Trying To Break 90 Club

Well today I tried. I left the driver home. I played irons only which at the driving range I hit very well. I also moved up to the forward tees thinking this would make up for the yardage I gave up. The experiment was a failure. I played no better than I normally do. It took me 6 holes before I could hit a decent shot. I was scrambling for bogeys for 5 holes. I got my first par on the 6th when I hit a decent approach shot.

My green reading was dead on. I could see the lines like they were drawn on the grass. I pace off my putts so I can feel the slope, then I just look at the ground and see the line. I don't squat or do anything like that. I hold my fingers out and point at the spot where I'm aiming. It's not Aimpoint. It's point & aim.

"Guys, I know I tend to be on the slow side, but remember when we had two open holes in front of us? Now we're waiting to tee off." I'm slow but not that slow.

I had hopes of shooting a round in the 80s, but my hopes were dashed on the 14th, 15th, 16th holes with a string of double bogeys. I parred 17, but lost a ball on 18 and that was the end of that. By 15 my back had had it for the day. And once that happens it's over.
 
And so after my double header finished with a sub 90 second round, I played another and then today yet another. Thats 3 in a row bvelow 90 and today was also a new PB of 82.
And that 82 even after finishing with a double on 18. I had a real chance at an 80. Anyway for a change feeling good lately. Hope it lasts....:confused2: ....:)
 
I shot a 42 today. The best shots of a day were a chip on #1 to a foot and a 206 yard approach par 5 #5 to 12 feet.

Strokes gained:

Shot Type# of ShotsSum of Pro Strokes GainedSum of GIR?Chances for GIR?
Approach shot11-3.1439
Around the Green7-0.44
Putting17-3.10
Tee shot7-1.49
Grand Total42-8.1739

Dave
 
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After setting my 2020 golf goal as breaking 90 I finally got it done with an 89 yesterday at Steele Canyon golf club!!! So pumped to be in the 80s club.

Had everything working at least decent and really pulled together my short game on the back 9.

Finished in dramatic fashion. Half our group had quit after 9 because the pace of play was the worst we had ever seen. My partner had to leave after 16 to make it home for an event (5 hours in at this point) but I needed to finish +1 on the last 2 holes to break 90.

I took my bag from the cart and walked the last two alone in 107 degree heat. To pile on I got an emergency alert on my phone right before teeing off that the area may be evacuated for a nearby wildfire.

After a bad tee shot on 17 I hit my best approach of the day, 120 yard pin high gap wedge. Hit a great putt to leave a tap in for par.

On 18 I needed a bogey on the pr 4 to close it. I chunked my tee shot to about 120 yards. Recovered to absolutely smoke a 5i 220 yards dead straight. I had 85 left to the pin and tried to ease up on my 60’ lob wedge but adrenaline got me and I hit it about 95 to back of the green. I thought it had rolled off in to the trap which would have been game over for me. When I got up there it had held the rough by about 1 ft. Hit my best chip of the round to leave ~4ft for 89.

Took my time lining it up and with no break made sure I would hit it past the hole. After standing over the ball for the most stressful 30 seconds of my golf career I sunk it dead center and closed out a huge milestone for myself. So pumped to get that score after working at it all year.
 
After setting my 2020 golf goal as breaking 90 I finally got it done with an 89 yesterday at Steele Canyon golf club!!! So pumped to be in the 80s club.

Had everything working at least decent and really pulled together my short game on the back 9.

Finished in dramatic fashion. Half our group had quit after 9 because the pace of play was the worst we had ever seen. My partner had to leave after 16 to make it home for an event (5 hours in at this point) but I needed to finish +1 on the last 2 holes to break 90.

I took my bag from the cart and walked the last two alone in 107 degree heat. To pile on I got an emergency alert on my phone right before teeing off that the area may be evacuated for a nearby wildfire.

After a bad tee shot on 17 I hit my best approach of the day, 120 yard pin high gap wedge. Hit a great putt to leave a tap in for par.

On 18 I needed a bogey on the pr 4 to close it. I chunked my tee shot to about 120 yards. Recovered to absolutely smoke a 5i 220 yards dead straight. I had 85 left to the pin and tried to ease up on my 60’ lob wedge but adrenaline got me and I hit it about 95 to back of the green. I thought it had rolled off in to the trap which would have been game over for me. When I got up there it had held the rough by about 1 ft. Hit my best chip of the round to leave ~4ft for 89.

Took my time lining it up and with no break made sure I would hit it past the hole. After standing over the ball for the most stressful 30 seconds of my golf career I sunk it dead center and closed out a huge milestone for myself. So pumped to get that score after working at it all year.

Congrats!

Dave
 
After setting my 2020 golf goal as breaking 90 I finally got it done with an 89 yesterday at Steele Canyon golf club!!! So pumped to be in the 80s club.

Had everything working at least decent and really pulled together my short game on the back 9.

Finished in dramatic fashion. Half our group had quit after 9 because the pace of play was the worst we had ever seen. My partner had to leave after 16 to make it home for an event (5 hours in at this point) but I needed to finish +1 on the last 2 holes to break 90.

I took my bag from the cart and walked the last two alone in 107 degree heat. To pile on I got an emergency alert on my phone right before teeing off that the area may be evacuated for a nearby wildfire.

After a bad tee shot on 17 I hit my best approach of the day, 120 yard pin high gap wedge. Hit a great putt to leave a tap in for par.

On 18 I needed a bogey on the pr 4 to close it. I chunked my tee shot to about 120 yards. Recovered to absolutely smoke a 5i 220 yards dead straight. I had 85 left to the pin and tried to ease up on my 60’ lob wedge but adrenaline got me and I hit it about 95 to back of the green. I thought it had rolled off in to the trap which would have been game over for me. When I got up there it had held the rough by about 1 ft. Hit my best chip of the round to leave ~4ft for 89.

Took my time lining it up and with no break made sure I would hit it past the hole. After standing over the ball for the most stressful 30 seconds of my golf career I sunk it dead center and closed out a huge milestone for myself. So pumped to get that score after working at it all year.
Congrats Dave
 
After setting my 2020 golf goal as breaking 90 I finally got it done with an 89 yesterday at Steele Canyon golf club!!! So pumped to be in the 80s club.

Had everything working at least decent and really pulled together my short game on the back 9.

Finished in dramatic fashion. Half our group had quit after 9 because the pace of play was the worst we had ever seen. My partner had to leave after 16 to make it home for an event (5 hours in at this point) but I needed to finish +1 on the last 2 holes to break 90.

I took my bag from the cart and walked the last two alone in 107 degree heat. To pile on I got an emergency alert on my phone right before teeing off that the area may be evacuated for a nearby wildfire.

After a bad tee shot on 17 I hit my best approach of the day, 120 yard pin high gap wedge. Hit a great putt to leave a tap in for par.

On 18 I needed a bogey on the pr 4 to close it. I chunked my tee shot to about 120 yards. Recovered to absolutely smoke a 5i 220 yards dead straight. I had 85 left to the pin and tried to ease up on my 60’ lob wedge but adrenaline got me and I hit it about 95 to back of the green. I thought it had rolled off in to the trap which would have been game over for me. When I got up there it had held the rough by about 1 ft. Hit my best chip of the round to leave ~4ft for 89.

Took my time lining it up and with no break made sure I would hit it past the hole. After standing over the ball for the most stressful 30 seconds of my golf career I sunk it dead center and closed out a huge milestone for myself. So pumped to get that score after working at it all year.
Excellent, great job meeting your goal.
 
After setting my 2020 golf goal as breaking 90 I finally got it done with an 89 yesterday at Steele Canyon golf club!!! So pumped to be in the 80s club.

Had everything working at least decent and really pulled together my short game on the back 9.

Finished in dramatic fashion. Half our group had quit after 9 because the pace of play was the worst we had ever seen. My partner had to leave after 16 to make it home for an event (5 hours in at this point) but I needed to finish +1 on the last 2 holes to break 90.

I took my bag from the cart and walked the last two alone in 107 degree heat. To pile on I got an emergency alert on my phone right before teeing off that the area may be evacuated for a nearby wildfire.

After a bad tee shot on 17 I hit my best approach of the day, 120 yard pin high gap wedge. Hit a great putt to leave a tap in for par.

On 18 I needed a bogey on the pr 4 to close it. I chunked my tee shot to about 120 yards. Recovered to absolutely smoke a 5i 220 yards dead straight. I had 85 left to the pin and tried to ease up on my 60’ lob wedge but adrenaline got me and I hit it about 95 to back of the green. I thought it had rolled off in to the trap which would have been game over for me. When I got up there it had held the rough by about 1 ft. Hit my best chip of the round to leave ~4ft for 89.

Took my time lining it up and with no break made sure I would hit it past the hole. After standing over the ball for the most stressful 30 seconds of my golf career I sunk it dead center and closed out a huge milestone for myself. So pumped to get that score after working at it all year.
Congrats, well done!
 
Terribly inconsistent my last several rounds. 96-92-91-92. Can't seem to get out of my own way sometimes with a few blow up holes each round. The only thing saving me from going over 100 is my chipping and putting. Drives have been terrible at times with short topped balls or slices thrown in for spice. Think will always be a work in progress, but I know the swing is there as when I get ahold of it, the ball does go. I just have to remember what I did when I do hit a good one. :ROFLMAO:
 
Really feeling solid lately. Played at our sister club course today and it is a much tougher track.
For context, I’m a 13.1 in ghin right now, but this course is 73.3/145 and I get 18 strokes, so usually plays quite tough. I’m encouraged with this as I keep going down in my goal to be a single digit handicap!

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Finally broke 90 for the second time this year. Carded an 88 to just get under the mark. Phew!
 
I'm going to count myself in this club now. Four of my last five have been under 100 and a few have been just under 90. Our season is just about done but hopefully I can get another sub 90 under my belt before it comes to a close. Screenshot_20201002-032420_TheGrint.jpg
 
Wow. What an up and down weekend of golf. After carding only my second sub 90 round last Sunday, I sent my instructor a screen shot of my Grint score and she told me that it was great work and that I was making progress really fast. So, she then told me that my next goal was going to be to break 85. :oops:

So, I go out yesterday with that 85 in my sights. I showed up early and hit the range with a small bucket to see what I was working with for the day. The answer? Not a ****ing thing. It was awful. I couldn't hit a driver, wdge or iron on the range. Not a single club in my bag. Now, obviously, the brain goes into panic mode and it's all over from there. I ended up carding a 104. ONE O ****ing FOUR! I was so utterly disgusted that I literally tossed my clubs in the back of my truck when I was done. Zero ***** given. I don't remember being that pissed about golf in a LONG time. I've been disappointed and down about rounds, lately, but this time I was SERIOUSLY PISSED. Oddly, during the round, I was having a decent time. I played with a buddy and his 16 year old daughter. I knew I was having a bad round but I had no idea. When I got back to the truck and I added it up I was livid! I thought I might be high 90s but I didn't think I'd be 104! That was a fail that I set for myself. I told my instructor that I NEVER want to shoot over 100 again (regardless of course slope or rating). Man, it pisses me off just re-living it for this post.

So, being that my golf season will be coming to an end within the next few weeks, I've been doubling up on the weekend (the wife's honey do list grows). Today was the day. I KNEW I was better than what I showed yesterday. Again, I hit the range early and what do ya know? I can hit an iron again. Hey, a wedge, too! Driver? Meh. The driver would ultimately be the difference today. I hooked my first drive OB. Not a great start. Ended up carding a 7 (par 5). Hole 2. Let's grab the 3w and play it safe. Nope. Pull hooked OB and limped into the hole with another 7. 85 is certainly out of the cards at this point, right? UGH! Birdied the par 5 3rd with a straight drive and a "f*** it" 3w that I absolutely murdered. 2 putt birdie (missed the eagle by about 3 inches). I proceeded to play the next six holes at 2 over (with a four hole par run sandwiched between bogeys on the 4th and 9th ) for a 43 on the front. There's hope!

And then we got to 10....................Proceeded to bogey every hole except the 13th, 17, and 18th (all of which I doubled). The tee game was the culprit today. More specifically, the driver was the culprit today. If not for a pretty damned solid short game and decent putter, it could have been really bad. I just killed too many opportunities before I even got off the box. 45 on the back killed my shot at the goal, today.:cry:

But, the good news is that I'm getting better and posting in this thread for the 3rd time this year. A month ago that didn't even seem like a realistic goal. My game and confidence were a wreck. Turning the corner. Just keep turning the corner....................
 
I am absolutely thrilled to be making this post! I finally broke 100 late last summer and have been a year in the making getting here. Flirted several times with low 90’s scores but this morning finally got it done. After my round on the front nine I really expected to be in the 90’s again today because I always......... ALWAYS score worse on the back nine. Today however I was able to keep my head on straight and play damage control to grind it out! The doubles on 6 & 11 were thanks to OB balls and 9 was because of two short horrible chips, LW got caught in the crab grass (I hate that ). My irons shined for me today and made this sub 90 round possible. Hopefully I’ll be able to work on game management some more now and stay here for a while!

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I’ve been flirting with the low and mid 90’s for the last month. The front 9 on Sunday was a mess, I couldn’t get a putt to drop and I had an OB penalty, shot 49. Not long after we made the turn, a cold drizzle picked up to a steady rain, a calm came over me, I started nailing fairways, hitting greens and dropping putts, it was glorious, ended with a 42 on the back.
Other than the faster pace and lack of people I’m not sure why I play better in the nasty weather, I guess pace and people are enough.
 
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Its been a different year for sure. Tied my low score of the season with an 86 on Sunday. Actually played the tougher back 9 first. Kicked off the round with downhill, right to left breaker that dropped for a birdie. Off & running from there and came in with a 41. Had aspirations of something even better after a great drive on the 1st hole (10th of the day) but my short game went all Dikembe Mutombo on me, "No-no-no!" :nono: and I took 6 shots to get down from 30 yards off the green. Settled down and hit some good shots. Had a few birdie opps but no more dropped. A 45 on that side is pretty average so I wasn't thrilled but pretty happy overall. It was cool & windy and about a third of the holes had been punched already. They were working on the rest into the dusk.

Looking forward to a warm 78 degree weekday round on Thursday.
 
I realize this is only a partial round but Im posting it here because had I played 18 and kept this going to would have broken 90 for only the second time this year. This was from the back tees too. My club is having a scramble today called “The Toughman” and I was getting a practice round in for it. You and partner must hit from back tees and the holes are places in the slopes on the greens. Its scramble but you have to write down your combined score for the par 5’s. This will be my first time playing in it so it should be interesting to say the least. The Mavrik Max performed well for me today and the putter was not terrible either.

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Finally! Finally - I have something worth posting in this thread. I played 9 holes before it got dark after work today & shot 42. And not only was this my personal best 9 hole score ever, it could have easily been 2-4 strokes lower. To sum up:

1) I missed 3 short putts (6 feet or less) - usually I make these. I know it was 48* and the greens were a bit scruffy, but I should've putted better.

2) I had a totally fluffed pitch shot that cost one or more strokes because I tried to get cute on a par 5. I was 30 yards from the green after 2 shots, but got too cute instead of going for the fat part of the green, and dumped it into a bunker.

3) I only hit 1 fairway. Driving wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. The big difference today was it didn't cost me extra strokes (no penalties, etc.). Basically, my bad shots were better today, but I didn't have many good drives or even that many iron shots.

4) I pitched/chipped very well! 5 shots within 4' of the pin took a lot of the pressure off my putting (15 putts - 4 one-putts)

It's been said (a lot!) by much better golfers than me: the key to higher handicappers shooting lower scores is to improve the quality of your poor shots. I didn't hit drives or irons great, but my misses were playable and not too far off line, so they ended up not costing many strokes. When I played Monday I hit some great drives and a few fantastic approach shots, but my misses were horrible & I took 5 penalty strokes (and really another 5 or so lost strokes getting the ball back on target) & shot 51-56 for a 107.

The other thing that paid off today: short game. Pitches & chips were fantastic compared to what I typically do. Probably not a coincidence that the last 2 nights I spent working on pitch shots, trying to dial in distances based on "clock face" system (9-3. 10-4, etc.)
 
Well done Greg!! I shot an 88 on a shortish PAR 70 course on Friday. Should have been way lower, but multiple 3 putts, and two blowup holes prevented a sub 85 round. So I sympathize with the **** shots.

Finally! Finally - I have something worth posting in this thread. I played 9 holes before it got dark after work today & shot 42. And not only was this my personal best 9 hole score ever, it could have easily been 2-4 strokes lower. To sum up:

1) I missed 3 short putts (6 feet or less) - usually I make these. I know it was 48* and the greens were a bit scruffy, but I should've putted better.

2) I had a totally fluffed pitch shot that cost one or more strokes because I tried to get cute on a par 5. I was 30 yards from the green after 2 shots, but got too cute instead of going for the fat part of the green, and dumped it into a bunker.

3) I only hit 1 fairway. Driving wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. The big difference today was it didn't cost me extra strokes (no penalties, etc.). Basically, my bad shots were better today, but I didn't have many good drives or even that many iron shots.

4) I pitched/chipped very well! 5 shots within 4' of the pin took a lot of the pressure off my putting (15 putts - 4 one-putts)

It's been said (a lot!) by much better golfers than me: the key to higher handicappers shooting lower scores is to improve the quality of your poor shots. I didn't hit drives or irons great, but my misses were playable and not too far off line, so they ended up not costing many strokes. When I played Monday I hit some great drives and a few fantastic approach shots, but my misses were horrible & I took 5 penalty strokes (and really another 5 or so lost strokes getting the ball back on target) & shot 51-56 for a 107.

The other thing that paid off today: short game. Pitches & chips were fantastic compared to what I typically do. Probably not a coincidence that the last 2 nights I spent working on pitch shots, trying to dial in distances based on "clock face" system (9-3. 10-4, etc.)
 
I normally comment in the breaking 100 thread because I haven't been able to break 90. But I feel like I am getting close. My scores have been creeping down to the low 90's. Last two rounds we only played 9 holes because we started too late. They were 46/45. The course is around 6300 yards from the white tees.

In those two rounds, a total of 18 holes, I had 3 penalty strokes and 3 putted five times. I feel like I just need to clean up a few things. My mid iron game has improved tremendously. Not too long ago a mishit was a total shank where the ball goes only 50 yards. Now the mishits are more of a push or pull and near the greens. Or in a bunker. I'm not a great bunker player but I usually get out safely and no worse than two putts.

The 3 putts are the usual poor first putt when its a 40 or 50 footer leaving me 8 to 10 feet short or long. I need to spend more time practicing the lags. There was a time I wasn't too bad with those. Its just a matter of feeling the distance.

All in all I'm happy with my game. My modest goal is to be a bogey golfer. I feel like I can get there if I just avoid the penalties and 3 putts.
 
I normally comment in the breaking 100 thread because I haven't been able to break 90. But I feel like I am getting close. My scores have been creeping down to the low 90's. Last two rounds we only played 9 holes because we started too late. They were 46/45. The course is around 6300 yards from the white tees.

In those two rounds, a total of 18 holes, I had 3 penalty strokes and 3 putted five times. I feel like I just need to clean up a few things. My mid iron game has improved tremendously. Not too long ago a mishit was a total shank where the ball goes only 50 yards. Now the mishits are more of a push or pull and near the greens. Or in a bunker. I'm not a great bunker player but I usually get out safely and no worse than two putts.

The 3 putts are the usual poor first putt when its a 40 or 50 footer leaving me 8 to 10 feet short or long. I need to spend more time practicing the lags. There was a time I wasn't too bad with those. Its just a matter of feeling the distance.

All in all I'm happy with my game. My modest goal is to be a bogey golfer. I feel like I can get there if I just avoid the penalties and 3 putts.

You’re on the cusp, let us know when you get there. Bogey golf is good golf.
 
Shot 89 to break 90 for the first time (I think ever?). Stumbled a bit coming in: 8 on a par 5 (horrible tee shot, shanked wood shot, punch shot into a fairway bunker), and 6 on the last par 4. Still, to do this in 55 degree weather & 15-20 mph winds - I'm still feeling good about this one!
 
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