Topic: Golf Talk / Nick Flanagan: Earning his US Stripes

michswiss, I mean Could_be_better – Did we cover it twice mate? Obviously you didn’t read them both. One was a wrap of his win at the Xerox Classic, the other was a profile with an interview we conducted with him shortly after the win and about his career.

I read both articles. It just felt to me that they covered two ends of the same stick…

If you’re back here to antagonise – it will be a short stay.

Just so there’s no confusion, the new software seems to allows me to change my ‘Screen name’ as often as I want. No deception was intended, I’m just using one of the new features. Email sent.

Topic: Golf Talk / Nick Flanagan: Earning his US Stripes

It’s a feature of the new and improved software running the site. Oh, and I love how ISG covered this twice.

ps. thanks for reducing my post count.

pps. I’m glad to see him win and 2 other Aussie’s close behind. I’d love to see David McKenzie work his way back onto the tour.

Topic: ISG Feedback / When will it be done?

Admin, you’ve mentioned that further discussions regarding the functionality of the forums will be locked until the upgrades are complete. Can you provide a date or barring that, an estimate?

ps, apologies if I’ve missed this in another thread.

Topic: ISG Feedback / New ISG Site

Mich – you are the very essence of the Internet “I pay nothing and want everything” Generation.

Thanks Fish! It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been inferred to as a Web newbie :) No, I wasn’t around for, or at least aware of the last forums upgrade. Maybe I missed it this time, but it would have been great if there had been a solid heads up of “Big Changes” in store. Just a part of a good communications and change management plan.

My read is that the current forums site is at “Beta” at best, fair enough. What are the plans going forward?

Topic: ISG Feedback / New ISG Site

Admin,

It’s obvious that you and the team are burnt out, or just don’t care anymore, on trying to get the forums back to the baseline services the old software offered. You’ve asked for suggestions and opened a sticky thread about the new site, yet you don’t want contentious posts and are now driving everything to email.

“Community be gone, Shazam!”

The rest of the site looks great and is a great improvement on what you had before. But I enjoyed and primarily visited due to the golfing forums (trying my best to ignore the occasional juvenile male soft porn threads). And frankly, the new forums suck. One last pointed comment: It’s your job to get the place back to the old baseline. We, the ISG community would be more than happy (my assumption) to assist in fine-tuning from that point forward.

ps. It really should be “Post Reply” not “Save Reply”.

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / 13th Beach

Have I just seen a thread solid with positive comments for a Cashmore design? Cool. I need to get out there for a hit sometime. I loved Barwon Heads. Is the land similar?

Topic: Golf Talk / New Forums

Ok, I’m going to ask an annoying question. In a second…

The new site is more ‘attractive’. It’s slick, and I like slick. It might even serve a broader, passive audience attracting more advertising dollars. But it hasn’t seemed to even come close to the functionality and accessibility of the older software.

Admin, how does the new site support and encourage a better forum and community?

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / 420 - 440m

Jeffrey, only dead trees.

Wilksie, will the “Terra on the Yarra” ever develop options?

Topic: Golf Talk / New Forums

Yeh cmon let’s just live off air…..

Yes, but approximately one third of the horizontal space is taken up by Ads and the text is larger than the content we are all here to contribute to! I’m not trying to draw comparisons but Google Ad space in the right column is ~20% of window width. Another approach is over at flyertalk.com where you can pay a small fee and whammo, no Ads. Non-paying members and guests are subjected to inline Ads every 15th post to a thread.

I’d like to see the identity block on the left be ordered 1) Alias, 2) Avatar, 3) Member Since, 4) # posts, 5) time of post and 6) reply options.

Shouldn’t “Save Reply” be “Post Reply”?

One more thing, Using the Alpha Channel thingie with the reply section is odd (iMac with Safari at home, Thinkpad with Firefox at work). I don’t like the transparency combined with the low contrast text.

Topic: ISG Feedback / New ISG Site

I’m not enamored with the structural and navigational changes either, but I’ll give it a couple of days before staying or leaving. There have been several good comments regarding the style and appearance. One additional comment around the size of the text: please make the forum text larger than the text in the Ads!

Topic: Golf Talk / Bloody Corporate Days

I wish I was better at cheating. If I was, I would certainly enjoy playing in corporate ambrose events more. As it is, it isn't golf. I feel for you Virge. It's an awful feeling thinking that some other group filled out their score card at the beginning of the round

Topic: Golf Talk / Drinking while playing

QUOTE: Postie @ May 21 2007, 04:28 PM

I don't drink before 12:00pm.

As my grandmother used to say; "It's always 12:00pm somewhere!".

Topic: Golf Talk / one major winner

QUOTE: wormburner @ May 16 2007, 05:54 PM

Mangrum died in Apple Valley, California of a heart attack in 1973. It was the 12th he had suffered. Mangrum's reputation has been overshadowed by the other stars of his era such as Sam Snead and Byron Nelson. At the 1996 Masters, Nelson conducted a test. "I asked three young pros if they ever heard of Lloyd Mangrum, and they never had." Nelson commented, "Lloyd's the best player who's been forgotten since I've been playing golf." In 1998 Mangrum was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Sorry for the completely out of context comment, but my father's mentor was Charles Nelson, Byron's brother. Charles was struck by polio in his youth but became a beautiful musician and helped my father in his career. We grew up in East Texas and spent time with their family. I had no idea at the time who my parents friends were, but golf would sometimes sneek into the conversations. This was during the 60's and 70's when I was growing up.

I just want to add that the whole Nelson family were inspirational. I can personally attest to the number of lives that Charles affected through his music and teaching and sports history will continue to document Byron's contributions to the sport we love.

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / Centreline Bunkers

I remembered a hole at Turnberry that has a centreline bunker on the drive, the 9th. I'm not sure who the original architect was nor whether it's always been there, but it is away from the WWII runways so it's probably from the original design. The book I'm looking at attributes much of the reconditioning of the course after WWII to Mackensie Ross.

Topic: Golf Talk / Another lefty makes an ace!

QUOTE: Moe @ May 13 2007, 09:36 PM

isn't there a penalty for standing on the wrong side?

Just to be clear, we stand on the right side of the ball.

Well done Marcel!

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / Front to back sloped greens

The 14th at Sanctuary Lakes is sloped front to back, or to be more specific right-front to left-back. It's a relatively short hole with the fairway wanting to take the ball to the right. You have to work hard to keep the tee shot on the left hand side. It's a good hole that can really stuff you up if you don't think your way onto the green.

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / Home course advantage

QUOTE: Salacious Crumb @ May 10 2007, 08:11 AM

I reckon overtreed places like Latrobe, with their dinky doglegs, are much more likely to trip up visiting pennant sides, especially from the sandbelt. Except for the shitty blind tee shots, there isn't that much at KH to trip up the unwary relative to other sandbelt tracks.

Yep, wrt LaTrobe. We played them on their home course. It was the first pennant match we'd lost in three years and it cost us the flag. Generally speaking, I'd say there's a couple of holes advantage for most courses if only for having had a particular putt umpteen times before.

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / What hole do you really hate?

QUOTE: John J Jones @ May 8 2007, 05:55 PM

Quincy,

They have already done the windmill at Henley so they have experience in that area

[attachment=4888:Henly_pic.jpg]

JJ

That pic is soooo obviously faked! Everyone that's played Henley knows that it's a derelict windmill with an attached bird house (designed by Frank Lloyd-Wright no less). Not that lovely example JJJ pasted in.

Topic: Golf Talk / Describe your favorite shot from your last round.

Played at Spring Valley last Sunday in a WGV event, absolute cr*ppiest round I've had in ages. Out of the full 18, I played eleven holes in +2 and seven in +20.

In any case, on the 18th I hit a fairly good drive leaving a 9-iron to the green. I managed to thin it (no surprise there), sending it far over the back, at least 10 if not more meters beyond the green. The whole area between the 18th and the practice green is as smooth as a baby's bum, so I take out the putter intent on not humiliating myself any further. I knocked it over the hillock protecting the back of the hole and the ball trickled down to within 6 feet of the pin.

My playing partners could only manage a quiet "that was handy" under their breath. Thankfully, I sank the putt for a par.

Topic: Golf Talk / Those rare patches of form

You're lucky...

Edited to add: Obviously, your new surroundings suit you. You're most likely relaxed and enjoying yourself. That's the best state of mind to play golf in. How many comps have you won?

Topic: Golf Talk / How did you all play this weekend?

Won pennant on Friday 5 & 3. 83 in a stroke round today. Playing in a state averages event tomorrow at Spring Valley.

Topic: Golf Talk / Commonwealth

Word is that Sunshine,(Sunshine?!? won section 3), has a fair number of ring-ins as well. I'm sure they were all home grown on that lovely old course of theirs... No?

Topic: Golf Talk / Golf expressions

Pavarotti = tenor = 10: What did you have on that last hole? A Pavarotti?

PPFU or PBFU: The disaster that follows a well played hole. (Post-Par or Post-Birdie F*$&% Up)

Topic: Golf Talk / What effect does the ability of your partners play?

QUOTE: Scottt @ May 1 2007, 10:18 PM

This is true, but anyone who has played Penrith recently will attest to the thickness of the rough. It's two to three inches and thick, even within 20 feet of most greens. It's easy as hell to lose a ball there, so everyone helps others look, because at the end of the day, a lost ball slows you all down anyway.

I knew what I'd written would sound harsh, but it's so frustrating to watch someone again and again not follow their shot. If I nail one into the shrubs, I'll most likely stare it down and keep staring at it until all the other players have had their shot. Then I'm off along a beeline to where I'm pretty sure is a good place to start the hunt.

I agree with you in light of the above example; heavy, hard to navigate rough with few distinct markers and I'll help. To a point. I still have to manage my own game. If I've done it to myself, I'll wave any helpers on after they've had the chance to be curtious. They still have to manage their own game.

Topic: Golf Talk / What effect does the ability of your partners play?

QUOTE: vman @ May 1 2007, 05:06 PM

Maybe, but it is difficult to concentrate when you are constantly looking for someone elses ball in the $hit a hundred metres from the tee.

Why the heck tromp through the muck searching for their ball? They hit it there and they need to learn how to take a mark on where to look. I can't tell you the number of times I've watched a shot dive into crap: I'll walk onto my ball, look back to see them looking all over the place, except where the ball landed. A few quick calls back and forth (go left 3 paces, look in the brown patch next to the new planting, etc) and they've found it.

I don't think it's necessarily playing with low- or high-markers that makes the difference. It's the distractions you allow to creep in.