Are you a golfer?

93EXCivic said:

Does disc golf count?

Are you high?

My father and his brother's opened a driving range on their old dairy farm back in the mid 90's, right when Woods hit the scene.  Business was good, and as a teenager I was exposed to a lot of fun talented people.  Beyond that, I've never played a single hole on a course. 

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

I've pretended to be a golfer for 40 years, breaking 100 is a decent day for me . Years ago, I was watching PBS and a golf pro and his pro daughter asked "How would you like to play bogey golf?" "Hell, YES!!" They said to play holes with your 150 yard club and a putter for practice. Then they proceed to play a par-3, par-4 and  par-5 holes with only two clubs. I had a membership at the local course and would routinely tee off at 6:00 AM and play nine before going to work, so I tried their suggestion. I have shot 39 or 40 six times now by using only a seven iron and a putter. My best ever round with a full set of clubs is 88. You would think I would have learned by now, but noooo.....

Edit: Walking nine holes with only two clubs is a really relaxing jaunt, too.

There is so much to this. Why do you have a 3 iron, in the bag, or even a 4 or a 5 these days with how jacked the lofts have gotten? Take them all out. Why do you have a sand wedge AND a lob wedge? You really doing something with that lob wedge you can't do with the sand wedge? 

I often play with only 11 clubs - well, 12, because I have 2 putters - but my score is no worse than when I have the full 14. I think I can reasonably get down to 9 without any hesitation.

Duke said:

I don't play golf but I imagine it's one of things that doesn't get fun until after you're reasonably good at it.

I can tell you that this is not necessarily true.  I have played golf off and on for nearly 40 years, and at my best was not nearly good at it.  With a few beers and the right bunch of people, it's an absolute blast.  Golf is first and foremost, a social phenomenon.

1988RedT2 said:

Duke said:

I don't play golf but I imagine it's one of things that doesn't get fun until after you're reasonably good at it.

I can tell you that this is not necessarily true.  I have played golf off and on for nearly 40 years, and at my best was not nearly good at it.  With a few beers and the right bunch of people, it's an absolute blast.  Golf is first and foremost, a social phenomenon.

It is also the only place where it is socially acceptable to operate a motor vehicle while having a beer.

I play almost every week. I play with a bunch of friends, and also my son, and his friends. It's a great game. Challenging, rewarding, and frustrating. I don't think you can ever get to a point you are satisfied with, and at the same time you need to just enjoy it for what it is.

I also am a club junkie, and am lucky enough to have a friend who is worse than me and also very generous with his clubs.

I have started making my own putters. I started just for fun because I like to make stuff, and someone told me I couldn't do it. Now I have people asking for them. I don't make much money, but it pays for my tooling.

More info on these putters you're making? How do you do it? What materials? How much do you charge? Any pictures? 

I love putters. Have too many of them, which is not enough. 

So my process now is I start with a sketch of what I am thinking of doing with some rough overall dimensions. I generally base this off of who I am doing the putter for and what they like. I only do blades and mid-mallets though. Then I take some material and go to town on my milling machine and finish on a belt sander. The mix of milling to sanding depends on what I am trying to accomplish. I like to leave a rougher appearance as these are tools meant to be used. The finish depends on the materials. The carbon steel ones I have been flame coloring. I use 1018 mostly but have made one from 4140. I have also made one from stainless, which I left raw. I am currently cutting one for my wife from titanium. It will be the first one that will be fully cut on the milling machine, no sanding. I am also going to anodize it, a whole other process I am learning about. I am excited to try it out as titanium is generally considered the best material for a putter, but isn't used because of the additional costs. I also have a new exotic material a new friend in the Ukraine made for me. I have never seen a putter made from it, and think it will turn out amazing.

My putters start at $150 for a simple blade head. Made from 1018 carbon steel and flame finished. The shaft and grip are extra because of the wide range in costs, and can be supplied by customer or they can tell me what they want. After that the sky is the limit. I just take into account the cost of the material, and how much time it will take. Most have been between $200-$250.

I will try and get some pictures posted.

I just had the perfect microcosm of the game of golf a few weeks ago, on vacation- 

Round 1, course A- 92

Round 2, course B- 87 (Ties best round played for Par 72) 

Round 3, course A- 84 (Zoned in, best feeling round I've ever played)

Round 4, Course B- 99

Round 5, Course A- 103

I love, and hate this game so flipping much, often at the same time. 

I've been playing for 25 years or so now. I started when my dad joined the local 9 hole course, so it was free for me. Walmart clubs and really enjoyed it but I was terrible. 100+ all the time. I've played less frequently than I did in college when I would routinely play 36 holes a few time a weeks and was a 10 handicap. I'm back into it more now and actually shallowed my swing out recently and my game has drastically improved. I've always been long but inconsistent. Now I'm hitting long high irons and it's been so much fun. Dropping 7 irons 200 yards into the side of the green that I choose has made the game much more enjoyable. However it's so good now, I'm sure I'm doomed to shank city soon.