Chance of being very competitive low handicap next year

[saevel25]

I'll tell you one thing. The closer you get to scratch the harder it is. Because now your talking about Par golf, thats making birdies, because its hard to go 18 straight pars.

Number one thing, practice 1/3rd of your time on the putting green, par 72, even with 30 putts your looking over 33% of your shots are putting.
Number two, practice shots with your wedges to your 8 iron, if you hit it 280 then your going to be using those clubs the most out of your irons. If you can hit those irons well, then you probably good enough to hit the longer irons well to.
Number three, practice placing shots on the golf course. Learn to read the golf hole. Learn to tee the ball up on either side of the tee box and hitting to spots in the fairway to leave you good angles into the greens. Know were to miss, if the pins near the edges, of the green, error towards the center of the green. Golf management is what takes you from a mid to high single handicap to a low handicap. So every time you play golf, try to start analyzing every hole, find what angles work the best, start trying to execute shots. If you hit a stock draw, then learn were you need to aim to have that draw take you to that spot you need to hit it.

Just some few tips, I love that aspect of golf, its fun to try to dissect a course. With your length, you should be able to challenge alot of courses. But going from a 14 to a low single is tough. I am about a 12, and my best year two years ago, i was an an 8, with a few rounds near scratch. Keep at it, i think it can be done. Another tip, get some masking tape or impact tape/spray, and start learning to hit the ball in the center of the club each time.

[jrsmith1491]

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?

The slope was 151 when golf digest did an article on it being the toughest public course in Indiana this was 2 years ago when I saw it but I play from the gold tees pro

[lance0363]

Let's see... You're 15 that would be a H.S. freshman. In Indiana, that would mean little to no golf all winter.
My suggestion would be to join your H.S. wrestling team. You would learn the true meaning of hard work. You would get much stronger and more flexable then you know. You would become mentally hard as nails. Like golf you only get out what you put into it.
When the season ends in the spring, you wouldn't even recognize the you of today. Best of luck in your efforts.

[saevel25]

Problem with Wrestling is like boxing, you got to maintain weight. Just hit the gym..

[jrsmith1491]

I am 19 idk where 15 came from

[jrsmith1491]

I wish I could do that lmao

[Harmonious]

If the course you are playing is one of the toughest around, no doubt there are a number of good sticks that play there often, because of the challenge. Talk to one of the pros at the course. He/she will no doubt know who the players are, and could probably arrange for you to play with one or more of them.

It won't take you long to find out what part(s) of your game you need to improve on. The good sticks will be the ones you will have to play against in the tournaments. Ask them for advice. They will probably be glad to help, if you approach them the right way.

Some of the best advice is received just by hanging around with other good players, whether on the course or at the range. If you are truly serious, chances are you will get plenty of help.

[sean_miller]

I am 19 idk where 15 came from

He was referring to your approximate index.

You've been playing since you were 17? How often do you play and practice? Personally I remember picking up some sports easiest from age 17 to 20, so it could seem that you're not likely to improve that much from 19 to 20 since you didn't come that far from 17-19. Disclaimer . . . Some activities become easer as your body and brain mature. Golf is funny that way. I peaked scoring wise at about 19 because of better putting and subsequently fearless chipping back then, but my current tee to green game would kick my 19 year old self's arse. 1-putts and chip-ins are hard to beat, so I'd still probably lose. Work on a rounded game, but don't lose the fearless "attack the hole" mentality of youth and you just might do it. My money's on "not gonna happen" but I hope you prove us wrong.

[lance0363]

[QUOTE=sean_miller;541086]He was referring to your approximate index.

That's exactly what happened. My apologies.
But still... best of luck.

[Tomboys]

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 .

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what any of us think your chances are. You have a goal, pursue it.

There's plenty of good advice given so far. That being said, I'll add in my $0.02 cents worth: Find a really good instructor that you get results with and that you get along with. While there's plenty of very good self-taught players on this forum and in the world, IME, working with a well-trained and astute instructor can really accelerate your learning process because you will be given clear and concise instructions and feedback pertaining to your individual needs. Obviously, have him (or her) assess your strengths and weaknesses and develop a game plan from there. Don't limit your instruction days to just the range. Have a few sessions on an actual course. I've found that lessons on a course helps tremendously because it provides exposure to other facets of the game such as course management and damage limitation after wayward shots (ie, hitting shots out of 3" rough or from a divot). Learn what your average carry distance is with each club. While hitting your driver 280 yards is much better than average distance wise, some of the distance (roll) is determined by the conditions of the particular course you may be playing that day. For instance, if the fairways are playing fast and firm, you may find that your tee shots are going 280+. However, if the fairways are playing soft, those same drives may only go 260. In each case, your carry distance remained fairly constant, but the rollout of your shot differed. The reason why knowing your carry distance is important is because it will help you determine whether or not you can clear a hazard or bunker on various shots. Lastly, if possible, join a local club and play in a few club tournaments. You can play those now because your everybody's scores will be adjusted according to handicaps. By playing those events, it helps get your mind "battle-ready" to play under pressure where every shot is counted within the rules of golf (read: no mulligans, bumps or gimmes). Hope this helps and good luck!

[jrsmith1491]

Well I played 18 those evening on a course I've never played before and I shot 12 over I counted everything and I hit 11 gir and petted 33 times

[MJP]

What's the rush?

Shooting par isn't difficult if you're long game isn't extrodinary. I drive the ball 240-260 and 4-6/18 greens on average. I played Gary Players Signature Course at Mission Hills today (I'm very fortunate to get to vacation down here around 4-6 times a year). I got up and down 10 times today and only hit 3 greens. I didn't shoot par, but I shot 76 (4 over, 4.3 differential). I don't feel cocky at all in saying I have a phenomenal off the green game. Putting is pretty good...maybe only half as good as the chipping/pitching. Today, I chipped in from 20 feet for birdie and had 7 short game shots within 3 feet. That's why I had 10 one putts (not because I made birdies). Two other up and downs were from 5 and 6 feet and one awful short game shot which left me 15 feet for par and sunk that. 25 putts today. Work on chipping/pitching and LAG PUTTING/5 footers all day if you want to drop your index fast. Also, get a camera and film your swing. Post in on this site for feedback. Refer to Iacas' stickied thread in Instructions and Playing Tips for the optimal way to to film your swing. But yeah, you can only work on long game for so long before it goes to crap, short game isn't tiring at all. I absolutely despise your comment telling him not to listen to people's encouragment. If it wasn't for the encouragment of my uncle I wouldn't be nearly a 5 handicap in 7 months of playing. I was a 20-25 handicap in March of this year. Oh and BTW, im 19 years old (just like the OP) and had played ~20 rounds my whole life prior to this year. This year I have played ~40. Oh and none of my clubs are fit to my swing (I NEED TO GET THAT DONE THIS WINTER!). Study, practice, study, practice, play, study, practice ...... my point is you won't see results unless you work your ass off on and off the turf. This game causes us to have to deal with more adversity than almost anything. One day you play to a scratch and the next to a 10 handicap. Then you might feel like all that work you put in was for not. But it's the trend that counts. Oh and it's all about how much you want it. There are plenty of people who say they have the passion to get a low index yet don't even practice 10 hours a week. And they expect to get better...lol. Like everything in life, only perfect practice makes perfect performance (IE, practicing the wrong things makes you worse). That's just a metaphor for success, because there's no such thing as perfect. Unless you can make 18 hole in ones???? but then I can take it even further and say that was NOT a perfect round because you did not JAR (hole it on the fly) every single hole in one...therefore it's not perfect. So, you see...perfect has no defintion. Pursue your passion for as long as it is your passion. If you can do that, you have an advantage over 99% of the people in this world. Why is that? Because the other 99% believe those who tell them "They can't do it." In closing, forget the haters and stop at nothing but a lack of desire. If the fire is there, go for it. Edit: oh and the simple encouragement my uncle gave me? "You have a natural ability and feel for the game. You'll be shooting in the high 70s by next year". That encouragement absolutely jump started my passion for the game. Case closed.

[MJP]

Oh and yeah I've played with a +4 and a +2, both high school buddies now playing on collegiate teams in fact. They've been playing since they were 15. The difference between them and me? A high push draw that goes 290-310 consistently. Oh, and they hit almost twice the amount of greens that i do on average. So yeah, I've seen and know what it "takes" to play at that level, it's just amount of working on it.

Oh, and tell Tiger it's not about "how much you want it". He's probably put in more work (because he had passion for the game and a desire to be great) than any player in the world over the period of birth - present.

[jrsmith1491]

well today helped my confidence a lot. I play 36 holes first 18 I shot and 84 second 18 i got in the 70's for my first time with a 79 :)

[2bGood]

If the course you are playing is one of the toughest around, no doubt there are a number of good sticks that play there often, because of the challenge. Talk to one of the pros at the course. He/she will no doubt know who the players are, and could probably arrange for you to play with one or more of them.

I would also play a few rounds with these scratch guys. I play allot with scratch guys, there are a few that are superhuman, but mainly becuase they play reckless, hit the ball a mile and then recover from crazy spots. But most of the scratch guys I play with do nothing fancy, and nothing I can't do on 9 or 10 holes a round, but the do it on all 18.

[2bGood]

well today helped my confidence a lot. I play 36 holes first 18 I shot and 84 second 18 i got in the 70's for my first time with a 79 :)

Congrats. Now you just have to make 79 your bad round and you will be playing the way you would like. Do you remember when 89 was a good score? Now you not too happy with that I imagine, you going to feel the same way about 79.

[jrsmith1491]

exactly how i feel now i feel like low 80s is a must and am very disgusted when i shoot close to 90

[walk18]

If you aren't playing tournaments, start right now. Shooting a low score is quite an accomplishment, but to do it in a tournament is a world of difference. Play as many as you can, it will tell you real quick where you stand. It's great that you're confident, but let me just tell you it is incredibly difficult just to get from high single digits to low. Whether you reach your goal or not, remember to enjoy the journey.