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2023 Annual Thread of 3 Putting


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If you play Calloway, Mizuno, TaylorMade, Wilson, or Bridgestone balls, you might have a little trouble in the near future getting new balls.

Death toll in Taiwan factory fire lowered to nine, with one missing. Four victims were firefighters

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Authorities said late Sunday that one person remained missing following a fire at a golf ball factory in Taiwan, after forensic analysis revealed that some bones found earlier in the day were not human.

The blaze Friday night killed nine other people, including four firefighters. Launch Technologies Co., the operator of the plant, is a major global supplier of golf balls.

Authorities had reported earlier that the remains of two people were found Sunday morning and of a third person in the afternoon, putting the death toll at 10. But one set of bones from the morning turned out to be non-human, officials said.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency, quoting a Pingtung County fire official, said an explosion caused part of the building to collapse about 6:10 p.m. Friday, trapping firefighters and workers under rubble. A second explosion followed 20 minutes later.

More than 100 people were injured in the blaze at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park. The fire was not extinguished until Saturday. The cause remained unclear.

Taiwan is a major manufacturer of golf balls, with factories supplying major brands including Callaway, TaylorMade, Bridgestone, Mizuno and Wilson, according to the 2021 annual report of Launch Technologies.

Launch Technologies, which is listed on the Taipei Exchange, shipped about 260 million golf balls last year, accounting for one-fifth of the global total, the Central News Agency said. About 80% of its sales are in the United States.

The Ministry of Labor said Saturday it would open an occupational safety investigation into Launch Technologies and its parent company. The factory, which is in an export processing zone, has been fined in the past for violations found during inspections, the Central News Agency said.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to Pingtung County on Saturday and met with victims and their families, Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS reported.

 

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I would walk all the time except my course's back 9 is hilly as fuck and holes 15->18->clubhouse have VERY long walks between holes. I try to walk 7 or 9 as much as I can but if I intend to play 18, I take a cart.

There are some old fucks that get out there and walk 18 every damn day. I don't know how they do it.

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I almost always walk.  But a few times this summer I rode a cart when the Houston humidity was too high.  Luckily, the hottest days in Houston this summer saw unusually low humidity so walking was ok during the late afternoon.  Per my GPS watch, I average around 5.5 miles for 18 holes.  

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#PushCartMafia but can't do it when it's 100+. Really enjoyed walking the courses at Bandon, walking really lets you take in the course more, evaluate the green as you come in, and process your shots. Only time I hate it (other than balls hot) is when you are trying to find a ball, can cover so much more ground faster in a cart. 

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34 minutes ago, TXSooner518 said:

Only time I hate it (other than balls hot) is when you are trying to find a ball, can cover so much more ground faster in a cart. 

With walking, I never have to buy tees or golf balls. I can usually find a tee on every tee box. I have 3 medium size zip lock bags just from tees that I found. If you get stuck behind slow play, you can easily walk along the edge of the rough and find lost golf balls. I usually find one or more Pro Vs per round. You may not find your golf ball, but you'll find plenty of others.

I use my golf app to help find my golf balls. I know my distances for clubs so if I hit an errant shot, I trace my yardages on my phone until I'm around that yardage of the club. 

Edited by crash_davis
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I walk every chance I get, especially when playing with my usual group or going solo.  Even in the heat this summer.  But, my club is very walker-friendly.  A few hills, but most tees are close to greens and with one configuration exception, you finish 9 or 18 back at the clubhouse.  I play probably 3-4 shots better when walking due in large part to more focusness and less distractions.  No push cart.  Just carry.  When I do ride, it's usually when I have a guest or drinking takes priority over golf.  

@dieucla98 based on your description, I'm guessing Great Hills?

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25 minutes ago, Spaulding Smails said:

I walk every chance I get, especially when playing with my usual group or going solo.  Even in the heat this summer.  But, my club is very walker-friendly.  A few hills, but most tees are close to greens and with one configuration exception, you finish 9 or 18 back at the clubhouse.  I play probably 3-4 shots better when walking due in large part to more focusness and less distractions.  No push cart.  Just carry.  When I do ride, it's usually when I have a guest or drinking takes priority over golf.  

@dieucla98 based on your description, I'm guessing Great Hills?

Yes sir.

I'm going to guess Onion Creek for you?

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My course, Jax Beach, is the perfect walk. 6 miles, almost completely flat other than features. I beat my playing partners in carts to nearly every tee box.

Bought my own push cart for maximum features. Key to the push cart game in the summer is a solid umbrella for shade.

I love having total flexibility with my full bag available around the green.

Burn 1500 calories a round and get in 2-3 of the per week.

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3 hours ago, dieucla98 said:

I would walk all the time except my course's back 9 is hilly as fuck and holes 15->18->clubhouse have VERY long walks between holes. I try to walk 7 or 9 as much as I can but if I intend to play 18, I take a cart.

There are some old fucks that get out there and walk 18 every damn day. I don't know how they do it.

I go every Tue to get tee times at one the local munis: Lions, Mo, Kizer/Clay. There are always old fucks in line before me. On weekends, I always see them walking in groups in front of me. They usually play faster walking than the bros later in the day who ride. That's just fucking sad and another reason I try to avoid teeing off later than 8AM, if I can help it.

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2 hours ago, crash_davis said:

I use my golf app to help find my golf balls. I know my distances for clubs so if I hit an errant shot, I trace my yardages on my phone until I'm around that yardage of the club. 

Yep, same!  It helps a lot. But sometimes it takes a weird bounce or is in some trees and you aren't sure where/if it hit one. It doesn't help that I'm not particularly good haha. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

With hunting season on and other fall activities, golf is often on the back burner.  But in Houston this can be a great time to play.  Got 18 in yesterday as the rain started on the 17th hole and it was near perfect for walking.  Overcast and around 65 degrees and light wind.  Shot an 83 that could have been a 76 but for a double and 5 or 6 lip outs.   

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  • 3 weeks later...

Dropped another one from 170 yards this morning for an eagle on a par 5. Saw this one violently disappear but still wasn’t sure until I looked in the hole

5b8863cc4a4f0c97d6cbdbae7fb7d099.jpg

I was playing solo, so two balls. “Player 2” in the background drained a 15 footer for birdie on top of the eagle ball

Hell of a match with “Player 1” choking on #9, my final hole for the morning before kickoff

60effc12d9816cce20dd27e4ae864e2c.jpg

Would have a pretty big impact on my handicap if either score counted (they don’t bc playing two balls isn’t legal)

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3 hours ago, Lurch said:

Dropped another one from 170 yards this morning for an eagle on a par 5. Saw this one violently disappear but still wasn’t sure until I looked in the hole

5b8863cc4a4f0c97d6cbdbae7fb7d099.jpg

I was playing solo, so two balls. “Player 2” in the background drained a 15 footer for birdie on top of the eagle ball

Hell of a match with “Player 1” choking on #9, my final hole for the morning before kickoff

60effc12d9816cce20dd27e4ae864e2c.jpg

Would have a pretty big impact on my handicap if either score counted (they don’t bc playing two balls isn’t legal)

Where are you playing with those yardages?

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2024 Golf Trip Itinerary booked:

June- Bandon, have been once right when Sheep Ranch opened. 
 

August- Northern Ireland/Liverpool, flying to NI, playing Portrush and County Down, flying to Liverpool and playing Birkdale, Royal Liverpool, Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s, and driving south for Sunningdale.

Potential for a Streamsong trip In September, but the wife may kill me.

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1 hour ago, dieucla98 said:

I'm more curious to see what happens to folks that don't compress the ball as much - is the difference less dramatic for those players? 

Lucas Glover hitting it shorter than I currently do is a bad sign though...

Same here.  The estimates for the impact on recreational golfers are all over the place.  The first thing I read said that the impact would be 5 yards or less for most of us.  Then I read some golf pundits saying it could be 20 yards or more for 10-20 handicappers.  I guess we’ll see.  Another question is whether the manufacturers will sell both balls until 2030 or just sell the new conforming ball beginning in 2028 giving non pros two years to exhaust their stash.  Golf ball sales will go through the roof in late 2027.  

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As a member of a club that is contemplating spending multiple millions to redo its course to make it more challenging (I.e. lengthen and reduce par) and someone who hates seeing classic courses lose their relevance I welcome the rollback enthusiastically. It is long overdue. 
 

Continue to allow developing the club forgiveness for mis-hits for amateurs but distance needs to be reined in. 

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For those interested, Costco released, for $499, Players Distances irons which are forged hollow bodied, similar to P790. Early reviews are good. 

They also released a Titleist looking driver at $199. There have been a few reviews but its basically on par with the major OEMs. Here's a video of the Kirkland Driver getting more Ball Speed than the new TaylorMade.

Most dudes will not game these because there's not a more brand conscience pimping lot than golfers. OEMs know this and mark the ever living fuck out of their equipment. It's cool to see DTCs and Costco, produce good golf equipment at reasonable prices. 

 

 

 

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Most people won’t play costco clubs because they sell out asap 

my dad bought my brother a new driver for Christmas, it was $699. I’ll have a hard time believing it’s that much better than a $199 costco driver.

I have a costco putter, first run. I skipped on the wedges, but I believe their 3 wedge set was $150. New vokeys are $180 each

100% id play those  costco irons 

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There's only so much you can do to a driver head or iron head. These irons have the latest and greatest tech, hollow body, hard thin face for ball speed, tungsten toe weighting for forgiveness. I don't know how much "better" any other similar club can be. 

The driver has weight in the back (albeit only 2 grams), thin titanium face, elongated shape for increase MOI. It has the same shaft which came standard in the Callaway Mavrik drivers so it's not some piece of shit. I don't know that any driver that is 3 times the price is 3 times better. It's all marketing.

If I didn't already have the latest Srixon ZX5/7 irons, I would've pulled the trigger on the irons. Maybe I'll pick one up next year for $300 on ebay. I'm sure the drives will drop to about $120-130 in a year. I'll buy one up then just for shits and giggles.

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On 12/21/2023 at 10:28 AM, dieucla98 said:

Driver head is just the hood ornament. Shaft is the engine. Spend on the engine.

....Says the guy who just bought a TSR2.

I'm still gaming my M1 TaylorMade driver and Diamana blue board shaft.  I've done fittings with newer stuff but there's not been any significant difference in distance or dispersion for me.

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52 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

I'm still gaming my M1 TaylorMade driver and Diamana blue board shaft.  I've done fittings with newer stuff but there's not been any significant difference in distance or dispersion for me.

I was swinging an M2 with a Graphite Design shaft. Retipped the shaft with a Titleist adapter and put on a TSR2. The distance on off center shots sold me. 

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Do we need to start a new thread for 2024? I finished December strong with 75-73-75 and a front nine 36 in the week between Christmas and New Years, which is surprising since I hadn't practiced at all and only played once since October. Immediate reversal of index trajectory, as I had been trending up all year. Despite those good rounds, I hit my irons like poo. It's amazing what hitting fairways and scoring with the short game will do to your scores. I may swear off of hitting irons at the range entirely.

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