Memorial Day Weekend - Slow golf

I totally understand why the younger generations don't take up golf.  In NY, a round of golf averages 4 1/2 to 5 hours for a round.

In reality, it takes about an hour to play 18 holes of golf.  The other 3-4 hours is the time spent getting to the ball, choosing a club, cursing, throwing your club, and retrieving it!

Golfers don't need to be as slow as turtles

Calculate in travel time, warm up, cool down, (drinks?) and you're talking about a 6 to 7 hour commitment for a round of golf (average).

This gets very frustrating to the average golfer.  Waiting at every hole/shot, creates stiffness, and also doesn't allow you get get "into a grove".
Or, if you eventually get that groove on, you'll lose it waiting 15-20 minutes until your next shot.

Memorial day weekend is notorious for slow rounds of golf (much like Father's day).  It's a day when people that don't normally play, go out and hack around.

Now, don't get me wrong - it's not the level of a person's play that makes the round slow.  A high handicapper can play 18 holes in 4 hours, and a single digit handicapper can play in 5 hours - It's the little things that add on 30 to 60 seconds a shot (at least!).

Here's an example:  On Friday afternoon, I met Richie at the course and we teed off at 2:20-ish.  Having played late afternoon rounds in the past, I was expecting a 4 1/2 hour round.  

This round was very slow.  The group in front of us was a foursome, and we were a threesome.  This creates a slow "Feel" to the round, as only three players are hitting into a group of four - so you're waiting an extra 1-2 minutes per hole.
Additionally, we rode in a golf cart - meaning we got our balls faster than if we walked - so it felt slow.

And, this group in front of us had no clue how to play golf at a decent pace.

The group consisted of 4 golfers. One walker and three riders (in carts).

They were taking about 15 minutes per hole.
The course puts out groups at an 8 minute interval - so this starts to back up the groups.

Bored as Hell waiting to hit

In relative contrast, playing Saturday was different - and not.
The round still took 5 hours - but on Saturday I walked.  So, I wasn't standing over the ball as long.
The round "Felt" faster, even though it was not.
The Saturday issue was my tee time was 9:30am - already "late" in the golf world - and so it became slow.

Sunday's tee time (8am) was earlier, and we played in 4 1/2 hours.  What I consider "Normal" for this area.

There has been a lot of discussion, articles, and effort put into the ideas on how to speed up the game.  Some ideas like:

• Make the number of holes less (12-14) - which I feel is just stupid
• Make the size of the cup larger to make putting easier/faster (cool for beginners)

Personally, I think both ideas suck!  The problem is that most golfers don't know the etiquette of play, keeping the pace going.  There should be a free training course available (by the USGA?) that teaches new golfers how to keep the pace moving.

Since many of you are golfers, I'll share my top hits on how to play faster:

1. Choose the right tee box.  You probably are not a great golfer (statistically speaking).  If you are a 12 handicap or better, play the Blue tees.  If you are a senior, play the yellow tees. Ladies play the Red tees.  All others play White.
   There is nothing more frustrating that seeing a group hit from the BLUE tees and ground a ball just past the white tees!!
2. Every player goes to their ball and sets up separately, waiting for the group in front to clear.  Choose your club, set yourself up.  This way, a foursome should be able to hit their shots in under 2 minutes.
3. Play "READY GOLF".  If a player in your foursome is further away than you, but he's not ready - HIT THE GOD DAMN BALL!  No need to wait.
4. Courses should space the times of each group 10 minutes apart.  (8 minutes per hole means a 2 1/2 hour round).  This will never happen, as courses want to cram as many golfers onto the course as possible (think seats on a 737)

Rules 2 and 3 go for putting as well.  

Just doing the above, could cut anywhere from 4 to 5 minutes off of the time it takes to complete a single hole of play.  This translates to over an hour saved across 18 holes.

Maybe the clubhouse could put remote cow-prods on every golfer. When their group slows down,
Bzzzzzzzz

I'd apply for that job!

But, for now - we'll just have to deal with slow play.
Perhaps bring a bottle of scotch to pass the time.


Until next time,

Keep it in the Short Hairs

Senior Golf - It Ain't Easy

Since my last post, I've played two round of golf - and turned 60!

Somehow, age creeps up on you and before you know it - WHAM!  The big 6-0 is here.

Now, I'm not a complainer about age - I actually love being 60 (all 5 days of it).  After all , I'm in good shape, have a great family, and a somewhat decent golf game.  So, no complaints.

But, I have noticed a few things that age hits you with, that have affected my golf game.

No - not distance. I know a lot of people have told me that you lose distance as you get older.  So far, I still hit an 8-iron 150 yards, so I can't say that's the problem.

Mostly, it's the ache's and pains that creep gradually work into your bones.

The last two rounds are a great example.

Wednesday (my birthday), I took off and played at Swan Lake (with Dan, Dave and Eddie).  Very pretty course, with no driving range.
This in itself is not a problem, except for those of us that needs to warm up before a round.  (me and my 60+ year old friends).
I like to swing a club a bit to loosen up, and hit a handful of balls.  But, that wasn't going to happen.  Luckily, the weather was awesome - so I was naturally warm.
I also pre-gamed by taking two Advil.  Since I couldn't really warm up, I wanted to be sure I don't pull a muscle.

This is what Senior Golf life is.  You no longer play 18 hoping for a hole in one, or to break 80.
You play 18 with the hopes of not injuring yourself.

My play on Wednesday was not spectacular -mostly due to my driving.  I had one good drive and the rest were horrible.

Saturday I played Eisenhower Park Red (with Peter, Mike D, and Liam - the latter two are GolfMatch buddies). I drove the ball better. But, as  Saturday's weather turned into Early Spring (Cool, windy, cloudy), my back started to get cold - and tighten up (Hello 6-0).  So, I popped two Advil and took 4-5 holes to finally be able to swing normal again.

My thoughts now are that I might not buy those new woods for my birthday - perhaps just a large bottle of Advil!

As I mentioned my Birthday - I'll also touch a subject on one of my new presents.  The Garmin Approach S20 GPS watch.   I've had the Garmin G6 for a few years and love it - but I wanted a watch lately.  This one was simple to use, easy to read, and gave you layup distances, hazard info, etc.
And, it maps out your hole!  Here's the shot log for the 2nd hole on Wednesday

Notice I picked a hole with a good drive and a par!
Now I can analyse my game (ad-naseuum) and try to fix things that are not yet broken!!

The other thing I did was adjust the weighting on my TaylorMade M1 driver as suggested by Mark on GolfMatch.  By aligning the weights both at the back, it makes the club much more forgiving.

I made the change in between the last two rounds and noticed a huge difference in the ball flight of mis-hits.

So, this week looks to be rain all week, and chilly.  Not golfing weather here in NY.  So, I'll try to get out over the weekend a few times.

Until then,

Keep it in the Short Hairs

Spring Golf - a Love hate Relationship

Most of my golfing friends reside in the Northeast (although some have already retired to more southern regions).
In so much, our golf season lasts 6-8 months, depending on Mother Nature.  At some point in November, we play a round of golf with temperatures in the high 40's, and winds 20-30 miles per hour.  When the round finishes, we have 3-4 layers of clothing on, have a wool beanie on that replaced our golf cap, have our winter gloves on, and our pockets  have used hand-warmers in them.

We grudgingly take our bag out of the car, and put it in the garage for a week or two.  At that time, we give in to fate and carry it down to the basement for storage, and nestle it to the side of your water heater, right next to the shelves that hold your tools, wi-fi router, and 4-5 boxes of golf balls you've acquired over the past 6 months.

And, unless you're lucky enough to travel south for the winter (or take a winter trip), that's where they stay until some warm weather comes back to your region.

For me, in New York, I put the clubs away in Mid-November, and played once in mid-February, when the temps hit 55.

But, realistically, I really started playing in Mid-April.

You can't wait to get out and hit that ball and go chasing it around 18 holes.  Perhaps you buy a new club or two, stock up on balls, get a new golf outfit.(For me, I recently received my new "GolfStuds" cap, towel, and ball mark.)

Me sporting my new GolfStuds cap

And, then the day comes when you can hit the links.  So, you clean off the dust that has accumulated on your clubs, put them in your trunk and drive ever so excitedly, to the course.

And you suck!

I mean, you haven't swung a club in months.  WHAT DO YOU EXPECT??

As such, each year the same frustration hits me as I pass into May and June.  Realization that I am really a bad golfer (relatively speaking).
This year, I've shot (in order): 97, 93, 100(ouch), and 97 this past week.

There are a lot of factors that go along with these high scoring rounds.

First, who in their right mind has high expectations of being good at something that you haven't done in 5 months?
The answer to this is: Pretty much every golfer!

The second is that the weather is pretty much the same as when you finished playing in November.  It's windy, sometimes cold, and just plain nasty.

Playing yesterday, the temperature came into the low 70's. We were in shorts and golf shirts.
Then the wind kicked in.  It felt like a hurricane.  So, in addition to my poor play, I had to deal with 30 mph winds in varying directions.

I mean, my drives started off well, and then sort of went south.  But even when I hit a decent one, the wind carried it into deep rough.

Also note that playing in this type of wind, it's fucking exhausting.  Just standing over your ball requires more muscle usage to keep you balanced.  So, by the 18th hole, you're exhausted and just want to finish the round and get into your car where you don't hear the constant sound of the wind tunnel you've been in for the past 5 hours.

On yesterday's 18th hole, I hit a great drive which the wind pushed into some deep/wet rough.  I stupidly pulled my 7 iron, as I wanted to get close to the green (it was 230 yards away).
I should have gone with a wedge.
The grass grabbed my club and sent it across the fairway into the rough on the other side.

Now pissed and wanting to get the hell off, I pulled out my hybrid (I'm 180 yards out).  The club grabs, and hits under the ball - and it goes about 10 yards.

At that point, I do the smart thing - hit a wedge.

And ended with a triple bogey 7.

Not a great way to end the round.  Both Dan and Steve (my playing partners) where equally frustrated and exhausted.  It was like the BMW commercial 
So, for the most part, Spring golf is a love/hate relationship.

Since I've owned my Garmin GPS, I have all the rounds I've played for me to review.  And, I've noticed that my April/May/June rounds suck.

Yet, on Saturday I'll once again tee it up, with the expectations of shooting in the mid 80's

Thus is the life of your seasonal golfer.
GOLF - I HATE YOU, I LOVE YOU!

Until next time,

Keep it in the Short Hairs