Just curious what peoples thoughts were on getting from say around a 10 handicap to a 5.

I seem to have got stuck on 10, I vary between 9 and 10 but just can’t seem to get lower, I have tried lessons, practice and playing more but nothing seems to work.

Do people think it comes down to a mindset, natural talent or practice, some people just seem to be able to go out and shoot low regardless of how good their swing is on the day. Please share your secrets!

I am firmly convinced that we all get as good as we can get.

I hover between 7 – 9 and have tried all things to get to at least 5…....but alas to no avail….yet

I know that if i improve my putting, keep my drives aroung the short grass and get rid of the double bogeys then i am heading toward a good handicap breaking score.

My suggestion…. drive straighter, not longer…... chip closer, trying all clubs from 5 iron to wedge,......and the hardest of all get all the putts past the hole and then work on the line…..see easy

I believe it is largely mindset.

Once you get to 15 or less, unless you are well over the hill, you are probably a good enough ball stricker to be playing off of mid-single figures.

Commit to your shots. I figure I probably commit to about 60% of my shots maybe slightly more, and that has helped me drop my handicap from around 13 to 8 and still comming down. However I know that to break past 6, I will have to lift that aspect, and commit to more shots.

I am prepared to accept a small amount of failure, but want to get to the stage where I am commiting to 98% of shots. (a maximum of three shots per round that I didn’t commit fully to).

I’m up in the mid teens but agree with the chopper on putts past the hole. Easier said then done, just ask the players on Sunday at Aussie open .. how many of them left it short or pin high and the putt had faded off line. In most cases it should be easier to sink a 3 foot putt coming back then sink a 3 footer left short.
OK to be truthful I was on 16 handicap back in the 60’s and I am now on … 16. although I did get to 15 once .. 20 years ago. So what would I know!!

I believe it is largely mindset.

Once you get to 15 or less, unless you are well over the hill, you are probably a good enough ball stricker to be playing off of mid-single figures.

I would have to strongly disagree. The difference between 15 and 5 is huge!. Even 10 to 5 there is a noticable difference in ball striking and general play around the greens.

I play around 7 and a mate of mine plays of 2 , i’m probaly a better ball striker but he doesn’t miss many putts inside 10 feet and i do.In my opinion the difference between a 10 and 5 would probaly be mostly short game , thats were you make your score.

I believe it is largely mindset.

Once you get to 15 or less, unless you are well over the hill, you are probably a good enough ball stricker to be playing off of mid-single figures.

I would have to strongly disagree. The difference between 15 and 5 is huge!. Even 10 to 5 there is a noticable difference in ball striking and general play around the greens.

Former Top 10 on the PGA Tour ISG Money List.

Agree with your comments….. There is a huge difference….

You may want to keep some stats to see where the shots are being wasted. There are free online sites for this.

i am playing twice a month trying to keep a 9 handicap no practice i find its my short game putting and chipping that lets me down mainly chipping had 26 putts the other day in the comp and shot par and when i was playing alot 10 years ago i was playing off a lower handicap than i am now and my chipping was my strong point if i can get my short game sorted there is no reason i cant play off 1 or 2 as i strike the ball well enough

I would have to strongly disagree. The difference between 15 and 5 is huge!. Even 10 to 5 there is a noticable difference in ball striking and general play around the greens.

Former Top 10 on the PGA Tour ISG Money List.

Agree with your comments….. There is a huge difference….

A 5 capper hits a lower persentage of bad shots than a 10 capper, and both lower than a 15 capper in general.

I have no argument there.

I believe the major difference in these three golfers is their mental approach rather than their physical game.

This though, is only based on my experience, and knowing that the change that has allowed me to move from 20 to 8 has been my approach to the game.

My good shots now are no better than they were when I was off 20, and no worse than any golfer in our club. I don’t practice, I barely warm up prior to a round. What I do do now, is I really try to commit before swinging, and I recognise, that no matter what has happened in the past, I still have to play the next shot.

Andre_W

What do you mean by “commit to your shots” ?

Also earlier you said that you currently commit to about 60% of your shots, but feel it should be around 98%. How do you improve your Commiting % to shots ?

but general play around the greens is not ball striking.

I believe the major difference in these three golfers is their mental approach rather than their physical game.

In the past 2 years I have gone from a 10 hcp to a 6 (5.7 at the moment, have not got to 5 yet sorry!!) I had been on 10-11 for about 3 years prior to that.

There are 3 things that have really changed for me:
1. My perception of what needs to happen in the golf swing, and especially at impact has totally changed thank to the guru.
2. I started using clear-keys and my mental game improved.
3. Putting has gone from woeful to ok…when I have agood day with the putter I go low generally, but not consistent enough with it.

My misses are smaller now, I rarely miss a fairway by more than a couple of metres. I don’t hit the massive chunks or the thin one anymore. My chipping and pitching has improved due to my new understanding of impact.

If you really want to go from 10-5 you need to work on all areas of your game to be honest. Long game you need to minimise your misses, this may not mean hitting more greens, but get rid of the shockers. By doing this you give yourself a chance to get up and down more, which is where chipping and pitching work come into play. Finally putting…make sure of the short ones, nothing destroys a round like missing a short putt…all momentum disappears.

Once you are in single digits improvements are less obvious, so much so that others may not notice them at all, but if you monitor yourself and understand what is letting your game down you are in with a chance.

Better players are better putters !! Spend more time around the practice green than on the driving range. You will find that it is harder to practice the short game for long periods but it will pay off.

I try and play mind games with myself on the practice green by creating pressure to get the putts your would normally conceive as a safe 2 putt. Try by making 10 two foot putts, then 10 three foot putts and so on…

totally agreed, the main difference between a 15 and a 5 is the space between their ears,
A 5 beleives he can make a greenside chip and asks for the flag out, the 15 just wants to get it close enough to tap it in.

Sheesh, a great pile of generalizations here. Played with a single digit ‘capper a few weeks ago. Nothing remarkable about his chipping or putting at all.

His secret? Pure, unadulterated power off the tee. He was hitting 280+ metres with the driver, mostly straight with a very aggressive hitting style. So he was reaching all the par 5s in two shots, and a lot of the time just had a little pitch onto the par 4s. (The other thing is that his misses were pretty small.)

PGA Tour stats show players averages on par 3s and 4s are very close to break even. They get their scoring averages down largely due to being able to play par 5s at 4.5 or thereabouts.

So the 5 handicappers that hit the ball 240-250 off the tee, how do they maintain their handicap?

I reckon it just means that shot number 2 is a bit harder. I’ve got a mate off 26 who also hits the ball around 280m… its amazing to see him use a lob wedge into the green for 2 where I will need a 7 iron.. And to see him consistently get 5s and 6s while I hit a 4 or 5. Granted I play off 18 not 5, but if you don’t have a John Dalyesque long game, a killer short game is where shots are shaven.

So the 5 handicappers that hit the ball 240-250 off the tee, how do they maintain their handicap?

I’m not saying that power is the only way…

But not every low handicapper is a short game guru. There are different ways to post low scores.

fair point, do understand where your coming from.. i do beleive lower handicappers have the edge in being able to commit and beleive in every shot.. the single handicapper you played with only swings aggressively because he beleives he’s going to line it down the middle.. alot of high handicappers do the opposite, lay off because of fear of a slice hit it three quarters of the distance and sure enough as they visualised previously they hit a slice

Just curious what peoples thoughts were on getting from say around a 10 handicap to a 5.

I seem to have got stuck on 10, I vary between 9 and 10 but just can’t seem to get lower, I have tried lessons, practice and playing more but nothing seems to work.

Do people think it comes down to a mindset, natural talent or practice, some people just seem to be able to go out and shoot low regardless of how good their swing is on the day. Please share your secrets!

Hi buddy,

Wow! Lots and lots of different opinions on this thread.

Rather than argue with everyone else, I’ll just tell you what I think (playing from a handicap of 2.7 – lowest was 1.6).

I play with a two twelve handicappers, one of them can outhit me with his driver most times, the other I could outhit with a 2 iron to his driver. The long hitter has one of the worst short games you will ever see – quite often I will look away when he is chipping or putting. The shorter hitter has a good short game, very good at holing out.

Of the two I would say the shorter hitter is more likely to make the breakthrough and get to single figures. He recognises that he needs to make a few changes to improve.

The longer hitter is in denial. He thinks he can chip & putt and to an extent he can – however its when he is on the practice green and can hit 30 balls at a time. I keep telling him that golf is not like that, its one ball, one go. He hasn’t bought into it yet.

To sum up, if you want to improve as a golfer, you need to have solid fundamentals. Setup, grip, stance and a reasonably in plane swing. Next you need to have sound mental and emotional control. finally you have to just play and accept your score. trying to score will always end up in tears (I’m not suggesting you try to score badly by the way!). What I mean is that you have to accept that score is something you have no control over – we have all hit great shots only to end up under a tree, what did you do wrong? The answer is nothing, you did right and got unlucky over a bad bounce you had no contriol over.

If you were going to get one present this christmas related to golf, I would suggest it should be “Every shot must have a purpose” by Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott. If you buy that book, read it and apply it consistently over the next twelve months I would be prepared to guarantee you the cost of the book that your handicap will be 7 or less.

Are you up for the challenge?

ps the book is £10.35 on amazon so we’ll call it a tenner!

So the 5 handicappers that hit the ball 240-250 off the tee, how do they maintain their handicap?

what’s wrong with 250??

I’d buy that any day.

Played with a guy a couple of times who was off 2 – slight bloke, probably on 5’4”, rarely hit his drive more than 200m, most in the 190 to 200m range. Pretty straight, solid irons. Deadly around and just off the green – got up and down every time. There are no rules, he just had a strong command of what he could achieve and made sure that his execution was good every shot. He was meticulous.

i think if you had to define the difference between a low handicapper and a mid handicapper would be in the short game. (pitching, chipping and putting) whilst there are some exceptions as has been explained (the 280m driver) that is usually the accepted definition.

for instance i am off 20 but i played a round with the course record holder a couple of weeks ago and he was in awe of most of my drives. i’d outdrive him by 50m on most holes but i would be struggling to make par whilst he normally either had a birdie putt or got up and down with a tapin for his par.

i dont necessarily think low hanicappers 0-5 are much better ball strikers than 5-15 players. i think that if a 0-5 handicapper is an awesome ball stiker than its his short game thats stopping him from beeing a pro. 0-5 players generally hit it straighter but not always longer.

if you want to be a low handicapper – practice your short game because if you can hit 9 of 18 greens, get 2 birdies, 2 putt the rest, get up and down 6 of 9 times when you miss the green. your score is +1. sounds easy when you say it like that.

my two cents worth

Thanks for all the replies, pretty interesting to see peoples thoughts on the matter. I think it is whatever works for the individual, some people like to hit it long and then try to score from where it ends up but others play steady golf and seems to score just as well.

The other day I played with a 70 year old still playing off single figures, not long but straight and deadly around the greens. Makes it look so easy.

I know I have to work on aspects of my game but this dreaded sport always seems to bite back, I fix up one thing and something else goes wrong. eg start hitting the driver well and I will have an off day with the putter or vice versa. One day it will all come together, I just hope it is on a comp day!!