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Taking the next step

dillbert

dillbert

Dillon PGH
Joined
Aug 28, 2020
Messages
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Location
Pittsburgh
Handicap
18
For those who have made their biggest steps in golf, what helped you? Currently shooting in the low 80s just about every round and I wanna make the jump to being a 70s shooter. Is it practicing certain elements of the game that propelled you or maybe understanding course management better and not trying to do too much?
 
dillbert said:
For those who have made their biggest steps in golf, what helped you? Currently shooting in the low 80s just about every round and I wanna make the jump to being a 70s shooter. Is it practicing certain elements of the game that propelled you or maybe understanding course management better and not trying to do too much?
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70’s is about hitting the greens more and making sure your short game/putting are gonna keep those pars from turning into bogeys.

It’s mostly mindset and reminding yourself you’re capable to keep it overall okay. Accept the occasional bogey, no need to try and force the issue!
 
MWard said:
70’s is about hitting the greens more and making sure your short game/putting are gonna keep those pars from turning into bogeys.

It’s mostly mindset and reminding yourself you’re capable to keep it overall okay. Accept the occasional bogey, no need to try and force the issue!
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Agreed, I think a lot of the time I try to do too much rather than just sticking to a game plan. The more I work on my short game the better I will feel about it and can just trust the process and the plan.
 
It comes down to assessing your game and seeing your weak points. For me right now it’s chipping and approach shots. If I could get rid of the hook with my irons I could probably drop 5 shots per round. As you progress, short game is where you will gain strokes
 
Most likely short game. Id guess you hit about 6-8 greens per round. A lot of opportunities to get up and down.
 
Scooby45 said:
This, with a sampling of GIRs
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GIRs are overrated when you have tap in pars because of a good short game.

My short game isn't great, but since I have started practicing high lobs, flops, bump and runs, short pitches, chips, and whatever else my scores have gotten better. Once I realized "short game" isn't just one shot, recoverability improved.
 
The most common way for that kind of scorer is through better wedge play. From wedge approach all the way to greenside fringe. You're probably not hitting the majority of greens yet, so wedges need to become your best friends. More up and downs, and closer to begin with on approach. If you play somewhere with massive greens that can shift to better long range putting, but usually wedges make the big difference.
 
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Lots of shots saved with short game. I mean I only hit 8 GIRs today and shot a +2 74 because my wedge game saved me soooooo much.
 
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I'm not in the 80s, but I think it would be hard to disagree with all of the short game posts. A lot of that has to do with hitting what you're aiming at. Hitting what you're aiming at by practicing the short game.
 
I have managed to shave my hcp down to a 14 with short game and putting. Took a lot of practice. A lot. I’m trying to get down into single digits hopefully in 2022 sometime. For me it’s simply working on getting closer to the hole on Par 4 approach shots. So Driver distance. If I’m closer to the hole on approach shots my misses on greens get drastically reduced. So it helps my short game as well. Small misses=more up and downs.

I recommend Arccos or a similar shot tracking system. After playing about 20 rounds with it I was fully confident on what I needed to work on. It’s easy to just say short game but these devices can help you identify the short game misses that tend to lead you to bogeys. And bogeys are usually what keeps you out of the 70s once you are a consistent ball striker and a good putter.

Birdies on Par 5s certainly don’t hurt either! And that’s where I get almost all of mine.
 
It was mental for me. It was a big deal for me to break 80 the first time. Once I’d done it once, it was far easier. I’m not sure I could nail it down to one part of my game that allowed me to break 80.
 
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Going thru your pre shot routine on every stroke, and enjoy even the hard or bad shots.
 
For me, it always starts with analyzing where my game is vs. those who are at the next step I want to achieve. This used to be fairly easy. GHIN provided lots of stats for players at a given handicap. Since they did a clean sheet of their system 2 years ago, not so much. They've only got about one-tenth of the stats they used to and jettisoned all the data prior to 2020, except total scores. Now you have to mine data like that through Arccos or The Grint.

Not knowing anything about your game, I can only talk generically. Generally speaking, three things separate 80s scorers from single digit handicap players.

1. Scrambling - Most single-digit handicap players are around or above 50% at making up and downs. 80s shooters, not so much.

2. Greens in Regulation - Similar stats to scrambling for both groups.

3. Putting - Putting affects scrambling percentages, but 3-putt avoidance and putts per GIR are significantly better for the single digit handicap player.

Overall, the single digit handicap player is going to be a better and more consistent ball striker. That's one of the big improvements that allows them to make gains in the areas above. Some would add longer off the tee and that is true, it does show up in the stats, but in my view this is mostly a result of greater consistency. Better ball striking.
 
My biggest improvement came with lots of putting practice. Following that it’s been short game, making sure my shots are on the green.

And lastly, it’s been shot selection. I don’t always need to hit driver, and it’s okay to lay up. Pars are good.

I’ve still got a long way to go though!
 
blugold said:
GIRs are overrated when you have tap in pars because of a good short game.

My short game isn't great, but since I have started practicing high lobs, flops, bump and runs, short pitches, chips, and whatever else my scores have gotten better. Once I realized "short game" isn't just one shot, recoverability improved.
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While i cannot play 80 golf (due to ball striking deficiencies) I certainly do understand short game importance for anyone playing 80 golf. It just wont happen without it and i believe that 100% for sure.

But with due respect, (if its ok to debate/challenge the notion in a friendly manor) to suggest GIR is overrated as one of the avenues to to sub 80 golf is imo a poor suggestion. Of course everyone is different and nothing is ever written in stone for each different given individual. But stop hitting greens and (for most players) just see how many rounds one can shoot sub 80 or for that matter even an 80 vs when they do hit more greens. For most it wont be too often. There is no way hitting greens can ever be overrated.

I mean hitting greens is the goal (most normally) and there is a reason for that. The more one hits the better they will score. That is a fact, not an opinion. There is nothing overrate about hitting greens.
 
rollin said:
While i cannot play 80 golf (due to ball striking deficiencies) I certainly do understand short game importance for anyone playing 80 golf. It just wont happen without it and i believe that 100% for sure.

But with due respect, (if its ok to debate/challenge the notion in a friendly manor) to suggest GIR is overrated as one of the avenues to to sub 80 golf is imo a poor suggestion. Of course everyone is different and nothing is ever written in stone for each different given individual. But stop hitting greens and (for most players) just see how many rounds one can shoot sub 80 or for that matter even an 80 vs when they do hit more greens. For most it wont be too often. There is no way hitting greens can ever be overrated.

I mean hitting greens is the goal (most normally) and there is a reason for that. The more one hits the better they will score. That is a fact, not an opinion. There is nothing overrate about hitting greens.
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Agreed. 100%. The best round I ever had with GIRs (10/18) was also the day I shot my lowest round ever. A 5 over 77. That equated to 9 Pars and one birdie on those 10 holes. If you are a good putter GIRs will equal great scoring.

Another key is avoiding a BIG number. Doubles and 3 dumps will kill the hopes of most players for the 70s.
 
There were a few things that helped me bring my scores down, and I did work to grind them out on the range and practice area;

Penalties off the tee. Nobody is going to hit 100% of fairways, but cutting down the big right miss was top of the priority list. I was hemorrhaging shots by either going OOB or having to punch out under trees so that was number one to cut down. I still have the left to right shape, but it's no way as penal as previously. Taking 3w off the tee has also paid dividends, longer approach shots, but would rather be 150 out and in the fairway than 120 out and in the trees.

Ball striking. Need to be hitting greens on par 3s and approaches on par 4s. Worked on club distances and course management to not get tempted by sucker pins. Whatever club gets you to the fat of the green, that's the club to take.

Short game. Started with working on 4 wedges, PW, 50, 55 and 60 and make a chart of partial shots. One distance for when the club is parallel to the ground, and then another for when my left arm is parallel on the back swing. This gives 8 yardages from 120 to 50 which takes care of most of the partial shots, and has made a huge differences. Then it's getting up and down - huge shout out here to @Jman for his advice on the toe down chip, have been working on that over the last couple of weeks and has certainly saved me a shot or two. And putting. Putting putting putting.

One more fairway, one more green, one more two putt and one more up an down a round can just save more shots than you'd think. Good luck!
 
mid handicapper , had a round earlier this year , that finished with 83 , after looking back at my round l had at least 6 shots that l gave away … Was it special no, l kept ball in play and percentage golf. More importantly l walked away with belief and confidence .

Had Covid not interrupted our life , we’ve had extended lockdowns etc. l would have played more but only had couple rounds since start of year.

Accuracy creates opportunity, hitting fairways and course management and smart choices . And ability to extricate the ball from poor positions. Some of it is consistency, some is skill. Most of it is hard work and effort .
 
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Short game is definitely an area that can save you shots, but it won't help enough if you are putting your tee shot in trouble, chipping back out but then missing the green with your approach - little improvements in all areas is a big step when they are combined together

If you have a particular weakness, that is where you can see the biggest gain, but a lot of it is also mental, the same as breaking 100, 90, etc - once you do it, you know you have the ability, so it is just a case of holding it together until it becomes more of a normal result

I shot 81 yesterday but had 2 double bogeys on the card due to a combination of bad luck and a couple bad shots - first one, my tee shot finished behind a tree and when I tried to chip back out I clipped another tree and ended up with a longer 3rd shot, hit a bad approach and 3 putted. Second one was a bit of bad luck with a ball right up against the lip of a bunker, got out but then pulled my 7i approach and found a greenside bunker with a lovely plugged lie and didn't get up and down so another double. Take a bogey on both of those holes and immediately that 81 becomes a 79, and that is without a few other shots that I could have saved during the round due to lip-outs
 
rollin said:
While i cannot play 80 golf (due to ball striking deficiencies) I certainly do understand short game importance for anyone playing 80 golf. It just wont happen without it and i believe that 100% for sure.

But with due respect, (if its ok to debate/challenge the notion in a friendly manor) to suggest GIR is overrated as one of the avenues to to sub 80 golf is imo a poor suggestion. Of course everyone is different and nothing is ever written in stone for each different given individual. But stop hitting greens and (for most players) just see how many rounds one can shoot sub 80 or for that matter even an 80 vs when they do hit more greens. For most it wont be too often. There is no way hitting greens can ever be overrated.

I mean hitting greens is the goal (most normally) and there is a reason for that. The more one hits the better they will score. That is a fact, not an opinion. There is nothing overrate about hitting greens.
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From my personal experience, the difference between an 80s golfer and a 70s golfer is usually short game. 2 putt bogeys can turn a good round into a so/so mid 80s round, real fast.

I stick to short game as my response, because if we focus on ball striking and GIRs, we just spend more time on the range banging balls. It's just more of the same, as far as practice goes. To decide to practice short game means spending time around a green without a putter being the focus, something most players don't actually do. I just think most mid to low 80s golfers are good enough tee to green that the missing piece is the familiarity with the variety of short game shots they will face in a round.

Turn half of those 2 putt bogeys into 1 putt pars.
 
I'm around where the OP is at and two guys I play with every week are where OP wants to be and the main difference is the short game. A lot of that is distance control 60 yards and in.
 
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