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

[newtogolf]

56 minutes ago, rkim291968 said:

Last week, I placed a mirror in my living room so that I can do some mirror work.  I admire my golf form in the mirror but can't replicate that feeling in field. Sigh.

It is tough, something about actually having to hit a ball turns my smooth technically correct mirror swing into something that still requires a lot of work.

[dkolo]

Big day yesterday! Shot a personal-best 88 and it dropped my handicap down to 19.9! Driving was erratic but the irons I've been working on were a big savior. Chipping was very sharp but for some reason I struggled mightily with pitching, which had been a strength, blading 3 badly and leaving one short which was just misjudging distance on the first hole sans warmup. But these are all fixable with practice time I'd reassigned to irons.  Putting has continued to be an asset after switching putters this year and doing a lot of work on green reading with a level in practice. In any event, lots to build on from a couple great rounds in the low 90s and high 80s. There's a low 80s round in there if penalty strokes go away. 

[RFKFREAK]

3 hours ago, dkolo said:

Big day yesterday! Shot a personal-best 88 and it dropped my handicap down to 19.9! Driving was erratic but the irons I've been working on were a big savior. Chipping was very sharp but for some reason I struggled mightily with pitching, which had been a strength, blading 3 badly and leaving one short which was just misjudging distance on the first hole sans warmup. But these are all fixable with practice time I'd reassigned to irons.  Putting has continued to be an asset after switching putters this year and doing a lot of work on green reading with a level in practice. In any event, lots to build on from a couple great rounds in the low 90s and high 80s. There's a low 80s round in there if penalty strokes go away. 

Nicely done, counselor! 

[rkim291968]

In 2015, I came close to escape from playing bogey golf, my HI dipping to low 16s at one point.   I was making steady progress until I took another series of swing lessons later in the year.   While going through the change, the HI went back up to mid 19s.   I am finally getting used to the new swing and started playing more consistently.   The HI went downward again and is now at low 18s.   I will break out of being a bogey golfer in 2016. I guarantee . 

[Lihu]

I'm back with you guys. . .

Well, my first posting (two 9 hole postings) in my new club with:

43 (35.9/129) = 12 differential

46 (34/118) = 22 differential

GHIN combines the two scores into the second one for a 17.4 differential which puts me at a single score handicap of roughly 16.7.

For the fabulous "46" I had 5 strokes from within 80 yards and 4 strokes inside 20 yards past the hole. Must have been a brain fart or something. . .

[natureboy]

On 11/29/2015 at 2:48 PM, dkolo said:

Big day yesterday! Shot a personal-best 88 and it dropped my handicap down to 19.9! 

Well done.

[rkim291968]

31 minutes ago, Lihu said:

I'm back with you guys. . .

Get out of here, @Lihu.   We don't want you.  Get back to where you once belong.  Get back, @Lihu.  

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, rkim291968 said:

Get out of here, @Lihu.   We don't want you.  Get back to where you once belong.  Get back, @Lihu.  

I feel so welcome!

 

 

 

[Marty2019]

Although I like to claim I shoot in the mid-80s, if I didn't do a small amount of cheating each round, one mulligan per side, occasionally rolling my ball over in the fairway, I would probably be around 90.   So I am a bogey golfer.   Here is my experience. 

I gave up the game because of back pain for about 15 years, and came back to it just a couple of years ago.  I am now 62 and retired.   I belong to a local public course which for a monthly fee gives me unlimited range balls and use of the practice chipping and putting greens. 

The way my game is, the most important shot for me is the tee shot.   Gotta get my ball in the fairway to have any chance at all.   So I spend a lot of time on the range hitting my driver. 

After the tee shot, I can almost always get the ball in the proximity of the green in regulation.  That makes the second most important thing my short game.  I have to avoid large numbers, double and triple bogeys.   Bogey has to be the worst I do.   If I can get up and down, I can avoid the big numbers.  

I can't practice the full swing every day.  I get sore.  So my current plan is, have a go-to tee shot that will get the ball in the fairway every time, and work on my short game.  That's my plan.  

I got to the driving range, and I have to say, I really envy these young guys who are so flexible and can hit the ball a mile.  I wish that, when I was in my 20s, I knew what I know now about how to swing a club.  I would have been so much better. 

Anyway, how to break 90?   Get a go-to tee shot and avoid large numbers with good chipping and putting.  That's my opinion. 

 

[Lihu]

2 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

Anyway, how to break 90?   Get a go-to tee shot and avoid large numbers with good chipping and putting.  That's my opinion.

Having broken 80 a few times, the best rounds I've had were excellent driving rounds and my approach shots were almost flawless in the result (still mishit many times, but they were "good misses"). My putting and chipping were just not really horrible on those occasions, but still nothing to brag about.

[Marty2019]

19 hours ago, Lihu said:

Having broken 80 a few times, the best rounds I've had were excellent driving rounds and my approach shots were almost flawless in the result (still mishit many times, but they were "good misses"). My putting and chipping were just not really horrible on those occasions, but still nothing to brag about.

I wonder, though, what you mean by "not really horrible."   I see a lot of guys (including myself a lot in the past) who should get up and down for maybe a par and at worst a bogey, but instead they chili-dip their first chip shot, get their next chip shot on the green, and two-putt for double bogey, and sometimes even three-putt for triple-bogey.   That would be my standard of "really horrible." 

[Lihu]

3 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

I wonder, though, what you mean by "not really horrible."   I see a lot of guys (including myself a lot in the past) who should get up and down for maybe a par and at worst a bogey, but instead they chili-dip their first chip shot, get their next chip shot on the green, and two-putt for double bogey, and sometimes even three-putt for triple-bogey.   That would be my standard of "really horrible." 

That's also what I mean.

The horrible short game generally starts from a tight lie with the ball inside a divot or rut from a pulled or hooked approach or simply a tight lie with a downhill landing. It can cost me up to 4 strokes total which happened to me on my last round, along with the standard bumbling around the greens. Here's what happened, I overshot an approach landing under a temporary fence. Took the nearest point of relief which was by a tree. Bumped it too high on the high bank and the ball landed on the steepest part of the green going downhill rolling off the front of the green hitting a small rut channeling it behind the front bunker. Bumped up over a section of bunker 10 feet past the pin, then 2 putt for a double. My original approach was only 80 yards.

This type of thing usually happens at least once or twice a round, but on some rounds it doesn't and I call those my "not horrible" short game rounds.

Things come together when I end up on or below the green with a straight shot to the pin. If I can bump and run or have a nice flat fairway lie then my scrambling percentage goes up considerably. Unfortunately, my shot zones are not tight enough for my desired strategy. I'll need to make some adjustments to my approach strategy.

[rkim291968]

My ball striking is coming together well.  I played 13 holes today and had one of the best ball striking round I can remember - no balls lost, 3 GIRs in 13 holes played.   But for the life of me, I could not buy a putt, I even started the round with three straight 3-putts.   It also took 5 tries to get out of one bunker, leading to an 8 on an easy par 3 hole.   I.e, I had a typical bogey golf round - doing well on one thing and screwing up another.

 

[Lihu]

31 minutes ago, rkim291968 said:

My ball striking is coming together well.  I played 13 holes today and had one of the best ball striking round I can remember - no balls lost, 3 GIRs in 13 holes played.   But for the life of me, I could not buy a putt, I even started the round with three straight 3-putts.   It also took 5 tries to get out of one bunker, leading to an 8 on an easy par 3 hole.   I.e, I had a typical bogey golf round - doing well on one thing and screwing up another.

It was the adrenaline rush from hitting balls so well. . .great stuff!

[Lihu]

Latest differential 10.4 when combined with 17.4 averages to 14.05. That's pretty much still bogey. . .

[DrvFrShow]

It might be warm enough to go to the range on Tuesday. It's been very cold here.... Canada weather. 

So I've been practicing my new putting stroke with my new putter that I got over the holidays - that 48" Odyssey Dart. I'm trying side-saddle and anchoring my elbow and upper arm, which since the USGA clearly defined what they mean by an anchor point (forearm or top of the club to the body with a long putter) I'm perfectly legal. I've found that once I have the speed of something figured out I'm more accurate on distance and line since I line up the putter square in my putting stance and it's simply figuring out how much I have to swing the putter. It worked for Sam Snead, maybe it can work for me this year.

[rkim291968]

Today, I had another solid ball striking round.   The new swing is here to stay.   It has contributed to a significantly less number of OBs per round.   But my short game has regressed.   All the raining of late has kept me away from short game range practice.   Today's score lowered my HI to 18.4, and I have 4 more easy rounds to beat.   2.4 more points to go before escaping from bogey golfer land.

 

Nope, 14+ HI does not make a bogey golfer, @Lihu.   Sorry, buddy, but keep posting on the thread as an alumni.  

[Lihu]

On 1/10/2016 at 5:36 PM, rkim291968 said:

Today, I had another solid ball striking round.   The new swing is here to stay.   It has contributed to a significantly less number of OBs per round.   But my short game has regressed.   All the raining of late has kept me away from short game range practice.   Today's score lowered my HI to 18.4, and I have 4 more easy rounds to beat.   2.4 more points to go before escaping from bogey golfer land.

 

Nope, 14+ HI does not make a bogey golfer, @Lihu.   Sorry, buddy, but keep posting on the thread as an alumni.  

Good job on the swing improvement.

You sound like you've even taken it to the course. Huge step in my mind. I still can't take my latest change on the course and it will probably take a long time to ingrain it.

Thanks, I will.