The Wormburner...........

Jan '11

2011-01-13T12:33:00.002+13:00

Well my little vacation is just about over. I head back to work on Monday, somewhat reluctantly I must add. My bank account will be the only celebrating this occasion. Probably because I haven't been there since around the 17th of December.

On the bright side, my Yahoo fantasy golf team for a change, isn't dead last. Granted we've only been going a week, so there is plenty of time for the inevitable downward slide.

I've also played golf for 22 consecutive day's, some good, some bad, and some I'd rather not spend time recollecting. My first tournament of the year is 3 days away and my form is surprisingly half decent. No doubt I have peaked to early.

Sony Open I have put some cash on Stricker to take home the trophy, this will of course lead to him missing the only cut he won't make all year.

Till next time.

What do you know

2010-12-05T21:41:00.000+13:00

I have blog, who would of thought. I may or may not have forgotten about it. I don't admit guilt for anything.
So what have I been up to for 12 months. I've been busy actually. Work is flat out, bought a house, got engaged. But more importantly, I made my first club championship final. So that was pretty awesome. Unfortunately I got the beating of a lifetime in the 36 hole final so that did suck. I really got to learn to hit straight off the tee one day. They start again in 6 weeks.
SO thats pretty much it at the moment, I'll try and remember to drop by from time to time, might even post something for a change.

And yes Tom, the 1 iron is still firmly in the bag.

Summer

2009-12-18T21:48:00.002+13:00

Well work's over for the year. It's summer time. Time to play golf. And hopefully play it a half decent standard. The winter was a bit of disaster golfwise down here. Basically the weather was rat shit and I just couldn't be assed going out to play in that often after working in it all week.
On the plus side, the 1 iron is going like dream. If I can develop a half decent wedge game, and stopputting like a blind man with parkinson's. I may in fact be able to play this game with wanting to sever my own limbs periodically during the round.

Have a great Christmas everyone, try not to get arrested and drink a keg a week. Catch ya in '10

Sssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh

2009-10-03T18:42:00.002+13:00

I have a 9 wood now. Don't laugh, well too much anyway. I may in fact be one of the few people on the planet now with a 9 wood and a 1 iron in the bag. A blade 1 iron no less. It make's absolutely no sense I know, but who care's. It works.

MyGolfSpy

2009-07-09T19:03:00.003+12:00

Just thought I'd throw a post out there about one of the newest golf website's out there. If you want to be in the know about new product release's and prototype clubs out there, these guys are the guy's to visit.

www.mygolfspy.com

Is it just me?

2009-07-09T18:38:00.002+12:00

Or are golf clubs getting cheaper. Obviously I'm not talking about brand new off the rack OEM clubs, the cost a small fortune. I'm talking about the ebay, auction site's and various BST's online for 2nd hand clubs. Maybe this has something to do with the recession thing that I've been hearing about.

I admit it, I do then to go through golf clubs like a hooker goes through boxe's of rubber's. But I'm finding that digging for that 2nd hand, used, ex demo bargain that we all look for is a little easier. People may just be selling just to get the cash for stuff they don't use.

I love it. I can buy more clubs now, for less money. Brilliant, I'm in heaven.

They get all the perks.

2009-07-09T18:25:00.003+12:00

As we know The Open Championship is being played the week after next. Which of course is on the other side of the planet, from where all the pampered PGA Tour player's normally ply there trade. With the John Deere Classic (formerly Quad City Open?) on this week that would normally make for a pretty damn quick turn around. Finish at the JD Sunday night, assuming you make the cut of course. And you then want to be in the land of the Brit's by Tuesday morning at the latest.

The John Organizer's have come up with a solution. They charter a plane with a 100 seats, which will have you over the pond, direct flight of course by early Monday morning. Brilliant. The tournament committee came up with the idea to encourage more top tier player's to play there event, without having to stress and worry about there travel. Seats can be bought for $1250US with each player allocated 3. Of course the money goes to charity. It's cost's the tournament guys are 300K to put the plane on, but that is only half the price. The Canadian Open which the week after uses the same plan to get players/caddys from Britain to Canuckland.

Incidentally, it is also the same plane used by NBA team Dallas Mavericks. So head and legroom is a non issue. Unless there are some 7ft pro golfer's around that I haven't heard of.

Taking a lesson

2009-07-02T22:13:00.002+12:00

Well to start I have to say this. I hate golf lessons with a passion. I've only ever had 2, and afterward's came away that confused and played that bad I just didn't play for a while. I'm a 3 marker at the moment so I know how to hit the ball. But my swing is somewhat, what's the word...hideous/awful/unreliable, you get the idea.

I'm getting a few tips off the club champ at my club, a guy who is robot on the course. Everything is flushed. And I can beat him occasionally. The best bit is he wants paid in beer, which of course I get to help drink.

Had the first one tonight. Apparently I stand to far away from the ball, Stand wayyy to upright. Have all my weight on my heels. And don't even get him started on my grip. Great, I've been here 10 mins, hit 12 balls and I'm ripped to shred's. It's just being back at school. Funny thing is I'm not the type of person who really likes getting told what to do. But after a few/many teething problems, I started to hit it pretty good. Sure standing that much closer to ball felt the clubhead was going to hit my toes and the grip end was going sever my nut's from my crutch. But the ball was flying a little straighter.

Damn it now I'm going to have practice more often or I end up in that dreaded place. Between 1 swing and the other. Otherwise known and Shankland. And my passport has many stamps from that over the last while so I'm in no hurry to go back.

TM resurects another old fav

2009-06-28T21:31:00.002+12:00

First they bought back the Burner. Which incidentally I hated when I first seen it. The loved it when I hit it. Well they've done it again. Ladies and Gents please welcome back The Raylor.

Yes you read it right, the Raylor. Remember when it first came out. Everyone that looked at it went WTF is that. It was a hybrid before there were hybrids. Lots of people liked them, not a look bought them though.

Kenny Perry and Fred Funk were both spotted practicing with different versions at Bethpage last weekend. This week thru 54 holes Perry is 2nd and Funk is leading after 36 holes on the Champions Tour this week. Coincidence? Hell yes. But it sounds great. (TM better send me a cheque if they use that).

By the way. It's a great looking little club. Can't wait for it to hit retail.

First they bought back the Burner. Which incidentally I hated when I first seen it. The loved it when I hit it. Well they've done it again. Ladies and Gents please welcome back The Raylor.

Nothing like a beating

2009-06-21T21:37:00.004+12:00

Hell I didn't even put up a fight today. If you've the read the post below you know what I'm talking about. It all started with a push/block w/ 3 wood off the 1st tee into the rainforest. And it didn't get any better. I never won a hole, had to scratch out halves just too survive. Had a chance on the 6th hole when my approach hit the flagstick at the base, carved out half the hole and still ended up 5 feet away. And No, the putt never even sniffed the hole. Smack me in the head with a SW please.
I proceeded to block cut after block cut off the tee to go down painfully and embarrassingly 6/5.

And yet I dragged myself out today for a 2 man scramble. Personally I hate scrambles. But after yesterday we decided it was just a piss up with golf clubs. We played crap, maybe a little/lot with a buzz going on a had a lot of fun. We shot -3 and finished so far out of the prize's it was laughable. I did see a 3 wood shank though, that made my day. I didn't know it was possible.

On the US Water Polo champs, I mean US Open. Hmmmm Rain delays suck, why you ask? Listening to the commentator's can lead to perfectly sane people blowing up the tv with a 12 gauge. Steve Stricker's my pick. Remember you heard it here 1st, or 4th or 5674th. Hell I don't care, but I've $$$ on him

# Just seen what Stuart Appleby had to say on Twitter today (no I dont have Twitter, I have barely evolved to Facebook.)Anyway it's a great quote.
"My pools drier then BethPage right now. Wetter then an otters pocket. Poor spectators will be in slop by the end of tomorrow."
That's gold, although he did miss the cut by country mile.

Winter Golf

2009-06-19T21:27:00.002+12:00

Well for those that missed me (admit it, most of you are going "Who the fu*& is this") yes I am alive. And still attempting to play golf without wanting to kill myself in the the same 18 holes.

It is now winter again (dammit) down in this fine but freezing part of the world. That of course means winter golf. Which in turns means I play once every couple of weeks when the sky is blue and the temp above freezing. Soft you say. I work outside for a living, why in the hell would I want too go back out there for the 2 days a week I get too myself.

So back to the subject at hands. That means wet cold weather (obviously DOH dumbass), wet ugly crappy crappy lie's in the rough. clean and place in the fairway, (HA like I'm ever in the fairway, who am I kidding). Slow bumpy greens. But on the plus side not many other people are dumb enough to try and play golf those days so at least the rounds are pretty speedy. Of course that may be due in part to the bottle of rum ( nectar of the gods) that lives in my bag this time of year.

I'm going through a from slump at the moment. After getting my index as low as I have got it before I have seemingly forgotten how to hit a ball and breaking 80 is now a mission. To top this off I'm stuck in the position of having to pay No2 for my club this weekend in the local inter-club competition. I have no hopes the way I am playing as long I as I don't embarrass myself too much. Wish me well. If I fail in this endeavour there will no doubt be a drunken reply to this post tomorrow.

Wish me well, or least hope for the best.

Still alive

2008-11-02T21:11:00.001+13:00

Yes I'm still alive. Been busy/lazy/couldn't really be assed.

More later. I hope..........

How good is -1 on tour

2007-07-28T21:40:00.000+12:00

I found this post over at Golfwrx. Good reading

Here's something i did a while back for another forum, interesting statistics for sure

:As some of you know i am a Financial Analyst by profession. I sit around financial data all day long and practically LIVE in Excel.

So for fun i did a VERY BASIC analysis of how good -1 par on the PGA Tour really is.

If you could make the tour and average -1 par PER ROUND (total tournament score of -4 par) how would you fair?Note: these statistics do not include any majors or world golf championshp events, however all other events played this year (through the travellers, i haven't kept up with the data)

Here you go:
Best Finish: 4th
Worst Finish: T59th
Average Finish: 26.35
Top 5s: 2
Top 10s: 1
Top 15s: 3
Top 20s: 7
Top 30s: 4
Cuts Missed: 1 (Buick Invitational)
Total $ Won: $1,523,411
Best $ Won: $264,000 (finished 4th)
Worst $ Won: $12,720 (finished T48, note this is not the worst finish of the year either, worst is T59 but won more money)
Average $ Won: $76,171
Scoring Average: 70.05
Money List Rank: 24nd
Scoring Average Rank: 21st
FedEx Points Rank: 25th

Looks like if you could make the show and average -1 par each round you'd be sitting pretty good. This was a quick and dirty analysis and it was not adjusted for course level of difficulty. This was simply what could -1 par each round under any condidtion (except majors) produce. This one also includes the results from the Travelers. Lastly please note that i did not recalculate what this player would have won if they were simply added to the field. Meaning if 3 people tied for 12th and this new player tied as well the money might be a bit lower. I simply took the numbers and found if you were one of those people where would you stand on the PGA tour.

Also here is what someone else posted in this thread i started which is interesting about what -1 each round would get in regards to Q-School performance:In fact...-4 would get you through all but two of the first stage qualifiers (the other two it would miss by one shot). It would have gotten you through three of the six second stage qualifiers. You would have missed making it to the PGA Tour by two shots in final stage of Q-School. (8 under got in after six rounds). So still, -1 is pretty darn good.

The golf gods are conspiring

2007-05-10T21:07:00.000+12:00

I've got the local pennant finals this Sunday. Semis in the morning and the (hopefully) final in the afternoon. BUT the golf gods seem to conspiring against me. I've had a bad week. First off we're working out of town at the moment and aren't home till about 8 so its dark by then so no practice. I managed to put neat little gouge in my left thumb from the bottom knuckle to the nail so that should make holding the club interesting. And to top it off I just remembered that after my round last week the shaft in my driver snapped when I was putting them back in my car, shut the boot lid on it.. Stupid I know so that means I'll be heading in with another of my drivers.. GRRRRRRRR I loved that one.

Screw it i'm staying in bed all day tomorrow !!!!!!!!!

Japan Issue Clubs

2007-05-04T19:39:00.000+12:00

Not many people seem to know that Japan is the world epi-centre for golf technology. They are premier worlds clubmakers and what club designs are hot in the world now were out in Japan probably about 2 years ago (exclude square cos that ain't gonna last)

Their are many manufacturer's that the average everyday golfer have never heard off. The stuff is great buy I'm warning you now, be prepared to pay. This stuff isn't cheap. Be careful because are sometimes 2 different versions with only 1 of them meeting the COR rule.

If you want too know more head over to www.tourspecgolf.com and look in the pro-shop. These guys are based in Japan and are one of the top sources for Japanese golf equipment.

Here's a few pic's to get you started

Tigers Handicap

2007-04-28T18:23:00.000+12:00

A friend of mine just sent this to me. Amazing!

Consider this...

If Tiger Woods played you, how many strokes would he be giving up to
make a fair match? The answer may shock you.

You may consider yourself a fine player with your 3 handicap. Or
perhaps you frequently play to your 15 handicap. You may even think that
Tiger Woods could spot you a stroke per hole and you'd have a close
match.

Turns out a stroke per hole would be about right if you were about a 3
handicap. And Tiger would still probably win.

The handicaps of our favorite PGA Tour pros remain a mystery. Sure, we
know they're in the "+" realm (which, oddly enough, means better than
scratch, but how far?

Calculations
PGA Tour courses don't have established ratings. Pros often play from
tees used only in PGA Tour events, the rough is grown extra long and
thick, and greens are sped and firmed up. Each of those changes has a
dramatic effect on the course rating and slope, making it difficult to
ascertain the true nature of a pro's handicap index.

Normally we apply a 0.96 multiplier to a person's average differential
in calculating handicaps. This is to help figure in the
"potential" of a player. A golfer with an un-adjusted handicap index of
5 becomes a 4.8 index after the 0.96 multiplier is applied. It would
make little sense, however, to take a plus-5 handicap to +4.8, so we
must instead divide by 0.96. That would make a +5 golfer a +5.2 golfer,
again figuring in the "potential."

At the Top: Tiger Woods
What does it take to be the top golfer in the world?
Here are the shocking figures:

Used | Date | Score | CR/Slope | Diff. | Tournament
> > * | 01/28/07 | 66 | 78.1/143 | 15.3 | Buick Invitational
> > * | 01/27/07 | 69 | 78.1/143 | 11.5 | Buick Invitational
> > | 01/26/07 | 72 | 78.1/143 | 7.7 | Buick Invitational
> > | 01/27/07 | 66 | 78.1/143 | 8.3 | Buick Invitational
> > * | 09/04/06 | 63 | 74.8/143 | 14.9 | Deutsche Bank
> > * | 09/03/06 | 67 | 74.8/143 | 9.9 | Deutsche Bank
> > | 09/02/06 | 72 | 74.8/143 | 3.5 | Deutsche Bank
> > * | 09/01/06 | 66 | 74.8/143 | 11.1 | Deutsche Bank
> > | 08/27/06 | 68 | 75.1/128 | 8.0 | WGC - Bridgestone Inv.
> > | 08/26/06 | 71 | 75.1/128 | 4.6 | WGC - Bridgestone Inv.
> > * | 08/25/06 | 64 | 75.1/128 | 12.6 | WGC - Bridgestone Inv.
> > | 08/24/06 | 67 | 75.1/128 | 9.2 | WGC - Bridgestone Inv.
> > * | 08/20/06 | 68 | 78.1/151 | 13.5 | PGA Championship
> > * | 08/19/06 | 65 | 78.1/151 | 17.5 | PGA Championship
> > * | 08/18/06 | 68 | 78.1/151 | 13.5 | PGA Championship
> > * | 08/17/06 | 69 | 78.1/151 | 12.2 | PGA Championship
> > | 08/06/06 | 66 | 74.3/133 | 9.8 | Buick Open
> > | 08/05/06 | 66 | 74.3/133 | 9.8 | Buick Open
> > | 08/04/06 | 66 | 74.3/133 | 9.8 | Buick Open
> > | 08/03/06 | 66 | 74.3/133 | 9.8 | Buick Open

Average Differential: 10.6
Best 10 Average Differential: 13.2
Handicap Index: +13.75
Now, take a deep breath and read that again. +13.75. Tiger's WORST ten
differentials average out to +8.05.

Something like 10% of golfers ever reach single digit handicaps.
Tiger's not only done that (while still in the womb, no doubt), but he's
blown through the single digits on the OTHER side of scratch and is in
heretofore unexplored territory at +13.75. That may be the single best
handicap index ever!

Pick a winner

2007-04-27T20:11:00.000+12:00

Byron Nelson won 11 tournaments in a row in 1945, a record that may never be matched. Which of the following records do you think is the most impressive?

Nelson's 11-straight victories
Hank Aaron's 755 career home runs
UCLA's run of 10 NCAA basketball titles in 12 years
Wayne Gretzky's 2,856 career points

Raise your Geek Flag High

2007-04-27T19:53:00.000+12:00

Ladies and gentleman I have discovered the holy grail. It is the bomb!!! Damn I hate that saying, shoot me now people.. Ok back on topic.

Anyhow the grail is of course a new driver. Of course it is... this is me your reading about. Sure I just got a new Burner and I'm killing it...... but theres always that feeling that there could be something better out there.... Behold they mother of ALL driver and i bet 99% of you have never heard of it...

The Geek Golf Dot Com This.. It's a beauty and is THE up and comer in the driver market. They are a component company that is gaining a bigger name all the time. The designer is Steve Alamo who formerly worked for Bang golf among other golf industry names before striking out on his own.

I mated my 10.5' (yes I went up in loft) with a Graman UL780 Limey shaft. This is a killer combo and is the longest driver I've ever hit. I've been in places that I've never been to at my home course, the best part is that these places actually involve the fairway of the hole I'm playing..

Try one for yourself...

Favourite

2007-04-18T19:19:00.000+12:00

Its official I have a new favourite pro golfer. Yep thats right Boo Weekley. I love this guy.

He's soo laid back he's barely awake. And to top it off he is one of the premier ball strikers on the PGA Tour. Big call I know but this guy is good. He lead the Nationwide Tour in GIR's last year with a massive 74.something%

He has always admitted putting he his weakness, as shown when 3 jacked at the Honda to lose the playoff . 3 footers still give him the shakes. Well I say your not real golfer unless your a little apprehensive over a 3 footer.... Anyway you don't have to worry about that if you chip in on the last 2 holes to hold out Ernie Els do you?

http://feed.insnews.org/v-cgi/feeds.cgi?feedid=144&story_id=2849429

Golf Course Facts

2007-04-18T19:15:00.000+12:00

• Approximate number of golf courses in the world: 31,857.
• Proportion of humans who are golfers: 0.94 percent.
• Countries with the most courses per capita (minimum 500,000 population): Scotland (9,379 people per course), New Zealand (10,374), Australia (11,063), Republic of Ireland (14,127), Northern Ireland (14,353), Canada (15,480), Wales (18,321), United States (18,514), Sweden (21,295), England (27,725).
• Countries with the highest density of courses (minimum 500,000 population): Singapore (one course every 10 square miles), England (27), Northern Ireland (40), Wales (50), Scotland (56), Japan (59), Netherlands (75), Mauritius (87), Republic of Ireland (95), Denmark (117).
• Most populous countries where we could find no evidence of golf: Ukraine (population 47,732,079), Sudan (39,148,162), Yemen (20,024,867), Mali (11,956,788), Belarus (10,310,520).
• Most northerly course: Sondie Arctic Desert G. Cse., Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.
• Most southerly: Ushuaia G.C., Argentina.
• Most easterly: Tonga G.C., Nukualofa, Tonga.
• Most westerly: Faleata C.C., Apia, Samoa.
• Ratio of courses in the U.S. to courses in the African continent: 20 to 1.
• Amount of earth's land mass devoted to golf courses: 0.014 percent.

Kiwi hits MySpace

2007-04-18T18:36:00.000+12:00

As per normal I'm slow to take up another installment of web technology. Hell I'm still mastering the whole tieing shoelaces thing

Here we go http://www.myspace.com/3underkiwi Go there and you should find me

Keep an eye out

2007-04-14T00:27:00.000+12:00

Keep an eye out for my fellow and more regular blogger Luke Swilor (Swilors road to tour) . This man has some serious game and just last weekend won himself a Canadian PGA Tour Card. This is a massive achievement in my eyes and I'm sure many others (among the whole 2.5 people that read this).

If you want want to keep an eye out for Luke check out www.cantour.com

Oh well Nike will give him a new one

2007-04-14T00:18:00.000+12:00

Man it must be good having a rep just giving you new clubs when you need them. I think I do my fair share of keeping my local pro shop in the red. Heres a great pic of Tiger's break at the Masters

New Cleveland offerings

2007-04-14T00:05:00.000+12:00

And these here are the new CGRed from Cleveland golf. The good news is that they aren't made from the CMM material the last models were.

Bright colors

Thermoplastic (TPU) insert for vibration damping (feel)

MCT - Next generation Micro-Cavity Technology displaces weight for lower CG (stability)

Hosel markings for custom fitting These replace the CG2s and CG4 Tours

Then we have to CGGold irons, same basic principle but a little more forgiving/ These replace the CG4's. Personally I think they are both hideous but meh what would i know

By the way

2007-04-10T21:12:00.000+12:00

Congrats to Zach Johnsone for winning the 2007 Masters.

I've been shopping.

2007-04-10T20:58:00.000+12:00

I decided it was time for a little bag update. Sure it was damn near midnight and I'd had a few rums. After buying the Burner the other I decided to fit out the rest of my bag.

I decided to go the component route again and get a set of Purefit MB's to replace my aging CG2's. The 3 wood and Hybrid stays the same. I've picked up a Tad Moore TM2 putter. Which shock horror is std length. Well 33 inches anyway. Thats a big drop for me from my belly putter. And to top it all off I picked up a set (ok 2 sets) of Adam Pugilelli wedges from www.gppgolf.com. They were a steal.

Don't know when they'll all be here. Might be a while for the irons. I don't think the distributor down here has anymore in stock. They're getting Femco White X-Stiff shafts +1 inch... Lovely....I love getting golf parcels....Hmmmm now that gets me think, I need a sweet looking bag to put them in.

## Patrica I anwsered your question for you

The new Burner

2007-04-08T21:11:00.000+12:00

Well I finally hit the new TaylorMade Burner today.. WOW TaylorMade bought out a new driver now theres a surprise... Not.

Anyway back on topic I quite liked it. Nice shape. The graphics are sweet man, damn I like that look. My forgivings being that it sat wayyyy closed. I had to open it up a little to get it to fly right and that is definitely not a feeling that makes you all that comfortable with a driver. The shaft also felt a little light for liking (50 gram) but I did like the extra length it was. But then again I order all my clubs plus an inch anyway.

The reason I'm in the market for a new driver is I cracked my beloved HiBore, I was not impressed. I had my J33R in the bag for a while but sold that so now just have a piece of crap Titty 905T I found in the garage that I don't remember buying. Oh well time to go shopping again

NZ PGA starts tomorrow.

2007-02-21T18:31:00.000+13:00

Well NZ's only link to the US Tours begins down here tomorrow. It's part of the Nationwide Tour which swings down here every year for a stop and one in Australia as well. I have been up to see it once but was pretty damn impressed with the talent on display. Not going this year tho, got this work that gets in the way.. (It does it for about 50 hours a week just to annoy me)

The have tricked the rough up a little I hear, that should be interesting. Clearwater Resort is a great course and if the wind gets up the scores will follow. If it stays calm I expect them to tear the course to bits. But then again its in Christchurch and I don't think I've ever been there when it hasn't blown for more than 3 days so I don't like there chances

My M/P picks for Day 1

2007-02-21T18:18:00.000+13:00

Ok I'm going to try and throw a few picks out there for the first rounds. Might just do what I see to be an upset. I'm to lazy to do them lol

Katayama will take out Baddeley
Clarke will thrash Garcia. (i assume this is Darren)
Edfors will beat Monty
Micheel will show Scott the door to the airport

Really slight chance....... Rollins beats VJ in sudden death

So whats that 5 matchs, knowing my track record in picking sports I'll be lucky to get 1, no way more than 2.

Dr Pepper.

2007-02-21T18:10:00.000+13:00

Ok so I'm 24 years and only just had my first Dr Pepper today. Sad huh, well its not the easiest thing to get down. First impressions were that it wasn't bad. But then I just decided it was well fairly average. Thats just me. It's got nothing over Coke. And Coke in turn has nothing over Beer...

Can you tell I'm bored ........

Nice... very nice

2007-02-21T18:00:00.000+13:00

Wow now this is impressive........ Read on

12 February 2007 Wallace shoots back to back albatrosses

Auckland’s Ben Wallace achieved an amazing feat earlier this month when he shot back to back albatrosses on the fourth hole at Auckland Golf Club inside the space of a week.
The talented Titleist Academy player scored his first albatross off the back tees during a tournament at the course on Saturday 3 February.
He was then out playing with Australian professional Peter Fowler and his coach on the following Tuesday when he potted another albatross on the par 5 hole after Fowler challenged him to see if he could do it again.
Fowler said it was an amazing feat as he had only seen one albatross in his entire career, which spans more than 25 years. Fowler has also just qualified for July's British Open.
Wallace's back to back albatrosses are the talk of Auckland Golf Club and the club made a special presentation to Wallace in recognition of his achievement.

(courtesy of the NZGA website)

3 is a bad number

2007-02-18T20:16:00.000+13:00

Not all the time but this weekend it was just well.. a fugly number. Sure scoreing a 3 on a hole is pretty much always a good thing... Just not if your only counting the number of shots taken on 1 green as well all know.

I was up in Te Anau in the weekend playing in a 36 hole tournament on the Saturday and the 1st round of pennants on the Sunday. Well I finished up 4th in some fairly average conditions (summer time my ass) with an ok I suppose 79 in the morning and a level par 72 in the afternoon. That 79 I actually hit the ball better than in the afternoon round but I had 6 putts in the morning. I don't think I've ever had 6 3 putts in a round since about the 4th round I ever played. Wasn't good. I was not impressed. I had just put a new std putter in the bag too. Needless to say it got pulled at lunch and the belly put back in..

Today (Sunday) It was the 1st round of the pennants series. This involves the 7 bigger clubs in my province playing in 6 man matchplay match's. My team is the defending champions having gone undefeated in the round robin and cleaning up in semi's and final. This year we started off with a 3 each Halve. Not great but not bad. It actually came down to my match, it was the only one that went the distance. The other team were leading 3-2 when I was all square with 3 to go. I was actually 2 up with 5 to go back snapped to consecutive drives on 2 holes OB. 16 I flushed rescue down the middle. Wedge to 12 feet, miss the putt. He missed from 25 Halve.. #17 He lays up with 3 wood. I take driver and stripe it to about 35 yards from the green. He's just short with the approach. I semi-skull mine out the back. His chip was awful and I 2 putt for the win... Sweet 1 up 1 to go. I can't and don't wanna lose the hole. We need my win to halve the team match. #18 is 456 par 4, dogleg right. I smash one but block it a little right but gets great bounce to centre f/w way down. He's straight and perfect. He stiffs 6 iron to 3 feet.... Gee no pressure.. I hit wedge 20 feet past the pin that just misses the pin on the fly. I hole my putt after it sits on the lip for a second. In the process nearly giving me a heart attack. But it falls and his putt is pointless. He needed to win the hole.

Pity it was the only putt I holed all weekend, but then again it was when it was perfect timing.

BTW I 3 jacked once Sat Afternoon for a total of 7 in 2 rounds.. None Sunday SWEEETTTTTT

Draper collects 1st win

2007-02-11T18:53:00.000+13:00

Australian Tour professional Scott Draper collected his first professional golf win. Draper is also a former World ATP touring tennis pro. He reached a career high ranking of No42 in singles and won the Australian Open Mixed doubles in 2005, playing the Australian Golf Open the nest week.

He recently turned down an offer to coach Leyton Hewiit to concentrate on his career as a touring golfer.

Draper finished at -20 the card over the four round, playing great golf with only a solitary bogey over the 4 days. He now heads to South Australia to attempt to qualify for the Nationwide co-sanctioned Jacobs Creek Open

It has to be a world first for golf/tennis player to win professionally in both sports professional ranks, espically only over a 2 year period

Importance of speed control for lag putt

2007-02-11T17:51:00.000+13:00

Ben Crenshaw (1980) stated:
"Most amateurs don't know how hard to hit a putt. They are too line-conscious and don't pay enough attention to the speed of a putt. Most three-putt greens are the result of hitting the first putt very long or very short, rather than far to the left or right of the hole."

Woods (2002) stated:
"One of the keys to effective lag putting is a good read with proper speed. That's particularly true on a big breaker. What good does it do me to get the ball rolling on the correct line if I knock it six feet past the hole?"

Sorenstam (2004) stated:
“If your speed is right, it’s almost impossible to three-putt.”

A key factor in determining proper ball speed to travel the distance to the hole is whether it travels uphill or downhill. Some players have a problem in determining ball speed on sloped greens.

Editors of Golf Magazine (1973) stated:
"There are thousands of players who are consistently short on every uphill and consistently long on every downhill putt. And we mean every."It's convenient to imagine a change in hole position to account for the slope of the green. If you are putting uphill, imagine a hole that is farther away. If you are putting downhill, imagine a hole that is closer to you.

This imaginary hole position is termed the virtual hole, which defines the effective ball-hole distance required to putt on level ground.

Great advice this and so true as well

CHOKE

2007-02-10T20:21:00.000+13:00

Well I finally get rid of the shanks, had a little bit of the yips as well but they seem to have disappeared as well. The game was going down the sewer there for a while.. As can see in the post below I had a 71 in the final round of the Club Champs..

.Here's a little about the round. I birdies 1,3,5,7 to finish the front nine at -4. Par 10, 11, and birdie 12 to get to -5. Its about now I start getting weird strange ideas in my head. After all the course record is only -5 (67). Par 13 after hitting a wedge to 3 feet and snap hooking the birdie, yes, I didn't know it was possible to snap hook a putt either. Get to 14 tee, fairly straight forward Par 4 as long as you don't go left. I take rescue and put the worst swing I've put on a ball in weeks. A shank would have better. It goes about 3 miles right of the fairway into the amazon jungle (trees). I chop my way up the hole. Make a tidy (fugly) triple 7 which kills my card. 15 I was a tad pissed off and ripped off a 310 metre drive. Another bogey on 17 and you have my -1 71. I don't think I've ever been so moody about an under par round. Granted I still won the Champs and the few beers/rums in the 19th made me feel a little better

Kiwi actually wins something!!!!

2007-02-10T19:42:00.000+13:00

Guess what............ I actually won a golf trophy. Sweetttttttttt. Today I won my clubs Strokeplay Club Champs. Top grade/flight. I had a 2 round total of 142 (-2), 2 rounds of 71. I'm positive I've never actually won a golf trophy before. First time for everything I suppose.

Sorry crappy photo I know, camera's busted had to resort to the old cell phone.

I also qualified No2 for the matchplay section as well. First rounds in a few weeks

First Grafalloy Epic hits E-Bay

2007-02-09T22:33:00.000+13:00

For all you ho's who just have to have it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/First-Production-Grafalloy-Epic-Shaft_W0QQitemZ130077482619QQihZ003QQcategoryZ83028QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's the press release from True Temper
GRAFALLOY TO MAKE FIRST PRODUCTION EPIC® SHAFT AVAILABLE FOR BID ON EBAY

Memphis, TN…On Thursday, February 8th at 8:00 AM EST, Grafalloy will make the first production Epic shaft available for purchase on the online auction site eBay®. The shaft, listed as item number 130077482619 is being sold directly from Grafalloy to offer one lucky consumer the chance of a lifetime…to own the first production Epic shaft over 3 years in development. The winning bidder of the 5-day auction will also receive a letter of authenticity from the company. The shaft available for auction is a 68 gram S Flex 46” driver shaft in a .335” tip configuration. “Everything about Epic is one-of-a-kind, so this is a fun way to create additional excitement around the shaft and give one person a unique opportunity,” states Chad Hall, Director of Marketing. “I can’t wait until the bidding begins.” Constructed from revolutionary Nanofuse® material, Epic was introduced at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida in late January and will be available to the public in mid-March in driver, fairway wood and hybrid designs. Through extensive robotic and player test data, Epic has shown to produce increased distance with up to a 35% improvement in shot dispersion compared to graphite shafts on the market today. Additional information is available at www.epicshaft.com. The Epic series of shafts are designed and manufactured by True Temper Sports, the leading manufacturer of golf shafts in the world and consistently the number one shaft on all professional tours globally. The Company markets a complete line of shafts under the True Temper®, Grafalloy® and Rifle® shaft brands, and sells these brands in over thirty countries throughout the world. True Temper Sports is proudly represented by over 800 individuals in ten facilities located in the United States, Europe, Japan, China and Australia.

Now I was waiting to see the bit about $$ from the winning bid going to a golfing charity, ie The First Tee but not so far as I can see. BTW its up too $600 at the moment. Lotta cash .......... And no its not my bid

This is impressive

2007-02-09T22:27:00.000+13:00

Damn this is impressive. Now living down here I know nothing about ice hockey but this is impressive !!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6anJc6c_dX8

Sh@^&s

2007-02-05T17:15:00.000+13:00

Guess what happened to me........ I've developed a maddening case of the SHANKS........ It's not pretty. I've hit the odd one before but I hit 4 today...... On 1 hole.A grand total of 8 of them. A nice solid of 87. Not good. Oh well of too the range to try and get rid of it.

ProPlay fitting systems

2007-02-05T16:54:00.000+13:00

This is one of the best aids I've ever come across. Doesn't help that I know the guys who came up with it either... I know kind of biased isn't it.

As we all know the basis for a good swing is a good frip, sure you can make a decent swing with an incorrect grip but it ain't that easy. This system aims to give the perfect grip form beginner to pro. It's perfectly legal and is approved by both the R&A and USGA as far I know.

The system itself is colour-coded. It starts out with you picking a glove that fits your hand (about 8 or so sizes) You then pick a grip with the same colour and have it installed on a club. The glove has little coloured panels on the fingers that are supposed to match up with little coloured corresponding panels on the grip. Damn I'm making an ass of trying to explain this.

Lets just say to me its a great product. Give it a try

http://www.proplayfittingsystems.com/

Tattoo Update

2007-01-30T21:12:00.000+13:00

I see Tattoo Golf have updated there site. Spent some $$$ about this time last year and got some great looking stuff. Check it out. It's top quality stuff.

TaylorMades new stuff

2007-01-29T21:55:00.000+13:00

SuperQuad

Meet the all new TaylorMade R7 SuperQuad. It features a 460cc chassis with 4 weight ports. It also features an All Black Head, sole and face included. It was supposed to be limited edition, but then again so was the 510TP and we all know what happened there.......... Gosh, a 460cc head with 4 weights, Damn never seen that coming............

Burner Series

And this would of course be the Burner series. Sorry no bubble shaft. Its another new model and a lower price point that the R7 model/s. Inc driver's/fairways and rescue clubs at the moment.

# The Burner driver was in John Dalys bag at the Buick this past week

Big JD

2007-01-29T21:28:00.000+13:00

I've just finished John Dalys new book last night "In & Out of the Rough".. Wow!!! Great read. Quite one on the most honest, and entertaining books I've ever read.

Biographys by and large bore to tears. You can almost predict the order the chapters will be in. Kind of a little the same but just damn funny. He talks about everything from his upbringing, his golf career, women in his life and of course his drinking and gambling habits.

By the way this book was really hard to find in down here in NZ, I got kinda pissed waiting so just ended up buying it off amazon.com. Picked up the new Ben Hogan book as well.

I get to the course after work for a quick nine holes and lo and behold one of my mates see's the book lying in the back of my car. It didn't stay there long and now has a waiting list if people to read it of about 7. Best thing is though I'm charging everyone a 6 pack a piece.. Sweet

Great read 5 *****

Congrats

2007-01-29T19:17:00.000+13:00

Congrats to Luke Swilor on his first win of the year. The first of the many I'm sure. Lukes blog is great to follow during the year if you want find out a little about the life of mini tour pro golfer.

I follow Brian Quackenbush a little as well

FUGLY!!!!!!!!

2007-01-29T19:10:00.000+13:00

Words cannot describe what the designers were smoking when the came up with this..........

Closeouts

2007-01-29T18:27:00.000+13:00

After a comment about a new driver from Speedy (theres a link there on the left) I thought I'd write up a post about drivers that are great sticks and can be had for a great price, the reason...... or catch whatever you like to call it is that are last years model... Big deal.

Heres a few of them. . . . . . .

NIKE Mens SasQuatch 460 Ti Drivers

Great driver, ugly as sin to my eyes but it goes, damn does it go long. But the powerbow is just hideous. Stock shaft is pretty crap, I'd recommend going up a flex, they play about 1/2 a flex softer than normal. TGW.com has them for $199 but they probably can easily been found cheaper. After all the square version is on the way.

Orlimar Golf HTi440

Very very very underated driver. I've got one around here somewhere.. or I lend it too someone, I forget. Anyhow rockbottomgolf.com has em for the baragin price of $69, don't let the price fool you. It is a great whooping stick

PING G2

Nice club this one, only $159 at gppgolf.com but if you offered them less they'd take it. One of the most forgiving drivers around. The moon alignment aid is ugly but I just painted over it on the one I had.

TM R5

Solid driver, miles ahead of the original R7 in my opinion. Silly easy to hit, as normal the stock TM shafts are just well... arse........ Sounds like a good description to me. Great stick too. Can be bought in Neutaland draw bias and of course this a TP version as well

HiBore

Yes I know I'm completely awfully biased here, it is after what I have in my bag but well I don't care. Great club. Long, easy to hit. I actullay like the shape and they can now be had for around $179 at rockbottom. Of course if you stick a Graman Limey shaft in it it will be even better, yep got one of those too.

Now don't forget e-bay, plenty of bargains to be had there, just watch out for all the clones and fake crap floating around. Another tip is when your buying a driver from the previous year, never ever pay the retail price. The retailer will be open for bit leeway in the price, they will want too move them before all the new models turn up in store... And don't be afraid to walk away......

Will Wilson make it back

2007-01-28T19:05:00.000+13:00

For the young bucks reading this, Wilson Staff blades were once "it." Look in the bag of a professional or a top amatuer, chances are - gorgeous chrome plated staffs would be the weapon of choice.

Unfortunately, the advent of CB's, metalwoods and later titanium woods shocked their world. While they continued to make great irons, companies like TM and Cally sold millions of high dollar metalwoods. BUT - Wilson woods kind of sucked (actually really sucked).

The slow decline culminated with the dreaded FATSHAFT era. Although you can find a ton of hackers who love them, they looked awful and I honestly hadn't seen a Wilson in the bag of a decent golfer in years (except for a few oldtimers with old blades - they were very good).

A few years ago, Wilson got new ownership and tried to rebuild their brand. While it hasn't been a smashing success, they seem to be getting a little "buzz" for the first time in years. Paddy is winning the order of merit. They even have a very small tour staff.

My review of their current equipment;

Fi Irons - arguably the best looking irons on earth - you better have game b/c they are all blade. I have never actually seen them outside a golf store.

Pi Irons - IMHO - oneof the most underated iron on the market. These babies caused me to buy an extra set of irons despite having new TM TP's. At address, they look like blades. They have great forgiveness and perfect balance.

Ci Irons - look perfect for a mid-handicapper. GI without going off the deep end.

Di Irons - well, they brought back the FatShaft, but had the brains not to tell anyone. If you need/want ultra-GI shovels, these babies have it all.

Drivers - still kind of blow - not bad, but always about 2 years behind. The new one is looking promising though

FW - No idea I've never actually seen one in person, which of course is a bad thing.

Putters - Kirk Currie might be a great designer, but his putters are fugly. The weird balance weights are not mainstream enough to be a big seller.

My marketing plan to finish the job:1. Tour Service - set up their own version of WRX. Staff can be hard to find in proshops. If guys can special order custom irons with frequency matched shafts, dead on SW's, custom grips, they can start getting the top amatuers at clubs to start playing them. Offering custom grinds on those gorgeous wedges would a special touch. 2. Tour Guys - instead of the Adams (senior tour) strategy, I would go with a few young guns. Someone with game and a big mouth would be nice.

Enough already

2007-01-28T18:56:00.000+13:00

Taylormade golf do exactly nothing to help a club ho like me to stop buying new drivers, sure I play a HiBore but thats not the point. Heres a list of what TGW.com currently have for sale in Taylormade

R7 Quad
R5 Dual
R7 superquad
R7 Quad HT
R580XD
R7 draw
R7 460
Burner 460
R7 425
Burner 460 TP
R7 Quad TP
R7 425 TP
R7 460 TP
R5 TP

Thats 14 models Enough already. Imagine the number of drivers just sitting in proshops/ warehouses in just the USA alone, the number would be huge. And I wouldn't be surprised to see at least 3 models before Xmas either. Ok thats enough of my rant for the day

I'm alive!!!!

2007-01-28T18:33:00.000+13:00

Guess who forgot about their blog ! ! ! ! Yep that'd be me. Thanks to speedycat hollydale for reminding me. I'll be sure to post more often soon.

Speaking of disappearing acts... Where the hells Jamboy gone again, he must be off on another crack fueled love fest..

Mini Tours

2006-11-18T20:02:00.000+13:00

Man I knew there were a few of these around over in the US but damn not this many, and list probably doesn't even cover half them. I can think of a few that aren't even on the list..

http://www.google.com/Top/Sports/Golf/Organizations/Mini-Tours/

It'll be great if Greg Turner can continue to grow the GTNZ tour concept, I'd love to play in one of these

Q-School

2006-11-18T19:32:00.000+13:00

Well US Tour School 2nd stage is underway in 5 locations across America. If you look through the scoreboards you will see the names of players you've heard of and even major winners. Just goes to show how hard it is retain a card after you obtain one.

Check out the leaderboards here http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/league/pgatq6/tours.htm?type=1

There are a few Kiwis in action and doing pretty well. Phil Tautarangi is T2 in Texas after 2 rounds, Michael Long is 10th in California. Grant Waite is probably gone being in 40th after 3 and only the Top 20 at each site go through to the gruelling 6 round Q-School finals.

Also check out in my links section Brian Quackenbush, he's playing 2nd stage and is doing very well. His site makes great reading. Hope he makes it. It'd be great to get an insider view of the Finals

New Golf Book!, A must buy for everyone

2006-11-11T17:55:00.000+13:00

Chapter 1 - How to Properly Line Up Your Fourth Putt

Chapter 2 - How to Hit a Dunlop from the Rough When You Hit a Titleist from the Tee

Chapter 3 - How to Avoid the Water When You Lie 8 in a Bunker (also seeChapter 8)

Chapter 4 - How to Get More Distance off the Shank

Chapter 5 - When to Give the Ranger the Finger

Chapter 6 - Using Your Shadow on the Greens to Maximize Earnings

Chapter 7 - When to Implement Handicap Management

Chapter 8 - Proper Excuses for Drinking Beer Before 9:00 a.m.

Chapter 9 - How to Rationalize a 6 Hour Round

Chapter 10 - How to Find That Ball That Everyone Else Saw Go in the Water

Chapter 11 - Why Your Spouse Doesn't Care That You Birdied the 5th

Chapter 12 - How to Let a Foursome Play Through Your Twosome

Chapter 13 - How to Relax When You Are Hitting Three off the Tee

Chapter 14 - When to Suggest Major Swing Corrections to Your Opponent

Chapter 15 - God and the Meaning of the Birdie-to-Bogey Three Putt

Chapter 16 - When to Re-grip Your Ball Retriever

Chapter 17 - Can You Purchase a Better Golf Game?

Chapter 18 - Rules Interpretation: "Loss of Ball is Penalty Enough..."

Chapter 19 - Why Male Golfers Will Pay $5.00 a Beer from the Cart Girl and Give Her a $3 Tip, But Will Balk at $3.50 at the 19th Hole and Stiff theBartender

Belly Putters

2006-11-05T19:59:00.000+13:00

Ok here's a fairly controversial topic among golfers. Me personally I've always been a streaky putter, either shit hot or stone cold. Unforunately stone cold more often than not...

After a particularly bad patch just before Xmas last year I pretty much gave up in disgust and bought a belly putter and a broomstick. Took the broomstick out first but that was a waste of time. It's far to long and it's actually bloody hard to use. Not too mention I carry my bag and it kept smacking me in the face when I picked my bag up..Mmmmmm pass.

Next onto the belly. Not what I'd call instant love but encouraging enough for me to continue with it and keep it in the bag ( a rare occurance for me). After a bit of practice over the new year I went out and top qualified for my club champs. Sure I got the mother of all spankings in the semi but meh... What do you do, I had the shanks. Even I can't blame the putter for that.

Now after what ..... 1,2,,,,,11 months of use I have to say I do feel a lot confident over every putt. It's more stable than a standard length putter therefore the stroke is a lot easier. I used to dread 6 footer's but they don't even really worry me now,, apart from the diabolical ones with 1 foot and a bit of break in em..

Don't be scared to try one, yeah sure you get a bit of shit in the beginning for using a grandpa putter but they get over it when they realise how many beer's they owe you..

Of course being the club HO that I am I of course have 3 of them, in fact I bought the 3rd last night.. After all it's never my fault when I miss, it's gotta be the clubs

Random thoughts

2006-11-05T16:15:00.000+13:00

# Joe Durant continued his streak of good play on Friday with a 2-under 68. Durant has recorded 17 of his last 18 rounds at par or better, including 15 consecutive. During his last four and a half tournaments, Durant’s scoring average has been 68.17, compared to a scoring average 71.38 during his first 23 tournaments.

#Kiwi Doug Hollaway has made it through the first round of Q-School in the US. He finished at +3 for the four rounds finishing 14th, the top 25 moved onto the next stage.

# Brad Heaven will need a great last round to do the same, he is currently +10 with a round to go in 37th place. I'm picking the cut to be around +5. He'll have to have a stunner considering the lowest round all week is 68 at this qualifying locaton

Myths About Golf Equipment And Performance

2006-11-05T15:35:00.000+13:00

By Dick Rugge Senior Technical DirectorUnited States Golf Association

1. Golfers with faster swing speeds get disproportionately greater distance benefits from new golf balls that have been introduced after 2000.
False. Physics, scientific tests, and actual results on the PGA Tour all confirm that faster swinging players have not gained a disproportionate amount of distance from modern golf balls. An example: Corey Pavin, the shortest hitter in 2000, gained about the same amount of distance from 2000 to 2005 (7.4 yards) as the longest (John Daly at 8.7 yards).

2. Golf ball distance is not currently limited.
False. Golf ball distance has been regulated since 1976 and golf ball rebound characteristics have been regulated since the 1940s. In 2004, the USGA updated its testing methodology to more closely reflect the athleticism and clubs of today's Tour pros. All golf balls played on Tour and the vast majority of golf balls sold have passed the USGA’s distance limit test.

3. Driving distance on Tour is increasing rapidly
False. While average PGA Tour driving distance significantly increased over the past 10 years, it has leveled off during the past three. The average increase since the level of 2003 to the current level in 2006 is only about 1 yard per year.

4. The longest hitters on the PGA Tour finish higher on the money list.
False. While some long-driving professionals have been very successful, on average, the top 10 driving distance players have actually been falling down on the money list in recent years. From 1980-85 the average rank was 64.2; in 2000-2005 it was 77.1. The second worst single year average rank on the money list of the longest 10 drivers was in 2004 with an average rank of 103.3.

5. Most of the PGA Tour professionals swing at 120 mph or more.
False. The average swing speed on the PGA Tour is approximately 113 mph. There are some who swing at or higher than 120 mph, but they are clearly in the minority.

6. The USGA ball test doesn't control ball distance well enough because actual pro golfer swings are different than the test method.
False. The test method employed by the USGA, using a 120 mph swing speed, is representative of the swing conditions used by the longer PGA Tour professionals. The USGA tests balls like the PGA Tour pros hit balls.

7. The average distance for 5-irons on Tour is more than 200 yards.
False. The PGA Tour Shotlink system, which records virtually all shots throughout the season, shows that the average 5-iron shot from fairway to green is approximately 185 yards. From the tee on par threes, the average 5-iron distance is about 197 yards.

8. You get more distance when you put topspin on a drive.
False. Every normally struck drive has backspin. Backspin generates lift and keeps the ball in the air. You can put topspin on a ball – but only when you 'top' the ball. It will go a very short distance and dive into the ground.

9. Accuracy off the tee isn’t as important as it used to be on the PGA Tour.
That’s no myth, it’s true. During the '80s driving accuracy was almost as strong a predictor of money-winning as putting. Today it has fallen to the lowest level ever.

10 rules for golf etiquette

2006-11-04T20:40:00.000+13:00

Now I'm not the golf etiquitte police or anything.God know's I'm no saint. I don't care what you wear on the course but there a few simple little things that just piss me off on a golf course. Here's few things not too do.... But I will admit #7 is quite cool

1. use your club to try to kill an animal
2. step in peoples lines
3. see how many times you can say the f-word in one sentence
4. talk while people are hitting
5. blame inanimate objects for your bad shots
6. cheat, never cheat ever, the penalty for cheating should be either the stocks, a tar and feathering, or a brick to the head
7. catch "mad air" while in a cart
8. run on the greens
9. fist pump, its not really etiquete, just a pet peave of mine when people do it. You may think you look like tiger, but chances are you just look like your retarded
10. last but certainly not least is... Coaching people, never be "the coach" unless someone asks, they probably are just humoring you by nodding after everything you say but they are really thinking.. if he doesnt shut up in 5 seconds im going to hit him with my 7 iron

How many forum users does it take to change a lightbulb?,

2006-11-04T20:19:00.000+13:00

How many forum users does it take to change a lightbulb?

1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed

14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently

7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs

1 to move it to the Lighting section

2 to argue then move it to the Electricals section

7 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs

5 to flame the spell checkers3 to correct spelling/grammar flames

6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ...

another 6 to condemn those 6 as stupid

2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "lamp"

15 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that "light bulb" is perfectly correct

19 to post that this forum is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a lightbulb forum

11 to defend the posting to this forum saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this forum

36 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty

7 to post URL's where one can see examples of different light bulbs

4 to post that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL's

3 to post about links they found from the URL's that are relevant to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group

13 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too"

5 to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy

4 to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"

13 to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs"

And finally 1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now and start it all over again.

BTW

2006-11-03T23:13:00.000+13:00

As you can probably tell I was bored so I changed the scenery up a little bit

New Record

2006-11-03T22:52:00.000+13:00

Yes it's offical. As of today I have acheived a new record in my golfing life.I have had the SAME driver in my bag for 6 months. This is unheard of for me. I normally change drivers pretty much on a monthly. Apart from a brief excursiuon back a R7 TP Quad I've had my Hibore fitted with a Graman UL540 in the bag for 6 months solid.

Damn thats impressive............ for me anyway

Mmmmmm

2006-10-31T20:13:00.000+13:00

Is it just me or is the anticipation or an impending arrival of a new set of sticks sometimes just totally frustrating. I'm not quite at the point of checking the tracking number every 10 minutes, only once so far but I'm waiting.... Though not patiently lol

Tour Championship thought's

2006-10-31T19:51:00.001+13:00

I've been tossing around the subject of the Tour Championship's current invitational format, which is limited to those among among the Top 30 on the Money List.

"That format with its 'no replacement' policy is ratified by the oversight board which includes player members elected by their peers to represent their interests. So they all know that this reward, playing in the lucrative tour Championship, further separates the top 30 from the rest, eligibility for next year's special criteria events included. This event has been as it is since the late 1980's. If the players felt strongly enough about your points, they would have changed things by now. IMHO, it's a non-issue for the rank and file."I agree with that, and it makes me realize something ....

The PGA Tour tends to promote its own interests by several means at the expense of the events it can not control - the four Grand Slam Majors. The Tour Championship's current invitational format, as well as whatever will be the format for the upcoming Fed Ex Cup, is a case in point.Any Grand Slam champion not among the Top 30 Money Leaders does not get an invitation. And, as stated before, only the race for Top 20 Money Leader, worth a British Open invitation, as well as that for Leading Money Winner, is decided at the event. Meanwhile, the races for Top 30 (US Open) and Top 40 (Masters) are decided elsewhere. The less references to the Majors, the better it would seem.To me, it is ironic that, among the four grand slam majors, only the British Open invitations are up for grabs at the Tour Championship. For many years prior to 1995, the PGA Tour did not even recognize the British Open as official in any way, shape or form!

You can win events that the PGA Tour DOES control - the three official money World Golf Championships as well as the Players Championship - and NOT be guaranteed to be invited to the Tour Championship. How about THAT !!?In my view, any tie-in to golf's biggest championships should serve as an enhancement to an event like the Tour Championship.

So now with Tiger, Man Boob's Mickelson and Weir (injury) it's a 27 man field, which is apparently the way the players want it seeing as how they voted it in that way. Why??? Less player's, same purse. Simple as that, as if they don't make enough anyway

Ryder Cup re-cap

2006-09-25T18:42:00.000+12:00

Well it's all over an done with now for another couple of years. I did think before hand that the Europeans would be the favourites but I didn't expect them to quite match the same thrashing from last time around.

Seems the captains did a good job with there captain picks. The 4 guy's picked all finshed either 2 or 3 in there respective teams records. Lehman was given a bit of stick for his picks but they both proved themselves. With Verplank being the only man invovled. Quite why Tom only played him twice is beyond me.

The Euro's again proved that they do actually love team matchplay and that actually helps when your playing it. Mickelson looked like he didn't want to be there all week, played like it too. Hell Tger's caddy was even throwing his clubs in the pond.

Well done the Euro's !!!

BTW. Who on the planet does not have the upmost respect for Darren Clarke at the moment

Callaway FT-i

2006-09-25T18:33:00.000+12:00

Ok I found some pic's of it..

Not pretty is it. With 2 manufacturer's now moving into the brick shape clubs there must be point to the technology.. surely.. We'll wait and see i suppose

Pics courtesy of BSG

Take a gander

2006-09-25T17:58:00.000+12:00

Not that pretty is it !!!!!!!! Oh well maybe it'll grow it me. This here by the way is the new Nike SQ Sumo driver. Should be released just after the new year.. It's going to make my Hibore look like Miss Universe..
But wait theres more.... I don't have a picture yet but word is Callaway has a FT-i on the book thats a similiar shape but well uglier!!! If thats possible, I'll see if I can dig one up

The Big 5

2006-09-02T22:21:00.000+12:00

What happened to them. Just seems to be the big 1 at the moment. VJ's rarely sighted near leaderboard lately. Mickelson's still recovering from the US Open whether he admit's it or not. Ernie's still favouring his sore knee, you can tell when you watch him swing and Goosen I assume must be dead because it's been a while since i seen him.

To me lately the world ranking should be
1..Tiger 2..Furyk 3..Scott 4..Ogilvy

But then again the OGWR system always has been a bit of a dud

I hate getting spanked

2006-08-23T18:59:00.000+12:00

I hate losing..... I mean if i wanted to lose I would have chosen to be born Australian and I'd be in the Wallaby team............ Anyhow back on topic (which is strange for me) I made my rep debut in the weekend playing for the good Southland mens 12 man team. I made a complete hash of it to say the least. Was playing No 6 and proceeded to hit what can only been described as damn near a driver shank on the first tee. Sure I flushed the next over 6 trees and a bunker to 5 feet but who care's.. Bugger all other people saw that so it was the tee shot that cost me a small fortune at the pub later. Needless to say i had an average 79 (in my defence in was pissing down) which resulted in me getting reamed 5/4. The worst part was we had play out the round even after the match's were over. I mean who gives a shit right. I got thrashed, do they really think I want to be out there any longer than I had to.

Next it in the car and Mach 1 down the road in the crapped old Mitsi to Arrowtown. Was i speeding, well technically yes but hey in my defence the rugby started soon and I wanted to get to the pub. Now I dunno about you fellas but the game (Mighty AB's vs wallaby's) starting at 5;30 really messed with my head. The game finshed, we had a celebratory beer, again then well it's only half 7. What the hell do we do now. I know we'll have another beer.. Works for me..

Sunday 7am// Light comes on... "Wake up Dave we're leaving for the course soon" The reply " Fat chance I have the key's"..

Yeah Saturday night may not have finshed till Sunday moring.. Oop's. We get the course, get reamed out by the manager for getting on it the night before. Oh well. Go out and play. Better day but it was the first 9 i'd had on a hole for a while. Same result as Sat, 79 and a 5/4 beating. My team was leading 7.5 to 4.5 after Saurday but we all lost bar 2 so we ended losing the match.. Well that didn't make us anymore popular with the manager did it.

Oh well there's always next time.. But then again somehow I'm not rating my chance's of getting selected again for the 10 man team next month..

Had a shocker this weekend

2006-08-07T18:58:00.001+12:00

I had local representative trials this weekend for my local area. Hmmm don't think I could have made a bigger ass of myself. Played absolutely terrible. I've never struggled so much with my ball striking, never.

I managed to hit a stunning 13/36 greens over the 2 days...... Dude that is crap. That's only like one in 3.... I was hitting big power cuts off the tee but that's bearable just aim way left... But my irons were just plain crap. Enough said. The putter went cold in the morning as well paving the way for a 81!!!!!!!! 81!!!!!! Its been a while since I shot in the 80's and well the feeling is worse than I remember. The short game saved my butt in the 2nd round round were I still missed a boatload of greens but mangaged to to get up and down 11/14 times including twice from a bunker. Scrounged a 74 but the damage was done...

And its not like I haven't practiced. I had a few sessions on the range last week and was hitting it great. Short game practice was good too. I don't put it down to choke either because I was only an outside chance for the 12 man team anyway and put no pressure on myself.

Just one of those weekends I suppose........

Big tournament last weekend

2006-07-24T20:34:00.000+12:00

Played in the Annual Fiordland Classic in the weekend on the shores of Lake Te Anau. Was a pretty big field as it normally is. The tournament it self is played over 2 days on what can only be described as having views to rival any course.

It's a 2 man team event and we unlucky to draw the last tee time of the day on the Saturday. We teed off at 12;50 off the 15th tee the format being a 4BBB nett. We both played pretty average and only finished with a nett 67 to put us 10 back after the first day. The greens were pretty average after having a couple of hundred people trampling over them before us but thats no excuse for the way we both hit the ball.

The next day we were off at the ungodly hour of 8;11am. Which is not flash if you hadn't got to bed till 3;30am. But then again 90% of field were at the pub with us. The lucky ones with the afternoon tee times were shall we say getting slightly cursed at by the rest of us.

The golf was well pretty good for the first few holes but unforunately then we both sobered up and then wheels fell off. I eagled the last to break 80 by 1 which lead a nett 76 (oh whopee). Paul my team mate wasn't so lucky having a nett 83 (103 off the bat).

The high point being we won a little haggle between us and 3 other teams after finishing with a team score of 226 to beat the 3 other by 2.

Overall we came in mid field somewhere I think. I don't remember much of the prizegiving... oh come on it didn't start till 8pm and we were off the course by midday. We went to the pub to watch some big screen car racing and a few pints to fill in the afternoon..

OH yeah BTW I did manage to take out the senior Long Drive. Pretty cool prize of a bottle of rum. Pity is was the only other fairway I hit all day...........

Can't wait for this

2006-07-07T19:04:00.000+12:00

Titliest have said for the last couple of years that they would never make a wood style hybrid. But then again so did PING and the G5 is out. Well Titliest have gone back on there word... Sure we've had the awful 503H, the oversized driving iron with about 2 feet of offset but here is the new proto........ The 585H. It's due for release sometime around August. Yes it can be found on e-bay at the moment occasionally, but be prepared to shell out around $900US....... I think I can wait a month or so..

Josh Hardaway

2006-07-06T22:20:00.000+12:00

Whatever works eh!!!!

Kinda funny !!

2006-07-06T19:15:00.000+12:00

Bedroom Golf Rules

1. Each player shall furnish his own equipment. Normally one club and two balls.

2. Play on a course must be approved by the owner of the hole.

3. Unlike outdoor golf, the object is to get the CLUB in the hole and keep the balls out.

4. For most effective play, the club should have a firm shaft. Course owners are permitted to check shaft stiffness before play begins.

5. Course owners reserve the right to restrict shaft length so not to damage the hole(s).

6. The object of the game is to take as many strokes as necessary until the course owner is satisfied that the play is complete. Failure to do so may result in being denied permission to play the course again.

7. It is considered bad form to begin playing the hole immediately upon arrival at the course. The experienced player will take time to admire the entire course with special attention to the well-formed bunkers.

8. Players are cautioned not to mention other courses they have played or are currently playing to the owner of the course being played. Upset course owners have been known to damage a players equipment for this reason.

9. Players are encouraged to bring proper rain gear for their own protection.

10. Players should assure themselves that their match has been properly scheduled, particularly when a new course is being played. Previous players have been known to become irate if they discover someone else playing on what they consider to be their private course.

11. Players should not assume a course is in shape for play at all times.

12. Players are advised to be extremely tactful in this situation. More advanced players will find an alternate means of play when this occurs.

13. Players are strongly encouraged to obtain permission before playing the Back Nine.

14. Slow play is encouraged. However, players should be prepared to proceed at a faster pace, at least temporarily, at the owners request.

15. It is considered outstanding performance; time permitting, to play the same hole several times in one match

New Record!!!

2006-07-01T19:04:00.000+12:00

Well for me anyway... Not that guy's probably care but I broke my record for consectutive birdie's. It was 3 which I've done a few times but today I had 4. I birdied 9,10,11 and 12. not too bad considering the course was still frozen when I tee'd off. It was a bit tricky to say the least. Nothing worse than pitching an approach to 2 feet then watching it caroom 30 yards out the back. I bogeyed the first 5 but wasn't really worried.
I finished +2 74 to take out best gross from a field of 134. About 4th best nett in grade. Best part was the handicapper cocked it up an h/c'd me at a 76!!! Sweet!! i don't wanna go down anyway.

BTW Good luck to Cambo in the French Open. He's T3 after 2 rounds!

Visualisation - anyone heard this tale

2006-06-29T19:31:00.000+12:00

“Major James Nesmeth had a dream of improving his golf game - and he developed a unique method of achieving his goal. Until he devised this method, he was just your average weekend golfer, shooting in mid- to low-nineties. Then, for seven years, he completely quit the game. Never touched a club. Never set foot on a fairway.

Ironically, it was during this seven-year break from the game that Major Nesmeth came up with his amazingly effective technique for improving his game - a technique we can all learn from. In fact, the first time he set foot on a golf course after his hiatus from the game, he shot an astonishing 74! He had cut 20 strokes off his average without having swung a golf club in seven years! Unbelievable. Not only that, but his physical condition had actually deteriorated during those seven years. What was Major Nesmeth's secret? Visualization. You see, Major Nesmeth had spent those seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. During those seven years, he was imprisoned in a cage that was approximately four and one-half feet high and five feet long.

During almost the entire time he was imprisoned, he saw no one, talked to no one and experienced no physical activity. During the first few months he did virtually nothing but hope and pray for his release. Then he realized he had to find some way to occupy his mind or he would lose his sanity and probably his life. That's when he learned to visualize.
In his mind, he selected his favorite golf course and started playing golf. Every day, he played a full 18 holes at the imaginary country club of his dreams. He experienced everything to the last detail. He saw himself dressed in his golfing clothes. He smelled the fragrance of the trees and the freshly trimmed grass. He experienced different weather conditions - windy spring days, overcast winter days, and sunny summer mornings. In his imagination, every detail of the tee, the individual blades of grass, the trees, the singing birds, the scampering squirrels and the lay of the course became totally real.

He felt the grip of the club in his hands. He instructed himself as he practiced smoothing out his down-swing and the follow-through on his shot. Then he watched the ball arc down the exact center of the fairway, bounce a couple of times and roll to the exact spot he had selected, all in his mind. In the real world, he was in no hurry. He had no place to go. So in his mind he took every step on his way to the ball, just as if he were physically on the course. It took him just as long in imaginary time to play 18 holes as it would have taken in reality. Not a detail was omitted. Not once did he ever miss a shot, never a hook or a slice, never a missed putt. Seven days a week. Four hours a day. Eighteen holes. Seven years. Twenty strokes off. Shot a 74.”

Differences between DG and Rifle shafts

2006-06-24T19:46:00.000+12:00

Thought this would help some of you guy's out there

Royal Precision Rifle
Along with the Dynamic Gold’s, this is the most popular high-end steel shaft for low-handicappers, but prices are higher for the Rifle – roughly 70% more than Dynamic Gold’s. This is a stepless shaft that derives its name from its internal rifling. This gives the outside a clean, smooth look. The difference in feel from the Dynamic’s is subtle, but most golfers can readily detect it. The construction of the Rifle dampens some of the vibration caused by impact. This gives it a smoother, sweeter feel that many appreciate. Others believe that the Dynamic’s are a touch more alive feeling and offer better feedback. As concerns feel at impact, the Rifle's are between the standard Dynamic Gold's and the DG Sensicore's on the crispness/softness scale. Those that prefer the Rifle's think it has a silkier feel that is more crisp than the softer Sensicore's.
Bend points get lower as flex increased. This makes regular flex shafts hit higher than stiff flex. Royal Precision’s patented frequency matching system helps insure shaft-to-shaft consistency throughout a set. (4.5 is regular, 5.5 to 6.0 are firm to stiff and 6.5 and up is X-stiff) Matched shaft sets can be purchased pre-tip trimmed to suit individual irons.
With their glossy, sword-like sheen and large, handsome shaft bands, the Rifle’s make any set look expensive and classy. In the past few years, the Royal Precision Rifle has grown in popularity both with the public and with professional tour players. Some golfers, including one of our senior testers, believe that the Rifle’s provide tighter dispersion patterns than do the True Temper shafts. For most, however, choosing the Rifles will simply be a matter of “acquired taste”. They are a sweeter feeling, more luxurious looking shaft than is the Dynamic Gold. Some will notice an improvement in their game by converting to these shafts, but most will not. Performance-wise, lower handicappers generally prefer these shafts more than do higher handicappers.

True Temper Dynamic
Do not be fooled by the low cost of this shaft. The Dynamic is good. It has long been the best selling shaft in golf. Not only is the Dynamic used frequently by custom clubmakers, it is the standard shaft choice for the majority of club manufacturers. Many proline clubs have shaft bands that use their own company brand names, but are, in reality, True Temper Dynamic’s – or slight variations of them. After decades of popularity, they remain the constant standard against which other steel shafts are compared.
It can generally be assumed that those with faster swing speeds will prefer the Dynamic to other comparative True Temper shafts such as the TT Lite and the Dynalite. But, the Dynamic’s have a wide appeal. With their high bend point, the Dynamic’s produce the lower, penetrating ball flight that most male golfers prefer. For low- to mid-handicap, male golfers aged 15 to 50, the Dynamic’s have traditionally been the number one choice. With relatively hefty weights, they are rugged, solid-feeling shafts.
I recommend that clubmakers buy a stockpile of the Dynamic’s and weight sort them. In combination with the tip trimming variations of the R/S combo flex, many levels of flex can be achieved. The only real downside of the Dynamic’s is their shaft bands. They make a set of irons look a bland and generic.

True Temper Dynamic Gold
While the standard Dynamic is the most popular shaft in golf, the Dynamic Gold is the dean of golf shafts. It has been the primary steel shaft on the various tours for decades. It has also been used in more high-end, OEM sets than has any other shaft.
Dynamic Gold’s are basically just standard Dynamic’s that have been sorted out by weight. The one’s in the close-to-127-gram range become Gold’s. Those that weigh more become standard Dynamic shafts. This provides more uniform performance throughout a set. The Gold’s are also broken down into individual flexes, or more precisely, into more precise sub-flexes. A clubmaker can chose between R300 and R200, or S300 and S400 in the Gold’s. The standard Dynamic’s are available in R/S combo flex. They are then trimmed to desired flexes. Another primary difference between Dynamic versions is the shaft band. The Gold and Black of the DG”s has it hands down over the banal bands of the Dynamic’s. Many pay extra for the Gold’s even though they know that weight-sorted Dynamic’s will perform in almost exactly the same manner.
In their Sensicore version, the Dynamic Gold’s compete with the Royal Precision Rifle’s for the premium, luxury market. We have found that DG’s with Sensicore make many blades a viable option for players who would not normally consider them. Basically, if you are a very low-handicapper and a consistent ball striker, you will not be tempted by the Sensicore version. Note: The Sensicore insert is added to a slightly lighter version of the normal DG’s. Without adjustments by True Temper, the Sensicore DG’s would be too heavy. Consequently, weight distribution and playing parameter’s are a tiny bit different.

True Temper Dynamic Gold Lite
This is a reduced weight version of the DG’s. The lighter weight can produce a faster swing speed, but it can also produce a stiffer, less solid feel at impact. I prefer this shaft in the Sensicore version. It has a less muted feel than the heavier, Dynamic Gold Sensicore version. This shaft makes a good selection for high-end custom sets.

True Temper Dynalite
This low bend point shaft has long been a standard choice for wedge assembly. We use it at GCR as our primary wedge shaft. It is designed to hit the ball a bit higher than it cousins, the Dynamic and XL Lite. The Dynalite and Dynalite Gold are also used quite frequently in iron set assembly. For some reason, they have not appealed to us in any application other then wedges. Most probably, it is due to the lighter weight and consequently less solid feel. But, the light weight and low bend point make it a good choice for better playing seniors. Swing speeds can increase slightly and the ball flies for more carry.

True Temper TT XL Lite
The XL Lite is probably the most friendly and likeable steel shaft in golf. It is also capable of very fine performance. The average golfer hits too high one week; too low the next. He is not sure just what kind of shaft that he needs. For him, the XL Lite is the advisable route to go. With its mid bend point and moderate flex, it suits most of the broad, middle spectrum of golfers. For general use among upper mid- to high-handicappers, this is a wise choice – more appropriate than the lower-hitting Dynamic’s. With the Sensicore option added, it’s a very sweet, plush-feeling shaft. The XL Lite is also a good option for senior men and women who are a little too strong for True Temper Release shafts. Additionally, with its sharp, green, black and silver shaft bands, this shaft makes a much dressier looking set of irons than do the Dynamic’s. Many clubmakers keep a supply of XL Lite’s on hand due to their wide appeal.

True Temper Release
Very popular with slow-swinging seniors and ladies, this low swingspeed shaft is available in Men’s and Ladies’ flexes. For older players of either sex, these are a very safe choice. They feel good; look good and swing very easily. Their weight is low for steel shafts and their bend point is high to get the ball airborne more readily. With the Sensicore option, they make for a smooth-feeling luxury set - a real benefit for those who want a comfortable set of shafts in their irons, but do not want to sacrifice control by switching to ultralite graphite.

Yes there other steel shafts out there, ie Nippon, TX-90, Black Gold etc but this list I believe represents what 85% of golfers have in there bag. Including all the Rifle options of course.
Royal Precision have recently been acquired by True Temper so it will be interesting to see how the Rifle line is managed in the future

It's here!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-24T17:53:00.000+12:00

It's here people. Let me introduce you the new Cleveland Hibore fairway wood as being tested on tour by Vijay and David Tom's. Hope it's as good as the driver, my VISA probably hopes it isn't though.........

Played today

2006-06-24T17:39:00.000+12:00

And for a change it wasn't too bad. I'm still recovering from having a scaffold collapse on me but it's only really my leg that annonys me now. I teed off on the 10th and proceeded to find myself 4 over after 7. Not flash but I'm off a 3 an my handicap is on the way out. I finish the nine at the same score (+4) and head to the 1st (my 10th) tee in.. well lets just say not the best mood. I finally get it together having 4 birdie's on that side but it included a 3 jack bogey as well but I'm kinda happy to finish +1 73. Not bad considering the start.

Honestly i need to practice my putting. But it's just SO boring. I get bored after like 5 mins. I had 32 putt's to day including 3 3 jacks. I had a 10 footer for birdie on the 8 that I whacked 6 feet past and missed the return leading to another one. I wasn't impressed. I track my stats at www.mygolfdomain.com as well so I hit an above average 50% of the fairways today together with a respectable 67% of the greens in regulation..

Guess I'll just have to see how tomorrow's round goes.

US Open course set up

2006-06-19T21:26:00.000+12:00

Personally I love the way they set courses for the champioship. The idea of course the USGA strive is to identify the best player. Setting up the course the way they do to to me is the best way to do this. You want to miss the fairway and you've got to be a putting machine.

It's sort of like the way us weekend player's have. Most of us don't play on perfectly manicured course's week in week out so there for when miss a fairway the lie's always ugly and we're happy to make par. Honestly it's exciting to watch the top player's in the world grinding out par's, just like the rest of us. It's only one week a year. Sure they don't make many birdie's but neither do I so that makes me feel a little better..

The pro's general feeling about this is best summed up by a quote from Vijay earlier in the week when asked why he hadn't played a practice round prior to Wednesday. He said " I know I'm going to get beat up this so why go and punish myself and more than i have too"...

You %$#^ing chopper

2006-06-19T13:12:00.000+12:00

Phil you idiot!!!!!!!!!! Sure I can away with making some dumbass decision's on the course, but did he forget he was playing in the US Open. The shot down 18 was just stupid. Well actually just hitting driver in the first place was dumb. And did you guy's catch that choked down 3 wood shot that went like 3 feet.. Even I know that shot's pretty much impossible out of 6 inch rough.

Enough said!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW it was good to see Duval finish T16, I don't think that quite gets him an invite back next year though

The 32 absolute truths of Golf

2006-06-17T23:07:00.000+12:00

1. If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at amuch earlier age.
2. The game of golf is 90% mental and 10% mental.
3. Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actuallythe beginning of the next group of three.
4. When you look up and cause an awful shot, you will always look downagain at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball ifyou ever want to see it again.
5. Any change works for a maximum of three holes and a minimum of not atall.
6. No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.
7. Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind duringyour swing.
8. When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit onemore club or two more balls.
9. If you're afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursomeahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you canimmediately shank a lay-up, or you can wait until the green is clear andtop a ball halfway there.
10. The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideasabout the golf swing.
11. The inevitable result of any golf lesson is the instant elimination of the one critical unconscious motion that allowed you to compensate for allyour errors.
12. If it ain't broke, try changing your grip.
13. Golfers who claim they don't cheat, also lie.
14. Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot.
15. A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponent's luck.
16. It's surprisingly easy to hole a 50-foot putt when you are lying 10.
17. Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is likeexpecting him to make fun of his own haircut.
18. Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.
19. It's not a gimme if you're still away.
20. The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is astraight line that passes directly through the center of a very largetree.
21. There are two kinds of bounces: Unfair bounces, and bounces just theway you meant to play it.
22. You can hit a 2-acre fairway 10% of the time, and a 2-inch branch 90%of the time.
23. Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make twotriple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.
24. If you want to hit a 7-iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.
25. To calculate the speed of a player's downswing, multiply the speed of his back swing by his handicap. Example: back swing 30 mph x handicap 20 =downswing 600 mph.
26. There are two things you can learn by stopping your back swing at thetop and checking the position of your hands: a) how many hands you have,and b) which one is wearing the glove.
27. Hazards attract; fairways repel.
28. You can put "draw" on the ball, you can put "fade" on the ball, but nogolfer can put "straight" on the ball.
29. A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.
30. If there is a ball in the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ballis in the bunker.
31. If both balls are in the bunker, yours is in the footprint.
32. Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it.

You ever had that feeling....

2006-06-17T22:53:00.000+12:00

You ever had that feeling when your standing over the ball on the tee and realise you have no absolutely no idea where the ball is going? I had this problem today, it was my first round back after injuring my leg and it wasn't pretty. Sure it hasn't healed yet and I have to limp down the fairway like as Tiger would say, a "spaz". I can swing not too bad (well for me) at about 80% but can't really follow too well.
I just couldn't hit a tee shot today to save myself. I hit cut's (normal shot) straight one's and even draw's!! I don't even know how to draw my driver. Now you don't really want to be hitting draws when your aiming at the edge of the left hand rough just waiting for the ball to drift back. The it starts going further left instead!!!!! It's not conductive too even finding my ball let alone good scoring. Hence an 45 on the front nine, I did salvage somehow a 37 on the back but that was just a fluke the way I was hitting the ball.

BTW Did I mention winter's starting to kick in down here and it was %$#@ing cold!!!!!!

US Open

2006-06-15T19:06:00.000+12:00

My pick for the US Open this year is David Howell... Not Tiger you say, well why would i pick Tiger, that's just too much of a safe bet for me. Howell has been playing pretty well this year over on the Euro circuit and he just seem's to make sense to me. Which means he doesn't to anyone else!!

Another couple of people I'll throw in the ring are Rod Pampling who has snuck into the world Top 30 and is probably the most under-rated guy on tour, and Henrik Stenson. Syenson is straight and reasonably long for a pro.

Straight is going to obviously be very important this week, thats why I've picked these 3.

By the way I will of course be rooting for Cambo, defending champ and a fellow Kiwi

No golf for me for a while

2006-06-14T19:16:00.000+12:00

I'm out injured. Man does it suck ass!!!! I was at work the other day and a scaffold collapsed underneath me. I fell about 2 1/2 metre's onto the concrete and tore a calf muscle and whacked the hell out of my shoulder. Kind of wierd I thought, to fall that far but not break anything yet I tear a muscle. They may of course have happened after all the scaffolding landed on me.

I've still been pissing around on the practice green and doing some chipping and stuff. I even went to the range today. I can swing maybe 80% fine. It's just I can't really walk to flash so walking around ain't going to happen. BTW there's no carts at any of the courses I normally play.

To top it all off I'm during jury duty. Man i've never been so bored in my life!!!!!!!!

What's in my bag??

2006-06-14T19:00:00.000+12:00

I'm a club ho at heart. i can my bag pretty often but normally only a club or 2 at a time. But I do have my standard bag that I tend to always go back too. Here's what's in it at the moment..

Driver// HiBore with a Graman UL540 Limey shaft (see post further down)
Rescue's// Nike CPR 18'
RAM 21' (it ugly, it was free but hey it works)
Irons// Cleveland CG2's 4-5 irons 6.0 rifles
Cleveland CG1's BP finish 6-PW 6.0 rifles
Wedges// Feel 52'
TaylorMade 56' 60'
Putter// Maltby CER mallet thing
Ball// Bridgestone B330
Callaway HX Tour
Titleist V1X
Glove// what ever's on special

One of those day's

2006-06-04T18:13:00.000+12:00

You know those game's where can't actually get anything going. I had one today. I shot 75 but felt it could and should have been better.. Granted the weather wasn't great. About maybe 8 degree's maybe , that's celcius of course. Here's a round desrciption.

#1 Rescue off the tee for safety, translation_ blocked right under a tree. chip out, SW in, hole 30 footer PAR
#2 Pulled 7 iron into bunker, ball's plugged bad. Dig it out to 20 feet, hole the putt PAR

Looking good about now.

#3 crushed driver then 5 iron layup 2nd. Have SW left and fudge it short right. Awful chip but nail 10 footer for par Sweet!!! PAR
#4 Good drive, bad 7 iron right, up and down PAR
#5 driver over top of dog leg, LW in, miss 5 footer for birdie PAR
#6 Fugly 4 iron short right Again, Up and down PAR
#7 good driver, big 3 wood cut round the corner, chip lip's out and tap in for BIRDIE.
#8 stroke hole 1, just play sensible but no worst swing of the day, bad pull hook behind some tree's. Punch through and play a wedge in and 2 putt for BOGEY
#9 another great job, I hang off a 3 wood 2nd, it downwind and pull it into greenside bunker. Play out to 5 feet, miss the putt and make PAR

Now considering the condtion's -1 is good right. Of course so i start thinking about how I should finish........ BAD IDEA

#10 Big peeling cut of the tee OB, thrash the 2nd tee shot in anger. Pull rescue just short and hole the putt for an unlikely par
#11 cut a 4 iron through 5 tree's without touching a thing, 2 putt par
#12 not too bad a 3 wood off the tee. Ugly PW way short. Up and down par
#13 Rescue over the dogleg, SW pulled AGAIN!!!!!! into bunker. Bunker short lip's out PAR
#14 Thrash drive too about 40 yard's form green but flub it to just on the green, Flag's at the back. Ugly 1st putt 8 feet short, hole that for PAR
#15 Drive into left rough. Really thinned 8 iron right into the crap. Chunk it onto the green. 2 putt BOGEY
#16 another goods drive, pulled wrong club and end up short. up & doen PAR
#17 Good drive, (loving this new driver combo) Pretty good second to about 20 feet, # jack time BOGEY
#18 PW in 2 putt PAR

= +1 73

Considering how well I hit the ball off the tee (excluding 10) I just couldn't get an iron close. Any where close actually. Putting was average. Oh well, alway's next week a

Tattoo Golf

2006-03-29T17:23:00.000+12:00

Now this is some cool looking golf apparell. When I'm on the course I look nothing like what a golfer "should" do. I wear jean's and a tee-shirt. If it's cold I'll throw a hoodie. Granted if it's a big tournament I'm playing in I'll dress up in the standard golf gear and walk round looking like a dork all day. This stuff might be for me.

http://www.tattoogolf.com/

Check them out

J B Holmes bag change?

2006-03-24T18:36:00.000+12:00

Now Mr Holmes here has had a pretty good start to his debut season on the PGA Tour. He came from nowhere to be medalist at Q-School last year and won the FBR Open in like only his 6th (don't quote me here) start on Tour. He hit's it mile, although who doesn't on tour nowadays.

He won the FBR with the new Titleist 695 CB's in the bag. Now he's switched to Cobra's. No offence to Cobra but why. The irons he had got him on tour, won him first event. Now too me a rookie on tour has enough to learn, let alone getting used to a new brand of clubs as well .

Maybe I'm just jealous.

New driver shaft!!!

2006-03-22T19:04:00.000+12:00

Yeah mate this what I'm putting in my driver!!!!! Isn't it pretty??? I think it's cool anyway. And no of course i didn't buy just because of the colour...but it did help. I've read some great review's on some of the forums I read.

Check out more here http://www.gramanshafts.com/products_ul.htm

BTW it's going into a Cleveland Comp

I hate it when...

2006-03-22T18:40:00.000+12:00

You go out for a round (bash) and you pick up a single. Now this I don't mind, have had lot of fun in fact when one join's in. It's when you get one that think's he know every thing about the game. Pick's hole's in your swing (trust me mate I know they're there) and ask's why you are using such and such equipment.......... But you've thrashed by 15 shot's over the last 9 hole's. Then to top it off he tells you he's actually a 5 but is trying out a few changes. Screw the swing change's mate, quit and take up ping-pong.

I had a bad day so it's just me venting.....

Update on my game

2006-03-22T18:25:00.000+12:00

Ok boy's and girl's. Now for the post about how crap my game is and how I'm never happy with. Wow there's something you don't hear everyday, A golfer that's not happy with his game.... (Note that sarcasm..lol)

I'm playing 2.2 at the moment and it's going out flat stick. Kinda good I suppose I need the extra shot's. I played in a big amatuer tournament last week. Well should I say I tried, I missed the cut by 3. After of course making a triple down the last.

I can hit it a fair way. There do tend to be lapses in my radar though. Actually a lot of lapse's and can normally scronge a decent score because I consider myself a goodish putter.

In case you don't know I live wayyyyyy down here at the bottom of New Zealand. No it's not that cold and yes we can play year round unlike most golfer's in the USA.

Bubba's swing

2006-03-22T18:21:00.000+12:00

Yeah sure technically he's left-handed but here's what it would look like if he stood on my side of the ball.
Gotta love that over swing, not too mention the pink shaft. But if you can bomb out over 350 yards I don't many people taking the piss.

Testing Testing....

2006-03-22T17:58:00.000+12:00

First Post on like my..... ok I actually no idea what number blog I'm up too. Forget the rest this is home from now on in.

These rambling's will be mine and mine alone so therefore all the mistake's are someone else's fault.... of course. It's based around the great and painful game of golf. My own game, my observation and under- valued (for a good reason) opinion.

Enjoy