Definition of a "Good" Player

[albatross]

I think I'm starting to realize what makes someone a good player and it's all about consistency. I've been playing to a 15 or 16 handicap all summer. I've been in the 80's a lot and some rounds in the 90's as well.

This whole week I've had TONS of miss-hits. I mean like topped the ball in the fairway and it went 10 yards. "Good" players rarely do this and I'm wondering how many other mid handicappers have days or weeks like this?

I mean just 2 weeks ago, I was hitting the ball so solid and scoring well and had several rounds without any really ugly miss-hits and today I looked like a 30 handicap out there. Topped the ball a couple times, hit it crazy fat, several shanked worm burners, I mean how is that possible?

I've been working so hard on my game at the range, with an instructor and I just can't escape having these days where I feel like I can't even make contact with the ball.

Am I alone here?

[jaragon126]

I definately have bad rounds and even bad weeks/months ... I was down into the single digit handicaps earlier this season and now I'm up over an 11. I did make a pretty significant change in my swing due to a lesson I had earlier in the season ... but I still have bad weeks as you've mentioned where I can't seem to hit the ball well at all.

I have been playing long enough though (and taken many lessons) to where I am beginning to learn how to make corrections for what seems to cause my bad golf: getting too quick with my tempo.

Alot of times when I am playing well for stretches of time, I get more confident & love the rush of trying to hit a 7-iron as far as my 6-iron is supposed to go. Slowly & slowly that creeps into my game until BOOM ... I'm shanking everything because I'm trying to kill the ball.

For me when I'm trying to kill the ball, my swing path gets screwy & that's when it all falls apart. I look through my notes from my previous lessons and in big bold letters I see "smooth tempo ... swing under control". So I back off a bit & get back into a smoother tempo & that seems to help me get back to solid ball striking!

Another thing that might help (and I know this is VERY hard to do) is think positive. When I have a horrible shot, it's embarrassing ... and the worst thing in the world to me is to follow up a horrible shot with another horrible one. If you shank one off, take a deep breath & think positively about the next shot ... don't think about what you DON'T want the ball to do ... think about what you DO want it to do and that definitely relaxes me.

[CarlSpackler]

Definitely not alone there. I was playing really well in early June and can't seem to hit an iron shot to save my life lately. My driver is still playing OK, but my iron and wedge play is absolutely horrid. I am going to take the week off other than league play Wednesday night since my right hamstring is very tight and sore.

[deronsizemore]

It happens to everyone, believe me. I played yesterday and felt like I just wasn't hitting anything solid all day, but my misses were still OK (not topping, chunking, etc. or anything extreme like that). I ended up shooting +1, 73 from the 6800 yard tees. Golf is all about how good your misses are. You are going to have more bad ball striking days than good but as you improve you'll start to see your misses are better which allows for more par/bogey saves rather than seeing those big double, triple or worse show up on the score card.

[Dugie]

everyone, tour pros included have those spurts, the key is getting through them and having the rest of your game to count on to continue to score and make up for the flaw.

or flaws in my case, :)

[shankapotamus]

Yeah last week, I shot like 8 over my average eighteen hole score twice, yesterday I broke my eighteen hole record by 4 strokes.

[RocketSauce]

you are not alone my friend. i am currently carrying a 6 index and i occasionally will still top or chunk a ball from the fairway. in fact, i do remember chunking a 6 iron from the fairway just a few rounds ago. so it still happens even when you get better, just not as often

[flopdarock]

my definition of a "good" player is someone that can play to their missed hits...
i played a guy that was really good and claimed to have the hooks that day (looked like a mean draw to me)... instead of making big swing changes on the course he played to his tendencies... even on what he called a bad ball striking day... he went pretty low...
totally minimizing his mistakes by keeping the ball "safe" and in play the whole round...
now all i need to do is to trust the "smart" game like he did instead of thinking i can get out of tough situations in one shot

[uppi]

today I shot 78, yesterday I played 9 at the same course and shot 46. its a crazy game.

[Creestoff]

Definition of a good player? As far as I'm concerned, if you're shooting 90 or better, than you're a "good" player. That means you've got a realistic shot at par every hole, and your game is good enough that you can minimize the damage of a mishit and escape with a bogey or better. If you're breaking 80, then you're really good. If you can break par, that's a great effort.

[2bGood]

Definition of a good player? As far as I'm concerned, if you're shooting 90 or better, than you're a "good" player. That means you've got a realistic shot at par every hole, and your game is good enough that you can minimize the damage of a mishit and escape with a bogey or better. If you're breaking 80, then you're really good. If you can break par, that's a great effort.

I agree with you 85%. In truth the Average Golfer can not break 100 and by the rules of golf I would say less then 50% of golfer who tee it up atleast once per year can break 110.

According to the The National Golf Foundation the average Adult male golf score is 98.3. Of course this is of golfers that would submit their score (wich lower the average a fair bit) and assume that everyone plays by the rules of golf - something I rarely see a high handicapper actually do 100%. Despite these number I ignore the high handicapper set that play less the a dozen rounds per year when I think about a "good" golfer and look to regular players for this I sat the Average golfer is shooting mid -high 90's most of the time, the good player is low 90's/ high 80's very good is low 80's and excellent is under 80 most of the time

[denver_nuggs_15]

This whole week I've had TONS of miss-hits. I mean like topped the ball in the fairway and it went 10 yards. "Good" players rarely do this and I'm wondering how many other mid handicappers have days or weeks like this?

I shot a 96 last week then 84 the same day about an hour later. Then after that, I shot a 40 on the front 9 of another course. All in the same day. It happens.

[CG031]

I shot a 96 last week then 84 the same day about an hour later. Then after that, I shot a 40 on the front 9 of another course. All in the same day. It happens.

Yup, same with me. Our handicaps are closer so I guess we tell a similar story. I had a 42 stroke average for my high school team this year, shot a 91 in a tournament two weeks ago, and then today I shot a 83...

It's just golf, I guess, until you get to a certain level where you're just always very very consistent. To answer the OP question, I define a good player probably by a (legit) single digit handicap. They say the average golfer in America is an 18 handicap or so I've read...but I'm not sure how legit everyone is with putting things out, stroke and distance (seen many just 'drop' a ball near O.B.)...So I'd say any legit single handicapper is a good player, a great player is anything scratch or better.

[umpiremark]

My definition of a "good" golfer is this ...

I played in league a few weeks back against a guy who was 6 handicap (for nine holes in league he was a 3) and every bit of it. He put on a clinic that night that opened my eyes a bit. He wasn't super long off the tee, just accurate as hell. Every shot he had to the green - albeit a long iron or wedge shot - was dead on the stick. He rarely missed left or right, by huge margins; just short or long. And putt? He was either dead on or just a tiny bit left or right. Distance control was phenominal.

Accurate, straight and putt lights out - to me that was the difference between his 37 that night and my 44. BTW - he kicked my butt!! HAHAHAHA

[cougar978]

you are not alone my friend. i am currently carrying a 6 index and i occasionally will still top or chunk a ball from the fairway. in fact, i do remember chunking a 6 iron from the fairway just a few rounds ago. so it still happens even when you get better, just not as often

Every three or four rounds, I get a visit from Shankapotamous - usually happens when I'm trying to hit a low shot out of trees - actually had one Saturday and Sunday - both trying to go under branches. The good part about a shank shot is it usually will go so far right of target that you end up with a reasonable shot at the green - I ended up bogeying both holes I had shanks on, but the key to that (or any bad shot) is to shut it all off on the next shot.

Cuss yourself, cuss the ball, make the club do a helicopter impersonation (not recommended), but no matter what you do, shut it all off before you step up to your next shot.

[beachbreak]

Right now I am in a slump. I usually shoot low to mid 80's, my last two rounds have been 93/94.
I am still hitting it OK off the tee and with my woods but my irons have been horrible.

I'm not sure what is wrong.

I'm gonna give it a rest for a week, then hit the range and work on it then.

Bottom line, I need a break to clear my head.

[Kingfisher]

Interesting. It seems everyone's defeinition of a 'good' player is based solely on playing ability.

For me to consider somebody as a 'good' player, yes they would they need to have a reasonable standard of ability, but they would also have to have good etiquette, pace of play, knowledge of the rules etc. Golf is not just about how far we drive or how close to the pin we hit it.

A skilled player who doesn't give a damn is not necessarily a good player.

[iacas]

A skilled player who doesn't give a damn is not necessarily a good player.

See, I'd say that person is still a good player. Bubba Watson's not well liked. He's still a good player.

He's just not necessarily a good person .