Provisional I definitely remember the good shots, but I feel it's necessary to remember the bad ines, too, so I don't repeat them. Case in point, the reason I even had a shot at par on 18 is because I remembered the debacle on that same hole (from nearly the same spot for my 2nd shot) just a few short weeks ago. I laid up perfectly, executed a fine 3rd shot, and had a decent shot at par.
The 70's are lurking... (post 193)
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puttnfool your course #18 sounds like how our #8 is for me. 402 yds 1 handicap, parr 5 steep drop off to pond on geen approach with green back up high above pond on other side of it.
A " good" drive leaves 180+ so I have to layup unless I'm feeling stupid, which is also problematic with down slope right where layups are. I hate down hill lies.
I lucked into a ~115 yd halfway decent lie on my layup and caught ok 9 iron just above hole. 2 putts darn it again and lost ball penalty for bogy. I'm pretty happy with that on this hole. I even parred it two rounds before on my bday round. That card is on my refrigerator 
M
The pic here isn't it
Provisional That pic is of the course you normally play?
PA-PLAYA I will enviously attest to the man's putting. I will also say that with some of his assistance and certainly modeling he's had a positive effect upon my own putting. And yes, I totally agree that every effort is to be made! Years back I'd heard about a goal of lag putting to putt within a trashcan lid. Now, I've been to several 8 inch cup outings but, I've never seen a hole the size of a trashcan lid. Pick you line, commit to it, and all the remaining focus is on pace.
I'm glad putting is getting some more attention here. What percentage of your strokes are with the flatstick? Exactly!!
professor What percentage of your strokes are with the flatstick?
Unfortunately, I use more than half of my strokes getting to the green. My percentage of putts relative to my total strokes seems good when you consider the course is setup for half of your strokes to be putts. I'm normally around 30 putts each round out of 82-95 strokes. Just looking at the percentages, that'd look good, but it's not.
I'm getting to the point now where my short game is gonna save me more strokes than the long game. It took a few months, but I've finally gotten a little control over my tee game and now it's game time. I'm gonna start hitting the range... mainly the putting/chipping areas... and start shaving some strokes off the score.
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Provisional
Nice, huh?
Read last sentence in the post
We're more like Jeff Foxworth said
Richest guy here bought a new home and we had to go over and help him take off the wheels.
puttnfool Of course your 'using' more than half getting to the green. I've not read to many posts from scratch golfers here so, that's quite normal. Regardless, it wasn't the point. It's a lot of strokes with the easiest of clubs. As far as scoring, it bears some investment. And, a putting stroke ages better than a driver swing. LOL
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Formula I refer to is 14 GIR and 28 putts gets me a 68 on a par 72.
Typhoon Perhaps your formula accounts for only 14 of 18 holes? Or, I'm not getting your "formula".
rsvman No kidding. I get that. 14 GIR's + 2 strokes per GIR still leaves 4 holes. What's the assurance all four are up/down's? Oh, wait, four chip-in's for birdie gets you four under par. Huh?! Typhoon is clearly playing a game of which I'm not familiar. LOL
Looking for positives, missing fairways does allow for lots of scrambling practice.
I think I've improved my hybrid and iron play from deep rough. If I could only drive further, I'd be bomber-gouger, instead I'm bunter-gouger.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone."
Bought another golf help book. Lots of correctional tips for flaws. The tip for topping driver shots like I've been doing was to avoid changing spine angle or standing up on back swing. My Barkley impersonation.
It seems to work at the range for me if I can avoid relapse into old habit.
Next outing will tell. Hopefully I'll find more fairways. Maybe even help the abysmal gir stat? We'll see. Looked back at old cards where I kept stats , my worst score , lately I hit most fairways. Putting and approach shots killed me. I've been working on improving both since then, and now hope to see driver behave better too. Come on 80s
If this doesn't work, I'll have to buy more clubs!???
corner pocket'
Made it out today to play with lefty (AKA PA-PLAYA). I had a blast. Was a much different course than I'm used to. Managed a 92 with only 3 GIR. The wedge game kept me in respectable numbers, but my tee game could definitely use some work and I would need a few rounds to really figure out those greens.
Looking forward to making in out for a round in Va Beach with rsvman in a couple of weeks.
Had a great time! Thought you managed your game very well, not many guys play all 18 holes there with the same ball they started with. 
You've got a very solid short game, you've got good touch on the greens, you managed several awkward pitch shots quite well from tricky situations. Just seems like to me that you need to find a driver that you can hit with some confidence. But you managed things fairly well today without using it much at all.
Great to get out with you!
puttnfool Well done Jeremy! I know the course (a wee bit) and to come out of your first round there without a bloody nose? You did just fine! If you let it get under your skin, train-wrecks are all over that property and those greens make quick bogeys out of GIR's. Glad to hear you guys had fun!
Thanks, @professor. I just tried to hang around and not let myself get killed. I did, in fact, 3 putt at least one GIR so I was a tad miffed about that, but you're right, those greens are treacherous the first time out.
I went to the range tonight with my two youngest kids. Had a blast. I think the 13 y/o boy is going to take to the game just fine. He's hitting his driver about 160ish now and he's getting a little more consistent with everything in the bag.
I hit my practice driver (my DIY whippy driver @ 46") about 20 times and then switched to my driver. I think I'm gonna cut it down to 44.25" or so and see if that helps my consistency a little. Lefty can attest to the driver being my weak spot. If I could figure it out and get it to the point where the drives are acceptable, then I will be one step closer to some 70's rounds.
Don't let your frustrations keep you from figuring it out. The only way it'll remain a weakness is if you choose to continue shying away from using it. I like the idea of trimming down the shaft and seeing if that'll help. Also... a good swing thought is to try to keep that face going down the target line just a little longer after impact. It'll help promote a more square face through the hitting area.
Just trimmed it. It's a hair over 44" now with the grip. Was hitting it well at the range choked down a bit so this should help.