Sugar down the putter shaft for me.

inhale at the top of the back swing. Exhale when you hear the ball hit the ground.

Moving the ball back in my stance for all iron shots greatly improved my ball striking

ive been fighting the hooks or the left ball for over 10 years... tried everything including try to cut everything I hit...

I realized this year (2018) that I was 'regripping' the club both when the swing starts (like a trigger) and during the swing...

so now i'm obsessive with my grip...

thread derail / poor taste

Adding a 50 degree wedge. Gained at least a stroke. Maybe two.

I was a casual golfer for years that shot 93-100 (with some foot wedges and couple mulligans) and got the golf bug pretty bad this year. Finally signed up for lessons as I want to break 85 this year and become a single digit handicapper by next year. I got close as I hit 87 a couple times but have a 14-15 handicap now. Next year I want to not just break 85, but 82 and get to under 10 handicap by end of year.

This year what helped my game the most:

1. Getting a putter more fitted to my game and actually practicing putting.
2. Learn to rotate and not sway in backswing.
3. Learn to hit down on ball and take good divots. Do the step drill and practice with an aiming 3-4 inches behind ball.
4. Have ball in proper place at address for driver, woods, 4 & 5 iron and rest of irons.
5. Play smarter golf! Don't go for it so much when it requires a perfect swing to get it there. Club up when in a difficult distance. When I'm the trees, just punch it out in fairway, don't continue going for the green.
6. Don't try to kill the ball when on the tee box.

I feel like all these have given me a great base to work with for next year!

Also, if anyone ever needs a 4th to play Memorial Park, I'm your guy!

Finally took a couple of lessons. Neil Wilkins in Sienna. Should've done it years ago. Gained 5 mph swing speed and stopped casting in the first 1 hour lesson (I'm a chronic arms lagging body type of swing).

New shaft in my driver. I'm much more confident off the tee and it has shaved probably 4-6 strokes/round.
Was playing a super light reg flex and went to a heavy stiff.

Forum Troll said:

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Finally took a couple of lessons. Neil Wilkins in Sienna. Should've done it years ago. Gained 5 mph swing speed and stopped casting in the first 1 hour lesson (I'm a chronic arms lagging body type of swing).

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Neil is highly knowledgeable concerning the swing - hes taught a number of excellent players in the area and even a few professionals. That being said, when I took lessons from him I just couldn't execute what he was trying to get me to do. I had to find someone who only gives me simple concepts, and now that he has I find myself starting to do a few of the things Neil was trying to get me to do.

That being said, I'm glad Neil is working out for you - its a great feeling when an investment in instruction is actually bringing you results.

Tempo!!! Smooth take away dis it for me. Almost got to my 18 goal. 3 shots away.

Short game, especially on the green. Went from averaging 2.2 putts per hole to averaging 1.85... that's the part of your game where most strokes are spent, so might as well shore up the holes. Really saved me a lot of frustration. Special shoutout to the super stroke grip I put on the putter as well.

Tempo for me as well which improves my timing.

I count one two but use the words set swing rather than 1 2.
Set on the back swing
Swing at impact

Driver
Irons
putting


Do this during your swing and you too can become.....

getting fit for a driver for the first time

Birth of my second child changed my game quite a bit.

Eldest is in 3 orchestras, 3 or 4 ensembles, feature in her HS play and taking driving lessons (praise be), so I've spent the better part of every weekend playing chauffeur. My last year living in Florida, I probably played 100+ rounds. I MAY get in 20 this year; more likely 15.

My game sure crapped out faster than it got better.

Full bag fitting = breaking 80 for the first time

More cheating = breaking 60 for the first time

Roger Goodell said:

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Taught my gf how to grip he shaft better.

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For the win.....

Awesome work man!

Did you take any lessons anywhere or online?

had twins last Nov so I played very sporadically throughout the year and my golf suffered.... I've played some of my better golf the past few months though which is surprising considering I only play about once a month now (maybe) and I do not pick up a club between rounds.

I think the reasons being consist of lower expectations, less aggressive, and just trying to make easy smooth swings on the ball.

Leaving the woods & driver at home. It is getting me fewer lost balls and clipping under 100.

Unfortunately, it was lumbar fusion surgery in February. Second surgery in 2 years. Only played 18 holes last year and none this year.

Overall, the back is better now. Goal is to be playing by March with a guy's golf trip to Georgia in April.

Good stuff! It's a process but worth it in the end. Enjoy the amateur events and keep up the good work!

bmcghee03 said:

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My goal this year was to break 80 for the first time and get to a single digit cap (went from around a 15 to between 10.8-11.5 early this year). Had about 6 lessons and a swing change late last year, got it grooved in finally by about April. I was hitting the ball a hell of a lot better but scoring about the same and worse some days.

Finally the tempo clicked and I hit as many as 13 greens in one round to shoot 80 a couple times between July-August. Finally, in September I realized I was getting on or around the greens way too often to make 2 or more double bogeys a round. So, I simplified my short game. Instead of over-calculating all the variables and trying to have 7 or 8 different shots around the green, as long as the lie is clean I use anywhere from a 54 to a 7iron based on distance with my putting stroke and basically eliminated all double bogeys stemming from short game errors.

Shot 78 in October, followed it up with a 75 again a few weeks later and down to a 9.4

The best feeling in the world during a round is not having any stress after a bad shot because the game feels so simple...I know that feeling won't last forever as goals change and I try to shoot even par next year.

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I want my 2019 to be similar to your 2018.

I've recently had a session with my coach where we are incorporating some completely new elements into my swing (not over rotating, proper sequencing, etc.). I'm hoping to groove the changes by 2nd quarter next year with the goal of winning my first tournament. I feel like my short game is workable and doesn't hurt me too much (although one should never take the short game for granted), but for me my primary issue is poor ball striking is not giving me enough of an opportunity to actually score during the round.

I cut 10 strokes off my game this year, all I had to do was start skipping the last hole lol