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

[9wood]

During our weeknight league (9 holes), my handicap is 14. My scores so far this year are 51, 53, 53, 56, 53, 47, 51, 48.

The other night I don't know what the heck happened with me, but I lipped out two par putts and I still shot a 39! It was way awesome. Feels like a dream when I recall it.

Then yesterday we had a red, white and blue tournament (6 holes from each tee color). I know it wasn't exactly a straight up match because of the 6 holes from the red, but I shot a 90! Got first place in my flight. Very encouraging this last week.

If you have a handicap of 14 for 9 holes, does that mean you have a 28 handicap for 18 holes?

[Coldspiderrave]

Yes exactly.

[Jack Lee]

I have been playing now for about 7 years.  I have broken 100 exactly once to this time.

I will reinforce the folks that said lessons are worth the time if you are serious about improving your game.  I got my first lesson 7 days after starting to play.  It was a demo day at a local course.  There were instructors there to give you a free 5 minute lesson. One of them watched me swing and offered his help.  In that 5 minutes he cured my beginner's slice and started me on the road to loving and enjoying this game.

I took a few private lessons with that same instructor.  (His style of teaching obviously worked for me.)  When we started, I was shooting about 122 over 18 holes. By the time we were done, I was shooting 105 or so.

One of the most helpful things that he told me was to read the book Practical Golf by John Jacobs and Harvey Penicks Little Red Book.  Both have been excellent sources of information.

Recently, I had been topping and pushing an awful lot of shots.  I returned to the book and read the section on that issue.  What I thought I was doing (lifting my head) was not what the book said was causing most golfers to have that set of issues.  I made the swing change outlined in the book and have been practicing and playing with it.  It looks like breaking 100 might just be in reach now.

I have also recently changed my driver from a 9.5 degree driver to a 10.5 degree driver.  The results of that change were immediate.  I gained something like 30-40 yards off the tee.

The things that I find seem to make a difference in my golf are good golf balls and focus on taking dead aim.

Lately, I have found myself struggling on the course due to issues I can be happy with.  I am hitting my clubs much further than before and having to try to adjust what club I go to for what range.

I shot 52 during a Saturday 9 hole round with my dad this past Saturday and felt much more confident and relaxed on the course.  If I hadn't been blasting shots over the green with the clubs that I usually hit from the yardages I was hitting from, I would have broken 50 easily.

[9wood]

Hang in there my fellow golfers and keep watching golf instruction videos, then practice and practice some more to find out what works for you. Just two years ago I use to shoot around 104, these days I shoot 87-89, especially since I have really jacked up my pitching and chipping game. Now I'm working at getting better driving skills to hopefully get my scores down to 83-85 in the near future.

[808hacker]

Jack,

If you have a smart phone, then download Golflogix and keep stats. Or write down your #1 problem and only work on that. About dead aim, try and aim for center of green every time and if you are always short, then take the club that "theoretically" will put you at the back of the green. I have found that balance and good contact is better than wild swings and misses - so always swing in balance as best you can and make contact. So don't swing any faster than you in perfect balance and always sweep the ground so you will make contact with the ball.

One thing I notice that people do (including me) is not do a full turn, so there are a lot of missed shots to the right or hooks - so try and complete that follow through.

Once you start shooting in the 90s reliably it's so hard to shoot 100 again. I know you will get there.

As for books... I love this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Short-Hitting-Golfers-Break-Time/dp/1453698922

and the Andy Chao series:

http://www.amazon.com/KEYS-GOLF-Efficiently-beginning-Demystified-ebook/dp/B00CAYPGNU/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[808hacker]

> then practice and practice some more to find out what works for you.

9wood posted a great tip. Go to the range and do whatever you need to do to hit the ball as reliably as you can. It may be "keeping your head as still as you can" or "brace your right knee" or "always sweep the ground". Whatever it is, figure it out and take that swing thought with you to the next round. FEEL the way you felt on the driving range and pretend you are on the driving range and have your swing thought. Calm yourself down and try to swing smoothly and make contact and it will be fun!

Oh and I forgot one of the #1 things.... Practice your alignment. I cannot tell you how many people I see aiming all over the place - the wrong places.

[krupa]

Played 9 last night for a 53.  I missed quite a few 2-3 foot putts.  Need to skip the range next time and get to the practice green.

[kenpugh]

On vacation in Colorado. Played red hawk ridge in Castle Rock, Co. Awesome course. Golf is alive and well in Co. shot 66 on front nine. Altitude plays hell with yardage, but does wonders with the ego. Had three blow up holes due to ob tee shots or bad second shots. posted signs beware of rattlesnakes prevented any ball searches. greens seemed extremely slow to me. 3 putted most greens either left them 3 ft. short. or blew it by 3 ft. never did get speed right. On 12th hole the altitude and thin air got to me. As I am form mid-west elev.465 ft. playing at 6000 ft. elev. is a work out. ( I am 63 and 30 lbs to fat). Did have a par on par three of four holes I played on back nine. All in all a really good time. Hope to get in one more round.

[ChrisPietersen]

This year has been tough on me (first year at university) and only really playing when on holiday. I finally got some form the past few weeks. Last Monday I played my best 18 hole round to date, scoring 102 at my original home course. Here are my stats for the round: Shots: 102 (53/49) FIR: 5/14 (36%) GIR: 3/18 (17%) Putts: 32 (1.77 per hole) Putts per GIR: 2.3 Pars: 4 Bogeys: 4 Doubles: 6 Triples: 2 Quads: 2 (Both par 5s on front 9) Actually played smart that day. Played irons only, used my hybrid once for a greenside chip. Also managing the course was much beter. I'm trying to play the bogey golf strategy, so GIR+1 is what I want. Iron distances have rocketed 20m without any training and I'm getting quite accurate too. Really have to work on getting woods under control and rolling in birdie putts. Playing a new course tommorow which is much shorter (5400m) than my home course (6000m), so hopefully playing irons again will be more fruitful and I can finally break 100!

[PJCdude]

After my 91 last Thursday I was brought back to earth by a 102 (48-54) today at Maple Moor in White Plains NY (6065-69.5-125 from the Middle Tees) On the plus side, I still dropped a few points from my HCP from 27.4 to 27.1.

FIR-3/14

All 3 penalty strokes were on tee shots and a few others were obstructed by the tree line. This course isn't super tight but I should have respected it more and maybe hit my 3W or 3H a few times. I went to the range after to mainly work on my driving. On the first hole I hit my driver 240 but the rest of the round my drives were mostly in the 210-220 range.

GIR 2/18

These were the first two holes. After that, shit went downhill and I blame my tee shots more than my iron game. I had quite a few nGIR and that part of my game is OK if I can keep it in the fairway.

37 putts

This could have been better. Chipping with my 54 was good as usual, but I used my 46 for a few longer chips but wasn't as accurate. I know the correct play is to work on my bump and run game with the 46 but I feel more comfortable flying the ball in the air longer and having less rollout to judge.

3 penalty strokes

In my last round I parred the last 3 holes which is crazy for me. I started off this round with the same hot streak parring 1,2 and 4. After that, things went south and I played my normal round of some nice shots accompanied by bonehead decisions and swings where I'm probably forgetting not to sway. I'm playing again on Thursday at Pelham Bay in the Bronx (6216-69.6-117). This course is a little longer, but much more open and I'm much more familiar with it. I'm looking forward to "ripping" some 230 yd drives

[ChrisPietersen]

Didn't go as well as planned. Played a bit longer course than I thought (5600m versus the 5400m I thought) and I was still very stiff from my previous workout and travelling yesterday. Stats for the round: Score (Par 70): 108 (55/53) FIR: 2/14 (14%) GIR: 1/18 (6%) Putts: 37 (2.1 per hole) Putts per GIR: 3 Penalties: 3 Bogeys: 7 Doubles: 4 Triples: 5 Quads: 2 Ball striking was bad. All my iron shots were pushed to the right and my tee shots (with 3 wood) faded a lot. The extra distance hitting woods off of the tee probably saved me even though they were in the rough mostly. Chipping and piching was quite mixed today. With good lies I got my new lob wedge in to quite close! But from the rough I had about 5-6 duffed chips, including a thin lob wedge shot over the green and OB. Putting was hard, as the greens were full of holes. Quite pissed about missing my 1 foot par putt after a 20 foot lag putt to the hole. Overall I feel alright about it. I could easily have dropped 10-15 shots with better putting, chipping and less penalties. Will be out again tomorrow on the shorter course (5400m) I planned for today. Hoping for 18 more, but 9 holea will be fine too. Considering this course is a Par 72, I think it might give some interesting results. WISH ME LUCK!

[indykappa]

So a few weeks ago, I shot my first sub-100 round with a score of 99. I went back to that same course on June 26 and shot a 100. Well, I went back yesterday (been in New Orleans for a week) and played awful for the first 9 holes. I shot a 60 through the front 9. I swear to you that I was THISCLOSE to walking off the course. I was absolutely livid. I went into the pro shop and used the bathroom and took a big drink of water... I couldn't make this stuff up...I shot a 42 on the back 9. I began with 4 straight pars and was +6 on the back 9. I couldn't believe it. I'm not an 84 golfer. At least not yet. I made a few "career shots" on that back 9. Ended the day with a 102. If I could just get some consistency in my game... Any tips for improving consistency??

[pecos24]

In all honesty I think the vast majority of the people in this thread are looking for this... when you find the secret please let us know.

Yesterday I went Triple, Quad, Double, Triple, Bogey, Bogey, Bogey, Par, Double for a 53...  What the hell happened on the 1st four holes and then the turn around on the 2nd 4 holes??  I wish I knew!

By the way congrats on the 42 on the back 9,  nice comeback!

[808hacker]

I posted this before and I believe it works:

Quote:

Try this the next time. Make practice swings and do not swing any faster than you can balance. I mean really pay attention to how fast you can swing in complete balance. Do this while sweeping the ground with your club. When it's time to hit, do not swing any faster. It will feel slower but you will probably make better contact and you will have more time to square the club face. Good luck!

[9wood]

If I could just get some consistency in my game...

Any tips for improving consistency??

I can only speak for myself and say consistency requires much practice. Practice doesn't make perfect, but practice does gradually improve consistency. Being retired, I play golf 2 -3 times a week and that certainly helps me improve my game.

[ChrisPietersen]

Went a lot better today than it did yesterday. Played an even shorter course than planned (Par 70, 5200m). Stats for the round: Score (Par 70): 106 (58/48) FIR: 5/13 (38%) GIR: 1/18 (6%) Putts: 33 (1.8 per hole) Putts per GIR: 3 Penalties: 3 Pars: 3 Bogeys: 2 Doubles: 9 Triples: 2 Quads: 1 10s: 1 (Par 4) Ball striking was much better today. Hit my irons sweetly most of the time. Distance wise I'm down a bit as I toned back my speed for some more accuracy. Chipping and pitching was horrible today. I had to 2-chip on a lot of holes. Lies were always thin (flat fairway and the rough was basically ground mostly). Sand shots were a pain today. Just couldn't get it right today. Putting stats look good, but I don't feel happy yet. I had 4 3-putts, including one on my only GIR. Lag putting was very bad. Judgement of distance was bad and couldn't get the breaks read right. I feel very good about the comeback I made on the back 9. Only 2 blowup holes and a lot of wasted shots through chipping and putting, so I could once again have shot mid-90s. That breakthrough round has to come soon!

[PJCdude]

Shot another 91. This time at Pelham Bay Par 71 69.6 117 6216 yds from the middle tees. My putting wasn't as good and I didn't have a crazy finish, but I was steady with a 45-46.

2 Birdies

0 Pars

11 Bogeys

4 Doubles

1 Triple (Bogeyed a hole after hitting tee shot OOB)

FIR-7/14

Driver was a little shaky on the front, but on the back 9 I hit 5/7 FW, and the two that missed were a few yards into the first cut, nothing crazy. My distance could still use a little pick me up but I was pretty consistently in the 220-230 neighborhood. I'll take it for now.

GIR 3/18

This could have been better if it weren't for the holes where I hit a crappy tee shot (or second shot on par 5s that were topped). I had 9 shots from 90+ yards that landed on the green and a few wedge shots that were stuck right around 6 feet.

36 putts

This was my downfall. I hit some GREAT pitch shots that led to missed putts. I also had a few 3 putts that were inexcusable. My driver was outta whack on the front but my putter was hot. The opposite was true on the back. I had putter in my hand for par (2 were on fringe) EVERY SINGLE HOLE on the back 9 and didn't get one par. Still managed a 46 though which shows I limited the blow ups.

1 penalty stroke. This is good for me.

This was the most in control I've ever felt on a golf course. Before this summer my lowest score was 98 and now I've shot 91 twice in the span of a week. My schedule gets a little busier later this summer but I definitely feel like I could break 80. HCP has already fallen from 29 to 26 and hopefully will keep trending down.

[jumbofaceplate]

I'm in. I haven't played in about 2 or 3 years on any reliable basis. I remember I had a few 96's and maybe a 98 back in the day, but otherwise a 100+ round was normal. This would typically mean a string of 5's with a few blowup holes and even a par from time to time.

I've started focusing on my full swing, as per the advice in this forum. I believe that my main problem is swing consistency. I have the ability to hit long and straight, as well as the ability to knock it close within 150 and . I think my first real thing I need to eliminate is the shanked shots. I'll go from there.