[ponyakr]

Haven't posted on this thread in a while.

A long time friend GAVE me a 5' x 8 ' tilt bed trailer. A mutual friend had given it to him a few years back. He'd only used it a couple of times & didn't need it. Said he was glad to get rid of it, so he wouldn't have to mow around it.

Hey, you just never know.

I've recently gained some weight. Need to get more exercise. Since I sold my race car & bought a new JD mower, I've been keeping the field to our West, a lot shorter.

A couple of days ago, while looking out over the field, I got this bright idea of building me a Putt-Putt golf course out there.

While planning it, I thought about how to dig & maintain the holes. After Googling for a while, I found some augers, which were made for planting bulbs & such, in gardens. I think I bought a 3 incher.

Chucked it up in my B&D cordless drill, picked a spot, & dug a hole. Worked great !

For hole liners, I choose plastic cake frosting containers. Used my WEN rotary tool, with a cut-off disc, to cut about 3/4" off the bottom of the frosting cup. That serves 2 purposes. Don't have to dig the hole as deep. And, allows water to soak in, rather than standing in the cup.

This seemed to work great. So, I dug 3 more holes & modified 3 more frosting cups. The course is about 100 yards long. I put 2 holes on each end, maybe 35-40' apart. So, I now have a 4-hole Putt-Putt course.

TJ bought me some little orange flags on wire stems, to mark each hole. I stuck one in the center of each hole & will leave em there.

I'd ordered a cheap screw-together putter, which came with 2 balls. Ordered a dozen extra yellow balls, hoping they'd be easy to see. Also ordered a package of plastic tees.

Right now, at my level of expertise,(or lack thereof), each hole is aprox a par 5. Played a round this evening. Shot a 5, 6, & two 7's. So, I was 5 over par. Can only get better.

I am NOT a golfer ! Played just a very little, back when I was a teenager. We rented some clubs from the local country club. Then we went out in the woods along the 1st hole fairway & found several balls that others had hit out there & left. We NEEDED several extras, because we knew we'd lose some in the water. Yeah, we were that bad.

Yesterday, I hit a ball too hard & it went into the woods past the 1st hole. TJ helped me look for it, but we couldn't find it. Too much underbrush & vines. So, this afternoon, I took my Kobalt hedge trimmer out there & made several trails thru that little patch of woods. Found the ball, which was sitting on top of the pine straw, in plain site, AFTER I cleared some trails.

Pic #1 shows my new hole digger, chucked up in the drill.

Pic #2 shows the frosting cup hole liner & hole marker flag.

In pic #3, you can barely see me, way down near hole #3, close to our dirt, shooting backstop.

In pic #4, that's me peering thru the underbrush/vines lookin for the ball.

[ponyakr]

Well, my super cheap screw-together putter was JUNK. Kept loosening up at a threaded joint. Finally would not tighten up. Threads were stripped.

But, I'd bought it from Amazon, so I got a quick refund. Read some reviews of better putters, which were not screw-together. Ordered one that had good reviews. I suppose it's a 2-piece. But at least for now, it's all in one piece. Don't have to screw it together or tighten it up.

Was not content with the tees I bought. They must be almost exactly straight up, or the ball will fall off. And, if the ground is hard, they won't go far enuff into it.

So, I tried some different items for use as a tee. Small plastic bottle caps worked pretty good. But my favorite, as of now, is the top 1 1/4"(haven't measured it) or so, of a 2-liter drink bottle. I just cut 'em off with my WEN brand dremel tool, with cut-off wheel.

They seem to work great, even over short clumps of grass. Since they don't stick in the ground, it don't matter how hard or soft the ground is, or whether there is any grass, or not.

I'm gettin a little better. I've now shot a 3, on 2 holes, & a 4 on 3 holes. Have shot under par my last 3 rounds. For now at least, 5 is still par for all 4 holes, for me.

Had to shorten the icing cups about 1/2", so the tops wouldn't stick up above ground level. The balls were hitting the edge of the cups & bouncing away, occasionally. Now the ball has to be going down into the hole, before it touches the plastic cup.

[ponyakr]

Well, for a long time now, I've been storing some '69 Birds for a Pontiac friend. When I sold my shop a few years back, I drug the Birds a few hundred yards, to their new home. At the time, it seemed like a good safe place. But then a couple of years back my sister decided to sell all her timber.

Well, the guys that did the work showed no mercy(courtesy) to the 3 Birds that were still parked behind an old mobile home, which was just at the edge of the woods.

Actually, when the trailer was parked there & when I parked the cars there, it was in a small clearing. There were no trees really close to the house or cars. But, there were some really big Oak trees which were tall enuff to reach them.

So, after the timber crew left, I went down to check on the Birds. There were trees & brush, & vines, & blackberry briers, completely covering the Birds. In fact, they were so completely covered that anyone who had not known they were there would not have guessed, just by lookin at the area. They were completely hidden.

There's also a big white 2-ton Chevy truck there. Or at least it WAS there. I suppose it still is, unless the scrap iron man took it. I sold several old trucks to him, several years ago. But he never paid me. So, I suppose I gave 'em to him. Don't think that truck was in the deal, since another guy had already paid me for it, just never came for it. A big nearby tree had fell on it, during a storm.

Anyhow, I loaded some clearing tools into the bucket of my Kioti loader & went over to see if I could uncover the Birds.

It is quite grown up. A tree has fallen on the trailer house. I looked around to see what looked like the best way to get in to where the Birds are. Decided to clear a trail past the North end of the trailer, with the bush hog. Just barely missed a solid stump, thankfully. Had a chain saw, so I removed the stump, before I left.

Took the camera with me, to document the project. These 1st 5 pics show what I was up against.

[ponyakr]

Well, I was pretty sure that a green '69 Bird was over near where the tallest 2 trees were. So, I began clearing my way in that direction. Had to use the String trimmer with brush blade, the hedge trimmer, the chainsaw, & the hand pruners.

Finally made the trail far enuff in that direction to see that the green Bird was still there & that a tree or big limb had crashed the LF fender down.

So, I went back in the other direction, where I thought the other 2 Birds might be. There is either one big tree, with lots of big limbs, or several trees, or some combination of both, right over where I thought the other Birds should be. Never did get much cleared under the main parts of the big tree(or trees). So, I sorta veered off towards the West, cutting off some of the smaller limbs, and clearing away the bushes & blackberry briers.

[ponyakr]

Well, I finally uncovered the rear end from one of the Birds. They'd been outside of my shop, in Louisiana, for years. So, they were so rusty that when I drug 'em from the shop to their new home, the rear end just completely came out from under the car, during the trip. Had to come back & get it separately. It still had tires/wheels/springs attached. The owner said it was a 3.55 posi, IIRC. He just never needed it.

Anyhow, after I located the rear end, I knew there was a Bird not far to the South of it. After doin some more clearing, I finally spotted the right front corner of it. A tree had also fallen on it.

Well, that's 2 out of 3. I assume the 3rd is directly under the main part of the big tree. Will probably need my Echo chainsaw & the Kioti to remove the big pieces. Guessing that all 3 Birds have major tree damage, besides all the rust.

Anyhow, by that time, I'd done just about all the physical labor I wanted to do. So, I used the WEN chainsaw to remove the stump, so it wouldn't hurt my bush hog, in the future, then rode the Kioti back home.

Will be quite a project, for me. But, I'll eventually uncover all the Birds & clean up the area so that maybe I can keep it cleared with the bush hog & brush blade trimmer. Don't know if there are still any usable parts on any of the Birds, or not. But, at least we'll be able to get to 'em.

[ponyakr]

Well, a cool front came thru here, so the weather was GREAT today !

Took all my tools back to the Bird excavation site, & continued to locate 'em & dig 'em out.

When I uncovered the green Bird, I also spotted the white truck. It was exactly where it was the last time I saw it, just West of the green Bird. Didn't try to completely uncover that Bird, but decided to get a better look at the 2nd Bird.

[ponyakr]

I decided that the best way to the rear of that 2nd Bird would be to clear a path along the East side of the tree that was over it. Lots of bushes & blackberry briers. But, I had the tools needed to do the job.

When I got to the rear of the car, I discovered that a section of(or a big limb of) the tree had scored a direct bullseye hit, down thru the trunk of the car. The tree really did a number on that 2nd Bird.

[ponyakr]

Well, after locating the 2nd Bird, that meant that the last Bird was on the West side of the 2nd.

So, I went back to the Kioti to take a look & see if I could figure out aprox where the last Bird was & what the easiest path to it might be.

There was a patch of trees, with what looked to be one dead tree, taller than the others. I figured the tall dead tree was just to the West of that last Bird. So, I picked what appeared to be the path of least resistance, & cut my way thru it.

Finally did spot the last Bird. I discovered that the big tree, or at least a big limb of it, had made a direct hit on the Bird. Reminded me of when Tim The Tool Man Taylor dropped a big beam on Jill's Nomad.

Also discovered that what I'd thought was a dead tree was actually just a limb of that big tree, going almost straight up.

Well, after locating that last Bird, I decided that was a good stopping place for today. Lots of work to do. Will probably work on it slowly, & try to have the entire area cleaned up before Spring. May build a few fires this Winter, to get rid of the briers & limbs. Still have plenty of used oil to increase the heat.

I had some visitors at the job site. TJ, Pokey, & Pooch stopped by to check things out. Pooch was snoopin around & didn't get in the pic.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

The course is about 100 yards long. I put 2 holes on each end, maybe 35-40' apart. So, I now have a 4-hole Putt-Putt course.

That whole deal is a great idea.
I used to Golf - but haven't in about 10-12 years now.
Are you using just a Putter for all your shots - start to finish ?

What you made, is what we call a PAR 3 course, around here.
Short holes that range from 50-120 yards from tee to cup.
Think i might make a couple holes and get back in the swing of it too.

Have you looked into what it might take to plant real putting surface grass ?
Bermuda bent grass - or something like that - i believe its called.

Your putting surface (anything under 30 feet from the cup) looks like it would add 2-3 strokes per hole ... on top of the general Par 3.

We used to play "clubs-length" as counting as "in-the hole" on make-shift surfaces like that. Sort of like horseshoes (or hand grenades).

Keep having Fun , and good luck with those Firebirds

[ponyakr]

Yeah, I realize it's REALLY ruff, for golf.

BUT, since this is mostly just for the exercise, which I need. It really don't make much difference how many strokes it takes me to get the ball in the hole.

In fact, I put the 1st hole on some really uneven ground, just to make it a little more difficult.

Thought about buying a driver, for the 1st shot. But it's not necessary. If I get a good solid hit, the putter will get the ball to the hole, with one swing. Problem I have, so far, is getting a good solid hit, in the right direction. I've had the ball go left, go right, & go NOWHERE at all.

Best 1st shot I've had was about 12-15ft from the hole. I've made a 3, on 4 holes now, & a 4, on maybe as many as 10 holes. But, par for me is still just barely under 5 per hole. 4-under is the best round I've had.

The 2nd putter I bought is of MUCH better quality than the 1st. I think I mentioned that the 1st one was a screw-together model & was total junk. I returned it for a full refund. If the foot will stay firmly attached to the shaft, this one should last me as long as I wanna use it.

On Amazon, it's listed as:

" GoSports The Classic Golf Putter "

It got good reviews & is only about $25. I'm well satisfied with it, so far.

https://www.amazon.com/GoSports-Clas.../dp/B07FCKXGKC

I was real disappointed with the tees I bought. The top's are so small that the tee has to be almost perfectly straight up & down, or the ball will roll off.

So, I tried some different homemade tees. So far, the best I've used are the tops of 2-litre Dr. Pepper bottles. I suppose Coke bottles, or other brands of soft drink might work just as well.

As mentioned before, I use my WEN brand dremel tool to cut off over an inch of the top. Just measured one. It's just barely over 1 3/4". That's actually just a bit too tall, unless I'm in taller grass. I'm gonna cut some off shorter, so I'll have different lengths, for different surfaces. there are quite a few old ant, salamander, & mole hills, where there is no grass, at all. On those surfaces, a very short tee is all that's needed. I much prefer using a tee, unless I'm within a few inches of the hole. Hey, my course, my rules.

We have plenty of lawn which I can use for a golf course. So, I plan to add a few more holes. I think that it will be a little more fun to play 8 different holes, rather than to just play the same 4 holes twice in a row. And, the yard don't have near as many ant, salamander, & mole hills. It's mostly grass & smooth terrain. I've begun mowing the grass shorter, getting ready to add holes.

[ponyakr]

So, now that I've located all 3 Birds, I've begun to uncover 'em & clear away the trees, bushes, & briers that surround them.

Began with the middle Bird. The 1st pic shows the direction I had to go to get to the nose of the middle Bird.

As the other pics show, the 8.2 rear end is just in front of the nose of the Bird.

For Pontiac guys, it's the unmistakable nose of a '69 Bird. Took me almost 2 hours to get all this done.

Next, I'll uncover some of the West side of the last Bird. Will try to leave the biggest tree(or trees), so I can get a good pic of it(or them), & exactly how they landed on the Birds. Will also measure it(or them). If it's just one tree, it may have been 80 or so feet tall.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

As a kid, i used to use a putter (all i had) for all shots start to finish.
So i'm familiar with the challenges and adaption it takes.

On trips into town - thrift stores usually have a barrel of old clubs ($1-$5)
9 Iron, Pitching Wedge or Sand Wedge (one, or all) would get you into some loft/hang-time on those tee shots to the cup.
Lefties are scarce - but its luck of the draw anyway.

We mostly concentrated on how close we could get our approach shots to the cup.
Had our own rules - about like you do.

Yellow Orange and Pink balls track pretty good, sometimes easier to find too.
Glow-in-the-Dark balls can be found at night - if they didn't roll into the shade that day.
Night Golf is real challenging too.
They have some with LED lights inside the ball

Too much influence of right arm, ball goes right
too much influence of left arm, ball goes left
its all in the rhythm .
Not keeping head down/eye on the ball - miss the whole ball or nick it.
just have Fun out there - who cares where it goes ! lol

Whichever Bird that rear came out of could be a car someone would want to save.
Even if only the VIN tag & Cowl tag were usable.
3.55 N Case Rear could be worth 1k +/- depending on factors

[ponyakr]

"...Whichever Bird that rear came out of could be a car someone would want to save.
Even if only the VIN tag & Cowl tag were usable.
3.55 N Case Rear could be worth 1k +/- depending on factors "

Yeah, if the stuff was mine, I'da sold it long ago. They belong to a long time Pontiac friend. His 1st Pontiac was a '69 Bird, which he still has as a show & cruise-in car. So, '69 Birds have always been his favorite.

I actually bought the green '69, way back in the '70's. It was originally an OHC six stick car. No engine or trans when I bought. But it did come with a good set of headers. Was in plenty good enuff shape to make a street or drag car with. I didn't use '69's because the flat top of the rear fender wells limited tire size.

When my friend found out I had a '69, he immediately wanted it. I think he probably traded me something for it. But, he lived in the city at the time & didn't have room for a bunch of cars. So, I've just been keeping this & 3 other '69's he accumulated. Had to move 'em when I sold my shop to a logger.

A few years back, a mutual Pontiac friend needed some parts off one of the cars. So, he came and got it & took to his place. Good thing he never brought it back. From the looks of things, the big tree would have damaged it too.

Both guys are members here. So maybe they'll see this. If the owner don't see it, I'll at least send him some "before & after" pics. He lives out in the country now & has plenty of room. But, the cars are now probably not even worth hauling to his place. They may be in their final resting place.

But, as scarce as these old parts are getting, there are probably some parts left that somebody, somewhere could use. For a good body man, most any body part can be repaired & used, as long as it's not totally eat up with rust.

Whether any of the parts are ever used, or not, I'm gonna go ahead & clean the area up & try to keep it that way. Got plenty of tools, & I need the exercise. So, I don't have any excuse.

About the clubs: Wouldn't mind having a driver, just to see what it would do. But I prefer swinging lefty. So, I figure it would cost more than I'm willing to pay.

Besides, the putter I have now will hit the ball to the holes, IF I get a good solid hit, in the right direction. So, I think I just need need to focus on learning to use the putter for every shot.

For tee shots, it seems that I really need something with a BIG flat face, so that I can't possibly miss the ball !

[ponyakr]

Well, I've completed my 1st expansion. Added 4 more holes, out in our front yard, just North of the horse pen.

Pic #1 shows my tools & parts. There's a B&D cordless drill, a hole auger, a long screwdriver, 4 cut-off cake icing cups, & 4 small marking flags on stiff wire stems.

With this stuff, I'm now very efficient at making putt-putt holes.

Added 2 holes near the NW corner of the horse pen & 2 more down near the NE corner. 2 are closer to the fence. 2 are out closer to the driveway.

I've already sliced a tee shot across the driveway & into the edge of the woods. That was an aprox 45° angle !

Haven't tried to find it yet, since it was almost dark. But the ball is yellow. So it shouldn't be too hard to find, in the bright sunshine. If not, I'll break out the brush clearing equipment & make the area a bit more accessible. Hey, "Whatever it takes" !

[ponyakr]

I only added 4 new holes. But, it will actually increase my course to a total of 10 holes. That's because I'm gonna use #5 hole as #7, also, & #2 hole as #10, also.

But, each hole will have a different tee-off location. Actually, to get to both #5 & #10 holes will require a left turn, past the corner of our house.

Pic #1 was taken from the tee-off location behind our house. It's the same tee-off location used for hole # 3, but I'll be hitting in the opposite direction. Ball must go past the SE corner of the house, then make a "dogleg" left turn, to hole #5.

This 2nd shot is shown on pic #2. Then pic #3 shows what the hole #6 tee shot will look like. It will go parallel to the horse fence & just past the far corner of it.

The tee-off area for hole #7 is just past hole #6, on top of a terrace row. As mentioned, hole #5 also serves as hole #7.

The tee-off area for hole #8 is just North of the 5/7 hole, between it & hole #9. That same tee-off area will be used for hole #10. I'll just be hitting in the opposite direction. The tee-off area for hole #9 will be on that same terrace row as for hole #7.

Pic #4 shows the first shot on hole #10. Pooch is layin in the front yard, reminding me that to get to this hole will require a dogleg left.

The ball must go past the house, then dogleg left, this side of the shop building. As mentioned, #10 hole is also #2 hole.

By the time I get thru all 10 holes, I'll probably be ready to rest.

Pic #10 shows the tees I've made, in 4 different heights. Even cut with the lowest setting on my lawn mower, the grass is too tall to not use tees. Not gonna try to hit out off the grass.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

My juvenile golf days , i busted the storm window glass and window glass at my Grandmothers house - with one of those 45* angle Slice tee shots.
It was probably even more like a 60* angle. lol

We had decided to set up a long marker for next hole.
I was gonna knock it good ... oops
Had to sneak into the house and get my ball back. Mission Accomplished.

3 witnesses (cousins) , 2 of which couldn't wait for their chance to tell on me.
No more taking the golf stuff to that grandmothers house anymore.
They should have gotten me some real lessons, after they tore my azz up.

My other grandfather was a golfer, and told me about the bias of either arm causing hooks or slices.

A driver club will compound hooks and slices.
But if you check into the thrift stores enough, you will probably find a lefty - cheap.
Used sporting good stores also usually sell any off-brand stuff pretty cheap too.

They have plastic wiffle balls in golf ball size for practicing.
They don't go real far , easier to retrieve

[ponyakr]

"...They have plastic wiffle balls in golf ball size for practicing.
They don't go real far..."

Hey, sometimes my real golf balls don't go very far, either.

One time, I knocked the tee out from under the ball. The tee went several feet. The ball dropped straight down, to exactly where the tee had been !

That's one reason why I made some shorter tees.

[ponyakr]

Well, I decided to get out early this morning, to beat the heat. Was in the cool shade for the whole job.

Uncovered part of the Bird, closest to the trailer.

The big tree, or big limb of a bigger tree, looks to have made a perfect hit, the length of the Bird.

Another smaller one hit from the side.

This Bird has disc brakes. LF hub, disc, & caliper still in tact.

[ponyakr]

Tim The Tool Man Taylor could not have done a better job. Looks like a perfect hit.

By the way, I shot my 1st full round of Putt-Putt golf, on my newly expanded 10-hole course. Shot a 2 under par, 48.

[ponyakr]

Still don't know if it's just one big tree, with lots of big limbs, or 2 trees.

Can see the lower section of what hit this car, going back into the jungle. Don't know how long it is, yet.

Made a pic of a fork in the tree that hit the middle Bird.

The last pic is of the in-&-out trail I cut, to get in here to clear some on the West side of this Bird.

Next part of this project will be to clear out around the Birds & along one side the big tree(or trees), to see how long it(they) is(are).