Hit a Wall in My Game - How do I break from 93-96 and get into mid-high 80's - Range? Course Management? Club?

[xburbx]

I do try to track stats, but this is something I was wondering.   Which stats are the most important to track?

[ochmude]

I use oobgolf.com and track putts, chips, GIR, GIR+1, FIR, and drops (lost balls).  There are tons other stats you could possibly track, but I find that, at my level (trying to break 100, last round was 106), those give me the best picture of my strengths and weaknesses.  Right now, I could shave off 3 strokes per round on average just by not losing balls, and another 4-5 strokes by sucking less with my chipping.  I have the occasional bladed chip that zips completely across the green to the opposite rough.  I tend to get intimidated by that and follow it with a duff that travels maybe a foot or so and doesn't even get out of the rough.  That right there would probably bring me under 100.  I track GIR+1 because it's a much more attainable goal for me right now, and my putting is pretty solid, so that's my plan for eventually playing bogey golf.

[xburbx]

I like that site.  I am going to sign up. For some reason the sign up isnt working right now.

[Ctp722]

Oobgolf sign up works for me

[rossvanwyk]

To break 90 I think you just need to focus on keeping things simple.

Starting with the swing. If you have a decent swing and you're not playing glory golf, you should be able to do it quite easily.

Hitting the fairway off the tee is critical in my opinion. From there, keep the irons simple. Take enough club and don't try crunch anything. Ignore the flag and go for the middle of the green. Avoid hazards like water and bunkers. Don't even flirt with them.

As said before, practice those lag putts. Don't try to drain every putt. Envision a bigger circle round the hole, lag it into that circle and tap in for par or bogey if thats the case.

Just keep it simple. Fairways, middle of greens, lag it close, in.

You can definitely break 90 just by using your common sense and resisting the urge to go for shots you know are low percentage. Course management is the key here.

[xburbx]

Got it to work

[xburbx]

I will keep all this in mind.  I do shoot for the center of the green now and ignore the flag.  For longer putts I am always trying to hit that circle.  My putting is what got me into the mid to low 90's so I will keep working that too.

Originally Posted by rossvanwyk

To break 90 I think you just need to focus on keeping things simple.

Starting with the swing. If you have a decent swing and you're not playing glory golf, you should be able to do it quite easily.

Hitting the fairway off the tee is critical in my opinion. From there, keep the irons simple. Take enough club and don't try crunch anything. Ignore the flag and go for the middle of the green. Avoid hazards like water and bunkers. Don't even flirt with them.

As said before, practice those lag putts. Don't try to drain every putt. Envision a bigger circle round the hole, lag it into that circle and tap in for par or bogey if thats the case.

Just keep it simple. Fairways, middle of greens, lag it close, in.

You can definitely break 90 just by using your common sense and resisting the urge to go for shots you know are low percentage. Course management is the key here.

[rossvanwyk]

It should come then man. This game is a mystery most of the time. I keep figuring out new things all the time regarding my swing. Just subtle feelings here and there and it's exciting when you find out something new and you can apply it and improve. Don't lose heart, stick to the basics and I'm sure you'll come right.

[mobosecomin]

Originally Posted by rossvanwyk

It should come then man. This game is a mystery most of the time. I keep figuring out new things all the time regarding my swing. Just subtle feelings here and there and it's exciting when you find out something new and you can apply it and improve. Don't lose heart, stick to the basics and I'm sure you'll come right.

I with the above poster in regard to not loosing heart. Sometimes you have to get worse to get better. Sometimes changes don't feel right or make it hard to even hit the ball but if a technique is right it is worth sticking with as it will eventually pay off. A golf swing is like the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. the further you look into it the more you find. This is what makes the game great IMO but can also be a little frustrating, but it really makes they payoff brilliant when it all comes together. "Nothing worth having comes easy" is a good description of golf skills. Best of luck

[xburbx]

Thanks for all the advice.  I do recognize that hard work is needed.  I also like finding new things to improve the swing.  I figure it's like anything else, the more of it you do, the better you will get.  Sounds simple, but it's really true.  I am starting a season journal on the threads here

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/46688/journal-my-quest-to-the-80-s-continued-from-the-wall-93-96-thread#post_605556