Why aren't you playing to your real potential?

[MadAdey]

When I left the UK for America I always felt that my handicap did not reflect my ability. Smiffy at an outing at the Whippersnapper Vs Old Farts summed it up once. He said I am the best 9 handicapper he has ever played with. Was I though? I might have had the technical abilities to be better, but I didn't have the right mental attitude and it cost me getting a good score.

So what happened? I got a great lesson from my pro in the clubhouse over a beer after playing one day. When the score card was added up I shot +5, he shot -2, but I did not feel that I was 7 shots worse off. This is where the lesson started. He told me that I had easily left 3 or 4 shots out there through bad decisions. He used the last hole as an example, he birdied it and I bogeyed it. I stepped up to my 2nd shot and tried to rip a 3w into the green chasing the eagle which I didn't quite catch right and put it in the face of a fairway bunker 30 yards short of the green. I hack it out sideways into the short rough, pitched to the back of the green and 2 putted for bogey. He played a mid iron short of the bunkers, hit a wedge to about 12/15 foot and holed the putt for birdie. On a par 4, he hit 2i, I hit driver. I went into the rough and got bogey, he hit the fairway and got par. Driving iron was the right shot, not a driver I realised. So straight away there is 3 shots I lost to him through bad decisions not bad shots.

So that day alone I learned that always trying to get as close to the green as possible is not always the right idea. I know this is obvious, but do what ever it takes to give yourself a chance to hit 18 greens in regulation. The more birdie chances you have, the more pars you will make. This is so obvious, but how many of us take this approach? Unless your are a plus handicapper you do not need birdies to shoot your handicap, but getting doubles will make it hard.

So it raises this question.................... does spending hours on the practie ground and hundreds in lessons really help the average golfer lower their handicap? Or spending time on the course and learning to play better golf yield greater results?

 

[Barking_Mad]

The mental and course management side of golf is often untapped by handicap golfers, especially those sporting higher numbers. Forgetting bad shots, learning where to miss greens etc is invaluable ?

 

[SteveW86]

I feel kinda similar, my rounds at the minute are being ruined by 2-3 bad holes.

I shot 79 yesterday, but with 4 doubles. Most of these were down to a poor shot off the tee and not quite holing the bogey putts rather than poor course management though. If I can cut out these silly errors it would make the game much less frustrating.

 

[MadAdey]

The mental and course management side of golf is often untapped by handicap golfers, especially those sporting higher numbers. Forgetting bad shots, learning where to miss greens etc is invaluable ?

I think what a lot of higher handicappers do not realise is just how many bad shots tour pros play, because the TV converage doesn't normally show them. But becasue they are playing the right shot it does not really hurt them. I play with a lot of scratch and plus handicappers and they hit some really bad shots but still break par. Why, becasue they were hitting the right shot to start off with.

 

[Wilson]

When I left the UK for America I always felt that my handicap did not reflect my ability. Smiffy at an outing at the Whippersnapper Vs Old Farts summed it up once. He said I am the best 9 handicapper he has ever played with. Was I though? I might have had the technical abilities to be better, but I didn't have the right mental attitude and it cost me getting a good score.

So what happened? I got a great lesson from my pro in the clubhouse over a beer after playing one day. When the score card was added up I shot +5, he shot -2, but I did not feel that I was 7 shots worse off. This is where the lesson started. He told me that I had easily left 3 or 4 shots out there through bad decisions. He used the last hole as an example, he birdied it and I bogeyed it. I stepped up to my 2nd shot and tried to rip a 3w into the green chasing the eagle which I didn't quite catch right and put it in the face of a fairway bunker 30 yards short of the green. I hack it out sideways into the short rough, pitched to the back of the green and 2 putted for bogey. He played a mid iron short of the bunkers, hit a wedge to about 12/15 foot and holed the putt for birdie. On a par 4, he hit 2i, I hit driver. I went into the rough and got bogey, he hit the fairway and got par. Driving iron was the right shot, not a driver I realised. So straight away there is 3 shots I lost to him through bad decisions not bad shots.

So that day alone I learned that always trying to get as close to the green as possible is not always the right idea. I know this is obvious, but do what ever it takes to give yourself a chance to hit 18 greens in regulation. The more birdie chances you have, the more pars you will make. This is so obvious, but how many of us take this approach? Unless your are a plus handicapper you do not need birdies to shoot your handicap, but getting doubles will make it hard.

So it raises this question.................... does spending hours on the practie ground and hundreds in lessons really help the average golfer lower their handicap? Or spending time on the course and learning to play better golf yield greater results?

I’m pretty sure the stats now show that you should be as close to the green as possible, the shorter shot you have in, the closer you will hit your 2nd shot - you obviously have to take into account hazards, such as the bunker you mentioned, but generally you want to be as close as possible, and are often better hitting a 7i from the rough, as opposed to a 5i from the fairway.

 

[MadAdey]

I feel kinda similar, my rounds at the minute are being ruined by 2-3 bad holes.

I shot 79 yesterday, but with 4 doubles. Most of these were down to a poor shot off the tee and not quite holing the bogey putts rather than poor course management though. If I can cut out these silly errors it would make the game much less frustrating.

I think the point I am making is..........was it a bad tee shot, or the wrong tee shot that got you in trouble?

 

[MadAdey]

I’m pretty sure the stats now show that you should be as close to the green as possible, the shorter shot you have in, the closer you will hit your 2nd shot - you obviously have to take into account hazards, such as the bunker you mentioned, but generally you want to be as close as possible, and are often better hitting a 7i from the rough, as opposed to a 5i from the fairway.

Obviously being as close to the green as possible is better, but if you want to be a low handicap golfer then you should not be bothered by having a 5i from the fairway and prefering a 7i from the rough that can be unpredictable. The stats you will say that on average a mid handicapper will be 7ft closer to the hole at 150 yards from the fairway, than 120 yards from the rough.

 

[MadAdey]

I’m pretty sure the stats now show that you should be as close to the green as possible, the shorter shot you have in, the closer you will hit your 2nd shot - you obviously have to take into account hazards, such as the bunker you mentioned, but generally you want to be as close as possible, and are often better hitting a 7i from the rough, as opposed to a 5i from the fairway.

Using an extreme example is Bryson, He is much closer than everyone to the hole from the tee, but he is 6th in the world rankings. So the argument of being closer isn't necessarily the right one.

 

[SteveW86]

I think the point I am making is..........was it a bad tee shot, or the wrong tee shot that got you in trouble?

It was just a bad shots, 3 mega fats and hit 1 OOB (just pulled it left).

 

[MadAdey]

It was just a bad shots, 3 mega fats and hit 1 OOB (just pulled it left).

the best course management in the world can't help that...........

 

[Barking_Mad]

I think what a lot of higher handicappers do not realise is just how many bad shots tour pros play, because the TV converage doesn't normally show them. But becasue they are playing the right shot it does not really hurt them. I play with a lot of scratch and plus handicappers and they hit some really bad shots but still break par. Why, becasue they were hitting the right shot to start off with.

 

[SteveW86]

the best course management in the world can't help that...........

It certainly can’t.

But to be fair, 6 months ago I’d have been delighted with a 79 so things are moving in the right direction.

 

[Backsticks]

Using an extreme example is Bryson, He is much closer than everyone to the hole from the tee, but he is 6th in the world rankings. So the argument of being closer isn't necessarily the right one.

I think that proves the contrary. He is 6th in the world while being closer that everyone to the hole from the tee - thats better than how many million others ?

 

[MadAdey]

I think that proves the contrary. He is 6th in the world while being closer that everyone to the hole from the tee - thats better than how many million others ?

But being 40 yards further downw the fairway hasn't made him get better results. Last 2 years he has 3 victories, 2 years before that he had 4. The point I am making with him is he has decided to try and knock it as far as possible to make himself No1, but it hasn't.

 

[chrisd]

Simple answer - I'm struggling with my mental health given the ageist abuse I get on here. ??

 

[Orikoru]

These course management discussions never really apply to me. I hit driver wherever I can because a) it's actually the most reliable club off the tee for me and b) I would definitely rather be as close to the green as possible. If I hit a fairway wood or hybrid off the tee, it's no safer than driver, and all it does is give me a longer second shot in. So I hit driver wherever I can. There's only one par 4 at my course where I don't hit it, and that's because it's a shortish one that bends round left to right, so driver would see me go too far and into the trees.

 

[Deleted member 23270]

I made 2 bad decisions yesterday which led to a double and a treble. I shot 4 over

 

[HeftyHacker]

Surely its about leaving yourself with whatever you find most comfortable hitting as an approach shot?

At our place there's a short par 4 that I could drive (and often try). But unless I'm on the green I'm generally left with an annoying little 30 yard pitch, often over a bunker.

The smart play (for me) is to hit an iron or hybrid to the top of the hill and leave myself a 3/4 gap wedge in as I'm far more comfortable with that shot. I've also more chance of hitting it straighter meaning I've got a route between the bunkers and can run it onto the green if I misjudge the weight of it.

Obviously I play driver 90% of the time but if I'm chasing a score nowadays I play the sensible option.

 

[clubchamp98]

I have found as I get a bit older that I can’t reach the par 5s in two now.
My average score on them has gone down .
I leave myself 80yds if I can.
This is the yardage I practice most purely for this reason.
I also play to this yardage if I am in trouble off the tee.
It’s helped my scores and usually takes double off the table.
But if you have the length to get to the long holes it’s very tempting, but was always the big scorer for me if I missed it.
At least I am learning as I get older

 

[IanM]

Checks thread for references to the impact of playing with Smiffy!