Official Golf geeks gibber thread

[Bigsmak]

1. Mark your cards after you have tee'd off, not before.
   
2. Think about your club choice when walking to the ball, don't wait till its your turn to play
   
3. Always play a provisional if you think it might be lost or even hard to find
   
4. Leave your bags at the side of the green closest to the next tee
   
5. Just because its a par 4, don't wait till the green is cleared if you can't make it with your 2nd shot.. We can't all hit 280yrd approaches..
   
6. Don't chit chat on the tee, you can talk all the way down the fairway
   

 

 

 

I'll go first then - Suggestion 2 - I thought you could get penalised form playing out of turn?

Suggestion 5 - what if it's a drivable par 4? Had a few unhappy players as my tee-shot finished 10 feet from the hole (rephrase that - my 2nd tee shot having gone out of bounds with the first, missed the putt).

 

Think on average, I play a 3 ball medal in 3.45 but then again my Hibee mate is slow on the tee and preparing for his shot but OK in between shots. Think this is wher speed can be improved.......so many people chat while walking slowly to the ball (more often it's the women).

 

PS - Haddington Golf Course, a longish course.

 

 

Point 2 doesn't say play out of turn, it says 'Think about your club choice when walking to the ball Don't wait till its your turn to play' start thinking about yardage / wind / uphill or down.... Be ready to play when its your turn. I have played with people who will happily watch the others in the group play their shots and then stand and look at his own shot for a while before deciding what club to use. He could have worked that out before it was actually his turn.

 

Point 5 - If you can reach then wait.. What I was trying to say is that I have seen players wait for the green to be clear when they have no chance in hell of reaching it. Because its a par 4 (which might be over 450yrds long and into the wind... ) they think they have to wait. I know this sounds like it can't happen, but some golfers really can surprise you.

 

The point of these things (mostly the chatting on the tee, marking your card after you have played and leaving the bags at the correct side of the green) can easily save 20mins per round if it is not something that is done already.... Even stopping to have a bite of a banana before your shot can take 30 seconds.... It all adds up.

 

Basically

 

Keep up with the game in front... If you lose a hole (unless you are in serious roughage) then perhaps you need to speed up, or let the group behind through (if they are right behind you)

[Victorian]

Just thought I would add this. Its an e-mail from Gullane Golf Club to all its members today.

 

I refer to previous notices regarding Pace of Play and with immediate effect from the September medals players who do not complete their round within a ten minute cushion of the adopted R&A benchmark times (which are noted below) and outwith 10 minutes of the group in front may for the first infringement incur a sanction of a yellow card and will be notified of this by the Secretary. Players who receive two yellow cards within a six month rolling period will receive a red card and an automatic ban from monthly medals in the subsequent two months.

 

Players may appeal a yellow card by contacting the Secretary in writing, e-mail or in person at the Secretary?s office to put their individual or group?s case.

 

The Pace of Play in medal rounds has been recorded for several months and whilst there has been a slight improvement the Committee are determined to make every effort to adhere to the adopted benchmark times.

 

? Two ball (medal) 3 hrs 10 mins plus a ten minute cushion

 

? Three ball (medal) 3 hrs 30 mins plus a ten minute cushion

Do you think the club is right to do this?... Do you think the times are two quick? How long do you take for a medal on your course?

 

I looked on the interweb for a list of things to make your game faster.. But I thought I would just write some myself.. If you follow each of these tips, where each one saves you only 20-30 seconds.. well thats 20-30 seconds per hole per person.. that can be over 15-20 minutes a round just by changing a few simple things.

 

1. Mark your cards after you have tee'd off, not before.
   
2. Think about your club choice when walking to the ball, don't wait till its your turn to play
   
3. Always play a provisional if you think it might be lost or even hard to find
   
4. Leave your bags at the side of the green closest to the next tee
   
5. Just because its a par 4, don't wait till the green is cleared if you can't make it with your 2nd shot.. We can't all hit 280yrd approaches..
   
6. Don't chit chat on the tee, you can talk all the way down the fairway
   

 

The reason my club has sent this out is that some rounds were starting to take 4 hours and over.. I think this is unacceptable for a round.

 

Comments?

 

regarding the first highlighted part - i think it's too hard & fast a definition to be honest. they may have trouble administrating it fairly.

 

if you have to finish your round with 10 mins of the group in front then a couple of ball searches late in the round will definitely result in you falling foul of the rule. as you well know you are allowed 5 mins to search for a ball once you have started searching therefore a couple of searches within the last couple of holes will mean you have no chance of staying 10 mins behind the group ahead. you're entitled to search for balls without letting the group behind through as long as they aren't waiting. they appear to be denying you the benefit of accepted rules and etiquette.

 

regarding times for completion for rounds - those seem on the harsh side. it appears to me that a more sensible approach would have been to make the time limits more attainable at first and see if the pace of play becomes more acceptable to the majority.

 

lastly, those tips.... not a chance in hell mate. people would just never stick to them.

[Bigsmak]

lastly, those tips.... not a chance in hell mate. people would just never stick to them.

 

Really? These are things I was taught when I was 12, and they seem perfectly reasonable to me and most of the people I play with.

 

Which ones do you think are bad?

[Victorian]

Really? These are things I was taught when I was 12, and they seem perfectly reasonable to me and most of the people I play with.

 

Which ones do you think are bad?

i don't think any of them are bad. they all seem very good.

 

i just know that a large percentage of the members at my club would laugh and ignore them. there seems to be more and more people entering the club who don't care too much for learning and following rules and conventions.

 

you were obviously well taught in course etiquette.

[Bigsmak]

i don't think any of them are bad. they all seem very good.

 

i just know that a large percentage of the members at my club would laugh and ignore them. there seems to be more and more people entering the club who don't care too much for learning and following rules and conventions.

 

you were obviously well taught in course etiquette.

 

 

Dragged (literally) aside when I was a junior member and had to watch a couple of videos on the rules and etiquette of golf... I am so surprised how often people don't know the rules of the game.. For example, you decide your ball is unplayable, you can either take your 2 club lengths relief or play if from where you played your last shot, or you can keep the spot and the flag in a straight line and go backwards as far as you want.. All of these are 1 shot penalties... Watching the American tour a couple of weeks ago I watched a pro take a drop from an unplayable lie into another bad lie. He actually measured out 2 club lengths to do this, if he had gone back 15 yrds he would have been on the fairway (he was only 100 to the green) .. I was amazed as it looked like he didn't know the rules..

 

Anyway.. My club sent out letters a year ago about the speed of play in the medals, they issued a lot of tips on how to play faster. And the speed went up a little but there are a few people who each month lose about 4 holes all the time and don't let anyone through and it holds up the whole course. They now have to be more aware of it all or they can be banned from the medals for 2 months..

 

On another side note, I played in the medal yesterday in a 3 ball. There was an hour and a half gap in front of the people in front of us. We waited for every single shot last night as the group in front were all over the place. They had many opportunities to let us through but didn't and it took just over 3 and a half hours to play. It felt much longer. We were all playing well and could have been round 25 mins quicker easy.

 

One of the guys I played with (never met him before) uses 2 putters. A long one for short putts and a short putter for long putts... Don't ask.. But he would take his cart to to the wrong side of the green usually, and take out the short putter. Hit the ball close to the hole, then walk to the cart, get out the long putter and come back and mark the ball. I was aware that the group behind were waiting to hit onto the green and I was also waiting to put. So we would putt out and then he had to go back to his cart and take it back round the green to get to the tee. Probably 2 mins longer than was needed. I pointed this out to him on the 14th.. He said he had never thought about it before (had never been pointed out to him) and that it was a good idea to maybe do it differently.. The rest of the round he was fine....

[Victorian]

Dragged (literally) aside when I was a junior member and had to watch a couple of videos on the rules and etiquette of golf... I am so surprised how often people don't know the rules of the game.. For example, you decide your ball is unplayable, you can either take your 2 club lengths relief or play if from where you played your last shot, or you can keep the spot and the flag in a straight line and go backwards as far as you want.. All of these are 1 shot penalties... Watching the American tour a couple of weeks ago I watched a pro take a drop from an unplayable lie into another bad lie. He actually measured out 2 club lengths to do this, if he had gone back 15 yrds he would have been on the fairway (he was only 100 to the green) .. I was amazed as it looked like he didn't know the rules..

 

Anyway.. My club sent out letters a year ago about the speed of play in the medals, they issued a lot of tips on how to play faster. And the speed went up a little but there are a few people who each month lose about 4 holes all the time and don't let anyone through and it holds up the whole course. They now have to be more aware of it all or they can be banned from the medals for 2 months..

 

On another side note, I played in the medal yesterday in a 3 ball. There was an hour and a half gap in front of the people in front of us. We waited for every single shot last night as the group in front were all over the place. They had many opportunities to let us through but didn't and it took just over 3 and a half hours to play. It felt much longer. We were all playing well and could have been round 25 mins quicker easy.

 

One of the guys I played with (never met him before) uses 2 putters. A long one for short putts and a short putter for long putts... Don't ask.. But he would take his cart to to the wrong side of the green usually, and take out the short putter. Hit the ball close to the hole, then walk to the cart, get out the long putter and come back and mark the ball. I was aware that the group behind were waiting to hit onto the green and I was also waiting to put. So we would putt out and then he had to go back to his cart and take it back round the green to get to the tee. Probably 2 mins longer than was needed. I pointed this out to him on the 14th.. He said he had never thought about it before (had never been pointed out to him) and that it was a good idea to maybe do it differently.. The rest of the round he was fine....

 

LOL. talk about being unable to think for yourself. you see all kinds of demented things.

 

recently i played a foursomes tie. on one green we had a 2 foot putt for a 5 while our opponents had a 5 foot putt for a 7 (hole well and truly over... or so we thought).

 

the guy who was to putt didn't have his putter with him, it was in his bag about 50 yards away. they then proceeded to have a conference on the green about whether or not to concede the hole before eventually deciding that they might as well hole out and see how it went. during this debate they asked us to hole out first to save him walking 100 yards to get and return with his putter... keeping in mind that we had 2 for it in any case! i said no and that they had to decide for themselves and that we couldn't play out of turn. he comes back with his putter and holes out. we were then left to hole out from 2 feet when we had 2 for the hole.

 

later on when i was talking about it i realised myself that it wasn't only them who was daft in failing to concede a putt.... we had been too. in all of the palavar i didn't think to simply knock their ball away because we still had 2 for it anyway.

 

they had turned my brain to mush to match their own.

[The Mighty Thor]

Gents Open at Castle Park today and once again the course was the runaway winner. Best weather we've had for it in the last 10 years (it's usually pishing down and blowing 30 mph)

 

Net 70 took it with only 6 net scores under par from 117 entrants.

 

Took 3rd scratch with a 78 (yip, scoring was that tough, best scratch 75) but absolutely blew it with a double on 17 with a power top off the tee into viet cong country. Fud.

 

In terms of Bigsmak's mail from Gullane......quite right too. During our Championship qualifiers in April/May this year we had 3 balls taking 5 hours 10 minutes!!!!!

 

I blame the plums that watch the pros on TV and copy the fannying around these guys do. We've got 20+ handicappers with 2 minute pre-shot routines to sclaff it 50 yards. Half them don;t realise that regardless of how long you stand and look at it you still need to hit it eventually.

 

I regularly play with a mate (both off 6) and we're 2 hours 30 mins tops for a 2 ball either at North Berwick or Castle Park. Any longer than that and you really need to question WTF you're doing.

[scots civil war]

dont like all this bollocks about hurrying up play tbh

 

the game(?) is hard enough without the added pressure that traffic flow on the course brings...altho common sense must prevail of course

 

i have played(?) loads of opens this year all over the place and they have all taken 4 hrs for 3 balls

 

i dont have a problem with that at all

 

 

 

recieved a set of ap2 titleist irons with project x 5.5 stiff shafts yesterday,top drawer they are

 

my ping g2(3,4,5) and s58(6,7,8,9,pw) ,dynamic gold regular shafts are up for sale if anybody interested

[Bigsmak]

dont like all this bollocks about hurrying up play tbh

 

the game(?) is hard enough without the added pressure that traffic flow on the course brings...altho common sense must prevail of course

 

i have played(?) loads of opens this year all over the place and they have all taken 4 hrs for 3 balls

 

i dont have a problem with that at all

 

 

I like to enjoy golf, but waiting for every single shot, watching people take practice putts on the green after they have holed out winds me right up.. I play better when I walk up to the ball and hit it, the longer the wait the worse my game gets. I HATE slow play... I am not suggesting that people have to run around the course, just stop faffing about all the time. 4 hours is too long for a game of golf.

 

Maybe I need to chill the feck out and not get wound up by it, but I just can't. I'm bitter and twisted when it comes to slow play. I nearly got in a fight once with a player from North Berwick who would lie down on the greens to look at his putts. Yup, you don't have to read that again, he would go flat on his stomach and lie down. He lost over a hole by the 5th. I think he might have used to play for Hibs or something (seriously).. I politely pointed out to him that they had lost the hole, he said that it wasn't his fault and I begged to differ.

 

Ho hum,

[scots civil war]

Maybe I need to chill the feck out and not get wound up by it,

 

 

 

 

 

sounds like it chief tbh,altho it does sound like you are encountering some nutters out there

 

for me,4hrs is normal

 

i simply cant do any more on competition days to hurry up,in fact its detrimental to my game(haha) and i have started at this late stage in the season ,to obtain late tee times.

 

played last on saturday there and enjoyed it,will be again on saturday at kilspindie,for the hope medal

 

maybe clubs should set up times for faster players and different times for slower players.

[Bigsmak]

 

maybe clubs should set up times for faster players and different times for slower players.

 

 

Great idea...

 

We play in 2 balls till 10.30 then its 3 balls after that. (it might be 11).... so that keeps you moving... I try to get the first time that I can.

[scots civil war]

hehe,nice.....yeah,sounds a good idea ...

 

av a think and maybe the match secretary can be approached at our respective clubs if punters are knarked off in respect of slow play etc

 

 

summat to chew over innit

 

 

 

 

 

i love my ap2s,cant wait for kilspindie on saturday

[The Mighty Thor]

Just taken delivery of my new irons (new tome anyway) today. magnificent.

 

Wilson FG forged with project x shafts. straight onto the course for the midweek medal and shot 2 under (76 - 6 for 70) sadly CSS was showing 70 so no improvement on the handicap but just loving the irons.

 

Today was also the first day that it felt like winter conditions blowing a fecking gale, pretty cool out the sun and the course is starting to soften down a wee bit now too. Never mind, better for attacking the flags

 

Back out tomorrow again? too right

[scots civil war]

now i know why they are called rifle shafts n all

 

mines are 5.5 stiff

 

superb

[The Mighty Thor]

now i know why they are called rifle shafts n all

 

mines are 5.5 stiff

 

superb

 

Yip they are making a difference for me too. Mine are 6.5 stiff (i think slightly heavier than 5.5?) and they are giving me a lovely low ball flight which was top banana in the wind today

 

You know you've reached a certain age when you're getting excited about golf club shafts

[Notts1874]

Back on the slow play theme in my opinion all it needs is a little common sense and a knowledge of rules. Slow play comes from the amount of faffing around between shots and even more so between green and tee. The amount of people that dont have a basic grasp of the rules is scary! Either that or go back to the old fashioned way of only allowing people to play Foresomes!

[White Spider]

Flying down to Bristol on Tuesday morning to take in 6 days of the Ryder Cup.What more could you ask for at the end of the golfing season.

Anyone else going down?

[Disser Pointon]

Played an outing at Broomiknowe Saturday, first time I have played it and I have to say I wasn't impressed, the greens wer shocking.

 

My enjoyment wasn't help by a recurrance of my shank again which plagues me from time to time and totally destroys me!!

[The Merse]

Trying to get back into golf at the mo.

 

Any recommendations for reasonably priced courses that are in decent nick and easy enough to get on?

 

Played the Melville which is a nice course but quite short but kept in good nick.

 

On the other hand played Carrick Knowe on Sunday and thought it was awful, place was a mess.

[Bigsmak]

Trying to get back into golf at the mo.

 

Any recommendations for reasonably priced courses that are in decent nick and easy enough to get on?

 

Played the Melville which is a nice course but quite short but kept in good nick.

 

On the other hand played Carrick Knowe on Sunday and thought it was awful, place was a mess.

 

I'll take you for a game D-McG... Its getting cold but Gullane No.3 is in great nic and it will cost you nothing.

 

Where are you working at the moment?

[The Merse]

I'll take you for a game D-McG... Its getting cold but Gullane No.3 is in great nic and it will cost you nothing.

 

Where are you working at the moment?

 

Sounds good to me mate!

 

Working at Graham & Sibbald Surveyors in town at the mo.

[Bigsmak]

Have a tie this weekend and next... It will be bloody freezing.. Also, the tie next sunday is the morning after my staff night out... O god no!

[scots civil war]

i have a winter singles match next sunday n all over at the glen

 

as long as its clear n sunny, if its baltic out there it can turn your balls purple for all i care

 

il have it

 

 

one just needs to wrap up and get the layers on

[Bigsmak]

Have a tie this weekend and next... It will be bloody freezing.. Also, the tie next sunday is the morning after my staff night out... O god no!

 

Fixture backlog...

 

eeeeeek

[Bigsmak]

So i have a Foursomes tie booked for Friday Morning, and another for Sunday morning... Its going to bloody snow isn't it!

[scots civil war]

anybod had the merest resemblance to a game recently ???? hows your course getting on ??

 

gagging to hit some shots

 

 

 

 

GAGGING IAM

 

 

 

[Cyprus Jambo]

Closed was closed until Wednesday and didn't even try to phone for a game this weekend sue to the forecast. Hate to think what the holes are like that run down the side of the Tyne (Haddington)!!!

[Bigsmak]

Played this morning..

 

My Frikin God it was cold.

 

One of the forsomes I needed to get played, the next is on Sunday morning.

 

Got humped 4 and 3 by a couple of old timers. giving them 7 shots and at times the course was unplayable with the ball hitting the greens and flying up in the air like it had been dropped on concrete. Hard to get tee's in the ground as well.

 

However,., the course was in great nic and the greens were fantastic, (well after 10am when they defrosted a bit)

 

lol

[scots civil war]

il bet some drives are just runnin forever at the mo on certain holes..........goin tomoro to the glen,and cant wait

 

 

its so good that the links stand strong eh.........

[Roy Slater]

5 holes today, course a bit damp, another 8 tomorrow

 

No point in rushing back!!

[scots civil war]

re sky coverage of the dubai desert classic on now sunday mornin

 

bruce critchley`s(snitchley) commentating does my ******* head in

 

as kurt cobain once said.....`negative creep`

 

 

hate the cynicism that eminates from this donuts warblings

 

 

 

i remember last year,butch harmon said during a live com....`yes,its like a lovely day on the links`

 

to which snitchley replied.....`well,you dont get many of them !!!`

 

to which he might be partially correct,he was still an utter ***** to say that imo

 

 

 

might head down to craigielaw later for a bit practice.last time i was there,old bingo hughes was there with his industrial swing

 

 

 

[Roy Slater]

What about Woods doing a big greezer on the green

 

Ewan Murray was going nuts

 

Image your ball landed in that, you'd get plenty "check" anyway

 

Vulgar man, all my respect for him has gone

[scots civil war]

3 million for appearance money at dubai

 

 

woods behaviour in general is a big turn off eh,hes embaressing nowadays

 

whacking the driver on the teeing ground on that hole n all

[Roy Slater]

Fogged off today

 

Fingers crossed for tomorrow, long sleeve thermal vest and thermal long johns in the tumble drier

[Roy Slater]

Seems to be raining slightly, I don't play in the rain, hopefully it clears up for 08:35

 

Damn

[Roy Slater]

14 holes today, smashing,

[Victorian]

just taken delivery of some new bats.

 

benross proto irons, stiff grafalloy prolaunch platinum shafts.

 

outstanding value clubs you get with benross, although the proof is on the pudding. perhaps i shall be the pudding.

[Bigsmak]

just taken delivery of some new bats.

 

benross proto irons, stiff grafalloy prolaunch platinum shafts.

 

outstanding value clubs you get with benross, although the proof is on the pudding. perhaps i shall be the pudding.

 

Really should be playing with clubs not bats mate!

[Victorian]

Really should be playing with clubs not bats mate!

 

the way i swung them last season i think bats is more apt.

[Bigsmak]

Played the first medal of the year yesterday on Gullane No 1. Course was in great condition, the rough was cut back a lot and that helped on 2 shots where I may have looked at a lost ball during the summer. Greens were perfect.

 

Shot a 72 scratch, my lowest ever medal round on No.1. off 6 (5.5) so net 66... Not bad considering its only my 4th or 5th game this year. OPutted great, but the 4 bogeys I had were all silly and avoidable.

 

Still, very very happy.

 

Maybe this is my year to get to 4 or 3.

[scots civil war]

great round and excellent playing there chief,congrats on that one

 

 

id love a game there at some point btw

[Roy Slater]

great round and excellent playing there chief,congrats on that one

 

id love a game there at some point btw

 

Hint hint

[Bigsmak]

OK..

 

Who wants a round on Number 1 then,

 

Scots is in,

 

Roy what do you play off?

 

Anyone else?

Edited March 7, 2011 by Bigsmak

[Roy Slater]

OK..

Who wants a round on Number 1 then,

Scots is in,

Roy what do you play off?

 

Anyone else?

 

Well well now you are asking!!!

 

Off 5.2 currently

[Disser Pointon]

Scotsmans Fantasy golf mini league set up if anyone wants in.

 

League name: jambos kickback

 

Password: jambos

 

cheers

[Bigsmak]

Well well now you are asking!!!

 

Off 5.2 currently

 

 

Well thats 3 of us.. Can take one more person.. Probably cost about ?10 each with the discounts I can get. Would prefer someone around about 8 or under as well to keep the game fair..

 

I'm back to 5 again! pipped at the post with the medal though,m 2nd scratch and 3rd handicap!

[Roy Slater]

Well thats 3 of us.. Can take one more person.. Probably cost about ?10 each with the discounts I can get. Would prefer someone around about 8 or under as well to keep the game fair..

 

I'm back to 5 again! pipped at the post with the medal though,m 2nd scratch and 3rd handicap!

 

I wouldn't be off 5 at Gullane!!

[KFH]

I wouldn't be off 5 at Gullane!!

 

 

Id love a game at no 1, played often at 2&3

appreciate that being off 17 at Swanston is a different league (was briefly down to 9 at Prestonfield) but available to make up numbers if your stuck

 

if anyone wants a game at Swanston New.... flatter version let me know ?8/?10 for a guest week/weekend

 

cheers

[Disser Pointon]

First full 18 holes since October on Friday past at Monktonhall, 3 over for the 18 with a double bogey and two 3 putts thrown in. If thats a sign of things to come for the rest of the season I will be well chuffed. More likely its a flash in the pan mind you!

[Disser Pointon]

Got an outing on Gullane 3 next Saturday, only ever played Gullane 1 before and that was years ago. What's number 3 like, Bigsmak I know you are a member down there?