Realistic Handicp Target for an 18 Handicapper

[Simbo]

I am like that just now Louise, knowing i have shot on every hole I can play bogey golf

Stopping thinking like that would be a good start mate, thinking about paring every hole as if you were playing against par encourages a better mindset IMO and only really "using" your shots when you get into trouble. You won't eliminate bad shots but try and make your bad shots a bit better.
Getting down out of the teens is achievable if you have a reasonably good all round game, you don't need to be brilliant at anything but you can't be crap at anything, middle of the road stuff when the pencil is in your hand.
Wouldn't mind a crack round the Gailes sometime if you fancy it?
Get on golf empire and enter some opens, standard scratch tends to be a bit higher giving you more chance of a cut and the more you play the more likely you are to hit a score, most good scores just appear out of nowhere the week after you've been swinging it like a toilet chain. Just keep plugging away and it will happen if your taking lessons and practising properly.

 

[Fish]

Could be a bit of competition here Robin to see who gets down the farthest

Oh I do love a bit of an incentive pal, how about £10 from the loser to H4H who finishes the highest 🏌️

If there are any other 17.5 or higher handicappers who'd like to join us then it's £10 in and I'll add the names and bet to the thread currently running. Quite simply, all those above whoever gets the lowest pledges £10 👍🏌️

 

[SteveW86]

Oh I do love a bit of an incentive pal, how about £10 from the loser to H4H who finishes the highest ️

If there are any other 17.5 or higher handicappers who'd like to join us then it's £10 in and I'll add the names and bet to the thread currently running. Quite simply, all those above whoever gets the lowest pledges £10 ️

I would, but I won't be playing anywhere near enough comps to see a noticeable improvement in handicap

 

[AMcC]

Oh I do love a bit of an incentive pal, how about £10 from the loser to H4H who finishes the highest 🏌️

If there are any other 17.5 or higher handicappers who'd like to join us then it's £10 in and I'll add the names and bet to the thread currently running. Quite simply, all those above whoever gets the lowest pledges £10 👍🏌️

I am up for this, so count me in

 

[AMcC]

Wouldn't mind a crack round the Gailes sometime if you fancy it?

Not a problem just pm me when you fancy it. Are you available during the week as well ?

 

[AMcC]

i got myself lower by eliminating costly shots which were generally off the tee, and also got better closer to the hole by playing easier lower tariff shots with 8&9irons. It became much easier playing to a lower handicap that way.

Good luck, you've got a great course to do it on - love playing Gailes.

Recently I have been scoring better by being better off the tee and being in less trouble, in fact on Sunday I didn't play that well but still managed to hit 7 out of 15 fairways with two or three others just in the first cut.

Likewise if you fancy a hit at Gailes just let me know.

 

[Merv_swerve]

From what I see with other golfers with similar handicap to you, there is a lot of scope to get it down from 12 to 14.
I think it's a very reasonable target, which remains a challenge.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

From what I see with other golfers with similar handicap to you, there is a lot of scope to get it down from 12 to 14.
I think it's a very reasonable target, which remains a challenge.

This is what I saw with myself and a friend, when we went form playing once probably every month to almost weekly (no practising or range time), We went from about 20-22 iirc to about 14-15 in the year.

So certainly doable OP and best of luck with it, enjoy the ride its great when you are improving rapidly, great fun.

 

[Bazz]

Oh I do love a bit of an incentive pal, how about £10 from the loser to H4H who finishes the highest ️

If there are any other 17.5 or higher handicappers who'd like to join us then it's £10 in and I'll add the names and bet to the thread currently running. Quite simply, all those above whoever gets the lowest pledges £10 ️

Count me in.

 

[Fish]

Oh I do love a bit of an incentive pal, how about £10 from the loser to H4H who finishes the highest 🏌️

If there are any other 17.5 or higher handicappers who'd like to join us then it's £10 in and I'll add the names and bet to the thread currently running. Quite simply, all those above whoever gets the lowest pledges £10 👍🏌️

I am up for this, so count me in

Count me in.

Details of this can now be found HERE :thup:

 

[Merv_swerve]

This is what I saw with myself and a friend, when we went form playing once probably every month to almost weekly (no practising or range time), We went from about 20-22 iirc to about 14-15 in the year.

So certainly doable OP and best of luck with it, enjoy the ride its great when you are improving rapidly, great fun.

Yes definitely.
I myself dropped very quickly once I got 18. Something clicked and I just went off like a train.
In hindsight it was probably a combination of new confidence after achieving my goal of 18 and better course management.
Good luck, it can be done!

 

[GreggerKBR]

has anybody tried to use Game Golf and Strokes Gained info to help identify areas of improvement as a method to achieving lower scores thus lower handicaps?

 

[MadAdey]

Don't think about it too much and enjoy your golf. If you set out with specific targets and they do not start happening as soon as you hoped then you are going to get disappointed.

Make your aim this year to become more consistent and not make silly decisions that throw shots away. Become a better golfer and let your handicap take care of itself. As you said you only have 2 medals a month, so can be pot luck with regards to making sure one of your good rounds is on that day. You could play 10 rounds a month and 8 of them well below your handicap, but the 2 that aren't are those medal rounds, so even though you are playing well, your handicap might not change that much.

Golf is far too much fun to put yourself under stupid amounts of pressure to achieve specific goals, just let things happen naturally.

 

[Fish]

has anybody tried to use Game Golf and Strokes Gained info to help identify areas of improvement as a method to achieving lower scores thus lower handicaps?

Personally I don't think they'd be of a benefit, as handicap golfers we are simply inconsistent, in that, I can hit a great drive down our 1st 1 day, hook it into the trees on another and slice it into the pond on another, the day I hit the great drive I might hit a great fairway wood next shot and go on to par the hole, the next day I'll knob it 100yds, then find a bunker and blob the hole, you get the idea, so I don't think something like Game Golf would teach or show me/us anything, unless the inconsistency was a constant!?

 

[ScienceBoy]

Whatever you choose to do remember, do it one shot at a time.

Don't think about anything more than one shot ahead and certainly done think about any shots behind you.

Eventually, one shot or another you will come good. Trust that and focus on the one to play.

 

[Simbo]

Not a problem just pm me when you fancy it. Are you available during the week as well ?

Unfortunately I'm generally working during the week. I'd deffo like to come down for a game though.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Personally I don't think they'd be of a benefit, as handicap golfers we are simply inconsistent, in that, I can hit a great drive down our 1st 1 day, hook it into the trees on another and slice it into the pond on another, the day I hit the great drive I might hit a great fairway wood next shot and go on to par the hole, the next day I'll knob it 100yds, then find a bunker and blob the hole, you get the idea, so I don't think something like Game Golf would teach or show me/us anything, unless the inconsistency was a constant!?

I agree with Fish. As handicap golfers we are by nature very inconsistent and struggle to play the same hole the same way each time. I think keeping it simple with FIR and GIR and where the misses are can show up trends to work on

 

[Dasit]

Something nice to work on, from the book Lowest Score Wins.

Near GIR is considered within 20 yards of green without being in too much trouble, heavy rough, bunkers, over hazards etc

My short game is by far the best part of my game, game golf rates me as a 5 handicapper at it. I am now working on getting to 11+ nGIRs a round which I think will be the fastest way to get handicap down quick.

 

[MadAdey]

Personally I don't think they'd be of a benefit, as handicap golfers we are simply inconsistent, in that, I can hit a great drive down our 1st 1 day, hook it into the trees on another and slice it into the pond on another, the day I hit the great drive I might hit a great fairway wood next shot and go on to par the hole, the next day I'll knob it 100yds, then find a bunker and blob the hole, you get the idea, so I don't think something like Game Golf would teach or show me/us anything, unless the inconsistency was a constant!?

I'm with you Robin, all these stats really do not mean anything in IMO. I was keeping track of my stats a year ago looking for places to improve and it really did not show me anything of any interest. Just got them back up on my phone to look at some and what I found was a round that I missed 10/14 fairways and shot 76. Another round I hit 12/14 and shot 78 . So those driving stats are useless. The only thing that I found of any use in those stats was how many times I scrambled a par after missing a fairway or green.

I think the only stat any handicap golfer should be interested in is how well you scramble pars. Making pars from the fairway is easy, making them after missing a fairway or green isn't. The ability to make a par after missing a fairway and not making doubles and triples is what will make a huge dent on your scores.

If you find that after missing a fairway you wrack up big scores then you need to look at what it is your doing wrong in this situation. Solve that problem and how to make a score from a bad situation is what makes the good golfers.

 

[GreggerKBR]

Yes I totally agree, short game, scrambling etc. is usually where most higher h/c players can cut shots off their scores - good gains for a little effort/learning. A wiley golfer adept at choosing the right shots & making a good score from a bad situation is someone capable of executing them I would think? Good scores and performances come and go, as does confidence etc. Every week we see scores fluctuating 4-6 (and way more) shots per round by the best on tour.

Obv. You need to be trending in the right direction and making gains if you want to improve.
So logically you have to select the skills you want to work on, figure out how to achieve it and get to it, accepting that it's unlikely to happen overnight.

So back to the question what is a "realistic" target?

This measure being the reduction of handicap as a result of performances NOT indication of present ability.
This would mean out performing your previous average scores, therefore out performing your previous efforts at the various different challenges.
Current ability being say 20 h/c and future ability desired to be 15 h/c.
To me, the target (handicap of "x") would seem nothing more than a reflection of performances as handicap adjustments from qualifying rounds.
So if that is the target - get your pro/coach to caddie/play with you 1 in every 5 rounds (for example) and build/adapt your plan based on his advice.
He will see far better than you the things you can control and make improvements on to achieve better results.
That would lead down a different path than the current "my golf swing mechanics" or "learn to swing" method adapted by most.

However, if you wish to focus on ABILITY not capabilities (we can all hole a chip/pitch once in a while) there is another possible way of thinking.
Otherwise all you are doing is setting yourself an "objective" to inspire you to practice, educate etc. - which is fine, it does work.
The other way, requires constantly measuring, making changes, doing drills and re-testing yourself, recording all the results and looking at "strokes gained".
EG. Measuring, under pressure, how often do you get it inside 5ft from 25 yards and in? How often compared to who?

My question about Game Golf in relation to Strokes Gained was to see how many on this thread are using it, and it's very few it would seem.
Most seem to be reacting to their personal experiences to decide what to improve and focus on. And many dismiss the analysis without knowledge of it.
Don't get me wrong - the instincts are probably about right. If you miss many putts inside 3ft you don't need anyone/any device to tell you that's not good.

But how do you know how good you are at your current level compared to others at specific tasks (shots)?
What about the last 3 rounds, last 5, last 10 rounds?
Example - How good are you at shots from rough or from fairway at 100-125 yards compared with (a) scratch player (b) 5 handicap (c) 10 handicap (d) 15 handicap etc. etc. How many shots on average are you gaining/losing to these players?
Knowledge is power... power is your responsibility - do with it as you must.

If you are of mind to look for methods and ideas on what to do to get better my point would be this -
Do not dismiss anything, leave no stone unturned. Stick to things that work, but if they don't work, get busy, get knowledge!
Do not in this case dismiss Game Golf or other technology until you actually really do know all the details of how it works...

I started on Game Golf on a suggestion from my coach, at first and even sometimes now, I think it's told me little more than I already had a feeling for.
But, I personally saw evidence that made me travel a tremendous journey to sort out my real weaknesses (driving accuracy and putting inside 10ft) and ignore everything else, with success that I am proud of.

If this thinking helps just one more golfer to feel the feelings of joy I feel with my game and the fun I've had on my journey so far... then that would be a fine thing, I'd have paid it forward!
But, I do entirely and respectfully accept that my approach is definitely not for everyone!
Indeed I envy people I play with who can play poorly and rest well with no frustration whatsoever, these strange creatures must be from another planet!