Interestingly, I carry a 1-iron. My play in 2012 has been super bad. After 2011 I was a 2 handicap, now I`m down to a 12 accoring to some other website I use(today I shot an 83 which included a 9 on the 1st hole)

you went from a 2 to a 12......

??

are you using ESC.....??

My game is Humble. I think I carry a 3 HCP at the home course right now. I have been down to scratch for one year. I think I hit an average drive, carry the ball 220 to 230 the rest depends on the course conditions. Don't make many birdies, don't make many bogies, just plain boring golf. Fairway, green and a 2 putt. Putting is my worst enemy, reading puts. I usually hit the line I want with good speed and I alway seem to over borrow the break. work the ball mostly with a draw. can't hit a fade on comand to save my life. Not a risk taker, play safe unless I have to go for it. when I hit a course I've never played I try to stay around 78, give me a few rounds on the course and I can play the misses a little better. Love the game and love to hit a course by myself and get paired up with guys I never met and walk off with life time friends. Can't do that in to many sports.

Wow! Player carries a one iron, yes that certainly is interesting! Tell us more.

merlin3driver wrote:

Wow! Player carries a one iron

Yes, 1 iron. That's all that comes in the little kids bags.

mjaber wrote:

merlin3driver wrote: Wow! Player carries a one iron Yes, 1 iron. That's all that comes in the little kids bags.

Touche! Well done mjaber.

guzzlingil wrote:

you went from a 2 to a 12...... ?? are you using ESC.....??

no he uses LIE.

Driver is a controlled fade when going good and a push slice when bad. I think my body is firing and my hands are getting left behind. Not long at all off the tee. I probably average around 210-220 and once in a blue moon if the wind is right can hit one 240-250.

I would probably score better if I just went with a 3W off the tee, but I’m constantly chasing those good drives. I have a 12 degree driver this year and it’s cut down to 44” so I’m hoping that will help with my consistency.

All other clubs fade as well, less to non-existent as I move into the wedges. My weakness right now is the mid irons, so much so that I just purchased a 27 degree, adjusted to 28.5, titleist hybrid to replace my 6 iron. It was successful yesterday, but who knows. I’m not consistent enough to really pin hunt other than from about 120 and in. Outside of that, just hitting the green is nice.

I’m most confident in my wedge game from 110 and in, including the awkward yardages. Around the greens I’ll use the 60 most of the time, especially with faster greens. I’ll use the 56 for longer pitches, and the 50 as my bump and run club. I’ll tinker with ball position and wrist position to deloft depending on the shot, with all the wedges. I’ve never been comfortable chipping with irons as some do.

I would think I’m an average putter, and tend to let the ball die into the cup when I can. I'd like to be more confident over the short ones.

Without fail, someone playing with me will make a comment on my pace of play, so I assume I am faster than most. I don’t take practice swings on the tee, and quickly pull the trigger. At least once a round, a partner will have to apologize for talking in my backswing. I always just block it out and it’s never a problem. I will usually take a practice swing or two out on the course depending on lie or stance to get a quick feeling for the shot.

I don't take any practice strokes for putting either, not wanting to waste that intuitive stroke on a practice putt. As Beef said, if I should slow down anywhere, it should probably be with the putting. I tend to play with slower folks, and am always cognizant of slow play, so it’s just not in me to take my time.

Knowing that I’m a shorter hitter, I feel like I need to make up my strokes and level the playing field by being smarter out there. This year, I want to really think about course management, playing percentages, and playing to my ability. This already seems to be paying dividends. For example, there was a thread on playing a long par 4 as a par 5 (TWG also mentioned something to this affect in his recent post). Yesterday, I popped up a tee shot and had about 230 to go on a par 4. Last year, I would have hit the 3W off the deck, and most likely sliced it down the hill, and in this case OB. I took my medicine, hit an easy 7W to about 50-60 yards out and got up and down from there for par. It was good feeling to put a new game plan in to play, and have it actually work. My previous 4 scores on that hole were 6, 6, 7, 6.

My lack of length is discouraging, but I’m just going to try to make the best of what I’ve got and perfect what I can control.

birdieXris wrote:

guzzlingil wrote: you went from a 2 to a 12...... ?? are you using ESC.....?? no he uses LIE.

I can describe Player's game in one word: Unbelievable

Interesting read, this.

Me, I'm a gambler on the course. I prefer to go for it all the time, defensive strategies are not my cup of tea. I'ld rather play a couple of terrific shots and come home with a lousy score than play dull defensive golf resulting in a good score.

Of the tee, driver where possible. I've been hitting it fairly straight lately, but if anything goes wrong I've got a tendency to slice it. 3Wood from the fairway is a 75/25 chance. Ironshots are pretty good if the ball has enough grass underneath (lots of streetgrass on our fairways that doesn't carry the ball), often skulled or sliced if it's sitting directly on the turf. Approaches often too short.

Shortgame: point of work for this year. Sandshots often fluffed, chipping is a disaster at the moment. Putting so-so (if the greens are fast and predictable I score, but on slower greens I usually leave my putts short).

Off the tee Driver is used on every par 5 and par 4. I am not long and can get in trouble if the driver decides to not show up for the day. The driver is the most inconsistent club in my bag. I average about 230 with roll and my miss is now usually left with the occasional high slice. I worked the slice out last year but it can come back if i swing too hard or get lazy. Driver C+

The fairway wood is ok off the tee but off the deck i am not comfortable with picking the ball like Stricker and will either hit it low and run it or chunk it and it goes no where or a low slice. That is why I rarely ever try and go for a par 5 in 2. Odds of good fw metal shot is about 25%. Hybrids are a different story. I love the hybrids and hit them pretty long relative to my other clubs. my miss is usually a hook left with the hybrids but i love them. Woods and Hybrids B+

Mid irons 5-6 are ok off the tee but i just dont feel confident on the short grass with them. My irons are avg distance i would say. My 7I is about 150 yards. I feel i am a lock for 3 or less shots from within 135 yards (8I or less) I love hitting a SW as my approach club. Irons and Wedges B

Around the green i eclusivley use my 60* and can hit several types of shots with it, low runner, flop. I am a pretty good putter but sometimes i lack in the visual dept. not reading enough into the break or over compensating a break. I am a good lag putter and a lock within 5 feet. Putter B

My mental game is a B-. I dont really care what is going on with others game kinda trot along and do my own thing. Not much for chit chat unless it has to do with Golf. I am a perfectionist as i think most serious golfers tend to be, but i feel that if i can hit that 7 iron to 15 feet once i should be able to repeat it as often as i want to and it frustrates me when I don't. One thing that is like an infectious disease that plagues me at least one round a year is the.... SHANKS. seriously i remember two rounds the past two seasons where i could not hit an Iron from the fairway at all, just a massive heel hit squirter to the right soooo ugly i wanna vomit.

OVERALL C+ my potential is off the charts just can't bottle it up and get everything working together at the same dam time. Best round was a fairway green 2 putt 77. HCP 11

Lately I've been hitting it nice off the tee with all the woods, 1, 3 and 5. Natural shot with the driver is a fade and I'm trying to embrace it. But I have also been able to turn it over the other way with some command, so its been a lot of fun playing the tee game lately. Natural tendency to draw the fairway woods so I'm also working on hitting the fade, a real hard release straight fade not some weak pull slice. The tricky part is dialing in the alignment of everything, the clubface, the feet and shoulders. But when it comes off right it is such a stout feeling.

I know its all big talk for a 7.6 handicapper but hey it is working for me. Check my stats 48% fairway in my last 20 scores. I am hoping here to graduate to the next level of golf, beyond the level of hit-and-hope golf to where you attempt to craft a shot for each situation. Some people say don't get fancy, have one stock shot and stick to it, I think that to really have control over the ball is to be able to hit all kinds of shapes, and hi and low.

My game is along the lines of Bryan K above. I go to the driving range quite a bit to get out from in front of a computer (work), but little time chipping/putting and very few actual rounds of golf. So there's a sizeable gap between my ballstriking and my short game/putting.

Tee shots are generally straight with good enough distance, decent iron-play (my usual miss is a slight pull with my irons). So, invariably, I'm left and either pin high or short of the green. That's when I start to lose confidence and shots. Nearly all of my shots are lost within very close proximity to the green, which I don't have any problem getting to in regulation.

I've been putting in more time working on chipping and putting and I know 'how' to chip and putt from a technique standpoint, it's now just a matter of enough repetitions to develop feel for distance and getting more actual rounds under my belt to get to the same comfort zone over a chip or putt as I do on the tee.

If I had to describe my game, I would have to say it is "missing". If any on you see it, please let me know where it is. A couple of years ago, I had the handicap down to 11.5 and was heading in the direction I wanted. Now, I am up to 17.5 and climbing. I am totally bummed. I just don't really enjoy playing when I am hacking around like this. It is just not very compelling.

Learned at my Dad's side as a kid, and always thought a strong fade/slice was just how right handers played golf. About 5 or 6 years ago, I started to "re-build" my swing.

Got rid of most of my left to right tendency, but it's still my typical miss when things fall apart (old muscle memory I guess). I'll also hit pulls, so that over the top is my fight.

Decent with the driver, usually 250-260 if I want to stay near the fairway. Love my 4 and 5 woods. Can't hit my 4 or 5 iron, but pretty solid 6i - wedges. I'd say above averge sand player vs. most 15-20 handicaps. Not a good putter at all, super weakness of mine.

I've been as high as a 25 handicap, and as low as 17, so just your typical weekly duffer. But I do play by the rules, so I'm probably a stroke or two better than many people who play to the same 'cap as me.