folker

I improved quickly when I first started shooting in the 90s before the end of my first year. The last couple of years I have had trouble finding time to play due to building a house/new baby/new wife and my development has stopped. I'm tired of floundering around in the 90s and want to get good.

I've never had a lesson before, just tips here and there from better players at the course. I'm kind of intimidated by the prospect of lessons but I was planning on taking a lesson a month over the winter? I really want to push myself to improve.

That's a heck of an improvement. I've been playing 3 years. I only get to play about 2 or 3 times a month mostly in the summer. I never have time to practice. Just play rounds with my buddies on weekends. I have been shooting in the mid 90s and I know I could be much better if I really pushed myself. My goal is by this time next year to be shooting in the low-mid 80s.

In your opinion, how much can a slightly above average athletic/coordinated person expect to improve in one year if they really dedicated themselves to the game, got a few lessons, and played or went to the range several days a week? How many strokes do you think would be a reasonable improvement? Starting point - Bogey or slightly above

I played much better the second day last year because I only had one goal. Don't finish last. If I had shot the same score both days I would've finished second in my flight.

My club invitational is this weekend. I'm getting pretty tight. I've only been playing for 3 years. Last year was my first experience playing tournament golf. I was the low man on the board after the first day. Talk about embarrassing. I shot 8 strokes better on the second day. Hoping to make a big push to win my flight this year. Any preparation tips/suggestions to help deal with the pressures of tournament play?

My club awards prizes for 1st through 4th in each flight. The prizes are the same for each flight. So financially it is more appealing for some guys to finish 1st in a lower flight than last in the flight they should be in. It screws the whole tournament up IMO and discourages guys that shoot in the high 90s from entering because they don't think they have a chance and for the most part they are right.

And I used to coach/play tennis. Sadly it's looked at as a "girly" sport by most although it's one of the hardest sports you will ever play at a highly competitive level.

I have a 4 month old child, my first. I see guys at the golf course with their buddies that have 10 or 12 year old kids at home that don't play golf. I like my friends but I think a round of golf with my 10 year old son will be much more appealing to me in 10 years than playing with my friends.

How does you club flight your club championship or invitational? Do they use your index or first day score? Mine uses first day score so it becomes a guessing game and sandbagging contest.

I thought inside-out was a good thing. Could taking a stronger grip on my driver and a weeker grip on my short irons correct it?

I'm spraying balls all over the place. Driver: Push 3 Wood: Straight as an arrow 3H: Sky high but straight 4-5 iron: straight as an arrow mid irons: push or fade short irons: pull No consistency at all. I'm thinking my issue could be ball placement. I can think of no other reason that a player would hit long irons straighter than shorter ones.

Congrats. I've still yet to break 90 legitimately although my handicap says differently. I have many low 40s 9 hole rounds that combined to distort my index. Still waiting on a sub-90 18 hole round.

Age: 34 Height: 5'11" Where are you from: KY How Long have you been Playing: 3 years Best Score: 42 for 9, 90 for 18 Favorite club in the bag: Putter Golf Books / DVD's that have helped you: None Where do you play: Central and Eastern KY Things you enjoy most about golf: Music, Movies, Sports Goals for 2K10: Improve ball striking and improve GIR stats. Shoot consistently in the 80s

Played a different course yesterday and shot 44 on the front 9 before falling apart on the back. The quest continues. lol

I've probably only hit my 9 iron about 5 times since I got my clubs. There just doesn't seem to be enough difference in the lofts of my 8-pw so I'll either swing a hard PW or an easy 8. But what do I know I'm the guy who started a thread about my crappy GIR. lol

I played in my first tournament last summer. Club championship. I was very nervous with knees shaking on the first tee with everybody watching. I crushed my driver right down the middle of the fairway and felt all the pressure just fade away. I ended up shooting right around what I shoot regularly. Maybe a couple strokes more. But it was a fun experience and I'll be doing it again in a couple of weeks hopefully this time I can compete to win my flight instead of just being happy not to embarrass myself. lol

What club do you chip with 5-10 yards off the green?

I'm decent inside 100. I'm decent off the tee. Where I struggle is off the tee on par 3s and the second shot on par 4s. I guess I just need to hit the range and practice 100-150 yards and actually aim at something instead of just bashing balls. I've also lately been trying to swing easy to improve my balance thinking that perhaps that was the cause of me spraying the ball with my irons. If it takes an extra club then so be it because what I've been doing isn't working.

As far as a comfortable chipping spot on the par 4s on my home course there really isn't at least not for me. 2 of the 3 that give me the most trouble your shot into the green is over water which gets in my head. The other hole your second shot is blind over a slope onto the green. You can see the flag but that's it.

I generally go for the par 5s and most of the time end up 10 or 20 yards off the green, chip up, 2 putt par. 1 out of 20 times I will either make or stick the green and proceed to 2 putt birdie. The par 4s I struggle on are in the 350-375 range. Usually end up with a short iron or wedge into the green which I will hit about 20% of the time. My chipping and putting while improved is not good enough to make up for a 20% GIR. It seems when I play other courses with longer par 4s in the 425 range I tend to play them better than the shorter ones and I wonder if that's because I have already subconsiously resigned myself to the fact that I'm probably not going to hit the green from 175 yards out and it takes some pressure off me.

My average score on the par 5s is really a bit deceiving. As I said they are short par 5s in the 465-480 range that play more like long par 4s. They are really rather easy holes. Basically they are par 4s spotting you a stroke.

I prefer par 5s to par 3s. I feel I have a legitimate shot at birdie on any par 5 that is 500 yards or less and anything worse than bogey and I'm suicidal. I just recently started keeping stats. My home course is 9 holes and I only keeps stats on it. I average less over par on par 5s. My course has 2 short par 5s and I average 5.69 and 5.75 on them. I average about 1 over on the par 3s and over 1 over on par 4s. Fairways: 49% GIR: 23% Putts per hole: 1.88

I have eliminated triples and most doubles through course management and checking my ego a bit. I am literally a bogey golfer. I'll often play 18 holes without a single par or birdie and still shoot low-mid 90s. I'm pretty consistent...consistently average and I want to be good. It comes down to iron play for me I guess. I can't remember the last time I birdied a par 3. I have a better chance of reaching a par 5 in 2 than in 3 if that makes any sense at all. lol

I'm pretty good off the tee and around/on the green. It's in the fairway that I have my trouble. A par is like a birdie for me.