Hammer Down the Handicap - Hit Me With Your Best Hacks!

[thegolfhackr]

Hi all,

My name is Sage and I'm a 30 year-old kiwi living in London, UK. I've recently decided to pursue the (almost) certainly unattainable goal of getting to scratch by the end of next year. I started towards the end of last month as a 22-handicap -- and what I hope to achieve through this journey is discover the 'hacks' that other amateur golfers can use to make the most of the limited time they have to practice and train - if they also wish to start knocking down their handicaps.

I'm interested to hear from anyone and everyone that has made a conscious decision to improve their golf - and what tips and tricks they have found to be particularly useful? Would be particularly interested to hear from any low-handicappers that can vividly remember the process/steps they took starting from their days as a mid-to-high handicapper!

Thanks so much in advance, and look forward to connecting with you.
Sage

[DaveP043]

I don't think there are hacks or tricks, you have to improve all aspects of your game.  The best thing you can do is find a teaching professional in your area and work diligently with him.  

[imsys0042]

Check out Lowest Score Wins, which was data analysis on things to do to improve your score.   It has the numbers to back up things like not firing at pins and the right ratio to practice different parts of your game.   Otherwise, I can only say talk to a golf pro and figure out the right cadence for lessons or check ins.

As an example, I couldn’t play much for a couple of years and lost a couple of things that were fundamental to me.  But I’ve been playing since I was 15 so I have a good base of experience.  One 30 minute lesson helped me cut my handicap from 19 to 12 over the past 4 months.   My setup, posture and ball position were all good, so there was really only one major thing to work with.   That single lesson played huge dividends.  However if there were multiple things, then I’d probably have to work over time in them since it takes time to practice and integrate.  So working out how much instruction and change is important.

really no quick fixes, best you can do is be open to ideas from solid sources and see what pays off.

[Darkfrog]

34 minutes ago, thegolfhackr said:

what tips and tricks they have found to be particularly useful?

Not a low handicap player, but I've gone from ~27 index when I started playing golf regularly again, to around a 10 index in four years.

All I can offer is take lessons and practice.

[thegolfhackr]

1 hour ago, Darkfrog said:

Not a low handicap player, but I've gone from ~27 index when I started playing golf regularly again, to around a 10 index in four years.

All I can offer is take lessons and practice.

Nice - congrats on the progress! Am a couple of lessons deep and have been practicing plenty. Thanks for sharing!

1 hour ago, imsys0042 said:

Check out Lowest Score Wins, which was data analysis on things to do to improve your score.   It has the numbers to back up things like not firing at pins and the right ratio to practice different parts of your game.   Otherwise, I can only say talk to a golf pro and figure out the right cadence for lessons or check ins.

As an example, I couldn’t play much for a couple of years and lost a couple of things that were fundamental to me.  But I’ve been playing since I was 15 so I have a good base of experience.  One 30 minute lesson helped me cut my handicap from 19 to 12 over the past 4 months.   My setup, posture and ball position were all good, so there was really only one major thing to work with.   That single lesson played huge dividends.  However if there were multiple things, then I’d probably have to work over time in them since it takes time to practice and integrate.  So working out how much instruction and change is important.

really no quick fixes, best you can do is be open to ideas from solid sources and see what pays off.

I'll check this out for sure! I've been using SwingU which helps as it has a Strokes Gained function - think that might be similar to that LSW analysis? Thanks for sharing. Definitely don't think there are shortcuts that will get anyone down to scratch - but certainly hope to discover some simple tricks that others could use to shave off maybe the first few strokes from their handicap. Thanks for sharing!

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

I don't think there are hacks or tricks, you have to improve all aspects of your game.  The best thing you can do is find a teaching professional in your area and work diligently with him.  

Am currently working with a Coach named Caroline and she's been great. Have focused so far on just a couple of fundamentals which I didn't quite have correct before. Already seeing a big difference in the quality of strikes

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, thegolfhackr said:

Hi all,

My name is Sage and I'm a 30 year-old kiwi living in London, UK. I've recently decided to pursue the (almost) certainly unattainable goal of getting to scratch by the end of next year. I started towards the end of last month as a 22-handicap -- and what I hope to achieve through this journey is discover the 'hacks' that other amateur golfers can use to make the most of the limited time they have to practice and train - if they also wish to start knocking down their handicaps.

I'm interested to hear from anyone and everyone that has made a conscious decision to improve their golf - and what tips and tricks they have found to be particularly useful? Would be particularly interested to hear from any low-handicappers that can vividly remember the process/steps they took starting from their days as a mid-to-high handicapper!

Thanks so much in advance, and look forward to connecting with you.
Sage

You absolutely must start with this: 

THE HAMMER!!

 

[thegolfhackr]

1 minute ago, Vinsk said:

You absolutely must start with this: 

THE HAMMER!!

 

🤣🤣🤣 touché 

[iacas]

There are no such thing. It's going to take a lot of work and MUCH more than four or five months.

3 hours ago, imsys0042 said:

Check out Lowest Score Wins, which was data analysis on things to do to improve your score.

If you're in the UK, hit up Andrew Norrby for less expensive shipping.

1 hour ago, thegolfhackr said:

I'll check this out for sure! I've been using SwingU which helps as it has a Strokes Gained function - think that might be similar to that LSW analysis? Thanks for sharing. Definitely don't think there are shortcuts that will get anyone down to scratch - but certainly hope to discover some simple tricks that others could use to shave off maybe the first few strokes from their handicap. Thanks for sharing!

It's a book (and a video set): https://lowestscorewins.com/.

[Esox]

My kid wants to get through medical school one year.

 

His may be an easier goal to attain.