Anyone here play Golf?

[The Guy in the Kilt at UC]

I've been meaning to get started again, and go kilted of course. Does Cincinnati have public golf courses? I know the public parks can be on the small side.

[Jerry]

I've been playing since I was 17(now 66). I play 1 to 2 times a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Tuesday with a 120 member senior group. I've only had a couple of lessons in my life, and I guess my game shows it.I usually shoot from 85 to 95. As everyone else has said, take a few lessons. Some community colleges offer a beginning golf as one of their phys ed courses.Also, don't rush out and buy a $1000 set of Calloway or Ping clubs. Try looking for a used set, or try places like golfideas.com or dynacraft for clubs which are a third of the name brand price.

[ForresterModern]

Hector, I have not yet played Shawnee, let alone kilted, but I cannot imagine a course having a policy about kilts, since they could be legally equated to skirts, and there are no restrictions on skirts being worn on any golf course I am aware of (obviously usually by women, but that is a minor detail). I think as long as you meet their shirt requirement (not sure if they have one but many courses require a collared shirt) you should be able to swing away in your kilt without fear.

I spent 14 years in Cincinnati doing college and postgraduate training and put in numerous rounds of golf on the public park courses there---mind you not as many as I would have liked and probably more than I could afford, considering my financial status as a perpetual student. Been nearly 20 years since I left so the names of the courses elude me---for some reason the name Winton Woods seems to come to mind as one of our regular courses, but again I could be wrong.

Mac o' Rath, I guess if you are too young to play golf I should consider myself extremely precocious for having started at age 6 when my father and older brothers took up the game, and for continuing to play these last 44 years.

jeff

[davedove]

Most golf courses actually frown on "playing through", as it still slows down play in general and the group letting the following group play through in particular, then just drops the same problem on the group following them. Most golf courses will pressure groups to keep pace up with the group in front of them, particularly on weekends and weekday mornings when "playuhs" predominate the tee times. Weekend afternoons and most times weekdays are otherwise pretty laid back by comparison. The other reason is that most beginners don't know about how and when to use the "play through" concept. Lastly it can be frustrating for the beginner to feel pressured to keep up with other more talented and more experienced players in the same group, whether or not they are actually being pressured. I have known several friends and my current wife to get to the point of picking up the ball in the middle of a hole because they felt like they were "holding up the group", and that only heightens their sense of frustration, often ruining what remains of their "game" and the rest of the round. This is probably the biggest reason new players give up the game prematurely, rather than a lack of ability or progress. Hence the reason for my suggestion to hone the beginner's skills a bit on lower stress courses like par 3 or executives where the norm is slow play( kids, old ladies, beginners, etc) and on the practice range. Also cannot say enough about just going to a local public golf course and using the putting green to practice putting----doesn't cost a penny and is excellent focussed practice.

I can see that, and I wouldn't recommend a beginner (and I am certainly still a beginner) going during peak times for that very reason. I always play at off times, because it is less crowded and is often cheaper.

That being said, the recommendation about going to par 3 courses is good advice for a beginner.

I will also say that I am certainly not as serious about golf as some players. Some of the people seem to take it as a personal insult if they have to wait for a slower player. This is supposed to be a game. Relax, have fun, and enjoy the outdoors.

[GreenDragon]

There's a public course at Dunham Recreation Center, very close to where I live. I've played there once. It's a 9 hole course, Par 26 I think.

I had a set that my cousin gave me. I stored them at my parents after my first and only use. He moved in with them (long story) and when he moved out, took the clubs he gave ME! He must've forgotten that he gave them to me.

I had an idea to put a set together piece-by-piece, as something strictly to learn with, from clubs I see all the time at the Goodwill my wife and I frequent.

[ForresterModern]

There's a public course at Dunham Recreation Center, very close to where I live. I've played there once. It's a 9 hole course, Par 26 I think.

I had a set that my cousin gave me. I stored them at my parents after my first and only use. He moved in with them (long story) and when he moved out, took the clubs he gave ME! He must've forgotten that he gave them to me.

I had an idea to put a set together piece-by-piece, as something strictly to learn with, from clubs I see all the time at the Goodwill my wife and I frequent.

Green,

I think I have played the Dunham course maybe once or twice. or at least driven by it long ago. If it is as you describe (and I think I remember) that would be a perfect place to spend your first few rounds of golf getting acquainted with the over all concept without feeling overwhelmed by the difficulty of a full sized course or the frustrations of being pushed to speed up by the "real playuhs", as they are wont to refer to themselves.

If possible I would try to get at least a matched set of irons and a matched set of woods, even borrowed, used or on clearence from a golf shop or sporting goods outlet (you can easily find them as a brand new set for under $200 including the woods, irons, putter, and bag) and as long as you are a standard size player these should stead you well for several years, or until you get the real bug and decide to get a set of formally fitted and built namebrand clubs.

The overal goal in my suggestions was to make it easier on you, the beginnier to have a positive experience with your first few rounds of golf, no matter how poorly you might play, while simultaneously allowing you to ease your way into the game financially before you decide to take a more costly plunge on equipment (not unlike kilts----try one that doesn't break your bank to see if you like it, and if you do then you can spring for your Tewksbury handsewn tank in custom run tartan ---yeah right).

Enjoy. It can be a frustrating game, but it all pays off when you hit a few of those epic absolutely perfect shots, then as you get better you start to string a few of those together to make an absolutely epic hole---a par, a birdie, maybe even an eagle.

jeff

[davedove]

If possible I would try to get at least a matched set of irons and a matched set of woods, even borrowed, used or on clearence from a golf shop or sporting goods outlet (you can easily find them as a brand new set for under $200 including the woods, irons, putter, and bag) and as long as you are a standard size player these should stead you well for several years, or until you get the real bug and decide to get a set of formally fitted and built namebrand clubs.

I got my set from here:
http://www.golfoutletsusa.com/

A complete set of new matched clubs for less than $150 delivered. Great for a beginner.

Enjoy. It can be a frustrating game, but it all pays off when you hit a few of those epic absolutely perfect shots, then as you get better you start to string a few of those together to make an absolutely epic hole---a par, a birdie, maybe even an eagle.

I have managed to par a few holes, but I'm still waiting for that elusive birdie. I have missed a birdie several times by such a little bit.

[GreenDragon]

I've been eyeing this set on amazon.com for a while.

http://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Comple...=1GFONAJCUVIE9

$79.99 USD

[GreenDragon]

Green,

I think I have played the Dunham course maybe once or twice. or at least driven by it long ago. If it is as you describe (and I think I remember) that would be a perfect place to spend your first few rounds of golf getting acquainted with the over all concept without feeling overwhelmed by the difficulty of a full sized course or the frustrations of being pushed to speed up by the "real playuhs", as they are wont to refer to themselves.

If possible I would try to get at least a matched set of irons and a matched set of woods, even borrowed, used or on clearence from a golf shop or sporting goods outlet (you can easily find them as a brand new set for under $200 including the woods, irons, putter, and bag) and as long as you are a standard size player these should stead you well for several years, or until you get the real bug and decide to get a set of formally fitted and built namebrand clubs.

The overal goal in my suggestions was to make it easier on you, the beginnier to have a positive experience with your first few rounds of golf, no matter how poorly you might play, while simultaneously allowing you to ease your way into the game financially before you decide to take a more costly plunge on equipment (not unlike kilts----try one that doesn't break your bank to see if you like it, and if you do then you can spring for your Tewksbury handsewn tank in custom run tartan ---yeah right).

Enjoy. It can be a frustrating game, but it all pays off when you hit a few of those epic absolutely perfect shots, then as you get better you start to string a few of those together to make an absolutely epic hole---a par, a birdie, maybe even an eagle.

jeff

At Dunham, i hit a 40 in that first round but only because we stopped counting after 6 strokes on a single hole.

[davedove]

I've been eyeing this set on amazon.com for a while.

http://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Comple...=1GFONAJCUVIE9

$79.99 USD

That looks like a great first set. It has a variety of clubs and is pretty inexpensive.