Low Handicap Your Typical Misses

**bananas** · March 16, 2010

Just curious how bad are your misses into the green when you achieve a single digit handicap?

**Wet Doggg** · March 16, 2010

To me "single digit" is a pretty big difference in ability. A 0 and a 9 are quite a bit apart. Maybe not in ability but in constancy aspect. I do not play all that much. So for me, my misses are on the short game. I can still hit the ball just fine. But if I miss a green, I do not get up and down as regularly as I used to. My putting also suffers due to not playing. Back when I was playing a lot, my misses were blocks to the right. Both with my driver as well as my long irons. I would catch the ball solid, just hit a push. I mean like 5 or so yards right of the green or if the pin is on the left side I would end up on the right side of the green. Did I answer your question?

**DavidFehertysBike** · March 16, 2010

It depends on the club. But if you figure most approach shots are with an 8i, my worst of misses would be probably around 20 yards left of the target. Big duck hook.

**bpschmid** · March 16, 2010

Good stuff...anyone else?

**mrt10x** · March 16, 2010

My misses into the green come from inconsistent distance or an over draw of the ball.. I often leave approach shots short due to poor contact, on the fringe, 7 iron chip, one putt, par.... my other miss is an into the wind draw that misses left... still i get up and down more often than not. I have had lots of 76,77,78's with 0 birdies... but lots of stinkin pars. It is pretty rare that I miss a green from inside 175 yards by more than 10 yards.

**Par Fore** · March 16, 2010

An old friend of mine is a scratch golfer.....early 50's, nice guy, excellent ball striker, plays well within himself.....most boring golf I have ever seen - center of fairway, center of green, every single hole.....he was like a machine.....his rare misses off the tee were just off in the rough.....same thing on the green - his rare misses would be just off the front, barely over the back, left fringe, or right fringe......and typically, it would be because he misjudged the wind or distance.....best ballstriker I have ever seen and most consistent, sans the pros....it was rare his misses were due to a poor strike, but again, he never overswung, very controlled player....

As Doggg said, 0-9 is a huge difference....also, you could have a 9 with an incredible short game that still has a flub every now and again....

**sean_miller** · March 16, 2010

I don't really qualify as low hdcp (Scoregolf index - unofficial as hell - is 8.8) but my typical misses are strategy related. I tend to play too agressively then after a couple big numbers, I play too conservatively. I need to work on my confidence - lessons will help (knock wood).

**chriskzoo** · March 16, 2010

As someone who went into single digits consistently for the first time the last couple years, I can tell you that once you get to a 14 or so, you have the game to get to single digits and it's all about thinking your way around the golf course. I used to pretty much hit my driver, lose right or left, get my distance to the hole and aim right at the flag. What happened? Sometimes I'd hit the green and two putt or birdie, but if I missed I was short sided a lot in some thick lies - lots of bogeys from that in addition to the shots lost due to errant drives on holes I didn't even have to hit driver on.

Now I'm much more of a thinker around the course - if a hole is under 380 yards, there's a good chance the driver is staying in the bag because I can just hit a 3-wood out there and be under 140 to the green. If I have a par 5 where it might be a little dicey getting to the green, I'll lay it back to 100 yards out and take my chances from there. Hell, if it's a hole I know I can't get to, I'm even inclined to his hybrid/hybrid/wedge to the green - why hit the driver if you don't have to?

Next is on my approach shots. I use a tip Corey Pavin had in Golf Digest. Basically you evaluate the pin position and them aim between the pin and the long side of the green or side with the least trouble (if the pin is in the middle, aim between the pin and the side with the least trouble). If you pull/push it a little toward the pin, great, you're closer to the hole. If you hit it dead straight, you have a 15-20 footer for birdie. And if you miss it to the side of the green, no problem, you'll have green to work with and a good chance of chipping up and in.

I think there is a big difference going where I am right now to a low single digit and that is all about the short game.

**danieldrieberg** · March 17, 2010

Either short 1/2 club---still have to get into the habit of over clubbing and 3/4 swing rather than full out with more lofted club. Or a pull left. Either case within range for an up and down chip.

**clubchamp** · March 17, 2010

Longer irons I generally leave out to the left 10 yards. Shorter irons I don't generally miss the green too often but if I do it's long and right because I sometimes will hood them down.

**enis750** · March 17, 2010

for me, it's off the tee
i will lose one or two a round, and end up on another hole! haha!
my issue is ending up somewhere, where its tough to make the second shot

I have a pretty good short game and am a decent ball striker, so i don't miss inside 150 a whole bunch
and if i do....im good at getting up and down for sure

BSH · March 17, 2010

As someone who went into single digits consistently for the first time the last couple years, I can tell you that once you get to a 14 or so, you have the game to get to single digits and it's all about thinking your way around the golf course. I used to pretty much hit my driver, lose right or left, get my distance to the hole and aim right at the flag. What happened? Sometimes I'd hit the green and two putt or birdie, but if I missed I was short sided a lot in some thick lies - lots of bogeys from that in addition to the shots lost due to errant drives on holes I didn't even have to hit driver on.

That's a quality post right there.

**Gebus** · March 17, 2010

I may not have a single digit handicap but its from putting not striking I don't know many players with my handicap who average around 30 putts per round... I really like to shape the ball it is how I control my distances, if I am between a 7 and 8 iron I'll hit a high cut fade to shave the distance, if I need just a little extra out of a 6 iron I'll draw it a bit giving me maybe 4 or 5 yards. My misses are either I under draw or over fade by maybe 5 or 6 yards I am not quite sure why I do this but luckily it only happens about once or twice a round.

**play4him** · March 17, 2010

To me, I think the biggest difference between low handicappers and higher is consistent distant control. If I hit a 8 iron normally 165 yards, I'm going to consistently hit it between 155 -165 yards. Where a higher handicap player can hit the same club maybe 125- 165 yards depending on how solid he hits it. It comes down to hitting the ball solid consistently. The low handicap player does that most of the time.

**ks8829** · March 17, 2010

my last round misses to the green:

1) pin high 5 yards right - par, on green two putted
2) pin high 20 yards right - bogie, chip was long
3) pin high 10 yards right - par, got up and down
4) pin high 5 yards right - par, on green two putted
5) short 5 yards on line - bogie, missed tap in
6) short 2 yards left - birdie, made putt
7) long 20 yards left - par, got up and down
8) long 30 yards left - bogie, 3 putted
9) long 2 yards left - par, missed birdie putt

10) short 5 yards left - double bogie, missed easy tap in for boogie
11) short 5 yards right - par, two putts
12) short 5 yards right - par, tow putted
13) short 40 yards right - bogie, missed drive & did not get up and down chipped long, above hole
14) long on line 5 yards - par two putted
15) short left 20 yards right - did not get up and down
16) short 10 yards left - bogie, 3 putted, missed easy tap in
17) short 20 yards right - bogie, did not get up and down
18) long 5 yards left - par, two putted

10 approaches were within 5 yards
2 approach were off by 10 yards
6 approaches were off by more than 20 yards

9 approaches were missed on the right side
7 misses were on the left side
2 approaches were on line

I shot 78 on a par 70 ( 2 over on the front and 6 over on the back)
3 bogies and a birdie on the front nine
double bogie and 4 bogies on the back nine
34 putts ( I had 3, three putts, missed easy tap in)
got up 3 out of 9 attempts
hit 10 greens
hit 7 fairways

my short game failed me, my putting and up and downs.

**msd3075** · March 17, 2010

To me, I think the biggest difference between low handicappers and higher is consistent distant control. If I hit a 8 iron normally 165 yards, I'm going to consistently hit it between 155 -165 yards. Where a higher handicap player can hit the same club maybe 125- 165 yards depending on how solid he hits it. It comes down to hitting the ball solid consistently. The low handicap player does that most of the time.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Most double-digit handicappers I've played with don't know how far they actually hit each iron, and most of the time the yardages they have in their heads are what they'll hit it if they strike it perfectly solid with a 100% swing. You can hit a perfectly straight iron shot, but if you are hitting a club that's two clubs too short, you'll be the same distance from the hole as missing the green with a bad pull/push. As for how far off target a typical single-digit handicap is from a double digit, a 5-9 handicapper isn't going to miss that much different than a 10-20, but their short game is going to be a lot better to the point that they can get up and down or atleast save bogey in situations the double-digit will take a triple-bogey if he's lucky. As for a scratch golfer's misses, I think it depends on the golfer. As someone said earlier, there are scratch golfers that play "boring" golf in which they hit the middle of every green and two putt for par all the time; there are also the Phil Michelson-like golfers that go for the clutch shot every hole, have a few major misses each round, but have a short game that more than makes up for it.

**i-Guy** · March 17, 2010

To me, I think the biggest difference between low handicappers and higher is consistent distant control. If I hit a 8 iron normally 165 yards, I'm going to consistently hit it between 155 -165 yards. Where a higher handicap player can hit the same club maybe 125- 165 yards depending on how solid he hits it. It comes down to hitting the ball solid consistently. The low handicap player does that most of the time.

I have to agree with this also…distance control is the key difference. I play with some high handicappers who still play their yardages based on that one time they hit their 7 iron 160 but their avg is probably 140 so they keep pulling a 7 iron from 160 and swing for the fence and cannot figure out why they hit it so poorly.

My misses are similar as I need to improve my ball striking in that I will try to force a club (do this more then I should) to its full distance which if not stuck perfectly will result in a miss short or hit a pull from swinging to hard and getting a tad over the top…however, when I will try to hit a smooth 8 iron 150, I sometimes end up hitting it 160 because I swung within myself and hit it on the sweet spot. I aspire to be under a 5 handicap and ball striking is my issue…I plan to work on this to play more under control as it relates to distance and not care how far I hit my 8 iron but just be content with knowing how far I hit it consistently at 80% effort…clear as mud?

**right handed phil mickelson** · March 17, 2010

I like to play a nice pull-fade as my go to shot. My usual miss is about an average of 10 yards short of the green, or about 20 yards right at the most with either an over fade, or push. I average about 10 G.I.R's a round. My chipping is the best part of my game, and so I really have no problem with making a par.

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