Getting to a Single Digit

[montru]

My goal for this year is to get to a single digit handicap by Jan 1st, I am on the right track, I have dropped from a 17 in Jan to 14.1 and I just checked today and I have been dropped again to 13.1.

I am practicing a lot on my ball striking with my irons and am starting to hit more GIR, I am also practicing the chipping etc, but I think my main problem is my mental game.
The other day I started out with six straight pars, I get to the 7th hole (par 5) and shoot an 8 and then a double bogey on the 8th and then birdie the 9th.
I did almost the same thing on the back nine with pars on the first five holes, I ended up shooting 81 (41,40) I just seem to loose my head for a couple of holes and then it clicks back in.

Does anyone else have a similar problem and what do you do to combat it?

[kevin.chan]

all the time ...

[ks8829]

Some tips to lower your score and keep them low:

1) find your weakness and improve them
2) keep track of your putts and up and down, green on regulation and fairways hits
3) spend more time practicing than playing
4) spend more time practicing your short game
5) keep your putts at 30 and under per 18 holes
6) get up and down more than 50% and ideally around 60% or better
7) eliminate the double boogies
8) have a preshot routine and pre-putt routine
9) make sure that you eat and hydrate during the round especially on the back nine
10) work out for golf including your cardio for the back nine
11) practice getting up and down in game situation while you practice
12) make all 3 foot putts in a circle around the hole
13) lag your long putts to within a 3 foot circle
14) learn to love your putt, because it the most important club in your bag
15) become confident with your putting so much that you feel you can make every putt
16) working on your short game will improve your over all golf swing

[CG031]

it's pretty much short game. i am probably the worst ballstriking 7.5 handicap you'll ever meet, but i get a lot up and down and make a ton of 8-10 footers for par. i only hit like 6 g.i.r. a round...

[double_j]

My goal for this year is to get to a single digit handicap by Jan 1st, I am on the right track, I have dropped from a 17 in Jan to 14.1 and I just checked today and I have been dropped again to 13.1.

Welcome to my world - I was down to a 9 last year and have been struggling to get back to it this year. If you find any answers, please do share!

Truthfully, getting to a single digit really isn't that bad if you play/practice enough. Depending the course you play, you'll generally just need to consistently shoot in the lower 80's and you know you already have those kind of scores in you. On my home course (rating 72.1, slope 132), this means that I generally get 11 wonderful strokes over par to work with. Think about it - going 5 or 6 over per side really isn't that bad, is it? The hardest part is really eliminating the blow up holes. Recognize the situations that normally get you into trouble (e.g., tight fairway, hazard left, etc.) and steer away from them or compensate for the likely outcome - even if it means playing for bogey with an outside chance at par. And getting really good a scrambling helps, too. I don't mean that every single chip needs to be tight, but you've definitely got to nail those ones within a couple feet of the fringe (i.e., the ones you'd be putting if it weren't for the long grass). Those have got to get down in two at the worst.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Short game and putting, homey. Get up and down and make those putts. I saw this in another post, but if you can keep your putt total around 30, then you'll get there. When you do break through to single digits, a sweedish model drops by your house and gives you a teddy bear. Little inside info for ya

[saevel25]

Describe the 7th hole? Did you loose a golf ball, or just struggle with your swing? curious because if you were doing really well up to that point, with a single digit handicap, it would be hard to say your swing just went to crap.

You just got to find what your comfortable with doing and stick to it.

For example, my game goes to crap when i get fancy with the shots. If i try to hit a flop shot, or try to worry about carry with my short game i end up doing bad things. I rather be aggressive with everything i do in golf. I take aggressive lines hole locations, I don't like to hold back.

[Deryck Griffith]

Some tips to lower your score and keep them low:

I agree with everything but this. Average under 30 putts for an amateur is a VERY diffiult thing to do. I think the more realistic goal is to always be in the 30-33 putt range...If you average under 30 putts, you are a pro.

[gators13]

it's pretty much short game. i am probably the worst ballstriking 7.5 handicap you'll ever meet, but i get a lot up and down and make a ton of 8-10 footers for par. i only hit like 6 g.i.r. a round...

I am the same way, my chipping saves me alot. But i have learned, the short game is where it's at "drive for show and put for dough"

[sean_miller]

I agree with everything but this. Average under 30 putts for an amateur is a VERY diffiult thing to do. I think the more realistic goal is to always be in the 30-33 putt range...If you average under 30 putts, you are a pro.

It's sure accurate though - if we averaged 30 or fewer putts per round, maintaining that single digit handicap would be guaranteed.

I've been compiling some putting drills and tips for myself this spring. Other players' putting checklists usually have a couple items of use, but it's really quite a personal thing isn't it?!?!?

[mrmiller8]

Yeah under 30 putts is a 1.6 putting average and if you can do that your gonna be a lot lower than just a single handicap your gonna be damn close to scratch. I typically average be 31-34 putts and I am a single (not a low single, but still a single). An ametuer golfers strategy should be very simple. Get off the tee and get yourself a decent shot to attack the green, then two putt. Do that and shoot par, maybe make some putts and get some birds.

[Deryck Griffith]

It's sure accurate though - if we averaged 30 or fewer putts per round, maintaining that single digit handicap would be guaranteed.

My lowest putts per round was 27 and i felt like my putter was on FIRE!! Averaging under 30 would mean that I would have to have that feeling with the putter every round to AVERAGE under 30. Yes, averaging under 30 would certainly maintain a single, but in reality, you would be close to scratch because one key thing that greatly increases 1 putts is proximity to the hole. I.e. a chip or pitch close to the hole, a sand save, iron shot from 150 in , etc.

Most amateurs do not have the game that enables them to be close enough in those situations to one putt say 6-8 times a round which will bring you in under 30 putts. So the focus in getting to a single and maintaining it is to consistently two putt and one putt 4-5 times...bring you in around 32-31 putts...bringing me back to saying 30-33 putts is a safe window to maintain a single digit.

[sean_miller]

Averaging under 30 would certainly maintain a single...it would put you close to scratch. But one thing that greatly increases 1 putts is proximity to the hole. I.e. a chip or pitch close to the hole, a sand save, iron shot from 150 in , etc. Most amateurs do not have the game that enables them to be close enough in those situations to one putt say 6-8 times a round which will bring you in under 30 putts. So the focus in getting to a single and maintaining it is to consistently two putt and one putt 4-5 times...bring you in around 32-31 putts...30-33 is a safe window to maintain a single digit.

Once I started to leave the ball in an area where that first putt is reasonably makeable consistent decent scoring was so much easier. Proximity to the hole is nice, but I'd rather have a 15 foot putt straight uphill than a total speed putt like a 4 footer with 2 feet of break that might still be a 15 footer straight uphill once it's done rolling.

[mrmiller8]

Once I started to leave the ball in an area where that first putt is reasonably makeable consistent decent scoring was so much easier. Proximity to the hole is nice, but I'd rather have a 15 foot putt straight uphill than a total speed putt like a 4 footer with 2 feet of break that might still be a 15 footer straight uphill once it's done rolling.

I would second this...

[cody west]

honestly the biggest thing for me is not caring if i blow a hole or not. just dont keep track of your overall score in your head. take it shot by shot and never get ahead of yourself or to eager. the other thing is never second guess your putting

[double_j]

Describe the 7th hole? Did you loose a golf ball, or just struggle with your swing? curious because if you were doing really well up to that point, with a single digit handicap, it would be hard to say your swing just went to crap.

I won't answer for the OP, but I've done this one too. Even through 6, then BAM! an 8 on an easy par five backed up by a 6 on a moderately easy par 3 (at least I finished with a par).

It wasn't the swing for me on either hole, both were a bit of bad luck (poor bunker lie, etc.) compounded by a bit of jackassness on my part (trying to play the hero), and a flubbed chip or two along the way! This seems to be the norm for most of us trying to get below 10. We play well most of the time but we're really just waiting for the wheels to fall off. In order to consistenly play to a single digit, you've really got to have your head on right.

[Chief Broom]

The key to scoring well in golf (and hence lowering your handicap) is quite simple. Hitting greens in regulation. While that is simple enough to say the reality is that hitting greens means you are doing a lot of things well. Hitting a lot of greens also implys that the times you do miss your misses will be close, and being close usually equates to an easy chip, thereby helping your scrambling for up and downs. This isn't an exact science. In other words you can hit a lot of greens and not score well and inversely you can miss most of the greens and still card a good score, but in general the more greens you hit in a round the more likely you are to card a good score. There is a inverse correlation between the number of greens you hit per round increasing as your handicap decresses. When I was an 18-19 handicap my GIR were running below 20%. Just having broken into 10 my GIR are at an all time high of 35%. I'm not trying to de-emphasize putting, it's the other half of the golf equation (low scores = more GIR + putting well), but since making GIR encompases every aspect of the game besides putting (sand play, wedge play, driving, irons, etc.) that statistic is an accurate indicator of how well your overall game is improving.

Drive for show and putt for dough is no doubt true, but getting on in regulation takes a tremendous amount of pressure off your game and is what gives you the opportunity to score and go low.

[saevel25]

Average GIR in the pro's is 66%, thats 11-12 greens in a round. So they are missing. Scoring average is 71.1, given they are playing on tough courses. Your saying they are playing 1 stroke under par.

So in missing 6-7 greens, they are saving shots and making putts for birdie and par. If you go out and hit 12 greens and shoot 6 over par, then its not your ball striking thats the issue. I would say hiting half the greens is really good. I had rounds were i hit 7 GIR in the first 9 holes, and shot 2-3 over par for 9 holes. You got to match up putting and short game. To keep it low, you got to start having a complete game, you just can't say GIR's is everything.