an 11 handicapper.....but i want ot get to 4...and i will get to 4..somehow..

what does one look like? Im off 11 but not long ago i was off 20....i dont feel like a 11 handicapper, im occasionally nervous about my golf., i dont drive extremely long nor accurately...but i regullarly play to it and below....i dont know if you ever feel your handicap?, i shot 78, 79, then 93..then back to 80, 78?? im in awe of better players who strike consistently but i continually lower my handicap beneath theres despite not hitting everything clean.... i have an introverted beleif that I can get to low single figures by simply playing more (i play 3 times a week..ish)...i dont have lessons though i am trying to get into a routine pre shot to gain some consistency....extrovertly i dont project this, as for me, theres too many naysayers in golf and it is usually better to just go about your buisiness quietly...to pop up with a low handicap to the surprise of people who dont actually think your capable of it...we are a pessimistic bunch in the UK....interestingly some higher handicappers and elder members regularly say your a young lad (im not im 30) you should be lower, you hit it too far??? but i think that just makes for polite conversation and  ..unfair??...long players arent always good players....

is golf so mental that if you beleive it (and you have a decent enough game) that this makes you seperate from "the others" or "everyone else"?  do you have to beleive your good to get lower??  Are there good 11 handicappers and bad ones?? anyone that says they want to go pro..or get low gets poo pooed.."its not easy..always gets harder...its the little things when you get down there"....well for now i say bollocks and its happening..ive been gross under par on courses on a front 9 and a back 9 all be it on seperate rounds....and i beleive if you can do it once you can do it agian...interested in peoples comments on my meandering thoughts.....its friday....

to add to the above i know very little about the technical side of the game..or what a good swing / bad swing is.....i couldnt analyse my ability if i tried....is good or bad just what works??

Gavin, judging by what you have said in your post, I believe that confidence in ones own abilities is essential to becoming a good player.

Technique is not always as important as some make out when your desire is as strong as you are suggesting as we all witness some players with strange ways of swinging a club scoring very well.

Unfortunately, in my time playing this game I have witnessed many players who feel they should be lower but never seem to make any kind of substantial breakthrough. 4 handicap, as a goal, is admirable, but I can assure you that technical ability will be needed to achieve that and those who do get to that standard usually do it very quickly.

hi john,

thanks for the response...im not sure what timeframe you put on quickly but ive been playing and a member at a club for less than 2 years...ive not been able to play consistlently for the last 12 months ..its decent form over the last 3 months that has given me a shove...and i think the 1st stage is having an objective that you beleive you can get too...the 2nd is giving it enough commitment to answer whether or not you do have ability or your dreaming..thats always been the hard part for me.....

i intend on playing through winter...entering as many club and open comps as possible in summer nxt year then asess where im at...i want to be at 7/8 by mid late summer next year....

Gavin, if this game only needed commitment then everyone would be in single figures. It just does not work like that.

A classic example is a young man who is doing his pga at my home club. His striking of a golf ball has to be seen to be believed, it is a joy to behold, yet every attempt to produce that kind of quality in the lower professional tours, like the Jamega has seen him really struggle.

The new decimalised handicap system enables one to come down rather easily and stay there because of the .1 upward allows so many poor rounds before one goes up a whole stroke.

I wish you well in pursuit of your goal.

hi john,

i follow golf, im aware of how we can have a good few days and get lower and slowly come up off a handicap we cant play too.....i also dont suggest that just commitment/time is needed..however in my instance it is the one key area that is currently clearly missing.... and one that i beleive combined with recent form will improve my scores..surely?? if i cant play as much but im playing well wouldnt you say its fair to say i could be better if i played more?  if i was 3 putting regular for example id highlight this area..

theres too many factors to playing good golf consistently, i accept that but playing more when your handicaps consistently going down must help.....i wonder from people that have got down to low handicaps what their views on this are..i will confess i dont know my level and dont know how good ro bad i could be..theres only time in golf that can measure that i guess...

also with your pro is it not commitment but the mental side that is slowing his progression? if when he gets on tour he plays badly but hes an accomplished golfer??

Gavin, in respect of what I said about the young pro at my club, I was just attempting to demonstrate that even with the ability that he has, he is still struggling to make a mark. Some people know how to play under tournament conditions, yet others struggle.

I noticed one of your rounds was at Richmond Park (Dukes) and a respectable score you put together, but we have to face the fact that it is a pretty short course with only a few testing holes. If you could shoot that score around my course at Caversham, Heath, then I really would think that you had the potential to get lower.

It is a fallacy that the more one plays the better they become. One only needs regular golf if ones game is not consistent. Good players can leave the game alone for some time and still play to their low handicaps.

Like I said previously, I really do admire your determination to get down to 4 handicap and I wish you every success, but somewhere along the line you will need to seek advice from those who really can play the game.

fair point john..and yes richmond not the longest..to play devils advocate its first time ive played there..my home course is recognised as quite diffcult (runcorn) however my familiarity should offset that i guess and its only 6048 yds...

i plan on getting some "proper" help with my game..i have however been put off by others expoeriences of pros they felt hindered rather than helped..id maybe try and go to a very well regarded pro to allay these fears....

have you read bring me the head of sergio garcia? its tom cox fault

hi john, for my stats i just looked at history...it hasnt updated many of my rounds? they are in my stats dashboard and on the scoretracker bit but in history the record seems quite erratic?? ive had 80s at walton and 78/79s at runcorn that dont seem to show? maybe a glitch ill mention to darren....unless im reading it wrong

haha its interesting stuart...the book fizzles out for me but its an interesting account..and i like he just decided off 5 to "have a go"

thanks for your comments..im certainly not underestimating how hard it is and hjohn makes valid points..however i think to get too it you need to have strong beleif..verging on whats deemed achievable to open up the opportunity evan as a slight possibility..as an example if youd seen me 2 years ago yuod have told me how difficult golf was and id never get near an 11 handicap....people say getting single figures and lower is different..its just a different type of challenge in my opinion..

as for 3fts...mine were awful..but had a putter fitting with direct golf...won a big comp at my club in which i putted short well and i just dont fear them anymore, just always beleive i can drop them ..miss the odd one but have avoided the jitters for a while..

Stuart, £1 says you cannot beat 36 putts at my place.

Russell Middleton couldn't do it, 42 putts for him.

6875 yards will test all of your skills, Stuart.

Belief is a factor, and if you got to 11 then you have a repeatable swing. So what's needed to get you down to 4? Is it a good long game? It would help but its not essential? Is it a good short game? Yes, yes and yes again!

Tee to green there's not much difference between my A-game and my B-game. But the really good rounds see me getting up and down for fun. My average rounds see me hitting about 30-32 putts but my good rounds can see me going as low as 22 putts but with an average between 25-28 putts.

As a 52yr old arthritic cripple my long game might not be good but if you're talking about belief, I know my short game, especially on its day, is pretty much unbeatable.

Down to 9.9 I see!

As for 3 putts and putting stats, isn't this also largely down to your approach play and whether you chip or putt from the fringe etc etc.

For me (currently at 14) minimising mis hits or putting the ball in places where I can only hack out is key. And that's often down to course management and avoid attempting shots where the risks of failure are too high.

hi tim ,

yes..played twice since original post and done ok...totally agree with you on putting stats..my putts are low as i dont hit enough gir so a short pitch leaves a chip so im far more likely to 1 putt..a true reflection of putting ability would be putting stats after a few rounds where gir is high

and brian i agree also..short game is what im working on mostly for the next couple months...

i dont feel like a 10 handicapper though..maybe the confidence comes the more you play to it??

thanks for response dan...and i do similar now with putting prep..

from my side ive been playing reasonably regularly for 2 years and am now 30...

do yuo mind me asking how often you play? do you practice much? do you play mostly at your club in comps or at opens? do you play with the same people regularly?

i thionk it will be tough but strongly beleive my ability will get me down to 4/5  and from there ill need help and a structured plan to get lower..i imagine as soon as you become cat1 things change quite a lot regards getting lower..

Just to echo something dan posted, try and play with some very good players. Yes there is a competitive edge to the game where you'll try and compete at their level but at a more psychological level there is the learning by watching... can't remember the exact term... but you will take a lot onboard without even realising you have.

This is a great thread!!

I think everyone playing off 10-14 has a single figure in their head of what they'd like to play off.

I'm going for the long term plan. Last year i dropped from 16 to 13, so made my target to maintain that 13 and play as many courses as possible. (managed 19 so far this year, the 20th will be Craigielaw near Edinburgh next week.) Make my game a lot tidier and refined, i.e. better of the tee and improvve short game skill as my course is pretty open and I'm a bit too familiar with the greens. Then attack the club comps next year.

Dan, What is it that stops you in your opinion getting down to scratch?

Dave CAC handed Geordie.