Single Digit Handicap Mystery

That's a good way of putting it. A lot more to the point than my way.

I use it almost like a mantra when my brain starts focusing on par or birdie or whatever. This is just one stroke… stay in the present…
 
Move up one tee box. I guarantee you will break 80 from there. Then figure out why you did it from there, but can't from one tee box back. Hint: it's not because the course was shorter .
 
Have to eliminate doubles or worse. That means no penalties and likely few hero shots. 2 putt pars are your friend as is your short game.
 
Move up one tee box. I guarantee you will break 80 from there. Then figure out why you did it from there, but can't from one tee box back. Hint: it's not because the course was shorter .
I'm curious...
 
Have to eliminate doubles or worse. That means no penalties and likely few hero shots. 2 putt pars are your friend as is your short game.
But I’m the hero that Gotham needs!
 
You're recent trends are looking real promising @RealPretendPsychic and you just might get into single digits soon just staying the course. But FWIW I was in essentially the same spot you as our 2018 season wound down. I'd always hoped to get it into single digits and was in the low 10s with most of my lower differentials set to carry over when the 2019 posting season opened up. I'd been wanting this for decades and knew had a real shot.

So I contacted my instructor (he's based in Northern Ohio) and set up some short game specific plans for the two visits he was due to make down here before our '19 season started. He was training with James Ridyard and James Sieckmann that winter and he passed a lot of that on in my lessons and in the rounds we played during his visits. I did nothing with my long game but an improved short game easily got me under 10 by the second handicap revision of 2019 and I kept it below 10 all of that season. So I guess my short answer is that you're right on the cusp, plenty good enough to get there, and just polishing up the short game might be the ticket for you too.
 
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Move up one tee box. I guarantee you will break 80 from there. Then figure out why you did it from there, but can't from one tee box back. Hint: it's not because the course was shorter .
Are you saying I need a driving iron?
 
But I’m the hero that Gotham needs!
I think the hero shots need to be looked at individually and calculated based on your ability to hit that shot. I can work the ball both ways but it's much easier for me to hit a high cut vs. a high draw so I will be more likely to attempt the cut shot over the draw. The other thing to consider is the penalty for missing this shot. If it leads to OB, a hazard, or being even further in the trees then it may not be worth it. No if it just means being offline but still having a shot at the green it could be worth the risk depending on your ability to pull it off. Knowing when you can go for it and when to take your medicine can be a difference of several shots.

From the sounds of things it seems like you are improving your overall game which will continue to lower the handicap. Keep this up as it will make the difference. The other thing that I would say goes along with this is the mental approach to your scoring. As you continue to improve the short game you will go from trying to eliminate the double and salvage a bogey to trying to eliminate the bogey and getting up and down for par. From there you get to the point where you are in the fairway and looking to give yourself makeable par putts (10-20 ft) vs just hitting the GIR. The mentality that you can score takes time to develop. One of the best things you can do for this is to play with some other players that are low handicaps and learning from there game.

Hope you continue to improve and get to where you want to be.
 
I need to revisit something, last 2 rounds (from short white tees as the course is renovating) shot 79/80 and both rounds I had 2 shots in each where I hit a ball into a hazard that ended up making double on. 8 over on those 4 holes, 7 over on the other 32 holes....

I mean it will happen, but I should be losing 2 balls a round at this point.
 
The handicap system rewards players(if you want a lower cap) that are erratic compared to their index. You can shoot 75 or 90 compared to someone that is consistently in the low 80s. Take more chances when you feel comfortable doing it.
 
My attitude is your best rounds are a sign of your capabilities not an aberration. If you make par on a hole one day there is no reason to feel like you can't make par on that hole every day.

There are a few keys:
  • Don't take penalty strokes
  • Keep the ball between the trees. You don't have to hit fairways but don't force yourself to chip out.
  • Don't take two shots to get on the green when you miss a green. No more than on chip and two putts.
  • Work on your short game. If you hit 50% of the greens and follow the above you should be able to shoot under 80.
  • Don't settle for bogey golf. Raise your expectations to expect to make pars and not be torn up when you make a bogey.
  • Doubles and worse are bad. They are to be avoided at all costs if you are playing for a score. If that means you need to play out or away from trouble and try to make par with a wedge do that.
Just a few of the things I think about.
 
The handicap system rewards players(if you want a lower cap) that are erratic compared to their index. You can shoot 75 or 90 compared to someone that is consistently in the low 80s. Take more chances when you feel comfortable doing it.

And the change int he handicap system going to 100% of your low 8 over 20 vs the old way of 95% of your low 10 of 20 definitely has contributed to lowering my index. The soft cap of max of 3 over your low for the last year means it won't be going up much anytime soon if my play does slide.
 
Everyone's different. For me it's all about the driver. When I hit fairways and serviceable drives, I can break 80. When I'm missing drives, my potential score is 80+.
 
I know the biggest things keeping my handicap higher are the mishits (dub a shot or two every round), the short game (if I could just increase my chip and one putt versus chip and two putts), and my approach shots (miss too many greens when hitting my irons)

If I could just cut one dub a round, increase my chip and one putt by 2 or 3 per round, and hit one or two more GIR per round, I would be in the single-digit handicap area versus at 17. It's really just a couple of shots difference for each of us that wish we could get to single digits.
 
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