So close to breaking 80 but just can't

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by Roblar

Ha.

My last two rounds out, I would have broken 80 with a bogey on 18.

...Shot snowmen both times...     (trees-->water the first time, OB--->water the second time --- bleccchhh)

Ouch.  What was it that made you build a snowman?   Did you buckle under pressure, got tired at the end, or is the hole exceptionally hard?

[Roblar]

Originally Posted by rkim291968

Ouch.  What was it that made you build a snowman?   Did you buckle under pressure, got tired at the end, or is the hole exceptionally hard?

The hole is easy for someone who can hit the ball even relatively straight - I just choke.

Here is the long version.

420 yard par-4. OB down the left for about 290 yds - trees on the right from about 200 to 280 yards out. But get this, the landing area has to be about 60 yards wide -- plenty big.

First shot: just hit the fairway - a 240-250 yard drive (about what I hit) leaves you with only 170-180 for a second shot.

For the second shot, the fairway pinches in for final 50 yards of the hole - maybe 20 yards wide at the narrowest -- for 10-15 yards or so.  There is a pond (40 yards long) on the right side that ends 10 yards from the green. There's also a small bunker just past the pond - just before the green - on the right side.  On the left there is a 20 yard-long grove of trees/bushes/poison ivy that ends about 15 yards from the green.

The green is three tiered, about 5 feet from highest tier to lowest.  Left side is middle tier, center is highest, right is lowest.  Some good slope from the center to the right side. Fun putts sometimes!

Anyway, it should be an easy hole, right?

Just hit the fairway, and then you've got to hit a shot that carries 155-60 in the air. (That would get it over the water (right) or trees (left). Hit the green or get up and down for a par. Or a bogey at worst.  Right?

I'm a slicer, so I often aim down the left edge of a fairway and hope to fade it back to the middle. Typically, I slice it though.  But on this hole, I usually chicken out about aiming down the OB line, and then slice into the trees. When I do aim down the left side, I seem to have a talent for hitting it where I'm aiming it.  ...I end up OB as often as not in those cases. If I hit a decent tee shot, I usually do fine on the hole.

My first snowman was: Sliced into trees.  Second shot one foot short of clearing the tree in front of me. Bounces to the base of another tree. Third shot ends up in water. Penalty. Fifth shot over the green. Sixth chipped on. Two putt. 8.

My second was: First shot OB. Penalty. Third to the fairway.  Fourth shot in the water. Penalty. Sixth shot over the green. Chip on. One-putt. 8.

[Roblar]

Oh. And I bogeyed the hole for an 80 on Monday.

At least it was an improvement over the previous two rounds.

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by Roblar

Oh. And I bogeyed the hole for an 80 on Monday.

At least it was an improvement over the previous two rounds.

LOL.  Yeah, choke happens sometimes.  Well, actually, more often than we care for.   On a bright side, bogey for an 80 is indeed a 400% improvement (someone please check my math).

[Roblar]

Quote:

LOL.  Yeah, choke happens sometimes.  Well, actually, more often than we care for.   On a bright side, bogey for an 80 is indeed a 400% improvement (someone please check my math).

Who cares about the math -- bogey is better.  ...But I really should be able to par that hole as often as not.  Oh well.

On another note: your profile says Bay Area - which part?  I spend a week or so in Oakland twice a year.  Love to play the hilly courses since everything is pretty flat here.

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by Roblar

Quote:

Who cares about the math -- bogey is better.  ...But I really should be able to par that hole as often as not.  Oh well.

On another note: your profile says Bay Area - which part?  I spend a week or so in Oakland twice a year.  Love to play the hilly courses since everything is pretty flat here.

I am in Union City and my home course is Sunol Valley GC.   One of their two course is hilly.   Lake Chabot is another hilly course and there are many more hilly ones around here.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

I feel the need to contribute to this thread, as breaking 80 has been a goal of mine this year since I started keeping a handicap and playing more. I thought it would happen this summer. I've been playing my best golf, and my index dropped from 16 to a low of 10.9. In that time, I have shot 80 on four separate occasions at four different golf courses. I can say for me, it has nothing to do with 'knowing' my score and feeling the pressure down the stretch. My shortcomings are usually in the putting department, with an occasional stray tee-shot forcing me to hit 3 off the tee. I can always go back to a stretch of holes near the middle of the round and find a handful of situations where I pissed away strokes. I'm usually in my best ball striking groove near the end of the round so rarely does number 18 result in a double bogey and cause me to shoot above 80. A big factor for me seems to be a lack of warm up pre-round. My best round this year was 43-37 on a difficult layout in Pawleys Island. Founders Club Golf Course. We arrived. We checked in. And went straight to the first tee. It took me at least 9 holes to warm up. On the front 9 alone I took 3 penalty strokes. Two of which went into water off the tee, and the 3rd which traveled OB over a service road forcing a stroke and distance from the tee. It was also my first time playing the track and I had zero course knowledge. It turned out being my lowest differential so far though, because of the difficulty. I feel as if I can keep my driver working and get my putter to heat up, I should break 80 here soon. I have a feeling that when I do, it won't just be 79. If I can get everything going, there's no reason I can't shoot 39-37 or something of the like. Best case scenario, I break 80 for the first time during the World Amateur Handicap Championship next week. I'm playing the course at Grove Park Inn at 2pm today. First time. Course looks tight (Donald Ross ~1905) but its not overly long and the conditions are soft. Maybe today is the day for a sub 80 round.

[butt3r3dt0ast]

Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf

I feel the need to contribute to this thread, as breaking 80 has been a goal of mine this year since I started keeping a handicap and playing more. I thought it would happen this summer. I've been playing my best golf, and my index dropped from 16 to a low of 10.9. In that time, I have shot 80 on four separate occasions at four different golf courses. I can say for me, it has nothing to do with 'knowing' my score and feeling the pressure down the stretch. My shortcomings are usually in the putting department, with an occasional stray tee-shot forcing me to hit 3 off the tee. I can always go back to a stretch of holes near the middle of the round and find a handful of situations where I pissed away strokes. I'm usually in my best ball striking groove near the end of the round so rarely does number 18 result in a double bogey and cause me to shoot above 80.

A big factor for me seems to be a lack of warm up pre-round. My best round this year was 43-37 on a difficult layout in Pawleys Island. Founders Club Golf Course. We arrived. We checked in. And went straight to the first tee. It took me at least 9 holes to warm up. On the front 9 alone I took 3 penalty strokes. Two of which went into water off the tee, and the 3rd which traveled OB over a service road forcing a stroke and distance from the tee. It was also my first time playing the track and I had zero course knowledge. It turned out being my lowest differential so far though, because of the difficulty.

I feel as if I can keep my driver working and get my putter to heat up, I should break 80 here soon. I have a feeling that when I do, it won't just be 79. If I can get everything going, there's no reason I can't shoot 39-37 or something of the like. Best case scenario, I break 80 for the first time during the World Amateur Handicap Championship next week.

I'm playing the course at Grove Park Inn at 2pm today. First time. Course looks tight (Donald Ross ~1905) but its not overly long and the conditions are soft. Maybe today is the day for a sub 80 round.

It's only a matter of time. Good luck!

[Steve Draper]

My best advice would be to shoot a bucket or two of balls on the range. You will know where your shots are going.

When you get out on the course, play just like you did on the range.

I even play a round on the range some days. (In my head)

I virtually never use my driver because of a shoulder injury and when I do, it only goes 175. If you can tee off with a 3 or 5 wood or even a 5 iron and hit the fairway (even 100 yards away), your first tee nerves would disappear.

Don`t worry about hitting it as far as you can, just worry about hitting the fairway. After that, you will have a good lie to hit your next shot from.

You will be the one who is waiting in the short grass for your friends to find their ball in the trees.

It`s a percentage game, not how far you can hit a ball.

That`s the easiest way to get closer to your `beating 80 score`.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf

I feel the need to contribute to this thread, as breaking 80 has been a goal of mine this year since I started keeping a handicap and playing more. I thought it would happen this summer. I've been playing my best golf, and my index dropped from 16 to a low of 10.9. In that time, I have shot 80 on four separate occasions at four different golf courses. I can say for me, it has nothing to do with 'knowing' my score and feeling the pressure down the stretch. My shortcomings are usually in the putting department, with an occasional stray tee-shot forcing me to hit 3 off the tee. I can always go back to a stretch of holes near the middle of the round and find a handful of situations where I pissed away strokes. I'm usually in my best ball striking groove near the end of the round so rarely does number 18 result in a double bogey and cause me to shoot above 80.

A big factor for me seems to be a lack of warm up pre-round. My best round this year was 43-37 on a difficult layout in Pawleys Island. Founders Club Golf Course. We arrived. We checked in. And went straight to the first tee. It took me at least 9 holes to warm up. On the front 9 alone I took 3 penalty strokes. Two of which went into water off the tee, and the 3rd which traveled OB over a service road forcing a stroke and distance from the tee. It was also my first time playing the track and I had zero course knowledge. It turned out being my lowest differential so far though, because of the difficulty.

I feel as if I can keep my driver working and get my putter to heat up, I should break 80 here soon. I have a feeling that when I do, it won't just be 79. If I can get everything going, there's no reason I can't shoot 39-37 or something of the like. Best case scenario, I break 80 for the first time during the World Amateur Handicap Championship next week.

I'm playing the course at Grove Park Inn at 2pm today. First time. Course looks tight (Donald Ross ~1905) but its not overly long and the conditions are soft. Maybe today is the day for a sub 80 round.

Nice. I played there about 5-6 years ago. Very fair track. Good luck.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

Grove Park Inn Golf Club. Nice. I played there about 5-6 years ago. Very fair track. Good luck.

I'm looking forward to it. I may be playing in some light rain, but hopefully it holds off. The course looks like its in great shape (from what I can see from here (spa)). I'll update my results in the 'What'd you shoot today" thread after the round.

[Roblar]

Quote:

I am in Union City and my home course is Sunol Valley GC.   One of their two course is hilly.   Lake Chabot is another hilly course and there are many more hilly ones around here.

Lake Chabot is the course I *always* play when I'm out there. Super hilly, and it has that par-6 ski-slope of a hole to close it out on the 18th. ...and it's only 20 min from where I stay (in-laws). LOVE it!

And to keep on-topic.  I've never broken 80 there. (In fact, I've only ever broken 80 on my super-easy, forgiving, home course -- the one that kills me on the 18th...)

[kregan]

Did it!

The highlight was the ninth hole par 5. OB is down the left side and I topped my 5w wood off the tee and OB.

Gathered my thoughts and teed up a second ball...perfect shot over the edge of the tree's (a dog leg left) into

the middle of the fairway.  With 215 left to the pin I hit 5 wood again to 6 feet from the pin... One put for par!

[David in FL]

Congratulations.....breaking 80 is a BIG deal! :dance:

[kregan]

Thanks Dave

[The Recreational Golfer]

You have the game to break 80, you just have to get your mind over the hump. Play from the reds a few times and shoot a few 77s. I'm not kidding. Put it your head that you have broken 80. Your subconscious mind doesn't know you played from the reds. That just might take the pressure off when you play from your usual set of tees again.