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what's your biggest mistake while golfing and what solution did you apply ?


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  • 4 weeks later...

One of many of mine was lack of course management.  I bought into blasting driver on every hole with the exception of par 3s.  Once I started looking for trouble areas, playing to best yardages, etc...scores got lower.  I don't worry about my buddies giving me a good ribbing for hitting 5 iron while they blast driver.  While they are dropping a ball or punching out from behind a tree, it most situations I have the last laugh hitting a nice approach shot from the fairway.  Then we all 3 putt, because of yet another personal mistake.  No putting practice.

Of course I have had the opposite happen when they drive the green and make eagle.....  

Arccos Tracking

Bushnell Tour V4

Driver: Ping G410 Max 

Fairway: 5W 0341X Proto  | 7W Taylormade M2 

Irons: 0311P GEN3 IRONS 

Hybrid: Taylormade GAPR 21 Mid 

Weges: 54 and 58 SM8 Vokey

Putter: Odyssey Stroke Lab Rball 34"

Ball: Pro V1X

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Not paying enough attention to the ball slightly on a hill going up or down. The obvious ones where the ball is way above or below my feet I make the adjustments, but the ones where it is even with my feet and I am on a slight down slop on a hill, I need to pay more attention and not thin it (downhill). It is the slight adjustments that I need to work on more. I need to focus on more aspects of my where my ball is and not just the type of rough I am in. 

:ping-small: Driver: G425 Max 10.5*
:ping-small: Wood: G425 Max
:ping-small: Wood: G425 Max
:titelist-small: Hybrid: TS2 23*
:titelist-small: Irons:  6 to GW, T300 
:titelist-small: Wedges:  Vokey SM8 50F, 54S, 58K
:cameron-small: Putter: 1998 Tei3 Newport Long Neck
:titelist-small: Ball: Yellow Titleist VG3
:nike-small: Bag: Nike Air Hybrid Golf Bag

I Love the Art of Putting!

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Basing club decisions purely on yardage and nothing else. For example, I'm 135 yds out so that used to be automatically a PW. No consideration of if there is trouble short or long, slope of green, pin position, etc. Ultimately, it was due to the fact that I wasn't comfortable hitting "soft" shots like a soft 9 or even a punch 8 in this situation. Most of the time, 135 to the pin is still a PW but rather than thinking, "it's a PW" I try to think "it's 135 yds with X, Y and Z to consider." 

Also, hoisting my wedges high in the air on full shots, I have started trying to flight them down and swing like 80% at them and it has been good, for me. 

:mizuno-small: STZ 230 9.5* "Std" setting ➖ :mizuno-small: STZ 230 Hybrid 18* "lower" setting➖ :mizuno-small: Pro Fli-Hi 21.5* ➖ MALTBY TS1-IM 5-GW ➖ :benhogan-small: Equalizer II 54* ➖ :ping-small: Glide 4.0 (S) 58* ➖ L.A.B. Directed Force 2.1 
Maxfli Tour X Official Review -- https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63068-testers-announced-maxfli-tour-x-golf-balls-with-max-align-technology/?do=findComment&comment=1021832

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1 hour ago, Tat2Golf said:

One of many of mine was lack of course management.  I bought into blasting driver on every hole with the exception of par 3s.  Once I started looking for trouble areas, playing to best yardages, etc...scores got lower.  I don't worry about my buddies giving me a good ribbing for hitting 5 iron while they blast driver.  While they are dropping a ball or punching out from behind a tree, it most situations I have the last laugh hitting a nice approach shot from the fairway.  Then we all 3 putt, because of yet another personal mistake.  No putting practice.

Of course I have had the opposite happen when they drive the green and make eagle.....  

I'd have to agree with Tat2Golf on this. Once I was able to leave the "driver" idea behind and look at the course in a logical mind my score dropped. I still have situations like Tat2Golf where the guys I'm playing with are heading to the tee with drivers and I have a 5 iron. After all the drives I'm the only one in the middle of the fairway while everyone else is in trouble. And one of them usually says "I hate it when some guy plays smart" 

At this point in my life I'll look at the yardage of the hole (on 4's and 5's) and get a plan based on getting to the 100 yard mark for my approach shot onto the green. This usually equates to many 4 woods off the tee.

Chris

Far and Sure......

  :callaway-small:          GBB Epic  11*             

:callaway-small:               GBB Epic 7W (Heavenwood)

:ping-small::             G410 4 thru GW

 :callaway-logo-1:   MD3 54*,60*                                                         

:cleveland-small:         Huntington Beach Soft #4

:bridgestone-small:   Tour B RX

 

 

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Thinking beyond the shot at hand. Whenever I lose focus I tend to dump the current shot. Was recently diagnosed with ADD so I have to work harder to stay in the moment. I try to maintain a consistent routine for every shot. I am now playing the hardest holes best as I am really dialed in but the easy holes I count on for birdie opportunities are biting me as I tend to lose focus. Same thing happens on shorter putts. Trying to develop a mental strategy to stay in the moment

 

Short game savant, driving disaster...

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4 hours ago, FmrCaddie13 said:

Thinking beyond the shot at hand. Whenever I lose focus I tend to dump the current shot. Was recently diagnosed with ADD so I have to work harder to stay in the moment. I try to maintain a consistent routine for every shot. I am now playing the hardest holes best as I am really dialed in but the easy holes I count on for birdie opportunities are biting me as I tend to lose focus. Same thing happens on shorter putts. Trying to develop a mental strategy to stay in the moment

 

If you play with a group, try match play.  Any given shot will be as important as the next regardless of hole handicap if your opponent is still in the match.  

Think about keeping stats, I use Arccos and it gives you very detailed info on your round.  There would be plenty of things to move your focus on throughout a round other than just score.  Instead of worrying about that birdie on a easy hole, you can aim for fairway hit, GIR, sand saves, etc... the list of possibilities is large and can always be improved on.  

I feel your pain on the short putts.  We all get used to those gimme putts and when it matters a two footer is easy to miss.  Large percentage of us would be a couple points higher on the old handicap without those gimme putts if we are honest.  

Arccos Tracking

Bushnell Tour V4

Driver: Ping G410 Max 

Fairway: 5W 0341X Proto  | 7W Taylormade M2 

Irons: 0311P GEN3 IRONS 

Hybrid: Taylormade GAPR 21 Mid 

Weges: 54 and 58 SM8 Vokey

Putter: Odyssey Stroke Lab Rball 34"

Ball: Pro V1X

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Comparing to others in my group. When I first started, I had co-workers and friends that had all played for much longer than me and were substantially better than me as a result. It's tough for me to accept being the worst in a group and I start getting in my own head, comparing distance, club selection etc. I have to constantly remind myself that golf is not like tennis or baseball. It's not me against them, it's the course I have to deal with. I have zero control over what scores they put up, but I can control mine. 

At the same time, I have to avoid overthinking. A few times I played with a co-worker that had the longest pre-shot routine I've ever seen. It was physically painful to watch while he lined up, took a couple practice swings, got in position, another two practice swings, come off the ball, go back behind and align a second time, another practice swing, all before finally hitting his shot. While all this is going on I've got what feels like 20 minutes to overthink my next shot. My best round was the exact opposite. Went with my manager who didn't even know what a practice swing was, line it up, step up and swing. 

Driver: PXG 0811XF Gen 4 w/ Fujikura Motore X F3 6- 
3 Wood: PXG 0341XF Gen 4 w/ Mitsubishi Diamana S+ 70g
Hybrids: 19 and 22 degree PXG 0317XF Gen 4 w/ Project X Evenflow Riptide 80g
Irons: 5-PW PXG 0311P Gen 4 w/ KBS Tour 120
Wedges: Indi 50 FLX, 54 FLX, 58 ATK w/ KBS Wedge 610 (Official Review)
Putter: Battle Ready Blackjack, 36.5”, Double Bend neck

Spornia SPG-7 hitting net review
2023 Titleist White Box ProV1 review

 

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Definitely course management for me. The biggest change I’ve made recently is playing the par 5s smarter. I used to always want to rip a 3 wood from 280 out with the mindset that closer to the green is better. But after countless bogeys and worse, I  realized that I’m much more inconsistent with the 3 wood. Then parlaying this with the fact that a 30-50 yd shot is much more demanding than a 80-120 shot (for me at least), I’ve now conditioned myself to keep the 3 wood in the bag unless im 230-240 out. This way if I stripe a 3 wood from 230, I have a chance at being on in 2, but if I can’t feasibly reach it definitely helps to me to just grab a 6 iron or so and give myself a full wedge from the short stuff. Few things worse to me than making a big number on a par 5 and this has definitely helped me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A famous golfer recently said that there are mental and physical mistakes, and he only gets mad with himself at the mental mistakes.   A few mental mistakes I have and continue to work on overcoming include:

  • Play better with better players in foursome.  Really should not matter.
  • Play worse in slow round. Again should not matter.
  • Setup to swing and change or override direction picked in "box" behind.  Sideways view is distorted so best to walk back and relook.
  • Pick wrong target in setup.  Ex. aim for pink house rather than blue house 
  • Poor set-up alignment, comes from rushing to hit and not stopping when you know is bad and regrouping
  • Not practicing putting day before tournaments, also not doing a yoga session the day before
  • Maintaining mental focus for all 18 holes when getting texts etc.   

The above can add 2-6 strokes in a round if you are not careful .       

                       

Driver - 2023 Callaway Paradym 9.0, 3 Wood -2022 Rogue ST Max, 3 Hybrid Mavrik, 2017 X-forged 4-PW, Wedges Callaway 50-56-60, Putter Odyssey Toulon Chicago     

 

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losing patience and focus when the pace of play is like a slow turtle.  Focus just goes away and I play horrible.  Lucky the club where I belong has 2 18 hole courses so a long round for us is 4 hours, usually 3 1/2 is typical.   But every once in awhile, one is closed and course gets busy and the 4 1/2+ rounds happen.    oops forgot what is my solution?  guess beer and lousy rounds.  🤣   cause I normally don't drink other than water while on the course.  

TM Sim2 Max  10.5

Ping G410 5 wood

Ping G410 7 & 9 woods 

PXG Gen 5 0311P  5-gap

PXG forged 54 & 58 wedges

PXG Operator H w/ BGT Stability shaft

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@RichL85 playing with better players can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that you can pick up a lot of tips on how they approach the game and incorporate that into your own game and a curse in that you start comparing yourself in terms of hitting a eight iron for you which might be a pitching wedge or sandwich for them. The key is play your game and think of it not as you against those other players but you against the course. I played with guys that literally hit the ball 20 or 30 yards past me which is fine because that's their game so I sharpened up my approach shots, shots around the green and putting because in the end that's the big equalizer. As others have said course management is key to playing to your strengths and maximizing it on a golf course. I used to be of the mindset the closer to the green the better but I found that if I laid up to about a 100 yard s more times than not I would put the ball a lot closer than I would with a 75 yard approach or using a half wedge into the green. And the best advice I can give you is to enjoy the game. Sometimes we get so focused on trying to get better that we lose the fact that you're out there playing in nature and enjoying the camaraderie that comes with the game.

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

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Coming from someone on a breaking 90 crusade my biggest downfall is those blow up holes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been right there and had I not got that one 7 or 8 I would have it. And they happen for a mix of reasons already covered here but mostly just not smart golf in general. And I feel this translates to any level of golf. The best advice I’ve heard is that scratch golfers don’t bird more holes than you they just bogey less. I obviously haven’t conquered them yet so I can’t tell you how I’ve fixed it but one thing I’ve done in my recent rounds is if I have that bone head shot that puts me in the trash or in a spot where I might start to loose a grip I make myself play a shot that gets me into the fairway and advances the ball even if it only advances it 20 yds. Things open back up and it’s less of a penalty than having to drop because I ricochet OB from a tree or top one into the water. I’m getting close though. 

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This is probably not the best take for a golf forum, but mine was actually my habit of messing around with different wedges and putters just because new cool stuff=fun. Full swings and short putts weren't really a problem, but anything touch-related was incredibly inconsistent as a result; lag puts and any half swings/pitches turned decent holes into disasters.

I have stuck with my same putter for 4 years now, and do almost all of my chips & pitches with the same SM7 58* for the last 2+ years, and the short game has really been cleaned up as a result. I even bought a backup SM7 58* that I will unwrap next year to ensure the exact same wedge feel for another few years before I have to even think about changing anything.

Now, my problem is inconsistency off the tee and the answer is an upgrade from Monte's online videos to real, regular lessons with a coach, and if I had the extra scratch lying around, probably a sports psychologist too since my problem seems to be like 75% mental 🤪. More to come on that front...

Driver:  :titelist-small: TSi 3 10* w/ Graphite Design AD IZ 7X 

Fairway/Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSi 2 15* & 18* w/ Graphite Design AD IZ 7X, AD IZ 95X

Irons: :taylormade-small: P790 4i, P770 5-7i, P7MC 8-P, $ Taper 120

Wedges:  :vokey-small: SM7 52F/54 S, 58 M w/ Modus 125

Putter:  :cameron-small:  California Hollywood 34" Circle H

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2 hours ago, MDGolfHacker said:

@RichL85As others have said course management is key to playing to your strengths and maximizing it on a golf course. I used to be of the mindset the closer to the green the better but I found that if I laid up to about a 100 yard s more times than not I would put the ball a lot closer than I would with a 75 yard approach or using a half wedge into the green. And the best advice I can give you is to enjoy the game. Sometimes we get so focused on trying to get better that we lose the fact that you're out there playing in nature and enjoying the camaraderie that comes with the game.

 

MDGolfHacker

It's funny you mentioned that because that was the exact advice I got from one of my old managers that I played with a few times. He noticed I was hitting my short irons better than my wedges one particular day, told me to give up distance on some shots and leave myself a 9 or PW into the green instead of a partial wedge. Beat my previous low by 6 strokes that day. 

Driver: PXG 0811XF Gen 4 w/ Fujikura Motore X F3 6- 
3 Wood: PXG 0341XF Gen 4 w/ Mitsubishi Diamana S+ 70g
Hybrids: 19 and 22 degree PXG 0317XF Gen 4 w/ Project X Evenflow Riptide 80g
Irons: 5-PW PXG 0311P Gen 4 w/ KBS Tour 120
Wedges: Indi 50 FLX, 54 FLX, 58 ATK w/ KBS Wedge 610 (Official Review)
Putter: Battle Ready Blackjack, 36.5”, Double Bend neck

Spornia SPG-7 hitting net review
2023 Titleist White Box ProV1 review

 

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I used to be too conservative off the tee and didn't have a good strategy on what to hit when.  Once I discovered the Fawcett driving decision tree, I finally started feeling comfortable with my decisions off the tee.  I still hit foul balls now and then, but as someone mentioned above, I never feel like I made a bad decision off the tee.

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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It used to be a running joke with my playing partners that I would hit my drive and be inside 100 to a lot of greens and they would say "Now what? You're too close...". Most of the time I would chunk or skull a wedge and waste a good drive. I have since put a lot of work into my wedge play so that I can confidently hit shots from various yardages inside 100 and know what the carry will be with that club/swing combo. I have it worked out to 3 wedges (60/56/52) with 3 ball positions (f/m/b), and 3 swings (.5/.75/1) this gives me 27 combinations of known yardages so I can capitalize on my good drives. 

 

 

Driver: :titelist-small: TSi4 8* w/ Tensei AV Raw White 65gr X shaft set to D-1 Hosel
3 wood: :taylormade-small: M1 13.5* Head set open w/ Fade bias weights. 
Irons: :ping-small: I-Blades PW-3i, 2* up standard length.
Wedges: :ping-small:Glide 1.0 TS 60*, :ping-small: Glide 2.0 56 ES, :titelist-small:Vokey 52* 
Putter: :ping-small: Sigma G Kushin .
Ball: Various: Testing: :titelist-small: AVX, :bridgestone-small: BX, :taylormade-small: TP5x 
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20 hours ago, hartrick11 said:

I even bought a backup SM7 58* that I will unwrap next year to ensure the exact same wedge feel for another few years before I have to even think about changing anything.

Be sure to remember when you pull out that new wedge that it might put a little more spin on the ball compared to the worn one. You don't notice it as much on the worn club as you have adjusted with it gradually, but then switching to a new one, you might need to put a little more into the shots to compensate for more check. 

 

Driver: :titelist-small: TSi4 8* w/ Tensei AV Raw White 65gr X shaft set to D-1 Hosel
3 wood: :taylormade-small: M1 13.5* Head set open w/ Fade bias weights. 
Irons: :ping-small: I-Blades PW-3i, 2* up standard length.
Wedges: :ping-small:Glide 1.0 TS 60*, :ping-small: Glide 2.0 56 ES, :titelist-small:Vokey 52* 
Putter: :ping-small: Sigma G Kushin .
Ball: Various: Testing: :titelist-small: AVX, :bridgestone-small: BX, :taylormade-small: TP5x 
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20 hours ago, Abthompson07 said:

Coming from someone on a breaking 90 crusade my biggest downfall is those blow up holes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been right there and had I not got that one 7 or 8 I would have it. And they happen for a mix of reasons already covered here but mostly just not smart golf in general. And I feel this translates to any level of golf. The best advice I’ve heard is that scratch golfers don’t bird more holes than you they just bogey less. I obviously haven’t conquered them yet so I can’t tell you how I’ve fixed it but one thing I’ve done in my recent rounds is if I have that bone head shot that puts me in the trash or in a spot where I might start to loose a grip I make myself play a shot that gets me into the fairway and advances the ball even if it only advances it 20 yds. Things open back up and it’s less of a penalty than having to drop because I ricochet OB from a tree or top one into the water. I’m getting close though. 

This is what got me over the hump in my early days of trying to get better. My father tried for a long time before it finally stuck, but he always used to say to me "minimize the damage". Once I finally listened my scores got a lot better. 

Driver: :titelist-small: TSi4 8* w/ Tensei AV Raw White 65gr X shaft set to D-1 Hosel
3 wood: :taylormade-small: M1 13.5* Head set open w/ Fade bias weights. 
Irons: :ping-small: I-Blades PW-3i, 2* up standard length.
Wedges: :ping-small:Glide 1.0 TS 60*, :ping-small: Glide 2.0 56 ES, :titelist-small:Vokey 52* 
Putter: :ping-small: Sigma G Kushin .
Ball: Various: Testing: :titelist-small: AVX, :bridgestone-small: BX, :taylormade-small: TP5x 
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I once used the word golf as a verb.  Biggest mistake I ever made.

14 of the following:

Ping G430 Max 10.5 degree

Callaway 2023 Big Bertha 3 wood set to 17 degrees

Cobra F9 Speedback 7/8 wood set at 23.5 degrees

Callaway Epic Max 11 wood

Ping Eye 2 BeCu 2-SW

Mizuno 923 JPX HM HL 6-GW

Hogan sand wedge 56 degree bent to 53

Maltby M Series+ 54 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 Eye2 58 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 60 degree

Evnroll ER2

Ping Sigma 2 Anser

Cheap Top Flite mallet putter from Dick's, currently holding down first place in the bag

TaylorMade Mini Spider

Bridgestone XS

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