Radiman's Ramblings. My Life, My Game, and My Grandaddy Prep

Yeah, I think so. But, my wife is a tough customer. I pay $750 a year for the two public courses. She already complains about that.

They do have a pool and it's a family membership. But, she and my girls aren't interested in golf.

It would equate to a couple hundred month. It's those 6 months of non golf weather where it would feel like a waste.

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Is that April through September or May through October? What are your plans to keep in shape before The Grandaddy if you can’t play on the course?
 
Is that April through September or May through October? What are your plans to keep in shape before The Grandaddy if you can’t play on the course?
I will start some lifting come October. As far as golf goes. I'll spend a lot of time just swinging in my living room. Some orange whip.

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I am attempting to prepare my game for our upcoming club tournament. We have a two man best ball scheduled for this Sunday with the club tournament a week after. In the past, I have always had high hopes of playing the championship flight. To really compete in that group, I would have to finish under par for 27 holes. On my best days this year, I am still giving up strokes on blow up holes. I think pushing myself would be too much of a mental hurdle for me to overcome this season. So, I am relegating myself to the first flight yet again. I have taken second the last two years shooting a couple over for 18 each time. To win that flight, I would have to be even par or better.

My game plan is pretty simple. Don't overthink it. I am not going to go to the range and grind trying to improve my game. I think it's time to accept it for what it is and just try to get out to the course and play.
 
All caught up here Radiman, nice read. I need to get my ass in gear for the Grandaddy prep but it is unbearably hot in Houston right now. My golf season cranks up about the time yours winds down. Keep up the fight and I will see you soon in Palm Springs.
 
I finally got out of my Thursday night league funk. I started my round with a huge 3 wood off the first tee. Had a 10-15mph wind at my back and was hole high just right of the green 315 yards. Started with a birdie. Second hole was a perfectly struck drive that just perfectly split the fairway. A poor wedge shot had me looking at a tough 2 putt par. My highlight of the round was on the 3rd hole. I pulled my drive just a bit on a dog leg right par 5. Went through the fairway and was saved from going OB by a pine tree. The issue was that my ball was still under the tree. Oh well, take my unplayable lie and try to get par. I was 230 out with the wind coming off my right and into me a bit. Hit my X Forged 3 UT out of the rough. Was just a beautiful shot. Great piercing trajectory. Dead straight. Had about 10-12 feet for birdie. Followed that up with a terrible putt that had me putting downhill with some good left to right break for par from about 6 feet. Converted and moved on. Hit a water ball on the next par 5 trying to take on the dog leg left. Just too aggressive of a line. My 3 UT was my friend again as I took my drop and hit a low runner just left of the green from about 240. But, put myself in a bunker. Splashed out and 2 putt for bogey. That started me on my 3 hole bogey streak. Birdied #9 to shoot a 1 over 37.

Overall, I feel like I obviously played a lot better than I have the last few Thursdays. But, I think the big factor that kept my head in the game when things didn't go well was my attitude. I didn't let the bad shots bother me. I kept my chin up and I felt like it helped me grind when I needed to as I wasn't putting any undo pressure on myself to make a miracle shot.
 
Good stuff. Sounds like you are on grind mode in a good way.


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I was fortunate enough to be able to play this past Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a pretty good showing. I had 5 birdies but did end up with a pretty ugly double on the card. I just can't seem to play a round with at least one ugly on the card. Ended up shooting 38/35 for a solid 73. I was hitting some shots that I have been working on implementing into my game with pretty good success. I am becoming more comfortable with partial shots across the bag to flight the ball a little more. Instead of hitting my 115 club because I am 115 out, I was using my 140 or 160 club and keeping the flight down. I found that the ball checks like no ones business and it's a lot easier for me to keep the ball on line. It's a great shot if there's enough green to allow for it.

I played in a two person best ball at my home course yesterday. I played decent. But, there were other factors at play that didn't allow me to fully invest into my game.

Ok, so two years ago I played with a dude in a two person scramble. He wasn't on my team but were in the same foursome. This guy is in straight grind mode. Out for blood. Taking forever over every shot, getting pissed when it doesn't go well. Finally erupted over a missed 20+ foot eagle putt.

Guy goes bananas and starts screaming and yelling. Throwing clubs and cussing. Goes up to the Porta John on the next hole and starts punching it. We didn't say a word to him the rest of the round.

Fast forward to today. Guess who's in my group? Douche canoe. He was bearable for the first 4 holes. Knowing he's going to erupt eventually I filled my partner in on his past antics and we just wait for the fireworks to begin.

He tried playing out of turn to give his playing partner a line on one of our earlier holes. My partner basically says "you can wait." he would have been trampling all over his line so he made him wait.

According to his partner he was pissed at us ever since. So we get to a par 5 hard dog leg left and see this guy lining up way left. Thinking he's going to play some sort of crazy cut we didn't think too much of it. The dude unleashes and it's heading two holes over directly at another green. Full of people...

He looks at us with a smile on his face proclaiming that he's taking a shortcut. Says he planned on that line but missed it as he was trying to hit between two groups of people instead of right at the one on the left. WTF??

I'm done talking to him as I know he's a tool and he's reaffirmed it to me at that point. He did poorly that hole. We get to the next which is a short par 3. Guy 3 Jack's from 15 feet starts screaming and picks up his ball and whips it at his cart.

Marches to the next tee, there's a group from the adjacent hole in our fairway. He tees his ball up doesn't hesitate and just hits right over them. It happened so fast I didn't realize what was even happening.

We get to that green where he proceeds to miss a long birdie putt, bends over and just starts screaming obscenities. The guy is unhinged. I could not even help myself.

I turned and told him to grow the f up and quit bitching about every perceived issue with his game. Told him I didn't enter the tournament to listen to him b*tch and moan. Told him to act his age (late 50's).

He had a look of astonishment, like I was being an asshole to him

I respectfully requested to the head pro that I never get paired with him again. If I do, I will withdraw from the event. I explained how this clown had 0 regard for anyone else on the course. Hitting into populated areas 2 holes over on purpose trying to take advantage of the course layout. Turns out, the pro and him are longtime friends. He was shocked and said he's played with him many times and had never seen that side of him. His own partner told him he will never play with him again. We were in the lounge area at the course during this conversation. Other people started speaking up. This guy is a head case and it seemed like most in there had experienced it at some point.

I don't know what his problem was. He thought he had a legit chance of making the Champions Tour. I'm sorry. If you can't break 80 on 6400 yard course, and have melt downs doing so, you are probably not tour material. Like the guy expected to make everything and just snapped at the smallest things.

Needless to say, it was a very eventful Sunday.
 
Are you sure you aren’t in a reality show? What a child. That is shameful and the club should do something about it before he hurts someone.
 
Danimal;n8874403 said:
Are you sure you aren’t in a reality show? What a child. That is shameful and the club should do something about it before he hurts someone.

Should have looked for hidden cameras!

I think the Pro will do something. The guy is his friend and works a few shifts from time to time. I would be very disappointed if nothing was said to him. I am all for his antics being brought to light and given the opportunity to address it. I just won't be around to play with him.

There have been a few things this year that have made the act of joining a private club seem very attractive to me. This is just another in the long list of things that are pushing me that way. Not that the private club would be immune to having jerks play there. But, I think if someone had a reputation of acting like this, something would be done pretty quickly. The other things have been packed tee sheets, short tee time intervals, slow rounds, not having the ability to play when I have a opening in my schedule.
 
You are playing well, be a weapon come Grandaddy time.
 
radiman;n8874409 said:
Should have looked for hidden cameras!

I think the Pro will do something. The guy is his friend and works a few shifts from time to time. I would be very disappointed if nothing was said to him. I am all for his antics being brought to light and given the opportunity to address it. I just won't be around to play with him.

There have been a few things this year that have made the act of joining a private club seem very attractive to me. This is just another in the long list of things that are pushing me that way. Not that the private club would be immune to having jerks play there. But, I think if someone had a reputation of acting like this, something would be done pretty quickly. The other things have been packed tee sheets, short tee time intervals, slow rounds, not having the ability to play when I have a opening in my schedule.

I joined a club this year and love it. Mostly for the reasons you describe. So nice to just hop on and play a few holes on a weekend evening or weekend evening without needing reservations. We played Sunday what felt like a slow round to me b/c we had to wait on some people on the back nine, but after looking at my watch realized it was still only a 4 hour round.
 
radiman;n8874338 said:
I was fortunate enough to be able to play this past Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a pretty good showing. I had 5 birdies but did end up with a pretty ugly double on the card. I just can't seem to play a round with at least one ugly on the card. Ended up shooting 38/35 for a solid 73. I was hitting some shots that I have been working on implementing into my game with pretty good success. I am becoming more comfortable with partial shots across the bag to flight the ball a little more. Instead of hitting my 115 club because I am 115 out, I was using my 140 or 160 club and keeping the flight down. I found that the ball checks like no ones business and it's a lot easier for me to keep the ball on line. It's a great shot if there's enough green to allow for it.

I played in a two person best ball at my home course yesterday. I played decent. But, there were other factors at play that didn't allow me to fully invest into my game.

Ok, so two years ago I played with a dude in a two person scramble. He wasn't on my team but were in the same foursome. This guy is in straight grind mode. Out for blood. Taking forever over every shot, getting pissed when it doesn't go well. Finally erupted over a missed 20+ foot eagle putt.

Guy goes bananas and starts screaming and yelling. Throwing clubs and cussing. Goes up to the Porta John on the next hole and starts punching it. We didn't say a word to him the rest of the round.

Fast forward to today. Guess who's in my group? Douche canoe. He was bearable for the first 4 holes. Knowing he's going to erupt eventually I filled my partner in on his past antics and we just wait for the fireworks to begin.

He tried playing out of turn to give his playing partner a line on one of our earlier holes. My partner basically says "you can wait." he would have been trampling all over his line so he made him wait.

According to his partner he was pissed at us ever since. So we get to a par 5 hard dog leg left and see this guy lining up way left. Thinking he's going to play some sort of crazy cut we didn't think too much of it. The dude unleashes and it's heading two holes over directly at another green. Full of people...

He looks at us with a smile on his face proclaiming that he's taking a shortcut. Says he planned on that line but missed it as he was trying to hit between two groups of people instead of right at the one on the left. WTF??

I'm done talking to him as I know he's a tool and he's reaffirmed it to me at that point. He did poorly that hole. We get to the next which is a short par 3. Guy 3 Jack's from 15 feet starts screaming and picks up his ball and whips it at his cart.

Marches to the next tee, there's a group from the adjacent hole in our fairway. He tees his ball up doesn't hesitate and just hits right over them. It happened so fast I didn't realize what was even happening.

We get to that green where he proceeds to miss a long birdie putt, bends over and just starts screaming obscenities. The guy is unhinged. I could not even help myself.

I turned and told him to grow the f up and quit bitching about every perceived issue with his game. Told him I didn't enter the tournament to listen to him b*tch and moan. Told him to act his age (late 50's).

He had a look of astonishment, like I was being an asshole to him

I respectfully requested to the head pro that I never get paired with him again. If I do, I will withdraw from the event. I explained how this clown had 0 regard for anyone else on the course. Hitting into populated areas 2 holes over on purpose trying to take advantage of the course layout. Turns out, the pro and him are longtime friends. He was shocked and said he's played with him many times and had never seen that side of him. His own partner told him he will never play with him again. We were in the lounge area at the course during this conversation. Other people started speaking up. This guy is a head case and it seemed like most in there had experienced it at some point.

I don't know what his problem was. He thought he had a legit chance of making the Champions Tour. I'm sorry. If you can't break 80 on 6400 yard course, and have melt downs doing so, you are probably not tour material. Like the guy expected to make everything and just snapped at the smallest things.

Needless to say, it was a very eventful Sunday.

The best part is your're getting good work on the swing and course management. Shake off the idiot because luckily there will not be any of those in December.

Keep it up, you are doing great.
 
mikeg_74;n8874424 said:
The best part is your're getting good work on the swing and course management. Shake off the idiot because luckily there will not be any of those in December.

Keep it up, you are doing great.

Thanks man. I am really getting the hang of using my SW and GW in situations where I wouldn't have in the past. I am getting better at visualizing my shots and I think it's bleeding over into the rest of my game. Yeah, I am over that guy. It's just a funny story I get to tell for a while now.
 
A fellow Fargoan (or Fargo-adjacent-ian)! This is a great thread, and your descriptions of the THP community convinced me to come out of lurker mode and start posting here a bit more often.

I've been playing the munis on the other side of the river for a few years, though I'm a much more recent transplant to the area (and newer to golf -- picked it up in my 30s) than you are. So far fortunate to not have encountered anyone like you described above ... been paired with some odd people occasionally, but always pleasant ones to play with. I assume, based on what you've said, that Village Greens is your home turf?
 
quod erat;n8875210 said:
A fellow Fargoan (or Fargo-adjacent-ian)! This is a great thread, and your descriptions of the THP community convinced me to come out of lurker mode and start posting here a bit more often.

I've been playing the munis on the other side of the river for a few years, though I'm a much more recent transplant to the area (and newer to golf -- picked it up in my 30s) than you are. So far fortunate to not have encountered anyone like you described above ... been paired with some odd people occasionally, but always pleasant ones to play with. I assume, based on what you've said, that Village Greens is your home turf?

It is indeed. I get over to the Meadows from time to time but I like the greens at Village much better.
 
Dude, you’re gonna be immune to any and all distraction come December...you’ll be laser focused and drop some low rounds after dealing with mr douche canoe himself at your tournament. Ha

Keep up the good work my friend! Enjoy reading your thread.
 
zbeekner4;n8876137 said:
Dude, you’re gonna be immune to any and all distraction come December...you’ll be laser focused and drop some low rounds after dealing with mr douche canoe himself at your tournament. Ha

Keep up the good work my friend! Enjoy reading your thread.

Never looked at it that way, lol. Mental prep!
 
Alright, league play tonight. Not putting any pressure on myself. Just go out and have a good time. Haven't played or swung a club since Sunday's "interesting" round. On a side note, my GHIN has dropped pretty significantly since I went in for my season saving lesson. Down to a 1.6 now. I am the most inconsistent sub 2 handicap on the planet. Still having those blowup holes that keep me from really going next level. Also posting those really awful rounds every once in a while. But, as a guy recently reiterated to me. GHIN isn't an average and it isn't meant to be viewed that way. It is a measure of your potential. That's fare enough. I have the potential to shoot par or better. But, the bad news is I have the potential to lose it all and post a really bad number.

But, onward and upward. I have about a month and a half of decent golf weather. Days are getting shorter and my league play will be done in about a month. Early morning rounds will be cooler and cooler and the kids will be back in school in a couple of weeks. Greens will be punched in a couple of weeks. All of those factors will contribute to me getting out less and less. I hate to do it, but I may need to supplement lack of rounds with some range time to try and keep myself in form as long as I can.

On another note. Our club championship is this Saturday. I am liking my chances in my flight. One of my playing partners last weekend (not the nut job) gave me some nice compliments. Helps to hear that once in a while to instill a bit of confidence.
 
I think you will win your flight for sure!!!!
 
Snickerdog;n8877598 said:
I think you will win your flight for sure!!!!

Will have to shoot par or maybe +1 at the worst to have a chance. I think I can, but the double bogeys will have to be non existent for me to do it.
 
Last night’s league play was a narrow miss as far as weather is concerned. The system that looked like it was going to nail us ended up sliding just far enough South to avoid being rained out. We had some sprinkles early on, but it let up by the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] hole and it was absolutely gorgeous after that. 5-10mph wind, about 70 degrees. Absolutely perfect.

As far as my game is concerned, I played really well. I hit a really good drive on #1 and had just a pitch up to the green. Put it to about 5 feet and was all but guaranteed a birdie. Lipped the putt out and tapped in for par. 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] hole was a little hairy. I hit this really odd fade that put me in some tree trouble. I ended up not catching the ball great and barely cleared the water in front of the green. My ball somehow actually stayed up on this very steep embankment. I was able to get a club on it and two putt for bogey. The 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] hole is where I could tell the mental side of my game is starting to take shape. I put a terrible move on the ball and topped my driver for the first time in forever. But, it is a par 5 and I was not going to let that shot derail me on that hole. I hit my 3UT from just off the forward tees. Put it to about 175 out, proceeded to push my 7 iron well right of the green. Hit a nice flop shot that fed down to the hole and made an 8 footer to save par.

The rest of the round went well, I birdied the next two holes. The second of those two birdies was a very well struck 3UT out of a bunker from about 250 to give myself a look at eagle. Tap in birdie was nice. Bogeyed the next trying to hit a knock down 9 iron from 115. Trying to add some shots to my bag of tricks. I proceeded to crush my next three drives. Greenside on 8 and greenside on 9. Birdied 8 and parred 9. My chip on 9 was just about perfect. Caught it a little heavy and it didn’t quite run out far enough.

At the end of the round, I was -1 and shot a 35. 2 nice league rounds in a row. Feeling pretty good about my chances in my flight on Saturday’s Club Championship. Brimming with confidence and I know I will play to my abilities as long as I can keep a level head in the face of adversity.
 
keep it up radi! i like that you're playing shots, that tells me that your confidence is high. looking forward to following along saturday.
 
At the course, about to warm up for the club championship.

Not a big tournament, but the butterflies are going for some reason.
 
radiman;n8879047 said:
At the course, about to warm up for the club championship.

Not a big tournament, but the butterflies are going for some reason.

one shot at a time. play your game and have fun.


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radiman;n8878364 said:
The 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] hole is where I could tell the mental side of my game is starting to take shape. I put a terrible move on the ball and topped my driver for the first time in forever. But, it is a par 5 and I was not going to let that shot derail me on that hole. I hit my 3UT from just off the forward tees. Put it to about 175 out, proceeded to push my 7 iron well right of the green. Hit a nice flop shot that fed down to the hole and made an 8 footer to save par.

Great job on that par 5. Even for those of us who top drivers far more often, it's hard to recover from a barely-past-red-tees shot. Let alone to save par.

Hope the rain wasn't too bad today.
 
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