golfrewind.com

I shot 86 yesterday – 43 on the front nine and then 43 on the back.

I'm more used to shooting 100 than in the 80s, but that's two in a row for me - I shot an 85 a week or so ago.

In order to improve, I'm beginning to track a number of details when I'm playing. Here are the stats. Feel free to make some observations and give me some feedback.

Birdies: 1 (thanks to a 39' putt)
Pars: 5
Bogies: 9
Snowmen: 0
Greens in Regulation: 4
Drives in the Fairway: 8 (Driver – 3, mid-irons – 4, 3-wood – 1)
Putts: 33
3-Putts: 1
1-Putts: 4
In the Sand: 4
Swear Words: 0

- k

Nothing wrong with that in my book. Two of your stats I strive for also, no snowmen and now swear words. Usually, if I succeed on the first, I succeed on the second.

Ha! I know what you mean.

- k

I think a key thought for your game now is to focus on trying to never take a double bogey. Sure they may still happen but work on this!!!

brianf

One thing i was looking at... you said you had 33 putts with 4 1-putts, and no 3-putts... sorry but i find this just doesn't add up, unless you had a 4-putt and a chip-in?? Just wondering.

Otherwise, that looks like a pretty solid 86. I'm assuming the course is par 72?


The one part of your game that could maybe use improving is GIR, but if you can get up & down a majority of the time, don't worry about it.

1 iron guy, you were right. I did have one 3-putt. I edited my original post to reflect that. (Shoot, I thought I had set a personal record with no 3-putts.)

And you are also right about GiR. I think that's one of my biggest needs is to get more GiRs. I don't usually have many one-putts. My driving needs a lot of work, too.

- Don

1 iron guy, you were right. I did have one 3-putt. I edited my original post to reflect that. (Shoot, I thought I had set a personal record with no 3-putts.)

And you are also right about GiR. I think that's one of my biggest needs is to get more GiRs. I don't usually have many one-putts. My driving needs a lot of work, too.

Brian, I think you're right about the double bogey, that's sort of my tacit goal – get on the green in regulation plus one and two putt for the bogey, with an occasional "accidental" one-putt here and there.

- k

Yes, a tactical type of strategy is to pretend each hole is one higher par than it is.

A par 3 is a par 4, and par 4 is a par 5, etc. From there you may find doubles do not happen as often because you will not feel forced to go for par fours in 2 shots but when you do hit them you are "going for eagle".

This may sound silly but in the spring during my first few rounds I always think this way and any time I play with a 90's shooter I suggest they think this way.

brianf

Out of curiosity, how did you do on the par 3's? typically if I have good round going the par threes are handled in level par or 1-2 over. Just a though....

I parred the first par 3 (141 yards) in somewhat boring fashion, hitting the green and two putting.

I missed the green on the second par 3 (198 yards), chipping on within six feet of the hole, but then missing the first putt, and tapping in the second for a bogey.

On the third par 3 (191 yards) I hit the greenside bunker, then got onto the green about twelve feet from the hole, but made the putt for a par.

- k

You can use my site to fully track your game and compare your game with other players. There are players of all levels on the site. I recently posted "Break 100!", "Break 90!", and "Break 80!" links on the index page. These are the average statistics for all rounds on the site that were just under 100, 90, and 80.

I have gone thru this. I have gone from about a 9 handicap to a 5 by doing two things.
1.) Try to line up your put and just worry about speed. Practice on your speed as much as you can. You will make more puts and three put a lot less.

2.) When you hit a drive in the woods on a par 4 ( it happens to EVERYBODY) punch out in the best place you can without hitting a tree and then try to get your third shot on the green ANYWHERE. Do not try and make up and get overly aggresive on your third shot. Hit the green in the fatest part and two put and get out with bogey at worst. Sometimes bogey is a good score. You will cut down on your Double bogeys and you will even par some of these holes. I think this is the most important golf shot on the course...that third shot on a par four when did not hit the green in regulation.

Where in Mississippi do you live?

- k