Trying to Break 100

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I play to a 3 or 4 and I always find the easiest way for players to break 100 is to practice short putts from 3 to 5 feet. Trying making 25 3-footers in a row and don't let yourself practice any other area of your game until you can. It's much harder than you'd think, and it'll help build your confidence and save you a lot of shots on the course.
 
How long has it taken everyone to be where they're at? It just feels like I'm in a golfing slump right now. Can't hit, can't putt, can't chip :confused2:
 
Trying to Break 100

Took me 1 1/2 yrs to break 100 from when I first started


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Being a member of the 100 club for quite sometime, and having broken into the 90s in the last few months, perhaps I can give some insight as to what I did and how it might help some here.

A large reason I couldnt break 100 was inconsistancy. The only consistant thing was that my driver was going FAR RIGHT! Taking a look at a typical round, it seemed I couldnt string two decent ball strikes in a row to be able to reach a green in regulation. Par 3's would take 2 or more swings, par 4's would take 3 or more swings, and par 5's 4 or more swings of the club to get the ball within pitching/chipping distance of the green. If you can spend a decent amoung of time at the range and develop the ability to get repeated balls downrange (doesnt have to be spot on accurate, just not too fat or thin), then when you tee up at a par 4, you know that most likely you will be somewhere around the green in 2 shots.

Now that you are around the green, you have to get onto the putting surface, and into the hole. Again, work to get consistant striking with your pitch/chip shots. Practice the 10, 20, and 30 yard pitch shots, because lets face it, unless you're a 10 handicap, you're not hitting a ton of GIR.

Putting, get your distance right. Distance control is argueably more important than direction (to an extent, obviously). Take a pile of balls, and then pace off 5, 10, 15, and 20 feet, placing a tee in the ground at each distance. Then practice putting to a different distance each time, trying to develop a feel for those distances.

So, to recap, get your approach and pitch/chip shots down to be more consitant ball-striking, and develop a feel for putting distances. Shooting a 100 allows 10 double bogeys and 8 bogeys. That means if you can get near the green in regulation, you should have 3-4 attempts at getting the ball on the green and in the hole!
 
played 18 at 7am today. It was under 40 degrees and 30mph winds. COLD. I shot a 110 on 4 hours of sleep. New driver was working great but everything was falling apart. My normally solid putting was even failing me. So far this year my game has taken a few major steps backwards...I'm starting to get frustrated. I'm shooting 10-12 strokes more than last year at this time. Not sure what happened...

i know what happened.......you stopped playing with me....
 
How long has it taken everyone to be where they're at? It just feels like I'm in a golfing slump right now. Can't hit, can't putt, can't chip :confused2:

I have been playing since July 2009 and was forced to take the winter off (stupid snow). I also didn't play much in late August and September due to the birth of my son. I started out shooting in the 120-130's and am now below 110 consistently.

Being a member of the 100 club for quite sometime, and having broken into the 90s in the last few months, perhaps I can give some insight as to what I did and how it might help some here.

A large reason I couldnt break 100 was inconsistancy. The only consistant thing was that my driver was going FAR RIGHT! Taking a look at a typical round, it seemed I couldnt string two decent ball strikes in a row to be able to reach a green in regulation. Par 3's would take 2 or more swings, par 4's would take 3 or more swings, and par 5's 4 or more swings of the club to get the ball within pitching/chipping distance of the green. If you can spend a decent amoung of time at the range and develop the ability to get repeated balls downrange (doesnt have to be spot on accurate, just not too fat or thin), then when you tee up at a par 4, you know that most likely you will be somewhere around the green in 2 shots.

Now that you are around the green, you have to get onto the putting surface, and into the hole. Again, work to get consistant striking with your pitch/chip shots. Practice the 10, 20, and 30 yard pitch shots, because lets face it, unless you're a 10 handicap, you're not hitting a ton of GIR.

Putting, get your distance right. Distance control is argueably more important than direction (to an extent, obviously). Take a pile of balls, and then pace off 5, 10, 15, and 20 feet, placing a tee in the ground at each distance. Then practice putting to a different distance each time, trying to develop a feel for those distances.

So, to recap, get your approach and pitch/chip shots down to be more consitant ball-striking, and develop a feel for putting distances. Shooting a 100 allows 10 double bogeys and 8 bogeys. That means if you can get near the green in regulation, you should have 3-4 attempts at getting the ball on the green and in the hole!

Good tips Sacul. If I can make forward progress with the ball I have a much better chance of scoring well. The 20 foot chunked shots and topped drives were really hurting my ability to get to the green. If it takes me 4or more shots to get to the green on a par 4, I may as well write down a triple (or if I am lucky, a double). If my second shot is good, I have a good shot at par or bogey.
 
How long has it taken everyone to be where they're at? It just feels like I'm in a golfing slump right now. Can't hit, can't putt, can't chip :confused2:

I started last August and I've been up and down. Lessons helped and I'm thinking of going with another run of them once I break 100.
 
I started last August and I've been up and down. Lessons helped and I'm thinking of going with another run of them once I break 100.

We've been playing since last July, so around the same time. I had a good chunk of lessons, didn't really help much, and then took a long break and now am back with the lessons with another instructor. Its been a long journey...
 
Well I started playing August of 2005 and I did not break 100 till sept of '08 since then I have broken it 17 times with 90 my low last friday 5/7 and I never thought it was going to happen for me ever, I just kept at it.
 
Played 9 tonight after work, and needless to say I did not break 50. I hit my irons very well but could not hit off the tee, 3 or 4 OB shots, the next shot after OB was great. Just wish I would have do that on the first swing.
 
Played 9 tonight after work, and needless to say I did not break 50. I hit my irons very well but could not hit off the tee, 3 or 4 OB shots, the next shot after OB was great. Just wish I would have do that on the first swing.

You need to hit something shorter off the tee's then. A 100 yard PW in the fairway is better than a driver, wood, hybrid, long iron OB.
 
I started last August and I've been up and down. Lessons helped and I'm thinking of going with another run of them once I break 100.

Up and down is good in golf...
 
i think confidence is a huge factor - if i could just press a button that would wipe all evil thoughts from my head when im at address i would do significantly better. but, that isnt an option - so maybe i need a naked female caddy that just keeps my thoughts positive for awhile - i think i might be able to hit it solid if i wasnt constantly thinking - slice into OB; in hindsight looking at my caddy instead of the ball wouldnt help wonders either. back to the drawing board.
 
110 yesterday. Played in intermittent rain and 30mph winds. Neither seemed to bother me as much as TOPPING THE STUPID BALL all day. I was so mad by the 17th hole that I could have snapped my clubs. Then I par a 185 yard par 3 that is one of the tougher holes for me. Go figure.

One positive was that half of my approach shots were actually really good. I stuck the ball on the green more than I ever have. The only problem was that I had already topped two or three shots before that.

Going out tomorrow and the weather is actually supposed to be nice. amollerud gave me a tip that I'm going to try out too. I'm keeping it positive and hoping for the best.

Good luck to anybody else going out this weekend.
 
Well I started playing August of 2005 and I did not break 100 till sept of '08 since then I have broken it 17 times with 90 my low last friday 5/7 and I never thought it was going to happen for me ever, I just kept at it.

That is so awesome that you have broken 100 that many times already and shot a 90 last week CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Played 9 tonight after work, and needless to say I did not break 50. I hit my irons very well but could not hit off the tee, 3 or 4 OB shots, the next shot after OB was great. Just wish I would have do that on the first swing.

I was having the same problem last week. It wasn't until the 16th hole that my driver decided to start working. I probably should have pulled the 3W out of the bag but my driver is usually the only thing I hit consistently so I refused to give up on it. I try to take joy in any good shot so while the Driver wasn't working for you at least your other clubs were : ) That's what I was telling myself last week too.

i think confidence is a huge factor - if i could just press a button that would wipe all evil thoughts from my head when im at address i would do significantly better. but, that isnt an option - so maybe i need a naked female caddy that just keeps my thoughts positive for awhile - i think i might be able to hit it solid if i wasnt constantly thinking - slice into OB; in hindsight looking at my caddy instead of the ball wouldnt help wonders either. back to the drawing board.

Like picturing the audience naked when giving a speech.

110 yesterday. Played in intermittent rain and 30mph winds. Neither seemed to bother me as much as TOPPING THE STUPID BALL all day. I was so mad by the 17th hole that I could have snapped my clubs. Then I par a 185 yard par 3 that is one of the tougher holes for me. Go figure.

One positive was that half of my approach shots were actually really good. I stuck the ball on the green more than I ever have. The only problem was that I had already topped two or three shots before that.

Going out tomorrow and the weather is actually supposed to be nice. amollerud gave me a tip that I'm going to try out too. I'm keeping it positive and hoping for the best.

Good luck to anybody else going out this weekend.

110 in high wind and rain is really good, soemthing tells me with nice weather you are going to break 100 in no time!
 
shot a 103. shot of the day for me was 140 yds over water to 2 feet of the hole for a tap in birdie. my distance control around the greens is horrible but everything else is starting to click...
 
shot a 103. shot of the day for me was 140 yds over water to 2 feet of the hole for a tap in birdie. my distance control around the greens is horrible but everything else is starting to click...

Congrats CCR :)
 
shot a 103. shot of the day for me was 140 yds over water to 2 feet of the hole for a tap in birdie. my distance control around the greens is horrible but everything else is starting to click...

That's great!!! Congrat's! It will all click in due time I am sure, but you are clearly on your to the Trying to break 90 club.
 
haha...thanks GG. I don't know about that...maybe once I am consistently in the 90's. Its amazing what a solid round will do for your confidence though!
 
haha...thanks GG. I don't know about that...maybe once I am consistently in the 90's. Its amazing what a solid round will do for your confidence though!

you are 100% correct about that. Sometimes for me it isn't even a good round all it takes is one really good hole or sinking a sweet putt from 25', it's just doing something right on the course that boost my confidence. But then I act like a kid on the course and start jumping up and down haha.
 
I would love to break 100 more often. I have been very inconsistent lately with my swing; I have decided to take lessons.
 
I made a change of direction. I removed the driver from my bag and decide my goal is to hit GIR + 1. Any approach shot over 160, except for par 3s, will be a layup to a full swing distance.

I played 9 this morning and used my 3w off the tee. Ifollowed my strategy and shot a 49. 5 strokes under my 9 hole HCP at this course. My highest number was 6 and I was never worse then dbl bogey. I found that the layu strategy took pressure off my tee and approach shots. Also mishits with shorter clubs are less damaging. For example I skulled a GW layup 120 yards, that's a full 30 further then normal. It left me 50 yards out for a pitch in. Had that been my 7w or 4i, I'd have been hosed. Past the green in long rough and maybe under some trees.

I plan to keep playing this way to see what happens.
 
Nice improvement Bortass!
 
I made a change of direction. I removed the driver from my bag and decide my goal is to hit GIR + 1. Any approach shot over 160, except for par 3s, will be a layup to a full swing distance.

I played 9 this morning and used my 3w off the tee. Ifollowed my strategy and shot a 49. 5 strokes under my 9 hole HCP at this course. My highest number was 6 and I was never worse then dbl bogey. I found that the layu strategy took pressure off my tee and approach shots. Also mishits with shorter clubs are less damaging. For example I skulled a GW layup 120 yards, that's a full 30 further then normal. It left me 50 yards out for a pitch in. Had that been my 7w or 4i, I'd have been hosed. Past the green in long rough and maybe under some trees.

I plan to keep playing this way to see what happens.

I look forward to hearing about your progress. Every instructor I have ever had has always told me that if you can control your short game you will always have a chance. I am very interested in seeing how this new way of playing works out for you, it seems so far so good.
 
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