breaking 80?

[tradewind_golfer]

ok, i want to hear from you single digit guys out there.

i've been playing on and off for 20 years, took 5 years off and got back into it last year. consistently shooting in the low 80's now. But can't shoot lower. (Lowest round this year was 79 on par 73, 74 on par 70 last year).

I'll par 10-12 holes, and usually have a double or triple bogey and a few bogeys.

For those guys who have been through this, how do you breakthrough? My overall game is pretty solid, just a wild drive here or there, or one or two totally missed irons.

Is it mental? More practice--on what? What got you to the next level? I know there are a lot of good golfers here, any advice?

[iacas]

ok, i want to hear from you single digit guys out there.

If you're an all-around 83-shooting golfer, then you have to work on all areas of your game.

Mental: choose the best shot for the moment and have the faith to execute it. This means pulling 3W on holes where you never seem to hit a good drive and knowing when to punch out. Long game: hit better drives, hit better irons. Short game: get up and down more often. You can go about those things in a variety of ways, but practice, lessons, and simply playing more are the obvious ways. I pride myself on still usually breaking 80 even when playing like absolute crap.

[tradewind_golfer]

thanks iacas, good advice from a good player.

i have/had lower standards then you, but i used to pride myself on breaking 90 when playing like crap, but now it seems like i should be shooting in the 70's almost every time i go out. but just crack up here and there.

stupid question about the 3-wood: i only carry a 16* hybrid now; do you think it's necessary/recommended to carry a 3-wood as a "safe" driver, or does it not really matter--just tee off with the hybrid as if it were a 3 wood?

also, what about the score card? Do you look/are you aware of/want to know your score when you're on the verge of breaking 70, for you, (breaking 80 for me)...how do you deal with very good possible rounds mentally before they're over?

thanks again, man

[Cap217]

keep track of your game and shots. I bet you lose a lot in the short game area. I would start from there back. I am a 2 HC and I dont break 70, actually I didnt at all ever! But I shoot in the mid 70s and play on a hard corse (member at Stonewater, where the nationwide plays and the avg is +2) so it is all in perspective. I would play a harder corse from the tees one behind and see what you do. Also, if you get in trouble with the driver, use a 3 wood. See what you can do. And miss on the side that gives you the best chance to get up and down,.

[Black_Black]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with Erik here. But, another thing that you can try is to keep track of these stats: PUTTS, GIR's, and fairways per round take an average of 3 rounds. This helps me out a lot and will mostly likely help you to identify where your game is lacking the most . One last suggestion is about your hybrid it probably plays like a 5wood from my experiences with TM rescue clubs (i.e. high flight). And from your sig it looks like you only have 12 clubs?! You need to get another wedge and add a 3wood to your bag. You'll benefit greatly from them. Hopefully this will help get you started on breaking 80. Good Luck.

[tradewind_golfer]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with Erik here. But, another thing that you can try is to keep track of these stats: PUTTS, GIR's, and fairways per round take an average of 3 rounds. This helps me out a lot and will mostly likely help you to identify where your game is lacking the

thanks for advice guys...

Update: Shot 81 yesterday (again!!!) with 2 double bogeys on the back 9...2 lost balls... Shot 81 today with a triple bogey on 18...somehow sliced a 5 iron OB on my approach shot after laying up off the tee with the hybrid (laid too far back!) I think it's starting to get mental. Black_black, I traded the Rescue hybrid in for an original warbird +4. You're right about the height thing and it wasn't going much further than a (well-struck) 3-iron. Hope it works out...I was also thinking of picking up a super-cavity back graphite shafted 2-iron (hawkeye VFT)...am I nuts? Used to carry 3 wedges but like my GRAD PW (blade) so much, dropped the gap wedge and am trying to open up the SW instead of carrying a LW. Also, because I walk 18 about 5 times a week, I wanted to lighten the load. Mahalo for the responses!

[NCGolfer]

tradewind,

You've gotten some good adivice here...I'll add one more bit. A few years back I traded in one of my rounds a week (when I had multiple) for a two hour session on the range with an extra large bucket of balls. I was just working on grooving my swing and experimenting with things to see what would work and not work. If you're playing 5 times a week, I'd drop one of those rounds for a range session and time on the practice green.

I know everyone likes to play more than practice, but if you really want to get better, I think that one day of range and short game work will really, really help. I'd split your time 50-50 between range and short game (putting and chipping).

[Rafcin]

IMHO you should focus on short game (chipping + putting). Shooting in the 80's means you can get off the tee and keep the ball in play (occasional slice/OB will happen, but it's not a regular event). You should be able to get on or around the green in 2... that's where it's very easy to need 3 - 4 strokes before the ball is holed out. Once you get your "up-and-down" ratio up to at least 75% - your scores will drop.

[wachesawgolfer]

Putting, putting and more putting and chipping. To break through 80 often, you need to get up and down and birdie a few holes and save a lot of pars. Just practice the short game. Sink 20 six foot putts in a row before each round. Put 20 balls on the 100 yard flag from multiple stations on the range. Own the game from 120 yds. in. You get the idea. Harvey Penick said when a student comes in and wants to drop a few strokes off their game, they just go to the putting green.

[golfchief]

When you get home from playing write down how you played each hole and the score you made vs. par. then go back hole by hole and find out what went wrong. Did you try making a great recovery shot? make a shot with the wrong club and overswing? Hit it OB from the tee trying to hit it harder? Bad lie and didn't make good contact? these are some of things you need to look at and be honest with, It's your game your trying to improve.
I never try keeping score while playing all I try is making par on that hole I'm on. When I have a bad hole I'll talk about until I get to the next tee box then I let go and focus on the new hole. When I get home I'll beat myself up for doing something stupid.

[tradewind_golfer]

Thanks guys for all the tips...

shot 77 today!!!

I was pretty psyched. Listened to everyone's advice and considered it when I played.

Picked up a 4+ wood (no more hybrid), and it's much better for me off the fairway and long par 3's.

Kept track of Fairways hit and GIR's...found that I was only hitting 3-4 fairways a round and 4-5 GIR's. Taking an average of 26-29 putts per round, so I think my short game is pretty decent.

Worked on hitting better drives and better irons and chipped out when in trouble off the tee. Didn't make anything worse than a bogey today, no birdies, and felt like I couldn't miss the green from inside 150. Also, picked up a lob wedge (and a set of new irons!)

Thanks for all the help fellas; it really worked!

Tradewind

[golfchief]

Great to hear things are working for you. remember what got you their or the big numbers will return.
What kind of Irons did you get?

[tradewind_golfer]

Great to hear things are working for you. remember what got you their or the big numbers will return.

I got a set of Ping i3 (o-size) orange dot (1* flat) with JZ regular Cushin steel shafts (used, ofcourse).

Actually, I've been playing Mizuno Grads for a while; smaller forged cavity back. Loved the blade PW, but hated everything else...actually, couldn't hit anything else without trying to baby it. I posted in the "how far you hit your irons" thread with the Mizuno distances and was hiting my 6 iron about 150. Shot 88 with them day before yesterday, got pissed, and traded them in plus some cash. Now hitting my 8-iron 145 yards--1/2" longer shafts, more forgiving, and nice soft feel--plus the new club mentality. Playing again tomorrow and will keep working and what was said here. Mahalo guys!

[elizzy.jones]

Getting past that 80 barrier is all about short game and course management. Eliminating 3 putts and getting up and down is key. Focus on your chipping and getting the ball in the hole. Course management is also important. You may not need to be hitting 3 woods on every par5 if you can't reach the green in 2. And you might not need to hit driver off every tee. Hope these tips help!
Elizabeth

[tradewind_golfer]

Getting past that 80 barrier is all about short game and course management. Eliminating 3 putts and getting up and down is key. Focus on your chipping and getting the ball in the hole. Course management is also important. You may not need to be hitting 3 woods on every par5 if you can't reach the green in 2. And you might not need to hit driver off every tee. Hope these tips help!

thanks for the tips. actually, i shot a lifetime low last Tuesday--73!!! It was a weird experience. didn't feel like i was playing really well, but my mishits weren't very bad. did exactly what folks have been talking about on this thread and all of it worked. the putter was red hot, 27 putts.

funny thing is, i thought my short game was good until i was talking to the course pro and he was saying he usually chips in 1 or 2 a round. i was like "what?"--i chip in one or two a year!!! so i finally picked up a lob wedge and will start working on that more. also, the thing about not always hitting 3-wood on the second shot of a par 5 has been key for me. i'm not a long hitter, good stroke with the driver gets maybe 260, average is more like 240. good shot with a 3-wood off the deck is around 220 +/-. So i'm rarely reaching par 5's in two. been laying up to 150-100 yrds and have birdied 1-2 par 5's a round lately. a lot better than trying to save bogey after an OB shot. BTW, obviously, besides practice, how did you get to a +3 hdcp??? What was the biggest key mentally that got you there? Mahalo

[asianpsuation]

yea i just shot a 77 @congressional CC yesterday(best round of my life ) and i came away with some good thoughts on breaking 80 and shooting low. I started of really shitty, i think i bogeyed the first 2 holes, and my driver was quite simply sucking.. I was getting pretty angry, but then i just slowed everything down and really started over and my round completly turned around. I have always found that the best way to shoot low is to slow down your swing just a little and dont think about any past shot, good or bad. good luck shootin low man

p.s.- can anyone tell me about the titleist 905r, im thinking about dropping my r7tp and the 905 looks sick

[Mikeland]

Congrats on the low scores. I think a majority of this game is mental...you can groove a swing...but trying to stay focused is quite difficult.

One thing I do - I don't add up my score until I'm done with the round... The less I think about the overall score, the better I play... Stay focused on the shot at hand and you will succeed.

I almost broke par this year for the first time...I knew it going into the last hole (a playing partner told me...grrrrr...) and I proceeded to 3 putt. Oh well.

Good luck!