What's the key to shoot in the 80s?

My handicap is 18 but I sometimes shoot in the 90s and 100s. My golf swing is just adequate. Nothing special. 230 meter with driver and 140 meter with 7 iron. My short game is also OK. Usually 3 putts on tough greens.

If I want to shoot in high 80s, (eg: 86-88), what part of the game should I improve? Ball striking, short game or putting?

improve your short game and putting...

Play to your strengths...

Find out what are your favourite distances you like to hit from...
Then especially on Par5's layup to that favourite distance!

The putter is used 36 times a round... Practice putting more!

Sham is right too... Short Game & Putting is the key to scoring low

shamusan wrote:

improve your short game and putting...

Agree
A one chip one putt, or maximum one chip two putt will easily cut 10 strokes from my overall score.
(i keep telling myself these but yet to achieve)

Try to play a "bogey" game. You'll bound to get a few pars here and there for a round. If you par more than your double bogeys, you should be on your way for a sub 90 score.

Stop playing after 15 holes

play relax. no need to think about score. it will come by itself. if you relax, you can focus on your game.

I hardly play in the 80s....


If it happens.....Its becos of LUCK


eg.

lucky lucky my ball avoided bunker

lucky lucky my ball land on fairway

lucky lucky....my 4K shot land on the green

rkangrah wrote:

My handicap is 18 but I sometimes shoot in the 90s and 100s. My golf swing is just adequate. Nothing special. 230 meter with driver and 140 meter with 7 iron. My short game is also OK. Usually 3 putts on tough greens.

If I want to shoot in high 80s, (eg: 86-88), what part of the game should I improve? Ball striking, short game or putting?

Firstly, as an 18 handicap, shooting 90s and the occasional 100+ is normal, if you consistently shoot below 90, your handicap should be a lot lower than 18, or in GR terms, you now become a Strong 18. Now on to answering your question

The fastest way to drop your average score is to accurately diagnose which part of the game is costing you strokes ... and then work on improving that OR come up with an interim solution to use on the course while working on the long term solution

Couple of questions u might want to ask yourself (to help identify what is causing your high scores)

1. Are you incurring a lot of penalty shots off the teebox, e.g. from Driving OB, lost ball, trees etc
2. 50-100m left, can you finish the hole within 3 shots
3. 30-50m can you finish the hole within 3 shots
4. On the fringe, can you finish within 2-3 shots
5. Can u get out of bunkers in one shot?
6. Is your long distance lag putting decent?
7. Do you make most of your 3-5 foot putts?
8. Do you have HUGE blow up holes (i.e. more than triple bogey)? What caused it?

Although by and large, the solution for most is to sharpen your short game, for a few, the quickest way to score better might be to improve driving accuracy, especially if your double and triple bogeys are from driving the ball OB a couple of times a round. Improving driving accuracy in the short term might simply mean using a shorter club to tee off, e.g. FW or HY although the long term solution is still to develop a reliable driver swing

Another important thing to consider is course management, specifically taking less club and/or knowing where to miss. If you high scores come about when you are not hitting it straight, take less club and hit the ball where u can see it ... nothing throws your mindset and rhythm off more than having to search for balls in the trees every other hole.

My personal advice ... the fastest way to your goal is to get a coach and tell him specifically that you want to score in the 80s most of the time, play a round with him so that he can see your game on the course, then develop a plan with him and commit to it

Bro Derek, very good reply. Thanks

Derek wrote:

rkangrah wrote:

My handicap is 18 but I sometimes shoot in the 90s and 100s. My golf swing is just adequate. Nothing special. 230 meter with driver and 140 meter with 7 iron. My short game is also OK. Usually 3 putts on tough greens.

If I want to shoot in high 80s, (eg: 86-88), what part of the game should I improve? Ball striking, short game or putting?

Firstly, as an 18 handicap, shooting 90s and the occasional 100+ is normal, if you consistently shoot below 90, your handicap should be a lot lower than 18, or in GR terms, you now become a Strong 18. Now on to answering your question

The fastest way to drop your average score is to accurately diagnose which part of the game is costing you strokes ... and then work on improving that OR come up with an interim solution to use on the course while working on the long term solution

Couple of questions u might want to ask yourself (to help identify what is causing your high scores)

1. Are you incurring a lot of penalty shots off the teebox, e.g. from Driving OB, lost ball, trees etc
2. 50-100m left, can you finish the hole within 3 shots
3. 30-50m can you finish the hole within 3 shots
4. On the fringe, can you finish within 2-3 shots
5. Can u get out of bunkers in one shot?
6. Is your long distance lag putting decent?
7. Do you make most of your 3-5 foot putts?
8. Do you have HUGE blow up holes (i.e. more than triple bogey)? What caused it?

Although by and large, the solution for most is to sharpen your short game, for a few, the quickest way to score better might be to improve driving accuracy, especially if your double and triple bogeys are from driving the ball OB a couple of times a round. Improving driving accuracy in the short term might simply mean using a shorter club to tee off, e.g. FW or HY although the long term solution is still to develop a reliable driver swing

Another important thing to consider is course management, specifically taking less club and/or knowing where to miss. If you high scores come about when you are not hitting it straight, take less club and hit the ball where u can see it ... nothing throws your mindset and rhythm off more than having to search for balls in the trees every other hole.

My personal advice ... the fastest way to your goal is to get a coach and tell him specifically that you want to score in the 80s most of the time, play a round with him so that he can see your game on the course, then develop a plan with him and commit to it

+100 Like. You nail it Bro Derek

Very good observations, Derek! Thanks.

The fastest way to get your score to 80s is to buy a 6B pencil and an eraser.

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

Ask DGman...he's good at this.

Quote :

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

i think you should ask yourself why your putt is 10+ meter long? maybe that can help.

Duval_S wrote:

Quote :

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

i think you should ask yourself why your putt is 10+ meter long? maybe that can help.

why? because I'm not accurate with my irons... that's why.

rkangrah wrote:

Duval_S wrote:

Quote :

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

i think you should ask yourself why your putt is 10+ meter long? maybe that can help.

why? because I'm not accurate with my irons... that's why.

Have u looked into why, u not accurate with your iron? too stiff or too soft, lie angle etc.

rkangrah wrote:

Duval_S wrote:

Quote :

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

i think you should ask yourself why your putt is 10+ meter long? maybe that can help.

why? because I'm not accurate with my irons... that's why.

You are not accurate because you are more concern with your distance. Like in your initial post, you mentioned how long is your driver and 7 iron but you say nothing about your accuracy....
Distance does not help you much in your scoring, accuracy does a lot.
Perhads you may want to consider changing your mindset towards the game?

enwee wrote:

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

Ask DGman...he's good at this.

dont think rkangrah is based in singapore by looking at his line of questions

Jimmy choo, very good observation. From the way the person post, u can also tell other insights.

pushslice wrote:

enwee wrote:

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

Ask DGman...he's good at this.

dont think rkangrah is based in singapore by looking at his line of questions

What about my questions? Currently I live in SG (Bukit Timah area).

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

With regards to 10m+ putts, even for Pros, it is considered the beginning of 3 putt territory, so don't be too hard on yourself.

That being said, how often do you go to a putting green and practice distance control for long putts? If you have never practiced putts of that length, then you can't really expect to execute that on the course right?

Point to note, if you are GIR with that distance of putt left, then even a 3 putt is a bogey, which is an acceptable score. However, if you are left with that distance for a putt and your previous shot was a short pitch or chip, then you might get quicker results improving your inside 50m game. That would be the weak point, not your long putting.

If you are hitting your 3rd shot (on a Par 4) from more than 50m away from the green often, then the issue might be a poor 2nd shot, either poor direction or poor contact, in which case, medium to longer term plan would be to improve contact, short term plan, improve accuracy from 50-100m.

Since you mentioned that you drive 230m on average (which incidentally is longer than me), I will assume that your problems stem from poor contact or direction, not that you are physically not able to reach the distance

If you have to play long 3rd shots in because your second shot is punching the ball back in the fairway after a bad drive, then the fastest solution would be to reduce the left/right variation of your drive, be it swinging at 70%, taking a 3 wood, 5 iron, etc ...

All tips work ... for not for all problems ... diagnose what is really holding you back ... and if you are really serious about improving, get a coach

p.s. Since you hit further than me, you are completely entitled to ignore everything I have said and give me 2-2 if we have a chance to play ok?

rkangrah wrote:

pushslice wrote:

enwee wrote:

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

Ask DGman...he's good at this.

dont think rkangrah is based in singapore by looking at his line of questions

What about my questions? Currently I live in SG (Bukit Timah area).

If I am him I will not even bother answering you. Pls be more polite in asking questions. Nobody owe u a living

skybobo wrote:

rkangrah wrote:

pushslice wrote:

enwee wrote:

rkangrah wrote:

My weakness is when I have to hit a long putt. Like +10 meter putt. I don't have a feel for a long putt like that. I end up 3 putts long putts like that.

Any tips for hitting long putts?

Ask DGman...he's good at this.

dont think rkangrah is based in singapore by looking at his line of questions

What about my questions? Currently I live in SG (Bukit Timah area).

If I am him I will not even bother answering you. Pls be more polite in asking questions. Nobody owe u a living

What!!! Now my questions is not polite??? In what culture my question is not polite? Tell me which part of my question is not polite???

All my question are polite and they don't offend someone like what you said there.

I can't accept what you said there. Really rude!!