any success stories???

[alcorn]

When I was 13 years old I took up the game. I'll never forget my first match 9 holes 68. God looking back its so painful. I had a cousin who was junior in high school, who had lead his team to the state finals, he worked with me every day. How to practice, how to swing, and how mentally play the game. I got to low 40s to high 30s very quickly.

Here's what I consider keys to being a decent golfer
1. Good swing fundamentals (chips, putts, full shots, ect.)
2. If going to practice. Practice with a purpose and don't over practice (swinging til you can't swing anymore won't help you if you don't have a purpose in what your doing)
3. Prepare yourself mentally. Every golfer has ups and downs. When I say prepare mentally what I mean is plan for excactly how you want to play the round, the hole, and the shot. If you know the course then you'll have an idea but if you don't know the course then plan hole by hole and shot by shot. The key is no matter what you are doing focus on the shot at hand and not the snowman you just put up.
4. Time - you put in the time and you'll be suprised how much you improve.
5. Preshot routine - Most golfers have a specific routine that they go through before every shot. It helps focus.

Bottomline, those are things I work on. We could say probably a thousand different things but the keys are in numbers 3 and 4.

hope that helped

[804golfer]

well i started at 17 currently 19 got my handicap down to 5 and never had a lesson so it is possible.

hey, just a question.

If ur 160 yards away and in on the fairway for ur approach, how much percent of the time should u be getting ur ball on the green to be a single digit handicapper? any guesses?

[Guest]

I started at the age of 22 at playing golf. Hadn't touched a club ever before. In one single year I went from max HC to 17. Had no training with a coach, only from a 10 HC colleague. I reckon that I may haven't played more than 80 times in that year.. Didn't touch a driver, played only with my Wilson Deep Red irons..

Now I turned 24, and havn't had the chance to have my first round for the 09 season. I hope and reckon that I may come down to HC 12 if I start implementing the driver and a real coach..

We'll see.. :)

[alcorn]

I am very competitive so for me personally, an 18.9 is bad to me. I want to get in the single digits, but I only play a couple times a month at BEST. Maybe this summer I can play more than that cuz i am in college right now. And I would say that my main problem is putting cuz i hit the ball a longgg ways.

Sorry guys that I'm posting one after another here but I had to respond to 804 here.

The first thing I would do is go take a video lesson from a pro. Having your swing analyzed and working on the areas that you need to focus on is crucial to getting better. As far as putts go, practice lags, practice short putts. Have a range that if you can get the ball within so many feet of the hole then 8 or 9 times out of ten you'll make it. To answer your other question, scratch golfers should be able to put the on green 9 times out of 10. Most focus on a specific part of the green.

[804golfer]

i just looked at golfgalaxylessons.com and its 49.99 for a 30 minute lesson from a tour pro??? should i do it?? and u get video analysis that they post for u online that u can view anytime.

[misty_mountainhop]

I am very competitive so for me personally, an 18.9 is bad to me. I want to get in the single digits, but I only play a couple times a month at BEST. Maybe this summer I can play more than that cuz i am in college right now. And I would say that my main problem is putting cuz i hit the ball a longgg ways.

Single digits is well within the range of anyone with decent hand/eye coordination. It does require time invested though and I'm not sure a couple of times a month will cut it unless you're talented.

Another thing. To get to, say 10, may be (relatively) easy but getting lower becomes exponentially harder. I've been 3 for a short period years ago and going from 4 to 3 was far harder than, say, 10 to 9. Getting to scratch or +hcp is very tough. Took me ~4-5 years to make 4 hcp (~25 years ago!) and, except for a brief spell at 3, have never got lower but that's down to time I can commit to improving....I hope.

hey, just a question.

Guessing, but I'd be looking for 75-80% or more off my hcp.

i just looked at golfgalaxylessons.com and its 49.99 for a 30 minute lesson from a tour pro??? should i do it?? and u get video analysis that they post for u online that u can view anytime.

Sounds steep. Hard to know if it's worth it. Are they a known tour pro who teaches or are they simply a player? If it's a teacher it might be worth it; there are many good players though who couldn't teach someone else how to sit the right way on a toilet seat.

[wedge player]

hey, just a question.

umm id say atleast 60 percent of time because your using a scoring iron.

[billysandy]

I started playing in July last year and i had my 18 handicap by late October. Still haven't had any lessons and my best round to date is an 87.