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What Separates the Average Player to a Great Player?

golflover123

By golflover123
in Golf Talk

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Note: This thread is 2305 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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dagolfer18 Great Member

dagolfer18

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I would say basically everything. A great player devotes a good deal of their practice time to developing a good touch around the greens, while an average player probably is mostly up on the range, blasting away with their driver. Great players also develop a positive mindset, putting themselves in a winning frame of mind. Course management also comes into play. Great players look for the high-percentage shots, while average golfers think, “What’s the most fun shot in this situation?”

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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Full swing is the largest separator (approach shots first, driving second). Short game is third. Putting is last.

These are essentially fact.

Read Lowest Score Wins and Every Shot Counts.

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Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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Nagah Well Established Member

Nagah

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@iacas The short game/putt for dough mantra misnomer as found in LSW and ESC is the paradigm shift that for a majority of golfers don’t want to accept.

I too had that same mindset. It’s not until you see the stats and obvious facts that it shatters a lot of preconceived ideas about what separates average and great players.

Give me an extra 20 yards off the tee and an added 20 yards on my 3 wood and hybrids and I’d be happy to play in a heap of Senior Events in Australia.

Remember its just a game.....more serious than life and death.

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luchnia Established Member

luchnia

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9 hours ago, golflover123 said:

what separate the average player to a great player is it short game knowing the course your playing  the mental side. 

what are you thoughts 

What defines an average player versus a great player? What score or style or swing or _______(fill in the blank) separates average from great?


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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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2 hours ago, luchnia said:

What defines an average player versus a great player? What score or style or swing or _______(fill in the blank) separates average from great?

It doesn't matter where you draw the lines, the answers are the same.

Not if you're talking about two specific individuals, but if you're talking in general… the answers are the same regardless of how you define each.

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • Author, Lowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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The Flush Great Member

The Flush

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What is an average player?  What is a great player?  It is all relative. Are we talking scratch golfer vs bogey golfer or touring pro vs non pro scratch golfer? Or something else?

For the first comparison it is probably best left at just ball striking.  For the second you can get more into the short game and putting, but ball striking is probably still at the top of the list.

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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8 minutes ago, The Flush said:

What is an average player?  What is a great player?  It is all relative. Are we talking scratch golfer vs bogey golfer or touring pro vs non pro scratch golfer? Or something else?

For the first comparison it is probably best left at just ball striking.  For the second you can get more into the short game and putting, but ball striking is probably still at the top of the list.

Yep. It's still ballstriking.

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • Author, Lowest Score Wins
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Patch Incredible Member

Patch

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Off hand I'd say one's talent, and the desire to improve on those talents in all aspects of the game. 

I read an article the other day in a local golf magazine that sort touched on this topic.

Basically is read that at all levels of golf, you wil find better players, and those who not so better, with in the different levels of play. To be the best the player at their level, that player has to have the ability to have their long, short, and mental games all working well together to be the better golfer. 

A better golfer could get by, on occassions, with two of those three aspects, but certainly not just one. 

As for the "great" golfers, those players are on one of the various pro tours somewheres. They have the ability to keep all facets of their golf game at high levels, most of the time.. 

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DaveP043 Incredible Member

DaveP043

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In my opinion, "great" players are better than average players in every facet of the game.  Yes, they're better with their short game, with their putting, with their driving, and with their iron play.  Everything.  The biggest separation is with full swing stuff, with smaller differences in short game and putting.  Even I can be close to a "great" player in decision-making, but without the ballstriking skill, there's still a huge gulf.

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billchao Incredible Member

billchao

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16 hours ago, golflover123 said:

what separate the average player to a great player is it short game knowing the course your playing  the mental side. 

what are you thoughts 

It's greatness, and knowing how to use punctuation 😜

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Bill

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Nagah Well Established Member

Nagah

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15 hours ago, iacas said:

Yep. It's still ballstriking.

Agreed. It’s no use having a killer short game if it takes you 4 shots to get on the green.

I’ve had mates who were touring Pros. One in Particular “Marshy” played with a scratch marker and myself. I was playing off 5 at the time.

I finished with 74, scratch scored 72 and Marshy shot 64.( Par 70). 
We all played well but Marshy controlled the distances on all his full shots.

His ball striking compared to scratch and me was so way above our standard.

This was in 2008. He laughed when we both said his short game was great. He said crap, I just hit my full swings the right distance.

Edited by Nagah

Remember its just a game.....more serious than life and death.

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boogielicious Incredible Member

boogielicious

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17 hours ago, billchao said:

It's greatness, and knowing how to use punctuation 😜

It’s greatness, knowing how to use punctuation, and proper use of the Oxford Comma!😝

Ball striking separates average from really good players. Great players have great ball striking and distance control in all conditions.

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Cantankerish Great Member

Cantankerish

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On 12/29/2019 at 9:45 PM, golflover123 said:

what separate the average player to a great player is it short game knowing the course your playing  the mental side. 

what are you thoughts 

My thoughts are that you will benefit from this forum quite a bit more if you refrain from declarative statements for awhile.  I'm not being snarky.  Stick around, read, and ask questions to benefit from the sort of knowledge available here that most people pay a lot of money to get access to.

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mcanadiens Super Member

mcanadiens

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On 12/29/2019 at 9:45 PM, golflover123 said:

what separate the average player to a great player is it short game knowing the course your playing  the mental side. 

what are you thoughts 

Golf shoes with tassels.

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luchnia Established Member

luchnia

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1 hour ago, mcanadiens said:

Golf shoes with tassels.

I completely forgot about the shoes 🙂

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billchao Incredible Member

billchao

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5 hours ago, boogielicious said:

It’s greatness, knowing how to use punctuation, and proper use of the Oxford Comma!😝

887AA176-A130-45F4-9001-A0767C7D36F7.jpeg

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“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

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