Trying to Break 100

[Hamfist]

Do it with Hybrid, 7 iron, SW, putter.

What would be reasoning behind going with these 4 clubs as to just the 7?
My reasoning for just the 7 was that it takes a lot of the thought out of the game. One club should lead to less second guessing the club selection, or distance, or even changing the swing for a driver versus short iorn. Just go up hit the ball toward the green, hit it again.
The goal is to get the mind off the swing and on to the shot.

 

[deuce]

I have soooooo many thoughts during a swing. where's my shoulder? is my grip too tight? what about that knee - why is it flexing? all of which destroy just a natural swing. #frustrating

I had these issues too. I finally found a good instructor that got me into a position that "feels right" and so now all I need to focus on is backswing, downswing.

If you have an instructor be up front with him and tell him you need to "feel what a proper set up" is like ... and he should be able to work with you on that.

 

[Hamfist]

I had these issues too. I finally found a good instructor that got me into a position that "feels right" and so now all I need to focus on is backswing, downswing.

If you have an instructor be up front with him and tell him you need to "feel what a proper set up" is like ... and he should be able to work with you on that.

My instructor had a swing thought he wanted me to use, and it has worked well (at times,lol)
The practice move is to have a penny or small marker on the ground about a foot behind the club when at address. As you take the club away, you want to "sweep" the coin with the club.
So, I try to have the word "Sweep" as my only swing thought.
Maybe give it a whirl.

 

[ntanygd760]

What would be reasoning behind going with these 4 clubs as to just the 7?
My reasoning for just the 7 was that it takes a lot of the thought out of the game. One club should lead to less second guessing the club selection, or distance, or even changing the swing for a driver versus short iorn. Just go up hit the ball toward the green, hit it again.
The goal is to get the mind off the swing and on to the shot.

More likely someone might actually do it mostly. Unless you have an unlimited membership I have a feeling most people would just go with a 7 iron.

 

[ntanygd760]

I have soooooo many thoughts during a swing. where's my shoulder? is my grip too tight? what about that knee - why is it flexing? all of which destroy just a natural swing. #frustrating

Practice the backswing endlessly in a mirror or on camera you can see the live video from. Will eventually become second nature and you will at least not have to think about anything before the transition from backswing to down swing. Once you get halfway through the downswing you won't be able to make a conscious swing adjustment, your body will just hit the ball. If you do enough things right up to that point you have a fighting chance to hit a good shot.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

What would be reasoning behind going with these 4 clubs as to just the 7?
My reasoning for just the 7 was that it takes a lot of the thought out of the game. One club should lead to less second guessing the club selection, or distance, or even changing the swing for a driver versus short iorn. Just go up hit the ball toward the green, hit it again.
The goal is to get the mind off the swing and on to the shot.

There's some good in this "take three clubs (or four) and play a round" idea but I don't really think my issue is on club selection, distance, or changing the swing. I don't change my swing for anything, except the putter (and am currently debating that! HA!). My issue is a ton of mis-hits, fluffs, flubs, and the fats. I also can do the topper thing like you can't believe.

I think I'll try it tho. My best club is my 6. I may go 6 iron, PW and a putter and see what happens (and how long it takes me to play a par 5!). But I'm guessing there will be still be a lot bad shots, hits in the woods, etc. It'll all be the fault of just two clubs instead of the usual bag full. And maybe I am changing my swing for my 3w (I don't hit driver) and I just don't realize it.

It's worth trying. But I'm not sure it'll fix me. Getting my mind off the swing would really help. JUST SWING. When I do that typically good things happen.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

I had these issues too. I finally found a good instructor that got me into a position that "feels right" and so now all I need to focus on is backswing, downswing.

If you have an instructor be up front with him and tell him you need to "feel what a proper set up" is like ... and he should be able to work with you on that.

have instructor. know what feels like. this does not stop me from thinking "why is my knee moving? am I "playing the flute" with the grip? Oh my - am I turning like I'm supposed to. AM I IN THE SET UP THE INSTRUCTOR TOLD ME TO BE IN?" my mind is racing during the milli-seconds of a swing. it's crazy. and I don't think I necessarily start changing things mid-swing. it's just that I'm not focused on the ball, being smooth, swinging in rhythm. I mis-hit it, top it, hit it fat.

the closest thing I can compare it to is bird hunting. if I consciously think about how much lead, where to put the gun in front of the dove or pheasant, I miss every time. you end up with a jerky motion or stopping the gun, etc. but when I just swing the gun on the line of the bird and stop thinking everything is automatic and the gun goes bang at the right time and the bird falls out of the sky (sorry to all anti-hunters - many animals were harmed in the making of this post). turn brain off and shoot. it really works well. need to turn brain off and swing the golf club!

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Practice the backswing endlessly in a mirror or on camera you can see the live video from. Will eventually become second nature and you will at least not have to think about anything before the transition from backswing to down swing. Once you get halfway through the downswing you won't be able to make a conscious swing adjustment, your body will just hit the ball. If you do enough things right up to that point you have a fighting chance to hit a good shot.

I do not think about transition. Ever. Have a drill I use for backswing and have done it a lot. When I run out of shoulder turn I start back down because I can't keep going up. That's it. There's no swing adjustment at that point or any point. When I run out of shoulder turn then all I can do is bring it back through. And sometimes it comes through great and sometimes ... um, not as great.

 

[Hamfist]

I do not think about transition. Ever. Have a drill I use for backswing and have done it a lot. When I run out of shoulder turn I start back down because I can't keep going up. That's it. There's no swing adjustment at that point or any point. When I run out of shoulder turn then all I can do is bring it back through. And sometimes it comes through great and sometimes ... um, not as great.

I hear you brother! I was attempting a drill I saw on GC the other day, where you make an "L" with your right elbow, and an upside down "L" with your right arm and torso on the back swing, and all I could think was "How the bloody hell do they make that work?"
This body is not designed for anything like that.

 

[ntanygd760]

The right arm should fold to 90 degrees fairly naturally, just a question of how deep you get it.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

The right arm should fold to 90 degrees fairly naturally, just a question of how deep you get it.

never thought about my right arm doing anything before ... so glad to have one more thing to think about during the takeaway and back swing! ;-)

 

[Callaway2580]

Good luck bro


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hamfist]

never thought about my right arm doing anything before ... so glad to have one more thing to think about during the takeaway and back swing! ;-)

Don't forget to note whether you hold your breath on the backswing or downswing.

 

[ntanygd760]

Just like shooting a gun form long range, have to go in between breathes

 

[Hamfist]

Shot a 62/55 at a tough course on Saturday. The driver abandoned me, and I was guilty of a cardinal sin: "Never Follow a Bad Shot With a Dumb Shot." Ah, well, on to the next one.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Shot a 62/55 at a tough course on Saturday. The driver abandoned me, and I was guilty of a cardinal sin: "Never Follow a Bad Shot With a Dumb Shot." Ah, well, on to the next one.

hopefully you missed some putts too. I always say "never let a great putt ruin a bad hole" ;-)

 

[Hamfist]

hopefully you missed some putts too. I always say "never let a great putt ruin a bad hole" ;-)

Yep, missed a few putts as well. The greens at this partiicular course were very fast, and really contoured. For example, I hit onto the back of the green on a 180-ish par three that went up from the tee, probably about 30 feet in elevation. The green was divided into 3 tiers, with about a foot drop from one to the other. I was on the back of the green. You can probably see where this is going. After my first putt went 20 feet past the hole, my second went up the slope, paused, and came rolling back past me by about 5 feet. Third went past the hole, and the fourth went back down the hill, the fifth got me to within about 4 feet and my brother called it "Good."

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Yep, missed a few putts as well. The greens at this partiicular course were very fast, and really contoured. For example, I hit onto the back of the green on a 180-ish par three that went up from the tee, probably about 30 feet in elevation. The green was divided into 3 tiers, with about a foot drop from one to the other. I was on the back of the green. You can probably see where this is going. After my first putt went 20 feet past the hole, my second went up the slope, paused, and came rolling back past me by about 5 feet. Third went past the hole, and the fourth went back down the hill, the fifth got me to within about 4 feet and my brother called it "Good."

as a kid when we played mini golf our rule was anything that rolls all the way back to the mat you putt from didn't count as a stroke! so I'm taking two strokes off that hole's score...

 

[cg1013]

have instructor. know what feels like. this does not stop me from thinking "why is my knee moving? am I "playing the flute" with the grip? Oh my - am I turning like I'm supposed to. AM I IN THE SET UP THE INSTRUCTOR TOLD ME TO BE IN?" my mind is racing during the milli-seconds of a swing. it's crazy. and I don't think I necessarily start changing things mid-swing. it's just that I'm not focused on the ball, being smooth, swinging in rhythm. I mis-hit it, top it, hit it fat.

the closest thing I can compare it to is bird hunting. if I consciously think about how much lead, where to put the gun in front of the dove or pheasant, I miss every time. you end up with a jerky motion or stopping the gun, etc. but when I just swing the gun on the line of the bird and stop thinking everything is automatic and the gun goes bang at the right time and the bird falls out of the sky (sorry to all anti-hunters - many animals were harmed in the making of this post). turn brain off and shoot. it really works well. need to turn brain off and swing the golf club!

I am sad to say that I suffer from the same affliction. Can't turn my dumb brain off and it leads to tension in my back and most importantly, arms. This leads me to pull the club back with my hands on the back swing and the club gets behind me and/or I get stuck on my back foot. I have had some success lately focusing on making sure I have zero tension in my back and my arms at set up. Then I initiate the backswing with my trail shoulder. When I can do that, I hit a great ball with normal ball flight. When I can't get the tension out its fats, tops, shanks, you name it.

So for me, I know 90% of my problem is mental and tension. Tension is my enemy!

 

[Hamfist]

I am sad to say that I suffer from the same affliction. Can't turn my dumb brain off and it leads to tension in my back and most importantly, arms. This leads me to pull the club back with my hands on the back swing and the club gets behind me and/or I get stuck on my back foot. I have had some success lately focusing on making sure I have zero tension in my back and my arms at set up. Then I initiate the backswing with my trail shoulder. When I can do that, I hit a great ball with normal ball flight. When I can't get the tension out its fats, tops, shanks, you name it.

So for me, I know 90% of my problem is mental and tension. Tension is my enemy!

Welcome to the club! And the Breaking 100 thread!

 

[Hamfist]

as a kid when we played mini golf our rule was anything that rolls all the way back to the mat you putt from didn't count as a stroke! so I'm taking two strokes off that hole's score...

I will amend my scorecard.

 

[cg1013]

Welcome to the club! And the Breaking 100 thread!

Happy to be here! It's nice to know that I'm not the only guy that struggles to break 100 after years of trying. This will be my third year of really playing and I shot in the 90's my last three rounds last year. First round this year was 115! Took a lesson last week that really helped me with some things. Hope to get back in the double digits soon!

 

[srx700xxx]

I have played quite a bit since my last posting. Maybe a little too much. :-( In that time, I was sidelined for a spell with the flu bug and my back going out. I have only done three 18 hole rounds in that time and I'm 2 out of 3 going below 100. I have been getting to know the front 9 pretty well in that span. Some real ugly moments at times for a few holes then it's lights out and I'm flirting with low 40's on a par 35. I've been swapping a 18 degree wood and 17 degree hybrid in and out of the bag. I also switched two of my putter grips but so far have stuck with the mallet version putter. The smaller square grip feels a little more comfortable that the big semi circled one. I don't get that sensation of rolling my wrist and pushing them to the sides of the hole. I have tried to be less aggressive with the putter so the misses are not so far that it turns into a 3 or 4 putt debacle from a 12 foot starting point. The game always has to throw some in there to show that you are really not that good. It might sound stupid to some but I have also lift the putter just a tick before I take it back. So many times I either scuff the putter on the take away or in the stroke that it is maddening. There has been no putting practice so it has all been live. The last few rounds has also seen some changes with the other clubs. I have been trying to make an honest effort to not grip the club so hard. With that little change has seen me overshooting my approaches so that part of the game has spiked up a tick. I am also putting a little more turn into the driver swing as I have come out of the back trouble thing. I'm sure I'll get carried away at some point and be sitting for a week. The extra yardage is a welcome sight with the driver when I do it right. The part of my game that is causing the most trouble is when I'm very near the green. I'd be in the high 30's on a couple of rounds if I could learn to chip correctly. After a few rockets or flubs I resort back to my pitching but that leads to some very delicate stuff going on with pin locations and hitting the approaches longer than normal. I have a lesson scheduled for Friday to get some pointers with the chipping. I'm a little beat from yesterday with being asked to play as I'm pulling in the parking lot with no warmup at all. That turned into a 15 hole practice session then I did a 9 holes stint with some horrid near green experiences. Stopped by the practice green for some chips, then back to the front 9. I was hitting some darts for 4 holes then I started to wear down and finish with a 43. I'm off for a week so it will be golf and more golf with a lesson thrown in. There is a big tournament for two days so I hope to hit the road for new courses. If I'm playing for score, I'm sure things will spike with the new surroundings.

Here is some stats:

Course Rating/Slope Rating: 69.2 / 124

Date	Course	Over/Under	Score	Fairways	GIR	Putts/Hole	Scrambling	Sand Saves
May 11th Wednesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+8	43	29%	33%	1.56	0%	--
May 11th Wednesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+14	49	14%	0%	1.56	22%	0%
May 10th Tuesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+12	47	43%	11%	1.67	13%	--
May 10th Tuesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+8	43	14%	33%	1.89	33%	--
May 9th Monday	9 Holes - Par 35	+16	51	57%	11%	2.11	0%	--
May 8th Sunday	9 Holes - Par 35	+9	44	43%	22%	1.78	43%	--
May 7th Saturday	9 Holes - Par 35	+12	47	43%	22%	1.89	0%	0%
April 30th Saturday	9 Holes - Par 35	+12	47	100%	22%	1.89	14%	0%
April 26th Tuesday	18 Holes - Par 71	+29	100	21%	6%	2	18%	0%
April 26th Tuesday	18 Holes - Par 71	+27	98	43%	6%	1.72	6%	100%

Date	Course	Over/Under	Score	Fairways	GIR	Putts/Hole	Scrambling	Sand Saves
April 22nd Friday	9 Holes - Par 35	+15	50	43%	0%	2	0%	--
April 22nd Friday	9 Holes - Par 35	+7	42	43%	33%	1.78	0%	--
April 21st Thursday	18 Holes - Par 71	+27	98	57%	17%	2.11	27%	0%

 

[mmartinez27]

My last round, I managed a 96 in my last round at The Pointe Golf Club in OBX. I started the day with a +2 and a +5 on the first 2 holes. The second hole, I found a green side bunker, came up short trying to get out of the bunker and then rolled it into a bunker on the other side of the green. I thought for sure that I was going to be in for a very long day, especially with the driver barely going 200 and irons playing 2+ clubs short. I ended up closing the front out with a 54, but quickly started the back with a Par, Par, 3 putt double. My driver started coming around 230+, which wasn't good on a 230 yard par 4 12th. The tees were up and I carried the green. I had a shot at putting up a sub 40 back 9, but a short putt missed on 17 to save Par and a horrible slice on my second shot of 18 put that out of the picture. I finished with a 42 on the back.

Overall I was happy with my play. Despite being short with most of my clubs, I wasn't really missing left/right, which kept me out of too much trouble when trying to get up and down. I would say by far this was my best day of playing from 50 yards in with 2 pins hit and leaving myself a shot at rolling some in. I have got a few days on the range in this week and I am hoping to sneak out to get a round in this weekend.

side note...if the starter points out the 9th green and warns that most people bail out to the right/deep because they forget just how close the water is, I'm going to land on the back of the green and watch the ball disappear. Luckily there was some nice tall weeds to save me from getting wet.

 

[cg1013]

I have played quite a bit since my last posting. Maybe a little too much. :-( In that time, I was sidelined for a spell with the flu bug and my back going out. I have only done three 18 hole rounds in that time and I'm 2 out of 3 going below 100. I have been getting to know the front 9 pretty well in that span. Some real ugly moments at times for a few holes then it's lights out and I'm flirting with low 40's on a par 35. I've been swapping a 18 degree wood and 17 degree hybrid in and out of the bag. I also switched two of my putter grips but so far have stuck with the mallet version putter. The smaller square grip feels a little more comfortable that the big semi circled one. I don't get that sensation of rolling my wrist and pushing them to the sides of the hole. I have tried to be less aggressive with the putter so the misses are not so far that it turns into a 3 or 4 putt debacle from a 12 foot starting point. The game always has to throw some in there to show that you are really not that good. It might sound stupid to some but I have also lift the putter just a tick before I take it back. So many times I either scuff the putter on the take away or in the stroke that it is maddening. There has been no putting practice so it has all been live. The last few rounds has also seen some changes with the other clubs. I have been trying to make an honest effort to not grip the club so hard. With that little change has seen me overshooting my approaches so that part of the game has spiked up a tick. I am also putting a little more turn into the driver swing as I have come out of the back trouble thing. I'm sure I'll get carried away at some point and be sitting for a week. The extra yardage is a welcome sight with the driver when I do it right. The part of my game that is causing the most trouble is when I'm very near the green. I'd be in the high 30's on a couple of rounds if I could learn to chip correctly. After a few rockets or flubs I resort back to my pitching but that leads to some very delicate stuff going on with pin locations and hitting the approaches longer than normal. I have a lesson scheduled for Friday to get some pointers with the chipping. I'm a little beat from yesterday with being asked to play as I'm pulling in the parking lot with no warmup at all. That turned into a 15 hole practice session then I did a 9 holes stint with some horrid near green experiences. Stopped by the practice green for some chips, then back to the front 9. I was hitting some darts for 4 holes then I started to wear down and finish with a 43. I'm off for a week so it will be golf and more golf with a lesson thrown in. There is a big tournament for two days so I hope to hit the road for new courses. If I'm playing for score, I'm sure things will spike with the new surroundings.

Here is some stats:

Course Rating/Slope Rating: 69.2 / 124

Date	Course	Over/Under	Score	Fairways	GIR	Putts/Hole	Scrambling	Sand Saves
May 11th Wednesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+8	43	29%	33%	1.56	0%	--
May 11th Wednesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+14	49	14%	0%	1.56	22%	0%
May 10th Tuesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+12	47	43%	11%	1.67	13%	--
May 10th Tuesday	9 Holes - Par 35	+8	43	14%	33%	1.89	33%	--
May 9th Monday	9 Holes - Par 35	+16	51	57%	11%	2.11	0%	--
May 8th Sunday	9 Holes - Par 35	+9	44	43%	22%	1.78	43%	--
May 7th Saturday	9 Holes - Par 35	+12	47	43%	22%	1.89	0%	0%
April 30th Saturday	9 Holes - Par 35	+12	47	100%	22%	1.89	14%	0%
April 26th Tuesday	18 Holes - Par 71	+29	100	21%	6%	2	18%	0%
April 26th Tuesday	18 Holes - Par 71	+27	98	43%	6%	1.72	6%	100%

Date	Course	Over/Under	Score	Fairways	GIR	Putts/Hole	Scrambling	Sand Saves
April 22nd Friday	9 Holes - Par 35	+15	50	43%	0%	2	0%	--
April 22nd Friday	9 Holes - Par 35	+7	42	43%	33%	1.78	0%	--
April 21st Thursday	18 Holes - Par 71	+27	98	57%	17%	2.11	27%	0%

Your putting is legit!