For the addicted HIGH handicap hackers

The Mental Side of Things
#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.

2 Likes
#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.

6 Likes
#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!!!

5 Likes
#25

Not to flog a dead horse here, but there are arguably two ends of the high handicap spectrum:

  • Golfers who primarily spend their golfing hours on a course, which is where their practice and their breakthroughs occur
  • Golfers who spend orders of magnitude more time on the range and on putting greens than they do on a course

At one end is what I would call “improvisational” golfers, ie., they basically improvise the game of golf on the fly and hope for the best.

At the other end is what I would call “rote” golfers, ie., they gauge their successes on the course by how accurately they convey their long hours of practice into an actual round of golf.

It’s up to the individual high handicap golfer to determine where on this spectrum he/she/unspecified/X desires to be, based on real-life criteria such as time available, resources, money, proximity to a course and/or range, amount of space at home for some practice equipment, spouse’s tolerance for such, etc.

Let’s face it… If you’re retired and Life-as-you-know-it is going to revolve around golf, then you can move to a golfing community, buy a golf cart, practice every day, play three to five times a week, and get better quicker than if you casually visit a course once every two weeks and rent a different set of clubs every time you go there.

I have come to the point in my life where I have categorically rejected “formula golf”, at least for me. Golf as I prefer to play the game is based on my sense of touch, feel, mood, current equipment, and whatever it is I’m currently working on in my swing or in my game. It’s a never-ending process and a constant journey into the next phase of my golf.

Whatever it is you seek in the Game, I earnestly hope that you find it, and find enjoyment in it and in the Journey itself. It’s not really about the score, the handicap, or even the number of rounds you get to play. It’s about the fun and the happiness you get out of being out there with a club in your hand in a ball on the ground, whether it’s on the range, on the course, or in your own backyard.

Enjoy!

Billy

3 Likes
#26

^^ Awesome.
Really good thoughts in there, thx.
:clap:

#27

Although very frustrating to not execute your plan for every shot. And yes, every shot kinda sorta has a plan. The whole point is to have fun, I walk… so I get exercise and have fun kinda sorta. There really is no feeling any better for a golfer than nailing that shot as you have planned and feedback is immediate. We all need to get that feeling more often. My goal this year is to break 80 every time out and just have fun! I’d love to play a round just once with NO BOGEYS. But that’s unrealistic.

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#28

Hey, I’ve done it, no problem:
…two or three Pars and a whole bunch of Doubles and Others … no bogeys!
:rofl: :rofl:

But seriously - I do try to plan my shots generally adhering to the principle of… “Confident shot on a Conservative line”.

And generally my screw ups are when I’m not confident in my shot or I just stoopitly rush it… Work In Progress!!

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