Achieved a 6.5 handicap in less than 1 year of golfing

[GonnaBreak70]

First of all, I'm not gonna act like I'm not boasting a little, I am. But only because Im happy with my progress and wanted to share. I'm 18 and started golf (first time ever) last August. Since then I've practiced multiple times a week and played as much as I could. I shot well over 100 first time out (didnt keep score) but I improved rapidly. I dont even remember breaking 90 but it was very quickly after breaking 100. I broke 80 (officially) for the first time a month ago at a difficult 6800 yard course and never looked back. Ive had several rounds in the 70's since with lowest and most recent being a 73 (6250 yards) which included 5 birdies and a hole out for my 4th eagle ever. I still have rounds where I look like a 28 handicap like a recent 92 but the good and great rounds are becoming more common. I love playing the game like this. Something else worth mentioning is that I have had 10 lessons with the local pro (great guy) and that made the biggest difference of anything. I'm playing... Taylormade R9 TP Driver (My dads) Taylormade HT 5 Wood Wilson FatShaft Deep Red II Irons (3-PW) Cleveland Wedges (CG15-56 CG10-52 Scotty Cameron Santa Fe Putter (Dad gave me) Playing Statistics (Last 10 rounds) Fairways 47.6 Greens 46.8 Scrambling 22.0 Sand Saves 40.0 Putts Per GIR 2.00 Putts Per Hole 1.84 Putts Per Round 33.12 Average Score 82.30 Par 3 3.7 Par 4 4.6 Par 5 5.3

[DaSportsGuy]

That's sweet man. After my first year I was a 21.9 handicap. I first started in 2009 in May. After last year I got down to a 14.2. Now I'm a 12.7 and about to complete my third year. I've been working on my swing most of this year so my progress has slowed down a bit, but I'm feeling really good about my swing right now and I'm becoming more consistent and I think I can get down to single digits by the end of this year. Sucks though living in the north because I don't even pick up a golf club other than my putter from November-March so it's pretty hard not to take a step back after the offseason. Plus, I was using a boxed set for my first year and well into my second. Maybe with the equipment and without the winter, I might've gotten down in the 10-15 range after a year.

[Elvisliveson]

Wow, that's awesome. What do you think was the biggest factor in you improving so rapidly?

[Kieran123]

That's awesome.

I am in my second season of golf. I want to start practicing during the week, and hopefully will be somewhere around your handicap by end of next season.

Keep up the hard work!

[GonnaBreak70]

Wow, that's awesome. What do you think was the biggest factor in you improving so rapidly?

The lessons were huge! They were brief 15-20 minutes but very informative. I learned how to fix swing problems from the core instead of trying to change the look when looking at the home swing videos. Also, short game is important but equally important is tee game. You can NOT play a good round unless you can find your ball. Common sense but too many people stress short game too much. Practice your tee game and you'll see the confidence you get carry over to EVERY other part of your game. Also, if you take lessons be prepared to challenge what you truly believe your doing correctly. Ive changed several things that felt so akward that I could barely hit the ball for a while but sticking with it no matter what meant a shorter learning curve.

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by GonnaBreak70

The lessons were huge! They were brief 15-20 minutes but very informative. I learned how to fix swing problems from the core instead of trying to change the look when looking at the home swing videos.

Also, short game is important but equally important is tee game. You can NOT play a good round unless you can find your ball. Common sense but too many people stress short game too much. Practice your tee game and you'll see the confidence you get carry over to EVERY other part of your game.

Also, if you take lessons be prepared to challenge what you truly believe your doing correctly. Ive changed several things that felt so akward that I could barely hit the ball for a while but sticking with it no matter what meant a shorter learning curve.

I agree. When In hit a flush drive down the center, I feel much better coming into my second shot, rather than pissed off about hitting it outta the rough.

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by GonnaBreak70

First of all, I'm not gonna act like I'm not boasting a little, I am. But only because Im happy with my progress and wanted to share.

I'm 18 and started golf (first time ever) last August. Since then I've practiced multiple times a week and played as much as I could. I shot well over 100 first time out (didnt keep score) but I improved rapidly. I dont even remember breaking 90 but it was very quickly after breaking 100.

I broke 80 (officially) for the first time a month ago at a difficult 6800 yard course and never looked back. Ive had several rounds in the 70's since with lowest and most recent being a 73 (6250 yards)

Very impressive sir!!!  Providing you are playing it down....no mulligans......YOU ARE THE MAN!!...nice playing!!

With that said, if the first time you broke 80 is this past month........being a current 6.5 is a little out of whack. Nobody breaks 80 for the first time and is a 6.5 the next month.  I want to give you props, but all that doesn't quite make sense.

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by Elvisliveson

Wow, that's awesome. What do you think was the biggest factor in you improving so rapidly?

PLAYING A LOT!!!    It's a must

......it took me nearly 1yr to break 100.  LOL

[AustinH]

I agree, people stress about short game too much! A good tee shot boosts confident, and confident = good round

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

Very impressive sir!!!  Providing you are playing it down....no mulligans......YOU ARE THE MAN!!...nice playing!!

With that said, if the first time you broke 80 is this past month........being a current 6.5 is a little out of whack. Nobody breaks 80 for the first time and is a 6.5 the next month.  I want to give you props, but all that doesn't quite make sense.

It is very impressive and good to see you are playing well but I agree with this post. Do you keep a real handicap like ghin or do you just keep it yourself. I mean to break 80 a month ago and go to a 6.5 would almost be impossible.

[GonnaBreak70]

It is very impressive and good to see you are playing well but I agree with this post. Do you keep a real handicap like ghin or do you just keep it yourself. I mean to break 80 a month ago and go to a 6.5 would almost be impossible.

I use GolfShot app on my iPhone to keep my handicap. I'm not sure if it's doing something funky. I also play by the rules. The first few months I didn't then I decided to just learn the rules and find out how good I really was.

[topspin4hand]

Man, that's amazing. I started golf in the 2008 summer a couple weeks after my 2nd child was born (the first child being only 21 months) so practice & playing time are my excuses. One guy in my group started in 2008 and now he's about a 14. He's an electrician who works very early in the morning and gets down around 1pm so he plays a round almost every day in the summer. That's key, when I play and practice a lot, I get better.

[BuckeyeNut]

Most people break 80 for the first time when they're a 13-15'ish HC...............I've also seen a couple LEGIT 18hc players break 80 too...it was the round of their lives!!...no doubt!!

With that said, revising to a 6.5 the next month is a huge LEAP.  I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's a pretty big stretch.    If he did it...major props are deserved!!  With that said, breaking 80 for the first time and suddenly shooting 73's in the same month is a massive and nearly unbelievable progression.

I know a few PGA pro's who took up the game late and became scratch golfers in 1-2yrs........so the above is definitely possible.

[Gresh24]

I have a feeling that the op didn't calculate his true handicap.  But, with that said, anyone that could do it, would be an 18 year old kid with proper instruction and practice.

[GonnaBreak70]

My previous best round was a 76 and while I'm not gonna play it down, one of the main reasons for shooting 73 was... #1 Holing out for eagle #2 2-3 long putts for birdie #3 A lot of great saves #4 Playing from less than the blues (Playing with someone who played the whites) So playing well along with some great luck I was able to achieve this impossible score. As for my handicap I was 11 when I broke 80 and have played well since which is why my handicap has decreased at such a high rate. Here's my Golfshot account. Take a look. http://golfshot.com/Rounds

[FLOG4]

Gonnabreak70-  Good job. Keep up your desire to break 70. I broke 70 the first time when I was 18. But I took up the game at 11. And lived across the street from the course.  The best example of a guy taking up the game late and becoming a great golfer was Larry Nelson. Check it out....And improving from shooting mid single digit the primary determinant will be superior short game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Nelson

[darkhunter139]

Thats awesome, I started playing around then as well and am still shooting in the 90s.  I did break it once though and have been improving at a faster pace than ever lately.  I stopped playing for 3-4 months in the winter which I really regret now, I am going to keep going all through the winter this year.

Your golfshot link did not work by the way.  It just links me to my profile.

[michaeljames92]

I've been playing 4 years, only really 3 seriously. A year ago I got down to 2.8. I credit that to S&T, I went from a 9 to 2.8 in 4 months. Practicing less due to uni etc but still loving the ball striking. Keep practicing and you'll continue to fall.