Big handicap change :)

[Jabba]

It's been a long time since my last post, my game had been in limbo and I was getting very frustrated. I have been reading but I had nothing really positive to post about.

On April 10th I was 19.8 handicap, I have been playing really well, including one round of 9 under CSS and one of 6 under (after my handicap had been reduced by 2.7 after the first score) and I nipped up to the club this morning to check my new 'cap after the -6. I've been cut under the ESR and am now at 13.4 . I am chuffed to bits, I know that it's going to be very hard to adjust to my new handicap but I will get there.

Over the winter I decided to spend much more time practising my short game and my putting, my long game was very good for my handicap, my short game truly shocking. I had (another) series of short game lessons and really applied myself to them.
At 51 years old and after 35 years playing the game on and off, I didn't think I could get down to 13 and I certainly didn't imagine coming down 6.4 shots in under a month!

 

[Captainron]

Nice! Well played lad.

 

[louise_a]

Superb, keep it up and change your sig!

 

[chellie]

Brilliant stuff

 

[steve7]

Well done that man.the practice has paid off.

 

[drs1878]

Top marks......

If you don't mind me asking what practice drills etc are you using for short game?? You sound very much like me... Playing off 19 yesterday I had a few duffs going after a few 3 woods and a couple of drives (1 resulted in an quadruple!!) but the main weakness is defiantly short game. I stuck the ball well, in and around the green in reg but that's were it all ends...... 430 yard par 4, just off the green in 2, chipped into bunker and walked off with a 6 - very frustrating especially when I walked off with net 74 (CSS 68)..

 

[Foxholer]

Excellent results.:clap:

Don't be put off by the much lower handicap. You've shown you can play lower than that in order to get there!

 

[Jabba]

Thank you for the kind words folks.

Drs, yep around the green in 2, walk off with 6 was me all over. The drills were really basic but they've worked.

Putting: My lag putting was terrible, often leaving 20-30 footers 10 feet short and missing the 2nd putt. My holing out was okay so the pro concentrated on my distance putts. He has me looking at the hole whilst I make a couple of practice putts. When I feel that I've got the correct strength, I step in and hit it. This has made a huge difference to my approach putts.

Two drills have been to stand on the practice green, maybe 30 or 40 feet from the fringe and hit a putt half that distance. Then I hit a series of balls, trying to hit each one a bit further than the last but still on the green. The idea is to get as many balls between the first ball and the fringe as possible.

The second drill is to hit 6 balls to a distant target with your head remaining still. After each putt you have to guess whether the putt is long, short or correct before you turn your head to look. You quickly become better at assessing each putt from the feel of the stroke and the groupings get much better around the hole.

Probably the biggest change has been to my chipping: If I was 20 feet off the green, with or without an obstruction, I was scared stiff. All short chips or pitches were a source of embarrassment. I wouldn't even chip around the practice green with anything more lofted than an 8 iron because it was so bad. My chipping with a 7-8 iron became better after a lesson with them but it was still poor. I've had lessons/watched videos/read books and knew the theory of chips and short pitches but I just couldn't execute them.

An old, cat 1 guy at the club recommended really short chipping at home, using a winter mat to save my lawn. Nearly every day I've been hitting from to 1 clikka tube of balls up to 20 mins worth of chipping. At first I was literally chipping 6 feet or so. It was really "yippy" with double hits, thins and a twitch like I'd been electrocuted. Eventually I was hitting the tiny shots solidly, and the anxiety reduced. I then slowly increased the strength and distance of my practice, quickly reducing the distance if I was struggling. Hitting 1 tube takes less than 10 mins in total, so it's not difficult to practice daily and I'm sure that the frequency of chipping has been the main source of my improvement. I have a tube of the "Almostgolf" balls that I use for any shots I have to hit hard, just for safety.

I will now very happily chip around the practice green with any club and I get in at least 10 mins of chipping and 10 mins of putting a couple of times a week. I had a reputation at the club of being a good ball striker who would fold around the green, it's great fun surprising people now.

 

[drs1878]

Thank you for the kind words folks.

Drs, yep around the green in 2, walk off with 6 was me all over. The drills were really basic but they've worked.

Putting: My lag putting was terrible, often leaving 20-30 footers 10 feet short and missing the 2nd putt. My holing out was okay so the pro concentrated on my distance putts. He has me looking at the hole whilst I make a couple of practice putts. When I feel that I've got the correct strength, I step in and hit it. This has made a huge difference to my approach putts.

Two drills have been to stand on the practice green, maybe 30 or 40 feet from the fringe and hit a putt half that distance. Then I hit a series of balls, trying to hit each one a bit further than the last but still on the green. The idea is to get as many balls between the first ball and the fringe as possible.

The second drill is to hit 6 balls to a distant target with your head remaining still. After each putt you have to guess whether the putt is long, short or correct before you turn your head to look. You quickly become better at assessing each putt from the feel of the stroke and the groupings get much better around the hole.

Probably the biggest change has been to my chipping: If I was 20 feet off the green, with or without an obstruction, I was scared stiff. All short chips or pitches were a source of embarrassment. I wouldn't even chip around the practice green with anything more lofted than an 8 iron because it was so bad. My chipping with a 7-8 iron became better after a lesson with them but it was still poor. I've had lessons/watched videos/read books and knew the theory of chips and short pitches but I just couldn't execute them.

An old, cat 1 guy at the club recommended really short chipping at home, using a winter mat to save my lawn. Nearly every day I've been hitting from to 1 clikka tube of balls up to 20 mins worth of chipping. At first I was literally chipping 6 feet or so. It was really "yippy" with double hits, thins and a twitch like I'd been electrocuted. Eventually I was hitting the tiny shots solidly, and the anxiety reduced. I then slowly increased the strength and distance of my practice, quickly reducing the distance if I was struggling. Hitting 1 tube takes less than 10 mins in total, so it's not difficult to practice daily and I'm sure that the frequency of chipping has been the main source of my improvement. I have a tube of the "Almostgolf" balls that I use for any shots I have to hit hard, just for safety.

I will now very happily chip around the practice green with any club and I get in at least 10 mins of chipping and 10 mins of putting a couple of times a week. I had a reputation at the club of being a good ball striker who would fold around the green, it's great fun surprising people now.

thanks for that Jabba, I've tried my self using 8i etc around the green but my consistency is woeful....... I have done some chipping in my back garden before but I'm always afriad to hit it in case it goes over fence etc and then I end up thinning/shanking.... Will keep at it tho, like you say 10 mins a day is achievable!!

I like the sound of your putting drills, that would really benefit me, I used to think I was ok at putting my skycaddie says ave is 1.82 putts a hole which isn't bad for my level.... However as I miss greens and don't chip close enough I'm not giving myself chances.... Then I do hit GIR and 3 putt cos I'm 20+ ft away!!

Thanks again for takin the time to let me kno and congrats on your big cut!!

 

[Jabba]

You're very welcome. If you're only aiming to chip 6-10 feet, it's hard do much damage with a mis hit. Those Almostgolf balls are good for that too.

 

[ventura]

Good going, when did you get the starting handicap of 26?

Hoping I'll have a similar size drop soon. Have already shot a six under CSS a few weeks back and then a seven under SSS this morning, should hopefully see a 2 shot ESR so 23.1 to 16.5 in two qualifiers this year.

 

[Jabba]

That's bloomin' good scoring Sir! I was off 26 in 2008.

What has caused your quick improvement? General play or anything specific?

Congratulations again, I hope you get the cut you're looking for.

 

[ventura]

That's bloomin' good scoring Sir! I was off 26 in 2008.

What has caused your quick improvement? General play or anything specific?

Congratulations again, I hope you get the cut you're looking for.

Must be good to have halved your handicap.

I think playing regularly. Only joined a club for the first time this time last year, had just been pay and play before that and would stop as soon as the clocks changed. Had some lessons last year and worked on the changes over winter and played practically every weekend.

Plus I bought a new driver! But that was after the first good round.