At what stage of winter golf is your Club in?

[Jason.H]

Our course has e mailed us saying comps are non qualifying from beginning of November to 31st March 2023. Last year we were in the same position yet qualifying.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

First round today using mats. Honestly, if people are wary, not having used them then stop. There really is no downside in terms of hitting the ball. It took a few goes to work out where on the mat to place the ball, near the front is the answer for me, but after that you just have to commit to the shot (as the caddies say on tv).

No mud in your face, no muddy clubs. Worked really well. The only think I have to refine is the bag attachment to my trolley to put the mat in.

 

[Mandofred]

First round today using mats. Honestly, if people are wary, not having used them then stop. There really is no downside in terms of hitting the ball. It took a few goes to work out where on the mat to place the ball, near the front is the answer for me, but after that you just have to commit to the shot (as the caddies say on tv).

No mud in your face, no muddy clubs. Worked really well. The only think I have to refine is the bag attachment to my trolley to put the mat in.

What kind of a mat are you using? I just use the cheap plastic ones

with some cord tied to the mat and a few inches of slack to a large carabiner...then just slap the carabiner on one the grips at the top of my bag. I leave a few inches of slack so the carabiner is far enough away from the mat to stay out of the way. I only use the bottom/smooth side.

I'm just waiting for them to give permission to use them, it's starting to get pretty sloppy now.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

What kind of a mat are you using? I just use the cheap plastic ones

with some cord tied to the mat and a few inches of slack to a large carabiner...then just slap the carabiner on one the grips at the top of my bag. I leave a few inches of slack so the carabiner is far enough away from the mat to stay out of the way. I only use the bottom/smooth side.

I'm just waiting for them to give permission to use them, it's starting to get pretty sloppy now.

I work next to a carpet shop and in the summer they were throwing out a couple of m/2 of AstroTurf. I took it and cut a strip off today. I didn't know how it would react, would it disintegrate after a few hits, but it was great. I probably cut too big a strip so I might make it shorter.

The downside is there isn't a hook to attach to it but I just put it in a plastic bag and hooked that onto my bag. The bag was a bit last minute and not the easiest to get into so I'll improve on that for next week.

 

[Mandofred]

I work next to a carpet shop and in the summer they were throwing out a couple of m/2 of AstroTurf. I took it and cut a strip off today. I didn't know how it would react, would it disintegrate after a few hits, but it was great. I probably cut too big a strip so I might make it shorter.

The downside is there isn't a hook to attach to it but I just put it in a plastic bag and hooked that onto my bag. The bag was a bit last minute and not the easiest to get into so I'll improve on that for next week.View attachment 45053

That is.....waaaaay too much work for me. I'm a lazy ba......uh, person. I just want to throw it down on the ground and then slap it back on the bag. I love mats.....but I think you are making a lot of work for yourself. Of course, that's what the guys I play with say when I change my swing yet again.....

 

[2blue]

This is the only mat you should consider...... I've tries them all & this is in another league all together. https://spurkgolf.co.uk/product/spurk-golf-mat-short-pile-grass/

 

[jim8flog]

Out of interest I asked our golf manager why we have winter rules in places for mark, pick (clean) and place on .

The requirement to mark the ball's position when it is being lifted and moved to another position went out with the 2019 rule changes, maybe you need to bring this to his attention.

 

[IanM]

The requirement to mark the ball's position when it is being lifted and moved to another position went out with the 2019 rule changes, maybe you need to bring this to his attention.

Spookily one of the blokes I played with today mentioned this. Everyone still marks out of habit or not knowing!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The requirement to mark the ball's position when it is being lifted and moved to another position went out with the 2019 rule changes, maybe you need to bring this to his attention.

My words…not his. I am corrected.

 

[clubchamp98]

Spookily one of the blokes I played with today mentioned this. Everyone still marks out of habit or not knowing!

I still do it.
It’s just a reference point.

 

[Slab]

The requirement to mark the ball's position when it is being lifted and moved to another position went out with the 2019 rule changes, maybe you need to bring this to his attention.

I knew this but weirdly still find myself marking it when paired with 'randoms' in comps when I see them doing it first because I can't be bothered explaining it... again

Although I do enjoy the devilment of leaning on my club in a bunker maybe because it's usually a one off rather than a couple of times each hole like marking

 

[Deleted member 29109]

I mark if I need to clean the ball with my towel. If I’m just placing it then I don’t.

 

[upsidedown]

Easy ,just put my mat down next to the ball

 

[clubchamp98]

Easy ,just put my mat down next to the ball

I have never played off mats .
Thinking of getting myself one just for when I play on my own.
Do you need to adjust as the ball must be like it’s on a tee.

 

[Mandofred]

I have never played off mats .
Thinking of getting myself one just for when I play on my own.
Do you need to adjust as the ball must be like it’s on a tee.

I use one of those cheap plastic mats I attached above (I use the purple one). I turn it flat side up and then tap it down with my foot......the ball is then at regular grass height. Any mat you use is kind of irrelevant imo, you should be hitting the ball first anyway....so the type of mat just shouldn't matter to how you hit the ball. One of the reasons I use the flat side is in case I hit a slightly fat shot, club skims across the mat better. I'm still waiting for the club to give permission to use mats.....think I will ask tomorrow.

 

[Orikoru]

First round today using mats. Honestly, if people are wary, not having used them then stop. There really is no downside in terms of hitting the ball. It took a few goes to work out where on the mat to place the ball, near the front is the answer for me, but after that you just have to commit to the shot (as the caddies say on tv).

No mud in your face, no muddy clubs. Worked really well. The only think I have to refine is the bag attachment to my trolley to put the mat in.

You have to use mats on the fairway but you can still use trolleys?? Seems odd. ? My club will ban trolleys if it's too wet but we've never been told to use fairway mats.

 

[Orikoru]

Spookily one of the blokes I played with today mentioned this. Everyone still marks out of habit or not knowing!

I still mark it when I'm pick and placing - mostly because I could genuinely get distracted for a second and forget where it was.

 

[Golfnut1957]

You have to use mats on the fairway but you can still use trolleys?? Seems odd. ? My club will ban trolleys if it's too wet but we've never been told to use fairway mats.

Odd! The trolleys aren't taking 6-inch divots that won't repair until spring.

 

[Orikoru]

Odd! The trolleys aren't taking 6-inch divots that won't repair until spring.

I don't mean odd from a logical point of view, as you're right of course. It's just that seemingly most courses move to ban trolleys while comparatively few make you use mats.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

You have to use mats on the fairway but you can still use trolleys?? Seems odd. ? My club will ban trolleys if it's too wet but we've never been told to use fairway mats.

Very few ban trolleys up here, in fact I can't think of any off the top of my head. Quite a few use mats though.

Many restrict the areas you can take your trolley, usual routes next to greens, in order to protect areas that get worn, but banning trolleys per se is excessive imo

It's as @Golfnut1957 points out though.