To Golfers Who Score in the 70s - What's Your Story?

[Mop Bucket]

1) I've been playing my whole life but wasn't able to consistently shoot in the 70's until the age of 18+. I didnt take golf too seriously until high school when I made the team and began hitting range on a regular basis and putting time into my short game. The next few years I put A LOT of time into my game though (6-7 days a week). I pretty much lived at the course but it also burned me out a little bit. 2) I've never had a swing coach and never taken a formal lesson. For years I would just grind away playing as many holes/ shots a day as I could fit in, my record was somewhere close to 65 holes I believe. This proved to be a mistake, but looking back I wouldn't have done things differently. I learned that quantity means nothing without quality, but I got pretty good at reading courses, greens and making shot selections. I learned so much about the actual game of golf through these years that it made it worth it, it's just that my fundamentals weren't there yet. It seemed like I had hit a plateau of a handicap around 7 and got somewhat bored with the game. I took about three years off going into college which brings me to now. I am roughly a 5 handicap and practice around 4-5 days a week. I try to get in at least 2 rounds, 1 range session, and 2-3 short game sessions per week. Each time I go, I have a specific aspect I work on including in my rounds. This methodical approach has shaved 3 strokes off my game and it happened almost immediately. 3) If you want to shoot in the 70's, step one is keeping the ball in play- there's no way around this. If you're losing more than a couple balls on 18 holes, you're not going to shoot in the 70's consistently. Second is short game, you need to be confident in your ability to get up and down at least half of the time you miss the green. This falls right into putting, I've never seen someone shoot mid 70's who missed putts, 5-6 footers should almost always fall. A big component I've learned this year is to listen to the little voice in your head. When you're thinking about stomping down the gas peddle and going for it in two, think about your consequences before you play that shot, if you have the fundamentals listed above, it shouldn't matter if you lay up or go for it. Finally, have fun. Don't concentrate on shooting a specific score (79-). Play each shot as it comes and ride each round like a wave. Use momentum when it comes and play safe when things get dark. The beautiful thing about golf is you never know when you're going to absutely catch on fire- but I can gaurentee it'll never happen if you're thinking negatively. Hope this helps a little bit.

[Hatchman]

Hope this helps a little bit.

Very well written and stated. :-)

[Mop Bucket]

Very well written and stated. :-)

Thanks! Now I just need to do a better job at following my own advise haha

[Mop Bucket]

I've been looking up stats lately and after some pencil work I think I found what the ideal stat sheet would look like for an even par round. You will need: Anywhere from 8-10 fairways At least 12 greens in regulation And when you miss, a 50% par conversion And ideally, fewer than 30 putts You can miss a few of these percentages here and there and still easily shoot in the 70's, but I try to make these my main priority whenever I play. It also helps to keep your mind off what your score is and keeps you focused on the shot at hand.

[RiddleMeThis]

I've been looking up stats lately and after some pencil work I think I found what the ideal stat sheet would look like for an even par round.

You will need:

Anywhere from 8-10 fairways

At least 12 greens in regulation

And when you miss, a 50% par conversion

And ideally, fewer than 30 putts

You can miss a few of these percentages here and there and still easily shoot in the 70's, but I try to make these my main priority whenever I play. It also helps to keep your mind off what your score is and keeps you focused on the shot at hand.

Very interesting to know.  Thanks for that.  Always have been curious what my stats like this were, maybe I'll start tracking it each round

[DaveP043]

3) If you want to shoot in the 70's, step one is keeping the ball in play- there's no way around this. If you're losing more than a couple balls on 18 holes, you're not going to shoot in the 70's consistently.

This, to me, is the single most important thing to do in shooting good scores.  OBs, lost balls, or balls in hazards, any time you have to count a stroke that you didn't have an opportunity to actually hit (i.e. penalty strokes), those are score-killers.

The other significant thing for me is a stable attitude.  If you let it, that first mistake can snowball and ruin an entire round.  The past shots are nothing but a bit of graphite on the scorecard, you have to play THIS shot as smartly and solidly as you possibly can.  You can't make a "make-up" birdie from the tee on a par-4, all you can do is drive it in play and give yourself a chance to hit your second shot close.

I've been looking up stats lately and after some pencil work I think I found what the ideal stat sheet would look like for an even par round.

You will need:

Anywhere from 8-10 fairways

At least 12 greens in regulation

And when you miss, a 50% par conversion

And ideally, fewer than 30 putts

You can miss a few of these percentages here and there and still easily shoot in the 70's, but I try to make these my main priority whenever I play. It also helps to keep your mind off what your score is and keeps you focused on the shot at hand.

I think these "ideal stats" are accurate, but to me they're not much help during the round.  When I'm standing over a drive,  my concern is hitting a good solid drive, I'm not thinking about hitting 10 of 14 fairways.  I want to hit ONE fairway, the one in front of me.  Comparing your personal stats with "ideal stats", however,  is a good way of defining which parts of your game need the most work.

[RH31]

I've been looking up stats lately and after some pencil work I think I found what the ideal stat sheet would look like for an even par round.

You will need:

Anywhere from 8-10 fairways

At least 12 greens in regulation

And when you miss, a 50% par conversion

And ideally, fewer than 30 putts

You can miss a few of these percentages here and there and still easily shoot in the 70's, but I try to make these my main priority whenever I play. It also helps to keep your mind off what your score is and keeps you focused on the shot at hand.

I'll say. 12 GIR and pars on 3 of the 6 missed and it should be an easy 75 at worst. Maybe I set the bar too high, but I'd be disappointed with much worse than 1 or 2 over.

[mdl]

I'll say. 12 GIR and pars on 3 of the 6 missed and it should be an easy 75 at worst. Maybe I set the bar too high, but I'd be disappointed with much worse than 1 or 2 over.

Right?  Even if one of those 3 non-pars on missed GIRs is a double, that's 4 over.  If you're striking the ball that well you'd hope that you're not 3-putting and converting at least a couple of 12 (!) chances at birdie, so 2 over...

[DaveP043]

I've been looking up stats lately and after some pencil work I think I found what the ideal stat sheet would look like for an even par round.

I'll say. 12 GIR and pars on 3 of the 6 missed and it should be an easy 75 at worst. Maybe I set the bar too high, but I'd be disappointed with much worse than 1 or 2 over.

Right?  Even if one of those 3 non-pars on missed GIRs is a double, that's 4 over.  If you're striking the ball that well you'd hope that you're not 3-putting and converting at least a couple of 12 (!) chances at birdie, so 2 over...

Gents, he DID say that was a stat sheet for an even par round.

[RH31]

Gents, he DID say that was a stat sheet for an even par round.

Darn if he didn't. My bad... sorry Mop Bucket

[Mop Bucket]

That's why the maximum of 30 putts is pretty crucial. <15 putts a side doesn't leave too much room for 3-putts, and it's calculated that if you do end up three putting, the odds are you will sink at least one more than average on a hole that you hit in regulation, resulting in a birdie to even out the score. The only variables I can think of that could throw these stats off are if you're hitting too many balls O.B. and failing to hit the green within one stroke of missing it initially. These numbers aren't the exact standard to shooting even par though. I've seen people hit minimal greens and score even by making an incredible amount of up-and-downs along with sinking crucial birdie putts. I look at these stats more so as the standard to becoming a CONSISTENT scratch golfer for the fact that if you fulfill these categories, it will lead to stress-free rounds and eliminate that feeling of needing to scramble in order to score. I just like keeping track for the sake of identifying which parts of my game are hot and which parts need work. I found a website a while ago that laid out the stats for a scratch golfer, a 6 handicap, a 15 handicap, and so forth. I'll try finding it again for the sake of this thread. It's pretty cool information considering how such a small difference between 6 and scratch can result in so many strokes.

[Mop Bucket]

we good.

[onthehunt526]

8-9 GIR is probably more accurate to break 80 consistently If you make 3/9 or 3/10 par conversions and no worse than bogey when you don't make par on missed greens, there is your 79 with no birdies right there...

[vangator]

I've never seen someone shoot mid 70's who missed putts, 5-6 footers should almost always fall.

I shoot in the mid to low 70's regularly and usually have 36 putts per round. I hit a lot of fairways and GIR is high. If I miss a green, my chipping is very solid. I just don't make putts. My last round was 72 with 3 one-putt birdies and one 3-putt hole. Just a bunch of two putt pars. But I've never been called normal.

[tefunk]

I've played about 30 rounds so far this year, and have shot in the 70's on 6 rounds. I've also shot in the 90's about the same amount of times... Here is the difference, statistically, respectively: Chance at GIR 79%. GIR 56%. Saves 50%. 1.7 Putts per hole. Chance at GIR 64%. GIR 28%. Saves 31%. 1.8 Putts per hole. So for me, I score well (for me anyway) when I play well off the tee. My short game is pretty solid either way, and the reason my save % is lower in the second set of statistics, is because my big misses off the tee don't often leave me with a chance to save Par. I'm also solid with my short and mid-irons, and putting. From my experience, I would agree with others that the "full shots" are a very important factor to playing well and breaking 80. I'll also add... I don't have tripples or higher when I've broken 80 (except one time), and I typically have 1 or 2 birdies.

[tefunk]

Chance at GIR 79%. s.

I should probably clarify what I mean by this stat... I don't keep track of fairways hit. This is the % I have a reasonable chance at a GIR on Par 4's and Par 5's, whether or not I hit the fairway. This stat does not include Par 3's, although the actual GIR stat does include all holes.

[onthehunt526]

I've played about 30 rounds so far this year, and have shot in the 70's on 6 rounds. I've also shot in the 90's about the same amount of times... Here is the difference, statistically, respectively: Chance at GIR 79%. GIR 56%. Saves 50%. 1.7 Putts per hole. Chance at GIR 64%. GIR 28%. Saves 31%. 1.8 Putts per hole. So for me, I score well (for me anyway) when I play well off the tee. My short game is pretty solid either way, and the reason my save % is lower in the second set of statistics, is because my big misses off the tee don't often leave me with a chance to save Par. I'm also solid with my short and mid-irons, and putting. From my experience, I would agree with others that the "full shots" are a very important factor to playing well and breaking 80. I'll also add... I don't have tripples or higher when I've broken 80 (except one time), and I typically have 1 or 2 birdies.

Makes sense because Driving and Approach Shots are both SV4

[iacas]

This, to me, is the single most important thing to do in shooting good scores.  OBs, lost balls, or balls in hazards, any time you have to count a stroke that you didn't have an opportunity to actually hit (i.e. penalty strokes), those are score-killers.

Black deaths!