Ball striking is better yet scoring is in the dumps...

[BullDog]

I am unhappy with the way I'm scoring these days, even though I feel like
I'm playing better. For instance, instead of hooking 20-30% of my longer shots (drives or long irons), I'd say I hook only a few shots a game and duck hook maybe once or twice (usually due to not controlling my backswing as I should.) My driving 90% of the time is "on my hole" as opposed to the potential mega-block shots to the right or duck hooks to never-never land on the left I was prone to in the past.

My "historical stats" going back 2 seasons plus this year so far have me
hitting fairways 37% of the time. This year I'm close to 41%. Not a great
improvement but, for example, today I hit 7/14 including 7 out of my last 11
drives and didn't lose any balls on the drive due to extreme wildness of any
sort. That's good.

The startling stat is that my "historical" GIR is 21%. This year I'm 12.1%.
I don't get why because again, I'm not hooking my approach shots anymore...
the vast majority of them are straight. Granted, they can be left, right,
short or long, but despite a straighter shot, I'm missing the target
more than before. That explains why my birdie every 3rd game on the Slammer
Tour stat from last year is now 0 for 15 events. I should have
3-6 of them by now. I have one all year overall, one yesterday morning on a par-3
at Cloverdale. My putting hasn't changed - it's still about 1.7-1.8 per
hole (regardless of GIR) so my lack of birds must be due to lack of hitting
greens.

I've never hit straighter on all shots than I have been this year but my
accuracy clearly has suffered and my scoring has as well. Is it just mental
and I need to work on keeping myself mentally fresh every shot (I try...) or could it simply be bad-ish conditions and cold
(layered clothing) that's messing me up?

I just don't understand why a straighter shot is resulting in missing
more greens and scoring 5-7 shots worse almost every game even though
driving is much more accurate and putting is the same. I would normally score from about 88-95 but now I seem to be shooting in the 95-102 range instead - with an 87 and a 113 in there for good measure this year!!

Just wondering if anyone has any great words of wisdom out there that I can apply to my game.

[Andru]

short game, short game, short game.

Here's the best part. I decided to try to figure out why I can't break par. I've been close. I've gone -2 for 12 holes and ended with an 80.

One day I decided to play from the red yes the ladies tees. 18 holes. of bliss. Nice. Seriously. ended up shooting a 79 that's about the same score I can shoot from the blues. now you'd think with 430 yards par 5's and 310 yard par 4's I could break par easily. Here's the problem. You're going to miss greens. You need to learn how to turn 3 into 2. around the green.

Even on a good ball striking day you'll miss 6 greens. Wrong club, bad bounce, a little breeze etc etc. if you make 3's on all of them instead of 2's that's 6 strokes. SIX! that's an

85 instead of a 79.
a 75 instead of a 69 you get my point.

Seriously, The game of of golf is won and lost from 100 yards and in. Seriously. Spend all next week working on These 5 shots. and you'll drop 5 strokes by next weekend.

1) 30-50 yard pitch shot
2) Green side bunker.
3) bump and run with a PW or 9I
4) 3 foot putt
5) 20 foot putt

That's what I saw David Toims working on at the PGA Championship for an hour.

[Txxxxxxx]

short game, short game, short game.

Here's the best part. I decided to try to figure out why I can't break par. I've been close. I've gone -2 for 12 holes and ended with an 80.

One day I decided to play from the red yes the ladies tees. 18 holes. of bliss. Nice. Seriously. ended up shooting a 79 that's about the same score I can shoot from the blues. now you'd think with 430 yards par 5's and 310 yard par 4's I could break par easily. Here's the problem. You're going to miss greens. You need to learn how to turn 3 into 2. around the green.

Even on a good ball striking day you'll miss 6 greens. Wrong club, bad bounce, a little breeze etc etc. if you make 3's on all of them instead of 2's that's 6 strokes. SIX! that's an

85 instead of a 79.
a 75 instead of a 69 you get my point.

Seriously, The game of of golf is won and lost from 100 yards and in. Seriously. Spend all next week working on These 5 shots. and you'll drop 5 strokes by next weekend.

1) 30-50 yard pitch shot
2) Green side bunker.
3) bump and run with a PW or 9I
4) 3 foot putt
5) 20 foot putt

That's what I saw David Toims working on at the PGA Championship for an hour.

I'd have to agree 100%. You have to take advantage of the par 3's and par 5's. If you're hitting the ball straight, there's no reason why you shouldn't be making birdie on the 3's and 5's unless you are lacking distance of course. The difference between a good chip and tap in for birdie, and a bad chip then two putt for par is huge in the big picture.

Good luck.

[BC MIST]

Just wondering if anyone has any great words of wisdom out there that I can apply to my game.

A hypothetical par round for me is:
12 GIR's
3 saves
3 birdies
no 3 putts

The key stat is the save percentage and in my example above, it is a reasonable 50%. What is yours?

Likely, it is well below the 50% margin confirming what Andru's said. If you don't chip and putt well, you will never score.

[BullDog]

A hypothetical par round for me is:
12 GIR's
3 saves
3 birdies
no 3 putts

The key stat is the save percentage and in my example above, it is a reasonable 50%. What is yours?

Likely, it is well below the 50% margin confirming what Andru's said. If you don't chip and putt well, you will never score.

I guess I should have thought about mentioning something about short game. That's not my problem. I rarely 3-putt. Usually it's once a game, twice every 3-4 games and 3+ - I can't remember one game yet this year. I'll have to double check that as I do keep track of them as well. 28-32 putts is the norm, and I guess one could argue that should be 22-27 or something like that, but I don't think that many double-digit handicappers manage less than 1.5 putts per hole on average.

As for inside 100 yards, the one thing that saved my game in recent years where I struggled with my long shots was my short game. My pitching and chipping is something I took pride in. I love "pin hunting" from 30-50 yards and I don't limit myself to a 9I-PW when chipping around the greens... 7I-SW are my go-to clubs depending on the flight-roll ratio I need to get in close.

When I struggled with my driving and mid-length game in the past, I often didn't mind giving up a stroke on a bad drive or mis-directed mid-length shot because I knew that my short game would quite often be superior to people I would play with, so I could "recover" where it counted most.

The one thing that vanished over the winter for the first time in the 24 years I've been playing golf is my greenside bunker play. I have become absolutely useless in there but I have been spending 25-40 minutes a week this month working on that at a range or at a nearby course to work that out. It seems to be working. --- but this is not something that would affect my overall scoring my 10% as I might only hit a greenside bunker once or twice a game if at all.

I appreciate the feedback - but keep it coming. I guess I'd have to chart all my shots to see what's going awry. I know where the scoring zone is. But it's not there that I'm struggling - it's getting there once I'm successfully off the tee, and I just don't get it.

Thanks guys!

[byerxa]

short game, short game, short game.

Tell me about it. I am the "short game is the difference" poster boy. I hit the ball fairly well, even to the point I am generally happy with it (not an easy feat!). This is a result of lessons and focused practice. I average 51% GIRs, and now that my driver is behaving again FIRs are not costing much either. But my up and downs are dreadful. Putting is OK (can always be better) and I rarely 3 putt, but I simply cannot expect to sink 10 footers to save par. When I score well, I am sinking those 8-10 footers for par saves, otherwise I have a lot of bogeys.

Last year I was practicing 50-50 ball striking vs. short game. This year I am dedicating myself to spend 10-15 minutes max on ball striking per session, typically to fix some issue from a previous round. Otherwise I will spend all other practice time around the green.

[Andru]

I guess I should have thought about mentioning something about short game. That's not my problem. I rarely 3-putt. Usually it's once a game, twice every 3-4 games and 3+ - I can't remember one game yet this year. I'll have to double check that as I do keep track of them as well. 28-32 putts is the norm, and I guess one could argue that should be 22-27 or something like that, but I don't think that many double-digit handicappers manage less than 1.5 putts per hole on average.

As for inside 100 yards, the one thing that saved my game in recent years where I struggled with my long shots was my short game. My pitching and chipping is something I took pride in. I love "pin hunting" from 30-50 yards and I don't limit myself to a 9I-PW when chipping around the greens... 7I-SW are my go-to clubs depending on the flight-roll ratio I need to get in close.

When I struggled with my driving and mid-length game in the past, I often didn't mind giving up a stroke on a bad drive or mis-directed mid-length shot because I knew that my short game would quite often be superior to people I would play with, so I could "recover" where it counted most.

The one thing that vanished over the winter for the first time in the 24 years I've been playing golf is my greenside bunker play. I have become absolutely useless in there but I have been spending 25-40 minutes a week this month working on that at a range or at a nearby course to work that out. It seems to be working. --- but this is not something that would affect my overall scoring my 10% as I might only hit a greenside bunker once or twice a game if at all.

I appreciate the feedback - but keep it coming. I guess I'd have to chart all my shots to see what's going awry. I know where the scoring zone is. But it's not there that I'm struggling - it's getting there once I'm successfully off the tee, and I just don't get it.

Thanks guys!

mmason21.

I don't mean to be a stickler here. but your numbers don't add up. If your GIR is 12% and you're shooting higher scores it's because your short game isn't holding up. Now, no one can compensate for 12% GIR's when shooting par, but scoring in the 80's is resonable

12% is 2 greens hit.

I'll assume your making pars on those greens because you've said you're a guranteed 2 putt.

So for the remaining 16 holes, if you make 50% of you up and downs and I'll give you an up an 2 putt on the remaining 8. You'll finish with a +8 80. That's a far cry from 90+.

It's not my game under the microscope. But the numbers don't lie. Your short game is not holding up.

One more note

My putting hasn't changed - it's still about 1.7-1.8 per
hole (regardless of GIR) so my lack of birds must be due to lack of hitting
greens.

If you're only hitting 2 greens per round. This number should be way way lower if you have a competent short game. You should have more one putts. The GIR stats you see on the PGA tour are for GIR's only.

[Andru]

Tell me about it. I am the "short game is the difference" poster boy. I hit the ball fairly well, even to the point I am generally happy with it (not an easy feat!). This is a result of lessons and focused practice. I average 51% GIRs, and now that my driver is behaving again FIRs are not costing much either. But my up and downs are dreadful. Putting is OK (can always be better) and I rarely 3 putt, but I simply cannot expect to sink 10 footers to save par. When I score well, I am sinking those 8-10 footers for par saves, otherwise I have a lot of bogeys.

Last year I was practicing 50-50 ball striking vs. short game. This year I am dedicating myself to spend 10-15 minutes max on ball striking per session, typically to fix some issue from a previous round. Otherwise I will spend all other practice time around the green.

I'm of the same mind. Earlier in the year tossed away 4 glorious chances at breaking par with 8's and 7's on the incoming holes. Honestly I hit great shots but the wind was so strong I ended up in the greenside bunker. I looked like a 30 handicapper out of the bunker chunk, clank. chip, putt putt, Snowman!

Anyway I took a 1 hour lesson for bunker and chipping.. Then I spent an hour in the bunker. with 40 balls. Hitting bunker shot after bunker shot. I wouldn't stop until I hit 10 good shots in a row. I hit 15 bunker shots before every round now. My range work is basically. 25 balls to get loose. The rest. Pitching chipping and putting.

[Andru]

A hypothetical par round for me is:
12 GIR's
3 saves
3 birdies
no 3 putts

The key stat is the save percentage and in my example above, it is a reasonable 50%. What is yours?

Likely, it is well below the 50% margin confirming what Andru's said. If you don't chip and putt well, you will never score.

That's kewl BC. I hit 11 greens. and of the remaining 7. I get up and in 1-2 times. There's the difference I shoot between plus 4 and plus 9. because I'm not getting it done on the other 6. some are bogeys, some are doubles. I'm happy knowing I'm on the right track here. I'm working on the right portion of my game.

[BullDog]

I'll assume your making pars on those greens because you've said you're a guranteed 2 putt.

So for the other 16 holes, if you make 50% of you up and downs and I'll give you an up an 2 putt on the remaining 8. You're a +8 80. That's a far cry from 90+.

Now like I said it's not my game under the microscope. But the numbers don't lie. Your short game is not holding up.

One more note - If you're only hitting 2 greens per round. This number should be way way lower if you have a competent short game. You should have more one putts. The GIR stats you see on the PGA tour are for GIR's only.

I've always marvelled at how easy it is to par a hole when you're on in regulation, so you're right there. Sure, I have the odd three-putt bogey, but who doesn't. The vast majority of time, GIR means good things for me.

OK, I'm happy to be under the microscope - hence my coming to minds more critical than my own.

My definition of "short game" might clearly be wrong. I feel quite strongly that my game within 50 yards of the green is solid. 50-100 yards is almost as good as I love pin seeking with my sand wedge once I get within 10 or so yards either side of the 100 yard markers. Sure, there's always room for improvement - Tiger still works on it as well, so I keep working at it. But I need to GET THERE in order to summon the power of the wedge or putter.

I guess this is why I'm having a problem figuring out what ails me. If my driving is solid and my chipping/pitching and putting is solid, then what isn't? Are the 120-200 yard approach shots considered "short game"? If so, then I guess I have to say that my intermediate short game could suck despite better ball striking - or I am not striking the ball better, only straighter. What's what doesn't make sense.

Am I pressing 5I-PW shots? Maybe a bit, but I have conciously worked on maintaining a constant tempo and avoiding the old tendancy to swing a bit too hard, resulting in a little sprayage. I have tinkered with dropping down a club (hit a 9I at 130 instead of PW) to encourage the smooth swing but then I overshoot almost every time. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a ball sail towards the pin (or a yard or two either way) and see it fly and fly and fly. Going over greens usually present tougher shots coming back than if you're on on the green or just short.

I guess I'll have to chart a couple of rounds to see what's going on. It's the inconsistency that kills me right now. Two weeks ago I had six pars in nine holes for a +4 40. The next nine was a +11 with two pars. The next game I shot a 99 with three pars all game. The course or length of hole doesn't seem to matter as far as my relationship to par is concerned.

Anyway, keep poking at me - if probing questions help me reach some sort of conclusion that allows me to go work on something I ignore on the range (and I know, 3 times a month isn't enough) or in the hour spent at the course before a game, then I'll be better off.

Somehow I suspect that someone will tell me to take my 15 handicap (now ballooned to 17.9) to a CPGA pro for a few meetings. We can all use that... Thanks again.

[leftylucas]

There is a great article in in the May 2006 issue of GD, "What it takes to break 80" . It relates directly to your situation and gives statistical analysis of ratios between FIR and GIR and scoring. Charting your misses is the key and it is impressive how they could come up with a quotient for both of these and your score.

It really interesting

http://www.golfdigest.com/instructio...05break80.html

Luc

[el tigre]

The startling stat is that my "historical" GIR is 21%. This year I'm 12.1%.
I don't get why because again, I'm not hooking my approach shots anymore...
the vast majority of them are straight. Granted, they can be left, right,
short or long, but despite a straighter shot, I'm missing the target
more than before.

I doubt that it is your short game. If your GIR % drops from 21% to 12%, your scoring will suffer. No other statistic has a greater correlation to scoring than GIR %.

While it is never a bad idea to practice the short game and putting, you can never score consistently without decent ball-striking. Better accuracy with your irons will also improve your scrambling %, since your misses will be closer to the green and thus easier to convert. Your putts/round may suffer, but your putting stats are very good.

I gather that in the past most of your misses were hooks. Does that mean that most of your good approach shots were straight or a draw? If so, then perhaps you eliminated one side of the course and set up accordingly. Now your misses could be anywhere, so you don't know where to aim. You may want to check your alignment to make sure you're not still lining up to hit a draw and then subconciously making adjustments during your swing.

Otherwise, I would suggest visiting an instructor to determine if your ball-striking has truly "improved" or whether it has merely changed. Its pretty hard to give swing advice over the internet, but based on your stats I think you need to work on your iron play.

[Andru]

OK, I'm happy to be under the microscope - hence my coming to minds more critical than my own.

My definition of "short game" might clearly be wrong. I feel quite strongly that my game within 50 yards of the green is solid. 50-100 yards is almost as good as I love pin seeking with my sand wedge once I get within 10 or so yards either side of the 100 yard markers. Sure, there's always room for improvement - Tiger still works on it as well, so I keep working at it. But I need to GET THERE in order to summon the power of the wedge or putter.

That's cool. it was me openign my mind that allwoed me to discover my problems.

Ok I realize you feel your shrot game is good. But honestly the numbers or evidence tells a different story.

If you're up to it. Why don't you log. your round. Everyshot. Record your lie and yardage to the hole. This will tell the true story. I can stomach viewing it.

Example.

#1 (Par 4 ) Tee/347 - fw/140 - bunker/30ft - Green/10ft - Green/2ft

This is 347 yard hole. Tee shot to fairway,, Fairway to bunker. bunker to green, 2 putts for bogey.

Do nine holes. or 18 if you'd like.

Cheers

[byerxa]

I'm of the same mind. Earlier in the year tossed away 4 glorious chances at breaking par with 8's and 7's on the incoming holes. Honestly I hit great shots but the wind was so strong I ended up in the greenside bunker. I looked like a 30 handicapper out of the bunker chunk, clank. chip, putt putt, Snowman!

Anyway I took a 1 hour lesson for bunker and chipping.. Then I spent an hour in the bunker. with 40 balls. Hitting bunker shot after bunker shot. I wouldn't stop until I hit 10 good shots in a row. I hit 15 bunker shots before every round now. My range work is basically. 25 balls to get loose. The rest. Pitching chipping and putting.

Shot a 78 down south this year with two triples - one was a short game disaster as I played tennis back and forth across the green. My sand play is actually OK, which stems from an incident year ago. I played a round where I happened to end up in a lot of greenside bunkers (just one of those rounds). I was horrible at getting out and it was embarassing. So the next day I found a range with a good practice bunker and spent 2 hours in there. After that sand rarely poses a real problem to me as I average 25% sand saves and rarely make worse than a bogey out of the sand. But my chipping and pitching - yikes! I'd rather be in the sand half the time!

I read Pelz's short game bible last year and I have got the mechanics sorted out. Now it is just a matter of practice and taking it on to the course. With the work I've done on the full swing, I can stand over the ball and feel fairly confident that I will make a half decent shot. I want to get that same feeling over chips and pitches. Once I do I think I can get it down into the 70s much more often.

Like you, I only need to hit maybe 10-15 balls before a round simply to get the tempo sorted out. The rest is spent chipping, sand shots, and putting.

[sharkhark]

I know you said you experimented with using more club i.e. you said you used a 9 instead of PW and flew green.
My question is??? When you said you tried it, do you mean every shot for several rounds? or do you mean u did it once or twice within a round.

I ask this as a callaway pro last yr stressed how often people try to hit their max, when even 1 or 2 more clubs most times simply means back of green at worst, not short.

I listened to him, and did it every time, I broke 80 for first time in life shortly after. Then again, again etc. 6 times in one season. I come up short very rarely, usually only if I don't listen to my own advice, and almost never go over, maybe back fringe.
Try it.

[jvincent]

I'll second the tracking your game suggestion.

As someone who is mired in a bit of a funk myself (index has gone from a 7.1 last year to an 11.5) it helps to focus you on where you are losing strokes.

What is killing me is the brain-fart. I'm having 4 or 5 of these a round right now and it's killing me. It could be anything from a super fat 6-iron off the tee into the water, to a double hit chip, to flubbed shot in a bunker.

So for me, I need a new brain.

[Txxxxxxx]

I know you said you experimented with using more club i.e. you said you used a 9 instead of PW and flew green.
My question is??? When you said you tried it, do you mean every shot for several rounds? or do you mean u did it once or twice within a round.

I ask this as a callaway pro last yr stressed how often people try to hit their max, when even 1 or 2 more clubs most times simply means back of green at worst, not short.

I listened to him, and did it every time, I broke 80 for first time in life shortly after. Then again, again etc. 6 times in one season. I come up short very rarely, usually only if I don't listen to my own advice, and almost never go over, maybe back fringe.
Try it.

I somewhat agree with what you're saying. I agree that too many people take a club lower and hit it full out, rather than hit a 3/4 9 iron in the example of PW.

The part I don't agree with is being long. I'd much rather be below the hole than above it. I think most people will agree that it's better to have a putt going uphill than down. Also, if you're long(over the green), you have to chip downhill instead of being on the front fringe or rough and chipping uphill.

I say uphill and downhill keeping in mind many greens are sloped forward rather than backwards.

[sharkhark]

I somewhat agree with what you're saying. I agree that too many people take a club lower and hit it full out, rather than hit a 3/4 9 iron in the example of PW.

The part I don't agree with is being long. I'd much rather be below the hole than above it. I think most people will agree that it's better to have a putt going uphill than down. Also, if you're long(over the green), you have to chip downhill instead of being on the front fringe or rough and chipping uphill.

I say uphill and downhill keeping in mind many greens are sloped forward rather than backwards.

I am giving advice for a high handicapper, not someone low like yourself who worries about above or below the hole.
He indicates he can usually two putt, so his main concern is getting on in 2, not where the hole is.
And no I don't mean over green vs short is better.
What I mean is being on the green, regardless of where is better than short.

I often find I take a club more, reach the green then see a ton of room past flag, realizing I could have taken even 2 clubs more than usual.

In his scenario if he is somewhat consistent with yardages, since many greens are up to 3 club difference in depth, he could take 1 more every time and be hole high, or above, but not short.

The last thing to mention is short is where all the trouble is. Few courses put too much danger over green, but short is water, bunkers etc. A putt from back is preferred by many, over a sw bunker shot.

[Thimble]

I've never hit straighter on all shots than I have been this year but my
accuracy clearly has suffered and my scoring has as well.

two things:

1. has your distance control decreased? since your shot has changed, it could be that your yardages have changed as well. not only that, but the variety of distances might have increased due to you fade/slicing the ball more now (fade/slices tend to be much shorter).

2. is your overal spread wider? with a consistent hook, you can just line your shots a bit to the right, and you can rely on your shot turning to the centre. with a "straighter" shot, you may actually have a wider dispersion than before, making it more difficult to target the green.