Hi Everyone - This Year My Aim to Break 20 Handicap

[PeterTrent]

Hi everyone. Just found this forum. This year I want to break 20 Handicap. (I said that last year but failed. I am 23 Handicap.) Any advice anyone can give to a bogey golfer to break this milestone?

My GIR is about 50%, my GIR+1 is 100%. Around the Green is about 2.6.

 

[RandallT]

Welcome!

For starters, you can catch up on this thread! It's quite long, but there is a ton of chatter about that very topic:

The key will likely be to find a key problem with your swing (not easy for us not trained in the golf instruction), and then chipping away at that problem. One at a time, until you eventually see those fixes start to show up on the course as improved distance and consistency. Here's a good start on the instruction topics:

 

[chilepepper]

Take some lessons. That made a difference to me. Post a swing video, I've yet to do that , but it's free online help. Practice practice practice. Good luck......it's a journey

[David in FL]

42 minutes ago, RandallT said:

Welcome!

For starters, you can catch up on this thread! It's quite long, but there is a ton of chatter about that very topic:

The key will likely be to find a key problem with your swing (not easy for us not trained in the golf instruction), and then chipping away at that problem. One at a time, until you eventually see those fixes start to show up on the course as improved distance and consistency. Here's a good start on the instruction topics:

 

^^^  Some great threads there! ^^^

I'd also offer that you might take the time to review your stats, you're right in that they can give you some insight as to where your biggest opportunities lie.  If you really hit 50% GIR, unless you're the single worst putter in the history of the game, you should be well into the single digits.  At my current hcp, I'd be really happy to average 9 GIR per round.

Good luck this year, and welcome to the site!  

 

 

 

[saevel25]

5 hours ago, PeterTrent said:

Hi everyone. Just found this forum. This year I want to break 20 Handicap. (I said that last year but failed. I am 23 Handicap.) Any advice anyone can give to a bogey golfer to break this milestone?

My GIR is about 50%, my GIR+1 is 100%. Around the Green is about 2.6.

If you hit 50% in GIR, no two putting, and 50% scrambling should get you in the single digits. 

If you average, basically zero scrambling. 50% scrambling would be 1.5 around the green. You definitely need to work on your short game and putting. 

I would check out these threads for short game help,

 

[No Mulligans]

I'd suggest setting some actionable goals.  For example:

• I'm going to find a reputable instructor and start lessons this month.  
• I'm going to practice 5 days a week and focus on the drills/priority that the instructor has given me.
• I'm going to play golf 8 times a month

Just an example, yours may be different.  The idea is, if I do those things then it is really likely I'll improve my game and decrease my HI.  

[Big C]

5 hours ago, PeterTrent said:

My GIR is about 50%, my GIR+1 is 100%. Around the Green is about 2.6.

 

Welcome to the forum. 

I'm not familiar with the GIR +1 stat. If it means what I think it means (holes where you are on the green in 1 over regulation?), then you would have to be the worlds worst putter not to already be a single digit handicap. Essentially at 100%, you are putting for par on every single hole.

I'm a 7 index and I don't hit 50% of greens. My GIR +1 is probably somewhere around 90%. 

The percentages you are citing just don't match up with a 23 handicap.

[sjduffers]

Ditto what @Big C said. I am around 10, don't hit 50% GIR (just around 30+% in fact) and my GIR+1 is around 83-84%, but I am a decent to good putter.

If you indeed have 50% GIR and 100% GIR+1, you must be 3 and 4 putting nearly every hole, as simply 2 putting everything would put you at 9 over par and if you do that every time, you'd be in between 8 and 11 handicap depending on the course difficulty, nowhere near a 23 handicap.

Do be a 23 handicap, you'd need another 14-15 shots per round, on the green. That means 3-putting almost every hole!

[PeterTrent]

Wow thanks for the advice everyone. It has made me go back to my stats again. And I think I can see some areas that could be causing the problem.

8 hours ago, sjduffers said:

Ditto what @Big C said. I am around 10, don't hit 50% GIR (just around 30+% in fact) and my GIR+1 is around 83-84%, but I am a decent to good putter.

If you indeed have 50% GIR and 100% GIR+1, you must be 3 and 4 putting nearly every hole, as simply 2 putting everything would put you at 9 over par and if you do that every time, you'd be in between 8 and 11 handicap depending on the course difficulty, nowhere near a 23 handicap.

Do be a 23 handicap, you'd need another 14-15 shots per round, on the green. That means 3-putting almost every hole!

Whoops, sorry about the confusion it was a typo. My around the green is 3.6 not 2.6.

It seems from what everyone is saying is my GIR appears quite good, but that might be due to the distance of the holes. (Cumberwell in the UK). There is only one hole that is really pushing the distance boundaries. It is a par 5 uphill and VERY long. I have never got to that green in regulation. The other holes, even the long ones, when I am on target I can get up close enough to the green to do a scramble.

Quote

I'm not familiar with the GIR +1 stat. If it means what I think it means (holes where you are on the green in 1 over regulation?), then you would have to be the worlds worst putter not to already be a single digit handicap. Essentially at 100%, you are putting for par on every single hole.

That is pretty much right, but its a long putt or long scramble in order to putt for par and I am rubbish at getting those close to the hole where I would be confident it getting it in. (The GIR+1 is from the Chart My Golf software. You are right about what it means. My exat figure is 97.2%)

On my holes where I am achieving a GIR my typical approach is a long putt. It is not uncommon for me to 3-putt with long putts. When I am not getting to the green in regulation I have avery awkward chip shot (20-30 yards) that quite often will go astray, even ending offgreen or in a bunker. When that happens that really messes up my around the green score.

So I am guessing my areas in need of improvement are the awkward 20-30 yard chips, but that is what I worked on last year, but with not great results. That range is really bad for me. One guy suggested I purposesly go short with my previous shot to get to the 50 yard range where I am more confident in judging distance. That could be a good idea, but seems counter intuative.

Also the other problem area is long putts. What does everyone do to get their long putts close enough to the hole to make it almost certain it will go in next shot. I am terrible at judging distance for that long range. I practice on the practice greens before each round, but when you get on the course all the slopes and stuff on the greens makes it impossible to judge distance to any great degree of accuracy.

Or maybe its my resulting medium putts that need the work?

[Club Rat]

17 hours ago, PeterTrent said:

My GIR is about 50%, my GIR+1 is 100%. Around the Green is about 2.6.

These numbers do not seem in order. 100% to be on a green with one additional stroke is not likely even for the worlds best.

Even on a short course, to achieve 97.2% would mean no penalties, no lost balls, no duffs, great recoveries every time.

 

[PeterTrent]

21 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

These numbers do not seem in order. 100% to be on a green with one additional stroke is not likely even for the worlds best.

Even on a short course, to achieve 97.2% would mean no penalties, no lost balls, no duffs, great recoveries every time.

 

It is hard to lose balls or get penalties as most fairways are adjacent to each other. There are just 3 water hazards. Two are on easy par 3s where the hazard does not really come into play. (One tee is very high compared to the green.) The other is a stream along one side of a hole, but that is easy to avoid by playing wide onto an adjacent fairway. When the pro's play the course sometimes they actually purposely play their shots onto adjacent fairways to get a better line into the green for the hole they are playing. Once we saw them doing this we all did the same thereafter. I think the GIR+1 figure appears to be an anomaly for my specific course, in which case my problems may be worse if I were to play elsewhere.

As I say above the 2.6 should be 3.6, and after looking at the stats again this does seem to be the problem area.

What should I do when I fail my GIR with a 20-30 yard shot? Should I play shorter on the shot prior to get to the 50+ yard range, or should I get more practice at this 20-30 range? Which would have more effect?

What do I do to get a better long putting or long scramble to get a better feel for distance? Note: the practice greens do not have the same length as the course greens. Also the practice greens are right next to the clubhouse at the top of the hill, so they may be playing a little faster than the course greens on most of the course.

Note: Also I am in the UK where they use CONGU. They do not use an averaging system like the US. If you have more erratic scores like me then the better rounds have a lot more impact, especially when I only play about 5-10 competition rounds a year.

Edited March 7, 2017 by PeterTrent

[Club Rat]

6 hours ago, PeterTrent said:

What should I do when I fail my GIR with a 20-30 yard shot? Should I play shorter on the shot prior to get to the 50+ yard range, or should I get more practice at this 20-30 range? Which would have more effect?

Short game approaches require multiple skilled shots for different situations and generally when possible, a bump and run is one approach that all high handicappers should play whenever possible. Higher skilled shots require more precision and skill level, but one needs to learn these skills and become comfortable playing.

6 hours ago, PeterTrent said:

What do I do to get a better long putting or long scramble to get a better feel for distance?

Putting. You should be learning distant control along with building confidence with making putts 8-Ft. and closer.
A good practice on distant control would be putting across a green from collar to collar with both uphill and downhill slopes.
Most good lag putt players will roll a putt within 5-Ft. of a hole most of the time.

Golf is having a good imagination to get the ball near the hole from 100 yards and in.
Developing the short games skills will help save strokes when needed, but good ball striking is very important to becoming a better player.

You've probably heard this before - GIR is King.

[sjduffers]

The stat that is in question is not 3.6 around the green, although that's a bad number. 2.6 would be ok: 2.6 means 1 chip and 2 putts (3 strokes) 60 percent of the time and 2 putts (2 strokes) 40% of the time.

The problem is you said: GIR 50% so 9 greens in regulation, and GIR+1 at 100%.  So all your green in regulations misses end up on the green after the 20-30 yards pitch or chip or whatever.

From there, if you 2-putted everything you would shoot 81 on a par 72 course: 9 pars from 9 greens in regulation with 2 putts and 9 bogeys from being on the green in regulation + 1 and 2 putts.

And since you are on the green in GIR+1 100% of the time, the only way you can get a higher score than 81 is by putting more than twice. But to get to be a 23 handicap, you need another 14-15 strokes, all putts.  So, are you 3-putting 14 times per round? If so, it's time to start controlling the distance on your long putts and reduce the number of 3-putts greatly. You should aim for no more than 1 or 2 3-putts per round.

Practice long putts on the practice green, initially not by putting to a hole, but to a distance, whether to the fringe without hitting it, to a club or a towel laid down on the ground. When you are reliably getting close to your target without getting too long, introduce a hole in the equation and put a club down 2-3 feet behind the hole. You don't want to hit your club and you want the ball to get to the hole, distance-wise.  Practice uphill, downhill and flat and before you know it, you'll only have 2 putts per hole in most cases, and you'll shoot 81-83,

[dennyjones]

Welcome.    As you can see this forum has lots of help.   

My question...what are you using to calculate your handicap?   Is it official?   

[Daddycool_83]

On 06/03/2017 at 7:19 PM, PeterTrent said:

Hi everyone. Just found this forum. This year I want to break 20 Handicap. (I said that last year but failed. I am 23 Handicap.) Any advice anyone can give to a bogey golfer to break this milestone?

My GIR is about 50%, my GIR+1 is 100%. Around the Green is about 2.6.

 

I havent read other posters suggestions so I apoligise if im reoeating anyone here but if I could of told myself at 20+ hcp when I first started anything it would be practice shortgame..a 350 yard drive and a 1 inch put count for the same score shot wise,work your wedge play and dial in your Lag putting and shots from inside 10ft..thats where your scores will drop,unless ofcourse its taking you 5/6 shots to reach the green but from a 23 hcp I reckon you know how to hit a ball...shortgame is key.

[NJpatbee]

I am very uncertain about the handicapping system used in the UK - is it tournament rounds only?  If so, you may just be feeling the pressure in competition with 3 and 4 putts.  What is your typical score in a casual non-handicap round?  Your GIR stats and handicap seem way out of synch.

[Grinde6]

As everyone else is stating, your GIR seems quite off...I would in no way advise you to aim for 50 yards out instead of the 20-30 yards because the closer you are to the hole, by theory the easier the shot should be.  I would definitely work on your shots 170-150 yards and in.  If you aren't putting the ball on the green from these distances and are leaving these shots 20-30 yards short than these are the shots to work on.  Working on these will in turn hopefully get you closer to the hole, which in turn will leave you shorter putts and completely negate the 20-30 yard chip shots.  Lag putting is a necessary skill to have, but you can take a lot of the burden off the lag putting by working on the approach shots and getting those closer to the hole.  The longest putts I really ever work on when I am at the putting green is about 25-30 feet, and I am just putting 10-15 times to make sure my speed is fine.  I feel my time is better spent on the 170 and in shots for me to get the ball closer to the hole so I am not lag putting more than 30 feet.

[paininthenuts]

On 3/6/2017 at 7:19 PM, PeterTrent said:

Hi everyone. Just found this forum. This year I want to break 20 Handicap. (I said that last year but failed. I am 23 Handicap.) Any advice anyone can give to a bogey golfer to break this milestone?

My GIR is about 50%, my GIR+1 is 100%. Around the Green is about 2.6.

 

I agree with RandalT, and that is to find a key fundamental flaw with your swing. I play off of 21, and my aim is to get down to 18 by the end of the summer. I recently discovered that I was bending my arms to much on the back swing  and allowing my body to distort. My course is presently waterlogged and most days where I live in the UK are pretty windy. However, I am presently playing to my handicap, which in theory should mean I will be knocking shots off of my handicap come the summer. Lessons with a good pro may indicate such swing problems, but you can't rely on it. Be prepared to consider any suggestions from any golfer, as sometimes less proficient golfers who have undergone recent tuition may be able to pass on decent second hand knowledge. I recently played 9 holes with a 32 lady handicapper. She was having a torrid time, so I simply suggested she tuck her right elbow in a bit, as her swing was WILD. Instantly she was knocking a shot off a hole.

Players like you and I will no doubt have many flaws. Some of these flaws may only knock off a shot a round, whilst others may knock off several more.