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

[Lihu]

I can use some instructions for sure.  The funny thing is, I can hit 220+ yards at range at will.  The current course makes me slow down my tempo for accuracy.     That may explain why FIR is very good but distance is down (slower swing speed, and lack of roll).    It's a mental thing.

Maybe if you could find some easier courses to play for a while to get your confidence up again?

[rkim291968]

Shot 103 on Saturday (rain and wind), and 93 on Sunday.  I had my share of pars and bogeys but the big number holes are killing me.   I seem to follow one bad shot with 2 - 3 more bad ones for quads, and quintuples.   Perhaps, I am trying too hard after the initial bad shot.

[Lihu]

Shot 103 on Saturday (rain and wind), and 93 on Sunday.  I had my share of pars and bogeys but the big number holes are killing me.   I seem to follow one bad shot with 2 - 3 more bad ones for quads, and quintuples.   Perhaps, I am trying too hard after the initial bad shot.

This wasn't your 2.5 hour round was it?

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

Shot 103 on Saturday (rain and wind), and 93 on Sunday.  I had my share of pars and bogeys but the big number holes are killing me.   I seem to follow one bad shot with 2 - 3 more bad ones for quads, and quintuples.   Perhaps, I am trying too hard after the initial bad shot.

This wasn't your 2.5 hour round was it?

It was.

[Lihu]

It was.

Well, I hope you learned something from this.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

It was.

Well, I hope you learned something from this.

It's hard to play in rainy, windy, and muddy condition.   Shots are not the same.  I knew I'd lose about 5 strokes due to the condition but a weekend day is a terrible thing to waste by staying home.

[teamroper60]

I played last Friday and Saturday.   First time I had played in almost 2 weeks.  Temp on Friday was 42 with 15-20mph wind.   Saturday it was 59 with 5-10mph wind.  Shot 83 on Friday and 87 on Saturday.   Saturday, I was better off the tee and in the fairway but was worse on the greens.      Can't really explain that one but it is what it is..    At least I was playing golf!!

[straightslice]

Played back to back rounds. This course is par 37/35. Yesterday I went 53/44. Started front 9 horribly highlighted by a 9 on a relatively easy par 5. Recovered with +9 on back 9 ending par-par on 17-18. Today, same course, started with much promise. Went Par, par, double, par, par on first 5 holes. Thought I would blow by 90. That's what I get for thinking. Had 4 triples over next 7 holes. Took a call from the wife and everything came unglued. Ended with 5 pars, record for me, and 5 bogies. The triples killed me. 47/50 for another 97. Thought I'd at least hit my midterm goal of 95. I'm working on GIR+1. Basically always have a par putt. When I did that, bogey or par. Otherwise, not so much. Hoping to get another round on Sunday if it dries out.

[Jspin]

Played back to back rounds. This course is par 37/35. Yesterday I went 53/44. Started front 9 horribly highlighted by a 9 on a relatively easy par 5. Recovered with +9 on back 9 ending par-par on 17-18. Today, same course, started with much promise. Went Par, par, double, par, par on first 5 holes. Thought I would blow by 90. That's what I get for thinking. Had 4 triples over next 7 holes. Took a call from the wife and everything came unglued. Ended with 5 pars, record for me, and 5 bogies. The triples killed me. 47/50 for another 97. Thought I'd at least hit my midterm goal of 95. I'm working on GIR+1. Basically always have a par putt. When I did that, bogey or par. Otherwise, not so much. Hoping to get another round on Sunday if it dries out.

I completely sympathize. My greatest challenge isn't anything technique wise, but just getting off to a good start. More 48-40 rounds than I care to have. Getting to the course early enought to warm up helps, but doesn't guarantee anything for me. I've Lowered my hcp by 5 strokes over the last 3 years and found half of the progress is just from practicing good course management and just finding out the hard way what works for me in optimizing performance out there.

[teamroper60]

4 rounds since my last post, including the past two days..  80, 93, 80, 80.    80 is my best score ever and being able to back it up with two more gives me hope that I am finally getting somewhere..    Sadly, I can't post those rounds since we are in an off season here until sometime next year..

Changing home courses begining Jan. 1.   The new course includes a par 6.   It has a slightly lower CR and slope but it has always kicked my ass..   I expect my scores to creep up for a while anyway..  Wouldn't have changed but I got an opportunity to join it for half the price of the current one and it is only 6 miles further from my house..

[rkim291968]

4 rounds since my last post, including the past two days..  80, 93, 80, 80.    80 is my best score ever and being able to back it up with two more gives me hope that I am finally getting somewhere..    Sadly, I can't post those rounds since we are in an off season here until sometime next year..

Changing home courses begining Jan. 1.   The new course includes a par 6.   It has a slightly lower CR and slope but it has always kicked my ass..   I expect my scores to creep up for a while anyway..  Wouldn't have changed but I got an opportunity to join it for half the price of the current one and it is only 6 miles further from my house..

3 out of 4 career best in the last 4 rounds?   Please share what worked.    What began to click?   Inquiring mind wants to know .

In similar 6 round span with new driver & hybrid, I had 4 rounds in a row with over 100.  That is my worst such streak.   I am blaming the muddy field condition despite added distance with my new clubs.

[teamroper60]

3 out of 4 career best in the last 4 rounds?   Please share what worked.    What began to click?   Inquiring mind wants to know .

I wish I knew for sure, so I could continue to duplicate it!!     About the only thing I can say I was consciously working on was course management, trying to get GIR or NGIR (GIR+1), etc..   When I had a shot from a bad location/lie, I started looking for the "safe" shot to get the ball back in play and give me a shot to save par or at worst, bogey.   The other thing I did was, if I was in-between clubs on an approach shot, I picked my club based on where the pin was located on the green.   Front pins, I opted for the longer club, middle or back pins, the shorter one.

Here are some stats from those three:

first one: 57% fairways, 39% GIR, 44% GIR+1, 31 putts, 1 eagle, 1 birdie, 8 pars

second one: 79% fairways, 44% GIR, 33% GIR+1, 29 putts, 3 birdies, 7 pars

last one: 64% fairways, 50% GIR, 50% GIR+1, 35 putts, 10 pars

The only real common denominator that stands out to me is the number 10.   On each day, I played 10 holes at par or better..  (yesterday I had no doubles at all).

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

3 out of 4 career best in the last 4 rounds?   Please share what worked.    What began to click?   Inquiring mind wants to know .

I wish I knew for sure, so I could continue to duplicate it!!     About the only thing I can say I was consciously working on was course management, trying to get GIR or NGIR (GIR+1), etc..   When I had a shot from a bad location/lie, I started looking for the "safe" shot to get the ball back in play and give me a shot to save par or at worst, bogey.   The other thing I did was, if I was in-between clubs on an approach shot, I picked my club based on where the pin was located on the green.   Front pins, I opted for the longer club, middle or back pins, the shorter one.

Here are some stats from those three:

first one: 57% fairways, 39% GIR, 44% GIR+1, 31 putts, 1 eagle, 1 birdie, 8 pars

second one: 79% fairways, 44% GIR, 33% GIR+1, 29 putts, 3 birdies, 7 pars

last one: 64% fairways, 50% GIR, 50% GIR+1, 35 putts, 10 pars

The only real common denominator that stands out to me is the number 10.   On each day, I played 10 holes at par or better..  (yesterday I had no doubles at all).

GIR number stands out.  You must be striking your irons well.   Total putts given your GIR are also outstanding.

[dkolo]

I finally broke 90 this weekend! Snuck in right under the wire with an 89. On the 18th, I had done the math incorrectly in my head counting up my score on the day, so I thought I had a couple more strokes to work with. I casually knocked in a 6 foot putt to close out the day, and my brother told me that that had been for 89 and he hadn't told me to keep the pressure off. I thought it was for 87 and was just looking to get it close because I thought I had the sub-90 sewn up. Very glad that didn't backfire! I did everything I could on the 18th to screw up my day. The goal was to just find the fairway with my tee shot, so I clubbed down and hit a 3-wood... onto an adjacent fairway. Then my recovery punch was hooked into the woods (lost) and the provisional clipped a branch. But I hit a nice approach and two-putted.

Big thing that day was that it was the very first time I put my driver back in the bag since 2013. I had taken it out in favor of playing 3-wood off the tee for all of this year, which was a great call, because I was able to work on my mechanics and up my 3-wood distance from 180ish to hitting 230-240 consistently when I was playing a lot. I finally put driver back in this week after having taken a lesson 2 weeks ago, and the pro got me straightened out within 20 minutes. Went from a big banana ball to really nice straight drives, even a few draws. Only things we changed were putting the ball way forward, strengthening right hand grip a tiny amount, and closing my shoulders up. I had been setting up with my feet pointed right of target to try to get a draw, but I didn't realize my shoulders and hips remained pointed left of target, causing the path to go out to in. Simple adjustment helped immensely. Since then, I'd been going to Golfsmith to dream on some new drivers (love the Callaway Big Bertha 815 with a stiff shaft and set to 9° -- maybe next Black Friday when it comes 60% off with a free fairway wood thrown in like they did this year!) and getting some really good data from those monitors and the driving range. The added distance and the fact that the course was playing pretty short (a lot of forward temporary winter tees) made it a really good day. Got two birdies and made some really good shots. Really felt like I could step up and smash the ball without too much thinking for the first time on Saturday.

I backed it up with a 93 the next day on a tougher course. I lost 6 penalty strokes on due to having to play out provisional balls because tee shots just couldn't be found in the heavy leaves of the rough, so the 89 wasn't a total fluke. My handicap is back down to 22.1 after having bounced up to almost 23 after a couple of rough rounds. I only started keeping it in May, but the accountability of keeping one has given me good feedback, and it's come down from 30 to 22. Hopefully I can get it to sub-20 next year and shoot in the 80s more often.

[RFKFREAK]

I finally broke 90 this weekend! Snuck in right under the wire with an 89. On the 18th, I had done the math incorrectly in my head counting up my score on the day, so I thought I had a couple more strokes to work with. I casually knocked in a 6 foot putt to close out the day, and my brother told me that that had been for 89 and he hadn't told me to keep the pressure off. I thought it was for 87 and was just looking to get it close because I thought I had the sub-90 sewn up. Very glad that didn't backfire! I did everything I could on the 18th to screw up my day. The goal was to just find the fairway with my tee shot, so I clubbed down and hit a 3-wood... onto an adjacent fairway. Then my recovery punch was hooked into the woods (lost) and the provisional clipped a branch. But I hit a nice approach and two-putted.

Big thing that day was that it was the very first time I put my driver back in the bag since 2013. I had taken it out in favor of playing 3-wood off the tee for all of this year, which was a great call, because I was able to work on my mechanics and up my 3-wood distance from 180ish to hitting 230-240 consistently when I was playing a lot. I finally put driver back in this week after having taken a lesson 2 weeks ago, and the pro got me straightened out within 20 minutes. Went from a big banana ball to really nice straight drives, even a few draws. Only things we changed were putting the ball way forward, strengthening right hand grip a tiny amount, and closing my shoulders up. I had been setting up with my feet pointed right of target to try to get a draw, but I didn't realize my shoulders and hips remained pointed left of target, causing the path to go out to in. Simple adjustment helped immensely. Since then, I'd been going to Golfsmith to dream on some new drivers (love the Callaway Big Bertha 815 with a stiff shaft and set to 9° -- maybe next Black Friday when it comes 60% off with a free fairway wood thrown in like they did this year!) and getting some really good data from those monitors and the driving range. The added distance and the fact that the course was playing pretty short (a lot of forward temporary winter tees) made it a really good day. Got two birdies and made some really good shots. Really felt like I could step up and smash the ball without too much thinking for the first time on Saturday.

I backed it up with a 93 the next day on a tougher course. I lost 6 penalty strokes on due to having to play out provisional balls because tee shots just couldn't be found in the heavy leaves of the rough, so the 89 wasn't a total fluke. My handicap is back down to 22.1 after having bounced up to almost 23 after a couple of rough rounds. I only started keeping it in May, but the accountability of keeping one has given me good feedback, and it's come down from 30 to 22. Hopefully I can get it to sub-20 next year and shoot in the 80s more often.

Nice job!

What course did you play to break 90?

[dkolo]

Nice job! :dance: :banana:   What course did you play to break 90?

Thanks! Sunken Meadow, Green to Red.

[rkim291968]

I finally broke 90 this weekend! Snuck in right under the wire with an 89. On the 18th, I had done the math incorrectly in my head counting up my score on the day, so I thought I had a couple more strokes to work with. I casually knocked in a 6 foot putt to close out the day, and my brother told me that that had been for 89 and he hadn't told me to keep the pressure off. I thought it was for 87 and was just looking to get it close because I thought I had the sub-90 sewn up. Very glad that didn't backfire! I did everything I could on the 18th to screw up my day. The goal was to just find the fairway with my tee shot, so I clubbed down and hit a 3-wood... onto an adjacent fairway. Then my recovery punch was hooked into the woods (lost) and the provisional clipped a branch. But I hit a nice approach and two-putted.

Big thing that day was that it was the very first time I put my driver back in the bag since 2013. I had taken it out in favor of playing 3-wood off the tee for all of this year, which was a great call, because I was able to work on my mechanics and up my 3-wood distance from 180ish to hitting 230-240 consistently when I was playing a lot. I finally put driver back in this week after having taken a lesson 2 weeks ago, and the pro got me straightened out within 20 minutes. Went from a big banana ball to really nice straight drives, even a few draws. Only things we changed were putting the ball way forward, strengthening right hand grip a tiny amount, and closing my shoulders up. I had been setting up with my feet pointed right of target to try to get a draw, but I didn't realize my shoulders and hips remained pointed left of target, causing the path to go out to in. Simple adjustment helped immensely. Since then, I'd been going to Golfsmith to dream on some new drivers (love the Callaway Big Bertha 815 with a stiff shaft and set to 9° -- maybe next Black Friday when it comes 60% off with a free fairway wood thrown in like they did this year!) and getting some really good data from those monitors and the driving range. The added distance and the fact that the course was playing pretty short (a lot of forward temporary winter tees) made it a really good day. Got two birdies and made some really good shots. Really felt like I could step up and smash the ball without too much thinking for the first time on Saturday.

I backed it up with a 93 the next day on a tougher course. I lost 6 penalty strokes on due to having to play out provisional balls because tee shots just couldn't be found in the heavy leaves of the rough, so the 89 wasn't a total fluke. My handicap is back down to 22.1 after having bounced up to almost 23 after a couple of rough rounds. I only started keeping it in May, but the accountability of keeping one has given me good feedback, and it's come down from 30 to 22. Hopefully I can get it to sub-20 next year and shoot in the 80s more often.

Good going!   Good luck with your new driver hunt.   I did a few golfsmith session and got a new driver.   It's nice to see my drives ended up further up on fairways.

I've signed up for lessons at Golftec, and started to work out for golf.   I will see where they take me.

[teamroper60]

I finally broke 90 this weekend!

Congratulations!!    Hopefully this is just the start of a freefall for your handicap!!