A.) You had a full time caddy
B.) You had the exact equipment fitted for the way you were playing right now and
C.) You could practice 5 days a week?

Now don't get me wrong, I know all of the guys on the tour would smoke me even with all of the above, but I was wondering how many strokes I could shave by having access to all of the above. Being a summer golfer and an every other weekend golfer I shoot about 95 without cheating and could say that I think I would be a 3-6 handicap with all of the above if not better. Thoughts?

a. nobody has a full time caddy
b. fitted equipment is overrated. if you're a really good golfer(5 hdcp or lower), it might save you 2-3 strokes per round.
c. depends on the player, i've seen guys who practice all the time and can't break 80, and guys who never practice and shoot par.

if you shoot 95 that means you normally keep the ball in play off the tee and you have the ability to make some good shots. i bet if you switched your fitted equipment for short game practice an hour three times a week you'd be a 3-6 hdcp.

quote:

---

a. nobody has a full time caddy

---

Err, what?

Well, to actually answer your questions....

1) don't know how much a caddy would help unless he had course knowledge that you didn't.
2) Yes, fitted equipment helps. I got fitted about 8 yrs ago and took a few lessons and dropped 10+ strokes in less than 6 weeks.
3) time to practice, especially short game, can make a huge difference. 100 yards and in is where the pros make their money.


With the three areas that you have singled out, i would bet that a 90's golfer could go to a mid 70's pretty easily. especially if you throw a few lessons in there.

If I had a swing coach and all day to practice i think i could definitely get down to a single digit/scratch golfer since i've only played the game for about a year and am young, healthy,and been constantly improving

I wish I could play golf everyday like that... too bad bills must be payed

Im an 80 something now...but I fully think I could be mid to low 70s if i could just practice and play all the time

in grad school i dropped about 10 strokes one summer by just going out and playing 2-3 times a week

Fitted equipment makes a much bigger difference than you think, chipotle.

Every answer chipotle had was bull****e

quote:

---

Every answer chipotle had was bull****e

---

I think you can say that about most of his posts.

The thing about practice isn't having the time to practice its being able to make yourself practice for that stretch of time.

I have no doubt that 30 or 40 hours of practice a week would make me a much much better player, but I know myself well enough to know that after about 2 hours of range time on the first day that I'd say f it and go goof around on the golf course. I just don't have that kind of golf discipline.

quote:

---

fitted equipment is overrated. if you're a really good golfer(5 hdcp or lower), it might save you 2-3 strokes per round.

---

Couldn't be more wrong.

I won a gift certificate at PGA Store and went and got fitted / new clubs. Knocked 11 strokes off my game.

The girlfriend of one of my buddies got him a fitting and new clubs for his birthday, he knocked nine per round off his score.

Small sample size, but you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss its effect on a person's game.

quote:

---

I won a gift certificate at PGA Store and went and got fitted / new clubs. Knocked 11 strokes off my game.

---

so one day you got new fitted clubs, then went out and shot 11 shots lower than you ever have previously with no other addition to your game than the clubs. you may be the rare exception.

could it happen, possibly. is it likely, i don't see how.

well hell, if it's really that easy, then getting fitted clubs should take me from a 3 handicap today to the PGA tour next week. hell, at +7 i should breeze through q school.

get serious people.

^^^^ moron

It's a little backwards, but most pros say that it's more important for high-handicap amateurs to to get fitted than for low handicappers. Generally low handicappers are good enough to make adjustments to their swing to correct flaws that are caused by equipment whereas high handicappers aren't.

To answer the OP, I'm currently about a 23 and I think custom fitted equipment would take maybe three or four strokes off my game. A caddy would take probably one or two (better course management), and if I had 40 more hours per week to practice and play, I think that would take another five or six strokes off of my game. Add in 10 hours per week with an instructor or swing coach and that would probably get me shooting in the mid 70s.

So just the OP's question: 9-12 strokes (mid 90s to mid 80s). Add in some instruction and I think I could be close to a scratch golfer.

1. 3. I don't know my distances well enough and over-hit longer iron shots quite often.
2. Not sure
3. 10. If I play Saturday and Sunday, I will always shoot 4-8 shots better on Sunday. I only play during the summers and I start shooting around 90 and end up shooting low 80s. If I could play 5 day a week, I could probably be a mid 70s golfer in 4 months or so.

I'm a GHIN 6 handicap. Fitted clubs wouldn't shave much off my handicap. I play all stock clubs. I'd say spending 6-8 hours per week on pitching/putting/chipping and 2-3 hours per week on the range I would knock off 1-2 shots off my game.

Hell, if everyone had the potential we'd all be touring pros. There is a ceiling to how good we all can be.

It is much much easier to go from mid 90's to mid 80's than from mid 80's to mid 70's, it is not a linear curve and any one who says otherwise is full of themselves.

I don't think a caddie would help a whole hell of a lot, maybe a couple of strokes.

Custom fitted equipment probably wouldn't help ME more than a couple of strokes.

Basically unlimited practice time would help tremendously.

Hell, just having spectators and marshals to help me find errant tee shots would probably save me 4-5 shots a round.

Not everyone needs fitted clubs! there is a reason that "standard" clubs are made that way. It fits the most people. I hit 2 degree upright. If i hit standard clubs i dig the toe into the ground, flare the clubface open and push everything right. Now please explain how getting fitted wasn't helpful to my game?

I play 1/2" long and 3*upright. But if I happen to play std clubs, it ain't that big a deal. Your brain tends to compensate well and you adjust. Think of how slight a change 2-3 degree is. Might catch it a little less flush, but if you're hitting ball first, the way the club interacts with the ground isn't that significant.

I think I would easily drop 2-3 shots if I practiced 5 days/week. I'm amazed how much better my game is on the rare occasion that I get to play 3-4 days in a row.

quote:

---

^^^^ moron

---

sure does take a big strong man to talk noise on the internet... lmao.

quote:

---

well hell, if it's really that easy, then getting fitted clubs should take me from a 3 handicap today to the PGA tour next week.

---

I didn't take him as meaning he knocked 11 shots off his score automatically. And he said it knocked 9 strokes off his friend's score per round (indicating over a period of time). In no way do I think the average person will benefit 10 shots through club fitting, but I think it could knock off a couple strokes for many golfers.

quote:

---

hell, at +7 i should breeze through q school

---

You'd definitely have a chance, but I would guess most pros are between +5 and +9.

uh...even if it WAS only 2-4 strokes improvement with fitted clubs, you're talknig about reducing your handicap by 15-25% for most people on here. That's pretty significant.

I have benefitted more from better fit shafts in woods, than fitting for lengths and lies of irons, which is what most people probably consider fitting for clubs.

I've never been professionally "fit" for shafts, but I've tried a lot of different combos over time and have done a pretty good self-fitting from that.

Maybe it has knocked a couple shots off my game? I currently average low to mid 70's.

I can't imagine a caddy helping me out by more than a shot or two...unless he was really good at reading greens. I tend to hit most of my putts on my intended lines, but I still burn a lot of edges. I think it would help if I could get a more accurate read. In casual rounds, after I miss, I might quickly attempt the putt again (if nobody is waiting), and knowing how it breaks, I hole almost everything. So if only I knew the break before the first putt...

As far as practice 5 days a week, that has to be the most significant way to drop your score. With a typical job, there just isn't time for that. I have no idea how good I could get if golf was my job, but it would be fun to find out!