for those of us high scorers

[SHiiBBZ]

Change your mentality completely. The aim has to get you to sub 100 or a 28 handicap. This means you get a shot a hole and two on the 9 hardest. If it's a Par 5 SI7, this has now become a Par 7 for you in order to hit sub 100. Play the course - if you hit Driver inconsistently, just hit an Iron off the tee. Even if it's a 500 yard hole and you hit a 150yd shot three times, you're only 50 yards away hitting your fourth shot. Put it close and two putt and all of a sudden you're walking away from a Par 5 with a bogey.

Even if you can only hit 100 yards, you're on the green for 5 - two putt for 7 which would be a net par for you.

When I first started, I'd shank a drive into the trees, be 3 off the tee, maybe hit a good drive, then I'm still 300 yards away hitting my fourth.

This and putting off the fringes of the green rather than trying to flop it close. A bad putt will always be closer than a thin or a duff.

 

[stefanovic]

With me its mainly fairway play,

Had that complaint myself for a long time.
Fairway play is difficult because it's more prone to error as you have to hit the ball cleanly.
Get your grip checked out.
Crucial part of the swing is the change of direction at the top of the swing.
On a practice swing check what the club face is doing after going through the ball. If it's closing the downswing is at fault and the swing has not changed direction correctly.

 

[Foxholer]

...
Fairway play is difficult because it's more prone to error as you have to hit the ball cleanly.
...

More of your usual twaddle!
It's not 'more prone to error'; just errors are more noticeably errors! Unlike a shot from deep rough, where a poor shot is 'expected', so deemed forgiveable. It's these shots that are really more prone to error - because of all the 'unknown factors'! But with much low expectations, errors are not deemed as severe.

...
On a practice swing check what the club face is doing after going through the ball. If it's closing the downswing is at fault and the swing has not changed direction correctly.

That'll virtually guarantee the subsequent swing at a real ball is duffed!

 

[stefanovic]

So Hogan was wrong when he pointed out that there are 2 swing planes.
The downswing plane is slightly lower. That's where the crucial change of direction applies as explained by players like Faldo.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Change your mentality completely. The aim has to get you to sub 100 or a 28 handicap. This means you get a shot a hole and two on the 9 hardest. If it's a Par 5 SI7, this has now become a Par 7 for you in order to hit sub 100. Play the course - if you hit Driver inconsistently, just hit an Iron off the tee. Even if it's a 500 yard hole and you hit a 150yd shot three times, you're only 50 yards away hitting your fourth shot. Put it close and two putt and all of a sudden you're walking away from a Par 5 with a bogey.

Even if you can only hit 100 yards, you're on the green for 5 - two putt for 7 which would be a net par for you.

When I first started, I'd shank a drive into the trees, be 3 off the tee, maybe hit a good drive, then I'm still 300 yards away hitting my fourth.

This and putting off the fringes of the green rather than trying to flop it close. A bad putt will always be closer than a thin or a duff.

If a player is struggling to break 100. How many 150 iron shots are they able to hit consecutively? Then get down in 3 from 50 yards?

For a start. I would completely ignore the par for each hole. It doesn’t matter unless playing a stableford. The aim is simply to get the ball in the hole in the fewest shots possible. Worrying about ‘par’ isn’t going to help, even an inflated par.

If the sole intention is to break 100. Just take a 5 hybrid a 9 iron and putter. Remove the need for decision making from the game and for the majority of high handicappers it becomes a more simple game.

Then all you have to worry about is picking targets and hitting the ball.

I’ll happily suggest that anyone struggling to break 100 doesn’t pick a target beyond aiming for the fairway or green, if that. (More likely that most people struggling to break 90 don’t.)
And this leads to players aiming at nothing then hitting their ball there. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen a player hit a shot exactly where they were aiming, but think they have pulled or pushed it.

All that said. The number on thing that would help most* players break 100 is to be closer to the green after a tee shot.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

On the plus side the drier conditions mean the ball will run further on the good shots. Of course the negative is it will also run towards trouble as well. The point is, a good shot will get down there even with an iron off the tee. It is a simple game. We just make it complicated. If I was the OP I would get a couple of lessons before the main season starts and get the basics double checked and tweaked and then go out, use the sound advice on here and have fun beating 100

 

[bobmac]

I like your solution to 1 Bob. What would be your similar snappy tip for 2?

I'm not sure if that's a serious question or you're taking the Michael...
The Op was only concerned about his contact so there was no need to mention his direction.
But if you're having problems, check your divots.
They will tell you if it's your aim, your grip or swingpath

 

[Canfordhacker]

I'm not sure if that's a serious question or you're taking the Michael...
The Op was only concerned about his contact so there was no need to mention his direction.
But if you're having problems, check your divots.
They will tell you if it's your aim, your grip or swingpath

I was serious. I get the aim and swingpath bit, how will it help me determine impact of grip?

 

[bobmac]

I was serious. I get the aim and swingpath bit, how will it help me determine impact of grip?

If the divots are straight and the ball isn't flying straight, the clubface must be either open or closed to the path, suggesting a weak or strong grip.
If you're missing it left and right, the chances are one hand is weak (usually the upper hand) and the other is too strong