GolfComplex.com
Got a Golf Complex?

Jun

26

Hitting 80: Not a fluke!

Filed Under Breaking 80, Personal, Tips

Ok, a few days ago, I hit a 78 which was 5 strokes better than my best score EVER and was on a course that was about 600 yards longer!  I was scared to death that it was just a fluke.  3 days later, I played in a scramble and played very well…  good enough that I thought I could have hit an 82-85 if I was on my own.  This pic was from an 8 iron approach from 145.  Not too shabby.

 

I played tonight again at my local course, I guess you could call it my “home” course, and guess what?….  I hit a freakin 80!!!  This is absolutely amazing to me.  Looking at my “posted” scores from the last year. I went from a 16.2 handicap to a 7.5.  Granted, not all of my scores have been posted, and the USGA only takes the best x scores, but WOW, what a difference!  This pic was from a 7 iron chip shot from about 25 ft.  I never used to chip with anything but a PW.  Now it’s almost always a 5i or 7i.

Here is a little something to chew on…  I hit ELEVEN out of fourteen fairaways!  Abso-freakin-loutley unheard of!  I had 7 GIR, and 0 hazards/drops.  This was the very first time since I picked up a club that I played the entire course with ONE ball.  Let me clearly state that there is a LOT of water and woods on this course.  It’s not that easy.  I had 2 shots today that were what I would consider bad.  One of them I more than made up for, and the other cost me an up and down bogey.  Big DEAL!  :-)  This was my impossible 2 putt.  For you GoldenTee folks, this was about a left-27, up-10, then down-12.  I put myself 10 ft away, and drained it for a par!!!!

Last time I played, I hit 2 strokes better, but this was the first time I was actually giddy the entire round.  I simply laughed at almost every shot.  EVERYthing was dead STRAIGHT.  My chips were excellent, my woods were just amazing, and my putts were dead on.  I would say that I averaged 240 on my drives (note that 11 were in the middle of the fairway).  My 3 wood was around 230 all day, my 5 wood arond 210, and my 5 iron, right at 200.   This pic is of the 2nd tee box.  About 20 yards from the box, you have about 10 yards of clearence, then it’s straight downhill.  I put this one about 275, right down the middle.  I’m used to approaching with my 5 wood…  today it was a light 7i.

I’m right back where I was 2 years ago, where I want to play every single day.  I seem to be getting better evey day I play.  Believe it or not, I learned a LOT from the guy at Purepointgolf.com.  Most importantly, how to hit from a burried lie and in the sand… and the fact that I can chip a LOT better with my 5 and 7 iron.  That, my new Driver, and my new putting-style have literally dropped my handicap by several strokes.  

 

I’m no teacher, I’m no instructor, and if you look at my handicap on paper, I’m not even that great, but I am so freakin happy about how I’m hitting right now, I’d be more than happy to tell you exactly what made me start hitting so much better.  If you read my last 10 posts or so, you’ll see the epiphanies that I’ve had, but if you need further expalanation, drop me a line from my contact page.  I’ll be more than happy to go into much more detail if anyone is interested.  I can’t understate the fact that I was hitting in the high 90’s a month ago, and I just hit a 78 and 80 this week!  This pic was of my longest putt of the day.  This is about 25 ft away on the last green.  Knocked it in with 100% confidence for another par!

More to come!


[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google]

Comments

6 Responses to “Hitting 80: Not a fluke!”

  1. Tony @ thegolfspace.com on June 27th, 2006 8:47 am

    Congrats on your progress. Once breaking 80 becomes more of a regular thing for you there will be another number like 80 which is a PITA. It may be 75 or something. For me now it’s trying to get back into the 60’s…

    Every new number you try to break is that much harder than the last. It does’t get easier.

  2. NothingMan on June 27th, 2006 11:14 am

    I’m going to be focusing on 80 for a long time before I even dare looking at anything lower. What’s funny is that I was hitting low 90’s a month ago, and now I’d be highly upset to even be over 85. I need to try not to let that get to me.

  3. Greg on June 27th, 2006 5:25 pm

    Outstanding NM!! What a great report!! Seems like yesterday you were trying to find where your distance went. Now, you’re hitting your 5i 200 yards. Good job man!!!

    -Greg

  4. NothingMan on June 27th, 2006 7:35 pm

    Thanks a lot. I’m still not quite hitting the ball as far as I used to, but I’ll take straight ANY day over 10-15 extra yards. All of this, literally with a small twist of the wrist.

  5. John on June 28th, 2006 8:04 am

    Way to go!!!! You realize now, that you will be called a sandbagger in your scrambles!!!! (that’s a good thing)!

  6. GolfComplex.com » Blog Archive » Purepoint Golf Lessons on October 1st, 2007 7:41 am

    […] There’s a good chance thats where I’ll start my practice next year.  I’ll prolly buck up and get one or two of them.  Anyway, it’s been well worth it for me to get the tips and videos that I’ve gotten via email just for signing up.  Remember, I finally broke 80 shortly after watching some of the vids, honestly.  The most important thing I learned, I think, was how and when to lean on my left foot while around the green or on slopes. […]

Leave a Reply