I have recently set myself a 16-month goal of cutting my handicap in half. Currently, as of the 8/15 GHIN update, I have a 10.8 handicap. What this means is I would like to have my handicap down to a 5.4 by end of 2015. Is this possible? I think so. It will take some practice and focus, but I think I can do this.
Starting with yesterday’s round, I am going to begin tracking each round of golf I play and identify where I could improve the most. Sure, it’s easy to say my entire golf game needs improving, but by dwindling it down to 2-3 specific parts of the game, I think I can stay more focused. But just thinking back over my last five rounds, I think a trend will develop very quickly and parts of my game will need drastic work.
I would say I play 30-40 rounds of golf per year. Most of these rounds are weekend rounds with buddies, my dad, or other family members. They are friendly rounds with not much on the line. I have played in local amateur golf events in San Antonio before and plan on playing more as I improve. My practice sessions number about 2-3 times per week. I currently don’t work on my swing with anyone. I have taken a series of lessons in the past and will possibly look into finding another instructor in the future. For the meantime, I am going to work on my own by feel and what I have learned in the past.
As I mentioned above, I played yesterday and will start analyzing my golf game with this round. I played out at La Cantera Resort Course with my dad and cousin. We teed off 10:45 and it was hot by the end of the round, near 100 easy if not over 100. The heat doesn’t bother me though. I felt good and didn’t feel tired at all.
I shot a 89 from the gold tees at the Resort Course. Not my best, but I had a couple glaring deficiencies I just could not straighten out during the round.
What Needs Improving
- I lost four tee shots resulting in a one shot penalty each time. For pace of play reasons, we play the woods as a lateral hazard and after looking for the ball a couple minutes, we normally will drop and take out penalty. Not losing these four tee shots would result in four strokes saved at least. Now, I am not saying I would have done anything better with a better tee shot, but I know I would not have to take those four 1-stroke penalties. Strokes lost: 4
- I had 35 putts total, with one 3-putt. This is something I am happy with. Sure I would have liked to have a couple more 1-putts, but if I can have no 3-putts I am happy for now. Strokes lost: 1
- When I am chipping, I try to imagine a 3 foot circle surrounding the cup. I do this when practicing and try to land or stop my shots in this circle. Yesterday, I had five chip shots that I missed terribly with and ended up not even close to this imaginary chipping circle. I feel if I can get it inside the 3-foot circle, I have tremendous confidence I can sink those putts. All five chips I counted missed this circle, sometimes by 3-4 feet. I missed all five putts as well. Strokes lost: 5
Looking at these three glaring mistakes in my game, I figure I could have saved at least TEN strokes throughout my round. Sure, if I would have saved all these strokes, I would have shot 79, and #ProjectBreak80 would be celebrated. Most likely, I would not have saved all of them, but what if I could have saved 5 of those strokes? I am now down to a 84, which would make me much happier.
What I Did Well
- I hit three-out-of-four greens on the par-3’s. On the fourth, I missed just long and was about 6 feet off the back edge. This tells me I was hitting my irons decently off the tee box. I felt I was striking my irons solidly throughout the round.
- I only had one three-putt. I feel good about this. You might say you should have ZERO three-putts, and I agree. But the way my putting is right now I will take this and build off this.
Practice Goals
So moving forward, I have three things to work on.
- I have got to straighten out my driver. It’s hit and miss every round. One day I hit 75% of fairways, the next I hit 35%
- I have to work on my putting. The plan is to do more “around the cup” drills from 3, 6, 9, 12 feet and making specific percentages.
- I need to get the rust off my chipping. Can I blame the rough at the Resort Course? I guess I can. I mean there are spots its deep and just plain tough. But that’s not an excuse. I still have to get up and down.
Final Stats for the Day
# Putts: 35
Greens In Regulation: 6/18 or 33%
Fairways Hit: 5/14 or 36%
I’ll get to work on these parts of my game and hopefully can save at least 5 strokes next round. Hell, I might even save all ten. Do you have something you’re working on? Let us know below or hit us up on Twitter using #ProjectBreak80 @Front9Back9.
Robert Meybohm says
I am sure you already know how the handicap system works; if not head to my website where I have an article under the golf rants section which walks you through it. It is not so easy to move your handicap that quickly, unless your scores are really dropping, given the actual way the calculation is done.
With that said, my suggestion to you if you really want to drive the number down is that you spend at LEAST 50% of you time that you practice either hitting wedges of putting. These are the scoring clubs and you simply have to get get better at getting the ball up and down. You also have to become a better putter. You pretty much better become automatic within three feet; darn near automatic within 5 ft. And you need to make some puts inside 20 feet. I once played to a 2, and I can tell you it is hard to continually hit the ball close to the pin. You have to get the ball up and down; stay away form the double bogies and cash in on your good shots. As you practice more, you will get there. Good luck!