Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Surly Horns

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

2025 GOLF: I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for quite a while

Featured Replies

never know who you bump into at memorial golf course (not me in the pic) ....

image.thumb.png.09daee301c0fb3cae1176034c5008371.png

  • Replies 509
  • Views 31.8k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Most Popular Posts

  • TXSooner518
    TXSooner518

    Fucking incredible return trip to Bandon. Rain and wind our first day but 5 amazing days afterward. Proud of pops who walked all 122 holes on property. Also got an unexpected bonus - last day had 900/

  • TXSooner518
    TXSooner518

    Pasatiempo trip report!  Had to go to Santa Cruz for my daughter’s roller derby tourney. Had heard excellent things but the price was exorbitant. Lucky for me, right after the Western Intercolleg

  • I’m trying not to jinx it, but we close on a house Jan 30 that backs up to the #9 tee box on one of the nicer semi-private clubs in Jax. I’ll be able to walk out my back yard and loop 6, 9 or 18. D

Posted Images

Played in a pair of wide cleats today, though I’ve never felt I needed wide shoes in general, and found them to be excellent for comfort (I walk) and also stability. Curious if anyone else has tried this that doesn’t normally wear wide shoes

That fifth pic was a fun L shaped hole where you get to decide how far over the ravine you want to hit it to cut the corner. 

29f8c0fa9542b77fb8836bffaad5bce9.jpg
00577ac4198ead56b08599b8ad6e247e.jpg
e85d4459508d4d32c45567c8eb751a13.jpg
666b689ba280586c95b9dcc029bb5fd1.jpg
390183dd3da293be31c8ad30e07ac293.jpg
f77817d55a62e08d8b0583e204f18048.jpg

Incredible trip to Michigan to see my kiddo (freshman at Mich State) and play some golf. Played the U of Mich course which is a McKenzie and was incredibly fun. A friend hosted me at Oakhurst which was very difficult and elite conditions. Then two days at Arcadia Bluffs, played the South and their Dozen short course on the first day then the Bluffs course day 2.

Really phenomenal place. Love the South so much, doesn’t capture in pics but the strategy and design are so fun, challenging but playable. Dozen is like a playground, very fun also.

Then for Bluffs we had full links conditions. Drizzly rain for the front nine, winds 20-30 gusting 40, sustained 30-35 on the lakeside holes. Absolutely breathtaking scenery and terrain. Couple spots where the course asks a whole lot out of you, even without the conditions.

Can’t wait to get back!

Incredible trip to Southeast Austin Saturday to pick up my wife from the airport and play the Balander short course. I played with this guy Kevin under some incredibly difficult and elite conditions, such as playing with two balls and and the guys behind/ahead of us being very high and playing in the wrong order and Kevin really dealing with a lot right now and do I think he could maybe interview where I work?
Shot a +2 not counting my tee shot into the woods from the other ball (game suspended) and a throw-out from the bunker on the 4th while Kevin was looking for his vape.
Then I picked up my wife and we got P Terry’s to take home for dinner.

Can’t wait to get back!
 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova

The Ballander course is great for beginners. I used it a lot when I first started playing. $5 and none of the pressure of being on an actual course. Hit multiple balls (if it’s not crowded) and play as much as you want. Good on you, Bozo.

On 10/21/2025 at 1:30 PM, TXSooner518 said:

Played the U of Mich course which is a McKenzie and was incredibly fun. 

Still blows my mind that they park cars on the course for football games and the course doesn’t get destroyed. 

flyin solo in Houston this past weekend so I played a lot of golf. Saturday morning at Cypresswood, hadn’t played Cypress in years. They have the first hole torn up to make way for the new clubhouse, and they start you off on 10.

Played halfway decent on the front until 18, which historically eats my lunch and was the scene of an epic meltdown in one of the two competitive matches I’ve ever played. a par would get me out in 42 which is solid for me. instead, three balls in the water for a quint and it’s a 47.

The ball that finally made it over was a Nike One Platinum I recently scavenged. I played the next 40 holes of golf with that ball—my most ever on a single ball and only the second time I’ve played an entire round without losing a ball. back 9 at cypress, 13 holes at Memorial Park, and 18 at Sharpstown.

Nike ball earned its place in the jar

Four years ago, during a lesson the instructor told me "your backswing is not relevant. You don't hit the ball with the backswing." 

On Saturday, during a lesson with someone new, the first thing he said is "Let's take a look at your backswing." 

4 hours ago, Bookman said:

Four years ago, during a lesson the instructor told me "your backswing is not relevant. You don't hit the ball with the backswing." 

On Saturday, during a lesson with someone new, the first thing he said is "Let's take a look at your backswing." 

Your first instructor is a fucking idiot. If your backswing is shit, you are going to have to compensate for it somewhere in the downswing and finish.

Your swing starts at how/where you address the ball, grip, stance, hands/arm tension. Then it goes to backswing (how you take away the club, your hands and by default your club face relative to the takeaway, how/where you hinge your wrist (cupped? no no), then to what happens at the top when you initiate your downswing (do your hips get way in front of your hands leading you to being late and pushing/slicing everything because your club face will most likely always be open at impact, etc), then to the downswing (do you drop your hands, do you throw your shoulder over the top, what's the club face/hands when you drop your hands, how much lag, do you cast?, etc), then to finish (how well do you rotate through the ball, is most of your weight on your lead leg, are you early extending, do you flip, etc?). If you conveniently consider any of those parts irrelevant, then your swing isn't going to be a consistent, repetitive thing that you can build on.

Edited by crash_davis

Similar to crash_davis's thoughts, I spend 99% of my swing thoughts on setup and backswing. The "latest" swing thought I have is what my trigger motion is going to be to start the downswing. After that, it's just hang on to the club and say a prayer to golf gods. 

Every time I try to address something on the downswing, it's a total mess - the swing is so violent in and around impact that trying to finesse that leads to some really bad habits. And in the end, it's usually something that needed to be fixed in the setup or on the backswing anyways.

I've watched a shitton of golf instruction videos. Most are the same but every now and then you'll have a idiot who just throws out some stupid shit. I've never seen anyone dumb enough to say your backswing doesn't matter. I find the below video to be the best and simplest to work on a fundamental swing from which you can improve. There's a lot of work that goes into it which he doesn't get into. But from a swing stand point, that's the best thing you can do to teach a new golfer for changing a swing to cure slicing. Drop the hands and rotate through the ball. This is THE starting point. From here, you can work on the other minute details like grip, how you take away from the ball, etc. The one thing I will add that's extremely important is to try to keep the wrist close together throughout the swing (including backswing to downswing to follow through. The towel through your arm pits is a great drill to work on keeping your wrist together and swinging with your body.

 

7 minutes ago, orange dream said:

Anyone ever tried the "staged" backswing on the range or elsewhere?

 

Yup, all the time. That middle move is different the way I was taught - I was taught to fold the right arm under so the butt end of the club is pointing towards the target. But otherwise, very similar. I use it whenever I'm trying to figure something out and I'm stuck. It helps me feel all the right motions (in the wrong order, granted), which usually clues me into what I'm doing wrong (the motion that feels the most foreign is usually the motion that I'm messing up in my full swing). 

  • 2 weeks later...

the building where I work in the Arboretum has just installed a trackman bay in the newly-revamped tenant amenity center. I hope this trend finds you all in due time

9 minutes ago, TXSooner518 said:


I got the Rover for $177 for a trip to Ireland next July which will feature lots of carrying.

 

that'll be a great trip. post a ton of pics 

For those of you who vacation in SoWalton County, Florida (30A).  There is a new Bandon Dunes/Dream Golf Course being developed about 40 miles away.  For the top 1% of surly's there are opportunities for ownership and membership 

 

https://oldshores.com/   

anybody watching the Internet Invitational on youtube? Finished Ep 1 and it has been pretty good so far. some serious toolboxes involved, but also some entertaining characters. I was familiar with 4 or 5 of the golf internet crowd before this. Never thought it would be fun to watch people play shitty golf but they make it compelling

I have better things to do than to watch shitty YT Golfers, who take themselves way too seriously, shank it all over a course. Add Portnoy to the equation and it's Fuck No.

The only YT golf I watch are the NZ guys. They are actually very good, almost pro golfers. They don't take themselves seriously and often make fun of themselves for not making it. I watch them for the banter and mostly good golf. If I want to watch golf for golf sakes, I'll watch a PGA event. 

So first time I am hearing about Childress Hall golf club - only course listed in the Top 100 courses in the world according to this new ranking from Golf.com.

Image

 

Tried to do a little research and there is very little about it on the Google but it says it opened for play in December 2024 but on Google maps and Bing maps there is not even a trace of construction of a golf course.  I realize that the maps are only updated once every few years but I figured they would show at least something.  Anyone seen pictures or been out there?

23 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

https://www.jonessportsco.com/collections/trouper-3-0/products/trouper-3-0-moon-gray-sienna

 

very well made bag. it was a great deal at $188 

highly recommend 

Best bag I've owned. Cooler pocket is a little wonky but i just use it as a normal pocket. Got mine during the memorial day sale for the same price. I don't see ever going back to titleist or ping bags... which is all I've used for basically ever. 

25 minutes ago, pops said:

Best bag I've owned. Cooler pocket is a little wonky but i just use it as a normal pocket. Got mine during the memorial day sale for the same price. I don't see ever going back to titleist or ping bags... which is all I've used for basically ever. 

 

same on the cooler pocket. it holds a lot 

20 hours ago, Zwylde said:

So first time I am hearing about Childress Hall golf club - only course listed in the Top 100 courses in the world according to this new ranking from Golf.com.

Image

 

Tried to do a little research and there is very little about it on the Google but it says it opened for play in December 2024 but on Google maps and Bing maps there is not even a trace of construction of a golf course.  I realize that the maps are only updated once every few years but I figured they would show at least something.  Anyone seen pictures or been out there?

Played 4 of those (3 in Scotland plus the Lido), on quick glance. Progress!

On 11/19/2025 at 12:15 PM, Zwylde said:

So first time I am hearing about Childress Hall golf club - only course listed in the Top 100 courses in the world according to this new ranking from Golf.com.

Image

 

Tried to do a little research and there is very little about it on the Google but it says it opened for play in December 2024 but on Google maps and Bing maps there is not even a trace of construction of a golf course.  I realize that the maps are only updated once every few years but I figured they would show at least something.  Anyone seen pictures or been out there?

I have in fact seen it and played it. It does exist.

IMG_5729.thumb.jpeg.3a98ae6f3df85b9a229809b8c160d6b1.jpeg

went over and demo'd a 3wood. club felt great and i was nailing it. impressing myself 

asked the price, $800

me ...

Jay Z GIF

On 11/21/2025 at 10:17 PM, Fico said:

I have in fact seen it and played it. It does exist.

Aaannnnnd.......how was it?  Or is it so private you can't even talk about it? 

On 11/21/2025 at 10:17 PM, Fico said:

I have in fact seen it and played it. It does exist.

Waiting GIF

Re Childress Hall - The 2nd course just opened, it was not open when I was able to go.

First course was awesome. Pretty open, but if you do hit it in the shit, it’s gone. A couple of alternating fairways from tee boxes, a couple of holes with alternate greens. Some good elevation changes as well. 

The lodge should be finished soon. 

They bought a building “downtown” turned it into apartments, and full service bar/restaurant/pro-shop.

Incredible experience, un matched hospitality. They have some of the best folks in the industry (golf/hospitality) involved in the project. 

From what I understand, membership will remain extremely limited under current ownership.

I believe there are only 3 members from Austin now.

If you get the chance to go, it’s definitely worth it.

I play occasionally, I’m more into racket sports, but two weeks ago I got out there and struck the ball so fucking well. Damn if I didn’t have a legit par and two legit bogeys on a 9 hole twilight round (I’m a terrible putter so plus-2 on a hole is normal). 

so I decided twice a year wasn’t frequent enough. I played yesterday. Oof. I mean I had some nice shots but fuuuuuuck I didn’t hit well or consistently.  To be fair my back was tight but I couldn’t keep my head down so I topped the ball a lot, my grip slipped 5-6 times, I got nervous didn’t breathe right or focus well enough. So demoralizing. 

So I have two more outings in the next 9 days.  Trying to not take this too seriously. 

Edited by scramblyn

I picked up a Taylor Made Sim2 5 wood for $140 + new grip included. great deal. the club looks brand new, $250 new. I love having buddy's in the business. 

image.thumb.png.c0b4a199b7714384e0c072f9a7f92c81.png

 

my old 5 wood was a faithful piece of equipment for many years. 

image.png.8b9a81f7bdb9a31c03cdf22d42168bc7.png

i'll be posting clubs later this week, i have too much stuff - drivers, 1 set of irons, some FW's, wedges.

ping tisi fairway wood have a cult following, will never get rid of those, and i keep all putters 

y'all got it all wrong, play with old clubs - win / win ... either you play well or you have a built in excuse. I have a 1980's or so putter and it gets rave reviews especially when I on rare occasion read a long put well and get within a foot of the cup.

find the club that looks best to you at address, then dial in the shaft and grip 

the off the rack shaft is not the shaft for you 🤣🤣

On 11/19/2025 at 10:15 AM, Zwylde said:

So first time I am hearing about Childress Hall golf club - only course listed in the Top 100 courses in the world according to this new ranking from Golf.com.

Image

 

Tried to do a little research and there is very little about it on the Google but it says it opened for play in December 2024 but on Google maps and Bing maps there is not even a trace of construction of a golf course.  I realize that the maps are only updated once every few years but I figured they would show at least something.  Anyone seen pictures or been out there?

Nebraska, in the top 10?

4 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

find the club that looks best to you at address, then dial in the shaft and grip 

the off the rack shaft is not the shaft for you 🤣🤣

For sure … I have 1997 customs but a shittastic putter that oddly everyone loves go figure. Clubs are antiquated at this point too.

One of my toes on my right foot is trash right now. Hard to walk let alone swing a club….but…

Some Motrin dual action and a double vodka soda to start and I was feeling pretty good

Swinging about 75% but one of my better ball striking rounds in a while. 9/13 fairways and 15/18 greens.  Helps that the course is only 6100 yards so lots of wedges into par 4s

Help please!  I neeed to buy a set of beginner clubs for my 16yo son.  He's my same height and proportions about six foot, so I think anything that fits me will fit him.  

I have tried many many tries to hit golf balls consistently.  It has never worked out for me, even with lessons and all the money you can throw at a thing like that.  I'll be able to tell if a club fits me I guess, which should be close enough for boy.

He's only played once with his friends, and he wants a cheap FB Marketplace set, which is fine with me.  

Or is a Play it Again Sports type of place a better bet?  Or a real golf store?

I think he just needs the bare minimum - irons, a driver, a putter, and a wedge, a bag....that's probably it.  I doubt he even needs shoes yet.

Does $150 sound like the right price for a used set?

 

Also, I met a guy at the gym a couple of weeks ago.  He's an instructor and he gave me his card for lessons.  $100/hr.  I asked if that was a good price or not.  He said it was a great price if I ask around.

 

Any advice on equipment and lessons appreciated!

On 11/26/2025 at 12:19 PM, Pato del Muerto said:

Nebraska, in the top 10?

Hell yeah, I’ve heard it is awesome.  And thats what got my interest in the Childress Hall course.  Same design group behind the project but seems much more accessable for us Texans.

4 hours ago, Elvis said:

I think he just needs the bare minimum - irons, a driver, a putter, and a wedge, a bag....that's probably it.  I doubt he even needs shoes yet.

Does $150 sound like the right price for a used set?

 

Also, I met a guy at the gym a couple of weeks ago.  He's an instructor and he gave me his card for lessons.  $100/hr.  I asked if that was a good price or not.  He said it was a great price if I ask around.

https://www.callawaygolfpreowned.com/iron-sets/by-player-type/game-improvement

 

get him something with a 5-PW.  standard flex shaft, standard lie and loft.  Get him 3 hybrid, Driver and a putter.  He needs golf shoes.  By 16 he is physically developed enough that a full swing will cause no-cleat shoes to slip.

 

All in on clubs you can get that done for $300 or so and have something that will work for a very long time or until he gets the golf equipment bug.  Then sorry about your/his wallet

 

Lessons.  There are a shit load of garbage golf "pro's" out there teaching nonsense.   Take your time and look around before signing on. 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.