How long to get single digit handicap?

[Dylangolfs]

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

[MacDutch]

Hi Dylan,

Most people here are a lot older then you are. Difficult to compare. A 6 index at your age and how much you play/practice is very good, but not outstanding. At my club we have a 14 years old, also 6 index, also playing and training a lot. He will become a scratch player (or better) I am sure within 3 years from now.

As a 52 years old when I started, it took me 5 years to get to single digits.

[dennyjones]

Most people never achieve single digit handicaps.    Happy for you.   Continued success in your future endeavors.

[Rainmaker]

I'm not a single digit but I've noticed it takes a lot of people between 1 and 5 years.  I think the ones that get there in a year obviously have some talent for the game plus they also practice a lot.  

That's just a generalization, obviously.  There have probably people that were +1 after a year . .there certainly have been people who took 10+ years. 

Not that it's what you're asking - but that's probably what it would take to get me excited about a jr golfer . .plus figures in a year and I'd be like . .maybe?  Lucy Li is an eleven year old with a +1.8 index.  I'm sure she's been playing 11+ years, though, lol. 

Edit - I guess she's 13 now - but she *was* an eleven year old with a +1.8 index.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2016 by Rainmaker

[SavvySwede]

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:37 PM, Dylangolfs said:

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

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I think your progress is relatively normal. It is just rare because so few start out young and/or have that much time to practice/play.

[paininthenuts]

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:37 PM, Dylangolfs said:

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

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If you play that much and you are not playing off of scratch, If would say you have very little talent. Is there a another sport you feel you may be better at ?

[MacGruber]

i started at 26 and when i was 27-28 i got down to a 7.  that was playing 3-4 times a week during grad school with some mixed in range sessions once or twice a week.  now that i've backed off to just chipping around the yard daily and playing twice a month my handicap has increased slightly (i need to update my profile.  i got it back to a 9).  I would say that's a pretty similar time frame to what you've done, and I would consider that normal if you put in that much work.  

I think what helped me more than anything was as soon as I got my clubs in the mail my grandpa took me to get a lesson.  Not saying I have a sound and perfect swing, but it's a lot easier to get going when you know what you're supposed to do with the basics vs changing those bad habits later in life.

[Grinde6]

  On 6/23/2016 at 4:36 PM, paininthenuts said:

If you play that much and you are not playing off of scratch, If would say you have very little talent. Is there a another sport you feel you may be better at ?

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Wow!  In a time when we are trying to get people into the game you go and say this...to a 14 year old that's playing off a 6 handicap.  That's pretty impressive...and your how old?? 

[DrvFrShow]

For those of us who started late in life getting to single digit handicap will never happen no matter what the instructors tell us. We'll be lucky to be bogey golfers. After a certain age balance is the first thing that starts to go. That itself leads to inconsistency no matter how much you practice. 

But for you, at 14 yrs old, you could play off scratch with enough practice and dedication easily. You're young. You have the flexibility and your youth going for you. Good luck. Have fun.

[Natural Patrick]

  On 6/23/2016 at 8:47 PM, Grinde6 said:

Wow!  In a time when we are trying to get people into the game you go and say this...to a 14 year old that's playing off a 6 handicap.  That's pretty impressive...and your how old?? 

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That is kind of what I thought.

[No Mulligans]

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:37 PM, Dylangolfs said:

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

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That is really impressive.

I think it is difficult to separate natural talent and amount of practice in your case given you've only been playing for a year.  Part of talent in my opinion is having the drive and dedication to practice as much as you have.

[David in FL]

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:37 PM, Dylangolfs said:

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

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Welcome to the site, and the game!

Sounds like you're well on your way to becoming a very good player....better than most golfers ever become.  More importantly, you've discovered a game that you'll be able to enjoy for the rest of your life, regardless of where that takes you!

[Lihu]

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:37 PM, Dylangolfs said:

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

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Well, I know a certain 14 year old who would be totally jealous of you! He's on my son's high school golf team, and practices daily and takes two or three lessons a week for about the same time you've been playing and is lucky to be an 18HC.

You've progressed very nicely. My guess is that you could get to a bit better than scratch, but it's going to take you a lot longer than it took to get to 6.

For reference, my son and his team mates all drive about the same distances (my son is 10 yards shorter), so their long games are pretty decent. My son is about a 6, but doesn't really practice that much, while two of his team mates play all the time. The two that play all the time are both scratch. Well, one is a 1HC and the other is slightly +. They are Junior and Senior players.

My daughter has one team mate who is your age (different school from my son) who's been playing since he was 5 and his twin brother played for roughly the same amount of time, and one is scratch while the other one is lucky to be possibly a 12 or even 15? It's kind of random how that works?

In any case, all three of the scratch players in your age group started when they were young and played for over 10 years. They didn't start hitting far like you until they were about 16, though. In fact, the scratch golfer who is exactly your age is not hitting nearly as far as you, maybe 250? 280 carry is a long way, and not that common. Even my son's team out hits most (all) of the other teams in their league and more. One player is even longer off the tee than any of them only when he hits the correct fairway, and he can't score.

 

  On 6/23/2016 at 3:38 PM, SavvySwede said:

I think your progress is relatively normal. It is just rare because so few start out young and/or have that much time to practice/play.

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Is it really that normal for a 14 year old to carry 280 yards and shoot to a 6HC? Most 14 year old boys still haven't grown to their full size yet, and I don't really know any who could carry 280 yards?

 

  On 6/23/2016 at 4:36 PM, paininthenuts said:

If you play that much and you are not playing off of scratch, If would say you have very little talent. Is there a another sport you feel you may be better at ?

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I'm guessing this is your "unconventional" humor?

 

  On 6/23/2016 at 8:47 PM, Grinde6 said:

Wow!  In a time when we are trying to get people into the game you go and say this...to a 14 year old that's playing off a 6 handicap.  That's pretty impressive...and your how old?? 

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Had to give you a reputation point for this one!

 

[GolfLug]

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:37 PM, Dylangolfs said:

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

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When you are good, you are good. Period. You are already better than most will be in a lifetime. So yeah, enjoy. Hope you play with friends and not by yourself most of the time.

  On 6/23/2016 at 4:36 PM, paininthenuts said:

If you play that much and you are not playing off of scratch, If would say you have very little talent. Is there a another sport you feel you may be better at ?

Expand  

 

  On 6/23/2016 at 8:47 PM, Grinde6 said:

Wow!  In a time when we are trying to get people into the game you go and say this...to a 14 year old that's playing off a 6 handicap.  That's pretty impressive...and your how old?? 

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Aww c'mon, he is just being funny. 

[Bechambo]

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:37 PM, Dylangolfs said:

Hi my names Dylan and I have been playing for a year and a half. I was 13 when I started but am currently 14. I play everyday 7 days a week and 3 hours on schooldays and all day on weekends. During the winter I hit the range a lot but right now during the summer I play everyday and rarely go to the range. I have got my handicap to a 6 and shoot high 70's is that natural talent or the amount I practice. How long did it take you guys to become single digit. I think my success also comes with my strength. I am 5:11 and hit the ball 280 carry.

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I started at 13 as well. I didn't reach single digit handicap until 27 though. I would say, it is a combination of having the necessary abilities (body coordination, strength) and the motivation, as well as the resources, that have lead to what may seem like very fast improvement. Keep this up, as well as get some professional help, and you will be on your way to sub-par rounds.

[SavvySwede]

  On 6/23/2016 at 11:47 PM, Lihu said:

Is it really that normal for a 14 year old to carry 280 yards and shoot to a 6HC? Most 14 year old boys still haven't grown to their full size yet, and I don't really know any who could carry 280 yards?

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Getting to a 6HC in 18 months seems pretty reasonable to me for someone young who gets to play every day. The 280 carry is certainly out of the norm but I believe that figure to be inflated. I was under the delusion I could hit the ball in the 300 range when I was that young, pretty much all the guys playing high school golf were that way.

[dsal89]

I only started a handicap at the endish of last year and was at a 16 but with good scores this year it's down to a 7 with about 25 rounds logged. 

 

Ive been playing on and off for 16 years (started when I was 10) but have played cocnistently and started taking it seriously and I'm loving every minute of it. Only downside (at least for me) is that it makes the rounds I struggle with even more frustrating 

[Grndslmhttr3]

I've been flirting with a high single digit for a while, maybe the past two years. I started golfing when I was 13 or 14 so it took me about ten years to get to that point, sadly.