Handicap rising

My handicap is rising even though i am playing better golf, always have some horror holes 8 9 or a ten. Anyone else have the same problem if so if you sorted it how.

It's all about consistency.

If you can keep the sevens off of your scorecard you will probably have had a decent round.

Have you looked at your bad holes to see if you can spot a trend?

Are you shooting a high score on your bad holes because of your course management? Or is it just bad shots putting you into trouble.

One of the main problems I see is that most players are trying to par the hole.

If you have a handicap of eighteen then you get one extra shot on each hole, so why worry about getting a par on a hole, when a bogey is a net par for you!

Play to your handicap and you will have had a good round.

I have the same problem as the moment, one or two holes each round are putting above the buffer zone, so my handicap goes up 0.1 each time!

Another thing to watch out for is getting tired as the round ends.

It's amazing how many people have a bad finish to a round of golf, say the last three or four holes.

Hope you can sort this out.

Russ

Yer maybe i should try and add a stroke to each hole, just annoying when you look at your card every time and you could knock ten strokes off for stupid mistakes. Not really a trend to be honest just ending up duffing some simple shots anytime in a round

Yer maybe i should try and add a stroke to each hole, just annoying when you look at your card every time and you could knock ten strokes off for stupid mistakes. Not really a trend to be honest just ending up duffing some simple shots anytime in a round

Philip, play to your handicap and it will take the pressure off of yourself.

If it's silly shots that are your problem then I'm afraid it's the dreaded 'Practice' word I would suggest.

Practice your short game and putting and you will see a difference in your scores.

The only thing I would suggest is to have a lesson or two on the short game, pointless practicing the wrong technique!

Russ

Yer maybe i should try and add a stroke to each hole, just annoying when you look at your card every time and you could knock ten strokes off for stupid mistakes. Not really a trend to be honest just ending up duffing some simple shots anytime in a round

yea, i agree with the above comments, 8s 9s and 10s are just poor course management IMO.

I think we all have the golfer in us that "can" make that 180yd fade below branches over the bunker and roll it between the trees, the difference is, better golfers know how to ignore him and chip it out.

Try a practice round and every time you miss the fairway dont even consider where the green is make priority 1 getting back on the fairway! youd be amazed how much easier the game becomes, id also back up the practice call, i wish id practiced more chipping when i started the game, so many of my pars come from chipping it close and 1 putt, maybe get a lesson? just my two pennies

I don't 100% agree with trying to play to your handicap every time. I genuinely go out there and try to shoot the lowest score that I'm capable of doing. I don't mean that I go for miracle shots each time, but I do try and go low. For example if I've hit a good drive my next thought is right now let's get this close and have a makable birdie putt, not I'll play safe and go for the largest part of the green. I'm not saying this is thr right way but it's how I play. This tends to make me quite 'streaky'. I will tend to have a round where I will hit 4 or 5 pars in a row (for a 19 handicapper that makes me happy), but then I'll hit a few doubles. It's probably not the most effecient way of playing but I enjoy it.

I was not saying that we should all play to our handicaps.

What I am trying to say is not to be down hearted if you get a 5 on a hard par 4.

As you said, if you've hit a good drive down the middle of the fairway then by all means go for the green in two and hopefully get a par, or even a birdie.

Take the good holes as and when you get them, but try to play so that you don't get a net double bogey.

Keep those off your scorecard and add a couple of net birdies and your will find that your handicap will come down.

I do see so many people get disheartened when they miss a long putt for a par (net birdie), yet they get a shot on that hole. They should be happy that they haven't dropped a shot, but by all means try and get the birdie or par.

Russ

perfectly said Russ, i think most high handicapers think they are going to score net pars on 6 or 7 holes in every round, bogey golf is the best way to play when off 18 shots or more, that way you can have an extra putt/chip in to the green

drive the fairway > hit it within 80 yards > chip it on > putt > putt again if needed = great score

everyone has a go to club/shot (mine is 8iron from 150) use yours to your advantage, i dont think people give themselves enough credit for their go to shot. driving 320 yard par 4s when two good irons and a chip get you probably closer.

You start a stableford comp with 0 points if you bogey(nett) the first, you havent lost points, you gain a point, try getting a good score, not loosing one you havent got

I agree with Russell, I find a lot of golfers I play with are trying to use the same course mangement as Tiger or Rory, the difference is Tiger and Rory are trying to shoot in the 60's most players I play with are trying to shoot in the 80's or 90's, so why are they trying to eagle par 5's and drive the greens on short par 4's ending up with double and trebble bogeys or sometimes worse, golf is played over 18 holes and you need to keep the ball in play and keep scoring to your handicap, as your ball stricking, short game and putting gets better so will your scores and your handicap will come down. We have a short par 4 on our course with trouble all around the green, 250 yards, reachable with a three wood, I have only ever had two eagles when playing straight for the green, but lost count on the amount of double bogeys playing that way, but by playing the hole 7 iron and wedge, I have scored numerous birdies and never had a double bogey, so my advise is plot your way around the course using your shots when you have them, take the trouble out of play and you will score better. Remember you are not Phil Michelson.