Trying to Break 100

[barrelMOnkey]

Such a frustrating round for me today. I played a course with a work colleague that I've never played before.
I was out in 49 and feeling pretty good.
Then it all went to pot on the back 9. Shot 59 including 2 water penalties and a couple holes buried in bunkers.

Finished on 108, net +9 (par 71)

This is after last week I hit 100 for the first time.

My driving was great, I hit 9/13 fairways but I was topping all of my iron shots.

Oh well, hopefully a better day tomorrow.

 

[tehuti]

Shot my second consecutive sub-100 round at Fullerton today. 47 front/47 back, 94 total. Only one 8 and that was not really a blowup. In spite of not hitting my irons well all day I did really well with my hybrid and 4w as well as on the green.

If I can recover my lost short game this may be where I start to really improve.


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[barrelMOnkey]

Shot my second consecutive sub-100 round at Fullerton today. 47 front/47 back, 94 total. Only one 8 and that was not really a blowup. In spite of not hitting my irons well all day I did really well with my hybrid and 4w as well as on the green.

If I can recover my lost short game this may be where I start to really improve.


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Nice, especially good to see the consistency front and back. How long have you been playing and how regular do you play to get to where you are so far?

 

[tehuti]

Nice, especially good to see the consistency front and back. How long have you been playing and how regular do you play to get to where you are so far?

Thanks for asking. The how long question is really “how long this time”. Because I started playing in the late 80s up until about 1996. And then not at all until 2017. So the direct answer is basically 3 years.

I try to play at least once a week, but often it is on a short 9 hole course and an executive 18. So I really only test my progress about once a month. As a result, I am getting much better with my short game but not so much with my long approach game. Lately I have started to improve in my long game, so it is helping me to lower my scores.


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[barrelMOnkey]

Thanks for asking. The how long question is really “how long this time”. Because I started playing in the late 80s up until about 1996. And then not at all until 2017. So the direct answer is basically 3 years.

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That gives me both hopes and concerns at the same time. You're not the first person to mention taking up the game years ago and then having a hiatus. As a relatively new golfer - I have been playing for about 12 months - I worry when life may get in the way for me. I'm a "young" golfer at 37.

But at the same time it gives me hope for my game as I battle for consistent sub-100 rounds. Perhaps I've been expecting too much too soon

 

[tehuti]

That gives me both hopes and concerns at the same time. You're not the first person to mention taking up the game years ago and then having a hiatus. As a relatively new golfer - I have been playing for about 12 months - I worry when life may get in the way for me. I'm a "young" golfer at 37.

But at the same time it gives me hope for my game as I battle for consistent sub-100 rounds. Perhaps I've been expecting too much too soon

My suggestions: Don’t give up. Practice, practice, practice. Take lessons occasionally. Don’t beat yourself up if you get into a slump.


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[r80rew]

Smashed it today . 97 shots & 36 points. All using clubs I wouldn’t have been near had it not been for THP. Mavrik Max driver, Apex 19 irons and a Toulon Chicago putter. Best driving day I’ve ever had with only 2 fairways missed. Putter was in song. Good day for golf

 

[dthrog00]

That gives me both hopes and concerns at the same time. You're not the first person to mention taking up the game years ago and then having a hiatus. As a relatively new golfer - I have been playing for about 12 months - I worry when life may get in the way for me. I'm a "young" golfer at 37.

But at the same time it gives me hope for my game as I battle for consistent sub-100 rounds. Perhaps I've been expecting too much too soon

You may want to consider lessons, at least one to get the basics down. If you play once a week and hit the range once a week you'll grind yourself to the right side of 100.

Dave

 

[Hamfist]

Such a frustrating round for me today. I played a course with a work colleague that I've never played before.
I was out in 49 and feeling pretty good.
Then it all went to pot on the back 9. Shot 59 including 2 water penalties and a couple holes buried in bunkers.

Finished on 108, net +9 (par 71)

This is after last week I hit 100 for the first time.

My driving was great, I hit 9/13 fairways but I was topping all of my iron shots.

Oh well, hopefully a better day tomorrow.

Just keep working. It will come.

 

[Hamfist]

You may want to consider lessons, at least one to get the basics down. If you play once a week and hit the range once a week you'll grind yourself to the right side of 100.

Dave

Dave speaketh the truth.

 

[Hamfist]

Smashed it today . 97 shots & 36 points. All using clubs I wouldn’t have been near had it not been for THP. Mavrik Max driver, Apex 19 irons and a Toulon Chicago putter. Best driving day I’ve ever had with only 2 fairways missed. Putter was in song. Good day for golf

Nice!

 

[Hamfist]

Thanks for asking. The how long question is really “how long this time”. Because I started playing in the late 80s up until about 1996. And then not at all until 2017. So the direct answer is basically 3 years.

I try to play at least once a week, but often it is on a short 9 hole course and an executive 18. So I really only test my progress about once a month. As a result, I am getting much better with my short game but not so much with my long approach game. Lately I have started to improve in my long game, so it is helping me to lower my scores.


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My best quality of play was when I was hitting an executive course once a week (mid-week) and just hitting 2-3 balls from each spot. Really helped polish the game.

 

[ULEWZ]

I discovered that playing in 102 degree heat is not good for my golf score. On the 18th, it was just laughable. Ever hit from an extremely dry sand trap, right over the green, to another sand trip! I was spent. Shot a 103 which is way off my recent mark. At least it will only be in the 80s next Friday. And cooling sleeves for the arms are great.

 

[charley48]

I discovered that playing in 102 degree heat is not good for my golf score. On the 18th, it was just laughable. Ever hit from an extremely dry sand trap, right over the green, to another sand trip! I was spent. Shot a 103 which is way off my recent mark. At least it will only be in the 80s next Friday. And cooling sleeves for the arms are great.

I always say its not the heat its the humility.

 

[charley48]

You may want to consider lessons, at least one to get the basics down. If you play once a week and hit the range once a week you'll grind yourself to the right side of 100.

Dave

I wish I took lessons when I first started to get me pointed in the right direction. Now I'm at the point where I'm not sure lessons will work. I live in a smaller town where instructors aren't much better than some of the students. And their main clientele is kids. I don't want to drive an hour for lessons that may or may not help. I would need someone who wouldn't try to reinvent the wheel and make me start from scratch. Someone who can see my swing and make some tweaks to help with consistency. Consistency is my worse problem. The instructors in my area only know one way to teach.

 

[charley48]

I'd be careful with Phil's "hinge and hold". It can easily turn into too much shaft lean and too much leading edge exposure. Fine for a PGA Tour pro who has extremely precise mechanics, but not so good for us mere mortals.

The important thing on chipping and short pitches is to make sure you expose the bounce by keeping the shaft vertical, or nearly so. That gives you the largest margin of error. You can literally hit an inch behind the ball and still have the ball go somewhere somewhat useful. See the Kisner video for more discussion.

Another thing which many newer golfers fail to understand is how your setup affects the energy you impart into the ball. If you setup to a short chip with your hands low like a normal full swing shot, you're going to impart a lot of energy into the ball and you're probably going to wonder why It went way past the pin when you were just making a little swing, trying to hit it a few feet. When you have short chips, you want to get handle vertical and hit the chip like a putt. (Some refer to it as "putting with loft"). Doing so removes a large amount of energy from the shot and allows you to hit those very precise chips.

I get what you're saying. I used to use the putting method for chips. But on the shorter ones there was way too much rollout. And I still had issues with consistent contact. Seemed like the putting method worked better the further out I was. I allowed to ball get higher and come down with a straighter trajectory.

The sample size is too small to know for sure, but when I hit around 120 chips at the park, there were only maybe 3 or 4 shanks. I've never had that many clean hits. I've had a problem pulling my chips to the left and these were much straighter. Not near as far left and some a little right.

But I know its different on the course. When I practiced before the last round with the Kisner method it was good. I was pleased and thought I would be much better around the green. But I shanked several on the course with it. Caused an extra stroke each time. I did try to incorporate a little of both the other day but it felt awkward. Like too many moving parts to remember. I'm going out to the range this morning. I'll be experiment with both methods. One thing I have learned is, what works today doesn't always work tomorrow.

 

[Grins]

I'd be careful with Phil's "hinge and hold". It can easily turn into too much shaft lean and too much leading edge exposure. Fine for a PGA Tour pro who has extremely precise mechanics, but not so good for us mere mortals.

The important thing on chipping and short pitches is to make sure you expose the bounce by keeping the shaft vertical, or nearly so. That gives you the largest margin of error. You can literally hit an inch behind the ball and still have the ball go somewhere somewhat useful. See the Kisner video for more discussion.

Another thing which many newer golfers fail to understand is how your setup affects the energy you impart into the ball. If you setup to a short chip with your hands low like a normal full swing shot, you're going to impart a lot of energy into the ball and you're probably going to wonder why It went way past the pin when you were just making a little swing, trying to hit it a few feet. When you have short chips, you want to get handle vertical and hit the chip like a putt. (Some refer to it as "putting with loft"). Doing so removes a large amount of energy from the shot and allows you to hit those very precise chips.

Can't agree more with this. Also - according to at least one teaching pro (can't remember who now) what Phil says he does (i.e., what it feels like to him) is not what he actually does (which is pretty common even with pros - feel is not real). I found it very hard to apply the "hinge and hold" technique & much, much easier to do Kisner's and similar technique. So far this year I've chipped in twice & hit the pin twice (compared to nothing last year)

I get what you're saying. I used to use the putting method for chips. But on the shorter ones there was way too much rollout. And I still had issues with consistent contact. Seemed like the putting method worked better the further out I was. I allowed to ball get higher and come down with a straighter trajectory.

The sample size is too small to know for sure, but when I hit around 120 chips at the park, there were only maybe 3 or 4 shanks. I've never had that many clean hits. I've had a problem pulling my chips to the left and these were much straighter. Not near as far left and some a little right.

But I know its different on the course. When I practiced before the last round with the Kisner method it was good. I was pleased and thought I would be much better around the green. But I shanked several on the course with it. Caused an extra stroke each time. I did try to incorporate a little of both the other day but it felt awkward. Like too many moving parts to remember. I'm going out to the range this morning. I'll be experiment with both methods. One thing I have learned is, what works today doesn't always work tomorrow.

It would be helpful to see your technique. Have you thought about making a video? If you post it here (or in the instruction area of THP) there are a lot of really good teachers here that could probably figure out what's going on.

If you're shanking the ball on chip shots, it's probably a swing path issue - making contact with the ball with the hosel end of the club face - usually from coming way over the top. To check this, you could set up a gate drill with two tees (one inside the heel at address, and one outside the toe) & see if you can make chips & keep the club from hitting either tee.

 

[bobellis75]

well I did go hit some balls and just tried not to think much...just do whatever feels natural and trust that my swing would fall into place. Largely, it seemed to work. Still some duds, and some of the range balls were gnarly, so I dunno how to judge distance on those, but was getting some get trajectory/contact and feel pretty okay (knocking on all the wood, now) heading into my nine later. We'll see. Worst case scenario, I'm outside doing something I enjoy with weather in the 80's and there are not many better ways to spend a couple hours (even if your game is off....)

 

[barrelMOnkey]

Such a frustrating round for me today. I played a course with a work colleague that I've never played before.
I was out in 49 and feeling pretty good.
Then it all went to pot on the back 9. Shot 59 including 2 water penalties and a couple holes buried in bunkers.

Finished on 108, net +9 (par 71)

This is after last week I hit 100 for the first time.

My driving was great, I hit 9/13 fairways but I was topping all of my iron shots.

Oh well, hopefully a better day tomorrow.

Think I'll just leave this here. What a difference a day makes.

 

[tehuti]

Back to the drawing board. After a decent front 9 48 I went into full meltdown mode on the back 9 and shot 57 for a score of 105. Really disappointing. Especially since my normally reliable short game has abandoned me for 2 days in a row.

On the plus side I finally have found a fairway and a hybrid that I can hit. So my long game is improving.

Gotta figure out how to get my wedge game back. New wedges?


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[BigMac]

I'd be careful with Phil's "hinge and hold". It can easily turn into too much shaft lean and too much leading edge exposure. Fine for a PGA Tour pro who has extremely precise mechanics, but not so good for us mere mortals.

The important thing on chipping and short pitches is to make sure you expose the bounce by keeping the shaft vertical, or nearly so. That gives you the largest margin of error. You can literally hit an inch behind the ball and still have the ball go somewhere somewhat useful. See the Kisner video for more discussion.

Another thing which many newer golfers fail to understand is how your setup affects the energy you impart into the ball. If you setup to a short chip with your hands low like a normal full swing shot, you're going to impart a lot of energy into the ball and you're probably going to wonder why It went way past the pin when you were just making a little swing, trying to hit it a few feet. When you have short chips, you want to get handle vertical and hit the chip like a putt. (Some refer to it as "putting with loft"). Doing so removes a large amount of energy from the shot and allows you to hit those very precise chips.

All somebody can do is try it and see, and discard it if it doesn't work. It's made a huge difference in my short game, and I have average eye/hand coordination at best and don't spend a lot of time practicing. I don't use a real sharp 'hinge', so I'm still engaging the bounce and the club gets smoothly through the ball without digging. I had a big problem with chunking when I used to flip my wrists chipping, it's all but completely disappeared with this method. My chips are a lot more predictable from any lie, I've holed a few and am getting up and down a lot more often. I also have a lot more versatility - I can bring them in high and soft, hit low spinners, or do the 'toe down' chip when I want more run. I didn't have any of those shots in my repertoire (at least not consistently and on purpose!) before.

 

[dthrog00]

All somebody can do is try it and see, and discard it if it doesn't work. It's made a huge difference in my short game, and I have average eye/hand coordination at best and don't spend a lot of time practicing. I don't use a real sharp 'hinge', so I'm still engaging the bounce and the club gets smoothly through the ball without digging. I had a big problem with chunking when I used to flip my wrists chipping, it's all but completely disappeared with this method. My chips are a lot more predictable from any lie, I've holed a few and am getting up and down a lot more often. I also have a lot more versatility - I can bring them in high and soft, hit low spinners, or do the 'toe down' chip when I want more run. I didn't have any of those shots in my repertoire (at least not consistently and on purpose!) before.

If someone can make the hinge & hold work then more power to them, but there's just too many moving parts in my opinion for the average guy who is shooting 90-110. It is difficult to repeat the motion.

Dave

 

[barrelMOnkey]

Back to the drawing board. After a decent front 9 48 I went into full meltdown mode on the back 9 and shot 57 for a score of 105. Really disappointing. Especially since my normally reliable short game has abandoned me for 2 days in a row.

On the plus side I finally have found a fairway and a hybrid that I can hit. So my long game is improving.

Gotta figure out how to get my wedge game back. New wedges?


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I am convinced that bad golfing is one problem you CAN just throw money at to fix. I mean it's not exactly difficult. You're just swinging a stick backwards and forwards. So if it isn't doing what you want it must either be the stick, or the ball.

 

[JonMA1]

I am convinced that bad golfing is one problem you CAN just throw money at to fix. I mean it's not exactly difficult. You're just swinging a stick backwards and forwards. So if it isn't doing what you want it must either be the stick, or the ball.

Right. It’s the stick or the ball... but never me.
Seriously, the tricky part is throwing money at the right problem and the right solution. There are just so many bad instructors and bad fitters out there. They will take your money all day long whether they’re helping or not.

 

[Luchnia]

Right. It’s the stick or the ball... but never me.
Seriously, the tricky part is throwing money at the right problem and the right solution. There are just so many bad instructors and bad fitters out there. They will take your money all day long whether they’re helping or not.

Always amazes me how many zillion swing thoughts, tips, secrets, etc., in order to somehow fix or gain something for your swing. One instructor says this and another says that. Different things work for different people, but one thing that has to happen and that is impact has to be correct for the shot being made no matter how the swing gets the club to that point of impact.

I was playing with a guy yesterday that has struggled so much lately that I could tell he was very discouraged. I merely told him, let's relax today, play to course targets, focus on course strategy, and forget about all the swing crap. He played a course PB yesterday.