18 to 14

[SaintHacker]

After getting cut to 18 at the end of last season I really struggled to play to it this year, having a back injury for most of the summer not helping one bit. However I've now found a swing again and am playing to handicap more often than not. Next season my target is 14 or below, which gets me into division 1 at our club.
So whats peoples opinions on where to focus to make this achievable?
My driving im quite happy with. My GIR is shocking quite frankly, and i miss far too many par 3s. Chipping i would say mediocre but i can get up and down occasionally. Putting im very happy with, although there is always room for improvement.
Would you focus on hitting more greens so im putting for birdie or concentrate more on scrambling to save par when i do miss a green?

 

[louise_a]

At the level you play off you will be getting a few pars so you will reduce more by trying to keep the doubles down to a minimum.

 

[SteveW86]

Interested to hear responses to this, as I am currently off 18. I have only been playing properly for 1 year so I know my main issue is inconsistency in my swing, I played Paultons in 84 2 weeks ago, which beat my previous best of 89. The one thing that stuck out to me was that I hit 9 GIR compared to an average of 3 over the last 12 months, this took a lot of pressure and obviously gave me a lot more birdie opportunities.

I know I can hit the ball well, for me it is just doing it more often and cutting out the silly mistakes. I've just put a driver into my bag, so I'm working on that a lot at the range, if I can start hitting it consistently then being a lot closer to the green will improve my GIR, previously I was using 4 iron off the tee where a pure hit was going 210-220, so that will help with my scores.

As a side from the arrange a game thread, we should have a couple of games next week as we are close and both off work.

Steve

 

[ger147]

Try and get rid of as many doubles, blobs etc. as you can. That normally means playing more sensibly i.e. less drivers off the tee, less 3 woods off the deck, less 4 irons out of the rough, less flop shots over bunkers, less pin hunting etc.

In summary, try and get the ball in play off the tee then try and make it as hard as possible for yourself to do something stupid.

 

[pendodave]

Rather than ask us, why not ask the best player you play with what he/she thinks of your game - it might be shockingly different to you own perceptions!.

I'm not a big fan of short game practice during the winter, but there's no doubt that being able to get every chip/pitch onto the dancefloor takes a lot of pressure off both ends of the game..

 

[Qwerty]

Know your game, recognise and play to your strengths, practice them as much as possible.
The weaknesses can wait until single figures.
Play the shots you know you can play rather than the shots you think you should play.

Find a putter you can rely on, stick with it and again practice with it as much as possible, especially lag putting.

 

[Green Man]

One thing I used to do when I was around 18 was think about taking a 5 on every hole. If you play the front 9 in 43 instead of thinking I'm 7 over I would be thinking 2 under. If I parred a Par 3 I would be delighted as I was 2 under for the hole. I have always hit a longish ball so going for a par on a Par 5 was always acceptable to me.

I know it all adds up the same in the end but I used to feel a more positive attitude that I had a change of being under target rather than being way over.

 

[Face breaker]

I play off 16 and as of late am producing a lot of birdies/pars/bogey's (the odd double bogey chucked in for good measure) what I found to be of the greatest benefit was to stop trying to whack it out of stupid lies which usually ended up making things worse, so if I've gone a bit adrift off the tee and ended up in the rough rather than try and hammer it out I'll take a chip back out onto the fairway and go for the bogey rather than smash it and end up with a triple, little things like that make all the difference. :thup:

 

[RGDave]

I miss a lot of par 3s.
I also par them enough to know missing a 170 yard hole but getting up and down is just as crucial as making vanilla pars on a par 4 with an 8 or 9 iron 2nd shot. (i.e. the short ones!!)
Keep the doubles off the card (sometimes it can't be helped, of course) and keep it steady, just be ready to pounce whenever a chance comes your way.
It's everything really.... the better your long game, the less difficult short game chips/pitches.
I see a lot of people play around 9-12 and some are quite good at hitting greens, others are not. They are consistently staying out of trouble and nearly always putting (even if not close) for par... clearly they aren't making that many for par, but the bogeys are 'safe' and uneventful.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Short game and scoring from 100 yards would be a good starting point and then working on keeping anything worse than a double off the card. Speak to your pro who will know you and the course and find a strategy to play in comps that gives you the best chance. It may not be the way you are currently playing certain holes

 

[davemc1]

Managed to get to 18 myself this year.

I know I'm good enough to go lower. If I hit the ball solid throughout the whole round I'll break 36pts. So for me, it's consistency of strike that's most important. Oh, and learning how to put would help!

make your weaknesses become your strengths, if that's at all possible

 

[RGDave]

Short game and scoring from 100 yards would be a good starting point

Yes. Accurate averages of various wedge shots helps save some shots. Most greens are a fairly generous depth (front to back) and knowing how to hit 90 yards (as an example) sounds a bit 'single-figure' but even if you can only say with any confidence you're going to hit something between 85 and 95 is saving you having to chip and single putt having flown the green!

 

[Papas1982]

I only play for fun ATM as having played any events at my pace yet. But with my society I've gone from 26 to 14 this year and I'd say the biggest thing for me is course management.

Ive given up a little distance off the tee for marked improvement in accuracy. If I go in the rough I don't use any more than an 8 iron, irrespective of lie. I practiced short game ALOT so when I am playing out of rough and leaving myself anywhere from 100yards I'm confident of hitting the green. Then a two putt gets me my bogey.

There is always a point in a round when you have to attack if you want to do well. It's knowing when you should that works for me. Any bad rounds I have I can generally find where I made the mistake and it's more often than not a misjudgement and not a swing fault.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I did it with dreadful driving, good enough to get it out there but usually first cut.

The thing that made the difference was the short game, I was deadly inside 100 yards. I could get inside 12 feet most of the time which lead to a lot of one put pars.

Practice practice practice inside 100 yards, I used to spend HOURs pitching and chipping. Putting is a big part too.

To get down to 14 you dont need an amazing long game, just keep the doubles off the card, even if it means taking 3 to reach a par 4 green (which still means you need to take 3 more to get down to make a double!)

Have a gameplan and stick to it, my 3 goals method can help if modified.

In the end it comes down to keeping doubles off the card and taking those par chances when they come.

 

[jusme]

You say your happy with your driving and overall happy with your short side. Reading purely on what you say I would have a look at your iron play - is that your current weakness? Assuming your playing reasonable length courses and your getting your drive out to something reasonable It seems to me that your 2nd shot (iron play) is the area you need to work on, based solely on what you stated.

 

[Rlburnside]

Rather than ask us, why not ask the best player you play with what he/she thinks of your game - it might be shockingly different to you own perceptions!.

I'm not a big fan of short game practice during the winter, but there's no doubt that being able to get every chip/pitch onto the dancefloor takes a lot of pressure off both ends of the game..

This advice certainly worked for me, I played a few rounds with a friend who's H/C is 4 , from watching him swing I picked up such a lot , from looking at his grip I noticed mine needed altering slightly,also watching when he cocked his wrists helped.

Playing a few rounds with a low h/c was very beneficial as it helped me come down from 17 to 14.