My quest for a 10 handicap started today

Well, today was the 1st day for my quest of playing decent golf. I took a lesson today from a great instructor, and he really gave me some insight to why my play has been so all over the place.

We met up at 8:00 and met on the putting green. Our previous conversation included him asking the question of what the worst part of my game was, and I immediately said irons. He said that for my 1st lesson, since that's the worst part, we'd work on that, and then I could decide whether I wanted to keep getting lessons from him.

We hit a few putts on the practice green just so he could see my form. He gave me 2 quick tips on judging the speed of the putts, and every putt from 20ft was within a ft of the hole from multiple locations. From 30ft, the furthest was 2ft from multiple locations, so within 10 minutes, he probably improved my game by 2-3 shots. That is, if I can take that lesson to the course.

Then it was on to the range with 120 balls. We started out with basic 9 to 3 drills with my sand wedge, just working on tempo and contact, and then moved on to my nemesis, the 7 iron. Immediately he recognized a few problems, and gave me an analysis of what he was seeing, and we basically worked on 3 things throughout the rest of the lesson. 1st was my routine before the shot, 2nd was how I address the ball, and 3rd was alignment. I have never really thought about how I address the ball, in what order I did things, I just stepped up where I felt comfortable, and hit the ball. With mixed results.

What I found out today was that I thought was center in my stance was not center of my stance. I tend to let the ball drift towards my back foot if I don't pay attention. He also mentioned that my swing path was too shallow, and we needed to work on that more. He showed me a drill to help that out, but my lesson was 10 minutes over at that point, and he had another student already there, so he told me to work on that drill during the week to see if it helps my ball striking, and to call him if I had any questions.

He also made me choke down on the club all day, because he said he needed to do a fitting on me, but he believes that my clubs are too long for me. I'm playing standard clubs and I'm only 5'6". So we have to set that up as well in the near future.

While I'm not magically striking the ball better after an hour lesson, I do feel better about having a consistant and repeatable setup, and feel that that's probably the first step in having a consistant and repeatable swing. I asked him about another lesson next Friday, and we set it up right then. Next week we'll still work on irons, I believe and just work on getting more consistant with my swing. I have no problems with that at all.

So, the 1st step is in order. Consistant and Repeatable setup with the irons and a steeper swing path to control my hook.

Best of luck to you. Alignment has always been an issue since I trained myself to be a big puller of the ball. ALWAYS use a club or stick when practicing so you know where you are aimed then. This will eventually train yourself to have consistant alignment on the course. Another thing that helps me is using the line on the ball on the tee. Obviously you can't do it any other time but on the tee, at least I know I am aimed where I want to be for the shot where bad alignment can lead to a really bad result.

I like the fact that he started you off with a putting lesson, and it sounds like he's starting you with the right things, ball position, alignment (I still can struggle with that sometimes). Sounds like a good instructor.

Sounds like a good start. If I read your other thread correctly, your fairway stats were really good. Work on your approach shots with your instructor and get the GIR stats up. I like the 9 - 3 drills to focus on tempo and solid contact. They will eventually cascade into your pitch and chip shots. To me those shots are just a subset of the full swing. It'll help your up and down stats and get you into the mid 80s, then the low 80s.

Yeah, for some reason I can hit fairways usually, and my driving isn't bad at all. It's those damn 2nd shots that kill my score. To be honest, my chipping and putting isn't really horrible, pretty average. It's the 2nd shots and those dangerous "feel" 30-40 yard pitches to the green that kill me.

Well, I went out and played a round with a friend this weekend, determined to use the changes taught by my instructor. I had in my head that I was not going to get upset on the course, and I was just going to keep my stats to see where I stand, since I'm pretty much starting over from scratch with a new iron swing. I shot a horrible round, a 102, but realized that I have to correct a serious outside in swing issue with my instructor. I have never shanked so many balls in my life, but I knew why, I just couldn't stop from doing it. Using my old swing, I would have my hands almost against my body to keep from hitting the ball on the toe. My instructor has my more in the normal position, with my hands about 4" from my body, but I still tend to bring my hands in closer to my body on my downswing, and catching the ball way out on the toe. I know that I need to keep my hands away from my body, but it's tough to force myself to do it when the results are worse. I know it's just a step towards playing better golf, so I'm sticking with it, and will try to fix my swing instead of putting band-aids on it to make the ball go forward.

One week down, 102 shots on the course, but my putting was drastically improved. I only had one 3 putt through the day, which is decent for me. I also had very good feeling on my 1/2 wedge shots, which I have struggled with in the past. Another lesson on Friday, and I'll post my progress.

Why set you goal at 10? 9.9 (a single diget cap) is a much better goal.

Other then that good luck on your quest and remember there will be ups and downs as your swing changes.

The great part of being a 10 is by the time you get there won't be satisfied with it anyway...i wanted to be 10 for years. I now an one and already unhappy with it, only .2 of a point from a 9 and looking to go lower.

Agreed. Was down to a 9.2 late last year and really want to get back under 10. I guess I'm happy, but not satisfied. I could play as a 10 for the rest of my life and be reasonably happy with my scores, but I still want more. I think 5 seems like a good number.

You are so correct!

Good luck to you & Bullitt5339! (Right with you - down to 11 & change and looking to get to single digits myself...)

I can see light at the end of the tunnel!!!! After a really horrible round this weekend, I went today to play 9 holes after work. I shot a 43 by just relaxing because I was by myself and just running through the setup more quickly, with less thoughts going through my mind. If I felt myself tensing up over the ball, I'd back off and go through the routine again. My iron play was still bad, just not as bad as it had been in the past. I do feel more comfortable with my new swing, and think it's coming around.

Here's the stats:

Score: 43
Fairways: 6 of 7, 2 were short though.
GIRs: 2 of 9 (still bad, but I had a lot better shots into the green with my wedges today)
Up and Downs: 1 of 7 (need to put a little more work on my wedges to get closer to the pin, I guess)
Putts: 17
Pars: 2
Bogeys: 7

It's getting better, but I still have some work to do with my irons and wedges. My putting was not bad, I just wasn't giving myself chances to make 1 putts. I can't count on draining 20ft putts, and need to be closer. No big deal, that's easy money. Irons and Wedges, Irons and Wedges, Irons and Wedges.

Awesome. Are you going to be journaling your progress in this thread? If so subscribed.

My last 20 rounds, a study in WTF...


* H 7/16/10 79 72.0/131 6.0
AI 7/9/10 88 71.6/131 14.1
* H 7/2/10 84 72.0/131 10.4
H 6/25/10 91 72.0/131 16.4
* H 6/18/10 84 72.0/131 10.4
* H 6/11/10 83 72.0/131 9.5
* H 6/11/10 84 72.0/131 10.4
H 5/28/10 90 73.6/136 13.6
* H 5/21/10 79 72.0/131 6.0
I 5/17/10 86 72.0/131 12.1
I 5/10/10 87 72.0/131 12.9
AI 5/3/10 88 70.1/127 15.9
* AI 5/3/10 88 74.0/135 11.7
AI 5/3/10 91 72.0/134 16.0
* AI 4/29/10 79 72.0/140 5.7
AI 4/29/10 88 72.0/135 13.4
AI 4/29/10 93 72.1/140 16.9
* AI 4/28/10 80 70.6/124 8.6
* H 4/23/10 81 72.0/131 7.8
H 4/21/10 90 72.0/131 15.5

That's the plan, we'll see how it goes. If the rain holds out today, I'm going to hit the range during lunch with my wedges and work on some pinpoint drills, and try to work on getting closer to the pin on my Up and Downs.

Good luck. Will be interested to hear how you get on, as I'd like to try and get down around there myself this year.

First of all "Good Luck" and making the commitment to really improve is a first step. Secondly do not worry about your handicap...true it is a way to measure your improvement but be focused on improving and the handicap will drop quickly.

About a year and a half ago I was a 12 (had been for two years)...so like you decided to get serious about improving and I wanted to be a single digit handicap...well I did it mainly by focusing on my short game...I made a commitment for 6 months that every time I went to the practice range that I would chip and putt for an hour and a half before hitting balls...my handicap dropped to an 8 handicap within those 6 months...short game is where you can lower your scores the quickest so I am not surprised that he gave you a putting lesson first. And believe me my ball striking is still a weakness in my game...if my ball striking is even half way decent during a round I will break 80...but I only broke 80 five times in 2009 (I had shoulder surgery in January 2010 so have not played much golf this year) and I continue to work on my full swing. My suggestion to you is to continue to work on your full swing and with a coach but if you want to be a 10 handicap… WORK ON YOUR SHORT GAME!!!

I'm working on ball-striking and my under 60 yard pitches to the green religiously. My chipping is surprisingly good, if I'm in a position to chip. Unfortunately, my poor ball-striking has me hitting up and downs from 30-40 yards out, which is also a problem for me. I think that if I can improve my ball-striking and short wedge shots, my game will improve greatly. Ball striking with my mid-irons would put me in much better position to make up and downs and hit more GIRs, and my short wedge game needs to be on in case I miss. I'm fairly happy with the rest of my game right now.

Dear OP,

With dedication, I'm sure you can get your HI from 18 to 10. I'd like to offer you several advices.

1. Enjoy the gradual progress rather than trying to get to 10 HI in a short amount of time. There are many ways to lower HI but choose a method that allows your HI to be sustainable. Otherwise, you may quickly lose interest in golf, when you hit a wall (it happened to me long time ago).
2. Do not be afraid to get worse before getting better. Instead of getting obsessed with HI, try to work on 1-2 specific things at a time. Set those as your objective instead of shooting low score at the course. Your 102 may not be a bad round, if you achieved what you intended to do.

Good luck.