How to Break 100?

[Meltdwhiskey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

That is actually some pretty interesting numbers.  You averaged 5.75, 6.25 and 5.25 respectively on these really long par 4's.  For a 32 cap, you are playing these well.  I think of long par 4's as the toughest holes on the course.  A bogey golfer can make double on a 430 yard par 4 and never really hit a particularly bad shot.

I would think that if you are around double bogey average on holes of this length, that you would score better on the shorter par 4's, the 3's and the 5's.  Are these holes maybe way more open and the others have a lot more trouble?

The course where I played my last two rounds has a rating/slope of 69.0/116 and is 6066 total yards.

The course where I put up my best round in 2013 has a rating/slope of 69.0/113 and is 6216 yards.

On my best round of 2013, where I shot a 96, I felt I was hitting the ball well and not making monumental mistakes.  It was the first time I shot under 100.  I had 5 pars, 6 bogeys, 4 double bogeys, and 3 blowup holes where I shot a 9 on a 280 yard par 4, 8 on a 460 yard par 5, and 7 on a 430 par 4.

On average on Par 3's I shoot 4.69, Par 4's I shoot 6.63, and Par 5's I shoot 6.84.

I feel Par 3's are one of my biggest of many weaknesses because I don't feel like I ever really hit the ball well with my 5 or 6 iron and sometimes that's extended to my 7 iron.  My GIR on Par 3's averages to 10.58%, whereas for Par 4's it's 4.96% and for Par 5's it's 9.9%.

Just typing this out and looking at it, Par 4's seem to be the toughest for me which obviously is not good since most of the holes on a course are Par 4's.

Yeah, perception can be funny.  You perceive 3's as your biggest weakness, but you get more GIR's than 4's and 5's and average 1.69 over par compared to 2.63 and 1.84 for the 4's and 5's.  You are better at par 3's than anything.  And 4's are your worst.  Mine too.  And I'd imagine other hackers as well.  I have a theory about why this is.

Anyway, I'm still confused about these long par 4's you wrote about above.  You average 2.63 over par on par 4's in general.  Yet on par 4's over 400 yards, you seem to average closer to 1.75 over par (although it is a much smaller data set it could be an anomaly).  Also, and maybe more perplexing, you report these courses are in the 6k yard range - but they have 4 par 4's that are over 400 yards?  One close to 450?  I'd guess that most 6k yd courses have 0 or 1 of these.  This sounds more like a 6800 yarder to me.  Can you post a scorecard or name the course?

[ctcampbell]

Any advice to overcome this particular issue?

Something that has worked for me, and I'm about the same scores as you, is to only rotate my left shoulder until it is under my chin and no more. When I complete my backswing my back is facing the target.

[phan52]

Hi all,

I've been playing golf since mid-late 2012. I took 5x2 hour lessons with a pro in late 2012 and it gave me a solid fundamental. I'm going to the range 1-2 times per week and play in the course 1-2 times per month. I usually hit 110-115. Here are my problems:

(1) My drives only reach 180-200 yards on a decent strike off the tee.

(2) I'm finding it difficult to strike a wood off the ground. I'm also finding it difficult to hit 3/4 iron. I can't get any height on them whatsoever. I also hate hybrids. I just can't stand the looks.

(3) I'm confident with my short game. 100 yards inside is quite accurate. I also have no problem to get out of the bunker. But, I have an awful putting and putted 2-3 times.

(4) I usually lost 1-2 balls per round, either it went out of bounds or end up in the pond/lake.

(5) Sometimes I also hit a couple of fat iron shots. I think this is more "mental" because I always hit my iron (5-pw) decently in the range.

Any tips on improving my score and not losing a ball anymore?

Any other tips would be very much appreciated.

Take more lessons and have further discussions with them about course management.

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

That is actually some pretty interesting numbers.  You averaged 5.75, 6.25 and 5.25 respectively on these really long par 4's.  For a 32 cap, you are playing these well.  I think of long par 4's as the toughest holes on the course.  A bogey golfer can make double on a 430 yard par 4 and never really hit a particularly bad shot.

I would think that if you are around double bogey average on holes of this length, that you would score better on the shorter par 4's, the 3's and the 5's.  Are these holes maybe way more open and the others have a lot more trouble?

The course where I played my last two rounds has a rating/slope of 69.0/116 and is 6066 total yards.

The course where I put up my best round in 2013 has a rating/slope of 69.0/113 and is 6216 yards.

On my best round of 2013, where I shot a 96, I felt I was hitting the ball well and not making monumental mistakes.  It was the first time I shot under 100.  I had 5 pars, 6 bogeys, 4 double bogeys, and 3 blowup holes where I shot a 9 on a 280 yard par 4, 8 on a 460 yard par 5, and 7 on a 430 par 4.

On average on Par 3's I shoot 4.69, Par 4's I shoot 6.63, and Par 5's I shoot 6.84.

I feel Par 3's are one of my biggest of many weaknesses because I don't feel like I ever really hit the ball well with my 5 or 6 iron and sometimes that's extended to my 7 iron.  My GIR on Par 3's averages to 10.58%, whereas for Par 4's it's 4.96% and for Par 5's it's 9.9%.

Just typing this out and looking at it, Par 4's seem to be the toughest for me which obviously is not good since most of the holes on a course are Par 4's.

Yeah, perception can be funny.  You perceive 3's as your biggest weakness, but you get more GIR's than 4's and 5's and average 1.69 over par compared to 2.63 and 1.84 for the 4's and 5's.  You are better at par 3's than anything.  And 4's are your worst.  Mine too.  And I'd imagine other hackers as well.  I have a theory about why this is.

Anyway, I'm still confused about these long par 4's you wrote about above.  You average 2.63 over par on par 4's in general.  Yet on par 4's over 400 yards, you seem to average closer to 1.75 over par (although it is a much smaller data set it could be an anomaly).  Also, and maybe more perplexing, you report these courses are in the 6k yard range - but they have 4 par 4's that are over 400 yards?  One close to 450?  I'd guess that most 6k yd courses have 0 or 1 of these.  This sounds more like a 6800 yarder to me.  Can you post a scorecard or name the course?

Yeah, my perceptions about Par 3's are probably based on there being fewer of them and seeing time after time myself not hitting it on the green off the tee shot.  I also like Par 5's because I feel that I can recover from mess ups - haha so that's the reason I like those.

My best round of the year was at Pelham golf course in the Bronx and my last two rounds were at Clearview golf course in NYC.  The scorecards from their sites are below and the scorecard from my SwingBySwing app is also below.  I played all three off the white tees.

The best round I had 39 putts, and the last two I had 36 putts and 39 putts.

[rehmwa]

skip two holes.

if that doesn't do it

skip three

(honestly, lessons and practice.  but, if it stops being fun, then back off and accept the scores.  If the work and improvements make it even more fun, go for it

and, if you can, play with people that are better than you that you have fun with, it'll quietly increase your expectations and performance)

[Meltdwhiskey]

Yeah, my perceptions about Par 3's are probably based on there being fewer of them and seeing time after time myself not hitting it on the green off the tee shot.  I also like Par 5's because I feel that I can recover from mess ups - haha so that's the reason I like those.

My best round of the year was at Pelham golf course in the Bronx and my last two rounds were at Clearview golf course in NYC.  The scorecards from their sites are below and the scorecard from my SwingBySwing app is also below.  I played all three off the white tees.

The best round I had 39 putts, and the last two I had 36 putts and 39 putts.

I see.  It looks like a combination of par being less than 72 and some pretty short par 4's and 5's mixed in.  I would have thought the slope might be a bit higher on a course like that.  Shows what I know.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

Yeah, my perceptions about Par 3's are probably based on there being fewer of them and seeing time after time myself not hitting it on the green off the tee shot.  I also like Par 5's because I feel that I can recover from mess ups - haha so that's the reason I like those.

My best round of the year was at Pelham golf course in the Bronx and my last two rounds were at Clearview golf course in NYC.  The scorecards from their sites are below and the scorecard from my SwingBySwing app is also below.  I played all three off the white tees.

The best round I had 39 putts, and the last two I had 36 putts and 39 putts.

I see.  It looks like a combination of par being less than 72 and some pretty short par 4's and 5's mixed in.  I would have thought the slope might be a bit higher on a course like that.  Shows what I know.

These are still pretty hard courses, the slope rating might be lower because it is relatively flat and there are no real forced carries.

It looks like Pelham Bay holes are shorter due to the many doglegs. Google maps shows that there is potential for shortcuts after the 5th hole (trees look thick until the 5th hole). The 4th one looks hard and forces you to tee off with an iron or hybrid to 187 yards.

Look like very nice courses.

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

Yeah, my perceptions about Par 3's are probably based on there being fewer of them and seeing time after time myself not hitting it on the green off the tee shot.  I also like Par 5's because I feel that I can recover from mess ups - haha so that's the reason I like those.

My best round of the year was at Pelham golf course in the Bronx and my last two rounds were at Clearview golf course in NYC.  The scorecards from their sites are below and the scorecard from my SwingBySwing app is also below.  I played all three off the white tees.

The best round I had 39 putts, and the last two I had 36 putts and 39 putts.

I see.  It looks like a combination of par being less than 72 and some pretty short par 4's and 5's mixed in.  I would have thought the slope might be a bit higher on a course like that.  Shows what I know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

Yeah, my perceptions about Par 3's are probably based on there being fewer of them and seeing time after time myself not hitting it on the green off the tee shot.  I also like Par 5's because I feel that I can recover from mess ups - haha so that's the reason I like those.

My best round of the year was at Pelham golf course in the Bronx and my last two rounds were at Clearview golf course in NYC.  The scorecards from their sites are below and the scorecard from my SwingBySwing app is also below.  I played all three off the white tees.

The best round I had 39 putts, and the last two I had 36 putts and 39 putts.

I see.  It looks like a combination of par being less than 72 and some pretty short par 4's and 5's mixed in.  I would have thought the slope might be a bit higher on a course like that.  Shows what I know.

These are still pretty hard courses, the slope rating might be lower because it is relatively flat and there are no real forced carries.

It looks like Pelham Bay holes are shorter due to the many doglegs. Google maps shows that there is potential for shortcuts after the 5th hole (trees look thick until the 5th hole). The 4th one looks hard and forces you to tee off with an iron or hybrid to 187 yards.

Look like very nice courses.

Yeah, I like Pelham better but I haven't played Clearview in normal golf weather yet.

So, from all this information, what have we deduced besides I suck at golf?

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

Yeah, my perceptions about Par 3's are probably based on there being fewer of them and seeing time after time myself not hitting it on the green off the tee shot.  I also like Par 5's because I feel that I can recover from mess ups - haha so that's the reason I like those.

My best round of the year was at Pelham golf course in the Bronx and my last two rounds were at Clearview golf course in NYC.  The scorecards from their sites are below and the scorecard from my SwingBySwing app is also below.  I played all three off the white tees.

The best round I had 39 putts, and the last two I had 36 putts and 39 putts.

I see.  It looks like a combination of par being less than 72 and some pretty short par 4's and 5's mixed in.  I would have thought the slope might be a bit higher on a course like that.  Shows what I know.

Yeah, I like Pelham better but I haven't played Clearview in normal golf weather yet.

So, from all this information, what have we deduced besides I suck at golf?

The courses you play are the correct ones for us bogey golfers, the distances are shorter than those listed on the scorecard, the courses you play are pretty nice.

Also, the OP drives far enough to get to the low 90s or less.

With the stats you keep you can be pretty good.

[DougJ]

Ok Guys,

I went out yesterday and concentrated on  smoother, slower swing off the tee.    Concentrating on putting.    I practiced this on the range for 45 mins before my rd.    My drives were better,  no serious fades,    just a slight one several times at the end of the round as I was getting tired.   But still remained in the fairway.    My putting I was pretty pleased2 pars,  with.  I sank 4 putts from 5-8 ft out and had a lot more confidence.    I had a total of 6 bogies,  2 pars, 3 triple bogies, 7 doubles.  I read all  of the first 2 pages,  but paid particular attn to Inthehole and DaveS.   I will reread this thread and keep practicing.

thanks

[dave s]

Hey Doug,

Sounds like pretty good news.  Didn't see the 'end' of the story and what the card said.  Golf is kind of like tennis. We try to limit the unforced errors.  Keep hitting the ball over the net, (in golf, it's keep it in play!) and the bad stuff begins to fade away for us.

Keep us posted.  I like hearing about scores going down.  Now, if they'd go down on MY card we'll have something!!!

dave

[PJCdude]

I play mostly at Pelham Bay too. Love the 36 hole facility and it is 5 minutes from work for me. I'm trying to break 100 and my best round there is a 100 right on the nose :( In regards to what Lihi said about the 4th hole, the trickier part of that hole is the 2 tiered green.

[RFKFREAK]

[QUOTE name="RFKFREAK" url="/t/71851/how-to-break-100/36#post_938323"]   [QUOTE name="Meltdwhiskey" url="/t/71851/how-to-break-100/36#post_938291"]   [QUOTE name="RFKFREAK" url="/t/71851/how-to-break-100/36#post_938234"] Yeah, my perceptions about Par 3's are probably based on there being fewer of them and seeing time after time myself not hitting it on the green off the tee shot.  I also like Par 5's because I feel that I can recover from mess ups - haha so that's the reason I like those. My best round of the year was at Pelham golf course in the Bronx and my last two rounds were at Clearview golf course in NYC.  The scorecards from their sites are below and the scorecard from my SwingBySwing app is also below.  I played all three off the white tees. The best round I had 39 putts, and the last two I had 36 putts and 39 putts. [/QUOTE] I see.  It looks like a combination of par being less than 72 and some pretty short par 4's and 5's mixed in.  I would have thought the slope might be a bit higher on a course like that.  Shows what I know. [/QUOTE] [CONTENTEMBED=/t/71851/how-to-break-100/36#post_938305 layout=inline] [/CONTENTEMBED] Yeah, I like Pelham better but I haven't played Clearview in normal golf weather yet. So, from all this information, what have we deduced besides I suck at golf? :8) [/QUOTE] The courses you play are the correct ones for us bogey golfers, the distances are shorter than those listed on the scorecard, the courses you play are pretty nice. Also, the OP drives far enough to get to the low 90s or less. With the stats you keep you can be pretty good.

Would you please elaborate on that? [quote name="PJCdude" url="/t/71851/how-to-break-100/30#post_938516"]I play mostly at Pelham Bay too. Love the 36 hole facility and it is 5 minutes from work for me. I'm trying to break 100 and my best round there is a 100 right on the nose :( In regards to what Lihi said about the 4th hole, the trickier part of that hole is the 2 tiered green.[/quote] Yah, Pelham/Split Rock are my favorite courses in NYC. Living in Albany, it's funny how much more that course costs in comparison.

[PJCdude]

RFKFREAK, my wife's family lives in The Albany area. I just started seriously playing this past year and have only checked out the colonial acres par 3 course. What other courses do you reccomend in that area for when Im visiting?

[RFKFREAK]

RFKFREAK, my wife's family lives in The Albany area. I just started seriously playing this past year and have only checked out the colonial acres par 3 course. What other courses do you reccomend in that area for when Im visiting?

Western Turnpike is a 27 hole course in Guilderland is very nice. Normanside in Delmar is also really good, IMO. I also like the Town of Colonie course which is 36 holes but it's not as nice as Capital Hills which is Albany's municipal courses. Next time you come up hit me up and maybe we'll play a round.

[PJCdude]

Western Turnpike is a 27 hole course in Guilderland is very nice. Normanside in Delmar is also really good, IMO. I also like the Town of Colonie course which is 36 holes but it's not as nice as Capital Hills which is Albany's municipal courses. Next time you come up hit me up and maybe we'll play a round.

RFKFREAK, my wife's family lives in The Albany area. I just started seriously playing this past year and have only checked out the colonial acres par 3 course. What other courses do you reccomend in that area for when Im visiting? Sounds good. Next time I'll be up there is probably gonna be April.

[RFKFREAK]

[quote name="RFKFREAK" url="/t/71851/how-to-break-100/36#post_938597"] Western Turnpike is a 27 hole course in Guilderland is very nice. Normanside in Delmar is also really good, IMO. I also like the Town of Colonie course which is 36 holes but it's not as nice as Capital Hills which is Albany's municipal courses. Next time you come up hit me up and maybe we'll play a round.

RFKFREAK, my wife's family lives in The Albany area. I just started seriously playing this past year and have only checked out the colonial acres par 3 course. What other courses do you reccomend in that area for when Im visiting? Sounds good. Next time I'll be up there is probably gonna be April.[/quote] Courses will be open then so sounds good.

[Davie81]

I feel your pain. I started playing 2 years ago and I think I've been through every emotion with this game.  I started off getting rounds of 100-120 and got to the point where I was thinking would I ever improve and why was I doing this when I wasn't enjoying it

I started going to the range pretty much every night and booked some lessons which gave me things to work on.  Now and again old habits would creep back in so I would book another lesson to get things checked out and to sort what had gone wrong.  Fast forward to now and I have managed to drop my handicap from 28 to 20.8 in a season (only started playing medals this year) and picked up the September and winners final medals at the annual prizegiving.  I've turned into a range rat and practice as much as I can and although I have a total blow out round now and again, I now know that I'm capable of breaking 100.

Don't give up whatever you do and I would strongly recommend getting lessons. Also making sure that your clubs are correctly fit for you is a good idea.