For the addicted HIGH handicap hackers

The Mental Side of Things
#5

Thanks @Dewsweeper, @Kevomanc, and @MJTortella for the encouragement!

I started out always falling backwards and never finishing a swing up on my right toe. Now I seem to transfer my weight better and finish with my belly to the hole and up on the right toe. The big fault now seems to be hitting it fat. I bought a Divot Board and am getting good feedback.

I am also spending more time working on short game and putting, but I still spend most of my training on the full swing because that’s the most fun for me.

I have faith that my scores will come down, and in the meantime I’m having fun.

Maybe it’s time to play the course for scoring - meaning treating bogey as par and avoiding the “hero” shots.

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#6

Yes save the hero shots for scrambles and maybe match play. That can be tough to do though when you are only playing once a week. Shooting 93 instead of 103 is forgotten quickly, but that 1 in a million hero shot will live on lol.

#7

Got 20 minutes? Watch this & try’n apply to your game. There’s 100s of break 100 articles (pun intended), videos & lessons online. Stick with 1 or 2 of them this season. Keep us updated on the good, bad & ugly.
ie. Find the bottlenecks YOU need to get past.

Golf sidekick break 100

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#8

The most common reason for “fat” shot is failure to transfer weight to the front side. Beware of not get into the trap of “sliding” into the front side.
When you’re on the golf course, take a practice swing or two ( no more than that ) and meant it, practice as if there is a golf ball at the spot you pick, watch where the divot is, and place the golf ball accordingly in your stance when addressing it.
This is of course a band aide not a permanent cure but it should improve your on course ball striking for now.
Strengthen the lower part of your body, as Hogan would demonstrate that the golf swing starts from the ground up so is most the sports and martial arts advocate the power from the ground up. We have seniors do simple walk after the dinner with family (3-5 miles ) and gradually speeding up the pace then to slow jogging. Walking the golf course will also maintain your muscles in the legs and back.
I golf with a gentleman who came back from a serious neck injury after 20+ years and he walked the golf course with us, at an age of 78 back then.
Modern convenience which robbed us of walking often times not good for us.
Have a friend who was transferred to overseas for work for 3 years, and came back a slimmer guy and healthier. He was over weight, on medication for high blood pressure and other ailment. Lost 25 lbs. and rid of most of his medication after he came home from the overseas assignment. He simply had to walk more and take mass transit to get to places. It had very little to do with dieting since he could get anything he wish in all of the metro area around the world.

#9

As someone who’s much more of a range rat than player, I’ve realized [Jon’s article saying just that, didn’t hurt] that playing more, and learning how to score low and boring, is going to do more for my game than more swing practice will.

Boring drive, boring shot to the back middle of the green, nice lag and tap-in, and that’s par. I hadn’t scored many pars, back when I had time to play. (Though I am going out early next week. Somehow. Stupid job…) No drama, just get it onto the green. And if you screw up that every other hole, that’s still low 80s.

It’s the OBs, dunkings, and other stuff that helps cause the snowmen and "X"s.

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#10

Thanks for the advice on when to go for the hero shots.
Remember, though, that I’ve only broken 100 once (a 91 somehow) so shooting 93 would be memorable!

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#11

Thanks for the advice @Dewsweeper. Fitness is not the problem - it seems to be between the ears. That said, your advice on weight transfer is very important!

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#12

@spud.308 - I like the way Golf Sidekick keeps score - resetting “par” on each hole to match my handicap and in addition, keeping score on each hole from 100 yards in - playing that as a Par 3.
Also his advice to forget distance off the tee and hit a club I can land in the fairway. I’m pretty confident in my driver but I hit enough bad ones to wreck my scores. And OB or lost ball screws up my head.

One more thing - Golf Sidekick says “golf karens” quibble about things like taking practice swings and hitting the sand in the bunker. “It’s not the US Open.” I like to know the rules and respect them, but I can see the value in deliberately flouting them sometimes.

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#13

@JJG … Welcome to The Club of Aspiring Play-ahs! :wink::smile:

First: patience.
Golf is hard.

Then: keep doing what you’re doing … Lessons, practice and especially a LOT of work on the short game and putting.

This will help you drop more strokes more quickly vs other aspects of the game. Don’t chase distance - as your swing technique improves so will your distance!

Also teach yourself about the “mental game” - it is you against the course out there, buuuut … it’s also you against you. You will hit errant (not “bad”) shots - accept that this is a part of the game and focus on you next shot! Remember: golf is hard

So… I’m 66, playing mostly on but occasionally off for about 12 seasons, still solidly in the 90s (anywhere in the 90s depending on the day). Hoping to play consistently in the 80s by next season!

And, funny coincidence, did a little bit of ski touring myself but this was way waaaay back in my 20s.

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#14

@cksurfdude Thanks for the advice and encouragement. “Errant” - I like that! What a useful word for a golfer.

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#15

Where can you improve?
I’ve broken typical rounds (for a 23 hdcp.) into 4 strokes lost categories.
7 - fats & thins: mostly shots after the tee shot
4 - putting: 1st putt didn’t get close enough
4 - driving: REAL poor position off tee
8 - short game: chips, pitches, sand (poor result)
There’s others too like, club selection, misjudge wind, bad luck, etc. but they’re minimal.
Yup lotsa meat on the bone & low hanging fruit, but not much time to practice.

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#16

@spud.308 That’s a good way to analyze things. Sadly, I would break strokes lost putting down into 2 parts - first putt not close enough, and, short putt missed.

I’ll start tracking these things. I expect fats will be a big culprit, both after the tee shot and in the short game.

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#17

I’m looking for someone to putt for me at the moment, winter greens suck! I can’t make 2 ft putts consistently. That is frustrating it is making my scoring explode. I played on Saturday hit 2 par 5s in 2 and scored a randy +1. Wanna be honest and score…. Putts putts putts!

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#18

Break them down how ever you want, add a category, etc.
An ol’ friend used to call them “If ida’s”.
If ida, hit that fairway, got that 25’er to 3’, not flubbed X shots and so on.
I take an extra scorecard to keep track & mark it up like this. Get as detailed as you want. There’s apps that’ll do this too, if you’re techy.

squanderd shots
squanderd shots909×406 206 KB

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#19

I do something very similar on my card:
Score
Fairway hit (or at least close/playable)
GIR
Pitches
Putts
Easy to jot down while writing down the score…then I go through each round after and tally up where my weak spots were each round.

One last thing I forgot…I usually add the club I hit as well next to each (except putts) - to see if there are patterns with certain clubs I may struggle or perform better with.

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#20

I have had a similar journey. After a several decades hiatus I came back in 2017 with a vengeance. I try to practice each week and play at least 9 holes per week. But I have managed to go from a 25 handicap to 23. My skill level is improving but my scores still remain relatively the same. So it is frustrating indeed. No interest in competing with anyone but myself and the course. But my love and passion for the game has never been stronger. I watch golf on TV, talk about and read about golf daily and play as often as possible. Turning 64 in a few weeks, but a few years before retirement. So I guess I’ll have to wait a while before I can begin playing more frequently.

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#21

I agree, it is very important to track these parts of your game over time and look at where you might improve. I have played hundreds of rounds doing this and have learned that to meet my scoring goals things like Tee Shot Success, Scramble Par %age, and Penalty Avoidance must be at certain levels.

I recommend also tracking Penalty Strokes and Short Game Strokes. Short Game Strokes are total shots and putts needed to hole out from any greenside situation. I count anything out to about 50 yards or so where all shots are partial swings or out of bunkers.

I also recommend that mid to high handicappers pick up at net double bogey and track those also.

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#22

+2’s a bit onerous, IMHO. I generally do it at +3 or +4. So long as I’m not taking very long. If I’m lagging behind, then sure.

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#23

Good approach with your last line. When my brother and I first took up the game, we played “bogey-par”; when you made an actual bogey, it was a personal par. It was far less discouraging and set a good benchmark for future rounds. You’re doing this fine, good luck.

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#24

I have been through this in the last few years. I am now a regular mid 80’s score and here are the things I really found helped me. Ignore as you see fit.

  1. Stats. I got a Shotscope and was able to see where my errors were really coming from, and where the ‘big miss’ that was costing me most shots was. Initially it was a driver slice.
  2. Lessons. Getting someone to show you what you should be doing and what to work on is a huge help. I had a lot of misconceptions about how to hit a ball.
    These two steps got me to the almost always in the 90’s phase.
  3. Ignore course par, set your own based on your HCI. a 400 yard par 4 can be daunting, a 400 yard par 6 quite enticing!
  4. Putt better. Its the easiest thing to improve and I dropped 4 shots a round just through this (average 32 now so still working)
  5. Play shots that you can play. If you cant do it 70% of the time, don’t even try.
  6. Don’t panic after a poor shot. 1 shot wont ruin a round (or even a hole) but trying to hit a 3w from the rough, over water because you hit a duff drive will.
    This stuff really got me down to low 90’s
  7. I now play, or try to play, bogey golf. i.e. one over on each hole is good and is below my HCI (20.2) though this year on my home course I am averaging +17
  8. I break the course down into 6, 3 hole sections with a ‘par’ for the 3 holes. Each section is totally independent of the others and it helps to not let a bad start drag you down.
    As a result I am now in the 80’s most the time. Yes I have worked at getting a better technique but I would exercise some caution in this. Focus on consistency above anything. You will see a lot of talk of swing speed etc. Don’t worry about hitting a 7i 150 yards, worry about hitting it 130 yards, straight 90% of the time.
    Drive the ball 200 yard in play, hit greens from 150 and in and 2 putt and your scores will plummet.

Good luck!!!

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