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Trying to Break 100

I just started playing again after an 8 year layoff. Today I shot a 103 on a fairly difficult course. I was in three green side bunkers with steep sod faces and and got out of each with one stroke. I feel like I'm close to breaking 100 but I know its gonna be a struggle.
 
I took my kids (8 & 6) to a local Kid's course last weekend. The holes are 75-130 yards. Par 3 for adults and up to Par 7 for the kids. The kids had a blast hacking away at the ball. I can tell my oldest is really wanting to hit the ball better but my youngest was just happy to be here lol!

I took the opportunity to work on my par 3 approach shots. All of my shots (9 holes) went down range and flew nicely. I was having trouble judging distance. Yardage on the signs was off and i really wasnt trying too hard. I ended up a little short on most holes, with the ball landing on the green and then spinning backwards off the green.

I found a smooth swing with full follow through produces a great ball flight but an unintended draw which put me left of the green many times. I adjusted by aiming to the right edge of the green and got good results. That being said, I think the proper correction would have been to move the ball slightly back in my stance. I intend to experiment with that next time.

I also need to get a longer club for the 8 year old lol!
 
Enjoy playing with those kids, Nicegy525! It goes by super-fast!
 
I started out my last round parring 4 of the first 6 holes(y), then went bogey-triple-bogey for a 45.:( Still, lots to build on here, I feel.

I parred the #1 HC hole, a long, uphill par 4; by hitting the longest drive ever on this hole (somewhere between 360-380 yards) to 126 yards, then hit a nice 8 iron to 15 feet & left the birdie putt inches short.

It felt pretty good to hear my partners say "Sh*t! Was that another par?" It was nice to get a taste of what golf must be like for a low HC player!

Hit 4 of 6 fairways; 3/9 GIR (& 2 more within a few yards), and 16 putts (one 3 putt). Two drives were badly pulled left & those cost me 3-4 strokes.

Trying to stay smooth on my swing and gradually feel the speed building up on the way down has really helped.
 
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Grins said:
I started out my last round parring 4 of the first 6 holes(y), then went bogey-triple-bogey for a 45.:( Still, lots to build on here, I feel.

I parred the #1 HC hole, a long, uphill par 4; by hitting the longest drive ever on this hole (somewhere between 360-380 yards) to 126 yards, then hit a nice 8 iron to 15 feet & left the birdie putt inches short.

It felt pretty good to hear my partners say "Sh*t! Was that another par?" It was nice to get a taste of what golf must be like for a low HC player!

Hit 4 of 6 fairways; 3/9 GIR (& 2 more within a few yards), and 16 putts (one 3 putt). Two drives were badly pulled left & those cost me 3-4 strokes.

Trying to stay smooth on my swing and gradually feel the speed building up on the way down has really helped.
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360? Uphill? You're on the juice.
 
Hamfist said:
360? Uphill? You're on the juice.
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My strength is as the strength of ten because my heart is pure.

Just call me Kid Galahad;)
 
dthrog00 said:
I've been on a bit of an equipment tear lately. I have only bought one test club, but have trying some of the various things in my arsenal and plotting. I've found:
  • My long club gapping with full blown vanity distances has sucked.
  • Stats confirm my eye's observations that approach inaccuracy is limiting my progress as a golfer. I've particularly been struggling with 4 iron to 6 iron in my player's cavity set (Maltby TE Forged). I'm 1 for 13 GIR with these clubs and while I've been scrambling well after the misses (just a little better than bogey overall) they are still misses.
  • Coronavirus era cash is not plentiful so I don't really want to buy anything. My current gear is TE Forged w/DG R300, Mizuno MP4 with XP 105 R300, and Ping G15 with AWT R. The test club I referenced is a Maltby STi2 6 iron with the Maltby MPF graphite shaft in stiff.
  • I love the MP4s and will not sell them, but unless I'm practicing a lot and swinging well these are legitimately difficult to play and clearly not more forgiving than the TE. This is a set you use for the classical golfer inside you, for great feel/looks, and the reward of a good strike. If I put these in the bag then I'm openly saying I don't care about score. Maybe I will get there, but I'm not there yet.
  • The STi2 test club performed ok. Graphite did not outperform steel. I will not be buying a set.
  • I've had the G15s since 2013 and seemingly have been hell bent for years to replace them, but they've treated me well. They are night and day different than the TE, but if I really want more forgiveness this is the option I have.
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I've put the G15s back in the bag the past couple times out and forever reason have struggled a bit. I think it is the thick soles and I'm fighting them.

I think at this point I'm reasonably confident then I could put any of my 3 irons sets (G15, TE Forged, MP4) into the bag and score in a similar range on easy-ish courses. Maybe the MP4s would score much worse on a hard course though.

I still believe that once you are driving ball at least semi-competently the Stokes Gained methodology of saying approach play is the most important aspect of scoring well is true. It is just that my misses are similar with whatever equipment I'm using. It all comes down to the golfer executing the shots.

Dave
 
Had my best driving today. 12 out of 14 fairways. I've been working on a smoother swing. Today my swing speed was the most consistent its ever been. I've been working on the right swing speed. Trying to avoid over swinging but still a nice fast downswing. Before I was good for a couple drives in the 250-260 range. Didn't come close to that today. A steady 220-230 day. A couple weren't much over 200. But very straight. Much more fun playing in the fairway.

Oh, and I shot a 95. A good day for me. I played very conservative and only had one triple. Still too many doubles and not enough pars, but I wasn't unhappy with the game today. Had a good pace and most the time I wasn't dealing with a tough shot in trees or thick grass. Was short of the green quite a few times but it better than missing right or left and chipping out of the thick rough on an elevated green.
 
charley48 said:
Had my best driving today. 12 out of 14 fairways. I've been working on a smoother swing. Today my swing speed was the most consistent its ever been. I've been working on the right swing speed. Trying to avoid over swinging but still a nice fast downswing. Before I was good for a couple drives in the 250-260 range. Didn't come close to that today. A steady 220-230 day. A couple weren't much over 200. But very straight. Much more fun playing in the fairway.

Oh, and I shot a 95. A good day for me. I played very conservative and only had one triple. Still too many doubles and not enough pars, but I wasn't unhappy with the game today. Had a good pace and most the time I wasn't dealing with a tough shot in trees or thick grass. Was short of the green quite a few times but it better than missing right or left and chipping out of the thick rough on an elevated green.
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Way to go! This sounds like a hugely successful round! Keep it up!
 
UberPete said:
Way to go! This sounds like a hugely successful round! Keep it up!
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You ain't kidding! 220-230 all day? where do I send my pinky?
 
My swing does feel better than it looks like on video!
 

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I played my first round using a driver in probably 5 years today. I said before the round started that I was going to use it on every par 4 and 5 (I have a tendency to give up on a club quickly).

I’m not sure if playing the driver helped or hurt. I hit three really good shots with it that put me in positions I never could have achieved with another club. I had a few others that were a bit off line, but were much longer than my usual tee clubs. I also had some real stinkers with it. I topped four shots that went basically nowhere, including one into water right in front of me.

Three holes really cost me. I had two nines and a snowman, and finished at 106. It was one of those rounds that felt way worse than the scorecard indicated. My short game was terrible...even more so than usual. I think I need to add a wedge that’s higher lofted than my gap wedge. That’s what I’ve been using around the greens and I really struggle with anything that requires less than a half swing.
 
Annhl8rX said:
I played my first round using a driver in probably 5 years today. I said before the round started that I was going to use it on every par 4 and 5 (I have a tendency to give up on a club quickly).

I’m not sure if playing the driver helped or hurt. I hit three really good shots with it that put me in positions I never could have achieved with another club. I had a few others that were a bit off line, but were much longer than my usual tee clubs. I also had some real stinkers with it. I topped four shots that went basically nowhere, including one into water right in front of me.

Three holes really cost me. I had two nines and a snowman, and finished at 106. It was one of those rounds that felt way worse than the scorecard indicated. My short game was terrible...even more so than usual. I think I need to add a wedge that’s higher lofted than my gap wedge. That’s what I’ve been using around the greens and I really struggle with anything that requires less than a half swing.
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You should do "you". If that includes driver then use it. If it does not then go with the rest of the bag.

Dave
 
dthrog00 said:
You should do "you". If that includes driver then use it. If it does not then go with the rest of the bag.

Dave
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I’ll keep working with it. I think if I can get even just a little more consistent with the driver it’ll be a positive thing for my game overall. After all, I top and slice tee shots with shorter clubs too...I might as well have the payoff of distance when I don’t.

I also realized that using the driver will likely amplify my short game struggles. I’m accustomed to hiring at least a pitching wedge into greens, but I found myself in spots several times yesterday where I had a partial swing gap wedge shot in. I’m terrible at those.

On one hole my tee shot ended up about 30 yards from the green on a par 4. You’d think that’s a real scoring opportunity, but I ended up with a double bogey. That touch game around the green eats me up.
 
Shot a 96 on my local par 68 course. I am consistently staying below 100 on this course, so that is an improvement from last year.

Lost my 5, 6, and 7 iron shots for a stretch. Had it not been for that it would have been a pretty good round. Driver and putter were working well today.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Shot my best overall round of the season today: a 91 that included 5 pars (4 in a row). The main problem is there are too many times during a round when I feel like I lose my swing, and I hit some real sh*t shots for a while. At least today I was able to get my swing back on track a little better, and I was able to chip it close or make a lot of 10-12 foot putts (33 total).
 
So my best round so far is 110.. Yesterday I played a course that had two par 4 holes closed due to water logging and shot 89 for 16 holes. Irons were the best they've been and I managed my 'strong fade' pretty well, just by aiming pretty far left and letting it come back to the fairway. I think with the holes that were missed it would be 50/50 whether I hit 100, and 40/60 that I would have got 99 or less. Will have to wait and see next time, but glad the scores are going in the right direction..!
 
charley48 said:
Had my best driving today. 12 out of 14 fairways. I've been working on a smoother swing. Today my swing speed was the most consistent its ever been. I've been working on the right swing speed. Trying to avoid over swinging but still a nice fast downswing. Before I was good for a couple drives in the 250-260 range. Didn't come close to that today. A steady 220-230 day. A couple weren't much over 200. But very straight. Much more fun playing in the fairway.

Oh, and I shot a 95. A good day for me. I played very conservative and only had one triple. Still too many doubles and not enough pars, but I wasn't unhappy with the game today. Had a good pace and most the time I wasn't dealing with a tough shot in trees or thick grass. Was short of the green quite a few times but it better than missing right or left and chipping out of the thick rough on an elevated green.
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I can't even remember the last time I hit 12 fairways
 
Annhl8rX said:
I played my first round using a driver in probably 5 years today. I said before the round started that I was going to use it on every par 4 and 5 (I have a tendency to give up on a club quickly).

I’m not sure if playing the driver helped or hurt. I hit three really good shots with it that put me in positions I never could have achieved with another club. I had a few others that were a bit off line, but were much longer than my usual tee clubs. I also had some real stinkers with it. I topped four shots that went basically nowhere, including one into water right in front of me.

Three holes really cost me. I had two nines and a snowman, and finished at 106. It was one of those rounds that felt way worse than the scorecard indicated. My short game was terrible...even more so than usual. I think I need to add a wedge that’s higher lofted than my gap wedge. That’s what I’ve been using around the greens and I really struggle with anything that requires less than a half swing.
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Sand wedge is your friend!
 
Grins said:
Shot my best overall round of the season today: a 91 that included 5 pars (4 in a row). The main problem is there are too many times during a round when I feel like I lose my swing, and I hit some real sh*t shots for a while. At least today I was able to get my swing back on track a little better, and I was able to chip it close or make a lot of 10-12 foot putts (33 total).
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Way to go, Jeff!!
 
Played with Smiter on Saturday, shot something. We played Cossett Creek , for you locals, and he wasn't digging all the doglegs on the back nine. Had fun and hit a couple really nice pokes with my shortened three wood. Had a nice Platform Brewery 2xStout on the front and a Yuengling Black and Tan on the back, to maintain my cool buzz.
 
ntanygd760 said:
I can't even remember the last time I hit 12 fairways
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Me neither. I have hit 10 before. The driver has been my most consistent club the past couple years. Its like when I find my happy swing I feel like I can't miss. I didn't miss a fairway on the back 9. The easier swing is also easier on this old body. Giving up almost 20 yards makes it impossible to get to some holes in regulation. But its not like I'm gonna hit the greens every time I'm in range. I rarely hit a green when I'm between 100 and 150. I feel like I'm on the edge of playing bogey golf. I just need to be more consistent on chips around the green. I had a few mishits resulting in double bogeys. A couple skulls over the green and a couple short of the green. I'm one of those guys who's happy to be in two putt range after a chip.
 
UberPete said:
Way to go! This sounds like a hugely successful round! Keep it up!
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Best round in a while. I reverted back to the reliable 97 yesterday. Still driving well. Hit 9 fairways. A couple misses were in good position. But a couple others were pretty bad. One ended up in someone's back yard when I hooked it. Its kinda weird when I hit that hook shot. I feel like I got too much arm extension and my elbow stings on the down swing. I think maybe I was swinging too hard on that one. It was a longer par 4. I didn't have one drive over 220. A few were barely over 200. But I'm ok with that. The easier swing seems like I have more control and its much easier on my body. Especially at the range.
 
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