When did you actually become "good" at golf?

[vbb]

> @platgof said:

> I think if you are consistently shooting in the 80's, you are a good golfer, and great golfers shoot in the 70's.

 

I'm not what I consider "good at golf" yet, but this thread is encouraging for those of us that didn't take up the game until adulthood. Consistently in the 80s means you know how to play the game and hit most of the shots, you just need consistency. That's where I am now. The thing I'm most proud about my current game is the fact that all but a handful of my rounds this year have been in the 80s. In years past, I'd be mostly in the low 90s with a few mid-low 80s that would bring my handicap down. Now, I'm consistently in the 80s and my scoring average is down. It makes me feel like I am in more control of my game, which is a result of me gaining consistency off the tee and lag putting better. I can peel off a bunch of pars in a row without feeling like I'm on a lucky streak. If I could just eliminate the blow up holes, I'd be in the upper 70s, which is the goal.

[nsxguy]

> @Socrates said:

> > @Socrates said:

> > I've had a few quantum leaps in my quality of golf. Early 20's when I started working at a golf course and had to either get better or get the crap beat out of me by my fellow employees. Quickly saw a single digit hcp. I was better than average but kinda stuck at one level for quite a while.

> >

> > At 50, for some reason (equipment change) I went from a 6-7 to a solid 4 in one season. I think I found another level when I stopped playing at the same place all the time. My "single" digit hcp became something I could travel with. Still had fluctuations in scoring though. Toss in another back problem (sciatica). Things turned bad a few years and finally went to a Pro and rebuilt my swing. 2+ years later, I all of sudden found my swing much better and consistent. Even with a balky putter, I found that I was easily shooting rounds in the low 70's. Like it was nothing special. That was not happening 10 years ago when I thought I was "good."

> >

> > So to answer the question, I think I've become "good" at age 58. I think I'm a better ball striker, but I also think my way around a course much better. Take fewer stupid risks and for the most part, I let the bad go and just move on.

>

> Update: Clearly I was delusional. Today's round brought me back to reality and I have not yet reached "good" level. Just a schmo with a club in his hands. Sadly, back to the practice tee to work on my deficiencies. Maybe next week I'll be good.

 

OP kinda sorta defined good golfer as "under 5",,,,,,,,,,,, **_"For the better players here (sub 5 maybe?) when did you actually become good / confident at golf?"_**

 

One bad round makes you a hacker as much as one good round makes a 20 'capper "good". LOL If you shoot in the low 70s consistently you are a "good" golfer, regardless of anyone else's definition.

 

Funny how, despite the OP's question/posts it seems the majority of responses are from "over 5" handicappers. Wonder why that is ?

 

As for "good", of course it's a relative term. I'm betting there are times when MANY low cappers think of themselves as "not very good". I expect even the best of the best have their doubts sometimes.

 

 

[jli2636]

When I learned to take my medicine and not try to hit the hero shot. Probably in my late 20’s if I had to guess? I hover around an 8 and in the grand scheme of things know I am not that good, I could hold my own with the strong majority of the golfing public. I’ll be 32 in July and I don’t play as much as I did in college when I worked at a course, but I have lower expectations now. With those lower expectations I end up scoring quite a bit better actually.

[freeze16172002]

When I realized to learn as much as you can, then forget it and just play golf

[Ferguson]

Started at age 11 breaking 90 at 12 and 80 at 14. I don't usually play the back tees unless that's where everyone else is playing. It makes no difference to me - I simply adjust.

 

I practiced a lot in my 20's after college. There was a driving range roughly a mile from my first real job and I would hit balls 3-4 times per week and putt on lunch hours. They had a deal for unlimited balls for $20 per month. For me - repetition served as the means to create a repeatable golf swing.

 

In my late 20's, a very good friend of mine gave me some advice that stuck:

 

1. To get good, join a club and learn to play that course really well.

2. To get better, build a smart game and learn how to manage your shots.

3. To get really good, play with people that are better than you.

4. To score, learn how to be efficient around the the greens.

 

I am proud to say I can shoot in the high 70's pretty much anywhere. I consider a good round these days at something around 75 with at least 12-13 pars. I'm sorry to say my friend Larry (who gave me the advice) died last year. He was a good guy.

[rich_s2]

When I stopped watching YT and reading magazine articles for swing tips and went to see Dan C. Once I got my swing to a place I was content I have been working on my mental game. Course strategy also played a big part of me dropping from a 9 to a 4 in 12 months

[Skaffa77]

I started playing when I was 19 or 20...and I've been playing golf for the past 20 years. I'd say about 15 years into golf is when I (or others) considered myself a "good" golfer. Each 5 years had it's own major milestones...and while there were many accomplishments along the way, the major milestones were the ones that I felt really impacted my score.

 

I'd say the first 5 years were just pure exciting as a new golfer...I had hunger to learn the basics and vigorous efforts to help reduce my slice and dial in my average distances. The next 5 dealt with sharpening up my short game and recovery shots to make up for all the bad shots I'd hit into the green (or behind trees)...that's when I broke 90. The next 5 dealt with turning my fade into a draw and learning where to miss on a course to avoid bad scores...that's when I broke 80. Now I'm near the end of the last 5 years where I've been practicing a lot less and playing a bit less as well. It's been more about trusting the swing vs. worrying about technique and just enjoying the moments. Surprisingly, I've been scoring pretty decently this year and it's not a surprise when I'm even par or -1 after 7 or 8 holes (it used to cause me to get nervous about ruining the round with a bad shot).

 

While Year 15 is when I think I got "good", it was really an accumulation of all of the pieces that let me get to that point...a lot of time on the range, experiments, different techniques, some tips, some video, some lessons, some self discoveries. The law of diminishing returns means I probably won't continue to see major improvement over the next 20 years without some massive time commitment and effort. With that said...I enjoy the game a lot more than I used to...

[DavePelz4]

Hmmm...started playing in 1970. It's now 2019 and I'm still waiting.

[Barfolomew]

This is easy..... you can tell a good player by how they hit short wedge shots. It reveals if you got any touch or not.... putting is extremely important but anyone can be a good putter cause such a simple move heck my dad who doesn't play golf and has the ugliest most useless swing on the range can putt like a scratch golfer and never practices lol..... but he chips like a tourist!

 

Point is it generalizes to other parts of the game as all other shots are tougher to be great at then droppin a soft lob over a bunker to stop to a short sided pin....

[2putttom]

> @DavePelz4 said:

> Hmmm...started playing in 1970. It's now 2019 and I'm still waiting.

 

:D brilliant !

[golfjam]

I started playing around 25yrs ago. We only had one 9 hole course, around 3000yds and we didn't have a lot of young members. Luckily a very good player, 3hcp, insisted in playing with me since I was one of the few youngsters. He was 10yrs older but that was still in his late 20's. We used to gamble 2 cokes, 1 for each 9 and started giving me 8&8 strokes. After loosing many many sodas for the first 2 or 3yrs, I finally started tying and sometimes beating him. And the strokes went down until we started playing even. That was a lot of fun! We had playoffs for 3, 5 holes sometimes and a coke never tasted better when I won. He was very strict and always followed the rules, a golf nut just like me. Couldn't have asked for a better partner and he taught me a lot.

[ctsgolf]

I thought I was pretty "good" until I played in my first tournament qualifier along-side a few collegiate players.

[RichieHunt]

I started playing golf when I was 11. I started out winning some local events in my age group and then when I turned 12 I stopped winning. Then when I turned 13 I started winning again and when I was 14 I went back into a slump. I don't think I got 'good' until I was about 15 years old. Over the winter I grew about 3 inches, but more importantly I put on about 40 pounds, almost all muscle as I was very skinny (and I still was skinny even with the 40 pounds). But now I had some strength behind me and my hand-eye coordination greatly improved.

 

The big thing I had to then was get confidence. I had confidence in myself, but I didn't quite believe it. And then I started winning bigger state tournaments when nobody thought I would even make the cut but myself. I think that is a very powerful thing in life...when you achieve something that nobody else thinks you can do but yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[Plus2Degrees]

Never really learned how to play golf, picked up clubs in 30's, used it as a 4hr break from life, walk, outside, worm burners and squirrel killers. Putting was always good. Left the past time. Returned recently, suffer 2 injuries (non golf related) which allow for extensive research of info & video. Stumbled upon Paul Wilson, Shawn Clement, Todd Kolb, & Eric Cogorno all on U tube. Connected with their logic & presentation of info. 63 years old started relearning game last October 2018. Putter, wedges, & mid irons complete. Currently practicing now with 3H, looking forward to 3 wood & driver. Thank you Paul for grip info, thank you Shawn for your intent info, thank you Todd for the ball flight rules, and thank you Eric for the 1 piece take away. All have place me on my path to golf swing greatness.

[tigerfan23]

OP here 18 months later....

 

I'm REALLY close to scratch now.

if i can make a few putts here or there Ill get there.

Things changed when I consistently put the driver between the trees.  not always on the fairway but almost alwasy between the trees with a shot at the green.

 

Also started chipping great.  Chipping is HUGE. I still miss a lot of greens left but go up and down more often than not.

 

Also I almost Never double a hole.   As long as you don't take penalties and flub a chip / pitch you should almost never double a hole.  That for me Is HUGE to avoid any doubles.

 

 

[Obee]

Nice!!

 

my journey from beginner to scratch was about three years. Scratch to tournament + was another 5 or so. 

[pinsucker]

I got to a 4 handicap by the time I was 14, took me 2 years after that to get to scratch and another year to get to +2 (which is my lowest). I had a hiatus of a few years and don't play much anymore (maybe once a month) and when I do go out I shoot lackluster rounds in the mid-high 70s. In my experience, short game and putting play a role in lowering score, but not as much as people think. Given the kind of courses "normal" people play and weather fluctuations, "normal" people don't play pristine courses all year round, which makes it very difficult to scramble well from some of the lies we might get and consistently taking less than 30 putts a round is difficult when greens are slow and bumpy half the time. Anyway, for me the key was consistency and a bit of course management. I was always a good driver of the ball not long (as a 17 year old I would hit it 270-280) but very accurate, what I did need to learn was that I couldn't fly every bunker and cut every dogleg and that I was better off playing from the fairway a bit further out than from bunkers or trees. The aim for me was to avoid trouble first and foremost (hazards and trees) and as a secondary aim to pick the side of the hole I would get the best angle in from, that bit shaved 1-3 strokes a round depending on the quality of my ball-striking on the day. The second bit was to become a much more consistent iron-player, at my peak I would average 14 GIRs and I would hit 50% of par 5s in two. There is no substitute for hard intelligent work, grinding mechanics on the range, playing target games and where there is time, taking a shag bag on the course and playing multiple balls from various spots to get a feel for on the course shot-making. Short game within 50 yards will help you optimize your score (saving a few more pars) and maybe shaving 1-2 strokes of your PB, but it won't make you into a great golfer. I think of it as you would of a car, short game work is like improving aerodynamics, but improving long-game is like getting a better engine.

 

At his peak before the statistical boom, Tiger used to track and give most weight to dropped shot avoidance metrics, the ones he favored were: 3 putt avoidance, double or worse avoidance, messing up an "easy" (by his standards) up and down and so on. If you think about it, if you don't make a single bogey, the worst you will shoot is even par 🤣

Edited October 12, 2020 by pinsucker