+2.8 - Shoot59
+2.4 - JTrout
+2.0 - K-Slay
+1.4 - LimitGod
+1.1 - westhoff
+0.9 - stadler
0.1 - black knight
1.0 - dzh90
1.5 - Butcho22
1.5 - bigsoonerfan
1.7 - tuq
1.7 - duvvard
2.1 - mediaslut
2.9 - dug
3.1 - ghostface
3.2 - sonartec23b
3.2 - fullstop
3.3 - Nick B.
3.7 - donkontilt
4.2 - Low_Card2
4.7 - Number7
6.0 - WLVRYN
6.2 - TripleH68
6.7 - BuckTeeth
7.0 - 41eater
7.8 - bonds
8.0 - fatshaft
9.0 - Brocktoon
9.1 - Here2gamble
9.7 - ArcticKnight
9.8 - larrylegend
10.2 - dcasper70
10.6 - tdrot
12.5 - Hey_Porter
13.0 - RainbowWarrior
13.2 - roy_miami
15.0 - BrunoThePug
15.8 - brettbrettr
16.0 - offTopic
16.4 - mvoss
17.0 - Ballzack
17.1 - Cornboy
17.6 - Troll_Inc
18.0 - AndysDaddy
18.1 - john kane
18.2 - gharp
18.7 - dizong
20.0 - CalledDownLight
20.+ - JackInDaCrak
20.+ - 4Tay
21.9 - EDonk
22.8 - crosse91
25.0 - surfinillini
26.1 - yellowdoyle
29.1 - Wrym2
32.0 - Clarkmeister
33.0 - mad_hatter

Hmm, that's a tough goal. I need to take 4.3 shots of my handicap. Everyone's needs a challenge!

Still trying to think what the odds of this might be? 50 to 1? 500 to 1? 5000 to 1?

It depends on how much time and effort you have put into getting to 1.5.
And how much time/effort you will put into improving from here on...

If the answers are "alot, not much" then the odds are extremely long".

If the answers are "not much/ alot" then the odds are good.


I know from the age demographic thread that your age is same as mine.
I would guess of the top of my head that you would be looking at something along the lines of:
playing at least 72 holes per week.
practicing at least 20 hours per week.
spending most of this time working on short game.

My scoring made dramatic improvements twice:
The first was in college where I made a swing change that allowed me to know where my misses would be. I could then have a little course management.
The second was when I improved my iron play.
I would take my shag bag full of nice Titleists, put the bag at a certain (known) yardage, and then hit from a nice piece of turf.
I soon learned the difference between hitting a ball 120 vs. 115.
I learned how to best get a few extra yards out of a club, or take a few yards off. I learned how to take one more club and knock it down.
I learned what was the absolute max I could hit a club, and that trying to do that wasn't the best way to have a tight pattern around that shag bag.
I knew how far I hit each club, and through lots of hitting, then going and picking them up and observing where most balls finished, I tightened my pattern tremendously.
Lots more birdie putts. Lots more confidence.

I did the same thing with SW, but to a tighter extreme.
Hitting to one of those circular pvc pipe swing training things that used to be popular, I'd put my shag bag in the center of it.
I'd put 10 balls at 40yds, 50yds, and so on and work on landing them within the circle.
When I began this, I rarely landed one in the circle.
By the end of the summer, I could land 50% in the circle from different distances.
When I had a 50 yard pitch in a round, I could see the pvc pipe, and the Titleist shag bag sitting at the base of the pin. And I believed I could make it!

I only wish I'd had a significant improvement in putting somewhere along the way!

Sorry for the rambling. Hope it helps a little.

2.8 - Shoot59
+2.4 - JTrout
+2.0 - K-Slay
+1.4 - LimitGod
+1.1 - westhoff
+0.9 - stadler
0.1 - black knight
1.0 - dzh90
1.5 - Butcho22
1.5 - bigsoonerfan
1.7 - tuq
1.7 - duvvard
1.9 - DrVanNostrin
2.1 - mediaslut
2.9 - dug
3.1 - ghostface
3.2 - sonartec23b
3.2 - fullstop
3.3 - Nick B.
3.7 - donkontilt
4.2 - Low_Card2
4.7 - Number7
6.0 - WLVRYN
6.2 - TripleH68
6.7 - BuckTeeth
7.0 - 41eater
7.8 - bonds
8.0 - fatshaft
8.5 - brick
9.0 - Brocktoon
9.1 - Here2gamble
9.7 - ArcticKnight
9.8 - larrylegend
10.2 - dcasper70
10.6 - tdrot
12.5 - Hey_Porter
13.0 - RainbowWarrior
13.2 - roy_miami
15.0 - BrunoThePug
15.8 - brettbrettr
16.0 - offTopic
16.4 - mvoss
17.0 - Ballzack
17.1 - Cornboy
17.6 - Troll_Inc
18.0 - AndysDaddy
18.1 - john kane
18.2 - gharp
18.7 - dizong
20.0 - CalledDownLight
20.+ - JackInDaCrak
20.+ - 4Tay
21.9 - EDonk
22.8 - crosse91
25.0 - surfinillini
26.1 - yellowdoyle
29.1 - Wrym2
32.0 - Clarkmeister
33.0 - mad_hatter

Had a good couple of months (but didn't play as much). lol variancements

Trout, you got to do all that on a course, or a really good practice facility?

was a 5.7 and haven't played in 4 months. Anyone here from SoCal?

My end of the season hcp came out. I ended at 17.5 (Started at 17.6, moved to 18.0). But my next 3 scores to be bumped are 3 decent scoring rounds. Of course all that shouldn't matter if I can consistently keep my game in the mid to low 80's. Hope global warming helps keeps the Northeast warm this winter.

2.8 - Shoot59
+2.4 - JTrout
+2.0 - K-Slay
+1.4 - LimitGod
+1.1 - westhoff
+0.9 - stadler
0.1 - black knight
1.0 - dzh90
1.5 - Butcho22
1.5 - bigsoonerfan
1.7 - tuq
1.7 - duvvard
1.9 - DrVanNostrin
2.1 - mediaslut
2.9 - dug
3.1 - ghostface
3.2 - sonartec23b
3.2 - fullstop
3.3 - Nick B.
3.7 - donkontilt
4.2 - Low_Card2
4.7 - Number7
6.0 - WLVRYN
6.2 - TripleH68
6.7 - BuckTeeth
7.0 - 41eater
7.8 - bonds
8.0 - fatshaft
8.5 - brick
9.0 - Brocktoon
9.1 - Here2gamble
9.7 - ArcticKnight
9.8 - larrylegend
10.2 - dcasper70
10.6 - tdrot
12.5 - Hey_Porter
13.0 - RainbowWarrior
13.2 - roy_miami
14.9 - offTopic
15.0 - BrunoThePug
15.8 - brettbrettr
16.4 - mvoss
17.0 - Ballzack
17.1 - Cornboy
17.5 - Troll_Inc
18.0 - AndysDaddy
18.1 - john kane
18.2 - gharp
18.7 - dizong
20.0 - CalledDownLight
20.+ - JackInDaCrak
20.+ - 4Tay
21.9 - EDonk
22.8 - crosse91
25.0 - surfinillini
26.1 - yellowdoyle
29.1 - Wrym2
32.0 - Clarkmeister
33.0 - mad_hatter

This was at the 9 hole course where I grew up.
It had a practice area where you could hit your own balls.
It was about 150 yards from my back door.

I spent countless hours hitting my old Titleist shags in this area.
Typical routine:
empty shag bag (maybe 75 balls), walk 125 yds and sit the shag bag down for a target. I'd also take my two headcovers. I'd lay them 15 ft. left/right or short/long of the bag. Pace the yardage back to the bag to double check yardage. (you take longer steps going uphill than you do downhill)
Hit several shots trying to make a tight pattern. When focus dropped off, I'd pick up 5 or so and move up 5 yards to 120 and hit at target; then take 5 balls to 130 and repeat.
Hit all the balls. Go pick them up and observe where most stopped.
Repeat at a new yardage.

The area wasn't anything special, except that I almost always had it to myself, and it was so close to home.

I went to the Pelz shortgame school around '93, which inspired me to spend a lot of time working on specific yardages less than full.
The old PVC circular pipe just happen to be a convenient and useful target.

I do think that this type of practice is much more rewarding than the typical driving range practice.

went way down this month, +2.4

you are leading the hsbc champions, good job.

2.8 - Shoot59
+2.4 - JTrout
+2.0 - K-Slay
+1.4 - LimitGod
+1.1 - westhoff
+0.9 - stadler
0.1 - black knight
1.0 - dzh90
1.5 - Butcho22
1.5 - bigsoonerfan
1.7 - tuq
1.7 - duvvard
1.9 - DrVanNostrin
2.1 - mediaslut
2.9 - dug
3.1 - ghostface
3.2 - sonartec23b
3.2 - fullstop
3.3 - Nick B.
3.7 - donkontilt
4.2 - Low_Card2
4.7 - Number7
6.0 - WLVRYN
6.2 - TripleH68
6.7 - BuckTeeth
7.0 - 41eater
7.8 - bonds
8.0 - fatshaft
8.5 - brick
9.0 - Brocktoon
9.1 - Here2gamble
9.7 - ArcticKnight
9.8 - larrylegend
9.8 - dcasper70 <------ Whoooooohooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
10.6 - tdrot
12.5 - Hey_Porter
13.0 - RainbowWarrior
13.2 - roy_miami
14.9 - offTopic
15.0 - BrunoThePug
15.8 - brettbrettr
16.4 - mvoss
17.0 - Ballzack
17.1 - Cornboy
17.5 - Troll_Inc
18.0 - AndysDaddy
18.1 - john kane
18.2 - gharp
18.7 - dizong
20.0 - CalledDownLight
20.+ - JackInDaCrak
20.+ - 4Tay
21.9 - EDonk
22.8 - crosse91
25.0 - surfinillini
26.1 - yellowdoyle
29.1 - Wrym2
32.0 - Clarkmeister
33.0 - mad_hatter

Just looking back through the thread, I saw JTrout's post. Thanks for the response. For some reason I must have missed that earlier.

The goal is going to be much tougher with my new job/promotion (working nights 1/3 of the year and 1/3 of the weekends). Hours will be about the same amount, but it's tough enough to play this game with regular sleep!

I may have to modify my goal to just slip below scratch. That should be easy enough?