Help me set a handicap goal for 2012

[Chipless]

I am new to golf at the age of 47, with five months of experience.  In that time, I have taken 16 lessons, hit ~ 11,000 balls at the driving range, and played five rounds at one course, then two at another.  The first had a course rating of 69.7 and a slope rating of 110, and my scores were: 131, 116 and 114.  The second had course rating of 66.1 and a slope rating of 103, and my scores were: 122 and 114.  So far, I have not used my woods or long irons on the golf course, since I am just now learning to hit them. I don't have an official handicap yet, but am pretty sure it would be at the maximum of 36.4 at this point.

I plan to continue taking regular lessons and practicing three times per week for most of 2012.  I hope to be able to log 50 rounds for the calendar year, and I would like to set an aggressive "stretch goal" that I will have to work hard to achieve, but should not be completely impossible.  So please help me to come up with a challenging handicap that you feel should be just barely possible for me to achieve by the end of 2012.

[newtogolf]

I would think it's reasonable to get under 20 assuming you can maintain the practice and course time you specified.  I went from 36 to 22 this year and I wasn't able to get as many rounds in as you are hoping to.  I have set my goal to be under 15 for next year.  Good Luck!

[zipazoid]

Eleven Thousand balls?

I would suggest a good chiropractor.

Take it in steps. Goal 1: Break 100, which I am confident you will do quickly (if your back doesn't blow up first, heh)

From there, break 100 again. And again. A good goal would be more rounds under 100 than over. That would give you a handicap in the 22-28 range, which would be an improvement of 8 to 14 over your current one.

Good luck! WORK ON YOUR SHORT GAME.

[Meddle]

With regular practice and playing 3 times a week, I bet you could get down to 18, bogey golf. Try to break 90 once. I think that is an achievable goal but it would require you to really focus on golf on the coming year.

[RFetters]

Have to agree with Zipazoid,,hitting 11,000 balls and only a few rounds,,you are working too much and not having enough fun.

For new golfers, the first goal is to just hit it solid,,then begin to work on hitting it where you intend.  I wouldnt worry about too much else until you get good ball striking to the point you arent worried about mishits.

Work on all aspects of your game, especially inside 80 yards and putting, and most of all, make it fun,,

Doing all this you should get to a 20-25 fairly easily.

[Chipless]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I would think it's reasonable to get under 20 assuming you can maintain the practice and course time you specified.

Looks like 15 to 19 is what you're thinking would be a good stretch goal for me.

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Eleven Thousand balls?

I would suggest a good chiropractor.

Take it in steps. Goal 1: Break 100, which I am confident you will do quickly (if your back doesn't blow up first, heh)

From there, break 100 again. And again. A good goal would be more rounds under 100 than over. That would give you a handicap in the 22-28 range, which would be an improvement of 8 to 14 over your current one.

Good luck! WORK ON YOUR SHORT GAME.

I have been practicing three times per week, averaging 200 balls per session, so I have hit a total of 11,000 in the last five months.  That doesn't include putting practice, which I haven't been able to do lately since the local practice greens are closed for the season.

My back feels completely fine.  I am very athletic, normally working out five to seven times per week.  I lift weights, ride a bike and do martial arts.  What doesn't feel fine though is my right elbow.  It is always sore.  Guessing that has something to do with the fact that I have trouble not keeping my right arm straight through impact?

My short game is by far the strongest part of my game right now, especially putting.  Yesterday I played 18 holes and had 35 putts.  Not pro level I know, but nowhere near as bad as my inconsistent ball contact issue.  That's what completely kills me.

Here is how a typical par 4 hole goes for me...

I might tee off with a 7-iron, make good contact, and hit the ball 140 yards.  Then on the next shot I barely catch the ball with the toe of the club and it goes 70 yards off to the right.  Then I might top it badly, and it rolls forward 50 yards.  Then I might chunk it by hitting too far under the ball and it goes another 50 yards.  Then I might have 110 yards to the hole and hit a 9-iron.  I make good contact, but pull it a little left.  So now I am pin high, but 10 yards to the left of the green.  Then I will chip it close and 2-putt most of the time.

I usually average two completely wasted shots per hole due to inconsistent contact.  This hardly ever happens at the driving range any more.  It used to, but I have improved tremendously in the last couple of months.  I find it much more difficult to hit off grass than the driving range mats.  The soft grass is only part of the problem.  Then there's the ball above or below my feet issues, and the uphill and downhill lie issues.  Those destroy me.

Looks like 22 to 28 is what you're thinking would be a good stretch goal for me.

Originally Posted by Meddle

With regular practice and playing 3 times a week, I bet you could get down to 18, bogey golf. Try to break 90 once. I think that is an achievable goal but it would require you to really focus on golf on the coming year.

18.

Originally Posted by RFetters

Have to agree with Zipazoid,,hitting 11,000 balls and only a few rounds,,you are working too much and not having enough fun.

For new golfers, the first goal is to just hit it solid,,then begin to work on hitting it where you intend.  I wouldnt worry about too much else until you get good ball striking to the point you arent worried about mishits.

Work on all aspects of your game, especially inside 80 yards and putting, and most of all, make it fun,,

Doing all this you should get to a 20-25 fairly easily.

Mishits are the bane of my existence.  If I didn't have mishits, I really think I could shoot bogey golf right now.

I would love to golf more, and practice less, but nearly all of our local courses are closed for the season.  The few remaining open ones will be closed within the next few days.  I want to continue improving over the winter, and feel like continuing to hit the driving range three times per week is my best chance for success.  Is there a better way?

20 to 25 easily would translate to a stretch goal of what - maybe 15 to 18 with difficulty?

[Clambake]

Originally Posted by Chipless

Here is how a typical par 4 hole goes for me...

I might tee off with a 7-iron, make good contact, and hit the ball 140 yards.

Why are you teeing off with a 7I on a typical par 4?   After hitting 11,000 balls, surely you've hit your woods a few times.

Frankly, my advice would be to NOT set any handicap goal for this year.   You need to just get out on the course more and have some fun.   Learn to feel your swing under the varying conditions on the course, not the static conditions you'll find on the range.   Just play a lot and see where you you end up the year from a handicap perspective, without the pressure of trying to force a number.     Instead, set goals for what you're going to practice, or to learn several specific shots, especially a couple "go to" shots.    Then after a year of playing, take a look at where your handicap is and identify the weak points in your game.   Then next year set specific goals for next year that address those weak spots.    And repeat the year after, and after, and.....

Goal setting is great, but one needs to have the goals be specific.   I'm afraid if you focus on an index number, you'll be disappointed and also inhibit your progress.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by Chipless

I am new to golf at the age of 47, with five months of experience.  In that time, I have taken 16 lessons, hit ~ 11,000 balls at the driving range, and played five rounds at one course, then two at another.  The first had a course rating of 69.7 and a slope rating of 110, and my scores were: 131, 116 and 114.  The second had course rating of 66.1 and a slope rating of 103, and my scores were: 122 and 114.  So far, I have not used my woods or long irons on the golf course, since I am just now learning to hit them. I don't have an official handicap yet, but am pretty sure it would be at the maximum of 36.4 at this point.

I plan to continue taking regular lessons and practicing three times per week for most of 2012.  I hope to be able to log 50 rounds for the calendar year, and I would like to set an aggressive "stretch goal" that I will have to work hard to achieve, but should not be completely impossible.  So please help me to come up with a challenging handicap that you feel should be just barely possible for me to achieve by the end of 2012.

I'm in about your shoes ... I'm 47 also & been playing 14 months now (admittedly not in as good a shape as you with your workout routine).     I have this OCD thing when it comes to hobbies, so I kinda went nutz with golf - joined a local muni club & played alot of 9 hole rounds after work.    They have a driving range too, which was a huge help.      PLayed 75 rounds this year & probably close to 20 range evenings.      I go into work early & get home fairly early, so fortunately, I can afford the time (my fishing has gone to crap though).      I worked at it pretty hard - started out in the 120's & now I'm shooting high 80's, low 90's consistently.      FOr me, it's all about a smooth (SLOW) tempo swing - score so much better keeping the ball in play & not taking penalty strokes.      My weak point by far is chipping and pitching - no matter how much I practice them in my backyard with real balls, I can't translate it to the course -  I leave so many shots out there, I'm afraid of getting the yips if I can't get past this.     Anyways, my advice to you is to read up on the Stack & Tilt swing - it 100% totally cured my slicing & now I draw everything (to a fault of hooking alot of the time).   I learned everything I know about it from this forum, the book & tons of youtube video's on it.

If I were to give you one tip to help you ... slow down the tempo of your take away , swing moderately fast and keep your head down (more times than not I can't pick up the ball flight at first as I'm focused on actually LOOKING at the ball - sounds basic, but it's human nature to want to lift our head prematurely to see where the ball is going).     Remember, you don't have to try to kill it - a golf ball will fly a long ways if you hit it in the sweet spot of the club with a controlled swing.      As athletic as you are, you'll be sub 20 hcp - you're already putting the time in, you have the basics from your lessons - just get out there next spring & play focused/controlled golf.     Good luck !

[Kieran123]

What si your miss?

ie. When you hit it flush, does it go right or left?

If it constantly goes left, play to it.

Then when you're on the range try and fix the slice.

The worst thing you can do when trying to score well si try and fix your game on the course.

[Chipless]

Originally Posted by Clambake

Why are you teeing off with a 7I on a typical par 4?   After hitting 11,000 balls, surely you've hit your woods a few times.

I am just now starting to be able to hit my woods at the driving range.  Two months ago I would literally miss the ball over and over again with the long clubs.

For whatever reason, my ball contact at the golf course seems to be lagging about two months behind the ball contact I am able to make at the driving range.  It seems to have something to do with the fact that at the driving range, I can hit a ball, figure out what I did wrong, then try again.  If I hit ten balls with a certain club, often my fourth or fifth shot will be pretty nice.  But hardly ever the first shot, if that makes sense.

So I tee off with the 7-iron, figuring that's the best balance of consistent hitting and distance for my current (lack of) skill level.  If I am able to make a couple decent tee shots in a row, then I switch to my 6-iron, etc.  I have only made it down to my 5-iron once so far.  Is this a bad approach?

Originally Posted by inthehole

If I were to give you one tip to help you ... slow down the tempo of your take away, swing moderately fast and keep your head down (more times than not I can't pick up the ball flight at first as I'm focused on actually LOOKING at the ball - sounds basic, but it's human nature to want to lift our head prematurely to see where the ball is going).     Remember, you don't have to try to kill it - a golf ball will fly a long ways if you hit it in the sweet spot of the club with a controlled swing.      As athletic as you are, you'll be sub 20 hcp - you're already putting the time in, you have the basics from your lessons - just get out there next spring & play focused/controlled golf.     Good luck !

I do seem to make more consistent contact when I slow down my backswing.  My coach keeps wanting me to keep the backswing and downswing tempo the same, but I have a difficult time sticking to that when he isn't standing over my shoulder.

Looks like 15 to 19 is what you're thinking would be a good stretch goal for me.

Originally Posted by Kieran123

What si your miss?

ie. When you hit it flush, does it go right or left?

If it constantly goes left, play to it.

Then when you're on the range try and fix the slice.

The worst thing you can do when trying to score well si try and fix your game on the course.

The problem I have is that my misses seem to be completely random.  I almost never hook or slice the ball.  I often shank it to the left, or hit the toe of the club and have the ball go off to the right (most common mishit for me).  I top it sometimes, and chunk it sometimes as well.  When I connect well, the ball flies almost dead straight, and has what seems to be pretty good distance for my experience level.  In my last round, I actually measured all the distances for the few shots that I hit where there was good contact and the ball went straight.  There weren't many of them, but here they are:

SW: 113 yards (went 30 yards farther than the 80 to 90 yards I normally hit at the driving range, landing way behind the green)

9i: 120 and 128 yards (normally average 105 to 120 at the driving range)

7i: 130, 143, 146, 128, 122 and 126 yards (normally 130 to 150 at the driving range)

6i: 159, 157 and 136 yards (normally 145 to 165 at the driving range)

[Chipless]

In addition to lots of great input about improving my game, it looks like there are five suggested 2012 handicap stretch goals for me in this thread so far.

25.0 (22 - 28)

18.0

17.0 (15 - 19)

17.0 (15 - 19)

16.5 (15 - 18)

I am willing to put in the work, and promise to be a student of the game.  So does anyone else think I might be able to go lower?

[inthehole]

If you normally hit a sand wedge 80-90 yards with limited flight range balls, I would put money on it you're swinging way too hard as a beginner, which leads to your inconsistent contact.    Sure, if I hit a perfect divot & really compress the ball, I can get a 56 degree wedge out that far, but it is not a controlled shot for the average high handicap player.       One drill that I learned on the Golf Channel was to start a practice session hitting balls at 25% of max power, then build up to 50% and thten 75% ... don't even worry where the ball is going - just focus on consistently hitting it in the sweet spot.    If you're not hitting it dead center, stay at that power level until you do, then move up.     That helped me.

[inthehole]

One tip with regard to the driver which helped me exponentially.    I struggled greatly earlier this year with the driver.      In frustration, I tried my wife's driver (2" shorter than mine), and hit that thing phenominally well right off the bat.     I actually played maybe 10 rounds with it & was hitting it past my buddies - it was a running gag me hitting the girl driver past them & accurately.    Its all about hitting the sweet spot.    You might buy a cheap Acuity driver at dicks for $20, take it out to the garage & lop an inch and a half off it and slide a new grip on it - consider it training wheels until you get your stroke down.   You'll be amazed how much easier it will be to hit.     My current driver is shortened about an inch & I'm still outdriving my buddies, but more importantly, keeping it in play on the fairway more times than not with a controlled swing ...

[zipazoid]

Something's not adding up here - you've taken lessons, have hit a slew of balls, in good physical health...but still struggling.

Not having the benefit of seeing your swing, it must be a mess Sorry, I'm not trying to be mean - just saying that all that practice, maybe you're just practicing a bad swing & ingraining bad moves.

A couple of posters have mentioned slowing your tempo down. Great advice. I'll add another - check your grip pressure. I'd be willing to bet that you got a death grip on the club. And if so, nothing will work - gripping too tightly means the wrist won't work, which means the arms won't work. There's too much tension & that just kills a golf swing.

You have to grip the club lightly. The picture that was put into my mind years ago was pretend you're holding a live bird in your hands - you want to hold it just firm enough to keep it from flying away, but not hard enough to hurt it.

To ingrain this, try to hit some one-handed half-shots at the range - left hand only if you're right handed. Just half swing, take it about halfway back & smooth it thru the ball - only try to hit it like 30-40 yards. Light grip pressure, let the weight of the club hinge & unhinge your wrists. THAT'S the feeling you need to make consistent contact.