Do you believe you can get to scratch?

Currently: 11.3 - I am almost certainly at a plateau right now. I don't see me getting any better without improving the swing and being a more consistent ball striker, that is a work in progress (isn't it always). There are some low hanging fruit there too, whilst I am a good putter (Arccos has me gaining strokes on a 5 index for example) - I'm sure there's adjustments that could be made. My bunker shots need work, and my short approaches and chipping is poor and needs a bit of work - I'm sure all these things could save me another two or three strokes a round. Distance is another thing - whilst I agree with some that it's not everything in golf, I'm not sure averaging 210-220 carry with little roll out is good for me especially when most of the time I play with guys who are 30 yards plus past me and when I play society comps or other comps we are off the back tees. Me gaining distance will be a combination of better ball striking ability/swing technique and fitness/strength. The other thing that holds me back is my physical fitness and limitations. I need to be more athletic (again a work in progress).

It's alot of work and in my mid 30's I can only put so much time into it all. I am seeing a coach once a month and we have been working on the swing and technique mostly with irons and approach shots. We will transition to short game stuff come March time. I am in the gym and working on my physical fitness as well as 3 practice sessions a week a the range. I doubt scratch will be possible for me. I think 3-5 range is possible but as you can see quite a bit of work to do to get there.

The plan to get better is basially:

- Better ball striking/swing technique for better approach shots to hit more greens in regulation
- Continue at gym to work on physical fitness, including mobility and flexibility work alongside strength, power etc
- Transition to short game/putting work in March to sharpen those areas up ahead of the 'season' kicking off

I am hoping for a good year - I worked really hard last year and dropped 5 shots, and I've already put a ton of work in through the winter so hopefully start to see the fruits of that come March/April time. It has been a challenge mentally to tell the truth.
Sounds great that you have identified weak areas and have a plan to work on it 👍🏻
 
Nope.
Currently 8.4
If a few things improved I could possibly max out around 6.
Part of it isn't just the skills/techniques, it's the mental wherewithall to play golf at that level of excellence for 18 holes.

That’s the thing, I can play 9 holes level par then chuck in a double bogey from nowhere and finish the round +8. I just don’t have it in me to play that consistently for a full round never mind week in week out. And like I said previously, I have no intentions of going hard at practicing to improve, I just appreciate where I currently am.
 
I am enjoying this thread, especially because of a great level of realism. Unfortunately, in my experience online, people really, really underestimate how hard it is to master golf (or any other pursuit in general). In golf it's especially prevalent, because the nature of the game: one can appear to be brilliantly skilled for one hole (or just one shot) - leading to an illusion of mastery. Scratch is very impressive and hard to achieve, especially if you didn't take up the game in early youth.
 
I was listening the Chipping Forecast and they were discussing how a returning golfer got a very low handicap after submitting 3 cards, where two were high scores and 1 was low.

So it seems that under a new system, the easiest way to scratch is to quit your membership, get the hcp lapsed and then get three cards of which one should be low enough to give you a scratch index. 🙃

Disclaimer: I do not endorse any hcp manipulation, this is just pointing out the “quickest” way to scratch 😂
 
I was listening the Chipping Forecast and they were discussing how a returning golfer got a very low handicap after submitting 3 cards, where two were high scores and 1 was low.

So it seems that under a new system, the easiest way to scratch is to quit your membership, get the hcp lapsed and then get three cards of which one should be low enough to give you a scratch index. 🙃

Disclaimer: I do not endorse any hcp manipulation, this is just pointing out the “quickest” way to scratch 😂
The same could be said about the old system. And in both cases, there would have to be several people failing to follow the rules on multiple occasions for it to happen.
 
It’s so difficult.

Looking at the scratch and better players at my club, I think that you either have to start golf young and achieve it whilst you don’t have many other commitments, or you can achieve it later in life if you have the time to practise and play a lot.

My regular BB partner retired about 16 months ago. He was 1.4 when he packed up work. Now has no stresses and strains, plays more golf and has time to practice.

He’s currently off 5.6.
 
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