My golf game

[clevername]

If I just knew I could maintain it reasonably well I'd do it. But I don't have the first idea of how to do it or maintain it. I presume I'd need to use a different type of grass.

I assume you can hire folks to build one for your but I don't know how much it'd cost.

[stlouie_lipp]

If I just knew I could maintain it reasonably well I'd do it. But I don't have the first idea of how to do it or maintain it. I presume I'd need to use a different type of grass.

I assume you can hire folks to build one for your but I don't know how much it'd cost.

The putting green is the hard part. For a driving range all you really need is the acreage and one of these:

[Richie Allen]

I'd never consider putting in a putting green. In addition to being complicated and expensive to build, the expense and maintenance would be too much. A greens mower will run upwards of $6000 new and the green will need to be mowed at least every other day. Lapping the blades and upkeep of the mower alone would be too much for me. And, unfortunately, settling for anything less and the green will be so bad and unlike anything I'd play on that putting on the carpet would probably be more beneficial.

[Popeye_Card]

I'd never consider putting in a putting green. In addition to being complicated and expensive to build, the expense and maintenance would be too much. A greens mower will run upwards of $6000 new and the green will need to be mowed at least every other day. Lapping the blades and upkeep of the mower alone would be too much for me. And, unfortunately, settling for anything less and the green will be so bad and unlike anything I'd play on that putting on the carpet would probably be more beneficial.

I imagine that they sell a push reel-style mower that would do the trick just fine, and would take you about 5 minutes to cut each time.

[Richie Allen]

I'd never consider putting in a putting green. In addition to being complicated and expensive to build, the expense and maintenance would be too much. A greens mower will run upwards of $6000 new and the green will need to be mowed at least every other day. Lapping the blades and upkeep of the mower alone would be too much for me. And, unfortunately, settling for anything less and the green will be so bad and unlike anything I'd play on that putting on the carpet would probably be more beneficial.

I imagine that they sell a push reel-style mower that would do the trick just fine, and would take you about 5 minutes to cut each time.

The John Deere push mowers are $6500 new. I wasn't talking about riding/hydraulic mowers. They're $8,500 and up. The green would take less than 15 minutes to mow and would be, by far the easiest part of the job. You don't just run these mowers for a season though. At my course they're maintained on a daily basis.

I don't want to get into all the particulars but there is a lot more than you'd imagine under those greens you're playing on, provided they're done correctly. Not only does drainage need to be addressed but things like aerating, top-dressing, fertilizing, fungicide...all for a green that's probably going to be pretty bad comparatively.

If it's just for fun and a conversation piece, I say go ahead, knock yourself out. But I think you'd probably be just as well, if not better, served by putting in a couple of miniature golf holes. Find yourself a bowling pin, a rope, a whirligig and some Astroturf and you're good to go.

[Fat Strat]

Good thread bump.

I'm 3-0 in my golf league this year. Striking the ball pretty well and benefiting from a course change. The course we're at now isn't easier, I just have confidence to play there whereas the other course just sort of bugged me -- never felt comfortable with my shots there on some holes, and because of that never scored well.

I can't wait for the sloppy conditions to dry up. That will really help my overall scores which have been 3-4 scored (over 9 holes) higher than I want. I had an 8 and then a 12 and a 13 -- but notice I'm still 3-0. Conditions were poor. I would like to hang out around 6-9 over par for 9 holes throughout the league, but that would take some more consistency and a better mental game. I have a tendency to lose focus during a round and try a shot that I shouldn't try. Need to play smart and safe and rely on my short game to win matches for me.

[EastonBlues22]

Nicely done.

I have a handful of tournaments scheduled for this year, and one already under the belt. That one was a best ball tourney that I played in with my family. We finished a respectable 3 under, and I hit all four of our birdie putts...probably about 100' worth of birdie putts all told and a couple of long par saves.

The chipping and putting has never been better, and the full swing game is in solid shape. I went with a more feel based approach to the setup and swing and my game has really progressed since the switch in terms of ballflight consistency and overall length. (I get a nice consistent in-to-out draw...my laser range-finder tells me I was carrying my drives about 205-215 today in mid 50's weather, 6I ~155-165. Not bad considering I weighed a whopping 142 lbs this morning.) The biggest albatross in my game is, and always will be, pitching the darn ball. The goal for "my game" is to just put the ball somewhere on the green (and I'm usually very good at accomplishing that modest goal), but if my game is ever going to mature to another level I'm going to need to start getting these pitches in reasonable one-putt territory on a consistent basis.

No easy task, that.

[Richie Allen]

The biggest albatross in my game is, and always will be, pitching the darn ball. The goal for "my game" is to just put the ball somewhere on the green (and I'm usually very good at accomplishing that modest goal), but if my game is ever going to mature to another level I'm going to need to start getting these pitches in reasonable one-putt territory on a consistent basis.

No easy task, that.

Move the ball to the back of your stance, keep your hands forward and catch the ball on the way down with a lofted club. I prefer anything from 55 to 60 degree wedge. I haven't hit a chip fat or "flubbed" one in 15 to 20 years with this method. Take your wrists out of it too, if you haven't already. The biggest problem most people have with chipping is not making perfect contact (hitting too much turf) and the resulting inconsistent distance. My method takes a sand wedge and turns the loft into a 7 iron (what a lot of pros suggest you chip with to take the spin out of it) but it also makes it much, much easier to consistently make solid contact. And I've found that if I do blade the ball, the chip still turns out about like I'd planned.

If you're talking about in-between shots, maybe 40 to 60 yards out, you can really use this same method, swinging only long enough to generate enough power to get the ball to the green. If you have to hit it especially high, this method typically won't suit the shot but on most approaches you'll be fine.

[EastonBlues22]

Move the ball to the back of your stance, keep your hands forward and catch the ball on the way down with a lofted club. I prefer anything from 55 to 60 degree wedge. I haven't hit a chip fat or "flubbed" one in 15 to 20 years with this method. Take your wrists out of it too, if you haven't already. The biggest problem most people have with chipping is not making perfect contact (hitting too much turf) and the resulting inconsistent distance. My method takes a sand wedge and turns the loft into a 7 iron (what a lot of pros suggest you chip with to take the spin out of it) but it also makes it much, much easier to consistently make solid contact. And I've found that if I do blade the ball, the chip still turns out about like I'd planned.

If you're talking about in-between shots, maybe 40 to 60 yards out, you can really use this same method, swinging only long enough to generate enough power to get the ball to the green. If you have to hit it especially high, this method typically won't suit the shot but on most approaches you'll be fine.

Currently, I'd say a first standard deviation round for me is about an 84 to 87. I've hit 79 once in the last year and my high in that span is a 93. I rarely duff shots, and I haven't carded a triple bogey or worse in the last 12 months. My short game (chipping and putting) is fairly strong relative to the average for my handicap range, but my length (until the last 6 months or so) has always been my biggest limiting factor.

Over the last 12 months after a greenside shot within 30 yards of the flag I'm leaving myself a 6' putt or better 73% of the time. Roughly 80% of the time I didn't, I was either in a hazard or short sided. I made the green every time. The majority of my pars come from up and downs from this distance.

From 40-65 yards(ish), I'm hitting the green ~93% of the time but I'm only within 6' ~8% of the time. Part of that is strategy (I prefer to use a lower "chitch" onto the large part of the green from that range...great for eliminating flubs, but not so much for flag hunting unless it's a non-edge middle or back pin location with friendly green slopage), and part of it is just not having the ability to land and stop a ball consistently within the 5-7 yard circle from that range that's needed to hunt for those front/edge/hidden pins. Spinners of any sort are out due to equipment (ball/groove) limitations, which just leaves the high route. Specifically, my biggest stumbling block seems to be distance control. I've tried the Pelz method, but it runs counter to the "feel" theme underlying the rest of my game and all it ever did was induce me to think about things not relating to my target and a feel for the clubhead. I find that relying on feel is alright if I'm playing and practicing consistently, but it's not as repeatable as the rest of my game (full swings, chipping, putting) and it suffers tremendously after any sort of extended layoff. It's almost (but not quite) like starting from scratch after every off-season, which is frustrating.

Anyway, my goal is to drop another stroke or three off my average this summer with the added distance I've picked up (which was one of my off-season goals), but if I ever want to crack 80 consistently I'm eventually going to have to find a more reliable and precise mid-wedge game given my other limitations as a player. It's on my "to do" list.

[phins]

Do you two have any suggestions for a mid-90's golfer to take a few shots off his game? I'm currently decent at all aspects, but not "good" at any one aspect at all. I'm usually 225-250 off the tee box...pitching is extremely inconsistent. Putting is all over the place, and I don't have a great "feel" for the speed at all.

I play two to three times a month, and I really want to get under 90 this year, but have a serious habit of "blowing up" on a hole. My other big problem is chipping off a fairway from 20' and in. I seem to be able to chip out of the rough so much easier because the ball is sitting up in grass. I don't usually take a divet at all, and that might be part of my problem.

I've asked for lessons as my wedding gift, but that isn't until August, and it gets frustrating playing so much, but not getting any better really. I do not have a birdie yet this year, and playing a round of bogie golf makes me happy. I'm consistently a 5 or 6 on most holes...doesn't matter if it's a par 3 or a par 5.