Handicap

[Harvey North]

Hi, ive been playing golf for around 3 years on and off, my handicap is about 19, I was wondering how long would it take for me to go down to a 5 handicap or is that just  a thing that I would have to decide?

thanks.

[boogielicious]

Welcome to the site @Harvey North

It depends on how much you can play and how much work you can put into it.  I have been playing for 4 years consistently and have only got down to 10 -12.  The closer to scratch you want to try to reach, the more natural ability comes into play too.

[Harvey North]

I Play every week at least once but I try to play as much, there is also this Skills challenge that is happening at my club and I don't know whether to participate in it or not? I don't know whether it will benefit, because as a reward you can get into the regionals.

[boogielicious]

My advise would be to play as much as possible and do the skills challenge you mentioned.  Most of the single digit players on this forum play minimum 2 days a week.

[phillyk]

Lowering handicap is more than just playing golf.  Its practicing the right way.  If you have an hour of nothing to do, hit the nearest course up and practice putting and chipping.  It's the easiest way to shave strokes off each round for high handicappers.

[JoePete]

  Harvey North said:

Hi, ive been playing golf for around 3 years on and off, my handicap is about 19, I was wondering how long would it take for me to go down to a 5 handicap or is that just  a thing that I would have to decide?

Start with a local pro and map out a plan. There may also be some physical issues you have to confront in regard to mobility; you might have to factor in some moderate physical conditioning (depending on your starting point). It is hard to say how long it will take, but you don't get there without some focused practice. Nearly anyone can get to be a 10 based just on practice, which leads to consistency - even a bad swing that repeats will get you around nearly any course. The question is how to get below a 10, and that's where you need not just any swing, but a fundamentally sound swing, and increasingly, you have to plug short game holes in your game. In theory, you could do it in a few months, but rather than setting a number target like that, I say find a pro you like, and just work on making each round better than the previous.

[Harvey North]

  JoePete said:

Start with a local pro and map out a plan. There may also be some physical issues you have to confront in regard to mobility; you might have to factor in some moderate physical conditioning (depending on your starting point). It is hard to say how long it will take, but you don't get there without some focused practice. Nearly anyone can get to be a 10 based just on practice, which leads to consistency - even a bad swing that repeats will get you around nearly any course. The question is how to get below a 10, and that's where you need not just any swing, but a fundamentally sound swing, and increasingly, you have to plug short game holes in your game. In theory, you could do it in a few months, but rather than setting a number target like that, I say find a pro you like, and just work on making each round better than the previous.

thanks for the reply, there's a pro at my club which im a member at and I want to take golf to another level but I don't really know how to say that too her, if you understand.

[mvmac]

  Harvey North said:

Hi, ive been playing golf for around 3 years on and off, my handicap is about 19, I was wondering how long would it take for me to go down to a 5 handicap or is that just  a thing that I would have to decide?

thanks.

It's kind of like saying you want to lose 30 lbs and wondering how long it will take. Depends on a few things.

I would start by figuring out what your priority pieces is and work on that. Probably be looking at Keys #1 or 2

http://purestrike5sk.com/

http://thesandtrap.com/t/61376/5sk-video-thread

[TomK82]

That's what's great about golf, you decide how involved you want to be. No one can garuntee how good you will get but that doesn't mean you can't try as hard as you can and see where it takes you.