Roadmap to scratch.

I have a few questions for those who have a handicap under 8. I personally got my handicap down to 2 during high school and into college. I played relatively easy golf courses that accounted for why it was so low at one point. With that said I did not understand how the golf club worked at that time. This is why I think my handicap went up to a 12 when I didn't practice daily. In my quest to get back to scratch I have noticed a few things about the swing that I previously did not account for before. Here is my hypothesis on how to get to scratch. Please correct any or all of this list of what I deem to be absolutes. For those who can't get past an 8, what seems to be holding you back.

1) A fundamental understanding of flattening out the club to get back on the lower plane is a must in order to ever reach your full potential. I think this alone can get a guy around a 12 handicap in and of itself, depending on how often he or she practices.

2) Golf course management can get you down about another 3 strokes to around an 8 or 9 handicap.

3) A consistent method of putting and approach to green reading will get you to somewhere around a 5-6 cap. I personally use aim point and it is a blessing. Its not the end all be all for everyone, but its a good start for most people out there.

4) Understanding the rule of 12 with chipping and short pitches can get you to somewhere around 3-4. For those not familiar with this method of chipping look it up on youtube. This is a huge shot saver for high handicaps.

5) Now that your at a 3 or around there, religious practice will get you to scratch. At this point its simply a matter of rehearsing your fundamentals over and over again.

V/r

Thomas

Do you think it is possible to be a good ball striker without getting the club back on the shaft plane in the downswing?

The vast majority of the consistent "good guys" on tour are at or below that plane.

To me getting back down to that lower plane with adequate rotation allows scratch guys to shoot at or close to par when their timing isn't perfect.

Do you have any absolutes in the golf swing?

Jim Furyk, one of the better ball strikers on tour.  Club is way above the shaft plane. He also returns the club to a higher angle than it was at address.

Jim is quoted as being a "freak of nature". While I love his move and its consistency, it is not something that is what we would call normal. He has indeed mastered the art of compensation in his swing. I also believe his clubs are about 3 degrees upright that allows for him to come in a bit over the lower plane. There are other guys out there that can win on tour with an above the plane impact position but there seems to be a timing variable that makes its way into the equation. There guys that come to mind are Carl Peterson, Dejong, and Sadler.

When I was a 2 handicap my swing was completely unorthodox. I had a crazy open face at address with an open stance that had my chest facing the target at address. It was just a matter of how big a hook I was going to hit. With that said I was able to eliminate half of the golf course. She definitely wasn't going right.

For me, I had a great coach for the first 3 or 4 years I played (my dad), got down to low single digits during that time.  I've been playing about 7 years now.  From the 3 or 4 I was then to the +1 I am now, I have just focused on fundamentals and practicing.  I have no coach.  I just practice and play.  I was reading through your post going "What does that even mean?" to most the points.  I don't think there is a specific "roadmap" to becoming scratch.  Sure, there are better ways to go about it... you can practice smarter, practice more, have a good coach... but I really think you need to experiment and find what works for you.  Everyone is different.

1)  Not sure what you mean... not something I ever think about, that's for sure.

2)  I think course management is worth a ton.  Number of strokes would depend on you handicap.

3)  I just read the putt and hit it.  Nothing fancy.

4)  I don't know what the rule of 12 is.

5)  I do practice a lot more than most weekend warriors, but not as much as you may think.  I am still in school so I only get to play a lot in the summer.  I play probably 5 rounds in the spring and fall, and practice once a week.  During summer I practice probably an average of 3-4 times a week and play an average of about 36 a week.

I'm not trying to destroy your methodology here, I'm just trying to express that there isn't just a single way to get to scratch.  If 1-5 work for you, great, drill them until you get where you want to be.