Trying to be a Scratch in one year

Anyone so far ive been going to the range every single day since the warm weathers come out. Ive gotton a package deal at the club for the range so I can practice alot..Ive been having alot of sucess now actually with my contact.. today I hit 2 buckets of balls and I only shanked about 6 balls..Using only my 5 iron...

Anyway heres my rountine to try to get to scratch maybe in a year..

1. So far before I hit a bucket I take around 20-30 pratice swings with my training aid(Kallasys).. then I hit around 10-15 balls, go back to the training aid and do another 5-10 swings, hit another 15-20 balls, then go back to the aid for another 10-15, etc , so on and so on..At the end of the range session I add it off with another 40-50 times with the training aid(pendulum motion).. it seems its really helping, and my goal is to get this in my muscle memory and ingrain it as much as possible..

2. Im making sure Im paying alot of attention to my grip.. Ive been avoiding any contact with my palms and the club,, its all in the fingers.... So far ive finally gotton used to gripping the club in the fingers and not in the palms.. Ive found even if i grip the handle a little bit in the palm, it still messes up my swing bad..

3. I make sure my downswing starts from the botton up.. I always initiate the downswing with my left knee going back toward to the target.. but here's one secret thats really helped,, I make sure that I always start moving the left knee and hips toward the target before the backswing is finished..The amount of lag I feel is wonderful, and Ive hit some of my 5 irons over 200(without a tee)..it seems whenever I try to do the backswing and the downswing in 2 motions I lose alot of power and tend to make bad contact with the ball..but when I get it in one fluid motion with the hips starting the downswing just before the backswing is done, it gets a much greater power and cleaner hit.. it always gives you a nice timing feel instead of that usual one/two swing..

4. Ive been using the Swing Glove everytime ive gone out to the range.. Because keeping the wrist flat on the downswing is so hard to do conciously because the golf club is moving so fast.. this makes me not have to worry anymore.. I just use it as a regular glove now and no one notices, lol..


So later my plan is to get out everyday(maybe sundays off) and practice(average 2 buckets).. Ive found my consistancy is getting so much better now(again today I hit 2 big buckets and only shanked around 6 balls)... My goal is to get to scratch in a year or 2

Does anyone else have advice for someone wanting to be a scratcher as their goal.. things to do, exercises, etc... its something ive taken really seriously now and i want to compete in tournaments maybe later on in life..

That is quite a goal. Not impossible.
I didnt see you mention your chipping and putting in your practice.
IMO what seperates the pros from the really good amatures is the short game. They get up and down from anywhere. Putting is probably the most critical. Wow, to be scratch you have to have it all . Very very minimal wasted shots, the recovery shots, course managment , mentality .
Your attitude is very positive . Keep that attitude and keep focusing on your positives and dont let the game beat you up.
Good luck in your goals and have fun while achieving them.

FYI - the Swing Glove is not permitted in rounds that affect your handicap. Make sure you work on your FLW as well. Maybe try alternating range sessions where it is on for one and off for the next, or split your range session into on and off periods.

Best advise work on putting 80% of the time, short game pitch/chip 15% and 5% full swing hitting balls. Hit only enough balls before a round to warm up 15 or 20 starting with the wedges, do not work on mechnics. Pay attention to what you have that day, this is what you have to play with, don't do things or try shot you can't hit or haven't practiced, ever. Do the full swing work after the round so you have an idea of what you want to work on.

The biggest problem I see is someone who while warming up is fading then he goes to the course and tries to hit a draw all day long, why would you fight your natural shot shape that day. Leave that for the after course practice. I see people trying to hit a high fade over a tree 150 yds with a 7 iron when they can only pull that shot off once every ten tries..lol..why would you do that...stick with the shots you know you can pull off, not think you can pull off. When you can do it 9 out 10 times in practice, then use it on the course.

Course management advice, play ever hole from the green back while standing on the tee, play position for your worst shot to avoid trouble. Pay attention, you will begin to see the shots you NEED to work on during practice as opposed to the shots you would like to work on. Good luck.

yea im first trying to hit the ball cleanly.. My goal is to hit every call cleanly on the range.. I do some putting and chipping after also, since there is a putt and chip course..

Im mostly hitting my 5 iron and 4 iron at this time.. I do some lower irons like 9, but they are too forgiving and don't show me when I do something wrong like my 5 and 4 iron..

I don't hit my driver yet... mostly just teed up 3 woods.. for some reason I can hit smaller headed wood club faces alot better.. it seems the really big titanium heads worsen my slice alot..I still have problems with my slice and hitting to the right.. Ill hit a nice draw every so often.. but I still have that annoying fade, even when I swing inside out and with a strong grip..Its my body rotation i think, becaue when I hit a slice my sternum is pointing to the point where I hit.. I think im so concentrated on moving my hips that my shoulders might be not turning enough.. but every so often I make a full turn and hit a beautiful draw..

Since I have the time and money now, I can practice as much as I want.. I want to start hitting the ball cleanly first before I get into the short game totally.... so I am taking advantage of this.. I really want to hit scratch in a year or 2..

LOL...that last paragraph is the mantra of every high handicap golfer in the world. If you can't hit a chip cleanly, then why would you think you can hit a pitch any better. If you can't hit a pitch (3/4 swing) clean and on target, then why would you think a full swing at full speed would fair any better. Take my advise work on the short clubs then move upto the 4 and 5 iron, when you get those down then work on the woods and driver. When you have a consistance shot shape that you can count on, then learn to work the ball left/right and right to left. When you get that down work on hitting it high and low, but always start with the short clubs, the extra work with the short clubs will pay BIG dividens later in your golfing carreer, trust me.

My advice is to work on the short game. Most players can get to the point of being around the green in regulation, once there the question is can they get the ball up and down for par the vast majority of time? Then if they can take advantage of a par 5 or a couple short par 4's you are well on your way to being a scratch golfer.

That is one hell of a target if your handicap is still 20, i thought that my 10 shot drop last year was good. Im not sayin this is impossible but once you get down to about 8 it is very hard as you can afford to make mistakes at this level. Losing even 1 ball can screw ur round up at that level. But take a look at this site, it gives a practise routine to help u cut ur handicap by 5 in 10 weeks.

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction...8388-1,00.html

20 to scratch is a big goal good luck to you. I also have to agree with everybody else that said work on your short game.

I'm close to a 20 handicap and would be around a 10 if I could get up and down 50% of the time from within 50 yards.

I routinely get beat in league by guys I can out drive with a 5 iron. Short game is the most important part of the game.

see if this inspires you!





http://http//www.scratchtoscratch.com

Thanx for the site.. Ive been starting on the short game.. Im hitting a goal of around 2 buckets a day which is around 150 balls a day..

Around a week ago I hit around 10-15 shanks out of the 2 buckets..a little later around 8-9.. then 6-7... today I hit only 3 bad shanked shots.. Ive been getting my draw back alot better now, and Im hitting my 5 iron around 190-210... I do around 20 pratice swings with the drill training aid(Kallasys) before I hit, then around 10-15 during, and then finish it off with 30 at the end..At the end im exausted, but my forearms are alot stronger and my stamina.. The muscle memory is really starting to kick in better now..At the begining I constantly had to conciously think about moving the hips on the start of the downswing, but now it starting to come automatic... I still use the swing glove through every session to get the muscle memory of my correct wrist position too..I will take it off when I play a round maybe In a month or 2..

I want to get to the point where I hit every ball of each bucket where I want it to go.. nice draw at the flag everytime.. Thats my goal in the first few months..

Im mostly only hitting my 5-6 and 4 irons.. because if I hit them wrong they let me know it.. the 9-pw and SW is just too forgiving for me to notice what Im doing wrong, its really hard to slice a PW or 9 iron..I know If i hit the long irons cleanly that the short irons will easily follow..

I haven't even begun hitting my driver.. I can hit my small Bertha Warbird 3 wood perfectly.. But the large head drivers I always slice..I got a new MacgGregor MacTec NVG2 Driver from ebay with a more closed face

I get fitted with my clubs tommorow.. im around 5'8 and have really long arms.. And I noticed when I grip lower my hits are a million times better.. so I know i need it..WIsh me luck