Mr Hahn

Think I saw on Twitter that Koepka has withdrawn also.

My situation similar to both of these. Had a gap of a similar length, maybe playing 3 or 4 times casually during that whole period and got back into it last year. So don't have anything official. My scores would indicate i'm somewhere between 8-10. Goal was 5 at the start of the season but think that goal might have to wait for next season.

Think that's a solid statement from the club. Gave clarity while sounding professional and sincere. Sorry this has happened as Tait was a good player for us and by all accounts a nice guy. Wouldn't want this to sour his time with us.

18 holes this evening which can only be described as a game of two halfs. Front 9 started shaky with some very poor short game on display but was recovered to a very respectable 2 over par. I then proceeded to completely lose the plot and came back with.....this: I will add that I holed a 30ft putt on 14 for that 7 too. Lesson learned, don't ever start to think you're decent at golf, it will promptly be confirmed that you are indeed still shite.

Played 9 holes this evening. Started off very foggy at the 1st so feared for the rest but it cleared and turned into a lovely evening. Played pretty well too. 3 over par with a couple of really daft bogies. Smashed a 2-iron tee shot right down the middle of the par 5 3rd only to blase my second shot way right into the trees costing me a bogey. On the next hole I topped it off the tee into trees and had to chip out. Not a bad recovery to get a bogey in the end.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/53084600 Yeh I read them here yesterday. Was kind of hoping for Rory's sake that he'd been taken out of context but having read the exact quote he's pretty out of order IMO. Seems a far too regular occurrence with him that he's making comments in the media that just makes him sound like a total knob. I think everyone appreciates a straight talker and someone who answers what they really think to media questions but he could quite easily express his view that it's fine for these events to earn world ranking points without having a cheap and unnecessary dig at those who don't agree.

I agree with all of this. Would also add that if you wanted this technology, you get a fairly similar effect by drawing a line with a sharpie round the circumference or half the circumference of the ball. Obviously the three lines of the triple track would provide extra insurance that you were fully lined up but I've been using this for years and I think it works fine. Also means you can keep using your ball of choice and not have to change to the Callaway. I've been wondering about range finders recently. What do you guys use to get your distances on the course? I've just been using the 19Birdies app on my phone. Has the benefit of being free but is a bit of a faff getting my phone out, refreshing the app etc. Was considering getting a Bushnell Phantom. Seems like a pretty compact device and, at ~£95, it's a lot cheaper than a lot of the range finders I've seen.

Jeezo, another putt doing a loop! WP Berger.

Schauffele's putt on 17.....we've all been there. Feel for him, think that'll be a tough one to take. Hoping for Morikawa here, cracking player.

I grew up on Strathaven and my dad is a member there. Think he is quite new in post, how was he playing?

Had the same on Tuesday night. Thought she'd be bored but enjoyed it enough to ask if I was playing again on Wednesday. Think she just wanted a walk that wasn't the streets round our flat tbh. There was a brief minute and a half of caddying before she decided the bag was heavier than it looked and gave it back. Justin Rose starting well at the Charles Schwab Challenge starting today. 7 under so far on his round with some very solid putting. Hasn't yet missed inside 20ft 12 holes in. Let that sink in how much that putting would improve your score lads.

Played 9 holes last night in what turned out the be a better evening weather-wise than expected. Played really well too. Long game is really starting to come back. Played the first 3 holes in 1 under par after a birdie at the first but a triple bogey 7 at the 4th quickly saw to that. Thinned a 2-iron off the tee into the trees, tried to hit the hero shot through a small gap and hit the tree, rebounding the ball to my feet. Couple of fairly scrappy holes followed but finished nicely on 8 and 9 with a birdie and a 2 putt par with those holes playing back into the wind. Don't know how you guy's courses are playing but the greens here, despite a week of rainy weather, are still very firm and fast. I like it like that but it's definitely an adjustment from playing on March greens which were very slow and spongy to these. Judging by the head greenskeeper's recent newsletter too, there's been a few complaints about the length of rough on some holes. The sunny April and May months coupled with a bit of rain last week have made for very lush rough which quickly becomes very difficult to find your ball in not that far from the fairway. Suspect we'll be seeing that chopped back a bit in the coming weeks.

That looks glorious, looking a bit cloudy down Glasgow way? I've a time at 8:03 this evening to try and get 9 holes in and it's lovely blue skies here atm but the forecast's looking like it might be raining just in time for me to play. Edit: My work from home room has an east facing window. It does not look so bonny from the other side of the flat

I will confess that if I had loads of money, I'd love to keep buying new clubs. Maybe every 2 seasons or something. I will caveat this by saying I'd love to do this fully in the knowledge that if I'm shite, it's not the clubs, it's me. I just like shiny new clubs. As it stands though, I've replaced my whole bag over the past year and a bit and fully intend these to last me 10 years like their predecessors did. On the "play like pros" posts, one of the best pieces of advise I've heard which has improved my score no end is "Pros hit what they should hit, amateurs hit what they can hit." Leaving the ego at the door (metaphorical door) is the best thing I ever did for my golf. Learning that, just because you can carry the bunkers with a driver, doesn't mean you should. Hitting an iron to the wide part of the fairway is 9 times out of 10 the better play for me. Really limits disastrous scores. On a slightly related note, I remember a guy I used to play with when I was a junior who would say he "played with a fade," presumably because Tiger Woods did. Basically he had a slice but would aim miles left so it would end on the fairway. On the one hand, fair play to him for adjusting to his ball flight. On the other hand, this was so far from a controlled, skillfully executed "fade" that it bordered blasphemy and his handicap reflected this.

Played 18 this evening. Long game is coming right back and starting to hit some nice shots. Somewhat surprising though, after 2 months with nothing but a putting mat for golf, my putting was a disgrace. Definitely need to get back on the practice green when that's allowed again. My stroke feels ok but clearly nothing like putting on an actual green feel-wise. 2hr 50 round to contribute to the round time chat. Felt like things were moving at a good pace this evening but was all 2 balls so was as it should be really.

This has been my experience too, very speedy and smooth rounds. My course has a couple of fairly bad bottlenecks where a few holes cross which still did block up a little on the first day back but no issues whatsoever on the other days I've played and it's just been a delight. My round last Friday was 2 hours 50 minutes, and that was with the two in front of us being slow. They had 2 clear holes in front of them at the 12th and they let us play through, by the time we were on the 17th green they were just teeing off on 16. No excuse for it. This is disgraceful. 5 hours rounds and making up 2 clear holes should never happen in 2 balls. Not even like these are competitive rounds in the strict sense of the word.

Funny game is golf. Spent Friday and Sunday scuffing my way round the course, losing a few balls in the most glorious weather. 9 holes tonight in the pishing rain and wind and was hitting the ball lovely. One of the most satisfying things in golf is holding your score together in poor conditions.

Depends what you mean by a "handful of times." To me that means you're basically a beginner in which case I wouldn't even think of £2400 worth of clubs unless you're absolutely loaded and money is no object. If I was you, I'd get in touch with a pal who plays if you have one and ask if he's got any old ones kicking about and start with them. They won't be perfect but they'll at least give you a chance to see if you enjoy the game and want to take it seriously. Failing that, I'm sure you could find old clubs somewhere for very cheap. Even if you were considering buying new ones, focusing on one brand is a mistake IMO. Should always try different brands and see which fits you best. Pros use a single brand because they're paid a load of money to do so, the ones that aren't have very mixed bags (see Brooks Koepka).

Played my second round at 5:30 yesterday evening. Another glorious few hours on the course. Game was significantly better than Friday but still fairly dire. My driving and tee shots used to be the foundation of my game but it appears I've forgotten how to hit my woods during lockdown . Managed to nab the last tee time at 8:03 tomorrow evening too so hopefully squeeze 9 holes in before it gets dark. Number 5 on Newmachar Swailend yesterday:

'Tis indeed.

Was just glancing over posts in the course car park before driving home and that made me look twice. First glance I read minus 23C . Truly a microclimate up in Kemnay. What a glorious day for us all to be back out there though. Needless to say, it took me until the 15th hole to find the middle of the clubface. Played like I did when I was a junior for the first 14! Think I've learned today that I'm certainly not a natural at golf as some others are. With plenty of practice, I'm an alright player but without that, my bad habits come back pretty quick. Hit some absolutely dreadful shots including a shank off the first tee and can also count myself as having lost a couple of balls. But towards the end, I hit a couple of peaches. My 5-iron second shot into a par 5 uphill was my favourite of the day. None of this matters compared to the feeling of being back out though, enjoyed every minute of it. Course was in brilliant condition and can't wait to be back more regularly now. Here's my photo of the 18th (I remembered on the last hole to take a photo).

Our club going the opposite way. Have introduced measures to make sure everyone gets a time. I didn't try last night to get a time for Saturday but apparently was just as bad as getting one for tomorrow. Have now been asked if you have one on Friday and Saturday, don't book one on Sunday. They've introduced limits on how many times a week you can book a time too.

Hopefully a sign of what will happen, North Berwick tweeted this:

That was quite a rush actually! There was a little count down timer on the BRS till the tee times unlocked, really heightened the suspense! Then of course the time I was going to book was already booked! How anyone could have been faster than me I've no idea. Shat myself but just clicked another one and got it. 13:52 on Friday, ya dancer. The times have barely been online 5 minutes though and all the times are gone, madness.