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NYC guy shooting for par

Caddy Daddy
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Bloopy

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Ok so I played my first round of golf about two weeks ago. I scored a 115. Was true scoring. I went with two buddies from work who kept telling me to reshoot certain shots but i maintained my position that i wanted to get an accurate score. They are average golfers(think they scored mid 80s to low 90s). It was their first time playing this season so assume they shoot better normally as they kept commenting how poorly they were playing. Also, on first 9 i shot 14 over. On back nine i was much worse. Probably had something to do with the act that we were shotgunning beers and ripping shots between holes haha. I was pretty tanked by hole 12.
Anyways, my buddies seemed mildly impressed by how well(or should i say not horrendous) i was for a first time golfer. I went to top golf last year with friends and even there people commented that i had a good swing and was hitting well for a non golfer. I definitely am competitive and dont mind working hard on something to get better.
I went to chelsea pier driving range two days after my round and hit 200 balls. Completely wrecked my back and have rested past two weeks. Still feels off but going again to play in 4 days. The pain feels like its in my ribs like there was repeated trauma and not so much a muscle pull.

Ok back to my goal. I want to score a par this season. I will be playing the same course at least 1x per week but hopefully little more than that. I have purchased a 3 level hitting mat with net that i will use on my rooftop(i live in NYC). Got a putting mat and my brother just gave me a full set of king cobra clubs bc he upgraded. Said they are decent clubs and in very good condition.
I will document my improvements and set backs in this thread. As well as my practice routine, time spent studying/watching videos and scores of each round i play. I have a simulator place down the street from me that has excellent reviews on google reviews so will get a few sessions in there to see my swing and get some tips from the guy who runs it.
I am aware this goal is probably out of reach but im of the midset to set high goals and if you fall short it keeps you motivated. Rather than easy goals and getting complacent when it is acheived.
Some background on me as a person and my skills and weaknesses that i think are relevant to my chances of reaching my goal.
I am good at most things i try(sounds arrogant when I look at that sentence sorry) I am only 5'8" and weigh roughly 155-160. Im strong for my size and will also be starting a workout regimen to increase size and how i look with shirt off during this challenge ��.
I am very good at cornhole lol and was good at baseball growing up. I didnt have tons of power but i never struck out. Batted first and basically i always put ball in play bc i was fast and would steal 2nd/3rd with greenlight at all times. So i like to think my hand eye coordination is well above average. I struck less 3 or less times a season(clearly not good enough for college though womp womp).I was good at guessing pitches and making contact.
I also play poker seriously. Not sure if that will help but im pretty strong mentally and have learned to not let one thing affect my next decision or in golf it would be my next shot.
Ok so thats my backstory would love to answer any questions and would greatly appreciate any pointers or tips. I believe being active in this thread will create even more motivation to continue to improve and eventually become a good golfer.

Cheers!��

ROUND SCORES UPDATED*

1) 115 (first round ever played)
2) 105
 
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Make a plan and stick to it. It may be realistically out of reach, but you won't know unless you try.

Good luck out there!
 
Bloopy said:
It was their first time playing this season so assume they shoot better normally as they kept commenting how poorly they were playing.
Click to expand...

This cracked me up. So many people use this line with people they've never played with before.... They're lying. :beauty:
 
Welcome to THP.
 
Welcome to THP!!! I'm not sure if you mean that you want to make a par, or shoot par for a round, one of which is definitely achievable this season! In any case, document your goal, and hold yourself accountable to it. Ask yourself what you did today that put you in a better position to hit your goal.
 
pmm21 said:
This cracked me up. So many people use this line with people they've never played with before.... They're lying. :beauty:
Click to expand...

Hahaha. Very possible. I'll let you know as we conitinue to play. I'll keep track of their scores each round as well in the thread.
 
Jaymo37 said:
Welcome to THP!!! I'm not sure if you mean that you want to make a par, or shoot par for a round, one of which is definitely achievable this season! In any case, document your goal, and hold yourself accountable to it. Ask yourself what you did today that put you in a better position to hit your goal.
Click to expand...

I mean a round of par. On my first day I had a few bogeys so I think par on a single hole is likely next round or soon after. Every putt I had was at least 2 putt. I had one or two par attempts from not too far away. Well too far for me to make but you know what I mean haha
 
pmm21 said:
Make a plan and stick to it. It may be realistically out of reach, but you won't know unless you try.

Good luck out there!
Click to expand...

I agree. While I'm not a golfer I know about the game a little and realize shooting par is not easy. But as of now I think it's possible. To be honest a better goal would be to hit well, get good at chipping and putting etc, but it's hard to put a number or quantify that. So my goal is to get good enough to postion myself so that if i play great AND catch a few breaks in the same round I make par. I want to create a goal that if I acheive it, it will undeniably be a great achievement and a result of hard work.
 
So I reread my post and I talk about about I will discuss strengths and weaknesses and I never stated weaknesses haha. Great interview tactic. Not so good for honest account of my journey. Ok so where I see pitfalls in my future are I'm stubborn to a degree. I take criticsm well but if I think I'm right I will go with my gut. Also, I party sometimes and will def not be 100%for every round I play. I'll get smashed like 2-4x a month and the next day is a disaster. I also have pretty real ADD. For most tasks it's a hindrance but for golf it shouldn't be too bad. I have a script for Adderall and when I party I may or may not hit the addy a little over doctors dosage haha. I also know my personality and I'm way more likely to be like Roy in tin cup than Don Johnson. I'm not a show off at all and would actually say I'm adverse to doing anything to draw attention to myself, but I do like to "wow" people. Which is why I probably made my goal to be par this summer. Very unlikely but if I make the goal it's sort of cool. I tee off Friday morning. I get all my golf equipment Wednesday. So I'll update then as I begin to hit balls.
 
First of all, welcome to THP. You'll find lots of great people here.

Second, if you don't mind some advice from someone who has been there. To reach your goal, you will need to do two things: Learn to hit the ball solidly and putt with good distance control. Focus on those two things and I think you have the best chance of achieving your goal.

You are most likely to make your first par on a par 3 hole. If you learn to hit the ball solidly you'll find yourself on the green off the tee sometimes. With good distance control putting, one of those times you'll get your first putt to stop really close to the hole one of those times and be able to tap in for your first par. Other ways to make your first par are possible, but this is the most likely scenario.
 
leftshot said:
First of all, welcome to THP. You'll find lots of great people here.

Second, if you don't mind some advice from someone who has been there. To reach your goal, you will need to do two things: Learn to hit the ball solidly and putt with good distance control. Focus on those two things and I think you have the best chance of achieving your goal.

You are most likely to make your first par on a par 3 hole. If you learn to hit the ball solidly you'll find yourself on the green off the tee sometimes. With good distance control putting, one of those times you'll get your first putt to stop really close to the hole one of those times and be able to tap in for your first par. Other ways to make your first par are possible, but this is the most likely scenario.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I want to reiterate bc I am realizing I wasnt clear in my original post. My goal is to shoot par for a whole round. Lofty goal yeah but not impossible. I have no training or experience but just as a strategy thing I've decided putting and chipping will be Paramount in my training. I am not a big guy(rather small ��) so I'm never gonna out hit the better players. But I can develop a short and intermediate game to compensate for sub 300 drives. I've already read about how many players can hit irons and driver's but struggle on and around green. I will attack training near and around green and my irons and driver will take a back seat. As I begin my training I am open to a shift in strategy but for starters this is what I'm rolling with.

And i ALWAYS welcome advice and appreciate you taking the time to give it to me. Thank you again.
 
So I reread my post and I talk about about I will discuss strengths and weaknesses and I never stated weaknesses haha. Great interview tactic. Not so good for honest account of my journey. Ok so where I see pitfalls in my future are I'm stubborn to a degree. I take criticsm well but if I think I'm right I will go with my gut. Also, I party sometimes and will def not be 100%for every round I play. I'll get smashed like 2-4x a month and the next day is a disaster. I also have pretty real ADD. For most tasks it's a hindrance but for golf it shouldn't be too bad. I have a script for Adderall and when I party I may or may not hit the addy a little over doctors dosage haha. I also know my personality and I'm way more likely to be like Roy in tin cup than Don Johnson. I'm not a show off at all and would actually say I'm adverse to doing anything to draw attention to myself, but I do like to "wow" people. Which is why I probably made my goal to be par this summer. Very unlikely but if I make the goal it's sort of cool. I tee off Friday morning. I get all my golf equipment Wednesday. So I'll update then as I begin to hit balls.
 
Good luck in your quest. Shooting even par is no joke. If you put in the practice and effort, who knows??
 
Welcome to THP! My only advice, enjoy the chase!
 
Welcome to THP, good luck! It’s a lofty goal, but not impossible. You may consider getting some lessons, as a lot of shooting par is learning to play a course the right way, good course management is pretty much required to shoot par for a round.
 
Thanks! I am going to set up 3 sessions at a simulator place close to my apartment. Reviews say it breaks down swing and you get tips and advice from the owner who everyone says is very helpful. Once I see how that goes I will continue there or get lessons from someone else.

I will be mostly playing one course. I am joining some club there to get lower rates for rounds and free practice and other stuff. My two buddies are also members of the program and said they almost exclusively golf there but will play other courses here and there. So I envision myself becoming very familiar with the course and how to play it. Thus giving me a decent advantage in my attempt to shoot a 72. I hope to play at least 36 rounds this summer. But will be spending lots of time hitting into a net. Unfortunately bc of my location hitting balls at a range is rather expensive but will definitely hit some balls there and before and after my rounds when I go play.
 
Since I want to document all of the practice and studying I will be doing I'll start by saying in past two weeks I've watched the 6 part series on Netflix about the open championship. While I didn't learn anything about swinging etc I did get some insight into how important a short game is and how much of golf will be mental. I especially appreciated the episode about Greg Norman. I think this challenge was born and inspired by the fact that he went from never playing to a scratch golfer in 18 months.

I also watched some movie Seve on Netflix. Interesting but not fantastic. Again noticed in this how important it is to get good at the inside 50 yard shots.

In addition I have watched maybe 3 hours worth of lessons on Amazon prime and YouTube. A wide variety of lessons on swing, hands, chipping. Haven't watched much on putting yet.

I am aware I'm not going to get better just by watching Netflix haha but it's a start and figured it was a decent use of my time to learn a little something while I couldn't swing bc of my back.

I also realize I haven't stated my age in here but I'm 34. Never had back issues and hope I just was too forceful on too many reps that led to the injury. I was spasming real bad for a few days. Had to take off work two days. I still feel where it hurts but pain is down to about a 2 and peaks at about 3.5 if I turn a certain way. I don't really feel it unless I move a certain way. Really hope it doesn't linger too long.
 
Just returned home with clubs from my brother. He didn't have a cobra putter but gave me some old golden bear putter. Rest of the set is King cobra? Didn't research much but should suffice for a beginner. He is about an inch shorter than me and did not have the clubs fitted so should be fine. I get putting mat tomorrow. And rest of equipment comes Wednesday ������
 
Welcome to THP!

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Welcome to THP! In addition to what others have said, I'd just add that you shouldn't get too discouraged if things seem to be going well and then take a sudden, inexplicable turn for the worse. It's a fickle game and it's entirely normal to feel like everything is coming together one day only to have it seem never further away the next.
 
Welcome to THP! Sounds like your off to a good start. Have fun and it will come much faster. Set small goals, meet them and set another. I always says it’s a dang easy game! Hit the fairway, Hit the Green, then 2 Putt! Boom you got a par


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