Conference 7.286::golf

    
    Lessons.......
    
    	Practice...Practice...Practice
    
    		Lessons......
    
    			Practice...Practice...Practice
    etc...
    
    		Have Fun and Keep the "smiles" off your balls...
    
    					Fred Deady
    

    Well, I can restate what Golf Digest has given for a rule of thumb
    to get better. This may not be totally accurate:
    
    1) If you shoot over 100 and yearn for the 90s then work on your
    ball striking consistency. In other words, go to the driving range
    and try to hit the ball squarely. Also, you may want to consider
    taking a lesson to help you to hit the ball squarely.
    
    2) If you would like to break 90, work on your short game. That's
    chipping and putting.
    
    3) If you would like to break 80, you must strengthen your iron
    play. Breaking 80 means lots of greens hit in regulation.
    
    4) Finally, if you want to break 70, then you have to practice,
    practice, practice. You must resign yourself to working on all facets
    of shot making. Not just the shots you like to play but all shots.
    
    Ball striking consistency is the most important step in getting
    a lower golf score. Distance is not as important as a squarely hit
    golf shot. If you figure you can get 15 extra yards off the tee
    by hitting harder, this will only lower your score by about 2 shots
    on the average (providing you hit every drive perfectly). Making
    a smooth and consistent pass at the ball is more important.
    
    Once you have your swing in the groove, you have to have iron accuracy.
    The more greens you hit in regulation, the more chances you have
    at making birdie. If you have confidence in the short irons, then
    you may be able to toss your 8, 9 or wedge consistently about 10
    feet from the hole. The more 10 footers you have for birdie, the
    better your chances of making them. Of course, par is not a bad
    score on 10 or 12 holes either.
    
    Mike_who's_working_real_hard_on_his_iron_shots

    
    It wasn't that long ago that I was a 21 handicapper, and the best
    piece of advise I got was from my regular playing partner.  (he
    was a 2)  His advise to to "hit it to a spot where you can hit it
    again".  Sounds simple but what does he mean?  Basically it means
    to play for a bogey on each.  At that course, par 71, 18 bogies
    would give you an 89.  As a 21 handicap, shooting 89 will give you
    all the $$$$$$ most of the time.  So when you're on the tee don't
    try to hit 300 yds down the middle because you'll probably end up
    in the next area code.  Go for the base hit up the middle or whatever
    it takes to get it in on near the fairway.  On the second shot aim
    to a point near the green but away from trouble.  For example if
    there's water or sand on the right try to get it to the left side
    of the green.  Then it's up and down for par or no worst than bogey.
    The important thing is not to stand on the tee with par on your
    mind.  That puts undo pressure on your swing which after 8 years
    is a little rusty and doesn't need the extra pressure.
    
    After playing like this for awhile, you'll soon be in the upper
    eighties.  Then you can start working on a aspect of your game to
    get into the mid 80's and ...............
    
    Remember, make the best swing that you can, select a shot that has
    the best chance to keep you out of trouble and you'll have chances
    at pars and bogies.  Stay away from the low rising 2 iron from under
    the tree going at the pin stuck 20 ft behind the trap on the right.
    That's the fastest way to the snowman!
    
    
    
    					KO
    
    
    

    I took up the game again three years ago. My first few rounds were
    so discouraging -- 120, 125, 115, yecch! I took a few lessons and
    that helped. Year by year I've brought it down. now I shoot in the
    high 80s/low 90s. 93 used to thrill me -- now it means I screwed
    up.
    
    A few things will bring your scores down fast. The tip about solid
    contact is the best. Practice putting -- that's good for 6 or 7
    strokes a round when your not breaking 100 consistently. Tee off
    with a 3-wood; put that deadly driver away till you have a good,
    repeating swing. And give up on distance. Play for position.
    
    Now that I can count on making the shots without wild slices (my
    biggest downfall before) or topping, I find that managing your round
    is the most important thing. I know I can make the shots, and
    occassionally I can make a very good shot. But the 165-yard 7 iron
    out of trouble to the green is nothing to count on. I find that
    my game is still slowly improving because I take what the round
    gives me. If I kick or roll into the woods, I avoid the temptation
    to advance the ball through the 2 foot gap; I just chip out to the
    best lie for my next shot. Maybe I'll take a double bogey, but I
    won't take a triple. 
    
    Eliminating the triples is key; reducing the doubles is next. You
    achieve both of these by playing smart and avoiding disaster. It's
    taken me three years to learn that, although I can hit a good fairway
    wood now, it's not within my skills to try a 240 yard 3 wood over
    a pond to a well-bunkered small green. I'll lay up and play for
    bogey -- and maybe I'll one-putt for par anyway.
    
    Although my personality type naturally leads me to charge ahead,
    I've found that I score better if I reign it in and play smart.
    
    One last thing. The Inner Game of Golf seemed to me to be a bunch
    of mumbo-jumbo, but it had a good tip that's worked for me. It's
    a concentration exercise. On every shot, at the furthest point of
    your backswing, say or think to yourself "back". At the point of
    contact, say "hit".  Sounds silly? Maybe, but it forces you to have
    clubhead awareness, and you can't lift your head if you're trying
    to be totally tuned in to the "hit." It's helped me on all my shots.
    
    Good luck and keep swinging.
    
    DC
    

    	All these replies are good.  They all seem to say basically
    the same thing.  That is, play within *YOUR* game, not your partners,
    your opponents, or someone you watched on TV.  You may see Sandy
    Lyle, fade a ball around a tree or woods to a well trapped green
    and give himself a birdie putt, but it doesn't mean you can do it.
    When you hit a bad shot, take it in stride and don't try and make
    up for all of it on the next one.
    	One thing I've done over the last 2 years, is keep stats on
    every facet of my game.  I keep the # of putts, # of greens hit
    in regulation, # of drives in the fairway and foolish shots.  It
    really helps to show you what parts of your game need the most work.
    The foolish shots category, is to show me when I've tried to play
    outside my game.  IE: trying to hit a 240 yd 3 wood to a green guarded
    well, trying to punch out of the woods thru a 3 foot gap, 20 yards
    ahead of me, or simply trying to *crush* a drive, to give myself
    one less club to the green.  These types of shots I consider foolish
    for my game.
                                                     Beak

                   < more mega problems >
    
    Thank you all for the generous advice.  I'll try to follow as many
    of your suggestions as possible, especially the "lessons".
    
    The following was my scorecard on Sunday at a par 70 6100 yard course.
    
    PAR		5   4   3   4   3   5   4   3   4    35
               ----------------------------------------
                9   3   4   6   3   7   6   3   4    45
    
    PAR         4   3   5   3   4   3   5   3   5    35    70
               ----------------------------------------
                5   3  11   3   8   4   5   4   5    48    93
    
    
    OUCH  On 3 holes (1,12,14) I was 14 over par.
    What is the best way to stop these big scoring holes?
    HELP again............
      

    Re .6:
    
    The best way to figure out what happened on those 3 big scoring
    holes is to determine what caused the blow up.
    
    Did you hit too many balls out of bounds?
    
    Did you try to play a number of ludicrous shots?
    
    Did you 5 whack the greens?
    
    Did you stub 5 chips?
    
    Did you pull a Tom Weiskopf (hit x number of balls over and over
    into the same creek)?
    
    Mike

    	Very good Mike, that's exactly what I was going to ask.  Did
    he try to make a spectacular shot, following a poor one, that just
    got him into more trouble?  This usually the reason for triple bogeys
    and higher.
                                                    Beak

    re .6
    My scorecard used to look very similar to yours (but with
    fewer pars & birdies), but i've now prety well 'cured' the
    blow-up holes.  The blow-ups tended to occur from a set of
    causal factors in my case:
    	1.  Concentration - i'd be mad/frustrated about the
    		previous shot that got me into trouble, instead
    		of thinking solely about the upcoming shot and
    		forgetting how i got there.  Also, the difficulty
    		of the trouble shot would distract me from making
    		a good swing.
    	2.  Trying too hard - i'd try to make up for the bad shot,
    		overswing, and get right back into trouble, instead
    		of making a shot that i knew could get me into
    		position to finish out the hole.  A 14-year-old kid
    		taught me one day to "just get it to the 150's" and
    		play for a bogie (my expected hole score, anyway).
    		This strategy works well.
    	3.  Experience/fear - New to the game, playing with better
    		players, and not knowing what i was SUPPOSED to d
    		in the trouble situation - all combined to create
    		the wrong swing strategy.  Practicing strange shots,
    		getting used to being in trouble without feeling
    		too silly (even the best players get there), reading
    		books about the proper techniques - all combine to
    		alleviate this problem.
    	4.  Practice - being primarily a weekend player, my ball-
    		striking was still very inconsistent.  Practice
    		and more practice has helped confidence and consistency
    		in following a bad shot with a good one.
    
    Now if i can only increase my pars & birdies ...
    
    ..........steve
    

    7 pars and a birdie are unusual for a 21 handicapper.  You probably
    have good distance off the tee which puts you in range for pars.  Are
    you trying to hit big tee shots on the wrong holes? (narrow, doglegs,
    etc.).  Were you trying to reach the par 5's in 2?  You may just
    need to play more conservatively on some holes where the risk far
    outweighs the return for getting a big drive.  
    
    Bob 

    
    The previous pieces of advice are very sound.  Look honestly at
    your course management first then start looking elsewhere for reasons.
    The big number on the first hole is usually an indication of starting
    out cold.  If at all possible hit a few shots before you start.
    If there is no room at the course then try a driving range.  The
    other problem I see on the first hole is the birdie on 2.  It looks
    to me like to expect to start off poorly.  After the first hole
    did you say 'whew I'm glad that's over, now I can play some golf'?
    I know I've done that and usually bogeyed or doubled the first hole.
    Take an attitude that this little SOB of a hole ain't goin' to get
    you down.
    
    As for the big ones on the back it looks like nap time came along.
    We all have lapses of concentration.  The trick is to recognize
    it when that first bad shot happens.  I don't know how to tell you
    to do that but I can see it happen to me.  That's when I use probably
    the best piece I ever got.  A pro once told me that if you go out
    on a golf course and make 7 swings and 6 of them are good, you'll
    play better.  When I make a couple of bad swings (concentration
    is gone) I just try to make the next one a good swing.  I don't
    know what happens to strategy or anything else, (maybe I've played
    long enough to keep it together) but I just tell myself to put a
    good pass on this one.  After a hole or two everything is ok again.
    I'll make a bogey or a double but very rarely will the wheels fall
    off.  I can only remember 1 time recently when I went 8 6 3 7 before
    I got my composure back.  By that time it was too late and I think
    I ended up with an 88 that round to loose a tournament.
    
    Anyway the advice of hit to a spot where you can hit it again, play
    within youself, manage the course, or however you want to say it
    is sound.  But you really have to understand yourself and in spite
    of that play golf. ^8)
    
    
    						KO

    I'm going to put this question in this note instead of creating
    a new one.
    
    I'm more or less a beginner golfer.  I have a big problem with my
    backswing (I think).  Often, my backswing does not feel comfortable.
    I feel as though I don't have control of my club as I bring it back.
    This happens most often late in a round of golf.  Surprising, my
    golf is played on the first 2 or 3 holes of a round (especially
    the first hole).
    
    I guess a lot of this has to do with practice and confidence, but
    I was wondering if anyone had any tips.
    
    
    thanks,
    
    tim

    Re .12:
    
    Now here is something that you need to discuss with a knowledgeable
    person about golf (like a teaching pro). He or she can point out
    flaws in your backswing and show you what you should do to correct
    it.
    
    If the pro tells you how to do it right and you practice what they
    preach, then there is a good chance that the confidence that you
    seem to need will come around.
    
    Don't be afraid to take lessons. They guys on tour will do it more
    often then you think. It is almost impossible to spot flaws in your
    own swing unless you video tape it and watch it in very slow motion.
    Even Nicklaus asked Jack Grout for help from time to time.
    
    Mike

    re: 12
    
          You said the backswing problems occur late in the round and
          your ok starting the round. Are you trying to change or make
          corrections to your swing in the middle of the round? I've
          found that swinging the same way with each shot for the
          entire round gives me more consistency. Avoid thinking about
          your swing and instead concentrate on where you want to hit your 
          next shot. Visualize the way you want your shot to end up.
          The time for making swing changes is on the practice tee or
          like .13 said , with a good golf pro.
    
    -rick

                         < Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....... >
    
    To all that replied.......
    
    Many thanx,
    
    Yesterday, only one triple bogey causing a round of 87 (42-45)
    I am one happy camper.  I tried to forget mishits (8) and concentrated
    on my next shot.  I picked a target for each shot (right out of
    Jack's book) and played conservatively.
    
    I will try to keep this up throughout the summer and am starting
    to take lessons in 1 week to try to get rid of the mishits.
    
    Again, many thanx.   I'll keep you updated throughout the summer.
    

    re: -1  Great round!
    
    After reading the base note and most of the replies, it became apparent
    to me that you are a decent golfer, but just blow up on a few holes.
    You sound like you make a great partner in a match (holes). The
    problem you might run into, is that you won't get the strokes a
    21 handicapper would demand. 
    
    With all those pars and a bird here and there, are you sure your
    a 21? ;*)  Are the triples being thrown out... or some of them.
    I don't know the formular off the top of my head, but your game
    sounds a lot like mine, and I'm about a 14. Anyway.. keep up the
    good play and good luck with the lessons. I would like to hear your
    opinion about the lessons. 
    
    Smitty

    Well guys/gals, the lessons have started. 2 so far.
    
    What a way to make your swing feel very uncomfortable.
    The pro is a long time friend which helps in price and general
    frankness.  In other words he is bluntly telling me what's wrong
    and is positively redesigning my swing.
    
    He tells me I was trying to kill the ball each swing, no matter
    what club.  He has shown me how to generate club speed without swinging
    extremely hard.
    
    I am getting out to the practice range often and it's beginning
    to feel more natural each time, but still lots of mis-hits.
    
    We have made an arrangement for a lesson each Sunday on a long-term
    basis, so I look forward to good progress before season's end.
    
    Again I thank you all for your kind words of support and instruction.
    
    Mark Ross