What it took to break into single figures?

[Smiffy]

surely you were off single figures to be an assistant pro Homie?

True but that seems another life ago with everything that has happened in the last 30+ years. Playing every day and having instant on hand tuition made it a doddle. As a kid there was also that big bonus of having no golfing scars or emotional baggage of bad golfing days to fill the head

Has your swing changed much over the years Homer, because the one you have at the moment certainly doesn't look pretty enough to have got you down to single figures???
Serious question by the way. And if it has, what do you put down to the change????

 

[ManinBlack]

For me Short game!

Off single cap you need to score well when you play well , but you need to score OK when you don’t play well.

Long game is important but it only gets you in position !
Short game is where you score turning 5 into 4 is important.

practice is key that you practice the correct things so some lessons to get basics right.

I practice my short game twice as much as long game to Ingrain confidence.
I believe I can get up and down from anywhere this gives you confidence to play your game in the long game.

Good luck and don’t forget Enjoy.

You can also do it with a non existent short game, just hit 50% of the greens. When I got back to 9 a couple of years ago I shot a 9 over. I missed 9 greens & dropped 9 shots, didn't get up & down once. Never had a sniff of a birdie, I was just getting on the edges greens, leaving 20 to 30 feet putts 5 feet away & holing the next one.

The one thing I did do was make no big mistakes, didn't have a single double bogey. Keep the ball in play & don't go for any high tariff shots.

 

[ManinBlack]

Is the correct answer.

Is one of the correct answers. See post #23

 

[Blue in Munich]

I forget who it was but someone said the only part of the game where amateurs can match the pros is putting; it requires no great physical strength and you can get away with just about any technique. If you could regularly hit 27 putts around it allows you the luxury of 18 handicap golf tee to green and still playing single figure golf. I know that actual figure is possibly unrealistic but turn in on its head to reinforce the point; if you had 9 three putts and a total of 45 putts, rather than 9 single putts and a total of 27, you would have to play scratch golf tee to green to stay in single figures.

Improvement in any part of your game will help but putting then short game make the biggest difference in my opinion. And if you can putt extremely well it is a hell of a weapon in match play.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Is one of the correct answers. See post #23

This is post #23 :rofl:

 

[ManinBlack]

This is post #23 :rofl:

Oops! #22

 

[clubchamp98]

You can also do it with a non existent short game, just hit 50% of the greens. When I got back to 9 a couple of years ago I shot a 9 over. I missed 9 greens & dropped 9 shots, didn't get up & down once. Never had a sniff of a birdie, I was just getting on the edges greens, leaving 20 to 30 feet putts 5 feet away & holing the next one.

The one thing I did do was make no big mistakes, didn't have a single double bogey. Keep the ball in play & don't go for any high tariff shots.

While this is correct your long game would have to be very consistent .
The pros only hit half fairways and greens on average some days.

All golfers make mistakes and a good short game (60yds and in inc putting) is where you save your scoreIMO.

I have been cat 1 for over 30yrs and my long game has lost some length , but I would say my short game has got better.
This keeps my scores up to standard.

I have never met a single figure golfer who had a poor short game , seen some shocking shots but overall they get up and down most of the time.

Big key for me is don’t try the hero shot just chip back to the fairway and start over with bogey as par for that hole.
Doubles or worse are killers off single cap.

 

[merv79]

Everyone’s game is different but generally increasing GIR is the most important thing for lowering handicap, and avoiding the destructive penalty shots.

It doesn’t matter how good short game is, if you can’t get to the green then you won’t shoot in the 70’s

 

[jim8flog]

I would say that short is a major part of it but not the be all and end all. It could be said that I had a better short game when I was 16 handicap than I have now. In those days a lot of the short game was from greenside whereas now (due to loss of length) the short game is from 20-30 yards short of the green.

When I was 6 handicap I would get 4 or more birdies a round because I was on the green more often. These days I often do not get a single birdie in a round because I am chipping and putting for par too often.

 

[Carpfather1]

Some good replys coming in I played this morning ,my iron play today was horrific but saved par numerous times throughout the round by a wedge to green and single putt so it shows the difference ,then had a couple of bad holes with 3 putts and general poor play which cost my score card

 

[USER1999]

I have a couple of friends who play off around 8 handicaps, whose short game is frankly awful. Putting not great either. Bunker play? Non existent. Driving, and iron play is superb though.

It takes all sorts.

 

[Deleted member 15717]

While this is correct your long game would have to be very consistent .
The pros only hit half fairways and greens on average some days.

All golfers make mistakes and a good short game (60yds and in inc putting) is where you save your scoreIMO.

I have been cat 1 for over 30yrs and my long game has lost some length , but I would say my short game has got better.
This keeps my scores up to standard.

I have never met a single figure golfer who had a poor short game , seen some shocking shots but overall they get up and down most of the time.

Big key for me is don’t try the hero shot just chip back to the fairway and start over with bogey as par for that hole.
Doubles or worse are killers off single cap.

You haven’t met me! My short game is distinctly average, but somehow manage to play off 6.

Putting helps, a decent long game to keep the ball in play is another.
No-one has mentioned course management, but I feel this is the biggest part that helped me get to where I am. Don’t try and go for pins that are tight and tucked, don’t take on the miraculous shot that could compound errors.

All in all, it is just pure repetition

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Has your swing changed much over the years Homer, because the one you have at the moment certainly doesn't look pretty enough to have got you down to single figures???
Serious question by the way. And if it has, what do you put down to the change????

Yes. I was taught the very old fashioned way of huge leg action (think Miller, etc) and a combination of a few serious injuries and illnesses, a case of over tuition and trying to be taught a modern way of swinging, short game issues and a hard full of too many thoughts compared to the freedom of just standing there as a teenager and swinging and worrying about it once it stopped

 

[r0wly86]

Nothing new to add but will agree with some other posters.

Keeping the ball in play, lost ball is an absolute killer.

Wedge and chipping needs to get close, if for whatever reason you aren't GIR then you need to give yourself a good chance of scrambling, skulling a chip to 30 feet away is no good.

Consistency of ball striking. We all want to hit it a like a pro, but whatever you do, if it is consistent then you can adjust and play to it.

Putting is just an obvious one, the pros take fewer than 30 fairly often and that is no coincidence.

Course management, do you need to take driver? Think about your next shot, where you want to be, might be better off with a 3-wood or an iron if it means you will have an easier second

 

[Radbourne2010]

For me it was turning a natural Draw into a Straight/Slight Fade on all clubs. Took the big numbers out of play & allowed me to go for more GIR. Easiest one to fix is Putting as you're going to take nearly half of your shots with the flat stick.

After a little break from golf due to family commitments I'm now finally back playing and joined one of the local parklands,so far haven't shoot any wow scores but just focusing on trying to get some of my game back on track and keep swinging a club ,I'm hoping over the summer I can get my game back where it was and maybe knock a shot or two off my handicap with a bit of luck finally break into single figures handicap wise .so my question is for others who broke through to single figures what had the biggest influence when lowering scores to consistently be shooting in the 70s ?just interested to hear what helped others do it cheers in advance

 

[patricks148]

As few others have said the easiest way to improve on scores is putting.

But its not the only way. TBH when i got to single fig and below is was a terrible putter. Drove the ball well, was average with my irons, good a chipping and mediocre at best with the flat stick. Now Cat1 , my driving is terrible, i hit my irons really well and chip and putt really well, improving the putting got me to Cat1.

Also worth looking at course management, take you punishment on a bad shot and there will be bad shots regardless of how low you handicap is, but its how you recover, Hero shots cut out and playing to your strengths also helps.

Good luck, if i can do it anyone can TBH.

 

[chimpo1]

The other comments are all great and i totally agree with them. I would add to arrive early and warm up properly, you will get rid of the early bad shots that can ruin your round before it begins. Secondly I would recommend having lessons regularly if you are serious about improving. You will get there much quicker.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I have never met a single figure golfer who had a poor short game

We should have a game together sometime

 

[S17er]

My handicap currently fluctuates between 10 and 11. On my home par 72 course in non medal rounds from same tees I have shot 75 twice and broken 80 at least half a dozen more times. I have played the front 9 in level par and the harder back 9 in -1.

My best medal rounds have been 80 gross which I have done 3 or 4 times.

I think the reason I have not got to single figures is that I nearly always have 2 or 3 random doubles or worse in comps. Seems like I can generally do 15 holes of similar good golf that is way better than my handicap but depends on how bad the bad holes are as to what my eventual score will be and there is no trend as to what hole and what reason for the bad ones.

Very frustrating!

 

[Cherry13]

I currently play off 12 and feel like I will break into single figures this season. I had a good winter and my last four rounds have been +7 +8 +9 +8. I obviously just need to put it together with a card in my hand which will hopefully be this weekend for the first time.

What has changed for me? Off the tee, I’ve found a club (driving iron) which I can get ‘in play’ this mostly eliminates any lost balls and reloads. The other thing that I’ve improved is pitching, shots from under 100yds I now mostly find the green and can give myself 2/3 birdie chances per round.

The other thing I’ve improved massively is my swing management. I’ve been getting lessons so when my swing starts to feel like it’s creaking I revert back to a swing thought from a previous lesson. This prevents me from self diagnosing on the course and totally ruining a round, although it isn’t perfect it seems to help massively.