How Has Your Game Changed During COVID--And Why?
Impact was pretty minimal as our courses never closed. We had to work around no rakes in the bunkers and the cup liners, but that was pretty minimal impact. The biggest thing has been that the courses got a lot more crowded and slower with all the Californians coming over here to play when their courses were all shut down.
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My short game has eroded some. My FIR, distances, and GIR have improved.
The reason is mostly circumstantial. Where I live since last March no one has been allowed on a short game practice area, except for putting on a practice green 10 minutes before your round. So the only time we get to 'practice' bunker shots is when we find our ball in an un-raked bunker while playing a round. Similarly, chipping and pitching isn't practiced, it's just played. I have practiced putting indoors on our oriental rug. But that's about it.
Conversely, ranges are open and I'm spending more time playing since I can't practice as much. I've devoted more of my practice time to distance and target practice, and associated things like alignment.
Overall my handicap has improved, but it's frustrating when I think of where it could be, if only I could practice my short game so it was as sharp as it can be.
The reason is mostly circumstantial. Where I live since last March no one has been allowed on a short game practice area, except for putting on a practice green 10 minutes before your round. So the only time we get to 'practice' bunker shots is when we find our ball in an un-raked bunker while playing a round. Similarly, chipping and pitching isn't practiced, it's just played. I have practiced putting indoors on our oriental rug. But that's about it.
Conversely, ranges are open and I'm spending more time playing since I can't practice as much. I've devoted more of my practice time to distance and target practice, and associated things like alignment.
Overall my handicap has improved, but it's frustrating when I think of where it could be, if only I could practice my short game so it was as sharp as it can be.
It got better for one. Work slowed for a short stretch, and my wife's job transferred, so we were apart more. Result was I played a LOT with most of my social time spent on course. Gave me plenty of chances to work on things and improve where I could. I think that really helped groove the driver changes I made over the winter and those benefits have been huge. Short game improved too with new courses and challenges, more bunkers, hilly lies, different rough, etc. Sharper all around.
I want to say it got more isolated, but I'm not entirely sure it did. It didn't expand quite the way I had hoped with travel and meeting some people, but that's probably to be expected so I should try not to judge based on that. The one person carts definitely changed the social dynamic too though, and I love my Sunday rounds sharing a cart with the wife and any rounds with my friends at the course that doesn't mind it. So I miss that a bit, and spend more time on THP during rounds I think.
It's also got more spread out. Membership policies changed, and with moving we didn't join a club. Wanted to see how the shared privileges worked out. So I've ended up playing a constant rotation of courses instead of one equally the sum of the rest like the year before. Good for the game, probably not the wallet with the number of rounds put in.
I'd say it got a little hungrier, too. Lol I was never big on eating club food during a round, but I used to before or after a lot more. Had to get even better about bringing food with restaurant stuff running differently.
I want to say it got more isolated, but I'm not entirely sure it did. It didn't expand quite the way I had hoped with travel and meeting some people, but that's probably to be expected so I should try not to judge based on that. The one person carts definitely changed the social dynamic too though, and I love my Sunday rounds sharing a cart with the wife and any rounds with my friends at the course that doesn't mind it. So I miss that a bit, and spend more time on THP during rounds I think.
It's also got more spread out. Membership policies changed, and with moving we didn't join a club. Wanted to see how the shared privileges worked out. So I've ended up playing a constant rotation of courses instead of one equally the sum of the rest like the year before. Good for the game, probably not the wallet with the number of rounds put in.
I'd say it got a little hungrier, too. Lol I was never big on eating club food during a round, but I used to before or after a lot more. Had to get even better about bringing food with restaurant stuff running differently.
I’m referring my reply to be posted by my law firm of Dewey, Screwem, and Howe.
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How soon will we hear from them and what are their handicaps?
+1 +12 (Screwem) and +6.1.
I don’t pay my Lawyers to provide law advice. Give me a month or two and I can represent myself.
Those guys are better off playing on the course.
I don’t pay my Lawyers to provide law advice. Give me a month or two and I can represent myself.
Those guys are better off playing on the course.
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It's become more consistent. The reason being, due to the virus, I've had a lot more time to practice, and play.
Worse to better. Well at least, kinda, sorta, back to where I was at the beginning. Maybe just a little short.
But always thankful to be playing.
But always thankful to be playing.
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My game has been a bit of a rollercoaster, I had a whole new bag of clubs that arrived a couple of days before the first lockdown, meaning they just sat in my hallway looking hopeful for weeks and weeks! Once things opened up, I played as much as I could on the course and also the range and made every second count, and I was playing better than ever. The new lockdown is upon us, and whilst the courses are open here, my course is too frozen to be able to play and the range booking has become so restrictive that it's tough to get a bay even for half an hour. Obviously short game will have suffered, with the weather and restrictions, there is nowhere to practice that at all, and my greenside skills were already shaky at best.
foreputt
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It's improving slowly and I am definitely more confident and relaxed on the course, think that is due to being more appreciative of being out there after lockdowns and back injury brought on by home working and bad posture!
I have spent more time working on my fitness and flexibility which has also brought about some improvement, frustration now is that the course is frozen and can't get out for a game so suspect any short game sharpness will need to be rediscovered.
I have spent more time working on my fitness and flexibility which has also brought about some improvement, frustration now is that the course is frozen and can't get out for a game so suspect any short game sharpness will need to be rediscovered.
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Mine has gotten better. I have played a ton and since I live on my course and I work from home now I can go out during lunch or a slow time and play 5 or 6 holes anytime I want. It has allowed me to work on several things that were wrong with my swing too. I hope to see further improvement over the course of this year.
NEhomer
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I belong to a beautiful rural private course in Western MA. The biggest drag is that the State required tee times. We used to be able to go over and jump in for a few holes anywhere in the course. This year, all play started off of #1 tee. We also had a local public course shut down and a flood of new members came along. Tee times five or six days out became hard to find.
Looks like another year of that so we'll have to just do our best till this crap's over with.
Looks like another year of that so we'll have to just do our best till this crap's over with.
After the first lockdown last year I got to play quite a bit, had a couple lessons to sort a few things out and shot some decent scores
Since going back into lockdown again, I haven't swung a club since the end of November / early December, so I expect my game to have gone up in smoke at the moment. If things open up again next month, I may be able to get some range practice in before eventually hitting the course as the weather here has been terrible to the point that I doubt there would have been many days when the course would have been playable
Since going back into lockdown again, I haven't swung a club since the end of November / early December, so I expect my game to have gone up in smoke at the moment. If things open up again next month, I may be able to get some range practice in before eventually hitting the course as the weather here has been terrible to the point that I doubt there would have been many days when the course would have been playable
I played the best golf of my life....so far. Being retired, I played 212 rounds last year. Covid made me much more cautious. I insist on a cart by myself. I would walk, but the club I belong to is very hilly with long distances between some holes and walking is not allowed on 2 of the 3 courses. I also sanitize my own cart with a spray bottle of bleach solution to be double safe. As long as I stay more than 6 feet from the guys I play with, I have no worries.
I think that my game got much better over COVID in that I was able to enjoy it versus always feeling like I was rushing from one thing to the next. This allowed me to see the course and play what is given versus always trying for the bomb or difficult 1% shot. And it allowed me to spend time with my daughters teaching them the game which in turn made me a better player just through the conversation.
212 Rounds!!!! @Jman has some competition! Well done - I'm very jealous!
well covid's had no affect on my game..... but being recently married and now having a 4yr old step son has plummeted my game lol. No more indoor putting green and no going to the range whenever I want (which was usually 4x a week). I hit balls for the first time 2 weeks ago since October and I shanked about 50% of them
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I welcome any and all to the 200+ club!
I am a terrible chipper. It made me practice on my short game and I did probably from April till August. It was nice.
I don't know that my game has changed all that much. I haven't been able to get out as regularly as I would like (due to life in general, not necessarily COVID), so I have kind of taken a step back and really enjoyed the rounds I have been able to play.
Not much really, still only played mostly weekends and got in just over 100 rounds. My game is better when I can play 3 consecutive days in stead of just weekends. Although I have had some of my best rounds after taking 2 weeks off.
I played more as I was able to incorporate some morning weekday rounds in with my work schedule.
Thankfully my club never closed, though for a while we had the same restrictions that many who were able to play saw, single person per cart, foam in the cups that got replaced with the device you use to lift your ball out of the cup with your putter, no rakes, no restaurant/bar and league was pushed back until the first of June (a month).
By June though most everything returned to normal(ish). You could ride two to a cart if you were comfortable with it, or you could walk/have your own cart. The bar/restaurant was open with limited seating inside and tables spaced out on the deck. Many other recreational activities were still limited to a greater degree so I played a ton of golf, and the course was packed. I think some of us had developed an even greater appreciation for playing golf because it was one thing that felt safe and still allowed for socializing even if at a bit of a distance. I think (hope) that it continues for a while, though not because of or in spite of Covid, but because it was a lot of fun.
I got back to a better swing and started bringing my scores back to where they were at the beginning of '19 and that was nice but I think the biggest change was that there were so many people out who were genuinely happy to be around others simply playing a game we all love.
By June though most everything returned to normal(ish). You could ride two to a cart if you were comfortable with it, or you could walk/have your own cart. The bar/restaurant was open with limited seating inside and tables spaced out on the deck. Many other recreational activities were still limited to a greater degree so I played a ton of golf, and the course was packed. I think some of us had developed an even greater appreciation for playing golf because it was one thing that felt safe and still allowed for socializing even if at a bit of a distance. I think (hope) that it continues for a while, though not because of or in spite of Covid, but because it was a lot of fun.
I got back to a better swing and started bringing my scores back to where they were at the beginning of '19 and that was nice but I think the biggest change was that there were so many people out who were genuinely happy to be around others simply playing a game we all love.
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THAT had to be painful!