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Trying to Break 100

JonMA1 said:
2. I am never going to average 12 GIR per round (probably not even 9), regardless of how short a course I play or how much time I dedicate to improving my full swing and approach (I've spend 8 years, btw).
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I read your whole post but only quoted this part as I think it is important.
Saying you never will puts your mind in the wrong frame, it is a negative and you need a positive. You have to eliminate the negatives, all of them. Even though you may not hit 12 GIR in a round, don't start the round thinking that. Just my 2 cents, this game is mental and the more positive you can be the better off IMO.
 
JaxHax said:
Any tips on better ball striking on the short stuff around the green are welcomed. That 56 is giving me fits!
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Have you tried a different club? I use my 50° the most because it is versatile for me.
Use a putting stroke when chipping, 6 inches back and follow thru. Need to chip a bit farther, take it back to a foot. Keep the weight 60/40 on the front foot.
Next time out, try it before your round. Or if you can try it at home.
 
I mostly use my 9i and PW if I have to chip/pitch OVER rough, bunkers, etc...if I want to keep the ball flight lower, I use my 7i to get it a short distance then roll...
 
So after flirting with low 90s, my game turned into a hot mess. I devolved into a nasty pull hook monster. Even the horrendous slice from my driver could not escape the pull from the hook.

after some come to Jesus moments with golf buddies I did a little YouTube rabbit hole digging into Malaska videos. What I found seemed very intuitive and back yard swings have me super stoked to get to a range and put club to ball.

I found two things (related) that I will work on first. One, the notion that your arms control your body. I.e. how you move a package from your right side to your left. And then proper rotation in your writs elbow and shoulder. Doing the L to L drill first with single hand and then with both I really had a oh that feels different and good. Was able to have very little tension in my shoulders yet controlled club movement. It also created a natural and fluid hip movement that I’m eager to work on.

Messing around with an Orange Whip then my 7 iron really enforced this is the new approach to a golf swing I want to pursue. A simple left hand only flick and I almost put a ball into my neighbor’s yard.

( and yes, I’m not skipping the Lessons. That will happen too).
 
It's been a little bit of a struggle this midwestern winter with ball striking. I think I've turned the corner and was really hitting it well tonight in my garage net setup. I was getting good launch consistently, start direction was good, and my weight was consistently on my front side without any balance issues, Last season I had real issues with balance.

I love the Dynamic Gold R300 soft stepped in taper tip. I know it is a bit of an odd choice these days as light weight steel and graphite are in, but I think the little bit of extra weight is helping my striking and it feels fantastic. It is firm enough to stand up to my swing speed with no issues and soft enough to not feel like I'm swinging a telephone pole.

I wanted to go to the range tonight, but it turned out to be windy with some rain. The courses should open in another couple weeks.

Dave
 
JaxHax said:
Any tips on better ball striking on the short stuff around the green are welcomed. That 56 is giving me fits!
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I posted this before so sorry for anyone if this is repetitive, but you don't HAVE to use a high lofted wedge around the green unless you've short sided yourself.



Dave
 
I’m hard pondering a move from my 54 to my 50 for short stuff. My usual miss with chips is leaving it short, so we’ll see if the lower loft helps.
 
JonMA1 said:
Sometimes just the act of experimenting with different strategies, learning different swings, etc., is a big part of the enjoyment of this game. Not sure the scoring is going to change much as a result, but I'll take whatever strokes might come my way at this point. Hopefully, the strategy habits are not too deeply instilled.

@Luchnia , @dthrog00 , @Snowman and @TheDoctor - it may not seem like much, but I can't describe how enjoyable it is to be able to discuss a topic like this without someone applying a one-size-fits-all opinion. Believe it or not, not all forums are this open-minded. Being able to bounce ideas off and get this type of feedback is pretty cool.
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We all had to start somewhere, and having different ideas from people just shows that there isn't one text-book way to play this game

Hamfist said:
I’m hard pondering a move from my 54 to my 50 for short stuff. My usual miss with chips is leaving it short, so we’ll see if the lower loft helps.
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One thing with lower loft means you don't have to be as precise with your contact - the higher the loft, the easier it will be to thin/chunk a shot
There is a reason your worst putt is still likely to be a lot better than your worst chip

It might take little time to get used to the extra roll out, but over the longer term it should be beneficial to get the ball on the green and rolling as you can see breaks etc as the ball is heading towards the hole
 
JonMA1 said:
Being able to bounce ideas off and get this type of feedback is pretty cool.
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I think this makes a great deal of difference. Bouncing ideas and feedback is great if you ask me. I just wished I had more time to absorb everything the posters post here.

That is a challenge with THP as there are so many great posts filled with good information. Some posters depending on how fast they type spend quite a bit of time sharing. That is to be commended in my book. There are so many that "pay it forward."

A side bar - I have never done well when someone is trying to shove things in my brain from the know-it-all perspective. I simply don't do well that way and most of the time I don't listen to that. To me I think this is where a lot of teachers can miss it. Too much detail can hurt as well, but it all depends on what one is working on.

I like to glean all the gold nuggets out that I think will work for me and throw the chaff away. That is just my method to learn as best I can. At my age I certainly plan to keep learning, but I want to keep that in perspective. :cool:
 
TheDoctor said:
We all had to start somewhere, and having different ideas from people just shows that there isn't one text-book way to play this game


One thing with lower loft means you don't have to be as precise with your contact - the higher the loft, the easier it will be to thin/chunk a shot
There is a reason your worst putt is still likely to be a lot better than your worst chip

It might take little time to get used to the extra roll out, but over the longer term it should be beneficial to get the ball on the green and rolling as you can see breaks etc as the ball is heading towards the hole
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I know it's going to take a while to develop the same "eye" for the shot I have with the 54, i don't think it's going to be radically different, but, just need to play it a bunch.
 
Hamfist said:
Golf Sidekick is not pleased with this kinda thinking. If I could be deadly with a three wood off both tee and deck, I’d not even carry a driver. And I’d be shooting better scores, more’n likely.
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I did this last year hit 3w almost exclusively, and while i was in the fairway more often my scores didn't change dramatically. For me it's putting 2 or 3 or 4 shots together in a row.

I think I found a Driver (EXS220) that I have the confidence to hit and the extra 40+ yards off the tee will be nice.



Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
same course as last Friday...9 strokes worse this time around for a 57 😑...OB penalties hurt. chunking approach shots hurt... putting hurt.
 
Thanks, all. There are some good ideas here on improving the short game. I dearly need help in that area. I'm okay off the tee, but not long. My second shot (or third on a par 5) usually misses the green. Too often, all I can do is barely get the ball on the green and 3 putt from 40 feet. If I can get the short shots closer to the pin, that can take me 9-12 less strokes a round and instead of trying to break 100, I'll be breaking 90 regularly.
 
So this L2L swing drill really made a big difference. I hit a large bucket of gentle iron shots. It was ugly for a long time but as I started bringing up the swing speed things got better and better. I then played 18.

before every shotand whenever I was waiting I just did the drill. Staying loose and reminding myself what I need to feel with my new swing.

conditions were tough yesterday. Shifty winds, both speed and direction, made things more difficult. But I put together a great front nine using this new swing thought. L2L with high finish. I managed a 46 with one par.

At the turn things ground to a halt. That delay followed by now herky jerky pace threw me off. I regressed. But got it back on track. Carding a tap in par on 18. Too many penalties and 3 putts thanks to more bad swings led to a 53. So I managed to get back on the low side of 100.

i need to keep working to engrain this new swing. But it’s so much more efficient and the overall reduction in tension felt so good.
 
So, I broke 100 today. I also broke 90...and 80. :oops:

Personal best gross score of 76 (par 66). After trying a full length Driver shaft for a few rounds, went back to the Thriver today. Staying there for the foreseeable.
 
thommo.sx said:
So, I broke 100 today. I also broke 90...and 80. :oops:

Personal best gross score of 76 (par 66). After trying a full length Driver shaft for a few rounds, went back to the Thriver today. Staying there for the foreseeable.
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Awesome!!! Congrats.
 
Played yesterday. I should have stayed home. My home course officially opened on Friday and it was gorgeous. Saturday? Not so much. The sun was shining and it wasn't particularly cold but the wind was an absolute killer. 15 mph winds with gusts in the 30s. I'm just awful in those conditions. The driver was way off again, which is really disappointing because I thought I was turning a corner with that club. Add the wind and it was an unmitigated disaster. 7 shots OB and on one of those holes, I was OB AND in a water hazard. 1 birdie, 4 pars, 3 bogeys, 6 doubles, and 4 triples and 36 putts (four holes with a 3 putt :rolleyes:) for an unspectacular 97. I was bummed, to say the least. The pro at the clubhouse mentioned that Koepka shot an 81 in the wind and to not beat myself up over a bad day in those conditions. It helped a little but it sure felt like a step backward. I was going to go back out today and rinse my soul of the filth but it's still breezy today with a bit of bite to it with the lower temperatures. I felt like I might be adding insult to injury in those conditions, so I'll soak in the suck for a week and give it a go next weekend. :(
 
Played a very frustrating nine holes yesterday and ended up with a 54. Just about everything went wrong - hit the ground with my driver constantly, frequently hit my irons 3 inches behind the ball, couldn’t read the greens right, etc. Even my good iron shots (I hit my 4i surprisingly well) were thwarted by strong headwinds. My golf buddy keeps telling me that everything I do looks good until about halfway through my backswing - definitely going to hit the range a lot once I take lessons and know a little more about what I’m supposed to be doing with a golf club in my hand.

There was one great moment though. Fifth hole, 120 yard par 3, and I pull out my 8i because I’m hitting short for the round and I’m scared of the wind. Shot feels good but can’t see where it lands. Walk up to the green and it’s sitting a foot and a half directly past the flag stick (which obscured my view from the tee box). Tap in birdie and the closest I’ve ever come to an ace.
 
thommo.sx said:
One. Length. Hybrid. (y)
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I’d love to get one (at least). I’m cheap, though, and they’re still relatively new. It’s definitely on my radar.
 
thommo.sx said:
So, I broke 100 today. I also broke 90...and 80. :oops:

Personal best gross score of 76 (par 66). After trying a full length Driver shaft for a few rounds, went back to the Thriver today. Staying there for the foreseeable.
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Nice! Go with what gets you the results you want. There's no rule on what you have to use.
 
robrandalgz said:
Played yesterday. I should have stayed home. My home course officially opened on Friday and it was gorgeous. Saturday? Not so much. The sun was shining and it wasn't particularly cold but the wind was an absolute killer. 15 mph winds with gusts in the 30s. I'm just awful in those conditions. The driver was way off again, which is really disappointing because I thought I was turning a corner with that club. Add the wind and it was an unmitigated disaster. 7 shots OB and on one of those holes, I was OB AND in a water hazard. 1 birdie, 4 pars, 3 bogeys, 6 doubles, and 4 triples and 36 putts (four holes with a 3 putt :rolleyes:) for an unspectacular 97. I was bummed, to say the least. The pro at the clubhouse mentioned that Koepka shot an 81 in the wind and to not beat myself up over a bad day in those conditions. It helped a little but it sure felt like a step backward. I was going to go back out today and rinse my soul of the filth but it's still breezy today with a bit of bite to it with the lower temperatures. I felt like I might be adding insult to injury in those conditions, so I'll soak in the suck for a week and give it a go next weekend. :(
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My new life phrase.
 
Took the new swing out for a spin on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was just a casual 3-club walk. 7-iron, 50 degree wedge and putter. Wanted to work on the new swing on actual grass with an observable ball flight.
Went...ok. Had an interesting new development, a left side pull, and the appearance of a draw-to-hook right to left flight. Interesting, but, fine. Had some really nice shots, seemed to gain about 10 yards on the 50 degree, couldn't detect any real gain on the 7, though.

Using the 50 for my chips was a matter of figuring out the swing for the proper shot. Some were nice, some were not.

Sunday had my whole bag out for nine. The results were similar. Some nice shots, some really poor ones, most just "OK-to-poor". I was hoping for a bit better of a showing, but am not surprised. Used a three wood for the first time in a decade, and it went alright. Low, hot shots that stayed in the fairway and gained yardage. I did not despise it.

The 50 degree wedge, after trying a few shot types really started to come into it's own around the 5th hole. Had the chips running more towards the hole, so that was good.

With the new swing still in development, I am happy with the good shots, and not unhappy with the poorer ones. Obviously, putting a bad swing on the ball, which I did often, will result in the same outcome.
 
Hamfist said:
I have to second this. I love mine.
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Same here! I’m still very much a beginner, so I use mine selectively (mostly in the rough when my lie is slightly elevated), but when I make good contact...holy smokes. Having it be one length really helps.
 
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