Trying to Break 100

[BigMac]

I played this morning and walked away with a 101. Even though my lessons have been all focused on irons, I’m seeing the most benefit with my driver. I didn’t have a single penalty from the tee box today. I sliced two drives, but even those were in play. Between driver and my Crossover, I probably hit five shots that would have been the best shot of any other round I’ve played (including a 285 yard drive).

What has become very apparent is that I’m never going to score better until I improve my short game DRAMATICALLY. The most glaring example of this was on 18. It’s a 500 yard par 5. I hit my drive about 250 to the middle of the fairway. My second shot was with my Crossover, and I was again in the middle about 30-40 yards out. I ended up with a double bogey. That was the recipe much of the day. I just have no clue what I’m doing with a wedge or putter in my hands.

Short game is a huge stroke saver for sure. A friend of mine used to be a 110 shooter - he has a decent tee game and strikes his irons reasonably well, but get him around the green and he'd waste at least 4-5 strokes a hole blading/duffing chips and 3 or 4 putting. He has made a lot of effort to improve his short game, and he now pretty routinely shoots in the mid-90s - today he shot a 94, and he broke 90 for his first time ever last week.

When he's close to the green, he now focuses on one thing only - get.the.ball.on.the.green. Make your next shot a putt, even if it's a long one. Don't be cute and try to hunt pins or hit creative touch shots - get the ball on the green by whatever means is easiest. Bump and run, long chutt with a hybrid, putter from off the green - whatever. Learn one or two simple shots for around the green, practice them and get good at them, and leave all the fancy stuff for later - you don't need to be messing around with flop shots, low spinners, trying to back the ball up, etc. Sure, those shots look cool when you pull them off - but they can also fail horribly and blow up your scorecard in a hurry.

The difference between shooting 95 and 110 is less than one stroke per hole. If you leave a lot of shots out there from around the green, simplifying and improving your short game is a quick and easy way to bring your scores down pretty quickly. Not all of us can drive the ball 300 yards, but all of us can hit a 5-15 yard chip shot and get it on the green.

 

[charley48]

What has become very apparent is that I’m never going to score better until I improve my short game DRAMATICALLY. The most glaring example of this was on 18. It’s a 500 yard par 5. I hit my drive about 250 to the middle of the fairway. My second shot was with my Crossover, and I was again in the middle about 30-40 yards out. I ended up with a double bogey. That was the recipe much of the day. I just have no clue what I’m doing with a wedge or putter in my hands.

If the problem is something consistent, like skulling most or chunking most, it can be downright frustrating. When I was at my worst, it was the skulling chips that did me in. I would get so frustrated and say something like "I have no idea how to fix it".

I've gotten better with it lately, but the occasional skull shot still messes with my mind because I can't get out of my head how many holes were totally screwed up by it in the past. I have to say out loud "Whoops, that was bad but I'll do better on the next one". If I don't, those thoughts creep back. The skull chip is the one shot that messes my thought process up the most because it was a constant problem at one time.

 

[charley48]

When he's close to the green, he now focuses on one thing only - get.the.ball.on.the.green. Make your next shot a putt, even if it's a long one. Don't be cute and try to hunt pins or hit creative touch shots - get the ball on the green by whatever means is easiest. Bump and run, long chutt with a hybrid, putter from off the green - whatever. Learn one or two simple shots for around the green, practice them and get good at them, and leave all the fancy stuff for later - you don't need to be messing around with flop shots, low spinners, trying to back the ball up, etc. Sure, those shots look cool when you pull them off - but they can also fail horribly and blow up your scorecard in a hurry.

This has been my thought process around the greens. I don't have the touch my playing partners have. They make it look so easy. So I've been working on the same stroke for every distance. Something I can repeat and hit my aim point more consistently. I have 3 wedges. A 54, 58 and 64. I try to make the same swing every time and let the loft do the work. I don't try to get cute and open the club face for more loft. If I want more loft I use the 64. I'm not good enough to consistently nestle in close. But I'm usually somewhere on the green with a good chance at two putts. That is good enough for me. And if its a little off the green with low cut grass, I will just putt through it. Again, I don't always get it close. But probably better than 80 percent of the time the putt method is closer than the chip method for me.

 

[Annhl8rX]

Short game is a huge stroke saver for sure. A friend of mine used to be a 110 shooter - he has a decent tee game and strikes his irons reasonably well, but get him around the green and he'd waste at least 4-5 strokes a hole blading/duffing chips and 3 or 4 putting. He has made a lot of effort to improve his short game, and he now pretty routinely shoots in the mid-90s - today he shot a 94, and he broke 90 for his first time ever last week.

When he's close to the green, he now focuses on one thing only - get.the.ball.on.the.green. Make your next shot a putt, even if it's a long one. Don't be cute and try to hunt pins or hit creative touch shots - get the ball on the green by whatever means is easiest. Bump and run, long chutt with a hybrid, putter from off the green - whatever. Learn one or two simple shots for around the green, practice them and get good at them, and leave all the fancy stuff for later - you don't need to be messing around with flop shots, low spinners, trying to back the ball up, etc. Sure, those shots look cool when you pull them off - but they can also fail horribly and blow up your scorecard in a hurry.

The difference between shooting 95 and 110 is less than one stroke per hole. If you leave a lot of shots out there from around the green, simplifying and improving your short game is a quick and easy way to bring your scores down pretty quickly. Not all of us can drive the ball 300 yards, but all of us can hit a 5-15 yard chip shot and get it on the green.

Yeah...that’s my goal as well. Unfortunately I’m horrible at it. I don’t try anything tricky...just a (supposedly) simple chip to get the ball on the green. Unfortunately I rarely execute it well. Even when I do I’m typically way too short. I can’t make myself commit for fear of the bladed shot that rockets across the green. Gonna address it in my lesson this week, though.

Even when I get on the green all is not well. Three putts are the rule rather than the exception.

If the problem is something consistent, like skulling most or chunking most, it can be downright frustrating. When I was at my worst, it was the skulling chips that did me in. I would get so frustrated and say something like "I have no idea how to fix it".

I've gotten better with it lately, but the occasional skull shot still messes with my mind because I can't get out of my head how many holes were totally screwed up by it in the past. I have to say out loud "Whoops, that was bad but I'll do better on the next one". If I don't, those thoughts creep back. The skull chip is the one shot that messes my thought process up the most because it was a constant problem at one time.

I’d love it if my problem was something consistent. I’ll blade one and chunk the next, or vice versa. I feel like the chunks are actually the result of the bladed shots, as every time I chunk one I can tell it’s because I decelerated trying to avoid the blade.

 

[JonMA1]

I just have no clue what I’m doing with a wedge or putter in my hands.

Take a lesson on short game specifically. I did one 2 years ago and it transformed my game.

I would consider @Snickerdog's suggestion. If you've made improvements with your full swing through instruction, lessons would probably help you improve your short game as well.

My opinion is that the mechanics and execution of pitches and chips are a bit easier to learn than that of the full swing - at least for me. That said, it's still easy to chunk or thin a chip and certain lies consistently kick my butt.

What I like about the short game is that element of feel or touch. What I mean is that once we learn a few different short game shots, it takes a lot of trial and error to know which to use and where to land the shot - all dependent on the circumstance. Becoming better at that those skills can bring about more 1 putts. (Not that I'm terribly familiar with 1 putts or good chips... but it's a work in progress.)

One good thing about the short game is that you can practice a lot of those shots at home even if you have a small yard.

 

[Snickerdog]

I would consider @Snickerdog's suggestion. If you've made improvements with your full swing through instruction, lessons would probably help you improve your short game as well.

My opinion is that the mechanics and execution of pitches and chips are a bit easier to learn than that of the full swing - at least for me. That said, it's still easy to chunk or thin a chip and certain lies consistently kick my butt.

What I like about the short game is that element of feel or touch. What I mean is that once we learn a few different short game shots, it takes a lot of trial and error to know which to use and where to land the shot - all dependent on the circumstance. Becoming better at that those skills can bring about more 1 putts. (Not that I'm terribly familiar with 1 putts or good chips... but it's a work in progress.)

One good thing about the short game is that you can practice a lot of those shots at home even if you have a small yard.

Best thing is to find the one club that you have the most confidence in wether it is PW/50/54/58 and get good with it. I prefer my 50 for most situations as that is the one that is most versatile for me. My 58 PM grind would be next but that takes more practice to master.

 

[JonMA1]

Best thing is to find the one club that you have the most confidence in wether it is PW/50/54/58 and get good with it. I prefer my 50 for most situations as that is the one that is most versatile for me. My 58 PM grind would be next but that takes more practice to master.

My go-to wedge is the 56 SW, but I will use different clubs depending on how much run is needed - usually it's between the SW and GW as I don't carry a PW. If I'm right off the green and the hole is uphill, I will occasionally pull the 9i to get more run. If the hole is downhill, I'll use a more lofted wedge to try and reduce the run after the ball hits. The situation that makes me the most nervous when chipping is when the green runs downhill beyond the hole. I think that's why I pull the putter whenever I can from off the green. As bad as I am with that club in my hand, there's more confidence in controlling distance.

There are just so many scenarios and types of lies to deal with... sometimes it just impossible to get it close.

Usually when I mess up execution it's because of a lack of concentration. I had a teacher tell me to take several quick practice strokes before chipping - like 5 or more. He referred to it as something like "finding the bottom" or "finding the ground". Of course, you can execute a shot exactly how you intended but still get a poor result because of a bad read.

 

[charley48]

Yeah...that’s my goal as well. Unfortunately I’m horrible at it. I don’t try anything tricky...just a (supposedly) simple chip to get the ball on the green. Unfortunately I rarely execute it well. Even when I do I’m typically way too short. I can’t make myself commit for fear of the bladed shot that rockets across the green. Gonna address it in my lesson this week, though.

Even when I get on the green all is not well. Three putts are the rule rather than the exception.



I’d love it if my problem was something consistent. I’ll blade one and chunk the next, or vice versa. I feel like the chunks are actually the result of the bladed shots, as every time I chunk one I can tell it’s because I decelerated trying to avoid the blade.

Its not ideal but for a while I used the pitching wedge and swung like a putter. Because the loft was less I didn't have to hit it as hard and the bladed shots wouldn't go screaming across the green into the bunker or thicker grass. They generally stayed on the green. There were some long putts for sure, but putter in hand was safer than wedge in hand. Today, I'm still not a good short game guy, but I'm much better at focusing on hitting the ball clean. I don't lift my head till the ball is on the green. Plus, I do a few of those things from the videos earlier in this thread. The hinge and hold method works best for me on the longer chips around 30-40 yards. The shorter ones I don't hinge but I hold. Don't know if anyone would recommend it but it works best for me. Again, I wouldn't call myself good with the short game but I'm better than I was a year ago.

As far as the putting, 3 putts for me are almost always caused by a poor lag on the first putt. All you can do is practice those. Its more mental than the other parts of the game. There are so many methods of how the grip those. I always felt the putting game doesn't need mechanics as much as practice and focus.

 

[charley48]

I've been hitting my irons so much better lately. I keep waiting for it to end. But so far so good. Yesterday we played another 9 holes. I finally got to bogey golf with a 45. And that was with a penalty stroke and two 3 putts. Last time I hit 4 greens in regulation through 9 holes. This time was 3. I'm still hit and miss with the hybrids. Didn't hit them that well. But I've worse days. I hit the hybrids a little too far behind the ball and ended up about 30 yards short from it. I would say that's an improvement because there were times I'd shank it so bad it only goes 30 yards.

The best shot was the 195 yard par 3. The only club in my bad I can reach it with is the driver. I never used it before because there is water behind the green. I figured what the heck. I was hitting some very straight 190 yard shots with the layup on the previous hole. I used the driver and it rolled right to the middle of the green. I now have confidence I have a chance with that hole. Before I resigned myself to accepting bogey and hoping its not worse.

 

[BigMac]

Yeah...that’s my goal as well. Unfortunately I’m horrible at it. I don’t try anything tricky...just a (supposedly) simple chip to get the ball on the green. Unfortunately I rarely execute it well. Even when I do I’m typically way too short. I can’t make myself commit for fear of the bladed shot that rockets across the green. Gonna address it in my lesson this week, though.

Even when I get on the green all is not well. Three putts are the rule rather than the exception.



I’d love it if my problem was something consistent. I’ll blade one and chunk the next, or vice versa. I feel like the chunks are actually the result of the bladed shots, as every time I chunk one I can tell it’s because I decelerated trying to avoid the blade.

If you haven't already, watch the Kevin Kisner chipping video that was linked earlier in the thread (I'll link it again below). It's such a simple method and he explains and demonstrates it well while teaching a golfer who was apparently famous for his skulled chips.

 

[tehuti]

I played one of my favorite executive courses from “the good old days” when I started playing back in the late 80’s. It hasn’t aged well. Whoever owns it is letting it go. The tee boxes and fairways are ragged at best. Only the greens are decent. Too bad. It used to be nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tequila4kapp]

Went out yesterday and played really, really poorly... perhaps a new low. While my scores have been consistently 5 or so strokes higher than the last couple of years, this was a new level of crap golf. I'm ok with bad golf, just not this.

I missed two tap in putts, continually topped the hybrid, had a two-way miss with the driver on every hole, and simply could not dial in my irons even though contact was decent. My home course is not easy, but it's not like the fairways are that tight.

The degree and frequency at which I'm missing this year is discouraging even on my best days. Contact on all clubs (beside the 3h) and distance is adequate enough to shoot low '90s, and the short game seems better than ever. I'm happy with launch angles and there are less slices and hooks, but an inability to tighten left/right dispersion makes bogey golf impossible. I simply cannot control the penalties.

The worst part is knowing every time I head out that despite how well I play some holes, I'll be looking at double bogey golf by the end of the round.

What was the longest club you hit best?

 

[JonMA1]

What was the longest club you hit best?

That's a good question. Maybe the 7i(?), but that's not saying much. I'm just not controlling the face with any of my clubs.

 

[Annhl8rX]

If you haven't already, watch the Kevin Kisner chipping video that was linked earlier in the thread (I'll link it again below). It's such a simple method and he explains and demonstrates it well while teaching a golfer who was apparently famous for his skulled chips.

I’ve watched it, and it’s what I’m trying to do. I can do it pretty consistently on the range (still trying to figure out distances though). Once I get on the course my brain gets involved and sabotages me.

 

[tequila4kapp]

That's a good question. Maybe the 7i(?), but that's not saying much. I'm just not controlling the face with any of my clubs.

How far do you hit it?

 

[tequila4kapp]

Even though I supposedly am in the Trying to Break 80 category this is one of my favorite threads.

When I took up the game again after a long layoff a buddy took me to Bandon. I doubt I broke 130. I came home and signed up for lessons. I told my instructor my goal: to only suck bad enough that my playing partners would talk to me, rib me and have fun. (I was substantially worse than that - playing partners left me alone).

Anyway, I remember my journey from there to something better and it’s very interesting to see you guys making your own efforts. I root for all of you.

 

[charley48]

How far do you hit it?

I don't know how far Jon hits his 7 iron but I hit mine around 150. I can go a little longer but its risky. I've contemplated playing a round using nothing longer than the 7 from the fairway. For whatever reason there is a big difference in how I hit the ball from the 7 to the 6. I'm much more consistent with the 7 iron but the 6 just feels like I cannot hit cleanly no matter what I try. I rarely use it anymore. If I stick to the 7 iron and shorter from the fairways I might have a few holes I can't reach in regulation. But I might avoid the dreaded triple bogeys.

 

[Annhl8rX]

I had another lesson today and we focused on the short game. I came away from it with a lot of ideas and better understanding of what I should be doing in different situations. Scratch that. I came away with at least a little bit of an idea of what I should be doing. That’s an area of the game where I’ve always been completely lost.

I’ll be going back to the range tomorrow to work on some of the stuff we did, but I’m really anxious to see how it plays on the course. I’m a totally different person when a score is on the line. HopefullyI can build some confidence through practice that will keep my negative brain from taking over on the course.

 

[LLIB]

I don't know how far Jon hits his 7 iron but I hit mine around 150. I can go a little longer but its risky. I've contemplated playing a round using nothing longer than the 7 from the fairway. For whatever reason there is a big difference in how I hit the ball from the 7 to the 6. I'm much more consistent with the 7 iron but the 6 just feels like I cannot hit cleanly no matter what I try. I rarely use it anymore. If I stick to the 7 iron and shorter from the fairways I might have a few holes I can't reach in regulation. But I might avoid the dreaded triple bogeys.

If you come up short of the green but are in position to get up and down for, at worst a, bogey who cares if you came up short. I’ve been known to lay up on a par 4. Hell, that strategy helped me help my team win the Hogan event last year

 

[JonMA1]

How far do you hit it?

Typically, the 7i gets 140 carry and roll... a bit longer off the tee.

 

[BigMac]

I don't know how far Jon hits his 7 iron but I hit mine around 150. I can go a little longer but its risky. I've contemplated playing a round using nothing longer than the 7 from the fairway. For whatever reason there is a big difference in how I hit the ball from the 7 to the 6. I'm much more consistent with the 7 iron but the 6 just feels like I cannot hit cleanly no matter what I try. I rarely use it anymore. If I stick to the 7 iron and shorter from the fairways I might have a few holes I can't reach in regulation. But I might avoid the dreaded triple bogeys.

If you come up short of the green but are in position to get up and down for, at worst a, bogey who cares if you came up short. I’ve been known to lay up on a par 4. Hell, that strategy helped me help my team win the Hogan event last year

There are two par 4 holes on my home course (#1 and #2 handicaps) that are my absolute nemesis holes. They're not even that long (318 and 363 from the tees we usually play), but trying to get on the green in 2 results in disaster for me more often than not - I double or triple bogey both of those holes a lot more often than I par them. I've taken to playing both of them as par 5s - going off the tee with less than driver, then breaking the distance left into two easy, more manageable shots. If I can get on or near the green in three, I have half a chance for a par and a good chance for bogey, rather than blowing up my scorecard with a 6 or 7.

Today I went off the tee on the #2 handicap hole (363) with a 6 iron. It left me just right of the fairway in a good lie, about 200 yards from the green. I hit a 7 iron for my second shot, leaving me about 50 yards for my third shot, and pitched that onto the green leaving myself a 6 foot putt, which I sank for par. I'm not proud - who cares how I did it, there are no pictures on the scorecard!

 

[JonMA1]

If you come up short of the green but are in position to get up and down for, at worst a, bogey who cares if you came up short. I’ve been known to lay up on a par 4. Hell, that strategy helped me help my team win the Hogan event last year

On the courses I play, short is often the preferred miss. There are a only couple of holes on my home course with room to miss past the hole. And of those, the greens slope downward towards the front so long is only good when the hole is located towards the back of the green.

One of my favorite non-stats is what some refer to as a "nGIR" or Near Green In Regulation. It's an approach that leaves bogey golfers a fair chance for a par even though it's off the green. If I can putt from off the green or attempt a chip where I feel there's a good chance of getting it close enough for a one-putt, I consider those as nGIR. It's been a while, but when striking the ball well enough for a bunch of these to show up - along with a few actual GIR - I'm usually having a palatable round.

 

[charley48]

There are two par 4 holes on my home course (#1 and #2 handicaps) that are my absolute nemesis holes. They're not even that long (318 and 363 from the tees we usually play), but trying to get on the green in 2 results in disaster for me more often than not - I double or triple bogey both of those holes a lot more often than I par them. I've taken to playing both of them as par 5s - going off the tee with less than driver, then breaking the distance left into two easy, more manageable shots. If I can get on or near the green in three, I have half a chance for a par and a good chance for bogey, rather than blowing up my scorecard with a 6 or 7.

Today I went off the tee on the #2 handicap hole (363) with a 6 iron. It left me just right of the fairway in a good lie, about 200 yards from the green. I hit a 7 iron for my second shot, leaving me about 50 yards for my third shot, and pitched that onto the green leaving myself a 6 foot putt, which I sank for par. I'm not proud - who cares how I did it, there are no pictures on the scorecard!

Golf is a crazy game. Last time out I parred the most difficult hole for me to par. The next hole is the easiest on the course and I was lucky to one putt for a double bogey.

 

[Grins]

Golf is a crazy game. Last time out I parred the most difficult hole for me to par. The next hole is the easiest on the course and I was lucky to one putt for a double bogey.

I can attest to this statement! On Monday I played 18 on a beautiful 75 degree day and shot 107. I could not do much of anything.

Today I played 9 in 48 degree windy weather as it got dark, and shot 42 - with 3 short missed putts.

 

[tehuti]

No breaking 100 today. I have yet to do it on the course I played today, and after about 3 holes I knew it wouldn’t happen today. Started bad and stayed that way.

There are only 2 tee boxes - blue and green. My ego wouldn’t let me hit off green even though that is the right tee box for me. So I paid the price.

Why is it that now I have finally learned how to hit hybrids and my fairway wood I have forgotten how to hit irons?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk