What was the key to your best round?

[Kaysquare]

My best rounds happen when I don't seem to be thinking about much of anything, and when I swing like I don't give a damn where the ball goes. It's amazing how well I can hit the ball under those conditions. My problem most of the time is that I DO care where the ball goes & that thought gets in the way.

[walter2312]

Its being in the zone. Hyper focus and you don't realize you are there......

[JJCOOP7]

[quote name='bruinsPATSirish' timestamp='1399318063' post='9236809']
My best round was a combination of hitting the driver GREAT and then hitting lasers with my irons/wedges. I shot a -3 69. My proximity to the hole that day had to have been inside 15 feet, it was wild. I did make a couple good par saves to keep it going but I was just in that "zone" they talk about sometimes
[/quote]

They don't talk about this, but I think the most important stat in golf is distance for first put. Or distance to hole from approach shot.

[drewtaylor21]

Good driving, [b]great iron play[/b], good short game and good putting.

I feel like I'm a Mark Broadie fanboy at the minute, as I just posted a couple things about his book in another thread on putts/round, but I am really impressed with his strokes gained approach. I just finished the book, and out of curiosity went back to a few scorecards and did some of his calculations. I tend to think of myself as an ok driver, strong iron player, ok short game, and good putter. However, turns out I am actually gaining over a stroke/round with the driver, and losing strokes with my iron play even though I'm currently averaging 72% GIR for the year. My approaches haven't been close enough to give myself enough good looks at birdies (lots in the 20-40' range). Definitely gives me some ideas for how to better practice my game and I'm looking forward to putting together more rounds with those great approaches! (The round I am referencing in my first sentence I hit 9/9 GIR on the back nine with 3 approaches inside 8 feet and made them all. Also hit several very good long irons into par 5's that day and 2 putted).

[StezzGolfer]

Caught you. You're spreading this strokes gained stuff all over!

Still waiting for an explanation.

[JJCOOP7]

[quote name='StezzGolfer' timestamp='1399390186' post='9242327']
Caught you. You're spreading this strokes gained stuff all over!

Still waiting for an explanation.
[/quote]

Oh no, I don't get that stroke gained stuff at all.

I'm talking about just the average distance of someone's first putt, or your average distance to the hole after your approach.

If you're averaging 21 feet from the hole and someone else is averaging 50 feet, well that's too easy to see who is going to have the better day.

[SilverBullets]

My best round ever was a Even par 71 on a very tough track. I looked back at the score card the other day and really can't figure out what made it the best round. I hit 7/14 fairways, 6 GIRS and had 32 putts (with 3 three putts). Nothing out of the ordinary except my up and down percentage must have been way higher than normal.

I think for me my best rounds come when my misses are left in safe spots. So if I miss a green maybe it's only a few feet off the green or in a spot where I can play a easy bump and run or uphill chip. Or if I miss a fairway it's not in spots that leave me in jail but in a bailout area which has a look at the green. Obviously no penalty strokes too.

That round was a few years ago but if I remember right I was really never in trouble on any hole. Every shot I missed was left in a area of the hole that made the recovery shot easy.

[topr]

No doubles...no 3 putts, and few 6 footers for par.

[kmac49]

When I think back to my best round last year and my best this year, they are actually very different. Both rounds were at the same course, a par 72 that is about 6900 from the back tees. Rating is a 73.2 and slope of 132, so a pretty decent course. My best last year was a 1 over 73. I drove the ball absolutely great and had decent approach shots a lot that round. Putter wasn't on fire or anything, I think I had somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 putts. I didn't make anything from over 7-8 feet, but didn't miss any short ones either. I think I hit like 11/14 fairways with the 3 misses all being very much in play. I hit like 14 greens and only 2 bogeys (1 birdie obviously). It was a very consistent round and I didn't have a lot of long par saves or anything. It was a lot of drive, middle of the green and 2 putt for par.

The best round so far this year is a 74. I drove the ball terribly but scrambled very well. I hit 2 fairways that were legit, along with 2 bad shots that ended up in the fairway (one off a tree and back in, another was topped horribly when I was trying to lay up with a hybrid on a short par 4). I think I hit 5 greens in regulation, had 2 birdies, and 2 bogeys along with a double. The double came on that short 4 where I topped it, hit a 6 iron way left, fluffed a chip, chipped to about 20 feet and then 2 putted. That was the only hole where I felt like my head got in the way of my game. I got frustrated and lost it for a minute.



I know a lot of people say the short game is where it's at, but that 73 last year seemed really easy. Putting driver in the fairway consistently really makes for a nice, stress free round. However, if my short game was as good that day as it was on the 74 day, that could have been an all time low round for me.

[c7015]

just being relaxed and comfortable with my swing ..

if my driver is on it usually sets up the rest of the round for me ...

[Pepperturbo]

My best round of "68" was more about my frame of mind than putting or driving. Of course, both of the later had contributing roles, to go with iron shots. But my frame of mine and executing seemed to have stood out as to why it happened. No matter what, clarity and comfort permeated every aspect of that round.

[bcflyguy1]

[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1399396154' post='9243029']
My best round of "68" was more about my frame of mind than putting or driving. Of course, both of the later had contributing roles, to go with iron shots. But my frame of mine and executing seemed to have stood out as to why it happened. No matter what, clarity and comfort permeated every aspect of that round.
[/quote]

My best rounds have all come when I literally did not know what I had shot until I added it up at the end. Not much thought other than see the shot, execute the shot, go find it again, and enjoy the environs and company.

[Pepperturbo]

[quote name='bcflyguy1' timestamp='1399396526' post='9243067']
[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1399396154' post='9243029']
My best round of "68" was more about my frame of mind than putting or driving. Of course, both of the later had contributing roles, to go with iron shots. But my frame of mine and executing seemed to have stood out as to why it happened. No matter what, clarity and comfort permeated every aspect of that round.
[/quote]

My best rounds have all come when I literally did not know what I had shot until I added it up at the end. Not much thought other than see the shot, execute the shot, go find it again, and enjoy the environs and company.
[/quote]

Sounds like the same rounds.. I seldom pay attention to my score, unless I get off to a bad start. Then, paying attention to score does more harm than good. Anyway, the commonality for me, even during other good rounds, always seems to be my relaxed nature with every shot, even the saving trouble shots. Regardless of the shot, no emotional highs or lows.

[angler99]

For me it's not hitting OB and into water. Knowing where to miss and where not to miss.

[RRFireblade]

Luck.....to go really low.....lotsa luck.



I don't have a great insightful answer. There's always a balance required to shoot a great number but it can tilt many ways.

If I'm killing the long game (driver/irons), then short game and putting can be just decent cause it's going to be easy. Vice versa, if short game is working really well then I can get away with a little more early in the hole.

It's more important that no part is struggling though than any one part is amazing. The balance sheet has to be in the black, any one failure and it becomes a "save" day.

[bcflyguy1]

[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1399397548' post='9243185']
[quote name='bcflyguy1' timestamp='1399396526' post='9243067']
[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1399396154' post='9243029']
My best round of "68" was more about my frame of mind than putting or driving. Of course, both of the later had contributing roles, to go with iron shots. But my frame of mine and executing seemed to have stood out as to why it happened. No matter what, clarity and comfort permeated every aspect of that round.
[/quote]

My best rounds have all come when I literally did not know what I had shot until I added it up at the end. Not much thought other than see the shot, execute the shot, go find it again, and enjoy the environs and company.
[/quote]

Sounds like the same rounds.. I seldom pay attention to my score, unless I get off to a bad start. Then, paying attention to score does more harm than good. Anyway, the commonality for me, even during other good rounds, always seems to be my relaxed nature with every shot, even the saving trouble shots. Regardless of the shot, no emotional highs or lows.
[/quote]

Some of my most infuriating rounds have come where I'm two or three under after 4 holes and then start to buzz a little bit. Without fail, a blow-up hole is just around the corner. I learned to handle when things go well in other athletic endeavors, but golf just continues to vex.

[Pepperturbo]

[quote name='bcflyguy1' timestamp='1399397964' post='9243251']
[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1399397548' post='9243185']
[quote name='bcflyguy1' timestamp='1399396526' post='9243067']
[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1399396154' post='9243029']
My best round of "68" was more about my frame of mind than putting or driving. Of course, both of the later had contributing roles, to go with iron shots. But my frame of mine and executing seemed to have stood out as to why it happened. No matter what, clarity and comfort permeated every aspect of that round.
[/quote]

My best rounds have all come when I literally did not know what I had shot until I added it up at the end. Not much thought other than see the shot, execute the shot, go find it again, and enjoy the environs and company.
[/quote]

Sounds like the same rounds.. I seldom pay attention to my score, unless I get off to a bad start. Then, paying attention to score does more harm than good. Anyway, the commonality for me, even during other good rounds, always seems to be my relaxed nature with every shot, even the saving trouble shots. Regardless of the shot, no emotional highs or lows.
[/quote]

Some of my most infuriating rounds have come where I'm two or three under after 4 holes and then start to buzz a little bit. Without fail, a blow-up hole is just around the corner. I learned to handle when things go well in other athletic endeavors, but golf just continues to vex.
[/quote]

I have experienced rounds like that as well. Start off with a bang... only to find myself getting too high and thinking "what ifs".... When that happens, its hard to stop the brain train. My mind is out of sync with my body, and nothing really good can come from it, no matter what activity. All I typically do is eat something in hopes of food slowing me down. Sometimes it works, other times nada.

[Fade to Black]

Very strong correlation between score and GIR. If I'm not hitting greens, its going to be an ugly scorecard

[RedDevilWheezy]

My best round ever was an 80 (40/40) in July of last year. Looking at my stats (thanks Nike Golf app) I didn't really do anything crazy, just didn't make many mistakes.

FWs - 8/14
GIR - 7/18
Putts - 31

I remember my wedges really being on that day, and I had a ton of short putts for par/birdie. The other thing I remember is taking my time and enjoying myself, something that I often have a hard time with. I always have somewhere to be after a round, or feel like I'm holding somebody up. At that time I'd only been playing seriously for a little over a year, and I didn't know enough to be thinking about too much other than just taking easy swings and getting it close. Shortly after that I started taking lessons and got worse. Too many swing thoughts and I was putting too much pressure on myself to score well.

[RedDevilWheezy]

[quote name='Fade to Black' timestamp='1399400310' post='9243543']
Very strong correlation between score and GIR. If I'm not hitting greens, its going to be an ugly scorecard
[/quote]

I feel like the opposite is true for me, if I can get near the green and chip on I often score better with fewer putts. I still try to hit greens, but I'd rather have a chip than a long putt, as my distance control with the putter could use some work lol.

[joey2aces]

I was single and didn't have a honey do list roaming through my head

[pymmdcp]

Each time I shot my best I drove the ball well, never three putted, and didn't have any doubles. My "bad" drives still gave me a shot to save par. Drive and putt for dough.

[agentphil]

I was sick as a dog and didn't even want to be out there. Couldn't have cared less about where the ball went and somehow everything came together.

[Forged4ever]

Solid driving, solid putting and throwing darts with my approaches, giving me legitimate birdie opportunities. I do not consider 15'+ a legitimate opportunity. Really, 12' and in.

I had the same Mixed Pro/Am Best Ball partner for 9 years and we had 4 victories, 4 runner-ups and 2 thirds in 28 tourneys and we would have had a fifth title and qualified for the National Mixed BB had I not choked on a 3' straight uphill putt. That's what happens when you're(at least me, LMAO) standin over the putt thinkin how much ya Love your partner, lol. Bad time to go there . She had a very calming effect on me. I finally learned to take that mental state of mind to my single matches and tourneys and it's like the light went on in '10. She was very special, along with being a hell of a Player.

Fairways & Greens My Friends,
Richard

[trapp20]

The difference for me used to be the driver, as I have a great short game, but now that the driver is consistent the real battle is approach shots 170yds - 100yds. I find that on par 4's these are typical ranges and that means I need to be close enough on the approach to 2 putt for par. On par 5's I'm typically 220 - 240 out and that leaves me with easy chips/pitches to the green and 2 putt par at worst.

I drive an average distance, so for those that have a longer game, like a guy I play with, it comes down to chipping and putting. The bottom line, though, off the tee the ball needs to be in play or that score will ALWAYS be high.

[knock it close]

The key to my good rounds are those good pars you can make to maintain momentum. Usually that comes down to short game or making a par save from inside 10 feet. I'm quite consistent with driver or it atleast doesn't knock me out of any holes so its less of a factor to good scoring for me.

[Floris]

Good driving, good chipping, good putting.

And course management: play to distances I feel comfortable with. Not the three quarter sandwedge into the wind and things like that.

[360_CS]

When I'm driving the ball well that gets the confidence up for the rest of the hole.

[MattTheTaff]

Getting the ball in play off the tee on all 18 holes

That and a handful of Xanex

[backtees]

Conservative play and not taking unnecessary risks!