Pebble Beach - Sim Golf

I played Pebble Beach Golf Links yesterday. It was great fun! The course was in great shape and the weather was a perfect 72 degrees with no wind. I hit the ball really well and shot an 84! I hit 10 of 14 fairways. I missed a lot of greens, but I was generally in the short rough and able to chip or pitch onto the greens. The greens were really difficult and I had 39 putts. My playing partner and I "walked" the course and carried our own bags. I have heard horror stories about 6 hour rounds at Pebble Beach with tourist/golfers stopping and taking pictures on each hole. We played in about 2 1/2 hours (and my playing partner, the Joker, got more than his monies worth on a per stroke basis!). The staff was great and catered to our every need. It was just what you would expect at Pebble!

This was my first simulated (sim) golf experience and it was fantastic! The Joker and I played at Bunker Indoor Golf and Training Center located at 2333 North Pebble Creek Parkway in Goodyear, Arizona. The phone number is 623.298.4540. It is less than one mile off of the highway and takes about 20 to 25 minutes from central Phoenix door-to-door with no traffic. The drive is not quite the scenic 17-mile drive to Pebble Beach, but the price is right! A sim golf round at Pebble Beach cost $28, as opposed to over $400 for the real thing. Jesse Cisneros, one of the owners (the other owner is Brad Clark), could not have been nicer. He set up the computer and showed us how it works and was available if we had any questions or needed any help during our round. I can unequivocally tell you that I had a great time at Bunker Golf and I will go back again and play!*

My playing partner, the Joker, is a goofy golfer, meaning that he plays left-handed (among other things!). The Joker has a great sense of humor (he needs it with his golf game) and he is a savant on the computer and with Photoshop. Someone will be talking about a wedding in the hallway and all of a sudden you will hear Billy Idol's "White Wedding" or another inappropriate song coming from the Joker's computer or you will get an e-mail with an exploding head attached to the groom or bride. Some people in the office call him the "Candyman" because he always has a bowl of M&Ms or other sweets on his desk and he constantly brings in donuts or cookies for our corner of the office. The Joker made me promise not to tell you that he shot a 126 (whoops!).

The Bunker facility has 6 state-of-the-art high definition golf simulators manufactured by Interactive Sports Technology, a golf shop and a television area with the NFL TV Package for Thursday night NFL football and some snacks available. The owners are expanding the facility to include a sports bar that will serve beer and wine (the liquor license application was just posted on the building). If you want to have a party at Bunker (which would be very cool!) or you just want some pizza while you are playing, Bunker will cater from Picazzo's Gourmet Pizza.

But you really come here for the golf! At Bunker Golf you have choice of a number of world-class golf courses, including Pebble Beach, Bayhill, Pinehurst, Torrey Pines, Kiawah Island, Troon and Spyglass. The golf simulator has actual high definition pictures of the golf course with life-like surround sound, including birds chirping, people clapping and even the sound of your ball hitting a tree limb (which the Joker heard more than once!) and dropping into the cup. But there are no sounds of paparazzi clicking cameras during your backswing! The screen is 10' x 14' and about 10 feet from the hitting area. You also have the equivalent of a course book showing distances to bunkers and other hazards and to the green for each hole. You aim where you actually intend to hit the ball (which is a novel concept for me!). The computer captures all kinds of information on each shot, including shot distance, ball speed, clubhead speed, ball flight, smash factor, swing path, launch angle, club path, club face angle, type of shot (draw, fade or straight ... the computer is nice and does not use terms like "duck hook" or "banana slice"), location of ball on clubhead (center, heel or toe) and more, with pictures for those of us that are more visual!

In addition to great fun, the simulator is a great training and learning tool because you get immediate feedback not just where the ball traveled but why! Another nice feature that Jesse showed us was on the driving range. Rather than just hitting balls on a driving range, you can choose certain distances and the simulator will show a real golf hole. We looked at a 147 yard shot to the par-3, No. 8 hole at Kiawah Island, but there are a number of holes and distances from which to choose. Also, if you want to compare different brands of clubs or balls, the simulator will keep statistics for each club or ball as you hit and you can compare and decide which equipment best suits your game. An hour of practice time with the simulator is $25 and although it is more expensive than a bucket of balls at the local driving range, there is no comparison as to the enjoyment and the valuable information and potential improvement in your golf game! Bunker Golf also has annual and monthly membership packages.

Putting is better than I expected, but still leaves something to be desired. If you are on the green or in the fringe and able to putt, the simulator gives you a grid showing you whether the putt is straight, uphill or downhill and the direction and amount of break on the putt (based on how quickly the dashes are moving), as well as the distance to the pin. When you hole out, the simulator actually makes the sound of a golf ball dropping into the hole. Jesse set up the simulator so that anything within 9 feet was a gimme (he must be reading my blog!), which may explain my low score. I think that you can adjust the gimme distance. The Joker and I never quite got the distance control on the putting, but we will try again soon!

Now back to the golf! We played from the white tees which are only 6,116 yards with a course rating of 71.2, a bogey rating of 96.1 and a slope rating of 134. I shot a 42 on the front 9 with 3 pars and 6 bogeys and a 42 on the back 9 with 4 pars, 5 bogeys and one double bogey. The double bogey was on No. 17, a 178 yard par 3. I hit my 4 hybrid on the green and four putted!

*In the interest of full disclosure, Brad and Jesse saw my previous post on sim golf and were nice enough to comp me 2 rounds.

USGA Handicap Index

Notwithstanding my poor play recently, it is time to get serious about getting a USGA Handicap Index. The purpose of a USGA Handicap Index is to permit golfers of all levels to compete on an equitable basis. In addition to posting your 18-hole scores, in order to properly calculate your USGA Handicap Index, you need to post the course rating and slope rating. This allows golfers to match handicaps on an apples-to-apples basis taking into account the difficulty of the courses played and the course on which you are competing. The handicap system is also supposed to discourage "sandbagging". But most importantly, you need a USGA (or R&A) handicap index to play at St. Andrews!

The first step to obtain a USGA handicap index is to join a licensed golf club. This does not mean that you have to become a member at a private country club. I probably should not hold my breath for an invitation to join Portmarnock Golf Club or Phoenix Country Club. The USGA, through its state organizations, licenses its member clubs (both private and public golf courses) to use the USGA Handicap System. You can search on-line to see if your club is a USGA Handicap System licensed club. You can also form your own club! The USGA Handicap System manual, which explains all procedures, can be purchased for $3.00 plus shipping through the USGA Order Department (Golf House, P.O. Box 708 , Far Hills , New Jersey 07931 ).

You have to post at least 5 18-hole scores to get a USGA handicap index. Once you post 20 scores, your Handicap Index is calculated using your 10 best scores, relative to the Course Rating and Slope Rating. The Handicap Index is not your average score for 18-holes, but measures your top performance by discarding ten of your last 20 scores. Your Handicap Index also factors in Course Rating and Slope Rating.

Course Rating is the USGA's determination of the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer under normal course and weather conditions. It is based in part on the length of a course, the difficulty of the putting greens and other factors that affect a scratch golfer's scoring ability. Bogey Rating is the USGA's determination of the playing difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer under normal course and weather conditions. And Slope Rating is determined using the following formula: Bogey Rating minus Course Rating multiplied by (5.381 men, 4.24 women). For example, Pine Valley Golf Club in Pine Valley, New Jersey, is consistently ranked as one of the very best and most difficult golf courses in the United States. From the regular tees, the course rating is 72.7, the bogey rating is 101.2 and the slope rating is 153. The highest slope rating under the USGA Handicap System is 155! You can check the Course Rating, Bogey Rating and Slope Rating for any USGA member club at this site. For some reason, when I search certain clubs the site only shows the women's ratings and not the men's ratings. I wonder if the USGA is trying to tell me something!

I am off to play Sim Golf at Bunker Indoor Golf and Training Center. I will report to my followers tomorrow. I wonder if I can include my score for purposes of calculating my USGA handicap index?