Biggest improvement in your game this year

[Rainmaker]

No question - my full swing.  I worked primarily (almost exclusively) on my full swing in 2015.  At the start of 2015, I was on the path to improvement, but still slicing a bit and still struggling to get the clubface square at impact.  My biggest misses were fat shots, slices and general "flubs". 

This year, I learned to square the clubface pretty much all the time.  I improved my swing plane tremendously . .I was very under plane in January . .I am only slightly under-plane now . .and only at the top of the backswing . .and, at least in some part, because I'm fat, lol. 

I now feel like I "know I'm trying to do" . .ie . .I understand my golf swing.  I'm not trying to figure it out . .I'm just trying to get better at it. 

My distances have improved - driver went from around 200 to around 260.  Trajectories with my iron shots are much higher and much more consistent.  I used to hit a lot of line drives with my short irons.  My misses now are thins and tops and the occasional massive pull . .thankfully it's mostly thins. 

And I did it all using this one weird trick! 

Spoiler

Take lessons and practice every day for 3 years

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Rainmaker

[Lefty-Golfer]

Putting for sure, a club pro on a winter golf trip showed me a couple things on my grip and how to modify it, for the first 10 or 15 rounds my putting got worse...then it clicked. my index dropped 2.6 strokes over the next 2 months and has stayed within a .5 of my low for the rest of the season...I will be buying him a drink when I see him again this winter!!

The crazy thing is I had played with him the day before and he never said a word, the following day on the putting green he wandered up to me, showed me 3 things and said commit to that for a couple months...and wandered away. the whole exchange was about 2 minutes!!

[uitar9]

I just wanted less aggravation-noticed my miss hits are very club specific. Took the f------ out of my bag.

Outside of my driver, longest clubs are a 24 and 27 degree hybrid. Replaced my 5 iron and fairway wood. I notice I'm almost making half the greens in regulation

Thats saved 2 or 3 shots a round.

The other thing was to change the pressure I put on myself. Bogey golf is my new par.

Shot my rounds under 100 then ever before and managed 5 under 90 

[Pretzel]

On 12/2/2015, 6:37:41, 9wood said:

What is the biggest improvement, if any that you have noticed in your game this year?

My biggest improvement this year has come from my tee shots and ballstriking.

I used to be somewhat nervous off the tee on many holes since I lacked consistency off the tee. I have since been able to turn my usual "big miss" of a blocked push-fade into a shot that at least goes only somewhat right of where I aimed, and I have reduced the frequency of its occurrence greatly. It gives me a lot of confidence when I can stand on the teebox and know that the ball will find the fairway more frequently than the rough (while also progressing further towards the hole than it used to), which is something I couldn't say previously.

In terms of ballstriking, my GIR has improved considerably compared to how I played in the past. I had 2-3 rounds this year where I hit 17 GIR (though I never hit 18), and I averaged between 12 and 13 GIR per round. In the past I would consider myself fairly lucky to make a birdie since my approach shots would not be all that close to the hole, but I was able to more frequently hit approach shots within 20 feet, which is my goal since the PGA tour average from 20' is about 15% giving me a reasonable chance (~1 in 6 or 7) of making birdie provided I putt proficiently. I obviously did not do perfectly in this endeavor, as my scoring average hovered around a 74 for this summer, but it was an improvement from last year when I would rarely make any birdies to offset my short-game gaffs. 

 

[Jaymancds]

Since this is my first year in golf, I havent had any notes to improve on, but I did notice improvements in my game.  My putting has become much better and more consistent than what it was at the beginning.  If not just 1 put I end up having a really close 2nd.  Also, my driving has gotten better aswell.  I started with a HUGE slice and a ton of distance.  After some help from a friend I had to cut a little distance for a while to get it straightened out.  Back to around 250-280 yards off the tee.  My chipping has gotten better here recently as well.

 

Something that isnt necessarily part of my game is my mental state throughout a round.  I can stay a lot calmer than I was at the beginning.  This has helped take somewhere between 20 and 30 shots off of my card from the beginning of april.  

[the fish]

My biggest improvement this year has been my driver.  When I started, my drives were only going 200-210 with a bad slice.  My hybrid would travel the same distance with a much straighter flight, so I didn't carry a driver for a number of months this year.  I struggled with rounds where I wasn't hitting my hybrid well, which left me with no good option off the tee, and some ugly scores to match.  I knew that I could not continue in this fashion, so I forced myself to learn to hit driver.  After much practice, I am currently averaging 240 yards on my drives (long of 270), according to Game Golf.  I have also minimized my slice with this club--if the ball is heading right it is more of a push than a slice.  Having confidence on the tee box has been huge for me.

[JBailey]

Getting proper club fit was a great improvement this year.  After starting up again after a 20 years not playing, I still couldn't break 100 with my old clubs.  I bought lighter graphite clubs with regular shafts instead of stiff and I haven't been over 100 since.  Most rounds are in the 80 and I even have a few high 70's.

I know that sounds like unlikely improvement in one year, however, before my back injury 23 years ago I was a 5 handicap.  So, I had some of the background for fast improvement.

Later,

John

[Marty2019]

My biggest improvement was chipping and putting, mostly chipping.   Better chipping has kept me from making those big scores, double and triple bogeys.   Now that I chip a lot better, I can almost always make a bogey at worst.   I think improved chipping has taken about 10 strokes off my score.   Double or triple bogey can put you in such a bad frame of mind for the next hole it can carry over.  Now, no matter where I am, no matter how bad a shot I hit, I can always say to myself, there's still a chance to get up and down.  And if you do get up and down, if you save a par, you go to the next hole in a great frame of mind, ready to hit a good shot.  

People with 10 to 15 handicap should realize, they are missing a lot of greens in regulation, so they will wind up chipping on most holes.   But no one seems to practice it. 

 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Marty2019
add something

[HRichards_Golf]

My biggest improvement this year was by far my mental approach throughout my rounds. I was thinking this morning about how Tiger called Spieth a "more athletic Jim Furyk" this past week at the Hero in Albany. Both Spieth and Furyk are constantly praised by viewers, announcers, swing coaches, and most importantly fellow tour players for their ability to stay within themselves and playing to their strengths. They never try to overpower a certain course, hole, or shot, but instead they put themselves in position where they know statistically they have the best chance of making birdie. 

 

The cool thing about the #1 player in the world having this approach is that it can be so useful for amateurs to do the same. Sure, it was awesome seeing Tiger pull off feat after amazing feat by doing things most humans could only dream of, but watching Spieth play truly has influenced by own game for the better. I now rarely try to pull off the low-percentage shot or pull out the big dog off the tee when I really don't need it. Playing to your strengths and putting yourself in the most comfortable positions possible will most certainly shave shots off the scorecard.

[mcanadiens]

Lots of ups and downs through the year. 

Safe to say that my short and mid irons have probably been the biggest improvement. Today, I feel confident hitting 7I through PW and have had some very decent shots with the 5I and 6I to boot. I've never been long, but if I'm inside 150 yards, a GIR is a distinct possibility now.

A mid-season change in driver seemed to really help off the tee. I'm not really sure how much credit to give myself, but I've definitely hit more fairways over the last three or four months.

Oddly, my ability to hit fairway woods (and the 3W in particular) has gone right in the dumper. 

[Triggers]

On 12/3/2015 at 3:38 AM, SpeedyClaxton said:

Being my first year golfing I played my first 8+ rounds teeing off with my 5 iron to avoid a savage slice I was born with.... After plenty of range time I started hitting way more fairways off the box, stopped trying to murder the ball,  and am now averaging about a 260-270 yard straight arrow off the box. However some drives still get away from me I am extremely excited to see how my game improves in 2016

Being my first year golfing I played my first 8+ rounds teeing off with my 5 iron to avoid a savage slice I was born with.... After plenty of range time with the driver I  started hitting way more fairways off the box, stopped trying to murder the ball,  and am now averaging about a 260-270 yard straight arrow off the box. However some drives still get away from me I am extremely excited to see how my game improves in 2016

Pretty much in the same boat! I played most of this year with a 3/4 iron off the tee in fear of my driver. The upside to this is that it's really given me a lot of confidence in my long irons

Now that I'm starting to get the driver down, it's slowly coming together :)

[bm85]

My swing improvements has had the most positive impact on my scoring. The only thing I felt like I got pretty good at though is putting, and the best part is it didn't take too much effort.

[garush34]

General swing for me. Start of the year I was inconsistent, struggling hitting it left and right at times. Had a couple of lessons and things turned around for me. Had my best front 9 in a comp of 38, unfortunately I followed that up with a 55. But I also got to the point where I know I can play golf, so I can take the positive there.

Still a lot of work to do. Currently working on shortening the back swing. Proving to be harder than I was hoping, just when I think I have it, I take a video and it is nowhere where I thought I was. But when I get there I know it will be money.

[dave s]

Hitting par-3 greens in regulation.  Charted my par-3 scoring for two seasons. Atrocious.  All because I wasn't hitting greens.  Went to range regularly and spent time hitting everything from 4- and 5-hybrids down to 9-irons off really short tees to different distances. Result:  Overall better ball-striking, direction, distance control, consistency. 

Payed off greatly last season by reducing my par-3 scoring by just over 1 stroke per hole.  That's easily a 4-stroke improvement over an 18-hole round.

Next season it will be working on better consistency from fairway on long shots and approach shots from 150 yards and closer.

Dave

[dak4n6]

i am always improving. At the end of this summer, for the first time in 30 yrs, I developed chipping shanks. One full month, and the club championship was right in the middle. I have since 'improved' in that I'm back to chipping normally. Earlier I had gone through a period where my drives were either a pull draw or weak slap right. Obviously an OTT move. I worked on it and I 'improved' back to normal.

At 55, I just try to keep things from slipping too much. I don't have the time to put in the work to get back down to my hc when I was playing a lot in leagues, so for me improving is maintaining status quo.

[deadon500]

Playing smart and not always going at the pin - still close to 2 putt. And  not going for greens in 2 on par 5s when I think better not to do that .  a lot more pars now and more birdies too.

[PJCdude]

This has been my second season of taking golf seriously and I feel like I improved greatly overall. At this time last year, I was a 29.6 and now I am a 23.8. My biggest improvement was my iron game and I owe a lot of it to my My Swing videos on this site. I started to actually hit greens and also have the ability to make sure that if I miss, it's in a good spot.

 

Thanks guys!

[Garethw]

This is also my 2nd full year playing. Short game and putting. 50 yards and in I am confident of getting within 15 foot of the pin (unless its from a bunker). Driving I am hitting more fairways. For the coming year its hitting more GIR's which is where I am losing strokes. I can get it close but not close enough, according to Game Golf only 28% of shots outside 100 yards are on the green. I was around a 25 handicap at the start of this year, that is now at 17.