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Golf: 2023 goals and breaking 90

hogie_l

Hey guys Hogie here. I’m new to this and thought I’d reach out. Since I was young I’ve played two sports, football and golf. After many years of playing football I fell out of love and have found a new love and passion in golf.

playing golf from young I started pitch and putt, worked my way up playing local par 3’s and P&P’s and then made my way to the real fun. I was always shooting 100+. However since I’ve started to play more regularly I finally broke 100 and for the first time ever last autumn, I broke 90.

I really want to start playing more regularly, hoping to play 3/4 times a week. Whether that’s a night or two on the range or P&P working on my short game and a few rounds.

As for my goals for this year, my clubs are hand-me-downs So I definitely want to try purchase my very own set before the year is out.

im based in Leinster and would like to meet new players to play with to help me improve and who knows even try break 85 this year!

id love to hear from a lot more seasoned golfers any tips or tricks their willing to share on how to improve my game, be more social in the game, courses to play and just have more fun!

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Spear

Moved to a forum that's related to the topic instead.

dan_ep82

Where in Leinster ?

The difference in an 85 and an 80 for me is a few more 1 putts dropping

benny79

Why dont you think about joining the boards society?

coillcam

You're probably where I was about 1.5-2 years ago so I'm quite familiar with where you're at. I've some general tips below:

Have fun regardless of how you're scoring and play with random groups. I've met a lot of new people through work and my local club.
Accept that you will make lots of mistakes and don't get too frustrated by it. Scratch golfers make loads too, I've seen it regularly.
Keep the ball in play and eliminate penalties. You lose at least 2 shots every time a ball is lost or in the water.
Short game practice should be at least 60% of your practice time. Chipping, pitching and putting - this will really make the difference. 30-40% of strokes are likely to be your putts and another 10-15% are chips/pitches. If you feel good with short game, you're relaxed with irons and then you're relaxed with the driver on the tee.
What's my lie and the real shot that's on? Is it heavy rough or a flier? Is the lie too tight to chip a wedge? I've downslope lie with the ball below my feet, 200 yards out with water short and right. That slope makes me hit it low and fade to the right. The result is 90%+ water, I should lay up to a comfy wedge number. Check the distance and lie before pulling a club from the bag.
Practice recovery from bunkers and rough. Can save anything from 1-5 shots in a round if you're finding the wrong place regularly.
Aim to eliminate double bogeys or only get 1x in a round (short game practice and not getting penalties are key).
Take your medicine, no hero banana round obstacles or Mickelson flops over a big tree. Amateurs can't do this regularly, accept a bogey and don't make it a triple. You're going to make plenty of bogeys in a good round and still shoot in the 80s handy.
Learn how to punch out low under trees and branches. It's essential tbh.
Plan your way from the hole back. What shot do I want at the green, what layup sets that up, what tee shot sets that up? What area is safest to hit at (no bunker/tree etc). Course management 101. Golf is a game of planning your way to score and not aimlessly ego bomb, bomb, bomb to get closer 5% of the time. Pros can control a big bomb-type swing, but amateurs don't and end up with big misses leading to penalties/big scores.
Find a club or shot that get's you in play and safe for Par 4/5s. It might be a 5 wood, hybrid or 5 iron if your driver misses often. You may be good with the driver though, so plough on in that case.
Know your carry distances. Not your total with roll-out. Very important for par 3 and approaches. Eg the 3w carries 200 and rolls 15. you can't carry 200 yd water so lay up.
Use a GPS/rangefinder to get exact distances. Ideally, track your scores. I have a Garmin watch and I can review rounds on the app after to see where I make errors or have problem holes. Plenty of free mobile apps will give distance and basic tracking too.
Understand the impact of ALL conditions. #1 is lie, wind, elevation, slope, rough, and temperature.
Play towards safe areas so you have more scope to miss. Eg long of green is easy chip/putt but short has the worst bunker on the course. Play to the back of green. Same for fairways/trees/bunkers. Leave the ball below the hole for easier uphill putts etc.
Be wary of blindly pin-seeking. Feeds into playing to safe areas. Get it on the green safely and 2 putt that par/bogey to move-on.
Know your shot shape and play to it. Don't try to force a draw or fade that is not your natural shot.
Go for lessons. Trust me it will bring you on so much and correct fundamentals. Not just one lesson. Go for 3x separate ones if you can short game/putting, irons and driver.
Play more competitions where possible. You'll pick up a lot from other players and the extra pressure/focus will excite.

If you watch youtube, Golf Sidekick has some very good series on breaking 90/100 etc. It's all course management, mentality and common sense vs pure technical instruction. Much of the points above are what he says tbf. I'd be a disciple if he had a cult.

Should you have the time for playing 3/4 times including practice I've no doubt your scores will come. Best of luck for the year ahead and enjoy your golf.

token56

If you have a handicap I presume you are a member of a club? Lately I've just been putting my name down on our time sheet beside whoever is available. Getting to meet new players and some of them now are becoming more regular playing partners. It can be intimidating but it's the best way to get out and get to know people in the club.

Two great tips I've got since I've started back playing myself are, first play to your handicap. If you have a shots on a hole use them, for example that might mean laying up to a long par 4 rather than trying to go for the green. Next shot onto the green, two putt and bogey, that is a perfectly good result for a mid to high handicapper, maybe you might even get up and down.

Second, scoring low is all about making your bad shots better, there is a statistic going around now about how a scratch golfer on average shots 1.8 more birdies per round compared to an 18 handicap golfer yet they shoot on average 18 shots better. Why, because their bad shots are just better. Another statistic, on average a scratch golfer makes just 0.7 doubles or worse compared to 5.7 vs an 18 handicap, that in itself is a minimum 10 shot difference. Make those doubles or more just bogeys and that is a lot of shots saved. Next time you are out playing look at any doubles or more that you have and analyze what caused them, bad drive, out of bounds, 3 putt, chipping, etc. There will start to be a pattern, pick the biggest issue and work on that part of your game until it becomes more consistent and then move onto the next. That's the approach I'm trying to take anyway.

Article about the stats - https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/scratch-vs-18-handicap-how-the-stats-compare

benny79

A great tip I got this year which has really improved my chipping a area were I have always struggled is chip with a PW I always would of chipped with 52 or 56 if really close. This has been night and day stuff!

hogie_l

I’m around Edenderry/Highfield GC’s, with Millicent (Clane) down the road and loads of nice coarses around kildare/Meath.

100%! My putting constantly lets me down! Looking at getting a new putter (blade), but that’s not going to solve the problem. I really need to practice putting more.

hogie_l

Wow, that’s a great help! Thanks v much for your effort and time. Really appriciate it!

yeah I like watching the likes of Rick shields on YouTube recently.

hogie_l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120302000#Comment_120302000

Currently trying to use 8I around the greens for bump and runs. Lets slopes and contours of green do the work! It’s really helped take a shot or two off my score!

dan_ep82

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120302364#Comment_120302364

I'm a bit far away but if you want a round in Headfort just send me a pm and we can arrange it. I'll be playing Moyvalley at some point this year aswell.

Moyvalley has opens every bank holiday, Rathcore is just a little further and a good course condition depending. County Meath,a very decent course,have an open on every week for €16 aswell, probably the best value golf in the County. Headfort have opens every Tuesday once the summer gets going aswell.

A puttout (https://www.halpennygolf.com/en/Puttout-Pressure-Putt-Trainer-Red/m-32991.aspx ) if your struggling with hitting your line or short putts, the only way I can practice putting without getting bored. If you really struggle with pace try to stick to the one course/greens for a while,jumping from fast to slow greens can mess you up if your not used to it. And the wrong putter can make a fair difference. I struggled with missing left using a toe weighted putter for nearly two years, changed to a face balanced putter and the putting got a lot easier to manage. I can still miss left but very rarely do I see a good putt draw of a centre strike.

hogie_l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120302662#Comment_120302662

Headfort looks lovely and is defo on my list for this year! That would be great! I’ve played moyvalley once and I’m a big fan of the place.

A friend is a member in rathcore too, planning on playing there in the next few weeks hopefully!

ill give that link a try! Thank you

hogie_l

Can anyone enlighten me to the new Hindicap system? I actually don’t have one as I’m not a member of a club at the moment. Can I still get a handicap? How can I go about it? Does it cost much?

cheers!

dan_ep82

You need to join a club to get an official handicap. Then you have to play 54 holes (either 9 holes or 18 at a time or a mix of the two ) signed by a member or someone they allow. Sometimes the handicap sec will want you to use certain tees when doing this. HC sec will then issue your handicap index

blackbox

You'll need to join a club to get a handicap and its the most practical option if you want to play a few times per week.

New handicap system is based on your best 8 scores from last 20 rounds, but you can get am initial handicap after 3 rounds. Your club will look after this for you.