WesTyler

Yes. Yes it is. Day 6 Update: I repeated my 18-hole, 75-yard approach exercise, having had a lesson on setup and feeing more confident with my wedges. For comparison, here were my stats on Day 3: I averaged 1.94 shots to get on the green I averaged 2.11 putts on the green For a total average of 4.05 shots to sink the ball from 75 yards My stats from today: I averaged 1.61 shots to get on the green I averaged 2.38 putts on the green For a total average of 3.99 shots to sink the ball from 75 yards So a fairly substantial improvement on approach shots (at least on paper) at the cost of putts. I believe that's because, while I'm hitting more greens in one shot, I'm failing to fall within a reasonable distance of the pin, resulting in more 3 and (bleh) 4 putts. That was less the issue on Day 2, where relatively near misses of the green allowed me to approach better. I'll need to focus on getting by the hole, rather than just praying it lands anywhere on the green.

Day 5: Putting and Lesson Absurd false positive. I did 100 4-foot putts on an actual green today and only sank 52 of them. I vastly overestimated how many of those putts would actually have gone in. There's a world of difference between carpet and grass that I hadn't counted on. Moisture, grain, subtle break... yeah. That carpet exercise is worthless. On the plus side, my stroke for mini-golf is fierce . But yes. To get an accurate count going forward, I'll have to use an actual green and putt to multiple holes. Thanks for the advice. I also took my first lesson today. Got my grip fixed and gained a set-up routine. I don't move my head nearly as much, and I'm making much better contact with my wedges. I'll be dating strippers any day now.

Thanks, guys. I am impressed by the civility of this forum. There are many other places online where a goal like this would be flamed mercilessly, but the response here has been, if slightly skeptical, still supportive. There are two reasons I chose to set my goal at 80. The first : He's not wrong. I may as well report to a brick wall if I write about this exclusively on my obscure little blog. If I talk about it here, it generates discussion and actionable feedback. I can't thank you enough for suggesting against 18 holes every day. I'd already be getting burned out. And the second reason is that it gives me a definite target to focus on while allowing no room for complacency. If my goal was to break 110 in three months, a more reasonable number, and two months from now I'm hovering at 112, I'd get lazy. If I'm at that same number while my goal is 80, I would have to seriously buckle down and redouble my efforts. So am I going to break 80? Realistically? Doubtful. That's not the point. Is my goal going to remain 80 in 99 days? Absolutely. If that's a little too Napoleon Hill for your liking, that's fine. You're welcome to write the number 80 off as a publicity stunt (I would, if I were on the outside looking in). Instead, look at it as an experiment on how much a hacker can improve in one summer. Thanks for the heart-to-heart, guys. I'm going to go fight a bear now. Day 4 update: Putting, Putting, Putting I confess I got a late start today. Combined with errands I needed to run, I got to the course about ten minutes before my shift started. So... I didn't really have time to practice. But, then again, my goal is 80. I don't have time to not practice. So I sliced the rim off a 32 oz. Pepsi cup, taped it to the floor, taped a marker spot four feet away, and practiced putting throughout the day. 250 putts, to be exact. It's important to remember that this is a circle taped to the floor. So sometimes it was a judgment call on whether it would have gone in were it an actual hole. So there exists a margin for error. Nevertheless, here are my stats as I calculated them: I sank 199/250 putts from 4 feet. That's 79.6% My longest continuous streak was 23 My longest dry spell was 4 misses Tomorrow, I plan to mark a few spots 4 feet from the hole on an actual green, shoot 250 putts, and see how my numbers compare. I'm also taking my first legitimate golf lesson from my uncle. Can't wait.

The etiquette rule forbidding you from slamming your club into the ground. It's good therapy!

Day 3 update: Approaches and Putting My back was still a little stiff today, so I made friends with my new approach iron. I grabbed a large bucket and shot at the 75 yard flag on the range. Then I went out on to the course, dropped a ball at 75 yards from the pin on all 18 holes, and recorded my shots to get on the green and my putts: I averaged 1.94 shots to get on the green I averaged 2.11 putts on the green For a total average of 4.05 shots to sink the ball from 75 yards Yikes. I need to get that last number much closer to 3. There is one hole with an uphill climb to the left guarded by a bunker. It took me 4 shots to get on the green because I landed in the sand. Then overshot the green. Then landed in the sand. Again. I followed it up with a three-putt. The highlight of the day was on the very next hole when I brutally topped the ball and it burned worms all the way up the hill to the green. Fearing the worst as I climbed, I discovered the ball stopped less than a foot from the hole. 1 to get on, 1 putt. My only such hole of the day. My biggest issue is that I keep skulling the ball. I need to learn to get under it better. Of course, I may need to get my clubs extended, since I'm using standard length while standing at 6' 2"... more than one person has commented that they're too short. Stay classy, Sandtrappers.

Very solid advice, guys. 18 holes every day is no longer the priority. I'll play a couple rounds a week and practice all the other days. Thank you for the input. And, at the risk of taking the romance out of this whole experiment, I want to elaborate on why I think breaking 80 is possible in 99 days: My goal is to break 80 in 99 days. Just once. On my home course. Not to be able to shoot it consistently. Not to be able to break it on other courses. Just to shoot one, dumb, lucky fluke sometime in the next three months. I work at my home course (Pebblebrook), and my uncle owns it. This means that there are no green fees, range fees or cart fees. Pebblebrook is a very short course. It's a par 68, and, clocking in at 4574 yards from the tips, my home course is about a mile and a half shorter than your average 7200 yard championship links. Its length, combined with narrow fairways, effectively means I won't have to learn the driver. Pebblebrook gets relatively little business. This means the course is generally wide open. Even shooting 134, which, as a previous poster pointed out, is not a quick round, I was never rushed. And this, combined with privileges from being nephew of the owner, means that I have the virtually unheard-of liberty of working on problem holes or lies as often as I need. I have access to three PGA teaching pros. One played in the US Open, another won the PGA Professional National Championship (not to be confused with the major), and the third has been teaching for some 30 years. If I suggest something stupid, you guys will be quick to correct me. Playing 18 holes a day? Not the best way to go about it. Thanks, guys tl;dr: Will I make it? Hell, I don't know. But if I have to fail a goal, it may as well be an outlandish one. Day 2 update: Practicing irons For the past eight years I've been sporting a set of Verdict Super Metal irons. There's a reason you've never heard of them; they're from a Wal-Mart clearance rack. I waffled about it for a couple weeks, but today I finally upgraded to some Taylormade Burner Plus irons. After a quick change of underwear, I went to the driving range... and promptly pulled a muscle in my back... The irons went back in the bag, accompanied by some horribly colorful language. Guess I'll be practicing putting the next few days...

Day 1 Stats Score: 134 Shots off the green: 90 Putts: 44 FIR: 6/12 GIR: 0 Lost balls: 5 Thanks for the feedback, guys. I appreciate the encouragement, the advice, and the reality checks. I went out today and was greeted by about the most tripolar weather I've seen this year. It was sunny for a minute, then it rained for a minute, then it hailed for a minute. Putting across a green littered with pea-size ice balls? Awesome! True to form, I shot a 134, scoring only a single par. My putting was worse than usual, but if I wasn't skulling the ball with my wedges, I was hooking it with my long irons. Pebblebrook has some tight fairways that brutalize if you can't shoot straight. Priority one, then, is straightening out the irons. I'll play tomorrow with that focus.

Last week I shot a 130 at my home course... it is my goal to score 80 or better at that home course by Labor Day. To do this, I will play 18 holes every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That's 99 days. 1782 holes. I'm going to update this thread every day and release a new vlog video every Sunday. The stats I will be tracking include my total score, fairways in regulation, greens in regulation, shots off the green (is there a specific term for that?), putts, and, to remember the fallen, balls lost. Any other stat suggestions are welcome. Now, I'm off to bed before I play my opening round tomorrow. It's supposed to be a rainy one... And... since it's Sunday...

I hate when people aim at me because a flimsy mesh net is more for peace of mind than any actual protection. Fortunately we don't have any satellite-guided four year olds sniping at my course.

Today I saw a guy on the range who is right handed, used a left handed club, addressed it backwards, spun around, and knocked it 300 yards. And man, the acoustics were flawless .

I'd get a pencil with an eraser.

Yeah, we've got a few groundsworkers at Pebblebrook who also work at Willow Creek. Lovely course, I'm sure, but way too rich for my blood.

I'd request that a few be removed. Too many trees will attract trolls.

Ah yes, I remember this shot well. He's hitting his Asgard Mjolnir, setting up for his first shot off the tee. The green is on Saturn. Par 3.