The Blue Board

No plans set, but I will try to remember you and ask. I don't mind the drive out. I've been to LA and SD enough to know it can be a pain, but being on vacation eases that part of the stress. Besides, it's fun to drive a little just to look around in LA. My wife says she'd move either there or Vegas (she's phobic about tornadoes), but she'd balk if I lined up a job. Actually had a job in Vista (based out of LA) right out of college, but backed out to propose to her. I wouldn't trade her, but I'd make her do long distance if I could do it over. Love Tuscaloosa, but I think everyone should leave the vicinity of the nest, at least for a while.

I'll maybe try that. Not sure I understand the benefit of "get the feel of your body compensating for lack of mobility". Are you saying that I can retrain the shoulder correctly, or that I can use that method to change my swing to compensate for my lack of motion?

What's a good handicap for a mid-30s guy with no background in high school or college golf? Is an 18 handicap pretty good for the layman?

I'm gonna say when I was 18-ish, I took the 1 mulligan per 9 approach (obviously not legal)...so I was 20-ish back in the day. Further, that was during the best spring/summer of my life swinging the clubs. The reason I asked is I want to set a few goals to work on. First, I want to be able to play a legit round without having to give up on holes to get out of other parties' way. Second, I want to have a legit 25 handicap. After that, I want a reasonable goal for a long-term handicap. It's a pretty safe bet I'm never going to be a scratch golfer, so I want to aim high, but aim reasonably. If I reach it, I'll just keep playing, but I want a good long-term goal.

I know, and that's why the game is so loveable and frustrating. I love it because no matter what barriers I manage to break, there is no such thing as perfect, and you can always look to improve. I've only had 1 legit eagle in my life. It was awesome. The rest of the round was horrid (eagled the 1st hole, par 5). First, I have to play in the fairway (in bounds, out of water). After that, I'll feel like I'm playing real golf.

Update: Played yesterday at Grand National in Opelika, AL with a buddy. He's a pretty good golfer, so he coached me a little on pitches and chips, which helped immensely. I played better than I expected. He gave me the driver he just replaced with a new one, and I was killing it. He also gave me a SW and a Gap Wedge that I really liked for the close pitches. I was hitting off the tee well enough to shoot in the low 80's, but that wasn't the case due to my rusty short game. We only got in 12 holes due to weather (we left due to what the radar and the course marshall was telling us, but we could have finished ): )

Anyway, I was 16 over after 12. As bad as that sounds to some of you, I had an 11 on a par 5 (no one behind us so I kept taking drops per the rules). The rest of the time I was playing pretty well. A par, maybe a double or 2, and a bunch of bogeys. The greens there can be challenging, but I was putting really well.

The advice you guys gave me for the range really helped. I was much more comfortable with my swing than I was only a week ago. I think it was a bit of an anomaly in that I don't know that I could consistently play bogey golf, but in my world of bad golf, I was more than pleased. My fever for the game has returned. Thank you all for the help.

89 would be well out of my league at this point I think. What I avoided Saturday, other than that 1 par 5, was the blow-up hole. We left w/ 6 holes left, so I could have done that a couple more times and ended up in the 110's. It is a lot of fun, and I'm enjoying it again.

Good luck man, and that's a killer deal. I spent about 1 hour on the putting green before my buddy got there, so I think that helped my score a ton. I had a real feel for the greens and my newly re-gripped putter before we ever hit the tee box.

Holy shaznatt at that ankle!! That looks like it might have hurt a little.

I really just remembered this thread. I've played a good bit since I started it, and was getting a lot better with every round. Then yesterday I fell apart because I suddenly found myself with a slice and couldn't make it stop. Then on the last hole, I suddenly couldn't get my irons off the ground. I'm going to go ahead and blame it on the 96 degree weather and playing at mid-day.

I shot a 100 on a decent course a week ago, completely legit scoring, but I shot a 104 with at least 4 tee-box mulligans yesterday. I took the mulligans because I needed to work on the swing more than I needed an accurate scorecard, and it's not like I'm keeping that scorecard. It very well could have been a 120 yesterday had I played it straight. It was a busy day on the course, so I wanted the practice while keeping up w/ the group in front of me.

I had a terrible ankle injury myself once...I know how you feel. Keep workin on it. The hardest part for me was gaining confidence in it again. Good luck.

Always try and hit it fat works every time.

Thats clutch.