I NEED to become a great golfer.... End of story...?

Question

Ok, so I'm 14 and about to go into high school. I really want to be on the golf team in high school and my parents want me to also. Well, I'm taking lessons from our club pro and I'm playing 3 days a week and 2 nights a week. I shot a 60 for 9 holes yesterday.... I really need to improve that. My drives are good, but they ALWAYS go way right. And when I line up left they still go way right. Please help... What can I do? And btw my putting is hilarious to watch, it's horrible. Help me... I'm from Massac county and that's where a lot of great golfer's come from, like Mason Jacobs (U of I) and Chelsea Harris and ect. I know Massac County gets scouted a lot and I know for sure I will be competing this coming season because there are only 4 girls on the team. I don't want to become good... I want to become the best. I really do. Please help me with my goal! Please!!!

Answer 1

Golf is a difficult game, and it gets harder when you put so much pressure on yourself.

here is a couple of tips tho to help you out with your game.

1) Above all practice your short game. over 3 quarters of the game is played on or around the green, so when you are at the driving range. spend majority of your time on the putting and chipping green. Create a system when you practice. focus on your short game and your score will lower

2) Find a comfortable routine. And repeat that routine before every shot or put. It will help with your consistency.

3) Driving the ball is extremely difficult because even a milimeter off target and produce a slice to the right. So try to move the ball up in your stance. Maybe even to the front of the your front foot. Keep your grip relaxed, take all the tension out of your arms, this allows for a good natural break of your wrists in the downswing. Also check to make sure your belly button is pointing to the target after the follow through. A friend of mine couldnt get the ball straight, and my coach told him that he needed to turn his body ALL the way around.



4) Keep your wrists and chin behind the ball at all times. A good way to practice your wrists is this; on your line up, align your club shaft to the inside of your front leg. Tilt your shoulders a little bit and on your backswing keep the club head low and wide. Remember that when the club is parallel to the ground you want the tow of the driver to be pointing straight up.

5) Practice your short game. I kno i said this earlier, but it is that important that you do.

6) Keep your stats for each round. the main stats that you wanna keep are goin to be

fairways hit

greens hit in regulation

Putts per hole

2 putts per hole is the standard and that should be your overall goal. Patience is key so take your time. I played high school golf and about 99 percent of the time on the green is spent lining up the putt.

Above all, just keep at it. Keep working on your swing, you can be the best and i beleive that with the drive that you have to be the best, you will be. You are about to be a freshman, so focus on first making the team. you will find that you will learn A LOT from your first year. Once you make the team then strive to be the best.

The secret to improving for me was to just relax and have fun. Remeber that it is only a game. And there is always someone out there that you could learn from.

Good Luck

Answer 2

keep ur feet firm and planted the whole swing. dont go up on ur toes following thru

Answer 3

SHORT GAME, SHORT GAME, SHORT GAME.  I know that you probably hear it all the time, but its the truth.  Tiger Woods' father started Tiger with only a putter until he could two-putt from anywhere.  Then he allowed Tiger to chip and pitch until he could get up-and-down from anywhere (two shots only to get in the hole).  Only then, was Tiger allowed to play with the rest of the clubs.  If you want to be good, start with the short game, period.

To illustrate how important the short game is, take note of these facts:

1.  shooting even par on 18 holes and hitting every green in regulation would **require** 36 putts, or 50% of all your strokes.

2.  Bombing your driver on every hole and hitting it straight down the middle on every fairway during 18 holes is only 14 shots, or 19% of all your shots.

3.  Even the best tour pros only hit about 70% of the greens in an 18 hole round.  Amateurs are lucky to hit 3 or 4 greens in a round.  If you two-putt every green, and also have one chip on every hole that you miss the green, that's another 15 strokes and changes your round of even par to 87.  

4.  Assuming that you miss 15 greens and are on your way to shooting 87, then you 3-putt only 20% of the greens, now you are shooting 91.  

The bottom line is:  if you keep track of where all your extra strokes are, they are in your short game. (unless you are some sort of wild unusual anomoly for an amateur).  

I suggest keeping track of all these stats:

1.  fairways hit per round

2.  greens hit per round

3.  number of putts per round

4.  number of chips per round

After 5-7 rounds of keeping these stats, you will quickly see where all your strokes are and will be able to focus your practice on that area.  It will take some work and some intelligence interpreting the data.  For example, if you miss the fairway 96% of the time, but also hit the green 50% of the time (great for an amateur), then missing the fairways is obviously not a problem since you still are hitting greens.

If you really want to be great, then you will have to work extraordinarily hard.  Ben Hogan supposedly hit 1000 balls per day on the range.  Phil Mickelson is rumored to hit 3-ft putts continuously until he makes 100 in a row, and if he misses one, then he starts over.  There are endless stories like this about all the pros.  You just have to ask yourself how much do you want it, everyday.

Answer 4

Then you had better be a great talent and a child prodigy who, after mastering all facets of the game, goes against competition with the same mindset. If you can beat them in the tournaments, you have a chance. 60 strokes for nine holes won't do it and all the practice in the world wont help if your putting is a mess. Find another goal which will be easier to achieve.

Answer 5

well i don't know a thing about golf, but i must say you've got incredible drive. Just keep training hard and the results will come don't worry.

Answer 6

I think you are trying way to hard to "make" the game work for you. I do not get your "passion" for the game. Mastering the mechanics of the game is certainly necessary but the love of the game is foremost. Do you have that?

When you play the game with grace and ease (even with all the upsets) "being" the best might shake itself out naturally.

Talk with your school counselor about what is driving you to want to be the best.. It may be that you really want to be a baseball player. Who knows, be open.

Answer 7

Dont pressure your self just practice what your coach or instructor is telling you and just keep on practicing your young and you have alot time to improve and dont rush it it'll come along. Dont be frustrated when you get high scores its part of the sport and you wont get better overnight it takes time and patience. Just have fun and enjoy the sport and practice more and you'll be a good golfer. Also try to watch some tournament on TV that helps also coz by watch the pros you can see how they play and what they are doing. I hope this help. Good luck!!!!

Answer 8

ok...becoming a great golfer does not just happen.  Playing 3 days a week and 2 nights a week is not close to enough time.  And playing golf is not how you get better.  The driving range and HOURS on the practice green is how you improve.  It takes hours of practice every day for years...practice that is intense and purposeful.

Becoming a great golfer entails sacrifice.  It requires being willing to sacrifice a significant portion of one's time.  It means being at the course when it opens in the morning and not leaving until dark...6-7 days a week.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but to become a great golfer, you are going to have to cut your score roughly in half.  That is not practical to do in a year.  Your best bet is to find a teaching professional that is willing to help and follow their instructions.  Based upon where your game is right now, the possibility of becoming a great golfer is exceptionally remote.  I'm not trying to negate your efforts or your desire in any way.  I just have personal experience in what it takes to reach that level of the game.

Your goal, though admirable, is too extreme.  Your first goal should be breaking 90 on 18 holes consistently.  Then breaking 80 consistently.  This is a process that will take years, not days.  Keep that in mind and dont get frustrated.  Play and practice your hardest, and see where you get.  Thats all you can do.  Set achievable goals, then strive to meet them.