Conference 7.286::golf

    I'm glad someone posted this, because I've been dying to tell this
    story since last Thursday. I couldn't wait anymore, so I took a
    vacation day and went to the Pembroke CC in Pembroke, about halfway
    to the Cape. Grogeous course, in surprisingly good shape. They're
    playing to the regular greens, which are a little beat up, but not
    too bad.
    
    It's 6550 yards, par 71. Lots of sand and water. The signature of
    this course seems to be that every landing area off the tee is pinched
    in: there's either sand on one side and water on the other; or sand
    and sand; or water and trees. It's like most of Stow in that every
    par 4 and par 5 fairway has trees, often on both sides. Without
    leaves, though, it's not very intimidating.
    
    So anyway, it's my first round of the season. I ended last season
    with a string of 89s and an 87 -- my personal best. I didn't expect
    much from this round, just a warmup. 
    
    WRONG!
    
    I started with a nice 240-yarder down the middle. Bogeyed thanks
    to a chilly-dipped wedge from about 20 yards. Next hole, same drive,
    but into sand. I put the 5-iron from the trap onto the green (I
    never do this!) and par. And so on... I felt different from my usual
    game. Smooth and in control. I'd tee it up, waggle once, and crack
    a big 2-wood down the fairway. My 3-wood off the fairways were all
    fine (another weakness, usually). I was cruising! A couple of three
    putts and a water ball (hit too far into water I couldn't see from
    the tee), and BOOM -- I'm at the turn with a 43! This would be great
    for me at the end of the season!
    
    Somehow, I felt very calm and cool. No changes, just kept smacking
    and whacking. I hit the 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, and 14th greens in
    regulation. I put fairway woods on the green. I was in ecstacy!!!!
    
    I had real visions of a 40 or 41 for the back -- 83, best ever!!
    
    Well, not quite. You know those Roadrunner cartoons when the Coyote
    runs off the edge of the cliff and he's standing there on air? Then
    he realizes that he's not standing on anything, and sinks. Well,
    for 14 holes I was standing on air. Then I hit the 2-handicap 565-yard
    par 5 in three. I had a 10 foot uphill putt for bird. In my mind,
    I had already made the birdie. I overshot by 4 feet. I left the
    come-backer a foot short. 3-putt bogey. In my mind, this became
    a big disaster. After all, I'm an 83 golfer, right? Suddenly, the
    Coyote realizes he's past the edge of the cliff.
    
    I skyball my next drive, hit a 3 wood into the trees, and scramble
    to save a double. Next hole, Drive into the sand, six iron just
    short, leave the wedge too short, and 3-putt. Double again!!!!
    
    I can feel it ebbing away. Anyhow, I reeled it in enough to finish
    par-bogey for a 45. 88 my first time out! Man, I was delerious!
     
    I hope I can keep that easy, relaxed feeling going. It was so
    pleasurable, and made the game seem so easy when I KNEW I could
    put a 3 wood on the green. This must be what good golfers feel like.
    
    Thanks for listening to my bragging. And try Pembroke CC. It's
    semi-private, so we publinxters can only play on weekdays. But it's
    worth a vacation day. Call ahead at 617-826-5191.
    
    Dave "88-in-'88" Close

    Well you lucky in new continent.We here in dark cold Skandinavia
    are still waiting the first drives.However to hav a feeling of
    forthcoming spring I put my bag and clubs totravel agency and
    go down to Portugal Algarve one of the European golf resorts
    to have a taste of...within three weeks......
    
    Regards'

    to 222.1:   We in the psychiatry field often refer to dis visions
    of grandure on der golf course as the UECKER SYNDROME.  Tings seem
    to be vat dey are not.  In reality, you will wake up from your dream
    and find that you have missed half of the Los Angeles Open.... Dis
    is quite alright, though, because one in every two male golfers
    have dis very same dream but the scores are much lower....you do
    not have a zerious case..... enjoy a Lite and watch the rest of
    the Open.....     

    	Ugh.		Played New Seabury, down on the cape. The Blue
    course runs along the ocean for the front nine and somewhat inland
    for the back. $30. Cold and windy. I shot a 113. Pitiful. I was
    hoping to break 100 for the first time out. Got a birdie on one
    of the par 5's. 515 yds, wind at my back, hit a 3 wood off the tee
    and 3 wood off the fairway to end up just beside the green. Chip
    to 5 feet and sank the first of hopefully many birdie putts for
    the season. Also 7-putted one green. Their greens are mostly sloped,
    very few are flat. This one was very sloped, and two tiered with
    the pin placement about 3 feet from the tier slope. It was a par
    3 and I was on in 2 about 15 feet below the hole on the lower tier.
    First putt I left short and it rolled back past me leaving me about
    20 feet. Next putt scruffed it and it rolled back. Next one put
    me about 4 feet past the cup. Tap it to go in and it lips the cup
    and guess what? It rolls back down the slope. 4 putts so far. Next
    putt never made it up the slope so it rolls back to me. 6 putt goes
    beyond by 2 feet and finally I sink the 7th putt. By this time my
    friends are rolling. They didn't shoot all the great either, 101,
    108, and 131 which is abbout the normal spacing between us. Naturally
    we blamed it on the weather, since it was difficult to hold onto
    the club because our hands were frozen. 
    	It can only get better!
    
    						Keith

    	Sounds like an illegal pin placement to me!!!  I checked the
    rules and couldn't find it anywhere, but I seem to remeber something
    about how close to the edge of the green and/or a hill in the green,
    a course could legally put the flagstick.
    
                                                             Beak

Somehow 7 feet from the edge of the green sounds right... not sure about a
slope such as that though.}i

    There is no hard and fast rule about setting the pins. I used to
    do it for 8 years (during high school and college). Sometimes, when
    I had a few the night before, the pin placements were really wild.
    
    Of course, my boss had a few guide lines... For normal days, the
    pins had to be about 10 paces from the nearest edge, on a relatively
    flat area (could be tilted but can be rippled) and must be at least
    3 or 4 feet from the nearest slope in case the green was split level.
    
    For tournaments, anythings goes within reason. I knew where all
    the sublte tilts were (boy did it give the golfers fits) and I also
    loved to hide the pins right behind traps pushing the 8 to 10 foot
    distance.
    
    Of course I compensated too. I watered the greens very frequently
    so a shot hit from the fairway and a very good shot from the rough
    would at least stick near the pin if it landed there. Makes the
    golfers think, should I go for it or should I play towards the middle
    of the green?
    
    Naturally, I was one of the golfers and sometimes on weekends it
    helped to know where the pins were.
    
    Mike

>    	Sounds like an illegal pin placement to me!!!  I checked the
>    rules and couldn't find it anywhere, but I seem to remeber something
>    about how close to the edge of the green and/or a hill in the green,
>    a course could legally put the flagstick.

To the best of my knowledge there is no rule about pin placement. The
PGA has a guideline that calls for a 3ft radius of relatively flat 
terrain around the flag.  I think they also try to set the pin back
at least 3 yds. from the nearest edge.

A little of the topic, but is there a rule concerning how frequent the pin
placement must be changed say throughout the season/month/week etc.

    
    No such rule that I am aware of. Changing of the holes is up to
    the superintendent. We changed cups on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays
    and Sundays and of course on all tournament days. Changing the holes
    is supposed to distribute the golfing traffic more than anything.
    
    Ever played at a place that had the same pin placements for a long
    time? The grass starts to grow over the lip into the hole. It actually
    shrinks the size of the hole!
    
    Mike           

	Well to some it might not seem as a great feet but to me it is!
Wednesday I had my first round of the season and for the first time 
broke 100 (99).  I've only been playing for a little over a season and
never thought I'd do it.   It was at stow and not only score wise but feel
wise was my best game ever.  I felt like I could make every shot even after I
had just duffed the one before.  Now to just shoot under one hundred 
consistently.

Mc

    	Well yesterday I played my 1st 9 holes of the season, and with
    good results.  I shot 39 on a par 35 course, although all the tees
    were up shortening the course considerably.  I hit 7 of 9 greens
    in regulation, and should have shot 36 or 37.  But I figured this
    was again due to the shortness, and that I was constantly hitting
    Wedge, 9 and 8 irons into the green.  It was a rather ho hum round
    actually, where I did nothing great, but also nothing poorly, except
    for putting, which I'm not to worried about.  The greens were bumpy
    and slow, and I was leaving everything short.  I missed a 5 footer
    for birdie on the 1st, a 4 footer for par on the 2nd, and a 3 footer
    for birdie on the 9th.  I at least kept the ball in play, all day,
    never having a ball in the woods or in any penalty situation.  This
    helped considerably.  Now if I could only get myself to swing that
    easy, all year long!!!
    
                                                        Beak