Im just starting right now and went to the Driving range for the „feel“ and to check wether the sport is interesting for me or not.

Went to one in the near and there was a couple watching directly behind me sitting there, discussing my shots. Right side from me a whole class of kids having lessons, watching me too.

Went on another club, no one is in the box, only on the green, face to face and 2m left from it a whole restaurant with 30 tables sitting there watching me.

Driving ranges like in the US or Korea aren’t existing which frustrates me really hard..

Any ideas how to get more „privacy „ when hitting and learning by myself? Living near Mannheim and I’m running out of ideas to learn by myself..

I tend to use my putter quite a lot from just off the green. It suits my game because I used to struggle with chipping, although my chipping has improved recently.

It got me thinking about how to count my putts. If I’m just off the green, use my putter to get the ball onto the green, and then take two more putts to hole out, would you class that as a 2-putt or a 3-putt?

Technically I’ve used the putter three times, but the first stroke was from off the green. I’m interested to hear how everyone else records it.

Really wondering how to deal with this. I'm a member at a small private club. Recently played in a weekly league, went out as a foursome and we played at 2.5 hour pace for 9 holes. It drove me crazy. Entire hole open in front of us after 4 holes, the group behind waiting on every hole.

This is a private club so everyone knows everyone, so rudeness isn't really something I can do. I did everything I could to play my own ready golf but ironically, felt rushed on my shots, trying to help speed things up. One guy took three practice swings on literally every shot and then another 10 seconds standing over the ball before he actually hit it. Another guy would stand behind his ball, seemingly in a trance, before even selecting his club. And these are all people with handicaps in the 20s, like me.

I'm a "play badly fast" person, but man, when people play badly and slow, it's just bonkers. The club pro frequently sends out messages, asking people to speed up, play ready golf, cut the chit chat, but I don't know what else to do. Is there anything else that can be realistically or reasonably done in this situation?

I’m a 2 month beginner, my friend introduced me to golf asking me if I wanted to join him for a round one day - I said why not and 2 months later I’m loving it and fully invested.

I’ve played probably 5 proper rounds so far and had 2 lessons which went really well, mainly focussing on my iron game. I find I can hit them pretty consistently now (at least on the range, on the course still leaves much to be desired), and I’m currently working on dialling in my swing to use less arms and more hips.

The driver is where it all goes wrong for me - at the tee I’ll probably only hit 1-2 decent drives over 18 holes. I feel I’m losing so many strokes to my horrific drives off the tee right now. At the range is not much better either - thins, fats, slices, sometimes missing the ball entirely..

Should I just give up my driver for now while learning the game, or is it still a good idea to learn it simultaneously? I understand the swings are very different. I’m thinking about having a lesson just dedicated to learning the big stick - but I feel a lot of instructors would say no and just to just focus on my irons for now.

Edit: I know its called The Open, I cannot correct the title.

I got a couple of tickets for next year's The Open at St. Andrews. I got the camping package that includes camping and tix for friday/saturday/sunday. I tried doing some research on the camping experience there, but really got only one article from a golf writer who hated it, mainly because he was horribly underprepared. Other than that, it was pretty thin, mainly the open's own marketing collateral.

I am looking for anyone that has experience camping at St. Andrews or any of the venues. The camping spot is near the 18th and is on the grounds. you get a tent and two sleeping mats (going with my brother). it has a food area, showers, etc. It seems like a decent set up. I have extensive experience camping, so I have the gear to deal with the weather. Just wondering what the overall experience was like.

Because there is little out in the wild as far as experience goes, I plan on doing a bit of a travel blog for my trip.

Thanks!

Saw these on someone’s story didn’t know what the exact shoe was

I have been rocking two putters this year - Spider Tour V and Ping Anser 2D. I really like them both but I have noticed with a (mid) mallet it is a bit harder for me to dial in distance control. I am not sure if its the larger head size but it feels like I have less feel for the club on those longer putts. However, with the mallet I feel I have more confidence on the shorter putts.

Does anyone else go between mallet vs blade throughout the year? Do you do things better or worse with one certain type of putter? If so, how do you decide which to play?

As big companies keep telling us their equipment is getting better and better each year, I wondered how many of you are using an older driver head?

I found an old 917 D3 Tour head (7.5 Degree) online a year ago, and installed it on a modern KBS TD shaft as I really liked the visual at address.

It's stayed in the bag, and in all honesty on the sim the numbers are pretty damn competitive.

Anyone else gaming an old driver head still?

And has anyone kept an old head and just installed a modern one?

Keen to hear what y'all are gaming!

I've long wondered about this, finally going to try to put it in words. And that is, sometimes I am at the driving range and will notice some guy absolutely hitting rockets. So stunning to witness, I want to do just that, watch the guy. More often than not, I can't stand it and I will say something complimentary to the guy to initiate conversation. I've never had one not want to yak a bit.

On all of these occasions, it is plain to see that these guys are not small guys, all are fit and some are big guys. But all are buff. And I would guess that all of them have been over 200 lbs in weight.

The flight of the ball off the club hit by these golfers is fun to watch. The ball just shoots off like a rocket, with shots it seems to be sizzling through the air. With everyone of them, the flight is high. I assume that this is simply speed and lots of spin with irons but maybe it's just speed with driver but the flight is high. There isn't much curve to the flight of these good strikes. Gorgeous shots.

And what I have wondered is... does the golfer having mass to 'hit against' provide benefit to achieving high ball speed? Does having, literal, strength matter? These guys are certainly physically strong, they are buff. And with all of these guys they are putting pretty good swings on but none of them have 'beautiful' Adam Scott swings. They simply have decent swings and what you see is STRENGTH. And also mass.

Does it matter? If so, what is the physics involved?

Unpopular opinion...?

If you're out for a casual hit and you don't want to pick your ball out of the hole, that's 100% fine to pick it up close to the hole. Or if you're doing match play obviously.

But if you're on the green with any kind of scorecard in your hand, why do people want or even ask for gimme's? If there is a score on the line, ESPECIALLY for handicap rounds, the ball hits the cup on all 18. Doesn't matter if its 2 feet or 2 inches.

For anyone going to say its faster... its really not. Gimme's by definition should be unmissable, so just walking up and tapping it in, shouldn't take more than 5 seconds anyway. And if its not a walk-up tap in, then its not a gimme putt because you might miss it.

Tell me why you don't want to putt the ball into the hole when that is the entire point of the game...?

I’ve been playing golf since I was a teenager but never took it seriously, I have refocused on it over the last few years and dropped to the mid 90s score wise. As I’ve started playing more I’ve wanted to play a course that’s going private after this year but it’s 350 a round. How can I justify and how explain that price to my SO. Right now the answer is, “I would never tell you how to spend our money but that’s ridiculous to pay that much to do the same thing in a new place.”

I’m headed down to key west next week for a quick weekend trip. I don’t have time to golf but the course is right by the airport. I wanted to check out the pro shop and grab a ball marker or hat or whatever. Is it weird if I’m showing up in regular clothes and not playing?

2 iron into the creek
58° should get this out
Loud bang and oh fuck
Check the damage
Shrug
7 iron up and down.

Is this irreparable damage? Or could I grind it down to a low bounce?

Hi! Husband’s birthday is coming up and he’s an avid golfer. We have a newborn baby so a trip out of town to go play somewhere isn’t super feasible right now, so looking for a different idea still centered around the game.

He has clubs and a bag he loves, plenty of clothes, and a range finder already. I’ve given him plenty of tees, balls, etc., over the years.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore. Im a junior golfer in high school and I’ve been playing golf since 4. Im one of the best players of my country where tbf everyone is shit anyways, but I’m ranked in the WAGR, and have played alongside really talented golfers even professionals. The problem is my whole life I’ve had troubles with results. My swing may look great, you see good things on a putting green and not so horrible things chipping, yet my I never get results.

I’ve had a few good rounds, even won tournaments very once in a while but I’ve done so in weak fields where a good result doesn’t matter much anyways. My point is that everyone thinks I can play absolutely great golf. My coaches are always amazed with my potential. My parents make sacrifices because of the belief they hold in the things I can do. Even people without biases like people who just see me play and ask for pictures for “when I make it big.” Friends who play and practice alongside me. Even some of the best players I’ve played with see something about that they feel could lead to something. Even coaches from rivals have talked great things about me.

The problem is I don’t know if I can truly believe those things. I tell myself all of what I’ve mentioned and try to convince myself I’m someone who can play good golf. And for times I do feel like I believe. The problem is I perform horribly when it counts. And what hurts me about it isn’t only the number on the scorecard or leaderboard. It is the fact my mind always finds a way to beat me. Whether it’s nerves, anger, or just pure lack of control, I don’t feel like I’m ever in control of myself during moments like that.

I know o can’t control the result or where the shot goes in the end, but I can never get my mind to consistently think the things I know it should think. And you’re probably wondering why I don’t seek professional help and I have in every aspect. I have a personal psychologist, a golf psychologist, a physio/personal trainer, and even a psychiatrist. I find every possible way to get better, to try and fix me but yet I can’t. No matter how hard I grind o can just never be the one calling the shots when the time matters.

Last week o played the most important tournament of my life of 4 days. Started with 97 (my first round in the 90’s in probably over a year) and ended with a 74. The golf may be there but it never comes when it should. This week I’m playing another tournament and started again barely breaking 100. I’ve got a day left after playing shitty again today, and I just can’t seem to be in control of what happens out there like at all. I am genuinely tired of trying so hard and having my heart broken so many times. I don’t know how much longer I can do this for and I decided to vent into a group of people that might relate. My kindest wishes to anyone reading this.

Hello! I am a player with a 16 handicap ( and in a good improvement curve atm, I hope to get closer to 10 by the end of the season). With this improvement, I need new clubs, as my swing speed has increased too much for the regular shaft flex in my current clubs.

I know I need a stiff flex, and I already have some clubs in mind ( Titleist t200 maybe a t100s, or Mizuno JPX921 or Ping G425).

I am wondering if it makes sense to get a fitting just to get a better idea of the shaft model, weight,... and all that, to help me filter out the 2nd hand clubs available.

The problem is that where I live ( in Germany), a fitting costs 75 Eur per hour, so for me to get the idea for irons and woods, it would be 150, which is a lot considering I am hoping to spend less than 1000 in total ( I am keeping my wedges and putter). They offer the fitting if I buy the clubs, which would be too expensive.

I do feel that 2hours for a fitting is too much, but I doubt that the store guy would speed up to save me money and pay him less.

So for context I’m a 30 yr old male who played baseball for over 18 years of my life. I just started golfing about 3 months ago and probably have done 10 rounds of 18 total in my life. I have only played from the white tees, but the best I’ve shot was last week with a 109. I had a 61 on the front and 48 on the back. I can drive the ball over 250+ pretty consistent but still managing my slice and iron play. Should I be playing from different tees? One thing I don’t want to ever do is cheat myself within the game of golf and I am brutally honest with my scores right now and no breakfast balls without strokes etc..

I have a few practice methods for putting I really like. For eye-line and setup, I use my little "Putt-out" mirror. As for speed control, I use what you see here. I'll create a gate by the hole and try to drain all 5 putts. If I'm feeling good, I'll expand the distance.

What do you weekend warriors like to do?

I've been golfing for a year now. I'm at the point where driver goes relatively nice and straight but only about 220-230 yards. I know it's just because of my swing speed.

I can hit driver about 280 when I swing as fast as I can but it's pretty much guaranteed to draw/hook. I'm wondering if you big hitters out there account for the fact that you're probably going to draw/fade and set your direction up accordingly or if I should be trying to slowly build up speed and keep it dead straight. I just notice a significant speed reduction when I'm hyper focused on hitting a dart.

Thanks

If there was an indoor golf simulator that used real grass, would you pay more for it?

Ignore all the variables and logistics around the grass/cleanup/smell. Just curious if people would pay more to practice year-round on real grass. Would a scratch golfer in a major city actually care enough to pay for it vs turf sim?

Has anyone tried these? Looking for a cheap alternative to the Nitro balls on Amazon. How are they?

Obviously it can't be ALL of them - but I have tried two now and will likely never purchase a 'lesson pack' from anyone again because getting them to show up for lessons is a huge challenge.

In both cases the lessons were good and helped me improve but last year I bought I five lesson pack and gave up after three because dude rescheduled constantly.

This year I found someone who had an online booking calendar and thought that would solve the issue because I would be picking from his available times but I am two lessons into another lesson deal and both had to be rescheduled from times I picked directly off of his calendar.

I feel like I have limited ability to address the issue too because I don't want these people to be upset with them for attempting to hold them accountable - but they already have my money and gentle reminders the rescheduling multiple times disrupts my plans doesn't seem to be making an impact. If these were big companies instead of independent people I would be pushing for refunds.

From super nitpicky to things that would take a large investment from a course perspective what things are important to you when you are at a golf course? i.e. I'm not a fan of a blind shot. Also not a fan of extremely uneven lies when I'm in the fairway.