Impossible or doable?

[SubPar]

I did spend my whole winter at our indoor driving range, working on my swing with 2 lessons a week, again if you don't want to believe me then that is fine.

How many different golf courses do you play? I don't know much about Alaska but I figure you have a limited number of months in which to play and perhaps not too many courses.

I know from experience that I could be a 3-5 handicap if I played he same three courses all the time. SubPar

[907golfer12]

There are 6 courses here in Alaska, and one has been ranked the 50th hardest course in America 2 or 3 consecutive years. And we can play for about 5-5 1/2 months here.

[EquipmentJunkie]

Why are you guys being so hard on the kid? He says he has a 5.3 index, unless you're playing a tournament for money with him tomorrow, who cares if he is lying. Stop harassing him and get back on topic, this is just turned into a "Who's E-Penis is bigger contest." Subpar and Lefty you guys are the adults here, act like it. You guys have ruined this discussion for the OP and discouraged a lot of people who are new to the sport and the forum itself, I don't think that's the intended purpose here. Who cares if someone with a 36 index wants to try and reach a 5 within a calendar year. Is it likely they will succeed..no...but I bet they won't be a 36 index anymore either by the end of that year. The bitterness is really not necessary, if you can't get along turn the computer off. If you have any decency at all you all will stop arguing and let others respond to the OP.

[osean79]

Dear OP, getting back to your original question... It's very doable if you are dedicated and put yourself into it. i started just over a year ago and am at about 9. Most of my improvement came very quickly after I started practicing the short game more than the long game. Saving par with a good chip shot and a short putt will go a long way in lowering your scores in a jiffy.

[hamletsdead]

Possible…Yes.

You just described my life. I started golfing two years ago on-and-off, and then about six months ago the bug bit and now everything in my life that is not work- or kid-related is golf-related. I'm now getting the kids (aged 9 and 6) into golf so I can take them with me to the course and my wife can't complain that I stuck her with the kids all week while I continued on my quest to break 80.

[JaY_B]

I would say that golf is the hardest sport to improve on. Nothing is ever constant. You depend solely on yourself. It takes a perfect beyond that of almost any other sport.

I can assure you thats not the case

[extremeld]

In all honesty, I think that there is every reason to be sarcastic about this. Everyone wants to improve rapidly and we all have goals, but there is something about this society that means we think we can fast track ourselves to the point that is not only impossible, but ridiculous.

agree 100% with the above - to the original poster you may also find your handicap plummets rapidly then you reach your peak and from there on its near impossible to reduce your handicap - as a 12 year old junior i was given a first handicap of 30 this reduced to 12 in 1 year, the next year i got down to 6 - aspirations of being a pro etc no matter how much i went to practice i never got even close to good enough and probably play to around 8 nowdays! it will take a lot of work but if you have the time, go practice - i dabble with longdrive and a lot of guys talk about how they are going to improve and do this and that - they most succesful hitter ever trains over 40 hours a week and has done for years - its not luck he is the best - he was blessed with a TALENT but this alone is not enough, when he retires he can look back and say i couldnt have worked any harder and that was my best.

[Needtobreak80]

update: I only played about 12 hours this week. I wanted to play more but I started a new job this week. I spent 2 hours on the range. 4 hours chipping and putting. And about 6 hours on the course. My handicap dropped from 24 to 23.2.. Hope to get my handicap to about 21-22 before I leave for Florida in late october.

[Borf]

When I was 21 this summer I got to scratch. I started playing when I was around 10/11. I dont think you can do it, and I'm not just saying that to put you down for fun.

I hope you do it tho!

Heres my tip - your grip is the key to everything, ball flight does not lie!!! if you are slicing or hooking it is for a REASON just accept the truth about your game and you will improve

seek out someone to show you the proper grip and stick with it and you will improve and hit shots you never thought possible

[Needtobreak80]

Update oct. 10: New handicap is 22.4. Its slowly going the right way. This weekend vil be busy with a lot of golf. I plan to play atleast 4 hours each of the next 4 days. I hope that on tuesday I can play a good round and lower my handicap to about 21.

[Borf]

Good Luck! have fun playing

I want to offer you two tips that will honestly help you out so much:

Grip:
Get a solid grip, watch good players grips and see how it differs from yours, and then copy them!

Preshot Routine:
Layout something repeatable that can hold up under any pressure, you need to have the SAME routine on all shots.

When you own these two things you will own your game

[heyscuba]

Update oct. 10: New handicap is 22.4. Its slowly going the right way. This weekend vil be busy with a lot of golf. I plan to play atleast 4 hours each of the next 4 days. I hope that on tuesday I can play a good round and lower my handicap to about 21.

no disrespect intended, but I've never heard anyone refer to golf and how much they are playing in terms of hours as you do quite frequently,...

do you mean practice time on the range or do you have a schedule that cause's you to only have 4 hours at a time that you can play,...? good luck to you regardless

[Needtobreak80]

never thought of it as strange but whenever I say 4 hours or 2 hours it is estimated time and because of my schedule. On tuesday I know I can be at the course at 3 o'clock and the sun goes down at 7 = 4 hours.. as an example. Tomorrow morning I have a teetime at 10 which means I will be at the course at around 9 but I also know that I have to be at a birthday party at 2 pm. So thats about 4 hours..

[deronsizemore]

Anything is possible. But, like others have said, it's not very likely. I've always read/heard that a player reaches his/her potential after three years of playing, so if that's true, you'll have to get down to your goal quickly. If you're younger, this is probably off as I think it relates moreso to people that take up the game later in life.

You'll find out quickly that going from something like a 20 handicap to a 10 is much easier than going from a 10 to an 7. The lower your handicap gets the harder it is to conintue lowering. That's why many people get down to around a 10 handicap which is considered a pretty good golfer and then they stay there the rest of their golfing life.