What does it take to break 70?

[gripandrip]

10 minutes ago, bluedot said:

Be boring.  Hit the ball in the fairway off the tee, hit lots of greens in regulation, when you miss a green, miss in the right place, and putt well.  Whether is a good player who breaks par every now and then, or a better player who does it a lot, the formula is pretty much going to be the same; really good ball striking, combined with solid putting.  And solid putting doesn't mean making a ton of long putts; it means hitting some approach shots close and converting the birdie, really good lag putting when you don't hit it close, and rock solid putting in the 4' range when you missed the green.

 

The best ball striking round by a player I was actually playing with was one of the most "routine" rounds I've ever seen as well.  He hit the side of the fairway that he intended off the tee, he hit the part of the green that he meant to hit on the approach, and his pace putting the ball was perfect all day.  He's a guy that routinely breaks par, fwiw, and has for about 50 years now, but again, the formula is pretty much the same for everybody. 

This. It's a running joke in some of the groups I play with that some players are just boring. Always in the fairway, always hit greens, make most of the putts less that 8-10 feet. Not necessarily a bad thing...?. For me, the difference is typically putting. When I've had my best rounds, I'm not lipping out and barely missing putts. They are dropping. It seems on any given round, I'm leaving 2-3 strokes on the putting greens.

[davep043]

5 minutes ago, gripandrip said:

This. It's a running joke in some of the groups I play with that some players are just boring. Always in the fairway, always hit greens, make most of the putts less that 8-10 feet. Not necessarily a bad thing...?. For me, the difference is typically putting. When I've had my best rounds, I'm not lipping out and barely missing putts. They are dropping. It seems on any given round, I'm leaving 2-3 strokes on the putting greens.

Is it possible that on those best rounds, you're putting from just 2 or 3 feet closer, on average?  

[PixlPutterman]

9 minutes ago, gripandrip said:

This. It's a running joke in some of the groups I play with that some players are just boring. Always in the fairway, always hit greens, make most of the putts less that 8-10 feet. Not necessarily a bad thing...?. For me, the difference is typically putting. When I've had my best rounds, I'm not lipping out and barely missing putts. They are dropping. It seems on any given round, I'm leaving 2-3 strokes on the putting greens.

 

That was my second to last round, a 1 over 73. I missed 4 birdies inside 10 feet and lipped out a 6 footer for par.

 

I need to be a bit more deadly inside 15 feet 

[gripandrip]

19 minutes ago, davep043 said:

Is it possible that on those best rounds, you're putting from just 2 or 3 feet closer, on average?  

That could very well be the case. It seems some days I can't read a putt to save my life. I'm hitting where I want to, but not where I need to.

[cardoustie]

I've shot in the high 60's a lot, 68 and 69's, including in events.  Never lower.  My best rounds generally featured 5 or 6 birdies and a bogey or two.  I've done hole by holes on them from recent rounds ... as a post on here .... (Just like @Obee did recently for tying his PB)

 

Here's my advice, and it is not rocket science:

 

- learn a tee shot that keeps you in play under any kind of pressure.  If you can eliminate one side of the course "you are gold Jerry"

- if your driver shot is a draw, have a second tee club (hybrid or 4w etc) that hits a cut or vice versa

- hit greens with your short irons

- learn to miss under the hole or on the fat side of the green, no short siding allowed

- work on your short game like a lunatic.  THIS IS KEY and not given enough credit.  If you miss 6 greens you need to get up and down 4 times.

- be comfortable with half shots ie 30-60 yards. Find a method you can rely on for your swing

- do not get greedy on par 5's.  Pin high in two can sometimes be DEAD.

- become a solid lag putter so you are not grinding on 3 and 4 footers all day.   The old saying of what doesn't last??  "Dogs that chase cars and pro's that putt for pars."

- if you can par the 3's, birdie one par 4, and birdie two par 5's you've got a little 69 in your pocket.   

- read Gio Valiente and learn to be process oriented ie "what's my target" for each shot and not results oriented ie "if I par the last 3 I will be under par" or " My pals will be impressed"

- this last one is my personal opinion, learn how to hit low shots from the fairway with your short clubs, makes windy days getable

 

 

[milesgiles]

Assuming you actually have the swing and skill?

 

same as any sport, you have to Believe you can do it. I’ve not had a ‘bad’ round in ages, but at the same time I know I’m playing with the mentality that I’ll be quite satisfied at a couple over par. Have to be more aggressive 

[davep043]

2 hours ago, PixlPutterman said:

 

That was my second to last round, a 1 over 73. I missed 4 birdies inside 10 feet and lipped out a 6 footer for par.

 

I need to be a bit more deadly inside 15 feet 

How many putts did you make from 6 or 8 or 10 feet?  You'll never make all of them, even the best players in the world are 50-50 from 8 feet.  

[Obee]

I trot this out once or twice a year. Have gotten some good feedback on it over the years. Hope it helps... ?

**************

 

I first wrote this article back in 2005(?) when I was playing the best golf of my life. I was a +2.0 to +3.5 during the playing season for several years in a row back in the early/mid 2000's. I took up golf at age 20 back in about 1988 when a shoulder injury ended my thoughts of a baseball career (I was a catcher at UC Riverside) , and was able to get a low single-digit handicap in about 2 - 3 years.

 

I certainly wan't a very good low handicapper in my first few years, and had trouble playing to my handicap under any type of pressure, but I steadily got better and better in two main ways:

 

1) I truly believed that I had the ability to play golf at the +3 index level even though I had a full-time job and a wife and kids.

2) I paid attention to every little detail about scoring and the mental side of the game that I could possibly read or watch or glean from better players than myself.

 

That's it. Those two things are the only real keys in my mind. Start with number 1, which should lead you to number 2. I hope you enjoy your journey....

 

Advice for the Low Handicap Golfer

on Taking His Game to the Next Level

 

My initial advice to most golfers who want to become better players, is to actually play more. After all, we play Golf, not "Golf Swing." You get no points for the prettiest or most "technically sound" golf swing. You win or compete by getting the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes possible. Not surprisingly, then, the list of world-class players with unorthodox or idiosyncratic golf swings is long and getting longer every year. Think Zach Johnson, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Ryan Moore, Daniel Berger, Matthew Wollf, et al. Heck, even a guy like Dustin Johnson, whose swing is beautiful and rhythmic, is so shut at the top that no(?) teacher would ever encourage students to emulate it.

 

If you are reading this, then you are most likely already a low handicap Golfer (5 index or below?). What you need to learn is how to get the most out of your game, not how to have the swing of Adam Scott. There are very few miracles in life, meaning few (if any) people who have been playing 2-handicap golf for 10 years will ever miraculously find the key to the perfect golf swing and start playing as a +5 to +6, which is about where you need to be to compete as a legitimate playing professional (all other things like mental toughness, ability to play under pressure, etc. notwithstanding). That kind of swing change just is not going to happen.

 

Which is why I say that much of the journey is about learning how to play the game and not just learning some new golf swing. Start learning how to get the most out of what you already have instead of relying on the pipe dream that some day you will "fix" your golf swing. Your golf swing is not a destination, it's a journey. Does that make sense? If not, then this article is not for you.

 

Still with me? Great. ?

 

A few things before I get into the specifics: Play as much as you can, and play as many tournaments as possible. (I can't emphasize this enough). When you're not playing a tournament, always make sure you are playing a competitive match with someone and make sure you have some money on the line. And make it enough so that if you lose, it stings a bit. the "playing for money" thing is not for everyone, and that's okay, it helped me get better and also helped me play more consistently under tournament pressure, so that's why I recommend it.

 

Second, try to learn something from every single experience on the golf course. Pay attention to how you feel, what your tendencies are, and what your self-talk is like. for instance:

• What did you feel like when you hit that 100 yard sand wedge to 5 feet?
• How did that feeling differ from the one you chunked just two holes before?
• Was it the pin position that made you uncomfortable? Was it the lie?
• How did your state of mind prior to the shot influence the outcome, if at all?
• What did you say to yourself prior to shoving that tee shot out of bounds late in that one round when you were 2-under par and about to beat your personal best?
• Why did you snap-hook that 3-iron into the water from that ball-below-your-feet lie? Isn’t the ball supposed to right off ball-below-your-feet lies?
• Why do I always miss left from uphill lies?
• Why do I always miss left from downhill lies? (Yes, the dominant miss for many good players from uphill and downhill lies can be a pull, but for different reasons).
• Why do I leave so many 50 yard pitch shots short?
• Why do I have so much trouble on fast greens? Slow greens? Big breakers?
• Why can my buddy stop his shots to elevated front pins, but I can't?
• Why do I always come up short to back pins?
• I noticed a correlation between a quick negative thought as I stand over the ball. How do I deal with that?
• I hate straight-in putts and am always looking for break in short putts. Some guys have no trouble with straight putts. Why is that?
• Etc., etc., etc....

 

These are just a sampling of the kinds of questions you should ask yourself. However, to even ask them to begin with, you must pay attention on the golf course. Don't be judgmental. That's a killer. Just pay attention and learn from yourself without beating yourself up and being overly critical. It's amazing how much easier it is to play the game when you are noticing, and not judging.

 

Remember: the scores you shoot, over time, are a direct representation of who you are as a golfer. Not as a person (necessarily!), but as a golfer. You very much are what you shoot. There is no getting around that, so don't make excuses. Don't hope. Don't equivocate. You want to get better? Then you need to fix the things that are leading to your undesirable scores! So pay attention to what is causing them. Also, don't be afraid to ask the better golfers at your club to take a look at your game and your mental process. They will almost certainly be happy to be brutally honest with you!!

 

Regarding playing the game, as far as I can tell, to become a legitimate regionally or nationally competitive amateur golfer (generally in the +1 to +4 index range), you need to master the following:

 

1) Drive the ball relatively straight and relatively long, so work on the driver. And you should be comfortable on right-to-left holes and left-to-right holes. This is a must. I play with lots of players that can only hit one shot with the driver -- this is a recipe for disaster under pressure on a hole that doesn't fit your eye.

 

You must, at the very minimum, be able to hit the ball straight when called upon if what you normally do is draw or fade the ball. Too many holes just do not fit a draw or a fade. If you can't work the ball both ways, at least be able to hit it more-or-less straight when necessary. Or have a "back-up" club that you hit. Lots of pros, when faced with a right-to-left tee shot will pull out a 3-wood because it's easier to turn down the face of a 3-wood and hit a controlled draw (or even a rope-hook when necessary) than it is on a driver.

 

2) Hit the ball solidly with reasonable accuracy and repeatability from 130 yards to 179 yards, so work a bit on your ball striking with 6/7-iron to pitching wedge. But Don't get too caught up spending time here. You will yield much better results by spending your practice time on the driver, full and three-quarter wedges, putting, and chipping/pitching. I'm a big believer that if you hone a full PW/9-iron swing and are able to mildly "work" the ball with your pitching wedge (which requires clubface control and an understanding of golf ball launch mechanics and how they relate to your swing), that the PW swing carries over to clubs all the way up to about 7 iron for most players.

 

3) Be a great full wedge player (80-120 yards). This means when you have gap wedge, sand wedge, or lob wedge in your hands from the fairway, you should expect to get the ball within 30 feet almost every time. Tour average from 75 to 100 yards is 18 feet. If you want to be a scratch player, you should certainly average 25 feet or so, which means eliminating the horrible wedge shots from your bag. Absolutely zero: chunks, skulls, shanks, or duffs.

 

You must be rock solid with a wedge in your hands and feel like you have a better chance of knocking it in the hole, than missing the green. Now will you occasionally blade one or chunk one? Sure, but for most scratch and below players, that should be a very rare occurrence indeed.

 

4) Be able to hit the ball solidly (and take one side of the course out of play!) from 180 to 220. You certainly Don't need to spend much time here hitting 4-iron after 4-iron. You really only need to be able to make consistent, solid contact such that your distance is repeatable with the longer clubs. You're not going to hit much more than 50% (if that) of greens from these yardages, so don't fret when you miss a green from here. Just use your short game to get up and down, and try to stay away from the short side -- especially in tournament play since the rough is usually up in big tournaments.

 

Note: Recent statistical analysis of PGA Tour pros' games has revealed that this "Danger Zone" play (175 - 225?) is actually one of the most, if not the most important parts of the game at that level. That does not, however, invalidate my advice, which is that an amateur needs to get repeatable distance from the longer clubs. No matter what he does he will not stick his long irons or hybrids close on a regular basis. Learn to compress the ball and take one side of the golf course out of play with your longer clubs, and you will be ahead of the overwhelming majority of 2 - 5 handicap players out there. Learn to hit the green 50+% of the time from 200 yards from a variety of lies, and you're on your way to some serious golf.

 

5) Have a good to great short game. Of course the closer to great you are, the worse other parts of your game can be. I'm only a decent driver of the ball (quite straight, but on the short side), but I am (or was, 10 years ago) a considerably better player than most club scratch amateurs because my short game was very good.

 

In addition, a huge advantage of a sharp short game is that it compresses the top half of your score range. With a great short game, you are able to turn 80's into 75's and stay in a match or stay within striking range in a stroke-play tournament.

 

Spend lots of time on the practice green, and when you're there, use your imagination! Practice some short pitches and chips, and ask yourself how many different ways There are to play the same shot -- then execute each and every one of them. Experiment, and Don't be afraid to look bad. Just get creative and do it! High, low, cut spin, go spin, bump it through the fringe, flop it up and stop it on a dime. You name it. If you're good enough to be a 3, you can play all of these shots, but can you play them when it counts? That's the question. If you Don't practice them, you Don't own them. And to have a great short game, you need to own all the different shots.

 

One quick caveat: Do not fall in love with the flop shot. Learn it, absolutely. It is a valuable tool to have in your "golf belt," but it is over-used by many near scratch players that learn it and then want to use it every time there's an opportunity. I'm not saying that you should not use the lob wedge (you should use it frequently). I'm saying do not use it to flop the ball unless the situation demands it.

 

6) Be a good lag putter, which means controlling distance and seeing the line on longish putts. the longer and tougher a putt is, the more conservative you must be with your line. And when I say conservative, I mean erring onthe high side. on many tough putts, you should really visualize the ball slowing down and literally trickling into the hole from the very top of the breaking point.

 

The reason? Ball coming in from the high side are working toward the hole, whereas balls on the low side are working away from the hole. It’s amazing, but this seemingly simple little distinction eludes so many otherwise good players.

 

7) Be rock-solid inside 6 feet with the putter. All I can say here is: Practice, practice, practice. Groove a stroke, and become confident with it. Practice at home, practice at work, practice anywhere you can. There is no perfect putting stroke, period. Find one that works for you and that you feel comfortable with and groove it. And don't be afraid to switch to a funky putting stance or grip or putter when necessary to fight off the occasional bout with the yips. I've done that several times in my life, usually with moderate to excellent success.

 

? Keep Stats! I highly recommend keeping honest, detailed stats on your rounds. It really helps when you can look back over 40 rounds or more at your strengths and weaknesses, since many of us have a skewed view of our games. For instance, if you think you have a pretty good short game, but you're only getting up and down 45% of the time from inside 30 yards, then you're really not as good as you think. Not saying this is you, just that keeping meticulous, detailed stats will tell you where you really are, not where you think you are.

 

Finally, read plenty of stuff on the mental game:

 

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

Extraordinary Golf (probably my all-time favorite golf book, but not for everyone)

Pressure Golf

Zen Golf

I Found the Golf God (a delightful little book, and the first "mental game" book I ever read)

Going Low

Golf: How Good Do You Want to Be?

et al.

 

I saved this for last, but at the near-scratch level, developing and improving the mental game is probably the most important. Learning to control your emotions and your mind on the golf course is absolutely crucial to playing your best golf. There are thousands of golfers out there with the ability to compete at the regional/national amateur level that will never know how good they can be, because they refuse to conquer the inconsistent thinking and lack of a plan that leads to so many of their poor decisions, shots, and scores.

 

I hope this has been helpful.

 

David "Obee" Ober

[dmecca2]

To break 70 all parts of your game need to be good. @Obee has it spot on, but the only thing I would "modify" would be I don't think it is a must to work it both ways off the tee. I would actually argue if you're looking to get good, find one shot shape with the driver and hit that every time (unless it's a banana slice... don't be happy with that). Rarely will you step up to a hole where a normal drive would get you into trouble. 

[Obee]

15 minutes ago, dmecca2 said:

To break 70 all parts of your game need to be good. @Obee has it spot on, but the only thing I would "modify" would be I don't think it is a must to work it both ways off the tee. I would actually argue if you're looking to get good, find one shot shape with the driver and hit that every time (unless it's a banana slice... don't be happy with that). Rarely will you step up to a hole where a normal drive would get you into trouble. 

Yeah, I debated on amending that part about the driver. You really just need to be comfortable aiming down tree lines and on holes that don't fit your eye if you play a significant draw or fade off the tee. And be comfortable hitting 3-wood or hybrid on certain long holes if a hole REALLY doesn't fit your shot shape.

[MelloYello]

Wonderful advice from both @cardoustie and @Obee in terms of what's required!

 

It's interesting to try and pick apart what's different between someone who's a +2 versus a -2 versus a -5. I've been very lucky this year in that I've gotten to play with a slew of guys who are everywhere from +2 to -10. In my experience, what someone can do with the ball is mostly a product of age, health and their golf swing so I hesitate to go off talking about learning to hit this shot or that. A lot of times, that 5-handicap could just as easily be a 1- or 2-handicap if they simply eliminated a few misses. I know a friend who can hit the most beautiful high-draw blade 4-iron in the country but he's still a 5-handicap. He could be scratch if he really wanted but his game just isn't tight enough compared to the best players around.

 

In that respect, @Obee is spot on. Being the best you can be means you have to fix your own problems and learn to play. 

 

A couple days ago I played with a guy who's probably a +2 at this moment and he definitely doesn't hit it any further than me and I'm about a 5-handicap right now. My driver SS is around 105 at most, yet this guy just finds the center of the face and has no problem hitting everything from 3w to 5i off the deck with his patented high-fade. He simply has a better swing than me. He's got more control and more efficiency and is way further down the line in terms of controlling his game having been a productive college player. But physically, we're not far from each other which shows that it's really about controlling what you have, not simply adding to it. 

 

Another thing that's really obvious about this +2 (which even separates him from the guys who are in the -2 range) is that he never talks score. You honestly wouldn't know the difference between this guy strolling down the fairway on a day where he's about to shoot 67 versus a day where he's grinding his way to a 76. For this guy it's going to be a function of how close he gets and how many putts drop. His approach and attitude won't change and so you won't ever really notice what he's doing. Day-to-day, round-to-round, hole-to-hole, shot-to-shot he's exactly the same. He also has a nice personality which I think brings out conversation in others which allows him to not spend those walks down the fairway obsessing about the minutia of his swing, scorecard, etc. 

 

But honestly, I've said this before...golf is a measure of how much distance you can put between F-ups. If you can hit a great drive one day followed by a great wedge and a putt for birdie, then you can theoretically always do it again. But you won't. You know you won't. As @Obee helped lay out above, our real job is simply to figure out just what it is that gets in our way. We have to be robust. We have to see mistakes before they happen and take effort to avoid them.  

 

As I said in another thread, there are really only a 3 things in good golf: (1) the preparation of the golf swing itself, (2) the planning of the shot and (3) the execution of the shot. Those are the only things you can control. I think great golf happens when you arrive at a point where you are firing on all cylinders within each one of those. Your swing has to be good, you have to plan ahead to avoid mistakes before they happen and you have to win at the mental game / execution side. None of that is mystical. You just have to keep improving at the little things.  

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by MelloYello

[getitdaily]

1. Short game has to be nearly impeccable. You will miss greens, every round. Get up and down every time...including par 5 near hits in 2. Short game keeps the round together.

2. With 7i or less, get aggressive. Fire at pins unless there's clear trouble short sided.

3. Play smart and aggressive off the tee. Hit fairways.

4. Make a couple of 20+ foot putts. Be aggressive with the putter. Make birdies, don't lag for the safe par.

5. Stay loose but stay focused. Don't get a couple under and then get tight. Get a couple under and then think "get 1 more". And keep that mindset. But stay mentally focused. Don't think k that just because you're a couple.under that you don't need to focus as much as normal. Mentally Focused but physically loose.

Edited September 10, 2020 by getitdaily

[hoselpalooza]

21 hours ago, MelloYello said:

As I said in another thread, there are really only a 3 things in good golf: (1) the preparation of the golf swing itself, (2) the planning of the shot and (3) the execution of the shot. Those are the only things you can control.

 

nice post, and it sounds like you've found a great playing partner in that +2. 

 

i would add one thing to your list: what you do post-shot. 

[MelloYello]

20 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

 

nice post, and it sounds like you've found a great playing partner in that +2. 

 

i would add one thing to your list: what you do post-shot. 

 

Yeah, I'm lucky. The club I recently joined plays host to some local college players and there are a slew of ex-college players still here (most from different universities). So there's always a fairly impressive number of scratch-or-better guys. 

 

And to your point, I agree. The pre- and post-shot routines are improved with those better players. I think most of the +2 crowd that I've seen however simply have much better long games. They're in much better control of the ball. So it makes sense that their post-shot analysis is more valuable and that they can learn more from a small miss. 

 

I got down to about a 3-handicap this year but I wasn't good enough to improve without a better swing. I could see that. I was course managing like a Pro, but my misses were just too big. I think a lot of Ams are in the same boat. It's hard to admit it but in comparison to me as a mid-single-digit handicapper, that +2 is just in WAY better control of the ball. 

 

Say what you will but I think an awful lot of this comes down to owning a swing that is fundamentally really solid. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by MelloYello

[Obee]

Yes, the "post shot routine" is important for everyone, but especially so for those who have trouble with temper or negative self-talk. Very important.

[DShepley]

On 9/9/2020 at 12:32 PM, Obee said:

I trot this out once or twice a year. Have gotten some good feedback on it over the years. Hope it helps... ?

**************

 

I first wrote this article back in 2005(?) when I was playing the best golf of my life. I was a +2.0 to +3.5 during the playing season for several years in a row back in the early/mid 2000's. I took up golf at age 20 back in about 1988 when a shoulder injury ended my thoughts of a baseball career (I was a catcher at UC Riverside) , and was able to get a low single-digit handicap in about 2 - 3 years.

 

I certainly wan't a very good low handicapper in my first few years, and had trouble playing to my handicap under any type of pressure, but I steadily got better and better in two main ways:

 

1) I truly believed that I had the ability to play golf at the +3 index level even though I had a full-time job and a wife and kids.

2) I paid attention to every little detail about scoring and the mental side of the game that I could possibly read or watch or glean from better players than myself.

 

That's it. Those two things are the only real keys in my mind. Start with number 1, which should lead you to number 2. I hope you enjoy your journey....

 

Advice for the Low Handicap Golfer

on Taking His Game to the Next Level

 

My initial advice to most golfers who want to become better players, is to actually play more. After all, we play Golf, not "Golf Swing." You get no points for the prettiest or most "technically sound" golf swing. You win or compete by getting the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes possible. Not surprisingly, then, the list of world-class players with unorthodox or idiosyncratic golf swings is long and getting longer every year. Think Zach Johnson, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Ryan Moore, Daniel Berger, Matthew Wollf, et al. Heck, even a guy like Dustin Johnson, whose swing is beautiful and rhythmic, is so shut at the top that no(?) teacher would ever encourage students to emulate it.

 

If you are reading this, then you are most likely already a low handicap Golfer (5 index or below?). What you need to learn is how to get the most out of your game, not how to have the swing of Adam Scott. There are very few miracles in life, meaning few (if any) people who have been playing 2-handicap golf for 10 years will ever miraculously find the key to the perfect golf swing and start playing as a +5 to +6, which is about where you need to be to compete as a legitimate playing professional (all other things like mental toughness, ability to play under pressure, etc. notwithstanding). That kind of swing change just is not going to happen.

 

Which is why I say that much of the journey is about learning how to play the game and not just learning some new golf swing. Start learning how to get the most out of what you already have instead of relying on the pipe dream that some day you will "fix" your golf swing. Your golf swing is not a destination, it's a journey. Does that make sense? If not, then this article is not for you.

 

Still with me? Great. ?

 

A few things before I get into the specifics: Play as much as you can, and play as many tournaments as possible. (I can't emphasize this enough). When you're not playing a tournament, always make sure you are playing a competitive match with someone and make sure you have some money on the line. And make it enough so that if you lose, it stings a bit. the "playing for money" thing is not for everyone, and that's okay, it helped me get better and also helped me play more consistently under tournament pressure, so that's why I recommend it.

 

Second, try to learn something from every single experience on the golf course. Pay attention to how you feel, what your tendencies are, and what your self-talk is like. for instance:

• What did you feel like when you hit that 100 yard sand wedge to 5 feet?
• How did that feeling differ from the one you chunked just two holes before?
• Was it the pin position that made you uncomfortable? Was it the lie?
• How did your state of mind prior to the shot influence the outcome, if at all?
• What did you say to yourself prior to shoving that tee shot out of bounds late in that one round when you were 2-under par and about to beat your personal best?
• Why did you snap-hook that 3-iron into the water from that ball-below-your-feet lie? Isn’t the ball supposed to right off ball-below-your-feet lies?
• Why do I always miss left from uphill lies?
• Why do I always miss left from downhill lies? (Yes, the dominant miss for many good players from uphill and downhill lies can be a pull, but for different reasons).
• Why do I leave so many 50 yard pitch shots short?
• Why do I have so much trouble on fast greens? Slow greens? Big breakers?
• Why can my buddy stop his shots to elevated front pins, but I can't?
• Why do I always come up short to back pins?
• I noticed a correlation between a quick negative thought as I stand over the ball. How do I deal with that?
• I hate straight-in putts and am always looking for break in short putts. Some guys have no trouble with straight putts. Why is that?
• Etc., etc., etc....

 

These are just a sampling of the kinds of questions you should ask yourself. However, to even ask them to begin with, you must pay attention on the golf course. Don't be judgmental. That's a killer. Just pay attention and learn from yourself without beating yourself up and being overly critical. It's amazing how much easier it is to play the game when you are noticing, and not judging.

 

Remember: the scores you shoot, over time, are a direct representation of who you are as a golfer. Not as a person (necessarily!), but as a golfer. You very much are what you shoot. There is no getting around that, so don't make excuses. Don't hope. Don't equivocate. You want to get better? Then you need to fix the things that are leading to your undesirable scores! So pay attention to what is causing them. Also, don't be afraid to ask the better golfers at your club to take a look at your game and your mental process. They will almost certainly be happy to be brutally honest with you!!

 

Regarding playing the game, as far as I can tell, to become a legitimate regionally or nationally competitive amateur golfer (generally in the +1 to +4 index range), you need to master the following:

 

1) Drive the ball relatively straight and relatively long, so work on the driver. And you should be comfortable on right-to-left holes and left-to-right holes. This is a must. I play with lots of players that can only hit one shot with the driver -- this is a recipe for disaster under pressure on a hole that doesn't fit your eye.

 

You must, at the very minimum, be able to hit the ball straight when called upon if what you normally do is draw or fade the ball. Too many holes just do not fit a draw or a fade. If you can't work the ball both ways, at least be able to hit it more-or-less straight when necessary. Or have a "back-up" club that you hit. Lots of pros, when faced with a right-to-left tee shot will pull out a 3-wood because it's easier to turn down the face of a 3-wood and hit a controlled draw (or even a rope-hook when necessary) than it is on a driver.

 

2) Hit the ball solidly with reasonable accuracy and repeatability from 130 yards to 179 yards, so work a bit on your ball striking with 6/7-iron to pitching wedge. But Don't get too caught up spending time here. You will yield much better results by spending your practice time on the driver, full and three-quarter wedges, putting, and chipping/pitching. I'm a big believer that if you hone a full PW/9-iron swing and are able to mildly "work" the ball with your pitching wedge (which requires clubface control and an understanding of golf ball launch mechanics and how they relate to your swing), that the PW swing carries over to clubs all the way up to about 7 iron for most players.

 

3) Be a great full wedge player (80-120 yards). This means when you have gap wedge, sand wedge, or lob wedge in your hands from the fairway, you should expect to get the ball within 30 feet almost every time. Tour average from 75 to 100 yards is 18 feet. If you want to be a scratch player, you should certainly average 25 feet or so, which means eliminating the horrible wedge shots from your bag. Absolutely zero: chunks, skulls, shanks, or duffs.

 

You must be rock solid with a wedge in your hands and feel like you have a better chance of knocking it in the hole, than missing the green. Now will you occasionally blade one or chunk one? Sure, but for most scratch and below players, that should be a very rare occurrence indeed.

 

4) Be able to hit the ball solidly (and take one side of the course out of play!) from 180 to 220. You certainly Don't need to spend much time here hitting 4-iron after 4-iron. You really only need to be able to make consistent, solid contact such that your distance is repeatable with the longer clubs. You're not going to hit much more than 50% (if that) of greens from these yardages, so don't fret when you miss a green from here. Just use your short game to get up and down, and try to stay away from the short side -- especially in tournament play since the rough is usually up in big tournaments.

 

Note: Recent statistical analysis of PGA Tour pros' games has revealed that this "Danger Zone" play (175 - 225?) is actually one of the most, if not the most important parts of the game at that level. That does not, however, invalidate my advice, which is that an amateur needs to get repeatable distance from the longer clubs. No matter what he does he will not stick his long irons or hybrids close on a regular basis. Learn to compress the ball and take one side of the golf course out of play with your longer clubs, and you will be ahead of the overwhelming majority of 2 - 5 handicap players out there. Learn to hit the green 50+% of the time from 200 yards from a variety of lies, and you're on your way to some serious golf.

 

5) Have a good to great short game. Of course the closer to great you are, the worse other parts of your game can be. I'm only a decent driver of the ball (quite straight, but on the short side), but I am (or was, 10 years ago) a considerably better player than most club scratch amateurs because my short game was very good.

 

In addition, a huge advantage of a sharp short game is that it compresses the top half of your score range. With a great short game, you are able to turn 80's into 75's and stay in a match or stay within striking range in a stroke-play tournament.

 

Spend lots of time on the practice green, and when you're there, use your imagination! Practice some short pitches and chips, and ask yourself how many different ways There are to play the same shot -- then execute each and every one of them. Experiment, and Don't be afraid to look bad. Just get creative and do it! High, low, cut spin, go spin, bump it through the fringe, flop it up and stop it on a dime. You name it. If you're good enough to be a 3, you can play all of these shots, but can you play them when it counts? That's the question. If you Don't practice them, you Don't own them. And to have a great short game, you need to own all the different shots.

 

One quick caveat: Do not fall in love with the flop shot. Learn it, absolutely. It is a valuable tool to have in your "golf belt," but it is over-used by many near scratch players that learn it and then want to use it every time there's an opportunity. I'm not saying that you should not use the lob wedge (you should use it frequently). I'm saying do not use it to flop the ball unless the situation demands it.

 

6) Be a good lag putter, which means controlling distance and seeing the line on longish putts. the longer and tougher a putt is, the more conservative you must be with your line. And when I say conservative, I mean erring onthe high side. on many tough putts, you should really visualize the ball slowing down and literally trickling into the hole from the very top of the breaking point.

 

The reason? Ball coming in from the high side are working toward the hole, whereas balls on the low side are working away from the hole. It’s amazing, but this seemingly simple little distinction eludes so many otherwise good players.

 

7) Be rock-solid inside 6 feet with the putter. All I can say here is: Practice, practice, practice. Groove a stroke, and become confident with it. Practice at home, practice at work, practice anywhere you can. There is no perfect putting stroke, period. Find one that works for you and that you feel comfortable with and groove it. And don't be afraid to switch to a funky putting stance or grip or putter when necessary to fight off the occasional bout with the yips. I've done that several times in my life, usually with moderate to excellent success.

 

? Keep Stats! I highly recommend keeping honest, detailed stats on your rounds. It really helps when you can look back over 40 rounds or more at your strengths and weaknesses, since many of us have a skewed view of our games. For instance, if you think you have a pretty good short game, but you're only getting up and down 45% of the time from inside 30 yards, then you're really not as good as you think. Not saying this is you, just that keeping meticulous, detailed stats will tell you where you really are, not where you think you are.

 

Finally, read plenty of stuff on the mental game:

 

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

Extraordinary Golf (probably my all-time favorite golf book, but not for everyone)

Pressure Golf

Zen Golf

I Found the Golf God (a delightful little book, and the first "mental game" book I ever read)

Going Low

Golf: How Good Do You Want to Be?

et al.

 

I saved this for last, but at the near-scratch level, developing and improving the mental game is probably the most important. Learning to control your emotions and your mind on the golf course is absolutely crucial to playing your best golf. There are thousands of golfers out there with the ability to compete at the regional/national amateur level that will never know how good they can be, because they refuse to conquer the inconsistent thinking and lack of a plan that leads to so many of their poor decisions, shots, and scores.

 

I hope this has been helpful.

 

David "Obee" Ober

 

Such a great post here!  At my best I was a +2 though our course was shortish and I was lucky enough to win our club championship 4 times.  Now with two small kids and only playing  once or twice per week, my index is around 2 and what has kept me there is an overwhelming belief that my game is always better than what is shown.  I was a +2 once and I will get there again,...bottom line, if you don't believe you are better, you won't get better.  The advice about being rock solid from 6 feet is absolutely it and...learn to love your wedges and the challenge of getting up and down.  I can't remember what Rotella book it was from, but I became a better than average putter when I stopped practicing misses.  Stand on any practice green in the world before your round of golf and you will see countless players drop a sleeve of balls 12 to 15 feet from the hole and miss 95% of their attempts before they go to the first tee.  This doesn't build much confidence...instead, drop balls around the hole starting at 2 to 3 feet and move back no further than 5 or 6 feet.  The goal is to fill your mind with visions of putts you have made.  If you want to practice lag putts, you can putt to the fringe, or to a tee in the ground, that way, you aren't practicing in a scenario where you are likely to miss a putt.  Prior to competitions at our club, I was the guy making 50 four and five footers before I went to the first tee and, probably the guy most likely to make the first 10 footer during the round.  When you practice putting,...make sure you are practicing MAKING putts, not missing them.

[PixlPutterman]

On the topic of being deadly with the flat stick, do you always use a line on putts?

 

I find a that over 8 or so feet I pay too much attention to the line and loose my touch on speed.

[Obee]

On 9/10/2020 at 8:10 PM, PixlPutterman said:

On the topic of being deadly with the flat stick, do you always use a line on putts?

 

I find a that over 8 or so feet I pay too much attention to the line and loose my touch on speed.

I do use it on all of my putts now. On the longer putts, it is more of a guide than anything, while on the shorter (inside 15 to 20 feet?) I am really getting the line "just right." If I see the putt as 1-ball outside-right, I'm lining my ball up "1-ball outside-right."

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by Obee

[ThinkingPlus]

31 minutes ago, PixlPutterman said:

On the topic of being deadly with the flat stick, do you always use a line on putts?

 

I find a that over 8 or so feet I pay too much attention to the line and loose my touch on speed.

I use a line on all putts as well.  Read putt, line up to read, then line up putter to ball line.  At that point I only worry about speed and rolling the ball line end over end.  I also get both stroke and read feedback on most putts.  It's win-win-win with no downside.

[milesgiles]

Further thought.. as someone who only does it occasionally, I recommend playing with people who do it regularly. I’m lucky to play with an ex tour pro and some of you might be surprised how he compiles his scores.

 

1. I have seen him hit virtually every green, and I have seen him hit 10. He does not strike it perfectly every time.

2. He’s not long, but long enough for the course we play

3. It’s not a textbook swing beyond doing certain fundamentals well

4. You’d never know what he scored on the previous hole, great temperament 

5. Goes without saying, different class around the greens. Hits it hard with a lot of check

6. Absolutely cannot miss 5 feet and in. Holes out very firmly, something I’m definitely trying to incorporate..

7. I actually couldn’t tell you what his favourite club is. He’s equally competent with all of them, which tells me he has worked a lot on his weaknesses over the years

8. Draws it off the tee a little but hits most shots with very little shape

 

just playing with him and another pro, plus some other decent sticks, has done a lot for my game this year. You’re going to find it harder to improve playing a relaxed game with a couple of 80 shooters imo 

[MelloYello]

48 minutes ago, milesgiles said:

7. I actually couldn’t tell you what his favourite club is. He’s equally competent with all of them

 

You’re going to find it harder to improve playing a relaxed game with a couple of 80 shooters imo 

 

These two points are so true. In playing with high-level players at my club I find #7 to be especially evident. No matter what club these guys pull out, they simply don't miss big. And if they ever start to stray from the beaten path they find a way to make a par before you have a chance to say "bogey."

 

Meanwhile, a guy like me would probably almost always settle for that bogey and considered it good for not having been a double bogey. That's as much a measure of physical skill as anything mental. These guys are just in better control of their ball.  

 

And to that second point, you're 100% spot on.

Edited September 11, 2020 by MelloYello

[SNIPERBBB]

2 hours ago, MelloYello said:

 

These two points are so true. In playing with high-level players at my club I find #7 to be especially evident. No matter what club these guys pull out, they simply don't miss big. And if they ever start to stray from the beaten path they find a way to make a par before you have a chance to say "bogey."

 

Meanwhile, a guy like me would probably almost always settle for that bogey and considered it good for not having been a double bogey. That's as much a measure of physical skill as anything mental. These guys are just in better control of their ball.  

 

And to that second point, you're 100% spot on.

I don't know think it's necessarily bad to be in love with a club. Im sure if you asked them they'd tell you what club they love. Odds are either a wood or wedge.  I know when I have a certain wedge in my hand for an approach shot I am much more comfortable birdie hunting than if I had another.

 

What I can't understand with high cappers is why they keep clubs they hate to hit in their bags. You want to go over and solve their problem with that club by going Tin Cup on it.

 

Just for laughs... this weekend was our club championship. Me and the club champion both had 11 birdies, at one point on the back 9 of the final round I was -4. Problem was on said back 9 I had a triple plus the rest of the rounds I 3 or 4 doubles(54 hole championship)and too many bogies

Edited September 11, 2020 by SNIPERBBB

[BuzzCat]

This is the mindset (revelation) that worked for me.

 

GIR

 

Nothing else matters.  Hit more greens and good things will happen.

 

As for what you need to work on...work on whatever it takes to hit more greens.

Edited September 11, 2020 by buzzthecat

[JDCON]

A good eraser on your pencil.

[getitdaily]

3 minutes ago, buzzthecat said:

This is the mindset (revelation) that worked for me.

 

GIR

 

Nothing else matters.  Hit more greens and good things will happen.

 

As for what you need to work on...work on whatever it takes to hit more greens.

There's a lot to be said about that mindset. But...

 

1. Proximity rules over gir unless you're short siding yourself a lot.

2. Hitting a lot of greens can lead to a false sense of "good". I've played a bunch of rounds where I hit 13-14 greens and shot even, +1, +2...because

3. The more greens you hit, the more pressure you put on your putter. Better make some.putts or those GIRs will lead to frustration because putts aren't falling. 

[GSDriver]

Solid short game, no 3 putts, few birdies.  I've only broken 70 thrice, but each time had more birdies than bogies.  FWIW, I only play once a week and don't practice at all, it's much more fun playing out of the trunk.

[MelloYello]

1 hour ago, SNIPERBBB said:

I don't know think it's necessarily bad to be in love with a club. Im sure if you asked them they'd tell you what club they love. Odds are either a wood or wedge.  I know when I have a certain wedge in my hand for an approach shot I am much more comfortable birdie hunting than if I had another.

 

What I can't understand with high cappers is why they keep clubs they hate to hit in their bags. You want to go over and solve their problem with that club by going Tin Cup on it.

 

Just for laughs... this weekend was our club championship. Me and the club champion both had 11 birdies, at one point on the back 9 of the final round I was -4. Problem was on said back 9 I had a triple plus the rest of the rounds I 3 or 4 doubles(54 hole championship)and too many bogies

 

What you said in that first paragraph is 100% true! 

 

Going back to what Obee said, you have to learn to play. That means knowing what works. You may be similar but I'm way more comfortable shooting at pins with my 60⁰ than either my 52⁰ or 56⁰. I'm not hesitant to pull anything when it's the right club I just seem to work a bit more magic with the 60⁰. That's all I'm saying.

 

I'm also a little more comfortable laying up with a 6- or 7-iron than attempting the same thing with a 5-iron. Little idiosyncrasies like that are totally fine. Even good players have them. I remember I used to carry a certain cut-down 5w with which I just never missed. It wasn't the longest but it was a great fairway / rescue club that I could pull out whether I needed something good from ~215 yards. 

 

To your second point about carrying clubs that aren't reliable, I think it's just a lesson players have to learn on their own. OTOH, sometimes players simply have to buck up and improve their performance with certain clubs, too. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by MelloYello

[DShepley]

22 hours ago, getitdaily said:

There's a lot to be said about that mindset. But...

 

1. Proximity rules over gir unless you're short siding yourself a lot.

2. Hitting a lot of greens can lead to a false sense of "good". I've played a bunch of rounds where I hit 13-14 greens and shot even, +1, +2...because

3. The more greens you hit, the more pressure you put on your putter. Better make some.putts or those GIRs will lead to frustration because putts aren't falling. 

I don't agree with this.  Any halfway decent putter will score much better hitting 13-14 greens than missing greens.  Frustration because birdie putts aren't falling is much better than frustration because you couldn't make 4 -5 footers to get up and down for par after missing greens.  Shooting bogey free rounds is rare, even somewhat rare for touring pros, so breaking 70 on a par 72 for most people is going to require 4-5 birdies minimum.  You are much more likely to break 70 by two putting for par a lot of times vs trying to get up and down for par, and, to make the 4-5 birdies, you need to have lots of chances.  This advice about proximity over GIR to me seems like a recipe to turn a 68 into a 72.

[hoselpalooza]

33 minutes ago, DShepley said:

I don't agree with this.  Any halfway decent putter will score much better hitting 13-14 greens than missing greens.  Frustration because birdie putts aren't falling is much better than frustration because you couldn't make 4 -5 footers to get up and down for par after missing greens.  Shooting bogey free rounds is rare, even somewhat rare for touring pros, so breaking 70 on a par 72 for most people is going to require 4-5 birdies minimum.  You are much more likely to break 70 by two putting for par a lot of times vs trying to get up and down for par, and, to make the 4-5 birdies, you need to have lots of chances.  This advice about proximity over GIR to me seems like a recipe to turn a 68 into a 72.

 

i think it really depends on your course. e.g. if you have very large and undulating or multi-tiered greens GIR is definitely not always better than proximity.

[Pepperturbo]

I've hit 68 & 69 ten or so times.  The only thing that was happening in those rounds that wasn't in other rounds was my clarity of mind.  I was as relaxed as I could get without falling asleep standing up.  Every hole seemed to fit my eye without concern.  Wasn't talking much to anyone.  Every one of my shot assessments came easy and easy to focus on while my body executed without issue.  I wasn't trying to make shots, no experimenting just executing shots, always in the fairway, and getting up and down when I missed a GIR.  Most important, I was hitting the ball solid and wasn't paying attention to score or counting birdies.  Many times I had no idea my score until walking off 18.  Friends that were with me said I made the game look incredibly easy, and it was on even par or better days.  The other day I was going for my age, missed it by a few and it was pretty easy too.

 

I especially like what @Obeesays there; saved this for last, but at the near-scratch level, developing and improving the mental game is probably the most important. Learning to control your emotions and your mind on the golf course is absolutely crucial to playing your best golf. There are thousands of golfers out there with the ability to compete at the regional/national amateur level that will never know how good they can be, because they refuse to conquer the inconsistent thinking and lack of a plan that leads to so many of their poor decisions, shots, and scores." 

Edited September 12, 2020 by Pepperturbo