Translating Range Performance onto the Course

[Hack22]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

I went again last friday and shot a 114. Even though my score was higher i thought i did a lot better. This is still only my 4th time ever playing. My iron play was better. No more short shots just to far haha. I cant judge what club to use so thats why. Putting once again killed me. all day i only made 1 putt on my first try.

[Stu]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

I played 9 yesterday and shot a 45 (par 35). I've improved a lot this summer, but am still giving away strokes with my short game. I had 2 holes where i was just off the green in 2, but ended up with a 6. One of them the ball was resting right up against the lip of the grass and I topped it with my putter and it went about 3 inches. The other I skulled my chip and ended up 3 putting from there.

Without those two mistake holes, it would've been one of the best rounds I've ever played. I hit every fairway except the first hole.

[PhantomPain]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

I seem to have the exact opposite problem as most people in that I feel VERY comfortable with my short irons and chipping, but my long irons and woods I am terrible at. If I am driving good then I probably average about 250 yrds on the drive, my problem is that I usually end up skying the ball but only for 100 yards out, miss hitting the ball where I dribble it off the tee to the left, or just completely slice it out of bounds.

Admittedly I don't play anywhere near as often as I used to and when I was playing a lot I was shooting in the low 90's. Also my putter that I have is HORRIBLE and I found out first hand how much better you can be with the right putter. I was playing last week on a course in NC and was paired up with this older couple. Turns out the guy works for Ping and let me use his G2 putter the last 13 holes of the day (nice guy). First putt, I sank a 10 footer. Second putt, I sank an 8 footer. Third putt I got the ball within inches of about a 18 footer. This is how it went the rest of the day and if I didn't shank my drive I usually par'd the hole. It was absolutely amazing to me that I was able to putt that much better with a good putter and that felt very comfortable in my hands and had a very nice touch to it. My old putter, a Mizuno that was given to me, is horrible and is very hard to gauge how hard to hit with it.

Anyway, I like the ideas presented here for the driving range. I love hitting with my short irons and I get average to decent distances on my shots(7 iron=150-160 yrds), I just wish that I could turn that "every now and again" straight drive for 300 yards, to an "everytime" straight drive for about 250 yrds.

[fishepa]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

I've played relatively well this summer. I shot my best score ever of 76 about 2 months ago in a league that I'm in. Followed that up with a 96 (go figure) and an 85. I don't hit the ball far, 7 iron about 140, but my short game is decent.

[mjb2124]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

The oddest thing happened with my short game. It used to be terrible....in fact, it was horrible all last summer. Didn't do anything over the winter and the first time out this summer, my short game was decent. Not perfect, but decent. The last 4-5 times I've been out it's steadily been improving.

I don't know how to explain it. I'm sure confidence is part of it. Whatever bad habits I had before, I guess were lost over the winter.

Driving is a strong suit for me as well, but my medium to long range iron game is weak (distance and accuracy). I'm either too long, too short or too far left, too far right. Go figure....

[TimmeH]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

Driving is the only problem I have right now. I can hit my 6 iron through to the wedges very nicely, as well as my 5 hybrid. But I just can't use any drivers or woods. I've tried a 5 wood, 3 wood, 1 wood, a bloc driver...it doesn't matter, it's still inconsistant.

The bloc driver is actually the club I drive the best, but I always have a monster slice on it. I've tried everything at the range and just can't figure it out. The funny thing is I don't slice any other club. Sometimes this game doesn't make sense to me lol

It's to the point where sometimes I just take my 5 hybrid off the tee but then I only hit the ball 190-200...meh

That being said, I'm heading out in about 15 minutes for another round lol

[fishepa]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

If you always slice the ball it's probably your grip.

[Stu]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

Slicing off the tee is something I've battled over the course of the year, but it all clicked for me last time out. I can't really explain what I did differently but it was basically making sure I was opening my clubface properly on the back swing, by letting it come around naturally instead of turning my wrists.

I don't think I was really doing anything differently, but being conscious of my clubface opening made me start squaring it up sooner.

[sroz39]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

I've had a really weird year so far myself. I'm not a fantastic golfer, but better than average. My problem has been that I can't keep my good rounds going. More often than not this year, after hitting the range before my round, I'll start off about 1 or 2 over for the first 6-8 holes. After that the wheels sort of fall off and I end up shooting in the mid to high 80's.

I know my main problem is overanalyzing one bad swing, which will obviously happen. But I try to fix my problems on the course, instead of just going with the feel of what I have working that day. Another of my major problems is I'll lose my tee shots with a straight block to the right every now and then. I'm usually in and around 300 yards off the tee, but I'm not a big guy or a "hard" swinger. I have a very tempo based swing, and I'll sometimes speed things up and have my hands way behind the rest of my swing and just plain lose it to the right. Not a slice, just a straight push.

This game will drive a sane man insane. SOOOOO many aspects to the swing and for a perfectionist like me, it just eats me alive. I'll be at work and just outta nowhere I'll pick up a club and start swinging it in front of a full length mirror. Having said that, it's still the greatest game in the world.

[Stu]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

I played 18 on Sunday and had a pretty good round. I got off to slow start and ended up with a 53 on the front 9 (par 35). I turned things around on the back 9 though and shot a 43 (par 35). This was my best score for 9, and the first time I broke 100 on an 18 hole course. (i've done it before playing the same 9 twice)

My tee shots weren't nearly as good as my last time out, but my putting and chipping was excellent. Now I just need to put it all together.

[sroz39]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

I played 18 on Sunday and had a pretty good round. I got off to slow start and ended up with a 53 on the front 9 (par 35). I turned things around on the back 9 though and shot a 43 (par 35). This was my best score for 9, and the first time I broke 100 on an 18 hole course. (i've done it before playing the same 9 twice)

My tee shots weren't nearly as good as my last time out, but my putting and chipping was excellent. Now I just need to put it all together.

Hey, Cam, good for you pal. That's a solid round and a really good back nine. Golf is already the greatest game, for me, but when you start seeing improvement, it becomes even better.

A couple of posts ago I mentioned how I can't keep a good round going. Well, sorta kinda again it happened. I ended up shooting an 85, which I'll never complain about, but I was +8 on the 4 par three's, and my round was derailed again on a Par three fifth hole. I was just coming off a birdie at a 600 yard par 5, all excited. Come up to an island green par three. Understand though, that I never ever focus on hazards or anything.

Anyways, the pin is right at the front of the green, about 150 away. Perfect yardage for my pitching wedge which I hit about 155. Especially with the green sloping away from me, I'm thinking I'll have a better chance of stopping it within 20 ft. of the hole. Anyways, I make a swing that I thought was pretty good, but I caught it a little tiny bit fat. Still, it's headed RIGHT at it. It ends up hitting the front of the island and back in the water. I missed it by about a yard and a half. Me being me, I let it get to me too much and I get a 6 on a par three. I go from being even to three over and my head is spinning wheels.

Anyways, moral of the story is don't beat yourself up over this game. Something I clearly can't do lol. In a round, you're going to have ups and downs relative to your game. I could've focused on the four birdies I had, instead I focus on the negative. Stupid game lol!

[mgoblue]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

Anyways, moral of the story is don't beat yourself up over this game. Something I clearly can't do lol. In a round, you're going to have ups and downs relative to your game. I could've focused on the four birdies I had, instead I focus on the negative. Stupid game lol!

lol yeah, you have no idea how many "Tin Cup" moments I'll have, where I totally screw up a shot, and just drop another ball and hit again.

[ComfortablyLomb]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

If you always slice the ball it's probably your grip.

Bingo. Just because it's comfortable and something you're used to doesn't make it right. Go much stronger with your left hand and worry about the repercussions later.

[Casper]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

Well sometimes alway's making a slice with your driver is not caused by your grip if you have little problems with the rest of your clubs. For me anyway's I alway's keep my grip the same for the most part, especially on long shots but when I use my driver I change my foot postioning. I use to be terrible with my driver and good maybe even great at times with my irons and I could'nt figure it out.

So I went to the range and started slaming them till I mistakenly hit one with my fore foot in a different postion then usual. Actually my foot postion was quite un-othodox, my legs were really spread out and I did'nt like it (but it worked like a charm) and I ended up only using this un-orthodox stance only when I pulled out my driver.

So I stuck with it for a few yr's and tried to fine tune my stance because I could'nt stand it even though I was getting very good results but most of the time when I changed my stance to something more normal I'd fling one way out to the right. Eventually I narrowed it down to a normal looking stance with my fore foot slightly up ahead of my back foot and width between my legs is back to normal .... but it took 3 yrs and alot (and I mean alot) of ball driving into a net.

I did'nt go to the range anymore on a regular basis cause I knew it was going to cost me a arm and leg so I bought a net, and hit the range for 20 or so shots before I play.

[Herbsinator]

Re: Translating Range Performance onto the Course

Sure fixing your grip can help, but ultimately if you are slicing the ball it is because your club is coming over the top on your down swing and you are leaving your club face open at impact.