Good evening gents and I would just like to say it seems like a nice little positive minded community here!

I have been playing golf on and off for approximately 8 years now and had a break of about 4 years after the birth of my second child. During this 8 year period I found my game to be totally inconsistent and down right embarrasing at times. I recently decided to take the game seriously as I now have more time on my hands and took the plunge to join a respected club in the local area. (Fylde Coast area)

I bought a lovely set of G15 irons and some K15 drivers and fairway woods and set to lots of practice and a few lessons with my local Pro at a different course.

I recently joined the community and I would like some advice on standard of play if possible - like I say thge course I have joined is full of great people and some great golfers too which is where my issues start!

I don't currently have a handicap but I went round my local course for the first time in 3 years on Thursday and shot a 90 on the first outing and I played there this afternoon too and shot an 88.

In your opinion is that a good enough start for me to be joining club?

Thanks in advance and I apologise for the lack of  positive attitude on my first post - just dreading that first round at my new club and I don't want to make an idiot of myself!

Matt

Go for it - good shooting after all that time.

No problem Matthew. Sounds to me as if you back on the right track. Welcome back to this wonderful game and I'm sure you'll see your scores drop. PS . Nothing wrong with your scores.

I was surprised actually as I had always scored 100 plus. I am 33 now and probably don't rush as much as I used to so that might explain it.

The other interesting factor is I thought I played better on Thursday night due to me hitting par on three holes on the trot.

The card today just seemed a little more consistent but I felt I didn't play any better at all!!

hi matt 

my opinnion maybe right maybe wrong but joining a club straight away might be the wrong thing to do, to me i think your eager to play your best but your best wont be good enough it never is all because your trying to push yourself to be like the people you play with 

just try to take your time and play your own game its the best advise i was given im at a 4 handicap because of that 

it made me choose between shots to play and not to just grab a stick and beat it

when i started 6 months ago all i ever did was choose the wrong club and slice or hook it 3 and 4 putting my game was dreadfuly embarrassing 

i was told that day to just take my time and never think to much about it i blocked everything in my mind and from that day on i was getting better practised everyday on a field got to know the distance of all my clubs 

just play and always comit to the shot because holding back you will always be short 

good luck with your games 

Welcome to the site Matthew.  As to your dilema, well it isn't one really, unless your club is a 9 hole par 3 course!  If, as I suspect, it's a proper course then you're more than good enough to hold your own if you want to roll up to any of the Golfshake events.  Come and join in, get yourself in a local society and meet some of us, there's certainly one group up your way that could do with some help...

Thanks alot Anthony and WOW 4 handicapper in 6 months! Massive applause!!! - I feel totally different about my game compared to 3/4 years ago and I feel I have improved enourmously. I also think i can shoot a good 5 - 6 shots better easily with more on course practice over a very short time - I made a few silly mistakes over the two rounds by taking a club too little and trying to knock hell out of it. When I relaxed and took an 85% effort and a club more the shots were just effortless and very accurate.

May I also add - I am not wanting to play like a low single handicap player within weeks but I do feel if the course pressing and you play with better competition you game will naturally improve over time - does that make any sense?

I also have the facility to play 2/3 times a week religiously and I am taking Pro lessons at the same time and practicing on the range of course - is that enough to improve quickly?

I am a very competetiv individual but I am realistic with timescales also.

Thanks in advance - nice to be here too!!!

Hi Tim - if you could possibly pm me details of who I contact locally I would love to get together with some like minded individuals who genuinely love the game and fancy some light hearted banta too!!

Whereabouts are you mate?

Garstang near Preston. I also go up to Manchester a lot as we have an office there which I spend part of my week at but I have never played any of the courses round there - I am a new member up at Lancaster Golf Club which IMO is just breathtaking and I have also started playing round the local pay and play here which is a lovely course.

yes matt playing with better people will make you a better golfer as they have tips and hand info to pass to you which will improve your game i also listen to people to improve my game but i never perform them on the spot 

i carry a little note book abound with me of the things that people have suggested i do and what iv picked up myself i jotted down in a book and worked on them 

iv recently changed my putting grip and its been a whole difference where i normally 2 or 3 putt iv been hitting them straight in the cup and the feel it gives me aswell not when i hole it but when i strike it, it just feels right now 

when i started to play i was playing with a baseball grip but changed to an overlap which gives me the stronger grip i never hook or slice or duff the ball my game is just right for me now 

but answering your question yes playing with better people will make your game consistant and mentally and knowing the course over time too you will get to know the ins and outs of the greens 

Only thing I will say is if you are going to jon a club make sure the course is good and a decent test. 

You don't want to be playing a ropey course week in, week out and wishing you were playing somewhere else.  Also, you don't want to be able to breeze around and card 37 points every time no matter how well you play.  As soon as you go elsewhere you won't know what's hit you

Thanks for taking the time to view and reply Chris, the course is Lancaster Golf Club and it is probably the most demanding course in the area. It's certainly not a breeze by any means - my aim when joining the club was to make committed progress towards single figure handicap and I feel that this course and practice facilities will help me to do it. My only issue is first tee nerves, no matter where I play I seem to freeze and and want to kill the drive off the first tee! Any drills you can recommend to calm my nerves?

Good to hear you've got a good course with decent practice facilities Matthew, and I hope they help you on your journey to single figures

As for first tee nerves, if you can find a cure for those let me know.  I'm terrible off the first tee at the moment and it's gone from nerves, through fear to acceptance I could be playing the second shot of the round from anywhere, including from my hand as I place another ball on the tee!

This works for me and a few others with first tee nerves, particularly if there's a possibility of danger if you make a hash of you first shot of the round. Try to get into your head a picture of a particular hole where the tee shot is a breeze (maybe there isn't one on your course, in which case ignore this advice). With that picture of a nice danger-free tee shot, play the shot you know you are capable of playing - down the middle.

My suggestion for curing first tee nerves is to become a captain in the annual North v South matchplay - if you can crack a drive off with 80 or so spectators watching you everything else just seems a bit tame... 

You could always get in touch with Ged at www.nwgolfsociety.webs.com, a good bunch of lads and frankly, after last weekend they need all the help they can get!

Matthew,

Welcome to the site from me.

Yes we are all immensely positive here!

One can secure significant gains from intense constructive range and putting green practice but I personally feel that real play out on a course is also essential.  Playing off slopes and from poor lies is so important. Not to mention bunkers!

You state "the course I have joined."

You then refer to possibly "joining a club."

What please is the difference?  Apologies, I'm a simple fellow. Please spell it out. Did you possibly mean "the course I play on" rather than "joined?" 

Be that as it may, if you are out playing golf on a golf course the question of your scoring is immaterial to whether or not you pay either green fees or alternatively a yearly membership.

Whether or not you fork out a year's sub. is more related to your commitment level rather than perhaps occasionally (like me) taking ten strokes in a bunker and eventually resorting to  a tee therein. (It's a little known rules' waiver for exceptionally bad bunker players). (Rule 304 (ii) (c).

Sounds to me like you love your golf and that your questions are smoke screens.  I suspect that in reality you simply want golf friends and to be loved.

Rest assured we will all (possibly bar one or two) try to love you. We are a loving bunch.http://www.golfshake.com/scripts/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/heart.gif"
title="heart" width="20" />http://www.golfshake.com/scripts/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/kiss.gif" title="kiss" width="20" />

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Mr. S.

Happy Club Secretary

P.S. What is the bizarre bit?  We like bizarre.  

Anthony, getting down to a handicap of 4 is a remarkable achievement?  How many lessons have you had since starting playing?

Thanks for the warm welcome guys - think I am going to like it here!

In relation to your query Sanders, I have already paid my green fees for the year and I am looking forward to being involved with the club - I am just apprehensive about playing there (I have not even played it yet!)

I have never joined a club and always played on municipal courses so it's a new experience for me, hence the nerves off the first tee etc.

I almost feel myself holding back from booking a round which is ridiculous!

@ Tim - looks like i'll keep practicing and I would definitely be up for playing in the North versus South comp when it rears it's head.

Thanks again guys!

"I suspect that in reality you simply want golf friends and to be loved." - I.S.

Ivan you are so right, it's all I;ve ever wanted...that and a nice R11 driver with a fineone T3 shaft white GP VDR drip (double taped).

Matt, from the unofficial Golfshake Ambassador to the Middle East (Darren has yet to make it official) - Welcome, and well done on the impressive progress so far.

My advice - just go along to the club and play amd enjoy, its what the game is all about.

Steve H-M.

hi richard 

i have never had a lesson from a pro or anyone but myself 

like i said in my last comments i carry a notebook around with me on all the things i do wrong on the course and then go practise them on a field i find working on them on your own is alot better than someone telling you what your doing wrongdoing it on your own you can gather your thoughts on them and fix them with practise

i go once maybe twice a week on a field and practise something different with my swing

you can hit a thousand balls up the field and then go on the course and it doesnt seem to go right

what i do when going for the flag is i picture a spot on the green and try to hit it i never look straight at the flag i find aiming somewhere else other than the flag is easier  

Well chaps - the latest is another 88 today and I feel I made several duff shots that I could have erradicated and a few silly putts!!

The upshot is Golfshake have awarded me a 19 handicap! This is the first handicap I have ever had and I didn't think it would be below 20 so I am totally made up!!

I now have the bit between my teeth and aim to do some constructive practice on the weak parts of my game to improve the handicap:-

Driving - imense when they go straight but I have a hell of a slice on the odd occasion spoiling my card.

Putting - inconsistent at times.

Long irons - sometimes slice slightly

All being well I would like to be below 15 by the end of the season!

Matthew, only played Lancaster once, all be it a few years ago, but loved it. My kind of course. As for your problem with the slice, it sounds similar to what I had about 6 months ago. Had a lesson to sort it out and the problem turned out to be my swing path. Coming out to in. If you imagine the target to be at 12 o'clock I was swinging the club from 5 o'clock through to 11 o'clock instead of 7 o'clock through to 1 o'clock and rotating my forearms. Took a while to get it ingrained as my new swing but I now have a straight driver or a soft draw instead of the distance robbing and inconsistent fade. Best thing I ever did was to get a lesson.

Hi Chris and thanks for the advice! Had to visit the range on the way home tonight and I employed the methods you stated - I cannot tell you how different my ball flight is now!!! It's like somebody else is hitting the ball!!!

As you say a slight draw and very occasionally my slice slips in for the odd shot, that's when i stop thinking about what I need to do to correct the slice.

Yes Lancaster is a tremendous course and I have booked a lesson with the course pro for tomorrow.

I will keep you updated on the outcome!!! I can see this knocking shots off my game with immediate effect!!