Right, but people in wheelchairs play basketball...they have senior softball leagues, 12 year olds play little league, pee wee football, YMCA basketball...they just can't do it professionally...just like you or I or the blind guy can't play gold professionally...but with a handicap system, we can go and compete with them a little. Also...go hit 3 buckets on the driving range in about an hour in Houston heat in the summer and see how tired you get. (and how bloody your hands can get)
who really cares if golf is a sport? i'm a fanatic and play as often as i can, call me a sissy or a wimp all you want, i could really give a damn.
I walk four or five miles every day, so it isn't really that big of an issue. Also, I had no trouble playing two rounds in 1 day. It should also be noted that the pros don't carry their own clubs. Caddying is more athletic, IMO.
Being a caddy is a b****. I did it one day and my shoulder almost came off the next. It hurt for weeks. Now I at least know you put a towel under your shirt and on your shoulder to protect you. But damn. I never caddied again after that.
Played yesterday for the first time in about 2 months. Greens were burned up so much I wanted to scream. 10 over on the front mad: ) 8 over on the back mad: ) Easy game!
Gleannloch Farms. The Gleann course was tore up from the... uh... green up. The fairways didn't look too good either. The Loch course looked great though as always. After the shaky putting on the first nine greens I just couldn't get it together. I won some money on skin play though so it's all good.
Just a follow up to my prior post. My son and I played in a 2 day best ball tourney this past weekend. It was his first tourney. I have played in at least one for about 6 or 7 years now. We took 4th gross in our flight which paid (credit in the pro shop). Not great, but we didn't get nothing, like most teams. I always feel a little drained after 2 days of tension. We decided to up our alcoholic consumption the second day to play a little looser. I played better, he played worse. Tournaments are flighted, so you compete against golfers with similiar handicaps (except for the sandbaggers, of course).
Golf and ClutchFans= My Life I posted before that I was a Pro shop pro in Houston from 89-94. I tried to get into the PGA but couldn't ever pass the player ability test. You need to shoot around 153 over 18 holes on test day. They give them every month or so. The best I ever posted was 161. I didn't really start playing until I was over 30 and I'm not a natural athelete so I'm not too disappointed. My handicap index is 7.7 which means I break 80 on occasion, usually shoot 82 or 4 and have bad days where I barely break 90. I had to work very hard for years to get some level of skill and if I don't play or practice a couple of time a week I get rusty real quick. So for me it's hard to understand why the average weekend golfer has such high expectations and high frustration. 90% of all golfers won't break 100 if they play by the rules. Most people should consider it a great day if they shoot 95. Driving distance is BS. The length of your drive is so dependent on the course conditions you can hardly compare them. Play in August in Texas and 300 yards is not remarkable. Catch a 20 mph downwind and 350 yards is doable. I'll take a partner that can chip and putt everytime. Golf is a sport...if you walk. I try to walk whenever the heat index is under 90 (and I'm 51) Carrying your bag isn't required. I don't know why there is such a stigma on pull-carts, only the very rich can afford caddies. Golf courses want you to ride so they can charge an extra $12. I'm ingrained with the stigma , so I totem. I don't have much patientce with slow-playing, six-pack drinking, mulligan whackin, 5 foot gimme Chops. You can play bad; just don't play slow or dissrespect the game. During the week you should be able to play 18 holes in less than 3 1/2 hours. Drop me an e-mail if you need partner during the week (I avoid playing on weekends). Hook me up on your course and I'll get you comped on the one up-scale public course I still have a connection at.
A links course is generally a course without many trees or water hazards. They will have a lot of rolling, hilly fairways that can give you fortunate or unfortunate bounces. They are usually located seaside or atleast in an area with a lot of wind so that playing the wind is an integeral stategy. The name come from the Scottish Linksland where the game was born. Other types of courses are 'Parkland' where trees and water define the course and 'Target' courses where the amount of fairways and greens are limited and the course plays through desert or wasteland. The best example of a Links course in Houston is Magnolia Creek. I highly reccomend that you play it some time to see what Euopean golf, like this weeks British Open, is about. For you StoneGate residents and Mogul National players, true liknks courses are not suppose to play through housing developments. Bob Von Hagge should be stopped from ever designing any golf course anywhere. Houston National neither works as good golf or as a scenic addition for the residents, unless you like a big hardpan hill out your back door.
