The Julia Plan: A 5 Handicap in 5 Years

I read parts of the long drawn out thread about The Dan Plan of becoming a pro golfer. I'm 62 with no such aspirations. It might have been that way if I was 9 when I started, but I was born in the wrong year. Girls didn't do those things in the 1950s and 60s. I was lucky to have been able to play basketball in the late 1960s/early 70s. I'm not going to go off on a rant. It will just get me mad and we don't want that here. I have to go with the hand I was dealt. I managed to stay active during my life and I'm in athletic condition.

I took up golf two years ago when I was 60. I have a goal - a 5 handicap in 5 years. My expectations are that I'll be a better golfer. I'll be 65 if that happens. I'll be entering year three. My health through the first year was not good. I had a heat stroke in August, and was diagnosed with kidney failure. I also have Meniere's disease - it is episodic vertigo and hearing loss. The kidney failure was caused by medications, and I stopped them, and funny thing by the time I got my appointment with the nephrologist, the condition cleared up. They over medicate us. Still I have some things working against me, but I'll fight through the pain like I've done all my life.

I'm going to the gym 4 days/week to lift. My cardio work is hitting balls, and swinging the orange whip until I see a podiatrist.

This plan may sound insane, and I'm wondering if it's realistic myself. If I don't try it, I'll never know if I could have done it.

Year 1 - I sucked. I played golf. I went to the range. I hit balls. I took some lessons. I shot 116. But I had fun.

Year 2 - I got better. Joined a women's club. I embarrassed myself in my first round (you don't want to know). I took some lessons. I practiced a lot. I got a GHIN handicap. As of 11/1/14, at the final revision it is 24.7. I have to update. I won most improved player award, and placed 2nd in two club tournaments (one match, and one net score).

Winter - Take lessons. Work on drills - 22 balls per drill, per assigned club. When it's over, it's over. Move on to the next drill or the next club whichever is next. If the last ball in the drill is a bad shot, tough. It's just a shot. The drill is over. That's three clubs, three drills 22 ball drills per club, or 198 balls per session. There will be 6 extra balls in the basket. Give them away. If there were 9 I'd add one more ball to each, but there's not. Work on the drills assigned by the coach. Practice like a stupid monkey.... every day. Study Lowest Score Wins.

Year 3 - Take it to the course. Practice. Take tune ups. Play in amateur tournaments. See what happens.

I haven't planned out past year 3 since I need to see what happens. I expect winter after year 3 three to be similar, and hopefully improve. I know it will get more difficult to improve the lower the handicap goes.

At this time, my driver SS can get up to 94+ mph when I'm warmed up. I've hit the back fence at the range on the fly and that's at 240, but I don't have the confidence to swing that hard on the course.

I bought fleece lined pants from Eddie Bauer for use at the driving range in Dec - Feb.

So what do you guys think? Is it a realistic plan? Or should I give it up?

Coming from an almost lifelong bogey golfer, it is a stretch. I don't mean to discourage you, but rather to encourage you. Your being naturally athletic, staying in shape, and conscious of your health are positives, and you have made exceptional progress. Getting from don't play to legit 24 in the timeframe you have is really great.

Golf is hard, and the lower you go, the harder it is. So don't be discouraged when you get to 15 and seem to hit a wall. Most everyone does. Keep pushing!

Well, don't give up!

It sounds doable. You already hit far enough for a female scratch player, although course distances will be disappointingly lower as you have already discovered. As you get better, you will probably start to approach your range distances on the course.

From USGA Primer

"A female scratch golfer is a player who can play to a Course Handicap of zero on any and all rated golf courses. A female scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400-yard hole in two shots at sea level."

It's a big wall too!

So from this juncture, your goal is to move from a 25 hcp to 5 in 3 full years.

Will you make it?  No idea.  Is it possible?  Absolutely.

You sound as if you have the basic athleticism.  If you stay healthy, maintain the more-than-adequate length that you have now, and find and work diligently with the right instructor, I think it's very doable.  Not easy , mind you, but it doesn't take a great golfer to play to a 5.......even though most never get close.  Your goal certainly isn't one of the "I'm a 10 hcp and want to be a Tour Pro in 5 years" fantasies that we hear every so often.  Go after it!

I'd be a little careful not to overdo the practice though.  200 balls in a practice session is a marathon.  Take care not to hurt yourself with over zealousness.....

Good luck, and keep us up to date, and stick around.  We really need more ladies around here!

I experimented with playing the ladies tees recently:

My driving stats are about 240 for a good shot with 275 maximum distance on the course. Average is probably about 220 based upon the median approach club 8i/7i. Which matches pretty nicely with Julia's statistics. All other irons are give or take a couple yards or so.

I shot 82 pretty handily on this course (I recall that I had some pretty stupid things happen for the triple and the double, plus I played it with extra stiff blade irons). The CR for women is 74.9 on those tees. This is only a 7.1 stroke difference to a female scratch golfer.  If Julia is targeting to be a female 5 handicap we're only talking about shooting at most 2 strokes better than me on most courses.

I don't consider this too difficult to aspire to, in fact she should be able to get there next year and is giving herself 3 years.

It's very realistic, Julia.

The pro-golfer ship sailed long ago. To me this is like learning how to play the Bach "French Overture" on the piano. I performed this piece of music, so I'm no stranger to practice and hard work. And one mistake in fingering and it's "#$!@!!" - the golf equivalent of a topped shot. Just in case you wanted to listen to someone great perform it.

But back on topic. The courses in the area, mostly run 5600 yds for women unless I play from the men's tees. But I'm over 60, so for men's tees that means the old men's tees which only add another 100 yds. on many of the tracks around here. One track runs 5850, and the key there is to get off the tee. One duff and it's a very long hole. Course rating is 74.2.

Chamber's Bay, however, is only 5100 yds, and a very difficult 5100 yds. And the walk is 8 miles. The US Open will play it at 7585 yds. It costs me $85 to play a round there, so while it's a nice course, don't look for too many rounds there.

Anyway, I've got to go. Back out to the range. It gets me out of the house.

I need to control those drives and iron shots. Iron shots right now. Then he'll have me working on the drives.

This is probably one of the longer courses for ladies. The tees for men are 6730 and 7100+ yards with the senior tees at 6300. It's a really long course, and not the typical course. The ladies I play with do complain about the length of the course. Only a couple of them drive like you, and I think they are scratch.

Best wishes.  One element difficult to control , for everyone, is wear and tear on the body.  Your mind, emotions and desire, may be spot-on but if the knees, or other joints, start to fail then the intensity, and hours, of practice and play must drop off. Golf is one thing and the game of life, wrapped in a body, is another. At one level, each golf game can be considered a micro-life journey. Start with highest hopes and desires, then progress through the up/down, good/bad, joy/heartache  of knocking the white pill along the ground, but in the end we learn to press on, as well as possible, to the final shot.  Few, if any, here will say 'cannot', but most will say, 'near lottery odds'.

If you were like nick bunker, probably a vibrant teenager, more would be possible.

I started at 47 years old - played over 100 rounds per year and am just finishing up my 3rd full year.    Everyone I know thinks I'm the crazy golfer for playing so much.    OCD'd out on it big time.    I'm also athletic - always have been - played all the team sports growing up.     I can't break 80.    I can get close, but can't even consistently stay in the low 80's.    I think long term, single digits may be a possibility, not holding my breath.   A 5 hcp takes a boatload of natural ability ... maybe you have it, but I think it's a lot harder to get that low than you give it credit for.

I think you're both looking at it like she is planning on becoming a 5 male handicap. It's different.

She really has the length playing from the ladies tees to get to ladies scratch.

Lihu is right about that. I need to work on consistency and control. I get those down, all but the longest courses or the ones with narrow fairways and tight doglegs are within reach of a driver + 8 iron to wedge on par 4s. Some short par 5s at this time are within driver + 6 iron at this time. I need control and accuracy. That means consistent ability to make good contact with the ball, and learn how to put the ball where I want it to go. That takes practice and a lot of it. I'm working on this now.

The long par 5s I've had to play are 454, 468, and 475. I hit can get pin high in 3. If I'm on I can get a GIR. Many par 5s are around 420. I've rolled close to the fringe in 2 with a driver + 4H.

But this is not going to happen overnight. I know that. It will take a lot of hard work. I still have to putt well and have a good short game so I can get up and down for those pars.

If you work with some Evolvr or 5SK instructors, they should be able to help you improve your consistency in much less time than you think.

I'm going to use this as a progress report thread to post things I'm learning. The My Swing thread will be used for video analysis only.

I've learned some interesting things in the past week. It's Friday and I've hit another 1000 balls. I'm on the 198 ball/day plan. The knock down shot drill > 9 to 3 swing drill > full swing drill. 22 balls each. Start with the Pitching Wedge, then 8 iron, then 7 iron. I'm not to hit anything longer than a 7 iron right now. To save my hands hitting so many balls I'm using Mizuno Batting gloves: the nice soft leather ones. They look like golf gloves except they're thicker.

When I started the knock down shot drill, I was hitting them on the thin side. Now I'm hearing a thump on the mat, and the ball is leaving the club head with more consistency of flight and direction. I still make bad shots. It's almost a meditation-like drill. There's little if any thought that's going into it now. When I'm hitting them well, I'm just going through the motions. I guess this is what muscle memory is. When I think about it, I screw up.

It is amazing how many people have the exact same problem making solid contact. It is also amazing how many low handicappers I see up there doing this very same drill as a warm up.

I've solved the problem with the takeaway. I have a decent takeaway now. The change in the takeaway changed the ball position. For the pitching wedge, instead of having to play it far right of center, I can play it two balls right of center and hit this low knock down shot. For the half swing and full swing it goes to one ball right of center.

The knock down shot I figured out is the bottom part of the swing arc. It is important for me to stay in posture there and not just perform the drill with my arms. Moving onto the 9-3 swing, this is the part of the swing where I'm releasing the club head and where I usually pop out of posture. This is where I have been practicing staying in posture and extending through to finish from my hip turn with my legs for power. It is amazing me how far I can hit the ball with only a 9-3 swing. My trajectory seems to be high, but I put a broken tee about six inches in front of the ball to see if I'm scooping. I'm not. The tee is gone. It's just my ball placement and that the club head is not forward pressed at impact as much. I could play the ball a little further back and hit it lower.

The coach calls the knock down like driving a car 20 mph; the 9-3 swing driving a car 40 mph; and the full swing driving the car 70 mph. If you make a mistake driving 70 mph bad things can happen. So with a full swing if you make a mistake bad things are more likely to happen. So while I can go through my knock down and 9-3 drills quite well, the full swing drill is much more challenging. But it is getting better. When I get into a groove where things are clicking, I've learned not to think, but to keep going. That's when the ball flight is where I've aimed it; the trajectory is acceptable, and I heard the requisite sound associated with hitting down on the ball. If I thin the ball or mis-hit, it is time to stop and reset. What felt different? Check the takeaway, check the arm position, check the downswing, check the impact, check the follow-through. Now, do it again.

When the balls are gone, it's over. Don't look for another ball. It's over. Let it go. I thinned my last shot. Let it go. It's just a shot. This is a huge lesson for me. I'm a hot head. I keep hearing the coach - "Let it go. It's over. Done. Remember the good shots. Go home."

I'm staying with my posture better now. I have a long way to go, but it's getter better.

I will say that my back was very sore when I started this. I told a friend of mine who asked me, "what kind of sore?" "Muscle." "Well, just do more. Keep at it. It's conditioning." She was right. My back isn't sore like it was last week. The muscles in my lower back are getting stronger. Anyone who thinks that getting good at this sport doesn't require conditioning....

Julia, I'no sure that playing frequently helps, but it's not a requirement. In the last 12 months I've played 38 rounds. I played a similar amount over the course of the previous year, and in those two years I've almost chopped my index in half. I would stress the links Scott gave you as the primary reason I've improved. And the number 1 key to good practice is knowing WHAT to practice (the "specific" S) for which I have the Evolvr guys to thank as well.

From one musician to another ... that is an amazing performance - can't believe he played that entire 30 minute piece WITHOUT the sheet music ... it's gotta require memorizing thousands upon thousands of notes in succession.   World class piano players are amazing to me - freaks me out that the human mind is capable of that kind of memorization.    I'm very curious ...did you actually perform that entire 30 minute piece ??