Woodznutz
Diamond Member
- Dec 9, 2021
- 34,531
- 17,649
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When I'm feeling particularly good, I often go to the driving range, so I can get it out of my system.
The Joy of Golf
- Thread starter DGS49
- Start date
Woodznutz
Diamond Member
- Dec 9, 2021
- 34,531
- 17,649
- 1,788
Concerned American
Diamond Member
I haven't played in 15 years, but I think the worst day on a golf course is better than the best day at work.
Concerned American
Diamond Member
17 more holes and then go spend another $25 on balls. LOL. Golf is great.
DGS49
Diamond Member
- Thread starter
- #25
Golfing for "free" at The Villages, Florida...
The Villages has fifty or so "executive" nine-hole courses that people who live here can play for "free." That privilege is also extended to people who are renting from reputable people and organizations, if you pay a guest fee of a couple hundred bucks. You have to pay $5 per person to drive your cart on the courses, which is why I put "free" in quotations marks. (The golfers' perpetual complaint about such fees also applies: If there is only one cart, why do you have to pay two fees? If a single rides the same cart, he only has to pay once. But I digress...).
"Executive" golf means that it's not even a real nine-hole layout. There is at most one Par 4, and maybe two other holes of longer than 150 yards. Some are less than a hundred yards. But it's golf, eh, so fun.
But golf in Florida has characteristics that make it better and worse than in other places. First is the grass. There is no real grass on most Florida courses. There is some growing green stuff, but it is more closely related to mold than real grass. It lays flat on the ground, so the pleasant characteristic of real grass - that it holds a golf ball a quarter-to-half inch above the dirt - is lacking. You are basically hitting off dirt when you hit from the fairway in Florida, and that is, shall I say, a challenge.
But the good side of it is that the ball rolls much farther than it would on real grass (assuming there are no obstacles or alligators in the way). So if you "top" your shot, it will often travel almost as far as if you hit it properly; it just rolls on the ground rather than flying through the air.
The greens in Florida, and especially at the Villages are like putting on linoleum. They are as "fast" as the greens on country clubs up north, which is to say, very fast. But there is an addition challenge in Florida and that is, the grass on the greens has a "grain." A grain is a characteristic that normal humans cannot see, but it makes a rolling ball tend to go in a certain direction, WITH the grain or AGAINST the grain, which impacts almost all putts. And as I say, normal humans cannot see the grain.
So there are times when the ball goes much farther than you estimate (WITH the grain), much shorter than you estimate (AGAINST the grain), or travels along a peculiar line on side-hill putts. On the latter, you often see a putt that should curve down a slope but it goes straight (because of the grain), or it seems to be straight, but it curves (because of the grain).
Which is why I do not keep score when golfing on Executive Courses in the Villages. If I did, then I would be too pissed off to enjoy myself.
The Villages has fifty or so "executive" nine-hole courses that people who live here can play for "free." That privilege is also extended to people who are renting from reputable people and organizations, if you pay a guest fee of a couple hundred bucks. You have to pay $5 per person to drive your cart on the courses, which is why I put "free" in quotations marks. (The golfers' perpetual complaint about such fees also applies: If there is only one cart, why do you have to pay two fees? If a single rides the same cart, he only has to pay once. But I digress...).
"Executive" golf means that it's not even a real nine-hole layout. There is at most one Par 4, and maybe two other holes of longer than 150 yards. Some are less than a hundred yards. But it's golf, eh, so fun.
But golf in Florida has characteristics that make it better and worse than in other places. First is the grass. There is no real grass on most Florida courses. There is some growing green stuff, but it is more closely related to mold than real grass. It lays flat on the ground, so the pleasant characteristic of real grass - that it holds a golf ball a quarter-to-half inch above the dirt - is lacking. You are basically hitting off dirt when you hit from the fairway in Florida, and that is, shall I say, a challenge.
But the good side of it is that the ball rolls much farther than it would on real grass (assuming there are no obstacles or alligators in the way). So if you "top" your shot, it will often travel almost as far as if you hit it properly; it just rolls on the ground rather than flying through the air.
The greens in Florida, and especially at the Villages are like putting on linoleum. They are as "fast" as the greens on country clubs up north, which is to say, very fast. But there is an addition challenge in Florida and that is, the grass on the greens has a "grain." A grain is a characteristic that normal humans cannot see, but it makes a rolling ball tend to go in a certain direction, WITH the grain or AGAINST the grain, which impacts almost all putts. And as I say, normal humans cannot see the grain.
So there are times when the ball goes much farther than you estimate (WITH the grain), much shorter than you estimate (AGAINST the grain), or travels along a peculiar line on side-hill putts. On the latter, you often see a putt that should curve down a slope but it goes straight (because of the grain), or it seems to be straight, but it curves (because of the grain).
Which is why I do not keep score when golfing on Executive Courses in the Villages. If I did, then I would be too pissed off to enjoy myself.
DGS49
Diamond Member
- Thread starter
- #26
My golf exit strategy. The day before returning North from the Villages, I took the Old Lady to a local course that is BELOVED by the wives of Villager golfers. It is called "Baseline," and it is a nice "executive" 18-hole course. Wives love it because it has a huge pro-shop with discounted golf apparel and stuff, and because the course is EASY. Short holes, perfect condition, generally flat greens - easy to score well.
After two months down there and not showing much improvement despite playing a shit-load of golf. Baseline was just what the doctor ordered. I had my best round by far, and finished with three pars.
Now I can look fondly on the Winter golf "vacation."
After two months down there and not showing much improvement despite playing a shit-load of golf. Baseline was just what the doctor ordered. I had my best round by far, and finished with three pars.
Now I can look fondly on the Winter golf "vacation."
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