bjohn13 says:
Well...my monster putt was only about 30', but it was over a mound with rough on it on a half-moon shaped green. I've been meaning to post on the forum about it...asking how others would play the shot. I considered it a success taking a 3-putt from there.

greendevil says:
Yeah, that's my ball mark next to the pin; only 6 inches away. I was 6 inches from a HIO! The more I think about it the more excited about it I get. That's so close.

Yeah, I'd love to see your pics of your close encounter.

How long was your monster putt?

bjohn13 says:
I'd upload the pictures now, but I don't appear to have a USB cable handy. Have to wait until I get home tonight.

bjohn13 says:
Is that your ball mark next to the pin? You do know that, even though you probably fixed it, it's going to mess with everyone for the rest of the day, right?

Nice shot...I had one of those recently in the dark....right on the lip. I suppose I should post a picture of that one along with the monster putt I had no chance of making last week (and didn't).

greendevil says:
Yeah, I guess any temp is good enough to golf; just don't expect to play well while being cold. Also, have you noticed how much less distance you get on the ball when it's cold out? The ball loses lots of compression when cold huh?

Here's the link to the picture of my near HIO that I promised I would post. This is the only good thing that came from my round on Sunday.

www.flickr.com/photos/43488548@N06/4008301730/

bjohn13 says:
Well....any temp is good enough to golf:) I've been out in 35 degree weather this year waiting for the greens to thaw. But when you throw in that COLD north wind and some damp roughs, it makes for an excruciating experience. My shoes are waterproof, but when my pants are soaked halfway up to the knees, it doesn't make much difference. My socks get wet from my pants, and then my shoes effectively become buckets that don't dry out.

I'll be hitting the indoor driving range this week in preparation for the weekend. My shift changes on Monday, so after-work rounds are done for the year.

greendevil says:
Yeah, those are good enough temps for golf. I hope you end the year on a positive note; unlike what I've been doing lately.

bjohn13 says:
Well....the extended forecast is showing a high of 52 on Saturday and 60 on Sunday. I just might get in a couple more rounds.

greendevil says:
We need to do a little Indian Summer dance don't we? I'd love to see it warm up again; at least for a week or so.

I'm so thankful I don't live as far north as you or Activesense. I'd hate to have snow this early in the year.

The temps here are expected to be around 60 for the high and 40 for the low pretty much all this week. This is too chilly for my liking.

bjohn13 says:
I think I'm throwing in the towel on the golf season. It's cold outside, and it's wet. The extended forecast is calling for no warm-up. Normally we get an Indian Summer this time of year. However, this year we went from a high of 90 on a Friday to frost and a high of 35 on Sunday. It's 25 degrees right now, and it's supposed to snow tonight.

bjohn13 says:
I actually have a new eye prescription I'm going to fill tonight...a new-fangled kind of prism that is supposed to help with my strabismus. I'm hoping that this helps me line up my shots.

greendevil says:
Yeah, I'm with you bjohn; if the weather is nice enough, I want to hit the course not the range.

I'm in desperate need of hitting the range to work on hitting my woods; but with only a few weeks of decent weather, I doubt I'll take the time to hit the range.

greendevil says:
Consistency; yeah, I'll take some of that too please.

bjohn13 says:
Consistency? Hitting well when I play with Strukes? Seriously....I play like crap when I'm with him, but I'm starting to think I know why. I'll have to analyze that.

But if you're talking about a fundamental aspect of the game, it would definitely be my iron play. I have no confidence whatsoever when I'm between, say, 90 yards and 160 yards especially with trouble on the left. There are a few par 3's in this area that absolutely terrify me because of trouble on the left.

greendevil says:
Okay bjohn; if you could improve one aspect of your game at this point; what would you like to see improved?

bjohn13 says:
Ugh...35 mph gusts of wind today...and I might not get another chance to go for a few days....looks like it will be an interesting round tonight.

bjohn13 says:
Bah...the day after I golfed Maple River, the course was mapped on my GPS unit. Bah.

bjohn13 says:
We're planning on playing 18 again next Monday. It will likely be at Ponderosa if my new GPS app has that course mapped by then. Ponderosa is a 9 hole course that is par 36, and we like to play it twice. I like to record the 9-hole rounds separately, though, so all of the hole one stats stay with hole one. Otherwise, that all depends on how well my driver is going. I don't like to play regulation courses without a solid driver because it makes the course seem twice as long. Our forcast is calling for a lot of rain over the next week as well, so at this point, it's going to rely on luck. My nephew is coming to town over a weekend in October, and I'm hoping there is still some golfing weather left for him by that point. I'm looking forward to taking him to Osgood...

greendevil says:
I'd like to get out a few more times but the weather has turned crappy here in Ohio. It seems to do nothing but rain lately; we've received about 6 inches of rain in the last week. This makes for some very soggy golf.

greendevil says:
Hey bjohn; that's quite alright. I know encouragement is much needed in the game of golf; it's such a frustrating sport at times.

With only about a month of golf left in ND, are you planning on playing anymore 18 hole rounds?

bjohn13 says:
My handicap is about to jump up a few points with one of my best rounds about to fall off the bottom....

bjohn13 says:
ya...I was on fire the last few days...and then I came back down to earth today. I think I had forgotten what it was like to really have a bad round.

greendevil says:
Holy crap, look what your last two rounds have done for your hcp and scoring average.

bjohn13 says:
Thanks...all dispite the fact that I don't feel like I'm playing all that well. Also...my scoring average is under 100, but I have yet to score under 100 on a regulation 18 hole course....

greendevil says:
Congrats on getting your scoring avg under 100; your hcp continues to drop as well. Nice job.

greendevil says:
Yeah, good point.

bjohn13 says:
Well...I doubt I'll wash my phone since it has a belt clip that is actually quite sturdy:)

greendevil says:
Sounds like a good deal since you were getting the phone anyway.

Plus, you won't be out $350 if you happen to wash your phone :)

bjohn13 says:
You have to keep in mind that you have to purchase the unit. I was able to purchase the latest model, the Tour, for $100 with my new every two upgrade through Verizon (there were some free models). Then, you have to pay for a data plan, which comes to about $35 a month for me since my employer is elegible for a discount. However, I was purchasing these two things anyway, so the only true cost was the price of the application. I bought the lifetime membership for $85, and it is transferrable to a different unit two years down the road when I upgrade my phone again. So....even if I have to buy third-party hardware to get a better functioning GPS unit, the price will end up being well under half of what the GolfBuddy unit cost. The only trick now is to get used to switching between apps on the course.

greendevil says:
Really? I didn't expect that answer at all.

It sounds like a golfer is much better to buy a Blackberry (or comparable) and the GPS app. I bet you didn't even pay half as much as the Golf Buddy either; did you?

bjohn13 says:
There is no comparison whatsoever. The only question I have is how well the GPS will update on the Blackberry, and I'll likely get an idea of that tonight if the weather holds out. The application is miles ahead of what I was getting with GolfBuddy.

greendevil says:
You liking the Blackberry and the ability to keep your score on your phone?

How does the GPS app compare to your Golf Buddy?

bjohn13 says:
Thanks, GD. Now here is to hoping that I can keep my handicap under 30.

greendevil says:
Congrats bjohn on getting your hcp under 30.

Good luck to you in the scramble. Have fun most of all.

bjohn13 says:
Tomorrow is the big day....four man scramble at the Moorhead Country Club. I'm the weak link in our team with a handicap that just passed 30. I'm nervous about that, but overall, I think it will be a lot of fun.

bjohn13 says:
I'm going mobile!

I got my new Blackberry last night, so starting tomorrow, I'm going to start entering scores while on the course. I apologize if anyone got one of those fancy emails stating that I was starting a live round. I had to make sure I knew how to use the site before I hit the course. I didn't want to slow anyone up.

bjohn13 says:
also thought I'd note that once I got home and saw that my 44 tonight (combined with my 48 last night) lowered my handicap by 1/10 of a stroke, the round started not looking so bad.

bjohn13 says:
I've been trying to play Osgood more lately. There are more opportunities to use a driver, and there is more margin for error of the tees. The greens are more challenging, but they are also in nicer shape. However, most importantly, there are a lot of heavy risk/reward scenarios. Plus, there are very few trees...and I hate trees.

I'd like to start playing regulation courses reguarly next year, but I think I'm still two steps away from that. Osgood is the first step.

bjohn13 says:
I think I'm disappointed in the 44 I shot today because I started off so strong, and I was hitting most of my clubs so well.

That said, there is actually a lot of variety at Prairiewood. Holes 1, 4, and 8 actually have a lot of room for error. Now that you mention it, though, there really isn't much margin for error on the rest of the course. There isn't a hole lot of water, but what they have is really strategically placed. There are a couple of holes where missing a certain way isn't that bad...hole 7, for instance. Missing to the left of the green makes par still possible. Missing to the right makes bogey a good score. Hole six...missing the fairway to the left adds at least a stroke. Miss to the right, and par is still possible.

greendevil says:
I try to compare Prariewood with my home course, Adams Co CC, since they are similar in par and length; and I know that the 44 you had today is a good score.
For the first half of this year, I was averaging in the mid 40's at ACCC. If Prariewood is anything like ACCC there isn't much room for error. ACCC is a short course but sure is tight and makes the golfer be accurate on all shots or it is very easy to have a bad round.
The thing that has helped me lower my scores at ACCC is knowing where I can miss shots. I even wrote myself some notes for my league matches reminding myself where I should be aiming on each hole to ensure I stay away from penalizing shots.

How open or tight is Prariewood compared to some of the other courses you've played?

bjohn13 says:
My back is still tight. It doesn't really hurt as much as it's now just cumbersome. I played 9 holes tonight. It's hard to tell whether or not my back was affecting my swing.

greendevil says:
How's the back feeling? Getting better? You gonna try and get out to play a few holes this eve?

bjohn13 says:
Well...if you ever play Prairiewood, my advice is to stay on the left side of the fairway on your second shot unless you can punch the ball well.

greendevil says:
Love the pictures of the "beer tree". I see what you mean; it makes hole 4 tough. I can see me constantly having trouble with that tree. Not much room for error.

greendevil says:
Hey bjohn, I understand it's hard to pick a favorite course; it sounds like you have many good courses in your area in which to choose from.

I hope you like your Warbirds. I don't have much experience with Callaway balls except the HX Hot + balls that I used for the majority of the round last Sunday.

bjohn13 says:
I also thought I'd mention that I just ordered a bunch of Callaway Warbirds, so I'll be playing exclusively with those for awhile (since you asked before:)

bjohn13 says:
for a relatively small metro area, Fargo is really a great place to golf.

I don't think it's fair to pick a favorite course because they all have characteristics that I like. I do have a few favorite holes. Hole number 12 at Rose Creek is a challenging par 5, but if you lay up and avoid the water, it's an easy par. Hole number 4 at Prairiewood is a deceptively challenging par 5. The approach shot has a huge tree to the right and a water hazard guarding the green in the front. Hole number 1 at Osgood is a pretty straightforward par 4 with tons of room for error of the tee. The problem is, the green is on two distinct tiers. Get it on the wrong tier, and you're guaranteed a 3-putt.

If I really had to pick a favorite, I'd say that it would be Osgood. The only problem is that it's a 9 hole course that requires tee times. I usually like to go 18, and sometimes it's tough to get on for the back 9. I also liked the back 9 at Dakota Winds a lot because it has three par 3's and three par 5's.

greendevil says:
I got to looking, there are a lot of courses in and around Fargo, huh? It must be great to have so many courses within 5 or 6 miles from each other. Which is your favorite?

bjohn13 says:
Well....i don't really have a preference as far as balls go. I figure if a shot doesn't do what I want it to do, it's probably because I swung wrong. I am currently using an assorted allotment of Top Flight balls, but only because they are inexpensive.

greendevil says:
Hey bjohn, I don't see any golf balls listed on your equipment list. Which golf balls do you usually use?

strukes says:
just ordered new clubs....spent more thani wouldhave liked....but i tried one burt had and loved it... www.taylormadegolf.com/mainlevel/golfshop/irons.

strukes says:
i put my scores in for today in aready

bjohn13 says:
Ahh, yes. Michael Lamanna.

Grip seems to check out fine.

What? You think I have old score cards lying about?

strukes says:
video.about.com/golf/Grip-a-Golf-Club-Correctly.

Just double check your grip again with this video

strukes says:
Your graph looks worse than offline modem....if you have some of my old score cards laying around your aloud to put them in on my account now

greendevil says:
Yeah, the par 3 4th hole was the only bright spot for me yesterday. I just didn't have a good round; couldn't do anything right. The main issue was that I just didn't hit solid shots. I don't know what was wrong with me.

Don't you hate having rounds like that?

greendevil says:
Yeah, the golf lessons have def helped; look at those scores above. Great job and keep it up.

bjohn13 says:
Thanks a lot:) It feels good when hard work starts to pay off. I enjoy this game so much, and I have so much that I can still improve upon.

greendevil says:
Congrats on improving your handicap in the last few days; looks like you have a good trend going. Keep it up.

bjohn13 says:
The local pitch-n-putt course opened on Friday after a long delay due to the heavy flooding. I had to try it out today to work on some of my short game shots.

It's a completely different culture out there. When you get air on a tee shot, others will yell, "nice shot" no matter where it lands. Forget the fact that I'm going straight for the tar pits on the right side of the green, and I know it will take me two strokes to get out of there.

The course was extremely muddy. I lost three strokes on the first nine and five strokes on the second nine because of errant approach shots on the wet clay. Altogether, it was not the happiest of days for me. Everything was wet, and I was losing about 30% of my distance on all of my shots. The course has no official slope, so it won't count towards my handicap...but it still looks good on my graph:)

bjohn13 says:
It was windy today. I should have stayed home. However, I did learn an important lesson. I felt like I was hitting the ball well, but the wind was totally messing up my game. I left the course extremely frustrated only to get home to find that I shot better than my average.

My long irons are really starting to come around, and my hybrid is quickly becoming my favorite club. The shots that are really driving me crazy are the ones from about 20-50 yards...the ones that SHOULD get close to the pin but oftentimes miss the green.

bjohn13 says:
I shot a 13 on the second hole today. Yes, that's a 13. It was ugly. Plus, my putting was all over the place. I made a couple of great putts...but then on hole number 7, I putted right off the edge of the green and had to chip it back on. I also didn't hit a single fairway. However, my approach game was clicking. I figured out how to angle my sand wedge so my shots go straight. It feels awkward, but I was definitely shooting with a closed face. Now, since I'm so used to hitting with a pitching wedge, I just need to gain enough confidence in my sand wedge to be able to put enough mustard on the ball.

bjohn13 says:
My new irons arrived today. Woo-hoo! To give an idea of how different they are...hole number one is a 133 yard par 3. I usually shoot my 5-iron. I picked up my 7-iron, and I overshot the green by about 15 yards. On hole number 2, I had my first crack with my new hybrid. I shot almost 200 yards from the fairway to overshoot the green again by about 15 yards. This was definitely the most consistent round I shot all year, as I didn't score worse than a triple bogey all round. The best part of my game, though, is that my putting seems to be back. I only had one bad putt all round on hole number 5. All my other putts put me in position to hit tap-ins.

I broke 50 for the first time this summer.

bjohn13 says:
Whoah.

Yesterday, I was arrogant to say how I was deadly with my putter. My putter killed my score today. Most of the other aspects of my game came together nicely. I lost six strokes on the greens.

I had 5 par putts, which is pretty good for me at this stage of my game. I also had one birdie putt that I completely blew. However, I also sank three 20+ footers. I'm not sure what you'd call my putting game. Inconsistent?

I have to figure out why I'm pulling my approach shots. Other than that, and the putting, I was extremely happy with my game today, equalling my best score of the year.

bjohn13 says:
My score doesn't really show it, but I felt pretty good about my round today. My tee shots are going straight, and I've been adding distance. I missed three fairways, but two of those misses were within five feet.

Speaking of sand, I lost four strokes on the round due to poor blast attempts.

Finally, my stats again don't really show it, but I'm becoming deadly with my putter. I really wasn't giving myself much of a chance on my approach shots. The closest I got to the pin was about 20' on hole number 5, and I sank that for bogey after taking two strokes to get out of the sand. My two three-putts were ugly approaches that gave me 60' uphill putts.

With my tee shots going well, and with my putting going well, everything else is still crap. I easily lost a half dozen strokes today by biffing nice fairway lies. My new irons will be here on Wednesday...not a day too soon.

bjohn13 says:
Last night's round was absolutely horrendous. Not only was I missing all of my fairway shots, but my putting was off. I rimmed out three putts from over 20 feet because I hit them too hard. Today's round was better. I found that I was trying to hit the ball too hard. This actually started o hole 8 on Thursday and carried over into Saturday's round. I eased up on my swing, and for the most part, I got control of my irons back. I did, however, lose about five strokes on short approach shots. As of now, my wrists are killing me. I'm thinking of taking a few days away from the links.