How To Improve My Handicap in 21 Days...

[Lihu]

The two - where due to my driver. And my iron game this day was also bad, this is the reason why I did not make the par on any of the par 3...

Is the - your indication of ESC? The main question is if you have any reason to believe that one or two simple to fix issues can help you to strike the ball better? Even then, it takes time for changes to sink in. Giving yourself 3 weeks is borderline impossible. Shaving 2 strokes in 3 months is possible from where you are. It is possible to improve by 8 strokes under the 26 strokes you are over within a year, though. That translates to 2 strokes every 3 months?

[M2R]

The easiest way to manipulate a handicap is for a player to honestly and accurately evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses in their game and then chose a course with the highest rating and slope which complements their strengths and minimizes testing their weaknesses.

For example if I were you I would play every day at Amesbury Golf & Country Club because it is only 6095 yards yet has a rating of 70.5 and slope of 125. Only two of the par 4 holes (9/18) play to more than about 300-350 yards even though listed on the card as longer, because they play massively downhill (and 9/18 play massively up the same hill). It is also very forgiving on wayward shots so while balls can be lost or in water hazards they are more likely to be found and playable.

I would not randomly go back to the furthest tee unless your game is such that even from a forward tee you can not get the ball near the green in regulation anyway, in that case then I would consider doing so. I would go back as far as I could while still getting the ball near the green in regulation if very little else were changing other than distance.

If it is in your personality to play percentage golf then do so to the max. I shot 83 once when my playing partner shot 104 and after the round he commented my chipping was really bad. So I asked what he meant? He said well you did not get any close to the hole. His focus was on a tiny circle around the hole and my focus was the entire green.

Consequently he felt a lot of stress and messed up many of his chips and pitches requiring a second attempt where as I felt completely confident I could hit a 4000+ sq ft area and always succeeded in getting the ball on the green somewhere. Yes I never got any ball closer than 8 feet but even so I made two putts to save par from 8-10 feet just by the luck of having the opportunity to do so. Would I like to get the ball closer, yes, is that a realistic evaluation of my present skill set, no.

Since you have LSW you know about the 5Ss and like someone somewhere here posted the success part is often overlooked. Practising is one thing and playing is another but small successes are important to both IMO. If you need to convert a long par 4 to a par 5 for you do it, if you need to do a low punch out shot using your putter do it, if you need to putt out backwards or sideways to guarantee getting out of a bunker do it.

Practice the most on things that have the highest SV but play avoiding the shots/clubs with the lowest strokes gained values, even if that means leaving them at home. Or to put it another way if I can not practice well with a club it is unrealistic to think I can play well with it so I do not attempt to play with it unless there are no better options.

[Jameson]

Is the - your indication of ESC?

The main question is if you have any reason to believe that one or two simple to fix issues can help you to strike the ball better? Even then, it takes time for changes to sink in. Giving yourself 3 weeks is borderline impossible. Shaving 2 strokes in 3 months is possible from where you are.

It is possible to improve by 8 strokes under the 26 strokes you are over within a year, though. That translates to 2 strokes every 3 months?

Thanks, Lihu.

The - indicates that there were no stableford points in this hole.

Going back to the goal, I know is complicated, but borderline impossible, oh my god, definitely nope.

This is such an interesting game, a complex game, that there are a huge amount of things you can do (change) in order to improve your scores, and ball striking is just one of them. Maybe the most important one, maybe not... for example, chip with an 8 iron instead of a 58 degrees which I always tend to use, could be more reliable and give me 1 stroke. Avoid the risky decissions, could give me another, 1 strike. What about eliminate 3 putts? or even better, what about your reaction (mental game) after a bad stroke? ..... and 1000 more.

[Jameson]

The easiest way to manipulate a handicap is for a player to honestly and accurately evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses in their game and then chose a course with the highest rating and slope which complements their strengths and minimizes testing their weaknesses.

For example if I were you I would play every day at Amesbury Golf & Country Club because it is only 6095 yards yet has a rating of 70.5 and slope of 125. Only two of the par 4 holes (9/18) play to more than about 300-350 yards even though listed on the card as longer, because they play massively downhill (and 9/18 play massively up the same hill). It is also very forgiving on wayward shots so while balls can be lost or in water hazards they are more likely to be found and playable.

I would not randomly go back to the furthest tee unless your game is such that even from a forward tee you can not get the ball near the green in regulation anyway, in that case then I would consider doing so. I would go back as far as I could while still getting the ball near the green in regulation if very little else were changing other than distance.

If it is in your personality to play percentage golf then do so to the max. I shot 83 once when my playing partner shot 104 and after the round he commented my chipping was really bad. So I asked what he meant? He said well you did not get any close to the hole. His focus was on a tiny circle around the hole and my focus was the entire green.

Consequently he felt a lot of stress and messed up many of his chips and pitches requiring a second attempt where as I felt completely confident I could hit a 4000+ sq ft area and always succeeded in getting the ball on the green somewhere. Yes I never got any ball closer than 8 feet but even so I made two putts to save par from 8-10 feet just by the luck of having the opportunity to do so. Would I like to get the ball closer, yes, is that a realistic evaluation of my present skill set, no.

Since you have LSW you know about the 5Ss and like someone somewhere here posted the success part is often overlooked. Practising is one thing and playing is another but small successes are important to both IMO. If you need to convert a long par 4 to a par 5 for you do it, if you need to do a low punch out shot using your putter do it, if you need to putt out backwards or sideways to guarantee getting out of a bunker do it.

Practice the most on things that have the highest SV but play avoiding the shots/clubs with the lowest strokes gained values, even if that means leaving them at home. Or to put it another way if I can not practice well with a club it is unrealistic to think I can play well with it so I do not attempt to play with it unless there are no better options.

Than you M2R: totally agree with you. Today, I´m going to practise and try to maximize what you write: maximize my strengths, and avoid my shortcomings if I have the chance.

Yesterday, I made I really good strikes with my driver, and it´s the first time I am doing something really different with this club (speed it up a lot). If I could take this change to the course, it would be fantastic. Let´s see what happen this afternoon on a training round with no stress at all.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Is the - your indication of ESC?

The main question is if you have any reason to believe that one or two simple to fix issues can help you to strike the ball better? Even then, it takes time for changes to sink in. Giving yourself 3 weeks is borderline impossible. Shaving 2 strokes in 3 months is possible from where you are.

It is possible to improve by 8 strokes under the 26 strokes you are over within a year, though. That translates to 2 strokes every 3 months?

Thanks, Lihu.

The - indicates that there were no stableford points in this hole.

Going back to the goal, I know is complicated, but borderline impossible, oh my god, definitely nope.

This is such an interesting game, a complex game, that there are a huge amount of things you can do (change) in order to improve your scores, and ball striking is just one of them. Maybe the most important one, maybe not... for example, chip with an 8 iron instead of a 58 degrees which I always tend to use, could be more reliable and give me 1 stroke. Avoid the risky decissions, could give me another, 1 strike. What about eliminate 3 putts? or even better, what about your reaction (mental game) after a bad stroke? ..... and 1000 more.

I feel your pain.

To be consistently better takes consistent commitment to improve. A more realistic goal might be something like "strike the ball like a single digit player" within a year or two. Perhaps using these "5 minute daily commitments" to improve your swing/game/putting/chipping etc?

Setting handicap goals is not really that productive. Once you're on track to try to "get back strokes" because you want to meet your target, is just a painful experience possibly leading to "compensations" in your swing. Not a good situation.

Just continue to learn to strike the ball as well as you can, and let the scores fall wherever they fall and remember that crap happens.

[No Mulligans]

I like to separate goals from aspirations.  The way I'm defining goals and aspirations for this purpose are; goals are completely under your control whereas aspirations are not.

For example my goals might be:

- Send videos to my Evolvr instructor every three weeks

- Work on my priority piece a minimum of 15 minutes at least 5 days a week

- Play at least 18 holes a week

My aspiration might be:

- lower my HI by 4 points this year

[Lihu]

I like to separate goals from aspirations.  The way I'm defining goals and aspirations for this purpose are; goals are completely under your control whereas aspirations are not.

For example my goals might be:

- Send videos to my Evolvr instructor every three weeks

- Work on my priority piece a minimum of 15 minutes at least 5 days a week

- Play at least 18 holes a week

My aspiration might be:

- lower my HI by 4 points this year

I just looked this up. It looks like an aspiration is a dream and a goal is when it becomes tangible?

http://www.davidkirkaldy.com/what-comes-first-goal-or-aspiration/

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/whats-the-difference-between-goals-and-aspirations.1014948/

[No Mulligans]

I just looked this up. It looks like an aspiration is a dream and a goal is when it becomes tangible?

http://www.davidkirkaldy.com/what-comes-first-goal-or-aspiration/

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/whats-the-difference-between-goals-and-aspirations.1014948/

I was taught this goal vs. aspirations in some company seminar in my long work history.  I found the distinction useful for organizing ones work to move towards ones 'aspirations'.  Those two words were slightly redefined for purposes of setting goals and aspirations.  Redefined because there were no words that made the precise distinction used for the purpose of setting 'goals' and 'aspirations' as taught in the seminar.

Aspiration being what you aspire to become or achieve.

Goals being steps you take to reach your aspiration.  Goals should be concrete and under your control.

For instance, the goal of working on my priority piece 10 minutes a day 5 days a week is under my control.  There is no question I can achieve it if I dedicate myself to it (unless I have some unforeseen life events, health issues etc. but let's ignore that).

The aspiration of becoming a single digit handicapper is not under my control.  My goal is designed to move me towards that goal.  But there is no guarantee that I can reach that aspiration.  Still, I can aspire to it.

I'll reiterate that these are not widely held definitions but they are very useful.

[Jameson]

Totally agree with the ideas about goals vs aspirations... However, since I made a bet (all odds point I´m going to loose it... ), I´,m centering my attention in a goal right now... Anyway, it´s too late to change it now. Maybe after this 21 dyas, I´m going to set real Goals (better strike, and better long game)...

Yesterday I hit some balls and played 9 holes, and the sensations were not bad at all, let´s take a look: (first colum par, second one strokes)

4	5
4	4
4	7
3	3
4	6
4	5
3	2
4	6
5	1

Total stableford points are 20. Since I speed up my driver, I hit better balls, and further, so I know I´m in the right direction. The problem is that my misshits (with Driver) are really awful, and I have to be careful because one of this could take totally out of the match (mental game...), and this scares me...

[xilez]

this could take totally out of the match (mental game...), and this scares me...

Learn to hit your 3 wood consistently and solid. That way if you feel yourself slipping mentally, you can feel confident you are going to step up to the tee box and hit a solid drive (with the 3W).

[Jameson]

Learn to hit your 3 wood consistently and solid. That way if you feel yourself slipping mentally, you can feel confident you are going to step up to the tee box and hit a solid drive (with the 3W).

Thank you. Gonna practise this afternoon with my 3W. However, I´ve never felt like it´s easier to hit than a modern drive... Maybe I´m wrong.

[Jameson]

Soft muscles and quick tempo.

And no, soft is not same as slow. Actually DO NOT think slow at all - it throws of tempo and chances are you will instinctively jump up on the ball at impact anyway - BAD. Soft means keeping your overall body muscle feel soft throughout the swing - a different way of saying - not to overload your muscles at any point in the swing. You can swing quicker with softer/lighter feel in your muscles AND you will be more in control. 'Light' also works instead of 'soft'.

Was trying this feeling yesterday and it was not bad... I think that all this time, I get tight when I pick up the Driver (don´t know, maybe because of the distance...) and you get blocked... However with this new feeling of light and loose, the problem in that at the top of the backswing I feel that the club goes falls apart, far passed the paralel... Should improve this a lot !!

[xilez]

Post a video of your swing?

[No Mulligans]

Thank you. Gonna practise this afternoon with my 3W. However, I´ve never felt like it´s easier to hit than a modern drive... Maybe I´m wrong.

That goes for me too.  I have more consistent results with my driver than my 3W.

[Lihu]

Totally agree with the ideas about goals vs aspirations... However, since I made a bet (all odds point I´m going to loose it...  ), I´,m centering my attention in a goal right now... Anyway, it´s too late to change it now. Maybe after this 21 dyas, I´m going to set real Goals (better strike, and better long game)...

Yesterday I hit some balls and played 9 holes, and the sensations were not bad at all, let´s take a look: (first colum par, second one strokes)

4

5

4

4

4

7

3

3

4

6

4

5

3

2

4

6

5

1

Total stableford points are 20. Since I speed up my driver, I hit better balls, and further, so I know I´m in the right direction. The problem is that my misshits (with Driver) are really awful, and I have to be careful because one of this could take totally out of the match (mental game...), and this scares me...

Did you get a hole in one on a par 5? In any case, congrats on the birdie on the 7th. . .

[Jameson]

Did you get a hole in one on a par 5? In any case, congrats on the birdie on the 7th. . .

Oh my god! it´s a mistake, it´s a 5...

[gregsandiego]

Wouldn't you need to play, and turn in score cards, many, many times in 21 days to drop that much? Maybe play every day.  And prepare yourself for up and down on the card since only child prodigies could hope to always shoot a lower score today than yesterday.

Most knowing instructors on this site will tell you that a successful long ball is where low scores are found. If your driver is weak, find a strong 3 wood.

I agree with the others that think the 3 wood is no easier off the tee than the driver? Isn't just another long club with a smaller head? What's the big advantage?

[Jameson]

Well... I´ve played today and yesterday, with so many feelings. Yesterday, good, but it could be awesome... What a pity! I made 2 birdies, and 4 pars. 37 points. and my handicap is 18,6. Not bad! I´m improving my drive, but feel that I loose my irons touch. I´m trying to make a good turn, and changing this, is strange, so i think it´s the reason why I still not able to hit propoerly with my irons, when before this change i did, more or less. It´s the price for swing changes...

Today the same, good putt, and drive, but not good irons... tomorrow going to practise my irons...

Just 15 days to improve, and I need to reach to 16.9. Only 1,7 less. I have to make it !