So the coveted breaking 90 barrier is something that I seek to do this season before winter rolls in and what better place to keep track of this than a public forum where I name and shame myself. It seems that breaking 90 on a consistent basis is what separates choppers from golfers and this is something I’ve put on myself to do in the 2012-2013 season. I want to play golf and not hack dirt.

Background: Picked up golf in October 2011, have had 4 lessons so far. Long game is half decent, short game is being worked on with coach. Trouble off the tee is always a pull and sometimes pull hook causing lots of lost strokes. Putting is in one word – pitiful.

The aim – to break 90 being defined as no more than 18 over par!

How – reduce penalty strokes from lost balls and putt better. Was given a GPS golf buddy unit that tracks scores and stats so will post these here every round. I will play at least one round of 18 every week, maybe 2 if the missus will oblige me:)

Onya Two piece. Look forward to hearing all about it.

Casual day out at Malvern Valley GC:

Score: 94 (+27)

GIR: 22.2%
Putts: 40
Fairways hit: 66.7%
Pars:5
Bogeys: 5
Doubles: 4
Wipes: 5

Lost balls: 4
Penalty Strokes not inclusive of lost ball: 0

RACV Cape Schanck

Score: 103 (+33)

GIR: 27.8%
Putts: 47
Fairways hit: 44.4%
Pars:4
Bogeys: 3
Doubles: 5
Wipes: 6

Lost balls: 6
Penalty Strokes not inclusive of lost ball: 0

Yes – I putted 47 times holy CRAP!!

The power of statistics. I never realised I putted so many times at RACV. So far, this sums up my wipes – lost balls from tee shots gone astray and poor putting.

I’m heading out to Emerald Golf Club this Sunday. I’m going to try to play conservative there with my tee shots (5 iron or 3 hybrid). As for putting… Well I guess my dad was right calling me the worst putter in the world.

Edit: Have to add that 2 tee shots going left on me in a row is enough to leave me shaken for the next few shots. Gotta work on the mental side and getting rid of the lefties

Emerald is not tough – if you keep your balls on the fairway.

Practise your putting on the carpet at home.

Emerald is not tough – if you keep your balls on the fairway.

Practise your putting on the carpet at home.

OldBogey

GolfLink

OlindaGolfClub

Funny enough my house mate gave me a putting mat plus cup thingy as a gift last week. Shall be practicing a lot!

Any local tips for Emerald mate?

I’m in a similar place, I want to break 90 regularly also I have played about 30 comp rounds and have done so 4 or 5 times but only on my home course which is on the less challenging side.
Had my first two rounds on the weekend after having knee surgery, so I had a few months off. I’m looking at getting lessons to get my swing right and a few putting lessons as my putting was terrible also I had 93 and 90, so good luck and I’ll let you know how my putting goes this weekend as this is probly our main problem.

two piece
1stly welcome to the forum dude
i consider my self a good putter so here’s my tip
you use the putter MORE than any club in the bag so love it and practice the most with it.
you roll the ball you dont hit it.
pick a target line and aim at the target NOT the cup (unless str8)
only the short putts are str8

when in trouble in the rough = bunt it out on to the fair way and you only drop 1 shot = take the aerial route at your peril.

also check out the issek days OOM’s days, we get upto 60 seekers to these days and good fun
good luck with your journey
kiwi

Thanks Kiwi, I need to practice putting more especially the speed of the putt. I feel that if I can control my speed well my scores can improve dramatically, not surprising since my stats show I lose strokes to the putter and driver.

Just looking to not to lose any balls tomorrow! I’ll do the OOM days as soon as I have enough cards for my handicap.

Thanks Kiwi, I need to practice putting more especially the speed of the putt. I feel that if I can control my speed well my scores can improve dramatically, not surprising since my stats show I lose strokes to the putter and driver.

Just looking to not to lose any balls tomorrow! I’ll do the OOM days as soon as I have enough cards for my handicap.

All the gear I want yet lacking the skill I need.
Loving the masochism, Loving golf.

Goals for 2012:
1) Driver carry 240m @ 60% fairways
2) 7 GIR per round
3) <34 putts per round

good stuff mate
try not to think about not losing balls
it’s akin to chipping over a bunker and you keep thinking
“dont go in the pot, dont go in the pot”
then you put it in the pot
be positive and just swing the club

also
here’s a putting speed drill that my coach gave me
eg 5 & 6m putts
on the practice green pick your line where your ball needs to travel, then take a last look at the cup,
while still looking at the cup make the putt
takes a lot of thinking and anxiety out of it
let me know how you get on.

the committee will update your cards for you when you come on board

So here’s today’s scores for Emerald GC:

Score: 97 (+27)
(Front 9 +11, Back 9 +16)

Greens Hit in Regulation: 6/18
Putts: 40
Fairways hit: 61%
Pars:4
Bogeys: 5
Doubles: 7
Wipes: 2

Sand Save: 1/2
Lost balls: 3
Penalty Strokes not inclusive of lost ball: 0

I hit 6 greens in regulation today and walked away with only 4 pars. Really am trying my best with putting, but I’m proud that I left very few putts short of the hole today.

I made an 8 on the par 4 16th because I bladed my 50m pitch into thick rough. Made my other 8 on the 14th because I pulled left into the forest off the tee. Lost 2 balls of the tee and one from the fairway. Very conservative and was swinging within myself today, measured GPS distance on my tee shots and they were about 10-15m shorter but I hit more fairways so I’m happy there.

Thanks to Kiwi – I took all my tee shots today with conviction and no worries. So, not many penalty strokes due to lost balls compared to my last round.

All in all, given that this was my first time at Emerald I think I did ok – especially considering that the rough here is so punishing.

After much reflection, I’ve resolved to change my practice routine. I need to eliminate the big miss off the tee so I will be practicing tee shots to have a more playable miss.

I’ll spend 50% of my time putting and spread the rest out to pitching, chipping and some sand shots. Haven’t had much trouble with irons so I will treat pitching as my iron practice. I left myself some very long putts so pitching will definitely need to be worked on.

Won’t get to play 18 this weekend but I have a 1 hour lesson instead so it should be good getting coach to tune me up.

Twopiece, for practising putting find what works for you and makes you feel confident when you are going to the green. Putting is such a mental game, so having identified it as a weakness you are probably also putting pressure on yourself when you do it.

Some on here will say to practice long putts only and the short ones will look after themselves. I take the opposite approach and do most of my practice inside about 6 feet. I figure if I can get to the point where I am very confident in my putting inside 6 feet, then it takes the pressure right off my longer putts – I am then very confident that I can get it within a distance where I can hole the second putt.

Finally, finish off your putting practice with short putts – whether 2 footers or 1 footers – whatever distance putt that you can be confident of holing 95% of them. Then you always walk away from the practice green with the most recent memory of holing a lot of putts and the sound of them going in the hole.

If you are just putting at home on the carpet, I like to practice trying to roll the ball over a 5 cent piece – it makes a nice little chink noise as feedback when you hit it and trains your eye to aim for smaller targets.

Twopiece.

Ask Kiwi how to practice.
If you go to the range and see the coach, ask him how to practice.
Ask your coach how to practice.

Deege – Thanks, to be honest I actually don’t practice long putts. I mainly work on 3 & 6 foot ones. These ones make me most nervous whereas long putts I feel no pressure at all. But thanks for the tip on one fosters.

Vinum – my coach wants me to work on my 56 & 60 degree wedges with half swings and three quarter swings. Also got me chipping with my 7, 8, 9, P and S to learn the carry/roll ratios. This was all mainly to keep my lower body quiet as I have a problem with an overactive lower body in my full swing.

He hasn’t seen me putting during a game yet!!

Sorry, Twopiece, I’ve only just read your request for Emerald tips. I gave you my best tip anyway – keep it on the fairway. If you did that, you wouldn’t have lost 3 balls. Although I have had the odd ball get swallowed in the middle of the fairway.

Getting your putting distance right is crucial. And greens vary a lot from course to course. Always go to the practice green and get a feel for distance.

You would be welcome to play a round with the Olinda club (at Emerald) on a Saturday if you’d like to get a feel for club golf. We don’t mind if you’re a crap player – we’ve all been there, and we know you will improve. At sub-100, you wouldn’t be our worst player anyway. Let me know if you’re coming.

to be honest I actually don’t practice long putts. I mainly work on 3 & 6 foot ones. These ones make me most nervous whereas long putts I feel no pressure at all.

the drill i gave you was for anything from 5 – 8m putts
it will eliminate the 6 footers
they will now be 2 footers and no nerves
or 3 putts

Putting is such a mental game, so having identified it as a weakness you are probably also putting pressure on yourself when you do it.

it is also technique
rolling not hitting
if you have no technique
you will soon be mental

to be honest I actually don’t practice long putts. I mainly work on 3 & 6 foot ones. These ones make me most nervous whereas long putts I feel no pressure at all.

the drill i gave you was for anything from 5 – 8m putts
it will eliminate the 6 footers
they will now be 2 footers and no nerves
or 3 putts

some people are like clouds, when they do eventually piss off it’s suddenly nice and sunny

Thanks kiwi, I only have room enough for 5m in the house so that will have to do for now. And because I’m doing this inside I can only putt for speed and distance. I’ll have to save practicing uphill side hill and downhill putts at the practice greens sadly.

One thing at a time hey

Sorry, Twopiece, I’ve only just read your request for Emerald tips. I gave you my best tip anyway – keep it on the fairway. If you did that, you wouldn’t have lost 3 balls. Although I have had the odd ball get swallowed in the middle of the fairway.

Getting your putting distance right is crucial. And greens vary a lot from course to course. Always go to the practice green and get a feel for distance.

You would be welcome to play a round with the Olinda club (at Emerald) on a Saturday if you’d like to get a feel for club golf. We don’t mind if you’re a crap player – we’ve all been there, and we know you will improve. At sub-100, you wouldn’t be our worst player anyway. Let me know if you’re coming.

OldBogey

GolfLink

OlindaGolfClub

Cheers OB – keeping it on the fairway was real tough on the 16th. That fairway was narrow as a hairpin and even with my hybrid I still had to go bush bashing.

As for your offer to play with Olinda, thanks very much. Unfortunately cannot make it out on a Saturday this side of Xmas but I wouldn’t mind having a second crack at emerald.

to be honest I actually don’t practice long putts. I mainly work on 3 & 6 foot ones. These ones make me most nervous whereas long putts I feel no pressure at all.

the drill i gave you was for anything from 5 – 8m putts
it will eliminate the 6 footers
they will now be 2 footers and no nerves
or 3 putts

some people are like clouds, when they do eventually piss off it’s suddenly nice and sunny

Thanks kiwi, I only have room enough for 5m in the house so that will have to do for now. And because I’m doing this inside I can only putt for speed and distance. I’ll have to save practicing uphill side hill and downhill putts at the practice greens sadly.

One thing at a time hey

All the gear I want yet lacking the skill I need.
Loving the masochism, Loving golf.

Goals for 2012:
1) Driver carry 240m @ 60% fairways
2) 7 GIR per round
3) <34 putts per round

all good mate
didn’t realize you had your putting green inside :)

Vinum – my coach wants me to work on my 56 & 60 degree wedges with half swings and three quarter swings. Also got me chipping with my 7, 8, 9, P and S to learn the carry/roll ratios. This was all mainly to keep my lower body quiet as I have a problem with an overactive lower body in my full swing.

He hasn’t seen me putting during a game yet!!

I was talking more about how you practice, not what you practice.

I’ll give you some examples of what I have been doing after talking to a number of people and thinking it through.
But you need to come up with your own plan.

Firstly, how I hit balls at the range.
Kiwi drilled it into me that I need to practice each shot just like I play.

So, that means grabbing a ball out of the bucket and putting it onto the tee. The walking behind the ball and starting my pre shot routine.
What am I hitting, what’s the wind going to do. Move into ball etc. and hit it.

And do this with every ball. Don’t just pull a ball out and hit it. Do your routine every time. Yes it adds to range time, but it’s quality not quantity.

I was at the range one day doing this and the pro walked past and started chatting “where are you trying to hit the ball”?

I gave him a vague answer of ‘up the middle there’
He pointed at the 4 goal posts on the range with the tyre in the middle. I’d seen them before and just ignored them.

He said to me, through the goals and you’re on the green, points is bunker, outside those and you’re in the crap. So that you practice with the realisation that there is a consequence to the shot.

Before that a shot through the points would have made me think “hmm not bad” now it’s “crap”

I spoke to him about the pre shot routine before each hit and he said it is a must. As is changing clubs often. Don’t hit 15 drivers in a row, it’s pointless. 4 with 4 iron, then 4 with …... then back to 4 iron etc.

I told him how the pre shot routine slows the session down and I feel myself starting to rush as I get to the end of the bucket. He said everyone does that. They see there is 6 balls left and they think “almost done, let’s smash these and get out of here”
He said if you aren’t prepared to treat the last 6 balls the same as the first 6 you should just leave them there and walk off the range.
You have to finish with quality.
He says he often walks and leaves balls.

Have a think about it the next time your bucket is almost empty. It’s almost painful to go slow with those last few balls.

I spoke to him for a while longer and he told me that I need to go see my coach and get a specific lesson on how to practice properly. I haven’t done it yet. Too busy.

But this got me thinking, how am I practising my short game?

So now when I’m at the chipping / pitching area I almost try to upset myself. I try to put myself into a situation that is as similar to the actual game as I can.

Scenario. You’re on the 4th hole and you have a 15 metre chip. How many chances are you about to get to play the shot? One.

You don’t get to hit it and say “too hard, I’ll hit another”
So why practice that way?

So I will grab a wedge, setup and hit to a pin 10m away. Then I’ll grab another ball and hit to the pin 30 away, then back to the 10m pin and so forth.
And then I’ll grab a different club and do the same things. But a different club means I have to hit a different shot. Maybe it’s a 6 iron bump and run.

The same goes for putting. You’re on the green on the 4th hole and you have a 5m putt. How many chances do you get at it? One.

So practice technique, (i.e. I try to practice my follow through being double my backswing) and hit to different holes.
Pick out a hole 4m away and have a practice swing. How far back do I go? Then putt it. If it misses by 2 metres there is a consequence. Think about the size of the swing you put on it.

Now have a practice putt at a hole 8m away and then hit the ball.
And then back to the 5m hole, and back to the 8m.

There is no point hitting 6 balls to the same hole. My 5 year old could dial in her putt if she had 6 chances.

Just some thoughts from a mug golfer. But I’m becoming less of a mug because I challenge myself when practicing.

Good luck !

Vinum – mug golfer or not those are wise words which are the same thing my old man tells me. I’m fully with you on not bashing balls and treating the range session as a virtual imagine your favourite/least favourite hole practice.

I actually enjoy practicing like this except it’s hard sometimes to hit targets to the right due to annoying rails separating the bays. My confession is that I’m only disciplined this way for my first 50 balls, the rest of the bucket I start to lose my pre shot routine and go robot mode but I’m well aware of this.

The value of the pre shot routine is starting to show as its helped me a little lately esp on the tee box. Just go about the routine and accept whatever I get.

Thank you and everyone else for advice, this is encouraging stuff.

On another note, I am 2 weeks or so away from playing at Yarra Yarra as a guest. One of the other reasons why I started this little journal as I don’t wanna go around hacking up a nice place.

Excited and nervous!! Gotta scramble as much practice as I can and go out there to enjoy myself.