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Trying to Break 100

bobellis75 said:
well the first hole I triple bogeyed...but that was not the fault of the 3W but an errant second shot that left me in trouble.

On the par 5, I'm not willing to give up the distance as much....and then the 3W fell apart on me after the par 5. If anything, I wonder if I should just go with the 5W as (knock on wood) I consistently hit it fairly straight off the tee and I get a good rip on it most of the time (probably close to 3W, and even better than if I don't really square up the 3W).

My thing is I was hitting the driver really well for a couple years there...in fact, it may have been my most reliable club outside the putter at times. And I expect I"ll get back there...it's just matter of injury recovery, etc. Repetition will get it going...but...if I can hit a FW for a few holes to warm up, then pull the driver, fine by me. And if the driver is NOT working, I have no problem shifting back to a FW.
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Sounds like a reasonable plan. Hit what's working, work on what's not.
 
Grins said:
I completely fell apart last night for 3 holes: carded an 8 on the #1 HC par 4, another 8 on a 150 yard par 3 (hit it OB off the tee), and a 9 on the par 5 (another OB with fairway approach shot). I literally could not hit the ball. Righted the ship for the last 3 holes, but no pars and shot 55 - worst 9 of the year.

Worst of all, my back is killing me today, so I must’ve been doing some hellacious overswinging out there.

Golf is hard.
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Damn!! So, you in for Saturday?
 
JonMA1 said:
Just an opinion and don't get me wrong, I love hitting GIRs. I've simply put less of an emphasis on them this year.
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If you're trying to enjoy the game and shoot around 90 (which certainly sounds like an enjoyable round to me)….then make your GIR number correlate to bogey golf. On a par four, be happy you are on the dance floor in three. That's your GIR. Two-putt to a five. Happiness. Same on par five...rather than three, make your GIR four strokes. Two putt to a six. Boom. If you can get to that point pretty consistent (easier said than done...I know)...then you know you're going to hit some occasional "real" GIR's as well. A short par four or five, maybe. You're on two or three shots, respectively. You get a couple pars. Then the next thing you know you're maybe making a run at a score in the upper 80's.

That's the goal I'm trying to shoot for this year. I love GIR's of course. And I have been getting them a tiny bit more often (knock on wood) and I hope to keep that trend going. But if I can have a chance to one-putt for par or two-putt for bogey on a majority of holes then I think my scores will be in pretty okay shape.

If your distance is lacking, then keep working that short game. I went to the range last night, hit a medium bucket, and saved a handful of balls for the chipping green. Then took my lob wedge and just kept trying to land it on certain spots of the green (working on really short chips). That was how I wound up breaking 100 consistently a couple years ago...I worked the hell out of my short game (including the putter). And with my PW, 50*, 54*, and 58* became very comfortable and confident with some dialed in full swing yardage. I'd use my 54/58 around the green. It shaved a lot of strokes off...where I'd fall behind in some distance off the tee, I'd make it up with some more accurate approach shots from like 100-ish yards or closer. I actually need to get back to working those clubs.....
 
Scorpion12 said:
I've got a Walter Hagan straw hat in my car... wide brim. It sucks for windy days though.
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Luchnia said:
Interesting while I was reading this all I could think about was my league game last Saturday and how I struggled on the back 9 with driver and irons only pulling out a 99 and I have been scoring in the high 80s and low 90s lately. Chips and putts were really good though. Chips were my strongest part of the game.

I was playing a solid front 9 and I struggled terribly on the back 9 and often my back 9 is my strongest or at least as good. Nothing I could do seemed to pull me back in on the game. I suppose I had tension or something going on yet could not figure it out as I am a relaxed type of player. Even trying to go back to fundamentals did not help me.

For example, I had about 160 yds on a second shot on one hole, so I hit a 7 iron which I skulled and dribbled to the ditch which was mowed nicely and could not find the ball. So I dropped in the line and hit an easy wedge shot around 100 yds, well, yes, you guessed it, I dribbled that to the ditch as well and could not find that ball. Dropped again and hit to the right of the green. It was not good for me. Two drops on one hole! Arrrggghhhh.

It was really bad for me as I had two 7s and two 8s on that back 9. I lost 6 balls during the round and I cannot remember losing 6 balls in the last 15 or so rounds. As a matter of fact, I played the day before and used the same ball the entire round on a difficult course with a lots of hills and water.

Being the analyst that I am, I keep thinking what happened in that league game? I could stand one bad hole, but not four. After the round in the morning on the previous day, I hit about a 100 chips and hit into the net that evening, so I may have way overdone it.

I am thinking my body simply could not handle it and must have been giving out on the back 9. Getting old sucks.
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The other frustrating thing was I hit balls on the range before the round, and I was hitting them well.

And I hate taking penalty strokes!

I didn't feel worn out before the round. I did run 5k at 1 pm, then walked the 9 holes at 4:45, but I don't think that running was the source of the awful shots. And hitting crappy shots makes me very tired.
 
Garage sale < Hawks Nest
 
bobellis75 said:
If you're trying to enjoy the game and shoot around 90 (which certainly sounds like an enjoyable round to me)….then make your GIR number correlate to bogey golf.
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I'm normally not thinking this way, but it's good advice and it makes sense.

I play a lot of the same 3 or 4 courses so I'm familiar with them. And I also play almost exclusively at under 6,000 yards. Almost all the holes at these courses are reachable in regulation distance wise. A GIR or a near-GIR is the objective until a poor shot renders that not possible.

That said, there are a couple of holes that are difficult enough that going for a GIR is a mistake. These are the holes where I'm on the tee and thinking bogey. But overall they are rare.

As far as results, I'm good with a bogey and I expect them to come even when I've hit decent shots. It's just a matter of knowing my game. Once I've hit a poor shot on a given hole, I then accept that a double is now looming and that result becomes acceptable even if I'm hoping for bogey. A good round for me has a the same amount of pars as it does doubles. Bogeys are going to be the bulk of my scores - no doubt about it.

The thing about GIR % is that it's just a stat. Yes, good players not only hit a lot of them, they also have better proximity to the hole when they hit one, AND they are generally very good putters. That's what makes them good players and why they are thinking birdie when hitting a green while I'm thinking Cool, a GIR. Sure hope I don't 3 putt and blow this opportunity for a par.
 
JonMA1 said:
The thing about GIR % is that it's just a stat. Yes, good players not only hit a lot of them, they also have better proximity to the hole when they hit one, AND they are generally very good putters. That's what makes them good players and why they are thinking birdie when hitting a green while I'm thinking Cool, a GIR. Sure hope I don't 3 putt and blow this opportunity for a par.
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I don't know if any stat is really "just" a stat :) But I totally get what you mean...I'm not even really thinking about a GIR most of the time. I'm thinking one shot a time. If my tee shot is good, I'm happy and if I have a chance at a GIR with the second shot...it probably slips into my head...but really I'm thinking what is the best play for me here? And if it results in a GIR - cool - I got a chance for par (most likely I didn't put it in birdie distance).

But yeah I hear ya on the "Hope I don't blow it". And I often do.

But I'm trying to trick myself more into not worrying about the par on a hole (which is hard, because you KNOW what par is, regardless of telling yourself you'll be happy with a bogey - we are all competitive). But right now, my goal is consistently to shoot low 90's....when I do that...I'll worry about more GIR or more pars or some birdies. Until I do that...what I tell myself is - if I go play 18 and get a 5 on every hole...I'll shoot a 90. Granted...I hope I get some pars in there...or don't get a 5 on a par 3 (so when I get a 6 or 7 on a par 5, it evens out). But if I did get a 5 on a par 3...that doesn't kill my chances if I get a couple pars to make up for it or hey...maybe a birdie.

I guess in a long winded way - I'm just saying if you have a goal to shoot low 90's...find ways to think about your approach that fit that goal. You can change your goal/approach later. Maybe a year from now you're all about GIR. Who knows.
 
To score better for bogey/ dbl bogey golfers I think the hierarchy is:

1. Keep the ball in play, no OB or lost balls
2. Keep the ball moving forward, no tops / extreme fats
3. When you find yourself in trouble take your medicine and get out of trouble with the least amount of damage done, no hero shots
4. Aim for the fat part of the green or away from trouble
5. The goal when chipping is to be on the green, don't try to make the perfect chip and take on too much trouble
6. When on the green at more than 7-8 feet away, hit a putt that will put you close enough to make the next putt, don't zip it 5 feet by trying to make it, this is how 3 putts happen

Making bogeys in theory is easy, but in practice is more challenging.

Dave
 
dthrog00 said:
To score better for bogey/ dbl bogey golfers I think the hierarchy is:

1. Keep the ball in play, no OB or lost balls
2. Keep the ball moving forward, no tops / extreme fats
3. When you find yourself in trouble take your medicine and get out of trouble with the least amount of damage done, no hero shots
4. Aim for the fat part of the green or away from trouble
5. The goal when chipping is to be on the green, don't try to make the perfect chip and take on too much trouble
6. When on the green at more than 7-8 feet away, hit a putt that will put you close enough to make the next putt, don't zip it 5 feet by trying to make it, this is how 3 putts happen

Making bogeys in theory is easy, but in practice is more challenging.

Dave
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Good thoughts. In other words - minimize your bad shots. The thing that really separates someone shooting 100's and someone shooting low 90's is: the better player has "bad" shots that aren't too bad - they're still generally in the right direction, and they can still recover from them. They don't turn 1 bad shot into 2-3 strokes lost. Easier said than done, but the good news is it's not so much talent separating these 2 players as it is course management/thinking/mental game.
 
dthrog00 said:
To score better for bogey/ dbl bogey golfers I think the hierarchy is:

1. Keep the ball in play, no OB or lost balls
2. Keep the ball moving forward, no tops / extreme fats
3. When you find yourself in trouble take your medicine and get out of trouble with the least amount of damage done, no hero shots
4. Aim for the fat part of the green or away from trouble
5. The goal when chipping is to be on the green, don't try to make the perfect chip and take on too much trouble
6. When on the green at more than 7-8 feet away, hit a putt that will put you close enough to make the next putt, don't zip it 5 feet by trying to make it, this is how 3 putts happen

Making bogeys in theory is easy, but in practice is more challenging.

Dave
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definitely....number 1 was a big one for me a few years ago...I was so wild with my shots and taking penalties on lost balls, etc. Number 2 is big...I get frustrated with some bad shots and a buddy of mine always says "well...you're closer to the green than you were..." Even on some bad hits...if you're moving it toward the green...you are making SOME progress (like you said...not including tops, etc).

Number 3 is big for me...I sometimes think I'm going to try to pull this shot out of my rear (and I don't know why I think I could hit some difficult shot when I struggle with "regular" shots). I have got much better here. Knocking it back into the fairway, from deep rough, and so on.

My takeaway here is that barring a bad shot (see numbers 1 and 2) - 4 of the 6 items on your list (numbers 3 thru 6) are more strategy and/or using your head. We should ALL be following 4 thru 6 regardless of skill etc.
 
Most of my topped shots go forward.
 
Plot twist.....

I mentioned an interest in the one length irons not long ago...well...I recently acquired a set (thanks to @Hamfist )….when I say recently - they arrived yesterday. So I have not hit them just yet...but looking forward to trying these out and hoping the results are positive.

Will update any progress as I start to hit these...going to try to get a few sessions in, figure them out, prior to gaming them. I will say, just kind of handling them and checking them out at the house...I didn't think the hybrids felt weird (I thought they would). Now...swinging them may feel weird...but we shall see. So what I received were the 3 thru 5 hybrids and 6 thru gap wedge irons....super excited to check 'em out!
 
Had I the option of growing 4" taller, I would have kept them.
 
Here we have midsummer festivities, tomorrow is national holiday. So morning starts with golf, new to me links style course near by with my buddy and his wife. Afternoon, three families, BBQ, marinade for grilled stuff (various rubs for chicken and pork, salt for smoked salmon) and for the cook (beer, internally) as well. Day after tomorrow, golf. Sunday, to the beach with kids, let my wife have day-off from all duties. She's not into golf, but let's me have priviledges so this is the least I can do. Tuesday, getting paid for golfing, benefits of having a vendor that enjoys the sport, so I'm "building relationships in an outdoor workshop" :LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL:
 
I played 18 tonight and hit 6 GIRs all from full swings with the 3h, 6i, 8i and 9i. That's the good news. The bad news is that I only parred 1 of those 6 holes. My total putts during the round was a whopping 44!

In all fairness, I called a couple of the 3-putts because of the distance to the flag and I don't feel that bad about those. But a couple of them were less than 20 yards. I couldn't lag, I couldn't get close on the midrange putts... I even missed a couple from less than 4'. My putting is normally bad, but not this bad. At some point, I had zero confidence while standing over a putt. It was comical.

In addition to the excessive putts, I hit a couple O.O.B. shots that added strokes. It was an enjoyable round nonetheless.

48/50 98 (26.6 Diff) from 5971 yds.

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Don't know how accurate this is, but here's a chart from The Grint I found interesting...

gir-targets-golf.png
 
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