what do you average?

[VtDivot]

See my hacker post LOL. That round brought my avg. up to 94.5. I agree, get out and play. I wouldn't say go to an expensive and busy course on a Sunday morning, that is nervracking for me. If you start playing too horribly for pace, just drop a ball and try a shot from where you "could" or "should" have placed your last shot. I didn't start keeping track of scores (after my rounds) until I had been playing well over a year. You'll be surprised how many guys out there really suck. I shot over 50 on the front today and it was 2nd best in the foursome. See what your tee shots do at the range. If you slice a lot just aim left. My first time out was with my dad and stepbrother. I shot a 122 on a very easy course. My dad went over 100 and my stepbrother shot about 140 something if you count 2 mulligans per hole.

How can someone who hits it as far as you shoot mid 90's?

 

[Highdraw34]

I would suggest a lesson or two as well and pick up a book. Find a book by one of the greats and read it. I read Jack's first book when I was a kid and it changed the way I looked at golf and my abilities.

 

[Augster]

I hate to be the prick here, but here goes.

I can't believe you folks are DISCOURAGING a beginner from staying on an "easy" executive course until he gets good. I absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt ENCOURAGE you to do just that. Frankly, there won't be anything better for your game, besides gaining knowledge from lessons/books, long run.


I wish that ALL the folks that don't know what they are doing would do just that. Those courses aren't there just for old guys, ladies, and kids. They are there for hacks to try to better themselves also.

I have long been an advocate of players having to prove themselves to even play on the "big course". I have always said that any player, man, woman, child, should have to play from the front tees until they are scratch at the "big course". Once they are scratch from those tees, the USGA issues a "pass" that says you can move back to the next set of tees, i.e. the Whites, and play from there until you are scratch. Then another USGA Pass lets you move back to the blues, blacks, etc. etc. etc.

This would speed up play immensely as every "hacker" would only be playing a 5000-5500 yard course.

Sadly, this will never happen due to too many players' egos. I don't really see how ego would play in though, if most everyone was relegated to the same tees.

Fed up with my game, I started this last year. I have proven to myself that I would be scratch, at least at my course, if I played the ladies tees exclusively. Mostly because of my length. I played 3 rounds last year from the reds and shot even, even, and 1 over all with a terrible chipping and pitching and all with terrible putting. I could just drive too many par 4's. I plan on doing it again this year, at least once, to see if I can break par.

So now I play whites. I have always played the blues at my course, and shoot the same scores, or better, from back there than the whites. But, I am absolutely nowhere near scratch from the whites, and until I am, those are the tees I'll be playing.

You won't learn anything on a "big course" that you can't learn on the short course. Playing a TON of par 3's are a great way to learn the game. You usually only have an iron into the green. When you miss, your chips still mean something so you concentrate more.

When you are playing long par 4's and par 5's, and finally get to the green, how much are you really concentrating to see if you can get up and down to make that 12? Playing par 3's, all of your chips are for birdie and you are constantly trying to save par. This is a lot more "fun" for the easily frustrated IMO.

As you say, once you start averaging in the 30's on a par 29 course, you should be well ready to go and hack it up on a big course. You should be pretty close to breaking 100, or even maybe shooting 90 initially. There are a lot more things to manage on the bigger course, but you should be able to rely on your short game to keep your scores down. Course management and staying cool will come in time.

Play that executive until you tear it up. I bet you get around in much less than 5 hours also.

 

[ezra76]

How can someone who hits it as far as you shoot mid 90's?

I didn't claim they were all straight LOL. Distance is not everything. On a shorter course with open fairways I could and would shoot much better. My new home course is a Donald Ross and is arguably the second hardest in the state next to Newport National. I am learning a whole different game here though, strategy is a must. The easiest hole on the course is a 158 yd. par 3 to a 15 ft. elevated (on all sides) green the size of my parlor with 3 bunkers dug into the front side.

 

[golfman2760]

Don't take mulligans. You'll never REALLY know what you are shooting and if you are improving...

I rarely take Mulligans

if I do I put a stroke next to my score for how many ive taken

the only time I play the shot again is ive hit wrong and the ball only went 2 feet in front of me

so I usually pick it up and try again

but yesterday I just let it go

and as Sling said its on the cards for me to go for lessons soon
plus I think I need to lengthen my irons because im 197cm's tall and my irons are probably a bit short for my liking

 

[golfman2760]

As you say, once you start averaging in the 30's on a par 29 course, you should be well ready to go and hack it up on a big course.

Play that executive until you tear it up. I bet you get around in much less than 5 hours also.

cheers

this is my plan

each time I go to this course my score is gradually getting lower and I always meet up with other golfers and they look at how im swinging and give me pointers

like yesterday I met up with an old friend from school and he was able to watch how I was swinging and tell me what I was doing wrong

I was swinging too slow, he said if I wanted to get more distance that I had to swing faster (and accurate of course)

as soon as he said that I was hitting near the greens from the middle of the fairways

the course I played on has 2 par 4's

here is the order and how many metres

1star 3 and 140 metres
2ndar 3 and 126 metres
3rdar 3 and 100 metres
4thar 3 and 180 metres
5thar 3 and 122 metres
6thar 4 and 239 metres
7thar 4 and 235 metres
8thar 3 and 167 metres
9thar 3 and 185 metres

all up that is 1494 metres

good for a beginner like myself.
with a bit more practise on this course I will move onto proper courses

also ive met up with people who play on proper courses and they come back and play at this course when they are starting to play shithouse

 

[Davebud]

I am playing a short course Sunday

I am going with a few of my buddies to play the short course here in town. Of course it helps my game, and more to the point the other 3 idiots I am going with drive the ball like little old ladies. One of them muscles it out to about 220, another one goes about 200 and the third one who should be able to cream the ball, hits it short because he is afraid to slice it. Still and all its a lot of fun.

 

[Ltildragon]

so far I have played golf for a bit over a month and a half.

I refuse to play on a big golf course until I get better and average on at least 6 pars a game!

so far im playing on this 9 hole begginer Course at Werrington (located at Western Sydney in Australia) its a par 29 course

last few times I played there I average on 55 shots which isnt too bad for how long ive been playing and that works out to be about 22 over if you add it all up

this morning I played there with a new putter I brought and I took 3 shots off my game scoring 52 and it worked out to be 19 over

what should I average on at this course until I start attempting par 72 courses? and what do you average?

I been playing about 8 months and I average 40s on a 9 hole course near me. Par is 30. In my first 2 months I averaged 55 like you too. After 7 more months I was able to shave between 10 and 15 strokes off my game. The way I did it was by understanding the golf swing and getting the basics down. I didnt care about my score, the score just came. I focused on my swing mechanics for different lies and fundamentals to the swing itself. If you got a good consistent golf swing you will shoot lower scores, its simple as that. Dont worry about what you shoot on a course till you really understand the golf swing and have proper technique.

To me it seems like you just want to beat the course and not actually improve your game. If that is the case then play the course over and over till you know the lay out in and out. Once you know that its alot easier then you will know which is the best side to approach or what side of the green to land on. But if you are serious about golf and really want to get better. You need to understand the golf swing, mechanics, physics, rules, and techniques for different situations.

 

[dave.]

To much thought for me.Just go outside and enjoy doing just that,being outside,wlaking the course and hitting a ball.Sorry,but I totally disagree you should stay on 'easy' courses.Why? Its a game,not a means to earn money,a game to be enjoyed.

 

[Eracer]

I have always said that any player, man, woman, child, should have to play from the front tees until they are scratch at the "big course". Once they are scratch from those tees, the USGA issues a "pass" that says you can move back to the next set of tees, i.e. the Whites, and play from there until you are scratch. Then another USGA Pass lets you move back to the blues, blacks, etc. etc. etc.

I must disagree. While I fundamentally (and strongly) agree that tee boxes should be reserved for certain handicap ranges, there is no point in restricting the golf course to only scratch golfers. I will never in my life be a scratch golfer. Nor will 99% of the other golfers on the planet. Are you suggesting that the 99% and I only be allowed to play from the red tees? Forever? We need balanced enforcement of reasonable restrictions.

Should I only be able to drive a car with under 50 HP until I can win a Formula-A race? No, but I think we should have high-speed autoways that are reserved for those who have passed stringent driving tests.

Or perhaps the rules of golf should be amended such that only scratch golfers can carry 14 clubs. Mid-handicappers like me have no need for a driver, since we can't hit it in the fairway more than 50% of the time, right? Maybe I should be restricted to carry only a 3-wood, 5-iron, 7-iron, SW, and putter. Once I've proven I can play to a single-digit handicap using only those clubs, then I can be allowed to broaden my horizons?

It doesn't do the above-average golfer (anyone who breaks 100 regularly) any good to limit his opportunities to make good golf shots. And that it precisely what would happen if they (we) were forced to play from 5000 yards. Total hackers? Yes. It boils my blood to see hackers play from the black tees, slashing away at ball after ball; always waiting for the green to clear before they try that 265-yard carry with a 3-wood (the one that normally goes 85 yards).

Should course rangers do a better job of enforcing pace-of-play? Heck yeah. Should golf courses stagger start times at 14 minutes instead of 10? You betcha. Should the USGA get it's collective head out of it's ass and start requiring all golfers to carry a handicap card, making it free to enter scores on the internet. Damn straight. Use handicap cards to assign players to the correct tee boxes (and, yes, certain courses). Players who can't break 130 won't get any more enjoyment out of a full course than they will from an executive course. But if you can break 100 most of the time, you've earned the right to test yourself from the Black tees once in a while. And play from the white tees most of the time.

Frankly, I would like to see courses like Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straights, etc., be limited to players by handicap rating, and not just by the color of their American Express card. You want to buy your right to hit eighteen consecutive 120-yard banana balls off the tee? You want to buy the right to "finish the 18th at Pebble"? Fine. Then any player with the cash should be allowed to clog up any course in the country. And if they want to take five hours to play, then dammit, they've payed for it, and damned sure have the right.

But limiting the game to only scratch players (and I say this, Augster, with all due respect) is ludicrous.

What we need is effective course management by both players and course officials. Education for players, and a willingness to hire and properly train enough on-course officials. A willingness to enforce handicap restrictions, both on tees, and on courses.

 

[golfman2760]

You need to understand the golf swing, mechanics, physics, rules, and techniques for different situations.

thats the plan

I dont just expect a great score I also expect to get pointers to help me play better along the way

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Augster,
Although I did not necessarily feel that the idea was a bad one, I did think the criteria of averaging 6 pars a round may be unrealistic for the simple reason that some golfers never reach that level, and the concept that one may quite golf due to boredom with one course may be an issue. I also thought it gave an indication that the evils on a golf course are due to a players ability, which I believe your post did as well. It is the individuals etiquette and not the individuals ability that accounts for slow rounds on a golf course. Being able to comprehend your means and being able to play within them has nothing to do with ability. Just like if you move the hack that can't get the ball off the tee and is slow on every shot and sits in the cart waiting for his friend to hit before going in the woods and starting his promised 5 minutes, while his friend is waiting for the green to clear from 280 yards in the sense that he may get a hold of his 3w that he normally hits 180, up to the red tees, you are not going to speed up play considerably. Move them off the golf course entirely if they can not learn how to better utilize the time and ability, or lack there of. As a 20+ handicap I can still play 18 in a cart in under 1 hour, I have played with scratch golfers that take 5-6.

If you practice proper etiquette, as well as common sense then you can make a respectful appearance on any golf course, and it is more important to understand this concept. Just like if a person finally averages 6 pars and goes to the bigger courses, you are not going to like them if they are even a scratch golfer but take 3 hours to reach the turn. There are enough course out there that play 5000-5500 to choose from. This also ignores a very important point. My home course plays 5500 from the whites, it has a slope of 132. I wouldn't call it an executive course. I think it is more important to give a person all the necessary information, and hope they have the common sense to best utilize the information.

Personally, I would rather play with someone who shoots in the 100's and has a good time, is respectful, and know what etiquette is, then a scratch golfer who is grouchy as hell anytime they get a bogie, or miss that eagle putt, and take 5 hours to complete the round because they are concentrating. Why would you want to limit the courses to the later, if that is the case I would simply find a new sport and hobby. If you use common sense, you can play fast no matter how bad you are and what tees you play from. If you play within your means you will not be playing from the tips if you hit your driver 150 yards. Lets not make ability the key to how enjoyable and respected a golfer can be, much more important to teach etiquette in my book.

 

[mont86]

I average about 8 beers per 18 holes.

 

[Butcho22]

If you are truly just starting out, (less than 6 months), than I salute you for starting out on a smaller layout. As posted above, courses are FILLED with hackers who can't don't know anything about how to actually play a round of golf properly, i.e. keeping up with play, being ready to hit, how long to look for a lost ball, and when to just give up on a hole and pick up. It's frustrating enough for me that i simply will not play a round of golf unless it's in a tournament, or during the week.

PLEASE READ THIS ABOUT INSTRUCTION..........

You need to be careful who you decide to take lessons from. Some teaches will simply tell you the exact same things they tell all of there students regardless of whether it really applies to you individually.

There are many different ways to get a golf ball in the hole. I know you maybe see on television all the tour guys swing the same, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is there are so many tips out there, most of which could possibly help you. Some you will try and say, "that doesn't feel right." But eventually you will find one that click.

I've spent many nights watching t.v., swinging a club in slow motion in front of the sliding glass door trying out different tips, trying to get that "feeling" I've had to drop everything and head to the driving range just to try it out. This is why I play golf.

 

[golfman2760]

If you are truly just starting out, (less than 6 months), than I salute you for starting out on a smaller layout. As posted above, courses are FILLED with hackers who can't don't know anything about how to actually play a round of golf properly, i.e. keeping up with play, being ready to hit, how long to look for a lost ball, and when to just give up on a hole and pick up. It's frustrating enough for me that i simply will not play a round of golf unless it's in a tournament, or during the week.

PLEASE READ THIS ABOUT INSTRUCTION..........

You need to be careful who you decide to take lessons from. Some teaches will simply tell you the exact same things they tell all of there students regardless of whether it really applies to you individually.

There are many different ways to get a golf ball in the hole. I know you maybe see on television all the tour guys swing the same, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is there are so many tips out there, most of which could possibly help you. Some you will try and say, "that doesn't feel right." But eventually you will find one that click.

I've spent many nights watching t.v., swinging a club in slow motion in front of the sliding glass door trying out different tips, trying to get that "feeling" I've had to drop everything and head to the driving range just to try it out. This is why I play golf.

thanks mate

nearly everything you have said are my thoughts exactly