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So I've only been playing since May of this year and I know golf is a very, very hard game, BUT:

I got into the game a lot when I first picked it up and have already had a few lessons, spent countless hours on the range and short game areas. I chip and putt in my living room constantly, use training products, etc.

I believe that I have a good understanding of the mechanics of a sound golf swing and I generally hit the ball really well.

All that said, I have been very fortunate over the last 2-3 months to have the opportunity to play A LOT of golf. I don't think I've gone more than two days without getting at least 9 holes in. Plus there have been some bad weather days where not too many people have been out and I've had the whole course to myself to practice. I do not get nervous anymore and I feel very relaxed when I'm out there.

Still I haven't been able to break 100. It is very annoying b/c I hit the ball much better than most of the people I play with.

I have a modest goal; break 100 but even though I've played soooo much lately, I can't drop one lousy stroke off of my game. I've shot in the low 40's on a 9-hole executive course but that is not indicative of the type of shots one faces on a full scale course.

I am a good ball striker and many times I'm way over the green on a lot of shots. But it is hard to figure out what to work on b/c I always have a different problem.

My rounds are usually the same too...I manage to play bogey golf for 3 to 4 holes and then I get into a pattern of triple or quadruple bogeys that just ruin the round. I usually have one or two pars a game and do have the opportunity to make more so putting can always improve but it is much more than that.

Am I doomed to be in the majority and struggle to break 100 everytime out?

You're not alone! EVERY golfer has struggled to break 100 at one point. Don't fret, you will. Practice your chipping and putting more than anything- they say it should be 70% of your practice. And do whatever possible to not take penalty strokes- keep the ball safe, even if it means going with a shorter club or chipping back to the fairway.

Pretty much what Emery said, just don't get too agrivated and practice your short game. I just broke 100 for the first time this year and was able to break 90 just a short time later, it's definitely possible.

Play smart golf. On tight driving holes, hit 3-wood or a long iron. Lay up to water if you need to. Most of the those triple and quadruple bogeys are probably coming from penalty strokes or errant drives.

If this was 6 - 12 months ago I'd have had bad news for you: You'd have been stuck in a parallel universe - with ME! That's the good news. The better news is that I pulled out of it (something to do with the gravity of the situation). So 'no' - you're not doomed. If I can do it, so can you. But you must persevere. To quote Rick Smith (GD [SA] Dec '06): "Golf has a revolving door. Every year thousands of people play the game for the first time, while thousands of others sell their clubs at garage sales."
For what it's worth, I've made peace with the fact that - for me - golf is a never-ending process of tweaking, a quest for perfection, a challenge in self-accomplishment. That's what makes the game great. Face & analyse your weaknesses and work them out. Don't give up. And see a pro. And stick with GR. And no 'egg-nog' chirps anyone!

Good luck!!

If you only started in May, you don't know how many countless hours you have in front of you...this is a very difficult game and it is not always about making perfect shots...on a par five you can make two perfect shots, thin the chip into the trees and wind up with a 10...stick with it and your scores will drop as long as you practice your short game and focus on minimizing your mistakes (even if that means leaving the driver in the car for awhile)...keep track of your stats, fairways, girs, putting, up and downs, sand saves, ob's and penalty strokes and you will have a better idea of where you need to work, but I guarntee at your stage of development if you can cut the three putts and start getting down in two when you miss the green, your scores will drop...BTW, I played with a guy who sliced pretty much every club over a 7 iron, but knew his swing so well and played to correct positions where he allowed room to work/slice the ball was a comfortable 1 over through 9 only because of a missed two footer three putt...his chipping and putting was great...

Very nicely said DTD. Golf to me is the same. If it was easy, it wouldn't have this attaching enigma to it. We all know scratch golf is possible, the never-ending chase is the fun part- to me.

You can break 100 by just the "easier" part- course management. Try to focus on where the trouble is, how to avoid it, and by using your strengths- at the time! You'll start getting good at it. Don't try to hit a 215 yard shot w/ a 3 iron with lots of trouble around- just because "everybody else does it." That one extra shot to the green because you used a 9 iron may be 3 less than the former. Oh, yah, did I mention the short game? Good luck, kid.

I break 100 all the time, and I have been playing just a year. Unfortunately I still have 100+ rounds. here are my last 4 round scores all par 72. 92 104 110 87. Just because you break it dosen't mean you won't see it again.

Listen I know how you feel trust me watch alot of golf on TV and download multiple video lessons from people like Leadbetter and Ernie Els. Whats good is that I was at 100 for all but 5-6 months and Ive been flirting with a 79 for the last year or so. Ive been playing since June of last year and its not hard. Just dial your distances down, get your loft/lies checked, work on your ball flight and know it well, and dont stop taking those lessons.

Enjoy it now before you begin flirting with Par like I was a few months ago because then you stop enjoying your 80's and you get mad because your ball landed a whole yard or 2 short of where it was intended.

Best of luck to you,

Omar

All great responses. I realize that not breaking 100 is a possibility that will probably never go away...I just want to break it ONCE.

Errant driving is part of the problem. I get good distance and usually hit straight but I could hit straight right or straight left to the next fairway or deep rough. The funny thing is my second shot is usually better wehn I don't drive the ball well. There's something about hitting the ball out of the rough and over trees; it is less pressure for me. When I see that great drive sitting in the middle of the fairway staring right at the green I tend to do worse.

Quite honestly better putting would definitely help. It is something I work on a lot at home and practice greens but I find I am 3 putting a lot more during my rounds. Also, I think I need to take the short game to the next level. I can chip and pitch okay. But now I need to do more than get it on the green; I need to get it pretty close to the flag to stop 3 putting. I am finding getting my short game to the next level to be pretty difficult.

If others have done it then I know it is possible. It's just hard to imagine b/c I can't even drop one stroke right now. Dropping 8 or 9 strokes to get me under 100 seems a long way away.

I agree with everything that has been said. You've not even been playing a year yet. The average golfers score is 92. So don't feel like you're a terrible golfer just because you cannot break 100 [yet]. I know you're thinking "But I've been going to the course so much and practicing so much". Golf just doesn't work like that. It takes years and years and years of practice for most people to break the 100 barrier and then more years on top of that to break the 90's barrier. Just hang in there. You wont see a visible change in your scores either with golf. It wont be like you're shooting 110 Monday, then Tuesday you lower it to 108, then Wednesday you lower it to 105, etc. With golf, it will come all at once. You might shoot 110, then you might shoot 105, and then you might out of know where throw a 90 in there.

If you want to lower your scores the quickest, hit the chipping/putting green WAY more than you hit range balls. Since you say you hit the ball good now, long game shouldn't be holding you back, it's probably blading chips, 4 putts, etc. Cut that stuff out and your scores with drop.

Yeah a lot of people that I've played with have told me that it kind of happens overnight. And yes, I am thinking that I've been playing so much that something has to give. But I know the best thing to do is go out and try and have fun and the better rounds will come. Not sure I have it in me to shoot in the 80's or 70's but hopefullt at least 10-15 strokes less than I have been.

I do hit the ball well but there are always 3-4 really bad shots a round as well. The ones that really disappoint you and make it hard to focus on the next shot.

Every golfer feels your pain and knows what it's like. Even Tom Watson has said that he only hits maybe 2 shots per round the way that he invisioned them. The others are just decent misses. You will have your bad shots, it's just a matter of how you recover. That's where your shortgame comes in. Good golfers don't worry about bad shots as much because they know the work they put in on shortgame will back them up. A not so good golfer looses all concentration once they hit a bad shot because usually know if they duff that tee shot, then they've got no shot at all at par and probably no shot at all at bogey and it's all downhill from there.

It's really mentally tough, but what happens in the past is the past. You can't control it anymore, so you have to take what's been handed to you. If you dwell on a shot from two holes ago it will tear your game up.

I think the next time you play, think about your round like this...you might surprise yourself. What you do is try to take as much of the pressure off of yourself as possible. Instead of going out there and seeing par 3, 4, and 5's. Go out with the mindset that every par 3 is a par 4, every par 4 is a par 5, and every par 5 is a par 6. That means that you are shooting for bogey on every single hole, so if you hit a bad shot, you'll still be able to make bogey, or "par" in your eyes. May seems stupid, but if you think about making bogey on each hole (your par), on a par 72 course you will shoot 90. Thinking about it like that, you've still got 9 shots to spare and you break 100. So technically you could bogey every hole and even throw in three triple bogey's and still break 100.

I also started in May. I broke 100 twice (same course I have been trying to play) but playing in courses from which I have no familiarity, I scored 109, 111, 113. I am not used to faster greens and found myself 3 putting most of the the holes with occasional 2 putts.

I **** at putting right now, if I cannot adapt to different green speeds except for my own.

Sound advice...