Birdie mentality.

blugold · Mar 22, 2015

NullNomad said:
On in reg about 50%-60% of the time and 3 put maybe 2-3 times a round. When I do blow up a hole though, I make a nuke look like a firecracker :act-up:

You're hitting 50%-60% of the greens in regulation? Start thinking birdie. work on your putting.

rollin · Mar 22, 2015

NullNomad said:
On in reg about 50%-60% of the time and 3 put maybe 2-3 times a round. When I do blow up a hole though, I make a nuke look like a firecracker :act-up:

blugold said:
You're hitting 50%-60% of the greens in regulation? Start thinking birdie. work on your putting.

something sounds off to me. 10 or 11 greens per round and 3 putting maybe 2 or 3 times.
That's not "terrible" putting at all. Unless he was referring to the 3 putts as his best putts and most others are more than 3?
If most the 15ish others are 2 putts than that's not terrible putting imo and there should be a one-putt for a bird in there now and then.

blugold · Mar 22, 2015

rollin said:
something sounds off to me. 10 or 11 greens per round and 3 putting maybe 2 or 3 times.
That's not "terrible" putting at all. Unless he was referring to the 3 putts as his best putts and most others are more than 3?
If most the 15ish others are 2 putts than that's not terrible putting imo and there should be a one-putt for a bird in there now and then.

That's the difference between accepting two putts as being good and recognizing missed opportunities to score.

Tadashi70 · Mar 22, 2015

NullNomad said:
On in reg about 50%-60% of the time and 3 put maybe 2-3 times a round. When I do blow up a hole though, I make a nuke look like a firecracker :act-up:

So is your method working. Not for nothing you're inky 2 putting about 25% of the time on average. Maybe, just maybe a differnt approach could be pondered. Just saying with peace and love

Tadashi70 · Mar 22, 2015

I had 4 birdies in my first 7 holes yesterday. I made one from a foot, a 29' slider, a 12' slider '15 up hill. My speed and reads were responsible for 3 of the birds. It nothing to do with mentality, I road a hot putter for a great deal of holes.

Otis32 · Mar 22, 2015

I don't start to think birdie until I get a putt that is within the range of reasonable. Outside of that I just think hit a good shot & hit a shot that is within my capability.

Mental approach and thinking birdie matters IMO when it comes to closing the deal with the putter. I have definitely hit more 6 - 20 foot putts for par in the last couple of years than I have for birdie. Going to work much harder this year on making sure each birdie putt has a chance and learn to accept the come backers for par.

Got to think that playing appropriate tees would help anyone get more "comfortable" with the idea of making birdies. To get a decent number of putting opportunities within reasonable range a player needs to have some chance to reach a couple of par 5's a round or be able to hit some wedges into the shorter par 4's.

gizmo3putt · Mar 22, 2015

Don't have a birdie this season YET! I do have 1 eagle already though. But my thoughts on getting birdies is quite simple. I aim for the center of the green and hopefully I get a reasonable attempt at a birdie. More often than not I either lip out or I am well inside a 'gimmie' distance (which I still putt). It's all about getting the opportunity for me while I feebly work on my putting skills (or lack there of). As a bogey (+) golfer getting a par to offset the double is a good thing, getting a birdie is gravy.

ArmyGolf · Mar 22, 2015

I think that being too happy with par will cause a ton of birdie misses for sure.
I'm trying to get out of this mentality and I know I can. Its amazing sometimes the putts that I can make when I talk myself into it Just don't leave Birdie putts short.

jim54 · Mar 22, 2015

With solid iron play today, I made 3 birdies and had looks at 3 more from inside 12 ft. So it came down to as Freddie stated making good reads, which were all fairly close and past the hole but still off. Got to get on the green to have a chance.

rollin · Mar 22, 2015

blugold said:
That's the difference between accepting two putts as being good and recognizing missed opportunities to score.

My point was perhaps misunderstood. Not really anything to do with happily accepting the par vs trying for the bird. But was just to emphasize that if he is 3 putting twice per round at worst than he shouldn't be all that bad at putting and a bunch of those 16 holes that he is two putting should offer plenty of 1-putt opportunities. Simply by default of sheer numbers a couple should drop in now and then. Even if one has a lot of lag putts and has the goal of getting it close he is sure to drop one here and there just due to law of averages. And I doubt that he is lag putting on "all" the holes. He must be within good 1-put distance sometimes, again just by default.
If he were that poor at putting there would be many more 3putts than two or three at most. Just kind of strange if hitting that many greens and not being "the worst putter" there should be just enough birds mixed in there. No? Unless as I said, perhaps the 3 putts is what he was referring to as his better putted holes and most are 4 putts. That then would imo be considered very poor putting. But 3putting twice per round as being the worst of it? there should imo then be a bird falling once in a while.

My mentality is to play to par at the start of every hole and the birdie opps will come when shots are executed. When they do its most always (with some exception) in the form of a 1-putt. Once in that position I sure do try. I don't just say "ahh forget it" but I'm not going to hang myself if I end up with par.

There is a difference imo for playing for par and then taking the birdie opportunities when they come and trying to make them vs playing for birdie from the start. How many of us and other people in general are good enough to play for birdie? Heck, we cant even make enough pars. The average person starts playing with the goal of bird and handicaps imo will be sky high.

Jackal · Mar 22, 2015

About 15 years ago, I had a hard core golfer give me what I consider good advice. I was playing a lot more then, too.

He noticed a lot of my putts would go up and look in the hole while hanging on the lip of the cup.

He told me to putt 1ft farther past the hole. That way it would go in, and if it didn't, there was only a 1 foot putt coming back to the hole.

He would usually shoot around a 76 on these small courses, and always said "When a birdie shows up, try to take it. Don't just hope for it".
That summer I played the best golf ever. Putting was better. Usually during a round I would make 2 birdies in 18 holes.

Still my best score ever was an 83 on a small course.

I had forgotten about all of that, until this thread came along.

That's my strategy now.

Jack

-CRW- · Mar 22, 2015

I think there is an element of luck to getting birdies as well. You have to get yourself in good positions with your golf skill and athletic ability, and you have to have the mental game to stay focused and read the hole/green/pin position to put yourself in the position to have a chance at birdie.

After that, sometimes a little luck comes in to play. You make a long chip or putt where you want and it goes in, but a hair off either way left or right and you wouldn't get it.

rollin · Mar 22, 2015

Tadashi70 said:
Making birdies is a product of solid iron play, good reads, great pace and solid grip pressure. Mentality has nothing to do with, you can't will the ball into the hole.

No you cant will the ball, but mentality in the form of confidence sure can go a long way so long as its not an over confidence or cockiness.

Tadashi70 · Mar 22, 2015

You still have to have the skills and not just get lucky. If you make one birdie every three rounds then I dont care how confident you are, your aren't going to all of sudden start rolling in birds from all over. If the skill level is there, then yes confidence will carry you through some great putts.

rollin said:
No you cant will the ball, but mentality in the form of confidence sure can go a long way so long as its not an over confidence or cockiness.

rollin · Mar 22, 2015

Tadashi70 said:
You still have to have the skills and not just get lucky. If you make one birdie every three rounds then I dont care how confident you are, your aren't going to all of sudden start rolling in birds from all over. If the skill level is there, then yes confidence will carry you through some great putts.

agree, luck and chance will account for a bird here and there but one must have skill.

NullNomad · Mar 23, 2015

rollin said:
something sounds off to me. 10 or 11 greens per round and 3 putting maybe 2 or 3 times.
That's not "terrible" putting at all. Unless he was referring to the 3 putts as his best putts and most others are more than 3?
If most the 15ish others are 2 putts than that's not terrible putting imo and there should be a one-putt for a bird in there now and then.

My biggest issue that kills my game are blow up holes. When things go wrong for me they go way wrong. I had 3 triple bogies yesterday due to VERY poor bunker play. My biggest weakness is being in the sand. I was on a low-mid 80 pace until I kicked my own ass. Back on the subject of putting, I should have been more clear and said 3+ put 2-3 times per round with emphasis on the plus. Also my 50%-60% are on my best of days. From day to day it can be as low as 40 as high as 60. Combine this well as blow ups per round... this is why I find myself stuck in the 85-95 range pretty much every time I play.

Tadashi70 said:
So is your method working. Not for nothing you're inky 2 putting about 25% of the time on average. Maybe, just maybe a differnt approach could be pondered. Just saying with peace and love

I like constructive criticism, so you can be more direct if you like

To answer you question, I feel as though it is working, for me.... for now. That is what is great about this game, there is so much to focus on, you will gain ground in one skill and lose a bit in another. I was a competitive bowler for years. I quit because the competition killed the love of the game for me. With golf, I am only competing against myself and I find myself enjoying the grind. That being said, my grind right now is to focus on putting. Building my game backwards from the green to the tee. Every time I go out it is with intentions of keeping my putting under control, manage my miss hits (view them as a chance to recover, not get discouraged), and to accept that I can't be perfect.

Thedoswells · Mar 23, 2015

Biggest issue is putting. At the weekend I had 6 putts that I estimate were between 4 and 6 feet. Ok, only 2 were for birdies, but I didn't make any of them. I just don't believe I can do it..

Mulligan9111 · Mar 23, 2015

rollin said:
I don't play to birdie, I play one shot at a time and if I make them the birdie opportunities will be there and they often are. Every time I hit a GIR I just about have a chance at one. Every time I'm close in and chipping in there is a chance. Sure I do get a birdie here and there (not very many) but if I can get my cap down and be consistent I wouldn't care if I had no birdies.

I start every hole thinking what is the best way to manage it (within myself) to give myself a solid chance for par and chose my tee club accordingly and than deal with the results of that shot when I get to it. Than I move to the next shot one at a time only to take a big chance when the a risk is at a minimum. If I execute my shots one at a time from the tee and inward than I have a great chance at par without taking big risks and of course along with those great par chances then follows the birdie opportunities.

I really feel as mid/high cappers one will get plenty birdie opportunities by simply managing a good game one shot at a time towards par. Of course any shot still has to be executed. But I generally assume for "most" people its about getting better and more consistent at golf. My cap is currently 16.2 and I would trade every birdie I ever made to able to say my cap was even a 12. But if it where a 12 (vs my 16.2) that would mean I would be executing more shots over all and that of course would mean even more birdie opportunities.

So I'll just stay with the logic of managing for par and let the birds fall where/when they may and they will

In my opinion there is a big difference between managing par and trying to make birdies. I'm not saying one way of playing is better than the other because that will depend on the player. Now every hole isn't going to be a birdie hole, and you have to play smart. However if you stand on every tee box and think "I just want to try and make par", I don't think you will get very many good birdie looks. And by good birdie looks I'm talking about 6-10 ft looks, not 25-30 ft looks.

That's the great thing about golf though, there are so many ways to play it.

rollin · Mar 23, 2015

Mulligan9111 said:
In my opinion there is a big difference between managing par and trying to make birdies. I'm not saying one way of playing is better than the other because that will depend on the player. Now every hole isn't going to be a birdie hole, and you have to play smart. However if you stand on every tee box and think "I just want to try and make par", I don't think you will get very many good birdie looks. And by good birdie looks I'm talking about 6-10 ft looks, not 25-30 ft looks.

That's the great thing about golf though, there are so many ways to play it.

Well Mulli, there are different ways to view this.
What I mean by managing for par is to just go up to the tee and think what is my best chance (club choice wise) to get to position A and then onto the green. Position "A" imo is a combo of a desirable and practical landing spot which also allows for a makeable approach shot. Now, assuming I make the first shot and do end up with the respectable approach shot that I can make, and of course now I have to make that one. But pin hunting is at times practical and possible and at other times not practical. If I execute that shot well than there is an opportunity for bird which I of course will try for. If that approach is off the green I will be faced with any scenario possible and if that scenario offers a good chance to chip/pitch it close I will. The point is that the good looks at bird will come plenty enough times and to be honest when I am playing well enough they do indeed come plenty. I am not purposely avoiding birdy opps at all, its just that if and when I am playing well they will be there more than enough of the times and then I of course try.

Mulligan9111 · Mar 23, 2015

rollin said:
Well Mulli, there are different ways to view this.
What I mean by managing for par is to just go up to the tee and think what is my best chance (club choice wise) to get to position A and then onto the green. Position "A" imo is a combo of a desirable and practical landing spot which also allows for a makeable approach shot. Now, assuming I make the first shot and do end up with the respectable approach shot that I can make, and of course now I have to make that one. But pin hunting is at times practical and possible and at other times not practical. If I execute that shot well than there is an opportunity for bird which I of course will try for. If that approach is off the green I will be faced with any scenario possible and if that scenario offers a good chance to chip/pitch it close I will. The point is that the good looks at bird will come plenty enough times and to be honest when I am playing well enough they do indeed come plenty. I am not purposely avoiding birdy opps at all, its just that if and when I am playing well they will be there more than enough of the times and then I of course try.

I guess we have different thoughts on what managing par is. What you are describing is just course management in my mind, not managing par.

It's all good, we all think about golf differently.

Hawk · Mar 23, 2015

Big difference between defensive and offensive golf, both in how tension free your swing is and how you manage the course.

rollin · Mar 23, 2015

I want to add to my last post and there is something here in this thread that is (THP wise) surprising to me. Something that is contradicting to me. Here is what I mean.
Since I have been part of this community there is one thing (of many) that I have learned. I've learned it through advice and through listening to all the forum threads I have read since being here. It imo is a valuable piece of logic that has always been mentioned from time to time and in many threads for many different reasons as it pertained to many topics.

That piece of advice , or logic, or education is the term "MAKE GOOD CHOICES" and with exception from a small percentage of you is what is usually preached.

Whenever (most always) it is discussed how one can get their cap down, improve at golf over all, stop the blow-ups, etc, etc,... The "make good choices" advice has been one the most important, informative and useful tools I have taken from this community. Part of this advice has been about managing ones game, keeping it humble, avoid unnecessary chances, taking your medicine, play smart, don't make things worse by forcing it, one stroke at a time, play things safe when the risk is too high, play to your strengths (higher percentages) not weaknesses, when to pin hunt or not, etc etc.... and many more.

Now we have a topic here where many are chiming with the logic and advice of playing for bird. Most players are not low cap players and it is very contradicting imo that many are chiming in that we must play the game with a birdie mentality. Goes against one of the biggest pieces of advice or education I have taken from this forum through the years. If mid and high cap players think birdie at the start of every hole it imo is sure to backfire, result in bad choices and decisions, cause blowups, higher scores, etc etc.... so the whole thing is very contradicting to me.

This is why I emphasize - if one executes good shots, the birdie opps will come more than enough times. One can play smart, play within themselves, make good choices, take the advise that this forum has so many times repeated about "good decisions and choices" and as long as they execute their shots the birdies on plenty of occasions will be there for them to try. In the mean time they are playing (or at least trying to play) better over all golf.

rollin · Mar 23, 2015

Mulligan9111 said:
I guess we have different thoughts on what managing par is. What you are describing is just course management in my mind, not managing par.

It's all good, we all think about golf differently.

that's really what I mean. Just (for me) manage the game one shot at a time. Do that, make the shots and all else will be just fine.

Too bad it doesn't always go that well that easily lol

Mulligan9111 · Mar 23, 2015

w.a.hacker said:
Do you fellas think the ability to score birdies is more down to mental strength/attitude than physical ability?

rollin said:
I want to add to my last post and there is something here in this thread that is (THP wise) surprising to me. Something that is contradicting to me. Here is what I mean.
Since I have been part of this community there is one thing (of many) that I have learned. I've learned it through advice and through listening to all the forum threads I have read since being here. It imo is a valuable piece of logic that has always been mentioned from time to time and in many threads for many different reasons as it pertained to many topics.

That piece of advice , or logic, or education is the term "MAKE GOOD CHOICES" and with exception from a small percentage of you is what is usually preached.

Whenever (most always) it is discussed how one can get their cap down, improve at golf over all, stop the blow-ups, etc, etc,... The "make good choices" advice has been one the most important, informative and useful tools I have taken from this community. Part of this advice has been about managing ones game, keeping it humble, avoid unnecessary chances, taking your medicine, play smart, don't make things worse by forcing it, one stroke at a time, play things safe when the risk is too high, play to your strengths (higher percentages) not weaknesses, when to pin hunt or not, etc etc.... and many more.

Now we have a topic here where many are chiming with the logic and advice of playing for bird. Most players are not low cap players and it is very contradicting imo that many are chiming in that we must play the game with a birdie mentality. Goes against one of the biggest pieces of advice or education I have taken from this forum through the years. If mid and high cap players think birdie at the start of every hole it imo is sure to backfire, result in bad choices and decisions, cause blowups, higher scores, etc etc.... so the whole thing is very contradicting to me.

This is why I emphasize - if one executes good shots, the birdie opps will come more than enough times. One can play smart, play within themselves, make good choices, take the advise that this forum has so many times repeated about "good decisions and choices" and as long as they execute their shots the birdies on plenty of occasions will be there for them to try. In the mean time they are playing (or at least trying to play) better over all golf.

I don't think anybody is saying that you MUST play with a birdie mentality. The original post (which I quoted above) asked whether the ability to make more birdies came down to physical or mental. It's my opinion that if you want to make a lot of birdies (ability to make birdies) you have to have the physical ability to do it, as well as the mentality that you must take some chances. You can't always play it safe when you are trying to make birdies. I'm not telling anybody they have to play this way, it's just my opinion of how a golfer needs to play to make a lot of birdies.

Another thing, you don't need to make a bunch of birdies to lower your handicap. So everything that has been mentioned before about the best ways to lower your handicap still ring true. This topic however isn't about lowering your handicap, it's about making birdies.

rollin · Mar 23, 2015

Mulligan9111 said:
I don't think anybody is saying that you MUST play with a birdie mentality. The original post (which I quoted above) asked whether the ability to make more birdies came down to physical or mental. It's my opinion that if you want to make a lot of birdies (ability to make birdies) you have to have the physical ability to do it, as well as the mentality that you must take some chances. You can't always play it safe when you are trying to make birdies. I'm not telling anybody they have to play this way, it's just my opinion of how a golfer needs to play to make a lot of birdies.

Another thing, you don't need to make a bunch of birdies to lower your handicap. So everything that has been mentioned before about the best ways to lower your handicap still ring true. This topic however isn't about lowering your handicap, it's about making birdies.

good response, and understood