Why We’re Thankful

Here’s a little secret to life you already know: it’s good to be grateful for the things we have. That’s not to say we shouldn’t have goals and work towards them, but taking some time to reflect on wanting we have already is always beneficial. Heck, we even have a holiday dedicated to that ideal tomorrow. Here are a few things we’re appreciative of this year:

HRGC Members:

We wouldn’t have an operation without the guys and gals that make up our membership. Thank you for being the backbone of our golf course.

Public Players:

Ditto to above. Thanks to the Rapid Citians (not sure if that’s right), area locals and tourists who come to play Hart Ranch.

Maintenance Staff:

Thanks to Adam, David and the entire crew for working their tails off year-round to make Hart the best-conditioned course in the area.

Shop/OC Staff:

It’s nice to see friendly people when you walk into an establishment isn’t it?

Our Setting:

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more tranquil place to play golf than Hart Ranch (especially around dusk).

The TrackMan Sim Room:

Be sure to get out and try it this winter. Not only is it a blast, but you’ll learn a lot about your game.

Our Shop:

If you haven’t stopped in in awhile, we’ve done a little rearranging. Come check it out.

Tiger vs. Phil:

Black Friday is admittedly a weird time to put on a big PPV event, but we bet it’ll be bunches more entertaining than the national sports media is giving it credit for.

Hole #15:

For teaching us all that our score doesn’t matter until we get through you.

Golf:

For being the most infuriating, fantastic, cursed, marvelous, annoying, remarkable, nauseating, terrific, disheartening and incredible game ever devised.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, and be sure to take advantage of our Black Friday deals all weekend long. Happy golfing!

 

 

 

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The Evolution of Golf – The New Rules of 2019

Part 1

Chapter 1

New Rules

Golf is evolving, and as players we need to evolve with it. This blog series will focus on some of the ongoing revolutions in golf, including technology, instruction, rule changes and more. It’s said that you can’t fix a problem if you don’t acknowledge it exists, and golf as a whole took awhile to admit that the game was in decline.  With cost, time and perception the pervading issues, a major shift needed to occur in order to keep the industry afloat. We’re currently in the midst of that shift, and leaders have worked hard to refashion the game into something everyone gets a chance to experience and enjoy. No matter your golf knowledge or skill level, this blog will help you stay ahead of the curve as the game evolves. Let’s get started.

Click Here for a Comprehensive List and Explanations

We can agree most casual golfers don’t always adhere to the rule book, even if they want to. The Rules of Golf and Decisions On the Rules of Golf are tomes that contain all sorts of crazy golf scenarios. While of course important and necessary, no one is going to sit down and read these things cover-to-cover. Most golfers figure out the rules simply by playing and learning as they go, or asking their pros, which means most people don’t really play by the rules (which is totally fine in my book as long as you’re not in competition or gambling).

Regardless, we need some sort of standards for competition, and the old rules were no doubt outdated (say that three times fast). After a ton of research and listening to golfers worldwide, the USGA and R&A decided to mend the rules to modernize the game and speed up play. Above you can see 20 of the most important changes. Overall, I think they hit the nail on the head. Some really stupid rules like not being able to repair spike marks on the green or having to hit off of rocks in the bunker have been eliminated, and some should help speed up play, like being able to putt with the flag in the hole.

I’m not going to go over every single new rule, because that would be drudgery for both of us, but I will point out a few of my favorites.

Ball Search Reduced from 5 to 3 Minutes

Some say the most excruciating part of golf is the shank. I’d argue it’s waiting for the fella romping around in the jungle he has no prayer of getting out of to find his Pinnacle from 1994. We all know it sucks to lose golf balls, but c’mon. 3 minutes is perfect.

Ball Moved During Search, or Accidentally on Putting Green – Replace With No Penalty

These are kind of the genesis to making the game more lenient. Think DJ at Oakmont.

Local Rule – Stroke and Distance on O.B.s and Lost Balls

Local rules can be established at courses where under penalty of two strokes you can drop rather than re-hit from the original spot on O.B.s and lost balls. This will explain it better than I can:

This should hopefully eliminate the dreaded “drive back to the tee while the foursome behind you waits and shank another one O.B. in front of them.” FYI, you won’t be seeing this one on Tour or in elite Amateur competitions.

Penalty Areas Rather than Water Hazards

“Water Hazards” no longer exist, meaning any part of the course may now be deemed a Penalty Area. At Hart Ranch, for example, we weren’t able to make the left side of 11 or 15, the back of 16 or the left of 17 Water Hazards, as those areas aren’t a sea, lake, pond, river or ditch. Not saying we will automatically make those Penalty Areas, but we now have the ability to do so by the rules.

Ability to Ground Club in Penalty Area

We’re already in trouble, we should be able to do whatever necessary to get out of there.

Overall, these changes are going to be a good thing for golf. We will touch on some more rules stuff later in the series. Thanks for reading and we’ll catch you next week!

 

 

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TrackMan Glossary

Swinging out to play on the sim? Take a look at some terms so you’re prepared when all these numbers pop out at you:

Club Speed – Club Speed is the speed the club is travelling immediately prior to impact. More Club Speed equals more potential distance.

Ball Speed – Ball Speed is created by Club Speed and impact. Bad impact such as shots hit on the heel or toe will reduce the potential Ball Speed.

Smash Factor – Smash Factor is ball speed divided by club speed. Smash factor relates to the amount of energy transferred from the clubhead to the ball. The higher the smash factor the better the energy transfer.

Spin Rate – Spin Rate is the amount of spin on the ball immediately after impact. Spin has a major impact on the height and distance of a shot. Spin Rate is one of the least appreciated numbers, especially in windy conditions.

Launch Angle – Launch Angle is the angle the ball takes off at relative to the ground. Launch Angle is highly correlated to Dynamic Loft.

Dynamic Loft – Dynamic Loft is the amount of loft on the clubface at impact. The golfer’s Attack Angle, how the shaft bends, how the golfer releases the club, whether the face is open or closed and where the ball is contacted on the face all impact dynamic loft.

Attack Angle – Attack Angle is the direction the clubhead is moving (up or down) at impact. Shots hit off the ground should have a negative attack angle.

Club Path – Club Path is the direction the clubhead is moving (right or left) at impact. A positive value means the club is moving to the right (“in-to-out” for a right-handed golfer and a negative value means the club is moving to the left (“out-to-in” for a right-handed golfer.

Face Angle – Face Angle is the direction the clubface is pointed (right or left) at impact. This relates to Target Line rather than Club Path (Face-to-Path). Face Angle greatly influences whether the ball starts left or right of target.

Carry – Carry is the distance the ball flies through the air. This is influenced by everything above.

We can’t wait to see you at Hart Ranch! Happy golfing!

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