Years ago when I had the money to spend I played three to four times a week. Our group would do weekend road trips to some of the best golf courses in Alabama and the Panhandle. I constantly was a twenty five handicap along with another buddy of mine. But two others of my buddies were / are scratch golfers and really long off the tee. Both were big fellas and could shape their shots and pretty much hit all the greens in regulation and when they did get in trouble off the tee box they had the distance and game to hit the ball back in play. Their biggest weakness was putting.
The thing that always impressed me by playing with them was the way they could hit their irons. That’s what I sucked at the most and was just damn aggravating no matter how much they tried to help me or how many lessons that I took. I was so bad with long irons but decent with my 7 iron and that I got to the point where I would only hit my 7 instead of the 3,4,5 and 6. But I could hit my 7 consistently long as it could and keep it in the fairway. Yes it costed me strokes but I stayed less angry than buy always topping my long irons.
One of my buddies played with Ben Hogan blades and could hit a 1 iron 300 yards when he got on it. To me that damn club looked like something you would tear roofing shingles off with and not hit a golf ball. The other could smash it with a 2 and put it in the fairway but seldom did with his driver.
One weekend we decided we would take outing to Kiawah Island South Carolina and play the Ocean course. We left Montgomery early on a Friday morning and had a tee time at one the next afternoon. That course was something to see and play. I knew I was in trouble before we ever started but you don’t get many chances in life to play where the US open was played. I stunk it up but good but had a great time. Actually we all stunk it up. My two buddies that were scratch golfers and could tear up the RTJ trail and our home courses didn’t even break a hundred.
My point is like others have said. A course that the professionals play that have hazards in the fairways and 3 and 4 tier undulating greens will humble you.
