Breaking Bad Club - A Thread for Golfers Trying to Break 100

[MrDC]

I'm sitting at about 110 right now at best, 120+ on a bad day, I've been playing for about a year, breaking 100 is my goal this summer.

My focus is driving, a great portion of my range time, I can hit mid irons and wedges pretty well, but struggle off the tee, hitting maybe 6 out of 10 well, and that amounts to many bad holes, I also struggle with my long second shots, so I work with the hybrids/long irons a lot, but driving is my obsession. I don't need it long right now, 220 is fine, but I want to be able to step up and hit it with little concern most holes, and hopefully shape it a bit someday, because to me, driving well is the key to getting under 100.

Yesterday I got really tired on the back nine, because I hit 120 balls at the range before teeing off (dumb), and started popping up every tee shot, so my goal this weekend at the range (the day before!) is to stand up a bit more, I think I was bending over too much, and to shallow out my swing, my partner says tee it lower which I'll check but I think my ideas are more the issue.

[isukgolf]

I think I have broken the barrier ... (and I have not done that since high school :)  )

I believe that the one major thing I did right was seek professional help with an instructor that I could actually relate to, that would work with what I already brought to the table ... change one thing for the better, then second, etc ...

Lots of range time ingraining those habits in place of the old ... honestly it took time to trust the new parts of my swing, especially the first time something went wrong on the course ...

Moving my weight forward, keeping my head looking at the ball, and staying connected where VERY alien concepts for me ... it felt VERY odd ... when I do those in concert, its a beautiful swing ... but I held on to the club guiding it,and swung outside - in for so long,

Now sometimes when I slice, I instantly know that all my weight is on my back foot, and I looked up during the swing ... honestly I still do it from time to time ...

Hard work and practice is important ... applying it to the right things is more important.

Believe me I got a lot on course advice, that sent me in the wrong direction

I am amazed that I would spend $300 on driver to miraculously cure my slice, but would not spend $300 on 6, 30 minute lessons ... Looking back I wanted to "buy" my game ... and you can not ... does matter what the marketing people try to tell you.

I still have a long way to go and check in every two weeks now with my instructor to make sure I am still on track ... I feel it, and see it now on the course.  If even factors in on how I play a hole, as I understand what I can and can not do well at this point ...

Its a trust issue ... but getting better, I now believe that I will be very close to the fairway if not on it with all my long irons/woods and Driver ...

[Gipper]

I head out of town for work tomorrow to Charleston, WV. I will be playing 18 holes Thursday morning there before driving home to play another 9 as part of our church league. My goal is under 110 at the course I have not played before and a 49 at the one I have played. We will see how it goes.

[isukgolf]

I head out of town for work tomorrow to Charleston, WV. I will be playing 18 holes Thursday morning there before driving home to play another 9 as part of our church league. My goal is under 110 at the course I have not played before and a 49 at the one I have played. We will see how it goes.

@gipper I wish you all the best! I shot a 47 tonight in my league ... That includes an 8 on my blow up hole ... Again the lessons are paying dividends

[straightslice]

Got a round in today with the swarm of gnats in south GA. Scored a 99 although I had 7 penalty strokes due to a few errant shots and not knowing water was in play on certain holes/shots. The fun and danger of playing a new course. This was my 1st back to back sub-100 rounds. #EXCITED #FINALLY 5 GIRs. 4 pars. 6 bogies 5 triples. 50% fairways (only 2-3 not easily in play) In trying to implement some swing changes, I am very inconsistent with iron distance. Also starting to hit more draws and can't find my line since I'm accustomed to aligning to prevent my old pal Slice from killing me. Improving. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[isukgolf]

Got a round in today with the swarm of gnats in south GA. Scored a 99 although I had 7 penalty strokes due to a few errant shots and not knowing water was in play on certain holes/shots. The fun and danger of playing a new course. This was my 1st back to back sub-100 rounds. #EXCITED #FINALLY 5 GIRs. 4 pars. 6 bogies 5 triples. 50% fairways (only 2-3 not easily in play) In trying to implement some swing changes, I am very inconsistent with iron distance. Also starting to hit more draws and can't find my line since I'm accustomed to aligning to prevent my old pal Slice from killing me. Improving. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow 99 with 7 strokes penalty ... That's good for our level of play! I go out tomorrow to play ... In the heat of Phx!

[indykappa]

nice work straightslice

[Gipper]

Got a round in today with the swarm of gnats in south GA. Scored a 99 although I had 7 penalty strokes due to a few errant shots and not knowing water was in play on certain holes/shots. The fun and danger of playing a new course. This was my 1st back to back sub-100 rounds. #EXCITED #FINALLY

5 GIRs. 4 pars. 6 bogies 5 triples. 50% fairways (only 2-3 not easily in play)

In trying to implement some swing changes, I am very inconsistent with iron distance. Also starting to hit more draws and can't find my line since I'm accustomed to aligning to prevent my old pal Slice from killing me. Improving.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is great, that is just a few penalty strokes away from the 94-96 range.  Congrats!

[Gipper]

I shot a 108 in Charleston WV on Thursday morning.  The score is not great but I was very happy with it.  It was a pretty challenging course and a month ago I would have scored about a 120 on it.  After I wrapped up the round I drove home to Pittsburgh and played in our church league and scored a 47!  My previous best score in the league was a 54.  I had two pars and just barely missed two more par puts.  Becoming familiar with a course has really helped my confidence.  I only lost one ball and it should have been found but there was pressure behind us so I stopped looking after about 2 minutes when the others in my group had shot.  The ball was in the rough grass that was not very tall but thick - tough part of hitting over a hill and not seeing the landing area.  Oh well I was happy.  I cant count it as breaking 100 but 47 over 9 made my day!

[pecos24]

I just joined TST today and came across this thread and knew it was for me. :) I have only broke 100 once and that was about 6 years ago. My 18 hole scores so far this year: 117, 103 and a 101. My biggest problem is my ball striking and I am currently taking a lesson here and there to work on that. My next biggest problem is probably course management and I am working on that as well. Tomorrow I am playing the course where I shot that sub 100 score. Hopefully I can pull it off again. ;)

[idontknow]

hi all this is a great thread. just picked up the clubs again after 15 years. played alot prior low 80s but my first 4 rounds have been 115 109 111 and 105.just gonnna take some work and repetition. i always figured if it takes 4 hours to play a round you need to at least practice that much every week. dont go hit 150 balls before your round do it the day before. cause if we are trying to break 100 we obviously dont have the stamina to hit 250 balls at a time

[isukgolf]

@pecos24 and @idontknow welcome! Keep us posted on your progress!

[ron273]

I am finding out course strategy and approach will lower your score as quick as improving ones ball striking. Good luck on lowering that handicap and keep us posted on your progress!

Thanks, I will. Last week I shot a 45 on a 9 hole round. I did nothing different in terms of mechanics, but before the round I made a game plan in more detail than I used to do. What I feel contributed most to the score, was making sure to miss my shots on the "good" side and therefor choose a different club sometimes. I kinda like this more detailed approach, it also changes my focus during a round. Obviously I need to make this work in an 18 hole round, so I won't be leaving this thread just yet! On the mechanical side there is also some improvement possible. I cannot get my hands to be in front of the ball at impact even if to save my life. Therefor my 5 iron launches as high as my pitching wedge and it costs me distance and purity at impact. So plenty of work to ge done!

[pecos24]

Ughhh didn't quite make it today.  I blew up on the front 9 with a 58 and then shot a 45 on the back 9, which is really good for me.  Though I didn't break a 100 I did shoot a 103 which is 4 under my handicap for this course.   Next time! :)

[Gipper]

Ughhh didn't quite make it today.  I blew up on the front 9 with a 58 and then shot a 45 on the back 9, which is really good for me.  Though I didn't break a 100 I did shoot a 103 which is 4 under my handicap for this course.   Next time! :)

Nice back 9 Pecos24.

[pecos24]

Nice back 9 Pecos24.

Thanks Gipper.  Now I just need to string 2 good 9s together.  :)

[Gerald Fritz]

I have yet to break a 100 as of yet, but one thing I noticed last week, is that I play a lot better once I try to be a little more conservative in my play. For example, there was a short par 4, about 300yds. In the past, I would take my driver and try to pound the ball to get as close to the green as possible. This time, I decided to tee off using a 4-iron, and it set up a nice second shot with a wedge. First time in my life I think I hit a fairway and GIR on the same hole. Had about a 16 footer for birdie that came up a bit short, but tapped-in for the par.

Now, I found by making a little tweak in my setup, I am hitting consistent shots for consistent distance, that I can actually hit more fairways and have more control on the golf course over my game. I've flirted with breaking 100 in the past, and have even shot a 41 on the front 9 at one course, but then blew up on the back to finish in the 110s. But now, I feel I have the confidence and a better understanding of my game to hopefully break 100 sometime really soon. (And hopefully record my first birdie). But we will see if I can do it in a couple days when I get back out there soon.

[isukgolf]

I have yet to break a 100 as of yet, but one thing I noticed last week, is that I play a lot better once I try to be a little more conservative in my play. For example, there was a short par 4, about 300yds. In the past, I would take my driver and try to pound the ball to get as close to the green as possible. This time, I decided to tee off using a 4-iron, and it set up a nice second shot with a wedge. First time in my life I think I hit a fairway and GIR on the same hole. Had about a 16 footer for birdie that came up a bit short, but tapped-in for the par.  Now, I found by making a little tweak in my setup, I am hitting consistent shots for consistent distance, that I can actually hit more fairways and have more control on the golf course over my game. I've flirted with breaking 100 in the past, and have even shot a 41 on the front 9 at one course, but then blew up on the back to finish in the 110s. But now, I feel I have the confidence and a better understanding of my game to hopefully break 100 sometime really soon. (And hopefully record my first birdie). But we will see if I can do it in a couple days when I get back out there soon.

Sounds like you are on the right track ... I try to play every hole 1 over ... All par 3 or a par 4, par 4 is a par 5 ... It real changes your course management ... Once I play bogy golf then I will adjust my method (I lived in San Antonio for a number of years ... Well Pipe Creek ... But who knows where that is)