Managing expectations.....

[physasst]

So, I wanted to ask the general golf world here to help me out. A little about me, I'm 49, soon to be 50, and have been playing golf since I was 14. Started with blades/perssimon. Played in high school, although tennis was my real love, and was simply okay at golf...

 

The last couple of years, I've decided to take my golf game seriously, after developing really bad habits since my last coaching back in my early 20's. I've always played a "power fade", and when I was younger could reliably hit a 10-15 yard fade almost on cue. Fast forward 25 years, and my cap had risen to a 22, I was struggling with fat and right shots..blocks and my fade had turned into a 30+ yard slice. So, last year, started working with a coach again. Lots of lessons, range time 3+ days/week, 1-2 rounds per week. Got my transition to the left side better (I had a bad habit of rotating but staying back on the right side). Now instead of multiple fat shots per round, there are only occasional, roughly 3-5 per round....BUT, and here's the rub, always at the worst time. Saturday, 341 yard Par 4. Striped a drive (straight for once-more on that in a second)...only had 66 yards left to the middle pin. I'm salivating.....Doh....fat 1/2 swing 54* wedge....lands short of green. Managed to get up and down for par...but I seem to collapse that right side, I can feel my right shoulder DROP when I put pressure on my game....It's like clockwork. Sigh...

 

Now, onto driving. I used to have a predictable miss. It was a big miss to the right, but it was predictable. NOW, after 2 years of lessons....driving and really any tee shot is essentially Pandora's box, because I have now developed a 2 way miss off the tee. Yippee!!!  Now, except for the occasional fat shot, my ball striking has improved dramatically, at least ball contact.  My handicap has decreased from 19.8 at the start of the season to a 13.2 currently.  I used to feel a bad round was in the low 100s.  I have not had a round that bad in a long time now.  Now, a bad round for me is a 93/94.  Yet, I almost feel more frustrated than ever.  I feel like I am so close and my expectations are changing. I've tasted a couple of rounds in the low 80's and one this season (78) in the 70's. 

 

I still continue to struggle tee to green.  My chipping is excellent and my golf buddy's have oft stated that my chipping is consistent with a low single digit player, and my putting is pretty decent. I rarely 3 putt.  I'm not lights out, but not bad either.  My problem is getting to the damn green.  It seems like I am always scrambling to get on the green in 3, 4, or even 5 shots.  My tee shots are often putting me in trouble (regardless of club) and I am often left with 12-15 footers to save bogey.   Obviously, this leaves me with multiple double bogeys per round.  It's funny, because people often say that short game is what you need to focus on to improve your scores, however, that really is not my problem.  My distance control is good, my ball striking at least contact on the face is good, but accuracy and that occasional fat shot when my game is under pressure are killing me.  On Trackman, my Club path is essentially neutral.   This has been verified multiple times.  My problem seems to be face control, and I often have a neutral path with an open face.  I am working on this. It used to be if I got one par per round I was happy. Now, I am getting on average 3-6 pars per round, but less happy than ever. 

 

I would like to get down to a single digit handicap next year.  Is this even remotely reasonable?  Are my expectations completely out of line?  Would be reasonable to expect to go from a 13.2 to an 8 by the end of the season next year?  Or am I setting myself up to be disappointed.  Thoughts?

[sheppy335]

You need to get help from a teaching Pro then work on what they are telling you. It will take hard work but if you already know where you are loosing shots that is half the battle. Please dont forget the areas that work, keep them sharp also. 

IT will be practice and more practice, this is the same things my daughter is going through. She is having Iron issues and chipping, she will be working on them this winter to make them better. 

[llewol007]

I am super proud of myself to have read through your entire post. 

[Pepperturbo]

You need to practice a lot more than you are, and find a good teacher to work on your Driver.  Get that under control and maybe you'll see progress in the single-digit direction.  However, I wouldn't concern myself with expectations as much as what's needed to straighten out your driver/woods and irons.

[naval2006]

It sounds like you need to work on your full swing to make it at least reliable through the round. You improve your swing and start hitting good shots from the tee or the fairway and your confidence will have a boost. That way you’ll be into single digit territory soon. Good luck. 

[me05501]

Every single pro and scratch golfer will tell you to try to play one shot at a time. You can't redo the last one and you can't play the rest of them all at once, so it is rational to play them one at a time. 

 

Most of us don't have the mental discipline to let the bad shots go and stop projecting our score forward, but to the extent possible, it's about playing only the shot that is in front of you right this moment.

 

One idea is to not let the conversation in your cart or foursome devolve into dissecting your round or anyone else's. It's really tough because after all, playing golf and making a score is the whole reason you have convened in this place at this time. Trust that no one will ever care 1/100th as much about your score, swing, clubs, etc. so talking through those things only makes us seem boring and one-dimensional. Better to talk about anything else, then trust your routine to get you ready for the next shot.  

Edited October 20, 2020 by me05501

[golfarb1]

To close the clubface

1. Take a “slightly stronger “left hand grip- right hand will also adjust on the grip , but it is the left hand that will be more dominant in clubface control.

2. The most common position in the swing to “incorrectly “open the clubface is by the time that the shaft reaches “first parallel” in the takeaway. At this point , when your spine is bent towards the ball, your goal is to get the  clubface @parallel to your bent spine” . The clubface  will appear to be slightly closed to the target line from a DTL video at this point .

To accomplish this , you must maintain the triangle of your arms INTACT to this point in the swing  with absolutely “NO” rotation of your forearms. The forearms will eventually rotate the clubface open , but not up until this point of the backswing.Another way of envisioning this is to borrow from your racquet days. Take a badminton racquet and tape an extended golf grip to the grip end of the racquet . Now use this extended racquet to monitor the position of the clubface at first parallel.

 

To become more in control off of the tee, learn to become more defensive off the tee. This translates into two changes

1.Your swing off of the tee should be shorter ,possibly only to 9:00 or 10:00 . Given that the longer the swing the more likely the errors, many golfers will find little loss of distance and   better probability of contacting the ball in the sweet spot with this shorter swing.

2.Avoid trouble like the plague. If there is obvious trouble off of the tee, AIM AWAY from IT.

This trouble can also be be psychological . If you have consistently have had trouble on a specific hole even though the trouble was not obvious , aim to a different spot off of the tee. 

This concept can also apply to par3 holes. Remember that pros have  less than a 50% of hitting the green on a 200 yard par 3. Be realistic about your probabilities and adjust your aim to MINIMIZE  your score not MAXIMIZE the compliments from your fellow players.

 

 

TO AVOID HITTING FAT SHOTS

This is all about low point control. Every swing has its low point. With wedges this low point is considerably in front of the ball.To have your low point in front of the ball, the golfer is first going to have contact the ball and then take a divot . It is much easier to do so when there is little lateral movement  . 

To train yourself , use a piece of plastic loose leaf divider and place it slightly behind the ball. Make sure to hit the ball first while avoiding the plastic divider

 

[chipa]

@physasst

 

I have a problem dropping the right side too. I believe I have narrowed it down to my backswing not having enough width so to combat that I make sure I reach farther back with my left hand and arm on the takeaway. This will require a more dominant left hand takeaway, maybe it's no longer the way to do it but I've noticed a lot of big hitters do(or did) it, including Hogan.

[chipa]

1 hour ago, NotThatGuyorAmI? said:

I say the same thing so often I sound like a jerk even to myself...but...

 

I know a lot of people, like you, who started young and scored pretty good, but have swings which are idiosyncratic, which is to say, faulty at their core.  They all play “power fades.”   My dad played like that.

 

I am not an expert golfer, but I have eyes to see and a mind to register and process what I see.  And what I see is a whole lot of people with faulty “pivots” (there really is no actual pivot or rotation around any fixed point) in which they move the left side of their body towards the ball (which they think of as rotating around their right hip as a pivot), then move left and try to “clear their hips” except it cannot be done so they “come out of it” aka lift up and hit thin or fat (where you probably are now) or just came over the top (where you probably used to be).

 

There really do appear to be core movements of the hips and torso that are at the heart of a good golf swing.  You can see them in motion capture videos on the internet by people like AMG.  Or just go with Greg Norman’s swing thought: right pocket back.

 

 

 

 

It may appear that there is some essential hip move that makes the swing work but the reality pros have a wide variety of hip actions. Furthermore when they swing easy  they move their lower body much less but if as person with an over the top move tries that the clubface would be wide open. Also taking into account the ability of good golfers to swing kneeling or sitting down with very little hip action and it becomes clear that good players ability to square the clubface is a product of something other than the hips. It is actually good hand and arm mechanics that make it so easy to square the clubface.

 

I recommend watching John Daly's mechanics in slow motion with short swing and full swings. He starts the swing by turning the left hand over immediately and getting the clubshaft pointing back early. This enables the right arm to bend correctly and stay in front of the chest while the right hand maintains good control of the club. With practice the the left shoulder turn and adduction will start to feel more natural and the release of the club feels very natural and easy.

Edited October 20, 2020 by chipa

[RichieHunt]

I think it's very possible.  A friend of mine was kinda in your situation and really worked at his game for a year and achieved the goals you have. Of course, it depends on the person, but I believe you can do this.

 

Here's what I recommend if you're serious:

 

1.  Find a good quality instructor.  You may want to take 1 lesson per month to start off with. After 3 months, then move it to once every 2-3 months.   

 

2.  Get a decent tripod and Joby iphone holder.  Find an instructor that will show you how to film yourself.  Check a few swings out 1x per week to make sure you're doing what the instructor is telling you.

 

3.  Either check out my work (shameless plug) or Scott Fawcett's DECADE work as far as strategy goes.  What I've found working with amateurs and pros is that not only can their strategy be poor and cause them to shoot worse scores, but their poor strategy can cause them to lose confidence when they are actually swinging and playing better than their scores indicate.

 

4.  As your swing progresses, I would look at getting fit for a driver.  The higher the hcp the more important driving becomes to significantly and permanently lower than hcp.  Therefore, if you want to get drop this many strokes in 1 year, getting a properly fitted driver is important (do not get fit indoor hitting into a net).

 

5.  Work on your driving (most important), long approach shots, bunker play and putting from 3-15 feet as your top priorities.  These are were higher hcp's lose the most shots.  And schedule your practice around these as your top priorities.

 

6.  Try to consistently get some sort of practice in.  Even if it's 10 minutes in your bedroom working on some drills without a club.  Getting some sort of practice in each day, even if just for 5-10 minutes, will develop your skills more quickly than hitting balls for 2-3 hours once per week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[acekun]

19 hours ago, physasst said:

I would like to get down to a single digit handicap next year.  Is this even remotely reasonable?  Are my expectations completely out of line?  Would be reasonable to expect to go from a 13.2 to an 8 by the end of the season next year?  Or am I setting myself up to be disappointed.  Thoughts?

Yes, it's remotely reasonable. Yes, maybe you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

The question is why are you asking others if it's ok to set these goals for yourself? Decide what you want to accomplish and then work like crazy to get there. It's one thing to ask people how to get there, it's entirely different to ask if it's ok to get there.  Don't limit yourself and don't allow others to do it, either. 

[mikpga]

"My chipping is excellent" and "my putting is decent" are two statements that concern me for someone who wants to become single digit...

[CasualLie]

2 hours ago, RichieHunt said:

I think it's very possible.  A friend of mine was kinda in your situation and really worked at his game for a year and achieved the goals you have. Of course, it depends on the person, but I believe you can do this.

 

Here's what I recommend if you're serious:

 

1.  Find a good quality instructor.  You may want to take 1 lesson per month to start off with. After 3 months, then move it to once every 2-3 months.   

 

2.  Get a decent tripod and Joby iphone holder.  Find an instructor that will show you how to film yourself.  Check a few swings out 1x per week to make sure you're doing what the instructor is telling you.

 

3.  Either check out my work (shameless plug) or Scott Fawcett's DECADE work as far as strategy goes.  What I've found working with amateurs and pros is that not only can their strategy be poor and cause them to shoot worse scores, but their poor strategy can cause them to lose confidence when they are actually swinging and playing better than their scores indicate.

 

4.  As your swing progresses, I would look at getting fit for a driver.  The higher the hcp the more important driving becomes to significantly and permanently lower than hcp.  Therefore, if you want to get drop this many strokes in 1 year, getting a properly fitted driver is important (do not get fit indoor hitting into a net).

 

5.  Work on your driving (most important), long approach shots, bunker play and putting from 3-15 feet as your top priorities.  These are were higher hcp's lose the most shots.  And schedule your practice around these as your top priorities.

 

6.  Try to consistently get some sort of practice in.  Even if it's 10 minutes in your bedroom working on some drills without a club.  Getting some sort of practice in each day, even if just for 5-10 minutes, will develop your skills more quickly than hitting balls for 2-3 hours once per week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH

 

As someone who has been on a similar journey in the middle part; i.e. got worse before getting better (but I didn't play as a kid and I never got so bad as to get above 15 index once I started tracking)...RH's advice is pretty spot on.

 

You have to have another pair of eyes and if you cannot trust someone in your area, then go with an online instructor, but you have to get the routine of recording swings.  This was actually one of the biggest inconveniences for me - but finally threw a small tripod in the bag, not handheld, but that gets to waist height, and with iphone started recording swings.  This works best when you are doing drills.  Sure, full swing recording is ok, but recording drills is where it is at.

 

I don't know DECADE, sounds interesting, but yes, strategy is important if you want to get to single digit.

 

#4, key part, as swing progresses.  You need to develop a pattern in your swing that you trust (most of the time) before you get fit.  But getting fit for Driver is $150 well spent.  I chased the wrong driver idea for three years with lighter weight shafts until getting a real fitting and ended up with a shaft so far from what I thought was right, and now it is a weapon.

 

I generally believe, practice at home in the mirror, use lots of drills at the range, and play more.  If you are buying the large bucket and hitting rapid fire, you are wasting your time.  The range is for lots of rehearsals, lots of drills, few full on swings.  The mirror vision app is great at home.  Slow practice at home.  Really pay attention to how it feels.  You would be surprised how a correct move at home has a feel that you do not experience at the range or the course and without concentrated effort, this feel will leave you on the course in a hurry.  So lots of focus at home, replicate feel at range, then trust it at course.

 

Stretch.  Lots of older golfers think they are getting a full backswing, but their rotation is terrible, instead they are compensating with wild arm movements which are inconsistent and death.

 

Good luck!  Getting to single digits is not too hard.  Do the above, you will get to 8/9 no problem.  Getting to 4...that's tough.

[physasst]

4 hours ago, mikpga said:

"My chipping is excellent" and "my putting is decent" are two statements that concern me for someone who wants to become single digit...

Well, I can only speak to my experience. For example, here's a recent round; Shot 89. 

1. Par 4- narrow but straight. Driver right, past trouble at least, hit approach long into some trees, no direct chip at the green so chip out, then on to the green for the fourth, 2 putt from there from 8 feet for double.

2. Par 5-long and to the left. Driver pulled left. Now blocked in the woods. Try to hit an 8 iron just to get back to the short grass...wait for it....A flyer....165 yard 8 iron....where on earth did that come from? Now blocked out from the trees on the right (Zig Zag), no shot at green, chip back to fairway for third, 115 left, hit wedge to 12 feet, 2 putt bogey.

3. Par 3- long, but straight. Hit green, but long up hill putt. lag putt a little shorter than I'd like. 3 putt bogey.

4. Par 4-dogleg right...Hit driver straight up and right. NOW, in the woods, no shot at green, chip out to fairway, pull 9 iron approach into trap. Hit a nice spinner out of trap, on the green in 4, 2 putt double.

5. Par 4-dogleg left....crush driver (seriously? where did that come from?) hit through fairway into woods at the turn. Hit choked down 3w punch under the trees and let it run to 20 yards short of green. Chip on to 6 feet. Lipped out par, bogey.

6. Par 3- Middleish length. Hit green to 15 feet. Miss birdie, but make par putt. FINALLY, a par...

7. Par 4-wide and straight. I'm hercules and want to crush another drive. Unforunately, it goes WIDE right and now I'm behind a willow tree. Now I'm pissed and decide to hit over the tree (bad deadpool) and because I am getting cute, I mishit it and shank it down along the trees on the right edge. Now I am pin high, but in the woods...decide to hit a low punch....catches in grass and doesn't make it. Chip on over bunker to 8 feet. FAST putt, miss, but make 5 footer coming back for double. 

8. Par 5- Long with sharp dogleg left. Hit driver..same as hole 4, straight up and right. Goes about 80 yards. Now, despite having a PhD, I'm not always very smart, decide to compound my initial error by trying to cut the corner with 3W, barely get to other side, but I'm in the trees again (I should have a forestry degree by now). Hit a low punch out for the third...HEY-fairway. Hit a gentle 8 iron, but there's that occasional fat shot. Still have 110 left. GW on, 2 putt for double. 

9. Par 3- LONG....hit a 5 iron, slight pull, pin high, chip on to 9 feet, 2 putt bogey. 

After 9 holes I am now 47 going out.....

10. Par 4-LONG straight. Best drive of the day, pipe one and get an unlucky roll into left rough. Excited....Hit 6 iron-open face-wide right. Now I'm hitting my third 35 yards right of the green of an embankment with the ball 3 feet above my feet. Somehow make contact and pull it landing on front fringe. Chip on, 2 putt double. 

11. Par 5-Middle with sharp dogleg left. crush driver (seriously? where did that come from?) hit through fairway into woods (and almost someones back yard) at the turn. Hit choked down 3w punch under the trees and let it run...still 150 out. Hit soft 7 iron-too soft between clubs. Hit chip over small shrubs and land exactly where I want on fringe...fast green and nothing to stop it....rolls across. 2 putt bogey. 

12. Par 4-very narrow-I'll be smart-hit hybrid.....all I can see is trouble with driver...hit it into electrical box to right of tee box. Much laughter is had by all. Okay, relief from man made impediment, just hit 5 iron to get into play. Hit green on 3rd, 25 foot putt, 2 putt bogey. 

13. Par 4, straight ahead....crush drive-referenced this hole in my OP. made par.

14. Par 4 (NEMESIS HOLE)...long par 4, sharp dogleg left. Crush driver again....through fairway into rough, behind a 3 foot little mini pine....seriously? Only tree within 100 yards....Really? Hit 4 iron...still 195 out. Hit it short and right...Oh good...more trees. Hit punch shot onto green, wait...stop, STOP. f****** STOP!!!! rolls off. Chip back on to 4 feet, make putt for bogey. 

15. Par 3 middle length...Hit decent iron, but push it again (Oh hi 2 way miss, I've missed you), Chip on, 2 putt bogey. 

16. Par 4..dogleg right. Hit 3W and nail a good drive...wow...what is this short grass thing? I like it....hit nice 123 yard wedge. 18 feet. 2 putt par.....another par...

17. Par 3...middle length....Hit it on green to 10 feet. Lip out birdie putt, tap in par. 

18. Par 4...LONG par 4. Hey, I'm awesome and just made 2 pars in a row...confident and I want to crush another drive. Unforunately, it goes WIDE right...hmmm. That's not good. Try to get cute, still 190 out, hit 3 H with a low cut punch draw to get around the tree in front of me...I'm awesome...right? Well..no, got around the tree but was really more of a duck hook into the left rough. Still 140 out....Hit 9 iron to 15 feet.....2 putt bogey.

In in 42. 

 

So what can I learn from that round. I only had one 3 putt. I hit exactly 2 fairways, had 4 GIR, and somehow scrambled to make 4 pars. 

 

My tee shots continued to put me in trouble on almost every hole. 

 

Sigh....

[acekun]

5 hours ago, physasst said:

So what can I learn from that round. I only had one 3 putt. I hit exactly 2 fairways, had 4 GIR, and somehow scrambled to make 4 pars. 

 

My tee shots continued to put me in trouble on almost every hole. 

 

Tee shots definitely seem to be an issue. But if this is a typical round from short game perspective, there's a lot of room for improvement. You had 36 putts -- that's a lot, especially when you only have 4 GIRs. I saw 1 one-putt. So you went 1 of 14 on up-and-downs (regardless if you were trying to save par or bogey)

[physasst]

1 hour ago, acekun said:

Tee shots definitely seem to be an issue. But if this is a typical round from short game perspective, there's a lot of room for improvement. You had 36 putts -- that's a lot, especially when you only have 4 GIRs. I saw 1 one-putt. So you went 1 of 14 on up-and-downs (regardless if you were trying to save par or bogey)

Definitely, I didn’t want to make it sound like I’m an awesome putter, just that I think tee to green is a bigger issue. 

[Divot License]

10 hours ago, acekun said:

Tee shots definitely seem to be an issue. But if this is a typical round from short game perspective, there's a lot of room for improvement. You had 36 putts -- that's a lot, especially when you only have 4 GIRs. I saw 1 one-putt. So you went 1 of 14 on up-and-downs (regardless if you were trying to save par or bogey)

I agre with Acekun, if you can convert half of those missed greens in up and downs that's 7 shots improved. Your 89 becomes a 82 without any major swing changes. Then sort the driving out, gives you more chance of GIR, which is more birdie putt chances. 

[mikpga]

19 hours ago, physasst said:

Well, I can only speak to my experience. For example, here's a recent round; Shot 89. 

1. Par 4- narrow but straight. Driver right, past trouble at least, hit approach long into some trees, no direct chip at the green so chip out, then on to the green for the fourth, 2 putt from there from 8 feet for double.

2. Par 5-long and to the left. Driver pulled left. Now blocked in the woods. Try to hit an 8 iron just to get back to the short grass...wait for it....A flyer....165 yard 8 iron....where on earth did that come from? Now blocked out from the trees on the right (Zig Zag), no shot at green, chip back to fairway for third, 115 left, hit wedge to 12 feet, 2 putt bogey.

3. Par 3- long, but straight. Hit green, but long up hill putt. lag putt a little shorter than I'd like. 3 putt bogey.

4. Par 4-dogleg right...Hit driver straight up and right. NOW, in the woods, no shot at green, chip out to fairway, pull 9 iron approach into trap. Hit a nice spinner out of trap, on the green in 4, 2 putt double.

5. Par 4-dogleg left....crush driver (seriously? where did that come from?) hit through fairway into woods at the turn. Hit choked down 3w punch under the trees and let it run to 20 yards short of green. Chip on to 6 feet. Lipped out par, bogey.

6. Par 3- Middleish length. Hit green to 15 feet. Miss birdie, but make par putt. FINALLY, a par...

7. Par 4-wide and straight. I'm hercules and want to crush another drive. Unforunately, it goes WIDE right and now I'm behind a willow tree. Now I'm pissed and decide to hit over the tree (bad deadpool) and because I am getting cute, I mishit it and shank it down along the trees on the right edge. Now I am pin high, but in the woods...decide to hit a low punch....catches in grass and doesn't make it. Chip on over bunker to 8 feet. FAST putt, miss, but make 5 footer coming back for double. 

8. Par 5- Long with sharp dogleg left. Hit driver..same as hole 4, straight up and right. Goes about 80 yards. Now, despite having a PhD, I'm not always very smart, decide to compound my initial error by trying to cut the corner with 3W, barely get to other side, but I'm in the trees again (I should have a forestry degree by now). Hit a low punch out for the third...HEY-fairway. Hit a gentle 8 iron, but there's that occasional fat shot. Still have 110 left. GW on, 2 putt for double. 

9. Par 3- LONG....hit a 5 iron, slight pull, pin high, chip on to 9 feet, 2 putt bogey. 

After 9 holes I am now 47 going out.....

10. Par 4-LONG straight. Best drive of the day, pipe one and get an unlucky roll into left rough. Excited....Hit 6 iron-open face-wide right. Now I'm hitting my third 35 yards right of the green of an embankment with the ball 3 feet above my feet. Somehow make contact and pull it landing on front fringe. Chip on, 2 putt double. 

11. Par 5-Middle with sharp dogleg left. crush driver (seriously? where did that come from?) hit through fairway into woods (and almost someones back yard) at the turn. Hit choked down 3w punch under the trees and let it run...still 150 out. Hit soft 7 iron-too soft between clubs. Hit chip over small shrubs and land exactly where I want on fringe...fast green and nothing to stop it....rolls across. 2 putt bogey. 

12. Par 4-very narrow-I'll be smart-hit hybrid.....all I can see is trouble with driver...hit it into electrical box to right of tee box. Much laughter is had by all. Okay, relief from man made impediment, just hit 5 iron to get into play. Hit green on 3rd, 25 foot putt, 2 putt bogey. 

13. Par 4, straight ahead....crush drive-referenced this hole in my OP. made par.

14. Par 4 (NEMESIS HOLE)...long par 4, sharp dogleg left. Crush driver again....through fairway into rough, behind a 3 foot little mini pine....seriously? Only tree within 100 yards....Really? Hit 4 iron...still 195 out. Hit it short and right...Oh good...more trees. Hit punch shot onto green, wait...stop, STOP. f****** STOP!!!! rolls off. Chip back on to 4 feet, make putt for bogey. 

15. Par 3 middle length...Hit decent iron, but push it again (Oh hi 2 way miss, I've missed you), Chip on, 2 putt bogey. 

16. Par 4..dogleg right. Hit 3W and nail a good drive...wow...what is this short grass thing? I like it....hit nice 123 yard wedge. 18 feet. 2 putt par.....another par...

17. Par 3...middle length....Hit it on green to 10 feet. Lip out birdie putt, tap in par. 

18. Par 4...LONG par 4. Hey, I'm awesome and just made 2 pars in a row...confident and I want to crush another drive. Unforunately, it goes WIDE right...hmmm. That's not good. Try to get cute, still 190 out, hit 3 H with a low cut punch draw to get around the tree in front of me...I'm awesome...right? Well..no, got around the tree but was really more of a duck hook into the left rough. Still 140 out....Hit 9 iron to 15 feet.....2 putt bogey.

In in 42. 

 

So what can I learn from that round. I only had one 3 putt. I hit exactly 2 fairways, had 4 GIR, and somehow scrambled to make 4 pars. 

 

My tee shots continued to put me in trouble on almost every hole. 

 

Sigh....

There is a lot to digest!

 

Minimizing total putts could potentially get you down to mid/low 80's, but would also involve chipping/pitching ball closer to hole.  Course management could also save you a few strokes as well, despite your bad driving...

[mikpga]

Remember you can hit ZERO greens, get up and down 50% of the time and fire a wonderful low 80...

[Lobby]

Don't forget the physical fitness aspect of golf.   Particularly as we age (I wish I was 50 again), we start losing muscle mass and flexibility.
 

Find a golf calisthenics program on the internet and do it.   It will make a difference.    Strong legs are important, too