phinstd wrote:Do you two have any suggestions for a mid-90's golfer to take a few shots off his game? I'm currently decent at all aspects, but not "good" at any one aspect at all. I'm usually 225-250 off the tee box...pitching is extremely inconsistent. Putting is all over the place, and I don't have a great "feel" for the speed at all.
I play two to three times a month, and I really want to get under 90 this year, but have a serious habit of "blowing up" on a hole. My other big problem is chipping off a fairway from 20' and in. I seem to be able to chip out of the rough so much easier because the ball is sitting up in grass. I don't usually take a divet at all, and that might be part of my problem.
Some very good advice in the preceding posts...but use your intelligence and an honest assessment of your game to sort through which tidbits are most applicable to you. I'm going to take another tact and offer some general thoughts of mine on scoring.
Personally, I think that the scoring aspect of golf centers around consistency, pre-shot strategy, and in-shot relaxation.
Consistency applies to all aspects of the game...from shot analysis, to setup, to swing. Consistency does two positive things for you: First, it gives you confidence in what the results of your actions will be (and thus allows you to make educated decisions based upon predictable results). It doesn't matter how much your ball curves or in what direction, for full swings, pitches, chips, or even putts...as long as the results are consistent you can make it work and score well. They don't even need to be the same round after round...just figure out what pattern you've got going that day and play for it. Don't EVER try to tinker in the middle of the round. It will ruin your consistency/confidence/score for that round guaranteed. Find a natural feeling swing that produces an acceptable result for each shot type, then focus on making that swing and result as repeatable as possible. The second thing consistency does for your game is that it allows you to repeat setup (and even swing) mechanics without ever having to THINK about mechanics during your round. Thinking about your mechanics while you're playing is death. It causes tension, doubt, etc., obviously...but it also moves you subtly from simply "doing" to "thinking about doing." One encourages perfectly natural execution while the other is Chuck Knoblauch territory. Things as simple as gripping the club, body posture, and spacing from the ball/ball placement in the stance are very easy to lose even over the course of a round (much less from round to round) and even small variance in things like that can wreak havoc with your swing and swing results. If you develop and ingrain a simple/natural routine that addresses your biggest mechanical needs/weaknesses your scores will improve.
Pre-shot strategy is incredibly important. Not only should you have an idea of how you want to play each hole before you start in a way that emphasizes your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses, but you should approach each individual shot in the same manner. Typically, I'm as aggressive as I can be until I'm faced with any situation that could doom me to a result worse than a bogey with one swing. After that, I'm playing to eliminate double bogey or worse...the easiest shot possible to the biggest target possible with the goal of getting greenside as soon as possible. Even from trouble, it's usually fairly easy to get greenside fairly safely in regulation plus one. From there, I just rely on my short game to not throw away any additional shots...or perhaps even to steal back a shot or two. I place a lot of emphasis on avoiding OB and hazards at all costs...even if I have to burn an extra stroke to get around them safely. Nothing kills a round like a triple bogey or worse. Think giving up a solo shot vs giving up a grand slam. As others have said, it's vitally important to develop a working short game starting with putting and chipping. Think about it this way: If you have confidence that you can simply get on the green and two putt consistently from anywhere within 30 yards of the green (with a shot at a par putt of some length along the way), then all you have to do to ensure a bogey with a shot at par is to get somewhere within a 80 yard by 80 yard area (a 20 yard by 20 yard green with a 30 yard buffer on all sides lets say) in regulation from a tee somewhere between 100 and 550 yards away. That's a huge margin of error from tee to greenside, and there are many options available on which path to take in order to minimize the risk of big numbers even while allowing for some minor mistakes along the way. If you make a mistake that you can't recover from, it's
still relatively easy to recover and limit the damage by reaching your goal in regulation plus one. At that point you should have double bogey as a worst case scenario, with a shot at a bogey save along the way. The better your short game, the bigger your margin for error in all other aspects of your game.
In-shot relaxation is important because it is the key to executing naturally. Consistency/confidence/routines always help keep the nerves settled, but it also helps to keep moving and loose as much as possible up until the moment you begin your actual backswing. Motion begets fluid motion...motionlessness begets thinking and inhibits the natural flow and reaction of the body once you attempt to begin motion. Think about how fielders start moving before the ball is hit, not after it's hit. Developing a waggle and swing trigger can help smooth the transition between motionlessness to motion as well. In addition, it doesn't hurt to have swing thoughts to help regulate tempo or key certain aspects of your swing but I would certainly try and limit your thought to no more than two (maybe on for the backswing and one for the downswing) and I would recommend keeping them non-technical in nature. Maybe something like an image, or even a feeling. Avoid those "don't _______" thoughts, or even "do ______" thoughts as they get you focused on a specific mechanical issue or part of your swing. The only thing you should be focused on is your target, and the swing should be a continuous and natural execution of one comprehensive motion...not multiple executions of many separate events in sequential order.
Sorry for the long post. Also, if you're still looking for some more specific advice when it comes to putting or chipping I can offer some tips that might help. Honestly, both are pretty simple events in theory. First you find a line. Then you set yourself (especially your eyes) and your clubface square to that line. After that it's all a matter of getting your clubhead to move back and through in a manner that causes the ball to travel down that line. Clubhead speed (a product of tempo and the distance the clubhead travels) varies how far the ball moves down that line. With chipping, the loft of the clubhead used also adds a trajectory variable (more trajectory equals less roll after impact, as well as requiring more force to move the ball the same distance forward due to the addition of a vertical force vector). The more simply and reliably you can accomplish those things, the better.
