The long road to scratch

[walk18]

At least you know it's a long road. I'm on it and I see nothing on the horizon. Stay patient.

[alo1984]

I'd love to be a scratch too, but it's taken me my whole life to get to the point I am now. I often wonder if I've maxed out my capability and will end up stuck at the point I am now. But there are always a few extra shots to shave off with a little extra practice. Just keep trying. You will eventually get there or you will reach a point where you are satisfied with where you are.

[MJP]

A couple of interesting stats for you.

PGA tour greens are LIGHTING QUICK and very sloped. Plus the pins are in tough positions making short sides even harder. Think about it. Obviously the short game is harder there, because everything is harder there. The PGA tours courses should be rated in the high 70s but the USGA doesn't rate tournament set ups for pro tournament tracks unfortunately.

[Stretch]

PGA tour greens are LIGHTING QUICK and very sloped. Plus the pins are in tough positions making short sides even harder. Think about it. Obviously the short game is harder there, because everything is harder there. The PGA tours courses should be rated in the high 70s but the USGA doesn't rate tournament set ups for pro tournament tracks unfortunately.

PGA tour players are also slightly more skilled than your average single-digit (or even fantasy scratch) golfer.

[Fatphil]

try moving south...kids down here play year round. A HS junior, a girl in district qualifiying shot a 67 on monday @ Bonaventure E a decent course....ha ha & then she was bitchin she couldn't make a putt on the back 9.

[2bGood]

My main problem is I 3 putt atleast 4 times a round

That so not me. I went have went 20+ rounds with no 3 putts at time, and have kept my putts to 1.67 per hole. Putting is the only stat I have any pride in, of course hitting only 26% GIR means that I get lots of short putts and the odd chip in.

[wrx_junki]

Hello everyone I'm 19 years old 5'6 and pretty athletic I've been playing golf about 3 times a year for 3 years but never played like I have been lately basically everyday. I'm around a 12 handicap and was about a 15 just about a month ago I'm working on my game hard and dropping strokes off my handicap everyday. My short term goal is to reach a low handicap single digits then its off get to scratch. I'm going to track my progress on here and I'm sure a lot of you could careless but some might be in the same boat.

Most people on here dream of reaching scratch. I've thought about it and if you want to get it done in a short period of time, it's basically a lifestyle change. You need a good coach that you can work with often and lots of money to pay for lessons, green fees, and range time. If you have the time and funds, then there is only your long term dedication that's to question. The road to scratch isn't going to be fun or pretty, you are going to doubt yourself at times but to keep going is fairly tough. These aren't to discourage your attempts but just being realistic. You need to realize that there are many single handicappers but very few true scratch golfers out there. The few that I know to be scratch golfers pretty much live at the golf range/course whenever they have the time. During the summers they play and practice almost every single day.

[wrx_junki]

That so not me. I went have went 20+ rounds with no 3 putts at time, and have kept my putts to 1.67 per hole. Putting is the only stat I have any pride in, of course hitting only 26% GIR means that I get lots of short putts and the odd chip in.

That's quite amazing to go 360+ holes without a three putt. If you can hit about few more greens per round you'd easily be a single handicap in no time.