Bring me the head of sergio garcia....

Good Morning All,

Has anyone read this book?? Im half way through and finding it very amusing and interesting and possibly inspiring...but to a point....

ive been playing golf for 2 years..i played a small amount with friends when i was younger but nothing much....ive never had lessons...i joined a club and had a year of playing..in which I won my first major (2 rounds stroke, 3 rounds matchpplay)..name was on the board with a handicap of 19 ..i was a golfer..yes i was...i thought...until the pro said your not even nearly a golfer until you have less than one shot a hole....a challenge!!

anyway... a year on i play approx 2-3 times a week and am steadily dropping my handicap..im currently off 11.8 and have just turned 30...im not at a club at the minute due to the birth of my 2nd child however i plan on having a solid year of playing in most comps next year...i dont envisage winning but want to become a better player...

through this long winded post i finally get to the question....i am off 11.8...ive come down reasonably quickly to a respectable handicap in my opinion anyway....i want to play off 4....i realise the magnitude of this statement and that now i only get 0.2 reduction per shot etc i must play far more consistently than ever (and im very aware that 19 to 11.8 was a much easier process)...anyway...what is the best approach in other players views to do this?? play at a club and an amateur tour?? hit the range everyday?? play different courses dont join a club?? have lessons??  Any opinion, shared experience of "the next 2 years of my life being the hardest/most frustrating ever in golfing terms" much appreciated

Thanks

Gavin

Hi Gavin,

An interesting question and something I've been giving a bit of thought to myself recently.  My handicap was 18.6 in April 2010; i had a decent summer last year and got down to 13.5 as a low point.  By the end of the summer it had settled around the 14.5 mark.  I had assumed that, in reality that would be my limit and joined a local club where I've been steadily around the 14-15 mark since the start of the year and not really going anywhere.  Then a bit of form kicked in and I've dropped 4 shots in a month, mainly thanks to two rounds in the 70s.  I got down to 13, then shot a 76 yesterday to get me down to 11.4!  this shows me that, with consistency, further improvement is possible.

The catalyst for this improvement can only be, as many contributors such as JP, have been extolling for ages, joining a club.  I've had at least three rounds a week, with the chance to watch many different players I otherwise wouldn't have met, without having to worry whether or not I could afford a round.  The club pro will also take an interest in your performance and help you to improve.  I'd definitely recommend going down the club route.

For me it would be:

Lessons

This will ensure that you have a consistent swing and you are doing the correct method for all of your shots.

Practice

Once you are swinging the club the correct way then you need to practice so that you can do the same shot each and every time.  Remember, most people practice the shots they are good at, you need to practice the shots you don't like!

Play

The cheapest way to would be to join a golf club.  You will then find you can get discounts on your lessons, and you will have a practice ground that you can use for free.  Being a member will also allow you to play as often as you want, to play 3, 6, 9 or whatever number of holes you can fit in, without worrying about the cost.

Now it would not be worth joining a golf club if you could only play one round per month! You have to work out how often you can play a month, as well as how much time you could spend on the practice sessions.

Russ

I agree in a way with James and Russ, the only way to improve is to play and practice more.  If joining a club allows you to do this then that is the way to go for you.  I would, however, add a word of caution to this - and it's a point that James made the other day when we were out on the course.  If the course is not particularly challenging then you may find that although your handicap plummets it doesn't necessarily make you a better player.  His comment that on a course like we played Thursday then he would certainly be a single figure and both of us playing with him would be knocking on the door instead of being mid-teens, it just wasn't that challenging.  I've played against a few single figure golfers who are totally out of their comfort zone when they aren't at their home club (in fact I thrashed an 8 handicapper when we played at a neutral venue), he'd played 3 or 4 times a week for 5 years but had only played 2 other courses in that time.

So if you join a club, make sure it's a decent one and get out and play other venues - the more the better.  It will make you a much more rounded player. 

To back up what Tim says about playing different courses. For the 3/4 years before this I probably only played 4/5 different courses other than my course. This year after a joining a society and entering a few matchplay comps I've played 15 or so different courses and I feel a much better player for it. My handicap has stayed the same, but in the past I would really struggle at different course as you get used to the kind of shot you have to play on your own track.

It might not always be easy to play different courses so often when your your already paying out for a membership, but if you get the chance, either with mate or signing up to open comps and regional/national matchplay comps, it will benefit your game no end

thanks for the responses gents,i agree wholeheartedly with the different course one , i recently played at an open but long course and shot 8 over...i had to go out the next day and play a more difficult course to see where i was at,..the 10 over (should have been lower) gave me anough satisfaction i was getting there...ive played 26 courses in last 2 years (yes i have a list, my apologies :0)..i enjoy the challenge of somewhere new and am in a society..my most recent confidence has been brought about by buying some new fitted irons..the pro gave me slight changes to posture and grip..minimal things but seem to allow me to swing so much freer and irons were always my issue i can drive and putt...usually......confidence is 9/10s of this game i think

also tim i did the same with a 6 handicapper..i was longer than him playing off 16 and appeared to strike the ball cleaner...his short game was good mind..i guess thats how these guys get so much better.its quite deceptive.

my local club is generally acknowledged as a tough one n the area..its tree lined and reasonably narrow..i hope to rejoin next month and play a bit through the winter months, mentally prepping myself to enter some opens or maybe a few rounds of the g tour / a tour next year.....

You'll have to try a bit harder Gavin, last year I played 60 recorded rounds on 36 different courses and still managed a 3.5 shot drop in handicap! 

good effort tim, whilst feeling slightly inferior ill argue you could have bettered your game if you played just a few less more often...no ...and tim you have a list also???

Gavin, sorry it's even worse than just having a list of the courses I played.  Last year I thought I'd keep a record of exactly how much I spent playing golf - just to see whether or not it was, as most people assume, it's much cheaper to be a member of a club rather than a golf tart like I am.  The results were surprising, if a bit scary and I was hoping that I could get a club member to do a similar exercise - but for some reason I could only find one person who'd admit to their actual outlay.

I suppose I should play fewer courses, but I just love the buzz of turning up somewhere and playing it blind (no GPS for me) or with just the official course planner.  Mind you, I've done some nice courses, several in Portugal, Lindrick, the Carrick at Loch Lomond, Woodhall Spa and the Belfry to name but a few.

top man..forgive my banter

id love to play the carrick..something romantic about it..ive just got vouchers from the golfers club insurance and theres some nice courses on there il be at very soon..

ive been fortunate enough to play at woburn...incredible, mystical course and ive played the pga national at the belfry..for me though it was soul less..very much a technical course in my opinion...

other than that no incredible ones to shout out..im hoping for a few in portugal next few years and certianly to get to loch lomond...

as a side issue if my partner ever found a list of what id spent?? well id have to leave her wouldnt i...she would never understand...though she has furnished me with new irons, a hugo boss bag and a clicgear trolley..then asked me to play less??!! WOMEN!!

and im not a gps fan....i like the room for error / excuse not having one offers..it didnt look that far?? yes i hit a wedge and it bounced well..etc..

You're obviously a bit of newbie Gavin, my lovely wife is in no position to question my expenditure on golf because whatever I spend is a mere drop in the ocean compared to her and my daughters chosen hobby, owning a horse.

Honestly, if I spent as much as they do on the horse I could have a new set of kit every month.  Nice horse though...

Welldone Gavin. That's some decent golf to achieve that in such a short time. The suggestions earlier in the thread pretty much cover what needs to be done. The only thing I can suggest is practice your short game more, and maybe even at the expense of of the odd round.

If you miss the middle of the fairway by 15 yds you'll still be on the fairway but miss a green by 15yds and you're in the do-do. What you do from there will have a big impact on your scores. Learn to chip close, and learn to putt like your life depended on it.

My Fir(typically less than 35%) & Gir(less than 50%) aren't brilliant these days but I rarely exceed 30 putts, and to do that I can chip very close about 80% of the time.

I believe that once you reach a certain level it stops being about the mistakes you make but more to do with your ability to recover from them.

Good luck

Thanks brian. I'm around 35 on fir. But gir is 20 ish. My recoverys ok but recntly I've been goin for any part of green and trying to at worst 2 putt. Average putts is 32 and since I've played this way I've really improved. It seems dull but I think its necessary for this stage of my handicap.

For me, Gavin, this is a no brainer. A handicap that is not from an approved golf club is worth nothing.

Join the best club you can afford and you will not look back. The strength of the competition will either be of benefit to you or it won 't. You will soon know whether or not you are going to achieve your goals.

I am a great believer in playing at one club as opposed to being a nomad, because your short game will improve at a far greater rate and your putting stroke will become grooved and consistent. Playing three times a week at different courses makes maintaining a decent putting stroke very difficult.

Once you have got yourself into single figures you will then be asked to represent the club in matches against other clubs and you will find that these matches will be against clubs of the same or similar standing. There is nothing better than playing in a team as it will enhance your appreciation of the game.

There are many good Open competitions for amateurs around the country and they are a good way of playing top quality courses at a more favourable rate.

The real; Amateur tournaments will require you to be at least 1 handicap just to gain entry, so a lot of work is required on your part, a lot of good practice and a lot of determination to achieve your goals. Good luck.

Further to Tim's post I have checked my expenditure for 2010 and my total spent on golf was £ 1,960. This includes my membership fees for my club and my golf holiday to portugal. Other expenditure is all golf related ie society fees, balls, gloves, tees etc.

I don't know if this is representative or not compared to other golfers.

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing yours may be slightly higher Martin!

Thanks for all the responses/ comments again. Only have the blackberry tonight so will keep response short and sweet. and tim my partner had horses but let it go now the babies here. She actually rode in the british open showjumping a few years ago...I've a few years of golf before the babies after a pony. Better make the most of it.Has anyone here played on g tour or a tour? I fancy that in partnership with joining club for a different challenge / learning curve??

Gavin, if you've got time and fancy coming over towards Yorkshire I'm sure you'd find us chaps in the County Golf League (Golfshakes No 1 society) a decent bunch.  Probably a bit of a trek, but we do have members who join us from Manchester and Liverpool and this years winter league has some cracking venues, we've got Bradley Hall, Wakefield and Moor Allerton over your side.  You'd be more than welcome, both James and Martin are regular attendees.  A good laugh and some pretty stiff competition at times.  Let me know if you might be interested and I'll point you in the right direction.

Tim. Thanks for the invite. I'd certainly fancy that. No issue with the distance I regularly work in Doncaster. Do you have a website? Page on here ? Let me know costs and dates and if you've got space for me I'll put it in the diary. Should be a good experience.

Gavin

http://countygolfleague.com/

you need to create an account to actually get involved, but you should be able to see the events.  See you there!

hi tim, registered with site..and al "hooked me up"..im in..im in the club.,.im part of things....now to get a routine that disposes of the nerves for the 1st tee of the first round of the race to moor allerton....love the idea of competition but with a bit of banter...looks ideal....ive yet to have a proper look at your site can you tell me what the route is to enter comps? Is it a deposit to someone and get your name down? and handicaps i presume are golfshake ones??thanksgav

Gavin.  Just look at the Upcomoing events menu on the left and choose which event you want and you'll see the sign ups tab - click on that and get put your name down.  You can edit your status to either interested or confirmed depending on whether you know if you can definately make it or not.  We don't ask for deposits at the moment, just don't put yourself down as confirmed and don't turn up - we take a pretty dim view of that and you'll only get a few chances of doing that before you get thrown out!  Obviously if you do confirm and you've got a decent excuse not to go that's fine, as long as you tell somebody before the event.

Golfshake or VGS handicaps are fine as are club handicaps, you'll start off on whatever is the lowest.  If you start off and do two 46 pointers our handicap butcher (M. Millichip) will 'adjust' it ruthlessly!

Look forward to seeing you.

haha tim im a fan of your only "cheating yourself" and id rather be a better golfer than blag to win so youve no worries..and ill make sure i make it..we have a small local society over here and i appreciate its a real ballache if yuove agreed prices with courses and set 4 balls and people dont show...ill get confirmed today...

also on the race to moor allerton do you have to play every event or for example is it best 4 scores count for order of merit?

cheers in advance

Gavin.  No, you don't need to qualify for Moor Allerton, it's just as the last event the leaders of the order of merit go out last - the rest of us go out for the usual hoon around and heckle the leaders when they come in!  It's not to say that it's not competitive, the 2011/12 winter league looks like it could be pretty tight this year, there are a few members who have acheived 5 or 6 shot cuts in their handicaps recently as well as the usual very consistent players. 

And of course there is also the Strokeplay and Matchplay series and the ever entertaining 10 ball challenges in the summer...

cheers for info tim...and thanks for the positivity dan, i get bored of the old gentleman at our club telling me how hard it is to get down..it lessens a lot of newer players hopes...who knows what each individual is capable of, i hadnt played for a while shot 96...next week i shot 83..golf does that and i think the more positive the better..we should all encourage as much as possible...and i take your point...many lower handicap players i know say thats when the real torment starts.., so close yet so far.....