golf

[burrocrat]

are there any regular golfers on here? with what probably is a good-sized contingent of retirees... maybe?

i used to golf as a kid, with a yard sale used club set, ride my bike to the municipal course, steal stray balls from the range or the lake, orange crush with ice in a tall glass afterwards. that was a lot of fun.

well, i want to get out more with my kid and so i just bought us some clubs. basically beginners and nothing fancy so the best deal for starter sets i could find was strata (callaway seconds i think) 16 and 12 piece sets. the only difference seems to be that the more expensive 16pc set has a 4 hybrid and a sand wedge. so i figure we can split the two clubs and trade if one of us needs it later. $445 for both and free shipping. less than $500 total with gloves, balls, towels, and tees.

i wonder if anybody has any input on these clubs or other things golf related as we start out. probably will just go hit buckets of balls at the range for a few times until we get better, maybe bet on whoever hits longest or straightest don't have to do the dishes that night or something (he is too young to bet for beers, yet).

and sometimes we travel so i thought it could be a good time filler at new stops along the way. i remember some awesome redrock views in the strangest of places and hitting a shot that nailed it, quite a feeling, so i hope we can recreate some of that.

i looked at the regional online classified ads and decided for only another $50 or so each set we could just get new stuff and probably not do any worse, plus don't have to go negotiate cash with a psycho craigslist killer or nothing.

i am looking forward to full out spring here when the grass starts to turn green, maybe one blizzard in the next month then we should be good until thanksgiving or so.

fore!

 

[tsptalk]

I would say a good golfer will shoot well with an average set and a poor golfer will shoot poorly with a great set.

The best investment for me is a good driver. I played for years with a driver I paid good money for many years ago and figured it was fine, but the larger the new ones got, the more inferior I felt. Then, a few of years ago, one of the guys I was playing with asked if I wanted to try his new driver. There was no comparison. It was light and I easily hit it 30-40 yards further than with my old driver.

So, if you consider yourself and average golfer or below, get any fair set of irons. Investing in a good wedge (which you will use more than any club), a good driver, and may a nice set of grips may be your best bet.

 

[burrocrat]

I would say a good golfer will shoot well with an average set and a poor golfer will shoot poorly with a great set.

The best investment for me is a good driver. I played for years with a driver I paid good money for many years ago and figured it was fine, but the larger the new ones got, the more inferior I felt. Then, a few of years ago, one of the guys I was playing with asked if I wanted to try his new driver. There was no comparison. It was light and I easily hit it 30-40 yards further than with my old driver.

So, if you consider yourself and average golfer or below, get any fair set of irons. Investing in a good wedge (which you will use more than any club), a good driver, and may a nice set of grips may be your best bet.

the thing that surprised me while shopping for a set was that they don't often offer a full set of irons anymore. i always had a nasty slice with the woods. so i would tee off with a 3 iron on the long holes and a 5 iron on the medium par 3's just to stay in control. now they only offer 6-9 and wedges. plus the hybrid thingys.

so we will see how this goes. also i read that the clubs i bought are cheap and it is easy to dent or break the heavy woods if you mess up your swing. oh well that's what lakes and cussing are for.

 

[Tiger25]

The weather is getting right here in MS but my lower back pays big time for 9 holes or more. I love it though. Darn, You guys just gave me the bug. That's what Advil is for.

 

[burrocrat]

oh i am so excited! our clubs shipped from north carolina and the accessories and the rest stuff from oregon. it's like a race now, meet in the middle. i keep looking at pictures of them and dreaming about hitting a great shot. i know i am going to be good or at least ok at this golf thing. i'm a simple man, who will soon be able to kick butt at golf, faith.

 

[burrocrat]

aahhh yeah baby, got half our golf stuff today and the only thing left to deliver is the club sets which are just east of here as of late this morning so should have them tomorrow. i love this ups package stalker app, whooo hooooo! cool stuff. i'll tell you a little secret...

besides the obligatory balls and towels and gloves, i realized i only own 3 pair of shoes. now you can't exactly just go golfing in flat soled office wingtips or wolverine work boots (wolverines are like honey badgers) or teva river sandals which i wear at the lake sometimes but mostly just to shuffel down to the laundry, so i also ordered some golf shoes, i was afraid to say that before because i didn't want to seem uppity, but i got me some new golf kicks. wheee!

they are nothing fancy like the spike kind that will chip your tile floors or perforate the linoleum, they are basically tennis shoes with an aggressive molded grip pattern and shoot, they were only 99 cents! just kidding, that is from song i like but they were half off at only $50 bucks so still poppin tags! internet shopping is cool!

they are light as a feather and not too flashy so i like that. but they remind me of a movie i saw one time, it was either forest gump or else some english poet running thing but i'm pretty sure it had a phil collins song in it. anyways that is how i feel, running down the beach not touching the sand, i can't wait to smack the crap out of some balls, make them fly straight.

so i'm dancing around the place in my new liquid honey shoes and i catch sight of myself in the wall mirror down the hall which reminds me of another song, i'm too sexy for my shirt and i start busting out my 1980's moves. my kid looks around the corner and says "you should probably wear pants when you do that dad". freakin little smart alek, this is my house too! don't look if you don't like it, nobody is going to make you dance this way, dance however you want, go pee in somebody else's wheaties!

but he is right, golf shoes and black gold-toe crew socks and my h-fly jockey shorts and a raggedy tshirt is probably not my best look. who cares? i'm browning ground beef for hamburger helper and it is not a good idea to take the tshirt off, yet. oh i can't hardly wait until the clubs come tomorrow, the local course doesn't even open for another few weeks or month depending on weather, but me and them clubs are going to have a good time together this weekend, wheee!

life is a beautiful thing. it's ok to be a simple man.

 

[FogSailing]

Great stuff Burro. BTW, the Callaways are nice clubs. Generally they are forgiving, have a nice weight and can launch a ball 10-20 yards further than non-premium clubs, and have a more flexible shaft in the swing. I play at least once a week but I'm not really a good player...just so-so hitting in the upper 80's or low 90's depending on the day. Hope you enjoy them. I absolutely love golf. Despite the frustrations, there are few things better than being outside with friends and family having a good time.

FS

 

[WorkFE]

While in the Military I was fortunate to be stationed close to home (about a 2 hour drive) for about 7 years. I spent 2 weeks in the spring and 2 weeks in late fall at home. The Fall was to go hunting with my Father (fall turkey and early archery for deer).
The spring was to Golf with my Stepfather, an avid golfer. I was never very good but occasionally I did ok. After he passed away a few years ago I pledged to put more time into it. Last year I purchased, after being measured by a golf pro, a set of Nike Vapor series clubs. I don't know if its the clubs or just having clubs that fit me but playing 9 after work or 18 on the weekend is a lot more enjoyable than the old days.
Anyway, good luck Burro. Keep the clubs out of the lake.

 

[burrocrat]

so i bought 2 sets of clubs, one for me and one for my teenage son. They are callaway seconds/knockoffs called strata and strata plus. they are basically the same amongst themselves, but if you were comparing them to any other brand I’m sure there would be larger differences. most of the differences are cosmetic and probably have no bearing on actual play. at this entry level I think there are probably only cosmetic differences among brands at this price point and none of them will make you a better or worse golfer, that talent comes from practice, or in my case from the fates.

i have lots of observations so far and will probably polute this thread all weekend long with my percieved wisdom.

 

[burrocrat]

so first, about the money, and what you get for it. i bought two sets of the same brand, a 16-piece strata plus, and a 12-piece strata. $255 v $190. both come with a driver, 3-wood, 5-hybrid, irons 6-9, pitching wedge, putter, two head covers, and bag with rain hood. for the extra $65 on the strata plus you get a 4-hybrid with cover, cover for the 5h, and a sand wedge, that is the 4 extra pieces.

for those counting, it is actually a 17 and 13 piece set if you count the black detachable water-boarding terrorist rainhood, but who’s counting? the rain cover is pretty cool as it has 4 snaps on it and is definitely a separate piece, if your golf clubs are frankenstien and had four bolts installed on his neck instead of two you could snap this thing on and blindly lead them away for some torture or questioning their existence, and it has a full zipper in case you feel like opening it up and spitting on their faces or something. i am not really into that level of finesse and interrogation though, if they cross me then they go in the lake and i want them to see it coming, but that is a nice accessory that fits in the bottom of one of the many pockets on the bag so ok i will keep it.

one of my favorite parts of the whole system is the bags, but i am going to save that review for later.

 

[burrocrat]

the differences between the blue $255 strata plus and red $190 strata clubs are minor, and both arrived in pretty good shape with the exception that the blue 6 iron has a small blemish pock mark along the bottom edge of the blade near the shaft and the blue 3 wood had a chip in the finish on the back side direct center of the club. i suppose all the clubs will soon have dings and dents in them due to rocks and trees and cart paths and none of them are on the face of the club that 'should' be the surface contacting the ball so no probs there that i won't cause for myself. the blue irons have a glossy chrome finish and the red ones more of a brushed satin stainless look so i like the red ones better even though i hate the color red.

the drivers are both 460cc and seem to me to be exactly the same except the blue graphite shaft on the plus and the red strata set has a black graphite shaft with a more subtle alignment silkscreen pattern below the grip. the grips are the same style but have different color in the line patterns on them, push on type rubber grips not wrapped leather or whatever, the grips all except the putter have the same pattern to help with consistent alignment i think. the 3 wood on the strata plus is also graphite and blue but the shaft of the red strata 3 wood is metal and heavier. for this reason i tried to negotiate my way into the red set and talk my son into the blue plus but he was having none of it, he picked up the red driver and said this is mine, it is my size, it fits me and feels right, this is my club. so i am not going to argue with a man that feels that strongly about something so he gets to keep the red set.

i tried to keep trading him with the bonus of the blue set has a 4 hybrid and extra head covers and a sand wedge. he just flat out said no, the covers are useless, i don't need a 4, and i am not going in the sand trap. if i somehow do i can just borrow your sand wedge which i'm sure will be broken in pretty good by then. told you he was a smart alek. but a confident one so i am ok with that.

what i am not ok with is he waved 'my' blue 3 wood in my face, yep wiggled it right in front of my nose, 'how did this happen dad? you dented it already, is this how the hole got in the ceiling?' i smacked that **** down real fast, nobody waves a club in my face. so we went back to negotiating about putters.

the putters are the same mallet type, but the plus has a white insert on the back and bright white lines scored into it, which i could not stand. the red one is all black with no color insert and the red lines are subtle and hard to see. so we traded those. his 'blue plus' putter has only black and silver and white on it and the only thing out of place is the 'plus' on the bottom of the head whereas my new red putter has some read lines on the head and grip, so my set is a bit of a mismatch now, but i like that putter better and as soon as it crosses me and misses an easy 4 footer it is in the weeds anyways.

so that is how our negotiations went, he got the less expensive set and my putter, and i got the extra clubs and a red putter for mine. the bags are basically the same with appropriate trim color differences is all.

if they had a color choice in the 12 piece set i would have gotten two of those for $190 each instead of the $255 plus set to differentiate between our clubs and to not be 'twinsies'. but they didn't so this is what we got. i am sure these are going to be more than enough clubs to get a year or two down the road and see if we want to continue this golf adventure. they are already the nicest clubs i have ever held or shot with in my life so good deal if you ask me.

 

[burrocrat]

about the shoes, my liquid honey puma golfing/dancing featherlite shoes...

my kid talked me out of them. they are his shoes now. he needed a new pair because his regular tennis shoes are not going to make it the rest of the school year and the cheapest i could find at jcpenney online that he liked were $100, double the cost of my now old new golf shoes. they have an aggressive but cleatless tread design and flashes of orange around the edges and he likes that kind of thing so he got them to be his end of school and summer golfing shoes all in one.

i ordered myself a pair of nike black leather type for just $12 more on closeout sale from a different company and they are much more my subtle style anyways, so now we will both be hooked up for the last of the gear we need for our golf adventure. but it does bother me a little that he was able to talk me out of my new shoes. he is getting too smart, dangerous.

as it turns out, as soon as you start talking about golf then you find out that lots of people golf. one of my coworker's husband is a banker and they golf in tournaments and she says she has boxes full of clip on towels and random logo'd gadgets and tools and sleeves of balls. so she is bringing us some free supplies. and her father-in-law is retired and golfs all the time and has nothing better to do than find and retrieve lost golf balls on the courses, so she has literally several 5-gallon buckets full of random used salvaged golf balls in her garage. she is bringing us a bucket of those too so we can go up to a cliff by the lake and launch some just for fun. kind of like recycling i guess, ashes to ashes dust to dust, back to where you once belonged damn ball.

 

[burrocrat]

oohhh! the bag! i forgot about the golf bags they came with. and the packaging. all the heads of the clubs were wrapped in a bubble wrap envelope sleeve about 4"x8" so i saved them, they would be perfect for shipping tsptalk silver coins instead of the spare office chair repair fabric i have been using. now i have more bubble wrap bags than i have tsptalk silver coins left so i would like to buy some more of those, but now my discretionary funds are empty since i spent it all on golf stuff. anyways, i did put one tsptalk silver coin in my golf bag to use as a ball marker on the green if i ever need a ball marker on a green if i ever get to the green. also, i have a blue and gray tsptalk baseball cap which i fastend with the adjustable strap around the shaft of my driver, it hangs down on the upper backside of the bag perfectly so that is my new golf cap.

the bag is cool. i has this little stand/lever which when you set it down and lean it forward two little legs spring out and it stands up all on its own, no more laying it down on the grass someone might have recently peed on like when i was a kid. and it has a bunch of pockets for balls and tees and towels and notepads and rain covers and light jackets and stuff. i can't even imagine all the things i could put in there. there is even a big pocket on the back called a 'cooler' pocket which will hold at least a six pack of beer. there is also a small hidden sleeve pocket which might be for a cell phone or wallet but it just practically shout 'hide your weed here'.

now i don't live in colorado or oregon or washington dc so that is not legal and i don't have any weed, but that pocket would be the perfect place to hide it if you are so inclined.

when i was a kid i figured something out real fast. most women do not like golf. so they will not snoop around your golf stuff. my mom hated golf. so the only place i ever found where she would not find and confiscate my stash of playboys and weed was my golf bag. the more things change the more they stay the same.

for about $650 bucks we are in two sets of clubs, shoes, balls, and accessories. nothing fancy but it will do for now. i already have some ideas about how to upgrade after a couple of years or this equipment breaks, whichever comes first if we keep on golfing. my kid does not want to play rounds for scores, yet. he just wants to go to the range and practice so that is how we will start. i can't hardly wait for the grass to green up and the local course to open next month. wheee!

 

[FogSailing]

Keep me posted on the progress Burro! Congrats again. I think that making a move to do something with your son is the coolest thing about all of this. So Hit em straight and Hit em long!

FS

 

[burrocrat]

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: 12 TitTees Naked Lady Golf Tees 3" Plastic Golf Tee and Divot Tool Combo Novelty Golf Gift and Golf Gag Gift 12 Pack

i think i have found my goto tee, something out of the ordinary but with a touch of class.

 

[PessOptimist]

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: 12 TitTees Naked Lady Golf Tees 3" Plastic Golf Tee and Divot Tool Combo Novelty Golf Gift and Golf Gag Gift 12 Pack

i think i have found my goto tee, something out of the ordinary but with a touch of class.

Class? Yes in a way. Reminded me of this clip, reference is at about 0:38.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=171FURqSIQc

You and your son should watch this whole movie some time before the course opens so you can decide how to act.

No, I don’t golf. Love this movie.

PO

 

[burrocrat]

i love this movie.

 

[burrocrat]

so, tell me about your balls...

when i used to golf many moons ago, i always loved finding a 'pinnacle' just off the fairway in the rough or wherever they turned up. i picked up everything i could find to stretch the budget, but pinnacle was the best i thought. it was the ball that would stay straightest and not slice on the woods shots from tee, and i could drill it straight like a dart with the irons. so i bought a 15 pack of pinnacle gold for $15 to start our golf adventure when we actually play a round (for me, my kid gets the walmart dozen and another 5 or 6 he got for free for his golf merit badge before he quit boy scouts.

so i am really interested in your guys' balls and have some questions...

what kind of balls do you use? most? on difficult courses where bound to lose some? when trying to impress friends? when nobody is looking? why do you use those particular balls?

how many balls do you keep in your bag for a round of 9 holes? 18 holes? do you keep them in their 3-pack sleeves until you need them? do you have a special magic ball sack that keeps them warmed up and in tune with the cosmos? do you talk to them and have names for them?

how much do you spend per ball? how many balls do you typically lose? how often? where?

are your balls white or colored?

and i have some general ball rules and etiquette questions too...

do you have to use the same ball forever for the whole round? can you switch out balls in the middle of a hole like use a different one to drive and another to putt? do you have to stay with the same brand of ball all day? are the numbers just to help you tell your balls from a golfing partner's balls if you are both playing with the same kind of balls? when do you decide to replace a ball because it is worn out or just mocking you or whatever? is it ok to pick up and keep balls you find on the course if you like them (this is not going to change my habits, just want to know if it is ok or should i be sneaky about it)?

i will tell you about my balls...

i got pinnacle gold balls in bright white, a box of 15 of them for $15. i was excited all week waiting for them to arrive on the free ground shipping deal today. would they come numbered in 5 sleeves of 3: 1-2-3-4-5? do they even make a #5? when i opened the box the first sleeve on the left was #2's so knew right away the pattern would be: 2-3-4-1-2. yep that is what is was, i have two sleeves of #2's. i don't know what an icosahedral dimple thing is but it must be the pattern and arrangement of the dimples. some of them are smaller dimples and fill in the gaps. i wonder about these things, are there other dimple patterns, why? i was going to count the dimples on my balls but after about 7 and having to start over a few times i realized that was an exercise in futility, probably just a clue as to the many futile realizations in store for me about golf. i like my balls a lot.

also, i got my new discount nike spikeless golf shoes today too, they are leather-like and black and are way better than the puma's my son talked me out of and only cost $5 more on sale. and also i got a left-handed nike glove. so now we are totally all set. they opened the local municipal course earlier this week and tomorrow is supposed to get up into the mid 50's. if the wind stays down we are probably going to go hit a bucket of balls at the range and try to get the hang of swinging these new clubs we got. i am kind of nervous because what if i suck at golf? i don't want to suck at golf. and i am really nervous about eventually playing a round, probably just start with 9 holes at first. what if we get paired up with some really good golfers who have a cart? we plan to just walk it and i'm sure it is going to not be pretty at first.

 

[FogSailing]

BURRO's QUOTE: "They opened the local municipal course earlier this week and tomorrow is supposed to get up into the mid 50's. if the wind stays down we are probably going to go hit a bucket of balls at the range and try to get the hang of swinging these new clubs we got. i am kind of nervous because what if i suck at golf? i don't want to suck at golf. and i am really nervous about eventually playing a round, probably just start with 9 holes at first. what if we get paired up with some really good golfers who have a cart? we plan to just walk it and i'm sure it is going to not be pretty at first. "

Hi Burro. I'm really trying to post less...like a max of 2 or 3 times a week. So answering your post uses one of my allotted posts...but I wanted to answer because you're a friend and the topic is my favorite thing.......GOLF. First, expect to suck when you re-enter the world of Golf. If you don't suck something's wrong. It would be creepy for you and I don't want that. Second, don't worry about creeps in golf carts. Just play you're game in whatever fashion makes you the most comfortable. If they don't like the way the game is moving, encourage them to play through. Then just play your own game. Golf is like a fine wine...it takes time to come together and not something to be rushed.

For myself, I've played lots of golf balls. Of the mid-range stuff I like Wilson Elites, Nitros, and Pinnacles. Up a notch, I like the Bridgestone 6's, Taylormade, and Callaways. If I get to go top notch, it's the Titleist Pro V. In truth, there's not much difference in price anymore between top notch and almost top notch stuff IMO. The Nitro's are great for me because they go straight and do well in the wind. I tend to drive the ball more like a line drive than a high flyer so that works well for me. I generally go to the swap meets and buy used balls. There are always deals to be found. I look for my best deal at $20. One time I came back from a swap meet in Palm Springs with 60 Titleist golf balls for $12 (all types including many Pro V's). Love swap meets. I carry about 8 balls in my bag. I generally lose at least one every time I play. For some reason my golf balls are unable to swim. With respect to etiquette....the guys I play with switch balls whenever it meets their fancy. None of us care. The ball is important to the psyche so pick the one that works for you. There are a lot of snooty golfers out there...Don't play with them...ruins the game.

Anyways...am really glad to hear how excited you are and hope you have a grand time and the weather is good. Remember to keep your head down, be square with the ball in your stance, keep your feet firm (don't dance), and swing slowly when you hit the ball. Always take a practice swing or two to calm yourself down. Let me know how it goes.

FS

 

[burrocrat]

thanks for the feedback and supportive comments fog, you're right - golf should be fun - so screw the snooty players if they are jerks. unfortunately the wind is blowing 30+ and gusting to 45 mph so not a particularly good day to ease into golf via a relaxed calm driving range session, and it's supposed to be rather windy tomorrow as well so maybe we'll go later after work one day next week or the weekend. although... if the range is pointed the right way i might be able to hit one helluva drive today.

only post 2-3 times per week? why would someone do that, lent is over? is it because your wife put you on internet restrictions and you only get 100 posts per week and you are saving them for the online porn chat forum? if so i can spot you some of mine, i hardly ever go there anymore after amiee quit.