Need to eliminate penalties!

**tws1098** · September 20, 2010

Went out today and played 9 with my dad. Long story short I shot a 44 which is right around average lately with the typical penalties (4 today) sprinkled in. I was money with my irons, hit both greens on the par 3s. 150 and 160 yards. I just can't seem to shake a poor mistake here and there. Anyone else experience this at any level? I feel like I am a low 80s player but will rack up 5 or 6 penalty strokes in a round leading to an 88 = (

**walk18** · September 20, 2010

You say you hit your irons well so I assume your penalties are coming from off the tee? Do you hit driver when you don't have to? Tee off with a hybrid, iron or something you can control better. The other thing you can do is eliminate one side of the course if you have a consistent shot shape. Play away from trouble with that. Being in the rough is better than water or OB. Know where to miss and manage the course. In certain instances you're better off coming up short of trouble too. Hope that helps.

**tws1098** · September 20, 2010

Yeah I should have been more specific. 2nd shot 4i on the first hole landed in a very playable area that was designated as OB about 10 yards left of the green. My one bad drive was with my hybrid (tight turning fairway) went into the water. So hitting 3 from the tee I hit a great shot that my dad and I could not find. Drop at 135 yards out and put it to around 10 feet.
As I read and reflect on what I wrote, I feel that what I must be doing is losing focus and not evaluating possible danger.

**Zeph** · September 20, 2010

Improve ballstriking. I assume your penalites are because of having to take a drop from unplayable lie, out of bounds etc.

It's part of the process of improving, limiting the bad shots and avoiding penalties. Slicing, hooking, chunking or topping one into trouble is a result of poor ball striking. At your handicap, having 2-3 blow up hoes are pretty common. I would not worry to much about those few shots during a round, but just work on the swing and getting better.

**soloredd** · September 20, 2010

Oh yeah, this use to be my worst enemy. Used to put up about 3 per round but now it's about 1. What helped me was to not use the driver so much (OB is killer), and also to play short if I know water is in play if I am >165 yards out. What's funny is I'll have some rounds where I completely ignore myself and just play some dumb shots; more often than not I pay for it.

**out_in_30** · September 20, 2010

yea i struggle with this too at times.. since i hit the ball so hard, the slightest swing error sends it up to 30 yards or more offline which can lead to dbl bogey. what i have learned to do is that when i absolutely MUST get the ball in play (on a tight par 4 or a hazard ridden hole) i leave driver in the bag. ive been hitting 3 irons and 3 woods off most tees. Ive cut my driver usage down to about 2 or 3 per round max. usually just on par 5s. ive found that this helps avoid penalty strokes.

**Fourputt** · September 20, 2010

Yeah I should have been more specific. 2nd shot 4i on the first hole landed in a very playable area that was designated as OB about 10 yards left of the green. My one bad drive was with my hybrid (tight turning fairway) went into the water. So hitting 3 from the tee I hit a great shot that my dad and I could not find. Drop at 135 yards out and put it to around 10 feet.

Improve ballstriking. I assume your penalites are because of having to take a drop from unplayable lie, out of bounds etc.

I don't read poor ball striking, I read an occasional loss of focus and resulting questionable course management. Playing a hybrid from the tee to be safe and still hitting into the hazard (Hit too long? Right? Left? He didn't say). Missing the green on the side where there is close OB (not sure from his statement if he was aware of that before he hit the shot).... don't know if he was shooting at a pin when he should have been playing to the middle of the green.

With the sketchy information and not being there to see the situation it's hard to be definitive, but it does sound to me like a course management issue. There are times, especially for a bogey golfer, when playing for the best miss is a better course of action than playing the "correct" shot. My index is a few strokes better than tws's, but I still play for that good miss at times. That way the ball is still in play and I still have a chance to save a score. As one's game improves, that "best miss" can gradually be moved closer to "best shot".

**mdbuschsr** · September 20, 2010

I don't read poor ball striking, I read an occasional loss of focus and resulting questionable course management. Playing a hybrid from the tee to be safe and still hitting into the hazard (Hit too long? Right? Left? He didn't say). Missing the green on the side where there is close OB (not sure from his statement if he was aware of that before he hit the shot).... don't know if he was shooting at a pin when he should have been playing to the middle of the green.

I like this response. So much so, that I am going to pull the driver from my bag for my next round. I am hitting it staraighter every round, but I still get into trouble with it from time to time. My other big issue is short game related. IE. related to not enough practice!

**Zeph** · September 20, 2010

I don't read poor ball striking [...]

We got a thread on the subject already. I'm in the ballstriking camp, based on personal experience and watching others. I can hit 10 decent shots in a row, then chunk one thirty yards when aiming as safe as I possibly can. Of course, we have fairly limited knowledge of the OP's game, but I don't think course management is the problem. It's about hitting the ball where you are trying to hit it. The better you get, the more rarely you will hit it short, long, left or right.

**Fourputt** · September 20, 2010

We got a thread on the subject already. I'm in the ballstriking camp, based on personal experience and watching others. I can hit 10 decent shots in a row, then chunk one thirty yards when aiming as safe as I possibly can. Of course, we have fairly limited knowledge of the OP's game, but I don't think course management is the problem. It's about hitting the ball where you are trying to hit it. The better you get, the more rarely you will hit it short, long, left or right.

It depends on WHY he hit the ball in the areas where he did. You are simply making a wild guess based on your own shortcomings. I'm postulating based as much as possible on the actual data he gave us. On that tee shot... did he try to lay up too far? That is one of the most common mistakes for a bogey golfer. He tries to put the layup too close and ends up in rather than short of the hazard.

On the approach shot... was he aiming at a flag which he shouldn't have been anywhere near? Another common management error for a mid to high handicap golfer. The types of mistakes he made are most often the result of mismanagement, not of miss hitting. Miss hits most often end up short of the target. In any event we won't know unless he comes back and gives us more information.

**Zeph** · September 20, 2010

My guessing are just as wild as yours, and I base this on a lot more than my own shortcomings, which I've already said.

Your assumptions are based on two shots, when he mention 5-6 shots every round. But I guess he'll have to give some more information on how he ends up it trouble if we are getting forward here.

Miss hits can end up all over the course, there is no general rule saying it end up short. Short and left is still left.

**tws1098** · September 20, 2010

Sorry for the late response on this, but to clarify, I topped the hybrid into the water in front of the tee box. Because this is not a regular issue, I came to the conclusion, as someone else stated, that my focus is not always where it should be. I have yet to develop a real pre-shot routine. Everything I have read about seems to take too long and makes me over think the shot.

I plan to start taking one practice swing from behind the ball to get a feel for the shot and then step up and go. I am thinking this could help me to focus before the shot takes place but not over think it.

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