Wildlife? Africa here I come...

Sunol Valley Golf Course :: Cypress hole #7 is a great par 4 that offers a challenge: need a good tee shot, a rolling hill for the landing (left to right); nice bunker protecting the green from the right; two-tier sloping green.

I have always wondered what it would be like to play in the Africa Savanna or in rattlesnake abundant New Mexico and Arizona courses. What happens to those aah.. errant shots that do not exactly land in the middle of the fairway...

Anyways here is a shot of a (harmless I think) snake on the green, fore!

A Round of Golf at Tunnel 9, Banff Springs Golf Course, Canada

I visited Banff, Canada for the WWW2007 conference. The hotel room where I stayed (Fairmont Banff Springs) had a picture on the wall that claimed that King Edward VIII played Golf there ... so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tee up at this wonderful course.


The course itself is not that challenging, but the panoramic view is breathtaking ... more info on the course can be found here -> http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/Recreation/Golf/. ( I scored a 46 on the Tunnel 9 - with the rental TaylorMade set :-) )

Is it fair to play with range balls?

When I first started playing golf and I started losing balls in the course because of my bad golfing I used to save those one or two balls after putting as I was lazy to go back and hit them. But then it suddenly struck me that I am actually stealing these balls and I only pay to hit them and not take them home. I also felt embarrassed when I was on the golf course playing with some strangers and I was the only person on the green with a range ball . It kind of felt cheap . When you can get a ball for 50 cents or less why play range balls ?

I also noticed that when you have range balls you feel like trying more than one shot and a practise shot and what not which completely take away the fun that day . This is one of the reasons I think we play better with strangers than our buddies cause we are not playing seriously and golf being such a sensitive game mentally it can screw up that whole round of golf for yourself and your buddies .

Comments ?Backlash ?Kathleen you B@#@#$@ write something stimulating !

Testing Drivers: TaylorMade R7 460

TayloreMade R7 460cc 10.5 degree, Stiff Fujikura RE*AX shaft

Aah... finally a driver that feels good in my hands.

Initial swings gave me fades/push trajectories (the face angle is closed, unlike the Callaway FT3 tour I tried earlier). But after fixing my stance to accomodate the large head (I kept it further away from me), I was able to get it working for me. One thing I observed is that I did not have wicked slices with this driver.

My latest swing speed on InPractis system (http://www.inpractis.com/) was 109mph with this driver and speed ratio of 1.3 (effective ball speed of 142 mph). Hopefully one day I can swing at 120mph and get 160mph ball speed.






As I liked almost everything, here is what I did not like: SPIN. The driver gave mid-high spin on the ball, so there is hardly any roll. I wonder if I can fix this with the weight configurations (now do I need a quad for that?).

After trying a lot of drivers, I think this one is a keeper.

SwingPractis

The modern day technology is a boon to golfers in more ways than one (what with super engineered precision powered drivers and balls etc.).

The one that I am enthralled with is the concept of self analyzing your swing and consequentially your game. Of course, I wont go into the debate of taking a lesson from a Pro v/s learnign by yourself here. Having a technology to analyze your swing is helpful regardless or not of taking a lesson. (this is my flame bait for a torrent of comments). You can ask a pro to identify your weak points and help correct it. This tool provides further assistance - for self analysis or if you want to ask your teacher. (Sometimes friends playing alongside you can tell you whats going wrong - but most people dont take too well to this approach - or dont have enough patience/confidence in this approach)

SwingPractis (http://www.inpractis.com/) is a fantastic tool in this regard. Hopeless Golfer, my brother and myself went to the Fremont Golf Course last weekend to analyze our swings.
Based on my analyses, here is what I think I need to improve on.

• My torque - my Club Speed to Ball speed ratio is low - around 1.1 - a good ratio is 1.4. I have to change my swing such that I get a better torque - basically, I have to ensure that my tummy can be seen by the person standing directly behind me.
• Grip: I picked up two points (from a tutorial also on the same site). One, that at the position of address, we need to make sure that the right hand (using gravity) should be at the right hand grip position. Two, that my left hand grip should be properly adjusted (mine is too strong and twisted towards the right - thus reducing my wrist cock power - explains my bad ratio a bit)

There were plenty of other points I picked - but hey, lets fix the major ones first huh?

Also, thought I will pass along this tip. The site http://www.inpractis.com/tech-tips.php , has a wonderful array of videos with good instructions. Register at the site (free) and check the following ->

• Grip Basics
  
• The Legs During The Swing

Enjoy!!

Testing Drivers: Callaway FT-3 & Cobra X/Speed

460cc King Cobra X/Speed 9.5 degrees with Aldila NV-X stiff flex/high kick/ 60g shaft. The X/Speed is for experienced golfers who have a high swing speed with good control.


460cc Callaway FT-3 Tour Big Bertha Fusion 9.5 degrees (Neutral) with Aldila NVS 65-S 350 shaft. The FT-3 has a titanium cup face and a carbon composite body. Tour drivers have high CG (center of gravity) and a slightly open face that may cause fades or slices for inexperienced players. The carbon composite is used for its light weight.



Well now that I said all that, I checked my swing speed at GolfMart in San Diego. My all-out swing speed was 120-125mph. I would really like to hit at 105-110mph consistently. The classic problem for amateurs like me using professional equipment is that they get trajectories that look like fades and slices.

Last weekend I went to Golfsmith and my driver swing speed by the computer was 105mph. I was confused.

Comparisons:

The face of FT-3 is smaller compared to the X/Speed. The idea with a large face is to provide a bigger sweet spot.



The X/Speed is much more like the new Cleveland HiBore shape. The FT-3 is pretty thick at the back. The idea with the X/Speed shape (and Cleveland HiBORE) is to move the weight lower and way far back for more distance. Pulling the weight of a club back also provides much less dispersion (left or right from the center of the desired ball flight).





At the end of the day, I could work the FT3 better than the X/Speed. The X/Speed did give more distance and control when I slowed my swing down (amateurs...). I remembered late in the round that the FT3 tour edition had an open face. Once I fixed my grip to accomodate the open face of the driver, the ball trajectories became straighter (compared to earlier fades). All in all, I recommend the FT3 (normal not tour edition) over the X/Speed for better control and good distance.

Encinitas Ranch, San Diego

Encinitas Ranch (San Diego)
1275 Quail Gardens Dr
Encinitas, CA 92024

Green tees:
6220 Yards
124 Slope
69.8 Course Rating

Public golf course.

I played green tees (HCP 10-18). The back nine is tougher than the front nine. The front nine has a lot of width to hit your driver. I remember that I ended up atleast thrice in the bunker (there are lots of strategically placed bunkers to avoid).

Hole 16 starts with a blind shot - very exciting, I made it to the green in 3.
Hole 17 was the toughest for me.

There are atleast 3 bridges over 50feet deep roads/valleys - exciting.
The back nine has glorious ocean views; we played during the evening and viewed the sinking sun. The course is probably on the highest elevation in Encinitas so one can play late until past sunset.

Houses surround most holes, I envied dozens of homes that must have a great view.

Main homepage:
http://www.jcgolf.com/encinitas_course.htm

Virtual tour:
http://www.jcgolf.com/vr/encinitas/1037409t.htm

The course reminded me of Callippe in Pleasanton - there are lots of wavy fairways - creating a challenge with tough lies.

Sorry, no photos - I forgot my phone in the car.

Cloudy day @ Sunol::Palm

Wildlife (turkey) on the course.

The Bridges--Another great course

Whew....Iam still sweating after playing 17 holes of The Bridges 142 slope rating . But I loved the challenge enjoyed the beauty and relished the good shots .

http://www.thebridgesgolf.com/

On my first tee shot I met a Gora and his son who looked like spoiled rich brats . I was minding my own business and waiting for them to complete and he asked me to join them . Gora looked very "kadoos" individual . I saw both of them take atleast 3 shots on this tough first hole and after my first miscue they just started walking towards their cart. Gora also told me "why are you torturing yourself on this course " and I replied with vengence " For the same reason you are here " . Gora and his son continued to suck and I started hitting a lil better shots which is when they just skipped a hole and ran past ahead of me .

So it was Me Myself and the bridges . I lost 5 balls and hit 7 penalties on my tee shots which is my main weakness. Otherwise I was right on target .I had 50% greens on regulations,good short game and score only 17 putts in the front nine. Ulitmately with all the penalties I scored 94 after 17 holes while it was almost pitch dark and I decided to come out as I thought it was pointless to hit in the dark.

I love it and I plan to take Wanderer and Geek and 2 dozen balls (not range balls) sometime in near future

Early morning golf. Wow, what a concept.

Morning round at Sunol - Cypress

Yesterday was Valentine's day, most of the day was spent as my wife wanted. Today is another day, and what better way to start the day than to see the morning sun from amidst lush green (I say lush because it has been raining a lot here and the course management team has been behind in manicuring the greens and mowing the fairways).

You dont believe me that it can be really exciting to wake up at 6am (Me? I am not a mornings person myself, I prefer to sleep till 8am). Take a look at this picture, and tell me what was wrong when you were in your bed and I was here at this time:


I and "Hopeless Golfer" planned this round last night. "Geek Golfer" bought into the plan but chickened out later, I believe he had to go to work or something like that... too bad.

Cypress was greener than usual. The grass mowers and tractors were at work, the fairways and greens were pretty moist with dew.

What was different today was that I had forgotten to get my putter (I was practicing in my living room last week) and towel (my clubs remained wet and dirty throughout). I enquired at the pro shop if they had demo putters, they didnt. What they did have was a putter to borrow (I guess for unlucky chaps like me, who forgot their equipment at home). Believe it or not, it was a classic that I believe Gary Player played with - a vintage Acushnet Bullseye "Titleist" putter designed by John Reuter Jr. After the front nine I putted amazingly well (according to my standards... I two putted mostly, and had a rare and tough 1 putt) - I swore I was gonna go home and buy it off the Internet if I could find one. The back-nine was another story, and I concluded that buying it will be a very hasty and unwise decision.
I guess what was obviously different from my blade putter was that this vintage putter was 33" (not 35" that I have) in length and had a heavy bottom (i.e. the center of gravity was pretty low). Now when I say heavy, dont compare it to the "Heavy Putter" brand of putters - those are ridiculously heavy (so they are straight and very forgiving, but distance control is, umm... shall we say optional with ;-) )

Anyways, as usual here are some more pics to enjoy of the fine golf course:

Fremont Park ---Litmus test

I have never left this course happy . Today I played alongside Geek Golfer who was very consistent with his iron shots . I got one birdie and couple of pars but then the rest of them were disaster . I lost 5 balls in the hazard and all of them were Tee shots. Fortunately I have a good short game and putting else it could be demoralizing.

For me I think the ultimate litmus test is not to lose any balls and maybe score a couple pf 30s . A pure litmus test for golf basics....ie alignment .

eXtreme Golfers

I and "Hopeless Golfers" went to play in the midst of rain today. The conditions can be referred to as being sub-optimal, undesirable, and dismal. Yesterday the weather man said had 80% chance of rain; it dropped <0.1". Today the weather man said had 80% chance of rain; it poured :(. The only two things that looked positive were that we were prepared for the rain with rain attire, and mentally we were saying to ourselves "I am playing against unfavorable natural conditions, its windy and damp - so be it... given the conditions, I will play the best golf I can play on this day!".

After playing 9 holes, we went to the 19th and found that the club had given up on us - there was no lunch, no soup, no coffee - only beer and sodas! (they saw more rain coming in and closed early). Needless to say, the turnout at the course hadnt been exactly great - we two were probably amongst the half dozen people playing in the gloomy February afternoon, the Sunol Valley Golf management thought it would be easy to dissapoint a few hapless souls. Ofcourse they also dont give rain-checks, its the policy.

Photos:






Bay area, they say needs the rain... and the Rain Gods were omnipresent - what can I say, we gave up after 9 holes - all we asked was some hot food/drinks...

Lessons --- Another brick in the wall ?

Can lessons improve a certain skill like say golf or cooking or cricket or tennis ?
Some people are gifted with certain skills but without proper guidance at the right time I would wonder if we could have discover Tendulkar or Michael Jordan or Roger Federer or Tiger woods. Could they have reached this level without proper coaching ? Tiger picked up his first club when he was 1.5 year .If I had to take a guess...probably not. But once you got that right coaching where you can take it is upto each individual . For example Tom Watson was a big star beating Nicklaus and the famous pebble beach victory along with his other 7 PGA wins but his son is a 7 handicap player. He must have got all the lessons from top pros but again I guess he doesnt have the god gifted special skill . Same with Rohan Gavaskar and many other children of great sports people.

Can I become better by taking lessons ?
Let me give an example . I never took guitar lessons until I came to this country . I still have the same skill(if you call it skill) before and after taking lessons( maybe 10 lessons) . Thing is learning at this age is tough and we dont have that much patience and I guess I wasnt that passionate about guitar anyways.
But golf is a different beast for me . Since last 20 months or so I am living golf everyday . Read...play ...watch and practise. It is that hunger to break the 100 s 90s 80s and get a few birdies just wants me to get better everyday . After a year when I hit a saturation point I realised that I need someone whom I can listen to and guide me .

You sucked in golf when we started and you still suck after lessones...have you improved yourself ?
Fortunaltely we have handicap in golf to keep track of your game and know whether you have improved yourself or not . Look at Mr skins ...he has a handicap 17 right now . When he started a year back he was handicap 28-29 .
I have my own personal goals and I have seen improvement in my golf swing since I took lessons . It doesnt change 20 strokes out of my game but if I can practise hard and be more consistant I am optimistic that I can consistantly break 80s . Thats my short term 2 year goal .
Time will tell if I can achieve that . If I cant ...I gave it my best shot

The right way to take it up ..

My friend, the "Hopeless Golfer" commented offline that he wishes that he had "first taken lessons before he started playing" and that got me thinking. Really, whats the "right" way to take up playing golf?

Lets see, to a great extent, it depends on how you got hooked into it in the first place. I generally ask this question whenever I am paired up with someone I havent met before. "How did you start playing?". And they all have varied answers. Some played coz their friends dragged them to it, some played coz thier Dad was the Course Manager ..

Of course, one could start by enrolling in a class at your local Golf Driving Range. This approach seems very popular among parents who always want to "guide" their kids to various extra curricular activities. Does this work? Do these kids really take to the game if it was introduced to them in this fashion?

I mylself prefer the approach of "learning by practising the art". Whats the difference? Well, I believe that instead of "reading the manual - and understanding the "right" technique", I would rather just try my hand at it - see if I like it, and THEN take a more formal class to hone my skills.

If you see how children pick up languages, you will see how well this approach works. Kids start learning languages by just repeating what they hear and gradually building up their repertoire. No one ever sits with the kid with a grammar book in hand and teach him/her the "right way to construct a sentence".

Will this approach work with Golf? I often hear the comment -- "Bad technique you picked up is hard to break if you dont start with formal lessons". How true is this? Is it possible to say, develop a bad swing (that somehow works for you), and then have your instructor coach you the "right techinique" that will make you more consistent and play better? Would it be very difficult to "forget" your "bad" technique? Would it creep right back?
I would like to assume that a bad technique is correctable.

The question is when is the right time to start taking formal lessons? That, I believe, depends on YOU. Its when YOU feel that YOU are ready and would benefit from formal lessons.

Or is it better to start with formal lessons?

In the end "Its all Talent 'Maccha'" :-)

Comments?

What got you hooked?

There are various kinds of golfers ..
# Pros
# High Handicappers
# Social
# Business
# Weekend Addict
# ..

People take up golf for various reasons -- "So I can get away from it all", "Oh, I just love the game ..", ...
And then there are myths -- "Golf is mainly for old men, and people who have too much time on their hands ..", "Golf is for pretentious rich people living in gated communities .."

To me, it just started with a casual introduction by my colleague who took to me to the driving range to "just hit a few balls" .. and man was I hooked!
Maybe the fact that playing Golf was really something that I could only dream of where I grew up (it was for really rich people) **might** have subconsiously made me drawn to it now that I had a chance to play it - but I doubt it had a major impact.

Golf has given me something to look forward to in life. I enjoy the opportunity it brings, to be with my best buddies. I enjoy the escape it provides me from the daily grind. I enjoy the fact that it allows me time to introspect.

And now, I guess I fall in the category of "Weekend Addict". Its not all fun and joy. The game does make me feel frustrated - especially after a routine triple bogey. But that one "well read putt" in the next hole is enough to keep me hooked!

What got you hooked?

Sunol Valley, Palm

Sunol Valley Golf Club
6900 Mission Rd.
Sunol, CA 94586

Course        Yards Slope Course Rating
Sunol Cypress 5801   114    67.6
Callippe      6024   129    69.9
Sunol Palm    6406   118    70.5

Wonderful views of Sunol valley: mountains, palm and cypress trees.
Often see wildlife (goose, turkey, deer).
Great deals for frequent players (level 1 membership is free).
Difficult to loose a ball - course for high to mid handicap players.

Skywest, Hayward

1401 Golf Course Rd
Hayward, CA 94541

Public golf course.

Large greens:







Tree-lined fairways:












Close to Hayward Airport (noisy at times):

Callippe Reserve, Pleasanton

Callippe Reserve
Located at 8500 Clubhouse Dr., Pleasanton, CA 94566

Couple of years old, becoming really popular.
Golf Week's #6 golf course in California.
Golf Digest's one of the best new courses to play!

Given its reputation, we decided to take the challenge . It was a day when the weather was teasing us all through the game with drizzle and overcast skies, yet our enthusiasm for the game overcame all weather problems. We could not spot our ball when we were on the 18th green, it was 5:20pm (the group we were following were sort of slow).

The view from 13th hole is spectacular. You can also take a virtual tour from the following link .

Here are some photos of Callippe, including a rainbow...

Preamble

3 desperate golfers or 3 hopeless golfers ? We will find out very soon...

But first we wanted to capture our golf experience in California and write about them . We all started playing golf in the fall of 2005. Its Jan 2007 and we still suck, but we suck to a lesser degree now (we would like to believe).

In these months, we have come to believe that GOLF is a game of constant learning and frustration, with few moments of joy which keeps us coming back for more. That solid drive... that mystic birdie... that 20 feet putt...