Golf Talk

[Walter]

lol...how did you do that TypeO?

Masters is not this weekend but the next one after Walter.......hope you guys enter a group. It would be great to have at least 10 of us in the game....cheers fellas

Of course I will be joining! Looking forward to it!

[TypeO]

Thanks "O", I know I was being lazy....

Do you feel as sense of excitement when the tourney comes to town, or is it more of a pain in the ass with the added traffic, etc.?

A little of both.

The average resident with no interest in golf sees it a s a necessary evil, I guess, LOL.

Others enjoy the excitement of having an influx of celebrities and people spending a lot of money.

Obviously, it's a huge boost for those in F&B and services.

My son is a server at Outback Steaakhouse and he's looking forward to making some serious coin during the week, large tips and large parties.

I have the opportunity (again) to go set up a single chair on the 18th green on Sunday.

I've done it 2 other years in the past 3 or 4 years.

My mother-in-law's church has a connection with an Executive Services companiy that sells Masters® packages that include a guaranteed seat on the 18th green, so they recruit teens 14 and up along with a number of adults to help chaperone and they pay each person $50 cash.

You have to be there around 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning, and they issue each person an actual Masters® badge so they can get in the gate, along with the approved folding chair

They have a number of group leaders from the company that know exactly where the best place to set up seats are at, and they supervise everyone and act as the lead.

Stand around outside the Gate for about an hour until it opens, move as quickly as possible into the security area, and when that opens you move through security (no cell phones whatsoever) and on to the entrance.

Then you stand around another 30 or 45 minutes until they open the main entrance onto the grounds, and it's this crazy fast-walk (they are crazy strict about no running) as quickly as possible to 18, where they claim as much real estate as possible with their chairs.

There's an unspoken rule or whatever that chair positioning is sacrosanct, so once the chairs are set up, they are done, and we walk back out of the tournament.

Slim to no chance of actually seeing a celeb or a golfer.

Then, at some much later time when the corporate exec whose company paid fat cash for him to attend finally awakens from his slumber and has a wonderful breakfast, he'll have a great view of 18 waiting for him when he eventually gets there.

My favorite part is they drop us back at their headquarters where they have a pretty high-end breakfast buffet set up for all those big shots, and we get a free trip through the breakfast buffet as well!

The kids don't care so much, they end up shooting pool on the pool tables, but I see the buffet as the perfect bonus to a short morning's work to pick up a fun, if not totally easy $50 cash.

Also, one year I was working part-time as a limo driver, and during Masters® week they had us shuttling clients from Augusta to the Atlanta airport and back all during the Tournament.

Averaged about $20 an hour plus very nice tips to just pick a person up at a designated spot in town, drive 2 hours to the airport and drop them off.

Of course, there's a whole industry of people who rent their homes out during Masters® week.

Depending how close to the course or how luxurious the home, people get anywhere from $4000 and up to rent out their home during the Tournament.

Again, the big corporations are the main customers.

There's a gated community called West Lake where a lot of fat cats live that a great many of the major corporations and also golfers themselves rent some of the homes for $10,000 and much more for the week.

Many people rent out their home and use the money to fund a vacation while the home's being rented.

In general, I just avoid that part of town unless absolutely necessary during early morning and after 5 or 6 when the crowds start letting out.

The streets are lined with vendors and scalpers, and it's quite a party.

The night life is full of typical stories of people with lots of money doing crazy stuff, getting way too drunk, etc.

Overall, it's a pretty fun time.

[chillumpuffer]

Latest news from the Tundra. They've dropped the green fee to a Lady Godiva !! Still a lot of wonga to get me to freeze me knackers off. I will be preparing flasks of tea and a St Bernard - just in case I'm out some time. Shit I don't have any yellow balls.

[Babs]

If it's that cold, you could always make your own ......

[badgeholder]

Ok, here we go:

from last year's bottom ten, I'm going with

Charles Schwartzel and then adding these five:

Brendt Snedecker

Graeme McDowell

Ricky Fowler

Bubba Watson

Jason Duffner

[fishhead]

Ok, here we go:

from last year's bottom ten, I'm going with

Charles Schwartzel and then adding these five:

Brendt Snedecker

Graeme McDowell

Ricky Fowler

Bubba Watson

Jason Duffner

got it BH, thanks for playing!

[fishhead]

HEY GUYS AND GALS, GET YOUR PICKS INTO ME BEFORE APRIL 11TH, FOR THE MASTERS POOL!

The Masters-April 11-14, 2013

p.s.- if you have not seen it, "The Greatest Game Ever Played" is a pretty good movie and a great golf movie....

[ally]

Picks sent Fishy. Let me know if there's any problem ie spelling. Thanks again

[fishhead]

thanks ally...I will look for them shortly.

Hey all, our committee had a late night meeting last night and it was decided that;

if a golfer, picked by one of our many forum members partaking in the pool, was to have to bail on the tournament before the first tee off on the Thursday of the Masters, we would let the forum member make a substitution. But, only if the player leaves before the first tee-off. ciao, Fishy

[ally]

thanks ally...I will look for them shortly.

Hey all, our committee had a late night meeting last night and it was decided that;

if a golfer, picked by one of our many forum members partaking in the pool, was to have to bail on the tournament before the first tee off on the Thursday of the Masters, we would let the forum member make a substitution. But, only if the player leaves before the first tee-off. ciao, Fishy

Great idea Fishy. It should be up to us to pay attention though. You're already doing enough

Edited April 1, 2013 by ally

[fishhead]

Great idea Fishy. It should be up to us to pay attention though. You're already doing enough

no biggy....I have a calculator ready to go and an extra set of batteries.....won't be a big deal. just plug the numbers and add em up. I will post all the forum members (including me) teams before the first tee-off so we are all in the know and then send out scores after each round asap.....gonna be fun!

[fishhead]

Alice Cooper manages to play a round with relatively long hair

Wes, I have not received your golf picks yet for the Masters pool? Are you going to join us?

[chillumpuffer]

Course updates:

Friday was our away day. In bitterly cold conditions 24 of us teed off. Fortunately the biting winds eased but snow flurries were never far away. I played OK considering I hadn't hit a ball for 2 weeks, but poor putting was my undoing. The first hole a par 5, I was on the green for 3 and ended up with a 7. Couldn't get to grips with the greens and it was like that the whole round. A poor 24 points. Mrs CP on the other hand blew the opposition away carding 38 points and winning the ladies section.

Sunday was a great day in comprison. Our home course was still snowed under so we played a friends course. The weather was great, sunny and no wind. The CP's were on pretty good form beating our friends by 60 points to 52. I personally played well carding 33 points but it could have been much better as again my putting was left wanting.

Yesterday in dreadfully cold dull conditions we went to our home course and played 8 holes all on temporary greens. There is still drifts of snow and Ice on the course and I can't see that moving because it is still cold here and we have just had a snow shower.

All in all there is room for improvement in my short game but I am optimistic for the season, assuming it ever starts!!

[ally]

Course updates:

Friday was our away day. In bitterly cold conditions 24 of us teed off. Fortunately the biting winds eased but snow flurries were never far away. I played OK considering I hadn't hit a ball for 2 weeks, but poor putting was my undoing. The first hole a par 5, I was on the green for 3 and ended up with a 7. Couldn't get to grips with the greens and it was like that the whole round. A poor 24 points. Mrs CP on the other hand blew the opposition away carding 38 points and winning the ladies section.

Sunday was a great day in comprison. Our home course was still snowed under so we played a friends course. The weather was great, sunny and no wind. The CP's were on pretty good form beating our friends by 60 points to 52. I personally played well carding 33 points but it could have been much better as again my putting was left wanting.

Yesterday in dreadfully cold dull conditions we went to our home course and played 8 holes all on temporary greens. There is still drifts of snow and Ice on the course and I can't see that moving because it is still cold here and we have just had a snow shower.

All in all there is room for improvement in my short game but I am optimistic for the season, assuming it ever starts!!

As they say CP..Drive for show but putt for dough..lol. That definitely applied to me. My short game has always been my problem.

[Walter]

Those were tough conditions, CP. Plus playing during March in your part of the world is a risky proposition - you may want to ice over a puddle in your drive-way to help with that putting stroke!

[chillumpuffer]

I know the old adage. But you know how it is? Driving and irons off the fairway are great, putting is shite. Next week it will be my long game that goes wrong and my putting will be great.

Conditions are slowly returning to normal. We are to lose the cold dry weather and of course it will be replaced by that bane of all golfers - the rain. Still we need to see the temps rise and that can only be a good thing. Everything is so brown we need to see GREEN

[ally]

I know the old adage. But you know how it is? Driving and irons off the fairway are great, putting is shite. Next week it will be my long game that goes wrong and my putting will be great.

Conditions are slowly returning to normal. We are to lose the cold dry weather and of course it will be replaced by that bane of all golfers - the rain. Still we need to see the temps rise and that can only be a good thing. Everything is so brown we need to see GREEN

True enough CP. I was the same as well. One or the other but rarely both. Still, I always scored better if I was getting the ball out there so I'm not one to underestimate the importance of being good off the tee and leaving myself with shorter iron shots to the green. Just frustrating to double bogey when a par or bogey were quite possible

[fishhead]

MASTERS POOL UPDATE

I have received some team picks form some of the `golf pros`` around here, which is great, and their teams do look promising!

For those of you who need a little extra help with your picks, here is an article that you may find interesting....cheers Fishy

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1589063-masters-golf-tournament-2013-5-sleepers-to-win-at-augusta-national

[SuperDave]

I plan on being in the pool. Hope to make these later tonight. Should be fun. Have won my golf fantasy pool at work 2 out of last three weeks. Finished second on the other week. Had an ok year but have gotten hot over the last few. There are ten of us in that one.

Edit: Will make my picks...Well not tonight, but certainly over the weekend. Need to go over the final field first. READ ON!

Kevin: One thing you may want to do is publish the entire Masters field here as there are probably a few picks, from those already made in this pool that won't be playing. There's so much criteria to make the field and all sorts of exemptions. I think checking the Masters, PGA Tour and Golf Channel sites should work.

As far as the bottom ten from last year you want to use...only use the bottom 10 that are qualified to play this year. The final field will be set after this weekend's tourney in San Antonio, when the final exceptions are made for the Masters. It will depend on how certain golfers finish this weekend. So you may want to wait until the final field is known.

Just trying to give you a heads up, show you how it works and make it easier for you as the "Pool God" here and for us hackers!

Edited April 5, 2013 by SuperDave

[Walter]

^Guess we have a "hot shoe" amongst us! Let's see if our zeppelin.com crew fares any better than your office!^

Edited April 5, 2013 by Walter

[fishhead]

I plan on being in the pool. Hope to make these later tonight. Should be fun. Have won my golf fantasy pool at work 2 out of last three weeks. Finished second on the other week. Had an ok year but have gotten hot over the last few. There are ten of us in that one.

will be great to have you join us Super Dave! just send me your picks when you can before the first official tee-off

[SuperDave]

^Guess we have a "hot shoe" amongst us! Let's see if our zeppelin.com crew fares any better than your office!^

I'm guessing you're referring to me? Only gotten hot the last few weeks as I was putting it in the drink before that. Funny, that I won this week and no one in our league picked a golfer in the top nine. I picked Keegan who finished 10th. Amazing, I win for the week, with just over $200K in earnings. Last week...of course I picked Tiger and wound up with about $1.5 mil in earnings.

The league I'm in is on the Golf Channel site. It's split into three sessions and the first ended last week. Two guys were going for the overall for about $200. The winner had a bad week and wound up winning only $50K. The runner up had his chance...but....didn't get his picks in on time! Dumb ass! What an opportunity missed!

The winner of the first session had a bit of a drought off and on for the past few weeks. I think there are over 30K participants in Golf Channel's league. At one time a few weeks ago, our 1st session winner was ranked in the top 35 or maybe a bit less in the overall pool for the Golf Channel. Slipped somewhat in the last few weeks.

I'm personally hoping for a bunker free second session. It goes through at least the U.S Open. My feeling is there should be a Major in the first, but isn't. Just the opening of the season. Oh well! Should be more fun!!

[SuperDave]

Just in time for the golf season and what every golfer needs:

[Walter]

Augusta are you receiving us????

Getting excited everyone? I know I am!

Par 3 tournament tomorrow.

Remember to get your picks in to Rich!

What's going on from the 'inside' TypeO?

Edited April 10, 2013 by Walter

[SuperDave]

Just sent you my picks Rich!

Finally, temps in the 70's in the northeast!. Unfortunately, I work during the week and can't play, which f***g blows! The weekend here, should be in the lower 50's. I just can't win! The golf gods are not cooperating with me!