Getting to Scratch in 18 Months?

[golflover123]

10 hours ago, David in FL said:

Not true.

If, right now, you had Tiger Woods’ golf game all the way to the green, and your current chipping and putting ability, you would be a very very good player.  Not PGA Tour quality, but better than scratch!

but want if you had no putting  or chipping you have to be good at putting and chipping you can't just focus on full swing 

6 hours ago, Darkfrog said:

I have a friend who is an excellent putter, and has a much better short game compared to me, but he can't break 100 because by the time his ball is near the green, he's already laying 5, 6 or 7. About 15 months ago, me and my friend were equal when it came to golf, but I invested in full swing lessons, and he did nothing, and now I'm easily 10-15 strokes better than him. Full swing is the way to go.

 

 

but putting and chipping save you shots 

[Darkfrog]

52 minutes ago, golflover123 said:

but putting and chipping save you shots 

It won’t matter if you’re saving a double bogey.
 

I’m not suggesting putting and short game are not important, but without an excellent full swing for tee shots and approaches you’ll never come close to scratch. 

[leftybutnotPM]

1 hour ago, golflover123 said:

but want if you had no putting  or chipping you have to be good at putting and chipping you can't just focus on full swing 

but putting and chipping save you shots 

That's a little bit like saying that to be a great racing car driver you have to be really good at putting your helmet on and tying your shoelaces.

Of course they're important skills but if you can't drive you're going nowhere.

The best putter and chipper in the world might make a lot of 1 putt pars which means he might shoot close to par occasionally if his long game is decent, but he's not going to make the 6 birdies a round which are the basis of a really good player's score on ordinary golf courses. And he'll make lots of one putt bogeys on difficult courses.

[uitar9]

16 hours ago, golflover123 said:

but want if you had no putting  or chipping you have to be good at putting and chipping you can't just focus on full swing 

but putting and chipping save you shots 

I improved my score quickly by spending time on putting and chipping.

It wasn't until I read LSW that I figured out what these crazy forum guys were talking about.

We can all (assuming normal physical condition) improve putting and chipping quickly because it doesn't take as much effort or skill as improving full swing. Improvement happens faster.

PGA stats currently have Kevin Na making 20% of 20 foot putts. 

For most folks, full swing improvement takes longer, more physical effort and skill.

That is why the crazy forumites suggest folks should spend more time on full swing , all things being equal. It takes longer for improvement.

But, it is important long term improvement-If I can get more GIR's or NGIR's because my approach shots are on the Green in regulation or within 20 yards, I'll have a better chance to score more pars and bogeys. 

I can be a great putter and chipper but if my first putt on a par four is for 6, my scores are not gonna fall long term

That doesn't touch on the importance of course management but that's all in the book 

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by uitar9