Hit a Wall in My Game - How do I break from 93-96 and get into mid-high 80's - Range? Course Management? Club?

So I started playing golf about 2 years ago and managed to get out about 60 time a season for two seasons and I anticipate getting out another 60 + this year.  I have learned a lot and adjusted my swing several times.  I am at a point where I am looking for the next step.  By no means is a 25 handicap good, but I do feel I can play a decent round.  I was wondering what I really should be focusing on to get into the mid to high 80's.  I'm just at a point where I have read so many things in the golf world that it seems like the real answer is "find out what works for you".  People claim so many variations of swings, ball striking and putting methods that I just decided to see what I'm comfortable with and tweak it.  I also put my driver away as I don't strike it as well as my 3 hybrid.  I have dropped 3-5 strokes since removing my driver.  I realized distance is less important than accuracy at this point in my game.

In summary I am trying to find out what I should be focusing on to improve.  I don't want to play 60 rounds thinking it will making me better when I might just be spinning my tires because I am doing the wrong thing over and over.  Should I be at the range more? (I hit about 150 range balls per week).  Should I be on the putting greens? Should I be chipping? Should I just keep playing because it will come eventually?

IMHO, to get to be a better-than bogey golfer you HAVE to get at least near the GIR, if not on in regs.  If you have the chance to chip near the hole and leave a short putt for par, you can offset some of the damage of any doubles you may incur.  So that means having playable drives, and solid approach shots.  Your short game still needs to be solid, but if you aren't anywhere near the green in regs, you don't have a chance at scoring somewhat low.  That means TOTALLY eliminating the topsies, fatties, and shanks.  Lessons might not be a bad idea.

JMHO

So what would you say is more important for a high-handicapper to focus on, hitting fairways off the tee or GIR?

IMO FW come first. Tough to hit a GIR from the trees or adjoining FW. After quickly learning I could not hit driver and keep it in play, I switched to hitting 5W or my 3h off the tee for my first 1.5 years of golf.

I'm still a high index player IMO, but I broke 90 by playing a LOT of golf. I absolutely despise the range and usually only hit balls in winter and very early spring when the courses aren't open yet. I have never had a lesson, although conventional wisdom would be to get lessons and break 90 sooner rather than later.

Different stroke as they say.

Edit: Also, don't compound a miscue with another miscue by trying a hero shot. If need be just chip or punch out to the FW and go from there. In the beginning I would ALWAYS try the hero shot and it would rarely work usually leading to an even worse predicament. I'm not saying don't try a rescue shot, I'm saying keep it within your current skill level.

I got away from HERO shots for sure.  I almost always play a safe punch.  I never hit the 1 out of 100 lucky balls.  So it seems like if GIR is most important than it really comes down to ball striking first.  This would then tell me the range is #1.  Am I wrong?

You should begin with putting. 36 strokes in regulation account for 50% of your round and they are all intended for putting. You might only use driver 8-12 times in a given round. Also if the regulation shots to get to a green are 1, 2 and 3 you are always going to take 1, 2 or 3 shots to get to that par 3/4/5 unless. But when it comes to putting, if you can take 1 putt when in regulation you had 2. I hope that makes sense.

In other words if I play a par 4 in regulation- decent drive, decent apprach, decent 2 putts- what should I work on? In my opinion the drive is adequate, the approach because it got me on the green is adequate so it's the putting that could take the work. And that logic continues to apply provided you are equally good/bad at all elements of the game- driving, approach, chipping, putting.

I'm in about the same boat you're in, as about a 25 handicapper.  My best 18-hole score is a 92, though I did play 9 holes in 41 a few weeks ago.

My observation is that hitting fairways or, really more importantly, playably near the fairway is the first step.  Exactly what that means depends on the conditions---around here where I play, the roughs are not very punishing, so really this just means keeping it from being on the wrong side of a tree.  Having an unencumbered second shot goes a long way to making GIR or near-GIR in regulation.

Breaking 90 means averaging better than bogey on a typical course, so that really doesn't require hitting a ton of GIR, but you better be on in GIR+1 almost every time, with a few GIRs to offset the occasional misses or 3-putts.  That will be tricky if you have a lot of shots from blocked lies.  Even when I'm not striking well, I can pretty routinely make a lot of bogeys if I stay near the short grass.

Work on your short game.  Nothing saves strokes like a good short game.  It will also free you up in other areas if you know you can get up and down.

The adage which rings the most true is to focus on practice from the greens backwards.  Putting is the biggest improvement area, and then chipping, pitching, shorter irons, longer irons/hybrids, fairway woods, and then driver.  Course management is also key - know how to manage risk versus return (minimize hero shots to keep big numbers from wrecking the scorecard).

Also, keeping mentally healthy and positively focused helps to balance the highs and lows over the rounds and season (helps with jitters and nerves under pressure).

So I got a round in this afternoon and counted my greens and fairways in regulation.  I had a poor round but regardless I was at 7 greens in regulation.  I had one 3 putt.  Clearly getting on greens in regulation is a big deal.  I do believe that my chipping is ok but I need to get tighter to the pin to allow for more 1 putt opportunities.  I also was having an issue in my swing that I couldnt figure out the last few rounds and my buddy pointed it out today.  I was dropping my rear right shoulder when coming into the ball.  The last 5 rounds my ball striking has been much poorer than usual.  I made the adjustment to keep the rear shoulder on a more even plane around the 14th hole and it was night and day.  Before I go out each round I am going to make sure I chip around the green more to get tighter to the pin.  I think I might just journal my rounds on here and see if anything sticks out to anyone.  I also took some videos of my swing today so I will look to upload those.

I like working back from the green as suggested. Aside from that, eliminate the big numbers and throw aways (3 putts, chunks, skulls, blocks, etc).  Course management can also help in making sure that you are playing the optimal strategy to score your best.

It really depends on what the strengths of your game are, and what your goal is. To me, if your goal is to eventually be a low 'capper, work on your swing. To get beyond the mid 80's, your going to need your driver and ball striking will be the most important thing to move forward. Golf Magazine did a statistical analysis last year that showed that hitting fairways was by far the most important aspect of scoring, because a bad ball of the tee (ob or lost) will cost you more strokes than an iron or pitch.  If you just want to drop 6 strokes quickly, then:

- play to your strengths. If you hit a fade/slice, play to it

- get really good around the greens. Chips and pitches are a feel thing, and it will only come through practice. My Swing is a mess right now, but I can score what I do because I'm deadly with a wedge in my hands.

-Putting is by far the fastest way to drop strokes. If you are hot with the flat stick you can never see the fairway and break 85 easily.

- My swing has been struggling, so while I have been working on rebuilding that, I have also practiced "trouble" shots, low punches with a hook or a draw. I've found myself playing from places I haven't had to in a long time, so these were shots I wasn't comfortable with. Getting better at these has saved me 2-3 strokes the last couple of rounds

In my mind I want my progression to be something like this.

First I want to be able to get near the green in regulation, chip and 2 Putt. Eliminate Penalty shots, lost balls and Unplayables.

Once I can do that I want to work on my short irons 7,8,9 so I start Hitting more green in regulation.

Then I will start to work most on putting.

After that I want to work on getting my short game good enough where I can one putt after a good portion of my chips. So when I don't hit greens its not an automatic dropped shot.

Then I want to work on longer approach shots around 190-210.

To the OP :

There is no single part of the game you need to focus on most, but you will have to work on your whole game.

Teeing off with your 3H fine, no problem ...... bc you don't really need to hit big drives to play below 90 ...... I know plenty of older guys, never hitting a 200+ drive, but with accuracy on the last 100 yds in .......

If you can play three shots from 100 yds in (and even two shots with a bit of luck) you will be playing below 90 very soon :

Things to work on :

• If you face a akward shot that has to travel trough a gap between two trees, that needs to stay low, and slice after 60 yards to roll it on the frontgreen ...... just play a safe shot back to the fairway, or even declare it unplayable, take a drop and play a safer/wiser shot ...... avoid doubles/tripples etc. (as most doubles/tripples etc. come from bad decissions, ie. not from bad play)
• If you face a 150 yds shot to the center of the green, and that is the distance of your 7i if you hit it perfect, take a 6i out of your bag and don't hit it easier, but hit it at your normal speed, if you are the luckiest "bastard" you will hit it to the back of the green, but mostly 1 club extra gives you a very good result !
• Wedge or 9 iron from 100 yds in to the center of the green...... don't get too smart by trying to place a pitch between that bunker and the pin ..... just go for center of the green + 2 putts
• Chipping with a 7i/8i/9i from just of the green ..... try to roll the ball close to the hole, giving yourself an opportunity for a 1-putt (even if you improve on this a fair bit, it will save a few pars or bogeys) ..... if using a putter from just off is a valid option (no long grass in the way), maybe it doesn't look COOL, but it might get you closer to the hole than a chip or pitch ....... focus on score above nice play !
• Lag Putting ........ force your self to get the first (long) putt so close that it is very hard to miss the second putt (avoiding 3-putts is vital), practice distances, know your distances ....... with other words if you face a 16-30 ft. how realistic is it you will nail it in the hole ....... maybe it goes by 8 ft. and you'll have a hard time getting the next in ....... or you focus to get the first in a 2 ft circle around the hole and always knock the second in.

Getting better at hitting a 9 iron from 100 (120) yds to the center of the green, will bring you better ballstriking at the same time, so maybe getting you in a better GIR or close position with the mid and long irons.

If you want to break 90 ....... and there is a choice between a great super shot a the coward percentage shot, go for the second option and make that par or bogey.

Good Luck !!!

Are you tracking any stats for your game?  Everyone plays differently, and everyone has different strenghts and weaknesses.  As such, there is no cookie-cutter answer that will work for everyone.  The best thing you can do right now to answer your question is start tracking your stats for every single round you play.  That will allow you to easily zero in on the weaknesses in your game so you can focus your practice.

to the OP, how are your shots out of the thicker grass? We tend to hit out of thick grass very often and it would seem that learning the distances for 100 yards in with those clubs would be very important. When to club up or down based on how deep the ball is in the grass or how thick the grass is.