Getting from 3.9 to scratch

[kekoa]

Well, when i first joined this board, i guessed that my handicap was around 8. I just recently received my official handicap and it was actually 3.9.

Exactly how hard would it be to get to scratch??

[underparnv]

Very. Then staying there is even more difficult

Start practicing your short game!!!

[Ben]

Start making your birdie putts, and you'll get there.

Temper control helps too. Not to say you have a bad temper, I don't know? But, if you do, control it.

Believe and focus on the shot, chip, bunker shot, putt you are about to play. Don't think of anything else.

[CG031]

Yeah, I am at a 12 right now and it's quite difficult to lower it the better it gets. When I was at a 25 it wasn't hard to get it down to a 20...but now, it's realy hard for me to get it down to a 7.

[Dent]

Yeah, I am at a 12 right now and it's quite difficult to lower it the better it gets. When I was at a 25 it wasn't hard to get it down to a 20...but now, it's realy hard for me to get it down to a 7.

Ah CG you can do it man. You've been posting impressive scores lately. Im suprised it hasn't lowered already. I don't really remember being at a 12, so I really dont know what I shot around then. You sound like a good golfer, If you're goal is a 7 and you practise as much as you say, you should be down to that at the end of this year.

You need you're breakthrough, I'll be looking forward to it. Back on topic: I can't imagine being that low, I find even a 7 is hard to get through and getting to a 6 by the end of this year is doubtful. I love how the handicap is made so its such a life long goal to get low.

[g-funk13]

something that I find encouraging is that the short game lessons you learn stay with you through the off season, and "re-improving" doesn't take much.

[RX Phoenix]

How good of a putter are you? I don't think anyone can get to scratch who isn't an excellent putter. From there you have to put yourself in birdie position consistently which means distance control, work on that and getting very precise yardage calculations taking into account wind, elevation, lie, etc. It's all the little details that add up if you have the drive to push yourself in that way.

[Richie3Jack]

Yeah, work on your short game and mental game in order to save strokes. If you want to be a legit scratch golfer, you're going to have to average no more than 30 putts per round. Most golfers with your type of handicap can only do that on a good day. Mentally is important as well as a lot of amateurs lose focus too easily after a bad shot. Even if you watch the Big Break with mini-tour pros, their mental game is nowhere near as good as most PGA Tour pros.

Now, somebody like Tiger can lose their temper a bit on the course, but if you watch Tiger he'll let that anger go for a few seconds and then *immediately* he's engulfed in focusing on the very next shot. Amateurs tend to dwell on the bad shot and worry about how much this is going to cost them in the future. Tour Pros tend to look at a bad shot and focus on how they can make par from there.

It's not easy, but it can be done with proper practice and patience.




3JACK

[dd-11]

Concentrate on your short game and keep playing. While it's different for everyone, I found that my chipping game is where I made up my strokes. Once I (more consistently) got inside of 5 feet, it made the difference.

[Lemay427]

I am in the same boat as you. I am working on my fitness level, short game, and long irons. I have also worked on the mental game as well. I used to get all flustered by a bad shot and worried about my score. Now, I am more calm and actually look forward to fighting for par. Well, I would rather have easier shots, but it is sometimes fun to see if I can make a good shot out of a horrible situation.

Confidence is key too. You have to beleive that you can make any shot and not be afraid to try things.

[kekoa]

I think my biggest faul is inconsistency with my driver and yipping short putts (within 5-feet). For instance, on my last round, I made 3 doubles and 3 birds. The doubles were plain dumb errors off the tee followed up by a missed short putt.

[MrSandman]

Here is a situation for you lower handicappers:

There are times when I absolutely rat a tee shot. Might be a 170 yd low hooker. It is not a chronic problem, but it does happen once or twice a round.

That crushes the confidence. Makes me realize why I am not below a 5 handicap.

Do you guys hit dirty rat tee shots? How do you adjust mentally?

[kekoa]

Here is a situation for you lower handicappers:

my crap tee shots are normally 240 yard hooks. Sometimes I get lucky in the trees, but most of the time i'm stuck punching out and making bogey or worse. I try to put the tee shot out of my mind by the time i reach my ball. at this point, I'm trying to scramble for par more than anything else.

[extremeld]

find your local pitch and putt, i assume you have them? they are fantastic for improving your scoring

[doublesuited77]

find your local pitch and putt, i assume you have them? they are fantastic for improving your scoring

completely agree. my handicap dropped the fastest when i started playing more at the local executive course and less at the regulation course.

For me at least, part of the problem of playing "normal" courses is that except for the par-3s I am basically playing bomb and gouge. usually hitting 3-wood/wedge on most holes and not developing the intermediate game. Par-3 courses help this alot.

[MrSandman]

I wish we had more pitch n putts around here.

In the practice technique thread, executive courses and pitch and putts are suggested.

[iacas]

Do you guys hit dirty rat tee shots? How do you adjust mentally?

Peh. I flat topped a drive (I really should warm up, but I play Tuesdays with a bunch of old farts) last week. Might not have gone 50 yards. Par five first hole.

I vowed to par. Decent 3-wood. 5-iron just right of the green. Good pitch, holed the eight footer. Good par, considering. The thing is, you DON'T adjust anything mentally. You go to your next shot and hit it. What's to adjust?

[doublesuited77]

The thing is, you DON'T adjust anything mentally. You go to your next shot and hit it. What's to adjust?

you sound just like Bob Rotella