My wife and I went out yesterday and played a quick 9, and following the trends of the last few years, my first round was actually pretty good. I ended up shooting a 42 from the white tees with 2 birdies and 3 pars. I usually shoot well my first round of the year; I have little expectations, and just concentrate on being smooth and making good contact with the ball. If I could just stay in this frame of mind all year, I could probably shoot pretty well...but as it is, the next few times out, I will go back to trying to kill the ball, and taking stupid shots that I have a 1 in 100 chance of making.
A few things I noticed:
Once my swing gets dialed in, the Quad/Graman combo looks to be the one for me.
I didn't hit driver particularly well yesterday, I was real "handsy" resulting in low, boring shot that still carried extremely well. I also noticed very little penalty on mis-hit shots.
Durometers: These bastards have an incessant appetite for ball covers. They spin like crazy, but they ruin balls before I even get a chance to lose them.
My course this year decided to forego green covers for the winter this year, opting instead to cover them with sand. I have never seen greens in this sorry of shape. I hope they go back to covers next year.
Anyway, I have equaled the amount of golf I played last year, and it's only April. I hope to shatter that next Sunday when I will be playing 18.