Are you a Better Golfer than a Year Ago?

[MD5225]

Worlds better. Been a weekend/monthly hacker for 15 years but this year I started taking is serious.  Went from a "30 who knows" down to 19.5 or so in 5 months.  Tore apart my swing and learned the right way... watching a ton of video, reading a ton from sites like this, and practicing with purpose.  Progress from this year to next will be much more moderate but what a fun year.

[Martinh]

I’d hardly played much more than the occasional par 3 course for about 12 years; last year had some lessons, got really inspired; watch a ton of instructional stuff on YouTube and my swing has improved a lot. I also practice with practice balls on a local recreation ground when there’s no one about....that is a great help; only a short walk away 😊. I go on the range about once a week and it’s all starting to come together.

[Sean_D]

I am definitely better than I was 1 year ago. I started my full-on golf addiction the day after the Super Bowl in 2018, so next Monday marks my golf anniversary. I was shooting scores in the 130s and had an unofficial index of 38. Today I shoot in the high 80s to low 90s and expect my initial official index (coming on 2/1/2019) to be 20.0 according to the trend metric in the NCGA app. I have taken lessons all year and I practice something golf related every day. Every aspect of my game has improved significantly, and I am expecting that to continue through 2019 and I have a goal to lower my index to under 14 this year.  

Edited January 30, 2019 by Sean_D

[Sierra Magica]

YES

After years stuck in my old handicap and hundreds of pounds in worthless lessons.

I have found a true golf pro. She got the knowledge to make me feel the propersception of a profesional golfers when they swing the club.

Now I can say I am a scratch golfer and know how is feel play under par. 

Only add that there are too much rubbish teaching nowdays.

Find this woman who knows her stuff is winning the lottery.

To closie my point, Just say PROPERSCEPTION is the solution of the "black hole" that every stuck golfer.

 

Edited January 30, 2019 by Sierra Magica

[Patch]

Acording to my hdcp that is kept by my home course's league folks, I am 3 strokes better than on this same day, one year ago. 

I owe it all to staying reasonably healthy, plus practicing, and/or playing every day for the past year. 

[RussUK]

I'll let you all know when my local course de-frosts

[Cantankerish]

It's a good question which I should be considering. But I am not sure how to answer.  I would love some guidance/feedback in fact.

About 8 months ago I got it in my system to improve after not having touched my clubs for years. I certainly have a better understanding of the mechanics of my swing.  I have way more knowledge of lots of aspects of the game.  I watched a lot of videos and picked the brains of random people I met at the range and on the course.

I have largely conquered my debilitating slice through better mechanics.  I have learned how to hit a flop and proper form to chip. Practiced both of these a lot.  My approach shots are on and off still, and probably next on my agenda for intensive focus.  But I used to duff a fair number of them, so I am plenty better at those also.  Here's the thing though...

My scores are only slightly better.  I have not given in to frustration.  But it is bewildering.  Insights from the voice of experience?

[p1n9183]

Im not, overall i´m worst.

Current handicap is 1, trending to 2. A year ago i was at +1.
Putting: improved a lot my short putts and a little bit my lag putts. I could say now that i´m a decent putter for my handicap.  
Short game: i'm a bit less good than usuall. Still the best of my game.
Approach to green: the worst thing on my game currently. Wedges where ok, now they don´t. Mid/long irons are awfull, low GIR% with those.
Off the tee: A little improvement in this area. Developed a go to shot with my driver to keep the ball in play in tough holes. Still short with my full driver and not that accurate.

Need to work on my mid/long irons and accuracy with my driver to get back to + handicap.  

[sophia K]

In any sports, practice makes it better. The more time you spend, the better you get. I see that I will be a much better player when I retire. 

[CaddyCarl]

I used to be ok at this game. I've never had a lesson, and have never in my life purchased a new golf club. 20 some odd years ago I was a pretty consistent bogey golfer. Life got overtaken by events and golf went away for awhile. Came back to it in 2014, and have been improving at the rate of about 5 strokes a year. Goal is to get to bogey golf again. Then maybe we'll consider some clubs and lessons

[Hugh Jars]

A year has gone since I first picked up a club seriously. It’s been a year of ups and downs. Good times, bad times. Great rounds, and other weeks of torment battling the dreaded shanks. I’ve hit great shots and awful shots. Thousands and thousands spent on range balls and rounds. Hours upon hours of video footage hitting plastic whiffle balls in the yard. I’ve gone back to square one on more than one occasion.

But recently I’ve committed to consistently getting lessons with the one pro. This has been key to proper, prolonged improvement. No more second guessing what I’m doing wrong and what I should do in my technique based on youtube videos, and no disrespect, we’ll intentioned social media and forum posters. The eye of a pro in person is second to none. I’ll continue to get lessons and improve until none of my mates can ever beat me. 😛

Edited March 10, 2019 by Hugh Jars

[3jacker]

Good post. You have to stick with your coach (a good one).

Different instructors might see things in different ways in terms of prioritization.  Sometimes, prioritization really matters (often it does), but sometimes it doesn't.  

The main thing I see is inexperienced teachers focusing in on symptoms, or effects, rather than the real issues or flaws.  Lag is an effect, not something you chase after in terms of feel.  Laid off at top, long backswing, etc. are often setup issues - not kinetic issues. Sometimes.  Most times.  But not always.  

Sticking with one guy and giving it a solid shot is the ticket.  If you are making progress with him (or her), that is all you need to know about whether it is a good relationship.

And you MUST be willing to get worse before you get better.  I remember once shanking most of a bucket when moving the ball back in my stance 2" as a youngster.  But it was worth it.  Just that one thing forced me to stop flipping, set up properly as far as stance and weight distro, stand tall thru impact and turn through impact.  All of those benefits from 1 simple change (example of symptoms vs cause noted above).  One could easily have gone of chasing all those different flaws instead of fixing the real problem.

Watching videos, reading articles, reading forums  - all fun but not applicable to your game.  Finding an instructor like Iacas is the only recommended way to learn how to improve your game.  Unless you're some kind of idiot savant, like Moe. 🙂

Edited March 12, 2019 by 3jacker

[Buckeyebowman]

I've already replied to the poll, but right now wish there was an "I don't know" option. I haven't hit a ball since last year, and our first round of this year is tentatively set for Sunday, weather permitting. My guess right now would be "no". But, I won't really know until later in the season. 

[bwdial]

Sadly, my answer to the first question is a resounding no.  Actually, I feel like I have regressed.  I celebrated passing my Marketing certification exam for teaching it in high school by going to the golf course.  It was the first time I'd hit a golf ball since before Christmas, and it showed.  Horribly inconsistent.  I crushed my first drive, with a slight draw, which forced me to punch out from below some trees, and it went down hill from there.  Didn't hit another solid drive until the ninth hole.

I'm looking into lessons.  I've got to get some consistency in my swing, because I never know what's going to come off the clubface.

[Indy-Archer]

Yes & yes, but not for the normal reasons.

Last year at this time, I was playing my first round in 10 years. Really didn't play for the last 12 due to family dynamics (kids activities, working in our central American orphanage, etc.). Youngest child is now in college so opportunity has opened back up a bit. 

12 Years ago I was about a 12 handicap. Last spring my first round found me over 100. Finished averaging mid-90's. Got a limited membership this year at a decent course close to work. Golfing a league and planning two weekday practice sessions/week focusing on swing. After just a few weeks of indoor and outdoor practice, I'm clearly striking the ball more cleanly and with greater consistency than last year, though my chip/pitch/trap shots need a lot of work. 

I'll be disappointed if I can't get my handicap below 18 this summer. Definitely having fun getting back into the 'swing' of things! 👍

[mellison24]

Yes and yes. This time last year, I only played the odd round and at a handicap of 20 after 5 years out. Before this I’d been down to 18.

Back down to hitting 16-18 over on a round after taking a block of lessons with a pro.

Might be talking bollocks but the difference between a typical teaching pro and a pro who had competed on tour (mine is Jeff Matthews) is chalk and cheese. His insight into short game practice has been a revelation imo.

Eg: I met a lot of pros who still insisted on ‘back of the cup’ putting. Jeff, however, insisted that doing so is likely to leave putts short, wasting the shot. Aim to stop the ball a foot past the hole (on the same line); that way if you’ve misjudged the line or if you under/mid hit, the ball can still drop. It definitely won’t drop if you leave it short.

Things about course strategy have been helpful too. ‘Play the shot you have in your bag, not the shot you played once.’

I’m sure this sort of thing is obvious to better players, but I can’t believe how quickly it’s brought my scoring down. Already broken 90 3 times this year. Only done that 5 times before ever! Aiming to get to 10 by 2020.

Edited April 17, 2019 by mellison24

[jlbos83]

Yes to both, which is nice!  I took a series of lessons at Golftec about a year and a half ago.  I decided I didn't really like the idea of comparing with "tour average" for everything, since it's really unreachable given what I am able and/or willing to put into it at 58.  On the other hand, he did pretty much eliminate my propensity to slice, after many too many years.  It took a while, but scores eventually started to go down.  My index went from about 28 to 23 in the past year.  I recently took a couple of lessons with another pro (a former winner on the "big" tour and the "old guy's" tour), who did not want to change a lot in my basic swing, which he said was pretty good (on plane, at least).  He did give me some things to work on to help me get more consistent, as the thins, and especially fats are issues.  I have seen some improvement there, obviously at a 23 there is still work to do there.  The next step will be some lessons focusing on the short game.  Bunkers, especially, are a problem for me.  And I'm sure he can help me there.  So I anticipate improvement in the next year a well.

[ThreePutt]

Yes to both. Finally took some lessons after being reluctant for many years and have seen some drastic improvement. There were clubs in my bag for years that I would never pull because I couldn’t control them and I’m finally starting to use them again. A big issue used to be hitting driver but now I pull that stick with confidence and hammer it down the middle fairly consistently. The game has become so much more enjoyable. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the money I’m saving on golf balls since I’m losing a lot less now!