4 Years Playing (frustration, observations, and what I've learned)

[North Butte]

For my game, definitely the *indicator* of when I'm playing my best is being on or near the green in regulation. By that I mean in a place where I can putt or use a simple bump and run shot from just off the green.

 

But it's an "indicator" that doesn't actually tell me anything at all in terms of a diagnosis or prescriptions. It's pretty proximal to the ultimate stat "Score". Figuring out how to improve my name needs more distal indicators, of the stuff happening earlier in the hole that was causal for ending up on-or-near vs. not.

[davep043]

> @"North Butte" said:

> Figuring out how to improve my name needs more distal indicators, of the stuff happening earlier in the hole that was causal for ending up on-or-near vs. not.

I agree, a little more detail is needed. For myself, I keep general track of how I lose strokes. For instance, a poor drive might leave an overly long second shot, which leads to a rather long putt, which leads to a 3-putt. In that case, the drive caused the problem at least as much as the 3-putt did, maybe I give each of those two components a half-stroke lost. Or I could hit 2 really good shots, and miss a 5-foot birdie putt. I made par, but lost more than half a stroke with putting. This kind of analysis of my own game isn't exactly Strokes Gained, but it uses some of the SG principles.

 

[smashdn]

I downloaded a golf digest scorecard one time it had you tracking fairways hit, penalties/ob, Fairway Sand Y/N, GIR, Greenside Sand Y/N, Did you save a putt with your sand shot Y/N, Pitch or Chip, Did a pitch or chip save a putt (scrambling I guess), Putts taken. I started keeping track of it instead on a regular scorecard and assessing what I was doing.

 

Since then I have signed up for the pro option on Thegrint.com and those stats are incomplete for me as I did not have the app where you can use your phone's gps for distances. But for what I was putting in there it can show the trends of your fairway misses, par saves, putts, scores on holes of different pars and yardages and a few more things.

 

I am not 100% sure how you apply the knowledge that "on par threes over 180 yards your average score is 3.9" but it can spit out that info.

 

Regarding the things that really impact my score, it is my driving. If I drive it decently well I score well. I am long enough off the tee it is rare I have more than an 8 iron into a par four. Most par fives are reachable in two shots with an iron or at worst the third is a short pitch. Hitting worm burners with driver kills my score. I had three the other night and still shot 41 on 9 holes with no birdies.

[Warrior42111]

 

> I am not 100% sure how you apply the knowledge that "on par threes over 180 yards your average score is 3.9" but it can spit out that info.

>

I use the grint too, and I actually use the Par 3 info to know what to work on on my approaches. Outside the drive that makes an impossible second shot you can have an idea on your approach % from that distance and then work of mid to long irons if need be.

 

[dlow206]

> @Roody said:

> > @LICC said:

> > I've found getting lessons from a pro to be useless. Most have their 4 or 5 things that they tell everyone (which is different for each pro) and can't pick out what particularly works or doesn't work for you. They also want to spoon feed you so slowly so you keep having to come back for more lessons.

>

>

> This has been my experience at Golftec. Cookie-cutter lessons, and it seemed like they would limit the flow of information per lesson in order to stretch the lesson package out.

>

> Now I'm not saying lessons are a bad thing. But I am saying you should find a teacher you like, and is willing to help you with your particular swing tendencies.

>

>

 

I've found the Golftec lessons to be very helpful. For me, how I think I am swinging is different than what shows up in the video. So my Golftec instructor helps me with how a portion of the swing should feel, and then I can see on the video how that feel translates into the right swing correction. Part of the value from Golftec for me is the video practice time that comes in some packages. Can hit balls on my own and watch my swing.

[Roody]

> @dlow206 said:

> I've found the Golftec lessons to be very helpful. For me, how I think I am swinging is different than what shows up in the video. So my Golftec instructor helps me with how a portion of the swing should feel, and then I can see on the video how that feel translates into the right swing correction. **Part of the value from Golftec for me is the video practice time that comes in some packages. Can hit balls on my own and watch my swing.**

 

The idea was great in theory. My experience was that it was difficult to book times, and even when I was able to I'd show up only to find them not kicking out the guy who was in the slot ahead of me, and I'd have to wait another 15-30 minutes after my scheduled time to even get in. It was bad when I booked time after work, because they'd wanna close up shop at 7:00 pm, and my session got started late because the guy ahead of me wasn't kicked out when he was supposed to be. Irritating to say the least.

 

 

[dlow206]

> @Roody said:

> > @dlow206 said:

> > I've found the Golftec lessons to be very helpful. For me, how I think I am swinging is different than what shows up in the video. So my Golftec instructor helps me with how a portion of the swing should feel, and then I can see on the video how that feel translates into the right swing correction. **Part of the value from Golftec for me is the video practice time that comes in some packages. Can hit balls on my own and watch my swing.**

>

> The idea was great in theory. My experience was that it was difficult to book times, and even when I was able to I'd show up only to find them not kicking out the guy who was in the slot ahead of me, and I'd have to wait another 15-30 minutes after my scheduled time to even get in. It was bad when I booked time after work, because they'd wanna close up shop at 7:00 pm, and my session got started late because the guy ahead of me wasn't kicked out when he was supposed to be. Irritating to say the least.

>

>

 

Ahh, I see. I book the first two sessions for when they open. So i am the first one there and I have an hour.

[BB28403]

What I learned in my time is to trust your instincts. Write down what works, also write what does not and theories why. When you hit a roadblock, do some research. Google, WRX or YouTube "ball hits ground then flies left". Try out some suggested fixes.

Write down fundamentals (aka stuff that works for you). Follow these like the 10 commandments! Except there may be 40...

[Golfjack]

Just play and enjoy the game. Don't just get fit for a putter, get putting and short game lessons. Practice but practice with a purpose and smartly. Practicing with video feedback is key to see if you are doing what you are trying to change. Ingraining bad habits just makes you inconsistent like you always were. Don't act like you have figured everything out, especially when you are not even a single digit handicap or scratch golfer.

[davep043]

> @BB28403 said:

> What I learned in my time is to trust your instincts. Write down what works, also write what does not and theories why. When you hit a roadblock, do some research. Google, WRX or YouTube "ball hits ground then flies left". Try out some suggested fixes.

> Write down fundamentals (aka stuff that works for you). Follow these like the 10 commandments! Except there may be 40...

 

I would suggest just the opposite. For any specific (perceived) problem you can find dozens of conflicting cures. It can be a complete waste of time trying those cures one after the other, and quite possibly can cause new and different issues. Beyond that, what you THINK is your problem is likely to be a symptom of a different problem. If you hit a roadblock, I'd strongly suggest finding a good instructor to work with. I can't tell you how to determine which instructor will work for you, that's an entirely different problem.

[Krt22]

> @davep043 said:

> > @BB28403 said:

> > What I learned in my time is to trust your instincts. Write down what works, also write what does not and theories why. When you hit a roadblock, do some research. Google, WRX or YouTube "ball hits ground then flies left". Try out some suggested fixes.

> > Write down fundamentals (aka stuff that works for you). Follow these like the 10 commandments! Except there may be 40...

>

> I would suggest just the opposite. For any specific (perceived) problem you can find dozens of conflicting cures. It can be a complete waste of time trying those cures one after the other, and quite possibly can cause new and different issues. Beyond that, what you THINK is your problem is likely to be a symptom of a different problem. If you hit a roadblock, I'd strongly suggest finding a good instructor to work with. I can't tell you how to determine which instructor will work for you, that's an entirely different problem.

 

100% agree. Searching for bandaids is largely a waste of time and can very well result in actually getting worse over the long run. Most people understand that when you get a cold, the stuff you buy from the drug store just helps alleviate the symptoms, but only time/rest/sleep/water can really help expel the underlying virus. When it comes to the golf swing, it seems like many folks think symptoms are the only issue and down right like to ignore that the virus even exists.

[BB28403]

> @davep043 said:

> > @BB28403 said:

> > What I learned in my time is to trust your instincts. Write down what works, also write what does not and theories why. When you hit a roadblock, do some research. Google, WRX or YouTube "ball hits ground then flies left". Try out some suggested fixes.

> > Write down fundamentals (aka stuff that works for you). Follow these like the 10 commandments! Except there may be 40...

>

> I would suggest just the opposite. For any specific (perceived) problem you can find dozens of conflicting cures. It can be a complete waste of time trying those cures one after the other, and quite possibly can cause new and different issues. Beyond that, what you THINK is your problem is likely to be a symptom of a different problem. If you hit a roadblock, I'd strongly suggest finding a good instructor to work with. I can't tell you how to determine which instructor will work for you, that's an entirely different problem.

 

Instructors can instill fundamentals . I just meant once he finds his fundamentals. And sees that they work, then on days he is “losing his game”, then look at what similar players have experienced. That points you to which fundamental is out of whack.

It works for me, but yeah an instructor could fix you quicker. It’s just you would never learn to fix your own game unless the instructor explains it to you.