Six foot putt? Well ok he uses putter.
But he says he swings the same on all of them and it just goes.
I am the same way but with my hybrid. My stock hybrid is 185. However, based on how I position my feet I can hit it from 150-190. If it’s off a tee it goes 150-200. People think it’s so weird. I also use my 9i from 90 yards-135. I keep track of every single shot I hit on the course and it’s basically driver, hybrid, 9i, putter. (Sand wedge if I find the bunker) but honestly that’s practically the extent of it. If I play the tips it’s driver hybrid on almost every par 4/5 and hybrid on every par 3. I’m a 5 handicap.
What's a driver off the tee box?
I've been using a 4 hybrid off the tee for about a year now 😂😂
My driver, she'll look at me every once in a while, but oh no, not today Satan, you're staying in the bag
I go with a 2 iron off the tee and love it. Got drunk and bought an Amazon 1 iron from a random company and hit it nicely 240 ish straight and low. Even a mishit gets me more roll. Iron Born is the way to go
Yes. My driver is inconsistent, but my 4i is consistent and gets me 210-220 down the middle most of the time. I love walking up to the tee with it in hand and getting the "why are you hitting an iron?" comments, then proceeding to hit it as far as most people are hitting their drivers.
I completely agree that all Florida courses (at least all south Florida courses) are basically the same. However, the exception that proves the rule is Seminole. Been lucky enough to play it a dozen times or so and it’s an amazing course. Part of it is the fact that I’m a member of a course in Mass that is an original Donald Ross just like Seminole. It’s so cool to see two courses designed by the same guy and be so similar but have completely different grass, sand, trees, topography etc.
I will also say that Streamsong was great as well.
https://preview.redd.it/qq55wydf5d9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc02ce7f4f904d5e7e12aa57b5b72d078e5d6ed5
This poster was hanging on the wall in my Airbnb. LOL Florida
Pretty much. The courses with scenic views or unique setups take an immense amount of effort to make in Florida. There are a lot of courses across the states that charge like $80 to play that would easily fetch $300 in Florida.
I get it in competition especially when you have spotters and gallery. The local rule is +2 strokes, but I know most play it as +1. I agree there’s simply not enough time in casual play for retees!
My understanding is it is 2+ and a fairway lie.
One of my annoyances for a hazard is I take a penalty and then I'm still chipping out between trees. With that second penalty I'm definitely going to the fairway.
It irks me watching the YouTube guys drive into the next fairway and end up with par, whereas I'm deep into the woods on the left or bouncing off someone's townhouse on the right on my course.
I don't think the golf swing is as crazy complicated as the golf instruction industry wants you to believe it is. It's a conspiracy by big swing coach.
If you're in relatively good health with no significant neurological or nerve issues, learning how to hit a ball isn't that difficult: just practice putting, chipping, and pitch shots until you establish clean contact through the impact zone, then **slowly** ramp up the length and speed of the swing. Pair that with playful experimentation and knowing ball flight laws, and most people can become quality ball strikers completely on their own over the course of a couple years with diligent practice on the range and shorter executive courses.
But adults have our egos to feed so we look for excuses and shortcuts, leading to all the ridiculous snake oil bandied about in the swing instruction industry.
I don't think it's an intentional conspiracy, but they definitely know which side their bread is buttered on.
My swing isn't amazing by any means, but it's better than anyone I pal around with just by making things as simple as possible and not get caught in all the minutia pushed by big swing. I've definitely been caught up in all of it though, it really set me back several years when I was creeping up on breaking 80.
I will add to that I want the tour to have like a one public course that gets picked by lottery on tour schedule and the course gets no prep time, pros have to play it in the condition it is.
I want every tournament to have a “regular player” foursome that goes out either on Wednesday afternoon or Monday morning. A scratch player, 7-8 HCP, 12-15 HCP, and a 20-22 HCP player, just so that we can all see exactly how shitty we’d actually do.
Have it be a lottery that anyone with a handicap who lives within 50 miles of the venue can enter, or for majors, anyone at all. Once in a lifetime opportunity for the majors.
While I don’t disagree, the history of shinnie, Oakmont, and Brookline are incredible. Even if I’m unlikely to play the course, I want to appreciate it somehow and the US Open is best way to do so. I love this opinion though.
Yeah that’s the main drawback, losing the history of those courses. I’d like to see them as venues for other tournaments like the PGA.
I think what makes the US Open so cool is that anybody can qualify, and I think it would add to that theme if they were hosted at courses that anybody can play.
>While I don’t disagree, the history of shinnie, Oakmont, and Brookline are incredible. Even if I’m unlikely to play the course, I want to appreciate it somehow and the US Open is best way to do so. I love this opinion though.
I think a good alternative is have a mandatory "open" tee sheet day once a week or one week in a month that's publicly accessible at these clubs to be host-eligible. Open tournaments at closed courses is meh...
PGA Championship on the best private courses that want to host a major, US Open on the best public courses that want to host a major (I think semi-private would be okay, just the idea of it being on a course anyone can play)
The best golf is winter golf. We’ll play through the whole winter if it’s around 40 or higher on a given day.
Only the true sickos are out then so course isn’t as crowded and easier to get tee times.
I love winter golf in the PNW. The weather is mild enough to play all through the winter and rain is typically pretty light. The big challenge is daylight. In January there's only 8 or 9 hours of daylight so you're constrained to the middle of the day.
This one seems like such common sense to me, it’s crazy it isn’t an official rule yet. However, me and my buddies play this way anyways.
Being penalized for a fairway hit is bizarro world.
If I'm a single with a cart (most of the time I am) that damn 5some that's half drunk on hole 3 just need to let me play through. I ain't waiting on that.
(not to be taken too seriously) If you want to play the tips, you should provide proof of your handicap to the starter. Much like how you have to prove your handicap to play certain courses.
I like the iron distance rule - 7 iron distance related to tee's to play.
I recently played a round with my dad and brother, dad chose the 2nd set of tees if the 1st were the tips. By the 5th hole we were cussing that decision. 62-6500 is a good 18 distance for our style of play - 5-13 hdcp.
We ground it out and shot 92 - 92 - 93. Me with the worst hdcp of the group won the round by handicap hole score.
Best change to my golf game in the two plus years since I started was putting the ego away and playing from the correct tees which for me happen to be the senior tees.
I had to learn golf the hard way. Played high school and college golf so from the age of 14 I was required to walk and play the black tees. Nothing feels as bad as hitting a 3 wood on a par 3 because it's 190 yards and I could only drive the ball 220.
Now I'm in a beer drinkers league and they moved me up a set and I can hit 6i-9i on every par 3. Actually feel like I have a chance on ctp holes.
I disagree with the iron rule. I think tees should be based on handicap over distance. A 20 handicap that drives it 300 is struggling a lot more from the tips than a 10 handicap that drives it 260
Only problem with the 7-iron distance rule is GI irons. Also, for most mid-high hdcps it is actually driver that holds them back from being able to play longer.
For example, my driver average is 275, but 7-iron is 162. My buddy’s 7-iron is 175, but driver is 220.
leaving the range finder in the bag and taking into account front / middle / back yardages increased my GIR% almost overnight.
I'm not good enough to hit at a tucked pin - aim for the middle and then 3 putt for my bogey/double
Sounds like using cart GPS. I only ever use it for the green depth.
My thought process is:
- if it's 170 to the back, 150 to the front, I'm hitting my 160 club to get middle.
- If pin is front but trouble short, I'll hit the 160 club soft.
- Back pin, trouble long, I'll hit the 160 normal to avoid going over.
Rarely do I focus on pin distance unless it's an absolute number in which I'm confident. I have no shame hitting a higher club if it means I'm not in trouble.
"You'll never be a tour pro" is unhelpful and condescending commentary. The pros are not superhuman. They've practiced a lot more than you have, sure. It doesn't mean you can't achieve the kinds of things they do with the right mix of guidance and practice.
I get it. The overall point is to get in tune with your own limit and understanding where your game is on a given day. You'll enjoy the game more when you attempt the shots you're confident in making. It's just discouraging to say "you'll never get to that level." Maybe it's true. That's not really the point. Instead, build towards that, while acknowledging you're not there at the moment. Tour pros managed the course too. There's value in concentrating on that.
Fix your pitch marks or straight to jail.
More than two practice swings straight to jail.
Take a divot on a practice swing. Jail.
Also, walking rate should be different than riding rate if the course is walkable or if it’s cart path only
ALSO, punched greens should be priced at lower rate
All golf is ready golf. Idc who is closer, who has the tee box, etc. if you're ready and I'm not, hit your shot.
Most people blame the wrong party for their long rounds. It's not the group shanking every shot on their way to a 120, it's the over packed course.
Double par should be everyone's max.
If you're playing a money match, do so Monday - Thursday. No one has time on the weekend for you to act like this $45 overbooked muni is Augusta.
A lot of dads do a great job of making sure their kid will hate golf.
Just something I've noticed at the driving range the past year since I started playing. So many dads just get frustrated and pissy with their kid when they are trying to teach them.
You can tell the kid is having a horrible time and is there because they are being forced to be, not cause it's a fun sport to play.
Your goal should be to have them laughing and having fun around the sport, regardless of how old they are.
My goodness, there needs to be more camaraderie around the sport… especially need to see that shown towards the beginners. I don’t like how standoffish seasoned golfers can be when it comes to a sport we play to have fun. Geez so many people forget that…
No putts given. Ever. Golf is played until the ball is holed.
Picking up an 18 incher isn't speeding up the game, it's stroke shaving on those instances when you miss.
Yup. Starting to understand this with my 5 wood. Swinging it super easy and it’s just like a rocket off the face. Still trying to get that feeling in my head/hands for the irons 😵💫
As a beginner it’s ok to cheat while you’re learning. Don’t focus on stroke count, it’s ok to drop a ball in the fairway after a bad slice into the woods. If you’re constantly in the rough you’ll likely get frustrated and massively slow the pace of play. Work on getting some good shots off the fairway, enjoy the round, keep up pace and work on your tee game outside of your regular rounds. Get used to learning what golf is supposed to feel like, not spend all day chipping out of the rough and getting frustrated. Once you start improving and aren’t losing a ball every hole you can focus on strokes, penalties and your handicap.
Obviously don’t cheat if you’re competing or just trying to pad your score.
That I would rather be friends with someone who belongs to a country club that belong to one myself. I’d much rather keep my money freed up so that I can play on different courses rather than pay a significant amount of money in initiation fees/dues and feel like I have to play the same course all the time.
Tees should be selected for you based on your handicap. If you’re an 18 handicap, you don’t need to be playing the second to last holes. If you’re new don’t play those tees with your friends getting you into it, play the front tees. Etc.
Earbuds only - no speakers.
More short & hazardous courses - we should be navigating thru a course with interesting placement shots, not slamming longer and longer drives on 650 yd open par 5s.
More courses owned by public works like the parks dept.
Penalties should be more consistent. Lose your ball? 1 stroke penalty so it’s the same as a hazard. If you choose to retee it’s for 2.
It makes no sense that if you hit it in an actual hazard that’s obviously supposed to be avoided, you are punished more heavily than just hitting it into some thick rough or a bush or some shit.
I also think it’s a bit less savage and punitive for amateurs this way
Players over 70 should be able to anchor and use belly putters. Some of the old guys at my club still play so well but the shakes they have with the putter in their hands is so sad to watch
Ladies tees shouldn’t exist. Play whatever tees you can keep the score under 100 with. If that means senior tees, great. Red tees? Great.
I just finished a “break 80” experiment where I started from the senior tees and only moved back a box once I broke 80 on those tees. Nobody laughed at that harder than my guy friends when I told em I was playing ladies tees.
No shot that’s weird if they’re called red tees, and everything is faster. I know plenty that play the forward mens tees, and they’d play red if it wasn’t “ladies” tees
I go yes and no. I view it as two totally different things. Competitive/Sport Golf vs Fun Social golf. I mostly play the more competitive style, playing by the book, maintaining my handicap, working on improving, walking the course, doesn’t have to be an actual competition but just having that mindset and I really enjoy that. I also enjoy a weekend or trip with friends or family, taking carts, having a few beers and just enjoying the social aspect of it and not taking the golf as serious. I do not think one is better than the other, and I think there is a time and place for both and both are fun good things (as long as you’re not getting belligerently drunk and making an ass of yourself, there is no place for that on a golf course, despite seeing it happen too often)
My hot take is similar. Golf is whatever you need it to be. I've played hyper-competitive rounds, rounds where it feels more like meditation than sport, and rounds where I just wanna get goofy with the boys. Live and let live I say, just be respectful.
I don’t give a shit about my playing partner’s scores or what putts they are giving themselves. Just keep up pace of play and don’t be yapping about your great par after hitting a ball off two different tee boxes, taking the second ball, missing your first putt, and missing your tap but counting it as good. I also don’t want to hear about your “270 yard drive” when your ball is right next to mine and my GPS is telling me I hit it 220
Blades are not near the boogie man that everyone thinks they are, the masses of young people only think blades are some impossible to use clubs that don’t belong in hands of regular players because of decades of marketing to sell new shit.
Perfect golf swing with power isn’t necessary at all. Look at any old guy on the course. They have limited mobility and strength and let the club and gravity do the work..
Beginners shouldn't start by playing rounds. They should start on the range, making sure they can hit solid shots and chipping/putting to get the basics right. They should stay at the range/practice areas for \~ 1 to 2 months before starting to play actual rounds, and even then they should just play 9 -- preferably with someone who can help guide them along who's more experienced.
That's basically me right now. I really want to get out there and play some real golf, but the German in me wants to be pretty decent at the swing before I even hit my first real tee-off. Kind of a self-imposed Platzreife. I only have massive push slices bout 10% of shots now, so that's something. Then the 50% Irish in me just wants to smash driver shots all day.
In Finland we have this thing called the "Green Card", that shows you've taken a beginner's course. The lessons include basic golf shots, drills, golf etiquette and you can't play on a golf course without it. After you've passed it, you get a handicap and have to choose a home club. Only then you're free to play.
to me there's a negligible performance difference between the newest equipment and anything made around say, 2012-2016ish. i think this is when the pace of actual technology advances begins to slow- there's only so many marginal improvements you can make. the 'newest' club in my bag is a ping 410 lst driver made in 2018/2019- my oldest is a yes putter i've been gaming since high school- and i've never felt outclassed in a round because someone had newer, better, more expensive equipment than i do
Hot take: I’m going to be respectful of you golfing, but I’m not bending over backwards for super-particular golfers. I’m not entertaining your hell-bent desire to be out of your line of site on your chip shot you’re duffing regardless. Relax. Maybe if you were better you wouldn’t need the planets aligned to swing a golf club
No weekend golfer cares about your handicap. We just out here having fun and nothing thinking about work or responsibilities for the next couple hours.
With recent experiences in mind, my take is how overrated fittings and expensive sets are. Most golfers would be just fine, possibly even better, playing the Callaway Edge box set.
Golf trips are not worth the money. All I do is get frustrated that I didn’t play perfectly after playing $1500 to be on a beautiful but ridiculously hard course for the week.
Im not sure if its a hot take, but since covid and this new era of “bro golf” or whatever you want to refer to it as is annoying. I don’t want to go out as a single and watch 3 dudes do nothing but hack it up and get hammered while acting like total dicks. I don’t want to be an elitist or anything, but a lot of the current golfing clientele doesn’t seem to respect rules or have any kind of decorum on the course. It’s cool if you want to go out and enjoy a beer with your boys but I don’t want to hear your country music blasting from your speaker two holes over and holding people up because you think the cart girl wants to talk to you
As long as you're not fucking around and intentionally slowing the game down, I don't care if you take your time on your shots. We all paid to be there and I'm trying to teach a 6 year old how to play, its gonna take a little longer to get my round finished. I'm not going to rush my round just because some impatient nitwit thinks he can play 18 in 2 hours
95% of golfers should be using game improvement clubs of some kind. Some companies even make forged models if looks or feel are somehow an issue. Only a fraction of golfers are actual working the ball. Straight and forgiving should be the goal for 99% of golfers.
If you are scratch. Have at it. Otherwise. Work on consistent straight shots and use equipment that maximizes those chances.
If someone hits into you and it is a roll up, take a breath and assess the situation. Chances are they unexpectedly hit one hell of a shot. There was no chance of you being injured. This is not an opportunity to lose your shit. Happened to me last night at league so I’m eating my own dogfood. Didn’t even turn around to look to see where the ball landed as a I pretended to understand how to read the green. Botched the putt and then congratulated them on a sweet shot.
The only time I get pissed is when we’re <200 yards away from the tee box or on par 3s. Both are just a complete lack of common sense.
If I’m 300 yards from the tee and a ball rolls up, turn around and clap!
i did that once, but the guy behind me thought i was doing it sarcastically. he went up to be apologizing profusely. i was like, nah dude, i was cheering for you hahaa, it's all good.
lol, I wish that was universal. Best drive of my life I drove it over the green on a 309 yard par 4. I typically hit a good drive around 250, so I didn't see any issue hitting with a group on the green. I didn't even realize I drove the green until a guy in the group ahead of us drove backwards to our group to yell at me for hitting in to them.
I’m with you if I’m down the fairway quite a bit, but if I’m on the green it’s pretty inexcusable for people to be hitting approach shots
Yep. Fairway is toleratable, behind hill or dogleg even understandable. But on the green it’s inexcusable. This has happened to me a couple of times and I Just throw the ball away. If that makes me an asshole then there is two of us.
i had this recently, 300y par 4 over a crest so you couldn’t see the green. hit an uncharacteristically good drive that took a good bounce and trickled onto the green. was worried the guy ahead would be pissed but he just laughed when i got there
I got my only eagle on a hole like this. 4 old guys on the completely blind green. Crush a drive to 6’, drive up apologizing like crazy, they congratulated me and joked that they were considering kicking it in and telling me I got an albatross hole in one lol.
Walking in someone's line on the green doesn't really matter especially on middling local muni courses
Definitely doesn’t matter unless it’s super wet. I’ve gotten to the point where if somebody is going to tap a putt in but they are doing some weird stance to avoid my line, I just tell them to step in my line.
I'm with this one 100%. I'm always careful about other people's lines because of etiquette but honestly I couldn't care less if someone steps in mine. I have never played on a green where it would make a bit of difference in how my putts roll.
Some the courses greens having people walk on your line would help.
Facts.
Same but I also can't read a green well enough for it to matter. I just hit in a generally direction and pray.
Be fat like me, it matters.
Agreed, it was a much bigger deal in the era of metal spikes and inability to fix your putting line though.
Especially when the putter is shitty like myself. Please walk on my line so I can blame you instead
100% doesn’t matter but out of respect it’s nice to just walk behind
This has not been a thing since metal spikes i'd say, but somehow it keeps on keeping on
I think it's just politeness.
We should embrace people playing front tees more. Playing 2nd and tips only is why most people don’t enjoy playing after a few holes. Front tees also don’t guarantee the round being easier, it requires a good understanding of course management with less stress about hitting straight on a long fairway. Front tees also allow for a more competitive game between a high handicap and low handicap playing against each other which is beneficial for growing the game for lesser players
Yeah it’s only easier for good player with higher swing speeds. It still puts the same hazards in play for people of lower swing speeds. It also doesn’t change wedges, chipping, putting etc.
True, but sometimes just getting off the tee box is tough
Genuinely, it should be based off your 7 iron distance. If you can’t consistently hit a 7 iron 150 yards, you don’t belong on the blues. If it struggles to go 100, go to the front.
Read a good article about using driver distance, 7i distance, and handicap as indicators of the track yardage you should play. I was unsurprisingly just over the front tees on my local course. One rainy day I had course to myself and rain boots in truck and played the fronts. Loved it, completely different looks and a focus on placement and accuracy, was like playing golf again for the first time. Shot an 82 without even knowing where I picked up strokes (was shaping driver instead of swinging out of my shoes mostly). No shame in my game
A few months back I started playing the whites, approx 6000 yards, and I’m enjoying my rounds much more.
This is the answer, so much animosity when I suggest it. It’s the same game!
Double par max. Pick it up, move along.
Double par and within the leather is our summer rules in Phoenix.
https://preview.redd.it/9mz9cjmf6d9d1.png?width=1021&format=png&auto=webp&s=b956b55b73f54a8257e60004b2e499cbd7180e2f Which leather?
> within the leather Expound.
The length of the putter minus the grip. Add a stroke, pick up and off to the next one.
I didn’t know this was a hot take, I’ve been abiding by it ever since a college golf coach told me about it
I often pickup when I hit par, then chip from the cart path and putt with my buddies. Too often.
And no 4th putt. Keep on walking.
Instructors over complicate the golf swing so they have repeat clients
Instructor here, and you’re sorta not wrong. Some overcomplicate the swing because they’re not great teachers and don’t understand that giving someone 200 swing thoughts isn’t great. It’s not for repeat customers, it’s just not good teaching. I did this with my earliest clients before I realized I need to simplify and turn lessons into a gradual progression. On the other hand, there are absolutely people (some former colleagues included) that intentionally fuck up people’s swings so they can get repeat customers. I’ve never understood this because it’s always been my philosophy that if you see improvement you’ll want to keep taking lessons with me and you might tell all your buddies to do the same. Rising tides lift all lost golf balls ya know?
I am not particularly coordinated. My golf coach only gives me 2 new things to practice....once I get those we move on.
Most just suck at their job.
Yep exactly. Don't assume malice, when it can be explained by incompetence
The most improvement I saw in my game was when I stepped away from lessons and just started to focus on hitting better golf shots and lowering my scores. Then my swing followed suit.
Watching men’s golf is amazing, watching women’s golf is the best possible “education” for a 5-20 handicapper. We should all be trying to play more like the women on the LPGA.
been saying this for years
Only a couple courses in my city let you book a tee time as a single. Super annoying, like set the online portal to only show tee times with 1 spot left when booking for a single, instead of making me show up in hopes they can get me out. It is stupid, and a waste of my time and revenue for the course.
I’ve found that the way around this is to call and they’ll usually book you.
Dang, all my courses say "Just show up, you'll be good!" Sometimes I have to wait still lol
I play as a single 90% of the time. I just go into the pro shop and pay the fees and drive to the 1st tee. I hang out until I find a twosome or a three some and ask if they would mind my company.
You're over here seeking company. I'm trying to avoid it 🤣🤣
You’d love my company! I’m a swell guy.
My antisocial ass doesn't wanna find out, sir lol
This is right. There's a middle ground between allowing singles to book anything and forcing them to show up at the course. Once a 3some books a time, that tee time should pop up on whatever booking engine the course uses as an available single time.
Golf is hard
Yeah, but at least it’s expensive
Thank goodness it takes 4 hours
If you pay the twilight rate you should be able to play until twilight, whether that means 15 holes or 27
In Australia twilight means play til it’s so dark you can’t see. Number of holes is irrelevant
Joke’s on you, I have a glow in the dark ball that I can whack into the pond after dusk.
Teeing off with irons is sexy
that’s me. i realized hitting two 6 irons dead straight had me in a better spot than driver into the trees and then a punch shot
I have a buddy who has like a magic six iron. Need 200+ off the tee, 6 iron will get you that or more. Need 165, it'll plop you there. 125, sure enough 6 iron. Six foot putt? Well ok he uses putter. But he says he swings the same on all of them and it just goes.
I am the same way but with my hybrid. My stock hybrid is 185. However, based on how I position my feet I can hit it from 150-190. If it’s off a tee it goes 150-200. People think it’s so weird. I also use my 9i from 90 yards-135. I keep track of every single shot I hit on the course and it’s basically driver, hybrid, 9i, putter. (Sand wedge if I find the bunker) but honestly that’s practically the extent of it. If I play the tips it’s driver hybrid on almost every par 4/5 and hybrid on every par 3. I’m a 5 handicap.
The six iron just always feels like it'll work, I can't explain it
What's a driver off the tee box? I've been using a 4 hybrid off the tee for about a year now 😂😂 My driver, she'll look at me every once in a while, but oh no, not today Satan, you're staying in the bag
My driver is great but I can’t hit my woods for shit, so I go driver to 4 iron. Teach me how to hit woods/hybrids
“You need to hit driver on this hole, I only need a 5 iron” is a super underrated flex
I go with a 2 iron off the tee and love it. Got drunk and bought an Amazon 1 iron from a random company and hit it nicely 240 ish straight and low. Even a mishit gets me more roll. Iron Born is the way to go
Yes. My driver is inconsistent, but my 4i is consistent and gets me 210-220 down the middle most of the time. I love walking up to the tee with it in hand and getting the "why are you hitting an iron?" comments, then proceeding to hit it as far as most people are hitting their drivers.
Probably doesn’t help that Florida is one of if not the flattest states in the US
I like Southern Dunes in Haines City for a public coure. Also, without question, Streamsong is incredible.
I completely agree that all Florida courses (at least all south Florida courses) are basically the same. However, the exception that proves the rule is Seminole. Been lucky enough to play it a dozen times or so and it’s an amazing course. Part of it is the fact that I’m a member of a course in Mass that is an original Donald Ross just like Seminole. It’s so cool to see two courses designed by the same guy and be so similar but have completely different grass, sand, trees, topography etc. I will also say that Streamsong was great as well.
https://preview.redd.it/qq55wydf5d9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc02ce7f4f904d5e7e12aa57b5b72d078e5d6ed5 This poster was hanging on the wall in my Airbnb. LOL Florida
Main reasoning behind this
Pretty much. The courses with scenic views or unique setups take an immense amount of effort to make in Florida. There are a lot of courses across the states that charge like $80 to play that would easily fetch $300 in Florida.
ALL penalty areas should be played as a lateral hazard. I shouldn’t have to take stroke and distance for hitting OB instead of hitting into water.
I think this change is coming. 95% of weekend golfers play it laterally anyway. Which is good because retees slow down play quite a bit.
I get it in competition especially when you have spotters and gallery. The local rule is +2 strokes, but I know most play it as +1. I agree there’s simply not enough time in casual play for retees!
My understanding is it is 2+ and a fairway lie. One of my annoyances for a hazard is I take a penalty and then I'm still chipping out between trees. With that second penalty I'm definitely going to the fairway.
Yeah, it should be a choice of those two options.
I wonder if OB is just way more in play now than it used to be with all the courses lined with houses.
Which makes it even worse that we get punished harder because someone decided to buy the land and build a pool 15 yards off the fairway 😅
It irks me watching the YouTube guys drive into the next fairway and end up with par, whereas I'm deep into the woods on the left or bouncing off someone's townhouse on the right on my course.
I don't think the golf swing is as crazy complicated as the golf instruction industry wants you to believe it is. It's a conspiracy by big swing coach.
If you're in relatively good health with no significant neurological or nerve issues, learning how to hit a ball isn't that difficult: just practice putting, chipping, and pitch shots until you establish clean contact through the impact zone, then **slowly** ramp up the length and speed of the swing. Pair that with playful experimentation and knowing ball flight laws, and most people can become quality ball strikers completely on their own over the course of a couple years with diligent practice on the range and shorter executive courses. But adults have our egos to feed so we look for excuses and shortcuts, leading to all the ridiculous snake oil bandied about in the swing instruction industry.
I don't think it's an intentional conspiracy, but they definitely know which side their bread is buttered on. My swing isn't amazing by any means, but it's better than anyone I pal around with just by making things as simple as possible and not get caught in all the minutia pushed by big swing. I've definitely been caught up in all of it though, it really set me back several years when I was creeping up on breaking 80.
US Opens should be played at public venues (Pinehurst, Bethpage, Torrey, Chambers, etc.). I’ll die on this hill. Also, unban anchoring!
I will add to that I want the tour to have like a one public course that gets picked by lottery on tour schedule and the course gets no prep time, pros have to play it in the condition it is.
I want every tournament to have a “regular player” foursome that goes out either on Wednesday afternoon or Monday morning. A scratch player, 7-8 HCP, 12-15 HCP, and a 20-22 HCP player, just so that we can all see exactly how shitty we’d actually do. Have it be a lottery that anyone with a handicap who lives within 50 miles of the venue can enter, or for majors, anyone at all. Once in a lifetime opportunity for the majors.
While I don’t disagree, the history of shinnie, Oakmont, and Brookline are incredible. Even if I’m unlikely to play the course, I want to appreciate it somehow and the US Open is best way to do so. I love this opinion though.
Yeah that’s the main drawback, losing the history of those courses. I’d like to see them as venues for other tournaments like the PGA. I think what makes the US Open so cool is that anybody can qualify, and I think it would add to that theme if they were hosted at courses that anybody can play.
>While I don’t disagree, the history of shinnie, Oakmont, and Brookline are incredible. Even if I’m unlikely to play the course, I want to appreciate it somehow and the US Open is best way to do so. I love this opinion though. I think a good alternative is have a mandatory "open" tee sheet day once a week or one week in a month that's publicly accessible at these clubs to be host-eligible. Open tournaments at closed courses is meh...
PGA Championship on the best private courses that want to host a major, US Open on the best public courses that want to host a major (I think semi-private would be okay, just the idea of it being on a course anyone can play)
It shouldn't be an absolute pain to book as a single. Let me fucking golf
The best golf is winter golf. We’ll play through the whole winter if it’s around 40 or higher on a given day. Only the true sickos are out then so course isn’t as crowded and easier to get tee times.
I love winter golf in the PNW. The weather is mild enough to play all through the winter and rain is typically pretty light. The big challenge is daylight. In January there's only 8 or 9 hours of daylight so you're constrained to the middle of the day.
Like this one. Golfed on Christmas last year.
Aye quiet down with this one, don’t let the cat outta the bag 😅
Minnesotan here. That doesn’t work so well.
Balls in divots should be free drops
This one seems like such common sense to me, it’s crazy it isn’t an official rule yet. However, me and my buddies play this way anyways. Being penalized for a fairway hit is bizarro world.
Golf is about enjoyment, patience, and mindfulness, not anger and gatekeeping.
Greens don’t need to be fast. They just need to be mint.
I don't care how fast they roll as long as every one of them on the course rolls the same speed.
People overestimate green speeds by atleast a foot, everyone that says they love putting 11.5-12 are really putting 10-10.5
- if you have to ask, no it doesn’t count
That's why I don't ask, I just walk over and pick my ball up from 11 feet out and walk away /s
most people don’t keep an honest score and if they did it would easily add 10+ strokes
10+ is maybe a little much, but I’d agree with at least +5 or so.
Man, 90% of the people I play with don't even play the ball down. That alone is 5 strokes a round. 10+ is pretty accurate if you ask me.
Playing in 50 degrees is better than 90.
I refuse to believe this is a hot take. You’re absolutely right
I’m in AZ. I’ll take 50 with the sun out allll day
Quite literally the cool take.
Some people need to slow down. Sometimes you have to wait on the course. It happens to all of us. Calm the hell down.
Definitely a hot take! Some need to slow down, most definitely need to speed it up.
Agreed especially if you play as a single with a cart
If I'm a single with a cart (most of the time I am) that damn 5some that's half drunk on hole 3 just need to let me play through. I ain't waiting on that.
(not to be taken too seriously) If you want to play the tips, you should provide proof of your handicap to the starter. Much like how you have to prove your handicap to play certain courses.
I like the iron distance rule - 7 iron distance related to tee's to play. I recently played a round with my dad and brother, dad chose the 2nd set of tees if the 1st were the tips. By the 5th hole we were cussing that decision. 62-6500 is a good 18 distance for our style of play - 5-13 hdcp. We ground it out and shot 92 - 92 - 93. Me with the worst hdcp of the group won the round by handicap hole score.
Best change to my golf game in the two plus years since I started was putting the ego away and playing from the correct tees which for me happen to be the senior tees.
I had to learn golf the hard way. Played high school and college golf so from the age of 14 I was required to walk and play the black tees. Nothing feels as bad as hitting a 3 wood on a par 3 because it's 190 yards and I could only drive the ball 220. Now I'm in a beer drinkers league and they moved me up a set and I can hit 6i-9i on every par 3. Actually feel like I have a chance on ctp holes.
I disagree with the iron rule. I think tees should be based on handicap over distance. A 20 handicap that drives it 300 is struggling a lot more from the tips than a 10 handicap that drives it 260
Only problem with the 7-iron distance rule is GI irons. Also, for most mid-high hdcps it is actually driver that holds them back from being able to play longer. For example, my driver average is 275, but 7-iron is 162. My buddy’s 7-iron is 175, but driver is 220.
Starter? /s
Some higher end courses that have actual championship tips - not like your 6700 yard local public, but actual tour length 7200+ yard tips - do this.
Those with handicaps greater than 15 should generally be aiming their approach shots to the middle of the green and not at the flag.
Nearly everyone should be aiming approach shots at the middle of the green and not the flag
leaving the range finder in the bag and taking into account front / middle / back yardages increased my GIR% almost overnight. I'm not good enough to hit at a tucked pin - aim for the middle and then 3 putt for my bogey/double
If my GPS is over 130 I don’t laser the flag. Give me a number to cover the trouble and a number off the back. I pick a club somewhere in the middle.
How do you know the middle yardages if you don't have the range finder?
Sounds like using cart GPS. I only ever use it for the green depth. My thought process is: - if it's 170 to the back, 150 to the front, I'm hitting my 160 club to get middle. - If pin is front but trouble short, I'll hit the 160 club soft. - Back pin, trouble long, I'll hit the 160 normal to avoid going over. Rarely do I focus on pin distance unless it's an absolute number in which I'm confident. I have no shame hitting a higher club if it means I'm not in trouble.
"You'll never be a tour pro" is unhelpful and condescending commentary. The pros are not superhuman. They've practiced a lot more than you have, sure. It doesn't mean you can't achieve the kinds of things they do with the right mix of guidance and practice. I get it. The overall point is to get in tune with your own limit and understanding where your game is on a given day. You'll enjoy the game more when you attempt the shots you're confident in making. It's just discouraging to say "you'll never get to that level." Maybe it's true. That's not really the point. Instead, build towards that, while acknowledging you're not there at the moment. Tour pros managed the course too. There's value in concentrating on that.
If you’re not having fun, go somewhere else
Paying a fortune for a golf fitting and brand new clubs is a waste of money if you can’t even hit the ball somewhat straight on a consistent basis
Long live Callaway Preowned
Fix your pitch marks or straight to jail. More than two practice swings straight to jail. Take a divot on a practice swing. Jail. Also, walking rate should be different than riding rate if the course is walkable or if it’s cart path only ALSO, punched greens should be priced at lower rate
I just want to play 9. And 9 shouldn’t cost $36 if 18 is $40
You're not good enough to be that angry
Seriously, just laugh at the bad shots and move on
All golf is ready golf. Idc who is closer, who has the tee box, etc. if you're ready and I'm not, hit your shot. Most people blame the wrong party for their long rounds. It's not the group shanking every shot on their way to a 120, it's the over packed course. Double par should be everyone's max. If you're playing a money match, do so Monday - Thursday. No one has time on the weekend for you to act like this $45 overbooked muni is Augusta.
A lot of dads do a great job of making sure their kid will hate golf. Just something I've noticed at the driving range the past year since I started playing. So many dads just get frustrated and pissy with their kid when they are trying to teach them. You can tell the kid is having a horrible time and is there because they are being forced to be, not cause it's a fun sport to play. Your goal should be to have them laughing and having fun around the sport, regardless of how old they are.
My goodness, there needs to be more camaraderie around the sport… especially need to see that shown towards the beginners. I don’t like how standoffish seasoned golfers can be when it comes to a sport we play to have fun. Geez so many people forget that…
Nine holes should always be half the price of 18, and more people should play only 9 holes.
No putts given. Ever. Golf is played until the ball is holed. Picking up an 18 incher isn't speeding up the game, it's stroke shaving on those instances when you miss.
Letting the club and hips do the work is legit advice.
Yup. Starting to understand this with my 5 wood. Swinging it super easy and it’s just like a rocket off the face. Still trying to get that feeling in my head/hands for the irons 😵💫
High end nice courses are hardly any more fun than munis that are 1/10th the price.
As a beginner it’s ok to cheat while you’re learning. Don’t focus on stroke count, it’s ok to drop a ball in the fairway after a bad slice into the woods. If you’re constantly in the rough you’ll likely get frustrated and massively slow the pace of play. Work on getting some good shots off the fairway, enjoy the round, keep up pace and work on your tee game outside of your regular rounds. Get used to learning what golf is supposed to feel like, not spend all day chipping out of the rough and getting frustrated. Once you start improving and aren’t losing a ball every hole you can focus on strokes, penalties and your handicap. Obviously don’t cheat if you’re competing or just trying to pad your score.
Biden is a 6 and Trump won his last two club championships
I just want to see Biden carry his own bag.
That I would rather be friends with someone who belongs to a country club that belong to one myself. I’d much rather keep my money freed up so that I can play on different courses rather than pay a significant amount of money in initiation fees/dues and feel like I have to play the same course all the time.
Tees should be selected for you based on your handicap. If you’re an 18 handicap, you don’t need to be playing the second to last holes. If you’re new don’t play those tees with your friends getting you into it, play the front tees. Etc.
Yelling random shit after a tee shot is stupid. Not exactly a hot take as half of people probably agree with me.
Earbuds only - no speakers. More short & hazardous courses - we should be navigating thru a course with interesting placement shots, not slamming longer and longer drives on 650 yd open par 5s. More courses owned by public works like the parks dept.
Tee boxes should be based off talent level/handicap. Too many subpar players play from the tips or even whites and it just slows everything down.
Penalties should be more consistent. Lose your ball? 1 stroke penalty so it’s the same as a hazard. If you choose to retee it’s for 2. It makes no sense that if you hit it in an actual hazard that’s obviously supposed to be avoided, you are punished more heavily than just hitting it into some thick rough or a bush or some shit. I also think it’s a bit less savage and punitive for amateurs this way
Players over 70 should be able to anchor and use belly putters. Some of the old guys at my club still play so well but the shakes they have with the putter in their hands is so sad to watch
Anyone can play blades. It doesn’t matter. Just have fun.
Sand on tv is not the same as the sand on the courses I play.
OB should be treated as a lateral hazard at all levels. Also, architects/supers/courses that use hay as a primary defense are lazy and uninspired.
The driver should be rolled back, not the ball
Ladies tees shouldn’t exist. Play whatever tees you can keep the score under 100 with. If that means senior tees, great. Red tees? Great. I just finished a “break 80” experiment where I started from the senior tees and only moved back a box once I broke 80 on those tees. Nobody laughed at that harder than my guy friends when I told em I was playing ladies tees. No shot that’s weird if they’re called red tees, and everything is faster. I know plenty that play the forward mens tees, and they’d play red if it wasn’t “ladies” tees
Golf should be looked at as more of exercise and sport rather than getting to drink and drive carts. This is for American golf culture.
I go yes and no. I view it as two totally different things. Competitive/Sport Golf vs Fun Social golf. I mostly play the more competitive style, playing by the book, maintaining my handicap, working on improving, walking the course, doesn’t have to be an actual competition but just having that mindset and I really enjoy that. I also enjoy a weekend or trip with friends or family, taking carts, having a few beers and just enjoying the social aspect of it and not taking the golf as serious. I do not think one is better than the other, and I think there is a time and place for both and both are fun good things (as long as you’re not getting belligerently drunk and making an ass of yourself, there is no place for that on a golf course, despite seeing it happen too often)
My hot take is similar. Golf is whatever you need it to be. I've played hyper-competitive rounds, rounds where it feels more like meditation than sport, and rounds where I just wanna get goofy with the boys. Live and let live I say, just be respectful.
I’d rather play an empty dog track than a packed expensive course.
People that exist between pro and 8 handicap are insufferable.
I don’t give a shit about my playing partner’s scores or what putts they are giving themselves. Just keep up pace of play and don’t be yapping about your great par after hitting a ball off two different tee boxes, taking the second ball, missing your first putt, and missing your tap but counting it as good. I also don’t want to hear about your “270 yard drive” when your ball is right next to mine and my GPS is telling me I hit it 220
Top 100 courses are overrated and overpriced.
Blades are not near the boogie man that everyone thinks they are, the masses of young people only think blades are some impossible to use clubs that don’t belong in hands of regular players because of decades of marketing to sell new shit.
Perfect golf swing with power isn’t necessary at all. Look at any old guy on the course. They have limited mobility and strength and let the club and gravity do the work..
Biden handicap is actually 3 but he wants to sandbag
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Beginners shouldn't start by playing rounds. They should start on the range, making sure they can hit solid shots and chipping/putting to get the basics right. They should stay at the range/practice areas for \~ 1 to 2 months before starting to play actual rounds, and even then they should just play 9 -- preferably with someone who can help guide them along who's more experienced.
Strongly disagree. I like lots of people, fell in love with golf by being asked to join a round of golf, not a round of “range”.
That's basically me right now. I really want to get out there and play some real golf, but the German in me wants to be pretty decent at the swing before I even hit my first real tee-off. Kind of a self-imposed Platzreife. I only have massive push slices bout 10% of shots now, so that's something. Then the 50% Irish in me just wants to smash driver shots all day.
Beginners should start at par 3 courses
In Finland we have this thing called the "Green Card", that shows you've taken a beginner's course. The lessons include basic golf shots, drills, golf etiquette and you can't play on a golf course without it. After you've passed it, you get a handicap and have to choose a home club. Only then you're free to play.
COVID brought a new breed of players that have no respect for the course, people around them, or the game itself.
to me there's a negligible performance difference between the newest equipment and anything made around say, 2012-2016ish. i think this is when the pace of actual technology advances begins to slow- there's only so many marginal improvements you can make. the 'newest' club in my bag is a ping 410 lst driver made in 2018/2019- my oldest is a yes putter i've been gaming since high school- and i've never felt outclassed in a round because someone had newer, better, more expensive equipment than i do
Courses should have 3 sets of 5 holes.
6 holes would be better, but yeah I agree. Would love to play a dozen on the regular, and 18 when I have more time.
Joe Biden probably wasn’t actually a 6 handicap, but CAN still hit it more than 50 yards.
Hot take: I’m going to be respectful of you golfing, but I’m not bending over backwards for super-particular golfers. I’m not entertaining your hell-bent desire to be out of your line of site on your chip shot you’re duffing regardless. Relax. Maybe if you were better you wouldn’t need the planets aligned to swing a golf club
I like Sergio Garcia
The reds should be like a unisex bathroom. It’s ok to use them if you need to.
People who post “hot takes” on Reddit are fair weather golfers
No weekend golfer cares about your handicap. We just out here having fun and nothing thinking about work or responsibilities for the next couple hours.
With recent experiences in mind, my take is how overrated fittings and expensive sets are. Most golfers would be just fine, possibly even better, playing the Callaway Edge box set.
Golf trips are not worth the money. All I do is get frustrated that I didn’t play perfectly after playing $1500 to be on a beautiful but ridiculously hard course for the week.
playing golf right before sunset is the best time to play.
Im not sure if its a hot take, but since covid and this new era of “bro golf” or whatever you want to refer to it as is annoying. I don’t want to go out as a single and watch 3 dudes do nothing but hack it up and get hammered while acting like total dicks. I don’t want to be an elitist or anything, but a lot of the current golfing clientele doesn’t seem to respect rules or have any kind of decorum on the course. It’s cool if you want to go out and enjoy a beer with your boys but I don’t want to hear your country music blasting from your speaker two holes over and holding people up because you think the cart girl wants to talk to you
LIV, PGA, whatever. Just shut up and watch golf
I miss having Phil on the PGA Tour.
As long as you're not fucking around and intentionally slowing the game down, I don't care if you take your time on your shots. We all paid to be there and I'm trying to teach a 6 year old how to play, its gonna take a little longer to get my round finished. I'm not going to rush my round just because some impatient nitwit thinks he can play 18 in 2 hours
Sometimes you don’t need to take a practice swing you just rip one off vibes.
Swing your swing is for when you are playing, meaning don't try change things mid round. It doesn't mean embrace your terrible swing
Double par pickup is an absolute. There’s no reason to try to putt out if it took you 6 shots to get on the green on a Par 3.
Theres no reason to play a 7000+ yard layout unless you are <5 handicap.
95% of golfers should be using game improvement clubs of some kind. Some companies even make forged models if looks or feel are somehow an issue. Only a fraction of golfers are actual working the ball. Straight and forgiving should be the goal for 99% of golfers. If you are scratch. Have at it. Otherwise. Work on consistent straight shots and use equipment that maximizes those chances.