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What are you doing to lower your hdcp?

My biggest issues keeping me from getting my hdcp down last year was getting off the tee and shots OB. I've been taking lessons and practicing every day working on getting that sorted. From there, it's chipping and putting, and more chipping and putting. I know I leave a lot out there on putting and hope to get that in check. My chipping is typically one of my stronger points but can always be better and more consistent. I need more faith in the touch shots. I have not put enough time into those in the past, and have started to put a lot more time into those in-between distances.

Overall it's practice, lessons, and more practice.
 
Taking lessons. Part of what I want to learn about is how to play the game. I want to know, given situation x, what is the best approach and why, and what are my other options.


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What did I learn today in response to Freddie.

1. By turning into the ball (which I have been practicing) and swinging down the line, I impart more spin on the ball. It's not consistent yet, but there were some really good signs. In case that didnt make much sense, things were just more CRISP and shots were much less pitch and run and more hop and check with less roll.

2. Finger grip really does free up the putter.

3. Need much more work out of the bunkers. For some reason this is where I have been quitting on my swings. When I attack, I'm good, when I don't, not so much.

4. Your opponent can screw up and blade one even when you think you probably don't have a chance.

5. Took about twenty or 25 full swings with my buddy's 5 iron. Used Freddie's turn tip from this morning to Nebo and made some really nice swings that finished LEFT of the target instead of RIGHT. This made me happy.

JM
 
Not trying to get to any specific index. Plagued by a bad lower back that tightens up during most rounds and tendentis in my right elbow I haven't practiced much before rounds or even really warmed up. Slowly the elbow is getting better so the last couple weeks when I have been to the range I only focus on one or two things. Put a new shaft in the driver so 2 days in a row I only warmed up and focused on driver. After drive I would go to the short game area and only hit my 55*. I guess this would be more of a practicing with a purpose approach whereas before I would hit everything in the bag just for the repetitions.
 
3 things....

1. Simplifying my full swing (which is proving anything but simple).
2. Developing a new putting grip that reduces rotational bias that I may inadvertently introduce with my hands.
3. Ingraining a shallower chipping and pitching swing path to give me a better margin of error on those shots.
 
Right now it's all about my putting stroke. Been practicing a good amount this winter. My stroke feels the best it ever has. Putting was one of my weaknesses last year, so I'm really looking forward to see if I improve on course.
 
These are the things I am doing to improve my handicap not only at my local course but other courses.

1. Got a birdieball putting green so I can practice my putting whenever I can.

2. Got a net in the basement so I can work on my swing every night.

3. Taking video of my swing and having Freddie and everyone else check them out to give me some pointers.

4. Taking lessons now through the winter, so come spring I'll have my swing perfected.

5. Went to Club Champion to see my numbers with my clubs to see if they are the correct ones I need.
 
What are you doing to lower your hdcp?

I plan to continue with my lessons. I plan on Panda tips. I plan on dedicating significant practice time to working on my short game.

For me the goal of lowering my handicap is to make sure it travels wherever I go. That is very important to me


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I just started GolfTEC lessons and once I get my specs into my new Taylormade MCs, I really want to get my HDCP down to single digits. I can already tell a big improvement in my ball-striking since my first lesson and the confidence is showing in my game. Excited for the courses to turn green and start scoring like I feel I'm capable of doing.
 
I plan on playing more golf and less banging buckets on the range. Short game and putting are the focus this year.

Oh and I'd like to drop a dress size or two.
 
Put my ego aside and got SGI gear. More range work and increased golf playing, the best practice is on the course. Have lessons lined up and a full bag fitting scheduled.
 
I am really working on a consistent putting stroke so I don't 3 putt a par 5 I reach in 2 (Vegas high/lowlight). Hopefully get my swing on tape for some Panda critique.
 
Tadashi70 said:
I see a lot of post about getting better and getting to scratch or single digits. It's great to talk about but if like to know what everyone is doing to lower their handicap.

Are you happy with just lowering at your home course or do you want a traveling handicap, made up of different courses? Are you taking lessons? Getting a fitting? Video tips? Panda tips? What do you do to get the ole Cap lower? And how low do you want to go?
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I'm taking lessons now and making major tweaks to my swing while the weather is not conducive to playing. I'm back on a weekly lesson plan with my coach working on the full swing. When the weather brakes we will add short game practice into the lessons as well as on course playing lessons. All my range sessions are with a purpose, working on what we've done in previous lessons. With lessons comes understanding the swing and why certain moves create certain shots and understanding my #'s.

Lots of hard work has already gone into my swing and lots more will be going into it the swing as well as mental and course management.

Another fitting will be coming soon and tweaks to either my current clubs or new ones will be coming.

Once the courses open up I will be keeping detailed stats of FIR hit and misses(through, push, pull, fade, draw), GIR and misses(short,long,left,right), chips, pitches and putts. This will allow me to find my weakness and strengths allowing me and my coach to focus on where I need to do more work.

I definitely want a traveling handicap as I believe that is the true judge of ones ability. This will be accomplished by playing new courses and even ones that I just don't play more than a couple times a yr.

This yr I want to cut my 27 in half to a 13/14, which sounds like a lot but my biggest struggle is off the tee and I believe once the tee game is solid it won't take much.


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coers said:
These are the things I am doing to improve my handicap not only at my local course but other courses.

1. Got a birdieball putting green so I can practice my putting whenever I can.

2. Got a net in the basement so I can work on my swing every night.

3. Taking video of my swing and having Freddie and everyone else check them out to give me some pointers.

4. Taking lessons now through the winter, so come spring I'll have my swing perfected.

5. Went to Club Champion to see my numbers with my clubs to see if they are the correct ones I need.
Click to expand...

Looks very cool man!! Boy does their website need some help though!
 
I joined THP. That right there lowered my score by two strokes. Oh. And practice putting.
 
50wyldeman said:
Looks very cool man!! Boy does their website need some help though!
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Yea it can be a little confusing but glad I got my birdieball putting green.
 
I've had limited time this winter, but have been working on improving by:

1. Taking lessons consistently. It's actually a great time to work on my full swing because all I've been doing is practicing; not trying to bring anything new to the course yet.

2. Fitting. Went through the Club Champion fitting to figure out what I need for optimal numbers.

3. Practice. Any chance I get, I'm practicing the full swing, putting or chipping; whatever the weather allows or can do inside when I have free time, even if it's for a few minutes when everyone is asleep.

When the weather gets better, I'm doing a playing lesson to sharpen up course management. I'm actually decent at it but the problem has always been executing the shots properly. Regardless, getting a professional perspective can only help.

I'm still trying to figure out how to improve on the mental side of the game, but it may be best to simply commit to relaxing, trying to learn from mis hits and realizing that getting frustrated only leads to worse shots.


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Well, I'm a realist so I don't expect to get to single digits this year, but I do realistically think I can get to a 12. How am I working towards it?

1: I went in search of, and found an instructor who could work within my physical limitations. I liked my old instructor, but he seemed to only be capable of one swing type.

2: Lessons every 2 weeks. This is upon the recommendation of my new instructor. I had 3 major flaws that he identified during my first lesson. 2 of them were fairly simple fixes, but require some repetition to work into feeling natural. Grip and weight shift were the top 2. The 3rd was my sequencing. If I can work on these 3 things alone, my game will be changed completely.

3: Practice more, play less. I tend to play whenever I get the chance. This year instead of grabbing a quick 9 when I have 2 hours, I'm going to spend that time on the range or practice green.

4: Getting fit for all of my clubs. After the extreme difference in ballflight and accuracy I saw after my Taylormade iron fitting, I want to have all of my clubs fit.

If I can do these things, I can get to a 12. I give away more than 8 strokes per round because of crazy errant shots off the tee and with my irons. Working on the irons and wedges are going to make me money.
 
I'm trying to learn course management, and taking it slow and relaxed on the course. Taking stupid risks and rushing things are usually the reason why I play 82 instead of 75. I think I can learn to hit it further, but that wont help me lower my cap. Short game, putting and practicing those will get me there. Sub 5 is my goal this year.
 
I am actually striking the ball better than I have in years. The thing that helped me is having my knee repaired where I don't sway and lunge at the ball now days. It's a blessing to have confidence that I can turn around my right side and not feel like my knee will buckle at any moment. I'm scared to change anything in my swing because I'm gaining so much confidence and golf is back to being fun again. I will work extremely hard this spring on my putting. I recently had a lesson which has given me a technique that I can practice and make it routine. Extremely excited for the 2014 golfing season! Handicap, watch out buddy because you are about to go down quicker than a mule eating corn. :hungry:
 
My HC is pretty much a traveling type already, were not members anywhere as of yet. So I see different courses all the time.

Continuing my lessons with Golftec, and additional help from Ask the Panda (that's a warning bro). Finally finding a solid repeatable swing will help with consistency. The process of starting over has taken roughly 7 months so far.

Hard focusing on the short game, 125yd and in. Focusing on turning the 3 wedges into 9 solid clubs.

Additional putting emphasis. Solidifying the grip, and trusting the read.

Learning to trust my game and getting out of my own way. Which seems to be the hardest thing for me. I've developed a bad habit of self doubt.
 
Im still getting better after my return to the game. I have decided to take it alot morr seriously this year. My hope is to gr back down to a 2 or 3.
As far as how. : my main focus has been working on my swing. Ive gotten to a point now where im confident in it and will be moving more in to a fine tune aspect.
More short game work
Putting.
Ive also decided that weather permitting im going to get some video of my swing for the panda to look at.
Ive already contacted a spi instructor and are communicating about a fitting and maybe the spi program
 
My game has been in a constant state of evolution since returning to the game. I would like a travelling handicap and vary the courses I play to try and help with this.

I've had/having lessons and have booked a fitting to both check I'm playing the right length/lie and also to see if another club/shaft combo would suit me better.

I visit the range at least a couple of times a week and work on putting/short game in equal measures to my iron/wood play.

Like others have mentioned I feel I've almost got the game needed to get to the next level, still a fair way to go yet though!
 
Short game practice as most everyone here stated.
More analysis on course management--knowing the true risk/reward and making better decisions. Which for me, means taking less unnecessary risks.
More focus on every shot--no more just walking up and hitting it on casual rounds.
 
Jman said:
I'm doing a lot of things, for me...

1) Taking lessons and LEARNING about the golf swing and MY golf swing. I wish I'd accepted two years ago to do this rather than living and dying by self analysis and by "feel", better late than never though.

2) Learning HOW to practice. Number 1 helps here but I'm learning that 20 balls with a purpose on the range is better than bashing 200 golf balls.

3) Dedicated practice time to the short game. Short game is the handicap dropper.

4) Play multiple courses and CHANGE UP THE TEES in order to see courses differently to aid in getting the game to travel more.

5) Mental work. I can pull off every shot I need, I just have to learn to believe it and not let things snowball.
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"The previous caller stole my thunder." Jman, you summed it up pretty well for me.

#1) Some kind of lessons - not sure with who; it might have to be sending video to Freddie - but at least get some professional to check things out & suggest what I need to work on.

#2) Just taking the time to practice. Especially now when I can't play in the winter, I can still work on my swing. Harvey Penick had his students do a slow motion swing drill - I can do that. Just try to groove the proper turn & impact I bet will help a lot.

#3) Learn what swing I need for , say, 5-yard distances from 10-100 yards. Get a real confident feel for how to hit high & low partial shots. Study James Seickman's video lessons. I think this alone will take my scores from the high 90's into the 80's - I throw away so many shots on short approaches.

And I'll add (and not in the order of importance - I might put these before some of the others):

#6) Use a golf app to keep track of my game & see where I am weak & strong, so I can focus my practice better & use beter strategy to avoid trouble.

#7) Get into good physical shape so I have more flexibility, strength, and stamina

#8) Have fun! Golf as much as possible with THP'ers - certainly more than the first and only time last year.
 
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