[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

I'm all in for Exec "golf" & Pitch & Putt "golf" or any other sport folks want to play at or learn. I'm merely pointing out the fact that using the same word for traditional USGA Golf and the various versions available in The Villages, leads to some of the attitudes that surround the subject.

Things like hearing about all the "Hole in Ones", that were nothing more than simple chip shots, at a P&P course. Or folks complaining on either side of the Dress Code issue, as it applies to Exec courses.

I think it would be different, if there were different names. No one confuses softball with baseball. No one confuses pickleball with tennis. No one should be looking down on folks who play the P&P courses or Exec courses, but when those players put themselves and their accomplishments into the same category as those who play the Championship courses, the disconnect or derision is inevitable.

Golf is very difficult game. Golfers spend huge amounts of time, money & effort to become reasonably proficient at it. In my opinion, anyone who carries a single digit handicap, is a good golfer. I'm under a 5.0 Index. I made a HIO in TV last year. 172 Yards. One of the guys in the group I was playing with, told me he had 11 HIO's. When he was out of earshot, his friend told me that he usually plays P&P courses or Exec courses and counts those. It's not the same thing and hearing it, irks most golfers who take the game seriously.

I'll use the drone analogy again. When I hear a drone operator calling himself a "pilot", my blood boils. Getting a certificate to fly a drone, is not much more demanding than getting a license to drive a car. Trust me, getting a real Airmen's Certificate to fly an airplane, is entirely different process and not so easy or cheap.

Then again, in the social media world, CNA's call themselves "Medical Professionals" so I guess it's not just golf or flying.

I agree with your analysis of HIOs. I have only one, it was 198 yds with a 5 iron in 1978. Call me a "snob" if you want, but I think that is a much greater accomplishment than a "HIO" on a 65-yard exec hole with a skulled driver into a 12 inch hole. (which is what most of the HIOs listed every week are)