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

[Bob8619]

I guess arching back is a no no. Shame because it was helping my issue

[BrownCoast]

I actually am hitting my driver ok. Only going about 230-240 yards but in the fairway or just off. My hybrids and long irons are not ready though so my next round will be 7 iron and below after that. I like your approach and think this will leave more shots in play and reduce my blow up holes.

Thanks for the advice!

I hope that approach helps. on par 5's i no longer try and get there in 2. what i do is no matter how good or bad my first shot is my second shot is trying to get the ball to a distance i feel very confident in. so if my first shot is solid i will try to get my second shot to the 125-90 yard range and use one of my wedges. if my first shot is bad i'll try and get the ball to the 150-165 mark. if i really hit it bad my goal is to bogey the hole, play second shot to a safety zone then third shot to my confident distances. as for the 3 putts i bought a cheap putting practice green and kept putting on that. one other thing with putting that i learned in the off season. make sure you have the right putter for your stroke. the one putter i really loved (odyssey white ice #9) was the most i spent on a putter and reall boosted my putting but was not as good (for me) and the cheap 2 ball putter i had before it and i replaced my odyssey with a demo'd taylormade est 79 tm-110 that i bought for $20 hated the look but it was $20 so i bought it, turns out it is the best putter i have used yet! but i like to think all the practicing i did in the off season played a small part in that as well.

[PirateJim]

For me all three lost balls were with long irons. 5 or 6 iron. Two par three tees and one par five second shot. In my church league I have lost 4 balls in the four 3 pars in the first two weeks. As for my putting, I have practiced for an hour before each round but I think I need to do some research to make sure I am practicing smart.

When playing i often putt way short on my lag putting. Even if I am telling myself to make sure it is long enough.

So I'm betting that these par 3 holes feature some water up near the green?  Water is a lot of people's bugaboo, so don't feel alone.  But sometimes we're our own worst enemy when it comes to those kind of shots.

If you set yourself up on the tee and the last thing you do is look at the water to remind yourself not to go in it you are almost programming your mind to do exactly that.  When you get to the tee (on any hole) look over the situation ahead and identify where any problems are (water, trees, bunkers, etc.) and then where you want to land your ball.  As you're choosing where to land the ball figure in the bad scenarios where you hit a less than perfect shot and try to pick a landing area that has the least bad results from a poor shot.  But wherever you choose, look at THAT place as you set up and take your shot.  Don't be fixating on the water!

If the water is a forced carry (i.e. a creek/pond blocking the front of the green), and given that you have a known issue right now, go ahead and play short of the water!  Pop the ball onto the green with a wedge and you're still putting for par.  But bogies are your friend right now, so you've still got two putts AND your ball.  I know, you're not going to get into the "Shot of the Day" film clip that way, but you're gonna break 100 easier if you play strategic golf.

[Gipper]

So I'm betting that these par 3 holes feature some water up near the green?  Water is a lot of people's bugaboo, so don't feel alone.  But sometimes we're our own worst enemy when it comes to those kind of shots.  If you set yourself up on the tee and the last thing you do is look at the water to remind yourself not to go in it you are almost programming your mind to do exactly that.  When you get to the tee (on any hole) look over the situation ahead and identify where any problems are (water, trees, bunkers, etc.) and then where you want to land your ball.  As you're choosing where to land the ball figure in the bad scenarios where you hit a less than perfect shot and try to pick a landing area that has the least bad results from a poor shot.  But wherever you choose, look at THAT place as you set up and take your shot.  Don't be fixating on the water! If the water is a forced carry (i.e. a creek/pond blocking the front of the green), and given that you have a known issue right now, go ahead and play short of the water!  Pop the ball onto the green with a wedge and you're still putting for par.  But bogies are your friend right now, so you've still got two putts AND your ball.  I know, you're not going to get into the "Shot of the Day" film clip that way, but you're gonna break 100 easier if you play strategic golf.

Yup, water on one of them and all my brain is thinking is..... Don't lose the stroke by putting it in the water. This week I will take my most comfortable club and try to lay up just in front of the green which will leave me a good angle and distance for a little pitch on. This also is a shot I am comfortable with. My mental par will be a four which is doable for me and would save me two strokes comparing my last two rounds scores. The other par three has no water but it is hole #1 and I have been nervous teeing off in front of everyone in the league and both balls went right into the woods. This week will be the same approach as the water hole. Most comfortable club, pitch, mental par is 4. Playing smart is going to be as important as playing well for me to hit 99. Thanks for the help PirateJim.

[Gipper]

Just took my daughter to hit a bucket and struggled to make good contact. My practice buckets are very unproductive when my six year old is along but I would rather be able to spend the time with her and plan another practice session. My next bucket will be tomorrow or Tuesday, next lesson is Wednesday and next league round is Thursday.

[isukgolf]

Too bad we all live in different parts of the country ... My next lesson is Wednesday ... Shot 104 today on a very tough course ... 9 penalties strokes ... Speaking of breaking bad ... We could do a t-shirt that says "I am the one who breaks par" instead of "I am the one who knocks"

[Gipper]

Too bad we all live in different parts of the country ... My next lesson is Wednesday ... Shot 104 today on a very tough course ... 9 penalties strokes ... Speaking of breaking bad ... We could do a t-shirt that says "I am the one who breaks par" instead of "I am the one who knocks"

I like the T-shirt idea. My little brother just moved to AZ to do his surgical residency in Tuscon. I want to come visit him this winter to get some winter golf in. Also, 104 is great. That is a lot closer than I am right now.

[PirateJim]

Yup, water on one of them and all my brain is thinking is..... Don't lose the stroke by putting it in the water. This week I will take my most comfortable club and try to lay up just in front of the green which will leave me a good angle and distance for a little pitch on. This also is a shot I am comfortable with. My mental par will be a four which is doable for me and would save me two strokes comparing my last two rounds scores.

The other par three has no water but it is hole #1 and I have been nervous teeing off in front of everyone in the league and both balls went right into the woods. This week will be the same approach as the water hole. Most comfortable club, pitch, mental par is 4.

Playing smart is going to be as important as playing well for me to hit 99. Thanks for the help PirateJim.

The heck of it is that playing smart gets to be even more important as you work on breaking 90.

One thing that I hear recommended often, and think is a really good idea is to go ahead and get a handicap established and learn how to figure how many strokes you get on each hole.  Then play to beat your handicap, not par.  If you're working on breaking 100, you'll get two strokes on a lot of holes.  Knowing that you would get two strokes on some par four hole makes shooting a six there a "personal par" instead of a double bogie.  If you get off in five strokes it's a "personal birdie!"  That's a lot easier on the your confidence level as you walk to the next tee.

[Gipper]

The heck of it is that playing smart gets to be even more important as you work on breaking 90.  One thing that I hear recommended often, and think is a really good idea is to go ahead and get a handicap established and learn how to figure how many strokes you get on each hole.  Then play to beat your handicap, not par.  If you're working on breaking 100, you'll get two strokes on a lot of holes.  Knowing that you would get two strokes on some par four hole makes shooting a six there a "personal par" instead of a double bogie.  If you get off in five strokes it's a "personal birdie!"  That's a lot easier on the your confidence level as you walk to the next tee.

I like that. I am still entering my scores to get a handicap(6 nine hole rounds so far). But I just grabbed a score card for where my men's league is played and changed the pars to what they would be for me to score 100. And if I play well and smart it could be done. Thx for the advice, this is a goal I can work towards.

[Gipper]

Question for those like me who are shooting for 99.... What ball are you guys using? I am trying to decide between Nike PD soft and PD long.

[BrownCoast]

Question for those like me who are shooting for 99.... What ball are you guys using? I am trying to decide between Nike PD soft and PD long.

i found the bridgestone e6 was fantastic but at $30-$35 a dozen it isn't the cheapest ball out there especially is your extra strokes come from lost balls. I was able to pick up a dozen rocketballz urethane for $15 a dozen but before that i was looking into the superdeep. i think if youre specifically looking at nike balls either one should be good. if youre looking for feel then go with the soft but if you need help with extra distance go with the long. other suggestions i would look into is the callaway super soft. never got to game one of them but heard nothing but good things. i played with the dt solo from titleist and those were ok. but like i said at first the e6 for me was fantastic. hope this helps

[Gipper]

I was just looking at Nike because they were in a price range I can handle for the amount I lose and I can get them at Walmart. If there is a better ball for me at walmart in that range I will switch it up. At first I thought I wanted a longer ball but I think I am losing more strokes around the green so a softer ball may be wise until my swing speeds up.

[BrownCoast]

just out of curiosity what are they charging for those balls at walmart? are they new or used in the aaa box?

[chasm]

The heck of it is that playing smart gets to be even more important as you work on breaking 90.  One thing that I hear recommended often, and think is a really good idea is to go ahead and get a handicap established and learn how to figure how many strokes you get on each hole.  Then play to beat your handicap, not par.  If you're working on breaking 100, you'll get two strokes on a lot of holes.  Knowing that you would get two strokes on some par four hole makes shooting a six there a "personal par" instead of a double bogie.  If you get off in five strokes it's a "personal birdie!"  That's a lot easier on the your confidence level as you walk to the next tee.

This is very good advice. In my experience, a lot of high handicappers would make fewer really costly errors, and therefore score better, if they played a lot of the par 4s as par 5s, thus attempting fewer ambitious shots that were at the limits of their capabilities. Taking that approach has certainly helped me.

[Gipper]

just out of curiosity what are they charging for those balls at walmart? are they new or used in the aaa box?

They are new for $14.97 I think.

[isukgolf]

I like the T-shirt idea.

My little brother just moved to AZ to do his surgical residency in Tuscon. I want to come visit him this winter to get some winter golf in.

Also, 104 is great. That is a lot closer than I am right now.

Come on down, you will enjoy it here in the winter!

[meenman]

Question for those like me who are shooting for 99.... What ball are you guys using? I am trying to decide between Nike PD soft and PD long.

for me, it is the bridgestone 330 rx yellow. Although, I have a few more dozen srixon Q - stars that I need to lose too. ( I do not lose a lot of golf balls)

[BrownCoast]

They are new for $14.97 I think.

ok, i think you should be able to find a few different types of goll balls in that range at your local golf store with probably a larger selection then walmart. im not trying to defer you from that particular company or brand but i know that when i was looking i wanted the largest selection as possible. you could also find last years models at a much cheaper price and maybe they will fall into your price range. like i said the rocketballz urethane were reg $35 a dozen up where i lived in canada and i found them on sale at the same store (golftown) for $15 a dozen so i bought 5 dozen of them.there is a surprisingly very large selection of $1-$1.50 a ball in most large golf shops. golftown, dick's sporting goods. i'd even check out some online places. just google search golfballs for sale and see what pops up