When did you realize "I'm getting really good at golf..." I just recently had this thought

[b.mattay]

11 hours ago, Gsea said:

A +7 amateur wow. Never known/played with an am even close to a +7. Would love to watch someone that good that isn't a pro.

Maybe was his "home course handicap" where I got invited to play a match, but the guy was seriously impressive. He played professionally at one point and is going to make another run at it I think. 
 

One of my friends plays off a +5 too. Just a different level-seems to be adverse to bogeys. 

[b.mattay]

9 hours ago, cardoustie said:

+7 guy ... wow

 

outside of tour pro’s I have played with,  the best cap I played an event with was a +5.  I was the dog in the foursome as the other two were +3’s

I've been the worst in a foursome at +1 to +2 in a friendly weekend money game a few times. Makes you a better player! 

Edited February 20, 2021 by b.mattay

[Ferguson]

14 hours ago, Popeye64 said:

Over the past 4 years i have done a lot of time on a simulator. It has helped my game immensely. To completely dismiss it a useless is your own take. 

Its a great time to groove a new swing. Make better ball contact. Improve your short game. 

I do a ton of testing of shafts in the simulator and outdoors with a MEVO.  They both offer valuable information. 

There is a lot to be learned indoors when we have no other choice to make Golf swings. Would we rather be outdoors for the 5 plus months we lose each year due to weather... ABSOLUTELY. 

But we don't have a choice.. maybe you do. Or maybe you just take the winter off. 

I have seen positive changes in people's games while indoors. Moving it to the course or outdoors range is nothing more than making adjustments in the hitting surface  

 

If it helps your game immensely, why do you need to groove a new swing? 

 

Re: Valuable information, a lot to be learned and positive changes

This is very ambiguous - please state some detailed examples. 

 

 

 

I didn't completely dismiss it.  I simply stated screens are a selling device.   How many people get fitted on a screen and have remarkable results?  In my experience - few.   And that's not opinion - that's the consensus of the 20+ guys I interact with the club every week.  Our club's fitter works on the range and has been doing it for 20 years.  He recently told me he's refit at least 15 members after they were fit on the screen.  The screen provides a false sense of progress for golfers, IMO.  And I never take the winter off.  

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Ferguson

[Hawkeye77]

14 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

 

If it helps your game immensely, why do you need to groove a new swing? 

 

Re: Valuable information, a lot to be learned and positive changes

This is very ambiguous - please state some detailed examples. 

 

 

 

I didn't completely dismiss it.  I simply stated screens are a selling device.   How many people get fitted on a screen and have remarkable results?  In my experience - few.   And that's not opinion - that's the consensus of the 20+ guys I interact with the club every week.  Our club's fitter works on the range and has been doing it for 20 years.  He recently told me he's refit at least 15 members after they were fit on the screen.  The screen provides a false sense of progress for golfers, IMO.  And I never take the winter off.  

 

All a simulator ever did for my golf game was put my left elbow on a faster track for surgery.  We had a simulator league for a few years, it was like I remember bowling league when I was a kid.  I enjoyed the company, but the golf?  My league handicap for 9 holes was more than double my 18 hole index, lol (and no, nobody thought I was sandbagging).  I'd go to Palm Springs to visit the folks and it was a good two days before I could find the flawed, but semi-reliable golf swing I'd lost trying to swing at a screen off a mat over plywood (and pitching, chipping and putting were a farce).  Had a lot of fun, was something to do in the winter.  And the only unsuccessful iron fitting I ever had was indoors.  Some folks can adjust their swings and play well on them, more power to them.

[tthomasgolfer605]

Probably when I played in a mini tour event 20 years ago and was in the lead with 67. Then I backed it up with a solid 84.  😳"Much to learn, you still have," ~Yoda~

[Popeye64]

5 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

If it helps your game immensely, why do you need to groove a new swing? 

 

Re: Valuable information, a lot to be learned and positive changes

This is very ambiguous - please state some detailed examples. 

 

 

 

I didn't completely dismiss it.  I simply stated screens are a selling device.   How many people get fitted on a screen and have remarkable results?  In my experience - few.   And that's not opinion - that's the consensus of the 20+ guys I interact with the club every week.  Our club's fitter works on the range and has been doing it for 20 years.  He recently told me he's refit at least 15 members after they were fit on the screen.  The screen provides a false sense of progress for golfers, IMO.  And I never take the winter off.  

 

It has helped my game immensely was a separate sentence. Referring to being able to groove a new swing was in reference to someone working on their game. 

Using the simulators for MYSELF,, allows me to enter spring in mid season form. 

It has allowed me to dial in my short game being very precise with knowing shots under 60 yards. Half swings, three quarter swing. What will check and what runs out. 

It also has helped me with knowing full shot iron distances. 

These are things I could certainly Learn at an elite outdoor range or if I was out on a golf course by myself. But I use a simulator to make small changes or to dial myself in. It works for me. 

It has helped me shallow out my swing with unforgiving turf for a fat shot. Which is a big miss for myself.

It has helped me dial in driver combinations and understanding what shaft changes do or don't do. I struggle with too much spin.

Its simply a tool that works for me. 

I know what it has done for my own game. I have also seen it help other golfers. 

I do not fit golfers in a Sim, it's all outdoors when I do. But thats on a MEVO that will show spin number changes. As well as visually seeing the ball fly from real turf.  Again... just a tool I use. 

 

 

[tigerfan23]

last year. 

 

After 12 years of taking golf seriously.   Usually a few over par 2-6 HC last few years but strung a few rounds together then fired a 68 at my home course ending in double bogey, bogey. 

 

I'm as good as I'll ever be as a father, business owner with a few business interests who rarlely practices and drinks on the course. 

If I make putts I can be around par.  If I struggle I shoot 79-81.  I feel like I can golf with anyone and not embarrass myself which is all i can ask for.

 

 

[mantan]

Whoa!  Talk about tempting the golf gods.  I hope it all works out, but how many times have each of us had range sessions where we said 'I got it'....only to find to not have it carry over to an actual round.  Especially if the range session was off a mat after working on a simulator all winter.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by mantan

[PowderedToastMan]

I used to get depressed when I had those moments where I believed I was good. I had a few course records under my belt but knew I’d never even get a shot at playing professional golf because I didn’t have the health, support or the money. It was a tough pill to swallow for me at the time. Now I’m older and wiser and know that even if everything lined up perfectly, probably the best I could have done is a couple good finishes on the MacKenzie tour. I don’t have the intangibles to do any better than that. 
 

For the record, I’m “that guy” you play with who you’ve never seen before, get paired with at a crappy muni course, shoots in the 60’s, never see again. 

[knockdstiff]

IMO it's better to keep your own head clear of stuff like that. Thoughts like that lead to expectations which lead to disappointment via overemphasis on certain results instead of process. But you will notice it when other people start saying stuff, and then it is OK to feel good but for ONE minute only.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

On 2/17/2021 at 6:19 PM, Bubbleshaft8337 said:

So I have dedicated my winter up here in upstate NY to improving my golf game. It just got me the other day when I was at the range. I'm getting really really good for the time I've put into this. I went to a simulator recently, this last Saturday actually. I scored a 79. I had 12 green in regulations, 3 birdies, and it seemed like alot of pars. I got a couple bogeys also. I went to the range this morning before work, and didn't mishit one single ball. Low small fade/draw, high fade/draw, and the famous stinger are now in the bag...

 

I'm now playing mizuno jpx 900 tour irons, and realizing how beautiful these things are. I know what they are built for, and I can feel like I can use them to their full potential.

 

I'm not here to brag, I'm sorry if that seems the case! But I wanna ask low handicap, and scratch golfers when did you realize "holy s***, I'm getting good... Really good..."

 

I would love to know if you were shocked like me, or super excited?

Let me know please!!!!

 

My only time shooting close to par, my subconscious reacted “Holy s***...” followed quickly with “you lucky bast***”, then with  “you loser, 6 birdies and no par” LOL.

 

I have had yet to come close in the years following. Golf can be highly elevating, but at the same time sobering.

 

Great job on 79! Cheers!

[naval2006]

I thought about it like 30 years ago when I was a kid on my way to a low single digit. Went to a tough short links type course I hadn’t played before and shot 100. Learned my lesson. 

[straightshot7]

It wasn't on a range or a simulator.

 

And as another poster said above, play with guys that are better than you. Go to a PGA Tour event and you'll realize you're not that good (yet--hopefully).

 

Simulator/range is a walk in the park for any good player. 

 

Performing under pressure and shooting under par consistently --- those are different animals. 

[Obee]

On 2/18/2021 at 8:52 AM, GoTime said:

 

 

If you get good enough, only then will realize how trash you actually are at golf. Once I got to scratch I really began to understand how dogsh*t I really was, and still am.

 

Yeah, for anyone not in the top 100 in the world, I think everyone thinks they suck compared to "those guys" -- and then there's even levels there. I "suck" compared to the nationally competitive master and senior elite ams I play with -- at least consistency-wise. And I certainly "suck" compared to them in terms of distance. But that kind of attitude certainly does not help one compete (if that's one's goal).

 

I knew I was "good(ish) at golf" when I started having rounds with a lot of birdies (for an amateur) on an easy golf course (6,560, 72.0/132) back about 4 to 5 years after I took up golf in 1987. I averaged ~4 birdies a round and would sometimes make 6 or 7. I made 10 birdies one day (my personal best to this day) and shot 7-under 65. A week or so later, I shot 6-under, 30 for 9 holes on a different 6500 yard course (followed that up with a crappy 40 on the back nine) and it was honestly at that point that I thought "Wow, I'm not bad at this game."

 

And then ... I began my long, long journey to become a better tournament player. And boy was that a journey ....

 

Bottom line: I simultaneously knew I was "good at golf" and also knew that I could be so, so, so much better -- in so many ways. 

 

If all that makes sense.... 🙂

[Doucer]

I am a 13 handicap. I shot a 62 this winter in the sim. Once you figure those things out it's not too hard to score well if you have a decent swing. I guess I would say don't rely on sim results to gauge how well you are doing. 

 

I took a few lessons from a guy once in Toronto. He was a regular on the mini-tours. I played a practice round and he shot 6 under at Glen Abbey. I have never seen anyone ever hit a golf ball like this guy. 

 

He quit the mini-tours shortly after. When I saw him I was surprised he quit. I asked him why because I thought he was a sure bet for the tour. He simply said "Not good enough".

 

That really put things into perspective for me about how tough it is to become a professional.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Doucer

[hoselpalooza]

On 2/17/2021 at 8:30 PM, LeftDaddy said:

Every time I let that thought cross my mind, golf reaches out and punishes me instantly.
 

It’s actually kind of funny. All the mental stuff says you should play with confidence, etc. But I kid you not, if I start to get even the least bit confident on the course, it’s like the golf gods reach out and smack me in the face and say “come on, man, you know better than this!”  

 

came here to say basically the same thing! 🤣

 

instead, i try to tell myself and those around me how terrible i am at golf or a certain type of shot or whatever. i'm probably going to jinx it now but it seems like more often than not, being self-deprecating is much, much better for my game!

[EddieEdwards]

I had 3 rounds in a row in the low 70s led by a 70 and another that might have been if not for rain.  I thought I might be closing in on scratch.  Then I went out and shot 3 straight 87s.

[Guy In Lyon]

When did you realize "I'm getting really good at golf..."

 

Sorry, but I just saw this thread title.

I couldn't post for a few minutes as I was laughing so hard.

I'm just lucky I wasn't drinking anything at the time 'cause the spit take would have annoyed my wife and ruined my laptop.

[TLUBulldogGolf]

When I started breaking par and not feeling like it was a fluke or wasn't immediately brought back to reality the next day. Also when I started to genuinely feel like I had control over where the ball was going. 

[thejazzmarauder]

When I was 4-under at the turn @ Chamber’s Bay.

[milesgiles]

the trouble is, we all 'expect' to hit good shots. We know we can, weve done it before, we do it all the time on the range..

 

we 'expect' to hit the fairway and then knock it on the green. Maybe take an extra shot to get there if we are older. Thats what 'should' happen. Dont have to be sexy shots, just competence.

 

So when we muck it up, we cant believe it. Where did that shot come from?

 

the good shots go unnoticed, unremarked, the bad ones convince you youre no good, really. Apart from maybe twice a year when the golf gods deem you have suffered enough