Question for the High Handicaps

I would like to know why you are a 20-50 HC. What aspect of your game needs the most work.

Are you a weekend player, new player, or just plain stink?
Do you have a practice schedule?
Can you really tell the difference between a higher priced ball vs. a cheap one?

I am just curious because I feel sometimes us higher HC players get so much conflicting advice...and this or that piece of equipment will solve our problems.

example I own a $230 putter...yet I miss 2 footers just like I did with my $20 used Ray Cook....go figure

I think I need to play more.
I think I need to establish a consistent practice routine.
I think I need to spend more time practicing chipping, pitching and putting.
I think I need more self-confidence.

Aside from that, even though I occasionally feel very discouraged, overall I've gone from shooting close to 130 in March of 2006 when I swung a golf club for the first time, to carding a 98 this past Sunday.

I really don't think I can tell the difference between pricey and cheap balls - I had been using Titleist HVC Tours and Callaway HX Hots that I got for xmas for the past 2 months -- but I went back to my trusty cheapo John Daly Roaring Distance Extremes for my round on Sunday, and played better than I ever have - so I say screw expensive golf balls.

All in all, even though I'm a high-handicapper, I'm happy with my progress and think I will continue to improve.

I think I've come to accept that with this game progess comes in sudden spurts and epiphanies and then you may feel like you lose a little ground for a while only to shoot forward again in a few weeks or a few months. If I shoot a horrible round I will take away at least 3 or 4 things I did well: a nice chip, a few good putts, a great mid-iron, etc... and failing that, I will tell my self how nice it was to be outside and have a nice walk through a pretty course

I would love to play everyday whether it be a round or just practicing, but unfortunately thats not the case. My weakest part of my game right now is iron play which is bad because the majority of the shots you hit in a round is with an iron. My left shoulder is also tweaked due to a golf injury 2 years ago (I was 17 and tried to kill the ball all the time) so that doesn't help either.

I can definately tell the difference between a Top Flite and a ProV1. But when I run out of ProV1's (I found a 100 or so when I worked at a Golf Course) I won't be buying them because they are rediculously expensive. I will finder a cheaper soft ball though.

I'm basically just inconsistent, thats what it amounts to I think.

You poor people don't know what a high handicap is
Granted, I've only played 2 actual rounds in the past 5 years, but my score on the last one was 138
I'm pretty sure I've only made par twice on a single hole.
Looking at my last score card, I took 14 penalty strokes from slicing into the water, and/or just not being able to find my ball and having to drop a new one.

Crazy thing is, I have a low handicapper's short game, and the long game of Charles Barkley. I average a 250ish drive, but it's almost ALWAYS waaaay right (sploosh, drop, penalty. Repeat every tee box). My iron play is so spotty you would cry from laughing, or cry cause it's hard to watch. Either fat, thin or the odd shank. The ones I do get good contact on, I slice into the water. One par 5 I took 3 drops on from water.

I have a real pretty swing too, which is frustrating, cause I see people with the crappiest looking uncoordinated swings shoot 50 strokes lower than I do.

I'm kinda at my wits end with this thing. The things that are killing me are out to in swing (which I don't feel like I'm doing, so I can't get it to stop), and poor forward weight shift. If I could just work those out I'd be a freeking 10 in no time

I think some of my poor iron play is my cheap ultra flexy graphite shafts. I went to a demo day last weekend and hit some steel shafted Mizuno's just fine. Come to think if it the only "iron" I hit well all the time is my steel shafted sand wedge. I'm just not sure enough that that will help to plunk down a weeks pay for a new set.

I'm sure that was more info than you bargained for, but I just had to vent, lol.

While I don't have an "official handicap," I did calculate it, given the few rounds that I played this past summer. I play only on weekends and holidays. I don't practice enough, and am probably practicing the wrong technique when I do.

I struggle on courses over 5500 yards. Correction, I "REALLY" struggle on courses over 5500 yards. There are several reasons for this, one being I play from the tees that are beyond my skill level, thus I don't give myself a chance to shoot well. Add to that, the fact that I have struggled with my driver and 3-wood the last two years. The driver is no longer in the bag.

To be frank, as a high-handicapper I don't feel that I have had enough professional instruction to ingrain good habits. Simply put, my swing is not consistent. My putting is not spectacular. My chipping consists of shanks, chunks and fats induced by golf-ending yips.

To compound all this, I feel I haven't learned how to handle pressure well. That being the pressure of having to hit the next shot, after I have shanked/duffed my ball 20 yards right into the trees with the group behind waiting on me...thus the snowball effect. Some days, it is just plain ugly.

I can tell the difference between a cheap range ball and a 2-piece ball (I play a Wilson Staff 50). But a Pro V1 vs Wilson Staff 50....I don't think I could hit the Titleist consistently (without losing it) to be able to distinguish between the two.

Yet, I do make birdies (although rare) and I do hit purely struck shots once or twice a round (you know the kind @ impact where and the ball feels like a marshmallow and then fizzes towards the flag). When I do, I can only imagine how Tiger feels.

Hopefully, I will progress this year as I am investing in lessons from a Pro.

Since I was only able to play three times last year, I'll assume my HC has gone up into this category. My advice for fellow high HCers, use cheap balls. I used some of my prov1 from the year before and lost most of them in one round (103, my highest in years). Anyway, my swing is really screwed up and I can't hit a fairway to save my life. On the range I'm hitting my irons solidly, but my drives are all ballooning and slicing. The range balls were going straighter than the prov1 on the course, so that has to be my priority right now. I'm actually thinking of trying the TopFlite D2 STRAIGHT.

I'll bag my hxtours and prov1s until I start getting control again.

I own a $1200 AUS set of irons, and still hit shanks, thins, fats, toes, heels, duck hooks and wild cuts and any thing else possible.

You can still miss 2 footers with anything, as I think putters make the least difference, followed by Irons

I'm 22.7, cut twice since January and I think the trend is going to continue. I've played for 2yrs 8 mths, last year I took lessons regularly, practised and played once a week. My swing looks better than my handicap.

I use a ProV1 in the summer and NXT/solo in the winter, mostly on faith that the lower compression helps in the cold, but I can't say I notice the difference. I'm better at putting with a ProV1 and we have extraordinarily fast greens so I need anything that can stop on the green. Regarding the price of equipment, you're plain daft if you think gear will buy you less strokes.

Sorry missed this one "What aspect of your game needs the most work. "

Right now I'm shoddy off the tee. Used to hit 80%, short but accurate, now it's more like 50/50.

Short breaking putts cost me yesterday, and I chip like a monkey, so I've bought a chipping matt to practise in the evenings at home. Putting practise (breaking putts) is hard to do when you have little free time.

SHORT GAME, SHORT GAME, SHORT GAME!!!!! And I know it. I need to put some time on the putting green and chipping. I am pretty consistent with my driver and irons. Where I get in trouble is if I miss the green with my approach and have to get up and down. I cannot tell you how many times I have hit the majority of the par 4s in regulation only to get a bogey or worse. On par 5s, I get on or around the green in two but rarely take advantage with anything better than par. 3 and 4 putts will kill a round no matter how far you bomb it......

Like they say.....drive for show and putt for dough.....

I started out as a 24 at the beginning of last year. I spent more time on my short game and played alot more then the year before. I was able to shave my handicap down to an 18 thanks to a couple of rounds in the 80's at the end of the season.

Weekend player - played at least one full round every weekend and at least 9 holes once during the week.

Practice Schedule - yes. Putting green at least 3 hours a week. Chipping in my yard to a target.

Cheap Ball vs Good Ball. - At the beginning of the season I never knew the difference. Once I started playing a bit better at the end of the year I started to notice a big difference. I played a B330s and that is when I noticed a difference big time! My balls started to check up on the green, distance was good etc.

Number 1 reason for my high handicap is putting. I actually hit alot of greens in Reg for a high capper, but never can never convert the putts for birdie or par!

I think my problems are a mixture of things. I have old equipment and I don't play very often. I think if I had newer equipment I MIGHT play a little better. I also know if I played more often with my older equipment I would play better also. I can't justify buying new more expensive equipment if I can't play very well with what I've got.

I don't have a practice schedule. My only practice routine is to hit the driving range a couple days before playing. Then maybe hitting the practice range at the course if they have one and putting a little before I start. I haven't played a higher end ball so I'm not sure if I'd notice the difference between them and my Walmar special Top Flites. I'm hoping to try some higher end balls this summer to see if there is a difference in my play. I did take a couple months worth of instruction many years ago. It was free through the Parks and Rec department so the instruction wasn't the greatest but it was a good start. It got me to understand the game.

I'm a stinking new player.

So.... *all* of my game needs work. However, from everything I've read (not to mention having whacked a few balls at driving ranges before), its always going to come down to a competent and consistent short game. So for now, I'm focusing on generally being able to consistently hit the ball, and shortly thereafter on pitching/chipping/putting. I figure its a decent enough place to start :)

My chipping is what costs me the most. I played this past Sunday and shot my best round ever (95). It would have been a good bit lower had I been able to get the ball on the green from fringe-to-25 yards. There were holes that it took me 3 chips to get on from 30 feet away.

I just need to get out and play more. That and my putts in the 3-7 foot range: I've been practicing them a good deal lately, but I haven't gone out and play to see that improvement.

I'm going to be working on chipping, pitching, putting, and course management for the next few months. Once I get to 18, I'm going to try to be single digits within a month from there to prove Erik right on an assertion he made in another thread.

I would like to think that I am a high handicap because I am a new player(started in september). My handicap has slowly gone down with every new update.

I seem to have solved my previous driver issues and right now what is hurting me is generally one stroke every other hole. I can get a nice drive and follow it with a 30 yard grounder. or be 5 yards off the green in 2 and slice my chip into the sand. I can bump and run all day with my 7 iron on my course but i figure i need the practice with real chips for when i play elsewhere.

I am told the course I play is tough for beginners - it has a lot of water and bunkers. It is 6386 yards with a rating of 70.9/121. When I moved from whites back to the greens my score didnt change at all.

I know people will say it is in my head but i definitely play better with pro v1's. I usually play nike one platinums but with the titleists my score seems to drop 5-8 strokes. The difference for the most part seems to be length of drives and long irons (not a huge difference but enough that it is saving me a stroke every 2-3 holes).

Going from a 25 handicap at the beginning of last season to a 14 i would like to add something to this thread.

I am a weekend player that sometimes gets to break out in during the workweek.

I try to get to the range at least once a week and WORK ON MY FLAWS, not just wack balls.

When you are a 20+ capper, play soft and long balls like the Noodle. They are cheap and made for golfers like you.

I think what helped me the most to dramatically shoot better was outside help (teacher) for my swing and chipping. And then putting on the practice green a lot until i was comfortable with mid range and short putts.

The key to improvement is to practice your weak areas and get help on finding your flaws. It is a real eye opener when you consistently slice and then an instructor helps you understand what "swinging outside in" means and the next thing you know you hit a draw.

Good Luck Golfers!

The reason for my high handicap is that I'm new to golf. I started playing in early '07 but didn't really start taking is seriously until January of this year. I've already had one lesson this year and I will be taking more as my game progresses.

The part of my game that needs the most work is being able to consistently make good contact with the ball. I just had my lesson last weekend and I can see this getting better already.

I don't necessarily have a practice schedule right now. When I go to the range, I'm working on the fundamentals of my swing just as my instructor wants me to. And no, I cannot tell the difference between any two balls. The only thing I know for sure is don't use a ball that's been run over by a lawn mower. It will not go straight no matter how straight you hit it.


Mike