Trying to Break 100

[Hamfist]

I've been struggling to hit the ball the same way more than one time. When I relax and keep my swing smoother and can focus on keeping my tempo steady, I can score. But it seems like I've gotten so used to swinging hard that I've developed some bad swing faults that I don't notice.

Playing on my home course Monday I shot a decentish 47 with 1 penalty stroke (really 2 shots lost to stroke and distance) and my putting was lousy (19 putts).
No pars, just fairly mediocre golf.

Two days before that, I played Grey Hawk GC for the first time and put up a sweet 122 for my competitive league. 11 penalty strokes. Twice I had 2 penalty strokes on the same hole. Lowlights were a 10 and three 9's. Now, this was a much tougher course than I'm used to playing, and some of those poor shots were because I didn't know the layout (& they don't have a map on their score card ). But some of this was because I could not seem to make the same swing twice in a row.

And the greens were lightning fast. I 3-putted 5 times (38 putts total). It's a really nice course, but too tough for me with my current crappy game.

Another low light: I topped a ball off the tee and it popped up and back for a drive of -5 yards. I think that was another first.

I am in the same boat, my friend. I seem to have a different swing, every time I swing. Nothing feels right, nothing feels grooved.

 

[Hitsnmisses]

Well, started out with my normal crappy golf - 2-way misses with the driver, a bunch of GIRs that ended with 3 putts and enough good shots to score a 49 on the first 9 holes. Pretty-standard-stuff. Started out the 2nd with 2 more GIR's and surprisingly took advantage by 2-putting both for pars. Then everything went to hell and I literally got penalties on 6 of the next 7 holes - some multiple and from just about every club in the bag. What had been a very solid short game all year fell apart today as well. 58 the 2nd time through.

Like most seasons before, this year has been a series of digging myself out of double-bogey golf, enjoying a few rounds of mid-90's, 25 handicap golf and then falling back to double-bogey golf again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

You'd think I could get used to bad golf with as consistently as I play it, but this just isn't fun. Pretending otherwise is just denial. I'm going to look back on this and wonder wtf I wasted so much of my life by putting such a great deal of effort into it with the result being something I hate so much. And the worst part is knowing it's not going to be any different year after year.

Literally, the only good positive thing to come from golf is the exercise I get from walking the course. As bad as it is, it still beats the hell out of a treadmill.

End of rant. I already made the tee time for next Sunday.

Look on the upside,, there‘s potentially decades of this in front of you ....or you wear the faces out on the irons and get to start again with a fresh set lol

 

[tehuti]

If he's anything like me, you'll find him in a corner curled up in a fetal position muttering nonsense about trees, water, taking less club, followed by gentle sobbing.

That was me after Saturday’s round.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[charley48]

I am in the same boat, my friend. I seem to have a different swing, every time I swing. Nothing feels right, nothing feels grooved.

The life of a high handicapper. On the first hole yesterday I hit a nice drive. Its a par 5 so I got two shots to the green. I played half safe and used a higher lofted hybrid. Not a super clean hit but well enough to get to 9 iron distance. Thinned the iron with a low shot and it rolled over the back of the green. Had a chip in some deep grass with a green that slopes down from the back. Of course the pin is close the back. Chipped and rolled it all the way down to the front. 3 putt from 60 plus feet. When I marked the double all I could say is "Well, its been worse". Another double on hole two and again "Well, its been worse".

 

[JonMA1]

The life of a high handicapper. On the first hole yesterday I hit a nice drive. Its a par 5 so I got two shots to the green. I played half safe and used a higher lofted hybrid. Not a super clean hit but well enough to get to 9 iron distance. Thinned the iron with a low shot and it rolled over the back of the green. Had a chip in some deep grass with a green that slopes down from the back. Of course the pin is close the back. Chipped and rolled it all the way down to the front. 3 putt from 60 plus feet. When I marked the double all I could say is "Well, its been worse". Another double on hole two and again "Well, its been worse".

This post speaks volumes for my opinion of why the strategy of a high capper is not the issue many think it is. While there are always improvements that can be made towards better decision-making, its importance is nothing compared to just executing basic shots.

If you track you stats @charley48 you might find that your average strokes above par increases as you go from par 3's to par 4's to par 5's - even if you laid up on every par 5. If so, it might be because with each shot comes an increased chance of poor execution and we just don't have the game to recover from a poor shot. That's how it is for me anyway. I can't speak for your game, but there are so many ways for me to double-bogey a hole and it's overwhelmingly due to a failure to execute a simple shot to the level of allowing for a par or bogey.

In other words, if I took a pitching wedge and punched 4 or 5 times down the fairway, I would probably duff at least one and/or still 3 putt once I got on the green.

 

[Dartgod]

What's up TTB100'ers!?

Long time, no post. I've only played a few full 18 hole rounds this year. My brother and I have been playing in a men's league on Mondays on Swope Memorial golf course. It can be a bit more difficult than the course I usually play. It is an A. W. Tillinghast design and hosted some PGA events back in the day. It's a tough course. I shot a 65 my first night and was ready to quit...lol.

Since then I've been generally shooting in the low 50's and we've actually had low net score a couple of times.

Today I played 18 at my regular course and got off to a rough start with a 53 and 5 lost balls. The back 9 was MUCH better, improving by 10 strokes and nothing worse than a bogey. I had three GIR, but unfortunately three putted on two of them. I was pretty stoked though. It was one off my nine hole PB, but easily my most consistent.

 

[Hamfist]

What's up TTB100'ers!?

Long time, no post. I've only played a few full 18 hole rounds this year. My brother and I have been playing in a men's league on Mondays on Swope Memorial golf course. It can be a bit more difficult than the course I usually play. It is an A. W. Tillinghast design and hosted some PGA events back in the day. It's a tough course. I shot a 65 my first night and was ready to quit...lol.

Since then I've been generally shooting in the low 50's and we've actually had low net score a couple of times.

Today I played 18 at my regular course and got off to a rough start with a 53 and 5 lost balls. The back 9 was MUCH better, improving by 10 strokes and nothing worse than a bogey. I had three GIR, but unfortunately three putted on two of them. I was pretty stoked though. It was one off my nine hole PB, but easily my most consistent.

Hey, man! Good job on the back nine recovery.

 

[Hamfist]

Well, played not great on Sunday, took Monday off, since it was stupid hot, and felt irritated/mopey about the current condition of my game.
So, while slothing on the couch yesterday, I came to a realization: I'm getting to be the guy who complains about his score no matter what it is.
Now, that irritated me, because I don't want to be that guy.
In fact, one of my good friends, who normally shoots 110-infinity, told me "Don't be that guy that complains about breaking 100."
So, I'm going to try to not be that guy.
Now, I will be the guy who will gripe about his swing mechanics/swing thoughts/other stuff, because I won't be the guy who gripes about his score.

 

[ULEWZ]

Played in the heat today with the wife (has a broken foot and still played) and I shot a 94. I had four pars and five Doubles. Only one triple which was good. Not a great outing, but not bad. Some shots are fantastic, and then the next shot is crap. Played with two Thirty somethings, and they had some game. Both played the tips and one shot 3 under. Was fun to watch. My driver was on fire, until it wasn't, especially when I really needed it.

 

[wadesworld]

Well, played not great on Sunday, took Monday off, since it was stupid hot, and felt irritated/mopey about the current condition of my game.
So, while slothing on the couch yesterday, I came to a realization: I'm getting to be the guy who complains about his score no matter what it is.
Now, that irritated me, because I don't want to be that guy.
In fact, one of my good friends, who normally shoots 110-infinity, told me "Don't be that guy that complains about breaking 100."
So, I'm going to try to not be that guy.
Now, I will be the guy who will gripe about his swing mechanics/swing thoughts/other stuff, because I won't be the guy who gripes about his score.

Whew...I was worried we were going to have a THP without Hammy griping. Can't let that happen.

 

[Hamfist]

Whew...I was worried we were going to have a THP without Hammy griping. Can't let that happen.

The over/under for my not griping is 6.5 hours.

 

[[snow]]

Had my official (half-)round today.
What can i say. I played terribly and lost 4 balls through 9. Already had the jitters on the range, but on the course i was barely able to hit 2 consecutive shots well.
Whacked my first tee shot OB right, and scored a lady with the next one.
Made all new experiences in regards to "water" hazards (really just unplayable bushes marked red) around the back 9 today.

oh well. one down. Sort of looking forward to the next one. I mean, it can hardly go worse.

 

[charley48]

I was planning on golfing tomorrow. But today is the start of another stretch of excessive heat warnings. At or near record breaking temps over the next 6 days. We usually get a couple of those stretches every summer. But this will be 4 by the time we get to mid July. There was one in May. 2 in June and now this one.

Knowing what was coming I went out yesterday. The high was only upper 90's. I went early so it really wasn't that bad. I had a terrible start. Our tee time was scheduled for 7:20. Got there early around 6:45 with the idea of warming up. I'm a guy who notoriously takes a few holes to get warmed up no matter what time of year.

Well,, the club house said if we wanted to start earlier it was wide open. My playing partners said they didn't need to warm up. So we went from the club house to the tee box without warming up. The only saving grace was on that tee box there is no danger of hazard no matter how far off target you are. I pulled way left. I mean really far left. And the fairway bends to the right. I hit is well over 200 yards but I think I was just as far to the green as I was on the tee box. A few more bad shots later and I ended up with a quadruple bogey.

By the time I finished hole six I was 13 over. But I did recover nicely by finishing the last 3 holes on the front with par, par, bogey for a 50. I finally got warmed up. And it continued on the back nine. At least by my standards. Shot very solid 44 on the back for a final 94 score. Best 18 hole score I've had in a few months. It was especially satisfying after the bad start. I had 6 bogeys, one double and a par on the back. I was much more steady. The double was because of a poor chip I skulled. I actually could have played it safe and used to putter through about 20 feet of very short grass. I probably woulda had an easy two putt. But I thought I could get it close enough to make par. Nothing is a safe shot for a high handicapper.

And 3 holes that I've had trouble with I went par, par, bogey. They're all par 3's that play in the 160-165 range. Perfect distance for my 6 iron. Except I can't hit that dang club very well at all. So I broke out my old 7 hybrid that used to be that distance. It still is. I hit two of the 3 greens and one missed pin high to the right for an easy chip and two putt. I used that club on a few fairways too and every shot was clean and fairly straight. I think I will keep that one in my bag.

All in all, it was a very satisfying round. And I realized I'm a guy who needs a lot of warm up time. Even in hot weather. Next time I'm getting there early and hitting enough balls to feel comfortable. I don't wear myself out as long as I take my time warming up.

 

[[snow]]

Of course i'm following up on thursdays disaster with the best nine holes of my season so far.
11 over 43 through the front nine, including my first birdie since picking the clubs back up. Had a PW into the par 5 7th for GIR, left myself 4ft and converted the putt. All talent, no luck, of course

That's a difference of... 12? shots to thursday. yikes.

 

[Dartgod]

I played yesterday on the same course I played Monday. Birdied the first hole and finished with a 46 on the front. Couple that with the 43 I shot on the back nine comes to 89 on my last 18 holes. I was pretty happy with that. I also had four GIRs on the front but 3-putted two of them.

The back nine was ok and I did have another birdie on the 11th hole, but the wheels fell off on the last 5 holes with three triple bogies. I still finished with 50 on the back and 96 total for the second time this week.

The best shot of the day was my approach on the 11th. I had sliced my drive off the tee and was left with 155 over some trees. I flushed a 6 iron to about 15 feet and drained the birdie putt.

 

[Annhl8rX]

I just finished 18. The front nine was decent, yet frustrating. I had nothing worse than a double, but nothing better than a bogey. The greens were the fastest I’ve ever played, and I think I only made one putt outside of two feet. I finished the front at 51.

The back nine started nice, as I had a par on number 10. Unfortunately number 11 involved hitting over water off the tee which is my kryptonite. I put two in from the tee box and ended up with a 10. It was all downhill from there.

I continued to not make putts and busted out the driver on 14 just to slice one out of bounds. 17 was a par 5, and I almost got there in two. Unfortunately my eagle chip was shorter than my birdie putt. I just couldn’t figure out the fast greens at all. I bogeyed it. I ended up with a 106.

I’m really frustrated, but I’m playing again tomorrow. We’ll see how things go.

 

[Jason89er]

Ok this is a really long post but I hope it will help. Years ago it REALLY helped me. It’s not swing tips. It’s a course management philosophy. True Bogey Golf. Read on….

I’m not a single digit capper (yet). But in the last few months I’ve chipped (literally) away at it. Down to a 14.5. This philosophy can really help you get better and improve you scoring.

Don’t play for Par. Play for Bogey. On every hole. Length? Doesn’t matter. Play for BOGEY.

When I first started out it took me a year or more to adopt this philosophy. Once I did though, breaking 100 was a guarantee and breaking 90 eventually became possible. I’m now trying to break 80 consistently.

Here it is. Add one stroke to every hole. I can see some of your eyes rolling. But trust me. Just commit and try this for a 3-4 rounds. I have it broken down by hole type and then short game/putting.

Par 3s- (4 Holes)
You have 2 shots to get ANYWHERE on the green. Aim away from trouble and forget about the flag. Find the best spot to “miss”. Especially long Par 3s. Lay up. Where is the best place to chip from that keeps you away from trouble shots like having to chip over a bunker ect/short siding ect? Aim there and leave room for error.

Par 4s- (10 Holes)
You have 3 shots to get ANYWHERE on the green. Tee shot? What club is the best one to use? Depends on you. If it’s a hybrid, 5 wood, 5 iron? Fine. Use it on all tee shots. Don’t hit driver/3 wood unless you KNOW you will find the fairway. Forced carry off the tee? Just find dry land on the other side. Second shot? See Par 3s above. Forget about the green and lay up to that spot.

Par 5s- (4 Holes)
Tee shot? Same as Par 4s above. 2nd shot? This shot can make or break your score on a Par 5. Find what long/longer club you hit best off the deck and use it. Distance doesn’t matter. Find the best angle to be at to prep for the 3rd shot. Aim for that and leave room for error. 3rd shot? See Par 3s above. Forget about the green and lay up to that spot.

Short Game
Assuming you handled the strategy above. And even if you didn’t (had a miss hit ect). When you get here try this:
Chip/Pitch for a 2 putt. What do I mean? Get the ball ANYWHERE on the green. Closer is better of course but don’t take a risk to get there. If you can putt it from off the green then do that. Wack it up there. Use a 7 iron and use a putting stroke. Use whatever club you have that you KNOW will get you safely on the green somewhere.

Putting
Now if you follow this strategy, then you now have a Par Putt. Doesn’t matter how long it is really. You are somewhere on the green in regulation Par. This is the key to True Bogey Golf. So then focus on getting in the hole in 2 putts. If it’s outside of 15ft don’t overly try to make it. Pretend the hole is 3ft wide. It’s a manhole. Get inside that and you are golden.

Now after you do all this for a year and start to become almost bored with making bogey and shooting in the 90s every round you can take what you have learned and work to the next level. Breaking 90. In my opinion if new golfers try to break 90 before they can effortlessly break 100 each round they will struggle (like I did) getting to the 80s. And the great thing about this philosophy is if down the road (when you are in the 80s consistently) and you are having a bad round to start the day you can fall back on this until you find your groove.

Playing this way takes a tremendous amount of pressure off of a player. You will find that you are playing within yourself and avoiding triples/penalty shots ect. And those are what keeps you out of the 90s and makes you force other shots to try and “make it up” somewhere else.

Hope that helps somebody out there. Try it for a while. And while yes, it may seem conservative ect. You will find yourself shooting lower scores. And ultimately that is the goal in golf.

 

[charley48]

Ok this is a really long post but I hope it will help. Years ago it REALLY helped me. It’s not swing tips. It’s a course management philosophy. True Bogey Golf. Read on….

I’m not a single digit capper (yet). But in the last few months I’ve chipped (literally) away at it. Down to a 14.5. This philosophy can really help you get better and improve you scoring.

Don’t play for Par. Play for Bogey. On every hole. Length? Doesn’t matter. Play for BOGEY.

When I first started out it took me a year or more to adopt this philosophy. Once I did though, breaking 100 was a guarantee and breaking 90 eventually became possible. I’m now trying to break 80 consistently.

Here it is. Add one stroke to every hole. I can see some of your eyes rolling. But trust me. Just commit and try this for a 3-4 rounds. I have it broken down by hole type and then short game/putting.

Par 3s- (4 Holes)
You have 2 shots to get ANYWHERE on the green. Aim away from trouble and forget about the flag. Find the best spot to “miss”. Especially long Par 3s. Lay up. Where is the best place to chip from that keeps you away from trouble shots like having to chip over a bunker ect/short siding ect? Aim there and leave room for error.

Par 4s- (10 Holes)
You have 3 shots to get ANYWHERE on the green. Tee shot? What club is the best one to use? Depends on you. If it’s a hybrid, 5 wood, 5 iron? Fine. Use it on all tee shots. Don’t hit driver/3 wood unless you KNOW you will find the fairway. Forced carry off the tee? Just find dry land on the other side. Second shot? See Par 3s above. Forget about the green and lay up to that spot.

Par 5s- (4 Holes)
Tee shot? Same as Par 4s above. 2nd shot? This shot can make or break your score on a Par 5. Find what long/longer club you hit best off the deck and use it. Distance doesn’t matter. Find the best angle to be at to prep for the 3rd shot. Aim for that and leave room for error. 3rd shot? See Par 3s above. Forget about the green and lay up to that spot.

Short Game
Assuming you handled the strategy above. And even if you didn’t (had a miss hit ect). When you get here try this:
Chip/Pitch for a 2 putt. What do I mean? Get the ball ANYWHERE on the green. Closer is better of course but don’t take a risk to get there. If you can putt it from off the green then do that. Wack it up there. Use a 7 iron and use a putting stroke. Use whatever club you have that you KNOW will get you safely on the green somewhere.

Putting
Now if you follow this strategy, then you now have a Par Putt. Doesn’t matter how long it is really. You are somewhere on the green in regulation Par. This is the key to True Bogey Golf. So then focus on getting in the hole in 2 putts. If it’s outside of 15ft don’t overly try to make it. Pretend the hole is 3ft wide. It’s a manhole. Get inside that and you are golden.

Now after you do all this for a year and start to become almost bored with making bogey and shooting in the 90s every round you can take what you have learned and work to the next level. Breaking 90. In my opinion if new golfers try to break 90 before they can effortlessly break 100 each round they will struggle (like I did) getting to the 80s. And the great thing about this philosophy is if down the road (when you are in the 80s consistently) and you are having a bad round to start the day you can fall back on this until you find your groove.

Playing this way takes a tremendous amount of pressure off of a player. You will find that you are playing within yourself and avoiding triples/penalty shots ect. And those are what keeps you out of the 90s and makes you force other shots to try and “make it up” somewhere else.

Hope that helps somebody out there. Try it for a while. And while yes, it may seem conservative ect. You will find yourself shooting lower scores. And ultimately that is the goal in golf.

You make a good case for that philosophy. When it comes to getting close to the green I have to consider my strengths and weaknesses. I'm actually more comfortable chipping from 30 yards than I am from 10 yards.

I keep hearing all you have to do is keep the same swing speed and adjust your back swing shorter for short ones. But its easier said than done. The shorter chips are when I tend to skull them more. I can't seem to get the right swing speed feel on those. So maybe on the par 3's, which on my course run from 160 to 195, I should take out one less club and leave myself a chip I'm more confident in.

The driver seems to be my most consistent club. So I don't have to take out a lesser club for narrower and shorter par 4's. I will hit more fairways with the driver than the 3 or 5 wood. Go figure. In fact, I cannot hit a fairway wood to save my live. On a tee I pull a hook well left. On the grass I can't get decent enough contact. I suppose its something about that big driver head makes it easier to hit on a tee.

I can see your point about playing for bogey. After all, bogey golf is my goal. Always has been. Can I discipline myself to take that approach? I don't know. Because with a high handicapper there is no such thing as a safe shot. If I try to hit a par 3 to leave it 30 yards short and a chip I'm more comfortable with, I can easily shank it and have a difficult second shot. I would estimate maybe 20 percent of the bad holes are due to a bad decision. 80 percent are due to bad execution.

 

[Jason89er]

You make a good case for that philosophy. When it comes to getting close to the green I have to consider my strengths and weaknesses. I'm actually more comfortable chipping from 30 yards than I am from 10 yards.

I keep hearing all you have to do is keep the same swing speed and adjust your back swing shorter for short ones. But its easier said than done. The shorter chips are when I tend to skull them more. I can't seem to get the right swing speed feel on those. So maybe on the par 3's, which on my course run from 160 to 195, I should take out one less club and leave myself a chip I'm more confident in.

The driver seems to be my most consistent club. So I don't have to take out a lesser club for narrower and shorter par 4's. I will hit more fairways with the driver than the 3 or 5 wood. Go figure. In fact, I cannot hit a fairway wood to save my live. On a tee I pull a hook well left. On the grass I can't get decent enough contact. I suppose its something about that big driver head makes it easier to hit on a tee.

I can see your point about playing for bogey. After all, bogey golf is my goal. Always has been. Can I discipline myself to take that approach? I don't know. Because with a high handicapper there is no such thing as a safe shot. If I try to hit a par 3 to leave it 30 yards short and a chip I'm more comfortable with, I can easily shank it and have a difficult second shot. I would estimate maybe 20 percent of the bad holes are due to a bad decision. 80 percent are due to bad execution.

Well this is where lessons and practice come in. I’m not an instructor and I would never try to tell someone how to swing the club. True Bogey Golf is about strategy and avoiding big numbers.

Ask yourself this….Are the shots that you execute poorly because of your swing? Or where they because you were trying a shot that you haven’t developed the skills yet to execute consistently? If it was the first question then only lessons and practice will help. If it was the second question then True Bogey Golf can help.

I just hate seeing new golfers I get paired up with struggle trying shots they haven’t gotten good at yet. Because that was me.

 

[tehuti]

This pretty much summed up my day. Good thing I was only playing 9.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JonMA1]

Because with a high handicapper there is no such thing as a safe shot. If I try to hit a par 3 to leave it 30 yards short and a chip I'm more comfortable with, I can easily shank it and have a difficult second shot. I would estimate maybe 20 percent of the bad holes are due to a bad decision. 80 percent are due to bad execution.

Bingo! This is the case with me. I can spray my 3h as easily as my driver. My 4h is a bit safer than the 3h and as the clubs get shorter, they generally get a tiny bit safer. But I can certainly shank or top a short wedge shot a perfect lie into the water or weeds on occasions. I'd estimate poor decisions make up less than 5% of lost strokes.

I went back and looked at the last several rounds that were tracked and discovered that the penalties came from off the tee or from a good lie in the fairway or the short rough into what should be a safe target. Not saying I don't make poor decisions or at least in hindsight think about what an alternative choice could have been. But that simply doesn't happen very often.

I play the majority of holes for bogey anymore. Sometimes I get pars and the occasional birdie, but mostly I'm trying to keep every shot in play. If given an opportunity for a green in regulation, I pick a safe spot around the green as my target. If I'm too far out and the green is protected, It's unwise for me to go after the green with a hybrid. If the green is wide open and I'm hitting the hybrid well on a given day, that's a different story.

There are just too many instances where a simple layup fails... or a 3' putt... or a 10' lag putt or any number of possibilities. So that bogey I'd planned on becomes a double, triple or worse. When I do shoot in the mid 90's it's because there was better execution or less damaging levels of misses not because I was more conservative.

So it's all about improvement and knowing your capabilities. I don't play with others very often so maybe strategy is an issue with most, I don't know. But I know for a fact it has almost nothing to do with my scores.

 

[Annhl8rX]

Today I played a rare second round in as many days. It was also my first time on a private course (which, obviously, means this was my first time playing this particular course). I decided to leave my driver and hybrids in the bag no matter what happened, as those clubs have been the source of much consternation for me recently.

Things started off nicely. I hit a good tee shot with my Crossover (which is what I used from the tee box all day). I then hit a gap wedge to about five feet. I had my first ever opportunity to have an under par score for the round, but I missed the putt. I made the second one for par though.

I peaked my tee shot on number two into the trees right of the fairway. I clanged off of one trying to get out, but ended up in the fairway. I then hit the best 7 iron of my life from 160 out and two putted from ten feet for bogey. Two holes in and one over par is probably the best I’ve ever started.

The rest of the round was not as great, but was far from terrible. I was hitting that Crossover and my irons well. I had a few misfits, but I don’t remember a better ball striking round. I didn’t have any hole greater than a seven, but there were several of those (including three straight on the front nine).

I had three penalties (which is about average for me). What really cost me on this round was putting and sand play. This course has 90 bunkers! I think I found five of them. I had decent results out of three. The other two saw me blast the ball all the way across to the other side of the green.

Putting is never a strong point for me, and this course just had the greens punched this week. I only made one putt of any length all day, and left quite a few much further away than I would have liked.

18 was a tricky or four. No real danger off the tee, but a narrow mouth leading into a green guarded by water on the left and bunkers on the right. I was 155 away after my tee ball. I grabbed my 7 iron. The water didn’t concern me too much…I had been hitting my irons straight all day. Even when I don’t, it moves to the right.

I aimed straight at the mouth of the green, willing to accept something in the bunkers. Of course I dead pull that S.O.B. Right into the biggest part of the pond on the left. I ended up with a double.

I never keep track as I play, so I started adding things up once it was over. I went 50/50…that flipping water ball on 18 cost me my shot at breaking 100.

All in all that’s only slightly disappointing. It was a tough course I had never played before, and I posted an even 100. It looks like keeping the woods and hybrids on the bench is the play until I can figure them out a little better. It sucks almost never having a manageable approach shot, but it’s better than spraying the ball everywhere and taking penalties.

 

[Hamfist]

Today I played a rare second round in as many days. It was also my first time on a private course (which, obviously, means this was my first time playing this particular course). I decided to leave my driver and hybrids in the bag no matter what happened, as those clubs have been the source of much consternation for me recently.

Things started off nicely. I hit a good tee shot with my Crossover (which is what I used from the tee box all day). I then hit a gap wedge to about five feet. I had my first ever opportunity to have an under par score for the round, but I missed the putt. I made the second one for par though.

I peaked my tee shot on number two into the trees right of the fairway. I clanged off of one trying to get out, but ended up in the fairway. I then hit the best 7 iron of my life from 160 out and two putted from ten feet for bogey. Two holes in and one over par is probably the best I’ve ever started.

The rest of the round was not as great, but was far from terrible. I was hitting that Crossover and my irons well. I had a few misfits, but I don’t remember a better ball striking round. I didn’t have any hole greater than a seven, but there were several of those (including three straight on the front nine).

I had three penalties (which is about average for me). What really cost me on this round was putting and sand play. This course has 90 bunkers! I think I found five of them. I had decent results out of three. The other two saw me blast the ball all the way across to the other side of the green.

Putting is never a strong point for me, and this course just had the greens punched this week. I only made one putt of any length all day, and left quite a few much further away than I would have liked.

18 was a tricky or four. No real danger off the tee, but a narrow mouth leading into a green guarded by water on the left and bunkers on the right. I was 155 away after my tee ball. I grabbed my 7 iron. The water didn’t concern me too much…I had been hitting my irons straight all day. Even when I don’t, it moves to the right.

I aimed straight at the mouth of the green, willing to accept something in the bunkers. Of course I dead pull that S.O.B. Right into the biggest part of the pond on the left. I ended up with a double.

I never keep track as I play, so I started adding things up once it was over. I went 50/50…that flipping water ball on 18 cost me my shot at breaking 100.

All in all that’s only slightly disappointing. It was a tough course I had never played before, and I posted an even 100. It looks like keeping the woods and hybrids on the bench is the play until I can figure them out a little better. It sucks almost never having a manageable approach shot, but it’s better than spraying the ball everywhere and taking penalties.

Well, first, great round! Tough, unknown track, and just missing the century mark is very solid round. Second, I concur you should go with a bag that lacks woods/hybrids. Want to break 100 on a regular basis? Ignore the thought of having an approach shot for a GIR. Play for 5 on every hole, and you will be hitting 90.

 

[Hamfist]

So, played a scramble with my FIL on Saturday, and a couple of his friends. Had a great time, made some good shots, had some stinkers. My shot of the day was borrowing his Rogue 3-wood just to hit for giggles, and absolutely blistering it. Had the ever-so-rare rising flight from launch, and went a long way for me. Got a lot of compliments on that shot.

 

[TheDoctor]

Jen had a day to forget yesterday on the course.....we played in a medal competition at our home club and her nett score wasn't even close to breaking 100, let alone gross score

She was so frustrated with her game, but based on how stressful work has been for her lately (and even more so after I spoke to her this morning when she sent me a text to say both internet and mobile phone signal were down) I think she isn't able to concentrate on the golf properly. It doesn't help that she can't play as much as she would like to either, so playing once a week is about all she can manage at the moment if she is lucky, and being a relative beginner still, that doesn't help her chances of improving

I had a disappointing 3 putt on the 18th for a round of 83