Last round I shot a 96 and putted 44 times.

Those of you who shoot better, what does your scoreutt ratio look like?

If I can 2 putt each hole I'm knocking off 8 strokes! I'm working on my putting, but also my short game to get me closer to the pin. If I'm on the green but 30 feet away, that's a 3 putt a lot of the time for me. If I'm 18 feet away, that should be a 2 putt.

I rarely have >30 putts and shoot scratch. Usually around 12-16 GIR and 3+ birdies.

8 handicap, 30-35 putts per round, 6-10 gir per round

i like your logic about working on short game. the difference in my game from 12 handicap to 8 handicap was adding new shots to my bag around the green. now i can do a few more chips that allow me to have shorter putts and saves for par. i still do not scramble that great, but working on my 10' and in putts should really start to see that stat turn around.

I tried google, and count find the bounce for the specific club that came in my set. Also thought this was the spot to post random easy questions.

I'll pay attention to where I'm standing. But I find it weird that it never happens on a full swing with a wedge, or a chip in fluffy grass though.

Didn't see any comments about IBF's 78 Friday, finishing about third from last. Not a surprise, but I was hoping he'd do better after Thursday's good round. He shot a whopping 7 over on the frontside Friday to put himself out of reach early.

I didn't know Norman's daughter had dumped Sergio and that's what he's blaming on his current slump. It must be bad enough to get dumped by a hot, rich girl, but to have it public must really be rough.

I'd cut him a little slack....sometimes you can get more accurate info on here anyway, instead of having to search through the google results. Besides, he wouldn't have gotten your valuable last two sentences of info, would he?

Sweet, thanks. You're really helpful (and a good golfer it sounds like) so while I'm getting acquainted with this forum I'm really appreciating your replies.

On a typical round:
Par 3: I par 3 out of the 4 of these. My irons off the tee are so solid, it's nearly a guarantee I'm on the green.
Par 5: I par 2 out of the 4 of these. I'm a pretty big hitter, as long as my drive goes straight I'm in good shape since I can reach a lot of the greens in 2 and all of the greens in 3. Problems come up when I reach for extra distance and hit a bad tee shot, or 'duff' my second or third shot.
Par 4: I get a 5 on these nearly every single time. Example: 425 yards. Driver 270, second shot to the green, but 25 ft from the pin. 3 putt. Or drive, second shot just off, chip, 2 putt. This is where I think my putting and short game can make the most difference, as getting it closer on my short chips will leave me with some 1 putts.

The last 2 rounds (only rounds I have the score cards in front of me)
90: two 1 putts, three 3 putts, one 4 putt, the rest 2 putts
96: zero 1 putts, six 3 putts, one 4 putt, the rest 2 putts


I'm totally turning this into my blog now. But I think the key for me is continue to practice (I'm loving the range at the moment) and focus on making better shots. I used to be happy with hitting the green from 125 out. Now I want to place it better. From 25 out I used to be happy with getting it on within a reasonable distance. Now I'm starting to read the green and know where I want to place it and have it run to the hole.

I golf with a guy who shoots 80 or so, and our first and second shots are very similar, and then he just crushes me around the green. Not to mention, each round I probably have 5 shots that are just wtf (either wrong club and way over/way short, or I just top a 3wood and it goes 50 yards). He makes nothing but solid contact.

Ok, enough blogging!

I am sure none of the fans at bethpage will mention it this year.

You need to spend serious time on a putting green working on 30-50' putts. What distance are you 3 putting from...and where is your 2nd putt coming from that you're missing? Work hard on the 30-50' putts to get the ball within 3'. Then, work very hard on putts from 6' and in. That will fix your 3 putting.

Then, work hard on getting your chips within 6'.

Three putts are 1 of 2 things for me:

1. Long putt (35 feet), 9 foot putt, tap in
2. 15 ft putt, 4 foot putt, tap in.

It's uncanny how bad I am at the 5-10 foot putts. I can leave them w/in a foot nearly every time, but they NEVER seem to drop. I finish nearly every hole on a 'gimmie' which I'd like to cut down on- instead of leaving it 18 inches away, let's put it in the damn cup!

No, it's not uncanny how bad you are at 5-10' putts...those only go in about 50% of the time anyway for your level (at best)...what's uncanny is that you're so bad from 15' (having 4' left is REALLY bad) and from 35'. Those are where you need to focus. 18 inches is exactly where you are supposed to roll the ball past the cup...so those SHOULD be your gimmie length. Focus on putting...put in a few hours a week.

Aside from getting out on a practice green like durka said, so you have carpet/space in your residence that would allow you to practice shorter putts, say 10' and in? I do this all the time, and it's probably what keeps me at a 9 handicap rather than higher. Even though my carpet is a little slow, it does build confidence for the real thing.

Having caught some of the final round today, including the playoff, I have a question:

You're in sudden-death, your opponent has hit his approach in close, and you have to take dead aim at the flag. If you're within, say, a short iron, what is the downside of having your caddy attend the flagstick even though you're 150 out or whatever?

(BTW, my understanding of the rule is that you can have the flagstick attended anywhere.)

You can have it attended...I guess no one's ever thought of it before. The only problem that I see is the time it takes for them to do it may get you a penalty. Furthermore, you'd want all others' balls marked...which is starting to get unreasonable. Basically, the odds of you hitting another ball or the flagstick are so remote that there may be an unwritten code to not worry about it when you're that far out. If you're pitching, then it's different.

...you might also hit your caddy who might lose the ball in flight for a number of reasons.

Also, to the guy who sucks at putting...just a few pieces of quick advice: You should hold the putter as light in your hands as humanly possible and you should have a very slow and consistent tempo. Imitate the pros. These two things make it so much easier to putt well.

I think they (R&A and USGA) actually have thought about it and decided that they want it to be allowed from anywhere on the hole.

But I fully agree with your arguments about the time it takes etc. and that players do not do this unless it is really important, like around the green.

IIRC, I believe that Walter Hagen actually did this back in the 20s. He needed to hole out at the last - I think it was in the British Open / Open Championship - and being a showman and all sent his caddy to attend the pin.

I only had time to play 9 today because of class this afternoon. Didn't shoot that well, as I was late and didn't get to the range/putting green. Hit a 47, including an 8 and a 7 on holes 3 and 4, and dealing with new wedges/putter. On hole 9, I hit my driver over the green on a 315 yard, par 4. That was kind of cool.

I'm playing Saturday morning and I have a worn spot on the inside of my right pointer finger, base segment, from swinging poorly at the range last weekend. The first layer of skin was rubbed off and then there was a blister. It's healed quite a bit since then, but still pinches a bit when I swing. Is it common to tape over these for rounds? Or what else can I do (besides sucking it up)?

Tape helps a lot.

That is a big no-no.

Get some tape, some in here have mentioned athletic tape, but there is also a medical tape you should be able to get at any chemist. Have you ever got a blood sample taken? The tape used to hold the cotton in place afterwards, is the kind you are looking for. It is much better for the rest of your skin than regular band-aids. And you get a small roll of it so that you can change during the round if required.

Athletic tape >>> medical tape...the former has better adhesion if you sweat.

I have a question.

My last lesson my instructor told me to turn my body to get to position 1. Then to get to position 2 I lift my arms/wrists. Should I be coming back down on that exact same path, and is that a 2 plane swing? it just feels awkward, but when I was out at the range, and doing that backswing but just swinging without bringing my arms down then turning my body I was still swinging outside in, and getting scrunched up on the follow through.

Hope that makes sense. I can post a vid if it doesn't.

SJ Merc had a story today that the PGA Tour has dropped Poppy Hills from the AT&T rotation, adding Monterey Peninsula Country Club. As I've seen this picture



many, many times, I'm interested in walking out there and seeing what the course is like next year.

That looks sweet.
Poppy sucked.