What Single Thing Made the Biggest Drop in Your Handicap?

[sjduffers]

Going from around 20 to 13-14 was by playing more, and going from there to single digits and staying there (lowest was 6.6 and currently around 8.0) was by taking lessons, at GolfTEC in my case, and playing at least twice a week: retirement helps in that regard, of course. I am not trying to improve anymore, just maintaining a single digit handicap. Play smart and apply the LSW principles.

[mohearn]

Biggest thing for me initially was getting my driving under control (sv4). Then added distance due to not missing so much, and developing a stronger game around the green (sv3). probably took off 5 HCP points getting driver in better shape. Priority when the weather nicens is approach game and scoring clubs.

[crazygolfnut]

The big thing for me was course management.  I learned to lay up to a yardage that I could get to the green on my next shot which would be 80 to 120 yards.  For instance, if I am 260 yards out I could try and hit a 3 wood and end up who knows where and I will not hit the green.  What I started doing is picking a club that I could hit lets say 160 yards which will give me a nice 100 yards on the next shot. 

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, crazygolfnut said:

The big thing for me was course management.  I learned to lay up to a yardage that I could get to the green on my next shot which would be 80 to 120 yards.  For instance, if I am 260 yards out I could try and hit a 3 wood and end up who knows where and I will not hit the green.  What I started doing is picking a club that I could hit lets say 160 yards which will give me a nice 100 yards on the next shot. 

Oh boy.

You could also get to the green from 60 yards, too, right?

[crazygolfnut]

4 minutes ago, iacas said:

Oh boy.

You could also get to the green from 60 yards, too, right?

That is true,  I have no problem with a 60 yard shot but when I was always trying to "go for it" with a 3 wood, many times I would miss hit it and end up left or right and in the junk.  I found that I scored better when I kept in in play. Hope that makes sense.  

[iacas]

6 minutes ago, crazygolfnut said:

That is true,  I have no problem with a 60 yard shot but when I was always trying to "go for it" with a 3 wood, many times I would miss hit it and end up left or right and in the junk.  I found that I scored better when I kept in in play. Hope that makes sense.  

Couldn't you hit… a 5I and keep it in play while also not laying all the way back to 120?

I wrote a book on this stuff. If you're not good enough to hit a 5I or a 4H or something closer to the green, the odds are you miss the green from 120 out far more often, too.

[boogielicious]

11 hours ago, crazygolfnut said:

The big thing for me was course management.  I learned to lay up to a yardage that I could get to the green on my next shot which would be 80 to 120 yards.  For instance, if I am 260 yards out I could try and hit a 3 wood and end up who knows where and I will not hit the green.  What I started doing is picking a club that I could hit lets say 160 yards which will give me a nice 100 yards on the next shot. 

Read this book below and you may change your approach a bit. In the situation you have mentioned, the best approach is a shot that will get you closest to the green without putting you in a hazard, bunker or other area that could cost you extra strokes. The stats in the book show this to be true. You are much more likely to score better from closer to the hole on approach shots.

Lowest Score Wins - Shoot Lower Scores on the Golf Course NOW

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Shoot lower scores on the golf course… NOW!

 

[Bucki1968]

I can't think of one single thing. It's been a combination of a few things. 

[DFW75]

I know for me right now, I just started playing competitive in this association - only 5 tournaments in. And already I can tell where I'm losing my strokes - putting. Not saying I don't have mishits with other clubs that can cost me a stroke - but I'm leaking way too much on the green. Even when I have a solid hole and get on in regulation - I end up 3 or 4 putting too often. 

So that's where I am focusing now - spent a lot of time getting other clubs to be somewhat consistent - and I can feel confident around the green with chipping, flopping a 60 - but have not spent enough time working on putting. I can hit the ball okay and get it end over end - but I cannot read speed and lines very well. 

[pganapathy]

Couple of weeks back had a sub 80 round with a double and triple.  I realised that understanding my game, knowing my strengthsand weaknesses and playing smart golf has led to a big improvement in my game.

[p1n9183]

As a feel player, I've never had an automatic swing. I always guided the ball to the hole the best I could with my hands. This made me a really good player inside 130 yards, but beyond that I was always a poor player. Side spin was always a problem for me, my misses were big enough to prevent me from going below 3..4 handicap on Tournament courses and setup.

I figured out that I needed to have less side spin in order to have less dispersion on long shots, like you see on TV. Most pro hit baby draws or fades, I always hit slices or hooks like Bubba and was kind of difficult to control, moreover in strong winds.

I started with my driver and worked on hitting it as straight as I can, forgetting about guiding the ball to the hole. It worked really good, I'm guiding the ball to fly straight, not to the hole, I let a proper aim to lead the ball to the hole. Now I'm working this concept with my Irons and woods and is also working quite nice and is lowering my index bit by bit. 

  

[The Recreational Golfer]

Taking lessons to build a reliable swing so I didn't waste strokes getting the ball up to the green.

[Denny Bang Bang]

The biggest/fastest drop in strokes was due to improving the short game.  That said, we’re talking the newbie phase (shooting in the 120 range), it was the easiest part of the game to get solid at and start flirting with breaking 100.

From there, it was a multitude of things to drop 5 strokes here and there.  Creating good habits… setup/alignment, grip.  Consistently good contact, resulting in consistent distances and shot patterns.  Game management… advance the ball safely, choose high % shots.  Flighted shots.  Luckily swing speed was never a problem (until a slight decline recently), but making good contact at higher speeds was an important step as well.

Its an ongoing process, still wanting to drop another 6-8 strokes.