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What part of the game are you best at? High handicappers in particular?

V14_Heels

V14_Heels

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Albatross 2024 Club
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Location
Richmond, VA
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I'm brand new to the sport. About 3 months in. Shooting around 100, but have broken 100 a few times. I was curious what other high handicappers are doing WELL?

Putting: Decent
Pitching: GREAT...if I could somehow pitch every shot I feel like I'd have this game down. I'm trying to use almost a pitch with my irons to gain some consistency.
Chipping: Decent, but I struggle to align properly, and I'm always a little short
irons: If I 3/4 swing and slow it down like a pitch...i do alright, but my distances suck. The moment I try harder it's a train wreck.
Driver: I think i make solid contact 1 out of 20 times on the driver. It's REALLLY frustrating.
Hybrid; See Driver.

How about you guys?
 
In Strokes Gained terms, averaged over the last several years:

I am 4.5 strokes worse than Scratch off the tee
I am 4.4 strokes worse than Scratch on approach shots
I am 3.4 strokes worse than Scratch in short game
I am 2.8 strokes worse than Scratch putting

My stats app translates that to handicap equivalents:

Off the tee I play like a 19 handicapper
Approach shots I play like a 13 handicapper
Short Game I play like a 12 handicapper
Putting I play like a 14 handicapper

My overall handicap is around 17 currently.

All these category breakdowns say I pretty much equally suck at the four main elements of the game.

If you ask me subjectively what it feels like I'm best at I'd say putting (relative to other players about my level). That's not really borne out by the stats. It's probably because I play on a course with really tricky greens which I think slightly (maybe a stroke or so?) influencing the Strokes Gained putting comparison which is averaged over "Scratch" players on all greens everywhere. Or maybe my subjective feeling about my putting is just wrong!
 
Et Tu Brute? said:
In Strokes Gained terms, averaged over the last several years:

I am 4.5 strokes worse than Scratch off the tee
I am 4.4 strokes worse than Scratch on approach shots
I am 3.4 strokes worse than Scratch in short game
I am 2.8 strokes worse than Scratch putting

My stats app translates that to handicap equivalents:

Off the tee I play like a 19 handicapper
Approach shots I play like a 13 handicapper
Short Game I play like a 12 handicapper
Putting I play like a 14 handicapper

My overall handicap is around 17 currently.

All these category breakdowns say I pretty much equally suck at the four main elements of the game.

If you ask me subjectively what it feels like I'm best at I'd say putting (relative to other players about my level). That's not really borne out by the stats. It's probably because I play on a course with really tricky greens which I think slightly (maybe a stroke or so?) influencing the Strokes Gained putting comparison which is averaged over "Scratch" players on all greens everywhere. Or maybe my subjective feeling about my putting is just wrong!
Click to expand...

I use Arccos, not sure if that is the same app as you. What I've kind of always wondered is where does a 40-50 yard pitch land? Is that considered an approach shot, or a short game shot? We sound pretty similar actually.

I wish I could suck more at putting, short game and have approach/drive. I just find bad off the tees shots to be SOOOOO detrimental. You can pitch, chip or putt bad and yes it'll add a stroke or 2, but it's not near as frustrating as ripping a ball so far right that's it's just completely unplayable.
 
For me, Id say its putting. Im really good at lag putting especially. Id say that Im pretty good with my driver too. Im not especially long with it but its consistently straight and at least 230 yards out into the fairway.
 
Arccos caps:
Driving 28.5
Approach 21.7
Chipping 23.3
Sand 3.6
Putting 3.4

The sand cap is misleading, the goat pastures I play seldom have playable bunkers. I suck at everything but putting.
 
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I am good with wedge full shots. I am average or so with everything else. Putting is not good and the driver is a raging dumpster fire.
 
Definitely my iron game. Driving is hit or miss. My wedge game sucks. I make good contact I just can’t get the ball close to the hole which in turn makes it look like my putting is worse than it is. I can put the ball closer to the hole from 100-165 than I can <100
 
Compared to low handicappers I play with my game compares like this:

Off the tee: They are much straighter and 30-70 yards longer than me

200-150 approach: On average they are probably 20-30 yards closer to the hole than me

150-100: They are generally 5-10 yards closer to the hole than me

100-50: I am usually about as good as them

50 and in: I am better than about 2/3's of the low capers I play

Putting: I am better than about 3/4's of the low capers I play.
 
I'm good with driving and putting, not so good but improving with everything else. I average about 235 off the tee, with the occasional drive at 260 or a bit more. I almost never 3-putt. What kills my score is rarely being on the green in regulation. My approach shots are almost always just a bit off line, leading to a 10-20 yard chip on most holes. On the bright side, my chipping is getting better with all the practice.
 
According to GHIN 'averages/similar golfers' breakdown my strongest attribute, by far, is hitting more greens and more fairways than similar golfers. I'm getting about 2.3 more of each per round. Other strengths would be that I'm significantly less prone to blow up holes than my handicap suggests and I play the par 3s well, about 1/4 stroke lower than average. I'm also just above average for up/down and sand save percentage.

Putting is still my biggest weakness despite all the work I put into it. Much better then a couple years ago but I still average more putts/hole, putts/GIR, 3 putts, and fewer 1 putts than my cap suggests. I also average slightly more penalty strokes than the norm (0.74 vs 0.66) and my driver distance is just below average (-2 yards).
 
I wouldn't say great at anything but putting is usually my most consistent area of play. Everything else can be great or fall apart at any time. General ball striking is simply a battle for years. But its all relevant to each other. When my ball striking is bad my chipping and short pitching seems good enough and yet when my all striking is good then other part seems to not be enough and in need of work.
 
Not great at anything in particular, but I can hit with irons with better reliability and accuracy than I can with my driver. Approach shots from fairway to green are good and par 3 holes I can usually get on or near green with first shot with irons.
 
Like most higher cappers consistency is killer for me. When it all works, I can hang with a lot of the 10ish cappers I know. When it doesn't, I might as well be at home.

Tee shots- Varies but really dictates my day. If its working its generally a long tight fade around 270ish and sometimes out towards 300. When its not working its everywhere.

Long approach shots- Depends but if I am using a wood I have better luck then irons. I tend to fail to shut the face completely with long irons or I try and force it and top it or something stupid.

Medium approach shots- Again depends on the day. Sometimes its great and other times I might fight a bit of an open face.

Short approach shots- Kinda weird but I miss long quite a bit. Not from having the wrong club but more from hitting it a little to pure more often then expected. Wedges are a bit of a hot mess right now too with a lot of them coming up short and looking more like a flop shot.

Pitching- When I am feeling it I am deadly and when I am not I am mediocre.

Chipping- See pitching

Putting- Was the worst part of my game until recently and made a few changes and now its probably the most consistent and strongest part of my game. Its pretty much the only thing that is going to be good every single time out right now.

Its the typical story of a mid to high cap armature golfer in my opinion. Consistency is the name of the game at all levels and as you get more consistent you cap drops. A lot with me just depends on how I feel on that particular day too. If I feel good, energetic, and loose I play really well. If I feel sluggish, tired, or tight I play poorly.
 
Irons and longer to full swing wedges for me. And it’s always been that way.

I’m not terrible at short game, but I don’t get the ball close enough to the hole to guarantee a 1-putt often enough to feel good about it.

Lately I’m not good enough at shorter putts (5-6 ft) as the putter I’m using doesn’t seem steady resulting in a lot of lip outs and burnt edges. I’m fairly confident it’s an equipment thing. Specifically, head weight. So I’m going to test the theory soon.

Tee game hurts me the most. I hit the ball a long way, so a little discrepancy in face to path can result in some shots that are significantly offline. So if I’m not hitting the driver well I typically hit 3 wood or 3 iron off the tee.
 
For me, as with most high cappers, its my putting. My short game has started become a strength, lately, though. My chipping and pitching has save some holes that would have been absolute blow ups the past couple of rounds.
 
Honestly, it varies from week to week. For a guess at most consistent/good? Putting.
 
My par 3 average is maybe 3.25. My par 4 average is 5.25, my par 5 average is 6.75. (low 90s) I am better than average with short irons and wedges and a good putter. I'm less than average with my driver and terrible with fairways.
What I don't have is consistency. I'll hit 3 of 5 par 3 greens, get 1 birdie, 3 pars and a double bogie. I'll hit 3 of 9 par 4 greens, 2 pars, bogies and doubles and an occasional triple. par 5s are hit and miss. Friday I got 2 pars and 2 triples.
Its the long fairway shots that kill me, especially the forced carries over creeks and ponds. I'll hit fat and get no carry and a short roll, then do it again into the creek. Then hit a shot to the green with my 5th and need to one putt for bogie (and miss).
 
When I was a higher 'capper, my (relative) strength was iron play and full swing wedges. I wasn't particularly accurate but driver scared me to the point that I wouldn't use one and inconsistency with woods was fairly extreme. My putting was streaky but usually poor.

Now, driver is my strength followed typically by putter. Up until this season, irons continued to be a strength but through maybe 40 rounds now, they've been consistently inconsistent all year.

Wedges are good, I still can't hit FW reliably so I ditched them for hybrids that I hit well.

Our games are evolutionary, enjoy the ride!
 
IM mid-high handicapper and putting and chipping aren’t good but the best part of my game. I struggle with consistency outside of that


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For the past 25 years I have had a handicap between 11 and 18. At the high end now because I rarely played for a seven year period and I now play about once a week, health permitting. Bad back and knee. Currently my strengths are being accurate, but not necessarily long with my driver. I am very poor at iron play. Short game is ok but reflects a lack of practice. Putting has always been a strength of my game although I sometimes struggle on short putts. Usual miss is a pull.
 
I'm just starting out (again) so I pretty much suck at everything. I did spring for a new putter that I adore and I have been spending a lot more time getting acquainted with it. That said, I'm getting much better at lagging but tend to lip the cup on short putts. I've been practicing short pitches and chipping and that is coming along nicely. Driver and irons need a ton of help.

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Better than my handicap off the tee and in GIR. Worse than my index with short pitch shots and putting.
 
While I feel pretty comfortable with my wedges from 60 or so in, I like chipping and actually getting out of greenside bunkers (most of the time).
 
Short game is the best part of my game, also practice it the most


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Pitching is about the only thing I'm good at.

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