Trying to Break 100

I played like garbage yesterday and shot a 107. It was a shotgun start in a tournament and my first hole was a par 3. I stuck my tee shot but was 15 yards from the pin on the green. The greens were very mushy from a ton of recent rain and my ball was stuck in its pitch mark. I tried to repair it but when I made my putt the ball bounced up and out of the little speed bump and was well short. It took 2 more putts for a bogey/3 putt.

My driver has improved dramatically this year but I still hit occasional pushes as of two weeks ago. I went to a new coach and he strengthened my right hand grip and adjusted my stance from closed to neutral. I immediately started hooking everything but wanted to give it time. I got one practice session in before my round and was hooking everything. During my round the driver was great 11 out of 14 times for me with at least 50* FIRs. I did hook the driver once big time and on a dog leg right. My ball rested against the fence of a residence and I was forced to left hand chip the ball away from the fence to have room for a shot. It took me two attempts at that to get the ball where I had enough room to hit it. I was then lying 3 with 246 to the pin. I pulled the 3 wood and hit the ball pin high (an all time best for me with my 3 wood off the deck), but was 15 yards left of the pin and off the green. I pitched the ball on and two putted for a 7 (I had lots of 6's and 7's on my card.)

I played the regular tees (6069 yards). I had a ~330 yard downhill par 4 dog left left. I cut the corner with my driver and got a ton of roll ending up 20 yards from the pin. I proceeded to sort of shank my chip shot three times in a row around the green. I say sort of because I think I actually hit the toe area but thinned the shot as well sending the ball low and right (and long) each time. I finished the hole with a 7. I think the change in the grip effected what little touch/feel I have with my wedge shots and caused the problems. I went to the range today and couldn't recreate that mis-hit to save my life.

The worst aspect of my game for the day was my irons. I'm not getting along with my UST Recoils and hit them very high. I've gotten into a habit of swinging straight to a few degrees left with a closed face and can really create some super spinny hooks. If I hit my 5 iron straight it carries close to 200. I had a 185 yard shot from the fairway with wind in my face and attempted to hit an easy 5 iron. The shot felt flushed and started at the pin but began climbing and turning sharply left. I ended up pin high but roughly 40 yards left of the pin and in the only tree/bush area around that would eat golf balls. So I was forced to take a drop to hit a shot on the green. My pitch was mis-judged and short and I followed that up with another sideways chip. The hole resulted in another 7.

I had another 5 iron shot with the ball a foot below my feet that should have faded no matter what I did. It was roughly 170 with the wind sort of in my face but cutting across from left to right which should have made for an even bigger fade. I went with the 5 to make a really soft swing to keep the ball out of the wind. I aimed center of the green to be safe because there was water along the left of the green and the left side of the green and surrounding rough sloped down to the water. I took what I though was a smart, safe move and still hooked it. The ball landed on the side of the green that sloped into the water and rolled on it. I took my drop, pitched on, and two putted for a 6.

Overall I was disappointed and really expected to shoot low 90's. Today's range session was promising so maybe I will get the irons and chips back on track asap.

Here were the drives and results I made with my four 3H tee shots yesterday.
1. 184 yards, FIR
2. 223 yards, 5 yards left of fairway
3. 186 yards, FIR
4. 190 yards, 1 yard right of fairway

My average with my K15 driver is 205 yards with a long of 249. Now the 223 yard tee shot had some draw to it, and a whole lot of roll, so I think I can safely assume I'd be looking at roughly a 185-190 yard driving average with the 3H. I need to see what my distances are with the W/S Prototype 4i because I have a feeling they may be similar in distances, in which case I'll need to figure out which one is more accurate (thinking 4i because I haven't missed a fairway with it yet). I will say that for the most part, with the exception of the 223 yard tee shot which drew, the one that went right was an alignment issue and it was a straight shot.

On one hand it disgusts me to think I can hit a 3H almost as far as my driver, but on the other hand, since my CC isn't very long I should just stick with it and work on my iron game. I think with yesterdays results I will completely pull the driver (and possibly my 5W) from the bag for the rest of the year. Next lesson will be on iron striking, and at some point in 2016 I'll get back to working on the driver. I can say that the 3H swings were very controlled, maybe 75-80% of max, so if I can work on my swing speed I might be able to push it out a little bit further. I was going to switch the shaft out (have a Matrix Kujoh R-flex on the way) but I may just keep the status quo for now.

DonInKansas said:

I hit most of my clubs straight. Straight right. :bulgy-eyes: I'd have to hit putter off every tee to hit my most consistent shot.

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On the swing tips thread, that happened to me and I was advised to make sure my right knee stays flexed/bent in the backswing and downswing.

Assuming right handed golfer.


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Followed up my best round ever last week with a round this week that ended up "so bad, it's unscorable"

Duffed shots, lost balls, topped 3 woods, putts that were 5 feet past the hole.

Maybe last round of the season here, but what a crazy game.


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My last two 18 hole rounds ended at the halfway point. I could not hit anything without either slicing the crap out of it. Hitting any wood turned into a top. My irons and wedges were hit fat, not one but all. I could have kicked a ball to the hole and had a better chance. I am coming across the ball so hard that everything is a glancing blow and leaves a 45 degree fat divot pointing off to the left. I found out I can throw a PW farther than I can hit with it. Too much more of this and the clubs will not be making the ride home. Lost 6 balls in the last 3 holes and not one of them made it to the woods or water.

I've shot between 100-104 my last 5 rounds. After looking at my score cards, in 4 out of those 5 rounds, if I had converted every 3 putt to a 2 putt I would have scored between 89-92 in all of them.

Got eighteen in this past thursday, shot a 97 and managed to get my 1st ever birdie. Hoping to keep the scores going lower.

I only played 9 today due to a senior tournament that had the course moving S-L-O-W. I shot a 52. I was initially bummed about that, but then realized one blow up hole killed me. I took an OB on my second shot of a par 5, then bladed chips over the green twice. I ended up with a 10.

My tee game was pretty dang good today. I hit 4 of 7 fairways and two greens in regulation. I had one birdie, and ended with a par on a par 5.

My putting was pretty bad. I ended up with 20 putts. I had one three putt and one four putt. My only one putt came on the birdie.

I have been fiddling around with different clubs, swing, etc. It hasn't been too pretty of late with aborted rounds and clubs. Went out today and only did 9 because it was packed and I had to work later on. I was cruising along but did miss two two foot putts that had me fuming inside. I just missed another hole in one on #4 by an inch as it trickled by the hole for a 4 ft birdie putt which I made. Holes 7, 8, and 9 killed me with +4, +4, +2 to finish with a 50.

Been playing since April, and Im hitting 110-120 range currently. Finally making some progress, so hoping I can join the under 100 club within a few months. Very encouraging thread.

cml207 said:

Been playing since April, and Im hitting 110-120 range currently. Finally making some progress, so hoping I can join the under 100 club within a few months. Very encouraging thread.

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It will come quicker than you think! Keep it up

L


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cml207 said:

Been playing since April, and Im hitting 110-120 range currently. Finally making some progress, so hoping I can join the under 100 club within a few months. Very encouraging thread.

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If you have a practice green available anywhere around you, spend consistent time this winter practicing your putting and I bet you'll break 100 easy. It's simple to practice, just drop about 5 balls in a circle around a hole at 3 feet (the length of your putter) and try to make them. Keep doing that until you make most of them. Then go to 6 feet. Then practice from longer distances, trying to stop each ball within 3 feet. Move around the green and scatter the balls, you want to develop good feel in lag putting.

cml207 said:

Been playing since April, and Im hitting 110-120 range currently. Finally making some progress, so hoping I can join the under 100 club within a few months. Very encouraging thread.

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To add to what Dave just said I really have seen such a dramatic improvement in my golf this year after I started putting alot of time into practicing with my wedges and hitting them better. As I improved my contact with these clubs, those improvements in my swing then have filtered through the rest of my bag and my scores have come down rather quickly. I also spend alot of time just around the practice green chipping to ingrain the feel and touch of getting it close for short putts. This alone has helped me save par and cut alot of strokes.

Good luck on your game.

Yeah, definitely worked on things backwards. Worked on my driver and woods alot more than my Pw and putter, so my score is constantly getting ran up near/on the green. Just bought a putting green and chipping basket off of Amazon, so hopefully that will help knock a few strokes off.

Hey guys, been a while. Still consistently in the 100-105 range, but now the problem has been a plethora of 3-jacks. It did tame down some during the last round, but it is still costing me 5-10 strokes per round.

I'm checking in to this thread as a newbie. Only about five rounds under my belt, but have been practicing heavily on chipping and putting in the hopes of breaking 100 soon. Last couple of times out, I shot about 110 and most strokes lost were due to trying to get cute on chips with too much wrist action. Planning on trying to get out for 18 after work tomorrow and if I do, I hope I can translate the practice to the course.

Count me into this club!

I've just returned from playing my first ever round. It was only 9 holes and I shot a 60. It didn't help that holes 2 through 7 were played in torrential rain but I really really enjoyed it.

Will be waiting for the weather to improve before heading out again but I'll keep you posted.


:rain:

Good luck Rhys and welcome to the game.

Shot a 48 yesterday. Altitude 3i off the tee. Was left on one hole, right on one (aimed that way) and in the fairway for the rest of the time. Yeah, the experiment is working. Struggled a bit with my short game today, as a couple of ~50 yard shots saw me blade them over the green, and then the return shot was just short. Putted ok (17 putts total, include a 15 foot putt to save par on #6), and only had one "other". Weather is total crud right now and half the country club is closed due to extremely saturated soil. Not playing particularly well, but looking back on when I first started, I'm definitely improving. Not at any sort of pace I'd prefer, but these sorts of rounds last year would have been in the 50's, so ...

Really does make me committed to hitting the practice much harder in 2016 when I can get this schedule sorted out (and move closer to the club).

JB said:

Good luck Rhys and welcome to the game.

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Thank you very much mate.

I've been reading through the comments on this thread and others on the forum. I like the idea of only taking out minimum clubs as a beginner. Being a novice it can get a bit confusing with the inconsistency of shot distances as to what clubs to use on the course! What are people's thoughts on lightening the bag and taking less clubs out on a round (for beginners, obviously)? and what clubs would you suggest I take?

Welcome to the most supportive thread on the forum, Rhys & Ginger! I know there are other supportive threads, but we are like the Rudy Ruettiger's of the game, always hopeful and positive.

RhysInTheRough said:

Thank you very much mate.

I've been reading through the comments on this thread and others on the forum. I like the idea of only taking out minimum clubs as a beginner. Being a novice it can get a bit confusing with the inconsistency of shot distances as to what clubs to use on the course! What are people's thoughts on lightening the bag and taking less clubs out on a round (for beginners, obviously)? and what clubs would you suggest I take?

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I started out that way, got beat down around here for it (I was carrying only even-numbered irons which is too wide gapping for approaches), and eventually figured out a bag that works for me.

IMO it's better to leave out clubs at the top of your bag. If you're making inconsistent contact, you don't need a 3W, 5W, 3h, 4h, etc. because you won't see anything like consistent gapping with those harder-to-hit clubs. It's good to have all your approach irons, but you don't need all the long clubs or all the wedges.

I carry 11 clubs normally: Dr, 5W, 4h, 6i, 7i, 8i, 9i, PW, 52*, 56*, Pu. The reasoning behind that setup:
- Driver I need because I'm short off the tee
- 5W was the longest wood I could hit off the deck. A 3W didn't go any farther than a 5W and was harder to elevate consistently.
- Between the 5W and 6i I played with gapping and figured out a 4h fit right in the middle. It's my "not quite a 5W distance but still a long way" club, probably the least played club besides my SW when I'm avoiding bunkers.
- The 6i was the longest iron I could hit a consistent distance in testing. At this point I could probably hit a 5i no problem, I should go back and test, but that's why I stop at 6i now.
- The 52* wedge is never full swing, it's for chipping and pitching. The 56* wedge is for sand only--it has a high bounce.

If I were really minimizing clubs I was carrying, I'd probably ditch the driver and 5W and look for a better all-purpose wedge with a bounce and leading edge profile that work both in sand and very tight lies. I'd still keep the 4h for all tee and par 5 fairway duties, the 6i-PW for approach shots, and the putter. That would drop my club count to 8, and would probably be as low as I could reasonably go.

Something that helped me bring down my scores was to track my stats (FIR, GIR, putts, Up & downs). It will provide a nice feedback in regards to the good and bads of your game.

Yantropov said:

Something that helped me bring down my scores was to track my stats (FIR, GIR, putts, Up & downs). It will provide a nice feedback in regards to the good and bads of your game.

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this is tremendously helpful. do it - you'll be surprised where you need to work on your game.