San Francisco’s orphaned course
While playing at Lincoln Park Golf Course last October, I was deeply saddened by the degree to which the city has let this course go. But I still enjoyed the golf and the views. The bathrooms were another story altogether, I don’t think they’d been cleaned in days.
This course has a rich history and I hope that in the next many years there will be a strong movement to restore it.
Here’s a great Yelp post about Lincoln, letting you know whether this course is a good fit for you.
Joel V’s Yelp Review of Lincoln GC in San Francisco
I took a ton of pics which you can find below the one swing video, a 7 iron on the downhill par 3, I think it plays about 160 yds. I wanted the rear view to see if I was maintaining my coil on the transition. It looks to me like I’m casting the club and getting away with it because of a simultaneous hip slide. I was hitting the ball well that day but it’s hard to be consistent when sliding. The music is Debussy, unless the YouTube audioswap changes it.
Golf Progress at Lincoln Park GC:
As for my round, I was on fire through the front nine, I think I was two over. I finished with a 76 which out here is like shooting about an 84 on a normal course. I believe the course is rated 66 and is a par 68, listed at only about 5,500 yards. The fairways and greens are in such poor condition, this represents the greatest challenge, along with the fact that some of the holes are very tight and tree-lined. The last few holes are rather difficult but throughout the course there are drivable par 4’s.
Lincoln Golf Course-San Francisco-Hole #17 View
Lincoln Golf Course in Photos
My wife’s family has a tradition that I’m happy to be a part of. The last weekend of September involves all of the adult men playing 3-4 rounds of golf over as many days and in general drinking way too much and playing cards when not on the course. I brought my then brand new high speed video camera with me and took some pretty nice footage of my wife’s cousin Sean and his dad, who usually post the best two scores each day.
This was the first time I had taken any footage of short game shots and the camera adds a lot of value for the analysis of these delicate short swings. It’s tough to judge someone’s chipping problems with the naked eye (unless you’ve got a gift for that kind of thing). Until I saw the flop shots in slow motion, I didn’t realize how fast the clubhead needed to travel to impart enough backspin to make the shot land softly. The flop shot I’m hitting now does not look quite like Sean’s, mine release a lot to the hole and I don’t feel the shaft being stressed at all, meaning there’s a lot of hand manipulation happening.
Enjoy the videos. Leave any comments about Sean’s full swing or chipping. At the end of the video I express my disappointment as an average golfer with the state of our collective handicap across the nation. I believe that in order to make any lasting improvement in an area of life, whether it be a sport or not, you have to first experience some frustration with a lack of progress and develop the need to find answers. I’m on the quest right now to find out whether I can drop my handicap to a seven by the end of 2010 largely through work away from the golf course and the driving range, out of necessity-check out the kids I’ve got to take care of.
Daddy's little girls
I’m right now playing off a 12 and have begun developing a framework for how the perpetually average player can break out of that intermediate mold and learn to shoot at or below 80 consistently. Of course, first I have to prove it can work by getting my game to that level. That’s why I’ve undertaken this journey, to see if someone can really go from being average for almost 20 years to being considered a very good player (any single digit handicapper I would consider to be in this class) without missing out on my work and family commitments or even going to the driving range. I was playing rather well this week of September 2009 and managed to shoot a 79 at Bailey Creek (from the White tees) and an 83 at Almanor West, both were among the best rounds I’d ever played to that point. There is no video footage of me because at this point I was just learning to use the camera and wasn’t at the point of showing others how to use it on the course. That would come later.
Slow motion golf swing video is a game changer with the Casio Exilim FC100
So I’ve had this Casio Exilim FC100 camera for a few months now, and I’ve been dying to start using it more on the golf course. In my last post which chronicles my August 2009 round at Sharp Park GC in Pacifica, I was able to use the camera sparingly during an early morning round. There wasn’t much sunlight, I had never used the camera before on the golf course, and I really didn’t know much what to do with myself. This second time on the course I started figuring out how to incorporate the camera into my round without disturbing other people’s play or interfering with my own round. It helps that the Casio can fit in my pocket. The camera is a great option for high speed mainly because
1. Price: It’s always changing but it was a great deal when I bought it for $250. Amazon tends to have it at the lowest prices, but I’ve heard Casio is phasing out this model.
You can buy it here:
2. Size: When you’re on the golf course taking video, you want to be able to be discreet. Because this camera is so small, I can shoot video without people noticing, put the camera in my pocket, and tee off. It’s unobtrusive and inconspicuous, so it helps prevent you from the funny looks you might get if you’re lugging a big vidcam around and slowing down the action by having to put it back in the case, etc.
3. Uniqueness: This is the only inexpensive slow motion video camera that I’ve ever known to exist. The 210 frames per second mode is just fine for golf. Casio does have a few nicer models that work even better, like the Casio Exilim F1 shown here:
The Casio High Speed Videos
I made three videos, one of each player in my group during this tournament. Only one of them is worth watching, since I was filming in the shade for the other two guys and didn’t realize that it doesn’t turn out well without copious amounts of light when you’re shooting at high speed. I didn’t know any of these guys, but I started filming their swings toward the end of the back nine as I started getting more comfortable with using the camera. I ended up making little highlight videos for all three which they were happy to get. One of the players wasn’t even aware that I was recording his swing. Here’s the video I made for Garrett:
Diablo CC proved to be a tough course for me and if I recall correctly I shot around a 90 that day. I had a few shanks early on, it’s something I was battling that summer and if the thought of a shank entered my mind the shot would appear out of the blue.
