What I Like About Being a 15HC

[Lihu]

I say even that is a significant difference.  30 yards difference in drive can mean 2 - 3 club difference with approach shot.   At HI 16.8 today, I feel I can get par or bogey on any hole at my home course (YMMV).   At 19 which I was at a few months ago, I didn't have that confidence.    At 15.3 like the OP's HI today, I don't know what I'd feel.   I will find out soon, hopefully.

You will, you were a 12 at one point in time. I have confidence that you will get that low.

[Bill926]

I often think back to when I was first starting to get serious about golf and about how bad, I mean really bad, I was back then.  I remember going out with friends or invited by sales reps and just being awful.

But now, as a 15HC, I enjoy the following:

1. Being confident enough to play any course; desert style, mountain style, tight, wide, long, etc.
2. Knowing on the first tee I will hit a decent drive that will go at least 230, even without a warm up bucket
3. Not feeling like I have to practice putting first, before playing
4. Putting for birdies and pars
5. Confident standing in a bunker
6. Confident with a 3W in my hand in the fairway
7. Confident hitting over water
8. Relaxed playing with others, even strangers
9. Hitting GIRs
10. The challenge of golf and wanting to improve

I'm sure as I continue to drop my index, this list will change, but for me, I'm enjoying where I am on this journey currently.

So, what do you enjoy about being the index you are right now?

Being a 15 as well, I agree with all except #2.  Even with a warm up bucket I have no idea where the first tee shot is going.  I have hit some terrible 1st tee shots recently and have started using an iron or hybrid, pretty much conceding to bogey unless its a par 5.  After the first hole i'm fine.

My #11 would be Confidence in recovering after a bad first or second shot and still making par.  Half of my pars in a round are getting up and down from somewhere.

[Lihu]

Being a 15 as well, I agree with all except #2.  Even with a warm up bucket I have no idea where the first tee shot is going.  I have hit some terrible 1st tee shots recently and have started using an iron or hybrid, pretty much conceding to bogey unless its a par 5.  After the first hole i'm fine.

My #11 would be Confidence in recovering after a bad first or second shot and still making par.  Half of my pars in a round are getting up and down from somewhere.

More than half of mine (but in general <20 yards, thankfully), as I still 3 putt sometimes.

[Bill926]

Same, except I'm an 11:

1. Being confident enough to play any course; desert style, mountain style, tight, wide, long, etc. (Playing the tips on golf courses with a nickname name like "Tierra Tooharda" without losing any balls. . .)
2. Knowing on the first tee I will hit a decent drive that will go at least 230, even without a warm up bucket (Except when I hit a tree from pulling too hard right, or duff it. . .)
3. Not feeling like I have to practice putting first, before playing (Better to practice putting, though. Otherwise, I end up with an extra putt on one of the first holes somewhere. . .)
4. Putting for birdies and pars (only 5 or 6 times per round, usually from 50 feet or more :-P)
5. Confident standing in a bunker (Except when the rim is 4 feet above my head)
6. Confident with a 3W in my hand in the fairway (unless you're on a private course with lots of "features" with lies that make you choke up 6" or more or bend down 6" or more. . . :-P)
7. Confident hitting over water (as long as it's less than 200 yards and no wind)
8. Relaxed playing with others, even strangers
9. Hitting at least 5 or 6 GIRs on normal courses.
10. The challenge of golf and wanting to improve

Except where I added the bold, same. . .

Exactly on #7.  Anywhere from 180+ I always come up just short.  Either they just barely make it over and I'm right on the edge in some mess, or they hit to rocks or wall and fly back in.  Over 200 and I wont even try unless there's a 50 yd buffer between the water and the green. 

[Jeremie Boop]

Pretty significant, but could also just be the difference between driving 200 and 230 thereby having shorter approach shots?

 

Very true, but the main difference is possibly your tee shots are not as solid as that of a 15? While your distances are probably the same, having seen both of you in person, I can state that his drives are going to be more on the mark by let's say 25% or something like that?

 

These are possibly a couple of the reasons why you are an 18 and @bmartin461 is a 15?

 

I hit my 3 hybrid 220-230 from the tee pretty consistently, so yeah, distance is not really a problem . My tee shots are typically pretty darn solid these days, though admittedly, direction is typically the problem.So I guess that is a good point about being confident on tight courses at 15 as opposed to 18. Also to be fair, my first drive is usually pretty good regardless of whether I warmed up or not but I still am not usually confident about it for some reason. Not for nothing, but my game is slightly better than when you saw me play last considering it was over a year ago . In general, the difference between me at 18.2 and me at 15.3 is probably going to be one fewer wayward drive per round which costs me 2-3 strokes. I doubt I'll ever have a 3 wood because of how my gaps are, most likely I'll end up with a 4 wood. But the reason I'm not confident with fairway woods is because I don't have a lot of experience using them. I did pretty well with the 5 wood I had recently so it's just probably a matter of finding one I like and using it.

I say even that is a significant difference.  30 yards difference in drive can mean 2 - 3 club difference with approach shot.   At HI 16.8 today, I feel I can get par or bogey on any hole at my home course (YMMV).   At 19 which I was at a few months ago, I didn't have that confidence.    At 15.3 like the OP's HI today, I don't know what I'd feel.   I will find out soon, hopefully.

I can honestly say, I feel like I have the ability to par or birdie pretty much any hole I play. Not that I will do it super often, but I know that I have the ability to do it. Shoot, I even believe on shorter/decent length par 5 holes I have a legitimate shot at eagle at least some of the time. Your "YMMV" is a good point, because depending on each person's strength and weaknesses different things are possible. 

 

5. Knowing that I've got a fairly good knowledge of my distances with each club and, outside of hitting it fat or thin (which happens a few times a round)... knowing that even if I'm well off-line, my distance is going to be pretty much spot on.  I still struggle with finding greens... but those that I miss are typically going to be pin-high and a little right.  If I'm left... it's usually a little long.  If I find the green... it's usually going to be right at the distance.  Buying a rangefinder earlier this season has really helped me to feel confident when selecting a club.

CY

This is one thing I am very happy about. If I know what I have to the green I don't really have any confusion which club to pull as I'm pretty confident in how far I hit my clubs. The only thing that I still struggle with when it comes to knowing which club to pull is while playing in the wind, which I'm working on now.

[bmartin461]

 

4. Standing over a 40 yard shot from the fairway and feeling extremely confident that I'll stick it to within about 10 feet more often than not.  Outside of a smoked drive with a little draw on it... I find there to be no greater feeling in golf than perfectly nipping a fairly long pitch and watching it scream in low, hop once and absolutely STOP on a dime.  I pose... twirl the club and strut confidently to mark the ball or tap it in.  

 

CY

This is exactly where I don't have the confidence and where all my practice time is focused at the moment.   This costs me at least 4 strokes a side.

[Lihu]

I doubt I'll ever have a 3 wood because of how my gaps are, most likely I'll end up with a 4 wood. But the reason I'm not confident with fairway woods is because I don't have a lot of experience using them. I did pretty well with the 5 wood I had recently so it's just probably a matter of finding one I like and using it.

My feeling is that only single digit players can claim to have "confidence" in the 3W. The definition of "confidence" is not constant either.

I hit my 3W anywhere from 180 to 220 yards with a 230 yard outlier then it rolls some unpredictable amount. More than likely, I'll hit it thin and carry 190 then rolls 30-50 yards and have that extremely rare GIR in 2 on a par 5.

Basically my 3H flies almost the same distance on average, but I have more "confidence" in it because the flight is generally acceptably higher and the roll is more predictable. It's shorter, but much more predictable.

I have zero confidence in the 3W for distance and direction. On the range, I get comments like "Nice shot" after pull hooking it to the "235" flag while thinking "What a terrible shot". . .

This is exactly where I don't have the confidence and where all my practice time is focused at the moment.   This costs me at least 4 strokes a side.

Sticking from 40 yards within 10 feet is pretty awesomely good. Not sure how much practice you'll need to get to that level?

[Tat14]

 

 

 

Those are pretty useful clubs. . .What clubs do you use for approaches from 150 to 170 yards?

I can reach the lower end of that with a 9 or an 8. And I still play the mid-irons; better with a push draw. I would just rather avoid them whilst I continue along with this strong lofted set of SpeedBlades - done with the whole "strongest mid-iron with an insert" marketing philosophy (OT).

[SavvySwede]

 4.0 handicap index and there is still no certainty. Any shot can be completely botched at any time, I just know it isn't going to happen too many times.

 

 

This is exactly where I don't have the confidence and where all my practice time is focused at the moment.   This costs me at least 4 strokes a side.

You're 40 yards out and in the fairway 8+ times per round? Unlikely.

[bmartin461]

 4.0 handicap index and there is still no certainty. Any shot can be completely botched at any time, I just know it isn't going to happen too many times.

 

 

You're 40 yards out and in the fairway 8+ times per round? Unlikely.

Well, it's not linear, I'm 40 out, I flub, now I'm 30 out, onto the green but still 30 feet from the pin 2 putt (hopefully), there is a 2+ opportunity right there.  On a whole, I feel this is where I need to focus, a close second would be improving my GIR %.    YMMV.

[Lihu]

 4.0 handicap index and there is still no certainty. Any shot can be completely botched at any time, I just know it isn't going to happen too many times.

Agree, but I went with the sliding definition of "certainty" in how I answered. . .

[mvmac]

I often think back to when I was first starting to get serious about golf and about how bad, I mean really bad, I was back then.  I remember going out with friends or invited by sales reps and just being awful.

But now, as a 15HC, I enjoy the following:

1. Being confident enough to play any course; desert style, mountain style, tight, wide, long, etc.
2. Knowing on the first tee I will hit a decent drive that will go at least 230, even without a warm up bucket
3. Not feeling like I have to practice putting first, before playing
4. Putting for birdies and pars
5. Confident standing in a bunker
6. Confident with a 3W in my hand in the fairway
7. Confident hitting over water
8. Relaxed playing with others, even strangers
9. Hitting GIRs
10. The challenge of golf and wanting to improve

I'm sure as I continue to drop my index, this list will change, but for me, I'm enjoying where I am on this journey currently.

So, what do you enjoy about being the index you are right now?

Currently being a 1.3 index I enjoy:

- That if I hit a couple good shots I have the potential to make birdie.
- That for most of my rounds I give myself a decent shot at a good score. For me right now, 75 or lower is a good score (depending on the course). I do a good job of keeping the ball in play, hitting greens and typically have a good stretch of holes that keeps me "in it". Then it's basically about managing my average and bad holes. Recent example with the round on Sunday at the SoCal outing, I birdied the last two holes to salvage a good round. With my round on Monday at Torrey, I was -2 for the last 6 holes. So even if I get off to a shaky start, there's a good chance I'm "due" for a good stretch and can turn it around.
- I enjoy getting 1 shot 

BTW I find this to be an interesting topic. I've never thought about it in terms of what I "enjoy" about being a 1. As golfers we spend a lot of time thinking about how to get better or what we do wrong,  nice to take a different approach.

 4.0 handicap index and there is still no certainty. Any shot can be completely botched at any time, I just know it isn't going to happen too many times.

Yeah, same here.

[saevel25]

 

BTW I find this to be an interesting topic. I've never thought about it in terms of what I "enjoy" about being a 1. As golfers we spend a lot of time thinking about how to get better or what we do wrong,  nice to take a different approach.

I think that kinda is set in my mentality a bit. I remember a time when I would have a round where I hit no greens and then some days I would hit 5. Now being in the mid singe digit I pretty much know I should at least get 4-5 GIR. 

I could almost say that what I expect to should happen now is what I enjoy because it's not what my expectations were from before when I was a higher handicap. I never really attributed it to enjoying it. I've always just enjoyed the game, the process of getting better. 

I would say I enjoy putting for more birdies and pars over bogeys. I enjoy being able to match my shot to the vision in my head. I enjoy hitting my target areas better than before. I enjoy that a mid 80's score is struggling over it being what was normal. 

Mostly I think I enjoy that I can still improve a lot more from where I am at. 

[Lihu]

Well, it's not linear, I'm 40 out, I flub, now I'm 30 out, onto the green but still 30 feet from the pin 2 putt (hopefully), there is a 2+ opportunity right there.  On a whole, I feel this is where I need to focus, a close second would be improving my GIR %.    YMMV.

 

According to a book I've been reading it states that you should focus on GIR and nGIR as a close second. Pitch shots would be down a few rungs on the priority ladder.

[colin007]

i enjoy playing, but confidence-wise?  lol.  dont have it.  i am about a 10 hncp, and after a warm up bucket and playing a full round, i have no idea which way my driver is gonna go on the tee shot on 18.  lol...i dont have a shot pattern, for the most part.  biggest detriment to my game.

 

oh, and i can hit an 8 iron 6 inches fat even when its teed up for a par 3.  at any time. because i suck.

[Pretzel]

With my current index of 1.0 I enjoy:

- Being able to keep up with most any golfer out there and not feeling like I am dragging someone down (I don't feel like higher handicaps drag me down, but I used to worry I dragged others down)

- Being able to play the back tees on most any course I play

- Being able to experience the thrill of an eagle putt, of any distance, in many of the rounds I play (the excitement doesn't wear off)

- Being able to play pretty irons like the s55 without feeling like I'm cheating myself out of forgiveness I could take advantage of. 

[rkim291968]

Come to think of it, I really don't like being a 16+ handicap.   I'd rather be a 6 handicap.   No offense to the OP and his thread.  But it s**ks to be a bogey golfer.  

I love playing golf.  Love it.  Being a bogey golfer?  Hate it.

[rkim291968]

Come to think of it, I really don't like being a 16+ handicap.   I'd rather be a 6 handicap.   No offense to the OP and his thread.  But it s**ks to be a bogey golfer.  

I love playing golf.  Love it.  Being a bogey golfer?  Hate it.