how to take your game to the next level

[dat dude]

literally everytime i go out i shoot 75 or 76 in a tournament. its always due to 3 putts and dumb mistakes. i know i've hit the brick wall, and need to burst through that last level. just want to know how you guys did it.

 

 

i really mix up my practice routines. some days i practice from the ladies tee's, or practice from the tips, and some days i aim at bunkers/rough with my approaches so im still working on accuracy with my irons, but my short game gets a work.

 

i am also in great shape. i workout a lot.

[Hattori Hanzo]

[quote name='dat dude' timestamp='1359002401' post='6287043']
literally everytime i go out i shoot 75 or 76 in a tournament. [b]its always due to 3 putts and dumb mistakes.[/b] i know i've hit the brick wall, and need to burst through that last level. just want to know how you guys did it.


i really mix up my practice routines. some days i practice from the ladies tee's, or practice from the tips, and some days i aim at bunkers/rough with my approaches so im still working on accuracy with my irons, but my short game gets a work.

i am also in great shape. i workout a lot.
[/quote]

You pretty much identified what you need to do to get to the next level right there: lag putting and course management. Lag putting is pretty easy to target with just a little extra practice time, but course management requires some real thinking. I find that the best players can really get into the mind of the course architect and figure out the way he intended the hole to be played. If you can get yourself to think like that, more often than not you can eliminate unnecessary risk, and get rid of those dumb mistakes.

Other than that, I would try to play with as many people who are better than you as possible. It is amazing how much you can learn, even if you aren't consciously trying to learn anything.

[PaulFitz]

Putting, putting, putting, and more putting. That's how you make it, whether that be in junior events, college events, or on the PGA tour. I've known plenty of guys who were some of the best ballstrikers I've ever seen and failed as a professional. The guys that can consistently keep themselves under 30 putts a round are the ones that make it.

[semi]

This is a really good post...I hope more reply to it. I know exactly what dat dude is referring too. I had someone ask me if my setup routine is [b]exactly[/b] the same all the time...

[ANG]

You have to be completely honest with yourself. Most people say "yea i am a pretty good putter" but have 32 putts.
The best way to improve is to keep stats. Fairways Hit, GIR, saves, penalties, putts per round. But honestly I
think the most important stat is Proximity to the hole. If you are hitting fairways and greens and at the end of the round
can't figure out why you shot 78 it might be because your proximity is outside 20 feet. My son is 15 and was a 3 or 4
handicap but would have 30-32 putts. Once he recognized that he was just too far away on his first putt he worked heavily on
alignment. needless to say his handicap is now 0, just because he simply is closer on his first putt. Bobby Jones said 90 percent
of problems with amateur game is there set up position.

[dat dude]

all good points. I do keep stats. In 4 tournament rounds this season im averaging 61% of greens in regulation, 83% of fairways, 31 putts per round, and 1.7 3 putts per round.


my putting practice usually consists of making 12 3ft'ers in a row, 8 4fters in a row, and the 4 6fters in a row. then i putt to a quarter for about 15-20 minutes, always putting out and then throwing it to another part of the green.

when im on the course on non tournament days i dont really play and keep score. The other day i played from the whites and hit irons only, and played 2 balls. I went after the pin on the first ball, and the second ball i aimed off the green and missed intentionally. That way im comfortable with every shot, and im comofortable with commiting to ANY alignment and target.

Any thoughts?

[CBJ]

Putting.

Take a look at putting doctors website, focused practice...

A lot of people can hit the ball well and can't putt, what are your putting weaknesses? How is your ability to read greens? Have you had your putting stroke analyzed and have you been properly fit for a putter?

That was what it took for me to elevate my game....

[dat dude]

[quote name='Flatstick77' timestamp='1361137159' post='6446941']
Putting.

Take a look at putting doctors website, focused practice...

A lot of people can hit the ball well and can't putt, what are your putting weaknesses? How is your ability to read greens? Have you had your putting stroke analyzed and have you been properly fit for a putter?

That was what it took for me to elevate my game....
[/quote]

i have been on sam put lab twice, have a customized edel putter, and have been through aim point. i can read a green fairly well. i think its mental more than anything. i read it, step over the putt, and then the gremlins start to creep in. i tend to miss easier putts from inside of 10ft.

i had a busy day today, and was in english class when i had a good thought. I had been rushing all day, and couldnt wait to get into the golf course. i was a little worried that my practice session wouldnt be good, because i was so scatter brained. then it hit me!! i have to start getting in the right mind set when i play a tournament round, and learn to let the chips fall wherever and have fun. i was sitting there freaking out about a practice session for god sake lol. i went out and enjoyed myself, and actually had a pretty damn good session. i need to start to focus and learn to commit to EVERY SHOT. i've heard it a million times, but it kinda clicked today. cant talk yourself out of a shot before you hit it. just let the club do the work, find it, and hit it again until you pick it out of the cup. then move to the next hole. right!?

[CBJ]

Focus. Focus. Focus

[semi]

Great pre-shot routine, slow down a little off the tee and double the practice time on your short game.

[CincyCreech]

A few years ago when i got really back into the game i couldn't get over that 80 barrier.. I would literally shoot 80-81-82 every time i went out. I changed my whole practicing routine to focus on 100 yards in and short game. Practiced 2-3 times a week, would get 2 large buckets pick targets an hit nothing but wedges. Then would spend 45 minutes to an hour hitting putts from everywhere, then another 45 minutes to an hour getting up an down( so just hitting pitch, chip, flops around the green then challenging myself to make the putt). First time i went out played 9 shot 2 under. Played 18 two days later shot 75. I know theres a huge difference from 80's to mid 70's, then again from mid 70's to getting under par. But it helped me a ton.

Generally speaking everyone i know that play 70's golf consistently are not spraying the ball everywhere. So if you can just really tighten up your short game an get more confidence built up in your putter too might change your game.

[Cobras7]

Right now i am at the 80 wall, and working to breakthrough. For the past month i found myself going to the range and trying to tweak my swing to squeeze maybe 5 more yards out. (I am a short hitter but consistent) When i realized that i was hitting the ball fine! Divot after the ball, able to spin it back a bit, i just am not that strong. So i stopped working on my swing and started just trying to REPEAT my swing, if i can do that i can trust my shots! Most recently i have been putting very well and am still trying to climb over that "breaking 80' hill. I went out with a +6 on the front, not bad for me but it should be about +4, and started the back with 6 pars in a row! I ended up collapsing on 18 with a double, after a bogey on 17 and shot 82. It was the closest i have come, but it showed me that i need to work on my short game. That day i was getting up and down from everywhere and sinking putts left and right. If i can do that, all i need to do is hold it together to the finish, and i'm in the 70's! Now its back to work!

[dat dude]

[quote name='Cobras7' timestamp='1361507063' post='6477491']
Right now i am at the 80 wall, and working to breakthrough. For the past month i found myself going to the range and trying to tweak my swing to squeeze maybe 5 more yards out. (I am a short hitter but consistent) When i realized that i was hitting the ball fine! Divot after the ball, able to spin it back a bit, i just am not that strong. So i stopped working on my swing and started just trying to REPEAT my swing, if i can do that i can trust my shots! Most recently i have been putting very well and am still trying to climb over that "breaking 80' hill. I went out with a +6 on the front, not bad for me but it should be about +4, and started the back with 6 pars in a row! I ended up collapsing on 18 with a double, after a bogey on 17 and shot 82. It was the closest i have come, but it showed me that i need to work on my short game. That day i was getting up and down from everywhere and sinking putts left and right. If i can do that, all i need to do is hold it together to the finish, and i'm in the 70's! Now its back to work!
[/quote]


i've been reading "golf is not a game of perfect" and i have to be honest. it saved me at least two shots in my last tournament. i shot 68, and took a t-3. I have found a HUGE weakness in my game. 1) not being confident over a shot 2) worrying about the results of a shot, rather than the process leading up to hitting it
3) WORRYING ABOUT MY SCORE

i've been going out with the mentality that i have no control over what my golf ball does, but i can make sure i give myself the best possible chance for it to go after my target. i'm going to write "mental notes" on an index card and laminate it so i can read it before every round.

i also got a putting lesson that fixed the alignments in my setup. i give it a month or so and ill notice a trumendous difference in my game. im excited and fired up about these changes im making, because none are really that mechanical. just trying to trust my game and relax a little bit more.

[Cobras7]

Wanted to share with everyone that focus on the putter was my tip for breaking through! Went out and shot 79 for my first time breaking 80!! I had my putter regrouped with a super stroke and I love it! Everything had a chance if going in and all my puts inside 6 feet were dead center! It was amazing! Next day I shot 38, +2, when I played 9. Really love the new grip!! All pars except for a birdie and three bogeys...not to shabby!