Zatko and I went golfing today at Flying Hills golf course in Reading, PA. It was a close match throughout, but I ended up losing by 4 strokes, 87 - 91. It's my putting. My drives were out of this world. I had a slight draw on some, making them just look gorgeous. One I hit 260 yards. Although it was downhill, it was a par 5 and it left me with only 190 yards to go. A 3 iron struck well, with a little luck, got me to the front fringe where I chipped an 8 iron and damn near sunk it for Eagle. I parred the hole, though, because I'm the worst putter ever.
I have to get that down. I hit maybe 1 bad drive up until the 17th hole, then hit two consecutive bad drives (with a mulligan). Luckily I found one and didn't have to hit the ball I had to drop. I got a 6 on that hole. If my putting was on, I would have shot 81. Seriously. If all the holes I three putted, I two putted instead, I would have 81 easily. Either I have to get closer to the pin on my approach, or I have to get better at putting. But, first thing's first, my putter sucks. I looked tonight on the website of Dick's Sporting Goods, and I picked out this one. Should be awesome. My current one has about a 2 millimeter line to line up your putt with, and my eyes just aren't that good.
Funny story... Zatko ended up about 4 feet in front of a sign that stood about 18 inches tall, and was a weak metal, kinda the thickness of a license plate. He only had to go about 40 yards, so the shot would likely get right up and the sign shouldn't come into play. I still said, "Do you want me to move the sign?" He's like "There's no f#@#$%ing way that I'm going to hit it." So I said "Alright." And I was thinking "Just watch your balls when it comes flying back at you :P" Sure enough, CLANK!! I laughed, and he took a mulligan.
I was looking around Dick's site more, out of curiosity. Oooh, Callaway Irons with Graphite Shaft, $599. Damn. I have a set I bought for $400 used. Titleists. 2-PW. The only thing that ever lets me down is my swing, and it wasn't happening that often today. I was all over that flag. Not really, but I was hitting them good.
One thing on clubs, though. I haven't ever used a big headed driver. I don't think less of anyone who does :P But I won't use one. I'll stick with my old, normal sized Callaway Big Bertha driver. Also, I get comfortable with a set of clubs and they're all I need. So I won't get a new set for a long time. What usually causes me to get a new set is if I lose one (either to breaking or leaving it on a course somewhere), or I try another club and manage to hit it better. In this case, ignorance is bliss. If I don't ever hit another set of irons, I have no idea what I'm missing, and therefore don't have to spend $600. Same with a driver. I'm terribly happy with my driver, especially after today. You know you're doing good when your friend calls you an A-hole for putting your drive in the perfect location for the hole. Not only putting it there, but saying, before you hit it, "I should probably put it right there", pointing in the exact direction where you eventually hit it. That's why I'll never get another driver either. When I'm not doing well, it's my own damn fault.
Putters, on the other hand... I'm comfortable with lining up a drive and an iron shot. Even a chip where you set the ball up behind your feet and your feet are aiming way to the left, I know exactly where it's going to go. Of course, picking the right direction on a green is tough. This is a tough game. But I never got comfortable lining up a putt. I need that new putter, and I need to try to play every other weekend. I want to get really good, and that's the only equipment I need.
Before that, I needed a wedge with a high loft. Last week, I put a ball 4 feet 8 inches from the pin and won closest to the pin out of like whatever 8 times 18 is. It was a shotgun start, two foresomes a hole. Lots of people. I won. I picked out a 56 degree sand wedge to fill this need. Absolutely, I didn't go into one sand trap today. Although, this course didn't have many, and I can only remember one time when either of us went in. Zatko got right out of that pickle though with a great shot. I could probably talk about golf all day. Especially after a relatively good round. When I get that putting thing down... well, I'll stop.