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Trying to Break 100

Typically, breaking 100 can be a challenge due to my inconsistency. However, I shot an 87 yesterday. Not trying to over swing and proper technique really helps, and I finally feel like I'm making progress. Now it's just a matter of doing that consistently and not getting too comfortable and reverting into bad habits.
 
Played the same easy course today that I did last week but played from further back. Shot a 93 from those tees (47/46, 6000 yds 23.6 Hdcp Diff). This round was an indication that I can play some bad golf and still score well while enjoying the round.

My iron game was pretty terrible. After a week of solid practice, I was falling back on my trail foot during today's round and not getting anywhere near the distance I needed. The difference this time around is that I'm more confident in bouncing back. In addition, there were a couple short approach shots that I duffed. While completely unrealistic, I feel like I should be able to hit every green from 110 and under ( I know, I know... not even the pros do that).

Driver was fairly solid today. I hit more fairways today than last week and distances were once again better than expected. My only penalty of the round came from a push slice drive and that led to the only blow up hole. I also had a snap hook that came about from trying something different (stupid). But beyond those two drives, I hit several longer than my average including ones of 230, 237, 241 and 254.

This is the first round since early in the season that I agreed to play with a partner. I never got very frustrated today even though there were a couple holes when I should have. I'll play some tougher courses that will test my patience for sure.

Not sure I'll ever get down to an 18 handicap, but I can certainly live with this level of golf.
 
So I almost killed @Hamfist and his ability tp have little hamfists. Going for a crazy thread the needle shot he was like 15 yards behind me. I crush the tree 30 yards in front of me at like 130 mph and I see a flash go back past me and it goes right between his legs before he even has a chance to move.
 
77 on my local executive par 59 course. I’ll take bogey golf any time I can get it!


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ntanygd760 said:
So I almost killed @Hamfist and his ability tp have little hamfists. Going for a crazy thread the needle shot he was like 15 yards behind me. I crush the tree 30 yards in front of me at like 130 mph and I see a flash go back past me and it goes right between his legs before he even has a chance to move.
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I stood behind him, thinking "It won't come straight back at me." Well, he flushes it, straight into the trunk of the tree, and by the time my brain had registered "That's coming right at me." it was between my legs and behind me. It was a good life-lesson. Ben had quite the laugh about it.
 
Weekend golf report: after sh***ing the bed last weekend, using borrowed clubs, I went out with Ben on his "home" course, and one really close to my house that I've played a ton of times. My thought was, "I will use my own set and see if it was me or the clubs." Well, I shot an ugly 98. I did have some good shots, and some utter shite ones, and a bunch of in-betweeners.
Armed with at least a decent showing on Saturday, I went out Sunday with my usual foursome, and went right back to defecating in my sleeping space. the driver wasn't terrible, had a couple nice pokes as per my usual M.O. My trouble looms when I have to hit anything below my driver, and above my SW. Made damn near every conceivable bad shot. Including, and this is the truth, hitting a ball of the BACK of the hosel/head, and sending it on a 60 degree angle to the left of my target line.
I have no idea how to swing the club anymore.
I'm booking a lesson today.
 
brian7770 said:
Typically, breaking 100 can be a challenge due to my inconsistency. However, I shot an 87 yesterday. Not trying to over swing and proper technique really helps, and I finally feel like I'm making progress. Now it's just a matter of doing that consistently and not getting too comfortable and reverting into bad habits.
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A few weeks ago I found that an easier swing really makes me consistent on the wedges. I was working at the range on a certain easy feel swing speed with the gap wedge about 100 yards. Once I got that feel for the speed it was like every landing spot was within 10 yards of each other. Must have hit at least a dozen in a row that were really good.

So last time I was at the course I had two shots in that range. I used that easy swing and put it on the green both times. They both saved bogey when I thought double or triple was in play. Last time at the range I figured I'd try that same swing with the 7 and 8 irons. Just couldn't get the same feel I have with the gap wedge. But I'll keep trying. That swing just feels so comfortable and I can hit a large bucket without tiring out.
 
Two birdies today, with two pars, and five bogies for a total of 33 (par 30, 9 hole). I finally broke out of the multiple 36s that I shot the last few rounds. The secret was playing more often, which is not always possible cause life gets in the way. :cool:
 
charley48 said:
A few weeks ago I found that an easier swing really makes me consistent on the wedges. I was working at the range on a certain easy feel swing speed with the gap wedge about 100 yards. Once I got that feel for the speed it was like every landing spot was within 10 yards of each other. Must have hit at least a dozen in a row that were really good.

So last time I was at the course I had two shots in that range. I used that easy swing and put it on the green both times. They both saved bogey when I thought double or triple was in play. Last time at the range I figured I'd try that same swing with the 7 and 8 irons. Just couldn't get the same feel I have with the gap wedge. But I'll keep trying. That swing just feels so comfortable and I can hit a large bucket without tiring out.
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On my best days, I do feel like my swing feels more effortless with great balance, and I don't think it's a coincidence I tend to make better contact. I've also started playing a bit more which is likely helping with consistency. My tendencies are to start rushing the swing or trying to hit it harder, and I've needed to learn to better control the club face through impact as my misses have been pull draws or blocks.
 
brian7770 said:
On my best days, I do feel like my swing feels more effortless with great balance, and I don't think it's a coincidence I tend to make better contact. I've also started playing a bit more which is likely helping with consistency. My tendencies are to start rushing the swing or trying to hit it harder, and I've needed to learn to better control the club face through impact as my misses have been pull draws or blocks.
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I'm pretty sure my problem is swinging too hard. It seems to work fine with the driver. I'm 65 and can still hit the occasional 260/270 yard drive with decent accuracy. But it doesn't translate to the other clubs. Its not as simple as "Just don't swing as hard on those clubs". If I back off too much it throws everything off. Finding the right swing speed is the key. Its something I've been working on at the range. Just can't seem to find it consistently enough so far.
 
charley48 said:
I'm pretty sure my problem is swinging too hard. It seems to work fine with the driver. I'm 65 and can still hit the occasional 260/270 yard drive with decent accuracy. But it doesn't translate to the other clubs. Its not as simple as "Just don't swing as hard on those clubs". If I back off too much it throws everything off. Finding the right swing speed is the key. Its something I've been working on at the range. Just can't seem to find it consistently enough so far.
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I hear you. For me, I think what I'm calling a smooth swing with proper technique is still getting plenty of swing speed. The swing just feels a bit slower.
 
brian7770 said:
I hear you. For me, I think what I'm calling a smooth swing with proper technique is still getting plenty of swing speed. The swing just feels a bit slower.
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I think this is the key for me. I’m still swinging plenty fast enough. It just feels slower, because I’m exerting less force in my attempt to achieve a smoother swing while maintaining proper balance.


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brian7770 said:
I hear you. For me, I think what I'm calling a smooth swing with proper technique is still getting plenty of swing speed. The swing just feels a bit slower.
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I find an easier swing is definitely better. Its not necessarily a slower swing. Its a smoother, more relaxed swing. The hard part is convincing my brain how to determine the difference between that and a slower swing. Every time I make an effort to slow it down it results in mishits. Finding that right feel can be difficult. Its hard to describe. Its not so much a slower swing but a smoother swing with less effort. When I get that rhythm at the range its much better contact. And easier on my body. But taking that swing to the course has been a challenge so far.
 
Been quite sometime since I checked in here, hope everyone is doing well and playing well.
 
Snickerdog said:
Been quite sometime since I checked in here, hope everyone is doing well and playing well.
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Thanks for checking in. Reading posts from way back you can see if we're improving. Myself, the improvement is I rarely have any flat out shanks. Now I just have to reduce the pushes and pulls. I'm not very good at escaping trouble.
 
I might have to see the dr. soon. Been having stomach issues the past few months. Lets just say in the mornings I can't wander off too far from the bathroom. The sore tummy seems to have affected my stamina. I walked 9 holes today but it was tougher than before. My tummy was aching which I think led to the rest of my body wearing down faster.

But I did have the best nine holes I've had in a while. Shot a 44. A personal best on that front nine. I shot a 42 on the back nine about a year ago. The back nine is easier than the front. Driver was really good today. Hit 5 of 7 fairways and the misses weren't too bad either. The kind of miss that woulda been in the fairway on some other holes. Irons felt good.

The biggest improvement was the hybrids. I've been spending a lot of time with them at the range. The problem with those was hitting too fat. So I narrowed my stance which made me stand a little taller. And focused on the club head following through right at the target. Those two things made a big difference. I was able to get within 60 yards on the two par 5's. Parred them both.

Woulda been better if I didn't skull a chip on the first par 3. Skulled it over the green and down the hill. But I took my medicine and made sure I chipped to the middle of the green instead of making a mistake trying to get it close enough to one putt. A flop shot woulda been my only chance to save bogey. I took the safe route and avoided a triple. I had no triples today. Which is good for me. I had the one double and 6 bogeys to go with the two pars. Very steady round. Other than the double I had nothing worse than a par putt today. And other than the skulled chip, the short game was fine.
 
charley48 said:
Thanks for checking in. Reading posts from way back you can see if we're improving. Myself, the improvement is I rarely have any flat out shanks. Now I just have to reduce the pushes and pulls. I'm not very good at escaping trouble.
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Enjoy the game, its always a new challenge every time out. Only playing once a week right now, I have to wonder which game will show up.
 
Snickerdog said:
Enjoy the game, its always a new challenge every time out. Only playing once a week right now, I have to wonder which game will show up.
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I find my body responds better to twice a week. Whether it be on the course or at the range. Once a week and I tend to feel it more.
 
Had the expected relapse yesterday on my home course. Contact wasn't terrible but I reverted back to wide dispersion misses. Short but less forgiving course.. 49/51/ 100 (27.1 Hdcp Diff). The only bright side is I didn't get as frustrated as I had been getting earlier in the season. I'm ok with a bad round now and then. Now if it becomes a trend... different story.

While it takes several rounds of decent play to help my confidence, it only takes one round like this to damage it and I have to find a way around that. Confidence is a huge factor in enjoying the game - as equally important or even more so than the score. I think what bothers me is that I can't define the cause(s) when this happens. I can't get back to where I was even while practicing at half speed or whatever after the round. That inability makes improvement a bit difficult.
 
Just here to bump up our beloved "breaking 100" thread...

I went out at 4:30pm today for a round by myself. Just got new irons and wedges and it was the very first time hitting them. Played 2 balls per hole.

The very first time hitting the new irons (an 8 iron) was a bad shank that went into the trees at a 45 degree angle :ROFLMAO:. Thankfully, it went much better after that. The lofts are about 2-3 degrees stronger than my old irons so distances and gaps took some getting used to.

Shot a +15 after 14 holes using the first ball of each hole. Not too bad.

I was a little sad to see a fair amount of fallen leaves on the ground... a reminder that autumn is here and golf season will be over in a few months :cry:
 
104 today (51/53 30.3 Hdcp Diff).

I was feeling good about my approach game today. It felt like old times. 8 GIR is good for me considering there weren't many opportunities beyond those 8. Unfortunately, there were lots of penalties off the tee and too many 3-putts to recover from. I had 2 blowup holes - one each on the front and back. The 5-over on the par 4 14th was exceptionally frustrating because it came about from poor decisions on what is usually an easy hole for me. The 4-over par 5 2nd hole was from me rushing after a couple let me play through.

As far as the 45 putts, I don't know... putting is a huge weakness anyway and today was worse than usual. It wasn't the yips or anything and not all of the putts were that long. It was just one of those days when my lag putting was gawdawful and I couldn't drop any mid-range putts.
 
Wanted to share a couple of things I've been paying attention to recently to shave down a few strokes per round. I have to keep reminding myself to pay attention to these. Hopefully helps others too:
  1. Look at the lie when chipping or pitching near the greens. I used to take a cut when the ball is sitting on top of the rough and the ball pops up like 3 feet and I'm still in the rough. Now if the ball is sitting on top I should shallow out the swing a bit
  2. This one use to wreck my score: I'm in the trees but instead of swallowing my pride and just punching out from the safest angle, I would try the hero shot or try to squeeze through 2 trees. I'm always able to convince myself that it could work. But it almost never works!
  3. When you've sliced or hooked to the next fairway over, take the rangefinder. Often you can just use a GW/PW or 8/9 iron and hit over a few trees back onto your fairway. But it's so hard to judge the distance and therefore which club to use. So many times I used to actually hit a good shot over the trees back to my hole only to find that I used too much club by guessing and I'm under the trees again but on the other side. So frustrating! Take your rangefinder to know exactly where to hit to / aim at, and which club to use to hit back on.
  4. Have a plan when approaching the greens. I sometimes would just glance at the distance to the middle of the green, mindlessly take out the club that hits to that distance, and just go for it. Bad idea. Knowing where the flag is (in the front or back) and how the green slopes would help inform club selection. Knowing how the greens are protected (are there bunkers in the back and the sides? Then take a shorter club so when you miss left/right/long you're not in trouble).
  5. Don't forget to align your spine perpendicular to the ground when you're on a slope. I generally remember when the slope is very drastic, but sometimes on smaller slopes I tend to forget, especially around the greens which chipping and pitching and I end up thinning the shot or something.
  6. This one burns me at least once per round: underestimating difficulty of hitting out of thicker rough. Leave the long iron or FW in the bag. Take a hybrid and grip down or even use a 9i or PW if I have to. Saves myself from one of those 25 yard worm burners.
 
So, I booked a lesson with a local guy. Nice enough guy, had some good insights, make some tweaks to my swing, gave me some drills to do at home. Next day I do one of the drills, and promptly blow out my back. LOL. Haven't touched a club for a week, have been taking muscle relaxers and OTC pain meds. Back is just beginning to feel normal.

That is the extent of my golf.
 
Hamfist said:
So, I booked a lesson with a local guy. Nice enough guy, had some good insights, make some tweaks to my swing, gave me some drills to do at home. Next day I do one of the drills, and promptly blow out my back. LOL. Haven't touched a club for a week, have been taking muscle relaxers and OTC pain meds. Back is just beginning to feel normal.

That is the extent of my golf.
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Back problems havw been with me for a lot of years. Kinda sucks when it prevents you from doing what you like to do. I don't mind when it prevents me from working on the honey do list. :cool:
 
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