Hamfist
I promise not to murder Canadan.
I'll walk up and down your back if you think it would help.
Trying to Break 100
If you wear a goat suit people will pay you good money to do that!
Hamfist
I promise not to murder Canadan.
Just got it back from the cleaners on Wednesday!If you wear a goat suit people will pay you good money to do that!
This is one wacky game….
After starting double-double-double on an unfamiliar, but not difficult course, I resigned myself to another round between 102-105 AT BEST.
I wasn’t putting well, but I also wasn’t chipping the ball close, so I had the double whammy on the greens. But it’s Friday and I took the day off from work to play golf with my buddy. So I wasn’t complaining.
Back 9 was no better but I did par the par 5 18th as consolation. Finished up. Entered my par in the Grint - and wadddaya know - 49/50 99! For me that is a victory!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
After starting double-double-double on an unfamiliar, but not difficult course, I resigned myself to another round between 102-105 AT BEST.
I wasn’t putting well, but I also wasn’t chipping the ball close, so I had the double whammy on the greens. But it’s Friday and I took the day off from work to play golf with my buddy. So I wasn’t complaining.
Back 9 was no better but I did par the par 5 18th as consolation. Finished up. Entered my par in the Grint - and wadddaya know - 49/50 99! For me that is a victory!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Finally broke 100 in my competitive Saturday league. 47/49 for a 96 on a decent track (Good Park; 6270 yards). Some encouraging signs:
1) no penalty shots & no lost balls - I can't remember playing 18 with the same ball. Granted, this place doesn't have much in the way of hazards, no water at all and not a ton of white stakes. Still, I kept the ball going pretty straight today.
2) 31 putts with 6 one-putts (none were closer than 6 feet). And it should have been 8 one-putts: just hit 2 a little soft & they died just before the hole.
3) I made 2 big mistakes that basically cost me 4 strokes. Lots of trees on this course & I found my way into them mores than a few times. A made several good recovery shots, but twice I hit really poor punch shots that bounced straight back or ricocheted deeper into the trees & turned 1 extra stroke into 3.
If I can keep focused, I should be able to break 90 with the game I have right now. (best case scenario. Or I collapse like a bowl of jello & shoot 108 - which has been the case so far this year)
1) no penalty shots & no lost balls - I can't remember playing 18 with the same ball. Granted, this place doesn't have much in the way of hazards, no water at all and not a ton of white stakes. Still, I kept the ball going pretty straight today.
2) 31 putts with 6 one-putts (none were closer than 6 feet). And it should have been 8 one-putts: just hit 2 a little soft & they died just before the hole.
3) I made 2 big mistakes that basically cost me 4 strokes. Lots of trees on this course & I found my way into them mores than a few times. A made several good recovery shots, but twice I hit really poor punch shots that bounced straight back or ricocheted deeper into the trees & turned 1 extra stroke into 3.
If I can keep focused, I should be able to break 90 with the game I have right now. (best case scenario. Or I collapse like a bowl of jello & shoot 108 - which has been the case so far this year)
Annhl8rX
Well-known member
I played a vacation round on Thursday and came way closer to breaking 100 than I should have given how much beer I consumed during the round.
It was at a course I had never played (and only my second time playing outside of Texas). My brother in law and I were paired with an older couple who drug the pace into the gutter. Well, actually he did. She struggled heavily, but was pretty quick. He was a decent player who apparently thought he was playing for a green jacket.
We didn’t wait on anybody after hole two and still played a 5:15 round. There was nobody behind us the whole time, so the marshal wasn’t worried about it. The crawling pace got to us pretty quickly, though, so we began imbibing. It was vacation, after all, and we were staying on property so nobody was driving.
I did manage a birdie before knocking too many back. Those are rare for sure, but what made it even more rare was that it was what I call a “natural birdie”...hit the fairway, hit the green, and made the putt. I can only recall ever doing that once before.
I ended up going 50/52. I hit my irons better than I have in a very long time. I mostly laid off driver, only pulling it out once my judgement was good and impaired (which cost me). Aside from the eightish footer I made for birdie, my putting was worse than usual. By the time we finally got to the green I was usually just ready to be done with the hole.
I had a good time, I did better than I expected to, and I came away with hope for next time. It’s hard to ask any more than that from a round of golf.
It was at a course I had never played (and only my second time playing outside of Texas). My brother in law and I were paired with an older couple who drug the pace into the gutter. Well, actually he did. She struggled heavily, but was pretty quick. He was a decent player who apparently thought he was playing for a green jacket.
We didn’t wait on anybody after hole two and still played a 5:15 round. There was nobody behind us the whole time, so the marshal wasn’t worried about it. The crawling pace got to us pretty quickly, though, so we began imbibing. It was vacation, after all, and we were staying on property so nobody was driving.
I did manage a birdie before knocking too many back. Those are rare for sure, but what made it even more rare was that it was what I call a “natural birdie”...hit the fairway, hit the green, and made the putt. I can only recall ever doing that once before.
I ended up going 50/52. I hit my irons better than I have in a very long time. I mostly laid off driver, only pulling it out once my judgement was good and impaired (which cost me). Aside from the eightish footer I made for birdie, my putting was worse than usual. By the time we finally got to the green I was usually just ready to be done with the hole.
I had a good time, I did better than I expected to, and I came away with hope for next time. It’s hard to ask any more than that from a round of golf.
ntanygd760
Well-known member
Lies I say Lies. I did teach him a new short game shot thoughAfter playing with Hammie, I can attest that it's more than just better drives (although that really helped). Your overall swing mechanics are much improved from several years ago. Short game looks more solid too
50/46 96 (27.8). Started off pretty solidly, ran into the double-bogey train for seven straight holes and then finished the round with par, bogey, bogey, par, par which is good for me. Instead of throwing in the towel when the round went off the tracks, I slowed everything down and started executing shots.
I'm fighting a slice on my driver and hybrids so there's an issue with an out to in path. Starting lines were pretty good for the most part so I just played the slice. Was able to improve it somewhat by keeping my right elbow connected. Putting was pretty bad but I did hit a couple scramble putts. Overall, the game is what it is and I burned some calories by walking the 18 so that's a good thing.
I'm fighting a slice on my driver and hybrids so there's an issue with an out to in path. Starting lines were pretty good for the most part so I just played the slice. Was able to improve it somewhat by keeping my right elbow connected. Putting was pretty bad but I did hit a couple scramble putts. Overall, the game is what it is and I burned some calories by walking the 18 so that's a good thing.
Played the 9 hole local executive course today, and shot a fantastic 33 with two birdies from four looks (30 par course). Every iron shot but one was spot on, my putting was great, pitches were perfect, but the chips were sub par, literally. I am not complaining though, it was a great Father's day.
Hamfist
I promise not to murder Canadan.
Saturday was a 98 (54/semi-legit 44) on a tough course. As always, I swung between pure gold and goat s**t. But, had a good time, made enough good shots that I'm fine with the game. Sunday was a less-than-stellar 102 (52/50) at a less tough course with my pops-in-law. Pace of play for both rounds was snail-like. Highlight on Saturday was a long putt to birdie a part 5. Lowlight on Sunday was sitting 20 yards off the font of the green on a par 5, laying 3, and taking an 8 on the hole.
postiedogger
Member
Playing Duncan Meadows on my birthday on Friday. It's the only time when I can afford golf when it is free. LOL!
I am hoping to break 100 there as I don't play this course very often.
I have a goal to at least break 100 at a course I never broke 100 at.
On my bucket list is to break 100 at Cordova Bay playing from the blues. I started off on the blues and I want to finish off on the blues and break 100 and never play there again. I started playing regularly 26 years ago and play there sparingly now.
I want to end playing at Cordova Bay on a good note!
I am hoping to break 100 there as I don't play this course very often.
I have a goal to at least break 100 at a course I never broke 100 at.
On my bucket list is to break 100 at Cordova Bay playing from the blues. I started off on the blues and I want to finish off on the blues and break 100 and never play there again. I started playing regularly 26 years ago and play there sparingly now.
I want to end playing at Cordova Bay on a good note!
As someone who now shoots sub 85 most rounds I decided to browse this thread. I am by no means a great player. But Im solid. I remember being exactly where all (most) of you are now. I still have the ball from the first time I broke 100! And my ball from the first time breaking 90. And the small handful of balls when I broke 80. A meager 7 times but I’m proud of each one!
Have fun and enjoy the ride. I’ve been playing for about 13 years now. Been a long strange ride. My advice is don’t worry about how your swing looks or what clubs you carry. I have a pretty flat back swing, never get all the way to parallel. I don’t even hit my Driver that long. 240 is a max hit most days. I have 3,5,7 woods. 5-PW Full Hybrids I bought online. A couple of old Cleveland Nicklick Wedges 42,49 degrees and a Cleveland Smart Sole Sandwedge. Calling my set “Game Improvement Clubs” is a vast understatement. But I’ve gotten pretty darn good with them. I get funny looks with 11 head covers in my bag. But when I start striping fairways and sticking greens those funny looks turn into a curious “What are those clubs you got there?” “Where did you get those?”
Keep swinging and have fun! I know I do!
Have fun and enjoy the ride. I’ve been playing for about 13 years now. Been a long strange ride. My advice is don’t worry about how your swing looks or what clubs you carry. I have a pretty flat back swing, never get all the way to parallel. I don’t even hit my Driver that long. 240 is a max hit most days. I have 3,5,7 woods. 5-PW Full Hybrids I bought online. A couple of old Cleveland Nicklick Wedges 42,49 degrees and a Cleveland Smart Sole Sandwedge. Calling my set “Game Improvement Clubs” is a vast understatement. But I’ve gotten pretty darn good with them. I get funny looks with 11 head covers in my bag. But when I start striping fairways and sticking greens those funny looks turn into a curious “What are those clubs you got there?” “Where did you get those?”
Keep swinging and have fun! I know I do!
From the white tees, I'm in this thread. From the 5600 yd tees, I'm in the "Breaking 90 thread." So far I've shot 106 and 103. It's a different game from back there. But I've kind of come to the conclusion as to why I can't break 100. See, I hit my driver about 225 to 230 and not always straight - most of the time it curves left too far. I think I'm going to adjust the weight on it to fade and see what happens. But the biggest problem is that there's a huge difference between 330 yd average par 4s and 385 yd. avg par 4s. I usually play the 5600 yd tees, not the 6300 yd tees.
I've been trying to make par on those 385 yd. par 4s where in reality I don't have a chance. When I played in the ladies club from the 5200 yd tees I had bomb and gouge. The average par 4 was 302 yds. Still most of the women in the club would have to risk a 5W to reach the green. Most just laid up and chipped on. On the short 250 yd par 4s they'd make par and sometimes a birdie. On a couple of the par 3s they'd make par. Most shot in the 90s and a few in the 80s. There were a couple longer hitters who would shoot around 75. So this is essentially the same position I'm in when I play the white tees.
So from the white tees, I learned that if I just laid up and hit a short pitch onto the green, there's a very good chance I'm walking away with a bogey. If I try to reach the green, I'll likely land in a bunker, or get into trouble of some sort. But this limits me to bogey golf from the whites because I don't have the distance to play better. I also don't want to spend a lot of time practicing hitting 160-170 yd shots which are hybrids. But if I can establish a handicap from these tees with scores of 90-92 it'll be around a 14 due to course rating and slope. It's just learning to give in to the course and play its game rather than trying to bend the course to my will.
I've been trying to make par on those 385 yd. par 4s where in reality I don't have a chance. When I played in the ladies club from the 5200 yd tees I had bomb and gouge. The average par 4 was 302 yds. Still most of the women in the club would have to risk a 5W to reach the green. Most just laid up and chipped on. On the short 250 yd par 4s they'd make par and sometimes a birdie. On a couple of the par 3s they'd make par. Most shot in the 90s and a few in the 80s. There were a couple longer hitters who would shoot around 75. So this is essentially the same position I'm in when I play the white tees.
So from the white tees, I learned that if I just laid up and hit a short pitch onto the green, there's a very good chance I'm walking away with a bogey. If I try to reach the green, I'll likely land in a bunker, or get into trouble of some sort. But this limits me to bogey golf from the whites because I don't have the distance to play better. I also don't want to spend a lot of time practicing hitting 160-170 yd shots which are hybrids. But if I can establish a handicap from these tees with scores of 90-92 it'll be around a 14 due to course rating and slope. It's just learning to give in to the course and play its game rather than trying to bend the course to my will.
Despite a lower handicap and hitting the ball further, I am in the same boat for a few holes on my home course as there are a couple of long par 4's that require a perfect tee shot followed by a relatively long second shot that needs to be good enough to hit the green and avoid the trouble around it
For these holes, unless I hit that perfect tee shot, or the wind is against, I will play them as a par 5 and if I manage to chip it close and sink the putt for a par I consider that a bonus - that is why we have a handicap and extra shots on certain holes
I see a lot of people with higher handicaps still try to make par (and even birdie) and don't make use of the shots they have on each hole - when I play with Jen, there are plenty of times when she will be disappointed with a 7 on a par 4, but when I point out to her that it is a nett par she eventually realises it wasn't such a bad hole after all. We played 9 after work last week and she didn't think she was playing very well until I pointed out that she was only a couple shots over her handicap for the 9 holes, but at one point she was better than her handicap
Once people accept that they aren't likely to score whatever it says on the card, I have often seen them play much better, and subsequently score better in relation to their handicap as they don't try the 1% success rate shot to hit a green from 200+yds and instead hit 2 shots they are 99.9% comfortable hitting
It has been said often, but golf is a mental game, and the better you become at dealing with that side of it, the more confidence it will start to breed
charley48
Well-known member
Weather's been weird lately. Late May we had a few days in the 104 to 106 range. Then early June it dropped all the way to 77. A few days ago it was 106 to 110. Today is supposed to be low 90's. The central valley tends to get pretty hot. Triple digits are normal. But not like Friday and Saturday was. Golfing was not happening with that.
I would love to go out today but I have a doctor's appointment. I hate seeing him. When I go in I feel fine. After he gets done with me I don't feel so good.
The wife is driving up to the casino for a couple days with our daughter. So I'm a bachelor starting tomorrow till Friday. I'll definitely be golfing then. When I was younger it would be bar time with some buddies. Those days are long gone.
:nono:
I would love to go out today but I have a doctor's appointment. I hate seeing him. When I go in I feel fine. After he gets done with me I don't feel so good.
The wife is driving up to the casino for a couple days with our daughter. So I'm a bachelor starting tomorrow till Friday. I'll definitely be golfing then. When I was younger it would be bar time with some buddies. Those days are long gone.
:nono:
I see this all the time too. I was playing with a high handicap player the other day. We both chunked our tee shots pretty badly and had pretty sketchy lies. I hit an 8-iron. He hit a 5-wood. I pitched on with my third and two-putted for bogey. After badly topping his first attempt, he sliced his second attempt into the lake. After a drop, he hit onto the edge of the green and 3-putted for an eight.
Cant agree more on this. If you wanna break 100 every time, play bogey golf. A bogey is a Par when you play this way. When you can bogey every hole and it starts to almost get boring playing this way then your game is ready to start trying to make Pars. Add a stroke in your head to every hole. Even Par 3s. Try to just be on the green somewhere in 2 strokes. 3 strokes for 4s. 4 strokes for 5s. From there it’s just getting good at lag putting. Eliminate 3 putts.
This really helped me when I first started. Tight fairway on a hole? Don’t hit driver. Hit the club you KNOW you can put in the fairway. Bunkers all in from of the green? Lay up short and away from them. Pitch or chip up to the fat part of green. 2 putt and smile with a bogey. Bogey golf is not being chicken Ect. It’s smart.
Just an opinion but it worked wonders for me before I got to the next level.
I won't argue that high cappers make poor decisions, but I believe execution trumps everything.
Hole 4 of the course I played this weekend may be my nemesis hole. It is a par 4 blowup hole in waiting. So I decided to play it for bogey this past Sunday. What lower cappers sometimes fail to grasp is that at our level, there is no such thing as a safe club that we can always count on to keep the ball in play.
Stroke 1: I pull the 7i for my tee shot. I've been struggling with club during practice for 2 weeks straight. With pines on the left and a slope down to the creek on the right, confidence wasn't very high. But I swung easy and hit a near perfect, high 154 yard shot that landed and stopped right away on the narrow, flat strip of fairway. There's a lot that could have gone wrong, but this time stroke 1 was a success.
Stroke 2: With 180 yards to the center of the green, a creek to hit over, marshes on the left and thick pines to the right, I had already decided to play this as a par 5 when I was on the tee. I made good contact with 9i layup for my 2nd, but started it a bit right and landed in some thick rough. Not a complete fail, but not the easy approach I'd hoped for.
Stroke 3: I found the center of the green with my approach from 63 yards out and the conservative approach seemed to have worked out.
Strokes 4, 5, 6. Yep, the dreaded 3-putt from the center of a smallish green.
The point of this is that I played better-than-average golf on a harder-than-average hole. I wrote down the 6 and wasn't all that disappointed. There's a lot that could have gone wrong even with a conservative strategy. A slight push with tee shot leaves me a downhill lie at best and water-ball at worst. A topped or thinned 2nd shot goes into the creek.... a shanked approach is lost in the pines... a 3-putt.. These things happen with a high enough frequency to prevent low scores. Not because of a lack of confidence or careless strategy, but because the level of execution that is required to reduce those occurrences has not yet been developed.
Hole 4 of the course I played this weekend may be my nemesis hole. It is a par 4 blowup hole in waiting. So I decided to play it for bogey this past Sunday. What lower cappers sometimes fail to grasp is that at our level, there is no such thing as a safe club that we can always count on to keep the ball in play.
Stroke 1: I pull the 7i for my tee shot. I've been struggling with club during practice for 2 weeks straight. With pines on the left and a slope down to the creek on the right, confidence wasn't very high. But I swung easy and hit a near perfect, high 154 yard shot that landed and stopped right away on the narrow, flat strip of fairway. There's a lot that could have gone wrong, but this time stroke 1 was a success.
Stroke 2: With 180 yards to the center of the green, a creek to hit over, marshes on the left and thick pines to the right, I had already decided to play this as a par 5 when I was on the tee. I made good contact with 9i layup for my 2nd, but started it a bit right and landed in some thick rough. Not a complete fail, but not the easy approach I'd hoped for.
Stroke 3: I found the center of the green with my approach from 63 yards out and the conservative approach seemed to have worked out.
Strokes 4, 5, 6. Yep, the dreaded 3-putt from the center of a smallish green.
The point of this is that I played better-than-average golf on a harder-than-average hole. I wrote down the 6 and wasn't all that disappointed. There's a lot that could have gone wrong even with a conservative strategy. A slight push with tee shot leaves me a downhill lie at best and water-ball at worst. A topped or thinned 2nd shot goes into the creek.... a shanked approach is lost in the pines... a 3-putt.. These things happen with a high enough frequency to prevent low scores. Not because of a lack of confidence or careless strategy, but because the level of execution that is required to reduce those occurrences has not yet been developed.
So you effectively made a bogey, for you, no? Perfectly acceptable.
I understand the fact that high handicappers can flub any club, but it's all about percentages. Hit long clubs for the tee and approach and chances are the "not great, but not awful" shots would become "oh crap, I'm screwed. There's a 9 or 10 coming up." Yes, It could still happen with shorter clubs, but at least you're giving yourself a better chance.
Well, a double-bogey is acceptable because that's my level of play. It's unreasonable for me to expect to never get a DB on a difficult hole. My point is that even by playing safe, a 9 or 10 could come up. The next time I play that hole, I might try to play my fade with the driver and get it across the creek??? I've never tried that and this hole fits my shot shape and distance pretty well. It would be good experiment. I've had plenty of penalties on this hole by playing as described above.
Agree on all points, but the percentages are not as great as many believe. I pulled the driver on 11 holes Sunday. The three penalties on that round came from driver, 3h, and lob wedge - and I was ok with those. When I play my short home course, I could get away with not playing driver at all (if a bogey was my intent on every hole), but I want to develop that part of the game. In all the courses I play, par is a reasonable goal on all but a few holes. Playing the majority of holes for bogey is too safe. Mostly because of how easy it is to screw up a "safe" shot. I don't believe the percentages support that approach across the board.
You and @Jason89er were talking about breaking 100 and everything you posted is true. It's sound advice at many levels. But I play at close to bogey and half golf on easy, shorter courses. Strategy and the mental side of the game are given far too much credit, IMO, whenever anyone suggests those as reasons for shooting what I shoot. Just my opinion.
In relation to the highlighted above, what is your actual handicap?
To suggest par is a reasonable goal on all but a few holes would suggest a low to mid-single figure ability player, yet you also say that your level of play means a 9 or 10 can come up, which suggests you are not a low to mid-single figure ability golfer?
If you think that playing for bogey is too safe, then I don't think anything anyone will say can change your mind, but I don't subscribe to that line of thinking - there are at least 5 holes on my home course where bogey is more than acceptable to me at my level (7.5 index) due to the length of the hole and hazards
To clarify… on the tee, the goal - not the expectation - is par. How each shot progresses on that hole will either change that goal or continue that goal.
Edit: Index is 24.
charley48
Well-known member
This is a good point. High handicappers don't have the luxury of a club they can count on. One time its good contact. Another time its a shank. I've had my share of bad decisions that led to a bad hole. But most times the mistakes are execution. Not decisions. If I'm 300 yards out after a bad drive I'd love to be able to take two 7 irons to the green. But I can't depend on two good shots. So I will take my hybrid and hope it leaves me a pitching wedge.
Not trying to be difficult here, just trying to understand the mindset when you say that par is the goal - at an index of 24, your playing handicap is likely nearer 28(?) so you would be getting 2 shots on a lot of holes, so why set an unrealistic goal of par on holes where you would be expected to need an additional 2 shots?
To me, it doesn't make sense to be stood on the tee of the hardest hole on the course with 2 shots based on your handicap, setting a goal of par and subconsciously knowing you then have to hit 3/4/5 perfect shots to reach that goal. In my opinion that is counter-productive to playing good golf
If you stood on the tee saying your goal was par+1 then I could understand, but the higher the handicap, the more unrealistic par is as a goal from what I see on a regular basis playing with various people at my club
Just as an example, the hole ranked stroke index 2 at my home course is a straight 460yd par 4 slightly uphill with trees all along the left and OOB all along the right, fairway is roughly 80-90ft wide at the widest point and the wind is usually into your face or into and off the left
How would you approach this hole with your 24 index?
For me, bogey is my goal on this hole, and par is a big bonus
charley48
Well-known member
I don't know about Jon but I don't use my handicap to score with. I'm not in a league and I don't normally play for money. So I don't look at a particular hole and say "I get two strokes here". I think what he's trying to say is the high handicapper can't always rely on the safe club because sometimes even the safe club fails us. At my home course there are a few holes where two good 180 yard hybrids can get you there. But the odds of me hitting two good ones in a row are not as good as me hitting driver to wedge distance.
Right now that is my biggest problem. Inconsistency. I can hit a 7 iron 150 yards to the middle of the green on one shot and shank it the next time. There is a senior league that plays on Tuesdays at my home course. I want to join it eventually. But I would love to be more consistent before I do that.