Tell me why I'm a 12 handicap

[deronsizemore]

• Swinging too hard trying to squeeze and extra 15 yards out of a club when they could just go one (or two) clubs up and swing easy.
  
• Wrong alignment. Usually aimed too far right so they either hit the ball dead straight and wonder why it went right or they pull the club across their body which then gives them the big pull slice.
  
• I'll throw in swinging too hard again just because that's one of the biggest things I see. It's not easy to learn to swing easy because you feel like you have to swing hard to get the ball airborne, but one you realize that the club does a good job of that on it's own you can start to see smoother swings.

[$2 Nassau]

It's funny - the title of this thread was "Tell me why I'm a 12 handicap." I notice the thread has morphed into "what high-handicappers should do to get better."

Yes, the difference between a 5 and a 12 is dramatic, there is a huge difference. The lower you get the more difficult it is to knock off strokes. 7 strokes at this point is a big difference.

I don't think anyone said a 12 isn't a decent player, I started the thread wanting to know what really low handicaps notice when they play with someone in my handicap range. That's just the way it works, no matter how much you improve, it just makes want to get even better. By the way, taking the advice in this thread....in my league last night: 165 yard par 3. First I'm thinking 7i, which I can hit 160 if I hit it well, so I figured landing a little short of the flag wouldn't be a bad thing. Then I said to myself that if I mishit it even a tiny bit I probably wouldn't make the green. So I took 6i, choked down slightly, normal swing, and stuck it about 6 feet past the flag. Rolled in the birdie putt. Thanks guys!

[GDWindowpane]

I've been trying to get my son (15 yrs old) to start taking a club more and swing easier. Everything he hits now is at 110%. He's an 18 handicap and is starting to improve. I finally got him to take my advice, I would ask him what club he was hitting, he would say 8I I'd tell him to hit a 7I. He would swing easier, say 85%. His ball striking improved tremendously. Instead of pulling many shots when trying to kill the ball he was hitting nice draws into the green. He shot an 82, his low round.

I never thought of taking more club to compensate for mishits; seems like this would promote negative thoughts which are bad for my game. I always thought of taking more club allows a smoother more controlled swing which increases the chances of not miss hitting. I try to dial in my distances to an 85% swing.

Just my 2 cents...

[CarlSpackler]

Interesting enough, if I club up and swing easy, bad things happen. Then again, I swing pretty easy now. The biggest cause for mishits for me are related to tension. Biggest cause of tension for me... waiting on slow players.

[Smarf]

The biggest cause for mishits for me are related to tension. Biggest cause of tension for me... waiting on slow players.

And the biggest cause of slow players is knowing there is a tense, angry one waiting on you to finish the hole.

Oh god, if I miss this putt that guy is going to throw his driver at me for taking too long!

[$2 Nassau]

Interesting enough, if I club up and swing easy, bad things happen.

Same here, which is why I used to take less club and go after it. But lately I've found if you choke down a little and just take your normal without giving it much thought, the ball goes about a half club shorter.

[MiniMoe]

I play with people of all skill levels. The one thing I notice from every level is not understanding (and excepting) of personal skill level. Golf is more about how good your misses are than how good your good shots are. Once you get that into your brain, it is easier to hit the extra club to make sure you get over the trap, or hit the bump and run chip over the flop shot to make sure you at least have a putt to save the shot.

With all that being said, the one situation I see most often is guys hitting driver when they hit a 3-w much better and even farther than the driver. Snap that stupid thing over your knee and hit the 3-w.

[CarlSpackler]

And the biggest cause of slow players is knowing there is a tense, angry one waiting on you to finish the hole.

Naw. I would throw my 3w since I like my driver. LOL j/k

[BigTazz53]

To all the low handicap people out there, tell me why I'm a 12. Meaning, let's say you're a 3 handicap or whatever and you play rounds with guys who are in that 10,12,15 handicap range. What do you see from them that makes you scratch your head and say..."why the hell did you do that?"

IMO I think it all boils down to course management and keeping the ego from coming out to hit a shot that your mind knows you can't make.

[deronsizemore]

But lately I've found if you choke down a little and just take your normal without giving it much thought, the ball goes about a half club shorter.

Definitely! I do this on a lot of approach shots and have improved in that area a lot. If you noticed at the Memorial, a guy by the name of Tiger was even doing it and I hear he's pretty good.

I play with people of all skill levels. The one thing I notice from every level is not understanding (and excepting) of personal skill level. Golf is more about how good your misses are than how good your good shots are. Once you get that into your brain, it is easier to hit the extra club to make sure you get over the trap, or hit the bump and run chip over the flop shot to make sure you at least have a putt to save the shot.

I agree 100%. Golf being such an egotistical game, it's really hard to learn this and for some they never do. Over the years as my game has improved and as my misses have improved, I've noticed that my scores on bad swinging days are really not much worse than when I'm really feeling it. It's just a matter of short game. Even if my ball striking is down for the count that day, I can still shoot a decent score with the wedge and putter. Taking the flop shot out of my game is the other thing that helped me improved. At one point as a junior golfer, I would break out the flopadopolis on every green side shot no matter where it was. Once I started using a PW and 9 iron and bumping and running everything, I saved a ton of shots that way and gave myself a much better chance of making the chip/pitch. I don't remember the last time I needed the flop shot (took my 60 degree out of the bag too).

[Leftygolfer]

I believe the half shot is really hard. I agree about not taking enough club for most people but I have big misses when I try to "take a little off". It really throws my timing off and I hit some really bad pull hooks. I would prefer to hit a club at 90-95% as long as I can hold my finish.

[hawk45]

Consistency! The low capers I play with are just that... consistant. Smooth drives (some only use irons), greens in regulation or close to cup on chip. Very good on the greens...good ball roll ability to read greens well.

[mileydog]

It's funny - the title of this thread was "Tell me why I'm a 12 handicap." I notice the thread has morphed into "what high-handicappers should do to get better."

Agreed!! A 12HC and a 5HC are hardly different when hitting at a driving range. I know the 5 will hit a lot more consistent but overall a casual looker probably couldn't discern any noticeable difference in ball striking. However in the short game and putting, there will be the 5 stoke difference. That equates to about 5 holes where the 5HC can get up and down for par whereas the 12HC gets a bogey. The other 2 strokes proabably are related to bad drives or the WTF was that swing.

[zeg]

I never thought of taking more club to compensate for mishits; seems like this would promote negative thoughts which are bad for my game. I always thought of taking more club allows a smoother more controlled swing which increases the chances of not miss hitting. I try to dial in my distances to an 85% swing.

I think the point isn't so much to think to yourself, "Let's assume this 8I is going to be shanked so I'll play a 7I instead," so much as accounting for all the likely outcomes of your stroke. In other words, be realistic when you assign your yardage to a club-- don't just remember the times you hit it on the screws. My previous example of 80% hit fat was perhaps an exaggeration for some, but really I just mean that you're far more likely to hit a bit less than the longest you've ever hit your 8I, so you'll get the highest probability of a good outcome if you put the fat part of your length distribution on the spot you want to actually hit. Sometimes it'll be long, sometimes short, but on average you'll get the best result...

But yeah, don't think about it in terms of bad hits, just be realistic about your club distances. At least, that's my 2cents as a terrible golfer with an analytical physics background...

[flopdarock]

Is the ball going really low or high or why aren't you hitting the biggest club in your bag solid?

i think teeing it up period is my problem lol... i can hit anything off the deck

[dmackenzie]

I feel compelled to add my own penny's worth on this topic. VISUALIZING shots is not the same thing as being CREATIVE. You can't make a golf ball do too many different things. When you're driving, sure you have low/high, left/right, fade/draw, etc..., but not all of those are even options on some holes (i.e., you won't fade a dogleg left; if you have to because you hit a consistent fade, then you're not making a decision, either!). On short chips and pitches, it really just comes down to, fly/land vs. bump/roll/see break. That's about it. IMO, when you try to 'create' a shot, is when you get cute, too handsy, and make poor contact.

VISUALIZATION and trying to hit as many shots as possible when you are practicing, increases your ability to be CREATIVE which we need for a scoring game. It is true that better players are capable of playing more shots and this is because they practice them. If we can learn to experiment during our practice instead of constantly hitting to the same target and learning new techniques, we will subconsciously add shots to our repertoire. Our body will learn the feelings associated with shot shapes. I am not saying that you want to get cutesy and complicate the game, especially with the short game (in fact my recommendation is that you take lower lofted clubs instead of a 60 degree wedge because it requires too much hands). All I'm saying is that practicing as many different shots as you can (as Gary Player tell us), increases our ability to visualize and feel shots, which takes us away from the technical game and gives us a better chance to execute. Essentially, by focusing on a positive visualization for each shot and feeling the swing we need to execute it, we are simplifying the game.

[bunkerputt]

You hit it less than 230 all the time? Wow. I thought I was a short hitter. I mean my average tee shot is 240, if I really get a hold of one MAYBE 260 (with some wind or a good bounce and run) but you don't hit it over 230? I have to applaud you for being a 10 handicap. I know how much pressure it puts on our short games, believe me. I only hit 3 GIR today!!!

I think we just found the only two honest guys at the sand trap. Great thread. I'm enjoying reading it.

[soloredd]

Take this for what it is worth, coming from a 21 capper.

One of my best friends has now got into the 11 HCP range. I've seen him progress from scoring consistent low 90s to now being in the mid 80s. I've told him a few times why his game has improved like it has. He is by no means a long hitter, about 220-230 off the tee. Where he excels is around the green and with the putter, and consequently, this is where I am struggling. He rarely 3 putts, if he has a long 1st putt he always is able to get it within a makeable range inside 10 feet. I 3 putt around 3-4 times a round! And comparing our greenside play: I was the flop player, trying for the pretty shot. He will have a nice easy chip. I'd say that what makes him a 12.

Now, for why he isn't getting below 12? He still chunks his 3 wood even off the fairway in a round. He will find water or OB. I've seen his irons escape him and he hosels them way off to the right. In other words, consistency. I liken it to the difference between NBA shooters and college shooters. The NBA guy can swish his shots a very high percentage of the time. In the NBA they rarely have those rattle around shots, they are nice and clean. In college, guys hit rim all the time. Consistency.

Fortunately, playing with him has rubbed off and I'm starting to improve my greenside play. But, my putter is where I lag behind. I shoot a 90 with 38 putts, he'll shoot a 84 with 34 putts. His approach shots are closer, his 1st putts are better.

Apologies for the length but hopefully this coming from another point of view will help.