how long to get to scratch?

[acantrell]

I'm in the same boat. I started playing about 8 months ago and I progressed really quickly until now where I've been stuck at around a 10 for the last couple months. Im still trying to break 80. My low round is an 80 on the dot, but normally about 82-85. First and foremost, don't get frustrated, and second, if you can't afford lessons (like myself) then do your research. There's a lot of good stuff out there. For instance The Golf Channel has a lot of video tips on their website. Another good thing is to just watch a lot of golf and really take notice of what the pros do on what could be called "standard " shots (Drives, Irons from the Fairway, etc.) b/c their fundamentals are such that it would be hard for anyone to go wrong w/ trying to emulate and understand how their bodies are moving in the swing. Finally, I think it helps to be a bit obsessed with getting better. I often find that no matter how frustrated I get or how much I want to quit during a bad round, when I leave I want to go and play again and figure out what I'm doing wrong just as much. Good luck

[Big_M]

I'm in the same boat. I started playing about 8 months ago and I progressed really quickly until now where I've been stuck at around a 10 for the last couple months. Im still trying to break 80. My low round is an 80 on the dot, but normally about 82-85. First and foremost, don't get frustrated, and second, if you can't afford lessons (like myself) then do your research. There's a lot of good stuff out there. For instance The Golf Channel has a lot of video tips on their website. Another good thing is to just watch a lot of golf and really take notice of what the pros do on what could be called "standard " shots (Drives, Irons from the Fairway, etc.) b/c their fundamentals are such that it would be hard for anyone to go wrong w/ trying to emulate and understand how their bodies are moving in the swing. Finally, I think it helps to be a bit obsessed with getting better. I often find that no matter how frustrated I get or how much I want to quit during a bad round, when I leave I want to go and play again and figure out what I'm doing wrong just as much. Good luck

How do you manage a 10 handicap w/o breaking 80? I broke 80 when I was getting to about 14-15, and now I break it every 10 rounds or so. -just curious The first time I did it I fired a 77, which is still my low, it was probably tied for the best feeling in golf along with my first eagle. Now I just want to have a round of par and get my first ace.

[acantrell]

I wonder that myself. I normally have a couple blow up holes and mostly pars w/ no more than 2 birdies per round if that. I think my GIR's keep my round going, but they usually lead to two putts b/c they're simply GIR's, but not real close to the hole. When I look back at my rounds, I can always find those few shots that keep me from breaking 80, but they aren't any one part about my game, which makes it hard to really pinpoint a distinct area to work on. The only thing I can pinpoint is my driving. It's definitely the worst part of my game. Idk what it is, but I can't seem to get it under control.

[Big_M]

I don't think 1-2 birdies per round is too bad for our handicap (10), but in order to get into the mid-low singles that will definately have to go up a bit. My GIR's aren't that great, only about 30-40%, with the occaisional round with more. So, I guess I need to work on ball striking...

Hey, think of it this way, if you drive the ball poorly, but still do good in GIR's then you must hit damned good recovery shots... which is good.

[marpr]

i was just woundering if anyone has any goals, like getting to scratch handicap before a certain age. i here about people who have played all there lives and never improve, yet other people getting to scratch in about 3 years so surely if you put the time and effort in, this can be achieved. i am 26 and have been playing golf for 6 months, and although off 26, i can now shoot low 80s thanks to a swing change. i practice way more than most and my goal for next season is to get down to at least 12, and hopefully get to scratch in about 5 years.

Patience and practice.

The more your on the course, the better you become. as tiger says "there isn't a round, where i dont pull myself up on at least a dozen ways to improve"

[donkba]

played a few rounds over winter and my scores were 84,86,81. last week i had an all time low round of 75 (5 over) with 1 over front 9 (2 birdies) and 4 over back 9. sadly though, they were not in competition so will have no effect on my handicap, but things are looking good

[JaY_B]

lol 20 shots under your handicap, awsome :)

[artfulgolfer]

played a few rounds over winter and my scores were 84,86,81. last week i had an all time low round of 75 (5 over) with 1 over front 9 (2 birdies) and 4 over back 9. sadly though, they were not in competition so will have no effect on my handicap, but things are looking good

Gotta ask... how does a 20+ handicapper shoot a 75? And why doesn't a non-tournament round NOT affect your handicap? I'm a 4 and rarely shoot a 75!

[Shindig]

played a few rounds over winter and my scores were 84,86,81. last week i had an all time low round of 75 (5 over) with 1 over front 9 (2 birdies) and 4 over back 9. sadly though, they were not in competition so will have no effect on my handicap, but things are looking good

Why aren't these affecting your handicap? Aren't you supposed to post every score?

[Big_M]

played a few rounds over winter and my scores were 84,86,81. last week i had an all time low round of 75 (5 over) with 1 over front 9 (2 birdies) and 4 over back 9. sadly though, they were not in competition so will have no effect on my handicap, but things are looking good

75... Wow... nice

But, same question... how does this not affect handicap, USGA says you MUST post every score.

[JonnyGolf]

75... Wow... nice

Everyone is failing to realize that he is from the UK where the R&A; only recognizes tournament scores for handicap.

But, that said, I'm not sure how a 25hdcp shoots a 75. jk

[Shindig]

Everyone is failing to realize that he is from the UK where the R&A; only recognizes tournament scores for handicap.

Well, if you can only post tournament scores, it's easy to do so. "Easy" being the relative ease of being a 25-handicap at one point and eventually shooting a 75.

Here's how: Suppose I played in a few tournaments this summer (I didn't. Let's just pretend). I'd have a handicap of 25. Now I don't play in a tournament for a while, but I continue to practice and play full rounds. Since they aren't tournament rounds, they don't affect my handicap. Eventually, a few years down the line, I get my handicap down to the single digits. Then I go play in another tournament. Now, this "25 handicapper" can reasonably shoot a 75 in a tournament, especially if the tournament is one of the charity ones with purchasable mulligans and auto-conceded putts. I'm not saying that's how he did it. I'm just saying that's how it could be done.

[mikelz]

I don't know who started this but the title bugs me.

"How long to get to scratch?"
I don't think there's a timeline.
Scratch golfers are the chosen few.

Two cents for free.

[reid]

How long to get to scratch and how much harder is it to get to a 2 vs to go beyond that to say a +2? Here is what happened to me for what its worth.
I played as a kid and quit with a 2 handicap at age 15. Then I started again at age 46 and could play to a 3 from the start. (the new equipment and my much stronger body helped me immensely because when I was a skinny 15 year old, I couldn't reach the long par-4's in two ). I got to scratch in about two months. Then I improved steadily for a year and got to a +2.2 based on scores I shot in tournaments on the tours in Asia. Its harder to get much lower than that if you are not a long hitter because you can't reach (I couldn't, anyway) the par-5's in two shots. By the way the par 5's are all long on the pro tours. I couldn't reach ANY of them in a year of playing!) If you have a sloppy short game then maybe you can find a few strokes there but my short game was what was getting me to a +2 already so that wasn't the answer for me.
This is why it is so hard to improve when you get down to a low handicap. There just aren't many strokes left on the course! Remember the long hitters on tour reach the par 5's in two so they're playing a "par 68" course. In other words they are playing "even par" too.
I decided that to get better from there, I was going to have to do two things:
One: hit the ball farther.
Two: stop leaving my putts short
So I went into the gym a month ago. I am now hitting the ball 285 off the tee and I can get on the par 5's in two. And I FORCED myself to get my putts to the hole. (I started playing less break and hitting them firmer).
I have gotten my handicap down to +4.1 in my latest calculation. It just went to a better plateau because my birdies went from 2 per round to more than 4 on average. I also think this is why we make progress in golf in plateaus- because all of a sudden something works that helps us make (in my case) 4's on the par fives instead of 5's.

[cbe_golfer]

How long to get to scratch and how much harder is it to get to a 2 vs to go beyond that to say a +2? Here is what happened to me for what its worth.

Welcome back!. Thanks for sharing your stories and glad that you are playing even better now.

[Backspin]

Where you live has a big impact on how good you can get. I live in Minnesota, I'm a 5 handicap. But I start the season in April not having played in 4-5 months so the game isn't in shape.
I would say the first month I am a 7 handicap, then summer comes and I improve. By fall I'm a solid 2-3, averaging to a 5.

I think If I lived in the south I would get to scratch. Highly doubt I could do it in the northern climate.

[donkba]

try living in the uk. i too start the season in april, with it finishing in november and the weather is shit. raining and gale force winds more often than not, i think this june had the highest rainfall ever in the uk for that month, or something like that. if i were in america, i would say that i could, on a similar length course to the one i play on, knock off at least 5 strokes off (im an 18 handicap)

[reid]

Thank you cbe_golfer. I'm glad to be back. I've met some fine people at this site.
Donkba and Backspin: Don't get discouraged. Work on the "non outdoors" part of your game. Herron and Lehman are from Minnesota.
Hey I got invited onto the Golf Channel! I'll let you guys know some dates when I get them.