Consistently Breaking hundred

[jskd82]

The past 5 rounds I have consistently broken a hundred 94, 96, 96, 98, 97 My goal is to break 90 by October. I have been playing for a little over two months and people are saying that I am doing really good. How long has it taken you guys to break 90 once you have broken a 100?

[twogreen]

I'll have to get back to you on that. I first broke 100 last summer; but so far, have been unable to shoot lower than a 96. I can easily put together 5 or 6 rounds under 100; and then, go out and shoot a 105. The only consistent thing about my game is its inconsistency.

[Sandy]

I shot under 100 for the first time last September. I then put a string of rounds together between 103 and 96 for the rest of that year, with one 93 on a ridiculously easy muni course on Indianapolis.

Over the winter I went to the range at least once a week, and most importantly went to see a pro to get all my fundamentals sorted out for the new season. I started the season with only 1 round over 100 in the first 6 months, and dropped down to regularly shooting in the low 90s. I could feel a real difference in my game, and the 10 shots I'd dropped over that year felt like a genuine improvement, gained mainly from a better short game, finding the right putter, and to a lesser extent having gained a lot of yards with my driver and fairway woods.

Then, at the end of July, it all came together and I put a round together at 89!

I think that what I noticed was how my scores moved in little plateaus, and it took a concerted effort and lots of focused practice to move off each one. Once I got to around 100 I needed to work on consistency with my irons and cut out the topped shots that were killing me, and it worked. To drop below 100 with consistency I had to get better with my irons, better with my putter, and get a LOT better with my chips and short pitches. To get where I am today has taken lots of hours on the range spent hitting my hybrids and fairways woods, but even more working on my short irons.

The best advice I can give is to regularly make an honest assessment of your game and where you're losing strokes in your round. Then work on those areas, come up with a game plan and make yourself stick with it. To break 100 took me hitting my hybrids off the tee on most holes, and barely touching my fairway woods. To break 90 took me working on putting those clubs back into my game...

[twofast2s]

i started playing golf last april, but didn't get on the course until july. So from july to jan, i was in the 90's sometimes over 100. I think during one of the round in January i shot 86, and then couldn't break 90 for sometimes. right now, i'm consistantly in the 80's, sometimes low 90s.

give sometime, and practice. I play 2-3times a week and throw in a range session or two.

right now for me, it's mostly putting. get those putting stats down and you should be breaking 90 and 80s in no time.

[vwebworld]

It took me about 20 years. that's only because when I learned to play (in my teens) I never broke 100 or even 115. Then I stopped playing until I was in my thirties.

After I started playing again, a few times a week..AND change equipment from blades to cavity-back irons I broke 100, then 90's and was shooting mid to low 80's.

~Roland

[Jules150]

Your game will improve in plateaus, since you just started breaking 100 you'll probably be mid ninetys for a while and get close the breaking 90. If you keep working at it you should break 90 soon enough if you already broke 100 w/ only two months of playing. The important thing to remember is to keep working on your game and to not get frustrated. And putt alot.

[SiberianDVM]

Short game. Short game. Short game.

Pitches and chips 30 yards and in.

Putting.

[jskd82]

I play at least twice a week and sometimes i'll go to the range during the week. I practice pitching and chipping almost daily in my yard. Putting hurts my scores as I have two and three putts with the occasional one putt. I think the short game is where I need the most work. I am hitting my irons consistently with topping, but I can't hit my irons off the tee for crap. It's some kind of psychological thing because it shouldn't be any different from hitting off of grass. When I get up to hit the ball on the par 3's I just top the ball or hit it totally fat and I don't know why lol. I'm gonna have to go to the range and just hit irons off of tee's i guess.

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by jskd82

I can't hit my irons off the tee for crap. It's some kind of psychological thing because it shouldn't be any different from hitting off of grass.

It was the same for me, as I had a real problem with hitting any kind of iron off the tee. It's one of the reasons that I carried down to a 31* hybrid for my first year. I used to hit every shot thin as I was so scared of what would happen if the bottom edge of my iron hit the tee, as if the tee was some heavy metal bolt that was concreted into the ground!

The key to breaking that is to get more and more comfortable with your swing, which only comes with time and practice. It's probably the same issue you have with topping it, in that you're so conscious about not hitting it fat you're lifting as you swing and subconsciously trying to help the ball up in the air.

I can hit the irons of a tee well now, and a lot of it came down to experimenting with different tee heights and things like that. Now I know just how to tee the ball up every time, take my usual swing and have no problems at all. It'll come for you too with time, but some aspects of improving your game can only come with time on the range and course, and lots and lots of swings!

[Pa Jayhawk]

All a matter of how much time you put into practice and play. It was within the first year, probably around 6-8 months after starting and not longer after I joined a club and started play 4-5 days a week. Looking back, I think the key to going from under 100 to under 90 was maybe more likely due to thinking more about course management due to the added play. You don't always need to hit driver, just stay out of trouble. If you do not putt and chip well already, you could likely drop 10 strokes off your game in a very, very short time just with practicing those a couple days a week.

Also depends on how tough the course is that you play. I likely do not break 90 on other courses far less than I break ninety on my home course. It has been a long time since I broke 90 on my home course. I have done so 4 of my last 6 rounds elsewhere, and likely 80-90 percent of the time the last couple years.

[ezra76]

It took me a year to break 100, well, a season. As soon as I learned to chip I broke 100, as soon as I got good at it I broke 90.

Weight forward, hinge and hold through impact. Took me a year to find this info. Do it, practice it and you'll start saving pars and bogies all over the place instead of making those dreaded 6's and 7's when you are sitting so close to the green in 2-3 shots.