Single Digit Handicapper!

I picked up this game 5 years ago. I used to play 9 holes once a week and hit the range on Fridays -lunch time. Three years ago I started playing 18 and started with a Hcap of 25 and have came down 12 now. My goal is to get down to low single digits in two years. Looking for a a game plan/practice plan etc.

I still play only one 18 round a week(live in NJ, so 7 or 8 month season) but have begun going to the practive Green during weekdays(twice) and chip and put for 30 or so minutes. Iron play is my best part(Ping I3 + Blade, had them for 2 years, like them). 6 Iron averages 180 with a slight fade. Chipping & Putting has improved over the last few months and I would say is average. Rarely 3 putt. Driver(Tommy Armour 10.5) gets me in trouble these days. Hit an average of 250/260 and have reached 290s but some times a giant slice/fade shows up, confidence goes down and ruins the rest of the round. Some times have chosen to play Irons all the way and can reach Par 5s(say 523 yards) in regulation with ease. Should I stick to Iron play? But then a Par 4 of 440 yards may not be reachable in two? And I usually play DT So/Lo but planing to switch to ProV1 so can have a better feel around green.

I am looking for Gords and the Ians with single digit h'cap to share some of your thoughts/ideas/game plan etc. How did you get down there!!!

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Ranga

What about your fairway woods? They are a bit shorter thatn your driver, so you should get a bit more control without sacrificing a lot of distance.

Everything else sounds good. The short game is definitely the place to focus your attention if you have shorter periods of time on the range. As long as you are close to the green in 2 ona par 4, you should be able to par that hole. Get your chipping and putting to that level that you can save par from basically anywhere from 20 yards off the green and the game will become much more simple.

Don't abandon practicing your full swing though.

Also, it may be time to take a look at getting a professionally built driver to your specs. www.proclubmakers.org is the best place to start.

Your irons are fine - no need to replace those. Distance seem fine to get down to a single digit.

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Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall