Bogey Golfers Only (Index 16-22) / Breaking 90 Topic

[mflames44]

I started playing last year when I was eighteen.  I was fortunate to start out with an instructor and receive lessons.  During the summer I went to the range every other day.  I would focus on applying what I learned in the lessons.  My biggest problem is getting out of the tee box.  I always try to crush the ball instead of just letting the loft and lie of the club do the work.  My short game is decent and I can putt well.  Typically I two putt but I can squeak out a one putt a few times during my round.  For me I work on ball striking when I go to the range.  If I can work on relaxing and can teach myself to slow down and relax I should be in good shape.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mflames44

I started playing last year when I was eighteen.  I was fortunate to start out with an instructor and receive lessons.  During the summer I went to the range every other day.  I would focus on applying what I learned in the lessons.  My biggest problem is getting out of the tee box.  I always try to crush the ball instead of just letting the loft and lie of the club do the work.  My short game is decent and I can putt well.  Typically I two putt but I can squeak out a one putt a few times during my round.  For me I work on ball striking when I go to the range.  If I can work on relaxing and can teach myself to slow down and relax I should be in good shape.

At 18, you will be in good shape no matter what you decide to work on.   You will be breaking into single digit HI in no time.   Don't forget us then.

[Shire]

Welcome to the board.

I wouldn't worry too much at this point.  If you are keeping a real score, breaking 100 is kind of hard.  I find lessons to be money well spent.  For the price of a round of golf, you can make your future rounds more enjoyable.

You didn't mention driver getting you into trouble (only that mishits didn't go far), but if it is, remember that you don't have to hit it.  There are other options for the tee.

It makes sense that the higher numbered clubs are your best ones.  Me too.  And it would be true for most.  The longer the club and the less lofted the club, the harder it is going to be to control it.

I dont have a recovery wood so my driver if it doesnt go far especially on a long four or a par 5 im playing catch up ...  My driving is so inconsistent.

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenIn2

hey bud you just blew my mind. if I knew how to quote properly I would. that part where you mentioned trying to pick up 200+ yards after a bad tee off. that's me all the way. I've got a horrible temper and golfing usually takes care of that with one exception... the driver. I can not seem to hit with that, I have such a hard time teeing up with it that I just dropped it from my club list. now I just use a fairway wood and take that about 200 to 250 depending on the roll, slope, slice, tree , etc. what I'm saying is that next time I "duff" the tee box I'm going to try a more conservative approach and not over compensate for lost yardage.

You touched on another problem I think is big for bogey golfers - and specifically me.  I also don't carry driver.  When I picked the game back up a couple of years ago - I naturally pulled that driver on nearly every tee box like everyone else seemed to.  But it led to too much frustration and high scores.  I actually went irons only and my scores improved immediately. It was about then that I noticed it was not that hard to get on in 3 with irons.  And at that time, I probably wasn't getting any GIR's anyway.  I still only get a few.  So I wasn't really sacrificing as much as I thought.  Once my game became much more under control, I introduced a hybrid - which became my de facto driver - but still only used it when it was pretty open.  As I got better with the hybrid, I bought a 3-wood - which I now use on holes that are pretty open.  If not so open, hybrid.  And I still tee off with irons at times.

I hope to work driver back in soon.  But I'm not taking it back to the course until I can convince myself it actually saves more shots than it costs.  A good drive will save you between 0 and 1 shots on the given hole.  But a bad drive can cost you 1-3 strokes in a heartbeat.

This is something I'd consider doing as well, but for some reason, I don't hit my long irons well to begin with and, oddly enough, off the tee, I don't hit any of my irons really well whereas I hit my short irons fine (for me) otherwise.

Maybe I'll start hitting my 3-wood off the tee a couple of times and see how that goes.

[MissouriHack]

I would consider doing this but I feel like I make better contact with my 3 and 5 woods over my 5 iron which is my longest iron.  There are times when I hit my 3 wood and it won't go where I want it to go, but I hit it roughly 180-200 and I don't hit my long irons well.  I have to obviously work on hitting my long irons better but for right now, my 5 iron doesn't go very far (maybe 150-160) and depending on the day, my 6 iron will go further. That being said, I think I'll try and laying up more often and see how it goes. What really drives up my score, though, is my power fade/slice off the tee.  Not sure why what feels like a natural swing for me slices/power fades and an awkward swing has the ball going straight most of the time.

Getting out of the tee box is really hard for me to do as well. I started hitting the longest club i could and still get it in the fairway. Laying up is a good idea but I wouldn't over do it. Its chess not checkers, just don't make it any harder than it already is. For guys like us if we have a bad miss the best thing is to do is to get it back into play while advancing the ball as far as you can. Sometimes its only a couple of yards. The point is too prevent compounding mistakes. You don't want to play so cautious that you can't play to your potential.

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shire

Evening guys,

Been playing around 3 months and struggling to get under 100 .. Sometimes my drive is superb other times i just go 100 yards due to bad contact - Main problem has to be my consistency and the  inconsistency in my swing.

Putting has improved dramatically after i went out with my girlfriends old man he gave me some tips not holding the club to close to my body and widening my legs etc,

from a 9 to PW is where my best shots come from it seems as soon as i go below 8 i start to hit the ground etc...

Thats where im at

Evening shire, I was you about a year or so ago... developing a repeatable swing is crucial, and developing it the right way is even more so. Make sure to study the five keys detailed out on this site... little things like getting your weight forward go a long way. My road to improvement has been marked by many trips to the driving range, recording video of my swing has paid huge dividends, (you never really know what you're doing wrong until you see it), I even put together a journal of my progress during practices so I wouldn't forget what nuances were helping and which ones weren't. During winter months I began practicing my swing indoors on the living room carpet. Its something I do during the "in season" months now as well, especially if I am not able to get out to the range for a stretch.

My biggest issue starting out was hitting huge slices off the tee. I've put a lot of focus on that and I'm much more confident with my driver/3w now to the point where it is a strength. After fixing the slice, this past year has been devoted to getting from the tee to the green in regulation (or close to it) so I began to focus a lot of attention to my 120 yard and in game.

This next year will be devoted more to putting and course management, trying to avoid blow up holes. I have about 2 or 3 blow up holes per round now... if I can drop that down to 1 blow up hole at the most, my scores will easily drop to mid 80's and better.

My scores starting out were in the 120's now in the low 90's / high 80's (more 90's than 80's lol)

Stick with it, I find that the people who improve the least are those who think they are supposed to get better by just showing up once or twice a month.

A lot that has been posted here has been very helpful.

I worry damaging my house about practicing my swing indoors on the living room carpet but maybe I shouldn't?

What did you find yourself focusing on most to stop hitting slices off the tee?

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

I would consider doing this but I feel like I make better contact with my 3 and 5 woods over my 5 iron which is my longest iron.  There are times when I hit my 3 wood and it won't go where I want it to go, but I hit it roughly 180-200 and I don't hit my long irons well.  I have to obviously work on hitting my long irons better but for right now, my 5 iron doesn't go very far (maybe 150-160) and depending on the day, my 6 iron will go further.

That being said, I think I'll try and laying up more often and see how it goes.

What really drives up my score, though, is my power fade/slice off the tee.  Not sure why what feels like a natural swing for me slices/power fades and an awkward swing has the ball going straight most of the time.

Getting out of the tee box is really hard for me to do as well. I started hitting the longest club i could and still get it in the fairway. Laying up is a good idea but I wouldn't over do it. Its chess not checkers, just don't make it any harder than it already is. For guys like us if we have a bad miss the best thing is to do is to get it back into play while advancing the ball as far as you can. Sometimes its only a couple of yards. The point is too prevent compounding mistakes. You don't want to play so cautious that you can't play to your potential.

Yeah, I mean, I think if it's a situation where I can pull out the wood and still not hit the green or pull out a 5 iron (once I hit it more consistently) and hit a wedge or short iron, am going to start considering going with the latter.

[Meltdwhiskey]

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

I would consider doing this but I feel like I make better contact with my 3 and 5 woods over my 5 iron which is my longest iron.  There are times when I hit my 3 wood and it won't go where I want it to go, but I hit it roughly 180-200 and I don't hit my long irons well.  I have to obviously work on hitting my long irons better but for right now, my 5 iron doesn't go very far (maybe 150-160) and depending on the day, my 6 iron will go further.

That being said, I think I'll try and laying up more often and see how it goes.

What really drives up my score, though, is my power fade/slice off the tee.  Not sure why what feels like a natural swing for me slices/power fades and an awkward swing has the ball going straight most of the time.

Yeah, I'm not totally sure I read your post correctly, but it sounds like you are saying that the 3-wood goes wild but the 5i doesn't go more than 160.  If so, my point is that it is better to have it 160 yards and in the fairway than 200 yards and in the woods or the bunker or the creek, etc.  Very few bogie golfers are good enough to green it with a 3-wood.  And 3-woods can get pretty wild at times.  Let accuracy trump distance and your score will improve.  Even if you pull out a shorter iron than a 5i, that's OK so long as you are more accurate with it. IMO.

[Meltdwhiskey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

Welcome to the board.

I wouldn't worry too much at this point.  If you are keeping a real score, breaking 100 is kind of hard.  I find lessons to be money well spent.  For the price of a round of golf, you can make your future rounds more enjoyable.

You didn't mention driver getting you into trouble (only that mishits didn't go far), but if it is, remember that you don't have to hit it.  There are other options for the tee.

It makes sense that the higher numbered clubs are your best ones.  Me too.  And it would be true for most.  The longer the club and the less lofted the club, the harder it is going to be to control it.

I dont have a recovery wood so my driver if it doesnt go far especially on a long four or a par 5 im playing catch up ...  My driving is so inconsistent.

That one is tough to decipher, but it sounds like you are saying that you worry about not getting a lot of distance out of your tee shot.  And I get that.  But as with the RFKFREAK post, the important part is what you can hit with accuracy - more than distance.  If you aren't breaking 100, you aren't getting to the green in 2 on may par 4's anyway.  If you were to get on in 3 and then 2 putt them all, you'd shoot 90.  I shot my best score ever, an 8 over par, using only irons.

As for par 5's - it always seems like you need more club because it is a longer hole.  But the truth is, since you get an extra shot, you need less distance per shot to get a GIR.

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

I would consider doing this but I feel like I make better contact with my 3 and 5 woods over my 5 iron which is my longest iron.  There are times when I hit my 3 wood and it won't go where I want it to go, but I hit it roughly 180-200 and I don't hit my long irons well.  I have to obviously work on hitting my long irons better but for right now, my 5 iron doesn't go very far (maybe 150-160) and depending on the day, my 6 iron will go further.

That being said, I think I'll try and laying up more often and see how it goes.

What really drives up my score, though, is my power fade/slice off the tee.  Not sure why what feels like a natural swing for me slices/power fades and an awkward swing has the ball going straight most of the time.

Yeah, I'm not totally sure I read your post correctly, but it sounds like you are saying that the 3-wood goes wild but the 5i doesn't go more than 160.  If so, my point is that it is better to have it 160 yards and in the fairway than 200 yards and in the woods or the bunker or the creek, etc.  Very few bogie golfers are good enough to green it with a 3-wood.  And 3-woods can get pretty wild at times.  Let accuracy trump distance and your score will improve.  Even if you pull out a shorter iron than a 5i, that's OK so long as you are more accurate with it. IMO.

3 wood can go wild, but I usually hit it pretty straight and it will go around 180 yards.

5 iron doesn't go very far (like 145-150) yet my 6 iron I'll on average hit 10 yards further.  Obviously that has to do with my swing more than anything.

I usually make solid contact with my 3 wood from the fairway and don't feel like I ever make good contact with my 5 iron and worry about hitting it really fat.

So, I'm just saying I don't know if sacrificing 30-40 yards by choosing my 5 iron would be ideal for where I'm at because I have more confidence right now in my 3 wood than my 5 iron.

[Shire]

That one is tough to decipher, but it sounds like you are saying that you worry about not getting a lot of distance out of your tee shot.  And I get that.  But as with the RFKFREAK post, the important part is what you can hit with accuracy - more than distance.  If you aren't breaking 100, you aren't getting to the green in 2 on may par 4's anyway.  If you were to get on in 3 and then 2 putt them all, you'd shoot 90.  I shot my best score ever, an 8 over par, using only irons.

As for par 5's - it always seems like you need more club because it is a longer hole.  But the truth is, since you get an extra shot, you need less distance per shot to get a GIR.

The thing is with my drives at the moment im hoping for the best .. we have all been there and i need to start trusting my drives ...

[Meltdwhiskey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

Yeah, I'm not totally sure I read your post correctly, but it sounds like you are saying that the 3-wood goes wild but the 5i doesn't go more than 160.  If so, my point is that it is better to have it 160 yards and in the fairway than 200 yards and in the woods or the bunker or the creek, etc.  Very few bogie golfers are good enough to green it with a 3-wood.  And 3-woods can get pretty wild at times.  Let accuracy trump distance and your score will improve.  Even if you pull out a shorter iron than a 5i, that's OK so long as you are more accurate with it. IMO.

3 wood can go wild, but I usually hit it pretty straight and it will go around 180 yards.

5 iron doesn't go very far (like 145-150) yet my 6 iron I'll on average hit 10 yards further.  Obviously that has to do with my swing more than anything.

I usually make solid contact with my 3 wood from the fairway and don't feel like I ever make good contact with my 5 iron and worry about hitting it really fat.

So, I'm just saying I don't know if sacrificing 30-40 yards by choosing my 5 iron would be ideal for where I'm at because I have more confidence right now in my 3 wood than my 5 iron.

If you keep 3-wood in play, then it's the right club.  No reason to sacrifice the yardage if the accuracy is solid.  The average golfer is much less accurate with a 3-wood than with irons.  But I guess not everyone.

I from time to time have a similar problem with long irons.  Sometimes I can't get 4 to go farther than 5.  It is a little tougher to hit.  I think it might be an over the top problem.

[rkim291968]

I recommended this book in two different threads.   I think repeating it here is very appropriate.

How To Break 90 book by T. J. Tomasi and Mike Adams and Mike Corcoran is a very easy reading, humorous, and can help most golfers looking to break 90 consistently.   Paperback is pretty cheap (= small bucket of range balls) if you know where to look (Amazon, etc).

[MissouriHack]

A lot that has been posted here has been very helpful. I worry damaging my house about practicing my swing indoors on the living room carpet but maybe I shouldn't? What did you find yourself focusing on most to stop hitting slices off the tee?

I had a huge slice. Then I read another article about the new ball flight laws and if finally made sense to me. http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2012-12/sean-foley-law-of-the-draw I went out to the range a couple of times and got this down. For me it was getting the path of the club head correct. I was really pleased with what happened. I would hit a big block now and then. But I will take that over the huge slice I had.

[Meltdwhiskey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

That one is tough to decipher, but it sounds like you are saying that you worry about not getting a lot of distance out of your tee shot.  And I get that.  But as with the RFKFREAK post, the important part is what you can hit with accuracy - more than distance.  If you aren't breaking 100, you aren't getting to the green in 2 on may par 4's anyway.  If you were to get on in 3 and then 2 putt them all, you'd shoot 90.  I shot my best score ever, an 8 over par, using only irons.

As for par 5's - it always seems like you need more club because it is a longer hole.  But the truth is, since you get an extra shot, you need less distance per shot to get a GIR.

The thing is with my drives at the moment im hoping for the best .. we have all been there and i need to start trusting my drives ...

I'm not sure I agree with that one.  Of course I've never seen your drives, and they might be very trustworthy.  But I don't think trust alone makes people good at driver.  If your drives are accurate, then I'd use driver.  If your drives go in the woods or water, I'd hit something else.

The point was that I think many of us tend to use too much driver because it is kind of accepted that driver is the tee box club.  And we want to get all we can out of every shot.  But I have purposely observed the driver game of many a weekend warrior that I have gotten paired with.  And sure - some high HC's have a knack for driver. But most don't.  It is the longest club with the the least loft.  It is the hardest club to hit and the consequences of a bad shot are greater than any other club.  It is a double-whammy.

Once again - I obviously don't know your game.  But if you can't break 100 and you are hitting somewhere around 36 putts/round - then it is taking you roughly 4 shots on average to get onto the green.  I'm guessing that isn't all because of a lack of distance, but in part because of shots into the woods, penalty shots, lost balls, etc.  If you could minimize that kind of thing by playing a straighter club, you might get there in closer to 3 shots.

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

A lot that has been posted here has been very helpful.

I worry damaging my house about practicing my swing indoors on the living room carpet but maybe I shouldn't?

What did you find yourself focusing on most to stop hitting slices off the tee?

I had a huge slice. Then I read another article about the new ball flight laws and if finally made sense to me.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2012-12/sean-foley-law-of-the-draw

I went out to the range a couple of times and got this down. For me it was getting the path of the club head correct. I was really pleased with what happened. I would hit a big block now and then. But I will take that over the huge slice I had.

I checked out the link and do you think the same setup holds true for the driver?

I've always read/heard/been told that you want the ball to be teed up in line with the inside of the front foot and in the link it says to play it back in the stance.

[rkim291968]

I found out I introduced swaying into my swing.   This explains why I could not hit consistently.  I'd hit a perfect 4i followed by poor 9i into OB.  In the last two range sessions, I kept swaying to minimum and suddenly I am back to my old swing.   Things are looking better.

[Shire]

I'm not sure I agree with that one.  Of course I've never seen your drives, and they might be very trustworthy.  But I don't think trust alone makes people good at driver.  If your drives are accurate, then I'd use driver.  If your drives go in the woods or water, I'd hit something else.   The point was that I think many of us tend to use too much driver because it is kind of accepted that driver is the tee box club.  And we want to get all we can out of every shot.  But I have purposely observed the driver game of many a weekend warrior that I have gotten paired with.  And sure - some high HC's have a knack for driver. But most don't.  It is the longest club with the the least loft.  It is the hardest club to hit and the consequences of a bad shot are greater than any other club.  It is a double-whammy.   Once again - I obviously don't know your game.  But if you can't break 100 and you are hitting somewhere around 36 putts/round - then it is taking you roughly 4 shots on average to get onto the green.  I'm guessing that isn't all because of a lack of distance, but in part because of shots into the woods, penalty shots, lost balls, etc.  If you could minimize that kind of thing by playing a straighter club, you might get there in closer to 3 shots.

your pretty spot on mate .. out of bounds etc or hitting it fat haha ...