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United States24751 Posts
I was recently invited to be a fourth in August to play on the Bethpage Black Course: the course that hosted the US Open in 2002 and 2009. This is, of course, an extremely difficult and high-profile course.
I have been to the range a couple of times, taken a couple of lessons, and played 9 holes a couple of times this past spring. I haven't touched my clubs in weeks due to being too busy with work/etc (although I just finished up with work for the school year). Next week I am taking a class Tue-Fri but other than that I'm available almost 100% of the time.
I need to put together a plan to get me into shape so that by mid-August I will be playing golf well enough to not completely embarrass myself on the black course. Even the first tee there is brutal: there is always a crowd watching, and you have to drive the ball close to 300 yards dead straight to have any chance at reaching the green in regulation. To be honest, my concern is not at all about score... I probably won't keep it. I just don't want to get into trouble with the starter or slow down play lol...
So how should I spend my time? I'm concerned about long game... if I four putted on every green nobody would give a shit except for possibly the foursome I'm with... but if I keep losing balls and shit it's going to be a problem. I am going to the range in a few minutes to warm up again and have a golf lesson tomorrow. How should I proceed?
By the way, I need to train to get myself into shape a bit also... they force you to walk the course and from what I've heard from people who have played it it's brutally exhausting to walk XD
Help!
edit: + Show Spoiler +The 18-hole "Black" course at the Bethpage State Park Golf Course facility in Farmingdale, New York features 7,065 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 71 . The course rating is 75.4 and it has a slope rating of 144 on Rye grass. Designed by A.W. Tillinghast, the Black golf course opened in 1936. Confer Bethpage manages this facility, with Dave Catalano as the General Manager.
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Keep the driver in the bag imo, although you might not be able to reach the fairways off the tee in that case >.<
edit: Other than hiring Butch Harmon to coach you for the next few weeks, I don't see much hope D: GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL
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Go out and drive a whole lot of balls.
Just keep practicing, 5/days/week. Obviously you're not going to ace this course, it's hard beyond hard, but trying your damnedest won't hurt your chances.
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United States24751 Posts
Haha. I just spoke with my pro (saw him at the range) and explained all this. He said "you know what, go" so I guess I'm doing this!
Have my motivation to train hard this summer. He suggested playing either very early or very late due to the hot weather we will most likely have mid-August.
Today I took it easy since I haven't hit any balls in a while: just hit a bucket out with my 7 iron. I was hitting them surprisingly well off the tiny rubber tee I have; when I put them on the matt I was coming up a bit thin on some of the shots... I'll work on that tomorrow with the pro I guess and practice my other short/mid irons. Depending on how things go I might take a crack at my long irons. Gonna wait a few days before taking out the 3h or woods though.
edit: btw I have to be really careful... as much as I want to train a lot I can't overtrain or I'll mess up my hands/wrists... I have to be patient.
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Again, good luck! You'll do well, we believe in you.
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Good luck dude! Should broadcast or record the whole thing for us (and upload it on youtube) ;D
What's your average? (he says, pretending to know Golf)
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Holy shit I am so jealous of you !!!! WOOOW I haven't played at any noteable courses... Some day I want to get to Pebble Beach but most of the others are private or super hard/redic expensive to play at.
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heh this thread title made me think it was a golf course for black people, in the same way augusta is a golf course (membership-wise) for nonblack people.
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Wait, what golf experience do you have prior to this spring?
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United States24751 Posts
On June 26 2011 03:55 HCastorp wrote:
Wait, what golf experience do you have prior to this spring?
23 handicap lol
I just played Bethpage Black in Tiger Woods PGA Tour online and shot -15 so I should be good to go :p
On June 26 2011 03:23 LuckyFool wrote:
Holy shit I am so jealous of you !!!! WOOOW I haven't played at any noteable courses... Some day I want to get to Pebble Beach but most of the others are private or super hard/redic expensive to play at.
I live right by bethpage black lol... it costs me:
Weekdays (18 Holes): $65.00
Weekdays (Twilight): $39.00
Weekends (18 Holes): $75.00
Weekends (Twilight): $45.00
as a NY State resident. No motor carts allowed.
On June 26 2011 03:07 Torte de Lini wrote:
Good luck dude! Should broadcast or record the whole thing for us (and upload it on youtube) ;D
What's your average? (he says, pretending to know Golf)
I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you want... you want me to hire a tv crew to come with me...?
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United States24751 Posts
Who holds this camcorder...? If anyone wants to volunteer...
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just for some sense of difficulty, i was a 5 handicap 3 years ago and shot a 94 at bethpage black  the length of the course is absolutely unrelenting, and if the rough is thick it's all that much harder. you'll probably have to lay up on some par 4s (5, 10, 12, 16), and the worst part is there's only two par 5s and neither are scoring opportunities. the best tip i have is to feel very confident off the tee, the course will crush you if you don't feel like you can bomb every drive. HOWEVER don't get trapped into thinking that you're a little girl if you don't reach the fairway or you don't go for a par 5 in two. leave the ego at the door because this course will punish you for it.
glhf! it's one of the best courses in america. hopefully i get a shot at redemption
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On June 26 2011 04:30 micronesia wrote:
Who holds this camcorder...? If anyone wants to volunteer...
tripoid?
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United States24751 Posts
On June 26 2011 05:27 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On June 26 2011 04:30 micronesia wrote:
Who holds this camcorder...? If anyone wants to volunteer... tripoid?
Okay, I just want to make sure I have your request correct... you want me to, in addition to carrying 14 golf clubs and a dozen golf balls in a golf bag, carry a camcorder with a tripod for >7000 yards, much of which is up steep hills. Before every shot you want me to set up the camera on a tripod positioned so that you can see me hit the ball and hopefully get a view of where the ball went.
All right, I guess I'll do that.
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Plus it'll get you in fit!
See no problems!
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On June 26 2011 04:05 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On June 26 2011 03:23 LuckyFool wrote:
Holy shit I am so jealous of you !!!! WOOOW I haven't played at any noteable courses... Some day I want to get to Pebble Beach but most of the others are private or super hard/redic expensive to play at. I live right by bethpage black lol... it costs me: Weekdays (18 Holes): $65.00 Weekdays (Twilight): $39.00 Weekends (18 Holes): $75.00 Weekends (Twilight): $45.00 as a NY State resident. No motor carts allowed.
WTF THATS SO CHEAP ! LOL
I'm going to play there, or is it more expensive for out of state ppl.
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United States24751 Posts
On June 26 2011 05:37 LuckyFool wrote:Show nested quote +On June 26 2011 04:05 micronesia wrote:On June 26 2011 03:23 LuckyFool wrote:
Holy shit I am so jealous of you !!!! WOOOW I haven't played at any noteable courses... Some day I want to get to Pebble Beach but most of the others are private or super hard/redic expensive to play at. I live right by bethpage black lol... it costs me: Weekdays (18 Holes): $65.00 Weekdays (Twilight): $39.00 Weekends (18 Holes): $75.00 Weekends (Twilight): $45.00 as a NY State resident. No motor carts allowed. WTF THATS SO CHEAP ! LOL I'm going to play there, or is it more expensive for out of state ppl.
Yea it is. For out of state people:
Weekdays (18 Holes): $130.00
Weekdays (Twilight): $78.00
Weekends (18 Holes): $150.00
Weekends (Twilight): $90.00
Not to mention the difficulty of getting a reservation if you are out of state.
edit: btw if anyone actually wants to play there at some point let me know... I can make reservations :3
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Just go have fun. Seriously. Your score will be terrible because the course is stupid hard and it's more about the experience. I played the ocean course last year at kiawah (which is insane), didn't break 100, but really enjoyed it.
Beyond that:
- Take a camcorder/digital camera to the range and record your swing, both behind you and parallel to you. It will help you identify problems in your swing you might not realize and is a MAJOR help. Plus you can show it to your pro and he can point things out that are incorrect that might be hard to understand otherwise.
- If you're worried about losing balls, hit the shortest club you can consistently hit straight off the tee (on the first tee I guess hit a 3 wood lol). Being in the fairway matters way more than hitting it long if you have to choose between the two.
- Practice every day, even if it is only half an hour per day. Hitting balls should only be 1/3 of your practice (if that), the rest should be short game and putting.
- Play from the executive tees. Don't play from the blacks or anything insane like that.
Just keep the ball in play, leave your ego at the door, and you might be surprised how well you can score!
EDIT: Regarding slow play, it's usually not score that causes slow play, it's dilly-dallying on the tee, taking 223123 practice swings and then duffing it, losing balls and searching for 5 minutes, etc. that causes it. You can play quick and shoot triple bogey on every hole.
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United States24751 Posts
Thanks for the advice veryone.
Bortlett: you aren't the first to recommend to me that the majority of practice should be short game (ex: thedeadhaji). Ironically, I'm reasonably happy with my short game right now. What bothers me far more is unexpected mishits during the long game ._.
I'm off to my lesson... we'll see how things go! Also one of these days I need to renew my membership for maintaining a handicap.
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On June 26 2011 23:15 micronesia wrote:
Thanks for the advice veryone.
Bortlett: you aren't the first to recommend to me that the majority of practice should be short game (ex: thedeadhaji). Ironically, I'm reasonably happy with my short game right now. What bothers me far more is unexpected mishits during the long game ._.
I'm off to my lesson... we'll see how things go! Also one of these days I need to renew my membership for maintaining a handicap.
Just to be sure, the next round you play, you should count how many strokes you spend on your short game (<100 yards) vs. the long. That way you know for sure how much your spending in different parts of your game.
It does vary though, there are definitely times where your long game is killing you, such as when you're losing balls or hitting in hazards or OB. What happens though is that people *only* hit balls day after day and never work on anything else and wonder why they don't get better. It's like bronze players working only on micro (because it's sexy to have good micro) instead of good macro, which is less "interesting".
Have fun at your lesson  !
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United States24751 Posts
While warming up a bit before my lesson my left middle finger's second knuckle was hurting me which made me realize I was probably squeezing too tight with my right hand (I'm a righty using the interlocking grip). Worked it a bit and got my left knuckle to not hurt anymore when I swung the club, then right near the end of my lesson I unexpectedly hurt my neck while swinging my three wood... god damn there's always something. Gonna go ice it.
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I used to enjoy a nice round of golf. Then a friend of mine convinced me to play 18 at Whistling Straits. I had never felt more ashamed of my game. I got absolutely destroyed by that course and have been demoralized since. This was several years ago and I hardly play anymore because of the horrible memories. It's like Vietnam flashbacks when I grab a club now.
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Golf is a hard game to play at a high level. In order to be able to get your handicap lower like the other poster said is to work on your short game and then learn to develop a golf swing. If you are able to get the ball around the green then get it up and down most of the time you will see your scores lower. When I practice for a tournament I usually spend 60 or 70 percent of my time chipping and putting, then the other time hitting balls. Just remember pros have hit millions of golf balls. Think of how much time it takes to hit that many balls! You will not get close to that number in 1 year, but you will be able to develop a deadly short game that will get you up and down from a trash can in that time.
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United States24751 Posts
ARGG I don't know what I did but my neck is annoying the hell out of me. It doesn't bother me when I don't move, but whenever I move my head in any direction it bothers me... WTF DID I DO?
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You could see a doctor, but I would bet you just pulled a muscle. It happens, the golf swing is torture on the human body.
I pulled an intercostal muscle once (a muscle in between your ribs) and it was brutal. I was out for over a month. Felt like being stabbed any time I took a deep breath.
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United States24751 Posts
Yea I'm pretty sure I just pulled something... hopefully by tomorrow I'll feel a lot better.
I'm learning the course via videogame lol... working out pretty well. I almost have all the holes more or less memorized... now for the REAL LIFE training once I feel better.
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I stopped playing a couple years ago so unfortunately I don't have much advice to offer but I'd just like to say congrats at getting the opportunity to play on such a prestigious course.
Also yeah that definitely sounds like a pulled muscle in your neck, it should just gradually get better as you move it around.
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United States24751 Posts
On June 27 2011 10:13 Rasun wrote:I stopped playing a couple years ago so unfortunately I don't have much advice to offer but I'd just like to say congrats at getting the opportunity to play on such a prestigious course. Also yeah that definitely sounds like a pulled muscle in your neck, it should just gradually get better as you move it around.
Just to be clear, I am playing the black course because other people want/need me to go with them. Theoretically if I wanted to I could play it all the time... lol.
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United States24751 Posts
Yea... neck is still bothering me. This type of crap (not neck, but just something gets hurt in general) happens whenever I decide I'm going to get serious about golf.
Ughh.. guess I'm gonna have to see a doctor... problem with a sore neck is anything you do (including sleep seems to make it worse).
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United States24751 Posts
Update if anyone is still following/cares: as the morning went on my neck felt a lot better so I'm going to just hold off and try not to sleep on my stomach tonight. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow!
I also went to the driving range this afternoon... I stuck to my short irons because I didn't want to overdo it.
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Good luck, I find this discussion very interesting and informative! Sounds like you've just been invited to play streetball at Rucker park with the regulars though youre an average basketball player
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my best drives are 250-275, and i can really only get that far when i am trying to get that far. and 75% of the time i try to get that far i hook it way right or fuck it up, that course sounds like a nightmare to me.
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Make sure that your swing is perfect every time and that you are gripping the club properly. Also, you shouldn't have to 4 putt everything, just ask the pro to help read the green properly and then to line your putt up properly. I found it helpful to have my pro take videos of me swinging and putting to make sure my form is immaculate. I went from shooting 100+ on 18 down to 80 in the last 6 months doing that. Also, go golfing once a week if possible, preferably somewhere that does not cost you an arm and a leg lol.
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On June 30 2011 07:10 j0k3r wrote:Good luck, I find this discussion very interesting and informative! Sounds like you've just been invited to play streetball at Rucker park with the regulars though youre an average basketball player
Rucker Park is SRS BSNZ.
To the OP: I know nothing about golf but I still read all this stuff y'all said about practising and whatnot (gold is a hard game is what I get from it).
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On June 30 2011 09:24 Entropic wrote:Show nested quote +On June 30 2011 07:10 j0k3r wrote:Good luck, I find this discussion very interesting and informative! Sounds like you've just been invited to play streetball at Rucker park with the regulars though youre an average basketball player Rucker Park is SRS BSNZ. To the OP: I know nothing about golf but I still read all this stuff y'all said about practising and whatnot (gold is a hard game is what I get from it).
Golf is fairly difficult. I played exactly once, it was a blast, I got drunk, and I had a good reason not to be at work. Can ya beat it?
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How good are the people you're playing with?
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United States24751 Posts
On June 30 2011 11:30 XXGeneration wrote:
How good are the people you're playing with?
Not good enough to play on the course probably lol (well my friend for sure... other two I don't know... I'd guess they are almost but not quite good enough to justify playing there).
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United States24751 Posts
Update: This morning I woke up at 5am in extreme pain because of how I had shifted in my sleep ._.
Eventually got back to sleep for a few hours; felt much better after breakfast-time.
Went to a golf lesson; took it easy and only used irons but made some progress. Apparently I was hitting them fine up to about 7-8 iron, but with a 6 I wasn't getting a good ball flight. After some work we realized I wasn't opening the club early enough on the upswing, and when starting to close it too aggresively/early on the downswing, causing my face to be slightly closed when it contacted the ball. This was giving me a path that was lower than I wanted. Just as the lesson was coming to a close I was getting a higher ball flight... was still getting a somewhat significant draw, but my pro said that concerns him much less on a high trajectory than it did on a low trajectory... plus I purposefully hit a slight draw anyway.
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EPT
