golfrewind.com

I remember always thinking it was good shots on TV when they would hit the green , but the players would be mad because he had a 20 foot putt. I was always like looked pretty good to me. Now a couple years later I am doing the same thing haha. They had money on the line, so that made it worse for them. from 100 yards and in if I have a clear path from the fairway, I want to be 10 foot or less or that was a ****** shot. Even then I don't make many of those 10 footers.

Getting up and down from off the green is crucial in saving par. I just recently started leaning on my short game to save pars from long range. I used to just try to make the hero shot because I knew I had a bad short game. So there would be a 40 on the score card with a 7 or 8 for one hole. Now I am more trusting of my self to pitch out to 100 yards and save my par, or at worse bogey

This is an older thread, but it has a ton of good information. I'm currently a 5handicap and I have found a few things that really helped me get down from a double digit handicap.

1. Short game is the #1 priority. Get on the practice green and chip. Chip from everywhere and anywhere, until you're blue in the face and it's dark outside. Learn your chipping clubs and learn how they feel. By this I mean learn how the motion of a bump and run with your P wedge feels. Learn how a nice high lob feels with your L wedge. Once you engrain the correct feeling for these touch shots, you won't be scared of them anymore, you will be able to get the ball within 3 feet of the pin a lot more often. This is where you will save pars and strokes.

#2. Short game is #1 priority (still). When you're done chipping, get out the putter. Practice reading the greens, even the practice green. I practice 4-6 footers until I can't stand it anymore. You have to make this distance putt if you want to get down to single digits. Try some longer putts and work on your speed and getting the ball rolling nicely with a solid stroke. This makes all the difference in having the ball go where you want.

#3. Get on the course and practice. I know that this isn't easy for a lot of people, simply because of access to a course, but if you can, get on a course that isn't too busy, do your practicing out there. The range is good for working on swing issues etc. but the course is where you learn to hit shots and deal with the dynamics of different situations, lies, green conditions etc. I'll go out on the course for an hour or 45 minutes in the evening before dark, and will get more quality practice time there than if i hit 200 balls on the range, and it has helped my game immensely.

#4. Get rid of the penalty strokes. One of the main differences between a single digit handicap and a 12 handicap is the amount of OB and water hazard penalty strokes in a round. Most higher handicappers have the ability to stay away from trouble, but poor course management causes them to accumulate too many penalty strokes, which kills an otherwise respectable round. Make good club decisions to take OB and other hazards out of play, and your score will benefit, I guarantee it.

These are my few tips to help those 10-14 handicappers get down into the single digits. Obviously you have to have good swing fundamentals that you can rely on, but I think that learning good touch around and on the greens as well as playing smart golf will get double digiters down into the single digits in no time.

Excellent post and right on the button. I'd like to add one point

# Stay composed. Limit your mistakes to small mistakes. One of the biggest differences between the scratch (and better) players and the single figure men is their ability to stay composed and to focus on the next shot to limit damage. The majority of players at all levels try to make up for an error by expecting a near miracle which often causes them to run up double bogeys or far worse.

If you hit it OB or in the water - start again and play the hole as if you're playing it normally - do not, repeat not, try to force a birdie with a 2nd ball.

Ask me I made my 1st "9" (quintuple bogey) in a tournament on Sunday because I lost my discipline. I lost it completely and finished the front nine in 48 - fortunately a coke restored my sense of humour and I came back in 36 for a face saving score.

This game!!

New years resolution for the last three years has been - spend twice as much time practising short game as I do on the range -

The fact hat I keep repeating the resolution shows how unsuccessful I have been in keeping it.

The OB /hazard point is very true. I had a good score ruined by two OB 's on Saturday. One from a fairway bunker where I attacked a pin and flushed it throught the green and OB, the other where I was attacking a par five in two and blocked a three wood ob. I then finished in a water hazard on 18th..................................

I think you are right on the money...I have a 14 hdcp and I know that if I could limit my ob's and play smarter it would drop...I started to practice 90% short game about 1 month ago, and I can see the difference already...I have also stopped hitting driver whenever I can and have had better results for it...played today and made every putt within 6 feet like it was nothing, a good feeling and a better score...I play with a single digit handicapper sometimes, and watching him navigate the course has also been an education in that his shots aren't any better than mine in terms of length or ballstriking, just his choices on where to go for it vs when to lay up, and why...I also agree on the on course practice, I feel like I learn so much more when I go around just dropping a few balls and hitting while on the course; my club frowns on it, so I do it during the slow periods and when the marshalls aren't around...

I have to say this is the best thread I've ever seen here.

First advice sounds simple, but it's not so easy. Hit the ball on the sweet spot. Swing with the speed, timing, weight shift, everything in sync to hit the sweet spot. Take one club, aim for a sign, barrel, flag, and hit as many shots as it takes to hit your target on the fly. The focus and repetition will force you to focus on hitting it pure. It forces you to hit it the RIGHT distance, not just "out there." This should be from 160 to 120 yards, whatever club works for you. The focus is on the pure shot.

The advice on short game is spot on. You cannot score low until you can get up and down in two. Simple as that. That means chipping and putting like others have said.

My problem (I'm an eight wishing I was a 4) is that I try too hard. I want it so bad, and yet I cannot seem to break through on the course.

Not a low handicapper, but wanted to pass along some instructional hyperlinks

http://www.golf.com/apps/instruction...ch.asp?Cat=add
These tips are rated B for beginner I for intermediate and A for advanced

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI
Golf digest backissues. in 2003 they had monthly articles called "Breaking 100-90-80: your monthly guide to the scoring basics" with some awesome tips based on your handicap.

http://www.golftipsmag.com/content/i...struction.html
http://www.worldgolf.com/golf-instruction/
http://www.golfdigest.com/haney/
http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline...ons/index.html
http://www.golfinstruction.com/golf-...game/index.htm
http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.a...8165&select=51

It's fine to work on mechanics on the range, but you should also try to incorporate or simulate mental playing conditions. Pick a target, go through your routine, and hit the shot as if you were on the course. You will be surprised at the feedback you get because the focus changes from Mechanics to feel. Think of the pre-shot routine as a bridge to better focus and feel on the course! If you dont have a pre-shot routine, I would suggest get one fast!

I agree with all the tips here suggesting to emphasize the short game. I have just gotten into golf 4 months ago and am playing to about 95-100. I know that I can drop 7 strokes with short game work, but I could drop about 20 with consistancy off the tee. So that is what I can more easily work on for instant improvement. How?

I've spent many days (that I now see) on the driving range that were just usless time wasters. I've taken some lessons and from what I've learned, You cannot take the practice range to the course, but you can take the course to practice. Hitting balls endlessly is not going to help on the range, even if you think you're hitting to a target.

Why do I say this? Because (at least at the range I'm at) the range looks so vast and wide open and there are no trees, hazards, dog-legs, or other obstacles to traverse like you would on the course. I would hit shots on the range and they would go pretty straight, and think that everything is alright.

However, after taking a good look at what a course is like and applying some simple math, the range can be very decieving. On average, a tee shot would be about 200 yds (for simplicitys sake) and a fairway has an average width of about 30 yds. If you do the geometry, that means that you only have a 13 degree window directly in front of you to hit the ball to. (You can mis-hit 6.5 degrees to the left, or to the right, and be on the edge of a 30 yard fairway).

Next time you're at the range, do this. Take 2 clubs that are about 36" long (putter, LW, SW, etc) and lay them on the ground pointing towards the target. Keep the heels touching each other and then move the handle end about 5.25" apart. This will create a V shape where the opening is facing towards the range target area. You'll be amazed (as I was) at how small of a target area you'll have compared to the entire range. Place your ball about 2-3 feet behind the point of the V & start hitting.

I guarantee, if you can hit 90% of your shots (straight, or work a fade or draw) to land within that infinitely small 13 degree target area in front of you on the range, then you'll do much better on the course. It's amazing how the vastness of the range will make you think that a shot even 10 degrees off line is okay, but when you work out the math and then apply that shot to course conditions, you'll be in the rough every time.

I think more emphasis should be made on tee shots than off the deck for many reasons. (75% tee, 25% ground)
1) No round is 'average', but an average par round would have 18 Tee shots, and only 12 full swing approach shots from off the deck. Which is 50% more.
2) A good tee shot will provide more confidence and a better attitude for the entire hole.
3) A par 4 or 5 tee shot will be using a club with a 10-25 degree of loft, whereas an approach shot will be using clubs with 30-45 degrees of loft, which makes off-hit shots harder (if you don't sh**k) due to the extra backspin.
4) The short distance of those clubs will give you less force to have the ball travel OB. A banana slice with a driver may go 200 yds straight, and 50 yds right. But a same open face slice with a 9I would only go 120 yds straight, and 20 yds right. A worse likely case scenario would put you 5 yards off the fairway instead of one fairway over.


So for me, right now, I think I need to put 2/3 of my time towards the full swing practice and 1/3 on short game. (Because the full swing problems account for 3/4 of my handicap) But once I get that down to a 7 HCP due to full swing and 7 HCP due to short game (~14 total HCP), then I'll move to a 2/3 short, 1/3 full swing practice regimen.

Great thread. I have worked my handicap down from 14.7 to 10.3 in the past 2 months by simply improving my short game (pitching, chipping, and sand play with firmer wrists and proper weight on the front foot) and hitting my hybrid or 3 wood on some shorter par 4 holes or 3 shot par 5 holes. It really was that simple for me.

I learned to hit a low punch shot from trouble and have recently learned how to hit a low hook shot. I also play a bit more conservative to avoid the doubles and triples.

I look forward to reaching my low handicap past in the coming months.

I was having a rough time on the course, but I have to admit, a couple things I read here in this thread really helped me this week.

What helped was - play to the 150's, especially on a strange course. I was inside the 150's more than I wanted to be (i.e. 100 yard wedge over and over) but I left the driver in the bag more, played the 3 wood to get within range, and I made a lot of pars. Strange courses do seem longer than they actually are.

And - never over-swing. I play best when I swing easy, and for some reason it stuck after reading some things here.

I am still missing too many birdie putts, but I am making progress.