Gettin' Better . . .
 

HennyBogan . . . .

You have been ON FIRE on this forum! Thanks for sharing all this great info with us.

I have a goal . . . maybe too ambitious . . . but you have to dream.

I am 36 years old . . . have to a job, lil' foolz and what's-her-name that take up a bunch of my time . . .

BUT!

I would like to get to scratch by the time I'm 38. You have said it's all about process. This may be a little different process but what kind of plan, process and practice would you suggest for me to achieve my big audicious goal???

Holla back please sir!

Bucket

Scratch this
 

Bucks my man,

Anyone who can make over 2000 putts in a row is already my hero.

Why would you want your handicap to go UP in two years? :confused1

The moon pies are on me.

UPP in rainy Ohio

Oh . . . hold up . . . I got the puttin' contest mixed up with the wing eatin' contest. Sorry.

Need some info
 

Bucket,

First, I like big goals. They can really set you into action. Second, by placing it out here in front of others, you are giving yourself two kinds of motivation. One is that you may be inspired to do the work because you are going to have to post about it. Second, you should get plenty of support and encouragement from the other members.

The less time you have to expend on this project, the more organized and efficient you need your program to be. You may have to make substantial changes in a number of areas. One big area will be your picture of yourself as a golfer. We also have to look at the physical elements, game management, mental game, etc.

Let's get to work. I need some information about how you lose shots. We want to get pretty detailed here. The most important factor in improving your game is working on the right thing.

We will to break down all parts of your game, but in the interest of creating a useable post, let's do them one at a time.

Long game. We will let the experts here give the instruction, but we want to define any issues. We need to chart the misses. Picture the ball flight charts (not what some of them say). Pull, straight, or push. Ball curvature from there. Contact: fat, flush, thin (on the way up or down). We know that you hit lots of quality shots, but what are the bad ones? What is the cause? What can you do to reduce the variance?

Do these shots show up on the range or only on the course? Since you have asked many questions about the process, I suspect some come from shortcomings there. We are going to have to look at the outcomes. I'm going to lay out some guidelines for that in another thread (now I have to do it--one of the ways it works).

In the short term, we can be satisfied with your recollections. Later, we will want some concrete data.

Let's go.

HB

Going!
 

Man! I'm soooooooooo GEEKED UP ABOUT THIS! The only thing I think that could be suspect is the encouragement part from a certain faction here . . . you 2 h8rs know who you be.

LET's ROLL . . .

Long Game

• My driver is irratic . . .
• My bad shot is typically a shot that starts right and goes right
• Or a shot that starts right and hooks past my stance line (how about that) :)
• Long Iron misses are either high right pushes or low left burners
• Short Irons are the strengths of my game . . . but distance control is an issue
• Short Iron misses are typically long and left
• All in all I find the clubface/sweetspot and hit it solid well but direction is my problem
• I can hit it low as you want me too . . . but high shots are harder for me
• I have an easier time hitting right to left shots than cuts
• I hit down on it plenty but not too good on the out part . . .I'm a super's nightmare . . .I move earth
• I'm a GREAT range player but don't hit the same quality shots interms of direction on course
• I have noticed that I stand too far from the ball whip it inside and get it across the line at the top
• I tend to hang back a little and come out of my waist bend
• My impact alignments are pretty good . . . I just have some weird moves getting there.

Is this the kind of stuff you were looking for?

Thanks man . . . you rock!

Bucket

After talking to my pal Bucket on the phone today, I thought this would be a great thread to get involved in. Along with beer and wings, Bucket and I have alot in common. I am 37 and truely believe I can be a scratch golfer, I love the machine and know it is the path to playing great golf. I was an 9 handicap for about 14 years, then I went to the Falcons Fire Academy and began the decent. I currently carry a 6.5 index and progression has slowed. I need a plan to get my game to the next level. The geometry and physics of my swing are more sound than ever, but how do you get out of your own way? I practice like a scratch golfer, my driving range game is tight, but I am not the same person on the course. How do good players take their range game to the course, Why does my rhythm and tempo change once I get on the first tee, Is there a secret to scoring, not just ball striking???
Looking forward to devulging into the answers to these questions and more.

Honest evaluation
 

Bucket,

That's exactly the type of honest evaluation I'm looking for. I will leave the particulars of swing correction to the experts. The part that concerns me the most is a two-way miss. Right and left. This type of pattern requires great discipline in adhering to a committed routine.

If you can eliminate most of your misses to one side or the other, you will have an easier time fitting your pattern to the golf course.

So your part of the plan is to decipher the swing changes you need to make and to implement these moves over a period of time.

HB

Next question. Tell me about your short game. Shots inside full sandwedge. Bunkers. Pitches. High. Low. Flop. Tight lies. Rough. Anything else you can think of besides putting. Short game philosophy (one club, many, close to the ground as possible, or something else)

Define
 

8cork,

Sounds like you have a good base to work from. Much like a person training for a marathon would need a base of mileage before ramping up the effort.

I need some definition.

"I practice like a scratch golfer" Describe

"I am not the same person on the course" Who are you in each setting?

There are many secrets to scoring. This forum is designed to expose some of these. Your ballstriking will define your range of possible scores. Your management and short game will define your score.

HB

Thanks HB,
What I think I am trying to say is that, My swing on the range is much better than the swing I take to the course. If my handicap was based on the way I hit the ball on the range I might be a 2 or 3. For some reason my ball striking drops off once I start playing. My putting is the strongest part of my game, I almost always make alot of putts, sadly they are rarely for birdie. I play spurts of great golf, but I can never keep it going. Usually not even for nine holes. Just the other day I was 5 under after 7 holes and barely broke 80 for the round.

First . . . Question: A lot of times I'm just trying to "hit it there" basically a straight shot. Should I instead of thinking "hit it there" think hit a draw there? I think right to left is more of my natural curve. But I can go both ways (don't do it Mike O!).

SHORT GAME

• Short chip shots are my strength. I'm pretty decent at hitting sandwedge chips to about 40 feet out.
• If I have to hit longer chips I typically have more trouble with distance control. I'd say my error is typically long.
• I can hit low wedges with some check pretty good
• High wedges are more of a problem for me. I don't do well with flops. I'm a low spinner type.
• I hit down on chips and pitches maybe too steep.
• 40-50 yard shots are tougher for me particularly if they have to carry something . . . come in too low and hot.
• I typically chip with sw, gap and 9 . . . I used to carry lob but no mo'. 48, 52, 56.
• I'm better at hitting shots hard than soft.
• I'm more snappy than sweepy.

How's that?