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Things I appreciated about this video: James’s approach to the game (checking the wind, strategy on every shot/putt, “stick to the process don’t jump to conclusions” @12:10) Things I REALLY appreciated about this video: Golfcity showing the content we all want to see, James not once complaining about the conditions or pace of play and being an overall gentleman during the entire round Thing I REALLY did not appreciate: someone found his 8 iron and didn’t turn it in. Cmon fellow golfers, we’re better than that!

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

Thank you!🙏 But he got his iron back - someone returned it!

@BW-sl9pw

4 ай бұрын

Great to hear! Restored my faith in our fellow public golf course players. Played Spook couple times and everyone from the staff to the local folks were awesome!

@purplecow5150

Ай бұрын

@@Golficity that is awesome.

what a nice dude. Extremely humble and you can tell he absolutely loves what he does. Watched this entire vid through it was fantastic

@shadyzz9549

4 ай бұрын

You know not a single fkn thing about him & his character by watching him play portions of one round of golf on a YT video. FFS... tell us you're stupid without telling us you're stupid.

@Golficity

3 ай бұрын

We appreciate you!

@frankiedubz214

2 ай бұрын

second this. all the best to James

@joejoey1983

2 ай бұрын

Totally I’d be his caddy tired of douches at country clubs

James is the best, played a pro-am with him at the Wichita Open. He’s one of the nicest guys around.

@rpw1013

2 ай бұрын

He might be nice, but he is NEVER going to be a top class pro...

@sinz__

2 ай бұрын

ok? why would a successful tour pro care what a couch potato who shoots 93 thinks@@rpw1013

@user-iv2tr5zd1j

Ай бұрын

Quite clearly not the best, but you met him, therefore he's better than he is 😅

James - thank you for taking the time to do this! I love your attitude on the misses, focus on the prep/action vs. result. Now I’m follow and root for you the rest of your career! Cheers!

This was one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf I have watched in a long time.

Did my research on him and it turns out his dad performed surgery on both my right and left knees. And I gotta be honest but I thought I was a good athlete but this guy takes the cake. Definitely going to be rooting for him if I ever see him on TV playing in a tournament. And I've played Spook Rock many times and this is just not fair. Only if we could all hit the ball 340 off the tee. Great job James and good luck on tour!!

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

Small world! He secured his DP WORLD TOUR CARD so you’ll be seeing him!

This is exactly the content I want to see. I really want to see folks at courses i play.

This is great content. Getting to see insight like this from a pro golfer is really cool. Love all th explanations and hearing the thought process. Great work boys

Great video guys. Nice to see a lovely humble pro playing great around a public course and giving such great insight into his thought pattern with every shot. I've also left a club out on a course, so it happens to us all! Sometimes in a way it may be more difficult around the greens for him than what he's used to, as the quality on a public course isn't going to match what he's used to on a course set up immaculately for a pro tournament Five under shot with ease. I bet we'd all love to do that. Well done and best wishes for the future.

Great video and James seems like a great guy. Will definitely be rooting for him going forward. I loved seeing a pro dealing with the conditions I usually deal with and thrilled when I recognized the course as one I've played multiple times in the past!

Great video fellas! Awesome to hear the thought process from a Pro and what they are thinking for each shot. Things amatures never think about - but should!

Fantastic vid!! Love your channel and just your overall attitude toward golf. One of the best on YT. 👏

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

🙏🏼

Great Vid! No matter what Tee's you play from, it's the mindset and the approach for each green. A lot of Hackers like to play from the Tips and then complain about everything. Yet here James proves it's still challenging from even from the different Tee boxes. I like how he explains what he normally would do and how if he crushes it, it could go in the woods. Even if he is in the woods....he jst plays the shot. One thing I learned.....his "duck Walk" to the hole. It looked goofy, but wow, he was confirming the break on the green. It was a joy to watch how (with his skill level) how he can attack each hole. To control the fade/draw, the power, club selection, jst all aspects. It makes it fun for hackers like us and how we can work on different aspects of our own game. FUN!

7:06 the dew line from a previous ball lines up perfectly with your line!! satisfying

What always strikes me the most is the Sound of a Good Swing!!! The “click” at contact is so Crisp, Beautiful 😊

Great video. First time watcher. One subtle video editing thing I reeaallyy loved was on hole 7 at around 13:00 of this video you guys continued the audio of golf cart conversation while overlaying James finishing the hole. Thought that was a clever way to capture the importance of the conversation but also continuing on with the content. Liked and subscribed. Looking forward to more of your content in my feed.

Great to see a video with a tour pro playing a “normal” common man course!! the muni’s and standard public courses generally have more playing surface challenges than the perfect tournament condition courses, it adds an element of uncertainty, for sure.

@notmarealnameboi

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, they should make an annual event out of this.

Great Video, top shelf walking us through the process of each shot and hole

"I'm not thinking of anything", proceeds to tell what he's thinking about. 😂

Did he get his 8 iron back?

@phreak761

2 ай бұрын

I sold it for 10 bucks to buy crack 🌬️

James is a pretty chill guy. Always fun to watch...

I love hearing the strategy behind his shots. It also shows how consistent professional courses are compared to many of the public golf course I play in my videos.

I loved the concept here. It was fun to watch James shoot -5. He putted well and hit some gorgeous drives. I thought he had good course management as well. I look forward to Part 2.

Thank you guys and good luck in your career James. A pleasure to watch!

Really enjoyed hearing the thought process going into each shot

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

Right? Cool how they think.

Most pros I've seen are very humble. I think the game does that. What a game. What a pro.

@davidgraham8058

3 ай бұрын

The very best are humble because they’ve played with so many great players as good or better than them. The arrogant players are the ones playing off 2 or 3 who think they are McIlroy because they’ve never played with top players before.

It's nuts that James is practicing for Q-School and is this good. Like, mind boggling just how good pro golfers are. His second shot on hole 1 I would've hit four trees and ended up closer to the tee box than the green.

@Ctharvey

4 ай бұрын

Also the way he is processing the shot at hand is very insightful.

@zesolodar

4 ай бұрын

you want a good example of that go watch rick shiels videos with james robinson. guy was an ex pro who played in the open but is a teaching pro now because basically he wasnt good enough to make it on tour. he shot 1 under par on 9 holes with a 70 euro package set they bought from a costco equivalent store, played another 9 holes with rick i believe he finished 2 under but whats crazy about that is the challenge was he was only able to use 4 golf clubs

@heavyq

4 ай бұрын

@@zesolodaryeah I watch Rick and James. I like James a lot. He turned me on to Takomo irons a few years back!

@mikehoffman3142

4 ай бұрын

James Robinson was very, very good. I couldn't believe he wasn't on the tour. But, he was super nice. I wonder if he was missing the killer instinct. Kind of like a guy who wanted to stay out of the way of everyone and keep it friendly. Just saying@@zesolodar

Interesting round to see at my second home course where we all shoot in the 80’s. He didn’t drive it particularly well, but his length off the white tees meant he’s pitching to every green. It’s a bit like us playing off the reds. Would have liked to see him play from the tips, which are still 500 yards shorter than a Tour course. If he had striped his drives he might have shot 62 or 63, since he parred all four par 5’s

@kevingarrison5541

4 ай бұрын

He had an eagle putt on 11, he made birdie on that par 5.

@NYcomposer

4 ай бұрын

You are right!

so watching in 2024... very likeable fellow, career earnings at $111,000 yet goes out and shoots -5 making it look easy at that. Goes to show everyone how good tour players are. Great video.

Great golfer, even better character. I hadn't personally heard of James before watching this but he has all my support!

Loved this video. Would love to see more videos like this

The fact that he hit his first drive into the woods made me feel better for 57 seconds. Then it was on the middle of the green in 2 and if I was lucky enough to be on that fairway after my first drive, I would almost definitely not been on the green in 2. :D Loved hearing his process on each shot.

Craziest part is it looked like he played super sloppy and still shot 5 under!! The rest of us hacks play like that and we are 19 over, easy. It's just not fair how good these guys are.

Excellent video! Good luck to this dude on tour!

This is great for the insights alone from James.

im new to golf and i loved this video. thanks

Awesome video!! I guessed that he would shoot -5!! Though he easily could have gone lower. I bet if he didn't have his driver, he would go lower playing from the white tees. I mean, it was pretty evident playing aggressive off the tee didn't;t help much. Where as, he could have easily placed him self on every par 4 with an 80-120 yards in approach. Where hole outs from that distance aren't far from at his level. Anyhow it was great to hear his thought process for every shot. Thanks for posting

Awesome vid. A real insight to a pros mind. I kept thinking that this guy is a tool the way he takes about his approach, but then I remember he is a professional. Impressive.

Getting that bogey first hole really gave me hope.

Cool video, no point of bunkers they are not in play. Love to see some more of these at other Municipal courses.

Had my best and worst round on the same day. When I was playing as a professional we were in Florida on a 7200 yard track. I had 9 birdies, 2 eagles and finished with a 73. Two weeks later in Vegas I started a round five over after five holes and finished with a 67. Remember, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. I've had dozens of rounds like this and there's a lesson from them, "Never give up on yourself"!

Man, what a great video!!!!! James was fantastic. On another day he is -9/-10 easily. Superb to watch.

@rpw1013

2 ай бұрын

Serious....you need to watch professionals.

Love this!!! My home course! I would not move back to the blues until I shot par from the whites! I was wondering when this was coming out! Great video! That drive on 18!!! Holy Cow!

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

Appreciate you!

LOL Makes first birdie at hole 3 - "Finally"!

What a video! He smashed it. Have you seen the yoing saudi pro Amah Dragmah? His swing is so similar!

total confidence, but humble confidence. "i'm gonna do this, but if not, we'll deal with it". proceeds to do what he's trying to do, most of the time.

6:48 cleaning club with gloves is funny😂😂😂

Awesome content and concept, wish I could see a pro cane my local courses.

James Nicholas is the man. Really rock with this dude

Wish there were more videos of this style with pros walking you through verbally what they are thinking during the entire round…shot by shot. Learn a lot of how they think and their course management

You guys are so lucky to know someone like him.

spook rock is my home track too. cool to see him tear it up

Excellent golf! I am pumped up right now! Yelling at the phone screen and punching holes in my drywall. LETS GO!!!!!

It’s nice to see a pro roughing it like the rest of up on bumpy greens = reality, and add a 15 minute wait time on the tee box. Good luck on the 2024 season!

I planned on skipping around, but I watched every second. I learned so much from the commentary

I wish James all the best in his quest to play the PGA Tour. He's an all-around athlete. He was recruited to play football at Yale. He was also the 6th highest career scoring in HS hockey in New York state history. He eventually stopped playing football to only play on Yale's golf team where he was all Ivy League multiple times.

@leethecaddie5173

2 ай бұрын

My oldest son played goalie against James for 4 years in high school and he was a beast!

He sounds like Michael Cera to me. Great casual 5 under though... I mean... He left at least 5 or so out there and didn't really look like he was even remotely worried at any point. This just goes to show that on a super average or maybe even below average day, the level that you have to be on to compete against world-class opposition. I will probably never have a 5 under round. So cool to watch; also great to hear him explain his thought process and evaluation of trouble situations on every shot. Great content.

Congrats on 100 thousand subscribers!

@Golficity

Ай бұрын

We appreciate it 👊🏼

This was really nice to watch

Most people have no idea. Anytime a. Pro level golfer plays my local club, they go so low, even from the tips on a tough course. I’ve seen a guy shoot -9 and it should’ve been -11. He shot it pretty easily. They really take advantage of par 5s so it’s like they’re playing par 67s or 68s on most courses. He was getting home in 2 with irons for the most part and hitting them inside 10 to 20 ft and make a ton of putts. An elite player like Spieth or scheffler shoots low 60s every round at the local club that he’s familiar with.

Cool to see Spook Rock on KZread! I shot my lifetime PB there many years ago.

Getting a 5 hole 1 with a lost club.... this made me feel a lot better becasue i do this exact same thing!.... rip to my gap wedge

Oh man on a day with a bit better luck, he'd killlll that course! Would love to see him play this again with a bit more course knowledge

Amazing player, love the journey!

I’ve always found Spook Rock challenging. It’s on the upper edge of my comfortable distance and there’s tons of trees. I love this video so much because he’s like yawning while he dominates the course.

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

Yeh it’s a tough one David no doubt

@Bigmarv187

2 ай бұрын

Did he really dominate the course? Definitely was enjoyable watching him play. However, he finished at a gross score of 73.

A friend plays on the Asian Tour, and has had starts on the DP and US Tours. When we played at my club we squeezed 14 holes in. He was 11 under. This course was only 6,400 yards and he tore it apart.

Love how he talks about the bumps in the greens im so used to them i dont notice anymore but imagine if i got to play perfect greens how many more putts id make

@tomsanger5548

2 ай бұрын

Been playing our munis for 20 years. The greens are excellent now due to Troon taking over management but in the past they have often stimped at no kidding 6 or 8. You may as well putt with a 3 wood. Drove me nuts that good putts would bobble left or right but never seemed to get a bobble going in on a bad putt. Got to play a few rounds on flawless bent grass & made all kinds of putts so on rough muni greens its more about luck than skill.

Could have easily been 8 under. The info you get from walking with pros while they play is almost overwhelming. They are surgeons. When in trouble, they see and can hit though "windows" us amaetures don't see let alone can hit. I keep saying I appreciate you guys and the work you do. It was GREAT to watch James Nicholas play. I will check out the podcast and will cheer him on too. Have to, he's a Golficity homie, one of us.

Brilliant video 👍

My primary courses are a couple of very nice munis with greens the speed of this course. I was stoked that the women's tour would be playing there & wondered if I could compete with them if I could have played with them by at least making the cut at 4 under. Meg Mallon went & shot a 10 under 60 with rough so bad there are times when you knew exactly where the ball would be & you couldn't find it. Brutal. Also played with a visiting retired senior tour player & his buddies got him a crappy set of graphite irons but a decent driver. He didn't birdie any par 5's plus left a bunch out there & shot a 6 under 64. Followed Annika for 3 rounds on the other muni course for an LPGA event & she missed a ton of 6 to 12 footers & she shot 24 under. Ridiculous different world.

These tour pros are so good because even with a bad/slow start they know a good stretch is coming. They stay focused and even on a not so great day shoot mid 60's Pretty amazing.

Those greens and what your use to playing on are totally opposite. I played professional in the 90s and I can tell you your games just gets much better on tour level golf courses. I played alot of public golf courses and I found it my game was not at the level of play of playing on tour . Greens were slower and did not break correctly. Fairways were fluffy or not cut tight. Hard to spin the ball. This video is really good for people to see that way they can understand that sometimes or alot times your putts a missing are not always your fault.

Your boy working the camera is an absolute savage. Getting a shot of the 8 iron in the grass and not saying a word for the content. W

@the1ceman

2 ай бұрын

I think they found out in the edit. Not intentionally leaving it for content

Cart path only... cut to the drone shot on #7 with the group ahead driving through the fairway lol

I remember watching pros complain about conditions being unfair because the course is not perfect. Sand bunkers, greens, fairways, tight fairways......even calling a greeb a postage stamp when we have seen smaller greens than that near water. Always said....we play on "harder" courses than they do because of conditions.

Another great video guys! I saw you at Cabot Farms.......

@Golficity

2 ай бұрын

👊🏼

What this video showcased is how difficult golf is to your recreational golfers. So many variables come into play. Course familiarity is a big one. The maintenance of the course itself (greens, fairways, rough, fringe, bunkers etc when compared to tour level courses). Makes me feel much better knowing breaking 95 is a big achievement.

Spook!!!! This is my home course, I learned how to play here. Took lessons with Chris Cohen who is one of the head guys at Spook Rock. Keep up the great content !

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

Same! My home course too! Cheers! - Mike

Gotta say…as a 7 handicap this video definitely changes my personal expectations if a tour pro is only shooting -5 at a muni course while playing from the whites….guess I should be happy with my 85

There are definitely disadvantages on the Munis, and closer tees are not necessarily a help. I don't hit it far at all, but all of my best rounds are from the back tees, mainly because there's less trouble off the tee. I'm sure a pro would destroy them if they get used to them, but coming straight from their world into ours is no picnic.

The thing about a lot of public course is the condition of the fairways and greens. I have played courses that being in the fairway ends up being on hard bare ground

I would argue that a lot of "public" courses would actually be harder for these pros. Not because of layouts or anything like that, but no manicured fairways, no 12 on the stimp meter greens, no perfectly raked sand traps, and may of these courses have a quirky hole or two you wouldn't see on tour.

I managed a public city course, for 6 years, and our lost and found, was bonkers lol. I’m talking hundreds of clubs over the years. That’s the problem, when you end up with half your bag on the ground, in those scenarios. The other culprit, was not leaving your extra clubs, between the hole and your cart, when putting.

I am a scratch golfer myself. Enjoyed watching him play. Would like to have seen a tougher course. A lot of open areas under the trees which gave him good shots. Like to see pros show how scrambling makes the game and not always the big bombs. Great video.

@Jeff-lf6hv

4 ай бұрын

There is a difference between scratch golfers and touring professionals.

@erniestarkey8856

4 ай бұрын

@@Jeff-lf6hv your right. But I also don't have the luxury of someone marking my ball in a hazard or thick rough. Saves pros avg 3 shots a round. That's 12 a tournament. Do the math. Not saying they are not awesome but, playing straight up I can hang right there.

@Jeff-lf6hv

4 ай бұрын

@@erniestarkey8856 have you ever played at that level play touring pros. It's a whole new game. Faster greens, more bunkers, tighter fairways and the pressure is totally different. I know because I played on tour in the 90s. It was fun but damn miss 1 putt or 1 fairway that can cause you to miss a cut. It's that close as all the way around. Every shot is your life

@erniestarkey8856

4 ай бұрын

@@Jeff-lf6hv I have played several PGA PRO Am's and twice beat the Touring pro I played with. When no one is marking the ball, they lose strokes same as you and me. Not all Touring Pros are that consistent. Not patting myself on the back just stating facts. Have a good day.

@mashedpotatoes5276

3 ай бұрын

@@erniestarkey8856where are you from?

Love Spook Rock golf course, 1st hole James proceeds to take a line I wouldn't dare dream of. Just once, I want to know what that feels like

wouldd love to see red shot tracers (or any color) on those bright skies

Hole 1 2nd shot, what club was that? Amazing shot btw.

What a class act he is!

This just proves that crappy public courses can actually be more difficult than say a country club. Nothing is manicured well, crab grass, dirt lies, greens are crappy, a million trees overhanging and blocking greens. Hard to play good golf when everything is different every hole

@notanobodywithabody

2 ай бұрын

Never thought of it that way, but it's a solid point!

I’m not going to name names, but I’ve played a few rounds with a PGA tour pro who is a friend of a friend. Private club up in northern IN just playing a chill round and the man shot a 61. They’re just built different. 😂

Great Job editing that was enjoyable 18 to watcg

Would love to do something like this with you guys !

I worked at Ciba-Geigy off Airmont road from 1979 to 81, never picked up a golf club in my life. My co-workers would chip in a field behind the plant at lunch, so I said I how hard could this be. Oh yeah, I became addicted, learned to play at Spook Rock what a place to learn the game, still addicted and living in Murrells inlet right next to the TPC myrtle beach...

@Golficity

4 ай бұрын

Love this!

For those who don't know, a pro's handicap is usually a few shots better than scratch or "0". So on scorecards there are typically two numbers, a large one called the slope rating and then a smaller number around par called the rating. The smaller number is based on what a scratch, "0" handicap would shoot on that particular course. I would guess this guy's handicap is 3-6 shots better than scratch, so if the rating of this course is a 70 then he would average 64-67. Just puts it into perspective how good those guys are when the ratings of high level country clubs are in the 75-77 range from the back tees.

I grew up on this course and worked on the driving range in high school. Haven't been back in a couple years. Maybe next season.

@Golficity

3 ай бұрын

Same! Grew up here playing it.

As a pro (pga pro I’m not on tour but my handicap is +5). These course are actually harder to play bc the greens aren’t as true the fairways are way less forgiving and the tee boxes aren’t the best. I still score well on them bc I play on them a lot but I know why these guys don’t come out here and shoot 60s

@tomsanger5548

2 ай бұрын

For folks who don't know +5 handicap is actually a -5 thus 5 shots under scratch. Not sure why they do that in their system since its confusing.

@EdReed20DB

2 ай бұрын

​@@tomsanger5548think about it from a net score perspective and it makes sense. If you are a 10 handicap that is actually "-10" because you get to subtract 10 strokes from your gross score to get your net handicap score (ex: shoot 85, subtract 10, net 75) If someone is better than scratch, in this case the guy is a +5, he has to add 5 strokes to his gross score to get his net handicap score because he is better than scratch (shoot 68, +5, net 73).

At first the sadistic side of me was hoping for him to stink it up but seeing what a genuinely nice guy he is I was rooting for him. Easy name to remember, will keep an eye out for him

325 with a driver. The furthest I ever hit one was roughly 300 - but that was with a blistering wind at my back and downhill to the green from 100 yards. In other words I don't hit long at all, so 325 is absolutely insane.

Nice to see him “struggle” on a course that he can absolutely overpower. I bet playing to the camera cost him a few strokes, and I hope the greens cut for mortals didn’t mess him up when he goes back to his real job.