Improving

[Pajoryan]

Hi there, Are there people on this site who have gone from being high handicap golfers to accomplished low handicap golfers? And if so how did they go about it? I've recently returned to playing the game. My play is wildly inconsistent and very frustrating. I'm keen to improve and would like to hear from people who have gone from being poor golfers to very good. I'm 37. Is it perhaps too late to improve? Thanks

[mvmac]

Of course, never too late to get better.

If you're looking to get lessons to get better, I'd recommend taking a look at this article

http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/the_instructor_quiz_nine_questions_youve_gotta_ask

And this is a great forum for a variety of topics

http://thesandtrap.com/f/4088/swing-thoughts

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Pajoryan

I'm 37. Is it perhaps too late to improve?

It sure as hell better not be!  I'm 38 and just got back into the game pretty seriously.  (Never really left, but had some back issues that had me out sporadically)  I take lessons now (through guys on this site, actually ... http://evolvr.thegolfevolution.com/ ), and I recently just ordered some new clubs.

So if 37 is too old ... then I'm bummed!

Good luck!

[mvmac]

Thanks for the mention Golfingdad!

When I'm 37 that's when I'll be making my comeback

[Pajoryan]

I take lessons now (through guys on this site, actually ... [URL=http://evolvr.thegolfevolution.com/]http://evolvr.

Do you get the same instructor analysing your swing?

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Pajoryan

Do you get the same instructor analysing your swing?

I try to keep the instructors with the same students most of the time.  Even when a different instructor does an analysis there are notes we have of previous lessons and we all watch each other's videos so we're familiar with every student and their progression.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by Pajoryan

)  I take lessons now (through guys on this site, actually ... http://evolvr.

[/quote]

Do you get the same instructor analysing your swing?

In my experience, no, but its a small group.  I've been using evolvr for about 10 months now, and most of the analysis I have received was from Mike (mvmac).  I've had 2-3 from James and 1 from Brian. They teach same stuff and the transition is seemless. http://thegolfevolution.com/our-instructors

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Pajoryan

Do you get the same instructor analysing your swing?

So far, yes.  All of mine have been from Brian.  But, like dsc123 said, even if I got one back from somebody else, they all teach the same stuff, so I am confident that it would fit right in with what Brian has me working on.

[Pajoryan]

Thanks for the info on golf evolution. I'll check it out. Back to my original question. Has anyone gone from high handicap to low handicap and how did they go about it?

[bjwestner]

Hello and welcome!  Like yourself I am kind of in the same situation.  I'm answering your post because I've been able to lower my handicap quite a bit in the two plus months that I started golfing.  I am/was 32 years old when I first golfed in June of this year.  My first 18 hole round I scored a whopping 127.  I am now close to breaking 90 and am seeing consistent improvement week after week.  Thus I've been able to shave about 35 strokes off my score from then until now.

Once I started playing I immediately started practicing and playing often.  I go to the range usually at least twice a week and play a round on Saturday and Sunday.  While doing that, I've been reading as many books as I can get my hand on.  I recommend the impact zone by Bobby Clampett.  I'm not sure much interested in someone telling me how to swing the club but am more interested in how the club must strike the ball in order to get a desirable shot.  As far as I'm concerned, if you can swing and get solid contact with the ball doing what you want to do and go where you want it to go, there is no one right way to do that as is evidenced by the many different kind of swings that successful players have.

Once I have an idea of how the club should hit the ball, I examine my own swing and figure out what I am doing wrong and then find a way that I am comfortable with to fix that issue.  The good thing about just starting out is that you've only had your swing for a short while and should be able to change it easier than someone that's had the same swing for 10 years.  Thus once I identified the issue and figured out the way to fix it (an example is me hitting my irons and having them hook to the left - an indication that my clubface is closed at impact and thus I have made a change to allow the club face more open at impact by changing my grip and now the ball goes straighter, something I'm still working on but at least it is in process) I then do what I need to do to fix it.

In my opinion everyone is really quick to tell you to get a lesson from this person or that person and they could be right as if you went to the person they recommended, that person could in fact help you get better.  The issue that I have with this though as that since I just started and am seeing improvement week over week and am studying my swing closely and willing to make changes, why go to someone and pay that kind of money when you could potentially fix it yourself?  Also, if you identify the issue and know what you have to do in order to fix it, I personally would rather come up with a fix on my own that I am comfortable with swing wise versus having someone tell me to "swing exactly like this".  That may be good but it also may be something that I am not comfortable with too.

I guess everyone is different so it's just a matter of finding out what you are comfortable with.  I do plan on getting lessons from an instructor/swing coach at some point but only when I am unable to fix the issues that I have an when I do not improve anymore.

Best of luck to you!  Let us know what you do and how it works out!

--BJ

[Elvisliveson]

Originally Posted by Pajoryan

Hi there,

Are there people on this site who have gone from being high handicap golfers to accomplished low handicap golfers? And if so how did they go about it?

I've recently returned to playing the game. My play is wildly inconsistent and very frustrating. I'm keen to improve and would like to hear from people who have gone from being poor golfers to very good. I'm 37. Is it perhaps too late to improve?

Thanks

It's never too late to improve. Take some lessons before you learn too many bad habits.

[rustyredcab]

Played bad golf from 20 to 40 years old. Got as low as an 18.0 index but could not get better. My standard deviation was really high -- my bad scores were very bad. So 18.0 did not reflect how bad I was. Then decided to change everything. Took some lessons from a guy teaching Natural Golf. Got a bit better but did not like the teacher. Liked the idea of a Moe Norman swing. Found my current instructors on line and went to one of their schools. Been to a few more over the years. I'm 100% committed to trying to do what they say. None of the "but I like my grip this way" stuff.

last year, after 12 years of my new swing and steady improvement, I got my index as low as 6.1. This year, playing and practicing much less, I'm up a few strokes. I hope to finish the season strong and get back under 7.0.

Not too late. But if you make changes -- whatever they are -- stay committed and listen to your teachers 100%.

[Pajoryan]

The good thing about just starting out is that you've only had your swing for a short while and should be able to change it easier than someone that's had the same swing for 10 years.

That's my problem. I've been playing for 15 years and have a bad swing. Slice after slice after enthusiasm draining slice. You name the club and I have sliced with it. So my fear is that no matter how hard I try I may always be a slicer and bad golfer

[Mordan]

Originally Posted by Pajoryan

That's my problem. I've been playing for 15 years and have a bad swing. Slice after slice after enthusiasm draining slice. You name the club and I have sliced with it.

So my fear is that no matter how hard I try I may always be a slicer and bad golfer

The first thing you need to do is be commited to improving. This means accepting that improvement is a gradual process and that there will be set backs along the way.

The second thing you need to do is learn the basics of the golf swing. Start with the ball flight laws, knowing these will help you diagnose your own swings.

The first is a mindset, the second a few hours reading. The third isn't necessarily so easy, it's identifying something in your swing which is the highest priority for you to work on and sticking to working on it until you've improved it enough that something else is now the highest priority. And repeat. And sometimes having to go back and work on something you worked on previously because you're not doing it so well anymore.

But with so much bad information out there how do you know what is your priority? You either need to do a lot of research, or find a good teacher. I think the quality of the help provided in the "My Swing" forum on this site is fantastic, and you could go a long way just with that.

My personal experience is that I was a 20 handicap two years ago, I'm now an 11 and still improving consistently. I've read a lot, used this forum and evolvr (http://evolvr.thegolfevolution.com/ ) .

You sound like you really want to improve, so good luck and stick at it. As frustrating as the game is, it just makes it even more rewarding when you can see signs of progress.