I’ve asked for advice on these boards for some time now and I always get helpful suggestions. This may be a request that even the bright minds of the Straight Dope can’t help me with.
I suck at golf. I’m good at most sports and am quite athletic. But I haven’t really played much in the past 3 years. Anyway, I’m going to Fla to play golf some friends next week. They all suck too, but not as bad as I do. Some of them occasionally crack 100. I hover around 120 - 130. BTW, we’re very strict with our scoring and rules.
Well, there’s been a lot of trash talk prior to this trip. I’ve even participated in some of it. Now I need some good advice on how to break 100 (or least get near it), to spare some of the repercussions of my words. I have a long drive, when it’s straight (maybe 20% of the time). My long, medium and short iron play sucks. I just can’t seem to hit an iron correctly. The shot is either fat, thin, hooked or sliced. My pitching and putting are average.
Although I have yet to break 100; to lower your score in 7 days, I would leave the driver in the bag, and take lessons from a local golf pro and concentrate on short game and putting. If you can stay away from 3 putting you’re on your way.
Kinda difficult when we can’t see your swing but here goes…
With irons it might help to adopt more of a uniform swing for all situations, one where you swing fully through the ball, and adjust the distance you’ll hit it simply by adjusting your grip up or down the grip. Choke up on the shorter shots but more your hands toward the end of the club for the longer ones.
Get to a range and get to know well the distances you hit each club.
Like Napolean Hill says, picture yourself making good contact with the ball before each shot. Hit it first in your mind, then on the links.
Sorry to break the news, but if you shoot 120-130, you’re not going to break 100 in a week.
However, keep this in mind: You never look up and see a good shot. Keep your eye on the ball. See the club hit the ball. Absord those statements into your brain and repeat while you’re hovering over that goofy ball.
Also, if you want to beat these guys (and I think I know the type , play the smart shots. If I’ve read you correctly, they’ll be trying to go head-to-head with palm trees, no matter what the lie. YOU, on the other hand, will pop it out of a bad lie, simply to get the ball back in play because that’s the smart shot.
And for God’s sakes, son, remember to loosen the grip and NOT try to hit the ball to Mars. Easy swing. It’s the velocity, not the intensity, of the stroke that makes the ball go.
In 7 days?? Man, if I could do that, I’d be a billionaire.
That said, I can think of a couple things you can do.
Slow down - This is probably the most common error. You do not have to swing hard to hit the ball hard. The fact that you hit irons “fat, thin, hooked, or sliced” tells me you are not striking the ball consistently (to say the least). Overswinging will cause this alot of the time. The club is all over the place, so the ball is too. A smooth, relaxed swing (think sweeping the ball with a broom) will make you much more consistant. Remember, short and straight will beat long and crooked every time.
Go to a range before your trip and hit only irons, then putt. Iron play and putting is where you score well or poorly, and it’s all touch. If it’s been a while since you’ve played, you need to get some (any) feel back.
When playing, be realistic about your abilities. Can you really cut the corner 250 yds over water? Can you really reach the green in two? Can you really thread the ball through the Black Forest and out the other side? Probably not. Take the safe play. You’ll be amazed how many strokes you save if you don’t cost yourself dumb penalties.
Have fun. Wish I was playing somewhere soon
Figure 100 / 18 = appx 5 shots a hole. Some holes you can knock off in 4 even if you suck, and it gives you that much more margin for error. 5 shots a hole is plenty if you simply worry about advancing the ball with every shot. You likely won’t get to the green in 2, but 3 or 4 is pretty realistic if you relax and strike the ball well. You want to walk towards the pin after every shot, not away from it or parallel to your last shot.
Practice chipping. Get close, and a putt will be like mini golf.
And don’t over-imbibe on the links. The buzz and the need to pee WILL mess up your swing.
Rug Burn - Lessons at this point are impossible. Plus it’s just too clod to grip the club now (I’m in NJ). I will get to a range once we get down there.
Lieu- I will picture making good contact. I remember doing that years ago (when I was shooting 90’s consistently). I forgot how much that works.
SOC - I will keep my eyes on the ball through contact. I do have this fear that if I lose sight of the ball, I’ll never find it. That happens when you’re shooting as high as I do. And it causes higher scores too. Never-ending cycle.
jk1245 - I will play smarter. I have tendency to look at my situation, and then remember the best shot I ever hit in my life from that situation, and then assume that I’ll hit it again.
p.s. get over this part, right now. I have seen more “athletic” guys break their clubs (honestly, three different guys and one threw his club in the water) because they think they “should” be good at golf. Being a good athelete or being good in sports has nothing to do with it. You are getting some good advice here.
My advice would be to take every hole as its own game. Don’t think about what you scored on the last hole, or think, “I shot one more than I should have on the last hole, I need to shoot one less on this next one.” Don’t even add up your score in your head. Just concentrate on how best to play the hole you are on.
Play conservatively. The pros have to play aggressively because they are competing against the world’s best. But in your group, the winner may well be the person who avoids the bad mistakes. Keeping your ball in the fairway and out of the hazards, not making spectacular shots, are your keys to winning.
Lastly, play at your own pace. This is your holiday, so don’t let anyone rush you.
p.p.s. you won’t lose the ball, and if you do, good riddance! Sounds silly, but my mom always used to say, “we’ll watch the ball for you” and it’s a mantra that I always play in my head. Guys aren’t going to be like my mom and say they’ll watch the ball, but they’re watching your ball. Just remember that and don’t worry.
This I know. Trust. The only reason I stated it is that I wanted to let everyone know that there’s nothing specific that’s preventing me from becoming better, except maybe my mind.
A long time ago I had one of those golf games on PC (Links maybe?). When you did your swing, you were actually looking at a digitized person take a swing and you’d click the mouse at the appropriate time. Anyway, I was having fun playing that for a few weeks and then it came time to play some real golf. I’m a pretty bad golfer, but I had the best game of my life that day. My swing felt so natural and perfect I couldn’t believe it. I later figured out that I was somehow mimicing the guy on the PC. So somehow watching him take stroke after stroke made my body figure out how to hit the ball properly. Maybe you could try something like that when you’re not on the practice range.
Here’s a couple of thoughts that might help you out.
Make up your own par for each hole. Just because the scorecard says something is a par 4, doesn’t mean you should play it as tho you will get a 4. If you think of it as a par 5 or 6, you may be much less likely to get into trouble, and be less frustrated.
Consider each shot a success as long as the worst thing possible does not happen. For example, if you are teeing off over water, you are better off dubbing it short than dribbling in and taking a penalty stroke. Same way, don’t hit out of bounds. Stroke and distance is a killer. Approaching a green, don’t worry overmuch about finessing it right next to the stick. Just so long as you end up ANYWHERE on the green. In the sand - get out of the trap. Sure, it would be nice to get up and down, but you sure don’t want to be hitting a second shot out of the same trap. You’ll be amazed how much your score will drop if you simply advance the ball in the general direction of the hole, and avoid the worst thing that can happen on every shot.
If all of your irons stink, I’m not sure what you will be hitting. If you can hit ANY iron well - say a 5, 6, or 7 - you could pretty much hit nothing longer than that. Even off the tee. Hell, if you only drive 130 yards into the fairway, you may well be better off that 250 yds into the woods. Hitting off of the short grass is definitely an advantage.
Consider “bump and run” chipping around the green instead of trying to lob and stop perfect wedges. Basically swing the club similar to your putter.
And when your home course thaws out, by all means, take some lessons.
Lamar “Money” Mundane: "When people bring up greenside legends, they’re gonna be talking about a guy named “Jackknifed Juggernaut”. When faced with an 18 footer for par, people are gonna be hollerin’ “Kick- In, kick-in”.
I’d suggest paring down your club selection: use a five iron, a seven, a wedge, and a putter. Period.
If you can hit a five iron off the tee and carry 150 yards, then you ought to be able to get on the green of a par four hole in three strokes. If you two-putt consistently, that’s a five. You have two par fives where you can plan on carding six, and two par 3s where you (hopefully) can actually card three or four.
Slow strokes, follow through. Take some time at the range and hit a bucket of balls with your five iron. Get comfortable with that stroke.
I’m usually in the 120-130. And I’ve broken 100 once. It was an easy course which I had played several times that month. And I ended up with 98. The 18th hole was hell.
If you’re like me, you blow a lot of shots around the green. And it’s hard to change that unless you play a lot.
Play with nothing but a 7-iron and a putter. The short irons are easier to hit straight. Generally the lower your standard, the smaller the difference between clubs. Tiger Woods can go up one club and get another 25 yards, we can’t.
, play the smart shots. If I’ve read you correctly, they’ll be trying to go head-to-head with palm trees, no matter what the lie. YOU, on the other hand, will pop it out of a bad lie, simply to get the ball back in play because that’s the smart shot.
