Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Royal Flush]

What is your lowest round to par? Wish i was sick at golf

Me? 65 on a 72 par (standard scratch score was 74 though!) was once 8 under through 14 holes in a match too but the guy I beat 6&4 wanted to walk in .... Meh!

Would swap my golfing skills for a WPT title and million dollars in a heart beat though

Absolutely sick, we have to play golf one day please, i wonder if gramps and Ralph would join us to make 4....

[George2Loose]

Tony u playing the 1 mirrion gtd at dtd in April?

[tikay]

What is your lowest round to par? Wish i was sick at golf

Me? 65 on a 72 par (standard scratch score was 74 though!) was once 8 under through 14 holes in a match too but the guy I beat 6&4 wanted to walk in .... Meh!

Would swap my golfing skills for a WPT title and million dollars in a heart beat though

Absolutely sick, we have to play golf one day please, i wonder if gramps and Ralph would join us to make 4....

I'm sure Ralph would love to.

Me? Think I'd be better as your caddie... Think you'd rather enjoy that, actually.

Set it up, I'm game.

[Machka]

I thought this was pretty amazing and it's not spanish or from 1972.

How hard would you think it is to walk in a straight line, or swim or drive for that matter?

Apparently it's very hard.

I actually find that hard to believe, but I do, but even harder to understand, or comprehend.

Are we sure it is so?

It seems so, but nobody yet knows why.

Mythbusters tested it a while back and couldn't walk in a straight line.

http://mythbustersresults.com/walk-a-straight-line

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-walk-a-straight-line/

and there is an article in New Scientist discussing it too.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17658-we-cant-help-walking-in-circles.html

[tikay]

Tony u playing the 1 mirrion gtd at dtd in April?

I have not decided yet George, because I have yet to receive my April work roster. If they give me one.....

If I am honest, I'm not sure I enjoy it when it is crammed to the rafters, & I can barely move, I get a little panicky, & claustrophobic, mentally uncomfy for some reason.

I stopped going to football, & Cheltehham Fessie & the like, for exactly that reason in fact. Daft, innit?

Having said that I'll bust my balls in my own little way to do anything I can to help Rob, Nick & Simon achieve the Guarantee, I really will. In fact I wrote to Rob offering exactly that at 5 or 6am this morning, suggesting/asking what we in blonde & me personally, can do to help.

If they fail, I think blonde would have failed in a way, too, because DTD pay us a lot of money. Teamwork is all, eh?

Why do you ask, Geo, any particular reason?

I guess we can expect a spate of Stakling Threads, too, if the guys have not been too intimidated by that staking debate.

All rather exciting though, a millioin quid prize pool in Nottingham! I began playing in Gala Notts when they would sometimes Guarantee £500, & that was when I first met Rob Yong & many other blondes, though of course blonde had not beeen invented then, or even thought about.

What a journey.

[Machka]

The diet - & I'll try to resist becoming a diet bore, but the psychology of a diet is key - has started well.

The first few days are crucial, & the success or otherwise is determined early.

My head has gradually moved into the right zone, I've not eaten a single bad thing, & I've reduced the volume substantially.

I'd be prepared to wager a substsantial sum that I'll achieve the target weight within the timescale I have set myself.

The greatest thing about dieting is the sense of well-being it delivers, & I get much more of a spring in my step, though I have to get more sleep. I use a lot of mental energy, but it tires me so.

Rennie intake since I started the diet? Zero.  Nurafen intake - 3 packs, sadly, as I have as perma-headache right now. New bins needed, I suspect, though I've had a bit of stress, too.

Pretty pleased with it overall, if I can be excused the chirp - but it is all part of setting targets, & the mind games.

A 14 stone flabby, as I was, should easily drop 4lbs or 5lbs in week one. And I will, then it'll settle, I hope, to 2lbs to 3lbs for the next 3 or 4 weeks, then maybe down tio 1lb to 2lb per week after that.

OK, no more diet talk until Monday's weigh-in.

I doubt having to try and tell the time from a wristwatch sized clock on the end of a studio camera isn't helping your eyes either.

[Acidmouse]

I had a 2 handicap at 14-15..I just got worse and worse though, hows that work out?

[tikay]

I had a 2 handicap at 14-15..I just got worse and worse though, hows that work out?

Tiger had a 15 handicap at 7, or something equally daft.  How THAT work?

[Junior Senior]

Lowest amateur handicap I know of was a guy called James Heath off + 7

He won lots as an amateur then turned pro and won nothing! Sad really, never lived up to expectations.

Westwood +4 when turned pro, Garcia +5 but there are also stories like Robert Rock.... Professional mars bar seller in a club shop turned pro at 17 off 3 handicap or something similar, now he is in the world top 50 after years of grinding the Lower ranked tours.

[Hawk]

Lowest amateur handicap I know of was a guy called James Heath off + 7

He won lots as an amateur then turned pro and won nothing! Sad really, never lived up to expectations.

Westwood +4 when turned pro, Garcia +5 but there are also stories like Robert Rock.... Professional mars bar seller in a club shop turned pro at 17 off 3 handicap or something similar, now he is in the world top 50 after years of grinding the Lower ranked tours.

Robert Rock has been a solid player over the last few years (ticking along nicely as some would say) He has had a great start to the year lets hope he keeps it going.
Ian Poulter was a 4 Handicap when he turned pro and theses days the Professional on tour is anywhere between 5 to 13 shots better than a Scratch handicap. Nice work if you are good enough.

[TightEnd]

Can you explain why people turn pro when still on a handicap?

Can you play a tour event when a non scratch and have your score adjusted?

[Junior Senior]

Can you explain why people turn pro when still on a handicap?

Can you play a tour event when a non scratch and have your score adjusted?

To become a pro you have to have a playing handicap of 4 or less and pass other ability tests but they aren't particularly tough. You have to qualify to play a tour event and the stipulations are many and varied but quite tough. All tour events are played off scratch with no adjustments for scoring.

[Hawk]

Can you explain why people turn pro when still on a handicap?

Can you play a tour event when a non scratch and have your score adjusted?

Handicaps of below Zero can only be achieved by amateur golfers. You can turn professional off any handicap which some have done this is only advisable if you are very good a teaching the game

To do a Professional Golf Association (PGA) exam course. you need to get your handicap to 4 or below. The exams you take relate to running a business, understanding the golf swing club repairs and the playing and metal side of the game as well as fitness. (Brief explanation bit more complicated than that)

Most of the Tour players don't take this route as they are very good players and qualify to play on the tour by going to Tour School or by finishing well up in the minor tours

As for a handicap golfer playing in a tour event this does happen with invites or qualifying for the Open. All players play off scratch for the whole tournament with no handicap adjustment, this is because when you turn professional you have no official handicap and everyone is treated equal.

Hope that explains it a bit easier

[gatso]

so everyone playing the pro tour has sat an exam on golf club repairs?

[gatso]

oops, no, just seen I missed a paragraph when reading that