Trying to Break 100

[Golds]

Great stories guys keep at it and you'll soon realize it isn't as impossible as you may think. For me it was having a short memory on the course which is easier said that done. After a blow up I would fume and take that with me to the next hole and the next. Once I started working on staying cool on the course my score reflected it. Focus, course management, and bogey golf...good luck everyone who is still getting to this goal!

 

[50wyldeman]

Managed a respectable 98 today 53/45 on a tough course today it was absolutely beautiful and had a great time. Looking forward to playing there again soon after a few lessons and in drier conditions it will be that much more pleasurable.

 

[deuce]

Congrats to everyone breaking 100. I hope to join you guys soon!

 

[50wyldeman]

Congrats to everyone breaking 100. I hope to join you guys soon!

You will indeed man, for me two things that have helped IMMENSELY have been sound course management, which for me means not following a bad shot with a bad decision, and , never ever trying to hit it HARD. it is unfathomable to me just how much of my game was somewhat wasted by not being truly present at different times throughout my round.

Good luck to you , enjoy the rounds they are ALL fun if you let them be

 

[robmypro]

Shot my 3rd round under 100 today...

49 out, 46 in.

Two more rounds and I think i'll move to the breaking 90 thread, consistency is definitely getting there.

Revelations for today:

Course management was key, protect bogey at all costs, par is a bi product.

Once again no driver, 3 wood all day err day.

Play to your misses. My miss is a pushed right with 3w-7, then with 8-SW it's a push left (Don't ask) so I looked at where it "might" end up and took it on board.

Twice got caught out on course management had to SW over bunkers onto a small green, my playing partner called these my 'phenom' shots, I had been practising and they went well! :banana:


A few putts here and there, a few fat shots, a few naff tee shots and i'm breaking 90.

The 80's look sexy.

Well done!

 

[robmypro]

Congrats to your dad, CRW.

 

[baldguy]

it's been a couple of weeks since I've really scored a full round. The adams event was a round of practice and a modified shamble round. Tomorrow I will be playing with some THP locals and it'll be match play... I may or may not score the whole round just to see.

One really cool thing that happened during Adams - during that Friday practice round, I got two birdies *in a row*. Until that round, I had carded a total of 5 birdies since I started golfing seriously about 9 months ago. Never two in one round, much less on two consecutive holes. The first was a little par 3. I dropped a 9 iron about 20 feet behind the pin and it backed up about half that leaving me a 10 foot downhill putt. drained it! The very next hole was a par 4. Good drive left about a 120 yrd shot in that went long of the close pin placement and ended up towards the back of the green. 25 foot downhill with a *lot* of break... drained it, too

 

[50wyldeman]

it's been a couple of weeks since I've really scored a full round. The adams event was a round of practice and a modified shamble round. Tomorrow I will be playing with some THP locals and it'll be match play... I may or may not score the whole round just to see.

One really cool thing that happened during Adams - during that Friday practice round, I got two birdies *in a row*. Until that round, I had carded a total of 5 birdies since I started golfing seriously about 9 months ago. Never two in one round, much less on two consecutive holes. The first was a little par 3. I dropped a 9 iron about 20 feet behind the pin and it backed up about half that leaving me a 10 foot downhill putt. drained it! The very next hole was a par 4. Good drive left about a 120 yrd shot in that went long of the close pin placement and ended up towards the back of the green. 25 foot downhill with a *lot* of break... drained it, too

Right on man way to go , I am about to trow up a thread about this (somewhat) I hope your round goes smoothly for sure . Big putts get me going something special about them for sure

 

[garethw]

53 out, 52 in. 12 out of 14 fairways one miss right just of the fairway, one miss left in a shallow bunker. 4 x 3 putts, 10 x 2 putts and 4 x 1 putts which gave me 6 bogies. My downswing has got really steep recently, during a lesson this week we tried to correct it but I just can not get the "feeling" he was trying to explain to me. This is happening with all clubs and makes using my 4 wood and hybrid a big no no so they are left in the bag and rely on 5, 6 or 7 iron for my second shot.

What I have realised is to forget the previous bad shot, aim for a place which I can realistically reach and hit with no water or bunkers (if possible) between there and the green, forget the flag and aim for a big bit of green to chip up on with a 7,8 or 9 iron and forget the spectacular high wedge approach shot that invariably either goes nice and high but to the left, or topped and rolls 6 feet or so.

The 99 is coming, just not to sure when.......

 

[thewitt]

Trying to Break 100

Hmmm. You hit 12 fairways and had 36 putts and shot 105. I hit 9 fairways today with 32 putts and shot 83...

 

[50wyldeman]

53 out, 52 in. 12 out of 14 fairways one miss right just of the fairway, one miss left in a shallow bunker. 4 x 3 putts, 10 x 2 putts and 4 x 1 putts which gave me 6 bogies. My downswing has got really steep recently, during a lesson this week we tried to correct it but I just can not get the "feeling" he was trying to explain to me. This is happening with all clubs and makes using my 4 wood and hybrid a big no no so they are left in the bag and rely on 5, 6 or 7 iron for my second shot.

What I have realised is to forget the previous bad shot, aim for a place which I can realistically reach and hit with no water or bunkers (if possible) between there and the green, forget the flag and aim for a big bit of green to chip up on with a 7,8 or 9 iron and forget the spectacular high wedge approach shot that invariably either goes nice and high but to the left, or topped and rolls 6 feet or so.

The 99 is coming, just not to sure when.......

It will come much sooner than you think you will be surprised at just how much course management will drop your score at these higher handicaps ( I am a 27) just being conscious of taking the reasonable shot will drop strokes and FAST .

Good luck you will be there very soon Id love to hit fairways like that!

 

[garethw]

Hmmm. You hit 12 fairways and had 36 putts and shot 105. I hit 9 fairways today with 32 putts and shot 83...

I'm not quite sure I understand your point here? Yes 12 out of 14 fairways, I only average 180 - 200 yards at the very most but if I play to my slice / fade I can get it on the fairway, getting from there to the hole gets harder.
I'll give you a break down of some of the holes: No1 Par 4, on in 4 + 1 putt, No3 Par 5 on in 3 + 3 putts, No4 Par 4 on in 4 + 3 putts, 11 Par 5 on in 6 + 2 putts, 16 Par 3 on in 1 + 3 putts, 18 Par 5 on in 5 + 1 putt. Thats how it goes, I've also just re read your post, you shot 83 well done, shouldn't you be in the trying to break 80 thread? Its edged comments like these that deter people from posting more regularly, this all about people who are trying to break that 100 mark.

 

[Bullitt5339]

I'm not quite sure I understand your point here? Yes 12 out of 14 fairways, I only average 180 - 200 yards at the very most but if I play to my slice / fade I can get it on the fairway, getting from there to the hole gets harder.
I'll give you a break down of some of the holes: No1 Par 4, on in 4 + 1 putt, No3 Par 5 on in 3 + 3 putts, No4 Par 4 on in 4 + 3 putts, 11 Par 5 on in 6 + 2 putts, 16 Par 3 on in 1 + 3 putts, 18 Par 5 on in 5 + 1 putt. Thats how it goes, I've also just re read your post, you shot 83 well done, shouldn't you be in the trying to break 80 thread? Its edged comments like these that deter people from posting more regularly, this all about people who are trying to break that 100 mark.

I think that what he was trying to say is that with those stats, you have a great idea where your issues lie and should be able to improve your score a lot by working on your ball striking, wedges and course management. I wish I hit that many fairways and 36 putts is average.

 

[Bullitt5339]

Once upon a time I was shooting in the low 90's every round and breaking 90 every 4 or 5 rounds.

Fast forward to today and after having some back issues, I'm back in the trying to break 100 club. I haven't had a round under 100 since November. Most have been 103-110. After some treatment for my back, I'm going to give it a run again. I played a practice round yesterday without keeping score but I can tell you without a doubt that the only part of my game that I would rate as good right now is putting. It makes sense, since that's about all I could practice seriously for a while. My driving was horrible, I've never hit such a high slice in my life. My short pitches were also terrible which cost me a ton of shots, I was just cutting right under the ball, leaving them high and right. Chipping was odd, I was loving the contact I was making, but because it was more solid than normal, I put quite a few too long and even when just off the other side of the green a couple times.

I'm going to get out and do some wedge practice before I play today to see if I can remedy some of the issues I was having.

 

[goodearth]

Went to Meadowlands in Calabash Nc. the other day looking for my 1st sub 100 round. I had never been there before and I shot a 46 on the front 9 but the 2nd 9 killed me. My back was tired and sore so I shot a 63 and lost a few balls along the way. Still looking for that sub 100 round and working on strengthening my lower back from the surgery I had 2 years ago.

 

[-CRW-]

I had another horrible round Saturday. I had a lesson at 11 am which started out poor. My instructor made some switches over a week ago to have me turn my hands down at the top of my back swing to encourage a swing path from the inside. I improved some between then and Saturday, but not to the level of consistency that I was at before. This lesson he tells me that I was over doing the turn, which he expected. He wanted me to find a happy medium. It took a few swings and I started to get back on track, but was hitting shots with a slight draw instead of my normal unintentional fade. He adjusted my posture slightly as I was slightly hunched over, had me swing a little more upright because trying to come from the inside caused me to flatten out my swing too much (and this brought back the divots I was seeing early on in my learning process), he had me stand a little further from the ball, and as usual he reminded me to slow down. We worked on some driver too, applying the same changes, and I saw improvement there too.

So fast forward to my round a few hours later...I shot a 114! And somehow didn't lose a single ball. I had to stop and by a pack of tees because I used my last Epoch Evolve Lined tee at practice. I bought the lined Zero Friction tees and just couldn't get the height right during the round using the same ball position/set up from practice. I ended up topping probably half my drives which all added at least 1 additional stroke to those holes. I was hitting fades and draws so I wasn't consistent with my release, and found myself topping a few iron shots which added additional strokes. I had a few fat shots around the greens on chips or short pitches which added a few extra strokes. My putting wasn't horrible, but I added a few strokes there as well with a total of 39 putts. Sooo, if I could get my iron swing down a little better and my ball position/tee height correct, I think I'd be back to the high 90's.

I honestly feel like I just need more time/practice to implement the recent changes. It took me eight months to get to where I was before the changes. I should be able to implement the new changes fully much faster than that.

 

[rickterp]

I got out for a practice round yesterday. Course still had snow and ice on several holes so I didn't keep score. I played okay; had a few nice shots and was working on a tension free swing. Still hitting it a touch heavy which isn't good in wet conditions. I did hit a perfect hybrid down the pipe off 18 tee so I ended on a reasonably good note. I think come mid April I'll be ready to go and hopefully in the breaking 90 thread soon

 

[deuce]

I think that what he was trying to say is that with those stats, you have a great idea where your issues lie and should be able to improve your score a lot by working on your ball striking, wedges and course management. I wish I hit that many fairways and 36 putts is average.

Probably, but he probably should have elaborated. I would have been annoyed by that post too.

I'm hoping that my first range lesson on Wednesday will help me get over this hump. I feel like I'm decent with my putting (17 putts for 9 holes yesterday), and I'm working on my chipping/pitching. Those will come with practice, and I know what to look for. What I really need is to get these irons, woods, and driver sorted out. I can work my slice, but would rather not have to and would like to get more distance ... though if he can help me get a predictable ball flight and stop hitting fats shot or thin I'll take it for now. Want to break sub-100 so bad I can taste it every time I step on the golf course.

 

[JFlores]

I had another horrible round Saturday. I had a lesson at 11 am which started out poor. My instructor made some switches over a week ago to have me turn my hands down at the top of my back swing to encourage a swing path from the inside. I improved some between then and Saturday, but not to the level of consistency that I was at before. This lesson he tells me that I was over doing the turn, which he expected. He wanted me to find a happy medium. It took a few swings and I started to get back on track, but was hitting shots with a slight draw instead of my normal unintentional fade. He adjusted my posture slightly as I was slightly hunched over, had me swing a little more upright because trying to come from the inside caused me to flatten out my swing too much (and this brought back the divots I was seeing early on in my learning process), he had me stand a little further from the ball, and as usual he reminded me to slow down. We worked on some driver too, applying the same changes, and I saw improvement there too.

So fast forward to my round a few hours later...I shot a 114! And somehow didn't lose a single ball. I had to stop and by a pack of tees because I used my last Epoch Evolve Lined tee at practice. I bought the lined Zero Friction tees and just couldn't get the height right during the round using the same ball position/set up from practice. I ended up topping probably half my drives which all added at least 1 additional stroke to those holes. I was hitting fades and draws so I wasn't consistent with my release, and found myself topping a few iron shots which added additional strokes. I had a few fat shots around the greens on chips or short pitches which added a few extra strokes. My putting wasn't horrible, but I added a few strokes there as well with a total of 39 putts. Sooo, if I could get my iron swing down a little better and my ball position/tee height correct, I think I'd be back to the high 90's.

I honestly feel like I just need more time/practice to implement the recent changes. It took me eight months to get to where I was before the changes. I should be able to implement the new changes fully much faster than that.

Keep implementing your lessons and the results will come. Where did you play at after your lesson?

 

[-CRW-]

I play at San Jac to minimize balls lost and to keep from slowing people down. I live closer to Tour 18, but I don't think I could keep up with the pace of play right now with the errant shots I have.

 

[JFlores]

I play at San Jac to minimize balls lost and to keep from slowing people down. I live closer to Tour 18, but I don't think I could keep up with the pace of play right now with the errant shots I have.

You would be surprise, lots of errant shots over at Tour 18. I played there when I first got started at Golf, you would find all kinds of golf balls out there, provs primarily. Give it a try!

 

[-CRW-]

Wish me luck. I'm playing a round tomorrow morning. I had a really good range session today after working on some adjustments. I had some of my longest, straightest drives since I've been playing golf and was doing it consistently. Hopefully I can carry some of it over to the course.

 

[50wyldeman]

Wish me luck. I'm playing a round tomorrow morning. I had a really good range session today after working on some adjustments. I had some of my longest, straightest drives since I've been playing golf and was doing it consistently. Hopefully I can carry some of it over to the course.

Good luck. You got this!

 

[-CRW-]

Well it today's round didn't go as planned. I shot a 104. I made some adjustments this week to my driver set up and it made a big difference. I hit 10 out of 14 fairways. Of the remaining 4, 2 were just outside the fairway, 1 was a pretty strong slice, and 1 was a draw that I aimed a little too left with early on (expecting a little fade) that ended up running into water. That drive and a fat shot with my 58* wedge over water (that didn't make it) cost me 2 penalty strokes. I had 38 putts, so not too terrible. I had a few one putts and also a few 3 putts. So after my two penalty strokes and 2 extra putts, I'd say 10 strokes were caused by poor iron strikes that resulted in being either errant enough to put me in a bad spot (like behind a tree) or were topped robbing me of enough distance to require at least 1 extra stroke for each shots respective hole.

The remaining 18 strokes were from 40 yards and in. This is an area that I'm really going to have to spend more time with. I had some pitches from 20-40 yards that ended up being fat and going half the required distance, some 5-15 yard chip/pitches that were short, and a few that were long and rolled off the back of the green. Some holes had a short chip followed by a long one over the green due to over correcting. There were plenty of longer approach shots that fell long, short, or to either side of the green. But I could have saved par on those holes if it weren't for poor chipping/pitching. I also would have had 36 putts or less if it weren't for poor chipping/pitching.

I had one GIR on a Par 4 (just barely, like two inches on the front of the green). I was no more than 10 feet from the hole and ended up 3 putting for a bogie because I left the first putt soooo short. The second one ended up being even with the hole, maybe an inch to the left. Very frustrating to say the least. I had a lot of stupid mistakes.

In my short 9 month golfing career I've had 13 lessons, 6 of which were over the last 6 weeks. None of those lessons have been on short game skills. I'm going to have to break down and go to a short game school. Funny thing is, the past two rounds were a 114 and 115. I didn't lose a single ball those rounds, but today I shoot a 104 and lost 2 balls to water. I'm trying the e6 and am liking them so far. I do think they like to run on the green, but they are long and straight just as advertised.

 

[garethw]

Well it today's round didn't go as planned. I shot a 104. I made some adjustments this week to my driver set up and it made a big difference. I hit 10 out of 14 fairways. Of the remaining 4, 2 were just outside the fairway, 1 was a pretty strong slice, and 1 was a draw that I aimed a little too left with early on (expecting a little fade) that ended up running into water. That drive and a fat shot with my 58* wedge over water (that didn't make it) cost me 2 penalty strokes. I had 38 putts, so not too terrible. I had a few one putts and also a few 3 putts. So after my two penalty strokes and 2 extra putts, I'd say 10 strokes were caused by poor iron strikes that resulted in being either errant enough to put me in a bad spot (like behind a tree) or were topped robbing me of enough distance to require at least 1 extra stroke for each shots respective hole.

The remaining 18 strokes were from 40 yards and in. This is an area that I'm really going to have to spend more time with. I had some pitches from 20-40 yards that ended up being fat and going half the required distance, some 5-15 yard chip/pitches that were short, and a few that were long and rolled off the back of the green. Some holes had a short chip followed by a long one over the green due to over correcting. There were plenty of longer approach shots that fell long, short, or to either side of the green. But I could have saved par on those holes if it weren't for poor chipping/pitching. I also would have had 36 putts or less if it weren't for poor chipping/pitching.

I had one GIR on a Par 4 (just barely, like two inches on the front of the green). I was no more than 10 feet from the hole and ended up 3 putting for a bogie because I left the first putt soooo short. The second one ended up being even with the hole, maybe an inch to the left. Very frustrating to say the least. I had a lot of stupid mistakes.

In my short 9 month golfing career I've had 13 lessons, 6 of which were over the last 6 weeks. None of those lessons have been on short game skills. I'm going to have to break down and go to a short game school. Funny thing is, the past two rounds were a 114 and 115. I didn't lose a single ball those rounds, but today I shoot a 104 and lost 2 balls to water. I'm trying the e6 and am liking them so far. I do think they like to run on the green, but they are long and straight just as advertised.

It looks like you and I have been playing approximately the same amount of time and are having similar rounds. I am out again tomorrow morning and hopefully Monday as well. I think I am going to start posting here more regularly with my progress.

I know roughly where my drives are going to go, so long as I stay relaxed and do not try to smash it off the face of the earth.

At the moment on the range I am trying to shallow out my downswing as it is very steep which just causes me to hit the ground before the ball. Range time I spend about half the time with my 7 iron then the remainder of the time, practicing short game chips and pitches, which is starting to pay off. I know if I am around 10 - 15 yards off the green with the ball level a little chip and run with my 8 or 9 iron is far safer and more accurate than trying to lob it into the air with a wedge and this is saving strokes. I now try to leave myself in a position to be able to do that. If I am below the green with a bunker then its a 56 or 60 and commit to it, when I slow down or think halfway through the swing then the ball is going in the bunker which I am terrible at getting out of. The instructor I use did say to me so long as there is no danger behind the green better to go long over the bunker and then either chip it or putt it back onto the green, this also is helping.