How did you make breakthroughs?

[royemunson]

I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day who is at the point where he's ready to break 90.

We were kind of discussing some of the elements a lot of which had to do with just some mental barriers of reaching that point.

I'm curious to find out what elements helped any of you break those barriers whether it be a score, a consistency, etc...?

I know for me when I broke 80 for the first time it had a lot to do with just a few little things here or there or not breaking down at the wrong time.

Joe

[DJDuran]

biggest breakthrough:

picturing freddy couples swing when i have driver in hand.

i used to have a really bad tendency to slice the ball and/or power fade it.

the way freddy takes his backswing and then drops his shoulder to create the inside to outside swing path really helped me and it was my breakthrough moment, gave me a draw shot shape. then lessons fixed the short game.

[ks8829]

having a consistent putter and short game will keep your score low even when your not hitting it well.

[Smiffy]

Course management......
The realisation that I wasn't Seve and couldn't hit a 3 wood out of heavy rough and hit a green 230 yards away whilst carrying a lake at the same time.
Course management, together with a good chipping action (practice, practice, practice) will get you down quicker than anything else.

Oh and being a reasonable putter helps.

[andyh]

I started to break 80, once I found a way to play a reliable ball flight. If you can find a way to "know" what your shot is going to do, it eliminates most of your big scores. i.e you can choose which side of the fairway or green to aim at knowing it will draw or fade back into the middle.

Then with a solid chipping game and lots of putting practice, regularly breaking 80 is very reachable. You don't have to be a world class putter but someone who can get the long putts (20-40 footers) close and don't miss too many short ones, (3 and 4 footers).

Now I am trying to figure out how to break 70? Any ideas on that one?

[Smiffy]

Tiger Woods 10 on the 360

[simland]

Here's how I see it go and this is how I see it for myself. The following are 18 hole scores.

120: Just picked up clubs

100: Understand the game. Putt decently enough (So you think.) Everything up to the green is spray and pray.

90: Have decreased the inconsistency in your long game. Putting and Chipping is now better.

(This is where I am) 85: Learned your swing sucked. Took video or a lesson. Now don't have to worry too much about the Tee and placing it near/in the fairway. Putting, Pitching and Chipping are all skills you're familiar with.

80: Further inconsistency removed from the swing. Practice Practice Practice. Hazard play has become reliable.

75: Consistency, Practice, Chipping, Hazard Play, Accuracy with Irons from any type of grass.

Scratch: More of the same, better course management.

70 and Beyond: Ability to take risks and win. Longer drives to get to scoring clubs faster. PUTTING!

That's how I see it. It will likely be a different path for everyone. Like for me 3 months ago when I started I would say my stats were:

Score: 105
Driving - 2/10
Irons - 2/10
Wedges - 3/10
Chipping - 3/10
Putting - 5/10

After retooling my entire swing 2 weeks ago
Score: 88
Driving - 7/10
Irons - 6/10
Pitching - 6/10
Chipping - 5/10
Putting - 7/10

[cody west]

Here's how I see it go and this is how I see it for myself. The following are 18 hole scores.

breaking 80- stop losing balls, hit more greens and get up and down 50% of the time. dont miss gimmes

breaking 75- dont ever lose balls make birdies fairly often, dont miss putts inside 5 feet. leave youself inside 30 feet from everypin breaking par-make more birdies than bogies, know when to attack the pins and when to go for the fat par of the green. at this point of the game its all mental, think good thaughts. know when to play for birdie and know when do kick it into the next gear breaking 70-dont miss putts inside 10 feet make alot of birdies, hit between 14-16 greens, get up and down

[kpaulhus]

biggest breakthrough:

+100000 I just started droping that shoulder vs the baseball swing. Really helping me stay straight off the tee box

[royemunson]

Great posts. I like the one on Fred Couples. I used to try and mimick his swing as well. I love how he hesitates at the top. I always thought he hid a fade though??

For me I remember just getting into a mental groove which helped me get off the tee well then hit solid second shots. Plus when i hit a bad shot to manage my shots and play solid instead of gambling.

Then just focusing on my short game and putting to ensure no 3 putts. Using the techniques I learned to get the ball to/near the whole to make sure I at least leave with a par and yes hitting one putts/getting up and down.

Haven't broken 70 yet - that will take some birdies.

Joe

[I <3 Titleist]

having a consistent putter and short game will keep your score low even when your not hitting it well.

this is true. I still wouldn't call myself a consistent driver of the golf ball, but my breakthrough came with a little left wrist tweak and a swinging outside to in.

I shot an 83 the other day (and for the better part of the year I was in the mid 90's) The wrist adjustment, as well as playing the ball a little back in my stance has really helped me strike the ball better.

[Dub]

My most recent breakthroughs came by:

_extending my thumb a slight bit further down the shaft

_setting up with right shoulder slightly lower

_reduce backswing length

_smooth tempo


_occasionally, I'll even excercise improved course mangagement instead of going balls out

[I <3 Titleist]

Another major breakthrough I've come to face in my golf game right now, is controlling myself mentally when I have a bad hole.

If I played a round of golf right now without dunking an easy 8 iron into the green into the water on my 2nd shot (my scoring irons are practically automatic), or duffing my 1st bunker shot, but putting my 2nd shot a foot from the hole, I'd probably be shooting low 80's every time I went out.

However, forgetting about those terrible holes is the only way I can play good golf. I've yet to figure out how to do that and just not care about them. So basically, I look at it like this. If I don't *have* any big problems on the course one day, I'll shoot low 80's. If I have a triple bogey, even one of them, I'll end up shooting mid 90's. Pretty sad.

[scarsaint]

I looked at it this way when i was trying to break 90. Pretty simple just five a hole dont worry about par or anythiing else just five a hole that is 90 realize that getting a bogey isn't the end of the world acually for someone try to break 90 thats a good score to break 80 it was just trying to get more pars than bogey's and not getting too upset with bad shots. bad shots you can recover from one bad one and one great one can still make par. Thats what worked for me maybe it can help you

[sethro5hc]

learning to use a lob wedge around the green and how to get out of the sand the right way were my first break throughs. My recent one was adding a line to a ball and ALWAYS marking my ball on the green, then lining the line on the ball up with where I was aimed when I set it down. I mean meticulously doing so, not just kinda in the direction, exactly well placed and precisely set there. Then, when you're over the ball you just line up the line of your putter with the line on the ball and you have one less thing to worry about because you know you're aimed correctly. Thinking about a smooth stroke and how hard to hit it ONLY as opposed to both of those AND if I am aimed right save(s) me probably 5-6 strokes per 18, maybe more.