regular guys sometimes forget the meaning of things, you know busy with work, family, working on your golf game... well memorial day is one federal holiday that we should not forget the meaning. memorial day began as decoration day, named after the act of decorating the grave sites of fallen union soldiers. later it came to include all branches of the armed services and all wars. so today while you lay on the beach, play a round of golf or cook out in the back yard take a moment and remember how good you have it. men and women have died so that we can play golf, drive cars, make choices and lead regular lives. so although most people look at memorial day as the beginning of summer, regular guys should look at it as a day to give thanks for our freedoms. next time you see a person who serves our nation in the armed forces, go out of your way to shake their hand and thank them for their service. they are all hero's and deserve your attention and respect.
have a fun day and don't forget to golf your balls.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
regular friends
you never know what a round of golf will bring your way, sometimes just a round of golf and then sometimes something special or lasting happens. way back on march of 2010 i entered into a golfweek amateur tournament at riverwood golf club in clayton, nc. I played a pretty good round that day and shot an 87...thinking for sure this would be in the money for my flight. i entered the scoring area to find that i was tied for first place...woot! then they told me it was playoff time, sudden death. i went to the first tee and shook hands with the guy who had also shot 87 that day, we played and he won (if you don't already know, i have a horrible playoff record). long story short he and i became good friends and play golf together usually at least once a week if not more. he is the cow farmer and has helped me understand a lot about the game of golf and the people who play the game. he keeps you laughing through the entire round. he has a unique affection for the opposite sex and we have yet to find someone he would not like to have fun with.
now not only did the cow farmer come into my life, but he brought a herd of his other friends. most of which are regular guys and a blast to play 18 with. there is one of his friends who has also become one of my friends his name is puddin'. puddin' is a man of small stature but large on game. you know one of those regular guys who hits it the fairway and on the greens. a guy who i will call the counter is the one who gave puddin' his name, the counter is one of those regular guys you just can't help but like...just a regular guy...who hits a 3 wood farther than just about everyone reading this hits their driver.
so the next time your playing a round with a new regular guy make sure you get to know him, might turn out to be a good friendship.
have a great memorial day weekend and on this holiday weekend golf your balls
now not only did the cow farmer come into my life, but he brought a herd of his other friends. most of which are regular guys and a blast to play 18 with. there is one of his friends who has also become one of my friends his name is puddin'. puddin' is a man of small stature but large on game. you know one of those regular guys who hits it the fairway and on the greens. a guy who i will call the counter is the one who gave puddin' his name, the counter is one of those regular guys you just can't help but like...just a regular guy...who hits a 3 wood farther than just about everyone reading this hits their driver.
so the next time your playing a round with a new regular guy make sure you get to know him, might turn out to be a good friendship.
have a great memorial day weekend and on this holiday weekend golf your balls
Friday, May 25, 2012
s l o w p l a y
thought this topic would be fitting since morgan pressel's penalty due to slow play...you can read about that by clicking here.
regular guys like to play golf at their pace, they don't like to wait on the group in front of them and they don't like the group behind them to push...so the thought of slow play means one thing to me and something entirely different to another regular guy. however, we can all agree that a 5 or 6 hour round is absurd. this is the main reason i do not play on the weekends, unless it is a tournament. weekdays are less crowded and you can roll...weekends usually have less capable golfers (absolutely nothing wrong with that) and more golfers which of course slows down the play. one of the courses i play frequently here in my town is a great example...on tuesday i can tee off at 0830 and be home for an early lunch and probably not see another golfer out there. on saturday if i tee off at 0830 i will miss lunch.
so what do we do about this popular topic? well on some days we do absolutely nothing, because we don't need to play faster. on those days when we need to be aware of the other regular guys on the course and make sure they don't miss lunch we can do several things. we have all heard line your putts up while others are putting (just don't get in the way), take several wedges to your pitch shot...but i heard one the other day from michael breed on the golf fix that i have tried and it works really well. sounds simple and is simple...but works!
you hit your tee shot, you do not put your driver back in the bag, drive to your ball determine distance put drive up and select club for second shot. what? that speeds up play? yes sir it does. you reduce the number of trips to your bag and it keeps the flow of play...you may even find that it keeps you focused on the game and not all the bag time. works well for me hope you give it a shot and it works for you.
if you have a good tip on how to speed up play, please shoot me an email to regular.guy.golf@gmail.com and i will pass it along to everyone.
don't miss the next post, have a few interesting stories about the cow farmer and his buddy puddin'
until then don't forget to golf your balls.
regular guys like to play golf at their pace, they don't like to wait on the group in front of them and they don't like the group behind them to push...so the thought of slow play means one thing to me and something entirely different to another regular guy. however, we can all agree that a 5 or 6 hour round is absurd. this is the main reason i do not play on the weekends, unless it is a tournament. weekdays are less crowded and you can roll...weekends usually have less capable golfers (absolutely nothing wrong with that) and more golfers which of course slows down the play. one of the courses i play frequently here in my town is a great example...on tuesday i can tee off at 0830 and be home for an early lunch and probably not see another golfer out there. on saturday if i tee off at 0830 i will miss lunch.
so what do we do about this popular topic? well on some days we do absolutely nothing, because we don't need to play faster. on those days when we need to be aware of the other regular guys on the course and make sure they don't miss lunch we can do several things. we have all heard line your putts up while others are putting (just don't get in the way), take several wedges to your pitch shot...but i heard one the other day from michael breed on the golf fix that i have tried and it works really well. sounds simple and is simple...but works!
you hit your tee shot, you do not put your driver back in the bag, drive to your ball determine distance put drive up and select club for second shot. what? that speeds up play? yes sir it does. you reduce the number of trips to your bag and it keeps the flow of play...you may even find that it keeps you focused on the game and not all the bag time. works well for me hope you give it a shot and it works for you.
if you have a good tip on how to speed up play, please shoot me an email to regular.guy.golf@gmail.com and i will pass it along to everyone.
don't miss the next post, have a few interesting stories about the cow farmer and his buddy puddin'
until then don't forget to golf your balls.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
tot hill farm or tobacco road
I never met him, but i bet Mike Strantz was a regular guy...he certainly built some awesome golf courses for us regular guys. my usual group of suspects...sometimes known as a foursome usually play tot hill farm and tobacco road at least once or twice a year. regular guys like to take a break from their regular golf every now and then and play something special. both of these courses are something special. if you put a gun to my head and made me pick between the two...you would have to shoot me. they are both great courses with great layouts, customer service at both courses is top notch, food is good...there is just not enough reasons to pick one over the other...at least for me. now my usual suspects have their favorites and speaking of the suspects, these two courses have memories that will never be forgotten.
there was the one time at tobacco road when we played 18 and then the air force guy in our group had to go home...yeah i know, while the marine and i played another 18, with a slight drizzle. we got paired with a father and son to complete our second foursome of the day. i was driving the cart (which i am not allowed to do anymore) and leaving the 13th green we drove down to the 14th tee box. now for some reason the cart we had been given had no speed control and it would just fly, well when we arrived at the tee box i slammed on the brakes and tugged the wheel just a tad to the left...perfect 360 shooting the marine out onto the tee box. laughed so hard i cried. flustered him so much we had to look for his tee shot for a few minutes.
then there was the time at tot hill farm, we attended the annual Mike Strantz tournament. The marine, the air force guy and myself made up our three man team...played ok, nothing to write home about. after the tournament the good folks at the clubhouse fed us like kings and then they did the awards and the raffles. the air force guy scored first with a new hybrid club, then i won a new stand bag. the evening was just about over when the marine leaned over to whine about not winning anything just as they called his number for a $500 cash prize. oh yeah and if you are his wife and reading this, it was really only $100
i would like to thank the good folks at both courses for being regular guys and doing a good job. my usual suspects and i will continue to play there when we need a special course or just want to play a challenging round of golf.
until next time, golf your balls
there was the one time at tobacco road when we played 18 and then the air force guy in our group had to go home...yeah i know, while the marine and i played another 18, with a slight drizzle. we got paired with a father and son to complete our second foursome of the day. i was driving the cart (which i am not allowed to do anymore) and leaving the 13th green we drove down to the 14th tee box. now for some reason the cart we had been given had no speed control and it would just fly, well when we arrived at the tee box i slammed on the brakes and tugged the wheel just a tad to the left...perfect 360 shooting the marine out onto the tee box. laughed so hard i cried. flustered him so much we had to look for his tee shot for a few minutes.
then there was the time at tot hill farm, we attended the annual Mike Strantz tournament. The marine, the air force guy and myself made up our three man team...played ok, nothing to write home about. after the tournament the good folks at the clubhouse fed us like kings and then they did the awards and the raffles. the air force guy scored first with a new hybrid club, then i won a new stand bag. the evening was just about over when the marine leaned over to whine about not winning anything just as they called his number for a $500 cash prize. oh yeah and if you are his wife and reading this, it was really only $100
i would like to thank the good folks at both courses for being regular guys and doing a good job. my usual suspects and i will continue to play there when we need a special course or just want to play a challenging round of golf.
until next time, golf your balls
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
golf course etiquette
let me start this out by saying i am as guilty as the next regular guy...but not as guilty as some. sure i have cussed my ball in flight! i have slammed my club into the ground and i have even flung one back to the cart (which was about 50 yards away), not really proud of all that but it happens to regular guys who are really disappointed with their current performance.
what i don't understand is the group that won't let you play through, the guys who drive up to the fringe in the cart, the guys who hit into your group and don't give the customary warning FORE! there are certainly other issues that i will address in the future, but for now these basic three will be the topic.
wont let you play through - what the hell are these guys thinking? all of sudden they are going to get good and speed up? don't think so. i mean really, if a solo or a group comes up behind you how long do regular guys wait before the start thinking "we should let them through". does it take one hole, two? i personally hate having someone up my rear on the course, makes me feel rushed and therefore adds to the number of bad shots. so regular guys just say, hey, come on through.
guys who drive on the fringe - i am not a member of any course and certainly don't have any loyalty to any course...but when i see some old fart driving his cart right up to the fringe, i start to wonder if he is regular or not...you know what i mean. who in their right mind drives a cart all the way up there? well i know who...the same guy who drives his cart right up on the freakin tee box, that's who. if you have a handicap card or flag, you still don't need to get that close. i have played with older regular guys who have a challenge getting around, but they managed to walk 30 yards to the green or tee box. it is not easy for courses to keep conditions good, you know the way regular guys like to play them...green grass, nice greens...they don't need people with issues tearing up their hard work! so if you are one of those lazy guys, please become regular or at least more regular.
hitting into a group and not warning - i think it has happened to all of us...funny story: i was playing in a golf week amateur tour event (by the way a great group of regular guys), one of my foursome was my friend adolph...adolph is stupid long. on one of the tee boxes he hits a 230 yard 5i right at the cart in the fairway...which he thought had started moving away....landed right behind another friend of mine, johnny s, who is not only a big guy but a sheriff also. johnny s turned around and starred me down...thought it was me...in the end it was pretty funny and we still joke about it today. back to the issue at hand, if you hit into a group or even if it looks like it might be close, save yourself and yell fore! not much the group in front of you can do if you warn them...sorry guys didn't know i could get it that far, is what regular guys do, other guys just walk back to the cart and act like it didn't happen...you guys need to work on becoming more regular.
and as always don't forget to golf your balls
what i don't understand is the group that won't let you play through, the guys who drive up to the fringe in the cart, the guys who hit into your group and don't give the customary warning FORE! there are certainly other issues that i will address in the future, but for now these basic three will be the topic.
wont let you play through - what the hell are these guys thinking? all of sudden they are going to get good and speed up? don't think so. i mean really, if a solo or a group comes up behind you how long do regular guys wait before the start thinking "we should let them through". does it take one hole, two? i personally hate having someone up my rear on the course, makes me feel rushed and therefore adds to the number of bad shots. so regular guys just say, hey, come on through.
guys who drive on the fringe - i am not a member of any course and certainly don't have any loyalty to any course...but when i see some old fart driving his cart right up to the fringe, i start to wonder if he is regular or not...you know what i mean. who in their right mind drives a cart all the way up there? well i know who...the same guy who drives his cart right up on the freakin tee box, that's who. if you have a handicap card or flag, you still don't need to get that close. i have played with older regular guys who have a challenge getting around, but they managed to walk 30 yards to the green or tee box. it is not easy for courses to keep conditions good, you know the way regular guys like to play them...green grass, nice greens...they don't need people with issues tearing up their hard work! so if you are one of those lazy guys, please become regular or at least more regular.
hitting into a group and not warning - i think it has happened to all of us...funny story: i was playing in a golf week amateur tour event (by the way a great group of regular guys), one of my foursome was my friend adolph...adolph is stupid long. on one of the tee boxes he hits a 230 yard 5i right at the cart in the fairway...which he thought had started moving away....landed right behind another friend of mine, johnny s, who is not only a big guy but a sheriff also. johnny s turned around and starred me down...thought it was me...in the end it was pretty funny and we still joke about it today. back to the issue at hand, if you hit into a group or even if it looks like it might be close, save yourself and yell fore! not much the group in front of you can do if you warn them...sorry guys didn't know i could get it that far, is what regular guys do, other guys just walk back to the cart and act like it didn't happen...you guys need to work on becoming more regular.
and as always don't forget to golf your balls
Monday, May 21, 2012
club review
i am not one to make snap judgements on people or things...so i have had my new irons for a couple of months now and want to let everyone know how they are working out. i believe there are good clubs and bad clubs, i would say that almost all the brand name clubs are good, with some a little better than the others....i like a forged iron, just because it feels better to me when i make good contact...so a few months ago i went in search of a new set. most of you know i was playing bridgestone j38's and was pretty happy with them, but just wanted a change. started looking on eBay and came across a custom built set of mizuno irons. the guy running the eBay store, joe, is a regular guy who knows a lot about clubs. he does an online fitting, by asking a series of questions and putting together a list of measurements. i ended up getting a mixed set 5i - pw with the pw, 9 a blade, the 8 and 7 a muscle back and the 6 and 5 a cavity back...and really like the clubs...so much in fact i went back to joe and got a set of mizuno wedges; which he got with the same serial number on them so i would have a matching set. that is just one of the many "above and beyond" type of things joe did for me during this purchase. the communication was fantastic - quick and direct. the turn around time was extremely fast and the clubs came directly from mizuno. so joe gets a major thumbs up for being a regular guy who knows how to treat his customers right. you can find joe on eBay with the store name of golf-seller or you can email him at: ebay_golfseller@yahoo.com
in summary i got a really nice set of clubs at a very good price and the transaction was awesome as well!
have a day and don't forget to golf your balls
in summary i got a really nice set of clubs at a very good price and the transaction was awesome as well!
have a day and don't forget to golf your balls
scotch hall preserve
regular guys that play golf sometimes like to play with other regular guys in a serious competition...or a tournament. i have not been playing golf as long as most of you that are reading this, but i play a lot of tournament golf...and really like the competition. i just played in a cga event at scotch hall preserve in merry hill, nc
the course was designed and built by the king himself; and it is a tremendous layout. an easy trip to the edge of the state or at least to the albemarle sound. on your way into the course you pass fields of lavender that are really cool to see. a botanical fragrance farm is close. as i pulled up to the gate the security guard had a big smile on his face like he was really glad to see me...as i pulled in the condition of the course was immediately evident...absolutely perfect. fairways had been recently mowed and looked like carpet. greens were green and although they had been punched within the last 14 days, they rolled like a pool table. i was really excited to be in this tournament and on such a fantastic course. conditions were the best i have seen this year.
the hole in the picture above is a short par 3 over some jungle with the sound on your left and of course sand left right and long. this gives you a good idea of how fabulous this course is...it is a buried treasure on the nc coast. i will rate courses on a scale of:
regular course *
better than a regular course **
really better than a regular course ***
scotch hall preserve is ***
i was quoted a daily play rate of $55 before 1pm and $50 after 1pm
see them on the web here
now for the tournament itself...in my opinion you really have to be trying to mess up a tournament, i know there is a lot of preparation and planning involved, but if you do that and you treat people right...you know smile, shake their hands, be pleasant...regular behavior towards other folks, your tournament is going to go well. in this case went of without a hitch.
next post will be a product review, so between now and then golf your balls
the hole in the picture above is a short par 3 over some jungle with the sound on your left and of course sand left right and long. this gives you a good idea of how fabulous this course is...it is a buried treasure on the nc coast. i will rate courses on a scale of:
regular course *
better than a regular course **
really better than a regular course ***
scotch hall preserve is ***
i was quoted a daily play rate of $55 before 1pm and $50 after 1pm
see them on the web here
now for the tournament itself...in my opinion you really have to be trying to mess up a tournament, i know there is a lot of preparation and planning involved, but if you do that and you treat people right...you know smile, shake their hands, be pleasant...regular behavior towards other folks, your tournament is going to go well. in this case went of without a hitch.
next post will be a product review, so between now and then golf your balls
Sunday, May 20, 2012
let the fun begin
welcome to the first of what will become a fun and helpful golf blog!
as you can imagine from the name, this blog will be dedicated to the regular golfer...guys who like the game and may not be the best in the club, but have fun. guys who try to get better by reading mags, blogs and watching michael breed...who i think is really cool and very helpful. guys who like to bet $5 per side and overall. guys who like to drink a cold frothy one and fire a wedge to within 2 feet for a kick in bird!
here is what you can expect...
so stay tuned and next issue will be a tournament review and course review all in one...
until then make sure you golf your balls
as you can imagine from the name, this blog will be dedicated to the regular golfer...guys who like the game and may not be the best in the club, but have fun. guys who try to get better by reading mags, blogs and watching michael breed...who i think is really cool and very helpful. guys who like to bet $5 per side and overall. guys who like to drink a cold frothy one and fire a wedge to within 2 feet for a kick in bird!
here is what you can expect...
- course reviews
- product reviews
- tournament reviews
- funny stories (don't worry i will change the names)
- current golf events
so stay tuned and next issue will be a tournament review and course review all in one...
until then make sure you golf your balls
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