Trying to break 100- The 3 Goals Method

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Missed your OP SB as I was away from here for Lent - however I've read it and it is good advice indeed. I haven't read all the intervening posts however it complements something I keep in mind and oft say to folk. Think on this.

If you practice your short game (chipping and putting) so that 50% of the time you get up and down in two from around the green; and if you can keep your ball in play off the tee in reasonable position - then you only have to get your ball somewhere fairly close to the green in regulation and you will be knocking it around in 9.

I also add Tommy Armours advice:

Play the shot you think you can play well;
Play the shot that will give you the easiest next shot.

I think your OP helps all us mid-high handicappers understand how my little thought can be achieved - good stuff.

 

[Fitz]

What time are you off at Barhill? I playing midday Sat.

I tee off at 2pm as part of a four ball. only costing 15 quid as one of my playing partners got deal from some voucher website . 30 pounds for two people 18 holes plus a meal of some kind. Bargain. Hopefully get respectable score although scoring will probably be stableford.

 

[gripitripit]

How did ya get on at Barhill?

 

[ScienceBoy]

How did ya get on at Barhill?

We are all on the edge of our seats!

I used this again after topping a tee 20 yards shot on our SI 1, very nearly got a par and walked off with a bogey! Next hole after another top I was putting for birdie!

Thankfully sorted my topping issue, just couldn't get to the ball but it was all in my address AGAIN.

 

[Fitz]

Had a brilliant day. Beautiful weather on a lovely course. Hit a few balls at Cowley Road range, then after a very rushed meal in ht bar (ordered at 1.10, food arrived 1.50) and ran to the tee to tee off at 2.
Never touched the driver and used 3 wood and long irons to lay up in fromnt the ditch on some holes, just thinking about keeping it on the fairway, making the next shot as hassle free as poss. And it kind of worked. Went round in 101 (proper scoring rules, not my own generous rules) which i think is my best ever. a bit disspointed not to have broken 100 but after adding up the front 9 (52) i had a feeling hteres no way i did back 9 under 48.Only lost 1 ball on the 18th. it hit the bridge and went in the pond i think. it just vanished!!
Would play there again in a heartbeat so if you ever want a game there or somewhere round Cambridge, let me know.
How did you get on?

 

[ScienceBoy]

Had a brilliant day. Beautiful weather on a lovely course. Hit a few balls at Cowley Road range, then after a very rushed meal in ht bar (ordered at 1.10, food arrived 1.50) and ran to the tee to tee off at 2.
Never touched the driver and used 3 wood and long irons to lay up in fromnt the ditch on some holes, just thinking about keeping it on the fairway, making the next shot as hassle free as poss. And it kind of worked. Went round in 101 (proper scoring rules, not my own generous rules) which i think is my best ever. a bit disspointed not to have broken 100 but after adding up the front 9 (52) i had a feeling hteres no way i did back 9 under 48.Only lost 1 ball on the 18th. it hit the bridge and went in the pond i think. it just vanished!!
Would play there again in a heartbeat so if you ever want a game there or somewhere round Cambridge, let me know.
How did you get on?

Im free every Sat an Sunday pretty much, I can also do weekdays if that is the only what is available, just not too many!

 

[Fitz]

well i'm planning to play at malton on Monday sometime as got a day off to recover from a wedding tommorow. If you can make it on monday probably around midday (need a bit of a lie in) would be great to go round with someone instead of on my ownsome.
now winter is finally gone i'll hopefully try to play malton most weekends (i'm a reduced green fees member) and get an offical handicap and play in medals etc so it would be good to have a regular playing partner there. My mate doesn't want to committ himself to joining a club and likes to play different courses but the different surroundings every round don't help his game at all.

 

[jon25new]

Going to give this a go.. Went around in 114 at Pavenham Park today and feel I put myself under to much pressure to match my playing partners even if they have played for a lot longer then me. Was my 7th round today and my first full round at Pavenham Park.

 

[Fitz]

Scienceboy's method definetely works if you've got the discipline to leave the driver alone and not try to do the shots you see the pro's do on TV. Even if your partners are smashing the driver 200+ yards, they won't find hte fairway every time and may even loose balls. use a lonng iron or hybrid and knock it 150 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. then your next shot is as easy as pi. then the next shot and so on. If only my putting was working today, thought hte greens were faster than they looked and left a lot of putts embarrasingly short today leaving too many 3 putts for my liking.

 

[Evesdad]

Worked well today although ended up NR'ing as lost my ball on the 11th, bit of a push over the trees on the right usually find it no probs today it just vanished. Lesson number one always play a provisional if the slightest doubt of finding the ball! Off the tee was very good today and didn't miss a fairway on the front nine! Irons starting to really kick in now and re gained some of the distance I lost over the summer. Chipping and putting cost me dear today my normally solid part of my game. One area ive improved on is club selection, first i trust my instinct a little more rather than the distance, ie gps says a distance but my brain says i should use a different club than the distance tells me. Also linked to this club selection is a distance at the top end of a clubs range I've started taking the extra club and a smoother swing much better results. So taday was 0.1 back but felt quite good about my game in general and will stick with the positives.

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

Going to give this a go.. Went around in 114 at Pavenham Park today and feel I put myself under to much pressure to match my playing partners even if they have played for a lot longer then me. Was my 7th round today and my first full round at Pavenham Park.

I am a similar place to you, playing there for the first time in a couple of weeks. I will be hunting down the 100.

 

[ScienceBoy]

well i'm planning to play at malton on Monday sometime as got a day off to recover from a wedding tommorow. If you can make it on monday probably around midday (need a bit of a lie in) would be great to go round with someone instead of on my ownsome. i'll hopefully try to play malton most weekends (i'm a reduced green fees member)

I cnt do monday, not enough notice for work, need 2 weeks really. Weekends though I am usually free. Sadly May is a busy month as I have two holidays BUT once May is over we should get together on a weekend or two. I play New Malton every saturday and pretty much every Sunday plus two evenings a week.

 

[Fitz]

will hopefully get down there next weekend, i need to get a members log in to their website to see dates of medals and competitions etc. Do people just roll up in the mornings and play with whoever else is there waiting to go out? I'm not really up to speed with golf club 'ettiquette' so to speak.

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

Damn it! After a few tragic medal rounds, I thought I would try something like this in club night last night, after I bodged up the second hole with a blob. Annoyingly, it worked much too well.

The best bit was, I tried explaining it to my partner, who plays at a very similar level to me. He didn't believe me, until a long par 4, where I hit a 5 iron, 9 iron and chip from the fairway with 2 putts, whilst he hit a 3W, hybrid into the rough, 2 difficult chips from bad lies, then 2 putts. After that, it really sunk in about how much a second shot can set you up for a bogey (with a par chance), or leave you scrambling for a bogey, with a likelihood of a double!

 

[DappaDonDave]

I've began to take a similar approach and treat every hole as if par is +1. Removing my need to try and hit the green from 190yards instead hitting a relaxed shot 170 yards and them chipping/punching on with a par chance.

Played 9 holes in 45 which is +9

Not bad considering before March, I've never come close o breaking 100 and now it's usually a given

 

[ScienceBoy]

I saw this at work again today, helped a nice lady put together a decent sequence of shots. She is used to range golf and this fitted well as a bridge for the gap. I used it myself and was only a thinned wedge on the 1st from a buffer round!

So after a summer since I first wrote this has anyone really found this helped or was it just too conservative?

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

I saw this at work again today, helped a nice lady put together a decent sequence of shots. She is used to range golf and this fitted well as a bridge for the gap. I used it myself and was only a thinned wedge on the 1st from a buffer round!

So after a summer since I first wrote this has anyone really found this helped or was it just too conservative?

I intended to follow this guide this summer, but have hardly played due to massive work pressures so fear I'll have gone backwards. I still intend to run with it when I'm next out, as I don't feel I'll be chasing anything - simply want to remind myself how to hit a ball. The conservative approach is right for me now.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If I am being totally honest I'd forgotten about it over the summer. Having re-read the OP and skimmed the rest of the thread I can see where some of this might work. Did anyone try it?

 

[callawayne]

After constantly shooting 110+ I gave it a go,it took a lot of patience to resist going for the longer clubs and woods,but after 9 holes I shot 45,so with that achieved my lowest front 9,i carried on and hit 96,first time I broke 100 on my course, so I will be carrying on with it,many thanx for the advice

 

[garyinderry]

using this method you still have to have consistent shots. don't duff it off the tee, it also puts a bit of pressure on the approach.


there is no doubt this method is a great way to learn how to improve your course management.