Buying A Better Tee Shot–More Bang For Driver Buck

Even though I’m budget conscious, that doesn’t mean I don’t love knocking it past my buddies by more than a few yards. The question that needs to be asked is how much is too much to spend on a driver for a budgeting golfer? While the driver is one of the three most important clubs in your bag from a usage standpoint, overall, the benefits you will get between a good driver and a great one shouldn’t be more than one club, unless you’re really going deep into a custom fit deriver and blowing $400-500 on a new club. Even then, you may see a modest increase of 25-30 yards at best, which equals 2-3 clubs on your approach shots. So, where does the line get drawn and when should you look for something new?

Buy at least two seasons old if you are buying new…
Yes, you read that correctly. Right now, I am playing the Wilson Golf FG Tour F5 driver. This was a hot club in 2016 and serves me very well today. I was able to find them for as low as $119.96 at Budget Golf online and they still had a few different shaft options available. Of course, you can break the mold a bit by jumping to the Wilson Triton (winner of Wilson Golf’s Driver vs. Driver’s first season) for $149.96 and have even more custom fitting options. Both of these were $400+ clubs when released and both are great drivers. The Callaway Golf Big Bertha Alpha 816 driver hit the shelves at the same time as the Wilson F5 and carried a $500 price tag on it. Now you can snag one from Budget Golf for just under $200. TaylorMade M1 and M2 drivers as well as a few Mizuno JPX series clubs are also an easy mark at over $100-200 off their original retail prices. You have to get a bit lucky with some of these clubs, but overall, you get much more bang for the buck buying a new face that is a few years old instead of a used club that may have seen better days for a bit less.

Pay for a fitting before you buy used…
Buying a custom fit driver is always the best thing you can do for you game, but buying a new one off the shelf can get pricey. That $500 TaylorMade M1 looks so tempting when you see the launch monitor numbers that it shows, but honestly, will gaining 20 yards really make you three putt less? If you can, set up a quick fitting at your local store and then shop their used bins to see what they have that is close to a perfect match. Generally, used clubs will cost about 1/2 of what new will and if they are taken care of, they will easily have another 3-5 years of play left in them. Also don’t be afraid to pay the store and leave with your specs. You can probably find a great deal on a Cobra F6+ (Used - $120 at Rock Bottom Golf) that will smoke the new price. Even better, look for open box or clearance models that just didn’t have the advertising dollars behind them. Open box clubs may or may not have been hit, but will give you years of performance for a fraction of the cost.

Don’t be afraid of no-names…
Bazooka, Dunlop, Nike, Bullet and even Tour Edge have been making great golf clubs for a long time. Just because you don’t see them on tour or in magazines doesn’t make them a bad club. For example, the Tour Edge Hot Launch 2 Offset Driver is $139.96 (new at Budget Golf) and is available in two lofts with two different shaft flexes. Probably not as good of a deal as some of those Triton, F5 or Bertha’s that we were talking about before, but the component quality is great with these brands and they can save you quite a bit of money over the more advertised brands.

Sometimes the shaft is worth more than the club…
I’ll fully admit to this – I’ve purchased clubs before just to get the shaft that it had in it. As a matter of fact, this was exactly the case that I have with my gamer shaft right now – the Aldila Rogue Black, X-Stiff, that is in my 10.5° F5 right now. This shaft fits me so well, in fact, it was the choice of shafts when I was fitted for the Triton last year by my friends at Puetz Golf Centers in Seattle. I spent almost nothing on a used F5 to get a $300 shaft and hosel adapter. The head I purchased was still usable, but the shaft was mint. The list price on the shaft at most retailers (if you can find it) is $285. Add the Wilson Fast Fit adapter to that price and that $300 mark is right there. I paid less than $50 for the F5 with the shaft and shipping. It was a very inexpensive shaft that was a very inexpensive upgrade.

Do some homework online…
Most shaft manufacturers change designs every few years. There are some tried and true models that show up year after year, but for the most part, technology moves on. For example, the new TaylorMade M3 driver features the Mitsubishi Tensi shaft in a low, mid or high launch version. Chances are, one of these shafts will be a good fit for you. If you go in and swing them, and get properly fit for which shaft works best, you can match that up to past offerings from others with similar characteristics. For example, the Aldila shaft that I love so much is a mid kick/high launch style shaft. This differs completely from the Fujikura Speeder Evolution 757 TS shaft that I was using in my F5 as well. The 757 TS is a high kick/low launch shaft. The Aldila offers me a touch more distance, especially in the winter months where a higher launch will give me a bit more carry. But, both of these shafts or ones similar to them can be found in last year’s TaylorMade M2 driver for under $300 on sites like Ebay. Getting the numbers for what works best for you is important, but finding a $200-300 discount on a new driver or even more on a used one can reap huge benefits to the pocketbook.Just doing a bit of looking around before you buy can save you in the long run.

Going rogue, and I’m not talking Callaway or shafts here…
Running away from major retail stores and the normal online sellers can be risky, but it can also pay great dividends. For example, Diamond Tour Golf sells older designs and some fresh new faces to the game at huge discounts. DTG has the Cobra Bio Cell driver for as little as $129.99. They also have some custom setups for under $50 that include a mid-kick shaft and a pretty cool paint job. You’ll find some horrible copy-cat designs, but tell me you don’t love the “Turner H1 Driver” or the “Turner SpeedForce Driver” and I’ll call you out on it. They are pretty much direct rip-offs of the popular TaylorMade models, but are a fraction of the cost. The performance isn’t tested, and I’d stay away from anything with moving parts on these, but for basic bang for the buck drivers, you could do worse than than some of these offerings.

How to determine how much is too much?
The biggest things to remember when getting some bang for your driving buck is what is your end game and how much do you want to spend. I would honestly spend another $120 on a new F5 or even the $150 on the Triton without batting an eye lash. They are both great clubs, and the Triton even offers more flexibility in weighting and control than most of the newer clubs do today. With the available options under $200 it’s hard to recommend to anyone that isn’t play competitive golf to spend any more. That said, this is about golfing on a budget, so even $200 can seem a bit extreme for a budget player. In most cases, I would recommend a maximum of $100 be spent on any single club on any bag at any time. For that $100 you should see some great used options in the Cobra F6 lineup, almost any of the Wilson drivers over the past few years, something in the Ping G driver series, the Callaway XR line, the Cleveland CG series and even some slightly older TaylorMade models if the branding is super important to you. If you really want to put together a budget bag, this is the range you should be looking in, if not trying to save even a bit more. If you can move the budget needle to $1000, feel free to check out some of those new $125-200 clubs that are always out there. Shiny is always nice, but after you hit that first rock on the tee box, you won’t feel so bad about scratching your new club if it was a bit less expensive.

Golf Fitness: Journey To 100–Week 5

So this week began with a stunning weigh-in after our escapades at the Spotlight Dance Competition in Tacoma last weekend. After being horrible at the Olive Garden on Saturday evening, my Monday weigh-in had me pinned back at 299 pounds, up 3.8 pounds from my low for the week. Needless to say, I was back at it this week, though I failed to hit the exercise bike like I was hoping. Monday was a typical day on the diet, but I missed my Tuesday weigh-in for some reason. I’m not sure what happened there, but I’m sure it was pretty small. I did manage a 1.2 pound drop on my Wednesday weigh in and followed that with another 1.2 pounds on Thursday. Slowly but surely it’s getting back to that “pre-Olive Garden” weight. With some careful watching, I should pass that magical 295 pound mark on Saturday if I can continue this pace.

Well, Saturday came and went, but the 295 barrier was just out of reach. I woke up Saturday to a 295.6 weight, which wasn't a bad thing as the small losses continued. Unfortunately, Saturday got worse as we were at yet another dance competition. I had packed all the right foods, and had all the right intentions, but somehow I ended up eating pulled pork mac n' cheese and chili fries for lunch/dinner. I'm still not sure how I let that happen, but it did, and I'm sure I was up horribly on Sunday. 

Fortunately, by Monday I was coming in at 297.6, or down 1.4 pounds for the week, even after my horrible Saturday. That puts me just ahead of last Tuesday's weigh in where I was struggling with recovering from the Olive Garden incident of 2018. I think I'm closer to getting this "eating out thing" figured out on the weekends, but I need to make a better effort to stay away from pasta/bread/carbs when we are out and about. I also need to watch the sodium levels of what I'm taking in on the run. If I can master these weekends (and fortunately we have no competitions until May now) I think I will drop a consistent 3-5 pounds a week going forward. I'm hoping to drop to 270 by the first of May. It's an aggressive goal, but it's going to be worth it.

Stay tuned!

My Ramblings About That Ball Thing…

A note from the author: First off, I want to apologize right now, before this is published. What started out as a 2 second post turned in to an epic novel of sorts. If you want to skip to the end, I understand, but realize that it’s my position that rolling back the ball is a bad move and perhaps courses just need to make it a bit tougher for players rather than trying to become longer. Now, enjoy the novel!

When I began playing the game of golf back in 1989, I was fortunate enough to have a “coach” that preached the “Grip-it-and-Rip-it” philosophy of the game. His thought was to hit the ball as far as you could first, then worry about trying to control it. Back then, we were just getting into metal drivers and graphite shafts and the balls were still wound. Still, on dry summer days, a well struck ball could travel hundreds of yards down the fairway and bounce and roll all the way to many of the par 4 greens if you caught it just right. In fact, I still have found memories of the first time I drove the 4th green at Riverbend. The hole was playing 412 yards, but that ball sure as heck found it’s way there. To this day, it’s still the longest drive I ever hit. I was using a TaylorMade Tour 8.5° driver with a 48” Harrison Titanium shaft and a Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip. The ball that happened to roll out there 400+ yards was a Maxfli HT100 balata. There was no super tech involved, though for it’s time, the titanium shafts were quite amazing – but it was virtually the same club technology that the tour pro’s had available and the same ball technology that had been used for the last 30 years. It was nothing special, just the perfect swing at the perfect time.

Back in those days, we didn’t stat track and worry about hitting 300, we only wanted to outdrive our buddies off the tee. We also knew that so much more of the game was getting the ball close to that hole on our approach shots, which is why driving the ball a county mile was so important. We were young, in shape and could do swings that could make tour pro’s today wince. There was no monitoring our club head speeds or our launch angles or adjusting the weights of our drivers. It was finding a shaft we didn’t break and maybe a piece of lead tape here and there if we needed it. It was a much more simple time and we still drove the ball past the 300 yard mark on a regular basis. Fast forward 30 years, and golf suddenly has a major issue, the ball goes too far.

As I looked over the report that the USGA/R&A I had to laugh a bit at the data they used to prove (or did they really disprove) their point. Over the past few years, tour professionals, the top 250 golfers in the world, have picked up 7 whole yards in their average driving distance. In fact, 43 players last year, averaged over 300 yards on their drives. That’s up 18 players from 2007 and up 42 players from 1997. Here’s the interesting part though – in 1997, the shortest guy (#195 for those counting) hit 244.8 off the tee – in 2017, the 190th guy hit 271.4. In 2007, the midway point in this 20 year span, #196 hit 265.3 from the blocks. For a bit more solid data, in 1997, Tiger Woods averaged 294.8 and in 2007 he averaged 302.4.  In 2013, when Mr. Woods won the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award and notched 5 wins on tour, he only drove the ball 293.2. While comparing Woods’ woods is one thing, what the bigger picture shows there is that courses were not made obsolete in 2013 by Tiger Woods’ distance, it was his short game and putting that killed everyone. In 2013, there were 13 players that averaged over 300 yards on their drives, and a ton more within 5 yards of that mark.

2013 – 13 players averaged over 300 yards on their drives.

2014 – 25 players averaged over 300 yards on their drives.

2015 – 25 players averaged over 300 yards on their drives.

2016 – 27 players averaged over 300 yards on their drives.

2017 – 43 players averaged over 300 yards on their drives.

What is hidden in this 16 player jump is how much over the 300 yard mark they were. 9 players cleared it by less than a yard. 5 more were within 2 yards of not making it. If you subtract those 14 players, you sit at 29 players above 300 yards on tour. Two more players only made it by 2.5 yards, which could take us right back to 27. There’s no distance spike on tour, it’s that some players are getting longer and most of the middle ones are gaining 5-10 yards and pushing up the numbers. It’s really a simple matter of more players are hitting drivers consistently than they have before. In fact, when you look at the 2018 leaderboard, Dustin Johnson is not leading the tour in driving distance. Actually, he’s not even in the top 10. You’ve got crazy names up there like Luke List, Ryan Palmer, Keith Mitchell and the current leader, Tony Finau. Keep in mind, they’ve played hilly courses in Hawaii that roll for miles, desert courses with fairways that have more speed than most public greens, and the biggest winner on tour so far this year is ranked number 10 in driving… Phil Mickelson, who just won for the first time in forever, is ranked 63rd in driving distance at a hair over 300 yards on those dry, hilly, desert courses.

Now, all of this said, ultimately, rolling back the ball does little to change the game. The gains made in technology over the years will be washed away and players that scooted back to the blue tees will move forward to the whites. The championship tees at most clubs would become true challenges again for the best players and classic courses will become relevant again. Rolling back the ball would definitely accomplish what the R&A and USGA want it to, but not for the reasons they think. For the longest time, courses were designed for target golf – a driver off the tee to a tight fairway or a long iron to a safe landing zone – a mid iron approach to a big green or a wedge to a small one – a large putting surface that has little movement or a tighter one with lots of break – courses tested golfers and we loved it. It almost makes us recall a day where not everyone got a trophy or a ribbon for participating. It was a time where the best got rewarded and the risk takers reaped benefits or paid a heavy price for their mistakes. It was the golden age of golf.

Rolling the ball back won’t speed up rounds or make this or that course more playable. Rolling back the ball will only encourage driver manufacturers to make clubs that hit the ball further. It will encourage iron companies to deloft their clubs more and change the numbers around so you can still hit a 7 iron 165 yards. They will find new ways of pushing the envelope with other technologies that will help players become better, just like hybrids replaced long irons and metal woods replaced wood woods. I feel a bit like Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park, “I’m simply saying that life, um, finds a way…” Golf is exactly the same, these 15 players, the ones that made the 2 yard jump to 300 yards last year, found a way, and rolling the ball back will just make them find another way.

Wrapping up this sordid tale, there have been two significant jumps in driver distance over the past 20 years. The first was a 5 yard spike in 2000-2001 when the solid core golf ball made its way into bags. The second was 2 years later when the oversized driver head debuted on tour. That jump made a whole 6.5 yard difference in the average. In that 3 year span, the average drive moved from almost 273 yards to almost 286. Other than that jump, the average drive moved less than 4 yards over the next 10 years, and there is just a small 3 yard spike in the average over the last two seasons. It’s really a shame that this is even a debate when honestly, it’s the 5 drives that Dustin Johnson hammered over 400 yards last season that probably started the debate. Back in the day, it was John Daly and Freddy Couples that were knocking it past everyone. Then Tiger, Bubba and even Dustin roll along. There are always going to be longer hitter and shorter hitters. I’m pretty sure if you shorten the ball, you’ll still have some longer hitters and some shorter hitters – they just won’t be as long and they will be even shorter.

The Five Best Ways To Invest In Your Golf Game

“I only have about $100 a month to invest in my game, how should I spend it?” This is probably the one question that I get asked the most about budget golfing, how can I play/practice/enjoy more golf without spending any money. Believe it or not, there are many ways to stretch that golfing budget, especially when you don’t think about playing the game as much as you do about preparing to play the game. In this post, I’ll highlight my five free-to-cheap ways of getting the most out of your golfing buck and how to stretch even the most meager budgets to get more golfing fun out of this year.

Use The Free Practice Facilities

Every course has a putting green you can usually putt and chip on, but does your course have a wedge area as well? Many courses have a sand trap area, as well as a pitching green that are free to use. Not every course will have one, but for the ones that do, this is a great way to get the short game going. Swing nets are also another commonplace feature at courses that don’t have a range on them. Something that can make hours on the putting green fun is creating self competition games to play. Make every hole a par two and try to finish under par – this means you are averaging less than 2 putts a hole! Another classic is to see how close you can get a ball without making it. Yet another is the “always two putt” game where you want to set up a second putt that is always makeable. Finally, there is the easy putting games where you can bring the family along to play along for a bit more fun. My kiddo loves to go putt and hit balls with me, so adding a few more people to the mix is always fun. Another idea that was sent in after the last round of these was a week night “putting league” where you have a few friends get together and do a few rounds of putting around the practice facilities. Even a tournament setup is possible with small groups. The king gets bragging rights for the week and maybe everyone chips in a buck to get the winner a beer. It can be fun and very inexpensive.

Total Cost: $0.00

Make Use Of Space At Home

Even the smallest of yards can be good for chipping and the smallest carpeted area can be used to work your putter. It’s finding the space and time to work on these parts of your game that will really benefit you on the course. Imagine a round with no chunked chip shots and 3 or 4 less putts. It’s the difference between shooting an 90 and an 85. It’s also important to make sure to stretch and swing as often as you can find the time and space as well. Even during the winter months with snow still on the ground, it’s great to get outside for a few swings every day. Just keeping the body turning and extending is all it’s about during the off months. When the weather changes, you can get out and make some real swings, preferably on a cheap mat or a carpet square to save the yard, but you can decide for yourself on that one.

Total Cost: $0.00 or under $5 if you buy a carpet chunk to chip off of.

Get A Lesson

This should go without saying, but the absolute best way to invest a bit of cash in your game is to invest in a teacher. Most teaching facilities will give you a small block of 20-30 minute lessons for about $100. Whether it’s 3 or 4 for that cost, there will be very few things that will benefit you as much as getting someone else’s eyes on your swing. Now, you probably won’t get put on a launch monitor and shot with high-speed cameras for these starter lessons, but you will get a (hopefully) qualified teaching professional that will start helping you develop a good, consistent swing that will last you a lifetime. You’ll also be shocked at how often that professional comes over to you while you are at the range and offers up a bit of information at no additional charge. Honestly, they are there to get you to play more golf better and lesson packs are a great way for them to get you started on that path – and an even better way for you to get yourself started on that path.

Total Cost: $25-100 on average

Get Fitted

This is a tough one, because it’s often the cart before the horse thought. A good club fitting will cost between $50 and $100 if you don’t plan on buying anything at that moment. This is a huge budget killer for many, but trying to golf with clubs that aren’t even close to fitting your swing is nearly impossible. Too many golfers walk in to a store, or even just order a set online, and never bother to get fit for clubs. Of course, many argue the point that their swing isn’t good enough or consistent enough to get fitted for clubs. I compare this to driving a car - which in all honesty is about the same amount of money as buying a set of clubs today – in the fact that you wouldn’t just go pick a car based on the fact that it looks ok. You adjust the seats, the mirrors, take it for a test drive and get a good feel for it before you buy it. Golf clubs can be the same and should be the same. Yes, local stores have deals, and they can usually adjust those deals for a very small price to fit the data that you get from a good fitting. For example, the Wilson C200 irons are on clearance almost everywhere for under $400. This was a $800 set in January and they won’t play any different than that next month. For about $5 a club, you can have the lie changed on that set (maybe even for free if the shop you are buying from has the service in house.) You are walking out the door with a brand new, custom fit set  of irons for under $500. If the budget is even tighter, hit the used rack and see what they have that can be adjusted to fit. It’s all about getting you comfortable with what fits you, so your swing can become an easier thing to master.

Total Cost: $50-100 on average – most shops will deduct this from the purchase price of your clubs.

Play Twilight Or 9 Holes

Probably my biggest frustration that I see in people that love to golf is that they don’t have the funds to play weekend rounds at the nice courses in their areas. Sure, I could go out and hit some of the $100+ courses once a month, but isn’t it better to hit a course 4 or 5 times a month instead? I have 3 courses within a decent distance of me ranging from $25 for 18 holes out to $75 for 18 holes at peak times. The $25 course is a par 31 nine hole beast that you play two times to make up 18 holes. The mid-range $50 course is a 7500 yard giant that has more hills than I’d ever want to walk again in my life. The upper-end $75 course is the one that I played all winter long and comes in just under 5700 yards from the tips. All three courses offer a challenge of a different sort. The short one is cheap, but the greens are tight and conditions are usually a bit rough around the edges. It’s a sneaky-tough course for how short it is. I call it a target golf course. The long beast tests every possible aspect of your game and then some. Play from the upper tees if you want a fun day and play from the championship ones if you want to truly kill your self-esteem. Of course, Echo Falls is Echo Falls. It’s posh, fun and is great for a round since it’s literally 10 minutes from home. Love that place, but honestly, it’s going to be expensive this summer to play there. It even has me re-thinking my Men’s Club Membership there. Maybe I should check the pricing for the Snohomish Men’s Club first…?

Total Cost: $15-35 a round.

 

Anyways, to make a long story short (I know, too late) there are better ways to practice and play the game of golf, without having to spend a fortune doing it. By utilizing the practice facilities at your local course, making use of some small spaces at home and investing in a few plastic or foam practice balls, you can easily have a good weekly practice routine setup that doesn’t involve spending money and wasting time. Grab a wedge and a putter and a few of balls from past rounds and go hit the putting green. Maybe even look to see if they offer a range pass where you go. Sometimes spending that “winter budget” on practice instead of playing will yield lower scores this season. Or just keep chipping and putting at home and really sharpen that short game. You’ll probably find that this game is won from 50 yards in, not from a 300 yard drive. If you have any great money saving tips for golfers, let me know in the comments below or email backinthefairway@gmail.com.

The Real Cost Of Golf And How To Beat It

As most of you know, my local course, The Golf Club At Echo Falls, offers players a spectacular deal during the winter months. For about $200 you can get all the golf you want if you walk the course. For an extra $100 you can add a cart to the round. The only ‘drawback” to this deal is that your weekend tee times can’t be before noon. That’s it. Other than that, from mid-October through the end of February, you can play all you want on the course. Now, that said, summertime gets a bit more expensive, especially for unlimited play. A full year membership at Echo Falls runs nearly $3000. When you factor that you get 5 months for $300 – those 7 months end up costing you quite a bit extra. In fact, those 7 months cost you $2640 or almost $400 a month. That’s a lot of golf to try and cram in before the membership pays off. The question is, are there better ways to stretch that dollar and get a better deal?

Tip #1 – Skip the cart.

Golf carts are great for getting around hilly courses. In fact, playing 18 at Echo without one is almost impossible. The hill on the 12th hole is a killer and a cart should just be parked there to run people up and down it. Still, at my local courses, carts cost between $10 and $16 a round. This takes a $25 twilight round and runs it right up over $40 immediately. By skipping that cart, you can stretch $100 into four rounds instead of two.

Tip #2 -  Skip the snacks and drinks.

As tempting as a nice Gatorade (or an adult beverage) sounds on the course during a warm day, the extra cost of them can really shake your golf budget quickly. Just like a cart, adding $5 for a drink or $15 for a lunch to a round will really add up. By packing a water bottle and a snack for during the round, you can easily survive the day and get home to eat a bit healthier and cheaper. If you’re really wanting to support the amenities of your course, try to stick to water to drink and get the daily specials. They are usually a bit lower cost and still will help support the local businesses that you frequent.

Tip #3 -  Twilight people! Twilight!

On average, most budget conscious golfers play once a month due to the costs that that round runs up. Some courses offer something called an “early bird” rate – which is usually right about the time the sun comes up to their “prime time” rates. These vary by location and are sometimes available and sometimes not. Something that is pretty universal though, is twilight rates. These usually start about 1 or 2 in the afternoon and decrease as the day goes on. For example, a course that costs $38 to play in prime time is $7 cheaper after 1:00 in the afternoon. That’s almost 20% off the price to play the same course. If you factor that over 4 rounds, that’s a free round every 5th time you play. Look for the twilight start times at your course and see how much you can save by playing after you get the chores done on Saturday.

Tip #4 – A 9 hole round?

Golf doesn’t have to take all your time or money. Sure it will try, but it doesn’t have to. A course is 18 holes long, but that doesn’t mean you have to play all 18. A nice sunny evening or even a Saturday morning round can be shortened to 9 holes and not cost anything more the $20. You get the nice benefit of a 2 mile walk and the ability to work on that game a bit in just a couple hours in the evening. It’s a great way to go about saving a ton of cash and still working your game. In fact, there are some 9 hole rates in my area that rival the price of a bucket of balls. If you compare playing a nine hole weekend round to the prime time rate with a cart, you will find yourself able to get in 3 rounds to the price of one. That’s stretching that golf dollar pretty far.

Tip #5 – Don’t fall for the gimmicks…

Now that you are walking the course on a gorgeous evening, you may find yourself with a bit of extra cash to invest in your game. Please don’t fall for the gimmicks here. There’s no magical driver that will give you 20 yards off the tee. There’s no cart that works better than another (well maybe a few, but don’t spend $300 on one, please!) You don’t need a new bag or a new putter or any of that nonsense. It’s a simple game that can be quite enjoyable with even the most simple tools. I always recommend finding a golf buddy to share your evening rounds with instead of using new toys to keep your interest. Find a decent quality ball that won’t make you sad if it happens to land in a lake. Just find what works best for your game and stick with it – though, that cart with the seat attached to it is great for those really slow evenings when the group in front of you won’t let you through.

Honestly, the best way to save yourself a ton of money this year and still play the maximum amount of golf is to check out your local course and see what they have to offer. Maybe they have a membership at a good price. Maybe they have resident specials, military discounts or another deal that you qualify for that you don’t know about. Worse case, try the tips above and see how much you can stretch your budget with just a few simple tweaks to your playing times. You’d be surprised how far $100 a month can go when you use all the deals you can find.

Golf Fitness: Journey To 100 - Week 4

Falling short of a goal. It's something we all do, but it hurts to have to confess to others that we have failed. Fortunately, that's why we have second chances, and third chances, and fourth, and, well you get the idea. This weeks was one such week for me on my journey to lose 100 pounds. As week three ended, I came in at 295.2 pounds, or a total loss of 28.8 pounds since this little session began. As week four ended (or 28 days for those following along at home) I was - gasp - UP. Yes, this morning I was dreading the scale after a weekend away of dance competition. In fact, I almost faked it and "forgot" to weigh in. I knew it was going to be awful. As I climbed on board, fully expecting to see a number starting with a 3, I was almost pleasantly surprised by still seeing a 2 at the front. While I squeaked in with a 299.0 weight, I didn't return to the 300's like I had worried so much about. Let me just tell you a few things about this weekend, then talk to you about how lucky I feel about this number...

Friday afternoon started out with an exit from work at noon, followed by a rapid packing of the van and a quick clean up of the house. We were hitting the road for a two day dance competition in Tacoma! I packed all the good foods I could have on my diet and even scouted out a few good food options for dinner out if we wanted to do so. I was all set. The we hit the road and were off to T-Town for the weekend.

The first night was nice enough with just a nice Panda Express dinner - lots of salt, but no big deal on the calorie count. Especially since I had eaten so well the rest of the day. From there, it was a relaxing evening at the hotel knowing we had a 4:30 AM wake up for competition the next morning. A bit of movies and a few thin mint Oreo's and I was ready for a nap, but for some reason, I didn't sleep until quite a bit later.

Saturday morning arrived early, but I was ready to roll. I made breakfast for the wife and kiddo, but somehow forgot about myself. No problem, it was early and I didn't have to be back stage so I can sneak out to the car and much a bit while they get ready back there. Well, I forgot that part. I just got a cup of coffee at the refreshment stand inside the venue and watched the dancing. About 6 hours later, awards were done and someone mentioned lunch... Then it hit me, I didn't have any food yet and I was beyond hungry. We hit an Asian diner for a quick lunch where I had a pork sandwich (which except for the bread was a good choice) and a walnut and feta salad. Again, not terrible, but then I added an egg roll to it - and that was the end of being good. I held back at the donut shop that became our next stop, only getting one small, tiny, little donut (good job me!!!) and then made it back to the hotel somewhat intact. We met up with a few other dance parents who decided it would be fun to go to dinner - at the Olive Garden...

The Olive Garden, land of mounds of bread, pasta and sauces. Oh man, did I fail miserably here. I ended up getting the 5 cheese sauced, rigatoni with soup and bread. I killed myself and I just didn't care. As I cleared my first bowl of soup (on the plus side, I only had one bread stick with it) they brought me another. Again, the soup was delicious and before a third could arrive, the entrée was served. This ginormous bowl of pasta was more than enough for me - and probably another person, but I just didn't stop eating it until it was gone. Then, another smaller bowl arrived and that one disappeared as well. I then ran for the door before they could hit me with anything else. It was a race to get out of there before any more damage could be done and I made it. Fortunately, there wasn't a scale at the hotel, because that Sunday weigh in would have been TERRIBLE.

Sunday was better, but not much. The day started out with the hotel breakfast of some scrambled eggs, potatoes and 2 little sausages. It was a great start and kept me going for a while. We actually had the food we planned on for lunch that day, heading back to the van for some veggie crackers, pepperoni and trail mix. I also felt the dehydration mode setting in and had a few mini-bottles of Gatorade to fend that off, which were a few calories more than water, but when you screw yourself up too badly, sometimes it's better to recover quickly than try and make the usual thing work. From there, it was a very long afternoon of sitting and waiting for things to happen. When we eventually exited the building and headed home, I had once again set myself into "way too hungry mode" and we stopped at McDonald's to grab some to go food. A fried fish sandwich and some chicken nuggets were not the greatest end to a recovery day, but at least I didn't drink much of the root beer that my sad butt ordered.

Anyways, despite the best intentions of the weekend, I have to chalk this one up to a failure. I know how to plan better and how to make things work better for the next round, which funny enough will be this Saturday at another competition, but at least this is only one day. So, to cap off week number 4, I'm up 3.8 pounds to 299. I'm climbing back in to this full steam today with a calorie cut breakfast and lunch. Dinner should be interesting since I may be manning a girl scout cookie booth tonight, but we will see! 

Playing A Round: The Golf Club At Echo Falls–Snohomish, WA

A day that will live in infamy… The follow up round to my best round ever played. The follow up to my 5 under, 65 at The Golf Club at Echo Falls. Previous to this, I had only made it out for a quick 9 hole round and shot a two under, 34 at this layout that fits me so well. Today was the day that I was going to see if I could chase down glory once again and finish two consecutive 18 hole rounds under par. The day started off well enough, with a brilliant par on the par 4 first, and a second on the par 4 second. I moved to the par 4 third, and the round began to get interesting. I hit driver to clear the 260 yard carry distance to the green for the first time and actually nailed it. It landed just to the right of the green for an easy chip on and one putt – birdie. I was striking the ball well and rolling at one under par after three holes. The par 5 fourth played equally well for me as my drive found the left center of the fairway, but I missed the easy approach short right in the bunker. I will call it like it was, a brilliant lob wedge from the bunker settled about 4 feet from the cup and I one putted for my second birdie. I was rolling.

After moving to two under through four, I ran together a string of pars that lasted for a good 8 holes. A 166 yard 7 iron into the par 3 fifth was the first. That was followed by a driver, 7 iron, lob wedge play into the par 5 sixth. On the long, par 3 seventh, I slightly misjudged the distance and came up at the front edge of the green. A great first putt left me an easy tap in for par and allowed me to quickly move on to the par 4 eighth. I decided to go driver on eight as well, differing from my normal 17° hybrid choice on this hole. The course was very wet, the weather was sloppy and the extra carry that the driver would give me was going to be a great help on it. A great drive found the left center of the fairway and a wind-deterred 60° wedge found the front of the green, but left me a long 85 foot putt for birdie. A solid first putt left me about 3 feet for par and I moved along to the ninth. On the 9th hole, the weather began to get interesting again. The clouds became a bit darker, the wind picked up a bit more and there was a bit of frozen rain or sleet falling from the sky. Nothing major, just something to watch out for going forward. On the ninth, a good driver, no I’ll say it, a great drive was followed up by a not so great lob wedge. My 36 foot putt was terrible, but I made up for it by draining the 8 foot comeback (somehow) and still managed to walk away with a par. Probably the best and worst shots of the round on one hole – the drive and the first putt. As I left the 9th green, I noticed that the sleet was starting to stay on the green there, but it was still not really coming down, so off to the tenth I went at 2 under par.

The 10th played interesting to say the least. Normally, a perfect 56° wedge for me, the 10th is one of the easiest holes on the course. That was not the case on this day. Between the wind coming straight back at me and the sleet falling from the sky, the 10th played about as hard as it possibly could. Still, a good wedge found the green and a two putt par from 30 feet was good enough to move along. The dreaded 11th was up next. The weather let up at this point, the winds died down and the sleet stopped falling. It looked like a good time to race through the final holes and see how low I could go. Then, I came up on the threesome in front of me, and they were playing SLOW. I hit driver off the 11th tee, finding the left center of the fairway. A solid 56° wedge found the green about 20 feet from the flag. I missed the first putt by inches before tapping one back in for another par. The 12th played pretty similarly, but with the drive going to the right side of the fairway, then a gorgeous 6 iron towards the green. A horrible 60° wedge pitch to the green left me 90 feet down the hill through the collar of the green to get to the pin placement. It’s amazing how much difference 10 feet can make on a shot. Had the wedge carried that extra 3-4 yards, it would have caught the downhill and rolled to the hole. Instead, I had nearly 100 feet to cover and some mid-level grass on the correct line. I hit the shot and found myself with about 2 feet left for par. Another hole, another par. A great round so far, but then something happened.

As I teed off on the par 3 thirteenth, things got crazy. I hit my nice 7 iron into the green, but the wind suddenly picked up and knocked the ball short right, leaving about 25 yards to the green. Then, after another rough 60° lob wedge pitch, I missed the 30 foot putt for par and made my first bogey of the round. Still, I was clinging to a 1 under par round in some pretty tough playing conditions. From there, it was a short drive over to the next par 3 and that is where this story really starts getting interesting. I love the design of the 14th hole. It’s a short, challenging par 3 with trouble short and right, OB left and back and a green that can really mess with your mind if you hit the wrong spot. That said, it’s not a hard hole and is usually just a wedge or 9 iron from the middle tees. Today, well, today the hole had an all new defense that I had never seen before. I’m going to include a few photos of this hole as I couldn’t believe what happened on it. I hit my standard pitching wedge into the green with the front pin placement. It landed me a bit longer than I thought, but as I returned to the cart, I noticed that it was getting a bit ugly in the weather department.

The play by play follows…

I lifted the club cover off my bag only to notice that the sleet was starting to pile up on there and it was coming down at a pretty good clip. I popped my wedge back in the bag and hopped in the cart to get up to the green to check out the results of my shot.

When I arrived at the putting surface, there was definitely a tinge of white to be seen. It almost looked a bit like a frozen lake, or maybe just a chemical covered green that you shouldn’t walk on, but as I got closer, you could see that it was nothing to worry about. Keep in mind, that 2 minutes earlier this thing was totally normal looking. That was not the case anymore.

Fortunately, the green wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t putt out, so I reared back with my putter and tried to get enough on the putt to make it the 30 feet through the sleet pellets, but I muscled up so much that this ball was going places and those places were far away. That was until the sleet built up on the ball and slowed it down perfectly to where it bounced off the back of the hole and fell in the cup for a birdie. Ooops, but I’ll take it. Off to 15!

As I pulled away from 14 to move to the par 5 fifteenth, I looked back at the green that was now completely white. It was looking less like a green and more like a skating rink. Still, I only had four holes to go and I was two under, the show must go on. As I pulled up to 15, the reality hit…

The cart path on 15 was completely covered in a snow/ice mix. The grass was quickly becoming enveloped in the same mixture and the threesome in front of me was not moving fast enough to even give me a shot of finishing this round with the weather doing what it was doing. I was stuck. This is when I took 10 minutes to shoot my “Welcome To Back In The Fairway” YouTube video while I waited for them to get moving.

By the time they had moved along, the tee box looked like this and I had switched up to some old Nike One Gold balls that I had in my bag as I didn’t want to lose a good one in this stuff. It was a good thing I did. I hit a stellar 5 iron off the tee to the left center of the left turn on the hole. It was perfect and it was solid. I got back to the cart, tossed the 5 in my bag and got ready to go find that ball.

And then this reality hit. The snow was falling so quick that the entire hole was covered except for the tall grass. The path was so slick and icy that the cart was spinning it’s tires when I pressed the gas pedal. It was not a good hole to be on at this point in time. I managed to get unstuck from the tee box and rolled out slowly down the path. As I got to the corner, right before the big downhill on the hole, I had thoughts of going out to play my ball. Those ideas were quickly squashed when the cart didn’t stop when I pressed the brake. It continued sliding for about 15 feet before it stopped completely. From there, I decided that some lucky fan from Echo Falls could keep my Nike ball and I was going to try and get this cart down the hill, slowly, hopefully. As I maneuvered the cart, forwards, backwards and sideways down the hill, getting stuck here and there but not tipping over or getting completely stuck, I realized that I may have to abandon this thing and walk in.

 

I managed to finally get off the hills of 15 and navigate 16 (which, for the record, that little hill you need to climb to get to that tee box isn’t so little in the ice and snow) and get over to 17 where I knew there was a cut off to the parking lot. I was able to get across the fairway to the parking lot and back to the safety of the van.

So, as I left the course, I realized that I was pretty lucky to get a solid 9 holes in before my Winter Membership expired. I was also pretty lucky to have a GREAT 9 holes on a day where I didn’t expect to play. I also had one of the most fun times on the course ever with the snow falling and just watching it while I pondered if I was going to be able to finish my round. There’s no final score to post today, but there will always be the great story of the heroing journey down the 15th in the cart where I had no control of where I was going or how I was going to get there. Of course, if you want to see the weather in action, make sure to check out my “Welcome To Back In The Fairway” YouTube video  right away.