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Trying to Break 100

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I think my 2 biggest improvements to get below 100 (~28 handicap) were 1) ignoring the par number and 2) taking better statistics on my round.

1) I can't tell you how many times I actually hit a good drive then sat in the fairway thinking if I flushed this 4-iron, I'd have a shot at a 2-putt par. Then I'd hit a 10 yard ground ball and then I'd have to flush a 5-iron and the whole thing keeps going until I finally kick the stupid ball onto the green and 3 putt for a 8. Basically, you have to play to your par. If you're 30+ you probably want to think about a par4 as a par6. If you're a 18-30, I'd say think of a par4 as a par5. It's subtle, but it helps you make much better decisions and avoid disasters.

2) As for the stats, I keep my own score when playing because I load it with stats. Essentially, I'd use a row for me tee shot and mark down stuff like (good-fairway hit, 100 yrd slice, big hook, pop up), I'd mark my approach (5-iron-100yrd ground ball for example), and then I'd mark how many short game shots I needed. Obviously I had my own abbreviations for all that, but what it showed me was that if I scored 110, for example, generally I'd have 50 "long game" shots and 60 "short game shots". From there, I worked on my short game down to the high 40s and bam. My first sub 100 score. I think the morale is that I think we all remember our best shots, and we all remember our worst shots. The problem is golf is a 18 hole game, and really, it's pretty enlightening to see your average statistics over the 18 holes over several rounds. We all don't have much time, but it helps us to identify what we can work on to get the biggest benefit.
 
rbelbin said:
This post isn't for me, but it is for my wife. She just broke 100 (she shot 97) on a course that isn't our home course! She was pretty excited about it, first time she has done that on a different course. I think that was the 4th time she managed to break 100. She normally is in the 102-108 range. She will also be "bringing it" to the Fall outing! :beauty:
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Congrats wife of rbelin!!!! See you in Florida!!! BRING IT!!
 
Well, not a bad round today. Played 9 at a local muni course. The grass was THICK if you weren't in the fairway. I definitely should've hit some punch shots back into the fairway from the rough instead of trying to play full swings, but I didn't think about this until I was 7 holes through.

Overall, I shot a 49. I hit 19 putts, so just over 2 putts per hole. I was ON today with my putter...did like I said I was going to and started putting to the hole instead of leaving it short. Two one putts for me this round! Very awesome. Last hole was a 335ish yard par 4 uphill. Hit a great shot to the middle of the fairway (unfortunately my only fairway hit all day...I've been retooling my swing based on Hogan's book with generally good but also some bad results, and while my distance is going up, my slice is coming back...I think I break my right wrist at the top of the shot and can't get it back into position when the club makes impact), I pushed my approach to the left of the green in the thick stuff pin high, hit a short pitch with my lob wedge to the left of the pin and it came back down to pin high (meant to hit it further but that rough was even thicker than the rest)...and sank a 15 footer with about a foot of break from left to right for my par. One fairway hit, one GIR, one 8 on a par 3 (tee shot hit OB, flubbed my pitch, flubbed it again into the sand, hit a pretty good sand shot...then 3 putted). One quintuple bogey, two triples (got into trouble on both par 5's), three bogeys, 3 pars. Might've even done a bit better if I'd stayed hydrated better...it was a solid 85-88 degrees and my buddy and I were sweating like crazy. Overall, though, I think I'm starting to adjust to conditions better and starting to play better, which I'm very pleased with.
 
Congrats on the 49. Thgose 9 hole rounds under 50 eventually helped mein breaking 100 for 18.

1 word of caution with Hogan's 5 Lessons. Hogan fought a hook, which is rare for people to hit ie most people slice. If you slice alot, then some of the stuff Hogan did could make it worse.
 
I played a quick 9 on the back. I was 4 over after 6 holes. 3 pars, 2 bogeys and 1 dbl. I then got 8,7,7 on the last three whichgwere par 4,4, and 5. So I ended up with a 49.

I didn't collapse though. On #16 I hit my third shot into a greensde bunker and it took me three to get out. I normally get out in 1. SO that lead to an 8. On 17, I hit my third shot onto the back left of the green. The pin was back right so i had a 39 foot left to right breaking sidehill putt. I 4 jacked for a 7.

That green requires you to miss short. Missing long and you are done. I talked it over with my pro...


So I put up a effortless 49 and maybe had a shot at something lower. SO far so good.
 
good stuff bort hang in there!
 
Bortass said:
Congrats on the 49. Thgose 9 hole rounds under 50 eventually helped mein breaking 100 for 18.

1 word of caution with Hogan's 5 Lessons. Hogan fought a hook, which is rare for people to hit ie most people slice. If you slice alot, then some of the stuff Hogan did could make it worse.
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Yeah, I've got a slice in my swing...I'm piecing most of his stuff together just to get myself solid fundamentals, like grip and address, at least for now...haven't touched the chapters on back swing or forward swing yet, heh.
 
Hello all, I am trying to play more golf this year and want to see if it helps me get consistent. Playing 3 times a year doesn't work to well if your trying to get better. My scores will range from 120 to an 84 (my best ever on 18). I know I can do it, but consistency is the problem. I will say this year I'm hanging around 100, so it's nice to see I'm not alone.
 
Bool said:
Hello all, I am trying to play more golf this year and want to see if it helps me get consistent. Playing 3 times a year doesn't work to well if your trying to get better. My scores will range from 120 to an 84 (my best ever on 18). I know I can do it, but consistency is the problem. I will say this year I'm hanging around 100, so it's nice to see I'm not alone.
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Welcome to the club bool.
 
bmckenna said:
Yeah, I've got a slice in my swing...I'm piecing most of his stuff together just to get myself solid fundamentals, like grip and address, at least for now...haven't touched the chapters on back swing or forward swing yet, heh.
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I have to agree with bortass on this. I think 5 Lessons did more to screw up my swing than anything. After I took lessons, I was making good contact and swinging well, but after I read his book I lost much of what I had learned. There are good points as far as fundamentals go, but even some of them are not great for everybody.

Example: Hogan used a weak grip, which is the opposite of what you should be doing with a slicing problem. Also, Hogan had incredible flexibility, so his set up was affected by that. If you don't have his natural abilities there may be better ways for you to set up.

My advice would be to actually see a pro. I've found that self diagnosing my swing (from reading books/tips) can really get me in a bad spot, but 30 minutes with a pro can make miracles happen.
 
The last set of lessons I took was pretty good...I learned the basics of how to shape shots. Problem is, I only took one, and the ability faded pretty quickly after that. However, what the pro taught me wasn't really how to "fix" my slice...just how to square the clubface at impact so that the ball flew straight. The problem with my slice is I'm pretty sure a weak right wrist that bows at the top of my backswing and doesn't come back to square on impact. If I can get a pro to teach me how to fix that, I might be interested...but for me it's also about the self-discovery of the journey and seeing what I can do to get myself there. My grip isn't like Hogan's in that my hands are much larger and I find that his hands and wrists are unnaturally contorted to reach the position of the grip he describes along with the positions of the arms at address. Looking at some pictures online, I've got a pretty neutral grip. Things I've picked up from 5 Lessons so far that I've found immensely helpful are basic things like not letting the right index finger/thumb take over in a shot, and my general posture at address. It won't be my be-all end-all book, I promise. ;) And I do have plans eventually on taking lessons...just not in the budget right now.
 
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You may already noticed, but our resident pro will gladly look at video of you swing to give you a diagnosis and some drills. Andy talks about the baseball diamond drill and it has helped many people on the forum.

I fought a slice last year, especially with my driver. I've been able to eliminate it and now I have to quit lining up down the left side of the fairway. It's been hard to make that adjustment and I've been getting lots of practice shooting from the left side rough lol.
 
I'm hoping to play a round after work today. I start my new job on monday and will have a much easier schedule so I hope to be able to play more than once a week like I have been. And I'm most definitely going to be starting lessons too. As much as I like you guys I really want to be posting in the breaking 90 thread...:act-up:
 
If I manage to keep my left arm mostly straight, keep my right wrist strong but not too strong, and not pull the club back around past and underneath my left shoulder...my slice stays under control. It's when I try and strong-arm the shot by putting my arms into it or taking entirely too much backswing that my slice creeps up really badly. To put my reliance on Hogan's book into perspective, before I started reading the book, I would often tuck my left elbow in for shots (but not always...lack of consistency anyone?), and the club would go over my right shoulder like a baseball bat, pointed almost perpendicular to my back. A lot of this stems from not having played for about 2 years following some lower back injuries (2 herniated discs, which are now on the mend thanks to chiropractic care). I reverted to my swing when I was 15, it would seem.

I should see about taking some video of my swing...I have a flip-style digital cam, so video would be easy to e-mail...would just need a tripod I guess. Swing from the back (off to my right side) and from the side (from my front side) I'm guessing?
 
I think he asks for face-on and a down the line shot of both a 7i and the driver. You can upload to swingacademy.com for slo-mo or just to youtube. Then you can embed or post links in a thread for him. If you were uncomfortable doing it in public you could pm him with the links or embeds.
 
Count me in. I've been somewhat lazy and mostly played the executive course lately. Finally got the nerve to take the stroke test needed for an official hcp and membership of the national golf association. I'm now a 54, haha. Celebrated with 18 holes yesterday, and shot a 106 for 55 stableford points!! Suppose I should've timed it with a tournament of some sorts, hehe. Anyway, was a lousy round really. Lost 5-6 balls or so and putting was awful. Only two things that was working reasonably was the driver and my wedges. So while I'm slightly disappointed with the result, the good news is there's plenty of room for improvement, even in the short term.

Happy golfing everyone.

- Carsten
 
just got home from playing 18. shot an even 100. it was almost dark by the time we got to the 18th par 4. the foursome in front of us was taking FOREVER and held us up on the last 3 holes. we ended up using those blinking balls so we could see them. I was on the green in 2 and proceeded to 3 putt to miss breaking 100 :banghead: those blinking balls are like putting with a rock but it was a great round overall. I feel my game coming back...
 
Nice round China! Soooo close.
 
thanks hawk. I don't look at my overall score until after the round so I had no idea I was going to break 100 if I got par on the last hole.
 
Nicr round China. Sooooo close!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
way to go china sooooo close! your right there bro!
 
Almost there (I think). As I've posted before, iron shooting is the weakest part of my game, so I'm in the middle of an experiment/practice drill right now. I've stepped away from full-sized golf courses about 3 weeks ago and have been playing nothing but Par-3 courses, nothing longer than 190 yards (one of the courses also has a driving range, so my driver doesn't get rusty). Earlier this year, I had such an aversion to taking any shots with irons that I was only hitting them with half-swings; I now have confidence back in my full swings and it's showing on the scorecard. Scores for 9 holes on a Par-3 used to range in the mid to upper 40s are now in the upper 30s-low 40s. Last round I played I shot a 41 which I considered bad because it included 19 putts (15-18 for 9 is my average). I plan on keeping this going on for another week or two before I step back onto a regular course. Hopefully this experiment will have pay off in the end, and I will keep you all updated. If it works, then I will recommend this practice drill to others. If it fails, then I'm open to suggestions...
 
Good luck Ken!

I'm headed over to Iowa City in a bit to play a new course with my Dad and brother. I've been studying the layout and have a game-plan figured out. First time I've ever played with them, so it should be a good time either way.
 
105 today with 5 lost balls!!!! Crap crap crap crap.... The driver was just not working. But neither was anything else off the tee. I can still drop them on the green from 130-50 yards out no problem- but getting there is killing me. I pared the last 3 holes at least, so the day felt good anyway.
 
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