Unpopular opinions...

[hook_or_slice]

6 hours ago, Chunkitgood said:

....

 

3.  The art and science of club making reached their apex in 2003-2005 and have gone downhill since.

 

I better stop.

 

What happened in 2003-2005 to cause you to come to this conclusion? 

[zengineer]

On 8/21/2024 at 5:39 AM, horgo99 said:

One I’ve never understood that seems to be a mainly US based thing…why the hate for people using pull carts/buggies to walk a golf course instead of carrying? or even more odd, saying that the only “real” way to walk is to carry rather then push/pull your clubs. Never understood this logic, and from a purely fitness side of things - it’s almost exactly the same calories burned either way 😂

I have never heard anyone say that.   I have heard the stereotype of the "over-accessorized" push cart guy with dual cupholders, seat, umbrella holder, ball dispenser, phone mount, cooler, ball washer, pannini maker.....

[Kai Slater]

On 8/21/2024 at 3:57 AM, mvvraz said:

95% of golfers are playing shafts that are too stiff for them, because they were basically swinging out of their shoes during their fitting

 

That, or they want to look at someone's driver shaft and gasp "Oh my god you're playing stiff? I would snap that in two, I've been playing TTXXX since I was 6" 

 

My hot take is that playing somewhat softer shafts than what you were fitted for gives you an unreal advantage, especially on days where you aren't performing 100%, or are trying to swing it a little softer or are simply a little tired

 

 

I think this is right on the money!!.........There must be some sort of stigma in the golfing world where playing a stiffer version of whatever shaft is a signal of strength or being a good player while playing a lesser flexed shaft is a sign of weakness.  I'm not sure how much it matters to the average Joe out there.  My Callaway Rogue ST Max, listed in my signature below, is a cut-down, ladies flex, but it simply works for me, a 250-260 yard fairway-finder that feels great with my swing.

[Barfolomew]

On 8/23/2024 at 7:51 PM, karstens_ghost said:

 

Yep. 100%. I don't care how unpopular it is, once it is put in place (and it will), everyone will say 'of course'. But everything good doesn't seem obvious until it is.

 

Some people hate any rule changes just on the fact they are a purist, whether good idea or not.... but like you say afterwards they're like oh ya

 

Sometimes when we play fun games with the guys will play lift clean and place on any shot and makes game more fun.... and actually more "fair" that you beat the player cause there's no excuse they were in a horrendous lie etc and lost the hole for that reason not the skill of golf

[Mark_Tha_Tinkerer]

1 hour ago, Barfolomew said:

 

Some people hate any rule changes just on the fact they are a purist, whether good idea or not.... but like you say afterwards they're like oh ya

 

Sometimes when we play fun games with the guys will play lift clean and place on any shot and makes game more fun.... and actually more "fair" that you beat the player cause there's no excuse they were in a horrendous lie etc and lost the hole for that reason not the skill of golf

Wow.   I always thought that a golfer's ability to hit a great shot from a bad/horrendous lie was a measure of their skillfulness at golf.  You don't play golf on a smooth billiards table.  You play it on uneven grass where there is rough, trees, waste areas, water, divots, sand traps, etc. Hardly seems "fair" when Golfer A gets to hit his second shot from a smooth fairway with an unobstructed view of the green while I am in the tall grass with a tree obstructing my second shot to the green.  When I lose that hole in match play, I guess I can at least take solace that it had nothing to do with the skill of golf.  It just wasn't fair that I had to play my second shot from the position my ball was in after my first shot.  

[Barfolomew]

1 hour ago, Mark_Tha_Tinkerer said:

Wow.   I always thought that a golfer's ability to hit a great shot from a bad/horrendous lie was a measure of their skillfulness at golf.  You don't play golf on a smooth billiards table.  You play it on uneven grass where there is rough, trees, waste areas, water, divots, sand traps, etc. Hardly seems "fair" when Golfer A gets to hit his second shot from a smooth fairway with an unobstructed view of the green while I am in the tall grass with a tree obstructing my second shot to the green.  When I lose that hole in match play, I guess I can at least take solace that it had nothing to do with the skill of golf.  It just wasn't fair that I had to play my second shot from the position my ball was in after my first shot.  

 

Sometimes lies are so bad that you're hosed.... any skill wont fix that lol... like many you took it too extreme... all other challenges fair game.

 

Fairway shots should have a good lie and not in divot..... as a reward for a good shot

 

shots to rough play as they lie cause you hit a bad shot

[Mark_Tha_Tinkerer]

34 minutes ago, Barfolomew said:

 

Sometimes lies are so bad that you're hosed.... any skill wont fix that lol... like many you took it too extreme... all other challenges fair game.

 

Fairway shots should have a good lie and not in divot..... as a reward for a good shot

 

shots to rough play as they lie cause you hit a bad shot

 

What kind of lie exists in a fairway that is so bad/horrendous that you are hosed and skill just won't let you play a decent shot?  An animal hole?  Rules already give you relief.  Dug up earth?  Probably is already marked ground under repair.  Embedded ball?  Rules already give you relief.  

 

Divots?  If all you want is an agreement that you can move your ball out of a divot in the fairway, I can, at least, sympathize and probably would support that amongst a playing group.  However, curse and mutter all you want about the rub of the green;  you can still play a ball well from a divot with a skillfully executed shot.

[karstens_ghost]

50 minutes ago, Mark_Tha_Tinkerer said:

 

What kind of lie exists in a fairway that is so bad/horrendous that you are hosed and skill just won't let you play a decent shot?  An animal hole?  Rules already give you relief.  Dug up earth?  Probably is already marked ground under repair.  Embedded ball?  Rules already give you relief.  

 

Divots?  If all you want is an agreement that you can move your ball out of a divot in the fairway, I can, at least, sympathize and probably would support that amongst a playing group.  However, curse and mutter all you want about the rub of the green;  you can still play a ball well from a divot with a skillfully executed shot.

 

A gorged divot in dry conditions is a very high degree of randomness in its outcome.

 

Like others, it's simply asking for fair in the fair-way. No determination of conditions, and no rulings. Just scorecard placing in your own fairway all the time. It gets rid of all sorts of stupidity based on what should be a rewarded outcome. No one is asking to tee it up in the fairway. All the rule does is make the game more about the skill of the player, and that should be a defining guide for most sports rules.

 

And before you go off about how it takes more skill to hit out of an un-sanded un-repared divot in the middle of the fairway, sure. It does. It shouldn't have to. Because no matter how much you can say that it's a skill to hit out of a divot, the random outcome of such a shot irrespective of skill is a penalty for a player that succeeded. I want to watch and play a sport that does not throw up random penalties to those who succeed.

 

And if you say golf's main tenet is "play it as it lies", there's about 463 rules now that are exceptions to that tenet. It's not the 17th century. The game is played on mechanically mowed grass with urethane balls and carbon fibre clubs. Sure, if it's a hickory league, play it as it lies.

 

It's worth reminding everyone that it used to be a 15-yard penalty for a forward pass in football, too.

[Mark_Tha_Tinkerer]

16 hours ago, karstens_ghost said:

 

A gorged divot in dry conditions is a very high degree of randomness in its outcome.

 

Like others, it's simply asking for fair in the fair-way. No determination of conditions, and no rulings. Just scorecard placing in your own fairway all the time. It gets rid of all sorts of stupidity based on what should be a rewarded outcome. No one is asking to tee it up in the fairway. All the rule does is make the game more about the skill of the player, and that should be a defining guide for most sports rules.

...

 

It's worth reminding everyone that it used to be a 15-yard penalty for a forward pass in football, too.

SET THE SCENE:  The Old Course, St. Andrews.  You stripe your tee shot on number 1 tee right in the middle of the fairway.  When you reach your ball, you get down on one knee with scorecard in your right hand.  You carefully measure where you can place your ball to give it a perfect, puffy lie and do so.

 

SEAMUS THE CADDIE:  What r ya doin, laddie?

YOU:   Just making sure the course plays fair, Seamus.

SEAMUS THE CADDIE:  But that is nae golf, laddie.

YOU:  Think about it Seamus.  It used to be a 15-yard penalty for a forward pass in football.

 

For the remainder of the round, Seamus the Caddie intentionally miss-clubs you on every shot.  

[Barfolomew]

2 hours ago, Mark_Tha_Tinkerer said:

SET THE SCENE:  The Old Course, St. Andrews.  You stripe your tee shot on number 1 tee right in the middle of the fairway.  When you reach your ball, you get down on one knee with scorecard in your right hand.  You carefully measure where you can place your ball to give it a perfect, puffy lie and do so.

 

SEAMUS THE CADDIE:  What r ya doin, laddie?

YOU:   Just making sure the course plays fair, Seamus.

SEAMUS THE CADDIE:  But that is nae golf, laddie.

YOU:  Think about it Seamus.  It used to be a 15-yard penalty for a forward pass in football.

 

For the remainder of the round, Seamus the Caddie intentionally miss-clubs you on every shot.  

 

😂😂 Oh Seamus.... he'll screw ya any chance he gets

 

I just know I prefer to play from a decent lie in fairway..... and feel bad for partner when we both bomb a good one and he's got a crap lie and were battling.... I dont feel like I've won the situation unless were talkin crap with the boys then its friggin hilarious, but I know he got screwed

[karstens_ghost]

4 hours ago, Mark_Tha_Tinkerer said:

SET THE SCENE:  The Old Course, St. Andrews.  You stripe your tee shot on number 1 tee right in the middle of the fairway.  When you reach your ball, you get down on one knee with scorecard in your right hand.  You carefully measure where you can place your ball to give it a perfect, puffy lie and do so.

 

SEAMUS THE CADDIE:  What r ya doin, laddie?

YOU:   Just making sure the course plays fair, Seamus.

SEAMUS THE CADDIE:  But that is nae golf, laddie.

YOU:  Think about it Seamus.  It used to be a 15-yard penalty for a forward pass in football.

 

For the remainder of the round, Seamus the Caddie intentionally miss-clubs you on every shot.  

 

I think Seamus is going to be the one reminding you that St Andrews uses fairway mats 4 months of the year. But that is nae golf, ae.

[Mark_Tha_Tinkerer]

1 hour ago, karstens_ghost said:

 

I think Seamus is going to be the one reminding you that St Andrews uses fairway mats 4 months of the year. But that is nae golf, ae.

 

[Boney]

In casual rounds, I like to make a ratty course play "as if" it's a well-conditioned one. I move a ball to the nearest bit of decent grass only in the fairway, and only if it's in a bad lie like a bare patch, weed, or divot. Instant country-club quality upgrade.