What did it take to become consistently better....for you < 10 handicappers....

5,117 Views | 91 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by jj9000
ORAggieFan
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My first thought when I read that is pull the 3H and just try and get on green, ignore the pin. If I'm reading it correctly the pin placement near the bunker was the challenge here.
HouAggie
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AG
Yes, he should have gone for it.
agracer
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quote:
Let's look at how this conversation started from Agracer. From your readings/logic, Agracer should have gone for it with 3H. Instead he scaled it back with a 5 iron only to get in trouble...then proceeded to miss the partial wedge shot. If he'd hit a poor shot with 3H, he would have been in a deeper trouble, My simple question was...for this scenario, would have have been better off laying back to 100? Obviously the counter point is he could have gotten in trouble with Wedge Wedge 100 yard shots..but probability says less likely than 5 iron or 3H.
Going for the green was not the answer, not at all. To get close, I would have had to carry a bunker, land the ball softly (on greens that were rolling very fast) and stop it which was not going to happen. To carry the bunker I would have had to hit a perfect 3H and it would have most likely rolled off the back of the green. I could have hit it left of the pin away from the bunker, and still rolled it on the green (instead of carrying all the way to the green), but then I'd have a 30-40 foot putt. I am HORRIBLE with putts over 20 feet..just horrible. Inside 15 feet, I can usually get it close,but when it gets longer my feel just sucksI'm either 10-feet short or I roll it 15 feet past. Not to mention hitting my 3H into a very narrow window in both cases. Remember the course management part everyone talked about early on. I learned a long time ago to play with in yourself. Don't try to make impossible shots that has a 1 in 20 chance of success or at least limit them as much as possible. Carrying a bunker with my 3H and stopping it on a hard/rolling green was a very low percentage shot for me. So was hitting it perfectly along the left side and rolling it on the green.

And hitting to 100 would have still kept the bunker in front of the pin. Hitting it to 25-30 gave me a shot at the pin and kept bunker right of the pin leaving me a generous
landing area.
Elmo Lincoln
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I've got two thoughts - one is easy, one is hard.

Easy: If you're trying to go from a 15 to <10, I'm guessing you already make decent contact and have a somewhat predictable ball flight (i.e. draw, fade, high, low, etc). That puts you ahead of the 25+ guys that skull, top, pull slice, etc. dozens of balls each round. So, you have a idea about your game. Know your miss. If you tend to pull hook your driver and you have a dog leg right with OB left, consider clubbing down until you're relatively confident you'll have a manageable 2nd shot. If you suck with a 30 yard flop shot, hit a bump and run. This is easy and can be done immediately and will reduce your blow-ups tremendously. Most 15+'s I know practice very little course/game management, if at all.

Hard: Be honest with yourself and identify the part of your game that needs the most work. Then work on it. A lot. Some 15's I know hit their drives like <5's, but chip & putt like blind monkeys. They need to practice chipping & putting. Obvious. Some are fair putters, but struggle to have manageable par putts. They need to work on tee-to-green. (side note - I'm not sure I've ever seen someone who is lights out from 50 and in, but sucks off the tee). It takes a lot of practice and seems pretty obvious, but if you can turn a weakness into a strength, you'll shed strokes like crazy.

TL;DR:

Easy & Quick: Know your miss and keep the ball in play.
Hard & Long (TWSS): Truly figure out your weakness and work on it until it's an asset.
BigHitterDaLama
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Went from an 18 to 5.9 in just over two years. Took getting lessons and developing a consistent swing and understanding my misses with the driver. I spend most of my time now on putting and short game. Eliminate OBs, hazard penalties, 3 putts or more......that's a strong start. GIR are so important but if you 3 putt em all, you have a 90.
dbtexasag05
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I am going to sound like a broken record because I say this all the time on here.

If you want to get better you need to play for money and play with people who are better than you. Golf really is a game in which you may be the best ball striker, the best putter, and the best guy off the tee. But the guy who hits it all over the golf course and finds a way to shoot even can still beat you.

Over the last 5 years of my life (32 now) I went from a 2-4 handicap to playing between a plus 1 and a plus 2. I don't practice anymore than I ever did. I just got tired of losing money. Mentally I had to learn how to score. I watch guys like Proud and the group I play with beat the pants off of me and weren't near the player I was (or thought I was) because they could score from anywhere. Par has to make you ANGRY on short holes. Eagles have to be what you expect on reachable par 5s. You have to know that you can shoot 72 and be mad when you do because you know you left shots on the golf course.

I imagine a lot of you are salespeople. How pissed off are you if you lose to your competitor on a job that you put time and effort into? Making bogey should feel the same way. The second you step on the first tee all bets should be on you. You have to play golf like you were shot out of a cannon. You have to want to kill the guys on the tee box that are playing against you.

Also play better golf balls...(seriously, it sucks to lose a ProV1 you probably will think twice before you allow yourself to hit one in the houses or in a turtle habitat.)
mt3950
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quote:
Sure, I'm not great from that distance but I'm still way bette than from 100.

I would bet $1000 you can't get over 50% from 100 yards within 30 feet from varying locations.


Can I get in on this action?
antman8504
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Didn't read most of the replies but the answer to op question is practice, lessons, then more practice. Then more lessons. Then more practice.
BigHitterDaLama
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Then more lessons.
Smithjg
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CSpend more time chipping and putting! When I started, just out of HS, I spent probably 90% of my practice time there. I had very few rounds of 100+ and quickly moved into the 80's. Almost exactly one year after starting golf, I won a tournament with an 88. That got me truly inspired to get better.

My Hcp. index moved to about 10 and I was there for a good while. In 1996, I was custom fitted by Jim (?) at Pebble Creek for Titleist DCI+B irons. The head was slightly smaller than standard DCI's and there was little offset compared to oversize DCI. This helped considerably. Around that time I took a playing lesson (my first ever lesson!) and it was a HUGE help.

Things like going for center green vs. the flag on sucker pin placements, making sure I didn't hit to the short side of the green, taking enough club, where to miss, if I missed, playing the wind, etc. My Index went down to a 3.0 within a few months and I had a streak where I had 9 rounds under par (my best was a 69 in tournament play) in the course of three months.

So in my case, mucho short game practice, fitted irons, course management lessons were the key. One thing to remember though , Practice DOES NOT make perfect, PERFECT PRACTICE makes Perfect. Good luck
940Ag
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quote:
Didn't read most of the replies but the answer to op question is practice, lessons, then more practice. Then more lessons. Then more practice.
THIS!
Because the pro you work with will know where your game is at and at what stage... so therefore you will work on areas needed to improve. Practice and lessons will get you there.
agracer
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Took a triple on 18 today....for an 88.

Hit good tee shots all day, was inside 130 all day and just could not get on. 2-putted 3 of the 4 par 3's and only par'd the 4th which i 1-putted!

Only a few holes did I need to take out more than a 9-iron for my second shot. I think I 3-putted only twice all day...of course I was chipping on from 10-15 out so....

I think I know what I need to work on....oh, and I need a 50/54/58 set of wedges..should have bought those Cleveland's on e-bay for $210. I was having to half swing my gap and/or pw all afternoon it seemed.

I actually have a lesson on Saturday so I'll be talking to my instructor about what I'm seeing this year.

Really the best thing about this year so far is I'm hitting everything a club longer than last year (7I shots now 8I shots,....)
bagger05
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quote:
I am going to sound like a broken record because I say this all the time on here.

If you want to get better you need to play for money and play with people who are better than you. Golf really is a game in which you may be the best ball striker, the best putter, and the best guy off the tee. But the guy who hits it all over the golf course and finds a way to shoot even can still beat you.

Over the last 5 years of my life (32 now) I went from a 2-4 handicap to playing between a plus 1 and a plus 2. I don't practice anymore than I ever did. I just got tired of losing money. Mentally I had to learn how to score. I watch guys like Proud and the group I play with beat the pants off of me and weren't near the player I was (or thought I was) because they could score from anywhere. Par has to make you ANGRY on short holes. Eagles have to be what you expect on reachable par 5s. You have to know that you can shoot 72 and be mad when you do because you know you left shots on the golf course.
I think this is great advice.

I've been struggling lately. Mostly in the high 80s and low 90s after consistently shooting low 80s last summer. Well lo and behold, Saturday I played in my golf association tournament --my first "competitive" round in months-- and I go out there and shoot 80 which ties my lowest score ever.

I fixed some stuff with my grip recently and I think that helped a lot, but the biggest difference is that I slowed down a little and really thought about every single shot. This was especially important on the putting green. I took the time to read each putt carefully, pick out a single spot for my line, and visualized the putt going in. Wouldn't you know it, I putted a lot better. Total of 28 putts on the round.

I care what my score is every time I go play, but there is something that is really, really different about playing competitively that just can't be replaced.
agracer
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My putting was much better yesterday b/c I took a lot more time setting them up and visualizing the putts. Put a lot more 20+ footers with in a few feet for an easy second putt. Made several 6-8 footers for par. But as you said, the key was taking my time and not rushing through the putt.
FirefightAg
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For me to get better I had to improve on my second shot. I hit a long tee ball so most of the time I'm 120-80 yards out. Thus I should have 20ft and less on my 3rd shot/putt. I am a terrible putter and will still 3 jack greens a few times a round. But it happened way more often when I was further from the hole. My next thing is to become a better putter, but I'm streaky as all get out some days I'll putt lights out then next 3 rounds I'll putt like a 15 handicapper. I do make about 3 birdies a round so that helps, but that only came about because I hit my second shot closer to the pin. Don't attack pins that are hard to get to. Public courses should have about 1/2 of the pins that are easy/fair and you can go after without much threat of trouble.

In short learn your game, know your good areas and fix your struggles. Putting is important but not the most important. A bad putt won't put you OB with loss of stroke and distance a bad drive or second shot will aka costing you more strokes than being a sub par putter. I used be a low 80's now I'm good for somewhere around 75-78 and I can guarantee ill have a 7
2DollarYo
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Honestly -- if you want to get better you need to buy one of these -- its the best golf "gadget" you can buy.

After you get that and fill it up with practice balls, spend several weeks doing nothing but chipping and putting. Pick a hole around the green and challenge yourself to make 3 up-and-downs in a row. Then 5. Then 10.

Same thing with putting -- challenge yourself to make 10 in a row from 3 feet, 5 feet, and 8 feet.

After you feel comfortable around the greens you need to then learn to properly manage your game.

Find your yardage that no matter what you are comfortable playing --- for me its 125 -- and discover what club is going to give you the best shot at getting on the green or close enough to be able to chip and putt with ease.

After a few weeks of getting your comfort club game in order you'll need to play each hole to that yardage as best you can.

For instance...if your "yardage" is 150 and you've got 300 to the pin, hit your 150 club twice instead of trying to knock it as far down the hole without a gameplan and having to finesse a lob wedge -- you'll find that when you manage the course in this way -- although it may seem odd at first -- you'll begin to trust your swing and the course management will come easy.

Also, instead of carrying a 3 iron or other long iron, replace that with a 52* gap wedge if you haven't already.

It takes practice and patience.

Remember, you play the course -- don't let the course play you.






powerbelly
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AG

quote:
Also, instead of carrying a 3 iron or other long iron, replace that with a 52* gap wedge if you haven't already.
This seems like odd advice without knowing anything about someones game.

I use my 3 iron all the time. Finding tight fairways, par 3s, hitting out from the woods, etc.

In a round I use it much more than a 52.
2DollarYo
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quote:

quote:
Also, instead of carrying a 3 iron or other long iron, replace that with a 52* gap wedge if you haven't already.
This seems like odd advice without knowing anything about someones game.

I use my 3 iron all the time. Finding tight fairways, par 3s, hitting out from the woods, etc.

In a round I use it much more than a 52.
Blindly yes, you are correct, but for someone trying to find their game its far easier to find value in a club with a short iron as opposed to the long iron....there's really not much difference between a 3 iron and a 4 iron for a beginner golfer but there could be a massive difference between a pitching wedge (usually 48*) and a sand wedge (usually 56*).
Usually the difference between successive clubs is 4* but there is an 8* difference between a PW and a SW
Filling that "gap" is -- for the most part -- a better value for the beginner golfer.
agracer
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My wedges are Taylor Made Burner 2.0
PW 45
AW 50
Titlist SW 56

I've been looking at getting a 50/54/58 to replace the AW and SW...although that might be too large of a gap from the PW to the 50....maybe I should be looking at a 48/52 and keep my 56 (although it's old and on short chips I have trouble making the ball stop so the grooves are likely worn out).

A guy at work suggested I tee off from the blue's when I'm hitting it that well and put myself in a better full swing area to hit the green. Using my 3W off the tee to put myself ~100 out would work just as well.

My putting can be all over the place. I looked at my front/back 9 earlier, I had 2 3-putts on the front, and none on the back. I one-putted twice for par.

A few days earlier, I 3 putted 4 times in 9 holes. But I was playing to fast and being careless.
Aggie369
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I carry a P, AW, 54, AND 58....Works well

P 120-135
AW 105-120
54 degree 105 and in
58 for shirt sided lose up to about 95 yards
resmith09
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quote:
7 hp here and have been as low as a 5. I went from a 15 to a 5 in one year by simply practicing with a purpose. I took "the perfect practice routine" that was posted on here a couple of years ago and I practiced it religiously. I'm not sure if it was so much that particular routine that helped me or if I just finally went to the range with a set goal and practiced to reach it.

I got to the point where I could shoot +7 or 8 without breaking out my driver. Which wasn't all that great because I stopped pravticing with my driver as much as my shirt irons and putter. Because of this I really plateaued at a 5. I don't have near the time these days to complete that routine on a regular basis but I do still try to get a condensed version of it in once a week.
I can't find this practice routine- can you post a link?
bagger05
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I believe he is talking about the Ultimate Practice Routine

http://texags.com/forums/60/topics/2334981
jj9000
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^^^

I looked at the date of the thread and wonder where my game would be if I had diligently stuck to that program for the last (2) years.
 
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