Goals in golf

[csmartin85]

This is my first post so I'll introduce myself. My name is Christian and I'm 20. I started playing golf over the summer at my uncles encouragement, after shooting a 95 my first time playing. Since then, all I've wanted to do is play golf. I set a goal for myself: to break par within a year of playing. My uncle has played for as long as I can remember and he made it seem like doing so would be near impossible, but I'm getting better each time I play. I've made sure not to fudge my score and to not cheat in anyway, because the only one I'd be cheating is myself. I'll drop a second ball after a bad shot, but I always play and count my first shot.

Anyway, my first few rounds were in the 90-100 range. I play from the tips. I eventually broke 90 with a round of 88 about 3 weeks ago, and I've yet to shoot over 85 since then. I've stopped shanking the ball, my drives have gone from 200 yards with a massive hook to anywhere from 250-325 and straight. My short game was originally my strong suit and that hasn't changed much. My putting speed is normally good and the 3-putt is very rare for me now. The only thing I'm still trying to work out is my 3 wood, I'm either topping it terribly or blocking my shots out far to the right. My 5-9 irons are normally very solid, and my longer irons are coming along.

Sorry that this turned out to be a long post, but I'm curious. Is the goal of breaking par within a year realistic? I've currently played 16 full rounds of golf. I played today and shot 80, but it could have been a lot better had I not rushed to accomodate a group behind me. What goals do you guys have, or what goals did you start out with? Did you meet them or change them as time went on?

 

[SilverUberXeno]

Your very rapid improvement is hard to believe. Not impossible, but extraordinary if valid. Breaking par in golf takes most people many years to do, and a lifetime to do consistently. I would tell most people that shooting par in the first year is highly unlikely. But it isn't impossible. If you understand the game and you're learning the right way, it is not impossible.

 

[csmartin85]

The real improvement came when I stopped shanking my irons. I figured out that my setup was incorrect, mainly my left arm wasn't extended, so when I would swing I would overreach for the ball and hit it off the hozzle. Like I said though, I make sure not to cheat myself of strokes. I'm generally good at most sports and I've never put in as much effort as I have been with golf. I'd love to get lessons but at the same time I want to learn on my own.

I understand that the rapid improvement is hard to believe, I could just be some guy on the internet trying to brag. I wish I had a way to show that I'm serious. I really just joined this forum because only 2 of my friends play and they're both trying to walk-on the golf team at NC State, so I figured it'd be nice to talk and learn and get to know people on here.

I feel like I have a good grip on the game though. I'm to the point where I know roughly how far I hit each club, and I just play the course to my strengths. I mainly play a course close to my house and it admittedly isn't as hard as the other courses I've played. I keep all my scorecards in an effort to establish a handicap so maybe I could upload my score after each round and try to breakdown what was good and bad about the round.

 

[limpalong]

Only played 16 rounds of golf in your life... Hitting 325 yard straight drives... Strong short game... Seldom 3-jack... and, just carded an 80!!!! Wow! Keep improving at that pace and you will be playing golf for a living.... soon! We'll watch for you name on the Sunday leaderboard!

 

[csmartin85]

That sounds a lot better than it really is. My drives are much more commonly in the 250-280 range, and tend to have a bit of fade to them. I had a drive go 325 yesterday but to be honest I crushed it and it took a good downhill bounce. I still chunk a wedge every now and again and my 3 wood kills what could be a good chance at birdie on the par 5s. I've yet to play a round that I didn't have a blow-up hole or two that I double or triple bogey. I do find myself with a decent amount of birdie tries as well though. I normally two-putt for par unless I'm lucky.

 

[Augster]

Seems unlikely to me, but I'll go with it anyway.

As SUX has said, anything is possible. The game comes easy for some, hard for most. A player that instictually feels the weight of the club and swings the weight freely to a target is WAY better off than someone that tries to hit the ball with the club.

I am guessing that is how you play. You feel the weight and whip it through. Most folks never catch on to that. They worry about their backswing and their takeaway. They try to move the club through the swing sequences they see in the magazines, online, and on TV. The stop-motion, and slow-motion, swings are misleading. Anyone feeling the clubhead swinging is going to hit those spots naturally. Absolutely no cognitive thought involved. And if they don't? So what? If you are really swinging the club, there are MANY ways to feel it and get it done. Just look at the diversity of swings at the highest level.

I do know of a guy locally that took up the game one summer and was playing at the highest level locally the next summer. He went from a beginner to about a 2, I think, in less than a year, and we have winter here where you can't play at all. I don't know if he stayed with it or not.

If you are hitting a fade with your driver, keep it. Eventually you'll be able to swing faster and faster and having a high clubhead speed with a controllable baby fade is the best way to play 90% of courses I would say. Especially if you are hitting a high fade. It enables you to carry the doglegs on dogleg left holes that are supposed to hinder your fade. Don't even mess around with learning how to draw a ball. Just get your swing to produce as much distance as you can with the fade and you've eliminated 1/2 the golf course.

The last step from a single digit to a plus is course management and short game. Turning 5's into 4's and turning 6's into 5's is where true scoring is. Everyone hits bad shots, just watch a PGA Tour event. Watney, on his way to winning this week, wiped at least 5 shots into bunkers from the middle of the fairway with a 9-iron or less in his hand. Sometimes bad shots just happen. It is making a par 70% of the time or better when it does happen that is the mark of a quality player.

Finally, if you have that much natural talent, and a drive to practice and play, I wouldn't both with seeing an instructor. There is a good chance they would mess you up at this point. If anything, I would look at YouTube videos of Shawn Clement. His handle is clemshaw. Everything he has put out is the truth put in simple to understand terms.

Good luck to you.

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

The last step from a single digit to a plus is course management and short game.

Good luck to you.

This is the MOST important step to playing scratch golf.

 

[TEA Time]

Just curious, what course(s) are you shooting these scores at? Which tees are you playing from and/or what is the slope and rating?

 

[csmartin85]

I appreciate the insight and suggestions from everyone.

I've watched a ton of videos on YouTube since I decided that I wanted to play seriously. One in particular really helped me get rid of the shanks that I had the first 4 or 5 rounds. I do feel comfortable with my swing though. I don't ever find myself worrying about my takeaway or anything like that. One thing that does concern me is that I very rarely take a divot, I find myself scooping the ball off the ground and sometimes slightly skulling it. When I make an effort to take a divot, I chunk the shot, so I've just stopped trying.

As for the courses and whatnot that I play, I've played the following:

The Wizard (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Shaftesbury Glen (Myrtle Beach, SC)
The Olde Homeplace (Wallburg, NC)
Meadowlands (Wallburg, NC)

In that order, but Homeplace is what I would consider my home course because I've played it the most. Meadowlands is the home course of Bubba Watson, and I only played the beach courses once each. I played all but The Wizard from the championship tees. Homeplace is 70.1/130.

 

[azgreg]

I remember a story in one of the golf magazines many years ago (80's?) were they took a young man who never swung a club before or watched golf at all and did an experimnet. They had him watch the best swings from pro golfers for 1 hour a day for 2 weeks or so. No swinging of the club during this time. After that they fitted him with some clubs and took him out on the course. His first round he shot a 78.

 

[TEA Time]

I played all but The Wizard from the championship tees. Homeplace is 70.1/130.

If that's the case, then I would say that you are definitely special. I think that breaking par would not be out of reach for you, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it's a realistic goal. In other words, you may be able to do it, but don't get your hopes up. In the handicapping world, shaving ten strokes from a 20 hdcp to a 10 hdcp is exponentially different than getting from a 10 to scratch. It's a wall. A "Great Wall of China" wall. If you can get over that wall in a year, then I say you should look for a way onto the tour.... 125th place last year made $644,000.

 

[csmartin85]

One thing about me is that I've always loved to watch golf. Even before I started trying to play, I'd watch every Sunday. Most people that don't like golf hate it and think it's boring but I love watching it. Between that and the countless hours I've sat and played the Tiger Woods games for Xbox 360, I've always kind of known what a good golf swing and fundamentals look like. I am worried and have considered that I've already come close to my plateau. If I can get my 3 wood to cooperate with me, I feel like I could do better. I also feel like I could make more putts with more experience reading greens and more putting stroke reps. But I'd love to keep improving. I just love the fact that it's such a competitive sport..you're out there competing with everyone you're playing against but at the same time, you're having to compete even harder against yourself.

My clubs aren't exactly fitted for me either. I feel comfortable swinging them but they aren't technically mine. My uncle that plays is the kind of guy that will have a few bad rounds and go out and get a new set of clubs, I was lucky enough to pick up the game around the time he'd gotten new clubs, so he gave me his older ones. They're still pretty nice though, especially the putter. He gave me a new driver a couple weeks ago and it's helped tremendously.

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

Forget about that 3 wood. Work on your wedge game.

 

[csmartin85]

I'll hopefully be playing today so I'll let you guys know how I play and whatnot. If pics can be uploaded I'll try to upload a few of the course, my scorecard, etc.

 

[Wi-Golfer]

This thread is full of straight up bull$hit.