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Half My Handicap in 12 Months

alistaird

alistaird

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All,

Just got my handicap back after 25 years.... And it's a nice round number of 20.

I'm on a quest to half it in 12 months but don't want to post how my lessons go etc as my main area of focus is going to be on better choices which I'm hoping will be of interest to people. My aim is to take 1 approach to the course to improve the score whilst focusing practice on one aspect of the game.

First up - and I know this is a weakness of mine, is to choose the right club off the tee. I normally start out all right but as the round progresses, I decide to 'have a go' at holes where I shouldn't. My home course is hilly and tree lined so there are very few holes where you can just take the driver and go and find your ball. It will be in the trees one or other side of the fairway if you're not very straight and given the slopes on the course, you can easily hit the fairway and still be in the trees.

So before my next round - I will decide which club to use of every tee (maybe not the par 3s as wind direction will play a part). Even when I play new courses, do a bit of research first and make a plan from the tee anyway. I'm going to try this for a couple of months and see what the impact is (at least on my Garmin App which tracks the handicap for all rounds even when I'm on my own).

Practice wise - focus is on 30-50 yards which I can do at home.....

I welcome thoughts on this approach as well as what to look at next (I'm thinking about taking my practice focus to the course- to see if I can land the ball more intelligently around the green to get a bit closer to the pin.). Then practice will focus on putting distance control to reduce 3 putts.

I'm thinking this approach should know 2-3 shorts off my handicap in 2-3 months - but we will see.... :eek:

Thanks all for listening to me.


A
 
I think that’s a sound plan and look forward to your updates! Best of luck.
 
Goodluck, I am reading the book the 4 Foundations of golf by Jon Sherman and it seems like it might be perfect for you.
In the last chapter I read He talked about NOT pin hunting and gives #'s to back it up.
He talks alot about club selection and going at pins and gives some great #'s comparing pros to Amateurs.
I am really liking the book as I need to change my mindset as much as improve my swing.
I just got to the section on practice and I am looking forward to finishing the book
 
Sounds like a good plan, well thought out. I like the idea thinking a head on what one should use off the tees.

Practice wise, if I were looking to halved my cap in a short period of time, I would be focusing on my tee to green game. That being all tee shots, and full swing fairway approach shots on those par 4s, and par 5s. This is the area where most golfers lose more strokes than they can make up with their short game.
 
WLG1952 said:
Sounds like a good plan, well thought out. I like the idea thinking a head on what one should use off the tees.

Practice wise, if I were looking to halved my cap in a short period of time, I would be focusing on my tee to green game. That being all tee shots, and full swing fairway approach shots on those par 4s, and par 5s. This is the area where most golfers lose more strokes than they can make up with their short game.
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Thanks for the thoughtful reply... Will certainly consider this approach

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Good luck @alistaird, sounds like a good plan.
 
reduce penalties

never 3-putt

and always, i mean ALWAYS, aim for the middle of the green

do that and you’ll be sub 10 pretty quickly
 
Struggling with an injury that has prevented me getting on the course, but have managed a range session and some time at home.

Looking in detail at the tee shots on my home course which is cut into the forest, most holes are tree lined and its bone dry... so 4i is replacing driver in the bag ATM and keeping it in play off the tee is #1 priority when I get back out there. Like most when I get the driver in hand distance becomes important in my mind which leads to even worse swings...

Hopefully a quick 9 holes this week to test the ankle.

A

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When I retired 9 years ago I was a 28 handicap. Within two years it came down to a 14. The main reason was playing more often and taking a few lessons.

To get below a 10 happened after I got fitted for clubs for the first time.

To get below five required work to improve my short game and further equipment fine tuning.
 
Good luck to you, that is an admirable goal. The difference between a 20 and a 10 is significant. Nothing out of reach, but you’ve got your work cut out for you. Go get it!
 
Got a plan for the next few rounds at my home course. Every hole which has an SI
We will see how that works for a couple of rounds. It will make me play different shots and experiment a bit. Should help my overall game I think.

A

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Good luck with it. Avoiding penalty shots is key, keep the ball in front of you and really tighten up the short game are all things that can save a couple of shots a round. Looking forward to keeping up with the progress.
 
HarlettoScara said:
Good luck with it. Avoiding penalty shots is key, keep the ball in front of you and really tighten up the short game are all things that can save a couple of shots a round. Looking forward to keeping up with the progress.
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Thanks... Played 9 and nearly managed to stick with the plan - got adventurous on the 9th and hit it into the trees which meant I had to recover. But was striking the ball pretty straight (a couple thin but still straight) using a Wilson Duo Soft which responded really well from 100 yards and in plus the short irons were on fire for some reason - 7 of 9 GIRs, one birdie, 2 bogies and 6 pars... If only I could always to that. Driver stayed in the garage, 5w stayed in the bag, 7w was used once (and was one of the less good shots), 4i was too good off the tee hence the mistake on 9.

As an example (also on Best shot of the round thread) - took 2 x 9 irons on this hole

1660667577116.png

which is uphill then down hill over a ridge, tree lined as you can see - don't be through the dogleg, fairways are hard and brown so getting the right distance is key off the tee...

So ended up +1 through 9.... Might have had an impact on my handicap if I hadn't been playing on my own.o_O

Thinking it through first, definitely helped even if the plan was to play the back 9 which got swapped to us starting of the 1st tee again so had to rethink each hole. Generally it worked well. 🤞 it continues. (y)

A
 
alistaird said:
Thanks... Played 9 and nearly managed to stick with the plan - got adventurous on the 9th and hit it into the trees which meant I had to recover. But was striking the ball pretty straight (a couple thin but still straight) using a Wilson Duo Soft which responded really well from 100 yards and in plus the short irons were on fire for some reason - 7 of 9 GIRs, one birdie, 2 bogies and 6 pars... If only I could always to that. Driver stayed in the garage, 5w stayed in the bag, 7w was used once (and was one of the less good shots), 4i was too good off the tee hence the mistake on 9.

As an example (also on Best shot of the round thread) - took 2 x 9 irons on this hole

View attachment 9112808

which is uphill then down hill over a ridge, tree lined as you can see - don't be through the dogleg, fairways are hard and brown so getting the right distance is key off the tee...

So ended up +1 through 9.... Might have had an impact on my handicap if I hadn't been playing on my own.o_O

Thinking it through first, definitely helped even if the plan was to play the back 9 which got swapped to us starting of the 1st tee again so had to rethink each hole. Generally it worked well. 🤞 it continues. (y)

A
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That is a cracking round and sounds like you did absolutely everything right. Keep on like that and the handicap will tumble, just a case of making the right decisions and commuting to them. Great start!
 
Lesson today, focusing on long irons and Driver. Trying to turn my push into a draw. I think we are slowly getting there. A couple of 4 irons out to 233y with a hint of draw, some pretty rubbish ones as well and the driver for some reason was very high on the face. Managed to get it better by the end and a few out to 275+.

No way I'm using either on my next round... but a bit if progress and now to rest my 60+ year old body. ...

A

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Another 9 holes... took the driver out and smoked the first few. Hit the ball too well with the wedges and was over the back of a couple of greens. Lost concentration on a couple but I can see the promise. The high righr ade was not present at all, a couple too low and left but that's just over correction.

A

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An interesting lesson - starting to strike the ball much better and we built a plan to find the 10 shots I need to 1/2 my handicap:
  • lose 1 less ball off the tee - 2 shots/round
  • know my wedge distances - I'm hitting off the back of too many greens - 2 shots/round
  • play the smart 2nd shot - no hero - 2 shots/round
  • no 3 putts - 2 per round minimum
This should find 8.... the rest coming from just increased striking consistency...

We will see but this sounds like a plan - and I like a plan!

A
 
alistaird said:
An interesting lesson - starting to strike the ball much better and we built a plan to find the 10 shots I need to 1/2 my handicap:
  • lose 1 less ball off the tee - 2 shots/round
  • know my wedge distances - I'm hitting off the back of too many greens - 2 shots/round
  • play the smart 2nd shot - no hero - 2 shots/round
  • no 3 putts - 2 per round minimum
This should find 8.... the rest coming from just increased striking consistency...

We will see but this sounds like a plan - and I like a plan!

A
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So from LW to 6i much more consistent. Me early evening 9 finished par, par, birdie, bogey. And a bogey on the difficult uphill 9th felt like a par. Struggling off the tee with driver and woods, I’m sure I’m trying to hit it too hard. More practice focused on contact with the long clubs ( it’s certainly starting to pay dividends with the mid to short irons and wedges).

Starting to take a small divot with wedges and short irons on most swings so it feels like progress. Just need to play a bit more to see it reflect into scores.

A


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Lesson after work on course (not my home course). Played 5 holes and was 1 over. Driver around 240/250, consistently slightly left but straight (a real difference from my historical high and right and further right...). We agreed that single figures should be possible by this time next year if I can continue to focus and improve.

Best shot was probably on the bogey hole where I was right with the 9i and it hit a mound into some horrible looking rough. 35 yards from the pin, smooth pitch out of the rough to 10 feet and just missed the par putt. Thanks Phil for the PM Grind :cool:

A good day at the office as they say.

A
 
39 out and 49 back. 10 of 18 GIRs including 7 of 9 on the front 9. 3 - 3 putts on the front 9. Longest ever Drive and the Heavenwood was really working (which didn't I use it more often on the back 9 :cautious:o_O:eek:). Definite improvement from inside of 50 yards (even out of the bunkers) so the practice is paying off. Still a few wild shots which cost the strokes on the back 9 but at least they were generally not followed by another and another and another....

Fingers crossed the improvement continues as it doesn't feel like I'm too far away from a step change in scoring and my playing partners commented that they's never seen me hit the ball so well (tbh it wouldn't have been too hard sometimes :) ) and I'd put on a good few yards in distance. I'm sure next time will be worse but that's golf....

A
 
If I can be consistent with the short game I don't know about halving my handicap but I'm sure it would knock at least 25 percent off of it. I notice the rounds where I score better its always due to an improved short game.
 
Well - last round was patchy (41/46) - some really good stuff and some not so good stuff - topped driver and woods off the tee every time so after 1/2 dozen holes they stayed in the bag and had to resort to 4-iron of the tee. No lost balls off the tee but 3 lost balls in the leaves! Only in the woods once off the tee and we found it for a chip out. Front 9 had 5 pars in a row and then a bogey and triple... Back 9 was still worse than the front and the putting was worse so it's a mental thing around losing focus. Anyway dropped a shot off the handicap so the aim of 1 shot off per month I guess is still on the cards. 30 minute lesson scheduled next week on the GCQuad to see if we can tune up a few things. Back to some foam ball practice with the Driver and Woods to see if I can get the contact back. Had I been able to hit the driver and not lose 3 balls - then breaking 80 wasn't that far away.

A
 
This season I took my handicap from 16.8 on April 30 to 8.8 on August 2.

Keep grinding - you can do it.
 
@alistaird just thinking a bit on my own journey here and thought I’d jot a few things down that I found helpful.

We’re all different so I’m not saying this is what you should do, just that these are things that I feel contributed to lowering my cap quickly this season. In no particular order:

-Physical fitness - huge factor. The fitter I get, the better I play. I recommend the Fit for Golf program.

-Walking most rounds. I just play better when I’m not in a cart.

-If you’re gonna walk, bring nutrition with you.

-May go without saying, but: no alcohol until the 19th hole.

-Play with people who are better than you and who “get it.” I stopped playing with the “hey I’m outta beer where’s the cart girl” set for the most part.

-The mental aspects of the game are super important. Routine, course management, etc. Lower overall scores come from avoiding doubles (and bogeys if possible), not from chasing birdies.

-Ball striking skills - if you don’t already know the ball flight laws, familiarize yourself with them, and work on controlling low point, face angle and swing path. That’ll help minimize poor strikes and also assist in triaging problems when they arise.

-Play it down and putt everything out. It’ll pay off in the long run.

-Enjoy the good shots, laugh off the bad ones… it’s a game after all.

Practical Golf (Jon Sherman) and Adam Young Golf are great resources.

This last bit is probably controversial;

I post solo rounds. I find the USGA’s rule on this issue silly. I play a ton of golf (posted 100 rounds this season) and at least 25% were solo. I play it down, by the rules and count every stroke whether anyone’s watching or not.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
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