Need Help: Newbie - what to work on

[Tiger]

This is my second year, I am pretty consistant being inconsistant. So far I played 5 or 6 games, they are 107, 106, 103, 112,107.

Typical me on a 400 yards par 4. I can tee off of a 230 yards, iron to close to green, pitch on to the green, add another 2 putting. That is when I don't screw up on any of those shots. BUT, I constantly screw up this or that~ like, tee off into the woods, pitching from one side green to another side, 3 or 4 putts on the green....

I saw most of you guys are in the range of 70s - 90s. That is really cool. I would like to be able to that. But It seems I need to work on everything, so I am kind lost, dont know where to start. And how to do it in driving range...

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[golfro]

It can get pretty intimidating. So many things to work on! I am in the process of teaching a good friend of mine and he's fairly similar to you. He just has a bit of inconsistency in his shots overall.

Whether it be a sliced driver,duck hooked fairway wood, or shanked short iron, something always happens.

I say take it to the range and work on your swing.
Start with a 7 or 8 iron and think through each shot and practice striking the ball better. Get the fundamentals and the basic mechanics of a swing down first until you're atleast striking the ball consistently. Not necessarily dead straight but atleast very minimal misshots. It's ok if you're not too accurate, get to a point where you're comfortable hitting the ball. Same with driver. Getting rid of a slice or hook isn't easy but think through with each swing. If you're slicing, think about your downswing path. vice versa.
Sure, short game is important but for now, you'll see your score come down as you minimalize misshot with your woods and irons.

I know all this isn't the best, most specific advice and I'm sure it doesn't put your mind at ease but there really is no magic to it. One club at a time, practice practice practice your swing.

[nikeman6]

i agree with everything golf pro said. here is my theory
SHORT GAME
work on it, love it, live it, breath it
that is me, then work your way out from the green to 100-150 yd approaches and finally to the tee.
good luck, let me know if you have any more questions. i'll be happy to help

[JML22]

Chipping putting first

[alomar123]

I would say ball striking. Short game is good, but if you can get near the short game, then why does it matter. With better ball striking you have less penalties, and easier pitches and chips. The short game is mostly feel and it will come over time. You can do something about your ball striking right now by fixing your swing fund.

[Radford Wooly]

I feel your pain!! I'm in the same boat as you!!

[Rugger]

I wish I had learned/been taught about hitting down on the ball when I was 10. Now I'm playing catch up. I'd work firstly on ball striking(down on ball), read about club head lag and flying wedge, and then I'd work on CONSISTENT short game. You don't have to do things perfect, but being able to repeat chipping/pitching without ever duffing of blading it is a big help.

Ball striking(down on ball/flying wedge) and consistent short game.

[Tiger]

Thanks guys. Those are great points. I did put a lot of focus on driver and irons. I haven't really work on short game at all. I need to start doing that. And keep up the striking practice. I am getting PING i10 irons and some new Hybrids. Hope that helps too. I am currently using "Alien", the cheapest set you can find. Whole set including from driver to putter with bags and everything, for $200 bucks. Brand new. I actually like them because I am not afraid hit the ground with them. They are not forgiving at all. I have to hit them perfect to make the ball fly.

[saevel25]

Golf is a complete game, to be really good you got to have it all. You can save yourself with the short game. This weekend my short game was solid, one bad day and i had a really bad two league nights the past two days. Don't bank on one part of the game, get to know it all.

But for you, learn to get off the tee consistantly, that will take alot of pressure off. If you can stand up there and know that you can get it out in the fairway or just in the rough, thats really positive on a hole that has OB..

[CarlSpackler]

If I could dump my brain and relearn, I would work on how to hit short pitches first to learn the fundamental of solid contact with weight transfer and hitting through the ball. From there, I would go to longer pitches and groove a dead hands putting stroke. Next, short and mid irons again focusing on solid contact and hitting through the ball. That's me though.

Whatever you do, I would see a pro to get off on the ground (so to speak) the correct way. It is easier to learn the correct way to swing initially so the "old habits" you learn now don't creep back in later.

Best of luck and enjoy the journey!

[CarlSpackler]

Actually, let me back up a few steps. If I were starting over, I would spend a few weeks learning the proper grip so that it felt natural before I even attempted to strike a golf ball. Then I would work on stance and posture so it felt natural.

[khale]

Since you tend to chip over the green and/or have 3 or 4 putts you need to work on chipping and putting.

Chipping:
Even people who shoot 80-90 miss 9 out of 18 greens. Right now you probably miss 14 greens so you will chip on most holes. Work on:
--Chipping from 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20 yards from the green.

When chipping, if you have a lot of green to roll the ball, you should chip with a mid iron and let the ball roll. For example, if you missed the green by 4 feet and you have 30 feet of green to roll the ball, then you should chip the ball with 7 or 8 iron and let the ball roll to the hole. The reason is that when you try to get the ball up high with a sand wedge, you have more chance of making mistake. Chipping with a mid iron is similar to putting with much smaller chance of making huge mistake.
With this you should save at least 5 strokes from your score

Putting:
Currently you have 3 or 4 putts. 4 putt is a no no. With some practice you should have no more than two 3 putts per round. Do this:
-- Practice lag (get close to the hole):
--Putt from five paces from the hole. Try to get within 1 feet of the hole.
--Putt from 10 paces from the hole. Try to get within 1.5 feet of the hole.
--Putt from 15 paces from the hole. Try to get within 2 feet of the hole.
--Practice short putts--2 feet, 3 feet
Note that the length of your back-swing in putting will control the distance. So take a note of this.
You should save another 5 strokes

Suddenly you are shooting in the 90s. With better ball striking, you should break 90.

[golfro]

i've been saying this in other threads and i'm going to say it again...and many will disagree with me on this and take it for what its worth.

yes. short game is important. however, i'm going to as far as to say don't worry about your short game for now.

like i stated in my previous post, work on your SWING. work on keeping the ball in play. work on proper ball striking. work on getting your balls up in the air. work on your swing swing swing.

Most high handicappers aren't racking up their strokes on the putting green. It's the sliced OB off the driver, the shanked short iron, the thin shot that goes 30 yards further, the chunked shot that leaves you 30 yards short, etc.

I don't mean to negate the importance of short game because it IS important...but what use is putting if you can't get the damn ball on the green? Of course on the flip side, someone can say "what use is getting it on the green if you can't putt?"

However, my theory is this... there are a million things that can go wrong with your driver, fairway wood, and irons. However, on the putting green, you either hit it long, short, push it, pull it, etc but you're still atleast on the green... a bad driver shot immediately puts you at 3 strokes...a bad iron short that lands in the rough or bunker can be disastrous for many amateurs...racking almost almost 3-4 strokes just to get out of the rough!

If you are having a hard time keeping the ball in play, then work on your swing. When I first came back to golf after a 5 or so year hiatus, I went straight to the range and practiced my swing. I didn't touch my putter for a good month until I felt comfortable with my swing and had some consistency to my swing. I can putt around all day and night if I want to but if I'm not keeping that ball in play, i'll never reach the green.

[khale]

I agree, but you can work on your short game and your full swing at the same time. But whatever you do, you need to have a plan at the range. Don't just go to the range and pound balls after balls and expect to get better. For example, if you slice your drives, then work on fixing it (with a low handicap player observing your swing). At the range you will spot a low handicap player and he will most likely love to help you. Generally people love to give advice at the range, sometimes too much.

i've been saying this in other threads and i'm going to say it again...and many will disagree with me on this and take it for what its worth.

[melchior]

I would say ball striking. Short game is good, but if you can get near the short game, then why does it matter. With better ball striking you have less penalties, and easier pitches and chips. The short game is mostly feel and it will come over time. You can do something about your ball striking right now by fixing your swing fund.

Here you go. Ball striking is key. Getting able to putt for a par (if you're anything like me) is somewhat rare is a huge deal. Cut out the biggest length of the course and you'll get better scores. The days I drive "well" beat my scores by far of when I chip/putt "well".

If your ball striking increases, that will also help with chipping/pitching solely due to the fact that you'll have less sculls and overshooting the greens (which you said that you had a problem with). Heck, if you're putting for par relatively consistently; even a 3 putt is a double. 2 putting is only a bogey; imagine having only a bogey filled round.

[zdoor]

Since you tend to chip over the green and/or have 3 or 4 putts you need to work on chipping and putting.

Totally agree with this. Used to never work on the short game than started to take time on it when frustrated with my swing and it was amazing the differnece it made in my scores and confidence from just outside the green and in...

[max power]

i've been saying this in other threads and i'm going to say it again...and many will disagree with me on this and take it for what its worth.

Listen to this advice. Short game is very important, but the margin for error and penalty for missed shots is smaller the closer you get to the green. This doesn't mean you should only work on the driver and long irons, but

ballstriking should be your primary focus. Stance, posture, direction, weight transfer-getting all these to work together is difficult but necessary. I agree that once you've achieved a certain level of proficiency time spent on short game practice will cut more strokes, but in the beginning you've got to learn how to strike the ball correctly and repeatedly. You'll have more fun on the course too-a chunked pitch, or a hot chip, or misaligned putt is annoying, but not to the level of a pure shank off the tee, a sliced drive into the street, or a fairway wood from 200 yds out that goes 15 feet. Keeping the ball in play is key.

[Tiger]

Thanks guys. I appriciate all the advise. They are all great advise, but I am still confused and don't know who to listen to. So I decide to go for some lessons... I just bought a 5 lesson package from a highly recongnized instructor here in town. Lets see what pro is gonna make me work on.... Thanks again!