ILLZ

Try going out and not keeping score at all. If you hit a bad shot, drop another ball down and hit it again. That will get you in the habit of hitting good shots on the course, and there's no pressure because you're not putting down a score.

This started happening a few weeks ago and I can't figure out what it is! When hitting irons off tees (par 3's) I'll feel a twinge in my hands, like the feeling you get when you hit a baseball with a metal bat in cold weather. The ball doesn't have any hook or slice at all, but moves right and well short. I thought it was some sort of fluke at first. I went to the range yesterday to try to work it out. First thing I assumed was that I was crowding the ball and hitting it off the heel. I don't think that's it because I stepped far back and was still doing it. I moved the tee up, tee down, moved closer to the ball, moved farther away, and nothing helped. What the hell is this? Oh, I also should note that this has never happened, not even once, without a tee.

I combine 9-hole rounds with other 9-hole rounds for my handicap. They might sit around for a while waiting to get thrown in, but they do make their way in eventually. I think this is pretty standard.

See my other thread... myscorecard.com, it's really a great tool.

It's really a great site. $10/year, it calculates your handicap and shows all kinds of trends and analysis. It will track all kinds of stats, some relatively normal like GIR, fairways hit, total putts, etc., and also obscure ones like up and down attempts, missed "short" putts, etc. After you enter the data it places you into a percentile within your handicap for the specific stat. Well worth my $10.

Played 36 today... first 18, 8:36 tee time, started off triple, quad, bogey first 3 holes. On the 4th hole the group behind blatantly hit into us. I was so mad I yanked my 70 yard approach shot left and it barely held the green. I was still mad and proceeded to 4-putt for double! I settled down from there and bogeyed the last 5, but the rest of the round was a disaster, 104! Next 18 was much better, 46-46 for a 92, with NO 3-putts on the back. I didn't hit a single GIR and had (2) 1-putts and (7) 2-putts. Much improved chipping apparently.

Hell yeah, I'm playing tomorrow, 8:36 tee time. I'm gonna try to play 27 at least, and maybe 36 if I can find a fresh body to join me at ~2:00 for my afternoon round.

That's a good question. Also, what are some generally good stats for fairways hit, GIR, and total putts? I'm sure it's relative to your handicap, but I can't seem to find anything on the internet about "good" stats versus bad.

What constitutes a putt, GIR, or fairway hit is only relevant in assessing one's game. Part of that assessment is comparing your stats to other golfers. With that in mind, I don't think it matters what you deem a putt, GIR, or fairway hit, so long as everybody else is assessing the same way. It seems that the general consensus is what the previous poster's have outlined.

I just started keeping these stats for my round. Obviously fairways hit is black and white, but does the fringe count as a GIR? I would assume no. Does a putt count if it's from the fringe? I couldn't putt to save my life yesterday on the front. Shot 46 at my home course with 5/7 fairways hit, 3 GIR, and 21 putts! (4 3-putts!) YUCK!

I was under the impression that if your ball was on a man made cart path or caused your stance to be on a man made cart path it was a free drop?

I think the benchmark when one should start following all the rules while playing is when they can hit the ball in the air on almost every shot. If you're just skulling and chunking your way down the fairway and making 8 after 8, then it's irrelevant whether you shoot a 130 or a 140. If you're down around 105-115ish then I think all the rules should be followed. That's basically the path I took.

Um.... isn't that 12 holes?

Wow, it's almost entirely par 3's and 4's? Does it have a rating/slope?

I previously never had a need to follow the rules because... well, I sucked. Now that I'm officially a "bogey golfer", I feel it necessary to follow them almost as closely as possible. When my friends and I weren't good, we would fluff the ball for a good lie, give putts as far as out as 3 feet, take unlimited mulligans from the tee, etc. Last year when I started tracking my handicap (I was a 36 to start), I stopped taking ANY gimme's, played the ball where it lies at all times (unless it's plugged in the fairway due to soaking wet conditions), and stopped taking mulligans AT ALL. Is everybody else just as strict? I would imagine so... just checking! Oh also... I just found out last month that if your tee shot is lost, you have to hit 3 from the tee box... I thought you had to drop as close to where it went out of play as possible. That certainly would make a difference for my early handicap, though it wouldn't now because I've been playing this rule for the last 14 rounds.

Yeah that does help. I'm thoroughly dedicated to golf this season, as I play 3-4 times a week and hit the range/practice green another 1-2 days. I've taken one lesson already and plan to go back next month for a follow up. My handicap dropped 12 strokes in 3 months last year and through 12 rounds this season I've already dropped it another 4.5 strokes. I think my clubs are adequate right now and suite my game well. I still need the forgiveness, as I'm not that really that good yet. I'm just wondering at what point it makes sense to upgrade. I'm sure there aren't any single digit handicappers playing with a $400 set of Tour Edge's.

I currently have a 5 wood, a 46* PW, and a 56* wedge. I think the best setup for me right now would be to add a 60* and call it a day. The gap wedge, while useful, is probably less important than my 5W.

I don't understand the dynamics of clubs very well. Last year I bought this set of TourEdge's (see sig), but they were relatively cheap so I doubt they're any good. I hit them pretty well, but of course that's compared to my 15 year old set of Dunlop's .I know they're "forgiving", and what not, but I'm not sure what I can gain by getting a better setup. At what point is it advantageous for me to upgrade?

Thanks for all the replies. My home course doesn't have particularly wet fairways, especially in the summer, and I don't plan on hitting the 60* from the bunker very often, so I think I'll go with the 60*4*.

At the beginning of the year my handicap was a 24 and I wanted to drop it to at least an 18 or so. Well in about a month I'm already a 19.5, so I think I need to amend that. I'd say as of right now, my goals for the season are to be mid 80's on good days at my home course (69.9, 120). I'd like to break 40 for 9 at least a few times, and overall improve my sand play. It's really the only aspect of my game that is TOTALLY horrible.

I just read that article and don't quite grasp the idea. You may be right with your assumption. I agree that I need a wedge to fill the 46*-56* gap. I'd say that right now if I were to only get one, the 60* would be more useful, but I should definitely add a 52 at some point and ditch my 5-wood. EDIT - I just found this on Titleist's website... http://www.titleist.com/golfclubs/we...y200series.asp The diagram shows what the bounce degree refers to. It looks like the higher then bouncve degree the harder it would be to hit? But if that's true, I'm not sure the benefit of a higher degree of bounce... hopefully someone else can chime in...

I started this season with only the PW that my set came with (TourEdge) and a 20 year old sand wedge that was my Dad's that I can't hit to save my life. As my game has slowly improved I realized the necessity for a different array of wedges. Last week I went to the local golf shop and talked to the guy for a while about wedges. He suggested the first thing I should do is replace my old sand wedge. I ended up with a Titleist Vokey 56*10. I played on Thursday with it for the first time and I LOVE it. I previously couldn't even use anything but my PW greenside because I didn't trust that SW (unless I was playing a bump and run, in which case I'd use my 8). This wedge enabled me to make so many different shots that required more loft. Anyways... now that I'm using this thing I HAVE to go get a 60* wedge to compliment it. My question is in regards to the bounde rating or whatever it is? The guy that sold me my 56* mentioned nothing of this. What does that refer to? Should I be getting the 60* with the 4 or the 8 bounce rating? Thanks in advance!

Agreed. I'm a 19.5 right now and in my last 3 rounds I've put down 41, 42, or 43 on either the front or the back 9's, to go along with a 49, 48, and a 46. If a guy can shoot a 42 (which he CAN plausibly do if he's a 19), he can easily shoot TWO 42's back to back.

My home course is the Town of Colonie (69.9, 120). It's not too easy but not too hard. They have 36 holes and it's well maintained. I love it. Best of all, I play student resident rate... $14!

Shot 89 yesterday.... but a 41 on the back. That's 3 straight rounds with 43 or better on one of the 9's!