Single figures golf and how to get there.

[steadyon]

I started playing again last August after a 10 year break. I put in a few cards and got 18.6 for my HI.

I went to my pro and have a lesson each month. My handicap hasn’t changed but I unusually score somewhere in the mid 80’s. My aim initially was to regularly shoot 85 which I’m somewhere near. I’m thinking of a target for this year. I’d like to get Dow to single figures, perhaps 12 if it’s a struggle.

Im not terrible at anything now, but not outstanding at anything either. I can drive about 190-210 carry usually, it some fairways and miss some. From 150 yards and in I’ve a chance of hitting the green but again miss some too. If I’m a long way off the pin I might 3 putt. My pitching chipping isn’t bad but from 30 yards it’s probably not that often I get down in 2.

Any tips for getting to single figures. I think my way of practising is pretty rubbish. It usually consists of craship 50 or 100 balls at the range and I hardly practise short game & putting at all!

 

[bobmac]

Direction.
Once you learn how to hit more fairways and greens, golf gets much easier

 

[clubchamp98]

I started playing again last August after a 10 year break. I put in a few cards and got 18.6 for my HI.

I went to my pro and have a lesson each month. My handicap hasn’t changed but I unusually score somewhere in the mid 80’s. My aim initially was to regularly shoot 85 which I’m somewhere near. I’m thinking of a target for this year. I’d like to get Dow to single figures, perhaps 12 if it’s a struggle.

Im not terrible at anything now, but not outstanding at anything either. I can drive about 190-210 carry usually, it some fairways and miss some. From 150 yards and in I’ve a chance of hitting the green but again miss some too. If I’m a long way off the pin I might 3 putt. My pitching chipping isn’t bad but from 30 yards it’s probably not that often I get down in 2.

Any tips for getting to single figures. I think my way of practising is pretty rubbish. It usually consists of craship 50 or 100 balls at the range and I hardly practise short game & putting at all!

I think you know the answer really.
Almost everything you say your not good at you need to be good at.
You need to drive 240 ish but not essential.
Irons must hit greens at least 9 out of 18 .
You must get up and down more than you don’t.
You must not 3 putt often. But 1 putt more.
All this is just the start ,you need confidence in your game.
Imo single figures is part natural ability and part practice / technique.
It needs lots of work some make it look easy but it’s not.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Hit it straighter off the tee and always hit the green with pitch shots - they should both help reduce/eradicate double bogies, which you can't afford as a single figure golfer
Penalty shots and duffed chips/pitches are costly

 

[patricks148]

No reason you can't get down to SF, if I can get down to 2 with all my niggles and swing faults anyone can.

I'd work on your short game, putting in particular, can save you a fair few shots each round. I've got a reasonable short game and if you irons or driving is off the short game can make all the difference. I'm not really any better a driver than I was before getting to single figs, my iron play is nor bad, but the biggest improvement was my putting.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

A number of things imo

1. You need to have the ability to play consistent enough golf to get the scores low enough

2. Play regularly

But be aware so many try and many just don’t get there

 

[SimonC]

Distance will have a massive impact on your potential handicap but this does depend on the length of your golf course too. If you're only carrying it 190-210 yards you probably only average around 220 yards with a driver which in all honesty makes it difficult to get down to single figures unless you have a very good short game. I don't know many single figure golfers who can't drive it around 240 to 250 yards & the ones who couldn't had brilliant short games.

If it was me I would continue having lessons as you are currently doing but mix it up with some speed training & plenty of short game practice, it's amazing how many shots you can save around the greens & having a good short game takes the pressure off your long game.

One other thing is visualise the shot you want to play (start & finish lines/shape of shot etc.) & even say it out loud, it reaffirms positive thoughts & narrows your focus on to what you are trying to achieve. One of my friends is also trying to get down to single figures, I played with him the other day & discussed this with him & he's trying to implement what I told him. We played last night & before every shot he took he said out loud what shot he was attempting to play. I've never seen him play so well, over the toughest stretch of our course he was level par & that is as bad as it could have been & he hit exactly the shot he wanted to pretty much every time.

 

[SteveW86]

This is a challenge of mine for this year, I think for me it is just cutting out the errors which lead to doubles.

My short game and putting is bot good enough, so this is where I need to put some extra practise in (or actually just practise at all)

 

[Ethan]

You don't absolutely need to drive far, but if you only drive 200-ish yards, your iron game and short game will have to be mustard. Adding 20 or 30 yards will take some pressure off that.I play the odd time with a scratch player who hits the ball about 230 off the tee, and is one iron club shorter than me, but he rarely misses a fairway or green, and even then, not by much and expects to get up and down.

Traditional advice on handicaps is that you should start from the green and work on putting, short game and approach consistency. Avoiding big numbers usually has more effect on your score than trying to get more birdies. Having a predictable shot pattern is also great weapon, probably ideally a gentle fade, which is less likely to get out of control than a draw.

 

[wjemather]

It sounds like you're losing at least 5-6 (probably more) strokes per round just around the greens. Your long game sounds more than adequate, so improve your chipping and putting (especially distance control) and you'll be single figures in no time.

 

[Canfordhacker]

Avoiding big numbers usually has more effect on your score than trying to get more birdies.

... I think for me it is just cutting out the errors which lead to doubles.

I'm on this quest too, down to 10.2 at moment. These two are a mainstay of my ethos

 

[Deleted member 23270]

But be aware so many try and many just don’t get there

Thinking of anyone in particular? ?

 

[howbow88]

I think you know the answer really.
Almost everything you say your not good at you need to be good at.
You need to drive 240 ish but not essential.
Irons must hit greens at least 9 out of 18 .
You must get up and down more than you don’t.
You must not 3 putt often. But 1 putt more.

The putting bit I agree with. The other 2 - maybe for a scratch player, but a 9 handicapper does not *need* to hit it 240 off the tee, hit 50% of GIR,or get up and down more than 50% of the time.

Even simple logic dictates that if you don't 3 putt, you hit 50% of GIR, and then 50% of the time you get up and down, that would equal a score of 4 or 5 over par...

As for what I reckon... Improved putting and chipping is the thing that reduces your handicap quickest. As is not losing balls and stopping doubles. I generally find that chasing birdies isn't a formula for success - they just happen when you start being a bit more consistent.

Best of luck.

 

[sweaty sock]

The putting bit I agree with. The other 2 - maybe for a scratch player, but a 9 handicapper does not *need* to hit it 240 off the tee, hit 50% of GIR,or get up and down more than 50% of the time.

Even simple logic dictates that if you don't 3 putt, you hit 50% of GIR, and then 50% of the time you get up and down, that would equal a score of 4 or 5 over par...

As for what I reckon... Improved putting and chipping is the thing that reduces your handicap quickest. As is not losing balls and stopping doubles. I generally find that chasing birdies isn't a formula for success - they just happen when you start being a bit more consistent.

Best of luck.

I agree, that list will get you to low single figures.
For me getting to single figures means choosing the right club, hitting most shots solid, and hitting the green with your first short game shot (chips, bunkers etc). If you do that and finish with the same ball you started with youll be well inside the number...

I dont think its any more than that, unless your course is 7000 yards.

 

[wjemather]

I think you know the answer really.
Almost everything you say your not good at you need to be good at.
You need to drive 240 ish but not essential.
Irons must hit greens at least 9 out of 18 .
You must get up and down more than you don’t.
You must not 3 putt often. But 1 putt more.
All this is just the start ,you need confidence in your game.
Imo single figures is part natural ability and part practice / technique.
It needs lots of work some make it look easy but it’s not.

These are pie-in-the-sky stats for a 9 handicap golfer, and would equate to completing 14+ holes in par or better each round. They are not far off my own numbers, and my index is 0.3.

 

[clubchamp98]

The putting bit I agree with. The other 2 - maybe for a scratch player, but a 9 handicapper does not *need* to hit it 240 off the tee, hit 50% of GIR,or get up and down more than 50% of the time.

Even simple logic dictates that if you don't 3 putt, you hit 50% of GIR, and then 50% of the time you get up and down, that would equal a score of 4 or 5 over par...

As for what I reckon... Improved putting and chipping is the thing that reduces your handicap quickest. As is not losing balls and stopping doubles. I generally find that chasing birdies isn't a formula for success - they just happen when you start being a bit more consistent.

Best of luck.

Yes I wasn’t thinking every department of your game all the time.
We all have days where one part of our game is off, but if the others are working it compensates.
I still think all the things I said need to happen.
If you only drive 210 yds at mine single figures is more or less impossible given the second shots you would face with long clubs.
But I do take your point.

 

[RichA]

So to summarise - hit longer drives, put more approach shots on the green and take fewer putts.
I might try some of this at the weekend.

 

[abjectplop]

Fitness/strength for more distance off the tee....check out FitforGolf on Twitter/Instagram.

Know which areas of your game are genuinely strong and weak vs a scratch player.....try Golf Metrics app which will give you strokes gained for every aspect of the game which lets you focus practice in those areas.

DECADE app for course strategy....all about picking the right targets off of the tee and on approach shots.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Yes I wasn’t thinking every department of your game all the time.
We all have days where one part of our game is off, but if the others are working it compensates.
I still think all the things I said need to happen.
If you only drive 210 yds at mine single figures is more or less impossible given the second shots you would face with long clubs.
But I do take your point.

Someone who only hits it 210 should be playing off the tees suitable for their game. If they do this, on a measured course, distance shouldn't matter as much.

 

[clubchamp98]

So to summarise - hit longer drives, put more approach shots on the green and take fewer putts.
I might try some of this at the weekend.

Well yes think of a high capper and the difference between him and a single figure is exactly that.
Short game for me is most important.
You can hit it anywhere on the course but good chipping and putting smartens any card.