Wow--congrats indeed.
Does the club do anything special when a record falls (or is shared)?

The card will probably go up on the wall in the pro shop, that's pretty typical.

BO

61

BO

It's crazy how fine a line it is between PGA tour regulars and a really good golfer. I have a few friends that drive it 340, shoot mid-low 60's on the reg, past ncaa tournament wins, provincial am champships etc. Then they go take a shot at the mini tour or Euro tour and don't last 2 years. It really puts into perspective how good the long term tour players that consistently win are. I've watch web.com and PGA tour live and there is very little difference.

That said what do you think that edge is? Is it mental? Financial?

It's all mental and short game

nice round dude

Sure it's mental. But there's also little almost imperceptible differences in ball striking and short game. Studs hit shots that always pierce through the wind instead of being slapped around. They roll putts just that smidge purer so that they drop instead of spinning out.

Being able to free it up in competition helps a ton as well. Not everybody can do it.

BO

I've played hockey with NHL'ers and AHL'ers (step below NHL) and you can see the difference, its noticeable. I've also stood beside a mini tour hack, web.com, and PGA tour regular and its hard to tell the difference. I wonder what guys like Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Vijay, Furyk etc. who had 10+ years of winning have, that the 100 ranked tour player doesn't. When the difference between making the cut and a top 25 is two 10 footers a round.

WIM

Well done BO.

Nice job.

Hey,
I know this well hasn't been active in a while, but just read through the entire thing. Thanks it was a great read.

Looking for a little advice here.

I'm currently a 7.2 handicap, lowest round ever 73 from tips on acushnet in Massachusetts, normally 79-85 scoring range.

in 2 tournament qualifiers shot 93 and 79 in that order

I am fairly long off the tee, solid iron game, OK around greens, Shaky at putting, can hit a variety of shots with every club. My decision making is aggressive and puts me in tough spots on occasion.

What tips or advice would you give someone for my ability level to work on? I would like to get down to 4.4 or lower so I can play in open qualifiers.

Thanks,

Well, some generic advice until BO answers:

1.) Work on your weaknesses. Most players get to a certain point and then just work on the things that they already do well. There is a comfort in beating drives on the driving range if you're a great driver of the ball. Going in for a practice session, most people don't want to feel frustrated. They just work on what they're already good at because it feels good and you can walk away from the session saying "Yeah, I still got it", but it's not going to save you any more strokes on average.

2.) I don't know how big into poker you are, but when deciding on those aggressive plays, think about the shot in terms of Expected Value:

If you're 155 out and the pin is tucked behind a bunker (and the bunker shot will be difficult if you end up there because you're short sided), I'm sure in a casual round you'd just fire your 8i in there and try to knock it tight. Sometimes you get there and it's a really good shot at birdie. Sometimes it doesn't, though.

Let's look at the numbers (and pardon the made up numbers that won't be at all sensical :

Aggressive line outcomes:

50% you knock it to within 10 feet. You'll make birdie in this range 40% of the time and par 60%.

10% you land on the green but not close. You'll make birdie here 10% and par 90%.

40% you hit it into the bunker. You never make birdie, and only get up and down 20% of the time for par and 80% bogey.

You can crunch the numbers and come up with an average result of:

4.11 Strokes.

Let's say you instead play it safe and take a less aggressive line and aim for the safe part of the green, maybe 20 feet left of the hole, taking the bunker out of most of your misses.

80% lands in a generally safe spot on the green and you're like 25 feet away. You drop this putt at a 15% rate for birdie and 85% make par.

10% lands around the green where you get up and down 90% of the time for par and 10% for bogey.

10% lands in that crappy bunker and the same 20% par and 80% bogey:

This leads us to an expected value of:

3.97 Strokes

So what did we learn?


Maybe in match play if you need a birdie, you're more likely to make a birdie taking the aggressive route with 21% birdie chance making the aggressive play as opposed to only 12% chance for birdie making the "safe" play. But over infinite rounds of golf, the safe play generally offers us a lower score on average. Sure, you can string together some good variance days where you make birdie in every spot like this and shoot the one-time round of your life, but when variance isn't on your side, you're gonna have a bad time



Obviously I just made numbers up, but you can make your own equations with numbers that seem more realistic to you to help with your course management.

Love that course!

First off, I would say a 7.2 should not be making aggressive decisions. That's just asking for trouble. You should be aiming more towards the middle of the greens, chipping out safely from the woods and ensuring bogey at worst, etc.

Regarding your ball-striking, there is no reason to attempt to hit a variety of shots with every club. You should focus on your stock shot, be able to replicate that more often, and only deviate from that when absolutely necessary. ship--this has stated that even tour players try to work the ball both ways too often.

Working on the above will help in qualifiers where the course setup is more difficult and pars can be at a premium. But it is also a solid overall strategy for a 7 handicap. A 7 isn't going to be making many birdies, a 7 needs to make more pars to solidify their game and make bogey the worst score on their card. Once that is done then you take the next step to making more birdies.

Become more consistent and let the game come to you, don't force it.

Pull the reins back, ok got it!

I'm playing tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to work on keeping the ball in play, scramble to get no worse than bogey, ball to center of the green on 2nd shots, and play away from trouble.

One more question if you don't mind.

What would a routine be like for you a week before a tournament?

Last year I played in Massachusetts public links, did the practice round before hand with friend mapped out a lot and practiced through the week. This course has no practice area other than putting green, so warming up beforehand was tough. Naturally I was first tee, never kept another players score other than in league play, and I was nervous about not knowing what to do in certain rulings.. So I was a nervous wreck, drank a jack ginger to calm down in the parking lot.

So now that you've kept somebody else's score in a tournament situation you don't have to worry about feeling nervous again. If you're unsure of a ruling, consult a rules official. That's what they're there for.

Why are you worried about pre-tournament routine? What do you normally do before a round? Whatever that is, just do that. A tournament is not the time to do something different. Show up at the normal time, go through the typical routine, and then just go play golf. It's just golf, it's not life and death. I'm sure you've played rounds of golf where you haven't hit balls beforehand, it's not a huge deal.

And remember, no matter what you shoot, good or bad, it changes absolutely nothing in your life. Your family will still love you, your job will still be there, and your dick will still be the same size. It's really easy to put way too much importance on one round of golf. Believe me, I've been there.

Golf is supposed to be fun, go have fun out there.

Great post, nit.

Just finished this thread. Bravo!

Well done BO👍

i can't stand slow play. i don't have any patience for golfers who take more than 4 hrs to complete a round. my wife and i routinely walk 18 in under 3 hrs with an open course ahead of us. i like playing fast.

this weekend i competed for the first time in a tournament to choose our inter-club team. both rounds were over five hours. i was one of the worst offenders. i was so slow on the greens i was apologizing to my playing partners. we were in position though-out day one, since the group ahead was also slow. yesterday, we got half a hole behind.

i don't want to be one of those guys who drags down the whole field. but i just couldn't make the putter move. i'd read the putt, get over the ball...and freeze.

i putted really well, as well as i ever have. but inexcusably slow. i'm sure i'm not the first person this has happened to. i need some helpful tips on how to speed my play on the greens, when putting under pressure. thanks

(i was always ready to putt. had read the speed and line whilst others putted, and was over the ball right away when my turn came)

A competitive round is totally different than a casual round with the wife isn't it?

This is where a pre-shot routine is crucial. The importance of a pre-shot routine is that you do the exact same thing before the shot/putt each and every time regardless of everything. It's why you see a tour player go through the same routine over an 8-inch putt. It becomes pure habit and you are then able to do this in every environment.

The higher the pressure, the more you focus on routine instead of technique and result. Easier said than done for sure, but that's the process.

tour players do not regularly go through the same routine over 8 inch putts. They literally just walk up and casually tap them in without taking a normal stance like the rest of us. When is the last time you've actually seen someone mark the ball, circle an 8 inch putt to get the read, take practice strokes, etc.? At most the mark and replace it then hit the putt from a normal stance.

Yeah I don't recall seeing a full preshot routine on an 8 inch putt, they just walk up do the little line dance so there feet don't step in someone's line and hit it in. Even on 2 foot putts they mark it quick and hit it. All though maybe they do if you throw out all the line reading they do on longer putts, but still seems like they just hit it.

Holy ****, guys. Do your brains work?


Sorry that was probably mean. He's using a little bit of hyperbole, but you're mistaking "routine" for all the extraneous green reading stuff. The routine is what starts when you're ready to approach the ball.



Look up Ernie Els and see why routine is important (even on 8 inch putts)