Trying to get from hcp 21 to single figures in less that 12 months!

therod said:
It's not impossible, CMAC and Liverpoolphil have shown that. Bill played with you, and he doesn't sound too confident :whistle:

You've put a bit of pressure on though, and you've really got 7 months of qualifiers
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True, not had that many days on the course, due to the weather, but have been shooting my current HC or lower by 3 or 4 shots, so I'm hopeful, also have been at the range most nights trying to groove in new technique. I'm getting there, it's real slow making the changes I want, but I'm getting there.
 
It sounds like a tall order, the few blogs I have seen of a similar effort have all got to around the 12 mark. Good luck with it though.
 
It can be done but needs a shed load of time and effort put into it to make it possible.

I went from 19.3 to 9.1 in my first 10 months of playing i spent untold hours on the range and chipping area at my club, i even managed to drop those 10 shots being a serif average putter at best. My scores all game from accuracy and hitting plenty GIR.

However now I'm still floating around the same handicap and being the average putter i am is what keeps me from getting lower. I know I can go lower with a lot more time still working on the putting but in truth my own quest to get cut quickly made me lose massive amounts of interest in the game. If there is such a thing i over golfed myself! Resulting in Mr not touching a club for nearly 6 months now and making the decision that when I return to playing in next few weeks I"m doing so with no interest in handicap, bur focusing on simply enjoying the game.

my advise would be to wish you all the best in your quest, but don't let it become the be all and end all. Try to enjoy the game and not put pressure on yourself or you will end up hating something you currently enjoy

oh and avoid the blog unless its about 2 hot blondes in a Swedish sauna I'd read that.
 
To reduce your handicap that drastically you will have to be playing minimum 4/5 times a week plus lots of short game practise

My handicap came tumbling down when I started doing exactly that.
 
Very soon I am going to start shifts so will have either a morning or an afternoon to golf. I think playing every weekday and a weekend is probably the only way I can get from 12 to single figures. I have been 12 for a very long time now, despite shooting low 80s and even a couple of rounds in the 70s.

Playing 3 times a week I stayed the same last year, 4 times a week I made progress to 11, once a week I could barely break 100!
 
I'm confused by the "shooting a representative score" comment. Are you trying to get a single figure handicap or just shoot a single figure score in a comp by the end of the year?
 
I've only ever played once a week, some time no play for a few weeks. I have also been a fair weather golfer so used to cry off if the weather wasnt great. I reckon I was playing tops 35 times a year. My handicap is 21 but I regularly play lower and now that I have the ability to shoot sub 80 if I could put the practise in. That is the problem, if you can practise or play 6 out of 7 days a week you may stand a chance, but you do need natural ability.

You would need to be driving it near 240 yards and hitting 75 percent of greens or have a grear short game to save those that miss.

Like others have said, a few hundred shots per day, qulaity practise not just beating balls, and review your progress often

I am aimin for sub 15 handicap and feel that if I can play to the same standard as bounce games I'm in with a shot
 
davidy233 said:
Starting from the same handicap as the original poster I couldn't envisage getting to single figures on my home course unless I found an extra thirty yards on each club (would still be well below forum average).

If he's a relatively big hitter then it's possible, because then it's down to consistency of ball striking, course management and a decent short game - they are all the bits I've improved vastly since starting taking lessons and playing/hitting balls a lot more than previously.

I reckon I can knock four or five off my handicap now but I'd doubt I can take it much further than that, and I'm sure as hell not setting a target, that's what screws up lots of people.

I'd actually had a look at his blog before this thread started, don't see the problem with someone documenting his progress/or lack of - I'll read just about anything to do with golf at the moment.
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Read this your h/c is cut by 4 or 5 for the KoKs.:rofl::whistle:
 
The way I'd look at it is to see what makes you so different from a typical single digit golfer, and use that to identify areas of work.

Your typical low-handicap golfers drives the ball around 250 yards (75th percentile, so one-quarter of shots are longer than that) and keeps it in the fairway more often than not. His median distance to the hole on 100 yard approach shots is 26 ft and he gets up and down from a missed GIR around 25% of the time.

Hopefully that helps you picture where you need the most work.
 
Firstly, I'd like to say good luck in your quest ( the only luck you will need is finding the time to play and practice) and whatever the out come your journey will teach you your strengths and weaknesses. A few yers ago a mate of mine lent me a book about a Irish fella doing a similar thing and I seem to remember it was at the same course as Rory Macklroy came from. This guy enlisted the help of a pro who gave him pointers every time he was on the range ( no doubt swelling the pros coffers) to help him in his quest. The upside was that he did play one or two rounds as a scratch player but the reality of family / work life meant that he could not sustain it but he still ended up a better player.

Ps. I don't think his wife would have put up with his challenge for more than a year.
 
Unless you want to become a pro, the main thing is to enjoy golf as a game. A bit of coaching and practice, especially on the short game, should improve your scores and bring your handicap down, but very few players are good enough to be Cat 1's. One of my friends is obsessed with getting his handicap down, to the extent that he no longer seems to enjoy the game and beats himself up every time he plays a bad shot or has a poor round! :)
 
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delc said:
Unless you want to become a pro, the main thing is to enjoy golf as a game. A bit of coaching and practice, especially on the short game, should improve your scores and bring your handicap down, but very few players are good enough to be Cat 1's. One of my friends is obsessed with getting his handicap down, to the extent that he no longer seems to enjoy the game and beats himself up every time he plays a bad shot or has a poor round! :)
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Enjoy the game and enjoy the journey!!
 
blog about it by all means. the last chap I read about trying to get to scratch wrote a fairly entertaining, well illustrated and interesting account of his efforts. never got any where near scratch though. think he maybe got from 15 to 7, and even that was generously awarded by the club secretary. his best scores really would only have suggested about 8 or 9 at best.

part of the entertainment reading it was thinking to yourself every time (you're never going to make this pal, never)

he got savaged on here at the beginning, but part of that was his assumption he could get to scratch, single figs is a much more modest goal.

give it a go, it will be hard, but is possible. i'll read it and hope you can make it.
 
the time spent blogging would be better spent putting if you are absolutely serious!

you could often find the low men and improving young guys at my old place still mucking around on the putting green after dark using the security light at the side of the clubhouse to see.
 
Why the 12 month time limit?

If you've been playing a while and not managed it, why will you now, just because of a blog & determination?

I wish you luck with your endeavours, as I do to all golfers, but I can't see the benefit of the time scale. Is it that if you don't do it you'll give the game up?

What happens if you get down to say 14 by the years end, will you be please with your improvement, or disappointed that you are still off a handicap in the teens?

I'm a very contented golfer, maybe that's why I haven't got any lower yet, but having targets and deadlines for me doesn't work.

My advice, get out on the course, enjoy the golf and the company and stop worrying.

My advice for possible ways to improve - obviously the short game is important, as is keeping the ball in play. I like to think of it as playing the course rather than anything else, be sensible on shot choice, don't compound errors and don't get too frustrated if it goes wrong.
Remember no one ever really beats the course and even after shooting low 60's I bet tour pro's can see room for improvement and see where shots were lost.

A lot of waffle I know but I do sincerely wish you luck
 
At OP, why do you want to put a time limit to it? Enjoy the ride! Just commit to getting better and work hard at it.
 
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