What are some ways to improve your golf game if you are a 19 handicap?

Question

I am a young golfer and my handicap is about 19. I would like to get it to 15 or under by the end of this summer. I've been playing golf since I was little, so my swing is natural, and I have a good idea of the game, but I really want to have a break-through. Recently, I shot just 14 over, but I haven't been able to mimic that score. How do I par more holes (I par about 5 a round)? How do I eliminate double and triple bogeys from my score? What are some ways to improve my golf game in general? What are some techniques or drills that might work?

P.S. Most days I have a great long game, but then I ruin it with my putting. I practice putting for at least 30 minutes every time I go to the course and I get experience playing, but what are some putting techniques that may help me? I have pretty good aim, but how do I get the speed right?

P.P.S. How do I become more consistent with my long irons and my driver? Also, are there any pre-shot techniques that help to make you hit better shots?

Answer 1

Lessons are one way of doing it as are DVDs or other hard tutorials.  Both have merit but a lesson cannot be referred to whenever you need to so it has that draw back.

I would suggest you start off with your putting and slowly work your way back to the tee.

Once you have mastered your putting and feel confident that you can always 2 putt or better then work on your chipping, then pitching, then short irons, then long irons and finally your driver.

Teddy Webber (former touring pro) has a good set of very inexpensive tutorials that are easy to follow (he sticks to the basics) and implement.  It is a set of 6 and you can buy any number you want. I have put the link in the source box below.

Answer 2

To eliminate the double and triple bogeys you need better course management.  When you hit it into trouble, don't try to be a hero and hit some miraculous recovery shot.  Take your medicine, chip back to the fairway and play in from there, it should only cost you one stroke not two or three.  To get better distance control with the putter the only cure is more practice.  Hit putts of varying lengths over and over to develope better feel for how hard to hit the ball.  Also work on chipping - if you can get up and down to save a par half the time when you miss the green, that will increase the number of pars you make by a lot and shave strokes off your score.

Answer 3

You have so many things that you can improve on that a series of golf lessons from a local teaching pro would be a good place to start. Find one who will  work with your swing and not try to revamp it to that of a pro. Then, concentrate on chipping and putting and the medium irons. These will be the " scoring shots" for you. As for putting on the practice green for distance, putt to a different target  with each ball. At the end sink 5 four foot putts in a row.

Answer 4

And the answer is Tiger Woods.

Answer 5

i dont know how i get green speeds....i can usually hit the ball perfect speed every time i putt, might not be straight but its usually perfect distance.  its just a feel, i dont know how to explain it.  all greens are different so you just have to be comfortable and trust your swing.  

http://www.pga2be.com

for golfers

Answer 6

practice the short game

Answer 7

Take some short game lessons.  Or, look for and purchase the video lessons offered by Wally Armstrong. You might be able to find them on eBay.   I bought them about 10 years ago on VHS cassette for about $20.  My scores dropped.  I went from rarely breaking 90 to being pissed if I don't break 80 every round.  I review the lessons every Spring.

Answer 8

First, you need to understand golf...the more pressure you put on yourself, the better chance you have of failure until you learn your game.

Range:  I would spend 1 hour a day hitting range balls.  I would use it as a time to practice and not hit balls like a machine gun.  I would develop a pre-shot routine that is natural.  Stand behind the ball and see your target and ball flight and then walk into the ball and address it then swing.  The more consistant you get with this routine, the lower your scores will be.  During this practice time make sure you are hitting at flag sticks and targets.   Jack Nicklaus always stood behind the ball and envisioned the ball flight/trajectory  with each shot.  He felt if you could see it (ball) and feel it (type swing mechanics for ball flight) then you had a better shot of getting your body in proper position to hit it.  Mind over matter.....

Next:  spend about 30min -1 hour working on short game and putting.   Again, practice like your playing a round.  when warming up before a round start hitting putts from about 3-5 feet.  Those are your scoring putts when trying to get up and down.  Gradually work your way out to putts of about 20-30 feet.  When hitting those, practice mainly for pace/speed and not for making.   If they go in great.  

Focus:  When practicing with your friends on the range or on the green play games that puts you in pressure situation.  On the range find the 100 yard flag and play closest to the pin on each shot.  The first on the 10 wins.  You don't have to play for anything but bragging rights.  As you do this, move out to 150 yards and so on.  The idea with this is to work on your focus/concentration with one shot and not a bucket of balls.  This will help when you get to the course when you have one shot that has to be pulled off.  

Now, golf is a game of learning experiences.  As you learn your golf swing you will learn your stregths and weakness.  You will learn which sides of the green you can fire at and which ones you play to the middle of the green.  On par fives if you can't get to the green in two don't hit a 3 wood that leave you the akward 50-60 yard shot you can't hit.  Hit an iron to your strength 100 yards or so and fire at the pin that way.  The problem with 14 year olds is they like to grip it and rip it.....that is only the way about a handful of guys actually play the game....golf is played with patience and learning when to hit the accelerator and when to hit the brake....good luck with your golf came...