Broke 100 for the first time! I want to hear your stories!

[woodoffthedeck]

Hi guys,

This is my first post on sandtrap, I had to share my story of breaking 100 for the first time with you all as I'm very excited and want to hear other peoples stories.

I've been saying for about a year now that I would like to break 100, but never took it that seriously and only played once or twice a month. I was shooting anywhere from 105-120 at the beginning.

The golf bug hit me on a holiday to Phuket, where Mum and I went and played Laguna Phuket golf course. They have held the Johnnie Walker Classic here and it is a great course, the 9th hole you hit to an island green surrounded by a moat. It's compulsory to hire e a caddy to play here and I had to hire clubs, Nike Slingshot irons with one of those Nike Sumo square head drivers, a beast of a thing! It was a great experience having a caddy (she'd been a caddy here for 22 years) as I saw the importance of thinking your shots through, course management, club selection, wind, cleaning your ball on the green and reading greens, all the little things I'd never really paid attention to. Through the round I felt I was playing well, I'm not sure if it was having nice hire clubs (I was hitting the hire driver a lot better than the one at home), having a caddy giving me advice, or I was just playing my best, the caddy kept score so I couldn't add it up along the way. I even scored my first birdie on the par 3 16th, 8 iron landed a metre from the hole for a one putt, I was pumped and was high fiving everyone! At the end I received my card and it said I had shot a 99, however I checked straight away hole 3 (par 3) where I had teed off out of bounds (and the caddy said don't worry about it just hit again, knowing we were casual golfers), so teed again onto the green this time and 2 putted, she had marked me down for a par, when really it was a 5/double bogey including the out of bounds, making my real score 101. I had to be honest with myself! However I was happy as I'd played my best game ever, had an enjoyable game and the golf bug swallowed me.

So I came back to Perth, Australia, totally addicted only wanting to play golf whenever I could. I set up a "driving range" at my house with some bed sheets hanging from an extension cord between two poles on the patio to practice cleaner contact and my swing. I even went and bought golf books, Harvey Penick's Little Red Book and a Golf Mag instructional book.

In total I played 8 rounds of golf at Perth courses such as Whaleback, Collier Park, Armadale and Araluen. Score ranging from 130, shot at Araluen, I found this course very hard with lots of up/down hill shots, lost about 7 balls, and the fairways are not in the greatest condition making it hard for clean contact, to my lowest 103 at Collier Park, Pines and lake course where the shots were stringing together nicely.

Breaking 100 came yesterday at Wembley golf course. In terms of equipment used for this game I had heard people rave about Titleist Pro V1 balls so I bought 3 balls at the pro shop before the round as I wanted every advantage, $7 a ball! I didn't lose a ball and this would have helped greatly, however I think I have jinxed myself with these expensive balls! My clubs are Maxfli M series that I have had since I started playing.

I played the game of my life. On the "old course", one of the 2 18 hole courses at Wembley, par 72, blue tees, ACR 70, I shot a 52 front and 47 back. The scores went something like this:

Par 3's: 5, 4, 3, 4

Par 4's: 5, 7, 9, 4, 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 5 (the 9 blow out came from getting it in front of a greenside bunker in 3 shots, trying to chip it over but it landed in it, taking 2 shots to get out of it then 3 putting)

Par 5's: 6, 6, 6, 6 (probably where I broke the 100)

Putts: 38 in total, 19 putts on both 9's

Greens in regulation: 3 out of 19, par on 2 of them, bogey on the other

Fairways hit: 9 out of 18, left my driver in the bag the whole day and used my 3 wood that I can hit 20-30 metres less but a lot straighter

On the back 9 I felt I could break the 100 so added my scores on the tee box of 18, saying I need to score 5 on the par 4, index 3! The tee shot was as good a shot I could hit with my 3 wood, and then the pressure shot of 170-180m out massive uphill to the green so I used my 5 wood off the deck. I thought the shot through, had many practice swings and it came off sweetly flying up to the green. All I had to do was then 3 putt it in, I missed a 1.5m 2nd putt (mate said my hand was shaking haha) and tapped it in for a total score of 99. I was very happy and hugged my mates at the end of the round instead of shaking hands. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face and the beer afterwards with good mates never tasted so good!

A year ago when I said I wanted to break the 100 I thought it would be a walk in the park, I was mistaken as it took lots of practice and really stringing good shots and holes together. I played my heart out and only just broke it. Have no idea what it's going to take to break 90 but I'm up for the challenge.

I would like to hear some other peoples milestone breaking stories, whether it be 100, or 80, going around on par, anything really! Please share :)

[Hackforfun]

Hey there Wood off the Deck. Glad to see another Perthite on the board and so full of enthusiasm.

Wembley is a great public access track. They really keep it in tip top shape given the volume of traffic they have. The Par 4 18th has brought many a good round undone. I remember just needing to double bogey that to break 90 for the first time and chopping it up for a 9. Very deflating hahaha! Well done on your milestone.

The best way to start working towards 90 from here (IMO of course! ) is to make sure you keep track of some basic statistics when you play. I make sure I mark down my score for the hole, if my tee shot landed in the fairway and the number of putts I have taken. I also note if I had a lost ball or other penalty on a hole (sometimes both doh! ). This should help you work out areas of your game that need specific attention and also help you work out what you have done better or worse that day which has led to the score you carded. This should let you focus your practice time a little to help brush up those skills. I noticed that I often 3 putted my greens in regulation. I have been praticing my lag putting and that has helped convert a lot more of those par opportunities which is great for the confidence. Lesson's are a given too if you are serious about improvement.

Keep us posted on your progress :)

[woodoffthedeck]

Thanks HackForFun! Glad I had someone from Perth for my first comment!

Yeah I haven't played Wembley much but a friend got us down there and it really is well kept for the traffic (it was very busy this day which was almost a good thing because we were held up all day and it helped me think about my shots more) as you said and the price, I think the condition of the fairways had a big part in breaking the milestone with clean shots that bit easier.

Thanks for the tips on breaking 90, am going to start keeping detailed stats as you said and practice on problem areas. Hitting more greens in regulation would be a great start and putting as you said. What exactly is lag putting?

It's strange when I play by myself when I get a weekday off or something I play terrible and have bad scores, but playing with mates I play a lot better. Not sure why, maybe it's easing the tension a bit, having a laugh etc. Playing Carramar on Friday with some mates, hopefully I play well!

Thanks for sharing your story also. That is brutal what happened on the 18th on the old course to break 90, you have obviously broken it now but... What kind of scores are you getting and what courses do you like in Perth? I'd play Joondalup and The Cut everyday if I owned Microsoft!

Cheers for your reply!

[DocWu1948]

Nice story and it's a good thing you documented it in a post ....  because you will soon forget how and when it happened ... as you play more and more golf, get better, and the old days (and golfing ways) fade into a blur.

Only thing I remember about breaking 100 the first time is that my playing partners only wanted diet cokes at the 19th hole, and the bartender was probably disappointed that it wasn't four Bombay Sapphires.(which I've never had yet, not even for my ace).

[woodoffthedeck]

Thanks DocWu1948, when I break 90 I will be sure to document it also!

An ace! Tell us about it!

[John King]

Congrats on breaking 100  !!!!!!!!!!!!!    Hope you do it many more times to come.

[SteelCitySlice]

Congrats on breaking 100!!  It's a great feeling to reach that milestone!  I can't remember the first time I broke 100, but I do remember the first time I broke 90.

Playing my home course with a high school buddy and his father (who was sneaky good, shot and skinny guy, playing clubs from the 70s probably, but was in the middle of the fairway and middle of the green on every hole).  I had never golfed with my friend's Dad before so I wasn't prepared for him to push for me to count lost balls as a stroke, not let me take a mulligan (we used to give each other 1 mulligan per 9), etc...but he did!  I know it's cheating but we weren't very good back then so that was what we did.  So right off the bat, I expected this to be one of my higher scores for the year.  But as the round progressed, I was feeling really good about my game.  Striking the ball well, hitting fairways, making a few longer putts here and there, ones that I would normally miss.  So as we're approaching the 18th tee (par 5) I'm counting up my score and what do you know...a par gives me an 86!!  I couldn't believe it, I think I recounted three more times before I was convinced.  I got so excited, was bragging to my buddy and his Dad...basically the 86 was already in the bag!  Then, I remembered the 18th hole.  This par 5 is no walk in the park.  You need to hit your tee shot about 230-250 in order to set yourself up for a chance at hitting a good second shot over the water that cuts across the fairway.  But if you catch a really good drive, you run the risk of catching the crest of the hill that starts near the end of the fairway and running it in the water or at least running through the fairway and into the rough just before the water (which is on a severe downhill lie).  I was really focused on making sure I hit a good drive because I've hit it in that lake so many times on my second shot I've lost count!  Anyway, I step up to the tee box and all I can think about is "hit it straight, hit it straight, don't screw this up, hit it straight!"  Well, I hit it straight alright...too bad I caught it thin and it only went about 200 yards!  So now I'm left with probably 200 yards to get safely over the water hazard and leave myself with about 120, straight up hill to the pin.  So now comes the decision...do I go all in and pull out the 3 wood and risk throwing it in the water and blowing up the hole or do I lay up.  Of course...I go for it!  Not my best shot I've ever hit with my 3 wood, it ended up in the right rough, just barely making it over the water, but I made it!  Got up on the green with my next shot and 2 putted from there for a 5 on the hole and an 86 for the day!  It was a great feeling, especially since I had rarely played without at least taking 1 mulligan in a round.  Still have that scorecard in my bag today.

Congrats again and good luck in your quest to break 90!

[BrushCaddy]

Congrats!!!

[Hackforfun]

Great story SteelCitySlice.

I still have the ball that I used when I broke 90 for the first time. That was January last year. I have only managed to break 90 another handful of times since then but the amount of golf I am getting to play in the last year has dropped off due to family commitments, golf really rewards commitment to practice and getting out on the links. My current problem is usually the one disaster hole I manage to conjure on each side and putting a quad or similar on the card which undoes a lot of good work. I need three pars to get back on track for a 45 after that!

Carramar is the course I broke 90 at for the first time. I play with the social golf club that runs out of there. I made birdie from the sand on the short par 5 18th for an 89 off the stick. I had a 30 handicap then and I set the club record for stableford with 49 points (I counted my stroke seperately to the stableford as I need to track those stats! ). Needless to say a whole bunch of shots fell off the 'cap after that round! Have a fun round there. The course is very punishing if you stray off line but isn't super long. If you can keep it in play you can shoot a good score. Hopefully the condition is improved from my last game in February. I believe they are having issues with retaining a quality super there :( When it is good condition it is one of the best public tracks in town. The layout is a good challenge to most level of golfers.

In regards to the lag putting. A lag putt is when you are some distance from the hole - say greater than 10-12 feet. You aren't trying to not hole the ball but your primary consideration is to get the ball to stop within your comfortable range. Typically this is around 3' but might be closer or further away depending on your confidence with putting. Hitting a 12 foot putt 6 feet past is a big no-no as you have basically the same difficulty putt for your second attempt. The idea of the lag is to ensure that you only 2 putt and don't get 3 or more on the card. If you are tracking your putt count and you have more than 36 in a round or a lot of three putts you need to practice your lag putting. Hopefully that concept comes across OK.

Joondalup is a great course but as you say very pricey to play. The Cut is very scenic but I find the design flawed in a few areas. I usually play there only as a social outing when we can secure a good rate. Wembley Old and Tuart are great values in Perth. Kwinana is a great course but the greens are typically very fast and undulating - it can be very humbling. Secret Harbour is a great links (ish) style layout - I am playing there on Saturday :) I also enjoy the Vines when the condition is good.

I have some friends from another site that are members at various members courses which has been great to get out on. West Australian Golf Club at Yokine has been a standout for me. Mount Lawley was OK but the fairways were cored when I played there so it maybe didn't present at it's best. Hartfield is a tough track, another course that prides itself on difficult green complexes.

Let us know how you go at Carramar tomorrow :)

[woodoffthedeck]

Thanks all for the comments!

I have played twice since, on Friday and Saturday.

I wish my Carramar story could be as memorable as yours HackForFun! Especially on the 18th hole that you birdied. I had it 35 metres from the green in 2 (as you said it's quite short, and I creamed my 2nd shot with a 3 wood over the bunkers), pitched it off the back of the green from there and mucked about for a 7 :S

I shot 62 on the front 9! Losing balls, duffing irons, my tee shots weren't cooperating either! Followed by a much better 48 on the back 9, where I managed to bogey every hole except the first and last (I won the back 9 in a 4 ball, they killed me in the first 9 and were having a good laugh). For a total score of 110. I was happy with my putting as I had 34 in total which is better than usual. I enjoyed the back 9 better especially the par 3 16th, very short guarded by some horrible looking bunkers that look like all they want to do is be fed golf balls. Not sure what I did different between 9's but the back felt a lot better...

I played Araluen the day after because it's cheap at the moment as it is quite dry, again had a bad front 9 shooting 60, and the back 9 shooting 53 for a total of 113. Comparing Araluen to Carramar and Wembley, Araluen is a lot more challenging so I guess 113 is ok for my skill level but not really what I was after as the shots didn't seem to string together like when I broke 100.

The 9th hole at Araluen, par 4, tee shot down a massive hill that leads to a shot over a lake to the green, I managed to get my tee shot just before the lake and 2nd shot onto the green for 2. I then 4 putted for double bogey as the green is tricky, I was in a foul mood after that!

I'm not going to let these scores hinder my quest and will keep pushing and practicing for better scores!