Help me break par
 

Hey guys,
I took some time off the felt to hit balls today, and I'd appreciate it if some of the wise golf minds could help me

Background:
I used to play a lot of golf when I was younger, but it's been years since I played on a regular basis. I'm hoping to play competitively within a year or so.


I learned golf by copying favorite tour player swings and reading books. I have a good "feel" for what the ball does when hit a certain way, but I certainly don't have a textbook swing and I feel like my ball flight can be tightened up to become a much stronger player.


TL;DR, I'd really appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction or offer words of wisdom. My primary goals are to improve my ball striking, have better control over the ball flight, and shoot low scores :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj73Nnkejf0

Re: Help me break par
 

aggressive backswing

Anyway, so you're looking to break par--what do you currently shoot?

Re: Help me break par
 

Yeah, I've always had a very quick tempo.

I'm not sure, to be honest. I've played a single round in the last two years and shot something in the mid 80s. I feel a bit more comfortable now with hitting the ball though and I feel like I could go lower with a bit more work.

Re: Help me break par
 

I didnt look at the video, but I can certainly say that once you get to a certain point in swing repeatability, breaking par has a lot more to do with short game than it does with hitting 16 greens a round. Work HARD on 100 yards and in....

Completely agree but traj and spin control is the result of the swing right

Re: Help me break par
 

your swing looks great. Along the same lines as what Reid said, I'd just work on being a well rounded player.. It takes a lot of hours putting into it, and practicing properly, though.

Re: Help me break par
 

If "looking good" means more than scoring to you, by all means, get that swing perfected and lookin' real pretty. Everyone might think your swing is amazing, but someone else is going to take home the money.

Re: Help me break par
 

Did NitBo take over your account?

Re: Help me break par
 

Pretty sure hitting 16 greens a round is way more important than working on 100 yards and in with regards to wanting to break par.

Re: Help me break par
 

+1

You can't break par if you miss fairways and greens all day, but you can if your short game is poor, because you won't need it the day you hit 16 greens.

However, if your long game is a bit off you'll probably shoot in the 80's

I will grant that it will be easier to break par on that one day you hit 16 greens, but I still hold that it will be easier to break par more often if your 100-and-in game is better. You won't need to rely on hitting greens to make pars and you won't be making many bogeys on those greens you're missing. Not to mention the added scoring potential on par5s with a better 100-and-in game.

Re: Help me break par
 

100 and in is overrated.

Ball striking is where its at. If you want to break par you better be able to hit it well enough off the tee to give yourself good looks on approach shots. Then you better be able to hit a lot of good quality approach shots(inside 20 feet) so that you have quite a few birdie looks.

Re: Help me break par
 

It's hard to hit a driver if you can't hit a wedge..

Re: Help me break par
 

Shooting under par while hitting <12 greens is hard, even for tour players.

Re: Help me break par
 

sorry, but playing one round in 2 yrs is basically meaningless. hitting balls at the range is obv important/also working around the chipping/putting greens. but if you want to be really good you've got to get out there on different golf courses-regularly-and actually do it. you can sit around and talk about it all you want but you're not gonna be a scratch golfer with just some words and 'tips' lol...

--also-can't see how anyone would say having a good short game over-rated. really?

Re: Help me break par
 

Great advice ... when the PGA tour leading GIR is ~13 :rolleyes:

Read the Broadie book, it explains why the long game is more important to scoring than 100 yards and in.