Brakkus

This thread peeked my interest because this is a goal of mine. Something that only occured to me was that the USGA handicap system is different from the CONGU one we use in the UK. We have SSS standard scratch score for a pro so no slope ratings and the like. From doing some research though a single digit handicapper really has to score somewhere between 78-84 on a regular basis. My last round was 86 and my last 3 cards according to the handicap calculator bring me out to a 16 handicap. My handicap tracker says I'm a 21.5. So I believe this is a possible goal more than ever. Without getting any better at actual striking of the ball a few putts going in and some increased touch on the short game and you are there. Of course I'm only entertaining this idea because as has been said practice is the key. You need to have a well rounded game that has been honed by being a diligent gold student and putting the time in to get there. Its certainly not out of reach but does take some commitment to do

I've set up my course management to play for a 90 for a couple of years and still couldn't break 100. When I eventually did it was because I had grooved my swing simply by practicing in a net. I would say a high handicapper can gain more confidence by playing a sound strategy but you are only as good as your current level of play. Its really only now that I really get a look at situations and can determine what shot to play next. Before it could 4 shots before I was on the green or I was already taking a Third shot because I was OB on the tee. Strategy then has no meaning. Strategy can save a few strokes when you are a higher handicap but it is a negligible difference. I did it both ways and the swing was about 6 strokes. 100-109 on average for me. Poor ballstriking was the main reason with longer clubs and very poor wedge play. I had no feel for distance and was a lousy chipper of the ball. Hence the scores. So to a large extent I agree with the premise that execution and management are totally separate but kinda of agree that they are linked to your mental side of your game that one can breed confidence into the other

I think I have read the majority of this post one of the best on here actually set up by excellent analysis by Erik again. This is a general question for most longish par 4's and par 5's. If there isn't a sizeable hazard within 100 yards of the green and you have line of sight to the green is a mid handicap player better to get close to the green with his second shot or is there a lay up threshold that would be high percentage? I can only really remember missing on the very odd occasion inside 70 yards. About the only time I do lay up to 100 yards is if I have cocked up my tee shot and looking to minimize a big number.

Do I sense sarcasm Kw? ;)

I actually switched to a neutral grip which combined with my more rotational swing flatter plane complimented it better. The face seemed to turn slower through the impact zone. I have actually taken the left hand side out of the equation used to hook. My miss now is right of the target line. Get a soft draw when I hit well but usually push the shot when I make an error but its playable all the way up to a 3 wood. Driver can punish me but I don't use it much. Perhaps this is the most critical thing to get right a grip that matches your swing because your trying to get the balance right between shallowing moves and steepening ones

Two things here from a European angle Tiger- This man is probably the most driven individual in any sport period or right up there with the greats. Part of Tiger is that he isn't necessarily a bad guy he's an introspective person. He's doesn't seem to be a person who would stand up and galvanise a team and Phil is so laid back he probably isn't a born leader either and really they are the players the US needs to drum up and inspire a team Seve- You cannot underestimate this mans presence on the Europeans. It still is a massive source of inspiration to European golfers. Seve was naturally passionate and an authority who lead others and wasn't afraid to be vocal to anyone. My guess is when the current generation of golfers has retired and young Europeans who have never met or played with him the Seve effect will diminish in time. It has too because these things work in cycles.

My numbers are similar to sjames above except I'm 5 yards longer. The most important point of all this is hitting a consistent distance everytime. I'm getting to the point where I can reliably hit my clubs certain yardages and get strategy into the mix.

I love the opportunistic game of chance that putting can be during a round but in all honesty find drills boring. I recently bought a book with my sons in mind and to pass away the time in winter. Its called The little book of indoor golf games by Andrew Winter. It just has some fun little games involving the use of tees and playing cards. Very creative ideas to make putting practice fun. Great for the kids too. Regarding putters I have always disliked the mallet putter some are just huge. When I was a kid they were all blade anyway. Mine is considered a half mallet but probably would pass for a blade now. It feels heavy compared to other putters but its all down to feel, I had a head heavy tennis racquet, snooker cue , and my irons are on the heavier side. Feel and attitude to putting are more important than technique but I agree you do need some kind of a practice plan.

BTW I love clambakes explanation of each of his handicap ranges even if I slightly disagree with his range of what he considers a mid handicap The reasons outlined though are spot on for golf at those particular levels of golf.

Low 5-10 Mid 10-18 Mid High 18-25 High- Hack 25 plus Two caveats anyone below 5 seems to be in that other worldly catergory of really good going on great the closer they are to scratch and below. Anyone above 25 is struggling to break 100 everytime but a 25 is in the transition to becoming a good golfer. If you are that handicap and have a decent grasp of golf then its not permanent. If you are 28 plus then these are mostly social golfers with little know how or the required skill. Although every great golfer started as a high handicap at some point even if he was a kid and had no chance of reaching greens in regulation. So great golfers can come from high handicap land and apologies if that's you I just escaped there myself.

The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Words to that effect. Maybe you have got to this point because you have mentally got into a pattern of physical and emotional behaviour with your golf. You can quit for a while and this can work as you get rid of the torture of it and come back refreshed or you can stop what you're doing and change your golfing habits. Change the way you practice, the way you play the course, decide to accept your current level of play and decide to approach it without anger or frustration. My guess would be this is a mental thing which is translating itself to your mechanics. Don't know if you've read any Rotella books but I highly recommend Golf is a game not perfect.

There's barely any new clubs in my current set. One hybrid a 3 wood and the putter. Everything else is good used gear. I estimate I have spent only £600 in 7 years. I guess that maybe about 1000 dollars in your money. Golf can be done on a budget and I like the idea of playing on a short course. Keep your short game touch you can always find your long game when you get through your difficulties. Hope it works out for you it can definitely be a real struggle making ends meet, I can certainly relate to that.

A quick question for our resident pro's. If any part of the club during the downswing is allowed movement in the hands can this affect ball flight significantly? As swing speed gets higher with the woods in particular I'm finding I'm prone to a miss to the right. This doesn't happen with the irons I'm guessing my grip doesn't come loose shaft is shorter the swing speed is lower. I actually hit a soft draw. Sometimes with the 3 wood and driver I can hit a slight push sometimes with a fade. If I tighten my trigger finger it seems to iron out the most drastic of errors. Of course I will still miss but can the lack of grip pressure actually not allow the squaring of the club face coming into impact where swing speed is highest?

I remember once a mate of mine was given some old clubs woods and irons etc. We were trying them out at the range. This range had a raised platform in each bay with a mat on top. Anyway I'm hitting an old 3 wood or driver and smack the head into the edge of the raised platform and the head of the club flies out further than the ball and we just look at each other and laugh our heads off. Another one was my old landlord who is a miserable old so and so. Saw him at the range and I mean this guy depresses you speaking to him for 5 minutes. Nothing remotely positive comes out of his mouth. Anyway he's hitting balls and he's just dropping the F bomb after every swing berating his swing. Saying I've been playing for 25 years and I'm still rubbish. Highly embarrassing for everyone else there because you can hear him at the end of the range 6-7 bays away.

I can see why people take up golf in middle age. After leading a life where you burn the candle at both ends in your early twenties, and maybe play more intense sports. Life gets to the point where you have demands on your time and lots of responsibility so you need a sport that provides a juxtaposition to that. For me golf fits that description it still provides a sporting element and the challenge of improving your skill. Also though it relaxes my mind out in the fresh air and a golf course celebrates how beautiful a landscape can be when its tailored for a purpose. Oh and its like legal drug taking who needs a fix when you have a white ball and a stick:)

Out of all the pro's that use Youtube and the like I find he has the broadest range of videos. He does equipment reviews, mechanics, course strategy, lesson samples etc.. I'm a big fan of Jeff Ritter who has a growing channel list. Its great though to have free info like this. I learn just as much from the sample lessons as I do from the instructional segment. Its all good

Favourites Mickelson-Seems to have a great attitude and very gracious. Just fun. Poulter- Love his up and at'em approach just wish he was like in Majors not just Ryder Cup Copules- laid back much like Mickelson and cool for a guy in his fifties Dislike Sabbatini- Self explanatory V Singh- See above Tiger- I love watching winners who dominate but I'm not over keen on him and he has a flaky reputation with others but its hard on him being a global star. Demands on his time etc..

Poor Phil has come in for some criticism for his coined phrase. Jeff Ritter has a video called hinge and fold which maybe more apt. He says to allow the wrist and right elbow to break. Takes you on a more inside line and slightly shallows the AOA. He doesn't talk about holding the angle but achieves the same result hands leading the club head through impact.

I'll repeat a phrase conservative strategy cocky swing. If you play conservative your ball striking will improve immediately. Most high handicaps will hit irons up to the 7 well enough. This is why practice is so important. Practice your longer clubs but play golf to score. You will gain confidence because mentally you will become stronger and more relaxed when you keep seeing the ball leave the club 150 yards almost everytime. A lot if high handicaps never go beyong that level because they don't think about what they are trying to do and because they don't practice more than they play. Most think they can turn up work on their swing hit impossible shots and score at the same time. You have to treat yourself like a complete noob. No one decorates a house before its been built. Golf needs to be worked on from the ground up. High handicaps haven't earned the right to expect a massive drive followed by a laser 9 iron into a green 6 ft from the flag. You can attempt that but don't be surprised when it doesn't work out. We have to come at it from another angle, avoiding big scores not trying to shoot for birdies. People can kid themselves all they want but all the pro's from childhood started hitting on par 3 courses or snuck onto a course with a wedge to play the short game because they didn't have the option if going long. Patience reaps rewards it may be boring to some but it really is the best way to play golf especially for an amateur

Sounds exactly like my game inthehole. I need to chip much closer to give myself one putts and I'm woefully shirt of bunker practice. I can get out but not control it. Saw Jeff Ritter's Facebook page had a picture of him hitting wedges on the beach with his dog. I do this with my dog in the garden for chipping and pitching so when the holiday season is over about now I'm off to one of the many beaches near me to do a Seve Ballesteros and hit wedges.

I bested my previous score by 11 strokes handicap is down now to 21. If I shot similar scores from now on I should be around a 15 in the next few rounds. A lot of this is down to club selection. Our courses in the UK mean you have to play from the yellow tees. That put my last round at 6186 yards and the par 4' average came out at 365. You can in theory go with a 7 iron but I took into account the stroke index of the hole 1 being the hardest and so on. I had a 25 handicap before the round so on the hardest hole I could shoot a 6. So on the 390 yard par 4 second I go with a 5 iron landed in the fairway. Then hit the first of my 2 poorly struck irons with a 6. It wormburned its way to within 100 yards. Wedged on with the PW. 2 putted for a 5! Now some of the holes the shape of the hole didn't match up so much with the index. On one par 4 the stroke index was 4 a hard par 4. When I looked at the hole there was a lot of room right where I would hit a miss a push or straight slice. 369 yards its hole 11 and in having the round of my life so pull driver. Butter it 265 yards and leave my self a running pitch get Gir and two putt for par. My point in telling you this story is that high handicaps need to be honest with themselves. In that round I didn't get any birdies but for the first time ever I didn't get any triples. Because I played tight golf and stayed patient I managed 6 pars. I really only played risk golf on about 4 holes. It payed off because I got 3 pars out of that but the other holes were about reducing the course into easier chunks. It puts more pressure on your short game but its better putting for a 35ft birdie than already lying 3 in the fairway with over 200 yards to go because you lost a ball off the tee.

I had a driver from the start but now I think that was a mistake. I sold mine after 18 months. The golf swing requires patience and while my scores stayed high at the beginning I believe I made the correct decision in the long run. I predominantly practiced long irons and hybrids. These are long enough shafts for some difficulty but you are rewarded with some length off the tee. Now a few years later my dispersion is tighter and I make less errors the time felt right to buy another driver. First ball I hit 50 yards right haha! I have worked through alignment and set up issues and now have good control of it enough to consider it a weapon of choice. I would consider it something to work on after you have developed a repeatable swing with other clubs. If you devote lots of practice time too it at the start to the detriment of other clubs you could hold yourself back.

Thanks tefunk you bailed me out:)

Sorry I can't quote from a mobile but someone said that Ben Hogan might not have said that a reasonably co-ordinated golfer should score 80 if was committed to doing so. Not sure where I read that comment as I've read quite a few books now. Maybe its in his seminal golf book 5 fundamentals or I read it in The inner game of golf by Tim Gallwey. Anyway regardless you are what you think. Henry Ford once said if if you think you can do a thing you can do a thing. Don't quote me on the exact wording apologies if I have the source of these quotes wrong but attitude us more important than any natural talent you might have. Set your goal and achieve it come hell or high water. Its not radical just calmly assess your resources and potential obstacles and then chase that goal!

Plus like the putter a driver has almost different mechanics to irons. Its a full swing but with adjustments. Also the holy grail of a straight shot isn't consistent. You will have to settle for a shot shape that is playable. If you have flaws in your swing a driver will magnify them almost three fold. That lovely controlled fade on your irons becomes a banana ball with a driver. Its a great club to use but don't become obsessed with it. I try to think of it now a strategic choice on the tee.