The importance of consistancy.

[James_Black]

I looked up how to break 90 and this is a amazing thing I found.

  None said:

36 putts/round - average distance/stroke to shoot 89 =115 yards (average distance = 6,100 ÷ (89 - # of putts/round) )

All you have to do is hit each shot on average 115 yards!

That'll make me thing before I take out the driver! So to break 80 all you need is to hit the ball 141 yards on average. So why bother with a driver at all? A 5 iron would get most people shooting in the 70's! Now I know that's not right fully but a 3 wood off the tee would get people into single-digit handicaps. Anybody else think about this?

[kpaulhus]

As my handicap drops, and I think I am becomming "better than average" I tend to really think about what I want to do off the tee. I used to grab my driver without thinking, but really some holes leave you with weird distances to the cup. I could smash a drive to within 70 yards of the hole and take a 3/4 wedge shot, but I would rather hit a 3 wood or hybrid and have a full 9 or 7 iron to the green. Just my opnion though.

[Golf_Gal]

This seems much easier said than done, for me anyways!! I wish I was consistent in everything golf, but I guess it takes years AND YEARS of practice...so far, I just have my putting down and at most 3-putt once or twice during an 18 hole course...

[James_Black]

  Golf_Gal said:

This seems much easier said than done, for me anyways!! I wish I was consistent in everything golf, but I guess it takes years AND YEARS of practice...so far, I just have my putting down and at most 3-putt once or twice during an 18 hole course...

Keep practising putting and chipping.

they're the most important.

[Scott_K]

It has to do with strategy and course management. Most golfers struggling to break the 100 and 90 marks can do so by removing some clubs from their bag. Go around a course with a long, mid, short iron, wedge and putter and you can probably shoot a good score. You will learn those clubs very well and develop your shot making skills.

Marketing has the majority of golfers looking for drivers that will help them hit it further. It's great that people can hit it 280+ yards, but they don't tell the consumer that they'll have to spend 5 minutes looking for it in the woods. . (I'm one of those). There are some par 4 holes that are in the 440 to 460 range that I play. I have the range to reach them in 2, but I usually choose not to because I'm not that accurate from long range.

[deronsizemore]

  James_Black said:

I looked up how to break 90 and this is a amazing thing I found.

That's a great way to look at it, but a big thing to keep in mind is that most higher handicap players do not hit the ball consistently. They may not even get the ball airborne consistently let a long average 100+ yards. Sure anyone could hit a ball that far, but to average it and eliminate every top, chunk, blade, etc. in the process isn't as easy as it sounds on paper for a lot of people. When you consider that the average male golfer only averages 200 yards with his driver, that makes it seem a little less easy. People will tell you they average 270+ but the fact is, they don't. They may have hit some 270+ in their life, but they fail to consider their shots that don't make it past the forward tees in that "average." Most people should leave driver in the bag though, I do agree with that.

[Golf_Gal]

Wow, golf, there's just so much to learn...I guess it just comes naturally with LOTS of practice. I just wish my entire game would all come together

[James_Black]

  deronsizemore said:

That's a great way to look at it, but a big thing to keep in mind is that most higher handicap players do not hit the ball consistently. They may not even get the ball airborne consistently let a long average 100+ yards

I get pretty good contact with my clubs.

Only problem is my driver. I AVERAGE 200-210 yards (I hit some drives 230-240 in a round). Only problem is when I hit them out of bounds. That costs me around 7-10 shots a round...

[skagen]

Yeah unfortunately, these theory is that you hit 89 perfect shots. Even if 115 is gap wedge, i sure as heck can't hit 89 good shots in a row! If i could, i would just use the same swing, just different clubs and shoot an amazing round and a half. hahaha.


The theory sounds good, but for some of us, like me, who drives great, 220 - 260 on the fairway most of the time, but it's the approach shot that usually kills me.

[James_Black]

  skagen said:

Yeah unfortunately, these theory is that you hit 89 perfect shots. Even if 115 is gap wedge, i sure as heck can't hit 89 good shots in a row! If i could, i would just use the same swing, just different clubs and shoot an amazing round and a half. hahaha.

Well that was just a example.

So you could hit a 5 iron or a 7iron pretty well most of the time.

[Brakkus]

I agree with leaving the driver at home.I'm a 26 handicapper,and mostly will use a hybrid which gives me around 200 yds off the tee.The times this strategy comes unstuck is if I struggle with the ballflight and it drops short or I don't catch it well,then that leaves you with 4 shots to long par 4's or 5's.
So double bogey can become the norm,but the way I see it is if I hit it better, than that will happen less and less.In the meantime wedges and chips around the greens are my main focus to lessen this impact.

I will put the driver in the bag later,but not until I have the skill to shoot 90.

[Lars]

Fewer clubs are better for beginners...its important to gain some confidence with certain clubs in the bag that become your money club... even if your a 100+ handicap player.... in time more clubs become that solid...

Most people can get close to the Green in 2 or 3 yet many can't Chip close enough to make putting less stressful. Getting Up & Down is key to scoring in Golf... A great Tee shot means little with a terrible approach shot...

Tiger is terrible at hitting Fairways, but he can close a hole better than most... often times from the rough...

[tm22721]

I achieve a 10 handicap by using nothing longer than a 7i. Even off the tees. I can par everything but the 4's where I lay up for bogey.

My course is 6200 yards. If I two putt, that leaves 46 shots to go 6200 yards for an average of 134 yards. No sweat because my 7i goes 145-150 yards.