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

[krupa]

I am all over the place these days.  Played 9 tonight, score 55.  I was +1 after three holes.  Then +7 after four. On one hole, I was 164 yards from a pond and figured an 8I was a safe layup... nope.  According to game golf, it was my best 8I ever.  Still managed a bogey even with the penalty.

On the plus side, I'm gaining distance with all of my clubs.  On the negative side, I'm now having club selection problems.

[krupa]

Walked nine with my wife. She doesn't play but will push my cart for me which is nice.  I was playing pretty well tonight but making an effort not to total up the score while we were waiting on a couple tees.  Finally on the tee of the par 4 9th, my wife says, "You've got 45 so far."  Great.  If I par the hole, I'm sub-50 and I know it.

I hit a decent drive, and then a 9-iron into a bunker.  Chip out of the bunker (the sand was hard as a rock) and sink the putt for par.  So 49?  Not so fast.  I total up the card (didn't use game golf tonight) and come up with 53.  We go back and forth and I finally underline groups of holes that total 10 to discover I was counting one hole twice.

Final score... 47!  This is the second time this season that I've broken my best 9-hole score. I had no triple bogies and only one penalty stroke.  I wish I had time to play full rounds.

[sofingaw]

I posted about this round in the What Did You Shoot Today thread, but I wanted to post here also, since I’m still (unfortunately) qualified to post here! 

49-52 101. 

This was an interesting round. I’m very pleased, first off since this is my second best score ever (100), and my best in over 5 years. The work I’m putting in this year, plus a brand new driver, are paying off. 

Of course, still disappointed since I didn’t break through. And I definitely left some shots out there.

Started 8,7,5 ended 7,7,4. Yuck. 

Other than that, pretty smooth sailing. 4’s 5’s and 6’s. Lots of bogeys, and a few doubles. 

No huge blow ups, no 9’s, and no double digits!!!

Also, no birdies, and no pars either! 

This has got to be close to the best round possible with no pars or better! Definitley the best I’ve had without a par. 

I hit a lot of great tee shots, (and one real bad one) a few good pitches and chips, (and a few i flubbed) one OB wedge on #1 (following a 292 yard drive into the fairway, of course!) and made like no putts, lol. Go figure. 

I also starting working on picking and focusing on a target, and not thinking mechanical swing thoughts. Trusting my swing. It seems to have helped. 

Overall, very happy, but not ecstatic. I know I’m gonna break through soon. Things are headed the right direction. 

Edited July 14, 2018 by sofingaw

[Effington]

Shot 108, or +37.  Every single lost shot was tee to green.  Notables:

• Only 36 putts.  Sank 4-5 long ones and didn't miss anything inside 3'.
• 2 Pars
  • 4 bogeys
  • 6 doubles
  • 3 triples
  • 4 quadruples

Ball striking was atrocious; I am actually shocked that I was able to score 108 with how bad I hit the ball.  Most shots were screamers that traveled about 140 yards.  They hooked hard so I started aiming way far to the right and the results were sometimes playable.

On the bright side, my best shot of the day was from the tee box on 1 and I reached the green in regulation, so at least the starter thought I could play.

Cheers to one day breaking bad.

[Shindig]

1 hour ago, Effington said:

Shot 108, or +37.  Every single lost shot was tee to green. 

The bad news is that's the hardest part to improve and takes the most time.  The good news is, it's long lasting and has a big effect.  Do you take full swing lessons and/or have a "my swing" thread?

[millsan1]

I've broken through 100 several times this past month, but today put me back in check..really bad feeling 108.  Couldn't do anything right.

[Effington]

18 hours ago, Shindig said:

The bad news is that's the hardest part to improve and takes the most time.  The good news is, it's long lasting and has a big effect.  Do you take full swing lessons and/or have a "my swing" thread?

Ha, thanks!  I do take lessons and record my swing, but don't post it online.

The challenge I'm facing is that on the driving range and even in lessons, my swing looks great; I was consistently hitting a green from 130 and was hitting longer irons fairly straight as well--my new instructor was actually shocked when I told him how high I typically score.  But on the course, everything looks much different.

[Dornenglanz]

Last two times I've played, I've set a personal best, and then beat it!  I only play 9 holes, because I can justify a couple of hours off in the afternoon, but not double that!

I play with my son, and we score stableford, on the assumption we get 2 strokes handicap on every hole - so I guess that's 36.

Yesterday I scored 17 for the first time ever - so nearly at handicap 🙂

What's changed is I've removed a bunch of clubs from my bag, and only hit very safe clubs: 6I, 8I, PW, SW, Putter.  I'm confident with both those irons, and generally hit them fairly straight, so I'm losing fewer balls.  I still sometimes play a duff shot, but it's getting less and less.

[Northwoods88]

This is my first year playing seriously, I played a handful of times a year when I was in high school. Now I am 30 and really enjoy going out once a week. Been shooting 110-115 all year, yesterday I achieved my goal of 99.

Don't know if I would consider it a legit 99, I had two drives that were hit out of play. Instead of going back and hitting another tee shot I gave myself a stroke penalty and dropped where it went out. I am still happy with my score and look forward to improving this year.

[Shindig]

6 hours ago, Northwoods88 said:

This is my first year playing seriously, I played a handful of times a year when I was in high school. Now I am 30 and really enjoy going out once a week. Been shooting 110-115 all year, yesterday I achieved my goal of 99.

Don't know if I would consider it a legit 99, I had two drives that were hit out of play. Instead of going back and hitting another tee shot I gave myself a stroke penalty and dropped where it went out. I am still happy with my score and look forward to improving this year.

Technically, under rules of golf, no you didn't.

But so what?  Even if you did "2 stroke penalty" (plus in a worse position than you'd likely have been off a second drive), you still had a 101 as your likely score.  That's a lot better than 110-115. 

I bet in the next few rounds you shoot under 100 without any of that "is it a legit 99?" questions to deal with.  

I had something similar when I first almost broke 90.  I hit my approach on hole 2 into a greenside bunker.  My third shot didn't get the ball out.  It was a poor attempt, so I did what I do on all poor shots:  I take a practice swing right after.  But then I hit the sand and ball was in the bunker.  Including the 2-stroke penalty for that, I shot a 91 that day.

I took it as a proof-of-concept that I could break 90.  And a few weeks later, I did.

Congratulations on your great round yesterday, no matter what you decide about it.

And I hope you stick around TST.

[Northwoods88]

1 hour ago, Shindig said:

Technically, under rules of golf, no you didn't.

But so what?  Even if you did "2 stroke penalty" (plus in a worse position than you'd likely have been off a second drive), you still had a 101 as your likely score.  That's a lot better than 110-115. 

I bet in the next few rounds you shoot under 100 without any of that "is it a legit 99?" questions to deal with.  

I had something similar when I first almost broke 90.  I hit my approach on hole 2 into a greenside bunker.  My third shot didn't get the ball out.  It was a poor attempt, so I did what I do on all poor shots:  I take a practice swing right after.  But then I hit the sand and ball was in the bunker.  Including the 2-stroke penalty for that, I shot a 91 that day.

I took it as a proof-of-concept that I could break 90.  And a few weeks later, I did.

Congratulations on your great round yesterday, no matter what you decide about it.

And I hope you stick around TST.

This is such a funny game, after shooting that 99 yesterday I went out with a buddy to a new course tonight. Feeling confident all day long after playing so well yesterday I couldn't wait to hit the course. That confidence quickly disappeared lol. After the first 9 holes I was shooting 73. I couldn't hit a shot to save my life. The course was probably a little better then I should be playing with my skill set, not to mention 20mph winds with a light mist. I turned things around slightly on the back 9 and ended up with a 126. That's what intrigues me so much about golf, as bad as I was playing there were those 1 or 2 holes where every thing went right and I sank my par putts and I fell back in love with the game.

[DrMJG]

Finally broke 100.  The big thing for me was fairways (12/18 with 3 of the misses ending up in first rough with short plays to green) and some good hybrids and not too bad wedges, as well a putting a little better than average.  Not sure if this is an outlier (dumb luck) but I will continue to work on not counting me losing shots by playing army golf.  My suggestion is to start with one fault in your game and focus on that during practice.  It may be easy for me to say that as I am retired and have quite a bit of time to focus on things.

Edited August 2, 2018 by DrMJG

[chezlorenze]

6 minutes ago, DrMJG said:

Finally broke 100.  The big thing for me was fairways (12/18 with 3 of the misses ending up in first rough with short plays to green) and some good hybrids and not too bad wedges, as well a putting a little better than average.  Not sure if this is an outlier (dumb luck) but I will continue to work on not counting me losing shots by playing army golf.  My suggestion is to start with one fault in your game and focus on that during practice.  It may be easy for me to say that as I am retired and have quite a bit of time to focus on things.

That's great though. Have someone help on those faults as well so you can have a second opinion on what really needs a significant improvement in your game. Congratulation!

[DrMJG]

1 minute ago, chezlorenze said:

That's great though. Have someone help on those faults as well so you can have a second opinion on what really needs a significant improvement in your game. Congratulation!

Taking lessons when I can and now focusing on 5SK to make sure my basics become solid.  Biggest problem is a slice now and then off the tee.  I just did not hit a big slice all day.

 

[Effington]

Hey guys, played 9 today.  Did not break 50.

I was actually just planning to go to the driving range, but while there, I was hitting as good as ever, or possibly even better.  Great contact with everything, straight and high, just the distance I want (or more!).  I had some extra time, so went to see if I could bring that swing to the course.  Well, I couldn't.  My worst shot at the range was better than my best shot on the course, by a significant margin.

I shanked and grounded my way through the first 4 holes.  Hole 5 was the easiest of the course, and I also stopped keeping score at that point, and starting getting better contact.  At the end, I felt encouraged/optimistic next time will be better.  Such is the evil of golf.

For me, it's definitely about the nerves, and on the course, that manifests itself in a less than full shoulder rotation in the backswing, which throws off the timing of my entire swing.  When I was hitting them better at the end, I could feel the bigger shoulder turn.

Cheers to another day.

[Warren Zevon]

I had last week off for vacation and managed to get out every morning from Monday to Friday. 

Three of the five were at my home course.  Two of those rounds were from the farthest tees.  I shot 103 and 107.   One round I played from the whites and shot a 95.  

The other two rounds were at some local courses.   The first we played from the second farthest tees and I scored 108.  I had all of three pars.  

My last round on Friday was played from the second farthest tees.  I shot 94.  I had six pars total.  That round, aside from two blow up holes each on the front and back, felt really well.   My iron game has been severely behind everything else this year.  My driving, wood work and chipping has all taken a small but important step forward.   Putting on the last round was solid, too.  I had three birdie putts, but couldn’t sink any of them.   Luckily they were close misses with easy tap ins for par.  

All in all I’m quite happy with how the week went.   If I have any free time this week it will be off to the range to work out the kinks in my iron shots.  

I also have a five hybrid and a new used driver coming my way early next week.  I borrowed one of my friends hybrids before our round and gave it a few whacks on the range, and compared to my five iron it flew much more true.  

[paulballs]

On 8/3/2018 at 5:14 PM, Effington said:

Hey guys, played 9 today.  Did not break 50.

I was actually just planning to go to the driving range, but while there, I was hitting as good as ever, or possibly even better.  Great contact with everything, straight and high, just the distance I want (or more!).  I had some extra time, so went to see if I could bring that swing to the course.  Well, I couldn't.  My worst shot at the range was better than my best shot on the course, by a significant margin.

I shanked and grounded my way through the first 4 holes.  Hole 5 was the easiest of the course, and I also stopped keeping score at that point, and starting getting better contact.  At the end, I felt encouraged/optimistic next time will be better.  Such is the evil of golf.

For me, it's definitely about the nerves, and on the course, that manifests itself in a less than full shoulder rotation in the backswing, which throws off the timing of my entire swing.  When I was hitting them better at the end, I could feel the bigger shoulder turn.

Cheers to another day.

We must be related. I can go to the range and hit great shots all day. Get on the course and my irons are crap. I guess it's the fact that on the range it doesn't mean anything. On the course I'm aiming at a particular spot or trying to hit the green and there is a score attached to it. Very frustrating. 

 

I played yesterday, very difficult course, lots of water, lots of sand, lots of  blind tee shots, lots of blind 2nd shots, lots of dog legs, shot a 112 😏 first 6-7 holes were all double, triple bogey, it was a nightmare. Wasn't hitting my irons good at all. By the time I got to 10 I was hitting my driver very good, high, straight, right down the middle of the fairway. And while I wasn't great with my direction I was making good contact on my 2nd shot at least. Generally a 112 would make me hate life and hate golf, but at the end I actually felt pretty good because I was hitting the ball solid. 

On 8/1/2018 at 3:21 PM, Northwoods88 said:

 

Don't know if I would consider it a legit 99, I had two drives that were hit out of play. Instead of going back and hitting another tee shot I gave myself a stroke penalty and dropped where it went out. I am still happy with my score and look forward to improving this year.

I do the same thing. If I go OB I'll just drop near where it did, take my penalty, and go on. I say that 99 is legit. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by paulballs

[Warren Zevon]

So before men’s league tonight I played a full 18.  I was hoping to test out my new used clubs on the range sometime on the weekend, but it didn’t pan out.  Trial by fire it was, then.

  I honestly had the best front nine holes of my life this afternoon on my home course, and playing from the back, as well.  I took a double on the first par five, and a triple on the ninth hole par 3 ( which was odd,  I rarely hit my ball in the water  there), and aside from those I had three pars and the rest were bogeys.  There were even two birdie opportunities I managed to blow.  

  I knew my score was low for me on the front but I didn’t count it.   I started off the back with a very solid par.  

  Then the shitshow started.   8 straight holes of doubles, triples, and even a quad or two. All the things I managed to do well on the front disappeared.  Lost tee shots, shanking or thinning iron shots.  Not giving my chips even mustard enough get within three feet for an easy par.   The only positives on the back were the two par threes.  My new hybrid was deadly on one. Between that and league play I hit the green on the second last hole 3 out of 4 times.  

After we finished the back I assessed the damage.  A craptacular 59 on the back killed another chance at breaking 100 despite my 44 on the front.  

All in all I’ll takr it.  That 44  is bogey golf over nine holes.  That’s been a goal for a long time.  I’ll regret crapping the bed on the back so easily, but man that 44 feels good.