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Humpty

Humpty

Well-known member
Currently on my journey to single figures handicap (still a long way to go)... i've progressed this year from 24 down to 19. I'm starting to see progression in all elements of my game now.

For anyone now in single figures what was the biggest improvement in your game that helped you progress to single figures? I'm guessing putting but you never know.
 
I'm not there yet, but if I could carry the ball 250 I would be, easily.

Whack it, the strokes gained from being a big hitter are immense.

No point being a good putter if it's taking you three to the green on a par 4.

Putting stats are extremely misleading too, you might get better at golf and putting, but your putts per hole can increase, this can be due to you hitting more greens, but nowhere near the pin, so you end up three putting or two putting loads.

Most people are nowhere near as bad at putting as they think. If your first putt is from 30 ft, and it's taking you 2 putts to get down, then you're basically the same as a pro.

Just don't miss 3 footers, ever.
 
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Giving up full time work? i was 12-13 handicap before I came over here. Soon got down to single figures. Best was just under 5.0. 15 years later (and older) I have gone up a bit. Now have an exact handicap of 8.5.

For me the big changes were course management. Choosing to play the right shots at the right time. Plus short game and putting. I have 4 wedges. I have 3 standard smooth partial swing shots (07:30, 09:00 & 10:30) with each wedge. Each one goes a different carry and roll. So I have 12 standard shots from 75m and shorter. Thanks to Dave Pelz.

Speed control on putting is really important. Just takes practice. Also if putting downhill then consider putting off the toe. The ball stops more quickly. My putter has 3 lines on it. I use the outside line to line up putting off the toe. Finally on putting, stay down and watch the ball all the way. To give you a read for if you go past and miss.
 
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Some good tips there Statto and Spanishman. Carrying my driver 220 - 230 at the minute. Also like the tip about staying down on the putt to get the read for the next putt. I've got my club distances down which has helped with distance control 70 yards and longer from the pin but i think getting my wedge distances down will be my next move.
 
Juninho10 said:
For me... it depends on the size of the crazy golf course... if there's around 10 holes i seem to do well - but the larger ones can sometimes be a problem, as i tire towards the end
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Yeah, getting it through the windmill was the biggest change to my game - once I mastered that I was well on my way. The pirate ship is still my achilles heel though...
 
Humpty said:
Some good tips there Statto and Spanishman. Carrying my driver 220 - 230 at the minute. Also like the tip about staying down on the putt to get the read for the next putt. I've got my club distances down which has helped with distance control 70 yards and longer from the pin but i think getting my wedge distances down will be my next move.
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I play off 12 and you probably hit your driver about as far as me. Being a big hitter is great but if you are 3 off the tee regularly you'll never make good scores.

As mentioned, course management is a big factor. Do you have a 'go to' club that you can use on tight fairways? Someone once told me that if you can keep the big numbers off your card then thats the start. I would guess at your level you'll still have the odd 7 and 8 on your card?

For me I went from being a low 20s handicapper to someone who could play bogey golf just by playing consistently and learning good course management. Once you are capable of bogey golf you just need the odd good round and your handicap will tumble down.

My weakness is my putting. Simply put, I dont play and practice enough. If I could get out twice a week all year round I'd be playing off single figures. When you get to where I am you'll realise that the jump from 18/19 to 12 isn't much at all. Its just being a bit more consistent and having the occasional round in the low 80s.

The mental side of it obviously plays a part as well, I find that by enjoying my golf and just accepting some bad rounds/ shots helps me play better. I know people that put so much pressure on themselves it kills them. They spend hours and hours trying to continuously search for perfection when it doesn't exist.
 
Uwefuchs said:
I play off 12 and you probably hit your driver about as far as me. Being a big hitter is great but if you are 3 off the tee regularly you'll never make good scores.
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Yeah, just to clarify, when I said hit it far earlier, I didn't mean hit it far into the trees. It needs to be in play or it's not worth it.
 
I play off 13 having played for 9 years. As I'm retired and literally live 300 yards from our first tee. If the weather is OK I'm out for nine holes four or five times a week. Practice is the only way to improve.
 
Statto1 said:
Yeah, just to clarify, when I said hit it far earlier, I didn't mean hit it far into the trees. It needs to be in play or it's not worth it.
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Yeah i wasn't having a go at you, it was more a general comment. Everyone wants to hit the ball miles but most high handicappers can't keep the ball in play consistently either.

If you can keep the ball in play (doesn't even have be hitting every fairway) your scores will come down.

On an average course a straight hitter will be close to hitting most greens in regulation, even if you are hitting par 4s in 3 and par 5s in 4 you are still 2 putting for bogey every hole. Thats a great starting point. Obviously you'll pick up the odd par on the way as well.
 
I went from 24 to 17 over the last couple of years. Seem to be stagnating a bit the last few months. I'm not a big hitter so I do well of the yellow ts but once on the white competition ts some of the par 4 holes take me 3 shots to reach.
 
Yea my mate says playing at least 3 times a week. 2 put max per hole n a good distance device.
 
Uwefuchs said:
Yeah i wasn't having a go at you, it was more a general comment. Everyone wants to hit the ball miles but most high handicappers can't keep the ball in play consistently either.

If you can keep the ball in play (doesn't even have be hitting every fairway) your scores will come down.

On an average course a straight hitter will be close to hitting most greens in regulation, even if you are hitting par 4s in 3 and par 5s in 4 you are still 2 putting for bogey every hole. Thats a great starting point. Obviously you'll pick up the odd par on the way as well.
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Yeah, I went from palying off around 25 to giving up the driver and got to bogey golf, and now around 15 (but don't play in winter), only using a hybrid off the tee as my longest club. This is pretty much the limit of not using a driver I expect, without being an extremely good player.
 
I retired last year and have come down from 14 to 9 (8.6). Playing 2 or 3 rounds a week helps and I practise 30 mins before most rounds (10 mins each drive, chip, putt)
I now have solid set-ups for all types of club, which help me know if I’m in the right position.
Course management has improved, but could be better. I’m terrible out of bunkers and my putting can be awful, but is better than it’s ever been.
Target is to get under 6 handicap by next summer. Lifetime target is to score under 70. Had a 2 over 73 this year, so I know it’s in there somewhere.
The Mrs bought me 8 lessons, when I retired, and I’ve used 2 so far (both on driving). Might use a couple more to get some consistency out of the sand
 
The point from Uwe about the mental side is really important.

Being able to put your bad shots behind you quickly is really important. To try to avoid multiple bad shots in a row. One piece of advice I received from a guy who coached pros on the European Tour was as follows. You can be annoyed at a bad shot. Just not for long. Imagine a red line on the floor a few metres in front of you. You can stay annoyed until you cross the line. After that you have to move on to other thoughts. Then eventually what you are going to do next.

Another one is you cannot concentrate on golf all the way round. You need to switch off from golf between playing shots. The guy got a pro to count how many different birds and trees he could see when walking between shots. As a diversionary tactic.

Also you need to develop a regular pre-shot routine you use every time. To trigger your mind and body to go back into "golf mode" before each shot.
 
Putting has been an issue and a lot of that comes down to not being able to practice often enough. Going down the range is fine but most putting greens are for members only. The only other way to practice is to get out there. I'm focusing on no more three putts in my round. That's helped.

I feel like I'm very capable of bogey golf at a minimum. My driving has been quite consistent. I've had two lessons, mostly to get rid of a wicked slice i had with my irons, it was always a fade with my driver though. The irons have fallen into line, so its a case of pulling it all together.

Tiger does the ten steps Spanishman. You can be angry for 10 steps but on the 11th you need to be focused on the next shot.
 
Never try to follow a bad shot with one that has to be perfect.

In other words, if you hit a bad shot then recalibrate so you don't drop more than one shot. Take your medicine.

Practice your game from 120 yards in. You can save more shots by turning 3 shots into 2 round the green than you can by hitting it 270 yards off the tee.

Don't be intimidated by your playing partners. Play your own game, don't try to outhit long hitters.
 
Course management and putting. You'll never be a single figure handicapper if you take 40 putts a round. Short game is massive, I have Arccos and track my club usage. Since June I've hit 338 drives, 209 5 irons......but 466 shots with my lob wedge and 1309 putts.

I had a couple of on course lessons last year that helped with course management, If I was 250 yards from the hole on a par 5 I'd try and get it as close as possible, often leaving 50-70 yard shots, from the rough etc. Whereas I know I can hit a SW 100 yards really easy, and really accurately. So taking the easier shot, and leaving myself a shot I'm comfortable with from the middle of the fairway next helped massively.
 
B-Man said:
Course management and putting. You'll never be a single figure handicapper if you take 40 putts a round. Short game is massive, I have Arccos and track my club usage. Since June I've hit 338 drives, 209 5 irons......but 466 shots with my lob wedge and 1309 putts.

I had a couple of on course lessons last year that helped with course management, If I was 250 yards from the hole on a par 5 I'd try and get it as close as possible, often leaving 50-70 yard shots, from the rough etc. Whereas I know I can hit a SW 100 yards really easy, and really accurately. So taking the easier shot, and leaving myself a shot I'm comfortable with from the middle of the fairway next helped massively.
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Very interesting stats about the amount of occasions you've hit each club!
 
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