Tuesday at The Heritage

Good morning Dude's, Babe's, and Buddies. It's a chilly/cold Thur morning in N.E.Ohio, 38* with a real feel of 29*. My 9-hole Thur morning league starts today at 9am, and I'm about as rusty as I've ever been. This lousy spring has only permitted one trip to the range and two other rounds so far. I hope to do well, but it's doubtful. I hate having to play with cold weather clothing on, and being that I haven't played much yet, it could get real ugly. Results to follow later, if they are not too ugly to mention. Have a great day folks, I intend to.

T

I only use firefox. I never use IE.

That ain't where the problem is coming from. Don't know what it is.

Dick

Steve and Bob

Kelly Jo made breakfast for diner. She cooked up a big slab of ham, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese, and toast with strawberry jam.

All that was followed up promptly with a root beer float.

After that she gave me a back rub, because I had a long day. Here is the funny part. I never left the house today. I spent the whole day on the patio sorting golf balls, smoking cigars and posting on the blog. Yep, tough day at work.

I keep telling you I am a blessed man,
Dick

I not only tested it, I put that sucker under a microscope today. You gotta love this game to tolerate the way I played today. Results posted elsewhere.

Hey guys and gals, I finally confirmed and am commited to getting a complete fitting and club build done with SwingSurgeon approved fitter Leith Anderson in Palo Alto. You California folks can look him up at Calgolflab.com. I will be the end of May. Hopefully my hands will then be less stiff and painful too. Anyway, I have been continuing my research and am more inclined to consider forged clubs. Along with the obvious- Mizuno, I have been impressed by the quality of Miura and Vega for irons and wedges. Leaning toward Adams V3's for hybrids to replace the 4,5 and possibly 6 irons. Driver is still a question mark though I like what Surge and Lynn are using - the KZG 355ccSP700. I am more than excited about the whole process. The way he starts his fittings is by meeting me at the local muni to play nine with my current clubs and then back to his'lab' to do all the testing(radar, monitors, etc.) then test clubs can be taken back out to the range (or course) and will also try several different wedges. Back to lab the following day and final decisions will be made. If clubs are (ie.) Mizuno, I'll need to wait for them to be built to specs in Japan, sent back to Leith in California, refinished (ie., add different club shafts and varify all specs) adjustments made if needed, then mailed to me in Las Vegas. Then lots of smiles and birdies, at least that is what I'm visualizing :)

Dick, before leaving UK, we carted a Golf Bag on wheels [the type used to put your bag of clubs in, which could easily take two sets of clubs] to the local Golf Pro, who would take them off our hands. This was the tail end of our stock of balls found by my wife while I played.There were over 800 of them ; - ) In the unusual event of my losing a ball. I would say to her, find me a Srixon AD333 etc.She never failed me, usually finding a better one than I lost in the first place.
Good to see you in your usual irascible form.
I too used to store them on egg trays, easy to keep track of by brand and how many.
Looked at the site hours ago and only able to respond 4 1/2 hours later. Maybe somebody is watching me hahahaha.
Good to see that Robert and others are to be the recipients of properly fitted clubs by Doc. Look forward to hearing their progress with them. Ain't nothing wrong with Mizuno Robert Meade.
I wish DJ all the Best for the Heritage.Now being a real ratbag, I want one of the others to continue to play as well as he has this year so far,ie, Luke Donald. He wins, he hits the N01 spot in the world. So torn between them, both named Donald too, b*gger! as the Kiwis say.
Will be watching the Volvo live from Chengdu [where we visited the Panda Breeding Centre for my Birthday a couple of years ago] in just under a couple of hours.
To all the usual gang on this site, keep it long and straight where ever you are.

For Steve Smith, couldn't reply to your 'damage report', but I put my driver head through a bamboo rocking chair, exactly 1 minute before my wife came home ; - ) She didn't give me too much of a hard time. A real gem. The blog on your driver and 5iron, alignment etc the other day was a real wake up call.

As for you foodies, hahahahaha. My gourmet chef is just about to start lunch bless her. Can taste it already and she hasn't started yet.

Weather yo-yo and how here, 22degC yesterday 10degC today and Fog, at least that is what they say it is!

Shoulder coming right and will be back in action in the very near future. Yesterday was a day in infamy for a couple of reasons ; < ( ie, Hitler's Birthday and the 5th anniversary of the day my wife hit those three consequetive putts, up hill, down hill and side hill booohoooo! Clever little lady.
The Tech team are doing a good job under trying circumstances after the hurried departure from the old PPGS site and having to start from scratch.Keep up the good work guys and gals.

Watched an episode of "Justified" last night and guess who sprang to mind? Hahahahaha more than one of the Surge Nation.
Funny how in the army [Dick], when someone made a bloomer, we used to say "Nice one Squirrel". Have had camel, snake, crocodile, kangaroo,shark, etc, but never squirrel.

Have a great weekend all of you. Look forward to the last round on Sunday. I never did understand the deck chair tip for downhill/side hill etc.Was it on foot on the ground and one in the canvas dip in the seat part?

Dragonhead, getting better in Dalian, China

Me too Dick. I'm seeing a red boxed X, instead of a gravatar/avatar pic or head shot. Just on some though and not all. They are even showing up on older blog posts that once had the proper avatar displayed. Weird

Thanks Steve, I've already gotten Dick's email and sent the first message and Day 1 video lesson. I think before we can do the Dropbox sharing, Dick will have to become registered also with his email account. When I tried to share with him through my account by entering his email,it stated that it could not fine his account. I'm waiting to see if the first video got through by regular email for now.

You know I'll want to sleep with 'em. Mt wife may get real jealous but hey, it's a golf nut thing.

Steve

It could be worse. You could be the turkey showing up for the turkey shoot.

Dick

Now you are on your own then. I have the same problems as you describe with IE, but with Firefox everything is fine. I have no idea what it might be.

Good, balanced round Amos. Keeping it in the short grass and skillful chipping and putting never hurts. Nice to play when no ones pushing you and you are'nt waiting for groups ahead. Living the dream you are. Playing golf several days a week. And on a semi-private course. Good for you pal.

Tech team

I don't know if you fixed it or not, but it is all working fine now.

Thanks for all you do for us,
Dick

J

I will let you guys know. I don't know if I will get out tomorrow. They are calling for 40% rain. I hope it does. We are like 10" low so far this year.

We have been having lots of brush fires. Nothing like down in Texas. Today they said they have now lost over 1.4 million acres and hundreds of homes.

They lost a fire fighter there last week. His funeral was today.

I hope everyone will join me in keeping that family and all the folks down there in our prayers, along with the folks who have been hit hard with these recent storms.

Dick

T

Glad it is not just me.

Same here.
Dick

to Surge Nation:

Go get'm DJ. You can do it !

Now for today's round:

shot 43 on the front, 43 on the back for 86 total.

3 GIR (all on par 3's) with 6 pars. 10 bogie, 2 double bogie. Once again, no triples or worse!
10 of 14 fairways, 2 by a matter of a foot or so. 172 yd Driving average (pathetic, I know)
8 one putts, 1 three putt for 29 total putts used.

An anomally of shorts, the drives on the 17th and 18th hole were the third and second longest of the day at 182 and 183 yards respectively. Normally I would expect average or shorter than average on the closing holes.

Played in 2 hours 45 minutes -- could have been a little faster - but I had two "near lost balls" -- took almost all of the alloted 5 minutes to find them and I deliberately took a 5 minute break under shade trees at the 16 th tee. I was playing by myself, early in the morning - one threesome about 4 or 5 holes ahead, and a twosome about 5 holes behind - Almost like having a private course!

Keep hitting them STRAIGHT and LONG

Amos

Doc

Is there some place on the site where I can find your email address? I have something I want to send you off the blog.

I have a convert. What is the email address where he can sign up for the 10 daily lessons?

Dick

Hey T,
To be all inclusive, that would be Good Morning Dudes, Babes, Buddies, and Dummies.

Ronnie, I'm a club tinkerer too, since there are no fitters available near me. Are you trying to reach a certain length, or swing weight or both? I have a 316 gr driver that I built to 43.25" replaced a 50 gr grip with a Winn Lite grip and that change increased the swing weight 7 points from C5.5 to D2.5. If you cut to your desired length, and your SW is still too high, you could go back to a heavier grip or butt weighting to fine tune the SW. If the SW goes too low, then you're probably stuck with adding a little lead tape. I doubt that there's a simple answer to your initial question though as it would depend on the weight distribution within the components. Since you can remove and reinstall your grip, you could cut an inch off and see how much it drops the SW, and then continue cutting accordingly. I look forward to hearing your results.

Ah! Golf, Food, Politics and now CIGARS. Absolutely the only passion that I enjoy more than golf. I truly believe that God and Peter sit around after dinner and enjoy a good Maduro.

What do you usually smoke Dick?

My wife doesn't let me smoke in the house, but my truck smells great! My current cigar of choice is the Rocky Patel Edge in Maduro.

Hit'em Long and Straight!
Bob

Robert

That is way cool pal.

You have almost as much enthusiasm when talking about your new sticks as Kevin, the other Robert, ect, and I do when we are talking about food.

Sounds like you are on the right track to all those smiles and birdies you are already visualizing.

Of course, if that don't do it, you will have lost you last remaining "good" excuse.

It will all be on you then pal.
Dick

Dragonhead

Where to start? I will go item by item.

Yes, I am still being me.

My claim to fame with property damage is swinging my old driver into the path of an active ceiling fan. Knocked off two blades, broke the shaft, the fan went nuts and tore up the ceiling and broke loose from the mount before I could get to the switch to turn it off. That one still cracks me up.

Glad to hear your shoulder is doing better. Tee it up pal, you are almost ready.

We called the morons squirrels in the Corps too. Come on by for a visit with Steve or I and we will get you set up with a home cooked meal with some squirrel.

Surge was using the chair to simulate standing on a hill where your feet are above the ball. If he had stood on the deck and put the ball up on the chair, that would have simulated standing on a hill where the ball is above your feet.

I hope you will join us when we get set up for the world wide "Bring a folding chair to the range day." You had better be careful with where you are living. They might label you as a trouble maker and lock you up.

Good to hear from you,
Dick

Tech team

Now the logo for the blog "Disqus" is missing from it normal place at the top right of the blog

I can't access my dashboard or other features.

Again, is it just me, or are others having the same thing on their end.

Dick

I logged into a Hireko (Think old Dynacraft in Newark OH.) Webinair today on club length fitting. It was very informative and included charts and illustrations about the interrelationship of body, club length, lie angle, swing weight and component weights. There was nothing that contradicted Doc's advice, and certainly reinforced the need for proper fitting. I don't remember their exact ratio of changing club length to SW change but I think Davisonc's number was close. You can now see the web brodcast by searching for Hireko on U tube. I plan to download it. If you visit Hireko's website, they have some excellent data on shaft specs for all brands that they have tested actual product, not just publish the co. specs. You have to dig around a little on their web site to find it in tech support.

You could click on his name to go to his site, or click on the Academy tab at the top and go to Fitters and Instructors then to Southeast and find him under South Carolina, or you could notice the other comments where he's posted it as thegolfstop@att.net. :)

Looks like the weather is much more cooperative in Hilton Head. Cheering for a low round, DJ. There are clearly some great scores out there to be had. Go get 'em!

Dick, I have one update for you. I have now lost the DISQUS box at the upper right of the blog too, even in Firefox, but the avatars are still all ok, except in IE. Hopefully, whatever it is, will clear on it's own over time.

My daughter brought down a plate of pasta with homemade sauce and Texas Toast garlic bread. I'm stuffed.

Bob

Good luck indeed, DJ! We'll be tracking your progress up the leader board.

Thanks, I don't really let it effect me too much. I'm able to leave the last shot go and focus on the next, or in this case, leave the last round go and focus on the next. It was only my third time out and wearing cold weather gear. I still enjoyed the day. Momma said there wood be days like this, momma said!

I will have eliminated the "clubs" equation for sure. I'll still have to swing them :) These will likely be the last set I ever buy, if I ever finish paying them off LOL! Cheap it wont be. But it is an investment I have been saving for and am indeed very excited.

Dragonhead: The Surge had an all-plastic, wide folding chair. He folded it up, laid it on the deck, and stood with both feet on the curved plastic back of the chair. This elevated him about 9 or 10 inches off the ground, so golf-wise, his feet were higher than the golf ball, in a "downhill-lie" position. He then proceeded to show us how to swing using his normal-sized 7-iron. Basically, his method is as follows: make an "accordion-down" move by bending your knees down (with outward pressure) and leaning your spine forward at the same time, so the clubface is at the same level as the ball,and while keeping balanced on the chair (or the "hill), make a normal, full swing. He did this twice, and said it is okay to move or lose your balance AFTER ball impact, but stay balanced thru the backswing and FUS until impact. He did this twice for demo purposes, and fell off the chair both times after a simulated impact. But, it works! Hope this helps a little. R2

Very weird. I'm having no problems with Disqus or avatar pictures or anything else. Not sure what to tell you.

Dragonhead

Great to hear from you as always.

I will pass on your thoughts and well wishes.

Great stories from your end pal. Being a history nut, all those places and stories mean a lot to me.

For us military types the phrase "leave no one behind" means different than our current "no child left behind" nonsense. While we never left a wounded or dead Marine behind, we left plenty of their spirits scattered about the world.

How the world changes and people forget that they would be speaking German or Japanese if it weren't for guys like yourself and all the lads who have served their countries in times when "talking it out" was no longer an option.

Here is a story as it was told by an old veteran. He was going to France for the 50th anniversary of D Day. At the airport, the french customs guy was giving him grief because he did not have his passport ready before he got to the agent. He said he did not know he would need it there. The agent asked if the man had ever been to France before. He replied "Yes, just once." The agent said well then you must know you always need your passport to get into the country. The old solider said "The only other time I ever came to your country was early on the morning of June 6th, 1944. And I guess they did not have the same rules in place back then, cause I could not find a single frenchman at the beach to show my passport to." The customs agent just shut up and waved him through the check point.

Hope you had a good warm up. Enjoy watching today's round.

God bless and keep you my friend
Dick

The whole tinkering thing is cool though. I am planning on setting up a third of my garage with a work table with vices and various club fitting and grip changing tools so I can have fun too like you other kids. Really. Got permission from my wife and everything. I'll start looking on e-bay and craigs list cause the prices of such tools adds up on golfworks and like sites. Ronnie or Dstansbery, you guys know of other afordable ways to get the fitting tools?

Steve

I was thinking about sleeping with it, especially after what you ahd said about your bat. But, then I thought what happens what happens if you're dreaming about that lonnng drive. You get all excited and roll over and break your shaft. Now that's got to be painful.

Lynn42

T

Looks like you are trying to test the old theory about any day on the course is better than not being on the course.

We await your after action report.

Dick

T

I think the trolls have gotten in the back door and are playing games with the blog.

Dick

Bob

Take the lap top outside, light up a big cigar, and spend the evening with us.

I smoke a "5 Star" cigar. I get them from JR Cigar over near Doc. They ship them right to my door. The ones I have been smoking for at least the last 20 years are a natural wrapper, mild, 8.5" 52 ring beauty. They are so consistent. I can't tell a bit of difference between the one I am burning right now from the first I one had from them.

I have never smoked in my home, that is what a patio or man cave in the garage is for.

You forgot about motorcycles.

We are blessed,
Dick

Great news Robert, hope the hands behave themselves and play ball ; - ) Look forward to the sitreps on progress.
Smiling at your visualization. A good thing to do. Keep it vertical, long[enough] and straight.

Robert

Just think of it as an investment.

You should be excited. You have me dreaming of doing the same thing one day.

I share in your excitement.
Dick

Hey Dick: You beat me to the punch! Right on! You type faster than me. Way to go and have a great day tommorow if you don't get rained out. We have been rained on for 6 of the past 7 days and everything out this way is flooded. Do you happen to have any good floating balls??? R2

Robert

Thanks. Maybe it is just T and I that are on the outs.

Probably one of my insightful posts that got me whacked.

Dick