can you go from high handicapper to scratch?

in one year? ive read the blog 'novice2scratch' and he didn't quite make it. so do you think it's possible to do so in such a short time?

when you look at it, it seems simple - hit the fairway, hit the green - two putt - easy! but its how you do that is the hard bit...

Well, I made 4 handicap in six months but it took another year to get to scratch.

what an achievement john! how did you make it to such a high level in such a short amount of time?

Liam, because he had natural talent. Statistically most scratch golfers achieve scratch within 2yrs.

Only those that have the natural talent required would be able to do that within a year IMO. Its a tough ask.

I think this would also back up the comment Dave made about most scratch golfers doing so within 2 years.

I would say if you have been 20 plus for more than 2 years, you would never make a scratch golfer.  There has to be some talent there not just teaching.

yep , play 7 days aweek , and go 4 it ,,, i,am going 2 try to go from my 24 handicap down to under 10 in this yr , , so the new clubs r on the way ,,,

It is fairly easy to get into single figures inside a year but once you are off 6 or 7 then the struggle starts.

To achieve a 'Scratch Handicap' through a Web-site like GS is alot easier than doing it under CONGU.

TheLyth

how do you mean by fairly easy? how? im only asking as i was inspired by the novice2scratch challenge. my target handicap is eight by the end of the year.

Liam,

Most Golf Courses have a Par and SSS around the same number so to get to a 9hcp you need to par half the holes and only drop one shot at the others. Once you can hit the ball consistently and have a good idea where it is going it is a reachable target.

I have seen many youngsters reach single figures inside a year (I took 10 weeks to get from 19 to 7) but then get no lower in many years of trying.

TheLyth

i understand what you mean, most people (espicially experienced players) say that you could be the worst ball striker in the world but, if you can chip and putt , you can shoot around par. do you think this is true as i believe you were a member of the PGA?

Liam, you cannot fluke your way round a golf course. The ball must be struck consistently well, with excellent precision.

The really good players hit a lot of greens in regulation, the not so good players do not hit many greens but there some of these who have a short game good enough to keep them in the mix.

The solution is a reliable and repeatable swing coupled with a fine putting touch and a knack of being able to get up and down when a green is missed.

A couple of saying to remember.

"Top, Shank, Thin, Putt, Par, goes down as a four and doesn't tell how it was done"

"A worm botherer into a gale can go just as far as a perfectly struck shot"

The top players will play badly and shoot under 80. The art of being a good golfer is to stop dropping 'silly shots'.

TheLyth

Very true, guilty as charged!!!

I got to my lowest handicap score around Sept/Oct last year when I had 4 weeks off straight, and was able to practice almost every day. Since then, very little time off and scores have gone up again... Totally agree with everyone though, in that most would get down to a low handicap, but only the exceptional ones would get to scratch. In an ideal world, we'd all give it a go.