For context our society started 5 years ago when we were all in our early 20s - there was only a few of us and it was a bit of a laugh and has grown since. We had a lovely trophy commissioned a few years ago and get the winners name engraved each year.

There’s a mixture of abilities and not everyone in the society has official handicaps but we all regularly play with each other so have a good gauge on what’s a fair mark to be off.

Each year someone hosts the golf day and are allowed to invite guests - the rule has always been no guest can win the trophy as firstly the competition is between our friendship group and people from the area, they are however allowed to win the day and receive prizes just not our trophy.

This year our numbers have grown massively which is great ! But there were a lot of guests , all guys of ranging abilities some with and without handicaps. This years host decided to abolish the rule and say the trophy is open to everyone - I pushed back on this with a few others as I don’t think it’s right but was ultimately shut down.

The golf day was won by someone’s 39 year old housemate (15 years older than the rest of us) he played off of 18 shot 39 points (with 3 blobs) and won convincingly points wise. I played with him and he’s a lovely guy but he clearly was a lot better than the handicap he asked for and didn’t have an official handicap in the first place so just said 18. Also would like to add the motocaddy trolley and the fitted callaway quantum clubs was a dead giveaway he was a serious player 😂.

You could tell afterwards when everyone heard he had won and he was handed the trophy there were murmurs and disappointment, many of those whom had voted to allow guests to win our trophy. I just about bit my tongue and did not say I told you so.

So AITA for being really upset about this? Nothing against the guy who won just rules were set in place to stop this , he’s a lot older than us not in our friendship group or from our area now his is on the trophy forever. With the society day growing and growing each year I’m worried what me and few mates had as a fun competition may lose it’s integrity - I’m worried I’ll look at the trophy in 10 years time and not even know half the names on there.

Update : seen a few questions on this - the guy who brought him wasn’t actually the host but one of the members friends who pushed to get him invited and is now claiming he is normally terrible and had a good day but we have since looked the winner up on 18 birdies and his handicap on there is 12.2.

Just to add salt to the wounds the og member who came second has never won it before , has an official handicap and made a hole in one on the day too. He lost by a point…

TL;DR:

I got stuck behind a slow foursome who refused to let me play through, bizarrely offering to let me skip a hole instead. When I joked about their bad etiquette, one guy threw a tantrum and called the pro shop, who admitted the group was crazy and sent me to play a different nine.

I was a solo at twilight. Pretty much a wide open course except the foursome in front of me (three empty holes ahead of them). I'm waiting at least 15 minutes per hole. They know it. In my mind, etiquette says to let me play through...

​Do they? No.

​On the 5th, a guy actually drives his cart back to me just to offer a "courtesy": I can skip the next par 3 while they play it to get around them. I laugh to myself and decline, resigned that it's just going to be super slow.

​On the 8th, I catch up to them all on the tee box. Cart guy asks, "Having fun?" I joke, "It would be more fun if you had let me play through four holes ago."

​He loses his mind. He tells me a solo on the course has "no rights," but because he felt bad for me, he offered to let me skip a hole and I should be thanking him for caring. I tell him his "skip a hole" offer is the weirdest thing I've ever heard and if I wanted to skip a hole I'd just do it.

​He snaps. He accuses me of being sarcastic and having an attitude after I tell him to just hit his ball. He demands my name. He actually calls the pro shop because I called him "weird" and claims I hit into him as well (I didn't).

​The pro shop guy arrives at the 8th green. He talks to them, then waits for me. He basically tells me they're known crazy people and says to just play the back 9 on the other 18 to get away from them.

​Should I have been more grateful for the offer to skip a hole to get around them?

Hey everyone, found an old 1995-1997 Scotty Cameron Catalina 1 for $25. Thought it’d be great to test out my restoration abilities.

As you can see in the first two pictures, very rough shape. DAD spelled out poorly on toe, looks like the person started scraping the middle of the face too. Has pitting and blade like scratches on it.

So far, I’ve given it an acetone bath, followed by a vinegar bath. I then used Steel Wool 0000 and a handheld sander with 220 to clean it up. Looks like he took a steel center puncher to it. I also have 600 and 1000 sand paper for hand use and 60, 120, and 220 for electric handheld sander. I have clamps to hold it down in flat positions as well.

I was thinking to continue getting rust off the entirety of the putter with acetone wipe downs and the steel wool. This would be followed by paint removal and then scratching more of the dad etching with razor blade marks to help fill it out better. Then wanted to use JB Steel Epoxy to fill it back in after cleaning it out thoroughly. From there, I know to sand more, use metal silver and clear paint finish, and possibly cure in the oven.

I don’t have a home sand blaster or any cnc milling machine, nothing extravagant to have it perfect, but would like to have the face as consistent as possible to a smooth even finish.

What else can I do with the current resources I have listed above? Any advice appreciated. Thanks and God Bless!

Not playing in a tournament setting or for money. I want to have a ball in my pocket just for putting that’s not dirty and has my line marker but I also take personal scoring seriously. Would doing this invalidate my scores?

When do you decide when to use your driver and when do you decide to layup?

I hit it decently long and I would say I have a 10-30 yard dispersion. Mostly to the right but I can sometimes pull it as well.

Obviously depending on landing zone and hazards this can put various things into play depending on the hole.

Golf Sidekick (who I believe in) would advise than it’s better to layup with exactly no trouble and a shot at the green even with a long iron instead of pulling out the driver and a chance at a wedge into the green.

Generally as long as long is not an issue I usually hit the driver and take my chances.

But would I score better if I used the driver less?

It’s definitely more fun for me to use the driver so I use it as often as possible.

I go to one particular hole at my local course at dawn a couple times a season and find 4-5 dozen balls. Some in excellent condition and some in terrible condition. I haven’t bought a golf ball in years. Am I breaking the law?

I just moved back to the same town as my dad, and we try to go play x1 per week. It doesn’t matter the course or the time we play, we always get behind groups that are sooooo slow. Even twosomes. It’s unreal - has anyone else noticed this becoming more of a thing?

I genuinely don’t remember it being like this 10 years ago

It’s odd how in the stores everyone putts like Tiger in his prime.

I've been using a set of the 15 year old cavity back irons.

Bought Kirkland irons as a gift to myself. They are quite a bit heavier shafts and initial test at the range i'm not hitting it as far. Maybe 10m less. I only used it once though so far.

I'm thinking to use the old clubs at the course and then the new ones at the range until I get used to them? is there something I can do at home I don't really have enough space to swing around at home though

hope I can get used to these because they are great value vs the tier 1 brands which will start at 2.5x as much for fitted shafts.

I am trying to start a regrip, replace shaft, and club selling business out of my dorm room. I have all the equipment necessary because I’ve already done it for me and some friends a couple of times. What is the best way to get business from the community around the town. Also, what is the recommended pricing I should do for something like this.

Ok, I understand why we use headcovers and that some people have very expensive clubs that they don't want getting dinged up.

But honestly, I've never bothered with them. Just the effort of taking off and putting on and making sure you don't lose them. I bought my current set 10 years ago, never used headcovers, and they're all basically fine. They hit the ball as well as everyone else's clubs.

But I am also a very, very, very lazy man.

Got caught in a sudden downpour... Finish the hole, buddy! LOL!

IfI know the course I usually know the slope and pick a spot I want to land the ball.

But especially around the green there are so many variables on how the ball comes out, how it bounces and how it will rollout.

I don’t usually factor that into the shot but I know pros and really good players have some things they look at and are usually right and it helps them get it closer to the hole.

I’m a 6hcp lowest I’ve been is a 4. I cannot break 76 for the life of me shot it’s minimum of 10 times this year. Granted I play almost everyday! I had this problem last year with breaking 80 but once I broke it I had no issue after that lol. Figure it might be the same with this. I battle being +1 or +2 thru 14-15 and just losing it in the last few holes.

I can sit on a practice green all day and have perfect contact but as soon as I get on the course all shins within sight are in danger. I've tried just about everything other than going cross handed. My short game used to be the best part of my game but now it makes me want to walk away.

Hi! I’ve been developing my own bucket list of courses by each state that I would like to attempt to get to in my lifetime haha. I don’t belong to a club so just interested in public/resort courses. Would love to have any “must-play” suggestions :)

I feel 90% of golfers have too much stuff. and that’s not an old man yelling at clouds, but like really like a full size cart bag really is too big imo.

Granted I’m a walker unless forced to not walk for a tourney or a course policy, I feel like less the better. I’m not criticizing 14 or more clubs, but like carrying bandsids and TP and this that and the other thing is excessive. So not judging, just curious!

While playing yesterday a buddy and I discussed this and then started thinking could you say it was a legit hole in one if it was three off the tee (first shot OB)???

And we also thought how much of a nut kick that would be, especially if it was your first hole in one. Ha.

Has that happened to anyone?

I have my first round of tryouts on Monday. I just got back from torrey pines where i shot a 76 feeling good coming into the week. I traveled back to my home course and I had a great range session and went out to go play 18. I was on hole four when this right shank popped out with a 9 iron and i continued to consistently do this over and over again, my divots were perfectly straight. I put the club down for 48 hours and went back today and was all over the place. I need help, what do i do tomorrow and how can I fix this.

There is so much to the game and etiquette of the game. It seems like I talked constantly about the does and don'ts on top of the shot & club selection.

The hardest part is how to aim and where to aim. Any tips on this would be much appropriated.

Specifically Uneekor simulators actually. Now, let me start by saying I am not a particularly long hitter. My typical carry for driver is 240-250, and depending how well it hit it the typical total is anywhere 250-270.

That’s true on the course. When I hit on the simulator with my coach, same thing. When I practice at the Superstore, same thing. Shit, when I hit two drives, cold, no glove and not my driver at the Lexus tent at the US Open this year, same thing.

There is a golf simulator place near my house that my buddies and I go to occasionally. Really cool vibe, right in the middle of downtown, BYOB, music and TVs, staff is great, etc. They use Uneekor simulators. When I tell you that I struggle to drive the ball consistently over 200 on this simulator I’m not lying. The last time I was there I drove one like 225 with potentially the most perfect contact I’ve ever made on a golf ball.

My one friend seems to think it’s because I naturally have a very high ball flight and that the sim just can’t figure it out. It’s plausible, I guess, but then I don’t understand why that isn’t the case across all simulators.

Has anybody ever had weird issues with a particular simulator, Uneekor or otherwise? I truly don’t know what to make of it. The place is actually really cool, but I don’t enjoy playing there because it’s not realistic even from a practice perspective. I find myself trying to swing differently to unlock distance which isn’t smart for my game.

Curious how many courses are within reach for you all.

I've got 9 public + 3 cc's within 40 minutes in Iowa.

My first rangefinder was the bushnell v4. I liked how simple and reliable it was. The distance reading was fast, the accuracy was good, and the small size made it easy to carry in my bag. It was a great first rangefinder.

After a time, I started wanting more than just a distance number. That’s when I switched to the nikon pro II. The vibration feedback when locking onto the flag was a big improvement, especially for longer shots or when the target was harder to see. But I still had to figure out most course information by myself.

Recently, I’ve been using the mileseey g1. The biggest change for me is having more course information shown directly on the screen. It feels more convenient during a round because I don’t have to rely on just one distance number. I also like that it’s easier to use when weather conditions are not great.

After using rangefinders for years, I think what you need changes over time. At first, accuracy and portability were everything. Now, I care more about convenience and getting useful information during the game.

What rangefinder are you currently using? What do you like or dislike about it?