The Drive for 5...

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcwkent

OK, OK, @rkim291968 .... I'm busted!    When this thread started my GHIN was 19.7 .....   so I'm down 2.4 ....less than halfway to 5. Yikes!

It's not too bad.  You only got 2.5 to go.   My current HI of 18 is worse than 17.5 I started with in June .   I got full 5 points to go.

I keep expecting you to drop back down to a 12, you can do it!

We'll play sometime in the up coming Winter months. Not trying to make the Northerner's jealous or anything, but that is the best time to play. Cool and manageable weather!

My kids are too busy for us to come up this weekend.

I won't drop to 12 for a long time.  I looked at my scores when I was 12 for a month.   I scored mostly in low 80s, with a 79 threw in.  It was a fluke 10 round sequence that dropped my HI suddenly from 16 and then it went back up to 16 soon after.   I conned myself that I can do it again but it turned out to be quite difficult.  The best I ever got to 12 was 16 about a few months ago.  Sigh.

(We will play whenever, no pressure.  It's likely that I will be in LA area time to time.  I will bring my clubs just in case.)

That would be really cool. Looking forward to it.

You will definitely make your 5 before I could possibly make mine. I can guarantee that.

[rkim291968]

7 easy scores to beat until my next GHIN on 9/15.  I think I can make it back to 17.5, my HI when I signed up on this thread.  A return after a 2+ months detour .   Miles to go before getting it down to 12.5.

[Fairway_CY]

My latest revision has me at 17.7 right now.  I played yesterday at a fairly tough course (141 slope) and held my own, despite a ton of penalty strokes (7).  It was a net score, stroke play tournament that I played in, and my 94 ended up being a 72 net (+1) score, which got me 10th place (out of 27 entrants).

The frustrating part for me was that I had 2 different stretches of 3 holes each where I played really well (par - par - par and then par - birdie - par), and both times, my run was ended by absolutely horrible tee shots on holes that play to my natural shot shape (left to right).  It quickly put a halt to some good golf and both of those holes resulted in triple bogeys.

I have a handful of tournament rounds left this season and then, during the offseason, I intend to do a LOT of work on becoming more consistent with my driver.  If I can cut the penalties down (I'm averaging almost 4 per round), my handicap will drop significantly, and in a hurry!

CY

[rkim291968]

7 easy scores to beat until my next GHIN on 9/15.  I think I can make it back to 17.5, my HI when I signed up on this thread.  A return after a 2+ months detour .   Miles to go before getting it down to 12.5.

1 of the "7 easy scores" beaten with an 89 (68.4/124) today.  HI dipped to 17.7.

I have been practicing short (3 - 15 feet range) putts based on LSW, and @RandallT 's (thanks, Randy!) game analysis on my recent rounds. Today, I putted well, making three putts in 10 feet range.  No 3 putts.  I missed one 3 feet putt which was the only blemish on my putting.    I GIR'd and par'd all 4 par 3 holes.  I don't remember ever doing that.  I guess my mid iron shot was on.

[rkim291968]

I had a so-so round of 97 (71.2/128) today.  No movement on HI, a chance wasted.  Putting held me back.  More specifically, my long distance lag putts were too short.   I failed to adjust for slow green caused by aeration.  I should have, after a few holes.  Stupid of me.

[Lihu]

I had a so-so round of 97 (71.2/128) today.  No movement on HI, a chance wasted.  Putting held me back.  More specifically, my long distance lag putts were too short.   I failed to adjust for slow green caused by aeration.  I should have, after a few holes.  Stupid of me.

I can't help but think that constantly looking at your handicap is like looking at the speedometer in your car, and hoping that someday it will go faster. If you are driving a car with a well tuned engine 80mph is probably pretty slow. If the car is badly tuned and running on 3 cylinders or something, that 80mph might be pretty much maximum speed you can go. Once you tune up the engine, the car will certainly have the potential to go faster. There's no hope involved in that.

So, the engine tuneup would be equivalent to making swing mechanics improvements, and your handicap will drop just as your car speed improves with a nicely running motor.

[rkim291968]

I have a handful of tournament rounds left this season and then, during the offseason, I intend to do a LOT of work on becoming more consistent with my driver.  If I can cut the penalties down (I'm averaging almost 4 per round), my handicap will drop significantly, and in a hurry!

We have similar HI and I too lose too many strokes hitting my drives into OB.   My last 3 lessons have been on driver.   The lessons helped.

Carded 90 (68.4/124) today.  HI inched down to 17.6, back to where it was when I signed up to this thread.  Now comes the hard part to getting it down another 5 points.

[jetsknicks1]

After two rounds this weekend, including an 88 on a course that usually gives me fits, my trend HI is down a little over 4 strokes to a 17.1! If I can put in a couple more good rounds before the end of the month, I can complete my "Drive for 5" :-D

[RandallT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

I have a handful of tournament rounds left this season and then, during the offseason, I intend to do a LOT of work on becoming more consistent with my driver.  If I can cut the penalties down (I'm averaging almost 4 per round), my handicap will drop significantly, and in a hurry!

We have similar HI and I too lose too many strokes hitting my drives into OB.   My last 3 lessons have been on driver.   The lessons helped.

Carded 90 (68.4/124) today.  HI inched down to 17.6, back to where it was when I signed up to this thread.  Now comes the hard part to getting it down another 5 points.

Progress- great to see.

I'm still clawing my way back to where I ended last season. Doubtful I'll get there, but I can hope!

I'm thinking lessons are helping, but I hate when that confident feeling at the start of a round ("I've yet to play a round with this new [fill in the blank] swing that I've grooved at the range, so this will be great!") slowly turns into a WTF moment on the back 9 ("hmmm, I was sure those last few improvements in the lessons were going to be key to saving a few strokes... why is my score higher???").

[Fairway_CY]

We have similar HI and I too lose too many strokes hitting my drives into OB.   My last 3 lessons have been on driver.   The lessons helped.

Carded 90 (68.4/124) today.  HI inched down to 17.6, back to where it was when I signed up to this thread.  Now comes the hard part to getting it down another 5 points.

It's certainly frustrating to stand on a tee and watch a ball (and all momentum I've built up) fly over some trees or into a hazard.  I have only ever taken one lesson, and that was about 6 years ago.  Until this season, I haven't played or practiced enough to make me believe that lessons would help because my rounds and practice sessions were so spread out.

I'd like to look into some lessons in the offseason, but it'll depend entirely on what kind of time I've got.

Good luck getting it moving downward.  A 90 is a good score in my book.  When I have those rounds, it's typically a few putts that just ran over the edges and didn't fall that keep me from posting a score in the 80's.

I might play a local club tournament on Thursday (71.3/133) and then I'll probably just work on short game stuff until my next one with the Golfweek Amateur Tour on the 19th (71.1/141).  I need to keep things moving though because I only have 2 tournaments left with the GAT this season to make sure I qualify for the Tour Championship in October.

CY

[rkim291968]

Good luck getting it moving downward.  A 90 is a good score in my book.  When I have those rounds, it's typically a few putts that just ran over the edges and didn't fall that keep me from posting a score in the 80's.

Yeah, that, too.  When I miss a short putt (in my boo, that's less than 8 feet), I feel like I hit a ball into hazard.   The end result is the same - a loss of stroke.   OBs are worse - see below.

My 89 round : 2 OBs, 1 ball in hazard for 5 total stroke loss (3 penalties, 2 distances)

My 90 round: 1 OBs, 1 lost ball for 4 stroke loss.

As you can see, if I avoided the penalties, I could have scored in mid 80s.   And if I made a few more putts, the scores could have been in low 80s.   But I am just conning myself.   I am not hitting those bad shots or missing putts by a hair b/c I am a good golfer.   I am missing them b/c that's where I am at.   Bogey golfers are going to have those bad shots out of 90+ shots we attempt in a course of a round.   I think taking lessons & doing the assigned drills are shortest way to reduce those errors over time.

[ChrisPietersen]

I went through a nice jump in my handicap the past 6 weeks. Although it is all unofficial, I went down from about a 39.6 to a 33.5. I won't really have time for golf for a while now, as I'm a university student, but as soon as I get back to it I would love to drop to the mid 20s. I have the strokes in me to do it, I just need to get more consistent. In my last round I had 10 bogies and a par, but messed it all up with 3 triples and 3 quads with 3 pentalty shots. I finished with a 105. I basically just need to know how to limit the damage as much as possible. I also have to work on my driver. I've been working my 3 wood into my bag and I would love to work my driver back too. Lastly my putting need to find form again. I usually average 33-36 putts per round, but as of late I have been going up to 37-38. Would love to get that down to high 20s - low 30s. My problem is distance judgement on different greens.

I've had another nice drop in my unofficial handicap. Down from 39.6 (originally) to a 32.2 now. And the best of it all... Summer has yet to start here. Can't wait for my Desember/January holiday to crank it up a notch! Bogey golf, here I come!

[Aflighter]

It's certainly frustrating to stand on a tee and watch a ball (and all momentum I've built up) fly over some trees or into a hazard.  I have only ever taken one lesson, and that was about 6 years ago.  Until this season, I haven't played or practiced enough to make me believe that lessons would help because my rounds and practice sessions were so spread out.   I'd like to look into some lessons in the offseason, but it'll depend entirely on what kind of time I've got.   Good luck getting it moving downward.  A 90 is a good score in my book.  When I have those rounds, it's typically a few putts that just ran over the edges and didn't fall that keep me from posting a score in the 80's. I might play a local club tournament on Thursday (71.3/133) and then I'll probably just work on short game stuff until my next one with the Golfweek Amateur Tour on the 19th (71.1/141).  I need to keep things moving though because I only have 2 tournaments left with the GAT this season to make sure I qualify for the Tour Championship in October.   CY

I think you should be fine for qualifying for national championship.One thing I have noticed is you seem to have a few penalty strokes per round and you just cant have that.More than likely yours come from your tee ball.One you get your driver down pat you will break 90 pretty consistently.

[Fairway_CY]

I think you should be fine for qualifying for national championship.One thing I have noticed is you seem to have a few penalty strokes per round and you just cant have that.More than likely yours come from your tee ball.One you get your driver down pat you will break 90 pretty consistently.

Yeah... it'll jump up and bite me a few times a round where I'll just dead pull or flat out slice one off the tee.  I played today at Rock Barn (Jackson) and I had it hurt me on 2 of 3 holes on the back nine.  Both were left of left.  On both holes, I made a 'second ball par'.

I've been working on it, trying to figure out where it's coming from... but it's random.  Looking at my spreadsheet, it was showing my first 6 tee shots all in play, and 5 of them were either in the fairway or just off.  Then I went OB, just missed a fairway, OB to start the back.  I finished strong with 3 in a row in the fairway... but those 2 OB balls killed my score.  I posted a 45 on that side which would have been a 41 if my provisional was my original on those holes.

Overall... not bad today... 93 for an 18.4 differential.

I've heard that I should be fine for Hilton Head.  I just want to make sure.  I'm hoping to put together a strong weekend for the Local Finals and then not have to worry about the entry fee!

CY

[Aflighter]

Yeah... it'll jump up and bite me a few times a round where I'll just dead pull or flat out slice one off the tee.  I played today at Rock Barn (Jackson) and I had it hurt me on 2 of 3 holes on the back nine.  Both were left of left.  On both holes, I made a 'second ball par'.   I've been working on it, trying to figure out where it's coming from... but it's random.  Looking at my spreadsheet, it was showing my first 6 tee shots all in play, and 5 of them were either in the fairway or just off.  Then I went OB, just missed a fairway, OB to start the back.  I finished strong with 3 in a row in the fairway... but those 2 OB balls killed my score.  I posted a 45 on that side which would have been a 41 if my provisional was my original on those holes. Overall... not bad today... 93 for an 18.4 differential. I've heard that I should be fine for Hilton Head.  I just want to make sure.  I'm hoping to put together a strong weekend for the Local Finals and then not have to worry about the entry fee! CY

I have learned that when I miss way left its basically a pull and its because I swung too hard.You find that tempo and dont swing for the fences and the ball generally stays straight.Since I have my irons figured out and my driver is always on top of its game I really only need to worry about my pss poor putting and I honestly feel im going to take the finals.Next weekend though I dont think ill give it my all if you know what I mean haa.

[Fairway_CY]

I have learned that when I miss way left its basically a pull and its because I swung too hard.You find that tempo and dont swing for the fences and the ball generally stays straight.Since I have my irons figured out and my driver is always on top of its game I really only need to worry about my pss poor putting and I honestly feel im going to take the finals.Next weekend though I dont think ill give it my all if you know what I mean haa.

Ha!  Damn... I didn't realize you were right on that line until I just looked!

My misses left are generally pulls... although some are hooks.  My misses right are slices, and are generally because of a 'lazy' swing where I don't put everything into it.

For this season, my breakdown is 40.08% left of fairway... 34.71% hit the fairway... 24.79% right of the fairway.  The other 0.42% is missing somewhere but, I'm not gonna worry about that.

I've started aiming towards the right-center of the fairway and it's helped me recently.  If I happen to hit a fade, it'll end up just off the fairway.  If I pull one a little, I'll end up either in the left side of the fairway or just off.  If I hit it straight, well... that's my hope.

Today, I noticed a lot of my shots were very weak.  Only 1 shot was over 260, and that was a pissed off provisional swing.  The rest varied from 219 to 257 with the average (not including provisional swings) being 232.  Compared to my last 2 rounds where I averaged 242 and 257 off the tee, my shots were way off.  Luckily, when we play Palisades next weekend, even a drive of 232 will leave me less than 150 in on most holes.

It's just going to be a matter of me keeping the ball in play.  I played well at Salisbury and Irish Creek earlier this year, so... I'm feeling good heading into the Local Finals in 2 weeks.

CY

[rkim291968]

Have been doing a lot of mirror work at company gym to improve on the 1st 3 keys. It seems to work in front of a mirror but not so much at the range or in field.  I guess anyone can play great air guitar but playing with real one in front of audience is a different matter.   I am looking forward to this weekend's rounds.  I have 3 easy scores to beat to get the next GHIN into low 17s.   After that, it's going to take some serious improvement to lower my HI into 16s territory.

[rkim291968]

Played from blue tee (71.2/128) tee today.  No warm up and I started the round with an OB, which eventually led to a snowman.  At the time, I had no idea what was to come for the next 11 holes.  I went on a par binge, par'ng 9 of the 11 holes, 7 straight (personal best) at one point.    I GIR'd 5 of the 11 holes, getting up and down on 3 holes.   I was in a zone.  Then, I played to my norm rest of the way, finishing the round with another snowman.  Two OBs and a ball in hazard, two snowmen, and I still carded 90 due to the 11 hole stretch.   The score will lower my HI further to 17.3.

What's working?   Daily mirror work on the 1st 3 keys has improved my ball striking.   FIR, GIR rates are up.  Got 3W to be more consistent.

What's not working?  I am losing 4 - 6 strokes per round due to OBs, lost ball, and ball in hazard.   Total putts/round is up (hopefully, it's b/c of aerated greens).