Your handicap turning point?

Last year I had a lesson on wedge approaches (under 100 yards) as I was missing greens.

After that I'm much more confident with these, carried over to my chipping and I also had a bit more confidence in my (still pretty poor) putting. That saved me 2/3 shots a round hence my handicap went from 7.0 to 4.7. I probably hit the ball worse (long game) overall last year than previous years but more confidence under 100 yards made a big difference.
 
NWJocko said:
Last year I had a lesson on wedge approaches (under 100 yards) as I was missing greens.

After that I'm much more confident with these, carried over to my chipping and I also had a bit more confidence in my (still pretty poor) putting. That saved me 2/3 shots a round hence my handicap went from 7.0 to 4.7. I probably hit the ball worse (long game) overall last year than previous years but more confidence under 100 yards made a big difference.
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Nice. I like hearing about how folk get over that hurdle, I haven't reached it yet but hopefully will and when I do this might be something worth looking into. What’s the main thing you do differently now as opposed to pre-lessons?

Interestingly you describe yourself as a poor putter. So do I. What's the jazz like?! I've just had a couple of serious flaws identified, trouble is I'm so rubbish I hate practising cos I just feel like I'm reinforcing my negative view of my putting. Hoping these changes work on the green (I can always putt pretty well on the carpet, fat lot of good that does when you're standing over a 6 footer to save par).
 
Some good handicap story's here.well Ive identified my big problem which has been holding me back and that's short game so ive totally changed it to make it easier for my self and the results are starting to show first comp of my clubs summer season this weekend fingers crossed haven't had a handicap qualifier for months so hopfully start off well and get start getting my hcap down .
 
For me it was putting. Tee to green was always decent apart from the odd bad day with the driver. But my putting was appalling. I spent hours and hours putting. Job jobbed.
 
Curls said:
Nice. I like hearing about how folk get over that hurdle, I haven't reached it yet but hopefully will and when I do this might be something worth looking into. What’s the main thing you do differently now as opposed to pre-lessons?
Click to expand...

It was just about set up and technique really. I used to take the club way inside (didn't feel like I did but video doesn't lie!) so was all hands at impact and, as a result, very inconsistent in terms of distance control. Better technique has made me massively more consistent and confident. I used to fear missing the green from 80 yards (I still do now and again) but now I'm confident of putting it "close" from that type of distance.


Curls said:
Interestingly you describe yourself as a poor putter. So do I. What's the jazz like?! I've just had a couple of serious flaws identified, trouble is I'm so rubbish I hate practising cos I just feel like I'm reinforcing my negative view of my putting. Hoping these changes work on the green (I can always putt pretty well on the carpet, fat lot of good that does when you're standing over a 6 footer to save par).
Click to expand...

I'm pretty poor at reading greens and also a bit tentative on putts. On shorter ones last year (under 6 foot) I worked hard to be more positive rather than waft at putts so from regularly missing 6-10ft putts I'm pretty confident of holing them.

These were the only reasons my handicap came down last year, like I say my long game was similar or slightly worse than before.
 
I play off 10 now.My aim was always 12.Basic stuff knowing where to miss,miss on the side of the green that does not have a bunker, As most of us would get down in two with a chip more times then we would from a bunker.Because you have hit a 3w 250 yards once don't think you can do it all the time.
my all round game is better.driving a lot better.and I can knock a lot of chips stone dead.
 
Lots of interesting thoughts. For me it's short game and putting based. Get that working and I'm convinced I'll see forward progress in 2016. Good course management seems to feature a lot as well and I think it's an area I need to revisit, primarily because I feel playing my course most weekend leads to lazy thinking as I know most yardages, and what shot I face, dependant on the tee shot. I'm not convinced I give each shot full thought and concentration as a result
 
Got my first handicap around 11 years ago of 15, quickly got down to 9 then sat their for years. It was my putting that improved most and got me to 9, used to be shocking and often missed what would be classed as a gimmie.
I was then fortunate enough to be chosen for a GM comp few years ago that included a couple of lessons with a top coach, had never had lessons before but the results were great. After around 6 months of hell, changing my grip, posture and swing path it suddenly all clicked and I dropped from 9-6 in a short space of time.

Last couple of seasons lost a bit of interest and did not play that often so now back up at 7.
I do plan to play as many comps as possible this year and see where I get to as I believe I can get a bit lower.
 
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Tommo21 said:
Putting is the main thing, very few practice this enough. Nothing worse than playing two reasonable shots to then 3 stab. Most golfers are so interested in hitting the ball, it's getting the ball in the hole that's important.
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Sensible words. Most of us will spend vast sums of money on a new driver every couple of years, but, get the right putter for you type of stroke, practice in a structured manner and you will see an improvement in your handicap without doubt.
 
NWJocko said:
It was just about set up and technique really. I used to take the club way inside (didn't feel like I did but video doesn't lie!) so was all hands at impact and, as a result, very inconsistent in terms of distance control.
I'm pretty poor at reading greens and also a bit tentative on putts. On shorter ones last year (under 6 foot) I worked hard to be more positive rather than waft at putts so from regularly missing 6-10ft putts I'm pretty confident of holing them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that chap, appreciated, I reckon I probably need to work on my wedges in the long run but right now I'm just getting comfortable with bigger changes. Nice one
 
My first handicap was 16 and I got down to 10, I think, that year just through playing and generally improving all parts of my game. Probably keeping it in play off the tee more was the biggest help back then.

Tommo21 said:
Putting is the main thing, very few practice this enough. Nothing worse than playing two reasonable shots to then 3 stab. Most golfers are so interested in hitting the ball, it's getting the ball in the hole that's important.
Click to expand...

Nowadays I'm reasonably good tee to green but, for someone of my handicap, my short game is not great and my putting is pretty poor - I don't hole enough putts in the 5 - 10 foot range. That's where any future gains will come. I've practised quite hard on the putting and hoping for good things.... In fact, I spent 3 hours today on a putting green going through some drills.
 
Looking at all the posts putting seems to be a chunk of it and to be honest my round last Sunday I dropped 6 shots alone in makeable putts so going to start practicing the putting I think I've been so busy trying to get wedge play and driving sorted ive neglegected the putting .
 
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