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Does anyone else think that what you have is what you have?


albatross
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I mean in terms of overall potential and skill. I guess I'm just getting really frustrated again. I've been practicing hard, taking lessons, and this morning I go out and play just like I've been playing for the last 4 years. Doesn't feel like any real improvement.

Man, this game will drive you insane. I've been working really hard at the range and with an instructor. I sometimes think that you've got what you've got when it comes to potential at this game.

I've hovered between being a 15 and an 18 for a few seasons and I just can't get lower and I play A LOT.

How do others feel about this?? I'm probably just in a slump but can I still have a real breakthrough with hard work??

Has anyone else felt like this after several seasons and then had their breakthrough year?
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For most players there is a break-through moment - the so-called 'ah-ha' moment - where something happens and you start to notice real improvements. Those moments seem to come to most players at certain points after they have been 'stuck' for a while at a certain level. I know with me it happened a couple years ago to get me from about 15 or so down to my current level. Now, I feel like I'm getting worse because my scores are not improving, but I still feel my 'game' is improving and I keep waiting for that next moment when my scores start to reflect the improvement and my handicap drops again.

One of the best things to do is to objectively analyze your game and find your strengths and weaknesses, then work on those weaknesses (without completely neglecting your strengths). My ah-ha moment a few years ago was a discovery with my chipping. I also think I had one of those moments about 9 months or so with my iron play and am now just waiting on it to show.

Stick with it and good luck.
Driver: SQ DYMO STR8-Fit
4 Wood: SQ DYMO
2H (17*), 4H (23*) & 5H (26*): Fli-Hi CLK
Irons (5-6): MX-900; (7-PW): MP-60
Wedges (51/6*): MP-T Chrome; (56/13): MP-R ChromePutter: White Hot XG 2-Ball CSPreferred Ball: e5+/e7+/B330-RXGPS Unit: NEOPush Cart: 2.0
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Absolutely not.

I have noticed that many people do struggle with changing things in general though. No matter what you are doing it takes a pretty big mental leap to abandon what you know and what you are comforatble with. This is especially true if you have been doing something in the same way for a long time.

As humans I believe we have a tendancy to develop patterns and rituals that we become comfortable with and even when we want to do something better we often try to work within our comfort zone. I also believe it is the fearless go for broke changes that bring the greatest success, give up the short term comfort for a better long term satisfaction. Of course the go for broke attitude has to be well planned, because the failure to look before you leap can lead to very bad results.

For me this has been true in just about every aspect of life.

FWIW,

-E

In my Grom bag:

Driver........... Burner 9.5* S-Flex
3-Wood......... Burner 15* S-Flex
5-Wood......... Ovation 18* S-FlexIrons............. Pro Combos 3,5-PW Rifle 6.0Wedges......... CG12 52.10, 56.14, 60.10Putter............ 33" VP1 Milled PutterBall................ e6+ or B330-SRangefinder.....

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I think we all hit a point were improvement is tough. We all only have so much ability I'm afraid. But strokes can still be saved by optimizing what you have. My index has been stuck between 5.0 and 7.0 for the last two years. I'm not a long hitter and it goes up in the spring when the coarse is wet. And goes back down when I can start getting some roll in the fairway. I'm turning 52 this month and I don't think that I'm going to get longer off the tee and I don't think that I'll ever be a scratch player no matter how much I try and practice. But I hope I'm wrong and I find that ah-ha moment as I keep trying.

Woods: Titleist 909 D3, Titleist 909 F2
Hybrids: Taylormade Rescue
Irons: Titleist AP-2
Wedges: Titleist Vokey spin milled
Putter: White Hot 2 ball.

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Course Management . I think that golf is a game of misses. If you hit it where you were planning every time, you'd be shooting 57's with 6 eagles. That being said, know your miss. Guard against the big mistake that leads to big scores. Off the tee consider where your miss is and play away from it. Consider where the flag is and the best position in the fairway to attack it from. When hitting approach shots, resist the urge to try to put it in the hole. Don't run it past 40 feet and leave yourself a downhill, left to right putt that you make 1 out of 100 times. Recognize where the most difficult putt is and play away from that spot. Just being concious of this will result in a lot more uphill 5 footers and less 12 foot downhill sliders. If you do run it past the hole don't look away in disgust, watch the ball as it rolls past the hole and get a read for your next putt. Most low handicappers don't hit every fairway and GIR but missing the green in a managable place leaves an opportunity to get up and down, saving strokes. 300 yd drive or 2 foot putt, a stroke is a stroke.
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This all comes down to self belief as always,perhaps it's good to be realistic,but not to mentally tell yourself that's it.
I know that if I don't play more regulary then improvement is tough.However I have set my goal to get more bogeys on par 4's,I need one stroke fo each of those,that's not 3 putting,or nailing a wedge or an approach first time,one stroke that would change my handicap by a good 10 strokes.
Set short term goals to realise your potential.

"Repetition is the chariot of genius"

Driver: BENROSS VX PROTO 10.5
Woods: BENROSS QUAD SPEED FAIRWAY 15"
Hybrids:BENROSS 3G 17" BENROSSV5 Escape 20"
Irons: :wilson: DEEP RED Fluid Feel  4-SW
Putter: BENROSS PURE RED
Balls: :wilsonstaff:  Ti DNA

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Not exactly, I know I have limitations. I know I will never average 300 yard drives, but I will try to compensate by being a strong wedge player and putter. I also don't play from the tips!!!!

Craig 

Yeah, wanna make 14 dollars the hard way?

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But do you feel that anyone that is moderately athletic and puts in enough time and practice can get below a 10 handicap??

If Tom Kite can win a U.S. Open....[/joking]

... Uhm, yeah. I think you need to do a few things. One is to ask yourself, honestly, if you're giving it your all in terms of the instruction you're receiving. There's a big difference between thinking you are and actually doing it. I don't know what the instruction you've been given is, but I know the pull to try to make full golf swings and/or to play golf instead of doing drills is quite strong. Second, you need to ask yourself if your instructor is any good. I'm assuming you've had the same one (if not, that could be another huge issue), and if you're not improving and you ARE doing the drills and putting in honest work and being honest with yourself about it, quite frankly it may be time to fire him. Third, last year my handicap stayed about the same despite a really, really poor stretch of ball-striking because my putting and short game was on fire for awhile. Your handicap is staying the same while you're taking lessons - so perhaps you're improving your ball striking while your short game is suffering or something?

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
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I believe that anyone can improve. IMO the athletic portion just comes into play with how quickly you can improve. A more athletic person can probably improve more quickly than a less athletic person, but the less athletic person doesn't necessarily become the worse golfer of the two....if that makes any sense. Now with this being said, the older the two people get, the more the physical aspect comes into play.

As far as getting below a 10, I don't see a problem with you getting below a 10. If you sit back, as the others have said, and just think about where you are losing strokes, you can most likely reach your goals by being smarter on the course.

Bryan A
"Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to stay the same"

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there is a break-through moment

How true, this was the case for me. I think it has a lot to do with self image.

One thing that helped me drop quickly, was staying relaxed and positive. But honestly the biggest jump was back when (1)I started playing the ball down Always, (no mulligans, no fluffing lies, no foot wedges) and (2)playing from the tips on every course, even back when I had no business. Now, playing anywhere but the tips feels goofy. And I am not a long hitter, so playing 7200 yards is tough, but its the way I love to play. I feel like I can play forward tees when I retire. and probably the biggest tip I can give you, (3)play with better players. Playing around hacks will not make you better at all. And if you are serious about getting good, and it sounds like you are, get better playing partners. Heck join an amatuer tour and enter some tournaments. Bobby Jones said, "there's golf, and there's tournament golf" they are not even close to being the same. An 80 in a tournament is like a 76 at the club with the boys.. Good luck and keep at it. Like someone else eluded to, when working this hard at it, you usually struggle at the beginning, but it will pay off if you are practicing the right things.
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I mean in terms of overall potential and skill. I guess I'm just getting really frustrated again. I've been practicing hard, taking lessons, and this morning I go out and play just like I've been playing for the last 4 years. Doesn't feel like any real improvement.

I dont think there is a physical limtation to how good a golfer can be. Its not like bastketball or anything. With time and and loads of practice any person can be a scratch golfer. We most often fail to get to that level because of the mental blocks we put into our own paths.

For me, a breakthrough came when i dedicated myself to the short game. There was a point where i didnt practice a full swing at the range for months. I went to the practice green everyday for atleast an hour and worked on chipping and putting. I would make games. Id pick four spots and couldnt leave until i got 9 out of 10 from each spot up and down. My scores started to drop, and i became more confident knowing i can duff an iron shot or slice a driver 75 yards off line and still make a par if i got close enough to the green. Its really all about self confidence.
THE WEAPONS CACHE..

Titleist 909 D2 9.5 Degree Driver| Titleist 906f4 13.5 degree 3-Wood | Titleist 909 17 & 21 degree hybrid | Titleist AP2 irons
Titleist Vokey Wedges - 52 & 58 | Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 Putter | ProV1 Ball
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But do you feel that anyone that is moderately athletic and puts in enough time and practice can get below a 10 handicap??

Absolutely. Short game, short game, short game.

Brian

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But do you feel that anyone that is moderately athletic and puts in enough time and practice can get below a 10 handicap??

ABSOLUTELY. Especially since you are somewhat athletic.

A great short game can make up for less-than-desired ball striking. Not sure what your particular strengths/weaknesses are, but fine tune your short game and you should be there. As a "case study"... the last two rounds I played I went off as a single and was paired up with a couple of guys, non-athletic, probably in their early 50s. They were both excellent around the greens, and knew how to manage the course and their weaknesses to keep pars an option on nearly every hole. They didn't hit it long, but even on the longest holes, they were able to get within 30-40 yards on their approach and gave themselves a realistic shot at saving par. One of the two guys in particular hit a slice on just about every shot (5-20 yards!), but he compensated for it, played for fairways and the middle of the green, and only made 1 bogie on the front 9. The other guy I played with had 28 putts on his round, which makes it hard NOT to break 80. Course management and a great short game (both which can be "learned") can get you under a 10. And if you're fairly athletic with decent distance, you can definitely get there. Just keep it up.
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So for the hell of it, I'm going to post my stats for this season. When I look at them closely, it really looks like I just need to improve everything.

My short game isn't as good as I think it is. Feel free to analyze if you see something I don't. I think the answer is going to be short game but I also can't get off the tee with a driver. Maybe hit the short game really hard and focus on a club I can get in the fairway.

Average Score- 92
Low Score- 84
High Score- 101

Drives in Fairway- 43%
Greens in Regulation- 18%
Putts per round- 34.4
Putts/Hole- 2.01

Handicap Index- 16.42

What do you think?
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Stating the obvious here but something that many people forget or overlook. As you improve your game from a 30 HCP to a 20 HCP the "aha moments" happen often and from a 20 to 10 less often and from 10 to scratch even less. People often think that they're not improving but if they stop to think about that chip shot / mid iron shot / drive or putt that they just couldn't pull off is now something that doesn't seem to bother them so much - that's improvement. Patience/practice and playing (often) = Improvement

Cheers
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It looks to me like you're leaving it on the table when it comes to short game. You're putts per hole isn't staggeringly bad, but considering you're missing so many greens in regulation (probably have lots of chips around the green and end up 2-putting still) your putts could very well be much lower. Imagine if you saved par by getting up/down half the time... that's save 9 strokes right there looking at your stats. You'd most certainly be breaking 10.

Like David suggests, make a little game around the practice green for practicing up and downs. Me and a friend will almost always practice at least 9 up/down holes on the practice green unless we're playing that day. Basically, take your wedge and go just off the green (fringe or 5-10 yards off) and pick a hole. Par is 2. Try to shoot par. I usually average +2 or +3 on 9 holes. There's still plenty room for improvement on my shortgame, and this really helps. If you're averaging +9 here and can get down to +3 then I bet you'll find your 6 strokes on your round easily, which will get you to under 10.
What's In My Stand Bag...
Driver: R9 TP 9.5*
3W: R9 15*
Hybrid: Rescue Dual TP 2H 16*
Irons 3-P: MP-62Wedges: Vokey 52* & 58*Putter: 34" Newport StudioBall: Pro V1x
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