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How to go from a 6 handicap to a scratch?


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Posted

Just wondering if any scratch players have any input?

When I was around 15 years old, I took my handicap from 12 to 6 and I have been hovering around that mark ever since. I have been as low as a 4 (albeit briefly) and as high as a 9, but generally I play to a 6 or 7. No matter how much or how little I practice, I seem to stay around the same. Lots of high 70's - low 80's kinda thing with the odd round in the low 70's and occasionally an 86 or something. What did you guys do to really elevate your game to the next level? I know the obvious answer is "practice more", but I have done that (and practiced effectively) yet still have trouble shaving those last few strokes off my game. Please be specific about what you did personally to get to where you are! Thanks guys!

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Posted (edited)

You have to find out what your weaknesses are and then you have to get rid of them (analyse your rounds). I have been at ~3 for a very long time. I felt my game got better and better, but my scores didn't. The reason was that my ball striking was extremely good, yet I was unable to sink any putts. I remember one round, where I hit 17 greens and shot +4 (4 3-putts, no birdies). So basically, my putting was holding me back. I started to work on it more, and - more importantly - I started to work on it with a plan. Now that's important. Don't just hit balls (or putts) during practice, but you have to know how to practice correctly. Having changed my practice routines, I got from 3 to 1 in one year and then down my current +0.2, which is my personal best so far

 

And you have to keep in mind, getting better at golf is an exponential task. It's a lot easier to get to 3 or 4 than to get from 4 to scratch. From there getting to +2 is even harder.

Edited by disaster
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Posted

There was a guy handicap 3 aiming for a plus handicap.  Threadname was Pete's plan or somethig like that. Nickname @Nosevi

Lots of interesting stuff about getting better.

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Posted
  On 5/11/2016 at 8:56 AM, dove694 said:

 I know the obvious answer is "practice more", but I have done that (and practiced effectively) yet still have trouble shaving those last few strokes off my game. Please be specific about what you did personally to get to where you are! Thanks guys!

Expand  

I would buy Lowest Score Wins, http://lowestscorewins.com/buy. Lots of great information. The section on game planning is worth the price of the book. It's one the best golf books out there.

Do you keep stats?

Driving
How far do you hit it?
How often do you end up OB or in a Bunker?
Approach:
How many GIR do you get?
How many near-GIR (w/ in 20 yards of the green with a simple short game shot) do you get?
Short game:
What is your scrambling percent from around the green?
Do you leave yourself a lot of extra short game shots?  
Putting:
What % of putts do you make from the following?
3-5 ft
5-10 ft
10-15 ft
How good is your lag putting from outside 25 ft?

These are areas that primarily drive low scoring.

1. Keep the ball inside the ropes (no OB or hazards) and out of bunkers with your tee shots. Most of the time rough is not an issue.
2. Hit a lot more GIR. You probably need 10+ GIR a round depending on your short game.
3. If you don't hit a lot of GIR then keep the ball near the green and in a good spot. Leave yourself easy short game shots.
4. Know that you are going to hitting most of your putts from outside of 25 feet (your approach shots proximity) and inside of 15 feet (your short game shots proximity) and practice these putts.

 Being a 6.1 your swing is probably pretty good to begin with. There might be 1 or 2 things that are causing slight inconsistencies. Good instruction might be the key for you to take that next step.

With out knowing the stats it would be impossible to tell where you are struggling at.

 


 

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Posted

@Joe Guastella You need to check out this thread. LSW is the key to helping you shoot better scores and get out of the high 70's low 80's rut.

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Kyle Paulhus

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Posted

I know you said you practice effectively, but I thought I was too until I took note of what I was doing at the range and chipping/putting greens. 

What does your typical range session consist of?  do you always give yourself a nice lie, or do you practice crappy ones too so when you get those on the course your ready for them?

What does your chipping green session consist of?  What are your goals when you go there?

Same with putting?

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Posted

@dove694, people asked you questions, but you haven't been back to your own thread to answer them? So suffice to say you won't become a scratch golfer if you don't even have the discipline to answer questions from people trying to help you.

Hope all is well.

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Posted

@iacas i was just waiting to see what people had to say and play a few rounds to be able to give some feedback. 

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Posted

I have played 3 rounds in the last three days at my home course in the hopes of being able to answer some of these questions. i appreciate all the feedback btw, so thank you guys first and foremost. i went out of my way to organize games with players that are 6 handicaps or better so I could have a good benchmark as to how i stack up. here's what I discovered:

05/11/16: I shot 82 and felt I didn't do anything particularly well. I hit 6 fairways, 7 greens and burned a lot of edges with the flatstick. I had two double bogeys on par 5's which really hurts the score. looking back on my yearly statistics for the sake of this thread, I have played the par 5's quite poorly of late - usually playing them between +1 and +3 and today was worse (I averaged 6.0 on the par 5's and missed 3 of 4 fairways and two of which were bad misses), so I now know that is something I need to work on. Placement of the second shot seems to be where I lose my strokes, and certainly was on this day as I plunked two 3-wood approaches into the trees and ended up making 7 both times. 33 putts today.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In
Yardage 516 167 379 446 516 149 375 397 261 3206 352 359 342 169 478 381 489 170 360 3100
Par 5 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 36 4 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 36
Score 5 4 5 4 7 3 4 5 4 41 4 4 5 4 5 4 7 3 5 41
 

 

05/12/16: I shot 79 and actually felt like I played decent. hit 8 fairways and 9 greens but the short game was less sharp. i got up and down out of the bunker 1/4 times today, but all of the shots were reasonable (within 15 feet). my putter failed me today as I had 34 putts. i probably averaged 240 yards with the driver. again I played the par 5's +1, and didn't really have any legitimate chances at birdies. second shots were kept in play, but i shanked a pitch shot that lead to the bogey.  This was my second consecutive round without a birdie, so proximity to the hole with my short irons has also become apparently suspect.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In
Yardage 516 167 379 446 516 149 375 397 261 3206 352 359 342 169 478 381 489 170 360 3100
Par 5 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 36 4 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 36
Score 5 3 4 5 5 3 4 5 4 38 5 4 4 5 6 4 5 3 5 41

 


05/14/16: I played well today. I shot 74 with a 35 (-1) on the back nine, so I was pleased. The rest of my group was 68, 74 and 76 so I was in good company and I am sure that elevated my game. This was a good example of where I would like my game to be on a consistent basis. I hit 10 fairways today, and only once was in deep trouble off the tee. I also hit twelve greens today (giving myself the benefit of the doubt and counting two that were just barely on the fringe) so my ball striking was generally much better. I was also hitting it a bit further with the driver today, and was able to negotiate my way around the course decently. I didn't find a greenside bunker all day. I also was -1 on the par 5's, which was a very welcomed change from the way it has been in the last several weeks. I had 32 putts today, but felt my lag putting was quite good.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In
Yardage 516 167 379 446 516 149 375 397 261 3206 352 359 342 169 478 381 489 170 360 3100
Par 5 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 36 4 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 36
Score 5 3 4 5 5 3 5 5 4 39 5 4 3 3 5 4 4 3 4 35

 

Sorry if my observations weren't overly specific. I basically just tracked my fairways, greens in regulation and putts and took note of things that I felt worked well and things that needed improvement in that particular round. I don't have a GPS and didn't want to slow things down by getting too detail oriented out there. But it certainly did me some good to reflect on the way I was playing. As I suspected, ball striking is a weak link - but it never really occurred to me as to why I was playing the par 5's so poorly until I checked in and realized that I have to pay particular attention to my first and second shots. Getting it in play and then keeping it in play has been problematic. Since I have played my home course hundreds of times, it has become kinda automatic: Driver, 3 wood all the time on all of them. This also shows poor course management skills and something I can improve on in order to take my game to the next level. Taking the time to think things through is something I will be cautious of, because sinking into autopilot is easy to do when you know the course inside and out. Next time out, maybe I will try laying up with a 5 iron in order to keep it between the trees and approaching the green with a full wedge and try to make birdie that way. I will also have a good session on the putting green with the 6-10 foot putts and try and hole more of them as this wasn't amazing either.

Anyway, thanks again guys. I appreciate your feedback and your suggestions!

 

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Posted

My driving range sessions don't vary too much but I try and get to the range at least twice a week, although I play 18 holes almost every day (33 rounds since March 30). The course I am a member at has mats, so I am not able to give myself different lies to practice. Occasionally I go out in the evenings on the course by myself and play a few holes and this is the time I try and get creative. I will typically play 2 balls and hit several shots from each location I put myself in order to get the feel for different lies and different types of shots. My chipping sessions are much the same. Bring a bag of balls and drop them in different locations around the chipping green and in the bunker to practice different lies and trajectories. I have my trusty 56 degree wedge that I do almost all of my chipping with (always have) so I am pretty adept at maneuvering it in different situations. It is what feels most comfortable so I don't veer too far from that. I once heard G Mac say that this is how he practices and I enjoy doing it this way. Do you have any drills you like to use? My putting routine before I play is a little more specific. I begin with surrounding a hole with 4 balls on each side 5 feet away and trying to make all of them twice. Then I move back to 10 feet and try and do the same thing. Then I take two balls and try and hit two "decent" putts in a row (usually to within tap in range) from 20 feet, 30 feet and 40 feet. By this point, I feel like I should have the speed down and my stroke feeling primed and ready for the course. 

@Grinde6

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Posted

@saevel25

Thank you so much for your detailed feedback! I will definitely check out that book you recommended. 

I felt like I had a good day today and this was the first day I hit over 10 greens in a few weeks, so that was definitely a very valid point. Actually, all your keys to scoring are very valid and I have printed them out to keep by my bed and look them over on a frequent basis. you really did hit the nail on the head with all of those things! it has also been a while since I have worked with a reliable coach (since I played on my college team) so that is definitely something I should seek out. I think at this point, for practice time to be as valuable as possible, finding an instructor with a good eye is a great idea. i feel my game is at a decent place right now, so having an outside perspective would definitely be a good thing to iron out the little things that lead to inconsistencies. thanks again! you are a good guy and I appreciate the time you took to outline those things for me.

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Posted
  On 5/11/2016 at 9:01 AM, disaster said:

And you have to keep in mind, getting better at golf is an exponential task. It's a lot easier to get to 3 or 4 than to get from 4 to scratch. From there getting to +2 is even harder.

Expand  

I was just thinking about what you said today during my round.

One of my frequent playing partners is a former high school golf team coach (a solid 2 or 3 handicap) and I feel his game is a good benchmark for me. He doesn't hit it overly far, but he hits it solid and generally straight and his short game is sharp. He makes his mistakes, but his mentality is really good and he is deadly consistent. Within the 72-76 range almost every time out. I don't have the length, the mental toughness or the natural skill that my friends who are scratch players have. I don't know if these things they possess are something I can attain through practice to be honest. They just have that incredible ability and ease and sense for the game ingrained in them. Maybe it is a more realistic goal to get my index to a 1.9 (not 2.0 haha) as opposed to a 0. I don't know... it's definitely something that has been on my mind. What are your thoughts?

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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
  On 5/11/2016 at 12:35 PM, saevel25 said:

Driving

How far do you hit it?
How often do you end up OB or in a Bunker?

Expand  

I think this is relatively critical to the types of answers you will get?

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Posted
  On 5/15/2016 at 8:15 AM, dove694 said:

Maybe it is a more realistic goal to get my index to a 1.9 (not 2.0 haha) as opposed to a 0. I don't know... it's definitely something that has been on my mind. What are your thoughts?

Expand  

You won't get to scratch until after you get to 2 (or 1.9 if you prefer).  Heck, its not easy to go from 4.6 to 3.6, you could set your first goal there.  Its not like you're going to stop working at golf once you've achieved whatever goal you've set. keep making a new goal once you've achieved the current goal.

And like most of the others have said, take good stock of your strengths and weaknesses.  Find good instruction, work on improving the weaknesses.  

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Dave

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Posted
  On 5/15/2016 at 8:15 AM, dove694 said:

I was just thinking about what you said today during my round.

One of my frequent playing partners is a former high school golf team coach (a solid 2 or 3 handicap) and I feel his game is a good benchmark for me. He doesn't hit it overly far, but he hits it solid and generally straight and his short game is sharp. He makes his mistakes, but his mentality is really good and he is deadly consistent. Within the 72-76 range almost every time out. I don't have the length, the mental toughness or the natural skill that my friends who are scratch players have. I don't know if these things they possess are something I can attain through practice to be honest. They just have that incredible ability and ease and sense for the game ingrained in them. Maybe it is a more realistic goal to get my index to a 1.9 (not 2.0 haha) as opposed to a 0. I don't know... it's definitely something that has been on my mind. What are your thoughts?

Expand  

I have a couple of thoughts.  I think that you might be thinking too "micro" with your analyses of your rounds.  By and large, it's your full swing, or your "long game" that is going to get you down those last few strokes and that is where most of your practice time should be devoted.  Would you rather up your sand save percentage from 1/4 to 2/4 or would you rather hit more greens and turn your sand save percentage from 1/4 to 1/3 or 1/2, or, (heck, who cares), even 0/2?  Same think with putting.  I played a good round the other day and it would have been even better without one stupid three putt and a couple of other birdie putts in the heart but left short.  But it's not my putting that needs the work, I just need to get closer to the hole on my approaches.

I think you kind of know this already, based on some of your posts, but I just wanted to stress it.  I don't think you want to chase whatever particular part of the game caused your latest bad round, because you can almost always attribute it to just "your swing."  Tighten up everything, but concentrate mostly on the full swing.

All that said, I'm in your same position with a similar handicap and I'm not scratch yet ... so take it for what its worth. :-P

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Posted

I didn't really even think about this until just now, but I played on Monday with a long-time friend who plays to scratch.  He doesn't hit the ball a lot longer than I do, no higher, he's not "impressive" in any way, except one.  He very rarely misses, and even then misses into playable spots.  He draws nearly every shot, doesn't fool with a fade.  He looks like every shot is hit with the same level of effort, the same tempo.  His short game is solid, so is his putting.  He's simply better than I am, in every facet of the game.

So in the context of this thread, if I'm to drop 5 strokes off my index, how do I do it?  I substantially improve my consistency, most with the full swing.  Yeah, my short game and putting need to be more consistent too, but the biggest difference between my friend and me is the consistency of the full shots.  He hits more fairways, he hits fewer off center drives that lose distance, he takes fewer penalties for wayward shots, he hits more greens, and hits closer to the hole more often.  This kind of improvement on my part would almost certainly require regular instruction and practice, I'm not good enough to diagnose and correct my swing faults.  And I'll be honest with myself, I'm probably not going to dedicate the time and effort, so I'm going to be happy playing with the game that I have.

 

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Dave

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Posted
  On 6/1/2016 at 4:52 PM, DaveP043 said:

I didn't really even think about this until just now, but I played on Monday with a long-time friend who plays to scratch.  He doesn't hit the ball a lot longer than I do, no higher, he's not "impressive" in any way, except one.  He very rarely misses, and even then misses into playable spots.  He draws nearly every shot, doesn't fool with a fade.  He looks like every shot is hit with the same level of effort, the same tempo.  His short game is solid, so is his putting.  He's simply better than I am, in every facet of the game.

So in the context of this thread, if I'm to drop 5 strokes off my index, how do I do it?  I substantially improve my consistency, most with the full swing.  Yeah, my short game and putting need to be more consistent too, but the biggest difference between my friend and me is the consistency of the full shots.  He hits more fairways, he hits fewer off center drives that lose distance, he takes fewer penalties for wayward shots, he hits more greens, and hits closer to the hole more often.  This kind of improvement on my part would almost certainly require regular instruction and practice, I'm not good enough to diagnose and correct my swing faults.  And I'll be honest with myself, I'm probably not going to dedicate the time and effort, so I'm going to be happy playing with the game that I have.

 

Expand  

I'm in a similar boat to @DaveP043, I played 9 holes last night with one of the top golfers at the club, and he might be a yard or two farther than me off the tee.  But I hit 5 greens and missed three birdie putts around 10 feet (two burned the edge), he hit 7 greens and made two birdies from inside of 6 feet and his two misses were just off the green.  He shot 34 (should've been 33; he missed a 3 foot par putt) and I shot 39.   And as Dave mentioned, his has a low power fade, he only missed one fairway and he almost never hits a draw.  I hit one bad drive and got one really bad lie in a sand trap.  Each cost me a stroke and he was in the fairway on both.  That's my issue, I just need to get away from the one or two bad shots and make a couple more putts.

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Posted

When I was a scratch, I played a round with a Nationwide Tour player. When we were done I asked him what do I need to work on? His reply was that I hit the ball just as far as him and hit lots of good shots, I just need to get better at getting the ball in the hole. Meaning I needed to take advantage of scoring situations. Over the years I have watched my index creep up due to not playing and practicing consistently. The biggest thing I am doing is not taking advantage of situations I am in. I kill a drive on a par five then miss the green with my 2nd shot, then not get up and down. Or another time on the same hole I may fan one right into the trees and have to punch out then turn a good birdie opportunity into a par or worse. When I was a scratch, every par five was a good birdie opportunity and every short par four was a potential birdie. If I missed a green I normally got it up and down. It was not unusual to need 66 to be low man in my regular foursome. I am hoping I turned a corner in my last few rounds. This past weekend I played in a member event and shot 73-73 and finished 5th. Had no penalties, bogey was the worst score on any hole but just didn't take advantage of my good positions when I had an above average opportunity to make birdie. I played with the winner and he shot 67-69 and didn't "play" better than I did, he just scored better by taking advantage of his birdie opportunities. The other day I played in a match with a couple guys and the head pro. I was on my way to another ho hum 75 when it just clicked. I caught fire and played the last 5 holes 6 under, birdie birdie eagle birdie birdie and shot 69. My last round was last night and was just me and my wife and I shot another 69. It finally felt like it used to. I got up and down when I should have. Made the birdies I should have and just didn't lose the strokes I had been losing the previous 10 rounds. So I know my old game is still in there and it's made two appearances.

A side note. I practice chipping and pitching early morning or late evening when the course has way fewer people. I'll take 8 balls and stand at the hole and throw them off the green in a pie pattern. this helps me read lies. I'll do this for a few hours. I like to practice putting by playing poison with 2-3 people. If nobody is available for a poison game I will take one ball and practice getting up and down on an empty green on the course. I play or practice every day now just like I used to when I was a scratch. For me, other people are different, that's what it takes. working on keeping it in play, getting up and down, hitting greens and making putts.

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