I'm a 6 and I'm proud!

[Ferguson]

Certain studies have shown that a 6 in "florida" is a 10 elsewhere.

[SixtySomePing]

Certain studies have shown that a 6 in "florida" is a 10 elsewhere.

Are the studies carried out over the full 16 hole rounds or just 8 holes? Those "fliorda" courses can be tough on a 6 capper...

[jli2636]

6.8 checking in here as of the last revision. No idea how it’s that low to be honest, I can’t ever seem to break 83 or so on my home course(par 70, 6400ish yards, rating 69.8 from the tips) but I have shot a 72 and a 76 at courses that are rated more difficult. Funny thing is I find those courses easier because they are significantly flatter than my home course which is probably the hilliest course I have ever played.

[dlygrisse]

I remember when I was.....damn.. wish I could still claim the same.

[Krt22]

I'm a 6 as well but married a 9, so here is to out kicking your coverage!

 

Oh..this was about index??

[Swisstrader98]

50 with two kids and 9 handicap,

I started hind about ten years ago and seriously about eight years ago. Playing once a week and no practice I have kept my cap around 10 for the past three years and I'm content with that.

Last week I played everyday for a week to celebrate my 50th and was consistently shooting mid to high seventies. Leading to what ifs?? but soccer practice responsibilities loom!!

 

If you shot high 70’s for a week worth of scores, your handicap will drop below a 9 for sure.

 

[JPLosman7]

Been playing the best golf of my life the past month. Started with a 79 (par 71) on 8/10. Followed that with a pretty sloppy 82 (par 72) on 8/12. Followed that up with the best ball striking performance of my life with 11/14 fairways and 14/18 greens but 40 putts and a "what could have been" 81 (par 72) on 8/18. 8/26 went out and continued the solid ball striking combined with disappointing putting for an ok 79 (par 69).

 

After trying every imaginable putting grip, method, stroke and with my Anser 2 I decided I needed to simplify and go old school. Ordered a beat up Acushnet Bullseye OS putter for $20 on ebay. Figured at the very least it was a cool putter to have and I could use it as a training aid. Putter arrived on Friday and putzed around with it on my putting carpet over the weekend and loved it - it honestly felt great, set up to my stroke and my eye perfectly. I was hitting it very well (in my living room haha) - I was confident it would work well for shorter putts but was pretty hesitant on how it would perform on lag putts. Was committed to giving it a go for at least one round though. Got to the course an hour early, putted for a half hour on the practice green and was really happy with the roll on short putts and lag putts. It felt great, but was still in "I'll believe it when I see it" mode and cautiously optimistic. My friend was laughing at me saying it will never work and although I believed in the putter it felt a little bit like a novelty and would leave me disappointed once I got out on the course.

 

Proceeded to go out and shot a career best 72 (par 69 - 67.0/119) beating my previous best of a 73 (happened to be on the same course, too). I had 8 one-putts in a row (9 total) and only one 3 putt on a tricky downhiller for 28 putts total. Ball striking was average and short game was on point - leaving myself a lot of 3 to 8 footers which I didn't miss. Longest putt I made was 15 feet, I believe i only missed one putt inside 10 feet, and had a bunch of good lag putts with one poor lag. I was in love with the putter, but was still afraid this might be a fluke. On cloud 9 after a career round, I wanted to play again - called up another course and got an 8:20 tee time for Monday morning.

 

Driving to the course on Monday morning still feeling great, was reflecting on the previous round and was feeling grateful to have shot an all time low score the day before. I realized these don't happen very often - it could be years before I beat that score. It had been a special day with a good friend and I was trying to appreciate what had happened. Was planning to go out and enjoy my morning round and just enjoy a nice round of golf on a holiday. Hit the ground running with solid ball striking and a good short game to go out to a -1 35 - another career low, I've never broken par on 9 holes before. Ball striking got a little sloppy on the back BUT I never let a bad shot bleed into the next shot and was able to keep double bogeys off the card. Finished with a solid par par par finish on a tough set of closing holes for a 40 on the back and bested my all time career round from the day before for a +3 75 (70.9/122)! - same score relative to par but a slightly more difficult course. Putted really well again with the bullseye putter - didn't make anything over 10 feet but was automatic within 5 feet and solid lagging.

 

Feel great about my game! My driving and ball striking are the best it's ever been. I've really improved my 125 and under wedge game and feel like I can get close to the pin every time from that range. My feel around the greens is at an all time high. My biggest weaknesses are long iron shots from the fairway and greenside bunker game. Everything else is relatively speaking very solid for me. Putting was the final piece missing and this Bullseye putter might be the godsend I needed. I've always been confident in my ability to read greens but wasn't able to take advantage with my poor putting stroke. The Bullseye has simplified everything for me, I see the line, I see the ball and I hit the ball. The confidence I can make the majority of putts with 10 feet really helped my confidence and shifted my mentality from playing in constant fear of 3 putting on every hole to playing smart, aggressive golf with the confidence that I can recover from mistakes because my short game will leave me wtih makeable par putts that I finally have the confidence I know I can make.

 

Hopefully this lasts! - Playing my friends country club on Saturday morning. It's the most difficult course of the 3 I normally play so it will be a good test of the game. I'm ready! WOoooooo - sorry for the long post, haha had to get it out and I'm self aware that none of my friends want to hear me break down my golf game extensively.

[thug the bunny]

I've always been obsessed with breaking 80. I've broken 80 probably 10-15 times. Consistently shoot in the 80-83's. It's amazing how I feel after shooting a 79 versus shooting an 80. It's illogical - I could've played better and shot the 80 versus playing worse and getting a couple breaks and shooting a 79 but I still feel better about the 79. All because of the first digit in the score starts with a 7 instead of an 8.

 

It's been a detriment to my game this obsession with breaking 80, I think about it constantly. I've gotten better and have found focusing on par has helped a lot. Why am I focused on just breaking 80? It's the wrong goal and it negatively affects my game - I pick out holes where I can afford bogey's and still break 80, when I should be focused on putting for legitimate birdie attempts. Recently, I just went through every hole at my local course and realized I can realistically par every hole every I play if I play to my ability. What prevents me from doing it is the mental side - I let the previous shot (s) and/or hole (s) put doubt in my head, I start to think that my margin for error to break 80 is narrowing because of a bad hole. I start to worry about the 3 footer for par knowing I can't afford bogey before I even hit my birdie putt or even my tee shot. It's self destructing. I'm really working hard on my mental game and confidence. I'm ready to break par, not just 80. And I know I have the physical game to do it - my attitude and mental game is holding me back - and that feels like such a shame.

 

I totally understand this. This was me for a few years. Now that I break 80 on the regular its kind of funny because when I leave the course shooting 80, I feel just as content as when I shoot 79. I know that I played a good game. 80 is still a good score and you should be proud of how you're doing. The strong majority of golfers would cringe at hearing you complain about shooting 80 vs a 79 haha. Keep doing what youre doing, you'll get there.

 

It's weird, I have not studied my GHIN record (which I have not kept for 2 years now), but I swear 80 is my most frequent score. I would be hitting the ball nicely during a round, and add it up at the end and guess what, 80. Goddamn it! WTF! etc, etc...

[jacobEDGE]

Started around a 6-7 at the beginning of the season. I only play once a week, and never the same course. I float around between 10-15 different courses, no home track. So I'm always changing it up and playing on different greens, different layouts, different yardages, etc. My next revision will have me at a 3.9, and I have no idea how. I don't practice or spend time on the range. Just play 18 holes once a week. If I somehow to have a few extra dollars, I'll squeeze in a second 18 holes.

 

I have all the time in the world, I just can't afford anything more than 1, walking, twilight round of golf per week.

[proguy]

Congrats.

[buckrogers71]

Glad I read this and some of the responses. I'm 47 and I'm at a 6. I bounce around between 6 and 8 but that depends. I used to be a little ticked that thats ALL i was but i guess in the grand scheme of things its all good.

[JPLosman7]

Played my friends club last Saturday. Toughest course I play, was ready for the test. Didn't have a fade that day and that's when I know my swing is out of whack. Survived 3 double crosses on the three of first 4 holes - was very fortunate to find all my balls in the fescue and salvaged bogey on all 3 holes. Gave up on the fade and embraced the draw that my swing was giving me today. Continued to struggle off the tee but kept it in play, iron game particularly mid/long iron game was very solid - hit a few beautiful high soft draws with 4/5/6 irons. Solid short game, ok putting. Made a horrific mistake on the 17th hole - standard par 5 with a fairway as wide as a football field dried to crush a draw and pushed it out of bounds, completely unacceptable. Recovered well and carded a bogey after the penalty and Finished strong with a 50 footer for birdie on 18 to shoot an 82.

 

All in all, I had a great time with friends. Could've played better but my lack of range time the past few weeks showed as I fell back into my old tendency to get right side dominant in my swing. Been doing left arm only one-armed pitch shots in the net in my basement to try and get back on track. Going to the range on Saturday and then playing my "home" course on Sunday. Looking forward to it!

 

Have a good weekend everyone!

[NRJyzr]

With my most recent effort, my index has dropped to 6.98. Is that enough to declare "six-ness"? :)

[JPLosman7]

Latest revision has me at a 5.5.

 

Great driving range session on Saturday. Went out on Sunday morning and played my home course. Range session paid off - hit the first 13 greens in regulation, finished with 16/18 GIR and 11/14 fairways. Putter was ice cold, never felt confident, struggled on my lag putts and left tricky comebacker's finished with 42 putts including 8 3-putts. Poor putting and one tactical mistake which led to a quad on a par 3 and I shot an 82.

 

Looking back on it, I realized I hadn't practiced my putting in a couple weeks. Came in to the round with no clear "swing thought" for my stroke and it showed. Not too worried about the putting performance, feel good about my stroke but learned the lesson that it's imperative I spend some time practicing my putting a day or two before my round on my putting carpet so I am prepared with a "swing thought". Neglecting practice led to a complete lack of confidence.

 

Also was a learning experience in course strategy. I've taken a long anticipated step forward in my game this season due to a better understanding of my swing which has resulted in the best ball striking of my life and because I've improved my course management. I slipped up on one hole yesterday and I paid the price. Coming off a birdie on 13 I came to the par 3 14th - it's a downhill par 3 that can play 170 to 200 yards with trouble front and left and a bail out area right. Get to the tee and see a forward tee and pin placement - 180 was the number, take off 10 yards for the downhill and I was licking my lips at a juicy pin that set up perfectly for my stock shot smooth draw 7 iron. I played the flag and not the hole - instead of aiming right edge of the green I was obsessed with the pin - came over the top and hit a pull hook in to the hazard left of the green. A truly unacceptable shot. Didn't settle down and compounded mistakes leading to a 7. Was able to recover with a birdie on the most difficult hole on the course 15 though. Lesson learned - a reminder that I have improved this year because I have embrace a conservative approach focused on playing the smart shot that the hole/lie gives you, controlling the miss, trusting the short game, and patiently waiting for the correct situations to be aggressive. On the face of it that was a great situation to be aggressive, but there were also plenty of ways to easily get in trouble. I had the right idea, but needed to dial back the aggression.

[ZA206]

I'm thinking about turning in my "6" membership card and getting an "8" membership card instead. This desire is based off the fact that I'd like to actually win some bets instead of losing them all..... LOL!!!! I dunno... I'd probably get called out for carrying a "9".

 

-ZA

[Johnnypenso]

I've always been obsessed with breaking 80. I've broken 80 probably 10-15 times. Consistently shoot in the 80-83's. It's amazing how I feel after shooting a 79 versus shooting an 80. It's illogical - I could've played better and shot the 80 versus playing worse and getting a couple breaks and shooting a 79 but I still feel better about the 79. All because of the first digit in the score starts with a 7 instead of an 8.

 

It's been a detriment to my game this obsession with breaking 80, I think about it constantly. I've gotten better and have found focusing on par has helped a lot. Why am I focused on just breaking 80? It's the wrong goal and it negatively affects my game - I pick out holes where I can afford bogey's and still break 80, when I should be focused on putting for legitimate birdie attempts. Recently, I just went through every hole at my local course and realized I can realistically par every hole every I play if I play to my ability. What prevents me from doing it is the mental side - I let the previous shot (s) and/or hole (s) put doubt in my head, I start to think that my margin for error to break 80 is narrowing because of a bad hole. I start to worry about the 3 footer for par knowing I can't afford bogey before I even hit my birdie putt or even my tee shot. It's self destructing. I'm really working hard on my mental game and confidence. I'm ready to break par, not just 80. And I know I have the physical game to do it - my attitude and mental game is holding me back - and that feels like such a shame.

I can dig it. At 55 I decided to put more effort into my game. I played 30-35 times a year as a late teen and early 20's golfer and then only 10-15 times a year after that. But 3 rounds on vacation with rented clubs lit the fire once again. At the end of that season 2 years ago I shot a legit 79 on a 6000+ yard course for the first time and was over the moon. I didn't do it at all last year and decided I had to figure out this putting and chipping thing to get there as every time I was knocking on the door, it was those two aspects of my game that let me down. So far this year I've added a 76, 77 and a 78 and those have all been in the last 2 months. On all three of those rounds I was either even par or 1 over on the last three holes and I now think of myself as a "closer" :superman: I've also had a pair of 80's in there as well. The motivation to get into the 70's has drove me to practice harder and with purpose. It's paid off in spades. I haven't 3 putted in 4 consecutive rounds.

 

Legit 9 handicap now, playing once a week.

[hwturner17]

6.1 Checking in!!!

 

6.1 bros!

 

With my most recent effort, my index has dropped to 6.98. Is that enough to declare "six-ness"? :)

 

You better believe it!

[jppatton2]

2.4 in March, 5.5 with the latest revision. 3 year old and 18 month old and if I average out the rounds I’m somewhere around 1.5 every two weeks. I usually hit the range/practice green for about 30 minutes before playing and my scores are typically 79-83 now instead of 74-78. While I know it comes down to practice and I just don’t have that same time anymore, I would be lying if I said I have just as much fun. Playing poorly and shooting 84 compared to playing poorly and shooting 78 stings. On the flip side, sneaking in a 75 feels more rewarding.

 

All in all - I get more strokes now!

[BeerPerHole]

That's good. I'm in a similar situation and am a 14.

[CDLgolf]

When we left Cleveland a few years ago I was a 6.3. Lowest handicap I ever had. Used to play 4 times a week and hit lots of balls. Moved to Charlotte and my golf went to 1 or 2 times a week and had to learn to play bermuda grass ( which sucks ). Still only play once or twice a week with very little practice but starting to get used to bermuda. Handicap went as high as 10 but now I've got it back to 7.3. Hoping to be back around a 6 in the near future.

[Big Ben]

Charlotte is a great town but Burmuda does suck! It’s not even grass it’s a creeping weed. Ha!

[drn92]

So I'm 49yrs old with a 13 and 10yr old. While my 6 cap isn't perfect I'm kinda proud of it. Playing 1.5x a week sucks! Just tossing that out there for us wannabes! I'm actually trending to 4.7 but that's whatever. BB

 

Good stuff. I am also a 6 (6.2 to be exact). I have an 18 and 15 year old and my goal is to get 10 rounds a year. Usually I have to get a few 9 hole rounds in and combine them to get to my full 10 rounds ...

 

I try to hit balls and chip and putt at least once a week, but sometimes I end up playing a lot between June and August and am lucky to get out once a month outside of that.

 

Congrats on your 6!

 

drn92

[Scottywhitt]

I'm happy I got to scratch officially for the first time in a few years this past weekend

 

Was reading a thread and saw that you lowered your cap after becoming a dad... Congrats! But how?! Asking as a guy who is excited to have his first on the way.

[Kevinx]

Hey Ben. What tees and what's the average length course do you play. I play to a 5. I always play the white tees or a mix if yardage dictates. Length of courses are between 6500 to 6300 yards except when I play Bethpage Black. 6600 plus off the white. Most people think cause I'm a 5 I bomb it off the tee 300 plus. I can play pga length golf courses. I play with in my means and enjoy playing. I don't get people who insist on playing beyond their means. Never having a chance hitting a 4 in 2. Playing 3 to 4 shot old man golf. No matter where you play breaking 10 to become a single is big but being a 9 is a very long away from being a under a 5.

 

[Big Ben]

I play courses averaging 6600-6800yrs, we usually play the tips unless the course is over 7000yrds and we move up to the blues. I’m 50yrs old next month and still have a little pop when my bad shoulders allow it! Finished my season at 5.4 index, not too bad I’ll take it.

[Kevinx]

Funny thing is playing off tournament tees ( Usually the back tees ) is only a 1 stroke difference. Unless you need the yardage cause you average atleast 265 off the tee its better to play off whites for handicap purpose. Also the slope of the course matters just as much as length. Keep up the good work.

[Big Ben]

I enjoy the challenge and space to play when the course is over 6,500yrds. Truth, the whites cramp things for me and I like using the majority of my bag. Now that doesn’t mean it’s wrong or right. YMMV, now when you stretch things out to 7,000yrds or over things begin to get pretty lengthy. Still like it though! Just not going to do my score any favors. BB

[CaddiesFault]

congrats dude. The average hdcp is 18+ so you are way ahead of the curve. work on your putting at home more and get it down another stroke!

[SBH9458]

I play courses averaging 6600-6800yrs, we usually play the tips unless the course is over 7000yrds and we move up to the blues. Im 50yrs old next month and still have a little pop when my bad shoulders allow it! Finished my season at 5.4 index, not too bad Ill take it.

 

Congrats! And do I ever know about shoulders starting to slow things down.

[anth]

I'm happy I got to scratch officially for the first time in a few years this past weekend

 

Was reading a thread and saw that you lowered your cap after becoming a dad... Congrats! But how?! Asking as a guy who is excited to have his first on the way.

 

Well it was either 1 of 2 things.

 

A bit of new found perspective.

 

Or he embraced his inner ironsquatch and bought some blades...