We've launched the new forums! Read more here

The Cause Of Your Breakthrough To Good Scores This Year??

mact3333

mact3333

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
437
Reaction score
19
Location
near Portland, OR
Handicap
8.2
So did something happen or did you improve something this year where your are hitting it better, scoring much better and shooting PB's???

My best rounds are approx 4 shots better than last year and its because of one thing.

In the past I could never hit the hybrid or 3-4 wood...Id always top it or hook it.

So this year I practiced my hybrid and 4 wood even more than my wedges and it has helped my game out tremendously....in the past I would always hit 5 iron for second shots on par 5's hence Id never reach in two...and on those par 5 's where there was no danger ahead Id try to hit a 4 wood invariably I'd top it cause I haven't used that club in months.

But now I am comfy hitting hybrid and 4 wood and its amazing how much easier the game is when I am either chipping from 10 yards off or if Im lucky actually on the green rather than laying up to 80-120 yards with 5 iron....other thing that has improved is I am driving the ball more consistently now and I never hit hooks anymore with current driver.
 
Getting into Shaft Up drastically changed my game. Getting new equipment and getting fit from Danny did wonders to my scores and my ball striking this year.
 
I play for me. I play for fun. I play what I want and when i want to play (wife not-considered lol).

Adapting to the reality that good comes with bad, and it's all about what I represent while I am playing that defines me.
 
OhioGolfer said:
Getting into Shaft Up drastically changed my game. Getting new equipment and getting fit from Danny did wonders to my scores and my ball striking this year.
Click to expand...

what is shaft up?...I have never been fitted for irons in my life...actually makes a difference?...I have been fit for a driver before and they put me into the exact same shaft I was already using lol.
 
mact3333 said:
what is shaft up?...I have never been fitted for irons in my life...actually makes a difference?...I have been fit for a driver before and they put me into the exact same shaft I was already using lol.
Click to expand...

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/showthread.php?93497-Contest-and-Live-Update-THP-Shaft-Up-1

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/showthread.php?95918-Contest-and-Live-Update-THP-Shaft-Up-2

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/...Live-Update-Thread-Shaft-Up-3-with-UST-Mamiya

The 3rd one is going on right now. I was lucky enough to win a trip to UST Mamiya and received Srixon 565 irons and Cleveland RTX-3 wedges all with recoil shafts and had the whole set fit to my swing. It was my first fitting that I have ever got and it did wonders for my game.
 
Switching to and sticking with the arm lock Kuchar putting method has been my big breakthrough this year. I wish I would have tried this method years ago. I now putt well nearly every round and have doubled the number of long and medium length putts I make. For the first time in 30 years I consider myself an above average putter for my index. With 3 of my last 4 rounds under par, my index should drop back to below a +1 on this next revision.
 
I didn't shoot a ton of good scores this year as I only have two rounds under 90 I think. But I played some tougher courses this year, so I am pretty happy and think I did play better this year even though my scores went up. It shows me that my scores at Painted didn't really travel well.
 
Lessons/practice and confidence


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Playing more competitive rounds. Being a part of a Regional Rivalry and The BudgetGolf Championship has given me a lot more confidence in my game, even when I don't have my "A" game.
 
I made it to a plus this year for the first time. I don't have any magic tricks but in the rounds that led up to me getting there I always had something working for me every single round. A couple examples, one round (one of my first this season) I was constantly missing greens (admittedly very small ones) at the course I was playing. To top it off the ball was ending up in the absolute worst spot (I was pin high but missing left or right and always to the short side). I had tap in pars the entire round. I would land the ball on the exact blade of grass I envisioned each time.

Another round (this is the only time I've ever done this), other than missing an 18 footer for birdie on one, I made every single putt from inside 20 feet the entire round. I should have added up the total distance after the round as I had about 7-8 fall from 12+ feet.

I've had something work lights out for me most of the season. The weird part is the catagories have rotated and it's rare for more than one aspect to be firing each round, but something has been saving my bacon all year. It's been good for the mental aspect of the game for me too. Smack one OB on one? Oh well, looks like my irons will be on fire today.
 
Recently realized, on the 8th tee and 6 over, that my left arm was breaking down and not staying straight during the take away. Two practice swings, adressed the tee shot and made the take away with the left arm straight and piped it. Kept the left and straight the rest of the round to 2 under for the remaining 11 holes for 4 over 76. I now make the practice swing and swings with a straight left arm with great results.
 
dropped about 8 strokes this year.

Consistent 150 game. I have played at the short 9 hole course about 100 times this year, and most of the holes are less than 150 to the green. Hitting greens more often, and getting up and down more often have lowered my scores by a ton.
 
Short game.
I know it's the first thing that comes up every time someone asks how to lower your scores. But for me, I couldn't get it to click until a few months ago. I have been practicing my short game for a long time. Trying to find consistency but just not improving.
I've gone from maybe getting up and down once or twice a round to consistently getting up and down around 50% of the time with a few rounds much better than that. I'm easily saving 5 strokes a round.
 
I worked hard on 100 yds and in. Now the best part of my game and has made a HUGE difference in scoring
 
4 words: TM Spider Tour putter
 
OITW said:
Lessons/practice and confidence


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

LESSONS! Too many times I think I can figure it out on my own.

And also, I’ve found a putter that has changed my game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
so a little quick and dirty analysis of year-over-year scoring.

1/1-10/12 i have played 23 rounds this year, vs 27 rounds over the same date range in 2016.

over this same period, my average score for 2017 is 77.6 vs 81.6 in 2016. removing the highest and lowest scores from each data set, the averages are 79.8 for 2017 and 81.7 for 2016.

i won't play another round before the 10/15 revision, so comparing 10/15 handicaps i was 6.0 in 2016 and will be 5.7 in 2017. a slight improvement, but nothing spectacular.

so i've shaved about 2-4 strokes per round. we'll see if that holds up now that i've lost the ability to hit driver, but assuming it does i would equate it to a somewhat more forgiving iron and dramatically improved putting. i have not made any swing changes or taken any lessons this year. my improvements have been 100% equipment based.

i'm hoping to shave a few more strokes off with more consistent driving and more greens in regulation when i get my properly fitted titleist irons from the event at the end of the month. i also think i can save a few strokes by improving my chipping, pitching and sand play.
 
Honestly the past two years getting in to THP events have me the motivation to improve. It gave me reason to get out and practice more and really work on my game. Looking at both years my handicap dropped leading up to the event and after it rose slightly.

The biggest improvement though is my short game. It's saved me sooooo many strokes this year. I've had some of the worst ball striking days where I hit hardly any greens yet shot my lowest scores of the year because my short game saved me.
 
Wasn't my best year of scoring. It took me about 4 months to come back from a back injury I had in late April of this year. But, I'm just now beginning to shoot the level of golf I was a year ago. This year, because of my back, I am only playing one round a week, whereas last year I was playing 2 rounds a week. The thing that helped my scoring last year was the fact that I played more golf, and more golf translates into more practice, and more time spent on golf allows you to be able to score better.
 
Mental game. It finally cracked and I started to absorb the information. Many aspect of the game seems to click when the mental side gets stronger. I don’t work the round anymore more I just play. My ability to forget bad shots increase multiple folds from last year in contrast my ability to attach strong feeling to good shots increase as well. So when I’m on the course I can recall good shots and execute without fear or worry about miss hitting them. That’s more than half the battle there.
 
Mine was lessons. I did a 2 day golf school with Butch Harmon and the next week shot 76 then a 9 hole 39. I got busy with work, met the women who would become my wife and haven't broken 80 since, with a long while where I struggled to break 90.

I have made much slower gradual process this year, but I am hoping that the changes in my game will stick this time.
 
Not sure.....still waiting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Lessons, reading, practicing a lot on driving range and chipping/putting green and finally golfing. Golfing 3 times a year. hitting the driving range 5 times a year for the past 15 years just was not cutting it.

Now that the kids are off to school and out of the house and I am no longer single dad/mom I can actually get back to work on the game.

It has been improving
 
Getting awesome new equipment at The Grandaddy, especially the Epic and the O Works which have been amazing for me. Picking up a bit of swing speed and thus distance from overspeed training. Attacking more pins than I used to due to more confidence and thus making more birdies.
 
A couple of things mainly being able to actually hit Driver. The Launcher HB driver that I got at the Shootout was a game changer. I am now hitting driver consistently 220-245 carry as opposed to hitting a iron off the tee. Also the work I put into the Jim Venetos swing really helped my swing path once I went back to conventional golf swing.

My HB driver is a 12* and I think I am going to try a 10.5 to see if I can get more rollout. I got some pretty good roll last week teeing the ball down a bit and hit a 270 and a 280 yd drive. I also broke 90 for the first time....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top