Chance of being very competitive low handicap next year

[jrsmith1491]

Hello everyone I'm 19 years old and have been playing golf on and off for 3 years not consistent. I am about a 15 handicap and want to be low single digits by the end of next year to be competitive in local am tours . I hit the driver around 280 and hit a lot of fairways what do you think my chances of reaching my goal are? Any tips pointers or drills will be appreciated. I am very athletic and Excel in many in many sports

[Quinn07]

That's a very lofty goal you have and depending on how committed you are possibly attainable but I would think that mid single digits (6-8) would be more realistic. If you want to be single digit and low single digit you need to sharpen your short game.

[jrsmith1491]

That is along the lines of what I was thinking but I'm very determined to get my goal and have a good work ethic

[JayMc]

When I was your age I moved from a 10 to a 5 quickly, but it took nearly two and a half years to go from 5 to 0.4. I had a good coach and made time to practice regularly. The biggest obstacle holding me back was the opportunity to play challenging courses. I was a college kid...the university course was not difficult, my parents' club course was not difficult, and the more challenging courses were at a price point where I could only play a round per month or so on them. You can only get so good playing only driver/wedge type courses.

You will probably find that you can improve quickly, but there will be a point when you plane out and the measurable improvement slows down. I bet you can get to a 5-6 pretty quickly if you make it a priority.

[jrsmith1491]

I will be a member at a challenging public course with a slope of 151.2 hopefully it will help

[JayMc]

That will help immensely!

My parents' club has a slope of 128 and I don't remember the university course slope.

[Borf]

awesome man! I love people who have high standards when they set their goals!

You will improve! hopefully get to single soon! all the best

My advice is to get a pre-shot routine and don't change your swing!

[Shorty]

What's the rush?
Why next year?
Why are you putting the cart before the horse? Why do you want to be competitive in amateur "tours" when you currently don't have the game to win a B Grade club championship? Why not make that your goal?
What would anyone here know about your game?
It is possible that you could get to,say, 6 but it is highly improbable. The difference between 9 and 4 is probably a bigger than the difference between 21 and 10.
And it's not about "how much you want it" or any claptrap like that.
If you are a genuine 15 now, and this time next year you were a genuine 9, that would be a sensational achievement.
There's nothing wrong with ambition, and if you're motivated, that's great, but you should be taking it one step at a time.

My biggest piece of advice would be to ignore those who say stuff along the lines of:
"Hey man (it's always "man") you can do it!!! It just depends on how much you want it!!!!!!!! Greg Norman got to scratch in a couple of yoars and you can too!!!!!!

Believe me. These people have never seen anyone play who is capable of shooting a par round.
Try and organise a game with a par shooter and you'll see if your goals are realistic.

[jrsmith1491]

I have played with par players and I know its far fetched I was just wanted to know some opinions on my chances and how to achieve it

[golfro]

Hello everyone I'm 19 years old and have been playing golf on and off for 3 years not consistent. I am about a 15 handicap and want to be low single digits by the end of next year to be competitive in local am tours . I hit the driver around 280 and hit a lot of fairways what do you think my chances of reaching my goal are? Any tips pointers or drills will be appreciated. I am very athletic and Excel in many in many sports

15 to low single digits isn't impossible by any means but that is quite an accomplishment if you can pull it off. I will tell you this...it all depends on your understanding of the game and your swing. I've seen some people struggle for years who can't seem to break into single digit because they don't take the time to understand their swing and their overall game. Golf to them is and will always be a stick and a ball.

Your thorough understanding of your swing enables you to make the best out of your practice time, learn how to shape shots that are sometimes required, and learn how to recover from bad shots. Without knowing anything about your game, I can't say you'll be able to accomplish it or not, but practice practice practice. Consistency in ball striking, putting, short game, driving, everything comes from engrained muscle memory. You gain loads of confidence through muscle memory. If you can't repeat the same consistent swing twice, then you won't drop your handicap. Now when you get down to single digit handicap, short game comes into play ALOT. Think of it this way, in order to be a consistent 2-3 handicap, you have to par almost every hole, with the exception of maybe 1 or two bogeys here and there. That is not easy if you can't work your way around the greens. You absolutely cannot three putt, you can't mishit wedge shots, you have to play somewhat aggressively to get those birdie and eagle chances, etc. Good luck.

[jrsmith1491]

Thank you all very much this is all very helpful especially for my confidence

[delav]

Count every stroke when you play. It's easy to give yourself putts, move your ball from a bad lie, hit a second shot off of the tee and forget all of this once the round is done.

If you want to see your game improve, take every shot seriously and adhere to the rules religiously. It will feel great carding that first 79 knowing all of the hard work that went into it.

[golfro]

agreed with delav. there are no gimmes and mulligans if you want to really achieve a low single digit handicap.

also, every round you play, write down each hole:
- Fairway off drive
- GIR
- how many putts
- make notes of any misshots, etc.

after awhile you'll start seeing that one particular part of your game may need some more work, etc. If you're 3 putting often, work on your putts. If your driving is a bit erratic, work on your driver, etc etc. It never ends but hard work is what gets you the results.

[wrx_junki]

Public course with a 151 rating? Where is this? Anyways, you becoming a low handicap all depends on your dedication to the game. Get a good coach and practice your short game all day since you said you hit your drives 280 in the fairway. Even if you are a sub par iron player you can easily become a single handicap player with a good short game.

[jrsmith1491]

Thanks guys and the course is in Indiana called Hulman links. I will definitely take all this in hopefully it will improve soon lol

[TourSpoon]

IMO, to get to mid single cap would be a tremendous feat. Here are my suggestions...

Lessons 2x month
Practice 4x week (60% short game)
Play 1-2x week (year round)
Mental Game - Start with Golf is not a Game of Perfect
Develop Sound pre-shot routine and course management strategy
Get a rangefinder/GPS
Fitness/flexibility routine

It can be done...good luck.

You can do it!

[shades9323]

Thanks guys and the course is in Indiana called Hulman links. I will definitely take all this in hopefully it will improve soon lol

All I can find is that the slope is 144 from the tips(7225 yds,74.9), 141 from the blues(6775 yds,72.7), and 138 from the whites(6440 yds,71.4). Which tees are you currently playing from?

[ET-Taylor]

I suppose your on the same boat as me im going to try and get down from 21 to 9 next season for 3 reasons
1. i get slagged off for working at my game harder than anyone else and still being crap
2. single figures sounds pretty good
3. my dads a ten handicap and i want to be better than him :)

But i believe if i get a decent coach i will get there and step up the practice routine i will get there