gpeden

- hcp down to 13 (from 17.5 at the end of last season, and 29.5 at the beginning of last season - FIR 40% GIR 40%, Putts 30 - Tame the driver - Win at least 1 AGA of Oregon tournament - Play at least one 9 under 40 (anywhere) - Break 85 at Pumpkin Ridge Ghost Creek - Play one round without a penalty (OB, Hazard, Lost Ball)

$.25 skins with carry over, plus 4 skins for KP on the par 3's (have to par to win). "No suck" rule - you can't win a skin with anything worse than a bogey.

just because you suck doesn't mean you have to play slow. In fact it seems like some of the slowest players are the 'good players'. You know the type - umpteen practice swings, endless waggles, refusal to play 'ready golf'. And they always look annoyed when you ask to play through.

One thing that has helped me is to golf really early in the morning. Like at sunrise (5:30am). If you are willing to get up that early to golf you probably have some clue about the basics of speed of play, etc. At least it seems like we have fewer issues like that.

For most of the season I have not been using my driver - I hit my 5 iron 200 off the tee, and my 19 degree ping hybrid about 240, both reasonably straight. I hit my driver about 270 (maybe longer, its hard to tell since it rarely goes straight) but spray it all over the place. My handicap has gone from 30 to 18 since last year. Recently I have been hitting my driver better *at the range*. So yesterday I pulled out the big D on the course, and on hole #2 I hit a great drive. Then spent the next 10 holes butchering my drives (shot a 54 on the front) thinking I would find that swing again. Finally I gave up on #11, reverted back to the no-driver strategy and did better on the back (46). My short game is pretty good, and I had no 3 putts. So i guess its back to the no driver approach. My non-driver swing has improved so much its hard to resist not picking up the big D. Anyone else struggle this way? Its frustrating. g

Project Manager for a Ensequence, a small software startup in Portland, OR. Wouldn't mind finding a career in golf

I am with Buckswin - I used to take mulligans and the 'foot wedge', but now that i am keeping a handicap I play by the rules ("Play the ball where it lies"). I don't see the point of keeping a handicap if its not a true reflection of your skills and areas to improve? thats just me. I have also started to play a few tournaments - and I don't want to have any bad habits that would screw that up. But if if you just want to play for fun you can do whatever you want - thats the beauty of the game. g

I played Greywolf in Panorama BC - it was incredible. One of the toughest courses I have ever played (there wasn't a flat spot on the course) - not to mention the Moose on the 3rd tee. http://www.greywolfgolf.com/ g

Maybe a lesson might help? Just because you can fly a Piper Cub (or whatever the aviation equivelent to game improvement clubs) may not mean you can fly an F-16 (to make an analogy)..... g

The 'angels sing, trumpets sound' moment for me was when we shorted my backswing. You could see on video that at the very top of my old swing I would come 'over the top' badly when over swinging. Now i feel like I am taking a 3/4 swing (on all my clubs) - it is going straighter and farther than I ever expected. Its taken a little while to get used to. LIke a lot of things in this game, accepting the 'less is more' isn't easy. g

I have a had similar improvement over the last year. After a 10 year lay-off (my 'I hate golf' phase). I picked up the game last year, new fitted clubs (Ping G2), and and lessons over the winter. My handicap has gone from 32 to 18.5. I am focusing right now on no mis-hits (tops, chunks, etc.), and no blow up holes (like the 9 i posted on a par 5, followed by two birdies), and hitting fairways and greens. In my case, I think the thing that helped me the most was really trusting my pro (we tore my swing down and completely rebuilt it), and working hard. Now my main challenge is dialing my distances (I went from my 7 iron being my 150 club to my PW), hitting greens, and course management. Oh - and not making stupid 'hero' shots that turn on bad shot into two (or more). So the game has completely changed for me now that I pretty much always break 100. g