Critique Gameplan for Approach Practice (High hcp)

Practice
#21

Dividends!

My regular 9 hole course today. My driving completely abandoned me, I was very short and slicey all day, hitting only one fairway with driver and dealing with trees. However, no snowmen, bad approach shots were generally path/face related and always advanced the ball. More GIR/GIRPS. Took 4 strokes off my best round there and would have broken 100 on an 18 course. No lost balls. Only 1.12 Strokes lost against a 25 handicap on approach shots (all from 200+ yrd where the recoveries were), compared to a typical 8/9/10+.

I finished the round frustrated at driving and short game errors, and then looked at ShotScope. Getting there.

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#22

Great! Been following along and itā€™s nice to see progress :+1: ā€¦and it feels good seeing the work pay off, right?

Been making small, incremental improvements of my own, so look out new personal best scores!

#23

Golferā€™s expectation should = their experience and practice ( range + rounds ).
When we could string a few nice golf shots together, weā€™d expect to repeat it every time. This game will betray the very best, even the professionals.
Nicklaus said at one time that he won most of his tournaments without his A game. Imagine that!
Like the MLB or the NBA, NFL players at the top of their game will not bring their A game every time they step into their arena.
The longer I played this game, the more I learned to appreciate and enjoy a well executed golf shot during my play or practice.
To play in and to control ( to try anyways ) all the variable elements in this game is the charm of this game.
A perfectionist with no patience should not pick up this game. Ever know a person who would read the last chapter of a new book or fast forward to the ending of a new movie? That type will never enjoy this game.

#24

Oh now you tell me thatā€¦
ā€¦ haha lol jokingā€¦

Yes - proper Expectations Management is really the key; and funny enough itā€™s Part 1 of Job Shermanā€™s new book ā€œThe Fire Foundations of Golfā€!

1 Like
#25

Nothing under the Sun is new. If one has a good head on oneā€™s shoulders and exercise common sense coupled with experience, all roads lead to Rome.
It is not a rule of the Thumb that a perfectionist with no patience could never love the game of golf. A perfectionist with short patience but able to concentrate and has discipline, could love this game.
My wife has a high standard for herself and everyone around her, she is the one who wants to know the ending of a movie before she watch it through. She sometimes would read the last chapter of a book then finish the rest of it. She is a perfectionist who will do everything to the best of her ability.
Her strength is the discipline, the determination and the will to achieve the goal.
I was surprised that she wanted to pick up golf so she could accompany me after she retires. Took less than 3 months on the driving range before she could hit her 7 iron and wedge well off the matt. A lot of other new golfers would turn their head when they heard the sound of her hitting some shots. Not bad for a petite female who could carry her 7 iron close to 130. Better than some of guys I golf with. Not bad on the par-3 and executive golf course either, it proved that she is a golfer who thinks on the golf course to score low.
So, not every rule applies to every situation.
Iā€™m very pleased that my wife could find the joy in the game of golf.
Now, she wonā€™t complain when Iā€™m gone for 5 hours to golf.
I would still encourage her to join some local ladyā€™s club instead of playing every round with me.

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#26

Update 2. Down for a week with poison ivy (careful following a lost ball). Went back to practicing iron ball striking. Driver has gotten shorter and less stable, so I switched to a 4h for a few tee shots.

Broke 50 despite a couple absurd blowups.
Got my first birdie.
Irons within .4 of a 25 hdcp, 10 stroke improvement since beginning of this thread. Tee shots and short game both better than 25 hdcp, putting even, so a major improvement even though driver has really suffered.

Also did well with a couple blowup holes and keeping it together. 56 degree wedge used to also be a go-to club that has been struggling, so switched to my AW iron and it went extremely well.

Time for new benchmark!

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#27

Spells, best video on hitting irons when I first started playing golf 4 years ago.

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#28

Par 3s are great practice. Playing quickly you can play multiple balls. No tees simulates big course approach shots.

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#29

Agreed! Love Par 3s for exactly that focus on approach shots. Plus theyā€™re fun!

#30

Good practice if one does not use tee on the tee-box. If one needs a more favored lie on the tee box, just bump the turf with iron to raise the grass just a little bit.

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