this is such a frustrating game.

[golfaddiction]

At the end of last year I went 40-51 for a 91. The front 9 was probably my best stretch of 9 holes ever. It could have been even better if I didn't have a couple 3 putts.

So this winter I bought a new putter and have improved my putting. Of course, I can't get the feel back and hit my irons the way I was hitting them that day. I have yet to do better than 99 so far this year.

But that's golf for you. The only way to get consistently better is to play 6 times a week. I'll have to wait 40 years until retirement before that happens. At least I'm having fun on the course, most of the time.

[pjsnyc]

It is a frustrating game indeed, but thats what makes it so fun!

I played a quick nine yesterday and here's how it went:
bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, BIRDIE! (holed out a pitch shot, lol).

Boy did that make my 8 consecutive bogeys feel muuuuch better

[clearwaterms]

I play the game targeting bogey golf. I would be happy with that round. 7 over for 9 is pretty good.

My biggest problem is when I don't get off the tee and then struggle to get to the green, and end up 2 putting for double. The best holes exist when I get off the tee.

[pjsnyc]

  clearwaterms said:

I play the game targeting bogey golf. I would be happy with that round. 7 over for 9 is pretty good.

I guess my point was that even though that long string of bogeys might make one think they'll never get a par or better, that bird came outta nowhere! If I hit a GIR - I 3-putted. If not, I got up and 2 putted. It sure was frustrating.

Just stick to your game plan, hit one shot at a time, and the score will take care of itself.

[Dub]

  clearwaterms said:

I was struggling getting off the Tee. After the 5th hole, one of my playing partners suggested I tee it up a little higher as I was topping it. Trying that gave me a good tee shot for the last 5 holes.

Sometimes having to scramble on the remainder of the hole can get me fired up. One strategy that I'll seek is to lay back off the tee shots instead of trying to pound them. For instance....on my last round I hit some really poor drives and had to scramble my arse off to make pars and bogies on those holes. After a few of these in a row towards the end of the front nine, I chose to swing smooth off the tee and just try to put the ball safely in play....not crush it into a bad spot. It really helped. Your quest to shoot under 90 will most likely not come from making lots of birdies (though they are sweet) but instead from reducing the double and triple bogies that rear their ugly heads at times. Good course management can be a huge factor towards that goal. Good luck....your practice and lessons will pay off!!!!!

[walk18]

yeah it is frustrating. Your swing can feel totally different on different days. But we keep playing, for some reason..

[DHood]

I am just starting to play and I dont get frustrated yet because that is what I expect for now!

[Awsi Dooger]

I'm playing righty and lefty right now, which combine to make it even more maddening. I just started lefty a month ago so obviously that's where I need to practice, but during a round I don't want to screw up a good hole or series of holes by botching a shot lefthanded. I've been carrying a lefty 7 iron and PW along with the righty clubs.

Somehow my righty driving has really improved since I started tinkering lefty, but my righty short game has caved.

[clearwaterms]

whats the benefit of learning the game left handed?

It reminds me of that titleist commercial where they are talking about the v grooves and the guy says, sure lets make the game MORE difficult.

[ks8829]

Golf with test many aspects of your personality, including patience. I have watch my son develop as a basketball player over the 5 years he has been playing year round and I saw 3 - 4 moments in his game that things clicked and he suddenly improved drastically.

Golf is similar and that you need to keep plugging away and after 25 years of enjoying golf and the journey things will click and suddenly you will see your scores improve consistently.

The keys is to practice, practice and keep on practicing. Everybody develops at the different pace and you might drop 2 strokes in your handicap and your friend may take longer.

Another key point that I recently learned so late in golf is that if you want to seriously get better and become more consistent you need to work on your putting and around the green. If you did nothing but practice putting and chipping around the green, I will almost guarantee that you will drop your handicap the fastest and the other parts of the game will follow.

Yes, practice from the hole back. most golfers will practice the opposite and spend more time with the driver and irons.

I play once a week and only work on my putting and chipping around the green and if you did this as an experiment for a month you will be pleasantly suprised yourself.

Do you remember when you hit a perfect drive but still ended up with boogie or double boogie because of your short game. I have missed my drive and ended up with par because of my short game, something to think about.

In summary, be patient and practice on your short game and study the game so that you learn to hit the perfect putt and the perfect chip around the green. I learned alot from the videos on the web and from this site. Good luck and enjoy the journey.

[kevin.chan]

  ks8829 said:

Another key point that I recently learned so late in golf is that if you want to seriously get better and become more consistent you need to work on your putting and around the green. If you did nothing but practice putting and chipping around the green, I will almost guarantee that you will drop your handicap the fastest and the other parts of the game will follow.

Cant agree more ! Chipping Around the green and putting is the key to lower score. Couple of years ago ,I have a chance to play with a scratch player and I learned so much from him on his game management. I noticed that his chipping around the green is so deadly ( leave less than 3 ft putt most of the time ). His Driver is just 260 yard but always in the middle of the fairway. Since then i put some effort in my chipping shots and it pays well. I dropped about 5 shots at least . NOW , my only dilemma is putting and i am going all way out to get it fix.

[Awsi Dooger]

  clearwaterms said:

whats the benefit of learning the game left handed?

I'm lefthanded at everything else. Righty golf clubs were stuck in my hands when I was a kid so I played that way.

I didn't question it until my game declined severely, from good junior golfer with a 3 handicap to a half dozen shots worse than that once I was in my mid 20s. I realized my left hand was very active in sports like tennis and ping pong with topspin backhands, and that same dynamic was influencing my golf game, with the left hand as the lead. I don't think the strong hand should be the lead in golf. It's adding another shaky variable that doesn't need to be there. In my case, the strong left hand wants to take over at the last second, quick rolls left or sometimes opened to the right. It helps me draw the ball but on chips and pitches the same thing happens, and I'm all over the place. Anyway, after more than 20 years I've decided to give it a shot, buying a lefty set. If nothing else, I might switch to lefty in the short game. It's such an amazing feeling for my right hand to be docile and straight while chipping lefty. But I'm nowhere close in terms of the lefty long game. Airborne is 50/50