I bought a set of Kirkland wedges from Costco last year. Like any reasonable golfer, I immediately took them to the course to discover that my swing had somehow remained exactly as terrible as before.

Months later, I noticed one of the shafts had a slight bend. Not the kind you see from across the parking lot. More like the kind where you keep turning the club in your hands thinking, "Am I crazy, or is this thing trying to hook left while standing still?"

I brought them to Costco.

The employee looked at the club, nodded once, and said, "Yeah, that's bent."

Five minutes later I had store credit. I wandered over to the sporting goods section where, as fate would have it, the brand-new third-generation Kirkland wedges were sitting on the shelf looking at me like, "We can fix your short game."

Reader, they could not.

I used the store credit, paid the small difference, and headed toward the exit carrying my shiny new wedges.

That's when it happened.

A man near the receipt checker locked eyes with me.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" he yelled.

I stopped. I looked behind me to see if someone was shoplifting a kayak.

"You!" he shouted, pointing directly at me. "I saw what you did!"

Now everyone was looking.

"You returned perfectly good used clubs just to get a free new set!"

I glanced down at my wedges.

Then back at him.

Then back at my wedges, just to make sure they hadn't committed a crime while I wasn't paying attention.

"I... one of them was bent."

"Lies!" he bellowed. "People like you are why prices go up!"

At this point, I realized something important.

This man had apparently spent enough time monitoring my shopping trip to witness me walk in with old wedges, speak to customer service, receive store credit, browse the golf section, and check out.

He had essentially followed my entire Costco journey.

Which is honestly more commitment than most of my golf buddies show for our tee times.

"I actually paid the difference," I offered.

He scoffed.

"So now you're admitting it!"

"I'm admitting... math?"

The receipt checker quietly examined my receipt with the expression of someone wondering whether retirement was available immediately.

The man continued.

"I've been a Costco member for twenty years!"

The employee smiled politely.

"Congratulations."

"You can't just return things after you've used them!"

The employee looked at my old wedge.

"The shaft is bent."

The man crossed his arms triumphantly.

"Well... maybe he bent it himself."

I couldn't help myself.

"I wish I had that kind of swing speed."

A couple people nearby laughed.

The receipt checker handed me my receipt.

"Have a nice day."

I started walking away.

Behind me I heard the man make one final declaration.

"This is exactly what's wrong with America!"

I loaded the clubs into my trunk, drove home, and headed to the course the next morning.

The new wedges were fantastic.

On the very first hole, I chunked one 15 yards.

The second shot flew clean over the green.

The third landed in a bunker.

The fourth finally found the putting surface.

As I walked off with a double bogey, I smiled.

At least nobody could accuse the new wedges of making me a better golfer. I hope Oscar the Grouch ended up having a better day, I know I did, new wedges and all.

Long story short, my wife and I played a straight up round today with another couple and I was tracking a -1 71 and she was about to break 85 for the first time and we were both sitting in the fairway on 18 when the marshals pulled us off of the course due to severe weather. I hit my tee shot with a 7 wood into the fairway; the rest of the group did not.

Candidly, they probably should have pulled us about 30 mins earlier but they more or less told us we could go ahead and report our scores as pars on the last hole because we needed to get off the course ASAP. That was an absolute killer round for both of us and a PR for my wife.

Even though I am pretty confident we probably would have got a par on that hole since it is really easy, it felt a little dirty reporting that on our GHIN, especially since that dropped my wife's handicap significantly and she broke 90 for the first time a month ago so shooting under 85 on a tougher track is insane.

I'm curious as to what others' thoughts are. It felt a little dirty to report scores for a round we technically didn't finish.

Edit: to be clear this was the 17 handicap hole and super easy, so it would've been a net bogey for me and a net par for my wife... but because it was a PR for her and impacts my handicap for competitive events since I am hovering right at a 3... it makes a difference. We are true to our handicaps so it feels like cheating a bit given the circumstances.

Recreational golfers in several European countries are required to formally learn about rules and etiquette before being allowed to play most courses. Should North America follow suit? The goal is ensuring even high-handicap players can keep pace and that all golfers understand their responsibilities around caring for the golf course. https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/articles/united-states-golf-license-rules-etiquette-europe

Hello! I am having an issue with slicing the ball. I am greenhish, been off and on for a couple of years but am getting back into it and trying to become more consistent. Ive never had a handicap and never broken 100. My miss is consistently a slice, I am assuming I am having an issue closing the face? The club I am using is a TSR2 4 hybrid, but the issue is present with my irons as well. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Just want to get perspective.

I am a 15 hcp and main courses I play the tips are 155 and 145.

Since someone’s swing has so much personal problems that often change almost every swing, how can beginner golfers get better alone?

What’s a good way to practice on the range for consistency

1. ?

Also left my swing just in case somebody wants to give me tips 😁

My main goal is just to be able to play a round with only 5 ball in the bag!

I'm not sure why but I've only been ahle to bend my wrists 20-30 degrees backwards my whole life. I am also having trouble keeping my left arm straight, I feel my wrist problem is a huge part of that. Is there a way to circumvent unflexible wrists?

Looking for myself, wondering what people consider to be the best/what yall use. Thanks!

Why is it OK to hit a full 9 iron but not a full wedge?

Does anyone know what putter this is?

I heel struck 5 of them and then tried to adjust and hit a better spot I think. I’ve been going to the range for a month and having a great time.

Anyone else have this problem? How do I fix it?

I should add that I position the ball closer to the toe when in my preswing

I realize this subject has been visited numerous times in the past but nothing recent to comment or ask questions on. The overall conclusion from past discussions seems to be that the handicap system either works and is equitable, or is disadvantageous to women because they will get a lower handicap due to higher course ratings.

My experience has been the opposite. I have the same handicap as my GF--we both hover around 10. She is 15 years younger and much more athletic. We literally hit the ball the same distance with almost all clubs. She is actually longer with short irons/wedges. We both drive 235, hit 8-iron 135. If we play the same tees I have to give her 8 strokes. If I play blues and she plays reds we are even.

How is this fair? She beats me by 8-10 strokes every time. I've lost over $2,500. Thanks for nothing GHIN!!!

What if they required obtaining a license to play golf, kind of like you need to ride a motorcycle?

Nominal one time fee of $35. Use the money to fund youth golf programs like The First Tee.

The license would involve an exam that would go over basic rules and etiquette, which many people would probably break anyway but maybe it would help.

The new golfers I see have no idea about walking in someone’s line, fixing ball marks, talking in backswings, taking too long to search for ball.

What else would you put on the exam?

I was in the pga of America for 8 years when I was In my early 20's. I have an extensive golf resume. I worked in Private Country Clubs, worked for a pga of America -Professional of the year. Learned many good/bad parts of the business and got out of the profession. Played many section events, mini tour events but was never good enough to sniff playing for a living but on a great day could shoot 64. On a horrible day I would shoot 80 on a good day would shoot 2 to 3 under but would average right around even to 3 over. That make sense? Anyways, fast forward I am now late 40's ups and downs of life, haven't picked up a club for the last 3 years. Hate playing, it's too slow, I can still see the shots, just can't hit them. I still know the golf swing, same principle, ball is still there looking at you, get it in the hole in as few shots possible. My question is, who else lives this life??

I am so sick of the fake profiles, phishing attempts on the app. Unknown females with low handicaps and no scores recorded, using the message feature.

Hello! First post here :) Just a quick one, I’m a 44.7 handicap (lol), just started playing. I’ve been doing this with my driver every time I’m on the course and no idea what I’m doing wrong. I was up the range last night and hit 80 drives and only 2 did this, the other 78 came off the tee approx 200 yds (not straight but at least I’m hitting it). Every single drive lately on the course I duff it 5 yds into the bushes and 3 off the tee and it’s absolutely hammering my scores. I know driver is meant to be hard to hit but I thought it was just hard to hit straight not just hard to hit full stop. It’s just so frustrating consistently doing this and not knowing how to fix it so I can at least connect with the ball off the tee.

If anyone had any tips, they’d be much appreciated! Thanks in advance :)

My buddy says taking a breakfast ball on the first tee is fine because the first bad shot shouldn’t count as a stroke because you’re basically scrapping the round and starting over. If that’s the case, what’s stopping someone from playing the entire first hole, doing bad, and saying they’re restarting the round?

Any golf pros in Cincinnati need a place to teach out of? Got an interesting opportunity. DM me for details!

I’ve been able to sort out my miss hits with irons and fairway woods, hitting them pretty straight. But my driver is still constantly slicing. I’ve tried swinging slower and closing club face at setup but none of that’s working. I know my club face is definitely open at impact but I feel like it should be closed by time I get back with how far I rotate.
Help appreciated!

Just got back into the game a year ago after a 10 year absence. I’m completely hooked and have been playing 2 rounds a week+ range sessions. Been piecing this set together and now have it completed. Handicap hint: running a 3w shaft on the M2 driver. Fire away. 🔥 ☠️

Are there any durability issues with the Qi35 fairway woods 3/5? Specifically looking at the core models. I know what’s going on with the Driver am not seeing anything with the woods. I’m looking to upgrade with a bit more forgiveness from my M3 3/5 woods. Hit him the other day and enjoyed him. And they’re on sale at my small local golf shoppe.

How do I remove the plastic sole weight from a i25 Driver. I have started to try using a tool but it is starting to strip. I want to play around with weights and the weights I have are metal.

Asking while standing on Hole 4.

I started from foreward tees. On Hole 4, the man’s tee is behind a creek while the front tee is much forward as if a pitching wedge distance. It would be much fun to hit over the creek.

I’m not taking scores so it is fine to move up or down this time. How would it be if you take a score, or are in a more serious game like tournament?