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From 1 handicap to scratch or plus


JGolf210
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Read the book "Every Shot Counts" it takes shot link data from the pros and uses the principal of "strokes gained" and applies it to driving, approach shots, scrambling, ect.   This book literally blew my mind with what it discovered.   I assessed my weakness and dropped 3 stroked in a month by adjusting my focus of practice and course management.  Spoiler Alert:  Its not all about putting.....

I read "Every Shot Counts" as well.  I liked it, but felt it was a bit lacking in the practicality department.  That is great that you are losing strokes after reading it  I thought that "Lowest Score Wins" did much more as far as the application side of a lot of that knowledge and other aspects of the game and game planning go.  If you liked ESC then LSW I think is a must read.  LSW is pretty much what I was hoping ESC would be.

Nate

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well im not sure if im the one that should give advice since im a 9 handicap but if your losing some shots off the tee then id suggest try going easier on the driver.ive always said that if phil mickelson would ease off his driver instead of ripping it all the time then hed stay out of trouble.ive never understood why someone has to hit it 280-300 when he can ease off and hit it 240-260 and be straighter.to me I don't see whats difference between hitting a 7-8 iron into green compared to a pw since you can hit it so far and more than likely have a good short game anyways.you should be able to hit your 7-9 iron just as well as your pw anyways if your good.

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well im not sure if im the one that should give advice since im a 9 handicap but if your losing some shots off the tee then id suggest try going easier on the driver.ive always said that if phil mickelson would ease off his driver instead of ripping it all the time then hed stay out of trouble.ive never understood why someone has to hit it 280-300 when he can ease off and hit it 240-260 and be straighter.to me I don't see whats difference between hitting a 7-8 iron into green compared to a pw since you can hit it so far and more than likely have a good short game anyways.you should be able to hit your 7-9 iron just as well as your pw anyways if your good.

Phil Is a better than Tour average driver IIRC, and giving up 40 yards is HUGE!!!

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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well im not sure if im the one that should give advice since im a 9 handicap but if your losing some shots off the tee then id suggest try going easier on the driver.ive always said that if phil mickelson would ease off his driver instead of ripping it all the time then hed stay out of trouble.ive never understood why someone has to hit it 280-300 when he can ease off and hit it 240-260 and be straighter.to me I don't see whats difference between hitting a 7-8 iron into green compared to a pw since you can hit it so far and more than likely have a good short game anyways.you should be able to hit your 7-9 iron just as well as your pw anyways if your good.

Alright, I have an experiment for you. On your next round out, take every drive you hit and move it back two to three clubs before hitting your approach shot, but move it into the center of the fairway each time. I guarantee that you will shoot a higher score than if you hit the ball from the rough with a shot two to three clubs shorter. Having a shorter club into the green (such as a pitching wedge) versus a longer club into the green (such as your 7-iron), even with a better lie, makes a MASSIVE difference. If you don't believe me, go do that experiment I told you to do and you'll realize what I mean.

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Move back a set of tees or play harder rated courses. You won't be a better player, but your index will drop because your scoring average is unlikely to increase so much as to offset the higher rating and slope.

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

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Move back a set of tees or play harder rated courses.

You won't be a better player, but your index will drop because your scoring average is unlikely to increase so much as to offset the higher rating and slope.

I know my index is too low because the course I play is overrated for how difficult it really is. It's only a little over 7100 yards from the tips (with pretty forgiving rough) and the course plays to about 6900 yards if you can carry the ball 260 or more since you can cut a big chunk out of a couple holes (which is easier in Colorado than other places). The course is par 72 and rated at 72.5, which ends up biting me in the butt when I go to other courses and play with handicaps with others. I don't average two over par, but actually closer to four over with some good 2 or 3 over rounds that are used to calculate the handicap.

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I've been where you are... about 10 years ago I was floating around a 2-4 and really wanted to be scratch. I was having some medical issues and was having quite a bit of pain to play plus my girls were at the age where it was getting harder and harder to focus that much time to golf. I made myself a deal that if I could get to a scratch I'd actually quit playing and learn to play the guitar...I did it. Here are the steps I used... I went after the BEST instructor I could find...I was in the golf business and I can tell you 95% of the PGA professionals can't teach a 20 to become a 15, much less take a 1 or 2 to a scratch. I committed to working with 2 different instructors at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in McKinney. The top guy, Tim Cusick and another fella that I can't recall his name. Tim was $125 a lesson and the other guy was $75. When I was way off I went to the cheap guy and when I was felt good I went to Tim. I told myself I'd practice as much as I play.... 2 rounds of golf equalled 8 hours of practice. I did this for about a year....after that I then quit taking the lessons and told myself to "trust it"...it took about 8 months but the handicap card finally came in the mail with a 0 on it...yea I lost the damn thing in a move...I think I can get back to that level, even though I've only been back playing for 7 months after a 8-9 year layoff. Identify your big miss, and work to fix it....your short game must be dead on...and you need to be a good solid putter. Sounds crazy but I'd also suggest playing the same couple of courses for awhile. Playing different courses all the time will have a negative impact on getting to a scratch level...I suspect I lose 2-3 shots a round just because I don't know the course. It is about managing your misses...not really about hitting much better shots. When my game is where it should be it is a pretty boring game to watch...misses just never get me in trouble.

Looks like I found someone to play with

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I wasn't talking about me.im a 9 handicap.im talking about a lot better player than me near scratch like the thread starter.id imagine a 1-2 handicapper and especially a tour player can hit a 7 iron just as well as his pw without losing much compared to spraying ball into trees and ob risks.

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I wasn't talking about me.im a 9 handicap.im talking about a lot better player than me near scratch like the thread starter.id imagine a 1-2 handicapper and especially a tour player can hit a 7 iron just as well as his pw without losing much compared to spraying ball into trees and ob risks.


Not from my experience, obviously, but stats say otherwise.  They hit the green a lot more often with a PW than with a 7 iron.

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well that makes me feel better because rarely do I hit pw into green unless the hole is 350 or less and in our tournaments there isn't many of them.always considered a 7-pw like short irons that were not far off.

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well im not sure if im the one that should give advice since im a 9 handicap but if your losing some shots off the tee then id suggest try going easier on the driver.ive always said that if phil mickelson would ease off his driver instead of ripping it all the time then hed stay out of trouble.ive never understood why someone has to hit it 280-300 when he can ease off and hit it 240-260 and be straighter.to me I don't see whats difference between hitting a 7-8 iron into green compared to a pw since you can hit it so far and more than likely have a good short game anyways.you should be able to hit your 7-9 iron just as well as your pw anyways if your good.

If they are near scratch and they are loosing strokes off their drives, the answer is not to lay off driver.  The answer is to go figure out driver!  By far the biggest advantage pros have over amateurs is length off the tee.  Think I'm wrong?   Go try try to play a course at 7200 yards hitting it 250 off the tee...if the thought of that doesnt make you cringe, it should!

Besides...hitting 3 wood isnt automatic fairway either.  So if he misses there, then he is still in the rough but now 50 yards further back with slim chance of saving par

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If they are near scratch and they are loosing strokes off their drives, the answer is not to lay off driver.  The answer is to go figure out driver!  By far the biggest advantage pros have over amateurs is length off the tee.  Think I'm wrong?   Go try try to play a course at 7200 yards hitting it 250 off the tee...if the thought of that doesnt make you cringe, it should!

Besides...hitting 3 wood isnt automatic fairway either.  So if he misses there, then he is still in the rough but now 50 yards further back with slim chance of saving par

I agree. You HAVE to be pretty consistent with the driver from long courses. However, I am at the point where I can hit my 7 iron and my 9 iron with the same consistency so I do take 3 wood off the tee a lot. You can't just take Driver out of play though, you have to work on it and get it fixed. For anyone trying to get better, find your weakness, make it a strength, do it again.

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However, I am at the point where I can hit my 7 iron and my 9 iron with the same consistency so I do take 3 wood off the tee a lot.

That's highly unlikely. You probably hit your 9-iron closer, on average, than you hit your 7-iron.

Three feet can matter quite a bit. I think it separated Tiger Woods (#1 strokes gained) from Camilo Villegas (#180 or so strokes gained) on approach shots in 2012 or 2013.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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That's highly unlikely. You probably hit your 9-iron closer, on average, than you hit your 7-iron.

Three feet can matter quite a bit. I think it separated Tiger Woods (#1 strokes gained) from Camilo Villegas (#180 or so strokes gained) on approach shots in 2012 or 2013.

Okay, so I agree with you on proximity to the hole but GIR is very similar. Now 7 iron to 5 iron is another story. Obviously the shorter club is going to be a little better but they are pretty consistant.

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Okay, Now 7 iron to 5 iron is another story.

So any chance you know where I could see stats on that? Your comment seems to imply that even for really good players (as opposed to total hackers like me), there's a point where longer clubs start getting disproportionately more difficult to hit.

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So any chance you know where I could see stats on that? Your comment seems to imply that even for really good players (as opposed to total hackers like me), there's a point where longer clubs start getting disproportionately more difficult to hit.


A longer club will always be more difficult to hit.

That's why it's such an advantage to hitting your shorter clubs like the 7i 180 yards rather than 150 yards or less.

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So any chance you know where I could see stats on that? Your comment seems to imply that even for really good players (as opposed to total hackers like me), there's a point where longer clubs start getting disproportionately more difficult to hit.

http://www.pgatour.com/stats.html

You should be able to find all the info you would like on there.

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A longer club will always be more difficult to hit.

Well, of course.

But in my (admittedly novice) experience the degree of difficulty between hitting a 5 and a 7 is a lot more pronounced than between a 7 and a 9, and I found it interesting that a really good player such as @GHIN0011458 mentioned something similar. If that were true one would expect a non linear relationship between dispersion and iron being used, so just wondering if the stats do show that.

Either that or my 6 and 5 irons hate me, which I could totally believe too. (Don't get me started on woods...)

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Note: This thread is 3550 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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