Good golfer vs average golfer?

[mvmac]

  akpklarson said:

I certainly have watched my game improve drastically and would consider myself decent now, but wonder the following:

What separates a great golfer vs an avg golfer?

Great golfers do 5 things correctly which separates them from most golfers.

To make it even more simple it's the ability to hit the ball solid over and over again, to control the bottom of the swing arc, which mostly concerns Keys 1-3.

[awmgolfer]

For me I have found it to be a matter of being able to repeat your swing consistently. I readily admit I have probably one of the ugliest low handicap swings you would see..lol. Huge hip rotation which leads to a massive over swing but I can repeat it consistently. I am good friends with our local pro and he has offered tips and advice to me as we play and the biggest ones had to do with working on bring my misses closer. A few years ago I would easily miss the green 20 yards to the right or left, now, most of my misses are just right/left/long/short but within a few yards of the green on average as far as right to left. I know a few have already said it but to me it really comes down to consistency in being able to repeat your swing. Even if it's an ugly swing that has issues, if you can repeat it almost every time you will get the ball where you need and score.

[mvmac]

  awmgolfer said:

For me I have found it to be a matter of being able to repeat your swing consistently.  I know a few have already said it but to me it really comes down to consistency in being able to repeat your swing. Even if it's an ugly swing that has issues, if you can repeat it almost every time you will get the ball where you need and score.

[Moppy]

  awmgolfer said:

For me I have found it to be a matter of being able to repeat your swing consistently.

I played with a guy once whose elbows in his swing, not just his right elbow, reminded me of Mr Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World. But he played from the back tees and played pretty well, much better than I do. He swung that way every time. He hit the ball 250 yards, I would guess, off the tee.

[Mac62]

  awmgolfer said:

...I know a few have already said it but to me it really comes down to consistency in being able to repeat your swing. Even if it's an ugly swing that has issues, if you can repeat it almost every time you will get the ball where you need and score.

One of the guys I golf with has a grip that goes against all conventional wisdom, a stance that looks like a football linebacker and a very fast, short, choppy swing (on both his full swings and chips/pitches/putts).  If you saw his swing you'd wonder how he even gets around the course - it's definitely an ugly swing, but he owns it and it's highly repeatable for him.  He'll never be a scratch golfer, but I've seen him beat people with much prettier swings and he's closer to "good" than "average" - usually shooting low 80s.

[Duff McGee]

The repeatable pattern thing is very much lacking in my swing. Like most golfers, I started out with a slice, then dreamt of playing a draw. Well, I'm over that now considering my bad shot is a duck hook and my average shot is straight. Instead of focusing and forcing a swing path the other day after my score was down the tubes, I just went up and hit the ball as naturally as I could. Interestingly to me, my ball flight was better with a slight fade. I don't care if it's a draw or fade as long as it is consistent and not a hook or slice. I'll keep working on my swing and post progress reports on the my swing thread and hopefully a pattern develops (and not in a "his pattern is that there is no pattern" kind of way).

[uitar9]

  Moppy said:

This is what I am struggling with right now. My good shots are good enough for me to be a lot better, certainly not a single digit handicap, but a bogie golfer, certainly. I think it is a mental attitude when approaching the ball to hit. To pay attention every putt, to ensure your grip is correct every time, to set up the same each time. Don't rush a shot before you are mentally ready but don't agonize either.  Don't get greedy for distance. Be workmanlike about every shot.  Those are my goals. Since I started so late in life, my goal is to get good enough where I can break 90 from time to time. To me, that is playing golf rather than whacking at a ball with a stick in a field.

Well said-set up, workmanlike, don't get greedy

Consistancy appears to be what I'm after

[dchoye]

Our club champion is a good golfer. beats nearest competitor by 20 strokes over 4 rounds at last years club championship. Plays in lots of amateur events around town ....

1st time I okayed with him. after 12 holes he doesnt make a bogey, was when I knew he who good ....always on the fairway , always on the green and putting for birdie on almost every green.  he has no weakness, He drives it 240-250 yards only, Im sure if he had more distance he would be great....Anyway I think his mental game is very good as I rarely see him hit a bad shot .

[Divotmaker77]

This is a subject that varies based on who you are talking to.  I have stayed in the 9-11 HC range the past year or so.  When I play with folks who are 15+ HC I tend to look like a "good" golfer. When I play with those who are a lower HC I look more average.

Have some friends who are all scratch and one who played on tour.  All have repeatable motions and do not think much about their swings.  Guys like me constantly are thinking too much about my swing.  Ask of them what their thoughts are and they may have one or two.  Most cannot really describe to you why they play well.   Those guys are in the fairway much more often than I am (plus they hit it a mile) and they have a much higher greens in regulation average than I do.  Strangely enough, I am as good or a better putter than most of them.  JMO, it comes down to ball striking ability and the good to great players have it.  I give up at least 10 strokes to them simply because I consistently cannot get on the green to score or for an easier par.  I am always scrambling and my short game is not good enough to play that game and shoot great scores.

JMO, a great player is someone who played professionally.   A very good player are those who are around the scratch level.  They play in a lot of tournaments (Club Championships, State Ams, etc)  and post low scores.  Good players can shoot in the higher 70's to mid 80's on most courses and do it pretty consistently.  Average players tend to score in the mid 80's to 90's.  I put myself in that category.  Although I have shot in the 70's before, I am way too inconsistent and tend to shoot a 90-95 at times which is not what a good player does.

[inthehole]

I think the good players (80's) are all pretty decent at the short game stuff (chipping, putting, etc).    They tend to have too many blow up holes as a result of poor tee shots.

In my case, I never realized how bad I was at GIR's before it became known on this forum that it is the proven key to going low.    My ball striking was no where near as good as I thought it was.    THe guys that I would consider good, are those that shoot in the 70s regularly.    Those guys are ball strikers...

[NJpatbee]

  pumaAttack said:

I would strongly disagree with that.  No way an average golfer breaks 90, even occasionally.  That would be a good golfer.  The Average golfer maybe gets down in the low 90s on a good round.

Join any random twosome or threesome on a public course, I am willingly to bet 90% of them won't break 90.  That includes playing by all the rules.  OB, no mulligans, no gimmie putts.  It's really easy to shoot under 90 when you take mulligans and don't get penalized for OB.  Not to mention the gimmie putts from 4 foot bending putt.

I guess because the choices were so wide (average or good) I chose a wide range.  I am a 17.5 HCP and will break 90 (par 71) a few times over 20 rounds but also push 100 a few times - I do not consider myself a good golfer which is why I stated that I would have added "very good" and "great".  As I re-think it, there are likely "below average" and "poor" categories.

[Duff McGee]

The average golfers struggles to break 100 on an even somewhat difficult course. Maybe some of you are out of touch looking down from your ivory towers. ;)

[Divotmaker77]

  inthehole said:

I think the good players (80's) are all pretty decent at the short game stuff (chipping, putting, etc).    They tend to have too many blow up holes as a result of poor tee shots.

In my case, I never realized how bad I was at GIR's before it became known on this forum that it is the proven key to going low.    My ball striking was no where near as good as I thought it was.    THe guys that I would consider good, are those that shoot in the 70s regularly.    Those guys are ball strikers...

Absolutely agree.  If you are not a solid ball striker you will never become a really good/good golfer.