I need to drop 10 strokes

[Copperas]

Seriously, does anyone know how I can drop 10 strokes as quickly as possible? I'll try just about anything. I now shoot high 80's to low 90's, I need to be shooting low 80's by the spring if my golf team is to have a chance. I'm getting new irons, a lesson Friday, and I plan to spend a lot more time on the putting green. Any other suggestions to go along with my current plan? My weaknesses are half wedges, chipping, and I'm an O.K. putter, strengths: my drive is usually in the fairway and I am a good ball striker. I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Copperas

 

[dave.]

There is a great quote from Ben Hogan.A young player once plucked up the courage to ask Hogan how he could improve his game.Hogan asked him if he had any practice balls.The young lad said yes of course and got excited,expecting a session on the range.Hogan just turned his back on him and said "well use them". 10 hrs a week should see off 10 shots,and ensure half of that is on the short game.Learn the mechanics of a good putting stroke and practice at home.Ensure you drop the 2 and 3 irons,and have at least 3 wedges.Love these wedges,learn how to get near for under 100 yards,learn your distances,80 yards full 56,100 full 53 and 120 full 48 is about right,but learn yours exactly,then learn how far a 1/4,1/2 and 3/4 wedge goes with each.Use a 7 and 9 iron for the majority of your chips,and learn how to play a chip-putt with the 7 iron.Understand what course management is all about and NEVER play without a game plan.Understand your own nerves and learn to use them as an advantage,buy Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect by Rotella if you struggle with anything ranging from first tee nerves to twitchy putting.Use decent balls and don't use potatoes,they are shit.Keep the grooves clean.Re-grip your irons every year.Don't be silly with iron distances,Tiger hits an 8 iron 155 yards,so do I.Don't try and hit yours 160 because you fluked it once.Underclubbbing is the curse of the 90s golfer. Practice with a purpose,practice as you will play and play as you practice. Golf is a game of hard work,there are no short cuts. When around the green,or on it,when you trying to hole everything instead of the nonesense called 'lag putt' or the '3 ft circle' I gaurantee you your scores will be in the seventies.The worst advice I have ever been given is to lag a putt or try and get it within 3 ft.What poppycock.Try and hole everything,thats what golf is all about. So; 10 hrs a week practice,if 50% on short game=7 shots Mind game sorted=5 shots Be a great putter=5 shots Course mgt,club selection,right clubs in bag=2 shots Love your wedges=3 shots so you will be down to scratch by April,please keep us informed. :wow:

 

[dave.]

The above post is one big paragraph because the site is still playing up,just won't post properly.

 

[Andy_79]

Read (and bow-down !) to Tiger's "How I Play Golf" book. You can read it in a week or ten days. It is a real gem of a book. Can be purchased for real cheap these days. At least it can here in Ulster, like...

 

[Copperas]

Thank you very much Dave! I will write that down. All you said makes sense. I have a question for you, if I only have 30 minutes to practice on any given day, should I spend it on the course, gaining in-game experiance, or should I go hit a bucket of balls and/or chip and putt?

Again, thank you,

Copperas

 

[dave.]

If you can shoot 90 then you can swing a club,so with only 30 mins you might as well use it putting.Find an hour and hit a small bucket as well

 

[Big Brother Dunk]

If you want to drop 10 strokes quickly, the best way to do it is to practice your short game. Even mid-high 'cappers can shave a lot of strokes off their games by working on that part of the game.

 

[Copperas]

Allright dave, I just got back from the course, I tried chipping with a 7, but decided that the eight was right for me, I'm getting it a lot closer than I did with my sand wedge. I hit a bucket, chipped, putted, and played three holes, that's 2 hours logged for this week.

Thanks for answering my question, I usually have limited time to practice, I'll spend it on the green.

Thanks,
Copperas

 

[gwlee7]

Short game, short game, short game.

I shoot consistently in the mid to high 70's and only hit 9 - 10 greens a round. If you are hitting the ball in the fariway, you should spend the bulk of your time practicing chipping, little flop pitches, sand shots, putting, and whatever club you hit from about 100 yards. If you can get up and down 2 out of three times, you will be in the 70's almost every round you play.

 

[obagain]

You can practice your short game any time. You can keep a wedge in your room and get an old peice of carpet to put down, no need for a ball.
The object is to do a 1/4 to 1/2 swing and what you want to feel is the club just clip the carpet.
Most people get too low on wedge shots, stand where you feel like you are reaching to keep the club on the ground now swing, the weight of the club will bring it down a hair and thus clip the ground.
This is easy and will improve your short game in a hurry.

 

[VtDivot]

Seriously, does anyone know how I can drop 10 strokes as quickly as possible?

Don't play the last 2 holes :biglol:

Seriously, learn how to chip it close. That and solid putting will shave some off

 

[dave.]

8 iron is fine for chipping,but as you improve you will naturally find you want to keep the ball lower and get it rolling quicker.Stick with it if it works though

 

[Don]

Only 10 strokes?

Why not read Golf Magazine and Golf Digest for 6 months? You can find at least two articles in each issue that promises to cut 2 to 6 strokes off your game in no time. Over 6 months and two magazines a month, you be be able to drop at least 24 strokes off your game. At least that's what the magazines are telling us. Which is why my magazine subscribtions will not be renewed. Tried of all the promises and how this months tip is the oppersite of what I read last month.

 

[Augster]

Get the Dave Pelz Short Game Bible. Read it. Then practice exactly what he teaches.Also read, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella. This will change the way you look at golf. His teachings make the game much easier.If you only have 1/2 an hour, chip, chip, chip. Anyone can make 2-footers. Chip it close. Your average pro only hits 13 greens per round. That's 5 he has to chip/pitch on. Does he take 5 bogies? I doubt it.As a high 80's/low 90's shooter, how many greens are you hitting? I'd guess 4-8. Long run, you want to work on your swing and hit more greens. Short run, work on your chipping. You'll see immediate improvement once you gain some confidence and touch. Putting practice is overrated as the best players in the world are only 50% from 6 feet. Worse from 10 feet. If you are going to work on your putting, mainly practice 3-5 footers and 30 and 40 foot lags. You're not going to miss a 2-footer with any kind of consistency, and you're not going to make 10 footers better than the pros. They make 20% from 10-feet. Knowing this, you want to get rid of 3-putts. You do that by lagging it close. Work on your lags and you 3-5 footers.Hope that helps.

 

[dave.]

Augster If he reads Rotella,he will not lag any putts,its one of Rotellas golden rules,lagging putts is silly,you should go for every putt.