Tips for high handicappers

[thesheriff]

Hi all,

Brand new to the forum and enjoying browsing some of the posts!

I've recently picked up the game again after a 10 year hiatus and I'm obsessed!! I've had one round of golf so far but playing again tomorrow and will hopefully have have my first handicap very soon. My target for tomorrow is to break 90 as i shot 94 last week.

Therefore I'd like to ask everyone for the tips they found most useful when starting out, mostly to eliminate those silly strokes most of us needlessly throw away at this stage.

Any input would be welcome, from novices such as myself to better players who might be able to recount times when they weren't so proficient on the course.

 

[davemc1]

Tip #1 don't expect to break 90 in your second game :ears:

Welcome tho :thup:

 

[Brian_C]

Play it safe, at all times, to keep it in play. If that means hitting a 7 iron off the Tee then so be it. Aim to advance the ball 150yds a time, no need to be trying to hit it 300yds. Don’t try to be a hero. Practice hitting it on to the green, ya know those 30 to 70yds shots. Practice, practice, practice putting.

Make sure you post how you get on tomorrow.

 

[FairwayDodger]

If you get out of position don't try and play a miracle shot to the green. Work out what you can achieve with minimal risk, whether that be playing to lay up short of the green or chipping out sideways. You might still chip and putt for par but should hopefully manage to make bogey. Basically take your medicine and try to keep double and triple bogeys off your card.

 

[Rooter]

Agree 100% with the don't be a hero! The game is not won by who drives the ball the furthest!

Play it safe, but have fun and dont let silly mistakes (they will happen!) get you down, its supposed to be fun remember! You could be at work or something worse!

 

[TheCaddie]

Play it safe, at all times, to keep it in play. If that means hitting a 7 iron off the Tee then so be it. Aim to advance the ball 150yds a time, no need to be trying to hit it 300yds. Don’t try to be a hero. Practice hitting it on to the green, ya know those 30 to 70yds shots. Practice, practice, practice putting.

Make sure you post how you get on tomorrow.

Is this feasible advice? On any course over 6000yds, is a 7i off the tee really a wise call?

I understand we should keep it in play at all times, and to be fair, my driver really isn't my friend atm.... but I feel that if I don't practice with it in real life, I am never going to get better....

 

[Dan2501]

I agree. I reckon most people would seriously struggle to get round a course sub-90 hitting 7 iron off every tee. I might give it a go. Get the driver out, give it a whack and have fun.

 

[Foliage Finder]

No matter what, always laugh at yourself! After shooting 124 today, if I didn't use this approach, I'd have certainly fell apart on the course and tried to drown myself in a water hazard.

As it happens, I made light of the many situations I found myself in off the tee, such as not even reaching the ladies tees on a 515 yard par 5. Then sunk a putt from 15 feet on the fringe of the 18th green like the pro I imagine myself to be because I kept a positive attitude!

Obviously you practice practice practice to make sure you don't have to laugh at yourself all the time, but patience will reap rewards. :thup:

 

[Foxholer]

Play it safe, at all times, to keep it in play. If that means hitting a 7 iron off the Tee then so be it. Aim to advance the ball 150yds a time, no need to be trying to hit it 300yds. Don’t try to be a hero. Practice hitting it on to the green, ya know those 30 to 70yds shots. Practice, practice, practice putting.

Make sure you post how you get on tomorrow.

That takes all the fun out of the game! However, the rest I agree with as a means of improvement.

Certainly agree with FD's advice of finding the best way to recover a bad situation rather than compounding it with an attempt at the miracle (Seve) shot! Getting onto the green in 1 more than regulation works fine - after trying to do it in regulation!

 

[BubbaP]

Leave the scorecard in the bag. Every hole is a pretend par five.
Minimise the damage on actual par 5s and go "under par" on the 4s and 3s when you can.

For some this mental shift can help.

 

[thesheriff]

Great advice from everyone and glad I posted!

Completely agree that keeping it in play is paramount at this stage. I'm more than happy to take mid irons off the tee especially if the big stick or longer irons aren't working, which can definitely make the round more enjoyable if I'm not striking it well.

Something I've found to be a big help off the tee is to identify the biggest dangers before even placing the ball. Then I can tee it up in the best position and aim with a safe bail out area in mind. Therefore if I hit a good shot I'll be in position A and if I hit a bad one all is not lost.

This sounds very simple and obvious, but I've found that having this at the forefront of my mind has probably saved me a few lost balls and triple bogey + holes.

 

[guest100718]

Agree 100% with the don't be a hero! The game is not won by who drives the ball the furthest!

Play it safe, but have fun and dont let silly mistakes (they will happen!) get you down, its supposed to be fun remember! You could be at work or something worse!

Sound adviice.... untill your 150 from the green in the heavy rough and think hmmm I reckon i could open the face on my 7i and get that on the green...

 

[Mugs]

Get comfy shoes and decent waterproofs

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Welcome along. Initially I'd definitely advocate keeping it in play as much as possible. Distance off the tee will come in time with better technique and better to be 180 yards and on the fairway than 210 in the cabbage or reloading as it went OB. If you do get in trouble get out by the shortest route. I also advocate playing every hole as a par five. It take a lot of pressure off.

Once you improve, I'd then start looking at the short game and getting out of bunkers and chipping. I'm not advocating being a bunker guru but if you can get it out first tiem most of the time and get it somewhere on the green that's going to tidy the card up quickly. Add in a few good chips here and there and it will make a difference. Stick at it but be patient. You'll get plenty more bad days than good and enjoy it when it goes well and ignore the bad ones but try to learn from the mistakes

 

[Fish]

Agree 100% with the don't be a hero! The game is not won by who drives the ball the furthest!

Play it safe, but have fun and dont let silly mistakes (they will happen!) get you down, its supposed to be fun remember! You could be at work or something worse!

Hmm, I adopted this last night, all was well although a few slight fades off the tee was a concern because everything usually before my injury was a draw, anyway, got to the 6th where I always drive into trouble and thought I'd play safe and punch my 4i so I'd have a safer, clearer 2nd shot, oh no, it doesn't work like that, I've never known a ball go off at such an incredible angle to my right where the group on our 2nd had just driven to on the neighbouring fairway , I'm not going to over think in the future, that bloody little white things getting it!! :smirk:

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

H

Hmm, I adopted this last night, all was well although a few slight fades off the tee was a concern because everything usually before my injury was a draw, anyway, got to the 6th where I always drive into trouble and thought I'd play safe and punch my 4i so I'd have a safer, clearer 2nd shot, oh no, it doesn't work like that, I've never known a ball go off at such an incredible angle to my right where the group on our 2nd had just driven to on the neighbouring fairway , I'm not going to over think in the future, that bloody little white things getting it!! :smirk:

Sounds like a J Arthur to me :thup:

 

[virtuocity]

1. Don't try to hit the ball 300 yards off the tee. Go to the range, find out how far you hit your drives and aim to hit them this distance every time.

2. Develop a one-sided miss. If you only miss right (huge slice, for example), then consider this to be a good thing. Aim left and fade that sucker in. Eliminate one half of the golf course and you're laughing.

3. Control the low point of your swing. You must hit golf ball, then turf (approach shots). Unless you're committed to getting lessons, this should be the only thing that your iron practice is concerned with. Can't do it every time? Start with chips and pitches using a half wedge. Hit 1000s of balls.

4. Enjoy!

 

[Fish]

H

Sounds like a J Arthur to me :thup:

Yep, something I've never suffered from before but during my recovery I seem to be getting the odd one here & there

 

[Brian_C]

Is this feasible advice? On any course over 6000yds, is a 7i off the tee really a wise call?

I understand we should keep it in play at all times, and to be fair, my driver really isn't my friend atm.... but I feel that if I don't practice with it in real life, I am never going to get better....

Hi Caddie, I understand your concern.... I was trying to make the point, albeit, maybe an extreme example, not to be afraid to reduce the risk factor by using a 7i. No need to be a hero trying to bomb it 300yds and ending up losing a ball in the rough stuff and getting a penalty. Hit a 7i, keep it in play and move on.
I know I'm terrible with the driver, and I have played it safe using a 7i, not using a driver and it has cut 4 shots for me. I know it won't work for all, different skill levels and whatnot, but it worked for me.

And as someone else said, above all, keep it fun.

 

[Curls]

The above advice about keeping it out of the rough is sound. If I have anything to add..

If your ball lands in a bunker and your hearts sinks, you should probably try to change that. You might only go in two bunkers in a round, but if you take 2 or 3 to get (barely) out that's a couple of those nasty 8s and 9s that not only wreck your card, but you will carry with you for more holes than you should. It can be very demoralising, so learning to get out - and even close - in one is important. If you don't have time for a lesson then watch this and try to practice, we tend to not practice in bunkers very much and then we wonder why we're not good out of them!

http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/tips/video-tips/graeme-mcdowell-bunker-play-tips-73808

Happy golfing!