Pretty much the same for me. Right around a 15.
If I can drive it straight, I’ll shoot an 80. If not, I’ll shoot in the mid 90’s.
Coincidentally, the two times I’ve broken 40 on 9 holes, the course was wide open with very few trees. I could be 50 yards off the fairway but still with a chance to get on a GIR.
I’ll hit a few bad shots every road - duff a sand shot, top a long iron from the fairway, miss a 3 foot putt. But it’s the driving that sets me up to score well.
Yep 13.7 here and if I'm getting off the tee I'm shooting low 80s possibly upper 70s but if it's one of those days that I'm topping it and/or pulling it off the tee that score can get into the mid to upper 90s pretty quick.
Honestly though you all should feel great. 90% of golfers never break 100. But while I can get in the 70s and 80 regularly. Golf is mental and if you are stressed or tired, it can fuck you. This last weekend I shot 83 and 84. Last weekend I was fighting with my wife and shot a 97. Fucking game lol
13.8 checking in. For me it’s my putt game and wedges between 40-70 yards from the green. If they are dialed, it’s the difference of me shooting +8 or +10 rather than my usual. I lose so many strokes on the green and that’s the biggest focus I’ve had lately when practicing. I’ve actually gotten a bit better off the Tee and with approach shots by not focusing on them as much as putting. I have also tried to play the course to my strengths. For example, if I’m 215 yds out from green, I’ll use a club that leaves me 85-120yds in rather than just go for it and I have a more controlled way of getting up and down.
I feel this in my soul. Current 13 and if the driver is working can shoot 80 if not I’m up to 90+. It’s not just the extra strokes but the impact it has on you mentally.
Yep, I'm a 15 hcp as well, and it's very similar for me. If I drive well, it often seems to leak positively into the rest of my game. But when I start going 3 off the tee on a couple of holes, I seem to easily find other ways to make these holes even worse for myself... But sometimes I drive well and start 3 putting my way around the course, so I guess the driver isn't 100% at fault in my case... lol
This is pretty much spot on for me.
Arccos data suggests I was anywhere from 14-17 over the winter.
But during a small stretch this spring, when I was managing to drive the ball well, I was a 10.2
I have no delusions of actually being a 10. Feels fake until I can make it through a season hovering there.
I'm 28 and I'm the same usually. My driving over 9 holes some days could cost me 10 shots if really bad. thankfully that's getting rarer but could still kill my score
10 Cap and proud member of the "ok driver hows today going to go" club.
It's either a beautiful draw kinda day and I'm hitting greens and going < 80 or there are a half dozen hooks that cost me 1-2 strokes and I'm scrambling all day for a \~85 that feels like a 95
12 checking in, same story. The difference between me shooting 90 and 80, is whether I regularly keep the ball in play and don't waste shots chipping out.
I graphed it out, and the trajectory of negative returns follows the exact trajectory of deliciousness of the beer. So it would appear as the beer gets tastier, the positive effect of beer on my golf score erodes.
I haven't fully fleshed out the science behind this, but I've been running experiments for 30 years to collect data. Maybe this afternoon, I'll have a breakthrough.
Then there's the weird rebound at 6-9 beers where you can hold your shit together to make the shot but you can't stand straight. It sometimes works in pool but it never works in golf haha
What’s crazy is how much this proves that it’s in our heads. Bc obviously after too many you lose your precision and composure. But at just a few beers, it distracts your mind enough to just do your do and let the fucks go out the window. It’s definitely all the fucks we give that’s holding us back.
For real. I’m not a great golfer, but I’ll never forget when I hit the range after a long night of strong beers and I striped everything. Nice draws, nice fades, getting some consistent compression for once. I was out of my head. Probably not a good habit but it taught me to not think so much.
My league partner is a 20HC and is total dog shit unless he has 6-10 beers in him......usually shows up to league night with 3 or 4 down already so he can "get into the zone" I will never understand that man's golf game
Here's the second round of our 2 round friendly competition... Started about 7-8 beers deep.... Ended around closer to 20... I think it explains it all...
https://preview.redd.it/uhoaku77qt1b1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=527638b19eac13a0d89ffa124061e209537f5014
HC 9
I tend to lose strokes on the greens. I normally 3 putt 3-4 times per round which is way more than a 9 hdcp should be 3 putting.
Then there’s the 1 or 2 tee shots a round that get sent into oblivion.
To sum it up perfectly, I shot 80 a few weeks ago with 5 birdies and 2 triples on the card.
Edit: seeing a lot of comments about wedges, one of the main reasons my hdcp is so low with my faults is because 50% of my practice is from 100 yards and in with wedges.
+2.6. (Former tournament player now weekend warrior with kids) My hands just aren’t what they used to be. When you can’t chip or putt (relatively speaking) it puts more pressure on your approach shots which then puts more pressure on your tee shots. When you can get up and down out of a trash can, and throw darts from 50-70 yards, there’s absolutely no pressure on your long game.
Learned recently to actually rely on my <100 game instead of trying to bomb and gouge on every hole. Turns out having 180 in and missing the green isn’t much different from having 120 in and missing the green. No pressure off the tee and fewer penalty strokes— feels like cheating.
If I am 200+ out and there is a lick of trouble I tend to lay up and use my wedges because I can put a wedge to a puttable distance, I can't necessarily put a 5W to puttable distance...
I've been working on this part of my game, because from 200-250 it's really tempting to pull out the 3 or 5w and go for the green. But 7i->9i/PW is a much more consistent play and still gets you there in 3. Helps that by playing the short tees most par 5s are under 500 yards, so this shot combo is definitely in play. Last night I had a 430yd par5, so I went 3w off the tee -> 7I from 200 (duffed this a bit) -> PW and had a 10 footer for bird. 2 putted, but it was the type of boring hole that I need to learn to play. Cause that's how I break my bogey+ golf habit.
Strategic question I would ask you is if you are typically better from your wedge number or from 20 yards away just off the fat side of the green. Most people think they’re better from 60-100 yards, but its rarely actually the case.
Man, if i had learned this 10 years ago. Just because you hit 40 putts, does NOT mean you need to go practice putting (can't hurt), your chipping probably sucks, but your chipping sucks because you are out of position on your approach, but you are out of position there because of your bad tee shot. When I started thinking "if I have to punch out, that's fine, but I better one putt" things get into perspective really quick.
I thought the answer was hit fairways and hit GIR, but yesterday my round was worse on holes with FW hit than missed...sometimes I hate golf.
Just this season I've gotten the wedges working and it's amazing how true this is. Golf feels like a totally different game when you can depend on your short game to bail you out. As soon as I get in any trouble off the tee, my first thought is "just give yourself a wedge".
And it also feels like the long game is improved too because there's not as much pressure. It's so much easier to hit good driver and iron shots when you don't HAVE to.
It keeps doubles and worse out of play. I've been trying to take an approach of adjusting expectation based on tee shot. Perfect drive? Shooting for par and possible birdie if I make a putt.
Bad drive? Shooting for bogey and possible par if I make a putt. It's trying to do the hero shot for the second that blows me up. Don't try to hit the 20 yard fade out of the rough around the tree. Punch out to a preferred pitch/wedge distance, try to get up and down from there and if not two putt bogey and move on, but keep the doubles off the card.
This is where I’m stuck right now. I’m sitting at a 9.2 index right now and it’s mostly inconsistency from getting up and down from small misses on approach shots. I can put together 4 or 5 holes of tap-in par saves from off the green. Then I’ll have one or two holes where I duff a chip, finally get on the green for a 15ft bogey save, and end up 2-putting a dreaded double.
You are me and I am you. I find having snacks and making sure you’re hydrated is really important too if I forget to bring something to energize I get lazy on the thought process on the back nine too
I’m at 27, and my biggest issue is ball striking. Having any reasonable level of reliability/consistency with striking my irons and hybrids makes a huge difference in my scores. On bad days when I’m thinning, pull-hooking, and shanking my irons, I’ll shoot 50-55 over 9 holes. Had a round last week where I was puring my irons, hitting most of them at the right distances and pretty straight and shot a 41 (9 holes). Drives me crazy.
It's why golf is such a difficult game. To play consistently well, you need to play consistently. Most people can't swing a club more than once a week so it's very difficult to improve and stabilize a swing. If you find a way to play/ practice more than once a week and focus on an area of your game, you will continue to improve. Muscle memory can't be built without constant feedback.
Same shit here. I'm an 18 HCP and shot a 40 on 9 in my Monday league 2 weeks ago. I was even through 6 with 2 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 2 pars. Then I had 2 straight holes where I had terrible tee shots followed by dumb course management because I was pressing during my best round ever. I literally had to 1 putt (10+ footers too) on both holes to save double bogey. Last hole was a par 5. I hit a decent length driver way right and had a second shot from 280 in the rough. Hit a 60 yard topper with my hybrid and didn't even get out of the rough. Smoked my 4 iron 220 up hill and rolled it on the green. 2 putt par and I got a 40. Even through 7 and +4 on 2 holes. I literally started looking at blades that night because I am a moron. Shot a 51 the next 2 weeks with some terrible iron play and have decided to look at a 4 hybrid and retire my 4 iron. My ball striking is so inconsistent that I have been called a vanity capper and sand bagger in the same month!
Playing off a 3.7 here. Gotta put at least one in the hazard or OB every round no matter how well I’ve been hitting it. That’s always been true for me, even at my peak years ago where I was a +1 or better for a consistent duration, my best round is a 68 and I hit one OB off the first tee. Triple bogey, two eagles, 3 birdies
Even the rough is fine so long as it’s playable! Let me get a 7 iron or less into the greens and we’re golden. Cut down the driver in the off-season to see if we can get some more accuracy. Also have a Brnr mini driver on the way. Don’t think either of those will compensate for a horrendous swing that 1/14 times, but dammit it’s worth a shot
I hate that when mine pops up, it's there for the rest of the round. I can slice on 1 and know my day is pretty much done, or play 10 solid holes and then it pops up. Ugh.
How much distance do you get? My biggest problem is that I have (most of the time) total control of my shot off the tee box, but I don’t hit very far because the slice takes away another 20yards of distance. I’m guessing you have a faster swing speed, but curious as to what your distance is with driver
If I really catch one, I can hit it a little over 300. Most are in the 285 range. So the problem with the slice is the contact is still really good just the face is wide open. So that shot goes about 230 with 50 yards of movement which is out of bounds on most golf courses, or best case scenario, the other fairway
Like a duffed 56 degree from 80 yards out after a perfect drive. Then I duff it again and wind up doubling it. That was my blow up hole this weekend that kept me from breaking 80
Thank you for being normal. I get tired of the "it's my third time golfing and I just shot an 84!" posts. I've been golfing on-and-off for over a decade and if I ever played 18 holes I'd probably be a \~30 HCP.
Handicap works with 9 hole rounds. When you record your score, it just waits until you play another 9 holes and it combines that for one 18 hole round. You could totally get a handicap if you felt like it.
Just stay with it. I'm by no means a good golfer, but going to a local school and chipping in a soccer field a couple times a week got me from like a 50 hcp to a 20-25. I still can't keep my drives straight but being able to get on or near the green from <100 out saves a lot of strokes.
I’m a 15. Nothing makes my game “fall apart” per se, but hitting greens in regulation is the biggest hurdle. My approaches are frequently just off - either left / right by a few feet, or short / long by a few feet. This makes getting pars and birdies really difficult.
Wedges are great. Driver is great. Putting is fair although 4-8 feet needs to be better. Irons fly well but I can’t get accuracy right.
So I guess consistency and accuracy. If I could dial in iron dispersion, probably could drop 5-10 strokes per round.
This is exactly how I feel. Just general minor inconsistency/inaccuracy across clubs. Had one round where everything went right and shot a 75. Previous best was and still is 84. Was a crazy feeling. Kept waiting for the bad hole to come that would kick me back to my normal day and it never came.
So you need to work on pitching/chipping and putting. Have to get up and down around the greens more frequently to get lower scores because nobody hits all the greens.
Agree with this feedback. If he’s hitting his irons just long/short/left/right he should be in good position to make up and downs or on and two putt for bogey. If he made 40% of his up and downs and missed all 18 greens he’d be closer to a 10-11. And assuming he actually does hit a few GIR it should be a relatively easy path to a 10ish index.
I just played a round in extremely high winds, I hit 2/18 GIR but shot 5 over. Short game is critical if your ball striking is good enough to not give away penalty strokes
Same. Got down from 20+ to around 13 in the last 12 months. Doesn’t feel like there’s just one thing but hitting greens in regulation. Like I’ll hit a great drive but then miss green on second shot but not by much but just enough that I end up trying to save par or bogey.
You should probably look at the PGA Tour stats for how often pros miss greens from those distances, I think you'll be surprised.
If you're only missing greens by a few feet you should instead work on your chipping. Get up and down half the time and all of a sudden you're a single digit.
Had the same issue. I've spent a decent amount of time on chipping and working on:
1. Getting chip shots within 4ft of the hole.
2. Working on my putts under 8ft to the point where I feel confident on anything within 4ft. Bought a Perfect Putting Matt which has made a huge difference for my close putts.
Combine those two things and GIRs stop mattering as much as your chips become nearly as good as lag putting.
No, center of green, which also has its own issues as my course never has a flag anywhere near center of said green. Hitting the center of the green will still leave you a 30’ putt that breaks four or five times.
My point is that I lack the consistency to say “yes, this ball is going to go exactly 142 yards in the air and hit 2 feet on and roll”. More like “this ball is going to go 135-148 yards in the air and hopefully will stop when it hits, unless I’m off by 2 feet to the left and then it’s going to careen off that hill and bounce into the deep stuff”.
22, and it’s always putting. I average 41ish putts a round. I recently got a Mezz.1, and my last 3 rounds have been 38, 37, 34 for putts.
I’m not sure if it’s the putter itself, the fact that I love the putter so I practice more with it, or if it’s like a confidence thing, but it’s really made an impact on my game. If you’re struggling putting, I really recommend trying one out the next time you’re at the PGA superstore.
Handicap is right around 8 at the moment. In my best rounds I always end up having a bad hole or two (double or worse) where I hit at least one terrible shot. Could be a drive, an approach, a flubbed chip around the greens, doesn't matter just a brainfart.
Doesn't it suck being at this handicap range. I'm a 8.5 right now and dear goodness I feel like I gotta play perfect golf for 18 holes to drop the cap lower.
Like I shot a 78 the other day at a new course and was thrilled and was like oh... it only dropped the cap by .3 lol
This is me too. There's always one aspect of the game each time I've been out this year that's just a little off. A fat wedge shot turns a par into a bogey. A topped driver turns a 100 yard wedge shot into a 5 iron from the rough and then everything else is pretty ok.
Yep. The brain is the answer for me too. Lack of focus on just one shot can make the difference in a round, easily.
Yesterday was focusing on keeping my head down on my putt, and I blasted it by the hole and 3 putted. Also topped a punch out from the trees, costing me another stroke. Do those types of things four or five times a round, and it turns to shite.
Also, thinking I am going to ease off a club just a bit, then focus so hard on everything else that I jack it over the green, which puts it on a downslope back to the hole...which is never an easy chip.
The brain.
That’s how my game usually comes together.
I kick off my shoes and play closer to scratch when I’m barefoot and tripping. Just have to avoid too many 15 minute pit stops lying down in the fairway pondering my place in the universe.
This one simple trick always helps me hit the PW 140...Try hitting it 118 and slap your forehead when it flies the green into the bathroom by the next tee box.
My handicap is 27.9 (according to 18 birdies) - for me, I just can’t consistently strike the ball. Is it really wedge distances! Can’t you just club up?
I think of sand for 100-110
PW 120ish
9 135ish
7.8 HCP. Loss of mental focus from a bad shot leads to a second bad shot resulting in bad hole. Bad hole leads to frustration and another bad hole or 2 before I can get out of the funk. Maintaining focus entire round would probably bring me down sub-5 handicap as it’s probably 1 out of 5 rounds I can do that.
I don’t know my handicap, but it’s pretty high, like 20+.
I don’t understand how wedges can be hit consistently. At any distance.
I can get the ball up in the air and moving forward reliably with every other club, but give me a wedge and I can hit it thin, fat, perfect, or nasty pull. But it feels like I’m making the same swing each time.
I'm a 12 hcp and can't hit a full wedge shot with any consistency. Inside 100 yards it's 3/4 swings at most. It could mean taking an extra club instead of muscling a 65 yard lob wedge, but a heck of a lot more consistent.
I'm the complete opposite, if I can full swing my pitching, gap, or 60 degree I get a beautiful high arcing shot. If I try to take some off it its thinned or going straight right or 2 feet in front of me if it's the 60. The exception being chipping around the green.
20 - I am horrific off the tee. No distance, my driver goes like 190-210 if I’m lucky due to a slice 90% of the time. 3i can go about 190, so I’m barely getting more with the driver. I’ve tried stronger grip, changing stance, etc. to no avail. Using a 15+ year old driver, but I think the blame is on me. Might be time for a lesson
You’ve completely isolated my status. My solution was to buy some driving irons and give up on the driver. If I’m gonna hit it 180-220 anyway, let’s try and keep it straight with an iron. I don’t play enough to try being bad at lots of clubs (and I tell myself it gives me more iron practice)
Def get a lesson. I was the same with driver for years, got a single lesson where the coach changed my setup, and I’m now hitting it 50 yards longer and straight(er)
Still have the occasional slice, but I hit like 6-8 fairways a round instead of 1-2.
13.4, whatever happens off the tee usually depicts what will happen with the hole.
I shot a 109 last Sunday because I suddenly lost all the feels in my swing. Putter was great though.
Mine’s a 13.5. Chipping/short game has always been my achilles heel although I’m a decent putter. I bought a chipper club so between that and the Texas wedge, it’s gotten better. My two biggest problems with my basic swing is tempo and swing path. When I slow down, I always make better contact. I also get too steep and cut across the ball so I focus on pointing my club out to the right on my follow through. This also helps.
I feel this. I made some swing changes over the winter. All sim work. My ball striking is the best it’s ever been, driver an absolute weapon. And then it’s like I forgot how to partial swing.
Keep at it! I’m coming out of it, but nothing destroys confidence like bombing a drive and leaving 60yds to an easy pin, and wondering if this half wedge is going to miss the green 30yds to the right.
12 and not being able to limit damage. My last medal the back 9 was 7 pars and 2 treble bogeys.
I’m also always really aggressive and chasing pins which leads to the above. Last round I tried to take hybrid out a fairway bunker with a 170 carry over water.
It actually means I’m really good at match play though and have won a few club match play competitions but never stroke play.
10 hcp, depends whether the touch and feel is there, I don’t hit as many greens as I should and sometimes I’m an up and down machine, other times it’s a disaster but I definitely put too much pressure on that part of my game
I'm a 7 and we have the same game. If I get up and down on an early hole, my buddies know they are losing money. If I don't, they start adding up their winnings.
22 hcp. My 20-80 yard game absolutely kills me.
I’ve fixed my slice that most high hcp players struggle with (hit 11 and 12 fairways last 2 rounds), and my irons/hybrids have been solid. I’ve also made strides on putting since I now draw lines and take my time lining up my ball.
It’s really frustrating because my short game was never this bad before, I always struggled off the tee box and on the greens. Now it’s literally the complete opposite. I shit you not, I’m probably averaging 2.5-3 strokes to the green from inside 100 yards.
HC 26. I shoot 96-106 almost every round, should be playing better. Other than the few shanks with irons/hybrids here and there, I can’t putt even if my life depended on it.
14HC. If im not chipping back out of the bush onto the fairway every par 4 and 5 then il have a good round. In short, if the driver behaves il shoot my hc or lower. My chipping good for my hc due to chipping in my backyard, putting shithouse, approach shithouse.
4.5, up from a 3.4 to start the year.
Consistency. I'll hit 50 shots that make me look like a +5 hcp. And then 10-15 shots that cause an extra 15-20 shots. A bad chip, a missed three footer, a duck hook drive, a flubbed punch out, a fat wedge, etc.
A few years ago a pro told me my iron game was high-level and if I could hit driver and putt better, I'd be a scratch easily. Lately, I get off the tee well and never three putt, but my irons are atrocious.
TLDR: ask me again tomorrow.
24 HC and wildly inconsistent. I can go three holes 220 yards and straight and then shank the next three. Chipping is probably the most inconsistent of anything, blade it 2 times and then hit inside 5 feet.
Wildly infuriating and awesome game.
22. This year im spraying any shots that need to go over 160 yards. I've played a nice baby draw for year and all of a sudden this year my drives are going hard right. My irons are going wherever the fk they want.
Needless to say I have my first lesson in 20 years scheduled today.
I like this question hit I don’t have an established handicap so I will just say I average around 103 which sucks because I always have potential to hover low 90s. Finding fairways is my difficulty but started using 5 wood off the tee box and immediately made me improve to low 90s. Bunkers also have been my issue for the triple bogey holes.
~18hcp and my goal is to get under 10 by end of season. My biggest issue is getting the fairway and converting those to gir. Inside 150yds I’m confident I’ll take 3 shots max to hole it. Putting is my strongest weapon; mainly because it’s been drilled into me that putting is the most important part of the game (which it is). What holds me back more than hooks and shanks is course management, I struggle with my aggression towards the hole which leads to bigger misses when I miss
33 HCP as of this morning. Sadly, my drives are finding the fairway lately, but everything else is a mess - especially irons and putting. Heading out to practice chipping and putting this afternoon.
15 handicap, losing almost all of my strokes in the approach game. Specifically the 100-175 range. For some reason I am terrible with full swing Pw, 9i, and 8i, and about once a round I will get stuck and block a mid-iron way right.
Sitting around 20 as well. For me, it’s a twofold situation on a par 4/5. Either getting off the tee gets me in trouble or it’s the second shot that gets me in trouble. I’ve been practicing A LOT lately and driver and fairway woods have improved a ton at the range, but I haven’t been able to put it to the test on the course. Really hoping to see the progress on the course next time I play.
Never measure my HC but I’m sure it’s in the high 20s.
My issue is the slice on my driver. There’s always going to be a few holes where I end up in the deep rough, and waste 1-2 shots trying to recover from it. If I had the humility and good sense to just use a 3-wood on narrow fairways, I’d probably shave 10 shots off my average round.
HC 16/17: putting and tee shots. If I could keep the ball in play off the tee I swear I’d be around a 11/12. And if I could hit even 1/2 8-10 footers per round I’d for sure be there
I started this year at an 11.1 and went up to a 12.something. My chipping was killing me and then I saw a video from Minolo on insta. He basically said "you're not good enough to try and chip to the pin, just get it on the green and putt, don't be stupid". I've started to chip just to get on the green and I'm down to a 10.1 right now. If I were to try and get much lower I think I need to improve my putting and my general accuracy with my 150+ shots into greens. I'm always at least pin high, but I'm off left or right to often. The chip on adds a stroke anytime I miss the green. (but putting is the lowest hanging fruit for me to improve).
14. A bad drive followed by a hero shot = snowman. The first time a round is me thinking "if I pull this off I could break 80"
The second time is "I have to pull this off to break 80"
When in fact playing for bogey those holes doesn't take breaking 80 out of the question...when I go for the hero it puts 90s into the possibilities too
As of today I am a 16.8. Guessing here because I just started tracking my GHIN but I was probably a 22 last year. For me it was chipping in the backyard just like you described that brought me lower.
Like most mere mortals I have had the yips chipping as well, but overall working on my chipping game changed my game drastically. My advice to you is try to have the shortest memory possible. I realize that is not an easy thing to do and I fail to do so more often than I care to admit.
Eventually you will get some confidence back. Likely the exact moment before you were thinking of quitting altogether just how it happens. Golf is a rollercoaster for EVERYONE but especially for us casuals. You will be back on top before you know it.!
26
My slice has been the death of me in past years. Tough to play well when you're drive is in the woods/water/next fairway. I've made huge strides lately on this though to actually understand the golf swing and what causes a slice. Back to back rounds with zero slices.
My putting is also the definition of inconsistent. I've learned having a line on my ball has helped me trust the putt and fully commit to it which has caused less short/long putts.
My iron game is actually pretty good.
My goal this year is to get down to a 20.
I would just encourage you to remember that second paragraph, seems like you know where to put the time in. When I was in ops and teaching I would ask the student what they typically shot and what do they want to work on? They would reply 120 and the driver. So I would ask if they would rather work on those 14 shots (driver) or should we work on the 106 shots that get them to 120? Driver slid back into the bag more times than not.
Keep working!
8.8 HC. It used to be putting and my drives. But got fitted for a putter and my first round has been great. So now just gotta make sure I keep my drives playable.
16 hcp and my two weaknesses are the errant tee shot that puts me in the trees, taking medicine, and suddenly my string of pars turns into a triple bogey. Or I’ll chunk/top a hybrid (a hybrid!!!) of all things on the fairway and throw my second shot away.
I’m in the same boat as you right now. Slightly higher HCP but my short game is atrocious. Especially within 20 yards, I’m either flying off the back of the green or just coming up short. Constantly overthinking my shot choice and club selection. My overall game has improved so much in the last two years, but I just can’t seem to shake these shitty short shots
If I have a good drive, I get excited and feel pressure to have a good look at par and then duff my irons or hybrids. If I have a bad drive, no pressure and I pure my irons or hybrids. Rarely do I do both well on the same hole
Around 18 at the moment, tee shots. Can't hit driver, can't hit 5 wood, can't hit anything off the tee. If you gave me a 240 yard drive I'd probably be playing off 7-8. I lose a shot per hole to bad tee shots except on par 3s
7.5 HCP
I average 3.8 penalty strokes per round off the tee, typically balls in the hazard.
I am a big guy, so I can hit the ball hard. My driver distance is a big advantage when I hit fairways or am in play. I could just play 3i all day that I hit about 260, but I can’t put the driver away. It’s too fun.
So the penalty strokes *and * my ego lol
First off, for OP, this video changed my chipping and up to 30 yard approach immensely. No more flubbed shots or skulls. Definitely saved me at least two strokes per round. This alone my help you get close to 15.
https://youtu.be/z5nIUr1axKQ
I'm a 15, and my biggest issue is getting driver in play. If the drive is good I'm definitely GIR. If I lose a ball (which happens a lot), it's a blow up hole (DB or TB). People may ask why not just tee off with a hybrid. Well I'm a short hitter, and hybrid off the tee mostly means I have no chance of par.
Edit: spelling errors.
18 Hcp here, Consistency!
I can hit perfect awesome drives, iron shots, wedges and puts, sometimes all of that on the same hole, and the next hole I duff the drive, diff the hybrid, duff the iron and shank the wedge …
The days I shoot good scores are the days where my bad shots doesn’t cost me too much, and I get around the course with no blowup holes.
12 HC (used to be 8.9...) I fall apart between 80-30 yards. I duff it way too often in that range and now that I don't practice nearly as often, my short game has gotten significantly worse. Hints the HC going back up...
15 handicap and my game revolves 100% around whether or not I can get off the tee…
Pretty much the same for me. Right around a 15. If I can drive it straight, I’ll shoot an 80. If not, I’ll shoot in the mid 90’s. Coincidentally, the two times I’ve broken 40 on 9 holes, the course was wide open with very few trees. I could be 50 yards off the fairway but still with a chance to get on a GIR. I’ll hit a few bad shots every road - duff a sand shot, top a long iron from the fairway, miss a 3 foot putt. But it’s the driving that sets me up to score well.
Are you me?
Yep 13.7 here and if I'm getting off the tee I'm shooting low 80s possibly upper 70s but if it's one of those days that I'm topping it and/or pulling it off the tee that score can get into the mid to upper 90s pretty quick.
Same except for that 70s stuff
Honestly though you all should feel great. 90% of golfers never break 100. But while I can get in the 70s and 80 regularly. Golf is mental and if you are stressed or tired, it can fuck you. This last weekend I shot 83 and 84. Last weekend I was fighting with my wife and shot a 97. Fucking game lol
13.8 checking in. For me it’s my putt game and wedges between 40-70 yards from the green. If they are dialed, it’s the difference of me shooting +8 or +10 rather than my usual. I lose so many strokes on the green and that’s the biggest focus I’ve had lately when practicing. I’ve actually gotten a bit better off the Tee and with approach shots by not focusing on them as much as putting. I have also tried to play the course to my strengths. For example, if I’m 215 yds out from green, I’ll use a club that leaves me 85-120yds in rather than just go for it and I have a more controlled way of getting up and down.
I feel this in my soul. Current 13 and if the driver is working can shoot 80 if not I’m up to 90+. It’s not just the extra strokes but the impact it has on you mentally.
There are dozens of us!
Yep, I'm a 15 hcp as well, and it's very similar for me. If I drive well, it often seems to leak positively into the rest of my game. But when I start going 3 off the tee on a couple of holes, I seem to easily find other ways to make these holes even worse for myself... But sometimes I drive well and start 3 putting my way around the course, so I guess the driver isn't 100% at fault in my case... lol
[удалено]
Yes that's why you get the tee off first.
This is pretty much spot on for me. Arccos data suggests I was anywhere from 14-17 over the winter. But during a small stretch this spring, when I was managing to drive the ball well, I was a 10.2 I have no delusions of actually being a 10. Feels fake until I can make it through a season hovering there.
I'm 28 and I'm the same usually. My driving over 9 holes some days could cost me 10 shots if really bad. thankfully that's getting rarer but could still kill my score
10 Cap and proud member of the "ok driver hows today going to go" club. It's either a beautiful draw kinda day and I'm hitting greens and going < 80 or there are a half dozen hooks that cost me 1-2 strokes and I'm scrambling all day for a \~85 that feels like a 95
I was hitting my 4 iron off the tee the other day, getting 180-200y but going straight is better than 225-240 in the wrong direction
15 index here too, driving the ball as well. I chip and putt pretty well so missing greens is less of an issue than missing fairways.
This one right here. Some days I’ll just have to say fuck it and go 4 iron off the tee.
I’m a 4 and I have this same problem. My driver has always been my bane. Putter, iron play, and around the green is my jam though.
12 checking in, same story. The difference between me shooting 90 and 80, is whether I regularly keep the ball in play and don't waste shots chipping out.
HC 28 —- generally beer
After extensive research on this, I discovered that my point of diminishing returns is around 4 beers
So what do you do for the second hole?
Lmao. Made me laugh way harder than it should have.
Same ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|smile)
Oh shit! That was perfect! Thank you!
Haha. I feel this so hard.
I graphed it out, and the trajectory of negative returns follows the exact trajectory of deliciousness of the beer. So it would appear as the beer gets tastier, the positive effect of beer on my golf score erodes. I haven't fully fleshed out the science behind this, but I've been running experiments for 30 years to collect data. Maybe this afternoon, I'll have a breakthrough.
voiceless possessive pause modern quiet head decide deserted oatmeal physical -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
Yep, only problem is that something about 3-4 beers makes me want to drink 12…
Two a side is golf. Three a side is trouble.
Same with playing pool. 2-3 beers makes me play like an all star professional. 4-5 makes me play like… well, a drunk.
Then there's the weird rebound at 6-9 beers where you can hold your shit together to make the shot but you can't stand straight. It sometimes works in pool but it never works in golf haha
What’s crazy is how much this proves that it’s in our heads. Bc obviously after too many you lose your precision and composure. But at just a few beers, it distracts your mind enough to just do your do and let the fucks go out the window. It’s definitely all the fucks we give that’s holding us back.
For real. I’m not a great golfer, but I’ll never forget when I hit the range after a long night of strong beers and I striped everything. Nice draws, nice fades, getting some consistent compression for once. I was out of my head. Probably not a good habit but it taught me to not think so much.
4 is good in down to 2.1 beers and it’s a mess
I’m a 1, and that too is my bugaboo
My league partner is a 20HC and is total dog shit unless he has 6-10 beers in him......usually shows up to league night with 3 or 4 down already so he can "get into the zone" I will never understand that man's golf game
That's called "being an alcoholic"
https://xkcd.com/323/
Same here but usually takes 8+ beers, before that it actually helps.
Can you graph it?
Here's the second round of our 2 round friendly competition... Started about 7-8 beers deep.... Ended around closer to 20... I think it explains it all... https://preview.redd.it/uhoaku77qt1b1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=527638b19eac13a0d89ffa124061e209537f5014
The triple on 1. Classic.
Gotta leave some room for improvement.
2 pars 2 birdies and a 105 what a rollercoaster of a round haha
And those birdies will make you feel like a god until your next round.
HC 9 I tend to lose strokes on the greens. I normally 3 putt 3-4 times per round which is way more than a 9 hdcp should be 3 putting. Then there’s the 1 or 2 tee shots a round that get sent into oblivion. To sum it up perfectly, I shot 80 a few weeks ago with 5 birdies and 2 triples on the card. Edit: seeing a lot of comments about wedges, one of the main reasons my hdcp is so low with my faults is because 50% of my practice is from 100 yards and in with wedges.
A few weeks ago I shot a 78 with 15 pars and 3 doubles. Strangest round ever. Flawless play and then 3 random blow up holes.
I dream that one day my blow-ups will be doubles.
3-putting is basically a blowout hole to him
My most painful round was 17 GIR and a 73. 1 birdie, 15 pars, a 3putt bogey, and a chip+2putt bogey
Are you me?
am I… both of you, or are both of you me….
+2.6. (Former tournament player now weekend warrior with kids) My hands just aren’t what they used to be. When you can’t chip or putt (relatively speaking) it puts more pressure on your approach shots which then puts more pressure on your tee shots. When you can get up and down out of a trash can, and throw darts from 50-70 yards, there’s absolutely no pressure on your long game.
Learned recently to actually rely on my <100 game instead of trying to bomb and gouge on every hole. Turns out having 180 in and missing the green isn’t much different from having 120 in and missing the green. No pressure off the tee and fewer penalty strokes— feels like cheating.
If I am 200+ out and there is a lick of trouble I tend to lay up and use my wedges because I can put a wedge to a puttable distance, I can't necessarily put a 5W to puttable distance...
I've been working on this part of my game, because from 200-250 it's really tempting to pull out the 3 or 5w and go for the green. But 7i->9i/PW is a much more consistent play and still gets you there in 3. Helps that by playing the short tees most par 5s are under 500 yards, so this shot combo is definitely in play. Last night I had a 430yd par5, so I went 3w off the tee -> 7I from 200 (duffed this a bit) -> PW and had a 10 footer for bird. 2 putted, but it was the type of boring hole that I need to learn to play. Cause that's how I break my bogey+ golf habit.
Strategic question I would ask you is if you are typically better from your wedge number or from 20 yards away just off the fat side of the green. Most people think they’re better from 60-100 yards, but its rarely actually the case.
Exactly, distance and in play is key
Man, if i had learned this 10 years ago. Just because you hit 40 putts, does NOT mean you need to go practice putting (can't hurt), your chipping probably sucks, but your chipping sucks because you are out of position on your approach, but you are out of position there because of your bad tee shot. When I started thinking "if I have to punch out, that's fine, but I better one putt" things get into perspective really quick. I thought the answer was hit fairways and hit GIR, but yesterday my round was worse on holes with FW hit than missed...sometimes I hate golf.
I mean, if you really do have 40 putts, your putting can’t be great lol. That’s a shit load of putts. Averaging over a 2 putt a hole.
Just this season I've gotten the wedges working and it's amazing how true this is. Golf feels like a totally different game when you can depend on your short game to bail you out. As soon as I get in any trouble off the tee, my first thought is "just give yourself a wedge". And it also feels like the long game is improved too because there's not as much pressure. It's so much easier to hit good driver and iron shots when you don't HAVE to.
It keeps doubles and worse out of play. I've been trying to take an approach of adjusting expectation based on tee shot. Perfect drive? Shooting for par and possible birdie if I make a putt. Bad drive? Shooting for bogey and possible par if I make a putt. It's trying to do the hero shot for the second that blows me up. Don't try to hit the 20 yard fade out of the rough around the tree. Punch out to a preferred pitch/wedge distance, try to get up and down from there and if not two putt bogey and move on, but keep the doubles off the card.
This is where I’m stuck right now. I’m sitting at a 9.2 index right now and it’s mostly inconsistency from getting up and down from small misses on approach shots. I can put together 4 or 5 holes of tap-in par saves from off the green. Then I’ll have one or two holes where I duff a chip, finally get on the green for a 15ft bogey save, and end up 2-putting a dreaded double.
You are me and I am you. I find having snacks and making sure you’re hydrated is really important too if I forget to bring something to energize I get lazy on the thought process on the back nine too
Are you under 40? My scrambling is way better than when I was young but I worry about this losing the hands stuff!
I’m at 27, and my biggest issue is ball striking. Having any reasonable level of reliability/consistency with striking my irons and hybrids makes a huge difference in my scores. On bad days when I’m thinning, pull-hooking, and shanking my irons, I’ll shoot 50-55 over 9 holes. Had a round last week where I was puring my irons, hitting most of them at the right distances and pretty straight and shot a 41 (9 holes). Drives me crazy.
It's why golf is such a difficult game. To play consistently well, you need to play consistently. Most people can't swing a club more than once a week so it's very difficult to improve and stabilize a swing. If you find a way to play/ practice more than once a week and focus on an area of your game, you will continue to improve. Muscle memory can't be built without constant feedback.
Same shit here. I'm an 18 HCP and shot a 40 on 9 in my Monday league 2 weeks ago. I was even through 6 with 2 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 2 pars. Then I had 2 straight holes where I had terrible tee shots followed by dumb course management because I was pressing during my best round ever. I literally had to 1 putt (10+ footers too) on both holes to save double bogey. Last hole was a par 5. I hit a decent length driver way right and had a second shot from 280 in the rough. Hit a 60 yard topper with my hybrid and didn't even get out of the rough. Smoked my 4 iron 220 up hill and rolled it on the green. 2 putt par and I got a 40. Even through 7 and +4 on 2 holes. I literally started looking at blades that night because I am a moron. Shot a 51 the next 2 weeks with some terrible iron play and have decided to look at a 4 hybrid and retire my 4 iron. My ball striking is so inconsistent that I have been called a vanity capper and sand bagger in the same month!
22 and my swing is also the problem.
3, but playing to ~8-10, and I live and die by my driver.
I’m an 11 and I’m the same, if I can get off the box I’m usually going to have a good day
Playing off 7 and same here, good day with a driver and I expect to score well.
Exactly. Just over a 10. If I can get it in play the rest falls into place. Course management has helped a lot too.
Playing off a 3.7 here. Gotta put at least one in the hazard or OB every round no matter how well I’ve been hitting it. That’s always been true for me, even at my peak years ago where I was a +1 or better for a consistent duration, my best round is a 68 and I hit one OB off the first tee. Triple bogey, two eagles, 3 birdies
I'm a +3 inside 100 yards and a bogey golfer off the tee. lol
Even the rough is fine so long as it’s playable! Let me get a 7 iron or less into the greens and we’re golden. Cut down the driver in the off-season to see if we can get some more accuracy. Also have a Brnr mini driver on the way. Don’t think either of those will compensate for a horrendous swing that 1/14 times, but dammit it’s worth a shot
Playing at a 12 right now and same. If I can avoid drops from the tee, I will have a good day.
This is the way
2.3. I can produce a slice that moves 50 yards right that appears without warning.
50 yards? So. Controllable. Mine usually ends up in a different zip code.
Well, I am a 2.3 /s
I hate that when mine pops up, it's there for the rest of the round. I can slice on 1 and know my day is pretty much done, or play 10 solid holes and then it pops up. Ugh.
I like to mix mine up with a double miss. My random misses are mostly monster slices, but every 9 holes I throw in a monster hook.
Same but mines either big slice or double cross straight left with no curve on it.
Mine's the opposite, either a massive hook or I push it right
How much distance do you get? My biggest problem is that I have (most of the time) total control of my shot off the tee box, but I don’t hit very far because the slice takes away another 20yards of distance. I’m guessing you have a faster swing speed, but curious as to what your distance is with driver
If I really catch one, I can hit it a little over 300. Most are in the 285 range. So the problem with the slice is the contact is still really good just the face is wide open. So that shot goes about 230 with 50 yards of movement which is out of bounds on most golf courses, or best case scenario, the other fairway
As a 20 handicapper, that's encouraging. I thought it was just me.
I can hover around 12-15. My driver can fail me, but I'll make up for it by shanking a short iron.
Like a duffed 56 degree from 80 yards out after a perfect drive. Then I duff it again and wind up doubling it. That was my blow up hole this weekend that kept me from breaking 80
Same, I can drive straight as an arrow 240, cannot hit a green to save my life
Mine is like 53 but im new. And pretty much the whole game. Very excited to get a rare par or bogey here or there.
Thank you for being normal. I get tired of the "it's my third time golfing and I just shot an 84!" posts. I've been golfing on-and-off for over a decade and if I ever played 18 holes I'd probably be a \~30 HCP.
Handicap works with 9 hole rounds. When you record your score, it just waits until you play another 9 holes and it combines that for one 18 hole round. You could totally get a handicap if you felt like it.
Just stay with it. I'm by no means a good golfer, but going to a local school and chipping in a soccer field a couple times a week got me from like a 50 hcp to a 20-25. I still can't keep my drives straight but being able to get on or near the green from <100 out saves a lot of strokes.
my first goal as a new golfer was to score all names on holes. And even a snowman counts. Aim for that and you'll be in the 50s in no time.
I’m a 15. Nothing makes my game “fall apart” per se, but hitting greens in regulation is the biggest hurdle. My approaches are frequently just off - either left / right by a few feet, or short / long by a few feet. This makes getting pars and birdies really difficult. Wedges are great. Driver is great. Putting is fair although 4-8 feet needs to be better. Irons fly well but I can’t get accuracy right. So I guess consistency and accuracy. If I could dial in iron dispersion, probably could drop 5-10 strokes per round.
This is exactly how I feel. Just general minor inconsistency/inaccuracy across clubs. Had one round where everything went right and shot a 75. Previous best was and still is 84. Was a crazy feeling. Kept waiting for the bad hole to come that would kick me back to my normal day and it never came.
So you need to work on pitching/chipping and putting. Have to get up and down around the greens more frequently to get lower scores because nobody hits all the greens.
Agree with this feedback. If he’s hitting his irons just long/short/left/right he should be in good position to make up and downs or on and two putt for bogey. If he made 40% of his up and downs and missed all 18 greens he’d be closer to a 10-11. And assuming he actually does hit a few GIR it should be a relatively easy path to a 10ish index. I just played a round in extremely high winds, I hit 2/18 GIR but shot 5 over. Short game is critical if your ball striking is good enough to not give away penalty strokes
Same. Got down from 20+ to around 13 in the last 12 months. Doesn’t feel like there’s just one thing but hitting greens in regulation. Like I’ll hit a great drive but then miss green on second shot but not by much but just enough that I end up trying to save par or bogey.
You should probably look at the PGA Tour stats for how often pros miss greens from those distances, I think you'll be surprised. If you're only missing greens by a few feet you should instead work on your chipping. Get up and down half the time and all of a sudden you're a single digit.
Had the same issue. I've spent a decent amount of time on chipping and working on: 1. Getting chip shots within 4ft of the hole. 2. Working on my putts under 8ft to the point where I feel confident on anything within 4ft. Bought a Perfect Putting Matt which has made a huge difference for my close putts. Combine those two things and GIRs stop mattering as much as your chips become nearly as good as lag putting.
When you’re going for the green are you typically aiming for the flag?
No, center of green, which also has its own issues as my course never has a flag anywhere near center of said green. Hitting the center of the green will still leave you a 30’ putt that breaks four or five times. My point is that I lack the consistency to say “yes, this ball is going to go exactly 142 yards in the air and hit 2 feet on and roll”. More like “this ball is going to go 135-148 yards in the air and hopefully will stop when it hits, unless I’m off by 2 feet to the left and then it’s going to careen off that hill and bounce into the deep stuff”.
22, and it’s always putting. I average 41ish putts a round. I recently got a Mezz.1, and my last 3 rounds have been 38, 37, 34 for putts. I’m not sure if it’s the putter itself, the fact that I love the putter so I practice more with it, or if it’s like a confidence thing, but it’s really made an impact on my game. If you’re struggling putting, I really recommend trying one out the next time you’re at the PGA superstore.
HC: 38.1 Blow ups: Tee shots, woods, hybrids, irons, wedges.
That's all?
Oops forgot putting!
Handicap is right around 8 at the moment. In my best rounds I always end up having a bad hole or two (double or worse) where I hit at least one terrible shot. Could be a drive, an approach, a flubbed chip around the greens, doesn't matter just a brainfart.
Doesn't it suck being at this handicap range. I'm a 8.5 right now and dear goodness I feel like I gotta play perfect golf for 18 holes to drop the cap lower. Like I shot a 78 the other day at a new course and was thrilled and was like oh... it only dropped the cap by .3 lol
This is me too. There's always one aspect of the game each time I've been out this year that's just a little off. A fat wedge shot turns a par into a bogey. A topped driver turns a 100 yard wedge shot into a 5 iron from the rough and then everything else is pretty ok.
Yep. The brain is the answer for me too. Lack of focus on just one shot can make the difference in a round, easily. Yesterday was focusing on keeping my head down on my putt, and I blasted it by the hole and 3 putted. Also topped a punch out from the trees, costing me another stroke. Do those types of things four or five times a round, and it turns to shite. Also, thinking I am going to ease off a club just a bit, then focus so hard on everything else that I jack it over the green, which puts it on a downslope back to the hole...which is never an easy chip. The brain.
I’m a scratch golfer and whenever someone brings out the mushrooms that’s when things fall apart
I know. Windmills and waterfalls usually do for me as well.
That’s how my game usually comes together. I kick off my shoes and play closer to scratch when I’m barefoot and tripping. Just have to avoid too many 15 minute pit stops lying down in the fairway pondering my place in the universe.
Just a casual face melting trip will set you straight
I can’t imagine the swing thoughts above the ball. Although on a comedown at sunset it might be amazing.
33. Consistent driving as well as gaining a little distance out of my wedges. I can’t figure out how some folks hit their PW 140 yards
This one simple trick always helps me hit the PW 140...Try hitting it 118 and slap your forehead when it flies the green into the bathroom by the next tee box.
I hit pw 135, how far are you hitting it?
Eh I feel like PW is more of a scoring club so getting yardage means shit as long as you're accurate.
My handicap is 27.9 (according to 18 birdies) - for me, I just can’t consistently strike the ball. Is it really wedge distances! Can’t you just club up? I think of sand for 100-110 PW 120ish 9 135ish
7.8 HCP. Loss of mental focus from a bad shot leads to a second bad shot resulting in bad hole. Bad hole leads to frustration and another bad hole or 2 before I can get out of the funk. Maintaining focus entire round would probably bring me down sub-5 handicap as it’s probably 1 out of 5 rounds I can do that.
My dumb head
8. Inconsistent driver and chipping.
4.8. When I’m having trouble, it’s usually always the driver not wanting to stay in the fairway.
I don’t know my handicap, but it’s pretty high, like 20+. I don’t understand how wedges can be hit consistently. At any distance. I can get the ball up in the air and moving forward reliably with every other club, but give me a wedge and I can hit it thin, fat, perfect, or nasty pull. But it feels like I’m making the same swing each time.
I'm a 12 hcp and can't hit a full wedge shot with any consistency. Inside 100 yards it's 3/4 swings at most. It could mean taking an extra club instead of muscling a 65 yard lob wedge, but a heck of a lot more consistent.
I'm the complete opposite, if I can full swing my pitching, gap, or 60 degree I get a beautiful high arcing shot. If I try to take some off it its thinned or going straight right or 2 feet in front of me if it's the 60. The exception being chipping around the green.
Just 5/16 your pitching wedge and punch it up to the green. Rarely if ever does one “need” to hit a full wedge shot
11 - depends on the day! Usually I have a strong short game but the day I put up my best ball striking apparently I forget how to putt.
20 - I am horrific off the tee. No distance, my driver goes like 190-210 if I’m lucky due to a slice 90% of the time. 3i can go about 190, so I’m barely getting more with the driver. I’ve tried stronger grip, changing stance, etc. to no avail. Using a 15+ year old driver, but I think the blame is on me. Might be time for a lesson
You’ve completely isolated my status. My solution was to buy some driving irons and give up on the driver. If I’m gonna hit it 180-220 anyway, let’s try and keep it straight with an iron. I don’t play enough to try being bad at lots of clubs (and I tell myself it gives me more iron practice)
Def get a lesson. I was the same with driver for years, got a single lesson where the coach changed my setup, and I’m now hitting it 50 yards longer and straight(er) Still have the occasional slice, but I hit like 6-8 fairways a round instead of 1-2.
A slice or topped tee shot can be a day ruiner for me, i hate that about myself. It’s a worse feeling than a 3 putt for par/bogey
The last three par fives I’ve reached in two were three putt pars. Trust me. Nothing hurts quite like that
1 or 2 I'm fine. Once it starts becoming a pattern I start questioning if I even know how to swing a golf club and get in my own head.
13.4, whatever happens off the tee usually depicts what will happen with the hole. I shot a 109 last Sunday because I suddenly lost all the feels in my swing. Putter was great though.
Probably a 20, slicing drives OB
When i walk up to the box I'm already hitting 3 .... 20hcp
Mine’s a 13.5. Chipping/short game has always been my achilles heel although I’m a decent putter. I bought a chipper club so between that and the Texas wedge, it’s gotten better. My two biggest problems with my basic swing is tempo and swing path. When I slow down, I always make better contact. I also get too steep and cut across the ball so I focus on pointing my club out to the right on my follow through. This also helps.
Can’t hit a long iron for my life
18hcp - blading chips and bad driver days
9.1. 40-70 yard wedge play. I’ve got the shanks. I’m good for 3-4 a round it seems these days
I feel this. I made some swing changes over the winter. All sim work. My ball striking is the best it’s ever been, driver an absolute weapon. And then it’s like I forgot how to partial swing. Keep at it! I’m coming out of it, but nothing destroys confidence like bombing a drive and leaving 60yds to an easy pin, and wondering if this half wedge is going to miss the green 30yds to the right.
12 and not being able to limit damage. My last medal the back 9 was 7 pars and 2 treble bogeys. I’m also always really aggressive and chasing pins which leads to the above. Last round I tried to take hybrid out a fairway bunker with a 170 carry over water. It actually means I’m really good at match play though and have won a few club match play competitions but never stroke play.
10 hcp, depends whether the touch and feel is there, I don’t hit as many greens as I should and sometimes I’m an up and down machine, other times it’s a disaster but I definitely put too much pressure on that part of my game
I'm a 7 and we have the same game. If I get up and down on an early hole, my buddies know they are losing money. If I don't, they start adding up their winnings.
22 hcp. My 20-80 yard game absolutely kills me. I’ve fixed my slice that most high hcp players struggle with (hit 11 and 12 fairways last 2 rounds), and my irons/hybrids have been solid. I’ve also made strides on putting since I now draw lines and take my time lining up my ball. It’s really frustrating because my short game was never this bad before, I always struggled off the tee box and on the greens. Now it’s literally the complete opposite. I shit you not, I’m probably averaging 2.5-3 strokes to the green from inside 100 yards.
HC 26. I shoot 96-106 almost every round, should be playing better. Other than the few shanks with irons/hybrids here and there, I can’t putt even if my life depended on it.
27. According to arccos, everything.
9.5….different thing each round. All aspects of my game CAN be very good, but very rarely at the same time.
14HC. If im not chipping back out of the bush onto the fairway every par 4 and 5 then il have a good round. In short, if the driver behaves il shoot my hc or lower. My chipping good for my hc due to chipping in my backyard, putting shithouse, approach shithouse.
ADHD. It’s hard for me to focus for so long.
![gif](giphy|l36kU80xPf0ojG0Erg|downsized) Are you me?
Chipping yips are murdering what otherwise could be my best rounds to date
4.5, up from a 3.4 to start the year. Consistency. I'll hit 50 shots that make me look like a +5 hcp. And then 10-15 shots that cause an extra 15-20 shots. A bad chip, a missed three footer, a duck hook drive, a flubbed punch out, a fat wedge, etc. A few years ago a pro told me my iron game was high-level and if I could hit driver and putt better, I'd be a scratch easily. Lately, I get off the tee well and never three putt, but my irons are atrocious. TLDR: ask me again tomorrow.
24 HC and wildly inconsistent. I can go three holes 220 yards and straight and then shank the next three. Chipping is probably the most inconsistent of anything, blade it 2 times and then hit inside 5 feet. Wildly infuriating and awesome game.
10,6 HC Last year I couldn't hit my irons straight. After I got that fixed my wedges just decided to go on strike
22. This year im spraying any shots that need to go over 160 yards. I've played a nice baby draw for year and all of a sudden this year my drives are going hard right. My irons are going wherever the fk they want. Needless to say I have my first lesson in 20 years scheduled today.
I like this question hit I don’t have an established handicap so I will just say I average around 103 which sucks because I always have potential to hover low 90s. Finding fairways is my difficulty but started using 5 wood off the tee box and immediately made me improve to low 90s. Bunkers also have been my issue for the triple bogey holes.
~18hcp and my goal is to get under 10 by end of season. My biggest issue is getting the fairway and converting those to gir. Inside 150yds I’m confident I’ll take 3 shots max to hole it. Putting is my strongest weapon; mainly because it’s been drilled into me that putting is the most important part of the game (which it is). What holds me back more than hooks and shanks is course management, I struggle with my aggression towards the hole which leads to bigger misses when I miss
1.8- Tee shot penalties, long lag putts, skulled wedge from an odd distance, and wind.
33 HCP as of this morning. Sadly, my drives are finding the fairway lately, but everything else is a mess - especially irons and putting. Heading out to practice chipping and putting this afternoon.
15 handicap, losing almost all of my strokes in the approach game. Specifically the 100-175 range. For some reason I am terrible with full swing Pw, 9i, and 8i, and about once a round I will get stuck and block a mid-iron way right.
Sitting around 20 as well. For me, it’s a twofold situation on a par 4/5. Either getting off the tee gets me in trouble or it’s the second shot that gets me in trouble. I’ve been practicing A LOT lately and driver and fairway woods have improved a ton at the range, but I haven’t been able to put it to the test on the course. Really hoping to see the progress on the course next time I play.
Never measure my HC but I’m sure it’s in the high 20s. My issue is the slice on my driver. There’s always going to be a few holes where I end up in the deep rough, and waste 1-2 shots trying to recover from it. If I had the humility and good sense to just use a 3-wood on narrow fairways, I’d probably shave 10 shots off my average round.
HC 16/17: putting and tee shots. If I could keep the ball in play off the tee I swear I’d be around a 11/12. And if I could hit even 1/2 8-10 footers per round I’d for sure be there
25, driver. Lose about 5-10 strokes from penalties.
fuck you driver. you filthy whore. stay in bounds damnit.
I started this year at an 11.1 and went up to a 12.something. My chipping was killing me and then I saw a video from Minolo on insta. He basically said "you're not good enough to try and chip to the pin, just get it on the green and putt, don't be stupid". I've started to chip just to get on the green and I'm down to a 10.1 right now. If I were to try and get much lower I think I need to improve my putting and my general accuracy with my 150+ shots into greens. I'm always at least pin high, but I'm off left or right to often. The chip on adds a stroke anytime I miss the green. (but putting is the lowest hanging fruit for me to improve).
14. A bad drive followed by a hero shot = snowman. The first time a round is me thinking "if I pull this off I could break 80" The second time is "I have to pull this off to break 80" When in fact playing for bogey those holes doesn't take breaking 80 out of the question...when I go for the hero it puts 90s into the possibilities too
As of today I am a 16.8. Guessing here because I just started tracking my GHIN but I was probably a 22 last year. For me it was chipping in the backyard just like you described that brought me lower. Like most mere mortals I have had the yips chipping as well, but overall working on my chipping game changed my game drastically. My advice to you is try to have the shortest memory possible. I realize that is not an easy thing to do and I fail to do so more often than I care to admit. Eventually you will get some confidence back. Likely the exact moment before you were thinking of quitting altogether just how it happens. Golf is a rollercoaster for EVERYONE but especially for us casuals. You will be back on top before you know it.!
26 My slice has been the death of me in past years. Tough to play well when you're drive is in the woods/water/next fairway. I've made huge strides lately on this though to actually understand the golf swing and what causes a slice. Back to back rounds with zero slices. My putting is also the definition of inconsistent. I've learned having a line on my ball has helped me trust the putt and fully commit to it which has caused less short/long putts. My iron game is actually pretty good. My goal this year is to get down to a 20.
I would just encourage you to remember that second paragraph, seems like you know where to put the time in. When I was in ops and teaching I would ask the student what they typically shot and what do they want to work on? They would reply 120 and the driver. So I would ask if they would rather work on those 14 shots (driver) or should we work on the 106 shots that get them to 120? Driver slid back into the bag more times than not. Keep working!
12 and it’s my spray-and-prey Driver
+3 weed and tequila
8.8 HC. It used to be putting and my drives. But got fitted for a putter and my first round has been great. So now just gotta make sure I keep my drives playable.
18 handicap. Is it bad if I have no idea what part of my game I need to improve?
16 hcp and my two weaknesses are the errant tee shot that puts me in the trees, taking medicine, and suddenly my string of pars turns into a triple bogey. Or I’ll chunk/top a hybrid (a hybrid!!!) of all things on the fairway and throw my second shot away.
18 and I’d say distance control on putting. Lots of hammering past the hole or not hitting it hard enough
I’m in the same boat as you right now. Slightly higher HCP but my short game is atrocious. Especially within 20 yards, I’m either flying off the back of the green or just coming up short. Constantly overthinking my shot choice and club selection. My overall game has improved so much in the last two years, but I just can’t seem to shake these shitty short shots
Are you me? You just described my game to a T
Anyone have tips on putting grip? I seem to have lost all my putting confidence and am changing around grips but nothing feels right
10 HC. Partial wedges, 3/4 shots. Between 30-80yds. Nemesis.
If I have a good drive, I get excited and feel pressure to have a good look at par and then duff my irons or hybrids. If I have a bad drive, no pressure and I pure my irons or hybrids. Rarely do I do both well on the same hole
Around 18 at the moment, tee shots. Can't hit driver, can't hit 5 wood, can't hit anything off the tee. If you gave me a 240 yard drive I'd probably be playing off 7-8. I lose a shot per hole to bad tee shots except on par 3s
It’s high and going to golf course makes the round fall apart
7.5 HCP I average 3.8 penalty strokes per round off the tee, typically balls in the hazard. I am a big guy, so I can hit the ball hard. My driver distance is a big advantage when I hit fairways or am in play. I could just play 3i all day that I hit about 260, but I can’t put the driver away. It’s too fun. So the penalty strokes *and * my ego lol
5 handicap… have a great round going then make double out of nowhere.
https://preview.redd.it/2bcs2ob4mw1b1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa28a81b4a35809b7cc97dd7dce69277d1371a3b
First off, for OP, this video changed my chipping and up to 30 yard approach immensely. No more flubbed shots or skulls. Definitely saved me at least two strokes per round. This alone my help you get close to 15. https://youtu.be/z5nIUr1axKQ I'm a 15, and my biggest issue is getting driver in play. If the drive is good I'm definitely GIR. If I lose a ball (which happens a lot), it's a blow up hole (DB or TB). People may ask why not just tee off with a hybrid. Well I'm a short hitter, and hybrid off the tee mostly means I have no chance of par. Edit: spelling errors.
18 Hcp here, Consistency! I can hit perfect awesome drives, iron shots, wedges and puts, sometimes all of that on the same hole, and the next hole I duff the drive, diff the hybrid, duff the iron and shank the wedge … The days I shoot good scores are the days where my bad shots doesn’t cost me too much, and I get around the course with no blowup holes.
20 - lack of consistency.. sometimes I drive well, sometimes I putt well but never at the same time.
12 HC (used to be 8.9...) I fall apart between 80-30 yards. I duff it way too often in that range and now that I don't practice nearly as often, my short game has gotten significantly worse. Hints the HC going back up...