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Stevec16

Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #25 on: August 28, 2002, 09:22:50 PM »
Twice a week, which in Dallas makes for a lot of golf, as the weather is generally agreeable. Yet I long for the day when my wife makes the transition my sister made long ago: she used to say, "Why are you playing golf?" Now she says, "When are you playing golf?" I can dream.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Kevin Reilly

Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #26 on: August 28, 2002, 09:47:00 PM »
2-3 times per month, always teeing off before sunrise on Saturday mornings at Tilden Park in Berkeley.  3 young boys (6, 4 and 1) keep my schedule full, and then of course there is work.  Make it out to the club maybe another 4-6x per year, usually during the week when I can play hookey or am asked to host someone from out of town.  I'm hoping things will change when the boys get older, but I enjoy things right now anyway...kids are only young once.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

ed_getka

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #27 on: August 29, 2002, 01:51:03 PM »
Shuckster,
 46 posted rounds! and then some. I obviously have a lot more to learn in the marital relations department. Married 19 years, boys 4 and 7, and only 25-30 rounds per year. What am I doing wrong? :-[  As much as I need golf lessons, I think I had better start with your insights. :)
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
"Perimeter-weighted fairways", The best euphemism for containment mounding I've ever heard.

A.G._Crockett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #28 on: August 30, 2002, 05:20:29 AM »
Step 1 might be to take the kids with you somehow.  My experience is that if I take my son, my wife and daughter don't care when we come back.
The other key for me has been to be married to a woman whose expectations for me are so low that there is almost no way that I can undershoot them!
By the way, I post 100+ rounds per yr., not including scrambles, nine holes, trips to the range/practice green, etc.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
"Golf...is usually played with the outward appearance of great dignity.  It is, nevertheless, a game of considerable passion, either of the explosive type, or that which burns inwardly and sears the soul."      Bobby Jones

Ken_Cotner

Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #29 on: August 30, 2002, 05:59:00 AM »
Kevin,

Great call on the kids being only young once!  I've played almost no golf this year, and I'm really reconciled to it.

As a side note, I have had more luck the last couple months with getting my 9 year-old daughter interested in going out to the course.  These things helped:

1.  A couple lessons with a female teacher at our club -- amazing how much more responsive she is to someone who is not her parent!

2.  I gave in and bought her a junior set of clubs at her teacher's insistence (I had been limiting her to a 7-iron, explaining that if it was good enough for Seve, it was good enough for her).  The horsehead-shaped head cover was also a big plus.

3.  Letting her hit her driver as much as she wants on the range.  She likes to "let the big horse run".

4.  Playing Adventure Golf when we go on the course.  Special features of Adventure Golf are:  ride instead of walk; swing as hard as you can; throw the ball out of any bunkers; tee it up anywhere; only putt out if you want to.

Come to think of it, I might have to try Adventure Golf myself one evening!

KC
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Scott_Burroughs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #30 on: August 30, 2002, 06:36:32 AM »
I'm sure most of us wish our kids would take up golf so we could bond more (and play more, of course), but with 2 that are 3 1/2 years and 3 1/2 weeks, I'll wait a little longer before taking them out to play.  I take my older girl to the putting green and she putters around while I get to work some on my short game.  She's not quite ready for the Tiger/Mickelson regimen of golf for a 3 year old.  And her left-handed swing doesn't work for the right-handed clubs grandma and grandpa got her!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

John Foley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #31 on: August 30, 2002, 06:41:07 AM »
Ken,

thats a great story! My old dest daughter is almost five and she likes the range, but I don't want to push her. Sounds like you hit the right plan w/ her!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
Integrity in the moment of choice

Ken_Cotner

Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #32 on: August 30, 2002, 06:50:54 AM »
John,

I never pushed her before, but I tried the "purist" approach -- walk only; one club.  She enjoyed it occasionally, but never looked forward to it.  Finally realized that anything which makes her WANT to go out to the course is OK.

KC
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

A.G._Crockett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #33 on: August 30, 2002, 06:54:54 AM »
Speaking of adventure golf:
When my son (now 12) was 6 and I started taking him to the course, a friend advised me that kids don't mind seeing the ball go in the water.  Consequently, wherever possible we would tee a ball up at the corner of a pond and he would try to hit over it.  If it went over he was happy;  if it went in he was happy.  Later, when he really started trying to keep score, he quickly figured out to play away from the water!
Also, in those days he teed off from the 150 markers on most holes.
My biggest learning experience with him had to do with equipment.  Buy the US Kids clubs, period.  They don't cost an arm and a leg (less than $30), they're vastly easier to swing, and they are cool-looking.
I've also been fortunate to belong to a club that is kid-friendly.  The culture there has always been to have kids on the course and for those bringing kids to let groups through, etc.  I realize that is not the case in a lot of clubs, and at many public facilities as well.  
I do think that a 3 1/2 yr. old can ride along and have a blast, without doing much in the way of hitting balls.  Throwing rocks into ponds, catching bugs, running, chasing frogs and all that stuff will teach them that a golf course is fun.  YOU will struggle a bit before you realize that you probably won't shoot a great number that day, but it is well worth it.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
"Golf...is usually played with the outward appearance of great dignity.  It is, nevertheless, a game of considerable passion, either of the explosive type, or that which burns inwardly and sears the soul."      Bobby Jones

Lou_Duran

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #34 on: August 30, 2002, 07:42:50 AM »
When my kids were growing up and their activities plus work limited my golf to some weekends and holidays, I thought that if only I could play a lot of golf, my game would surely get better.  Well, the kids are now 20 and 16, my work schedule is relatively flexible, and my wife tolerates my obssession with the game.  I have played between 100 to 125 rounds in each of the past five years, but sadly, my game is not any better.  

My father-in-law had it right when he mused that ideally, life should be lived backwards.  That is, wouldn't it be better if we were born with the time, money, and appreciation for things that often come late in life, and the physicality of youth to enjoy them?  In this regard, I find Sandy Tatum's observation about golf and age to be particularly poignant-"..., as the skills, such as they were, diminish, the affair (with the game) gets more rather than less intense".

I am on pace to play more than 100 rounds this year, including 25-30 at courses I had not seen before.  This is a banner year for me in terms of quality of courses, for which I have a number of you on this site to be thankful for.

While those in northern climates may think otherwise, I've often wondered whether a forced seasonal break is not a good thing.  I remember watching the Crosby on TV when I lived in Ohio and longing for the Spring.  I can still smell the grass on that first day of the season when the Scarlet course would re-open.  Not complaining, mind you, but the anticipation and the freshness of the game sometimes seems all but lost when the seasons run together as they do here in Texas.




« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Scott_Burroughs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #35 on: August 30, 2002, 07:48:13 AM »
A.G.,

Therein lies my dilemma, which I realize I'll have to get over someday, and that is the cart issue.  Sure, the kids can ride along (she likes it in the parking lot), but I have a difficult time renting a cart when I don't have to (not even counting the extra $15 it will cost every time).

I think what I'll do is get to the course after the clubhouse closes in the late afternoon, so I can grab a cart that is waiting to be cleaned, and go out on the course that way.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Allan Long

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #36 on: August 30, 2002, 08:47:59 AM »
Unlike most of you, my golf season does not start until about this time of year. If I get out twice a month in the spring and summer months, I feel lucky. But, by the end of the year, I seem to always be in the 55-60 range.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
I don't know how I would ever have been able to look into the past with any degree of pleasure or enjoy the present with any degree of contentment if it had not been for the extraordinary influence the game of golf has had upon my welfare.
--C.B. Macdonald

A.G._Crockett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #37 on: August 30, 2002, 10:10:06 AM »
I'm a cart hater too, but I absolutely agree with Ken Cotner;  anything that makes my kids enjoy golf is probably to the greater good, and they just don't like walking.  So, I walk when its me, tend to ride with them.  Then, when they're hooked and dying to play, or playing tournaments, the walking comes naturally.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
"Golf...is usually played with the outward appearance of great dignity.  It is, nevertheless, a game of considerable passion, either of the explosive type, or that which burns inwardly and sears the soul."      Bobby Jones

David_Lee

Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #38 on: August 30, 2002, 10:41:00 AM »
Although I have 2 daughters (5 and 7), I will probably get at least 40 rounds in this year due to an understanding wife, an extended family that loves golf and business colleagues that like to mix business and golf.

I wholeheartedly agree with the suggestion of getting the kids the USKids clubs.  2 other ideas which have really helped my game and allowed me to spend time with my 7-year old.

1. I play a match play putting game with my daughter where we go to the putting green (preferably with 9 holes), she gets to pick the spot to putt from for each hole and I give her a stroke a hole.  Winner gets a soda, candy bar, etc.  Over time, my daughter has learned to pick a spot between 10-20 feet and almost always 3 putts and more often than not 2 putt.  When you often have to make the putt in one just to halve the hole, it's really good practice.  When your 7-year old makes a "hole in one" and jumps for joy, it's funny how happy you are to pick up your ball.

2.   I also joined an indoor practice facility last winter with the computerized video recorders.  My 7 year loves to see herself swing on "TV" and doesn't mind taking turns with her dad.

Both of the above usually consume less than 1 hour of time, and while not as enjoyable as playing 18, can help improve your game.  I lowered my index 4 strokes this year while not greatly increasing my number of rounds.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

ed getka

Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #39 on: August 30, 2002, 03:03:44 PM »
Scott,
 I rarely take carts, but with kids the cart is key when they are small. The basket in the back holds the snacks, diapers, wipes and whatever other stuff you need to drag along with you. My son loves sitting on my lap steering, raking in the bunkers while I attempt to get up and down, and likes putting the flagstick back. I go out to Stevinson Ranch out here midweek and it is fairly empty so we have no pressure to rush. We always stop at the turn for a bowl of soup and at the end of the day he never wants to leave. Let them enjoy being with you in the beginning and the rest will take care of itself. Forget the score. ;)
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Steve Lang

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How much golf do you actually play?
« Reply #40 on: August 30, 2002, 04:36:47 PM »
8)

I've officially carded about 100-130 rounds a year since 1993 in the Woodlands.  This includes the annual pilgrimmage typically to Southern Pines for 2-a-day for a week (since 1980), and typically several long weekend blowouts in San Antonio and around Houston, and the consecutive 9's played after work during the week.

We have 99 holes of golf (excluding the new Nicklaus course inside the Carlton Woods Prison) and a bunch of new courses in the area attempting to get the daily fee players.

The key to summer-time SE Texas golf is take half the bag and hike it before noon.    

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
Inverness (Toledo, OH) cathedral clock inscription: "God measures men by what they are. Not what they in wealth possess.  That vibrant message chimes afar.
The voice of Inverness"

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