Question:
Hang in there Mike… I routinely shoot one of my nines much better than the other… i.e. I’ll make +5 on the front and +2 on the back. My best score yet, a +4 for 18 was such a hot and cold front and back where I shot -2 on the front and +6 on the back. I have found a couple of things really help me stay below 80. … When I drive a really wild shot off the tee, I shift into "bogey" mode trying hard to get safely back into the fairway so my third shot has a chance of getting on the green. I have found over the years of practicing this kind of management, I am beginning to make par atleast 1 in 3 times I end up in real bad shape off the tee. When I used to attempt a miracle shot, I almost definitely made bogey or worse. … I try very hard too make no worse than 2 putts on the green. This is not always easy, but if you can make this happen, your scores will really drop. … I endeavor to make my short irons the strongest part of my game. And I am talking about working the short game from both good and terrible lies. Being able to get close to the pin from almost any condition within 60 yards of the green is the key to a single digit handicap. < being lucky helps also! … Figure out some of the things which contribute to poor shots. For me, distractions when I am just putting my swing into motion are the worst. Yesterday, a friend and I played with two nice lady golfers. They were riding and we were walking. On just about every hole, as I was addressing my shot, they were cruising around in their cart. After missing several very easy PW shots from the fairway to the green, I began waiting until they got to where they needed to go. I started sticking the greens once I began waiting. Hang in there… RJ … – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ok, so it was only my best 9, and I only scored a 45, which I’ve scored a couple times before, but it was a 45 with a triple, and a couple missed short par putts. I hit the ball better than I ever have. I was on in regulation maybe 5 times, and right around the green on pretty much every hole. I even had my first ever tap in birdie, a 60 yard PW to within 3 feet. My knees were knocking though, I don’t get many birdies at all, and when I do, it’s usually off a 10+ foot putt. I had to fix a lot of ball marks, that’s how I know it was a good round for me. I usually never leave more than 1-2 ball marks per 9. I can’t believe how well I hit the ball, and I still only scored a 45. I think it’s going to require a lot of work to break 40. How many of you guys break 40 consistenly on a 9? Or 80 on 18? The golf gods have given me the fuel to continue to come out and practice and work on my game. I’m only 1 1/2 years into this grand game, so I’m still very hungry to improve. Thanks a lot Scottish shepherds a couple hundred years ago. Your way of passing time in the bleak countryside has turned into my obsession and bane. I hope you’re happy. Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
Mike, where did you play?
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ok, so it was only my best 9, and I only scored a 45, which I’ve scored a couple times before, but it was a 45 with a triple, and a couple missed short par putts. I hit the ball better than I ever have. I was on in regulation maybe 5 times, and right around the green on pretty much every hole. I even had my first ever tap in birdie, a 60 yard PW to within 3 feet. My knees were knocking though, I don’t get many birdies at all, and when I do, it’s usually off a 10+ foot putt. I had to fix a lot of ball marks, that’s how I know it was a good round for me. I usually never leave more than 1-2 ball marks per 9. I can’t believe how well I hit the ball, and I still only scored a 45. I think it’s going to require a lot of work to break 40. How many of you guys break 40 consistenly on a 9? Or 80 on 18? The golf gods have given me the fuel to continue to come out and practice and work on my game. I’m only 1 1/2 years into this grand game, so I’m still very hungry to improve. Thanks a lot Scottish shepherds a couple hundred years ago. Your way of passing time in the bleak countryside has turned into my obsession and bane. I hope you’re happy. Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
I play in NE PA, on some decent courses. Glenbrook Country Club is where I shot this round, and it’s gotten 3 stars from Golf Magazine. It’s got some toughies here and there. It’s got a couple back to back 450 yard 4’s. The best course I play is Great Bear. It’s a Nicklaus signature course, the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. When you walk on the fairway, it’s so soft that you leave footprints. I didn’t even want to drive the cart on the fairway. I also play Shawnee which has been the site of a few PGA events, at least back in the days it was. Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
I had to fix a lot of ball marks, that’s how I know it was a good round for me.
Me too, especially when they’re MY ball marks. Hitting fairways and greens makes the game a hell of a lot easier. From what I gather it’s supposed to work that way. I can’t believe how well I hit the ball, and I still only scored a 45. I think it’s going to require a lot of work to break 40. How many of you guys break 40 consistenly on a 9? Or 80 on 18?
That would be the mark of a ten handicap or less, a pretty rare bird in the golfing world. Somewhere in the top 10%. I’m lucky enough to be an 8, and shooting anywhere in the 30’s is my measure of a successful nine. It happens about half the time at my home track, and a quarter of the time away. My away rounds are invariably tough courses played from the tips. My home course is fairly testy too, with small nasty greens, and no flat lies to be found anywhere on the golf course. But at only 6,000 yards, it can be overpowered. This is especially true as you get familiar with it, knowing where you can afford to make mistakes, and where you can’t. The golf gods have given me the fuel to continue to come out and practice and work on my game. I’m only 1 1/2 years into this grand game, so I’m still very hungry to improve.
You will. Work on your short game if you want to score. If you hit 5 greens in regulation, you probably should’ve broke 40. My advice is to just take it shot by shot. Try to get something positive out of each hit. Pick your targets with an eye towards what might happen if you miss in you usual and accustomed way. Make your targets big and safe. When you miss smart, and send your mistakes to the right places, they don’t hurt near as much. Avoid the heroic attempt in favor of the merely competent. When you get in trouble, don’t compound it by doing something even stupider. Just take your lumps, and get back in play safely. This is especially true around the green. When you miss the green, get on it, right now. High handicappers piddle away a lot of strokes trying (and failing) to get real fancy with their chipping, by (for example) aiming at a short side flag. The green is a much bigger, safer target. Always grip it easy, and swing it short and smooth. Don’t even think about your score until the 19th hole. When you add them all up, hopefully you’ll be in the mid 80’s. Good luck and keep having fun. The best rounds always seem to happen with a smile on your face. Happily, that’s the one thing about this game which you can always control. John Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
Ok, so it was only my best 9, and I only scored a 45, which I’ve scored a couple times before, but it was a 45 with a triple, and a couple missed short par putts. I hit the ball better than I ever have. I was on in regulation maybe 5 times, and right around the green on pretty much every hole. I even had my first ever tap in birdie, a 60 yard PW to within 3 feet. My knees were knocking though, I don’t get many birdies at all, and when I do, it’s usually off a 10+ foot putt. I had to fix a lot of ball marks, that’s how I know it was a good round for me. I usually never leave more than 1-2 ball marks per 9. I can’t believe how well I hit the ball, and I still only scored a 45. I think it’s going to require a lot of work to break 40. How many of you guys break 40 consistenly on a 9? Or 80 on 18? The golf gods have given me the fuel to continue to come out and practice and work on my game. I’m only 1 1/2 years into this grand game, so I’m still very hungry to improve. Thanks a lot Scottish shepherds a couple hundred years ago. Your way of passing time in the bleak countryside has turned into my obsession and bane. I hope you’re happy. Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com