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

[Lihu]

9 hours ago, rkim291968 said:

Loved the way you think.   

The rainy season in California is hitting me hard.  It's green everywhere.and it is near impossible to find ball in tall grass.   A ball I can easily find and hit during summer has become a ball not found.  Predictably, my HI has gone back up to mid 16.   To fight this, I am focusing on ball striking accuracy (vs distance) and short game.   I save one full stroke on total putts/round but not enough to counter increased ball-not-founds.   I will figure something out to lower the HI to below 16.

First cut is too deep to find balls up there? Wow, my yearly Coyote Creek round is coming up this Saturday, and I was looking forward to bombing some drives. However, from the sound of it, no bombs are possible? That is, if I'm not rained out. . .

 

[Strat-Pack Rick]

10 hours ago, rkim291968 said:

Loved the way you think.   

The rainy season in California is hitting me hard.  It's green everywhere.and it is near impossible to find ball in tall grass.   A ball I can easily find and hit during summer has become a ball not found.  Predictably, my HI has gone back up to mid 16.   To fight this, I am focusing on ball striking accuracy (vs distance) and short game.   I save one full stroke on total putts/round but not enough to counter increased ball-not-founds.   I will figure something out to lower the HI to below 16.

There you go !! Proximity with my wedges will surely gain me a couple strokes. Accuracy is definitely something to work on no matter what club is in your hand. Good luck to you and we will be breaking 80 soon. Stay dry and Hit Em Good !!

[Fairway_CY]

22 hours ago, Strat-Pack said:

Everybody, i really like this thread. We all seem to cheer each other on and its not all stuffy, haha. We have a new thread to look forward to though. The breaking 80 thread is up and running. Several of yall are really close and i hope you pull off that feat. I personally need to shave a solid 6 shots off my card to do it. I will be the guy on the range shivering all winter because come spring im gonna do it !! Good luck this winter, wear out your wedges. This time next year we will be in the breaking 80 thread chasing PAR. Hit Em Good Yall !!

This is my favorite thread on this site.  I feel like everybody is happy when someone posts a good score and supportive when someone is struggling.  

I had one of those weird rounds today.  I got out for an unexpected round with a neighbor at a course I'd only played once before.  I was very 'off' early in the round, even after having a warm-up session on the range.  I came out and went triple - bogey - double - triple - double - double to start my round.  That led to a 51 on the front.  

On the back, it was a completely different story.  I shot a pretty clean 42 on the back.  My only real hiccup there was on the last hole when I tried to hit a shot that I had no business attempting and it led to a closing double bogey.  

Overall... 51 - 42 = 93 is not a horrible score if you look at just the total, but... I really don't know why I started so poorly.  It was odd.  

Now, the clubs are going away until at least next week as I've got a busy few days coming up with the holiday and work.  

... 'til then!

CY

[rkim291968]

9 hours ago, Lihu said:

First cut is too deep to find balls up there? Wow, my yearly Coyote Creek round is coming up this Saturday, and I was looking forward to bombing some drives. However, from the sound of it, no bombs are possible? That is, if I'm not rained out. . .

 

All the dried up brown grass/bush are replaced with thick & tall green stuff.  Even the 1st cut should be pretty sticky.   But have no fear.  Just enjoy.

 

In the last two rounds, I focused on losing grip tension, slowing down back swing, and pausing at the top.  Ball striking accuracy isn't there yet but sudden shanks which lead to OB & Ball-Not_Found are greatly reduced.   Coupled that with improved short game, I managed two rounds in high 80s.   It stopped the HI bleeding.   A few more rounds like that, my HI will go back below 16.   

[Strat-Pack Rick]

Okay everyone, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day and you are excited about the holiday season that is upon us ! Tomorrow (Thanksgiving) im going for 79 again. Here in the panhandle of Florida the weather is perfect for 4 days. Im treating it like a tournament on Tour. A round a day til i go back to work on Monday. I plan on going off the whites to give myself a fighting chance to post some decent scores. Hopefully most of yall get some golf in too, good luck !! I will let you know how it turns out. Hit Em Good Yall !!  Happy Thanksgiving

[Strat-Pack Rick]

On 11/4/2013 at 4:33 AM, Meltdwhiskey said:

I wanted to offer a thought on strategy.  I don't largely get involved in actual swing mechanics and such - I more enjoy the strategy discussions. I feel strongly about this applying to we hackers, but it might apply to single digits as well.  Anyway - a buddy and I played this weekend and I realized I had been employing a strategy and had not really ever vocalized it.  He is about a 110 type golfer.

 

On a shortish par 4, I duffed my drive about 90 yards or something.  We get to my ball and I pull a 5i.  He asks me why I'm going iron when I have so much distance to now cover.  It occurred to me how many times I had seen him go with hybrid/fairway wood after a similar duff.  And many other folks over time.  I think the natural choice after a bad shot is to try to get back all you can in the next shot.  You have to right?  You're at a deficit now. But I'd guess a lot of blow-up holes get started this way.  Duffed drive --> long club off the deck --> now lying 3 in woods, pond, bunker or maybe even a lost ball.  Unless you hit a pretty good shot, I feel a snowman could be coming.

 

Unless it is really open, I think the smarter play is to lay back here.  Protecting bogey or maybe even double is a safer bet here than trying to get 200+ yards out of a shot and risking more trouble.  A bogey golfer getting that kind of distance off the deck, down the middle, around any trouble sounds risky to me.  And what is the payoff?  Just being closer really.  You still aren't going to green it.

 

Our normal routine is probably to get on in 3 and 2-putt for bogey.  So:

- At this point, you still have a good chance to do just that with 5i

- Even if you miss the green from 30-70 with your third shot, you are close and still have a chance to get up and down for bogey

- Even if it takes you 4 to get on and you 2-putt, it isn't as bad as it sounds.  You get bogey on most holes anyway, so getting double after a duffed tee shot is pretty much expected.  Make up for it with a par on a hole where you hit a better tee shot

 

Any thoughts from the bogey gallery?

I totally agree with your strategy . Course management goes a long way to lowering my scores too. I would rather hit a decent 5i than risk a 3w slice. Ive been playing holes even after a good drive with course management in mind. I would rather be a 9i out than a 66yd sand wedge out. I used to try to get as far as could with every shot. Now i try to play to my strengths a little better. So good call on 5i and Hit Em Good man !!     This is the oldest post ever, damn it im stupid !!

Edited November 25, 2016 by Strat-Pack

[dennyjones]

If you read Erik's book, "Lowest Score Wins", you'll find he details separation values.  Approach shots to the green are considered a very high separation value and worth the time and effort to practice and improve.  

 

[Strat-Pack Rick]

Okay, im in !!!! I just got my copy of LSW ordered !! I see it in most everybodys achievement section so it seems to be a no-brainer. Cant wait to see how many shots i can drop. One step closer to 79 ! Hit Em Good Yall !

[Lihu]

On 11/22/2016 at 9:31 AM, Lihu said:

First cut is too deep to find balls up there? Wow, my yearly Coyote Creek round is coming up this Saturday, and I was looking forward to bombing some drives. However, from the sound of it, no bombs are possible? That is, if I'm not rained out. . .

 

Rain. . .so, we made an early departure from San Jose and missed all the traffic. . .

 

[Strat-Pack Rick]

I have been really struggling with the putter lately and i think i know why. Somewhere, maybe on T.V., I heard to run your right index finger down the shaft when putting( im a righty ). I never did that before but i have been doing it lately for some reason. Well today i just decided to grip the putter like i have always done it and got rid of the index finger down the shaft. Much better now. I dont know why hearing something like that would make me change but i did and didnt even really notice. I was pushing everything to the right , like i wasnt releasing the putter head. Its funny how the slightest adjustment the wrong way will destroy you. That index finger thing may work to fix someone that pulls putts but it made me push real bad. Bit of trivia, just baffled over here, haha. Hit Em Good Yall

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Strat-Pack said:

I have been really struggling with the putter lately and i think i know why. Somewhere, maybe on T.V., I heard to run your right index finger down the shaft when putting( im a righty ). I never did that before but i have been doing it lately for some reason. Well today i just decided to grip the putter like i have always done it and got rid of the index finger down the shaft. Much better now. I dont know why hearing something like that would make me change but i did and didnt even really notice. I was pushing everything to the right , like i wasnt releasing the putter head. Its funny how the slightest adjustment the wrong way will destroy you. That index finger thing may work to fix someone that pulls putts but it made me push real bad. Bit of trivia, just baffled over here, haha. Hit Em Good Yall

I hate the finger down the shaft thing.

[808hacker]

One thing that I have been doing is to take a few practice strokes before putting and making sure the putter swings as stable as possible on the line - then I putt the ball. I am a terrible putter but have been making a number of 1 putts simply by lining up the ball, taking a stance - get the putter swinging in as stable a stroke as I can then go and putt it through the line of the ball. Not a miracle answer by any means but it seems to be helping. 

[Fairway_CY]

I put the clubs in the corner for the last 8+ days and haven't touched them until this morning.  I had an unexpected day off and some nice weather this morning, so I decided to head to the course to play.  

I didn't warm up at all because I arrived too close to my tee time.  I managed a few putts on the practice green, but that was it.  I had a couple of pretty good holes and a handful of really poor holes. 

Poor Holes:

I made triple on #3 after hitting a poor pitch shot and then putting like I was using a shotgun to advance the ball.  Another triple on #9 was the result of a drive that didn't draw enough and found the fairway trap up the right side.  From that position, I just bunted the ball forward and made a mess of the hole.  I opened the back with a double and a triple on #10 and #11.  Three-putts on both greens helped to make the scores poor, but they weren't the lone cause on either hole.  Another triple on the 13th hole after a lost ball that never should have been lost (I think it was under some leaves).  Finally, the 18th hole... another triple with some really, really poor short game play.  

Good Holes:

I made par on the opening hole and played it pretty well with a drive in the fairway, a wedge that spun off the front of the green and a putt from the fringe to 3 feet.  Another par on #4 after a poor tee shot with my 4 iron.  A par on #6 after a 5 iron found the green from the tee.  Birdies on #12 and #16 helped to ease the pain of the crappy day... both were the result of well struck 7 irons.  

Overall... it was ugly.  I was happy to be out there again, but it's the first time I've walked the course since November 1st and I got a little tired and a little sore towards the end.  

46 - 49 = 95

Not happy, but... at least it didn't count for anything.

CY

[Vinny Cap]

On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 9:25 PM, Strat-Pack Rick said:

I have been really struggling with the putter lately and i think i know why. Somewhere, maybe on T.V., I heard to run your right index finger down the shaft when putting( im a righty ). I never did that before but i have been doing it lately for some reason. Well today i just decided to grip the putter like i have always done it and got rid of the index finger down the shaft. Much better now. I dont know why hearing something like that would make me change but i did and didnt even really notice. I was pushing everything to the right , like i wasnt releasing the putter head. Its funny how the slightest adjustment the wrong way will destroy you. That index finger thing may work to fix someone that pulls putts but it made me push real bad. Bit of trivia, just baffled over here, haha. Hit Em Good Yall

WOW, funny you typed that as I was doing the exact same thing a few rounds back, didnt even notice it and a friend asked if I could take constructive criticism.... sure I said.... always want to learn more about golf!

He asked me to do my putting stroke and pointed out the finger.  I didnt even know I was doing it,  It was why I was like 23 putts on the front.  I made sure for the back 9 I was not doing that and got it back down to 16 putts and a way better score.

Im not even sure where it came from as I dont have Golf channel anymore so I dont see any on TV.

This game is funny!

To the others - Some decent scores and keep them going.  CY mentioned how much he likes this thread and I will agree as I have had a blast posting my 80's in here.  Look forward to posting in the breaking 80's thread.

If you get out to play, hit em sweet for us that cant!!!

[Strat-Pack Rick]

My copy of LSW arrived today !! Thats worth a few shots off my scorecard !  Gonna get that 79 yet. Yall Hit Em Good this weekend and lets bust through to the Breaking 80 thread. Good Luck/Skill !!!

[Fairway_CY]

59 minutes ago, Vinny Cap said:

WOW, funny you typed that as I was doing the exact same thing a few rounds back, didnt even notice it and a friend asked if I could take constructive criticism.... sure I said.... always want to learn more about golf!

I've done this since I started playing golf in 1993.  I've tried to putt without my finger running down the side of the grip, but it just doesn't feel right to me and I find that I spend more time focused on the way it feels than getting the right speed on the putt.  

Recently, I've been making a lot more of my putts from 6 - 15 feet.  First, I attribute it to paying more attention to the grain of the greens.  I grew up playing on primarily Bentgrass and grain wasn't much of a factor.  Now being in the Charlotte area, the large majority of courses have Bermuda greens and the grain certainly affects the ball more than I thought.  The other thing has been that I've begun focusing on a spot about half an inch in front of the ball on my target line.  I putt to that spot and don't worry about anything else.  I used to focus on the back of the ball and felt like I was almost pushing my putter into the ball.  Now, I almost always know whether or not I hit the putt on the line I picked out.  If I could get better at reading the break of the greens, I'd be a much better putter.  

Anyway... just wanted to say that I'm in the 'finger down the grip' camp.  It feels off to me if I try to putt any other way.

CY

[rkim291968]

8 hours ago, Vinny Cap said:

WOW, funny you typed that as I was doing the exact same thing a few rounds back, didnt even notice it and a friend asked if I could take constructive criticism.... sure I said.... always want to learn more about golf!

He asked me to do my putting stroke and pointed out the finger.  I didnt even know I was doing it,  It was why I was like 23 putts on the front.  I made sure for the back 9 I was not doing that and got it back down to 16 putts and a way better score.

Im not even sure where it came from as I dont have Golf channel anymore so I dont see any on TV.

This game is funny!

To the others - Some decent scores and keep them going.  CY mentioned how much he likes this thread and I will agree as I have had a blast posting my 80's in here.  Look forward to posting in the breaking 80's thread.

If you get out to play, hit em sweet for us that cant!!!

Some do it and others don't.   They can attest to its effectiveness.   I think it is really what works for you, like most putting methods are.   I used to put my index finger down the shaft.  Then I tried both index fingers down.   Now, I don't do either.   I  settled for left hand below the right.  It helped me with back swing which in turn helped me square the club at impact.  

BTW, I've got down total putts per round to 31 and a fraction.   It was due to renewed practice of chipping and putting.  I am chipping shots closer to the pin which led to less number of putts per round.

[Strat-Pack Rick]

Whats up Bogey Boys/Girls !!!!! Well , I went to a new course today and had an absolute blast. It was the hilliest place ive ever seen in Florida and the wind was blowing pretty good. Now that I have my excuses out of the way, I shot an 88. Wasnt bad though. For everything I struggled with something equally positive happened as well. I had a little pitch shot chase the flag stick into the hole to save par, haha. I got lucky, because that ball would have ran out the back of the green. 100 yds and in was good to me today but i struggled mightily with the 4-iron and 3-hybrid. Im blaming the wind but........it was me. Good news is , although i didnt sniff 79 I did okay positioning myself throughout the course. I hit my driver well in spite of the wind and had decent looks on the shorter par 4's. Gotta get those longer clubs workin', Thats what i feel let me down the most. Hit Em Good Yall !!