played nine holes today with 50% fat shots 40% thin no more than 2 feet off the ground and a couple of nice flights with no distance

We all have bad days. How bad isn’t always countered by a lower handicap either. Last two comps I went 20pts and 23pts… I’de suggest getting a couple of lessons if you are not happy with the standard of your play.

iv done a little research an found this name an he is close. Sean Mortimore at hartfield country club, will be giving him a ring

If you dont mind me asking what do you play off?

iv done a little research an found this name an he is close. Sean Mortimore at hartfield country club, will be giving him a ring

I can’t speak on him as I have never been taught by him, but speaking in very general terms, lessons are a very good investment.

i dont have a handicap but can be anywhere from 105 -120 for an honest 18 holes , i played twice at a club in order to get a handicap an join but was so embarrased after shooting 120 i never went back.

Have you read the golf school articles here yet?
Those will go a long way to help. Understanding is the first step.

i dont have a handicap but can be anywhere from 105 -120 for an honest 18 holes , i played twice at a club in order to get a handicap an join but was so embarrased after shooting 120 i never went back.

Yep i personally think you are being hard on yourself. Get a handicap no matter how big, as it is a good starting point and gives you a great reference as to how you are going over time . The first time you break it, WOW what a great feeling of achievement and that keaps you coming back every week

Yeah I think you are being too hard on yourself also. My first score was 119, my first handicap was 26. 18 months later I played off 2! Your only competition in golf is yourself. If you beat your personal best, it is all you can ever ask for. Even to this day I live by that principle – If I hit a PB and I get beaten, what more can I do if I am giving 100%?

My advice:

1. Get some lessons – take the pressure off yourself, let someone else have the stress of getting you swinging! It is easier from the outside looking in, then the inside looking out. As you improve and learn about the swing, self monitoring will come easily.

2. Work your short game! – what is it.. 69% of the game is played from 100 metres in? Chip, Putt, Pitch. Get the ball up and down! Takes heaps of pressure off you long game if you know you can get it up and down!

3. Course Management - I don’t know how many shots I could save a high handicapper by making smarter decisions getting around the course. Golf is about position and damage control. If you hit it in the trees, don’t go for the gap, go for the safest route out. Don’t let a mistake hurt you twice. Turn that Par 4 into a 5 – 3 on, 2 putts. Who know’s you might hole the first one?

4. ENJOY IT – It is a game. These days if I hit a bad one I make sure I am the first to laugh! We all hit em! I will relay this quickly with a example. I was competing in a Long Drive event interstate this year. The Saturday was Pro-Am day. I was playing with my amateur group hitting off the first in an ambrose event. Long Par 4 slight dogleg right. Decent gallery watching. Yep you guessed it, I topped it off the first! What can you do? Get upset and embarrassed or turn around and laugh about it? Shit happens! By the way I told them I was trying to keep it out of the wind as we were hitting into a head wind! haha…

I’ll second Aussie_Bomber’s point 4 above. Relax, and enjoy. Don’t worry about your score, or what other blokes think of your handicap. Everybody starts out as a hacker, and some of us stay that way. :) There’s no shame in that.

My theory is that really good golfers can’t enjoy the game as much as the average hacker. When you’re walking around the course knowing that one big stuff-up can ruin your entire round, it’s a completely different game. If you’re hacking your way around and you smash one into a tree and it goes backwards, well, that’s just another chance to have a good laugh.

Say it loud – I’m a hack and I’m proud!

Yeah I think you are being too hard on yourself also. My first score was 119, my first handicap was 26. 18 months later I played off 2! Your only competition in golf is yourself. If you beat your personal best, it is all you can ever ask for. Even to this day I live by that principle – If I hit a PB and I get beaten, what more can I do if I am giving 100%?

My advice:

1. Get some lessons – take the pressure off yourself, let someone else have the stress of getting you swinging! It is easier from the outside looking in, then the inside looking out. As you improve and learn about the swing, self monitoring will come easily.

2. Work your short game! – what is it.. 69% of the game is played from 100 metres in? Chip, Putt, Pitch. Get the ball up and down! Takes heaps of pressure off you long game if you know you can get it up and down!

3. Course Management - I don’t know how many shots I could save a high handicapper by making smarter decisions getting around the course. Golf is about position and damage control. If you hit it in the trees, don’t go for the gap, go for the safest route out. Don’t let a mistake hurt you twice. Turn that Par 4 into a 5 – 3 on, 2 putts. Who know’s you might hole the first one?

4. ENJOY IT – It is a game. These days if I hit a bad one I make sure I am the first to laugh! We all hit em! I will relay this quickly with a example. I was competing in a Long Drive event interstate this year. The Saturday was Pro-Am day. I was playing with my amateur group hitting off the first in an ambrose event. Long Par 4 slight dogleg right. Decent gallery watching. Yep you guessed it, I topped it off the first! What can you do? Get upset and embarrassed or turn around and laugh about it? Shit happens! By the way I told them I was trying to keep it out of the wind as we were hitting into a head wind! haha…

18 months to 2 thats awesome
me more than 18 years and still around 18 – 20 handicap
but excellent advice from a loong drive pro

great post Aussie Bomber. I agree with the above, enjoyment is the key! If you’re not enjoying it, whats the point.

Agree with everyone else on Bomber’s Point 4.

I played a shocker last weekend and I can’t wait to get back on the course. I’ve sat down and made some notes about my game last weekend. I’ll email them to my mate sometime this weekend (he plays and is an excellent coach and critic) and we’ll go through them on course this weekend.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter to me. Enjoy the company, have a laugh and enjoy being outdoors.

Cheers,

Mick

Guys thanks for compliments, I think Larry Long hit the nail on the head! I once took golf so seriously, pennant, started the journey to go pro – it ruined me! I gave the game away for 6 years!

This is why I compete solely in Long Drive now – yeah I play every 3-6 months and shoot single figures – but I laugh at my shit shots now, put the next ball on the tee and smash it again!

Enjoy the experience, go out with the best of what you have every time you tee it up. Hit a bad one? Shake it off, laugh about it! – put the ball into play, who knows the next one may be the shot of your life. Golf is something we choose to do, life doesn’t end because we hit it bad.

some super positive feedback , thanks , its all stuff that in the back of my head i new already , im gonna have lessons because after 3 years of trying to self learn its not improving , i love the game an am addicted to it but am very self critical in everything i do. thanks again

You sound like a perfectionist (like me) TTM, it is a great way to succeed but you can cause yourself massive amounts of grief a long the way. Good things take time, having a map of where you are going definitely helps

Golf is all attitude, watch Tiger. If you let it get to you IT WILL.
We have a very, very promising junior at our club currently plays off 3 at age 15 and his length off the tee is awesome. He rarely needs a driver, I sh.t you not. BUT his attitude is absolutely terrible and a pushy, bad tempered, arrogant excuse for a father doesn’t help.
This kid could truely be anything but without a major overhaul of his attitude and self control I fear he will get no further and all the junior mentors are ready to give up on him. Pity but there you go golf is more mental than many think, particularly if you are going to be any good at it.
Baz

went out again today with a little something new to try. turned both my hands clockwise abit on the grip and seem to almost eliminate the slice . down to about a 10 foot fade. still not to much distance “about 170 driver off the tee an 3 wood off the deck” also trying to focus on keeping left wrist flat .

Tiny,

That is working well. Stick with that.

Go Tiny! Be critical of yourself by all means remembering to keep it in context with your own level of play and not the lower handicapper next to you, who is also critical of his own game.

i realise this maybe a stupid question but is a stiff shaft driver to much for me.? seem to be averaging around 170 off the tee.

Right now with that length, a high probability of a ‘yes’ to that questions along with ‘get more loft’ on the driver in your bag.

thankyou. at the moment im using a stiff shaft ben hogan because its loaned to me . im reluctant to buy a driver until my ability picks up a bit. i also have speeder stiff shafts in my 3/5 woods.im thinking i might try to find a nice regular shafted 3 wood to use as a driver as well for now.

That is a smart move to wait a while “tiny.” The 3 wood is going to keep you in play more often and just as long:)