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

[MissouriHack]

  chasm said:

I've been back playing for five months after a six or seven year absence. Back in the day I was an occasional player, with a handicap of 18. This time round I have invested in lessons from the outset, and have found that I have got to 18 again reasonably fast. I'm confident that my new swing is much better than my old one, though inevitably I'm still inconsistent. I'm principally working on tempo. Most of my bad shots seem to result from my quickening up and snatching at the transition, resulting in something that is more of a heave than a swing, hitting it fat. But if I focus on rhythm, slow back, give myself time to change direction, then commit, things go better. Apart from that, my short game needs work, especially putting. I hit the ball as well as most of the 12-15 handicappers that I play with, [U]but they are better players around the greens[/U] .

I carry a 52*,56*, and a 60*. I played today and use them on the front nine. The back nine I went back to using just my pitching wedge wedge around the green like I did went I first started playing. I managed to save par 3 times if I remember correctly. While on the the front 9 it cost me at least 6 strokes using the "fancy wedges". My putting has improved, and my ball striking is coming along. If I can start getting up and down 25% of the time, I should be able to reach my goal of shooting an 85 by the end of the year.

[isukgolf]

  rkim291968 said:

Your main issue is your username!

Change it to something like idrive300, ilive4golf, igolfking, i1puttalways, .....   It will lower your HI by 2 points immediately.

LOL ... Nicely played ... I wish it was that easy ... I'd change it to iBeatTiger@Golf

I use that name, because I see the lighter/funny side of golf ... and I embrace that I am recreational golfer out for a round of golf with my buds ...

[MissouriHack]

Got another birdie the other day. That brings my lifetime total to eight. lol. I did stick with the pitching wedge around the greens. makes things less interesting so I am going to stick with that.

[Lihu]

  MissouriHack said:

Got another birdie the other day. That brings my lifetime total to eight. lol. I did stick with the pitching wedge around the greens. makes things less interesting so I am going to stick with that.

Congratulations!

The last thing you want is more "interesting" playing while trying to lower your score.

[rkim291968]

  MissouriHack said:

Got another birdie the other day. That brings my lifetime total to eight. lol. I did stick with the pitching wedge around the greens. makes things less interesting so I am going to stick with that.

When I started playing golf, I stuck to using SW for almost all chipping.  Then, I've practiced and added gap & lob wedges and my short game improved.  More recently, I've added 9i for chip-putting off from green.  It improved my short game further.   Now, I am practicing chip-putting using 7i for longer distances.   It's hard to convert the improvements into number of strokes I am saving but I am sticking to them.

[chasm]

I've been hitting the ball well off the tee lately, and feeling that if things continued to improve I'd see significant reductions in my handicap. So this morning I went out and had an absolute nightmare. I hit two fairways out of 13, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong, I was demented. So after lunch I went back out on my own and played nine more holes. Shot 40 - 6 over par - and drove the ball beautifully, by my standards. And I figured it out. During the round in the morning I'd lost my tempo, in my frustration I'd quickened up. Not much, but enough. Remarkable how fragile we high-handicappers are, and how easy it is to slip into elementary errors.

[Lihu]

  chasm said:

I've been hitting the ball well off the tee lately, and feeling that if things continued to improve I'd see significant reductions in my handicap.

So this morning I went out and had an absolute nightmare. I hit two fairways out of 13, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong, I was demented.

So after lunch I went back out on my own and played nine more holes. Shot 40 - 6 over par - and drove the ball beautifully, by my standards. And I figured it out. During the round in the morning I'd lost my tempo, in my frustration I'd quickened up. Not much, but enough.

Remarkable how fragile we high-handicappers are, and how easy it is to slip into elementary errors.

Slight correction, we're bogey golfers.

[chasm]

  Lihu said:

Slight correction, we're bogey golfers.

You don't think a handicap of 18 is high? That's bogey golf, and it seems pretty high to me.

[rkim291968]

  chasm said:

Remarkable how fragile we high-handicappers are, and how easy it is to slip into elementary errors.

That pretty much defines most of us, myself firmly included.  It's easy to forget what I practiced (and thought I mastered) and I don't have time to practice everything all the time.   For example, when I focus on improving driver, I don't have time to maintain my short game.   These days, I am good at putting, driving, long irons but losing strokes with short game & hybrid/woods.   Sigh.

BTW, bogey golfer = high handicapper IMO.   Legit bogey golfer (who keeps GHIN) = better than most weekend golfers.

[Lihu]

  chasm said:

You don't think a handicap of 18 is high? That's bogey golf, and it seems pretty high to me.

If you are actually shooting 16-22 strokes over par on 70/122 rated courses, you are not too bad. I guess it depends to whom you are comparing yourself.

[suchjosh]

I think the game is considerably more enjoyable in the "bogey golf" range than it is in the higher handicap ranges, so I think there is definitely a distinction to be made between bogey golfers and those scoring 100+ (no offense to the high cappers, of course!)

[teamroper60]

  chasm said:

During the round in the morning I'd lost my tempo, in my frustration I'd quickened up. Not much, but enough. Remarkable how fragile we high-handicappers are, and how easy it is to slip into elementary errors.

I couldn't agree more about the fragility of our game at this stage and can definitely sympathize with your tempo problem. I have been struggling mightily for the past month with my tempo and with looking up before impact. Between those two issues, I've had several rounds where I felt lucky to stay under 100.

[damntree]

I'm 24 just started playing in march. I mostly play boogey golf every once in a while a little better or a little worse. I would say my irons are probably were I struggle most mainly consistency. I have also noticed if I play close together say sunday then Tuesday one day ill be +14 the next I'm plus 20 something which kills my confidence. Sunday I was 4 inches feom an egale on a par 4. The next hole I had my first drive over 300 yards with downhill help. Today I only shot to par like twice it was awful. Anyway I've been thinking about lessons just have to get my wife on board. And thinking anout new irons just for confidence. I have a set of 96 big berthas.

[Chris223]

I am definitely a bogey golfer.  My best score ever is an 86, but I typically shoot between 94 and 97 on the harder courses around here.  My short game is what kills me.  I can't get up and down chipping or out of the sand and I can't make putts.  I typically putt 40+ times per round.  I three putt probably 6-7 holes per round.  It's bad.  I have no confidence chipping, at all.  I often find myself taking good practice swings but then hitting the chip shot I am afraid to hit the ball and it winds up just barely getting on the green.  A good round for me includes about 5-6 pars and maybe a bird.  The rest, bogeys, doubles.  I have gotten really good the last couple years at not scoring worse than a double bogey most of the time.  But that's not to say I have at least one absolutely disaster of a hole each round that really hurts.  Often times that disaster is a snowman.

[rkim291968]

  Chris223 said:

I am definitely a bogey golfer.  My best score ever is an 86, but I typically shoot between 94 and 97 on the harder courses around here.  My short game is what kills me.  I can't get up and down chipping or out of the sand and I can't make putts.  I typically putt 40+ times per round.  I three putt probably 6-7 holes per round.  It's bad.  I have no confidence chipping, at all.  I often find myself taking good practice swings but then hitting the chip shot I am afraid to hit the ball and it winds up just barely getting on the green.  A good round for me includes about 5-6 pars and maybe a bird.  The rest, bogeys, doubles.  I have gotten really good the last couple years at not scoring worse than a double bogey most of the time.  But that's not to say I have at least one absolutely disaster of a hole each round that really hurts.  Often times that disaster is a snowman.

Good news.  Short game is easier to improve IMO & in my experience.   When you go to range, practice short game first before you hit any range balls.  You will get out of bogey golfer status in no time.

[chasm]

  damntree said:

I'm 24 just started playing in march. I mostly play boogey golf every once in a while a little better or a little worse. I would say my irons are probably were I struggle most mainly consistency. I have also noticed if I play close together say sunday then Tuesday one day ill be +14 the next I'm plus 20 something which kills my confidence. Sunday I was 4 inches feom an egale on a par 4. The next hole I had my first drive over 300 yards with downhill help. Today I only shot to par like twice it was awful. Anyway I've been thinking about lessons just have to get my wife on board. And thinking anout new irons just for confidence. I have a set of 96 big berthas.

If you're shooting around 90 after only three months without taking any lessons, I'd say you're doing well and probably have the potential ror rapid improvement. Get some lessons, though. Getting the fundamentals right now will save you a lot of grief in the future.

[damntree]

Yeah ive been looking into it sadly in my area there arent a lot of choices. But I definitely need to because inconsistent ball striking is confidence killer.

[NJpatbee]

  rkim291968 said:

Good news.  Short game is easier to improve IMO & in my experience.   When you go to range, practice short game first before you hit any range balls.  You will get out of bogey golfer status in no time.

I am suffering from the same short game disease, in some cases being just off the green in regulation and taking a triple bogey by skulling a chip across the green into the rough, followed by a chili-dip, a mediocre chip onto the green, and 2 putts.  I am striking the ball off the tee and in the fairway very well for my game, but then throwing 10-15 strokes away with the wedge and putter.

There has been some talk on this thread about staying with the same club around the green, and I have been sticking with my PW.  Starting this weekend I am going to start practicing and playing the 7 iron from right off the green, which I used to do but stopped for whatever reason.  As for my putting, I have to take time to practice on a green similar to the ones I play more than just before I tee off - most independent practice ranges have shaggy putting greens, so I have to go to the course.

I do agree with the statement above that the short game is easier to improve, but it took until 2-3 weeks ago to keep my drives in the fairway which is a pre-requisite for me to playing.