Any tips on improving

[Jaco]

Just got back into playing about 3 months back, after a lay off of 10 years or so due to having a new family. I've was only ever a 'hacker', shooting about 10 to 15 over par on our local 2800 yd par 35 pay-and-play, a course that I really like.
I'm really enjoying it and have far more time to get out and play these days, often on my own early in the morning which I enjoy and which allows me to drop lots of extra practise shots as there is nobody behind. I've been having lessons (which I didn't have when I played years ago) and again I've enjoyed this and the corrections the pro is making to my game.
The frustrating thing is that although I feel I know much more about how to swing, how to stand etc, my scores won't come down. I can par any of the nine holes on a given day but I always seem to have a couple of 7s or 8s to spoil things. I know I should stop marking a card but it feels pointless not counting my shots.
Should I cram more lessons, more range time or more course time? Any suggestions?
I've set myself a goal of hitting 40 by xmas but so far I have only achieved 49.

 

[fundy]

welcome to the forum

no advice from me apart from listen to what the coach and bobmac offer

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Welcome to the madness. Where abouts do you play. My simple (nay boring) advice would be to invest in a few lessons. Get the basics right and get a pro to see what you are doing right and wrong and let him steer you from there. After that, get out and play and enjoy

 

[GG26]

I have struggled to get my handicap down over the two years since I got my first handicap. I am definitely more consistent though.

Try and get out and play as much as you can. Practice is important, but playing regularly is important too as you cannot practice for every situation you will find on course.

 

[Face breaker]

Practice a'plenty and don't try to smack the skin off the ball...

I've found out the hard way over the last couple of years that trying to smash the ball miles just trashes you physically and mentally...

Physically because of the extra strain on yer body, nothing worse than getting halfway through a round, yer elbows and forearms are aching, yer already feeling tired and you've still got 9 hole to play yet and mentally because you spend all yer time beating yerself up over why the f**k yer always in the turd off the tee's...

 

[the_coach]

Just got back into playing about 3 months back, after a lay off of 10 years or so due to having a new family. I've was only ever a 'hacker', shooting about 10 to 15 over par on our local 2800 yd par 35 pay-and-play, a course that I really like.
I'm really enjoying it and have far more time to get out and play these days, often on my own early in the morning which I enjoy and which allows me to drop lots of extra practise shots as there is nobody behind. I've been having lessons (which I didn't have when I played years ago) and again I've enjoyed this and the corrections the pro is making to my game.
The frustrating thing is that although I feel I know much more about how to swing, how to stand etc, my scores won't come down. I can par any of the nine holes on a given day but I always seem to have a couple of 7s or 8s to spoil things. I know I should stop marking a card but it feels pointless not counting my shots.
Should I cram more lessons, more range time or more course time? Any suggestions?
I've set myself a goal of hitting 40 by xmas but so far I have only achieved 49.

welcome along

nothing wrong with setting an overall goal as long as you leave it on the back burner at home - so as long as you don't take that goal out with you each time you play & the goal is up front in the mind at the end of every shot every hole - just goin to put a ways unnecessary pressure on which will have the wheels come off

have to also take into account what you working on with the Pro in the lessons & importantly why you are working on whatever that happens to be - as that will have a real big input into why you making the errors you happen to be out in play

look at the make-up of the rounds so far - they will be some kinda pattern as to what kinda mistakes you will be making - some while be the mental choices some will be around the technique issues the lessons are about
look at what areas of the game is most problematic - off of the tee - short game & putting - so you have a clearer idea
so then you don't take on or try to hit any shot that currently is not in your skill level ball park area of having success say 75% of the time

have to look at course management & mental management - plan an 'easier' route to the green make any into green targets to the middle of the green

if you make an error -so mishit stuff- which is goin to happen given where you are in the game at present - it's real important not to compound that error by trying to 'make-up' with the very next shot by trying an 'impossible' shot - take the medicine just chip or pitch out some yards back on the short stuff then go for middle green (if in range) with the next shot

mental/emotional control side don't take the baggage of a mistake into the next shot - it's done & gone - forget it re-focus (so stay in the present) on the process of the next shot

to play well at any skill level & 'put' a score in - you just gotta stay firmly in the present meaning the sole focus is on the shot in front of you - but not in the sense this shot has to be good or score will be more over target - just in the process of picking a very defined target for that shot - being mindful over a definite set-up routine to that & every shot - one that aligns the club face at the defined target - then the body alignments all parallel left of that target line

so maybes any club over a 6i may be giving you more problems - it's not a long course so just take the 6i or 7i if thats more reliable to you in terms of contact & direction & play that from the tees on the 'longer' holes 2 of those plus a wedge is goin to get you roundabouts the green so more likely to shoot 1 over maybes 2 but not the 7's 8's or worse

part of the issues will be around mental choices & how you deal with initial mistakes - part will be around swing motion technique
so play & practice sessions - if putting is an issue do some work along with chipping - no point in 'cramming' in extra lessons - just work to a lesson plan that leaves you realistic time to put in practice over the lesson advice & get out on course

if practicing at driving range take the cell phone & record your swing for you to look at (record a lesson swing so you can have on record what stuff should look like) - as often times folks 'practice' thinking they are incorporating the lesson changes but majority of times particularly early on the are not they've slipped back into what they were doing before - 'feel to real' can be real difficult for folks
take time in practice to work over a good set-up process that has club face & body aligned properly to a target - don't just get on the matt line up vaguely to hit it out into the range then just stay & drag & hit or auto ball deliver & hit - that's not good practice - that's just firing balls a tad haphazard (not saying you guilty of this - but it's a common sight from the range bays)
pick a target from behind the ball the walk in aim the club face to target align the body parallel to the target - couple looks at target eyes back to ball & make a committed swing through the ball to a balanced finish - remember the target is not the ball - that occupies a place that the 'swing' passes through
set-up is key with the swing it's about the target chosen and swinging in balance with rhythm

good luck

 

[Don Barzini]

Definitely more lessons, backed up with more range time. I've been doing this recently and have made some big improvements to my game. Turns out I've been doing loads of wrong things for many years!

(As an aside, I don't mean to hijack the thread but.....I note the OP of this thread is a newbie and this is his first post. I'm a recent newbie and have tried to post two threads since joining. Each time I get a message to say it will be reviewed by a mod before being posted. Neither have appeared. I've messaged the forum about it but no answer. I assumed I'd have to reach a certain post count, or be a member for a certain time before being allowed to start a thread, but the OP of this thread hasn't appeared to have had those sorts of problems. Any ideas anyone? Sorry again for the hijack - I don't know where else to ask!)

 

[Dan2501]

Lessons, practice and patience.

 

[Orikoru]

I had this problem for a while where my game was getting better but my scores weren't - lately I've finally been getting the scores down. The key thing for me was sensible recovery shots when your tee shot is less than ideal. If you put one in the trees it can be tempting to think you have to play a miracle shot through a gap to get up to the green to recover - but it might be a 10% shot that if you get wrong leaves in ten times worse a position. Just take the easy route, chip back onto the fairway and you've only lost one shot at the most.

Similarly, and as the Coach said above, don't go for shots you don't have. If you're playing a par 5, nobody says you have to belt your second shot with a fairway wood to get it up there, if that was something you struggle with for example. It might be that two 7 irons for the 2nd and 3rd shots get you there with a lot bigger margin for error.

Lastly, probably an obvious one, but don't neglect putting when you're practising and having lessons. It can be easy to just focus on your other shots, but so many shots are gained and lost on the greens. If you can eliminate three putts and even get the odd one putt, that will translate directly into lower scores.

 

[Jaco]

Thanks so much for the replies. Much more detailed than I'd expected. Much of whats been said should be common sense, but its only when you hear it from someone else that a light comes on. I'm sure I won't be able to remember everything but I'm going to introduce a few next time I'm on the course. 1. Forget the last shot, 2. Use shorter irons and a wedge, rather than a 4 iron that I hardly ever hit well, 3. Don't try to follow a bad shot with something that McIlroy might struggle to pull off. Just a pitching wedge back onto the fairway and then the good old 7 iron.
Regarding what Don Barzini said, this is my second post as well, as the first didn't appear. It was along the same lines as this, only I was at maximum frustration so it was a bit more downbeat. I'm back on track now after the advice.