20.8 to 9.7 in a year. Well done me.

Philm

Philm

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its been a year of learning and its all good.

started playing golf seriously(lol) about 18months ago and joined a club and got an official handicap of 20.8 soon thereafter.

at that stage i would play ok at times and but continually fell apart for a few holes hence the handicap of 20 was needed. but with some practice and guidance of sorts ive pretty consistantly got better.

ive got to be honest and say that i think cat 1 is a realistic aim for next season and i hope to make it as low as possible this season but no pressure.

(if you knew me in real life you'd know id never claim the above, but in my head and therefore online im AWESOME and everything is possible. lol)

so finished blowing my own trumpet for now and thanks for reading.

PS without losing a ball or incurring any penalties i managed to rack up a 9 on a par three this past weekend, so that pretty much ruined that round haha therefore back up to 9.8 atm

Phil
 
Great stuff!

I joined a club around this time last year for the first time, got handicap 16 to start with and also made 9.7 by the end of the year. Hoping to get comfortably into single figures this year but not convinced cat 1 is doable!
 
Outstanding, with that much of a drop so early you clearly have the knack! If you had to rate them, what would you think were the most important things you did that lead to the improvement?
 
I wish it were me writing this post, that is a great result very well done you!! I hope the next 9 shots drop as quick.


What do you need to be working on to get even better? or is it a bit of everything?
 
Curls said:
If you had to rate them, what would you think were the most important things you did that lead to the improvement?
Click to expand...
Alex1975 said:
What do you need to be working on to get even better? or is it a bit of everything?
Click to expand...


I think that abit of natural ability played a part, but aside from that a guy i know well is a PGA pro and his younger brother was in my class at school and was a good friend of mine.

he now has also turned pro off 1. so knowing the two of them and how capable they are compared to me at other sports i truely believe that with plenty of practice i can get down abit too.

so i took the attitude of be patient with my development and have never singled out one part of my game for imrpovement over other element.

i mainly play the game and treat every hole as a potential birdie opportunity and then play each shot as best i can when i come to it. nothing conservative but nothing ridiculous either.

for example a good drive down a long par 5 and ill have a bash at gettinn there in two. a average drive and ill still give it a bash if my sunday best will do the job.

but put water infront or a bank behind and ill know that the play is to lay up, and i can accept that.

ive played a round with brendy back when i hadnt been playing too long and noticed how he attacked everything he could reach(granted it was his home course) but that really encouraged me that if i want to go low if got to be prepared to smash that wee ball with no fear or swing thoughts.

much like how i play other sports i only truely enjoy them when i can play with only the aim and result in my mind, like a set piece in football, i want to score, i want to stick it past the keeper from 25 yards, top corner preferrably, and the result it does or doesnt not go in. now score or miss, i enjoy the task and accept the result.

not once will i have thoguht about the direction of my feet, or the angle of my toes or the flex in my knee, or the swing of my arms or the lifting of my head or the knot in my laces or the distance of my standing foot from the ball.... NO just trust yourself enough to hit the shot with the result in mind.

so i think that has been the biggest improvement over the last year, slowly being able to think less about how im going to do somethign and more about the fact i can get the desired result.

i dont think ill ever truely be good but i might be if i play enough to forget about how anything works and start nailing the ball to the flag anywhere inside 150yards.

but im a long way off that yet.

Phil
 
Philm said:
now score or miss, i enjoy the task and accept the result.

Phil
Click to expand...

Well its clear you have natural ability but I must say that's an exemplary attitude and probably the single greatest factor in your improvement, I've been reading Zen Golf over and over trying to get myself to do what you do naturally; set the task, give it your best and accept the result and move on. I'm hoping to emulate that this year, last year I tied myself up in knots with technique to the point where I couldn't do what I was supposed to - hit a target. This year I've started with trying to eradicate the over-thinking it syndrome and have been playing better tee to green, now if I can sort out the putting I hope to be on here with a similar story come season-end. Hats off sir.
 
Philm said:
ive played a round with brendy back when i hadnt been playing too long and noticed how he attacked everything he could reach(granted it was his home course) but that really encouraged me that if i want to go low if got to be prepared to smash that wee ball with no fear or swing thoughts.
Click to expand...

i think the important part of that is "he could reach" ! if my memory is correct brendy plays off a low number. that means hes well aware of his limitations and has good course management.
 
In a place that's often filled with self depracation, tales of woe, a soupçon of sadness and a bucketload of despondency it's nice to hear such a good news story. Losing 11 shots in a year is no mean feat so well played you :thup:
 
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