Trying to Break 100

[Annhl8rX]

All technique and swing thoughts aside, I would say that if you can do these 3 things, you should be able to break 100 from now on:

1) Be able to hook the crap out of a ball on purpose
2) Be able to slice the crap out of a ball on purpose
3) Be able to hit ball first and ground second on all iron shots, chips and pitches

If I gave you a ping-pong ball and paddle and stood 20' away from you, could you hit the ball to me with a huge right-to-left curve? Could you hit the ball to me with a huge left-to-right curve? YES, you could do that without thinking and the same concepts allow you to master the 1st 2 items above.

If your golf ball is sitting on a mat and the bottom of that ball is covered in black paint, could you hit the ball with an iron so that you would make a 3-inch black mark on that mat? In the same scenario, could you make a 2-inch black mark with a pitch or chip shot? I think you could, and that's how the magic happens!

Doing #3 alone would probably get anyone to shoot sub-100 regularly. Distance, distance control, accuracy and spin are all accomplished by mastering that one little thing.

The first 2 are nice weapons to have for escape/trouble shots, and can help you navigate doglegs or avoid trouble. They have the added bonus of teaching you to be a shot-maker and you'll get to the point where you can feel what it takes to hit draws or fades instead of hooks and slices.

Golf is still the hardest freaking sport on the planet and that's why we love it. But I'm firmly convinced that mastering those 3 things will make anyone struggling to break 100 a better player. Good luck!

I can’t do any of those things. I can come closest to number three, but I certainly can’t pull it off on every shot. I think that’s the deal...most of probably can’t do any single thing on every shot.

 

[Ksandle]

I have no clue what I ended with today but I did have 3 birdies which was great. Also had to many bad shots aswell.

 

[charley48]

Weird round for me today. Another typical upper 90's. A 97. But the thing is, I was very satisfied with the way I hit the ball today. Driver was good. Hit 10 fairways in the 220-240 range. Irons were pretty good for the most part. Hybrids still a work in progress but they've been worse.

What did me in was putting. Greens were wet from some light rain. It made them slower and I lost the feel for the lag putting. Had five 3 putts today and only two one putts. Just a crazy bad putting day. Had all kinds of trouble getting close to the hole on the first putt. Most times I was over 6 foot on my second putt. I just couldn't get dialed in with the distance control. I either left it well short or over compensated and ran it way past the hole. I coulda easily scored in the low 90's if I just had an average putting day.

97 really isn't a bad score for me. I've been pretty steady in the upper 90's for a while now. And I was happy with the way I hit the ball. Probably better than I've hit it in a long time. One of these days its all gonna come together for me and I'm going to break 90. I was a single today and they paired me with two guys I never met before. They were better than me. One guy was in the mid 80's and the other low 90's. They thought my score was better than it was the way I was hitting the ball. Today it was the putting. I wasn't used to the green speed with the rain.

 

[UberPete]

Going out in a little while so we shall see how this turns out. Am I the only one that gets excited when I Par a hole lol

Nope, I'm with ya. A par is still exciting in my world of golf.

 

[Hamfist]

Nope, I'm with ya. A par is still exciting in my world of golf.

Or a nice chip, a straight drive, a sand save....hell, a shot that goes where I wanted it to!

 

[Annhl8rX]

Or a nice chip, a straight drive, a sand save....hell, a shot that goes where I wanted it to!

No doubt. All those things are pretty rare in my world.

 

[Hamfist]

Played a standard poo round in the unbelievably brutal heat of Arizona. We’re scheduled for two more, pop-in-law and bro-in-law may or may not make either round. If so, I’ll go give myself heatstroke as a single. Got it today from being too caffeinated, and not starting to drink water soon enough. So, I bought a gallon of water this evening and will be freezing that over night for tomorrow.

 

[BigMac]

Played a standard poo round in the unbelievably brutal heat of Arizona. We’re scheduled for two more, pop-in-law and bro-in-law may or may not make either round. If so, I’ll go give myself heatstroke as a single. Got it today from being too caffeinated, and not starting to drink water soon enough. So, I bought a gallon of water this evening and will be freezing that over night for tomorrow.

I drink ice water with electrolyte powder mixed in, helps a ton in the AZ heat. I take a 64 ounce jug of it with me for every round, and end up finishing every drop of it by the time we're done. Drink early, drink often, and shade is your friend wherever you can find it!

 

[Hamfist]

I drink ice water with electrolyte powder mixed in, helps a ton in the AZ heat. I take a 64 ounce jug of it with me for every round, and end up finishing every drop of it by the time we're done. Drink early, drink often, and shade is your friend wherever you can find it!

Yeah, we were looking for shade wherever we could. I just didn’t prepare well, and didn’t watch myself. Lesson learned.

 

[dthrog00]

I've been posting in this thread for a while and some of you know me, but if you don't I'm ~ a 20.8 handicap and on easy courses am typically scoring right around 45-46, I rarely play 18 holes but if I did 90 is a good score. I've been over 50 twice this year so <100 is no gimme, especially if the course is hard.

I've been on a bit of an equipment tear lately. I have only bought one test club, but have trying some of the various things in my arsenal and plotting. I've found:

• My long club gapping with full blown vanity distances has sucked.
• Stats confirm my eye's observations that approach inaccuracy is limiting my progress as a golfer. I've particularly been struggling with 4 iron to 6 iron in my player's cavity set (Maltby TE Forged). I'm 1 for 13 GIR with these clubs and while I've been scrambling well after the misses (just a little better than bogey overall) they are still misses.
• Coronavirus era cash is not plentiful so I don't really want to buy anything. My current gear is TE Forged w/DG R300, Mizuno MP4 with XP 105 R300, and Ping G15 with AWT R. The test club I referenced is a Maltby STi2 6 iron with the Maltby MPF graphite shaft in stiff.
• I love the MP4s and will not sell them, but unless I'm practicing a lot and swinging well these are legitimately difficult to play and clearly not more forgiving than the TE. This is a set you use for the classical golfer inside you, for great feel/looks, and the reward of a good strike. If I put these in the bag then I'm openly saying I don't care about score. Maybe I will get there, but I'm not there yet.
• The STi2 test club performed ok. Graphite did not outperform steel. I will not be buying a set.
• I've had the G15s since 2013 and seemingly have been hell bent for years to replace them, but they've treated me well. They are night and day different than the TE, but if I really want more forgiveness this is the option I have.

It is early days, but the G15 are actually looking really promising. I'm getting used to increased offset, softer shafts, and wider soles. I did some gap testing today with the Mevo and ProV1X balls I'm getting fairly nice distance gaps:

Club	# of Shots	Ball Speed (mph)	Carry (yds)	Launch Angle V (°)	Spin (rpm)	Height	Target "what yardage is this club?"
4W (17)	6 shots	117.7	173.7	15.1	3266	66′6″	185
3 Hybrid (20)	6 shots	112.5	160.7	17.4	4660	77′7″	170
4 1/2 iron (24)	10 shots	106.6	152.5	20.3	4145	78′11″	155
6 iron (28)	8 shots	103.5	144.3	22.3	4933	84′8″	145
7 iron (32)	6 shots	98.4	134.1	24.2	5215	83′6″	135
8 iron (36)	9 shots	93.1	123.2	26.2	5922	81′4″	125
9 iron (40)	7 shots	87.8	113.2	26.9	6384	73′8″	115
PW (45)	4 shots	83.1	103.8	29.8	7640	74′1″	105
UW (50)	6 shots	76.7	92.6	32.3	8399	69′3″	95
SW (54)	6 shots	72.1	84.3	34.2	8900	65′4″	85
LW (58)	5 shots	64.7	71.5	37.5	8218	58′6″	72

I've very pleased the launch angle is improving, not long ago I was launching the 7 iron at 28 degrees! The flipping is reduced.

I need to loft the 3 hybrid down to 19 to create some gap between it in and the modified "4 1/2" iron. The 4 and 6 iron gaps are not quite 10 yds carry, but would be 10 yds different with roll included. I expect real world UW/SW/LW gaps are better than this shows.

The iron head weights felt really light so I put 4 grams of lead tape on the back of each club and WOW! They feel so much better.

I think I just need to pick something and stick with it with no modifications. The G15s with dedication and an extended run could suit me really well. I also think I need to stick with one ball. I have a few boxes of ProV1X's so I think that will be it. I already paid for the darn things so if I lose them big deal.

I'd recommend anyone who is unsure about their yardage tries a similar distance gap study. An open field and a rangefinder could get a very similar result. This arms me with knowledge I can take to the course and be confident with forced carries.

Dave

 

[Grins]

Or a nice chip, a straight drive, a sand save....hell, a shot that goes where I wanted it to!

Played 18 yesterday - shot 96, but the encouraging thing - lots of drives that went where I aimed them. And at least 3 that went about 260. It's funny how much farther the ball goes when I hit it in the center of the driver face

 

[Hamfist]

Played 18 yesterday - shot 96, but the encouraging thing - lots of drives that went where I aimed them. And at least 3 that went about 260. It's funny how much farther the ball goes when I hit it in the center of the driver face

Science!!

 

[pattyboy21]

I can’t do any of those things. I can come closest to number three, but I certainly can’t pull it off on every shot. I think that’s the deal...most of probably can’t do any single thing on every shot.

#3 alone should yield positive results, but yes, the goal would be to do it every time. As for the other two, maybe try something like this on the range:

To hook: try to deliver the club to the inside of the ball with a closed face and active hands.
To slice: try to deliver the club to the outside of the ball with an open face and passive hands.

You can exaggerate with severe closed and open face positions, strong and weak grips, closed and open stances... all of it. Whatever it takes to pull off the shots. It may take a while but I would consider this to be valuable time to be spent on the range. Mastering those shots can give you a baseline or foundation to work from, eventually letting you feel how to play shots with less curve.

 

[MagicSpell]

Played a standard poo round in the unbelievably brutal heat of Arizona.

Hammy, what part of Arizona did you visit? There's a pretty large THP contingent out this way that could have helped you prepare for your trip to the desert

 

[pattyboy21]

I can’t do any of those things. I can come closest to number three, but I certainly can’t pull it off on every shot. I think that’s the deal...most of probably can’t do any single thing on every shot.

Oddly enough, just saw this video from TopGolf in my inbox:

3 Ways to Draw the Golf Ball

3 Surprisingly Simple Methods to Draw the Ball ATTENTION: You’re Not Done! Your Next Step -> Build Your Swing for Consistency and Maximal Distance with the Entire Top Speed Golf SystemBelow is a quick sample...Click for the Rest

topspeedgolf.com

 

[Annhl8rX]

Oddly enough, just saw this video from TopGolf in my inbox:

3 Ways to Draw the Golf Ball

3 Surprisingly Simple Methods to Draw the Ball ATTENTION: You’re Not Done! Your Next Step -> Build Your Swing for Consistency and Maximal Distance with the Entire Top Speed Golf SystemBelow is a quick sample...Click for the Rest

topspeedgolf.com

Interesting. I’m gonna have to try that my next time out.

 

[dthrog00]

My suggestion if you're trying to break 100 is to just keep the ball advancing. Don't give away strokes. Working the ball is a more advanced technique in my opinion.

If you aren't outright giving away strokes breaking 100 is accomplishable. Double bogey every hole and you typically have 108.

Dave

 

[Hamfist]

Hammy, what part of Arizona did you visit? There's a pretty large THP contingent out this way that could have helped you prepare for your trip to the desert

Scottsdale.
Played TPC Champions on Saturday, McCormick Ranch Palms Sunday, and We-Ko-Pa Chollo today.
Shot 106, 101, 102. WIth small amounts of cheating.

 

[charley48]

My home course is aerating the greens right now. So I played Pebble Beach yesterday. Well, not really. The driving range installed these monitors. For 20 bucks an hour you can play any famous course on their list. I played with my grandson. They give two people a rate of 25 bucks and hour and they gave us an extra 30 minutes. Pretty nice set up. The monitors display total yardage on your shot with ball speed, spin rate and trajectory. They seem to be pretty accurate.

I shot plus 16 through 18 holes from the white tees. My grandson was plus 4 from the whites. Although as accurate as I think they are. most my shots were shorter than usual. My drives ranged from 210 to 240. On the course its more like 220 to 250. My irons were short too. My 7 iron typically goes 150 on the course. Most shots were in the 130-140 range.

Its a pretty cool setup though. It keeps your score. When you get to the green, you don't putt. You have a choice of 76 yards at a certain distance from the pin. It gives you credit on the landing spot. You can choose a shorter distance at 52 yards. Or even shorter at 26 yards. Typically, if you hit the green in regulation within 20 feet of the hole it gives you somewhere around 10 feet at 76 yards. If you land within ten feet of the flag out there its a birdie. Between 10 and 30 is a par. Over 30 is a bogey. If you're way off it can be a double bogey.

All in all, its a lot of fun. We're thinking of picking Royal Saint Andrews next time. At least until the greens are back to normal at the course.

 

[dthrog00]

It's definitely slowing down here. Are you guys getting ready to call it a year?

Dave

 

[imabadgolfer]

I've said it before..
#COURSE MANAGEMENT!
This will will take off more strokes for the AVERAGE golfer(cuz you can HIT THE GREEN).
Working on a better short game will obviously get you even further.

100? That's Course Management totally 90% of the time.
You can have this by using your brain.
I've been working my team to get smarter for years .. it's helping, they're shooting lower for sure....

Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk

 

[tehuti]

It's definitely slowing down here. Are you guys getting ready to call it a year?

Dave

The nice thing about SoCal is there’s no off season. Hopefully it will slow down though. With Covid-19 raging courses have been twice as busy since they reopened. It’s one of the only relatively safe activities.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Back9Bully]

I think one of the main things people do not think about when trying to score low, is setting themselves up for the shots they know they can execute.
Stop thinking about smashing your driver (if you are inconsistent with it) IN HOPES its a good swing and you end up with a flip wedge in.
I see this WAY to often on par 5's. Hit your drive, if you can go for it in 2 go for it, but if not lay up to a distance you know you and go pin seeking.

 

[Annhl8rX]

Oddly enough, just saw this video from TopGolf in my inbox:

3 Ways to Draw the Golf Ball

3 Surprisingly Simple Methods to Draw the Ball ATTENTION: You’re Not Done! Your Next Step -> Build Your Swing for Consistency and Maximal Distance with the Entire Top Speed Golf SystemBelow is a quick sample...Click for the Rest

topspeedgolf.com

So I went to the range today and tried out the tips from this video. I started off with the intermediate version using my 7 iron. The first swing was a nice draw (the first time I’ve seen that shape come off my club face) right down the target line. I messed around with my other irons for a bit with varying degrees of success drawing the ball. The slices were way down, though. I had to really screw it up to lose one to the right.

When I moved to hitting woods I found that I had to get much more extreme with my foot position. Even then there wasn’t much draw action going on. The ball was going straight, though, and staying much closer to my target line than I’m accustomed to.

When I pulled out the driver I had to get really extreme. I’d say I was lining up more than 30* right of the target line. I was hitting it better than I ever have though. Mostly straight with a couple of little draws mixed in.

I took two things from this experiment:

1. My swing must be really jacked up if I had to compensate that much to get the ball going straight.

2. I don’t think I know how to involve my hands in the swing. I was trying my best to do what the guy did in the video that got the ball to hook 60 yards or so, and the most I got was a small draw back to center. When I try to get my hands involved I make terrible contact.

 

[Hamfist]

It's definitely slowing down here. Are you guys getting ready to call it a year?

Dave

I’ll play through the winter as long as there’s no snow. The cold can be dealt with. I’ve gotten a nice bounce of a slab of ice once, got an extra 20 yards.