What should I work on the most?

[Unkynd]

My low is a 101, my average is in the 105-111 range.

My last round I actually paid attention to my stats.  I shot a 111 (57/54) with the following.

2 Pars, 3 bogeys, 3 double bogeys, and the rest triple+.

47 Putts

2 GIR (1 par 3, 1 par 4) (both of my pars)

3 FW

No saves, obv.

Currently only drive with a 3W because my driver is slice city.  Usually hit it in the 220-240 range.

Wedge play is really bad, but I did have a couple of nice shots from 40ish.

My thinking is to break 100, I need to focus on my putting first.  But, I could see the argument that working on my driver would give me easier approach shots and hopefully mean more GIR.  Of course, I could also work on irons to make those 170ish approach shots more realistic.

Any input helps.

Thanks!

[westcyderydin]

If you have an hour to practice spend most of it on short game.  Get good at any shot from 100 yards and in, but especially around the green.  Then when it comes to your full swing you will want to learn as much as you can along the way to become more efficient.  I would worry about hitting greens first and then driving the ball.

[Splifton]

I agree with the previous poster to start and work on your short game: chipping, pitching, and putting.  Working on these facets of your game seemed to help me improve my over all game as well.

[Tifosinumerouno]

Originally Posted by Unkynd

My low is a 101, my average is in the 105-111 range.

My last round I actually paid attention to my stats.  I shot a 111 (57/54) with the following.

2 Pars, 3 bogeys, 3 double bogeys, and the rest triple+.

47 Putts

2 GIR (1 par 3, 1 par 4) (both of my pars)

3 FW

No saves, obv.

Currently only drive with a 3W because my driver is slice city.  Usually hit it in the 220-240 range.

Wedge play is really bad, but I did have a couple of nice shots from 40ish.

My thinking is to break 100, I need to focus on my putting first.  But, I could see the argument that working on my driver would give me easier approach shots and hopefully mean more GIR.  Of course, I could also work on irons to make those 170ish approach shots more realistic.

Any input helps.

Thanks!

I hate to sound rude, but your putting is attrocious! 47 putts? That's 3-putting EVERY HOLE BUT ONE! Imagine, if you cut out one putt per hole, you shoot a 93. That's the first thing that I would work on if I were you.

[Unkynd]

Originally Posted by Tifosinumerouno

I hate to sound rude, but your putting is attrocious! 47 putts? That's 3-putting EVERY HOLE BUT ONE! Imagine, if you cut out one putt per hole, you shoot a 93. That's the first thing that I would work on if I were you.

Not rude at all, and I totally agree.

Just to break it down, it was 2 4 putts, 7 3putts, and 8 2 putts.  So it was actually 45, I miscounted (still terrible though).

So based on the responses so far I should spend most of my practice time on Putting first, and then chipping and pitching?

I figured that would be the answer, just wanted to make sure before I went back to the range.

[westcyderydin]

yea lets say you have an hour to go practice.

if i were you i would putt for 1/3, practice chipping and pitching 1/3, and driving range/ long game 1/3.

and when you are putting worry about getting the speed/distance right first.  then get the line right.  distance control is hey for putting.

[westcyderydin]

oh and good luck out there

[wrx_junki]

Originally Posted by Tifosinumerouno

I hate to sound rude, but your putting is attrocious! 47 putts? That's 3-putting EVERY HOLE BUT ONE! Imagine, if you cut out one putt per hole, you shoot a 93. That's the first thing that I would work on if I were you.

3 putting everything but one hole is at least 51 putts. Imagining one putting every hole is not a feasible idea. At least you got one thing right in that he needs to work on putting.

Originally Posted by Unkynd

Not rude at all, and I totally agree.

Just to break it down, it was 2 4 putts, 7 3putts, and 8 2 putts.  So it was actually 45, I miscounted (still terrible though).

So based on the responses so far I should spend most of my practice time on Putting first, and then chipping and pitching?

I figured that would be the answer, just wanted to make sure before I went back to the range.

You got that right. Spend lots of time on practicing putting and when you think you've practiced enough, go practice some more. Then practice your chipping/pitching so that you are left with shorter putts. This will drastically reduce your score as long as you are advancing the ball with your irons and woods.

[Shanks A Million]

Short game?  Ha!  Not a chance.  Take a hundred 25 handicaps, and give them a tour pro's short game, and you've got a hundred 20 handicaps.  Give them a tour pro's swing, and you have a hundred scratch golfers.  Ballstriking is far and away the most important thing you can do to lower your handicap.

He had 2 greens in regulation.  NO ONE here has pointed out that BOTH times he hit the green he made a par.  He obviously putts fine when he's in position, but my guess is when he misses the green, he ends up duffing a chip, then leaving an impossible putt.  It's easy to three putt from 60 feet, downhill.

Work on your full swing.

[IceDave]

+1 on the full swing, got me to a single digit handicap from 20.

[Unkynd]

Originally Posted by Shanks A Million

He had 2 greens in regulation.  NO ONE here has pointed out that BOTH times he hit the green he made a par.  He obviously putts fine when he's in position, but my guess is when he misses the green, he ends up duffing a chip, then leaving an impossible putt.  It's easy to three putt from 60 feet, downhill.

Work on your full swing.

This is true.  I definitely duffed a bunch of chips.  I also missed a 4 footer for birdie, but managed par on that one.  My most common 3 putts are from the 15+ range, where it's a downhill putt.  I suck at distance control on those.  The 4 putts I can't explain.  Blow it 12 feet past the hole.  Then 6 feet past the other way.  Miss the 6 footer, and then tap in.  Those really jack up my score.

[Harmonious]

It's a multi-step process.  To get consistently into the 90's, you have got to hit the ball better, period.  Eliminate the tops, the shanks, the skulls, the OB's.  Get so you can hit the ball on the grooves every time . The shots don't have to be tour quality, just good enough so that you move the ball a reasonable distance forward.  That alone would save you probably 10 strokes a round.

Combined with that, practice your putting so that you average 2 putts per hole, regardless whether you hit the green in regulation or not.  47 putts is just awful.  Distance control (touch) can really only be improved with practice.  Check out some putting websites, my favorite is www.puttingzone.com.  If you are just starting out, maybe your putting grip, alignment or stroke are way off.  Get your putting straightened out and you will drop another 10 strokes.

Usually I'm a big advocate for improving the short game, but at this point in your game, the two areas listed are more important.

Let's see, 111 minus 20 equals 91. That might be a little optimistic, but you've got to put in the time on the range and the putting green to improve.  It's not impossible.  Good luck!

[gripitnripit77]

Putting. 47 putts is absurd

[Tifosinumerouno]

[Mr. Desmond]

For best short term results because you can improve these items quickly.

1. Putting

2. Chipping

3. Shots from 60 yards and in (that require a mini-full swing)

4. Full Swing -- for long term results

Working on shots 100 yards and in that required a full swing with high lofted wedges should also help your full swing w lesser lofted clubs.

The tough part is finding the techniques that fit you or with which you are comfortable.

[B-Con]

Normally I would agree with Shanks above and say that ball striking is more important (based on the self-stats I keep, it's very obvious to me that I through away most of my strokes before I get within 10 yards of the green), but 47 putts is just too many. My guess is that you can't lag putt to save your life. If you work on a) lag putting from 20 feet, and b) sinking putts within 4 feet, every other day, you should be able to get down to 36+X putts in a couple weeks of practice (where 36 is a flat 2-putt average and X is a couple of mess-up 3-putts). You could drop 10 strokes easily by improving your putting. Once you can 2-putt, I'd focus on ball striking. Always keep working on your short game (getting up and down, never 3-putting, etc), but once you can get the ball in the hole in 3 strokes from 10 yards off the green, focus most of your practice on actually getting the ball to within 10 yards of the green. That part is ball-striking. Specifically, learn to hit fairways. You'll lose an average of .5 strokes for every fairway you miss. You can't consistently advance the ball well when you're stuck behind trees, in rough, or with lost balls. So, if it were me, I would do the following: 1) A few dedicated weeks of putting. 2) A couple dedicated driving range trips with my 3-wood with the focus of hitting just 200-210 yards dead straight. 3) All-round ball-striking.

[bunkerputt]

Work on your ball striking, then work on equipment.  Then work on your putting.  Make sure everything fits you...especially the loft on your putter.  You won't be able to control the pace if the loft is off.

[Unkynd]

Thanks for the responses all.  I need to record my putting stroke and see if it's mechanics before I invest too much time into grooving a bad putting stroke.  We are iced in for at least a week, so I won't be able to get out to the practice greens til next week.  Is putting on carpet worth anything, or is that possibly what's screwing up my lag putting?  I read in another thread that puting on carpet was only good for working on Tempo.  Are there any good vids on tempo/mechanics for putting on YouTube?  (I know there's tons of videos out there, but which ones are actually worth paying attention to?)

Also, as far as equipment goes, my putter is a TigerShark with Super Stroke grip.  I went that route because it's supposed to take the wrists out of the putts.  Should I change to a regular grip or keep rolling with the Super Stroke until I figure it out?