Reducing Handicap: Advice needed

gman100

Right, story so far:

I took up golf around 3 months ago. In that time, I've played 12 rounds, go to the driving range twice a week. I've been shooting around 95/96. I've taken 3 lessons, all from a reputable guy in the Dublin area.

Apparently my swing is good. However, he tells me my the reason I'm hitting the ball slightly right is that my head moves in my backswing - to solve it I need to keep my head still. Well no ****! I need to find out how to do it! When I say this to him, he gives me some exercises (one involving turning the shoulders in front of the mirror). Now, this is all well and good, but when I go to the driving range this exercise doesnt seem to be reflected in my hitting of the ball.

My question is this: if you feel you're not improving, do you keep getting lessons or do you keep practicing away and hope that you'll get there somehow? My aim is to get down to 15 within 18 months.

I sometimes feel that I'm pissing in the wind, getting lessons and not really improving.

I'd much appreciate some advice from the guys who have been in similar situations and who are now on low handicaps.

Cheers

BUACHAILL

cant say that was an issue for me but I will say to trust your pro. If he suggests it to you he obviously feels it will correct it, If you are not convinced get a second opinion from another pro, far be it for any of us to suggest something to you.

I would also say that some things take years to master, if it was simply corrected in a few months etc we would all be pro's. Different people also learn quicker so just have patience. If you really doubt what has been said just get a second opinion.

Good luck and keep going !! Practice and Perseverence is key !!

Russman

BUACHAILL wrote: »

cant say that was an issue for me but I will say to trust your pro. If he suggests it to you he obviously feels it will correct it, If you are not convinced get a second opinion from another pro, far be it for any of us to suggest something to you.

I would also say that some things take years to master, if it was simply corrected in a few months etc we would all be pro's. Different people also learn quicker so just have patience. If you really doubt what has been said just get a second opinion.

Good luck and keep going !! Practice and Perseverence is key !!

+1 to all of that, especially the second opinion if you have a doubt in your mind. Most pros will tell you broadly the same thing (a bit of a generalisation), but often its the communication of it that's the issue.

I would add that if you're wanting to reduce the handicap, get working on the short game, you can't practice that enough. When you think you've done enough chipping practice, do some more. Learn to turn 4 shots into 3 and 3 shots into 2 from 100yds and in. It will help you score even when the full swing is not in the groove. I know its a cliche but its a cliche because its true.

Good luck !

gman100

Russman, Buachaill: thanks for both your comments, always good to get feedback from guys who've been playing a lot longer than I have.

Agreed, perseverance is key! I just don't wanna be wasting my time without seeing improvement. Perhaps I should be more realistic with my expectations.

As for practicing the short game, completely agree. Might seem like a stupid question, but what do you do when you go to range to practice improving from 100 yards in?

Do you take out your 9 iron/pitching wedge and keep hitting away etc? Or do you use a short game area which they have in some driving ranges to practice chipping etc...?

Secondly, how often to you practice and for how long? Perhaps going to driving range twice a week, hitting 100 balls isnt enough. I usually hit 20 balls with my PW, 20 with 8/9 iron, 20 with 7 iron etc....is this the wrong approach?!

BUACHAILL

when it comes to short game there is so much to cover its frightning !!

100 yards: I generally try and play 5-6 different shots, say like full 56 degree club. low punch 56, half pw swing, etc etc, it all depends on how you see the shots yourself. If I could give any advice it would be to know your exact yardages with your wedges for a full swing, 3/4 swing and half swing ,try it with full flight and punched shot, sounds like a lot to learn but will set you apart from most others.

Around the green: You have pitch shots, flop shots, bump and runs, putts off the green and list goes on and on and on ha ha, Again get a feel for the shots you see and work hard on them to a stage were you know you can get up and down 8-9 times out of 10, this will slash your handicap.

Finally on green: This to me is the biggie, practice practice practice, 6-8 feet if you can hold out 8-9 times out of 10 you will be single figures in no time, its one of the hardest skills and one you should practice more than most as it is the most used club.

If you can master all these you are now a scratch player ha ha and have done better than I. I practice on average per week say 4 rounds of golf , 1 lesson and 1-2 range trips, putting is always included in this. I have gone from 17-7 in 3 years and only really put it in this year properly. Its a tough bloody game

slingerz

short game is key. i play regulatly with 10 and 11 handicappers and i can match them on the driving iron plays but its the short game where they'd be 2 shots and i'd take 4.

chipping, pitching and putting are the key for bringing your scores down

gman100

BUACHAILL wrote: »

when it comes to short game there is so much to cover its frightning !!

100 yards: I generally try and play 5-6 different shots, say like full 56 degree club. low punch 56, half pw swing, etc etc, it all depends on how you see the shots yourself. If I could give any advice it would be to know your exact yardages with your wedges for a full swing, 3/4 swing and half swing ,try it with full flight and punched shot, sounds like a lot to learn but will set you apart from most others.

Around the green: You have pitch shots, flop shots, bump and runs, putts off the green and list goes on and on and on ha ha, Again get a feel for the shots you see and work hard on them to a stage were you know you can get up and down 8-9 times out of 10, this will slash your handicap.

Finally on green: This to me is the biggie, practice practice practice, 6-8 feet if you can hold out 8-9 times out of 10 you will be single figures in no time, its one of the hardest skills and one you should practice more than most as it is the most used club.

If you can master all these you are now a scratch player ha ha and have done better than I. I practice on average per week say 4 rounds of golf , 1 lesson and 1-2 range trips, putting is always included in this. I have gone from 17-7 in 3 years and only really put it in this year properly. Its a tough bloody game

My practice routine pales in comparison to yours Buachaill! And explains why I'm off 24 and your off 7!

4 rounds of golf and range 1/2 a week is a serious amt of practice, I could not fit that amount of time in due to work/soccer commitments. I'm aiming for one round a week and 2 range trips.

I'll defo try your short game routine, sounds like a very good structure to have. And will defo start focusing more on my putting(often neglected) but as you said, most used club in the bag!

Cheers again mate

BUACHAILL

No worries, dont be put off by the amount I need to practice, like I said before different people pick it up easier than others. I have a mate off5 who plays once twice a week at most and kicks my ass everytime. Its simply about finding a game that works for you and taking it onto the course. I think for the moment try and find a good tempo, concentrate on your ball striking and get a consistant hit on the ball. Very hard to work on yardages like I have suggested if your not striking it the same all the time so one step at a time. Get to a standard that you can comfortably strike your irons then pace them all out and find your yardages.

Best of luck, oh and more importantly dont let your head drop, this will make matters worse, just enjoy the process

stringy

gman100 wrote: »

Right, story so far

Apparently my swing is good. However, he tells me my the reason I'm hitting the ball slightly right is that my head moves in my backswing - to solve it I need to keep my head still.
Cheers

with all due respect to your pro, you shouldn't keep your head totally still as it restricts proper weight transfer on your backswing, and I'd be fairly confident in saying it's not the reason why you're hitting the ball to the right, I'm sure others would agree.

I'd also endorse what everyone has said about the short game, I went from 12 to 6 not from striking the ball much better, but because I practiced short game a lot, and also concentrated on a consistent putting stroke. Too many guys get bogged down in lashing the ball in the driving range. Most people can get to around the green in 2/3 shots, getting up and down more often than not will get pars and at worst a bogey. Enjoy!

Jasonw

+1 again on the short game.

Most Amateurs can't make any more that about 50% of greens in regulation I know i don't and I've been in single figures for about 3 years now. It's the ability to get it up and down from around the greens that sends the handicap tumbling.

Learn how to chip and pitch effectively and work on your distance control on your putting so that you can get the ball within 3-5 ft from anywhere on the green. This is best done without a hole. I throw my putter head cover on the practice green and put towards it when working on distance control.

Of course that's no good if you can't hole out from that range so spend plenty of time practicing (with a hole)from 8 foot and in. This builds confidence. Don't fall into the trap of spending loads of time practicing 10 to 20 foot putts. You are unlikely to hole more than a small percentage of these and it destroys confidence also it's not that difficult to leave it within the 3-5 foot circle from there.

With regards to the long game the most important thing is to stay out of trouble. Manage your long game effectively and you'll find yourself with a lot of pars and single bogeys. At 24 handicap if you can avoid doubles and worse your scores will improve dramatically.

BTW 94/95 is not a bad score for someone who has only been playing for 3 months.

Russman

+1 to all of the comments above.

One other thing though, while discipline is important to practice, don't get too regimented with the short game practice (ie needing to hit X number of 80yd pitches, then X number of 70yds etc). Enjoy the short game practice, vary the shots you hit & expirement. Learn how to manipulate the clubface and hit a variety of shots around the green. I might be in a minority in saying this, but I would recommend not buying a lob wedge for the moment, best IMO to learn to use the 56deg standard sand wedge in different ways first.

Around and on the greens is really where its at. A few years ago I went from 6 to 3 handicap in about 2 months and my regime hardly involved hitting balls at all, I'd try and sneak up for 6 or 9 holes after work when it was quiet and spend 10 or 15 mins around each green chipping and putting with 3 or 4 balls, and thats really the key. Often there's hardly any difference in ball striking between mid single figures and scratch men.

Also, if you're shooting in the 90s, a regime like buachaills will certainly help you lose as many shots as he did. But if you don't have that time available or feel a regime like that isn't for you, and want to go from, say, 95 to 85, I bet if you think about your last few rounds you probably did some simple silly things that cost you lots of shots ? Cut these out and you'll be well on your way, learn to accept or to play for a bogey when a 7 or 8 could be on the cards and you'll be surprised how your scores will tumble. If your scores are coming down you'll be less worried about your swing and the changes may even fall into place easier.

fonda

Just on the short game comments, I'm reading Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible at the moment and would highly recommend it really opens yours eyes to the short game and how hitting the ball long is not everything in golf as you are lead to believe.

gman100

some great advice chaps - who needs a golf pro when you've got boards.ie!