m r c wrote: » There has been enough talk about high handicaps on this forum so this thread is for people to discuss ways, tips and ideas as to cut out mistakes at all levels of h/c. I'll start, I'm off 24.1 ATM just lost .4 the last time I played, my strategy was as follows. I put priority on hitting the fairway off the tee, and if I missed I wanted my miss to be as near as possible. I managed to hit 9 fairways and finished with the ball I started with. My current thinking about missed greens is to go for the fat part of the green regardless of pin position to again attempt to take the big numbers off the card and this puts more pressure on the putter which is where it should be. Any time I manage this plan it gives me a putt at par which is never a bad thing. I've noticed that I've had a lot more of them now than before. It'd be great if any views to the contrary were put forward in a positive manner I'm fed up with bickering and they could be really useful to all if helpful
Redzah wrote: » Work on the attitude, eliminate the aggression and think a bit more
Dublin Spur wrote: » try to be on every par 3 in 2 par 4 in 3 par 5 in 4 do this regularly and you be down to 18 in no time Unless your putting is horrific
m r c wrote: » Ajcurry Maybe it would be better to give some more detail on history m r c? How long you've been playing, lessons, strenghts/weaknesses etc. Well I've been playing for 2 and a half years ish now. I tried golf around 07 and liked it but was playing another sport and didn't have time for the two. So the very first round I marked every shot for was 159 incl all penalty strokes and one whiff :-( I always take that as my base point when I'm getting pissed with bad play. I first got my h/c in May 12 of 24 I took me a nice while to play to that but have in about 40 comps since may 12 had three 2nd's and a 5th and made buffer maybe another 7 times(I can get exact buffer if needed) A fair description of me ATM would be a sub 100 shooter I have played some nice practice rounds but never brought that game to comps yet.
spacecoyote wrote: » For me getting down from 22-11.5 over about 3.5-4 years, these were the things I found most helpful: 1 - go for lessons & persist with the tough times as it will pay off 2 - this was one of my major action points from 22-17. Always look to give myself a par putt (don't get too focussed on gir). That way a 2 putt gives you a bogey & if the one putt drops you walk off with a few bonus pars 3 - just because you flushed an 8 iron 150 yards once doesn't mean An 8 iron is your 150 yard club. Your 150 yard club is the one that on average travels 150 yards. Don't get caught up in the macho bullsh1t of feeling you have to hit less club, it's about scoring not hitting it further than the other guy. 4 - generally when measuring your approach (from say more than 120 yards) take a look at the distance to the back if the green & select the club that corresponds to that distance. Most often you don't hit a perfect shot, so you should hit more greens. Niklaus reckoned he hit maybe 3 perfect shots in a round, so how many do you think you manage? Eg, green is 130 to front covered by bunkers, middle is 140, back is 150. Take your 150 club. You hit it perfect(unlikely), you're on the back of the green, you hit it a little off, you're in the middle if the green, you hit it a little worse, you probably still clear the bunkers & land in the front. Doing this definitely improved my odds of hitting greens. 5 - work on your short game, a lot! 6 - try forget about the course being 2 sets of 9 holes. That way if you start with 2 bad holes you can just write off the 2 bad holes, rather than start thinking "front 9 is ruined, I'll start playing on the back 9". Think about each hole as a game, or if that's too much, break it unto 6 x 3 hole sets. & don't add up your scores after 9 holes to see how your doing, if you're playing well youll probably change your game & start trying to protect your score 7 - know when to take your medicine.if you're in the trees & have a choice of knocking sidewise easily onto the fairway or taking a 1% chance shot through a 2 foot gap in the trees towards the green, 99% of the time you'll score better on the hole by knocking sidewise These were all helpful for me coming downwards, and hopefully something there might help someone
m r c wrote: » I was 1 over gross through 7
GreeBo wrote: » So more than 10 under nett yeah? Off 24 handicap. You're lucky the handicap thread is closed tbh. If I was your caddy Id snap all your woods in half and all your irons down to your 7iron. You wouldnt have to worry about gap wedges or lob wedges either. I reckon you'd still come in under par, having 23 shots left for 11 holes...
m r c wrote: » Read any of my posts though. I could care less about prizes and hate being off 24 all I want is to get lower. And still after starting well I still couldn't get it over the line......
alxmorgan wrote: » Now I don't want to talk course management here cause I know I could have put driver away after first hole or 2 or definitely after OOB hole(s) but does anyone have any thoughts on how to develop a fairway finder shot off the tee ?
GreeBo wrote: » I guess the answer depends on what club you are willing to use to find the fairway. I dont think you can talk about fairway finders without considering course management...its the same thing really. You are going to have days when you need to hit a 5i to find the fairway. If you are intent on hitting the driver no matter what, then try gripping down an inch or two, a shorter club is easier to use and you will find the middle of the clubface more often. However, a shot thats not in the middle of the club isnt going to hook or slice horribly oob on its own, so there is probably something else in there that needs to be looked at.
Corkblowin wrote: » I see a lot of talk about drivers and wonder why we're all so obsessed. I've gone from hitting 14 drivers a round down to 9/10. A 3 wood is easier to hit straight, the poor shots are not as wide, and the difference in length often isn't worth talking about. Especially with the new ones where lofts can be tweaked. I'd suggest in the next casual game that the driver is left in the boot and see the difference it makes to FIR and consequently scoring.
Andy Dunne11 wrote: » It's like every other club, if you trust your driver go with it and if you dont, then dont use it.
ssbob wrote: » I kept the driver in the bag earlier in the year and started using 3 wood more, I definitely improved my accuracy but found instead of hitting 8/9 irons I was hitting 5/6 irons and fair enough maybe I should just have hit two full PW's I find this hard to do. The course that made me hit driver again was Mount Juliet as I was miles back and struggling for some of the carry's off the tee. Will prob revert back to 3wood/hybrid once winter tee's come into play.
GreeBo wrote: » Assuming you have lots of shots, if hitting a 3w off the tee means you are now struggling with a long iron to the green, then dont hit the 3W, hit a 5iron and then a 7i and then your wedge.
ssbob wrote: » I totally get your point, the thing for me is I am just as likely to have a penalty shot off the 5/6 iron as I am with the driver, I could prob hit 7 iron but in a lot of places I may not even make the fairway with that! My next round of golf will involve playing very conservative, I will report back!
ssbob wrote: » The course that made me hit driver again was Mount Juliet as I was miles back and struggling for some of the carry's off the tee.
GreeBo wrote: » I do grip it and rip it...its much easier to rip it when you are confident that you are hitting the right club and arent trying to steer it down the fairway
Corkblowin wrote: » I can totally understand with Mount Juliet - can be a beast off some tees - esp when its wet. But thats where assessing your options comes in. Mount Juliet has plenty of holes where the fairways are wide and even if you miss its not too bad. It can be worth the calculated risk on those holes. Others (such as the 4th), possibly not.
