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Becoming a scratch or better player.

And what are they practicing? What are they focusing on? Short game mostly? Putting? and how much?
 
TC said:
And what are they practicing? What are they focusing on? Short game mostly? Putting? and how much?
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Of the 6 hours a week one guys said he practised, 2 hours was on the full swing, and 4 hours would be on the short game pitching and chipping. Just because this worked for some TC doesn't mean something else wouldn't work for others.
You have dropped your HC to the point it is now by playing more and practising less, that would show its working for you no? what works for one, does not work for others.
 
coolbreeze said:
While I am going to practice more and play less I don't think thats the trick. I will be starting lessons with the head pro at my club after the MC to begin the process going forward, and formulating a plan to get me there with him.
Thanks JB, when I asked them about how much the practised I was expecting them 2 range sessions and a couple of rounds, when in fact the answer was 4-5 range sessions and 1 round. WOW.
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this answers my question..... look at it this way you'll be saving money by practicing more and playing less and i think you'll improve much more this way. especially if you're taking lessons. really good stuff already CB! i think im at 50% practice 50% play although this week i played 4 days in a row and shot the best round of my life. i really need to get back to practicing more though.
 
Breeze,as a fellow lefty I root for you sincerely......I can tell you though after being scratch 13 yrs ago .....it ain't easy......took me four years to shoot even par on a championship length course an two more to get into the 60's......I wish I had the experience from today to GI along with the physical capabilities of my prime......I now can manage MYSELF much better than yesteryear and handling tournament conditions or stressful situations far better........if you understand that even after setting this goals that perseverance is the key.....as stated earlier,getting under 10 is easier said than done........
 
Buckjob said:
this answers my question..... look at it this way you'll be saving money by practicing more and playing less and i think you'll improve much more this way. especially if you're taking lessons. really good stuff already CB! i think im at 50% practice 50% play although this week i played 4 days in a row and shot the best round of my life. i really need to get back to practicing more though.
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Well since I'm a member at my club I won't be saving any money but for me lessons really is the key as you can practise all you want but if what youre working on is wrong then you're further behind then when you started.
 
coolbreeze said:
Of the 6 hours a week one guys said he practised, 2 hours was on the full swing, and 4 hours would be on the short game pitching and chipping. Just because this worked for some TC doesn't mean something else wouldn't work for others.
You have dropped your HC to the point it is now by playing more and practising less, that would show its working for you no? what works for one, does not work for others.
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WHile I agree with that, JB's post was interesting. He certainly knows more people in the industry and if the consensus is practice more than there has to be some merit to that.

I'm so close to my goal it's stupid, but it's going to take some special rounds of golf to get me there and they just aren't happening. What's interesting is that those dudes are putting around 65-70% of their emphasis on the short game. I wonder out of how much of that they are focusing on putting?
 
CB,
Have you listened to the radio show we just put up last week on practice? Its really interesting on discussing the two ways people should practice. Really good stuff that has made me think a whole lot about what I am planning come later this year.
 
Good luck man! I just hope to get to 10 someday. I don't have that much time available.
 
Great thread buddy. If you can pull off a Togue there's no doubt you can pull off a scratch rating. 3 years in you are already way ahead of the curve, yet that slope gets tough from here, but some people challenge themselves at a different level than I can ever hope to understand. I know you are one who can do it!
 
TC said:
WHile I agree with that, JB's post was interesting. He certainly knows more people in the industry and if the consensus is practice more than there has to be some merit to that.

I'm so close to my goal it's stupid, but it's going to take some special rounds of golf to get me there and they just aren't happening. What's interesting is that those dudes are putting around 65-70% of their emphasis on the short game. I wonder out of how much of that they are focusing on putting?
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I would have asked more questions but we were playing in a tourney that they were trying to (and did) win so I didn't want to be annoying. Based on how they putted I would say they would spend at least 3 hours putting.

The 65 he shot included 10 birdies and today he shot even par 71 to win and he had 8 birdies. Just wild to watch them play while you put up what you think is a "great" 81
 
JB said:
CB,
Have you listened to the radio show we just put up last week on practice? Its really interesting on discussing the two ways people should practice. Really good stuff that has made me think a whole lot about what I am planning come later this year.
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I have, and in part it started this whole line of thinking to this point.
 
coolbreeze said:
I would have asked more questions but we were playing in a tourney that they were trying to (and did) win so I didn't want to be annoying. Based on how they putted I would say they would spend at least 3 hours putting.

The 65 he shot included 10 birdies and today he shot even par 71 to win and he had 8 birdies. Just wild to watch them play while you put up what you think is a "great" 81
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So they make bogeys too, LOL. Jeez, that's a lot of birdies. Obviously they know how to score. I don't know how to do that.
 
Good luck.

I just want to get where i am consistent all the time at this point. My highs give me hope i can be single digit. My lows make me wonder why i play.

Again good luck.

Sent through the air and into your mindbrain, via Tapatalk. Once you read it, You cannot unread it!
 
TC said:
So they make bogeys too, LOL. Jeez, that's a lot of birdies. Obviously they know how to score. I don't know how to do that.
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Yep, they really do know how to score, and they didn't play away from pins, which is what led to a lot of the bogeys. If a pin was tucked they were still going at it to stick it close and they trusted their short games enough that they felt they could get up and down no matter what.
 
coolbreeze said:
Yep, they really do know how to score, and they didn't play away from pins, which is what led to a lot of the bogeys. If a pin was tucked they were still going at it to stick it close and they trusted their short games enough that they felt they could get up and down no matter what.
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Jeez and when they didn't miss, they had easy birdies didn't they? Man, I can hear your wheels turning from here. I used to play with this guy who was a former teaching pro and a good golfer and he used to always say, "luck favors the brave". I want to play golf like that.
 
TC said:
WHile I agree with that, JB's post was interesting. He certainly knows more people in the industry and if the consensus is practice more than there has to be some merit to that.

I'm so close to my goal it's stupid, but it's going to take some special rounds of golf to get me there and they just aren't happening. What's interesting is that those dudes are putting around 65-70% of their emphasis on the short game. I wonder out of how much of that they are focusing on putting?
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I would think you would need a big emphasis on putting....I just looked at my stats....now while I am not anywhere close to as good as TC, JB or Breezy, I would think it would apply to everyone.

In 2012 I am averaging 34.8 putts per round, that includes the last three rounds where I was 30 putts and under. If you look at the PGA tour (I know that's the extreme example) the top 177 guys average under 30 putts per round....with several averaging 28 putts per round and Snedeker averaging under 28 putts per round.

Like I said, I know that is the extreme example...but it just shows you how many strokes can be saved with just the putter.
 
CB, I want to wish you luck in your goal!! Alot of us here are working hard to become the golfer we all think we should be or want to be and threads like this are great for inspiration. I kinda think like TC and think more playing and less practicing will be the path that will help me lower scores. I differ in something TC stated about playing the same course over and over again to lower the handicap. I think playing a variety of courses will make the person a better golfer. It might take more time, but in the end I think it will provide a better result.
 
TripleBogieTim said:
I would think you would need a big emphasis on putting....I just looked at my stats....now while I am not anywhere close to as good as TC, JB or Breezy, I would think it would apply to everyone.

In 2012 I am averaging 34.8 putts per round, that includes the last three rounds where I was 30 putts and under. If you look at the PGA tour (I know that's the extreme example) the top 177 guys average under 30 putts per round....with several averaging 28 putts per round and Snedeker averaging under 28 putts per round.

Like I said, I know that is the extreme example...but it just shows you how many strokes can be saved with just the putter.
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Uh, I avg 32.86 putts per round dude. I know where I need to improve.
 
TC said:
Jeez and when they didn't miss, they had easy birdies didn't they? Man, I can hear your wheels turning from here. I used to play with this guy who was a former teaching pro and a good golfer and he used to always say, "luck favors the brave". I want to play golf like that.
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It really opened my eyes to what is possible. They didn't aim for the middle of greens and hope to make a long putt, they wanted a tap in. They didn't lay up on par 5's that maybe they couldn't reach, and their short games were really impressive when they did miss.

When you just know you can get up and down (even though they didn't) you can just fire away.
 
I love way this thread is starting. I know I will learn a ton. I would be happy to get to single digits here in Minnesota but if I could play year round I am sure my goals would be different. Sounds like it is going to be quite a time commitment from you CB, especially if the goal is to get it done in a year. Are there going to be any lifestyle changes needed in order to play more golf or is time not an issue?
 
I wish you luck in your quest to become scratch or better. I wish I had the time to dedicate to getting to that level, but life comes first.

As most have indicated, short game is the key to getting to that level. Players that I have seen that play at that level seem like they can get up up and down from anywhere.

Once again good luck and keep us informed on your progress and what you are doing to get there.
 
My index has dropped 5 strokes this year and I credit it all to my short game work, I got tired of being 10 feet off the green in regulation and still making double, so I really worked hard on the short game.

But even to do that I had to take it out on the course and play little games with myself to keep me from getting bored. I dunno maybe if my course had a better short game area it wouldnt be so bad.

I really would love to be a solid mid-single digit by the time of the outing next year.
 
This is not a slam on anyone in particular but getting to a zero or + handicap from say 5 is exponentially harder than dropping from a 15 to a 5.
 
I have a similar goal, but actually hope I can get near scratch by end of this year. We'll see.

While short game is very important, you need 100+ yds dialed in to really be able to score.
 
JRod said:
This is not a slam on anyone in particular but getting to a zero or + handicap from say 5 is exponentially harder than dropping from a 15 to a 5.
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I understand that completely Jrod, in fact I said as much in my original response in the thread. I was just talking about my goals of getting into the mid single digits. Believe me I understand that going from a 5 to a zero is probably 4 times harder than going from a 15 to a 5.
 
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