Is the road to a better handicap paved with potholes?

[Shipwreck]

One of the best things you can do to improve scores (IMO at least) is to find out what your weaknesses are on the scorecard and work from there. Where are you giving up the most strokes In your game? Once you tighten those screws a bit, then find the next problem and work that out.

 

But if it’s something having to do with a swing fault, lessons will definitely help the most. As someone previously said, self diagnosis (especially on a swing) never ends up well for the user.

 

 

[bladehunter]

Don’t discount putter. Figure out how to have less than 30 a round , or track your putts and know how many inside 12 ft you make. Figure out what distance you miss most from and work there. I don’t care how well you learn to hit it , you’ve got to get it in the hole. May as well start there now.

[evilelf]

Most definitely. I've taken lessons in the past so taking a quick video revealed that I had crept right back to my old fault of taking the club back inside and getting laid off. Putting has been something at the forefront as well. I just started to enjoy putting in that year or so. I stopped worrying about my stroke and more about starting it on my intended line. Plus, as I hit more GIR, it is pushing my putting to distance limits I didn't have worry about before. I used to be chipping those!

[Zitlow]

It depends on the road you're driving on.

[evilelf]

Does the peanut gallery appreciate thread updates?

 

The swing flaw that I always return back to is getting flat and/or laid off. I had it licked for few years and forgot about it. I recorded my swing and there it was again; plain as day. I have been working diligently on breaking take away habit and the results are paying off. I shot my best nine ever in league last night. I was -1 heading into 9. I trickled my drive out of bounds with my butt puckered so tight, but managed to punch it out, hit the green, and 2-putted for my double. Finished with a +1 37. It is amazing how much easier it is to be consistent when I stay on plane. Feels good. I hit every fairway and green through 8 holes. It might be a while before that happens again.

[DShepley]

Your handicap happens to fall right at the mental barrier of breaking 80. In short, you WILL throw up on yourself a bunch of times before you get comfortable shooting lower scores and this is normal for any handicap player that is looking to break through the next scoring barrier, (90, 80, 70, etc.). Have you read any of Rotella's stuff? It's all pretty good stuff, start with 'Golf is Not A Game Of Perfect' and move onto 'Golf Is A Game Of Confidence'. Those both helped me a pile in my quest from a 5 handicap to a brief stretch as a plus and the past several years around a scratch. It's been years since I read them, (should dig them out again), but if I recall, one has a focus on course management, importance of routine and the other is an explanation of how confidence works and how your subconscious mind reacts to it. In short, to improve at anything, you NEED to believe that you are better than you are, otherwise you will get complacent and settle. The tricky part is to not look like an A'hole or come across as one, be humble when you shoot a good score but always believe you could do better.

 

As for a 10 handicap, I know a lot of players who play to a 10 or better and they all have very different physical abilities; what they all have in common is that they understand their swing shapes and limitations and manage their games within this. I feel that is the key to breaking 80 on a regular basis, game and course management.

#1. Understand your ability and play to it, (shot shape, carry yardages, etc.)

#2. Swing Aggressively to a conservative target

#3. Take your lumps around the green, (a 10 foot par putt is a much nicer option than chipping your first short trying to be a hero and being left with a short sided chip for par (these almost always result in double bogey)) - I see this happen all the time when I play with guys in the 10 plus handicap range, multiple times a round.

#4. Play with players that are better than you and you will get better without even really trying, seriously, it just kind of wipes off on you.

 

#1 and #2 above help you avoid penalty strokes and #3 protects you from your ego, but hey, you only need to find 3 strokes per round on average and if you measure your game, I'm betting you will find this or more through better management with zero need to improve your ability. Now...getting from an 8-5 and a 5-0 is where ability and confidence start to factor even more.

 

[evilelf]

@DShepley Yeah, #2 is big for me right now. Aiming at the best miss and hoping I hit the right shape is really helping me from a mental decision side of things. I love to hit open faced wedge shots around the green but I have been trying to pick the right moments. Sometimes just hitting the chip is easier even though it isn't "perfect". I am have been trying to move towards a fade with the driver as well. The Grint app has made me see where my actual misses are.

[Pepperturbo]

Yep, but the most notable are character potholes that show one's true color.

[evilelf]

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone. I do believe that the feedback has put me in the right state of mind to achieve improvements. I am so close to getting under 10, but I may not get there this season. I am thrilled with what I have done though. I am accomplishing some scoring goals that is making me very happy, despite the potholes along the way. Trusting the work/process and making better decisions on the course are the biggest keys I have taken away from all of this.

 

* Not being the hero in the short game (even though I KNOW I can pull a shot off) and playing the high percentage shots has helped tremendously. This paired with good putting of course.

* Swinging aggressively for a shot that I am fully committed to helps me stay out of trouble.

* Doing drills to discover which shape I am more accurate with my driver may be the biggest thing I did all summer. I CAN hit either shape, but I am much more consistent attempting a fade.

 

 

 

[Golf Scientist]

> @evilelf said:

> I throw up a 92, 94 with some brain-**** ball striking. I am a 13.5 handicap, trying to get down to 10. What kind of pattern can I expect to see during my journey to a lower handicap? Am I supposed to expect blow-up rounds along the way?

> .

Question is:

Is it continually the same repetitive problem (ex: shanks, fat shots, tops) that occur during your blow up rounds? If so, then along the lines of what glk said it would be a matter of finding someone or something that would correctly identify the cause of the bad shot(s), and provide a rational solution to what needs to change to eliminate that bad shot. If you eliminate the extremely bad shot(s) then you'll stop having blowup rounds and your handicap will decrease.

 

[evilelf]

> @"Golf Scientist" said:

> > @evilelf said:

> > I throw up a 92, 94 with some brain-**** ball striking. I am a 13.5 handicap, trying to get down to 10. What kind of pattern can I expect to see during my journey to a lower handicap? Am I supposed to expect blow-up rounds along the way?

> > .

> Question is:

> Is it continually the same repetitive problem (ex: shanks, fat shots, tops) that occur during your blow up rounds? If so, then along the lines of what glk said it would be a matter of finding someone or something that would correctly identify the cause of the bad shot(s), and provide a rational solution to what needs to change to eliminate that bad shot. If you eliminate the extremely bad shot(s) then you'll stop having blowup rounds and your handicap will decrease.

>

 

Since correcting my laid off position, my tee and approach have tightened up tremendously. The two blow ups lately (99 and 93) were both the results of compounding bad predicaments into worse by attempting short game shots that I simply should not be attempting that often. I love them, but unless I can pull them off over 75% of the time, I am starting to not try them. Instead, take my medicine and try to save with putting. I really feel like I have reached a new plateau of playing golf.

[FishyFishy]

If you're curious, lower handicaps have blow up rounds too

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

Recently after a 73, I walked off 18 with an 80 and 82. The 80 isn't that bad but 82 stinks. As it turns out it's not yet a trend but I am aging and coping with medical challenges so keeping from losing my game is a continuous battle.

 

IMO - I wouldn't say the road to being a better golfer or any endeavor is paved with potholes but natural challenges that test whether we're going to be overcome and grow or give up on ourselves and shrink.

 

Even with the ongoing challenges I face, I have little commiseration for those that whine about golf or challenges in general. Since childhood, my life has been packed with difficulties and hurdles and people saying I couldn't do "X" or it can't be done. Thankfully, I have continuously taken the bad like the good, head-on, positive, and can say only one noticeable effect has occurred; they made me tougher, more confident and less reactive. My 2cents.

 

 

 

[dogsbe]

What seems to be missing here so far. The way to get down to ten and be consistent is the good old pre-shot routine. In my opinion, Mid to high handicappers have rituals but not pre-shot routines. If you don't know, it is about the 1 to 2 minutes before you take the shot. The less variation in your pre-shot routine, the more consistent is your swing. Where the setup is designed to put your body in the right position, I always argue that the pre-shot routine needs to put your brain in the right mentality to strike the ball automatically.

 

A good pre-shot routine is as difficult to master as a golf swing, but something is better than nothing. I literally spend more time on my pre-shot routine than the actual swing. For a simple reason, even at practice on the range or putting green, I force myself to go through the routine.

[evilelf]

> @dogsbe said:

> What seems to be missing here so far. The way to get down to ten and be consistent is the good old pre-shot routine. In my opinion, Mid to high handicappers have rituals but not pre-shot routines. If you don't know, it is about the 1 to 2 minutes before you take the shot. The less variation in your pre-shot routine, the more consistent is your swing. Where the setup is designed to put your body in the right position, I always argue that the pre-shot routine needs to put your brain in the right mentality to strike the ball automatically.

>

> A good pre-shot routine is as difficult to master as a golf swing, but something is better than nothing. I literally spend more time on my pre-shot routine than the actual swing. For a simple reason, even at practice on the range or putting green, I force myself to go through the routine.

 

I recently purchased a nice push cart and have noticed that this pre-shot routine entails all the thought and prep work to committing to a shot. The walk up allows me to do this at a good pace and I find I shoot better when I walk.

[dogsbe]

> @evilelf said:

> > @dogsbe said:

> > What seems to be missing here so far. The way to get down to ten and be consistent is the good old pre-shot routine. In my opinion, Mid to high handicappers have rituals but not pre-shot routines. If you don't know, it is about the 1 to 2 minutes before you take the shot. The less variation in your pre-shot routine, the more consistent is your swing. Where the setup is designed to put your body in the right position, I always argue that the pre-shot routine needs to put your brain in the right mentality to strike the ball automatically.

> >

> > A good pre-shot routine is as difficult to master as a golf swing, but something is better than nothing. I literally spend more time on my pre-shot routine than the actual swing. For a simple reason, even at practice on the range or putting green, I force myself to go through the routine.

>

> I recently purchased a nice push cart and have noticed that this pre-shot routine entails all the thought and prep work to committing to a shot. The walk up allows me to do this at a good pace and I find I shoot better when I walk.

 

You should play better walking than riding, but the walk to the ball is not the pre-shot routine. When you set your bag down and pull a club, you are in business. Everything you do from that point, i.e. decision made, targeting, alignment, breathing and visualization will impact your shot. Whatever you do in that time frame, you want to do it every time with every shot and without fail. The more variation in the pre-shot routine = inconsistency in the golf swing and score.

 

 

[gators78]

Get the Arccos system, the amount of time you'll save by practicing the right stuff is vastly more important than the $250 or whatever it is for the sensors. It's extremely helpful, it breaks down every portion of your game by handicap and then when you have enough rounds starts to detail trends. I found out over 20% of my iron shots were short, so think previously I could have a phenomenal ballstriking day but I'd be starting at 14/18 greens, throw in a few loose swings and long par 3s and now I'm down to 9 or 8 greens a round, that's not going to cut it.

[evilelf]

> @dogsbe said:

> > @evilelf said:

> > > @dogsbe said:

> > > What seems to be missing here so far. The way to get down to ten and be consistent is the good old pre-shot routine. In my opinion, Mid to high handicappers have rituals but not pre-shot routines. If you don't know, it is about the 1 to 2 minutes before you take the shot. The less variation in your pre-shot routine, the more consistent is your swing. Where the setup is designed to put your body in the right position, I always argue that the pre-shot routine needs to put your brain in the right mentality to strike the ball automatically.

> > >

> > > A good pre-shot routine is as difficult to master as a golf swing, but something is better than nothing. I literally spend more time on my pre-shot routine than the actual swing. For a simple reason, even at practice on the range or putting green, I force myself to go through the routine.

> >

> > I recently purchased a nice push cart and have noticed that this pre-shot routine entails all the thought and prep work to committing to a shot. The walk up allows me to do this at a good pace and I find I shoot better when I walk.

>

> You should play better walking than riding, but the walk to the ball is not the pre-shot routine. When you set your bag down and pull a club, you are in business. Everything you do from that point, i.e. decision made, targeting, alignment, breathing and visualization will impact your shot. Whatever you do in that time frame, you want to do it every time with every shot and without fail. The more variation in the pre-shot routine = inconsistency in the golf swing and score.

>

>

 

I agree. I have even got in the habit of starting over if I a not fully committed to the shot. Make your decision, but then "step into the box" and do your thing.