Getting to a plus handicap

General Discussion
#1

Jon mentioned in a podcast recently that he went from a hcap between 4 to 7 to a plus hcap. Even though I am a solid 5 hcap I always thought that a plus hcap would be out of my league, but his achievement has got me thinking that it might be possible. (Even at my (relatively) late age (55)!).

So the question is, what would it take and what would one focus on to achieve it?

Obviously every part of one’s game would have to tighten up, but some areas would be more important than others.

Perhaps Jon can share his experience of what he focused on?

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#2

I’m sure @jon will share his thoughts, but to start you can read every article on the Practical Golf site :wink:
Only half joking on that, but here’s a couple I’d recommend if you haven’t read and others can chime in:
The Truth About Lowering Your Golf Scores
2/3 Rule

Besides that, I think a key will be understanding where you can best find those 5 strokes on a consistent enough basis to get into the plus zone and that means knowing where you’re really losing them. Stat tracking tech and apps are great for this. Especially with Arrcos providing strokes gained statistics comparing you to a desired handicap level, you’ll be able to see exactly where you’re losing strokes compared to plus handicap users. This would be for me:

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#3

It’s really simple to become a plus cap! Eliminate double bogeys almost completely, increase greens in regulation… and putt decently.

12 greens in regulation and 30 putts should be an even round!

Simple.

It’s not easy, but it is simple!

On a serious note, the best way to improve scoring is to reduce bad scores and add opportunities for birdies. Step one is avoiding blow up holes. Step two is quickly recovering from mistakes.

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#4

This is a tough one and can be answered in many different ways. If you want to be a plus handicap I think you need to be a very above-average ball striker. A lot of the skills necessary are going to come with your tee shots (keeping them in play with good distance) and approach shots (above 50% GIR). That’s not to say wedge play and putting aren’t important, but I believe ball striking is a pre-requisite to get to that level.

In my case, I think the thing that was (mostly) holding me back were poor tee shots. I’ve always been a good iron player, so it wasn’t a matter of hitting more greens when I had a “clear” shot at them. My driver was very erratic, and I would find ways to avoid it. So there were two major problems - putting myself in recovery situations quite often and taking a shorter club off the tee, which I’ve since realized was also costing me strokes.

The one skill I’ve improved the most is controlling the face of the club at impact. Since I have a very in-to-out swing path, that was crucial. If I don’t get this right, I’m either hitting a big block or a massive hook. I wish I had a simple answer on how to do that for everyone, and please realize that your issues might be different, which is why @CoryO suggesting that using a stat tracking tool like Arccos or Shot Scope is beneficial.

This is a massively simple explanation of what’s occurred over the past 5-6 years. I’d say I got better at every part of the game (including wedge play and putting). In a way, all of the articles I’ve written on the site are small pieces of the puzzle I figured out, but that are still relevant to all levels no matter what scoring goals you’re looking to achieve.

I realize we have a few golfers on here who are scratch level and a lot of others who are at other levels wondering how to get there. Please do not think that scratch golf is the level everyone needs to achieve. This has been a lifelong pursuit for me, and I’ve spent thousands of hours. Also, I know plenty of golfers who are 15 hcps who are much happier golfers than scratch players. Your score and hcap level are just one piece of the puzzle!

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#5

Play as much as possible. Practice is good, but playing will and tracking will show you where to improve. Strike it consistently and understand your tendencies. Maximize distance and GIR, and avoid 3 putts.

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#6

Agreed! When I was at my best ball-striking and playing all the time, I put ridiculous expectations on myself and enjoyment went down. Having a + enjoyment index is way more important than a + handicap index

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#7

If you want to get to something like +1, it’s really about playing a boring game, lots of GIR in the fat part of greens and lots of pars. Everyone has a different path to that and tracking data to find it is really important. For me it’s about hitting it well off the tee since my iron play and lag putting are both pretty good. But, my wedge play and midrange putting are not so good so if I’m out of position off the tee, a bogey is likely. I used to think that my problem was mostly about the short game but last summer I dedicated myself to tracking all the shots and found out that my driver was the make or break club for me. This has totally changed my practice focus and this winter I’ll be disproportionately working on driver and putting from 10 ft and in.

If you want to get to +3 or better, the same boring approach is good but you need to be tight all over. Those guys don’t make a lot of long putts, nobody does, but they are very good at limiting and recovering from mistakes. For me, if I want to get there, I need to get my chipping and pitching to a point where a bad tee shot or missed green does not mean a pretty likely bogey. Aside from just being really good at all aspects of the game, those super low guys separate themselves on the limiting and recovering from mistakes part of the game. That is part strategy and part skill - both of which are attainable for everyone.

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#8

But every time they show a long putt on TV, it goes in :joy:

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#9

It’s pretty simple:

Ball striking
Ball striking
Ball striking

Most skills in golf are not independent (maybe putting, green reading and course management may be the exception)

As you strike the ball better, bunker play, wedges, chipping should start to improve. Learn to scramble, manage course and putt and you are on your way

#10

Agree with these sentiments. I think scratch golfers likely manage course FAR better than the average 10 handicap as well. Lots of boring golf, lots of taking their medicine and trying to get a 10-15 ft look at par once out of position. Scratch golfers may go multiple rounds without incurring a penalty.

Kind of silly and simple, but proximity is KING. Scratch golfers balls are moving down the fairway and getting much closer on average (with hardly any penalty strokes). On it just off the green in two less than par. Probably better short game than a 10 handicap from there but maybe not to the extent people think.

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#11

How many putts per round are you averaging? Surprised to see that. 3 putt % ?

#12

I average around 31-32 putts per round and am scratch. Today I had 25 putts but ball striking was terrible and shot +5. I’ve also shot under par with 31-32 putts. 1 lazy 3 putt today when I got aggressive with a 15 footer.

#13

It’s over the past 15 rounds, which for me is like the last 2.5 weeks, and I’ve been putting terribly plus the greens haven’t been in great condition. Not too many three putts, but not many one putts, so probably about 34 a round or so.

Additionally, I haven’t been good about marking hole positions, so really my approaches haven’t been all that close. If I marked the holes properly, my putting would probably be a stroke or so better and approach worse.

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#14

That was me today. Hit a bunch of greens but terrible proximity. Easy to 3 putt from 50 ft

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#15

Thanks everyone for the comments. My conclusion is that it is indeed about ball striking and course management. Eliminate the big misses, hit 12 GIR and 6 near GIR (within 20yds) and have a simple but reliable short game and it must be possible to play scratch or + golf.
Happiness is indeed the key element…why play if it doesn’t make you happy?
So I will set myself this challenge (to get to scratch or better) which I didn’t think was possible (but clearly is!) and then enjoy the journey to try to achieve it (whether I get there or not!). Thank you all for the inspiration!

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#16

The real easy answer for a sub-3 handicap to get to plus - practice a lot, play a lot, and play a lot at the same course with a difficult course rating. That way when you shoot 74 you’re better than the rating! Your handicap won’t travel well but you can say you’re a plus!

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#17

And, remember, only 8 scores count. I got down to +2 this summer and had plenty of lousy rounds.

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