Not often, no. I do have a putting machine in my lounge and I sometimes practice with that but I should probably do more. The main thing I can't practice there are breaking putts. Even Wilcon don't build a house that badly

But as long as greens aren't too fast I'm mostly a two putter with some one putts. I'm off to Rye Hill today which last week had fast greens so I'm just hoping I can keep things under control.

I hit 54 at reasonably decent 9 hole course on Thursday. That's consistent with my 53 and 107 the previous weekend. I'm now back to scoring what I was when I was a member of club a few year back.

My main areas for improvement are putting, which is getting better put still bad, and trying to get some more consistency hitting off the tee.

Nice now you just need to get into the 90s

I'm hoping to break 90 today. Don't know how I'll celebrate that as there was a time I'd have been happy just to break 100 at this course. I'm not sure how long it is now that some of the yellow tees have been moved forward but it must still be over 6,000 yards.

Well that didn't work out. Just didn't feel on it today. Had three or four bad holes and came away with 95.

My partner had it better (sorta) he was +7 on the front but finished on 91 after a bit of a collapse. At least my round was consistently 'meh' so I knew it was never going to sparkle

Hi all.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where to buy new clubs. Popped into american golf yesterday and had a fitting and know pretty much what I want but would obviously prefer to get them all cheaper.

I dont really want to buy anything off ebay and dont want to buy second hand. Need new clubs for a fresh new start

Hope someone can suggest some websites

Read the first couple of pages or so of this thread!

Get them from American golf but price match instore. Search online for the clubs they select and they will match the lowest 'genuine' price.

Are you a golf club member or do you intend to be?
Our Club Pro will match any internet price and then do a "fit" which generally involves a lesson.
You then have the loyalty of the Pro rather than asking for a lesson with clubs bought elsewhere.

Hi thanks for the suggestion. I dont think I will be joining a club. Its not my scene at all. Plenty of pay and play courses around me.

Pretty much all courses are these days although some limit tee-times or don't allow you to book very far in advance. The only real advantages of being a club member are reduced costs if you have enough free time and occasional social events.

Frankly I doubt any married person with children would ever have enough free time to gain financially from club membership. I'm single with no kids so during the summer I can play any evening I want. I'm currently managing two weekday evenings and occasional Saturday afternoons. That plus a dozen Sunday matches with my buddy and sundry days off just about makes it worthwhile to pay the thick end of £1,000.

This is true for me.

Married with three young kids. I had this notion that when we moved to where I am now, I'd join one of the local clubs. Pffffft, fat chance of that! The decent ones all have joining fees of over £2,000 and yearly membership fees of around £1500.

No way I can justify that sort of money at the moment! I'm clinging on to the hope that when my kids are all older they'll want to play golf and I can join then!

A lot of the clubs around me are doing 'creative' membership schemes where you basically pay a set amount for so many rounds. I haven't seen anything tempting so far but I was thinking about joining somewhere.

I agree that the normal membership schemes appear to be aimed at getting as much money as possible from existing regular members than it is about encouraging new people to join. I've 'done the math' and I really don't see how any normal player would save money with a membership at £1,000 given that 1 - most people can only play midweek for 4 months of the year, 2 - most people don't play during the winter and 3 - most people don't want to play the same course week in week out.

I was a member at a club a few years back but I was only paying £50 a month as a special 'under 30s' rate. As a very much single guy with a lot of time on his hands that worked out well for me

There are obviously other benefits to being a member. That sense of community, being able to book 8:30 tee off times on a Saturday morning, cheaper drink/food prices. And obviously being able to play all the time when you have take take holiday at work!

huge difference in fees between the area i grew up and what you guys are quoting

my old course is £420 a year and has reciprocal arrangements to play at guest rates with 12 other courses in the area

for me the benefits of being a member was always the social side, having a proper handicap and being able to play regular competition golf

i was one of those slighly insane people that played all year around, if the course was open we played every saturday sunday, even in the middle of the winter

Rye Hill near me offers a points scheme. You buy a certain number of points when you join then you can top up during the year. It works out slightly cheaper per round and means you don't need to pay a full fee up front. As long as you can be sure of playing at least a dozen rounds there every year you can be a member.

It depends on the cost, but it is possible if your evenings are free. I'm lucky in that my evenings are as free as I want. I only choose to limit myself to two evenings a week to avoid overdoing it. Also I pretty much drive past my course on the way home from work

At current prices for my course I manage approximately:

18 holes, two nights a week for four months = 2*4*4*£15 = £480
9 holes, two nights a week for two months = 2*4*2*£10 = £160
A dozen Sunday afternoon rounds = 12*£20 = £240
A dozen Saturday afternoon rounds = 12*£20 = £240

total = £1,120

I think my membership fee (including union dues, lol) was £975 this year.

I'll often pop along on days off as well. The dozen Sunday afternoon rounds (pre-midday in winter) still allows for forty rounds with my partner at different courses.

I can also play for free at our sister course (same owner) over at Silverstone. It's just a shame that's a very hard course and something of a 'toil of a pleasure' :-/

That's what I meant though - you are clearly a very frequent player and are really only just covering the cost of the membership. I'm thinking more of people who struggle to play 3 weekends a month and maybe 10 - 15 nine holes during the summer months. I didn't come close to managing 18 holes midweek this year - the absolutely earliest I can get to the course is 6:30.

The points thing doesn't appeal to me as the only reason i'd want to be a member is so I could play Saturday and Sunday morning at a reasonable price (less than £35) - and that's obviously when the premium points total is. If someone offered me a membership that allowed me to play, say, 25 rounds any time I wanted for £500 a year I'd be happy to pay that.

A few courses near me do the points system as well now so I assume it's pretty popular.

While on the subject of courses, what is your favourite course or best course you have played?

Living in Ayrshire means I have a lot of fantastic courses near me, my favourite to play is Turnberry. A good test off the back tees although I've not played it since Trump altered a few holes.

Outside the UK the best I have played is the Blue Monster at Doral. I would love to play The TPC course at Sawgrass or at Quail Hollow, maybe someday.

I pay about £1000 pa. Joined in 2012 when joining fees were abolished for a recruitment drive a few years after I'd retired.
When I was working it was a non-starter.
The club is a five minute drive and I play about three times a week - once in a qualifying comp, twice in social roll ups - all year round. I also enter whatever annual comps are scheduled.
The social side means I have a good circle of friends who I know will turn up on certain days/times. I achieved this by simply sticking my name on the comps board and playing whoever I was drawn against and by introducing myself at roll ups. Because I was new to the game and off 28 I found it nerve racking to start but soon realised that golfers appreciate "triers" who want to learn and good company.
As a high handicapper I often found myself playing single figure handicappers in comps and only ever found them supportive and affable.
I also play for our "Vets" team which means we play home and away matches in summer for £10 a time with a meal afterward - they're competetive but in a great social spirit.
I also sometimes pop up for a beer to watch the first tee and the par three 18th, both visible from the balcony.

haven't played much on the west coast and more of a parkland course man myself

really like schawpark near alloa and downfield in dundee

callender is a cracking little course as well

used to go to spain for a week in march/april every year and love marbella golf club

Ooh, a tricky one that.

The most attractive course in my area is Feldon Valley.
The course I know the best and am most comfortable at is Cherwell Edge.
Outside the UK I think it has to be the South Course at El Rompido. I love this hole. The first 130 yards or so are a swamp. It's amazing how many people's drive off the tee fails them at that hole

I really liked Mile Ride just outside Ascot. Lovely course - though the back nine was an absolute killer.

Yeah, you mentioned that before and I was thinking of paying it a visit sometime.

Whoops, just noticed a typo - it's Mill Ride.

It's a very reasonable price to play during the week. I warn you that the front 9 draws you in to thinking the course is forgiving, then wham - the 10th is a blind tee shot par 5 with a 100 yard lake in the middle of the hole!

Ouch. I'll see that and raise you with this from Silverstone. It's a simple and straight par five (the first hedge is something everyone can easily carry over) right up until you get to your approach shot. And yes, that dark patch to the left of the trees (mature, tallest is about ten metres high) is a pond. Oh and the hedge line turns into a ditch just before the right most bunker. Oh and the rough to the left of the fairway is mostly in shadow so often thick and lush. Oh and beyond the hole the rough is left to grow as it wants. I believe that a small tribe of pygmies lives in there.

one of the courses in my home town starts with a 470 yard par 4 that has an elevated green and a really steep slope up to it that covers the last 50 yards or so

so basically you have to be able to carry your second all the way as there is no way to run the ball up

really difficult hole to start your round as even pitching and putting for a 4 is tough because if you come up short you run all the way to the bottom of the slope and have a 50 yard pitch