Via the Deep Rough, I am really happy about this new service from Oobgolf that will map all the golf courses in your area. I’ve tried finding courses using Google Maps, but it was much less handy than this new service.

Click here to give it a try.

One of my all-time favorite golfers is Arnold Palmer. Here’s some quotes attributed to him:

• “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.”
• “Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.”
• “Putting is like wisdom - partly a natural gift and partly the accumulation of experience.”

(Source: ThinkExist.com)

Thank the Grouchy Golf Blog for finding this one. Wilson is giving away free 2-packs of their new Wilson Staff 50 golf ball.

Click here to sign up for it.

This video has a pretty interesting conversation with Tom Kite on adding more wedges to his bag. My favorite quote:

“I don’t make many birdies with my 2 iron.”

4GEA.com is difficult to find, is lackluster in the web design and layout, and probably my favorite link for golfing on the web. Also known as Golf Equipment Aficionados, it’s a forum based site which has a lot of great members and has been running strong since 1999. Some highlights of the site:

• Lots of knowledgeable members who hold pretty could discussions on a variety of topics.
• Good equipment reviews especially for equipment built by club makers and do-it-yourselfers
• A great SwapShop for buying and selling clubs; I’ve probably purchased 4-5 clubs over the years and never had any buying issues with it
• A great reference for beginners who want to build their own set of clubs from components.

It’s definitely a top notch golfing site for the golf-addicted.

The Sand Trap posted an excellent article on how the angle of your clubhead can affect your shot. Pulling out some geometry, the article points out just how accurate you have to be to hit a drive in the fairway, hit a green on your approach, or sink a putt. For instance, if you hit a 250 yard teeshot on a typical course, if the angle of your clubhead is off by more than 4 degrees, you’ll be in the rough (assuming you aimed it correctly down the middle).

My take-away from the article is that you don’t want to short change yourself by being out of alignment from the start. If you aren’t holding the club square in your hands and or if you aren’t lined up in the right direction, you are making life a heck of a lot more difficult for yourself. If you don’t take the time to get your grip set properly and have your clubhead closed or open by just 4 degrees, even a perfect swing and proper aim may make your ball find the tall grass.

I knew I shouldn’t have slept through my high school geometry course.

Like the Golfing Hacker, I decided it was time to pick up an inexpensive rangefinder. I’ve always been interested in them, but couldn’t justify the price. When I read the the Golfing Hacker’s post, I realized the price hadn’t gotten down to a point that I could afford. Doing a little research, I decided to go with the inexpensive LDS-Pro which cost me around $150.

It’s a pretty simple device with just a single button. You press it once to turn it on and then point it at a target and press the button again to get the distance. For yardages under 200 yards, I had no problem getting a good read, although it becomes much easier if you point it at a target that can provide a good bounce for the laser like a bunker or a tree. It’s basically an older model, but for my needs, it’s a perfect fit.

While I could see it coming in handy during play, I’ve been doing OK estimating yardage from the abundant amount of yardage markers available on most courses these days. I’m sure it will be handy to use it to judge the distances to a bunker or a dogleg from the tee, but the real reason I took the plunge was for use on the range. I’m a big fan of Pelz, and when I go to the range, I make sure at least a third of the bucket goes towards wedge play. With rangefinder in tow, now I can hit a bunch of half wedges and see what the average distance is, building up a good idea of how far each shot goes in my bag.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with my purchase. Newer models have a lot more bells and whistles, but for the price, it’s a good investment.

Perhaps I’m the last golfer to see these things, but a couple of weeks ago I went golfing at a new course that was renting the new Segway X2 Golf as an alternative to the normal electric cart. I much prefer walking a golf course to riding (as does my doctor), but I have to say those things look pretty cool. I held off on renting one but they were very tempting at least as a novelty.

Unless a course has long distances between the green and the next tee, I find electric carts more hassle than they are worth. I’m seemingly always on the opposite side of the fairway as my cart partner, and unless I carry half my clubs with me, I end up taking the wrong club for the shot I need. The Segways, at least on the course I played, are far more handy since they allowed users to drive them anywhere that a pull cart can go, and since it’s one person per Segway, you can drive straight to your ball.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they really take off on higher-end courses. I imagine they would speed up play at least as opposed to normal power carts, and from the sound of it, make less damage on the course. By charging 4 rentals per foursome as opposed to two power carts, there’s some additional economic incentive to switch to them as long as the Segway price is right.

“Placing the ball in the right position for the next shot is eighty percent of winning golf.” - Ben Hogan

Gary Potter’s weblog had a good post on course management that really struck a chord with me. His post is worth reading in total, but the point that hit me was:

At the other end of the spectrum are some of the guys I play with - they have 14 opportunities to hit driver and they do it. Nevermind the alternatives, driver is their choice. What that does though, is give them lots of practice with recovery shots and those 45 to 60 yard pesky wedge shots.

How many guys do you play with that always pull a driver out on a par 4, regardless of the circumstances? I catch myself doing this more often than not and I’m sure I’d score better if I left it in the bag more often.

Many years ago when I was in high school playing golf, I was eager to pull out the driver and pound the ball every chance I could. The old golf pro on the course gave me one simple rule to use for a month, guaranteeing me that my scores would be lowered, if I promised to religiously follow his advice. I couldn’t resist the offer, so I took him up on it. It was this: “On every hole except for par threes, aim for the 150 yard mark for your approach.”

I scoffed at it at first, but a deal was a deal so I followed the “150 rule” for a month. While my buddies would be pulling out their drivers on a short par 4, I’d be pulling out a 5 iron. I took pride in being a long hitter back then, and I had more than a little teenage angst when I’d be out driven by 100 yards or more. It was hard to suck it up and play like a sissy, but the scorecard didn’t lie and I was knocking 5 shots off my typical round at the time. I was also beating the pants off my long driving golfing pals and by the end of the first week, they were trying to do it as well.

Why did it work so well for me? The top reason was that I was rarely in trouble, never having to hack it out of the rough or curve it around a tree to get my approach shot on the green. Also, I ended up getting pretty good at my 8 iron, able to take a little off or add a little on depending on how the wind was blowing and how close I got to the 150 marker on the tee shot. There were no half wedges, second guessing, and finesse involved for the most part. Just pull out my 8 iron and put a good swing on it. To this day, I still feel like I should get it close to the pin when I’m right at 150, where I don’t feel quite as confident at 135 or 165.

The “150 rule” is pretty limiting but at the time I was a teenager, I needed to be caged for a while to see the bigger picture. Perhaps a “125 rule” or a “100 rule” makes better sense, but if you have some time to try it, I highly recommend it on your home course as a scientific experiment. You might be surprised how well your scorecard looks at the end of the round.

Great Quotes from Sam Snead:

• “The three things I fear most in golf are lightning, Ben Hogan and a downhill putt.”
• “There are no short hitters on the tour anymore, just long and unbelievably long.”
• “If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they’d starve to death.”
• “These greens are so fast I have to hold my putter over the ball and hit it with the shadow.”
• “Correct one fault at a time. Concentrate on the one fault you want to overcome.”

More Here.

(Source: About.com)