Anyone on this forum ever drop their handicap by a lot strokes in one season?

[Phil-Mick#1]

Hello,

I know from experience that it was easier to go from say an 18 to a 14 than it was to go from a 14 to a 10, but it's really, really hard to go from a 10 to a 5 or lower...

After about 5 years of playing between a 7-10 my handicap has dropped down to the lowest it's ever been, a 4.2 and trending to a 3 in the next revision.

I shot a 71 (-1 par) last week on a course with 139 slope and 72.5 course.
Ive also had two rounds of even par 72 this year. Also had a hole-in-one!

Dont get me wrong, Im really happy, but I always thought that I would slowly lower my handicap year after year and not drop 4 strokes in 1/2 a season...

Any other single digit cappers ever have a big drop in their cap?

[bIGwIRE]

Mine dropped alot this year as well, for two reasons.

One is I regularly hit the indoor simulator at Dick's throughout the winter, when normally I wouldn't hit a club for 4+ months.

Number 2 is alot of practice on my 1/2+1/4 type wedge shots, as well as chipping and putting. I still hit the same GIR, like only 4 or 5 a round, (partly due to a personal commitment to muscle backs, for a season or two) but getting up and down is pretty routine now. I've also been working on course management.

I dropped from a 10 last year to a 5.5 right now. I believe any 10 hcp can easily drop it to a 5 in a single season with alot of (meaningfull) practice on the short game.

[Fourputt]

I went from 16 to 10 in a month... but that was 20 years ago. I had my epiphany during the club championship in 1989. I've mostly stayed within a few strokes of that ever since.

[CG031]

Yeah, I'd say I did. I went from a 36 handicap to a 10 in 3 years.

And from a 14 to 10 last summer...

I am going to try to get to a 7 or 8 this year. My goal originally was a 5, but it's just too steep of a goal.

[Robiola the Monster]

Mine dropped alot this year as well, for two reasons.

Yeh that was me at the start of last year (2008), but in about march i made a commitment to practice alot (2-4 times a week) & i would hit balls at the range 2 a week, do alot of putting and chipping (doing actual drills) & in about 4 months i went from 9ish to 5 and could play consistently. That was in about july/august last year and i have only dropped about 1.2 since then and recently made about .9 of that back, heap of bad rounds.

I think the first year i played i went from 28 to 19... thats the most ive dropped in one year. Up until this year i was dropping at a steady 4 or more shots a year. Thats what happens when you show true commitment

[Shindig]

March-July 2008, went from about 25 to 16.3. Played 4 times a week, took lessons, and in the first half, got my MP-57s.

If I could only get back to that form... :)

[Nick88]

When i took up golf in 2003 i was allocated a 28 handicap, 3 years later i was playing off 7 and with 12 club titles under my belt, i remember a summer stretch where i went from a 14 to a 8 handicap in just 2 and abit months!

[Dr_Fu_Manchu]

When i took up golf in 2003 i was allocated a 28 handicap, 3 years later i was playing off 7 and with 12 club titles under my belt, i remember a summer stretch where i went from a 14 to a 8 handicap in just 2 and abit months!

Wow! How?

[jrm1493]

Exactly one year ago I was a 22.2, now a 16.1. Mostly from practicing shots from within 60 yards, and also getting a driver I can actually hit.

Most people seem to thing that the better you get the harder it is to improve, so if I'm at 10 this time next year that would be remarkable. My goal for 2009 was to get to 15, and I'm only one stroke away with 5 months to go, just have to make sure I don't start going backwards! I'll set next years goal in January

Setting goals helps for me, since I can be obsessive about that kind of thing; for example I decided to become a commercial pilot and did it and have only flown one time in the 3 years since my commercial checkride. I realized I don't really like flying (the extreme cost doesn't help either) but I like the challenge of doing something hard that most others wouldn't attempt. I work in the space program and Kennedy's words about doing the hard things really resonate with me.

My 2008 goals were to get to 20 and break 90 - broke 90 in June 2008 and went below 20 around November I think. 2009 goal is to finish the year at or below 15. Maybe next year it will be to break 80 and finish at or below 12.

[Titleist Man]

Well at the start of the 08 season i was a 20 handicap. At the end of the summer i was a 10 flat!!! At the beginning of this season i was a 10 still and now I am a 6.2!!! If i can shave 1.2 more strokes off my game by the end of the year i will have halved my handicap two years in a row. Hopefully this will continue next year too.....

[bogeyhitter25]

I've gone from consistently shooting mid-50s to shooting mid-40s in about a year. Maybe less. I'm a pretty quick learner.

[Nick88]

Wow! How?

Being summer time and not at school golf was my life, i played everyday and would practice aswell with friends until it was too dark to continue!

Before i knew it i was off 7 and pretty chuffed with myself!

[iacas]

How about 3.8 to 1.3? That's a lot more difficult than going from 33.8 to 31.3 (or, perhaps, even 33.8 to 21.3).

[Phil-Mick#1]

How about 3.8 to 1.3?

Thanks, you made my point!! No offense to anyone who has dropped their caps from 30's to 20's or 15 to 10...etc, but going from a 4 to a 1 or an 8 to a 4 is WAY, WAY HARDER! I noticed at my club most people (inculding myself) have hit a wall at some point and stay there for years...I was an 8 for 4 years.

[Prairie Golfer]

Started the season, after a fifteen year vacation, as a 36. Now I'm at 18.3 with three range sessions, 21 full rounds and about one hour of short game practice a week. I peaked at 15 as a teen, but I seriously doubt I'll drop as low as that.

[Phil-Mick#1]

Started the season, after a fifteen year vacation, as a 36. Now I'm at 18.3 with three range sessions, 21 full rounds and about one hour of short game practice a week. I peaked at 15 as a teen, but I seriously doubt I'll drop as low as that.

Wwow, nice job!! You can get back to a 15 and lower...chipping and putting,

[rebby]

How about 3.8 to 1.3?

I agree. I want from a 1.x to a +2.x one season. I put in more practice time that summer than I could ever dream to now in 2-3 seasons. Ah, life before the wife and kids... Don't get me wrong, I'd trade in my + handicap for what I have now every time, it's well worth it. But I do miss that golf game!

[taylor_made809]

I went from a 7.6 in feburary '09 to a 3.0 as of now. Havent played much so I can't really drop strokes. Practicing everyday though.