04/17/24
June 30, 2011
Pro Golfer Smoked Pot During Tournaments: Robert Garrigus, the PGA Tour golfer who finished third at the U.S. Open, told Golf Digest he used to smoke marijuana during tournaments. "There were plenty of guys on the Nationwide Tour who smoked in the middle of the round," Garrigus said. "We always talked about it. You could go in the Porta John and take your drags. I had a very high tolerance, and I didn't know that it wasn't helping me," he says. "All you're thinking is that it feels good, so it must be good for what you're doing. It wasn't until I quit that I realized how stupid it was."
the first time I ever saw Garrigus putt.
Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I play in an annual charity tournament that requires you to put with a miniature plastic putter on one hole. I thought perhaps my long and glorious history of self medication was leading me to believe that the USGA had enacted the same rule. Was that his lucky putter in kindergarten?
posted by tahoemoj at 06:34 PM on June 30, 2011
I always wondered how they managed to not die of boredom. Now we know.
(For the record I love golf.)
posted by Drood at 11:48 PM on June 30, 2011
Thinking of setting up Jessica Simpson with a tray of Krispy Kremes at the turn at the AT&T National.
posted by beaverboard at 07:25 AM on July 01, 2011
I can see how the very short putter would make very short putts easier (a little easier anyway), but I can't see how for anything over about 6-8 feet it would make like anything other than difficult. Maybe he'll start carrying two putters - one for short ones and one for longer ones.
I met a guy last week who is a club builder by profession and who has built himself an interesting set of clubs. He noticed that every time he went out with only a half set, he played better because a lot of the decision making was removed from the game (when you've only got a 3, 5, 7 and 9 iron, you seldom see more than one way to hit the shot).
So he has built a set that has one long iron (like a strong 4-iron, which he can hit flat out about 220, normally about 205 and gently about 195), one mid-iron (just about bang on a 6-iron, about 190 if he hammers it, 175 normal, or gently about 165), one short iron (a strong 9-iron, which he can hit about 160 flat out, about 150 normally and anything down to about 120 if he takes a bit off it) and a lob wedge (58 degrees, which he can hit 100 yards if he hammers it, down to 50 yards with a bit of check if he grips down on it). He also carries a driver (300 ripped, 275 smoothe, 250 cut up), a four wood (240 if he decks it, down to 225 if he cuts it up) and a putter. His handicap has come down from 4 to scratch already this season, largely on the back of this half set of clubs.
I've started building my own set along the same lines, not least because I much prefer carrying a light bag to pulling a heavy one on a cart.
posted by JJ at 11:11 AM on July 01, 2011
120 if he takes a bit off it) and a lob wedge (58 degrees, which he can hit 100 yards if he hammers it,
So what does he use for 110?
because I much prefer carrying a light bag to pulling a heavy one on a cart
Where do you keep the beer cooler?
It's a novel idea and if it works for him, great. Personally, I like having options. That's part of the allure of golf; you are limited only by your imagination. There are pratically infinite ways to hit a golf ball and I like to have all of them at my disposal when I'm out.
posted by SooperJeenyus at 02:02 PM on July 01, 2011
I've found the same works for me in disc golf. My game improves when I just carry a mid-long understable driver, something for mid-range, and a putter. I get to know the discs better, how they react to different releases, and eventually learn to how to make them work with any given shot. That said, it's fun to throw different plastics, so I like to handicap my game with too many options.
posted by cl at 02:34 PM on July 01, 2011
So what does he use for 110?
A thirty-foot putt, generally.
There are pratically infinite ways to hit a golf ball and I like to have all of them at my disposal when I'm out.
Thing is, if you've got a club for every shot, you don't need to hit different shots; if you're limited in your clubs, you have to get inventive with what you've got. It's medal day at my club. The sun is shining, the wind has dropped, and I'm tempted to just head out there with a half set and try to enjoy it for once.
posted by JJ at 07:40 AM on July 02, 2011
There are pratically infinite ways to hit a golf ball and I like to have all of them at my disposal when I'm out.
I think I invented many ways to hit a golf ball when I was playing. Of course, very few of them resulted in an improvement in either my score or my frame of mind. I think my best was a duck hook on a par 5 at a military air base. The ball went true into the fuel pits where an A-6E was "hot tanking" (fueling with engines running). The ball impacted the aircraft, resulting in the canopy being slid back and a very angry USMC major staring from the cockpit. Instead of a half set of clubs, my game was a half wit swinging the clubs.
posted by Howard_T at 04:58 PM on July 02, 2011
I felt like I'd been smoking pot the first time I ever saw Garrigus putt.