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Truthfully, aeration and maintenance are a necessary part of any golf course operator’s life. The problem is getting though this period is hell for the regular Joe Golfer like you and me. And although every possible consideration has been made by the Superintendent to make this period of time as stress-free as possible, it can be a significant let-down. I don’t know about you, but for me personally if a golf course operator doesn’t volunteer the information, I feel cheated.
Thank goodness there is a site like Greenskeeper.org!
Navigate through the myriad of golf course maintenance and aeration alerts with ease as well as any other time using Greenskeeper.org’s Course Finder interface. Check out the video from JohnnyGK, founder of Greenskeeper.org and get the scoop on what your local area golf courses are doing. “Know Before You Go,” with Greenskeeper.org.
Consult us daily for up-to-date golf course maintenance alerts and relevant golf course reviews of your favorite golf courses in Arizona.
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Aimpoint Golf Review: Part 4 of my Aimpoint Odyssey
April 9, 2011
I played golf this morning. I played at my home course, and my friend had me come out early… like 2nd group off early. It’s 3 of us, and these 2 guys are intent on finishing in under 3 hours. Obviously, this is bad for me and my green reading. I want to pace off the putt, find my zero, figure out my aimpoint, aim my aimpoint, take my practice swings to dial in my speed…. and these guys are playing ultra ready golf. There were a few times where at least one guy finished while I was still not on the green. Ultimately, I didn’t mind, since I knew what I was getting into, so I just had to adjust. I’m a decent speed player… I normally spend most of my time on the greens. I don’t take long at all with my full swings. So on the greens, I did my best to quickly find zero, pace off my putt. If my putt was <2% slope and inside 10 ft, and I was close to zero, I would just estimate a 1 inch aimpoint, give or take, depending on what kind of break I SAW with my eyes. If I was further, or it was a more complicated putt, I’d work as fast as possible, which meant trusting my feet quickly, find a zero quickly, pace off quickly, look at my chart quickly, one practice swing, commit. On a few holes, I was first on, so I was able to take more time. And maybe on birdie and par putts, I was a little more deliberate, but faster than I was comfortable with.
The Bottom-line
End of story? I putted pretty well. In fact, the comment from my player partner was: “Wow, you’re pretty money on those 10 footers”. I missed a 10 footer on 18, and his comment was: “First one of those you missed all day”.
And I did make about 6 7-10 footers. I lagged really well. I misread maybe 3-5 putts. As usual, my misreads was playing a break when the putt was straight. I’m still trying to figure that out… The different green shapes complicate things, and I’m not seeing the multiple straight putts around the hole. Overall, 6 weeks into this, my putting has improved immensely, and I still don’t know what I’m doing!!!! I think most of it is my focus on speed control. I make more putts because I take advantage of the capture speed concept (see part IV). But alot of it is also committing to the line, trusting the system, so that ALL I have to worry about is speed control. My confidence is high, even though I’m not 100% confident that I know the system. Weird, I know.
About GK Member michaelko:
Our resident physical therapist from Northern California and one of the original GK Staffers. He is also one of the individuals responsible for making the GK Casual Golf Events possible. Way back when it was only an idea, michaelko, was one of those individuals that made it possible with our first outing of six members at Rio Hondo Country Club, Downey CA.
Read all about it in our Forums HERE. Nickesquire’s quest to play as many golf courses that offer Birthday specials (i.e. FREE golf on your Birthday) continues. His first golf course — Mile Square Park.
Day 1, Mile Square (Fountain Valley) Players in the a.m., Classic in the p.m. (36 holes of fun!)
I left the house @ 4:55am and after grabbing a quick snack, was in the Mile Square Pro Shop a little after 7am. I had called the day before and they would not give me a tee time as a single, but advised me that it was “wide open”, should be no issue getting me out.
Wide Open? It was packed like on a weekend, 4some after 4some. I finally got out matched up with a 3some and teed off @ 8:52am after waiting over 90 minutes. Played a very enjoyable round with 3 senior ladies in 4.5 hours. Shot 86 on the Players. After holing out on 18, walked over and met Dave @ the Pro shop for the afternoon round.
Played the Classic with Dconnally & Stickboy. Again played in about 4.5 hours after teeing off a little later than our 2:07pm tee time, finished around 6:45p. Drove and picked up dinner and my wife @ her office in L.A. and got home around 9:15p. Fun day, good company, Vince (Stickboy) played solid golf throughout and Dave (Dconnally) put on a show on the back 9 with fairway, green, 2 putt par on about 7 holes. They both shot around 80, I was definitely getting fatigued by the end of the walking 36 marathon coupled with driving over 200 miles total and close to 5 hours in the car.
Day 2, Legends (Temecula) in the a.m., Dos Lagos (Corona) in the p.m.
Had a 7:20am tee time, again on the freeway before 5 and made the 127 mile trip to Temecula, getting there a little after 7am. Rat-Patrol (Jim) was there waiting and raring to go. We ran into 1Rudedog, who was playing with his normal buddies behind us. We tee off on time and played a leisurely 4 hour round as a 2some. Both using our B-Day week-of certificates. Tough to beat $15! Both shot 84 and had a good time. So we both hit the freeway and headed north, 35 minutes to Corona.
We walked in and Dos Lagos had us on the 1st tee within 15 minutes of arriving. We again used our B-Day week-of certificates, again $15 with a cart is hard to beat. We had another enjoyable, leisurely 4 hour round. Jim was playing some good golf and shot 78, I stayed with him for awhile before fading to an 87. Thanks much to Jim for making the trip up from San Diego., it was a blast playing with you!
I was glad all 36 today was with a cart after the walking & driving I did yesterday. The 250+ miles I drove today were a piece of cake with little traffic both ways compared to battling L.A. work traffic last night. Got home @ 7pm.
Shorecliffs in the A.M. I was expecting ALOT more. Free golf and free cart = great start. However, I was kicking myself AD for not going to Tustin Ranch and paying $40 on my way to S.D. Combination of my cheapness and a little bit of Sixpez (wanting to play a new course) made me go for the free golf over what I knew would be a good course.
The course was in poor condition and the layout was tight and not good in my opinion. Put it this way, I won’t come back for a free B-Day round in the future. Enough said.
Crossing at Carlsbad in the P.M. Headed the 45 minutes farther down the coast for another totally free round. Everything about this place was an excellent experience. The firm, smooth, medium-fast greens seemed like a 15 on the stimp after playing on the bumpy slow greens of Shorecliffs in the a.m. The course layout reminded me alot of the Creekside-Ridgeline 9’s @ Moorpark C.C. Fabulous clubhouse, attentive customer service, the whole place was first rate. I think I already have Tustin Ranch and Crossings booked in my mind for next May 7th as places I want to experience on an annual basis. I would play here semi often if it were not well over 100 miles from my house.
Day 4, Riverwalk (San Diego) in the A.M., Riverview (Santa Ana) in the P.M.
Riverwalk in the A.M. Had a 6:57 tee time. Slightly before 7am, it was pouring. So I waited until a little after 8 to pay my $19 B-Day rate and start in a slight drizzle. Even in the rain, the greens were firm, medium fast and putted excellent. These greens were even better than Crossings overall! They have 27 holes here and I liked all 3 nines. This is a course I would play often if I lived in the S.D. area. I liked the layouts and the condition of the things that mattered were great.
Played the Friars-Presido combo 1st. The 2nd 9 was the only really bad rain I encountered on a rainy Friday. For about an hour it rained hard. Not a shock that 9 was by 6 strokes my highest nine hole score of the day, ended up with a 93 after an excellent front 9 considering the conditions.
I had been forewarned by numerous people that Riverview was nothing special. Couple that with a 2 hour drive north and very questionable weather conditions, I was wavering on making the drive north not knowing if I could even play there in the afternoon. So with the assistance of JohnnyGK, did an audible and just stayed at Riverwalk AD. John got me set up for a comped replay so I could play all 3 nines. So it was off to the Mission-Presido combo. Weather was much improved, sprinkled on me a few times, but got around quickly playing as a single and shot 87. Still only 2:45, so did another replay and got in the Mission-Friars combo and played with a couple of different groups for a few holes each as I played with and through different combos. Other than one 15 minute stretch where it poured, the weather was the best of the day, shot 82.
So 54 holes here made for an excellent day of golf in spite of the inclement weather. Started @ 8:05, finished @ 5:55, so averaged barely 3 hours a round considering going into the pro shop to make accommodations for the next round & waiting to tee off again in between. POP was excellent, not many golfers out due to the weather.
So the final tally of the B-Day blitz, week one was:
Nine 18 hole rounds of golf on regulation courses in 4 days.
If you count each combo on Riverwalk as a new course, 9 new courses.
The Tally
809 total miles driven, not counting my return trip home from S.D. tomorrow.
$19 highest fee paid for 18 holes & a cart over the last 7 rounds. Since several rounds were totally free, it was far less than $1 a hole spent on actual golf on B-Day promotions. Slightly more than $100 spent on gas.
GKers played a round with = 3.
Fun had = much.
Needing a rest today = VERY much!
However, after taking Mothers Day weekend off, on Monday the assault starts anew. There are still over a 1/2 dozen courses that offer B-Day deals within a week after your B-Day. Several of which I have never played. So many courses, so little time!
FREE Birthday Golf
The Birthday Golf List is FREE to our members.
To joining Greenskeeper.org is an easy. Click HERE to join 65,000 other members who have found GK their home for all golf course maintenance schedules and recent, relevant golf course reviews. Just another reason why Greenskeeper.org is the place that lets our members “Know Before You Go!”
Nickesquire – Avid Golfer
Nickesquire — self proclaimed golf junkie. He is one of the reasons why the GK community offers so much to so many people. We love golf and so does Nick. He is what you would characterize as an extremely avid golfer and southern gentleman — and that in his spare time. In between the rounds of golf he teaches and practicing attorney.
Think of the shaft as the engine of the golf club. You are swinging the club at 50, 70, or 120 mph and without the right shaft, there is little chance that you can return that club head to the ball consistently. An ill-fitted shaft will twist and bend during your swing in ways that make it nearly impossible to strike the ball squarely with any regularity. Look at slow motion golf swings on the internet and note how much a shaft will torque during the swing and that should confirm in your mind the need to have the right shaft in your clubs.
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Stock Shafts vs. After-Market Shafts
You’ll hear people ask if a shaft is “stock” or “after market.” What does this mean? A stock shaft is a shaft that comes standard in a golf club that you can purchase off-the-rack at any golf store. An after-market shaft refers to a shaft purchased separate from a club that typically requires a club builder to install it for you. Often you will see a high-end, after-market brand on your stock driver, but don’t think you just got a $300 driver shaft in your $299 driver purchase. The stock versions of these shaft brands are not constructed the same nor do they perform the same as their after-market cousins. See the image below for the real Matrix Ozik Xcon shaft (top) and the Taylor Made version of it.
On rare occasions, a true high-end shaft will be offered stock in golf clubs, but consumers generally won’t know one way or the other. The paint scheme on the stock shaft will be different, but the construction of the shaft may in fact be the real deal. Again, this is the rare exception to the rule and you’ll need to consult with your local club fitter to get the straight scoop.
Do I Need an After-Market Shaft?
The answer to this question varies. In irons, stock steel shafts are typically the same version as the after-market option. A club fitting can determine if you fit into a shaft offered stock in the club head that best suits your swing. Sometimes your swing may be best suited to an after-market shaft not offered by the manufacturer of the club you hit the best. Only a fitting can determine this.
With hybrids, fairway woods, and drivers, after market is typically the best route. Stock shafts offered in these clubs generally perform inconsistently. A common flaw is that they spin more than is optimal, reducing distance. Finding the right after-market shaft is no easy task though. Most golf stores don’t let you test these shafts so you end up buying shafts based on what you’ve heard from friends or what the employee tells you is a “good” shaft. Unfortunately, a “good” shaft may not be good for your swing. Find a club fitter that allows you to test these shafts before you purchase them.
The takeaway is that shafts matter. Quality shafts are manufactured to offer various spin, trajectory, and flex characteristics that should be expertly matched to your swing. Fitting after fitting confirms that most golfers play shafts that make it difficult to have any consistency in their ball flight. While your swing may have a lot to do with inconsistent ball striking, why add a layer of difficulty to the game by playing shafts that don’t produce your best shot when you put your best swing on the ball?
The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit www.thefittingstudio.com or email at info@thefittingstudio.com.
Due to weather and time issues, I have not yet played a round. I have had a 2 hour putting practice session, and I spent 2-3 hours today charting 13 greens at my home course.
The putting session consisted of walking the greens, feeling changes in slope, seeing if I can predict the zero line, see if I can predict how much each putt breaks based on how far off the zero line and using the chart. At the same time, working on speed control (12 inch past the hole).
The charting session consisted of walking the greens, feeling changes in slope, seeing if I can predict the zero lines on different pin placements, identifying high and low points of the green, recognizing different green shapes, using my digital level to chart slope % on different parts of the green. I made a notebook of these greens.
I have also read and re-read the different resources AIMPOINT has as far as examples, message boards, and videos, to understand the more complicated stuff.
So far, after all of this, here is my status:
I am pretty good at feeling where the slopes change from uphill to downhill (inflection points), which is important. I can find the straight putts most of the time(>75% accuracy), and I can tell you which way a putt will break on most greens.
The hard part is understanding how putts act and how greens behave on crowns and saddles. I am starting to understand this. I am also starting to see the more subtle green features, as there are small crowns and saddles on sections of greens and this will affect the putt.
Today, after spending about 15 minutes on a green, I was able to roll the ball and predict where it was going to go, without really ‘reading’ the green. ‘Reading’ in the traditional sense of using my eyes… I used my feet to find the inflection points and correctly predicted the putt most of the time.
I still need practice, but I am very encouraged so far.
Tuesday March 22, 2011 — Update 2:
So I finally got out yesterday… a brief respite from the rain and the kids… played 10 holes by myself twilight… course drained pretty well, and greens were running at an 8. the greens at this course are quite big… it’s a links course, wide open, with big greens.. the greens are not drastic, but have subtle features that are not easy to see. the slopes were rarely over 2%, most of the putts i putted were 1-2% grade.
The fact that I was by myself with no one behind me was helpful. I felt like I wasn’t taking long with my reads… I don’t know. It’s hard to gauge when no one is waiting for you, but here are some results:
• Made one 15 ft putt
• 3 good lags from 40+ feet (less than 5 ft leave)
• 3 bad reads, thought they broke but were straight or overread break (but did not read the wrong break)
and 3 good reads but just missed the putt (either speed or did not hit online)
The hard part was knowing when a putt was straight. On a planar green, it was easy, but when the crowns were involved, it gets tougher… you have 4 zero lines instead of 2, and the putts on top of a crown are all pretty straight, so if the crown is broad, you have more straight putts (if the crown is not tilted).
Also, when the green double breaks, or the line runs into mounds, it’s a bit more complicated, and I’m still trying to figure it out… but the positive is I can feel and see the breaks, and I can figure out the AIMPOINT. I just don’t know how exactly to figure out the zero line on longer putts that change features.
I had one long 60+ foot putt (back of green to front pin location), and I was able to find that zero line 50 feet away and putt accordingly.. left a 1 ft putt.
On the putts inside 15 ft, I was able to use my chart effectively, I think… made good reads and AIMPOINTs.
…Keep in mind, all 10 greens, I did not ‘read’ one green with my eyes. When I use the word ‘read’, I’m talking about feel. I felt the slopes with my feet, tried to find the zero line, and aimed accordingly. I did roll a few balls after I holed out to try and predict what the putts would do.
I continue to be encouraged, and am pretty excited at the idea that I can be an expert green reader. I hope to play 3 or 4 more rounds in the next 2 months, and then contact the instructor for some more advanced green reading instruction.
About GK Member michaelko:
Our resident physical therapist from Northern California and one of the original GK Staffers. He is also one of the individuals responsible for making the GK Casual Golf Events possible. Way back when it was only an idea, michaelko, was one of those individuals that made it possible with our first outing of six members at Rio Hondo Country Club, Downey CA.
For those of you who don’t know, Greenskeeper.org keeps an exhaustive list of participating golf courses who celebrate your birthday by providing you a FREE round of golf on, you guessed it – your birthday.
Your birthday is an annual event. Why not do what you enjoy doing for FREE?! Maybe throw in a few of your old golfing buddies and Viola! Instant memory you and your friends can look back fondly. We are not saying to do what one of our members did, but it could be just as memorable.
Happy Birthday to me… going to experience first hand exactly what benefits different courses provide on Birthday rounds! — Nickesquire
This is his itinerary.
Tuesday AM Mile Square Players walking on early.
Tuesday PM Mile Square Classic, 207pm with Stickboy & Dconnally.
Wed AM Legends 720am with Rat-Patrol.
Wed PM Dos Lagos walking on, currently wide open after 2.
Thur AM Shorecliffs probably walking on early.
Thur PM Crossings @ Carlsbad probably walking on late. Both courses currently wide open but will only pair me up with less than a 4some after they book, no single bookings.
Staying overnight in S.D., then
Fri AM 657a @ Riverwalk.
Fri PM 145p @ Riverview.
And this is just his start. Stay tuned for his reviews and his take on putting the FREE Birthday Golf list from Greenskeeper.org to work and how you can make it work for you and your birthday!
The Birthday Golf List is FREE to our members.
To join Greenskeeper.org is easy. Click HERE to join 65,000 other members who have found GK their home for all golf course maintenance schedules and recent, relevant golf course reviews. Just another reason why Greenskeeper.org is the place that lets our members “Know Before You Go!”
That’s right. It’s a Hot Dog putter. I can tell memories of that Oscar Meyer tune dance in your head. Heck even I know how to whistle that little ditty. It actually does exist. And it happens to be JohnnyGK’s pride and joy – the Oscar Meyer Hot Dog Putter. He’s a pretty good putter to begin with and this delicious little morsel is literally the cherry on top.
Check out our tribute video to the Hot Dog Putter.
It’s had a few mentions on the Friday Foursome. Even Fred Couples was surprised when he saw the “Dog” at a golf course tournament in Arizona recently. And although this video is a year old, I thought it would be nice to show off our fun side.
The debate over club fitting never ceases. Some contend the “Average Joe” golfer gains nothing from a fitting since his swing presumably changes as much as the wind direction on Soldier Field. Others say the quickest way to improvement is to allow a fitting to find the arrow that the flawed Indian can shoot the straightest. Which is it?
The first contingent has a valid argument if “Joe” tops most shots and whiffs the rest. The leading edge of most clubs will scull and top the ball about the same. Otherwise, a quality club fitting is the best first step to chip away at that pesky handicap.
Many a golfer will tell you he’s waiting until he fixes his swing to get a new custom set. Lessons are envisioned, range sessions are theoretically penciled in…but rarely do golfers find that the additional time they need to accomplish the feat. It’s hard enough to strike the ball well with properly-fitted equipment, let alone trying to “pure” a 12-year-old club with a licorice shaft.
What to look for when searching for a club fitter?
Hit off of grass. Golf is played on grass, not mats. Therefore, you should not rely on hitting balls off of a mat when making expensive purchases. This should be a no brainer.
Get fitted outdoors where you can watch the ball fly. Watching the ball fly for 10 feet does not give you any indication of how well you hit a club. A launch monitor attempts to extrapolate where the shot would have gone, but even with vastly improved technology, the data is wrong quite often. Your body subtly adjusts to what your eye sees, and hitting into a net does not let your brain process the visual feedback.
Ensure your club fitter builds your clubs. Wheeling out a fitting cart and ordering a set straight from the manufacturer is not a custom club fitting. Manufacturers have tolerances that allow for variations in each club which can cause a set to have many inconsistencies. You want your club fitter to determine what specs are best for you and then order the club components from the manufacturer so he can build your set. Having the fitter install the shafts correctly, bend the lofts and lies as they should be, and get the proper weight and shaft flex consistent throughout the set is critical.
Flightscope and Trackman both manufacture state-of-the-art launch monitors that actually follow the ball in flight. A good club fitter can do the majority of the fitting without spending much time analyzing the data from the launch monitor. HOWEVER…you, the customer, will benefit from seeing the results of each shot on the screen. Seeing is believing, and you’ll walk away confident if you can see the improvement in the numbers for yourself.
Doppler-radar launch monitors should be used. Flightscope and Trackman both manufacture state-of-the-art launch monitors that actually follow the ball in flight. A good club fitter can do the majority of the fitting without spending much time analyzing the data from the launch monitor. HOWEVER…you, the customer, will benefit from seeing the results of each shot on the screen. Seeing is believing, and you’ll walk away confident if you can see the improvement in the numbers for yourself.
After-market shafts should be available to demo. Shafts that come in stock clubs can range from good to horrible. Most professional golfers use aftermarket shafts and don’t get paid to do so. Why? Because aftermarket shaft options are higher quality and are built to perform better and be consistent from shot to shot. We’ll revisit this topic in more detail at a later date.
Playing with a custom set of clubs adds enjoyment to the game. You will hit the ball better with a custom set. Costs can sometimes be just a tad higher than an “off-the-rack” set. Be careful though…custom club fitting can be like taking your car to the mechanic. Insist on using a fitter with the previous five capabilities or you’ll leave some benefits on the table. You’ll probably encounter warehouse club fitters that will insist they can offer a comparable fitting indoors while hitting into a net, but common sense should tell you otherwise.
Conclusion: Custom club fitting is for you, if you want more birds!
The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit www.thefittingstudio.com or email at info@thefittingstudio.com.
About Greenskeeper.org:
On rare occasions, a true high-end shaft will be offered stock in golf clubs, but consumers generally won’t know one way or the other. The paint scheme on the stock shaft will be different, but the construction of the shaft may in fact be the real deal. Again, this is the rare exception to the rule and you’ll need to consult with your local club fitter to get the straight scoop.
The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit 
