DaveyG
Challenge Tour Pro
If I start a thread on here 9/10 it is for tips/advise to improve or talk about where I am going wrong so now things are turning around abit I thought I would post about that ;-) I normally love to read when someone posts about their improvements and after achieving a few of my goals this year I thought I would post.
I only started playing again the last couple of months after nearly a year off golf and have enjoyed it more than ever... I have definitely improved and am trying to work out the main reasons for this... I have always been obsessed with the game when playing and been up for range sessions/lessons/rounds/range a good few times a week. When I was playing before having the break I would have said I did something golf related 4/5 times a week.... so I am sure you can imagine why the wife looked worried when I said I was just going to play a round for a laugh with mates...
For some reason coming back to the game my temperament was already better... my expectations were lower and I seemed to swing that bit easier too but if I am honest the fact I would have a horror hole or two was still there and always making rounds look more average then they should have been.
In the last 3 months I joined the Belfry and booked a course of lessons... I have had 3 of the lessons and spent a good few hours on the range, I have also spent more time on the practise area than I ever have over the last 3.5 years.
Like most I have been told by others + a couple of teaching pro's there was no way I should be off 22 the way I hit the ball and I took it as a compliment but also felt hard done by and the truth is its no secret and I know very obvious to decent golfers but I cant stress enough the change it has made working on my 30 yards and in... I know people say about 100 yards and in and ofcourse hitting the green from there will bring down the scores but those missed green chips and 2 putts make all the difference... I never realised how much of the score was coming from duffed chips or being 30 yards from the pin and chipping onto the green but still putting myself 20yards from the pin making it no easier for myself with a shot gone...
If any other high handicappers or newbies to the game are interested aswell the biggest thing I have had to change is my mental game... I feel funny explaining this because the lads I play with just turn up and hit the ball and do pretty well for it but since reading NGT (which a few have mentioned before) I have made massive improvements to my game. I realised how negative I really was and how much of an impact that has on your game...
Anyway in the last few months I have seen myself go from shooting anything below 100 and being happy with it to mid to high 80's... I was always getting the ball around the course ok but making silly mistakes here and there hence why people would say you hit the ball better than a 22 handicapper (I think)
Few goals I have achieved lately are...
*Finished 2nd in a medal getting my first cut
*Shooting sub 90 in a comp
*Winning the Rangers Cup at the Belfry (Team event)
*Winning my first round Matchplay Winter League match
*Handing in a supplementary card which I managed to hold together to get another cut 1.5 (with tough conditions where I felt I left 4 out there)
*Getting more birdies in the last couple of months than in the whole time playing
*Playing the front 9 in +3 gross
All of these things make me think I could go a lot lower and with my scores now being +16 gross in winter conditions its now time I look at my new goals and try to get my handicap down further. Im sitting at 19.8 now and cant wait to see that move down further - my plan is to get to 15 by next summer with an ultimate goal of getting there sooner and pushing on to 12.
Anyway if anyone like me enjoys reading other peoples successes and isn't the best golfer or is fairly new to the game I cant tell you enough.. get on the practise range and say you will commit to a certain amount of time a week/month and you will see your numbers come down.
Cheers and sorry for the shameless brag!
I only started playing again the last couple of months after nearly a year off golf and have enjoyed it more than ever... I have definitely improved and am trying to work out the main reasons for this... I have always been obsessed with the game when playing and been up for range sessions/lessons/rounds/range a good few times a week. When I was playing before having the break I would have said I did something golf related 4/5 times a week.... so I am sure you can imagine why the wife looked worried when I said I was just going to play a round for a laugh with mates...
For some reason coming back to the game my temperament was already better... my expectations were lower and I seemed to swing that bit easier too but if I am honest the fact I would have a horror hole or two was still there and always making rounds look more average then they should have been.
In the last 3 months I joined the Belfry and booked a course of lessons... I have had 3 of the lessons and spent a good few hours on the range, I have also spent more time on the practise area than I ever have over the last 3.5 years.
Like most I have been told by others + a couple of teaching pro's there was no way I should be off 22 the way I hit the ball and I took it as a compliment but also felt hard done by and the truth is its no secret and I know very obvious to decent golfers but I cant stress enough the change it has made working on my 30 yards and in... I know people say about 100 yards and in and ofcourse hitting the green from there will bring down the scores but those missed green chips and 2 putts make all the difference... I never realised how much of the score was coming from duffed chips or being 30 yards from the pin and chipping onto the green but still putting myself 20yards from the pin making it no easier for myself with a shot gone...
If any other high handicappers or newbies to the game are interested aswell the biggest thing I have had to change is my mental game... I feel funny explaining this because the lads I play with just turn up and hit the ball and do pretty well for it but since reading NGT (which a few have mentioned before) I have made massive improvements to my game. I realised how negative I really was and how much of an impact that has on your game...
Anyway in the last few months I have seen myself go from shooting anything below 100 and being happy with it to mid to high 80's... I was always getting the ball around the course ok but making silly mistakes here and there hence why people would say you hit the ball better than a 22 handicapper (I think)
Few goals I have achieved lately are...
*Finished 2nd in a medal getting my first cut
*Shooting sub 90 in a comp
*Winning the Rangers Cup at the Belfry (Team event)
*Winning my first round Matchplay Winter League match
*Handing in a supplementary card which I managed to hold together to get another cut 1.5 (with tough conditions where I felt I left 4 out there)
*Getting more birdies in the last couple of months than in the whole time playing
*Playing the front 9 in +3 gross
All of these things make me think I could go a lot lower and with my scores now being +16 gross in winter conditions its now time I look at my new goals and try to get my handicap down further. Im sitting at 19.8 now and cant wait to see that move down further - my plan is to get to 15 by next summer with an ultimate goal of getting there sooner and pushing on to 12.
Anyway if anyone like me enjoys reading other peoples successes and isn't the best golfer or is fairly new to the game I cant tell you enough.. get on the practise range and say you will commit to a certain amount of time a week/month and you will see your numbers come down.
Cheers and sorry for the shameless brag!
