Can't seem to lower my handicap

[Aaronsrix17]

So i m like a 12.1 index been playing for 2 years. Play at one of toughest courses in Ottawa, Canada. My ballstriking is like a 5 handicaps. My short game is definitly my weakness buts its not brutal yet my scores are still low-mid 80s my goal was to get under a 10 index this year as I started off at 17.4. Hope it happens and yes I practice my short game

[fredloves2golf]

I'm in the same boat as a 11.8. I often say I'm a 5 hdcp ball striker and a 30 hdcp putter. For instance, I shot 82 last weekend which included 41 putts!

I would say, my putting IS brutal but I've been working on something this week that might just turn all that around (I'll find out this weekend). I started working on the idea of right-hand dominance in the putting stroke, which means I'm focusing on the right hand to initiate the backswing and forward swing of the putter. Before now, I've always focused on rocking my shoulders, and never getting great feel for distance. My typical "miss" was leaving putts short or WAY short.
From today's practice, I think I can also apply the same principle to greenside chipping... time will tell.

[denver_nuggs_15]

So i m like a 12.1 index been playing for 2 years. Play at one of toughest courses in Ottawa, Canada. My ballstriking is like a 5 handicaps. My short game is definitly my weakness buts its not brutal yet my scores are still low-mid 80s my goal was to get under a 10 index this year as I started off at 17.4. Hope it happens and yes I practice my short game

Just curious...how do you know your ball striking is like a 5 handicap?

Learn to putt. Learn to chip and pitch. My irons are by far the best part of my game. Two weeks ago, if I was off with them (missing greens), I'd be screwed. Now, I feel so much more comfortable with a wedge in my hand. I know I can get up and down for par. It takes pressure off my whole game. I no longer have to hit 10 greens to go low. I can hit 7-8 (my average this year) and still go low (for me). I've had more up and downs from 40-80 yards in the past two weeks than I've had the previous 2 months before that. Scores come down to putting and chipping. Are you a good thinker and have good course management skills? Playing safer generally leads to good scores. If your "on", that's a different story. I used to short side myself a lot and now I don't let it happen. Playing draws/fades into pins really helps. If you hit the ball straight or it doesn't draw/fade enough, you'll either have a chip with a lot of green to work with or you'll be in the center of the green. It's much easier that way. Post some stats and we could help you out more though.

[Aaronsrix17]

alright well today I shot an 83 with 32 putts and 10 GIR. This is just from what I remeber from the round in my head i don't actual;ly count. btw I included shots inches off the green as GIR because I would putt the ball anyways

[CG031]

alright well today I shot an 83 with 32 putts and 10 GIR. This is just from what I remeber from the round in my head i don't actual;ly count. btw I included shots inches off the green as GIR because I would putt the ball anyways

What does an 83 play to for your handicap on that course?

On my home course an 83 (when I play from the tips) plays to about a 9 handicap.

[enarhi]

With 10 greens hit you should be scoring much better than an 83. As you said, your short game is hurting you, since you must not have been getting up and down or sinking any mid-long range putts to score so high with so few missed greens. Think of it this way--a single-digit handicap usually gets up-and down slightly more than half the time, and very rarely three putts. this would leave them at ~+4 if they hit 10 greens, assuming none of the birdie putts were converted, and there were no disaster holes. I'm guessing you had a couple really bad holes, and failed to get up and down on most of the other missed greens. Work on course management so you can avoid those really high numbers and leave yourself easier up-and downs. If you only hit 8 GIR's, but play smart and have reasonable up and down opportunities on the rest of the holes, you should be able to shoot 77 or 78 without even needing to make any long putts. Even with one disaster hole (inevitable) where you card a double, getting up and down on half the holes would leave you at a 78. And again, this is without even making any of those birdie putts on the hit greens.

[Shorty]

So i m like a 12.1 index been playing for 2 years. Play at one of toughest courses in Ottawa, Canada. My ballstriking is like a 5 handicaps. My short game is definitly my weakness buts its not brutal yet my scores are still low-mid 80s my goal was to get under a 10 index this year as I started off at 17.4. Hope it happens and yes I practice my short game

You can't break 80 but you think you play like a 5 handicapper.

What you have to look at is the quality of your bad shots. Hit 5 bad shots a round and that may add 10 to your score. 5 handicappers shoot mid 70s most of the time. You can't break 80. In other words you clearly do NOT have the ball striking of a 5 handicapper. Anyone who shoots mid 80s can hit a lot of good golf shots a lot of the time. What separates you from a 5 handicapper is a huge amount of consistency. When you are analysing your game after a round, forget about the great shots you played and think about the errors. That will indicate you how far away from a 5 handicap you are. 5 handicappers do not shoot mid 80s, simple as that. Mid 80s shooters are capable of hitting fantastic shots reasonably often. The final score indicates where you should be. And where you are.

[ks8829]

First of all I wish my 14 year old son had the passion for golf you display and the desire to get better, pat yourself on the back.

1) The key to lower scores is to first improve your up and down percentage and get your putt below 30 putt per round and infact both go hand in hand.

1A) If you are off the green count how many time you can get up and down and one putt whether it is to save par, make birdie or even to save boogie. If you improve this area of your game you will start to lower your score and more important keep it low.

1B) practice putting straight putts of 1-10 feet
1C) practice chipping onto the green so that you control the distance
1D) practice pitch shots of 10-50 yards off the green

2) Improve your ball striking so that you are making solid contact and your distance control is right on for each club you hit and your direction should not be off by more than 5 to 10 yard on both side.

2A) I like to practice a drill with my wedges and focus on making solid contact with pitch shots of 50-100 yards to sharpen my ball contact.
I can also work on my direction after I hit consistent solid wedges.

before I play a round of golf, I like to prepare for the round by doing the following:

1) pitch for an hour a day before
2) putt for an hour a day before
3) hit an iron I pick for the day, yesterday it was my 6 iron, so I hit 120 ball on a grassy field to improve my ball striking for the next day.
4) I will hit ball again the morning I play the round with an iron again hitting at least 60 balls today I may pick the 8 iron or PW.
5) I will arrive an hour or at least 30 minutes before so that I can putt before the round working on straight putts of 1-10 feet and lag putting.
5A) I focus on making straight putts and distance control.
5B) putting tip, I just started to use a pendulum motion to help hit consistent straight putts.
5C) pendulum motion, if you ever watch a weighted pendulum change direction you notice that at the very end the pendulum comes to a stop for a split second before changing direction, well I started to putt this same way and notice that I will keep the putt on line and hit straight putts more consistently.

In summary, keep enjoying golf and sharpen your skills by practicing some of the above tips that has help me lower my scores and keep it low. good luck and keep up the passion. The more you practice particular aspects of your game the faster you will see the result during the round, its similar to learning what to practice to get better and to maintain your consistent play.

[Aaronsrix17]

[QUOTE=Shorty;348549]You can't break 80 but you think you play like a 5 handicapper.

^ Not even close to what I said

and 83 on my course is 13 over which is my course handicap with my 11.9 factor

[TMO]

Little confused with your stats. Can you add a few things.

How many doubles, triples, or quads did you have?
How many penalties did you have?
How many 3 putts did you have?
How many times did you try to hit a chip, pitch, or any other short game shot and not end up on the green?

I am betting that while short game is a part of this that course management is a part of it too. But don't know without that information.

[denver_nuggs_15]

alright well today I shot an 83 with 32 putts and 10 GIR. This is just from what I remeber from the round in my head i don't actual;ly count. btw I included shots inches off the green as GIR because I would putt the ball anyways

Did you count the "putts" as putts if you counted them as GIRs? 32 putts isn't great, but it's certainly not terrible for a 12 handicap. 10 "GIRs" is very good for a 12, but I'm guessing this is one of your better rounds. Keep stats to find your average. If you keep your stats, you can easily compare them to those of similarly skilled and better golfers. I hit 7-8 greens on average for the year. This is above average from what I've read for a 10 handicap (I'd still like it to be higher!). Unless you have stats, you can't say "I hit the ball like a 5" because you really don't know.

[cphpaco]

When u get to that kinda handicap range at 12 or so... u definitely hav the skills to become a single figure handicap player. The skills are there... but id say the part of ur game that needs analysis is actually 'the game'...!!!

What i do is... i take a small notebook during my round. every hole, i note down the process... for example, lost ball from drive i mark an 'x' or write 'loss ball'... ball i drove into the bunker 'bunker'... no. of putts... sand saves... GIR... once u hav these data, THEN u can breakdown ur weakness and strengths and practice, makeup for them...

hope it helps

[Sowbug2000]

Going from a 17.9 to a 10 in one season would be a pretty remarkable goal or achievement....I've worked reasonably hard over the last couple of years to get under 20 and am at ~15.9 now. But, I'm 41 and married with a little one....can't exactly pound balls all day.

My golf group has commented on my improvements quite a bit....I still have my blow up holes, occasional chipping brain farts, and a 3 putt here or there.

So my game has improved quite a bit....I would recommend the chipping and putting practice.

You are young and obviously driven....keep at it.

We're rooting for you!

[$2 Nassau]

[QUOTE=Aaronsrix17;348575]

You can't break 80 but you think you play like a 5 handicapper.

What's the course rating and slope of the course you play is what he is asking, that's how you can figure out what handicap you played to based on your score for that day.

[$2 Nassau]

alright well today I shot an 83 with 32 putts and 10 GIR. This is just from what I remeber from the round in my head i don't actual;ly count.

and by the way, don't do this, it skews your stats.