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

[Killa]

Finally broke 100 and I fell like 90 isn’t far away as I broke 45 multiple times on 9 holes. 

Today I was red hot on the first 9 and scrapped and scrambled on the back 9. 

After the first 6 holes I was +1!!  Then, even though I said to myself, score 3 holes at a time, I got the jitters on the 7th tee as it is the toughest hole on the course and I had a 9 on a par 4. I then proceeded to make another par on a 200 yard par 3 (they moved our tees back to the tips) - hit the 4 iron on the green. Then I had a stroke of bad luck on the 9th, a par 4 over a lake. I was in a greenside bunker with my 3rd shot but the lie was HORRIBLE. I could make only a 18” backswing. So I made an 8 on that one. 

On the back nine I started great with a single and a par. Then came a relatively short par 5 that had me thinking birdie chance with a great tee shot. I hit the ball in a water hazard and proceeded to score a 10!! On that one. The rest was uneventful except a 9 on a par 4. I did get a 6 on my last par 5 with an airball 🙄 on a wierd sidehill, uphill lie in semirough. 

So 96 with 4 holes being 10,9,8 and 7. If I eliminate those, and by eliminate I mean triple bogey them I’m breaking 90. 

I also had 6!! 3 putts and only two of those came on 7 of the GIR I hit today. 

 

So I think that I got the game to play a single bogey score I just need to keep it up. I think the next investment will be a golf cart as I am carrying the bag and I’m pretty tired somewhere around the 14th hole. 

[Brad W]

I finally did it as well.  I've been lurking right around 100 for the past handful of rounds.  I actually "scored" under 100 a couple times, but I knew there was a mulligan or two out there, or perhaps a foot wedge.  Today I cleared through 18 with one ball and zero "help".  I carded a 99!

This is my third season and I just looked back at my round history.  I've averaged 13 rounds per season.  This year was 10 rounds.  A few of these are nine hole rounds and there are likely a few nine hole rounds I didn't save.  I feel pretty good about my game at this point.  I feel like I've progressed pretty well with this amount of play.  I only started playing at age 50.

My game is pretty short and I realized I needed to work on my third shot, which is often inside 50 yds.  I've practiced the shit out of 20/30/40 yd pitches.  Once I got that more dialed in, I also realized my average of 3+ putts per hole was killing me.  I've managed to get to where my average is will under 3.

[Dornenglanz]

So after my successes in July, I was away with work for a while, and only managed to play a little.  Played three times this week so far, and have literally played my worst golf, possibly ever.  Constantly hitting the ground, or topping it, or my shots going wildly left or wildly right.  Only my putting has remained adequate.  Of course now I've lost confidence in my natural swing/game, and I'm trying to correct things, and/or reading books/articles, none of which I can remember, so I'm on a never-ending slippery slope!  What a frustrating game!

I think, back to basics.  I picked up the 5sk book, on the thinking that you can't have competing models going on in your head, and your practice, and I might try to book a few healthcheck lessons, just to reboot.

Real shame, as late July / early August I was actually starting to feel like I could play the game.  Had several rounds under 100, and several rounds where I didn't lose the ball.  Ho hum!

[paulballs]

23 minutes ago, Dornenglanz said:

I'm on a never-ending slippery slope!  What a frustrating game!

I'm on an alternating cycle of couldn't hit the ball much better one day to couldn't hit it much worse the next. Last week shot a 43 on 9 holes, by far my best 9 this year. I don't think I could have hit the ball much better, driver or irons. Lost a few shots around the green and a cpl 3 putts, but 43 is a terrific 9 for me. 

 

Literally the next day, went to play 9 somewhere else, and it was like my first time out. Fat shots, topping it, driver was wildly erratic. Nothing went right. In fact I ended up quitting on the 5th hole I was so frustrated. Nevermind Id lost 10 balls off the tee. 

I hate golf. 

But I'll probably play later today. 

[greatgolfahead]

Hi Dornenglanz,

I commend your passion to improve your game and to get back to basics.  I'm on the same path as you to consistently break 100.  I've played several sports growing up, and most were at the competitive level that required extensive training and coaching.  What I've learned through the years is that getting back to the basics is the key to getting better. From my observation and own experience, generally, when a person picks up a new sport and gets the basic down they start to deviate from the "basics" and experiment with techniques that are unnatural to the sport and physics and to their own personality. On the latter, I make better shots around the green and on approaches because these shots require less power and more grace and finesse--that's how I envision them.  In contrast, I use to try to hit the ball harder off the tee or from the fairway. I eventually learned that if I played every shot with the same grace and natural swing then I would make less mistakes, which turned out to be true. If your personality and natural tendency is one of "power", then go for it.  My point is that we have to find our own game and grace and not try to mimic the swings of Tiger Woods or other players we watch.  There are as many swings as their are players.  

My golf coach told me this quote that has helped my game. "Golf is not an easy game, but is a game of ease."  To me, that quote gives me impressions of a graceful swing; a natural swing that I can execute instinctly as if I'm walking or kicking a ball.  The moment we become too technical and think about the shot in the moment of shot it no longer becomes instinctive and natural.  To your point, we often have to get back to basics.  Here are some things you can check on your own and to think about:

- on your irons, is the toe of the club pointing up at address? If it's not, then it's easier to ground the club during the downswing (check out MeandMyGolf's video titled "How your golf irons should sit")

- get back to basic with your setup, is your club and your upper body at a right angle?  Is your weight distributed to the ball of your feet and on the inside at address?

- Consider finding a more graceful swing. A swing that you can produce everytime without thinking about it provided that it gives you good ball contact.

Ultimately, your score card will determine what works best for you, so don't be timid about making small adjustments until you get dialed into YOUR natural game.

 

 

On 10/23/2018 at 3:29 AM, Dornenglanz said:

So after my successes in July, I was away with work for a while, and only managed to play a little.  Played three times this week so far, and have literally played my worst golf, possibly ever.  Constantly hitting the ground, or topping it, or my shots going wildly left or wildly right.  Only my putting has remained adequate.  Of course now I've lost confidence in my natural swing/game, and I'm trying to correct things, and/or reading books/articles, none of which I can remember, so I'm on a never-ending slippery slope!  What a frustrating game!

I think, back to basics.  I picked up the 5sk book, on the thinking that you can't have competing models going on in your head, and your practice, and I might try to book a few healthcheck lessons, just to reboot.

Real shame, as late July / early August I was actually starting to feel like I could play the game.  Had several rounds under 100, and several rounds where I didn't lose the ball.  Ho hum!

 

[Killa]

After breaking 100 for the first time I have broken it several more times. Still need to break 95 and hopefully 90 by the end of this year. 

 

Last round was 97 with 43 putts. So shaving 3-4 off that should get me under 95. And a good iron day could get me to 90. 

[Diddle]

I broke 99 once a few months ago but now i am back shooting in the 120's.Everything has gone to crap. Been playing since April, i go to the range at least 2 nights a week, go on the course at least once a week and have a lesson once every 2 weeks. I feel i should be better than i am as i have been putting the effort in. The more i play the worse i seem to be getting. So frustrating.

[Steve4445]

I broke 100 for the first time on the weekend - made 99 on a par 68 course a few months ago with a few mulligans and foot wedge drops (social round) so I didn't ever feel like I broke 100.

After the 99 round I had slipped a few discs in the neck which is pinching a nerve down my arm that had prevented me from playing properly until about 4 weeks ago, first full round back was 100 on a par 72 and I was so angry 4 par 3's all were 5's and I couldn't have hit it cleaner with my irons all day besides the par 3's. then it was back to 105-110 mark.

 

Sunday was the first day I broke 100 legitimately, no mullians or foot wedges and I scored 97. the frustrating part was I did not record a par all day and had about 13 or 14 puts for either par or birdie (left myself to far from the pin on most of my approach shots, on the occasions I had short puts it was after disaster down fairway lol)

[Effington]

Hey guys, just thought I'd share this recent experience on the course.  I didn't break 100, but was hitting my irons & hybrids really solid & flush.  On top of that, I drained five 10+ feet puts, including a couple that were well over 10.

On the downside, my drives were very short (but in play, at least), my short pitches were hit solidly but extremely inaccurately, and had a lot of 3 putts.

It was one of or possibly the most enjoyable rounds I ever had--that flush feeling of an iron or draining a long putt is just magic.

[greatgolfahead]

I've been striking the ball very well lately after a series of practice sessions to get my upper body aligned correctly.  I tended to ground the club before the ball, but now that I've adjusted my body to have a slight spine tilt to the right it seems that I make great contact and get better loft on the ball.  My tee and fairways have improved because of this change, and am shooting bogeys and the occasional double bogey.   I still struggle with estimating the amount power that's needed to putt.  I either over shoot or under putt, sometimes significantly.    Do you have any tips for putting?

[Mr Wolf]

I finally broke 100 in my club competition, playing off a 34 handicap and scored 98. Won the competition for the first time, didn't score a 8 and didn't lose a ball.

Stopped playing driver every hole - on the first par 5 hit my 4 iron first shot, 4 iron second second and 4 iron to the green, two putted for par.

Played safe with my mid irons, hitting the driver where if the something goes wrong I can find my ball.

Made me feel good about my game for the first time.

 

[MD5225]

On 11/25/2018 at 8:02 PM, Mr Wolf said:

I finally broke 100 in my club competition, playing off a 34 handicap and scored 98. Won the competition for the first time, didn't score a 8 and didn't lose a ball.

Stopped playing driver every hole - on the first par 5 hit my 4 iron first shot, 4 iron second second and 4 iron to the green, two putted for par.

Played safe with my mid irons, hitting the driver where if the something goes wrong I can find my ball.

Made me feel good about my game for the first time.

 

Congratulations.  Milestones are rewarding and huge, as they definitely keep you coming back for more.  Breaking 100, playing by the rules, is a good step.  If you develop some more consistency and reliability in your driving and ball striking, 90 should not be too far off.  You already seem to have embraced the importance of course management, that is huge.  

[MD5225]

On 11/4/2018 at 10:47 AM, Diddle said:

I broke 99 once a few months ago but now i am back shooting in the 120's.Everything has gone to crap. Been playing since April, i go to the range at least 2 nights a week, go on the course at least once a week and have a lesson once every 2 weeks. I feel i should be better than i am as i have been putting the effort in. The more i play the worse i seem to be getting. So frustrating.

It does not take a single digit hcp, which I am not, to see something is very wrong here. 7 months of consistent range work, lessons and effort should be paying some dividends. How new are you to the game?  First time playing or just taking it serious? Maybe you're trying to take on too much at once? Lessons can be very intense and complex on a beginner, from what I hear. .  

[Dornenglanz]

Wow - has it really been this long since someone posted in this thread?

So since I last posted, a lot has happened... I got a handicap!! Woohoo... a mighty 41... that means I'm not breaking 110 yet, let alone 100!  I've also had some lessons, and have a fair idea of what I need to be working on at present, in my full swing.

Now, with that handicap, I'm scoring 30-35 points regularly - rarely less than 30, but never more than 36.  My assumption is that once this starts to creep over 40 points, I'll be nearer 100, but I'm not sure if my thinking is off on that.

I had two insights recently:

Firstly - I have typically been playing a 5I or 4I off the tee, and not carrying a club longer than a 4 or 5I.  However, this means I'm often taking at least 3 shots to get near the green, and my ability to do so is related to my ability to string three good shots together.  Of course that doesn't happen always - I'll duff one, and get into trouble.  It also means that I need to be inside 150 to stand a chance of hitting the green, and even then my 5I is not super-reliable... if I'm 170/180 away, I'm hitting a pitching wedge and a shorter wedge, and again, I'm back to the odds of hitting two good shots in a row over one.  With this in mind I spent a couple of days at the range practicing with a 4H and 5W, and then also 4W and driver, until I felt more confident.  I played my first round today using those clubs (I dropped my 5I, and played my 6I from ~150) and hit 8 greens near regulation.  Unfortunately I 3 putted 8 times, missing easy putts by an inch.  This is unusual - my last half dozen rounds my putting has been a strength.  I also thinned a few wedges from near the green, and topped my 5W off the fairway.  However, I felt it was good progress.

Secondly, at the range yesterday, I had a bucket of 100 balls, and was trying out my 4W and 4H, and trialling a 3H and 5H... after about 20 balls I hit a shot and felt a nasty pain in my right deltoid.  I took a break, and did some stretches, and then decided I would hit one ball very very gently, and if it hurt, I'd stop.  I did a very relaxed backswing and forwards swing - like 50%, but full swing motion.... the shot was beautiful!  Carried 160 yards, slight draw.  This with a range ball.  This was 30+ yards more than my previous shots.  And it didn't hurt.  I tried again... and hit a simialrly good shot.  I then spent the rest of the bucket trying to emulate the feeling of not "hitting" the ball, but letting the club swing, and just guiding it.... it seemed to really help.  I tried this again later in the day with my driver, and again when I played - my swing speed must be really slow, but overall I think the quality of my shots went up.

My next plan is to try to get a bit more serious with stats - I count nGIR, but I couldn't tell you how many putts I actually had, or how far my clubs actually went, or exactly where I lost shots.  I'm kidding myself if I think I do... I'm very aware of cognitive bias - I'll remember things that were salient, and miss lots of relevant data.

I've just bought a 6H to try out.... my thinking being that at around 150 yards, my 4H is too much club with a full swing, and my 6I is not quite enough.  It should arrive tomorrow!

I'm also not counting all my shots, because usually when I play, once I blob, I pick up the ball... so I don't know how far away I am from 100... but I'm feeling like it's well within reach.

[WillieT]

On 8/6/2020 at 4:30 PM, Dornenglanz said:

I did a very relaxed backswing and forwards swing - like 50%, but full swing motion.... the shot was beautiful!  Carried 160 yards, slight draw.  This with a range ball.  This was 30+ yards more than my previous shots.  And it didn't hurt.  I tried again... and hit a simialrly good shot.  I then spent the rest of the bucket trying to emulate the feeling of not "hitting" the ball, but letting the club swing, and just guiding it.... it seemed to really help.  I tried this again later in the day with my driver, and again when I played - my swing speed must be really slow, but overall I think the quality of my shots went up.

@Dornenglanz - your description of that swing is very much the swing a good friend has who is 81, a former course pro and one of the most accurate guys you will ever see.  We lose out when we try to kill it like the pros. I am in the "trying to break 100 consistently" mode these days.  Most rounds hover right at 100, but usually a blow up hole here or there is the culprit.  What you are describing here is developing a smooth, consistent, repeatable swing.  I work a lot in my back yard on short pitches/chips - in the 10 - 50 yd range.  All that to say I have found when I let the club swing, the ball goes much farther, much straighter.  One thing I have done of late is purposely slow down my back swing - the ratio many speak of if 3:1 time of backswing to downswing.  Much better success on my shots.  My last time on the course was this past Thurs with our church men's group 9hole super ball. Highly recommend it as a "no-pressure" way to work on your game. I purposely slowed my backswing, letting the core wind up and followed through.  My worst shot of the day was a power fade that was in the right rough.  

One last thing - as I am late to this thread, I highly recommend @iacas' 30 COVID Practice Plan.  It was/is/continues to be a game changer.  Also his book, Lowest Score Wins, is a definite must read for anyone wanting to not only break 100, but on how to better play no matter what your handicap.  

[RyanG94]

On 11/6/2018 at 12:24 PM, greatgolfahead said:

I've been striking the ball very well lately after a series of practice sessions to get my upper body aligned correctly.  I tended to ground the club before the ball, but now that I've adjusted my body to have a slight spine tilt to the right it seems that I make great contact and get better loft on the ball.  My tee and fairways have improved because of this change, and am shooting bogeys and the occasional double bogey.   I still struggle with estimating the amount power that's needed to putt.  I either over shoot or under putt, sometimes significantly.    Do you have any tips for putting?

Hi mate, 

 

first of all, good work on improving your ball striking. Makes a big difference having that great feeling of flushing an iron multiple times during a round.

 

On the putting, and specifically judging the distance, I had the exact same problem when I first started playing again back in feb. I found the best advice I had was focus on how you would “roll” the ball to the hole with your hand, and try to recreate that roll with the putter. I found this helped immediately and while I still blaze one past or baby one and leave it way short on occasion, the majority of my putts are a lot better when it comes to pace.

Im not a great putter by any means, but I found this has really helped me big time 🙂 best of luck!

 

edit - just noticed your post was some time ago, apologies. If it’s still relevant then might be worth a try, if not then hope you found a way 🙂

Edited August 17, 2020 by RyanG94
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