I want to play better!

[Old Pro]

You want to play better? Let me tell you a tale. 30 years ago I was still playing for a living. I was talked into giving a ladies clinic at my home club by the Resident Pro. There I met my wife. Bad swing, could not ever break 100. 3 years later she won the club championship 2 years in a row. 

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing. Find a 'player' to show you how to 'play' golf with what you got. Never fight your tendencies, don't make 5 trying to make 3 when 4 is good enough .Quit trying to hit shots you can not hit. If you play fade, always play fade!! 

This game is 1st Tee to 18th hole, least shots. That's it!!

practice chips, putts, pitches.

10 more yards with driver will not change nothing!

This ain't hard boys, you wanna break 100,90,80....

Hit 10,000 balls or play your fade and learn to chip, pitch and putt.

luv ya guys, just trying to help.

example: if you're 5' 6" you can't dunk, so you spend lots of time shooting from the free throw line.

you gotta play with what you got!!

Yep, I've been drinking, but the advice is sound. ;)

 

[TRUCKER]

I like this man. He is smart...🤝

[Old Pro]

I see so many guys trying to break 90. Thats 17 bogeys and 1 par. It is all about how you play. Find a friend that can 'play'. Pay attention. TV golf is not your game. Three shots, two putts, each hole your good! Damn Dude, it ain't that hard.

[LMoore]

I was playing with the club champion 5-6 years ago (I was about an 8 at the time) and found myself off the fairway with the need for a low draw punch of about 135 yards. He asked what my plans were. I told him what was needed. His question was, “do you have command of that shot?”. I didn’t, so I punched out, 3rd on the green, and made a putt. Par. He said, “congratulations, you’re on your way to learning how to play golf “.

Never forgot it. Old pro is right. Play within yourself. Egos make big numbers.

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, Old Pro said:

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing.

I like your post. But I can't say I agree with this being universal.

[Piz]

Try this.  Make your own score card.  Add one stroke to every hole.  Par isn't 72...it's 90.  If you can convince yourself that every hole you encounter is either a par 4, par 5, or par 6...you will wonder, after the round, why breaking 90 seemed like such a challenge.  It does take some mental discipline to maintain the illusion; but it pays off handsomely.  After all...why use 72, as a bench mark, when you rarely break 80?

[windlaker]

Old Pro, I like your "Drinking Thinking".

Now, I just have to remember it on the course!

[klineka]

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing.

I disagree. There are plenty of people that have changed their swings and improved drastically over the age of 35. There are numerous people on this forum that have "Member Swing" threads that are over 35 and have drastically changed their swing.

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

practice chips, putts, pitches.

10 more yards with driver will not change nothing!

Outside of glaring weaknesses, the long game and full swing is more important and is where you should spend more practice time than the short game and putting. 

10 more yards with driver will help, because the closer you are to the hole, the lower number of shots it will take on average to get the ball in the hole. There is so much data available now that shows the importance of getting your tee shots closer to the hole, please stop spreading misinformation

 

[ChetlovesMer]

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing. 

I respectfully disagree. I'm pushing 50 and have made several changes to my swing. Very dramatic changes in the last 2 years alone. 

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

 Find a 'player' to show you how to 'play' golf with what you got. Never fight your tendencies, don't make 5 trying to make 3 when 4 is good enough .Quit trying to hit shots you can not hit. If you play fade, always play fade!! 

Are you implying that course management will make a bigger impact on your score than learning to "hit the ball better"? Again, I respectfully disagree. I do think course management is important. I also agree with only playing shots you know how to hit. I think learning to hit better shots is more important. 

 

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

Yep, I've been drinking, but the advice is sound. 😉

I love it. Posting online golf advice after drinking is a much much smarter move than calling up old girlfriends and leaving creepy voicemails after drinking.... Not that I'd know. It's just what I've heard.

[billchao]

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing. Find a 'player' to show you how to 'play' golf with what you got. Never fight your tendencies, don't make 5 trying to make 3 when 4 is good enough .Quit trying to hit shots you can not hit. If you play fade, always play fade!!

And when you chunk, thin, and top the ball, just keep chunking, thinning, and topping it! No point in working on your full swing at all 😜

13 hours ago, Old Pro said:

Three shots, two putts, each hole your good! Damn Dude, it ain't that hard.

Yup, easy peasy. Don't let lying three off the tee stop you from making bogey. Golf is easy, just put the ball in play every hole and two putt every green.

[David in FL]

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing.

By the same argument, no one over 35 should even consider taking up the game for the first time...

 

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

Quit trying to hit shots you can not hit. 

 

Words to live by!

 

14 hours ago, Old Pro said:

10 more yards with driver will not change nothing!

10 yards with driver is 1 less club on the approach.  It could be more, if that extra length also transfers to the other clubs in the bag...

All things being equal, I’m going to score better hitting 7 or 8 iron in, than hitting 5 or 6.

 

15 hours ago, Old Pro said:

10 more yards with driver will not change nothing!

Then again, perhaps we agree!   

[JxQx]

What is so magical about age 35?

[krupa]

2 minutes ago, JxQx said:

What is so magical about age 35?

It's the age where we all hike our belts up to our neck, get our AARP card, and complain about being too cold in a 78 degree room.

[CarlSpackler]

15 hours ago, Old Pro said:

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing.

This is very incorrect. My swing has changed significantly since I was 35.

[Patch]

15 hours ago, Old Pro said:

You want to play better? Let me tell you a tale. 30 years ago I was still playing for a living. I was talked into giving a ladies clinic at my home club by the Resident Pro. There I met my wife. Bad swing, could not ever break 100. 3 years later she won the club championship 2 years in a row. 

If you're over 35 you are never gonna hit enough balls to change your swing. Find a 'player' to show you how to 'play' golf with what you got. Never fight your tendencies, don't make 5 trying to make 3 when 4 is good enough .Quit trying to hit shots you can not hit. If you play fade, always play fade!! 

This game is 1st Tee to 18th hole, least shots. That's it!!

practice chips, putts, pitches.

10 more yards with driver will not change nothing!

This ain't hard boys, you wanna break 100,90,80....

Hit 10,000 balls or play your fade and learn to chip, pitch and putt.

luv ya guys, just trying to help.

example: if you're 5' 6" you can't dunk, so you spend lots of time shooting from the free throw line.

you gotta play with what you got!!

Yep, I've been drinking, but the advice is sound. 😉

 

Well said.

[klineka]

2 minutes ago, Patch said:

Well said.

There are numerous statements in that post that are flat out wrong. 

Why do you think it is well said?

[Vinsk]

5 minutes ago, klineka said:

There are numerous statements in that post that are flat out wrong. 

Why do you think it is well said?

I think @Patch my be just letting the guy off. Let’s face it, some of these guys from the old school days are never going to accept the new ideologies of golf despite tons of research, data and statistics proving them to be correct. Gary Player will never concede that the long game is more important for scoring than the short game. Some simply feel that if they are/were a superior player then whatever their opinion is supersedes facts of a lesser player. 

We all know that facts don’t care about feelings. But some people simply can’t grasp that and will argue til the day is done with their opinions and improper math.  

[Patch]

1 minute ago, klineka said:

There are numerous statements in that post that are flat out wrong. 

Why do you think it is well said?

I think what @Old Pro is getting at is that after a certain age the golfer should go with what they have as far as full, and partial swings. 

By a certain age, any golfer who played alot of golf, has their own game imprinted on their brain. Most long time golfers will have a decent all around game when they get into their 30s, 40s, 50s, 

Yes long time golfers should work on all facets of their game which includes their long games. But at some point, we all get to that age where just keeping what we have is more of a priority, than trying to get better. 

In my case, due age, and injuries, I no longer have the distance to save many strokes in that area of my game. I rely more heavily on my short game to save those strokes. That is what I think @Old Golfer is implying.