If you’ve been to a PGA Tour event, you know it’s next to impossible to get an up-close view of Tiger Woods. You might wriggle your way to within 40 feet of a tee box or green, but unless you’re taller than most you’ll have to look through the backs of people stacked ten deep just to get a glimpse of the side of his leg. As I rode the shuttle bus in to see Thursday’s round at the 2009 Quail Hollow Championship, I decided I would use a little strategery to increase my chances of seeing the world’s number one golf swing at point blank. Point blank is what I got, and a bit more.
PGA tour stats show that Tiger Woods misses 36% of his fairways, and if you watch golf on TV, you know that when he misses he misses right just about every time. So, as Tiger played the 8th, I staked out some real estate on the right side of the 9th fairway (Tiger’s 18th for the day), about 300 yards from the tee. I planted myself on the rope and Read the rest of this entry »
It’s been decided. Online Handicap Blog is not doing it for us. It’s not strong. It’s not that exciting; it’s not really even that sexy.
We think we can do better, and we think you can help. We need a name, and potentially a slogan. Post your suggestions below (or send them to us) and share your thoughts about which suggestion you like most. The best one will become the new name for our blog.
I remember reading somewhere that the average golfer effectively lowers his or her handicap a full 3 strokes by taking unwarranted gimmes.
In other words, taking gimmes on a regular basis results in a handicap index that is lower than your true ability. This is bad if you’re giving strokes to your friends on Saturday mornings. I don’t know how accurate that 3-stroke statistic is, but it’s compelled me to take the time, even when I’m just playing by myself, to putt everything out. I always want to know that my handicap is an accurate measure of my game, and unfortunately my game includes a fairly severe incompetence from inside 5 feet.
The day I left a 24-inch putt 6 inches short was the day I knew I had to do something about my short putting. If you’re like me, the sight of your golf ball coming to rest anywhere between 2 and 5 feet from the hole causes immediate, involuntary twitching. In fact, I sometimes will my chips to roll 10 feet past just so I won’t have to face the shakes from 4 feet. Read the rest of this entry »
After receiving feedback about the confusion involving out-of-season scores, we’ve made things easier and more intuitive.
If you live in a Northern region (e.g. NY), it is important that you do not post scores during the inactive season. This is because course slope & ratings (the measures of course difficulty) may not be accurate in winter conditions (and thus skew your handicap). Checking the box still let’s you post your score – however, a score that you designate as out-of-season is only recorded in your Score History, and does not get used in the handicap calculation.
Before, the out-of-season checkbox would appear throughout the winter. Now, it will only appear if you are actually in a region Read the rest of this entry »
Never leave a putt for septuple-bogey short. That’s not quite how the saying goes, but that’s exactly what I was thinking as I stood over a left-to-right 15-footer on the par five 5th. Four Sasquatch divots marked the scene of my undoing exactly 108 yards back up the fairway, one for each of the four shiny new Pro V1’s that were sitting at the bottom of the pond in front of the green. I’d managed to hit something other than mud on my fifth try, and all things considered, ended up relatively pleased with the bellied screamer that skipped once and spun to 15 feet. It was an excruciating 108-yard walk up to the green. By the time I arrived, though, I was done moping. If there was one thing I’d learned from all of my self-help reading, it was Read the rest of this entry »
MyScorecard is excited to announce the start of the “On the Course with Dan Gonzalez” blog series. You’ll get to know more about Dan starting with his first post in a few days, but we felt it our duty to make a formal introduction, friend to friend.
So, Dan, meet the MyScorecard folks. MyScorecard folks, meet Dan. Dan is a golf writer and amateur golfer from Chapel Hill, NC. He plays most of his golf at the UNC Finley golf course (a must-play if you’re ever down in the triangle area), and is a frequent competitor in amateur events around the state. He’s just like you. He likes golf… a lot.
Dan will be posting a regular blog on this site, topics to vary. Our hope is that you’ll find his perspectives fresh, entertaining, and sometimes even informative. We also hope that you’ll feel inspired to post your thoughts and comments in reply. We’d love to hear from you.
Now, quit reading this and go play some golf!
The MyScorecard Team
Welcome! As we continue to explore new and better methods to communicate with you, the members of the MyScorecard community, our latest effort is the online handicap blog.
The goal of the blog is move from the one-way publishing model of our articles and newsletters to a more interactive method of communication.
Based on your feedback and suggestions, we will focus our blog entries on three topics:
Feature Updates: We are continually updating the site, both on the front and back end. In the past we would err on the side of conservatism and avoid sending you emails about small updates and minor features. Now we will post these to the blog so you can be aware of (and take advantage of) the latest and greatest improvements to the site.
Facts & Figures: A byproduct of our membership is the large amount of information that we gather about handicaps. Many of you realize this and send us questions: What is the average handicap? What is the hardest golf course in America? How much do average temperatures impact your scores? We can now share these answers with everyone and will post short, interesting updates to the blog.
On the Course with Dan Gonzalez: Dan is an amateur golfer and golf writer, who will be sharing stories from on the course. Though he has a handicap index of 2.6, we believe golfers of all skill levels – from beginners to professionals – will identify with his stories.
For those of you less familiar with blogs, new posts will appear at the top of the page. You can filter the posts by category/topic using the navigational links on the right. You are welcome to add your own thoughts and comments to each blog post using the Comment links below. And if you really enjoy what you’re reading, you can subscribe to the blog by clicking on the orange RSS icon in the lower left corner of the page.
As always, if you have suggestions for improving the blog, don’t hesitate to let us know – either in your blog feedback or by sending us an email.
The MyScorecard Team
