To some of the more established players here, or others that just have an opinion. What do you think would be the biggest differences between a 2 marker and a +2 marker? I know that the question is very general but couldn't think of a better way to phrase it.

Marker?

handicap. Sorry, probably an australian slang term that no one else uses :facepalm:

2 years ago I was +1 and now am a 1 after a couple of injuries. For me the main difference has been more foul balls off the tee, and losing an extra .5 strokes gained putting.

Overall to answer your question I think the +2 is more meticulous about their preshot routine, makes better course management decisions and makes fewer large errors.

Everyone has different areas where improvement will get them the most strokes gained. You just need to figure out what will help you the most and work harder on it. For me, its very much the driver like cfw said. One or two extra wayward drives in a round are costing me. I have also lost a lot with putting as I don't have the time to practice like I once did. I've never been a +, but have been <1 and now am a 4.

The difference really is putting in the time/work/practice IMHO. There's no magic key thing. Hopefully some of the + golfers here can chime in with something more enlightening.

I would say personally, it is for sure the driver. Can definitely relate to the couple of wayward drives being costly. Putting is always going to be an area one can improve. TY for the responses so far.

I think it would be hard to be a +2 if you just teed it up 1-2 times per week. I think you would have to be a 5x a week player to do that, be it practice or play.

I personally play 2 competition rounds per week, and practise another 2 days/week and the odd 9 holes with friends mixed in there.

Depends on your playing background, there's plenty of non-tour players that could play 1-2 times per week and play much better than a +2.

I've been mulling over the original question and haven't stumbled upon a solid answer yet. But 4 shots at that level is a huge number, that much I know.

+2's don't make doubles

and they have a decent look at birdie ~half the time.

Not necessarily in any order:
-frequency of birdies;
-distance off tee;
-strokes gained putting;
-proximity to pin.

Course management is a big thing as well. I guess that would go hand in hand no doubles.

IMO order would be
-proximity to pin


-distance off tee
-strokes gained putting

-frequency of birdies;

this isn't a cross-sectional comment as OP asked about it but thought i'd try to provide some insight.

i've caddied for a round of 66 and a round of 78...... the difference was "made some putts" for the 66, "couldn't hit the fairway on tightish course" for the 78.... and played with serious + handicap golfers. seems like their scores are dependent on same two issues. avoid "bad drives" and make a few putts.

basically i think when you get to a certain level alot of it is driving it long and straight....... maybe getting up/down from dicey greenside situations too. but frankly these players don't get in those situations much. usually miss the green by small amount.

Accuracy off the tee needs to be very high on this list.

If by accuracy you mean no penalties and recovery shots I agree, if you mean hitting the fairway not so much. (I will concede the point when there is 4+ inch rough)

Pretty much every good golfer is going to get the ball closer from 150 in the rough than 175 in the fairway. Take into account that you don't always hit fairway with non driver the break even point is about 15-20 yards. Give up more than that to try to hit fairway and not worth it.

All that is in a very general sense though. If there is a lake at 280 and only a 20 yard fairway left of it and a 40 yard wide fairway and no lake at 260 you obviously stay short of the hazard.

Accuracy off the tee doesn't even make the list. Some of the best players on the planet hit barely over half the fairways.

When you get to a 2, there's a certain standard already reached of keeping the ball in play.

Well when you put it that way... However I was as low as a 0.7 at one time and I did not have that standard that you speak of. I just scramble like no other and used to get up and down from anywhere. Spent a lot of time punching out of the trees.

Most 2s are in play as you speak though so I will concede.

Probably better control of their ball flight. ie, has a consistent draw/fade. Up and down %.

Isn't the answer always wedges and putting?

In the old days yes. But now, with advanced metrics, we know this isn't the case.

I've been mulling over this question, it's a great question because it's simple and yet the answer is so elusive. In the end I think the answer is something not necessarily quantifiable. I feel the most important part is teaching yourself to feel comfortable with shooting under par rounds and making lots of birdies.

Most golfers in the middle of a great round tighten up, play differently, and are scared to make more birdies in fear of screwing up. When you make the quantum leap is when you can make more birdies in a round than you ever have and not have it affect you on the course one iota.

I made a quantum leap 5 years or so ago and I'll touch on how it happened. In the end improved ~4 strokes in about 6 months.

First I experimented with thinking outside the box to hit the driver farther and eventually picked up 20-25 yards. This left me more wedges into the green and I quickly improved that aspect (more or less by having more attempts on the course and getting more used to it) to the point where I can knock the flag down from inside 125 yards. Naturally this left more close birdie putts, an aspect I had always been weak on. But now, with many more good looks, I got used to making more of them during the round. Once comfortable with that I simply got more confident making 6-8 birdies a round.

None of this was planned or expected, it simply fell into place for the physical reasons listed above. The physical parts allowed me to shoot very low scores with little stress. Before I realized it, my stress level wasn't changing when I was making tons of birdies during the round.

I guess in the end everything is connected. If you have a great short game you aren't scared to shoot at a tucked pin because you know you can get up and down if you short side yourself. So if you shoot at more tucked pins you're going to leave yourself more good birdie looks. Then you get comfortable playing in this manner. And so on.

But again, keep in mind that improving from a 2 to a +2 is a huge leap.

I find a good way to get used to birdies is play the forward tees every once in a while. I have been able to shoot 63-66 several times. Then the next time out I wasn't sweating it and shot 69. Still slightly above a 2 but I know that is miles and miles from a +2

Honestly I feel like my good shots are more or less as good as +2 and better golfers(obv never going to carry it 320) , just way too many bad ones.

Exactly. This is excellent advice.

Great post, thanks mate.

great comments.........

i agree birdies really really help in so many ways.........

watching the pro's a ton live i agree with one poster that wedges are absolutely huge.

your comment about mental is good........ i see it in tennis all the time. often times players either get bored in a rally or tighten up and here comes some shot into the net or long that wasn't going to achieve anything anyway OR the inexplicable drop shot on match point when they haven't hit another all match. they just aren't comfortable in the situation...