Mate, this video and the comments is so relieving. I play off of 5, my home course is par 72 and has a slope rating of 137, and I play it alot. I have so many people expect me to shoot par or close to ALL THE TIME. It adds so much pressure. I'm happy if I shoot 79 or under, over the moon with mid 70s or better. But a 90 is certainly not impossible. I've always thought a 5 handicapper never hits it fat, never thins a wedge, never hooks a drive. Now that I'm here, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one!
So glad you posted this. People seem to forget that handicaps are a measure of your potential not what you do every time out. I’ve floated between 9-12 for the last two years based on how much I play. Regardless of what I’m currently at I always get comments from my 20+ friends. Every round isn’t going to be low 80s for me so this makes me feel good lol
The authenticity and humility of this video is so refreshing. I agree with you, that as an amateur golfer, sometimes you put a bunch of shots together, and sometimes you get "out of sorts" with a few bad shots. It's how you mentally move past a bad shot to the next that starts to get you better (haven't quite figured it out yet for myself!)
Thanks for this video! I am a 4 handicap and often have days like these as well. When you don’t play everyday like the pros, it comes down to simply having it or not on a given day. I now quote the words of Scott Van Pelt, “golf is fucking hard”.
Thanks for posting a video like this. I play off a 5 and I will have a round like this every once in a while where I swear I forget how to play golf. Having a low handicap can definitely be about feast or famine with the scorecard so I can go out and shoot a 75 one day and 88 the following day. Just happen to have more around 80 than I do around 90.
Your final sentences say it all: you never know if it's gonna be your best day or your worst day. Any channel that doesn't show the stinkers, isn't showing you everything. Another enjoyable video.
I’ve been dipping down from a nine to around 7, and when I don’t score under 85 I feel like it’s the end of the world, so this really puts me at ease. Great content!
Adam, you put it perfectly in your last 2 mins...handicap is a show of POTENTIAL...and that is why they take the 10 best of 20 rounds...I'm a 3.6...play 1x a month or so...I have the potential to shoot under par once in a blue moon and do, but equally can shoot 80...the POTENTIAL is there...just not always realized! Keep up the great works 👍
Thanks, Keith! I'm putting together a video breaking down the handicap system to break some of these misconceptions. FYI, recently the system changed such that only the top 8 of your last 20 differentials are used to calculate your handicap ;)
I’ve been playing golf for 3 months . Literally only 9 times . I’ve shot 110 my best and 120 my worst . Lol I can’t wait to break 100 still.! Love your vids brotha keep ‘em coming!
I think that a lot people don't practice the 100 -150 yards in shots!! That does help shave shots!! But I think you are right most people will only post their good round on YT!! But you have always posted honesty golf videos Adam!!
Every amateur golfer should watch this video. Especially your commentary in the last few minutes. I’m hoping to move into single digit handicap territory this year (currently at 14-15), but I also need to expect the bad rounds of golf along the way.
Cheers, Richard. Indeed, I really think that the hurdles to conquer when dropping from the teens to single digit are ones between the ears. Sure, if you want to play off of a + handicap you can't simply "think your way there," but up in the handicap ranges we're in, so much of the game is between the ears.
Really interesting video, thanks Adam, found this by You-Tube suggestion, glad i did, there's too many over edited 'Look how great i am' videos out there, looking forward to going through the back catalogue
When nothing is going right, then when picking up last ball with your putter the ball hits your face, lol. One of those day man. Love your videos btw! Keep up the wonderful videos.
I think most of the confusion comes from people thinking your handicap number is the answer to the question "what do you typically shoot," when really the handicap is your potential on any given day. Your videos are great as they show the ups and downs and offer a better "tour" of these great venues. Not everyone is going for 312 yd green into the wind with a "soft driver" :)
I think the point he made in the beginning truly puts it in perspective. Ever tournament you have the best players in the world off + handicaps shooting in the 80’s. If they can shoot 67 and then 82, a 7 handicap can shoot 73 and then 90.
This reasons you mention is why our channels ethos is real golf for real golfers. It's only right to shoe everyone what amateur gokf actually looks like. Great video ad usual. 👏
Thanks so much for making this video, I'm off 7 too and these kind of rounds feel way too common, it's good to know it's not just me and the handicap system hates all of us equally lol. Sometimes when playing with new people and I've started off the round badly and have to say my handicap I feel this twang of embarrassment cos I'm sure they don't believe me, next time I'll just direct them to this video! 🙌
I’m an 8 index, and have had many a day like this. Love the channel. I don’t comment often, but really wanted to let you know I “felt” this video. (Was going to say “enjoyed”, but that’s not the right word)
Thanks, Ken :) Like I said, I think we all consume too much golf media that sets unrealistic expectations. 7 handicaps don't break 80 every day. Tour pros don't break par every day.
The real ones know your authenticity Adam and as the majority of people have commented we all appreciate your honesty/transparency! People also forget that filming a round can also add strokes as well (personal experience) and what you are doing is not easy. See you soon brotha!
I’m also a 7 and sometimes scratch my head about I got there. For the longest time, I was in the range of a 10-12 Handicap. Then last season, I had about 4-5 rounds in the 70’s. Surprised me that I played that well, but what ended up happening is that entering just a handful or scores caused my handicap to drop like a rock. That’s just how GHIN works I guess.
The duck sound is killing me 🤣 The bottom line, we are not PGA Tour pros. The handicap system is adjusted to the slope of the course. No one ever gets that. We play for fun. This is always what we need to remember!
Yessssss. I have an upcoming video breaking down the handicap system more thoroughly that I hope I can point to whenever there's confusion in the comments about this stuff.
Even if you’re shooting 120, the pleasure gained from a walk in the fresh air in scenery like that make it a much better day than being stuck at work or laid low with illness. I enjoy every round even when having far worse blowouts than this for those reasons and you get that which is great.
Knocking yourself in the face with the golf ball as you try to catch it on the 18th just seems like the most poetic way to end a bad day of golf haha. Love the transparency and honesty!
I had this experience just this week. Shoot 78 where it felt like you couldn't miss a shot or putt...then shoot a 94 where if felt like I've never golfed before in my life. Thanks for the confirmation that this IS the game of golf and it can totally happen.
I feel this video in my bones. I had two rounds at the same course separated by two weeks. 75.......93. Yeesh. People just don't get that your index is your potential, not your average. I'll have runs where I break eighty or scare it in five straight, then runs where ninety is a real possibility for five straight. This just in: golf is hard! And heaven help you if you ever feel like you "finally figured something out." The golf gods will have your head! (Edit: typo)
Lollll. Yes, my response to anybody who says, "I incorporated this one thing and it made a huge difference" is, "yeah, and that will work...until it doesn't" :p
Happens to all of us. I shot my personal best plus one, 72, than 5 days later shot a 92. Felt like I had never held a club in my hand before. A week later I shot an 80.
Low handicappers tend to be FAR MORE consistent that is why you have a course rating and a slope rating. What they found out is that low handicappers are not nearly as effected by harder courses b/c they are simply better players. Of course we can have bad days but shooting in the mid 70's to the mid 90's on a regular basis is just not likely for anyone under 10 barring crazy condition changes or completely different course. My differentials over 20 rds usually don't have a range of 10, lowest usually being somewhere around 5 and highest around 15. So to go almost 20 strokes different day to day is not realistic for a good golfer.
All too true - I think one of the reasons I really like your channel is the variety of scores you post. It's not the polished version of you, but the full view. Or in other words, recognizable... 😁
As an ex-6 handicapper (I don't play now due to injury) I played with a lot of the top players in my club (sub 5, scratch, or +). The thing that seemed to separate them from me was largely from 100 yards and in. Tee-to-green I wasn't far off, but they'd regularly have sub 30 putts, where I would always be 30 plus (usually around 36!) Oh and they never seemed to have that blow up hole like I did! Course looks stunning btw!!
Thanks so much. Like I said, I think there's a lot of dishonest golf content out there. Too many career rounds on RU-vid and not enough every day golf! And indeed, PGA West really is a knockout. Looking forward to playing the rest of their courses.
Good stuff. Keep showing those courses in under 10 min. As for handicaps, the critics of your index need to know every one of your lowest scores count. Your high scores are excluded, and even subject to soft and hard caps if you shoot too many in a row. Your last 90 doesn't exist to the USGA, except for one of the last 20. Keep shooting those, and if they enter into your top 8, you'll be soft capped. You're easily a single digit. You don't spray the ball and you scramble. Critics need to enter tournaments to see golf outside the weekend buddies. Keep them coming
Subbed. Thank you. Just started back playing after 12 years off. 22-23 handicap and struggling with my thought process. This is eye-opening and very helpful
I was just telling my buddy today at the course “everyone on the internet is a great golfer”. You get out the course and find out breaking 90 consistently makes you a real like golfer!
I know them feels. On the weekend just gone I shot my best front 9 of even par, only to somehow lose any concept of a swing on the back to shoot 12 over 😪 I'm glad you're putting these up for everyone to see. 👍
From One Adam to the another, your videos are so refreshing because they paint a far more realistic view of most amateur golfers. I shoot between 82-86 on a consistent basis with the occasional 81-80 and the even more occasional sub 80 round. What do you find helped you most to become the type of golfer that breaks 80 on a more consistent basis with low to mid 80s became hapenstance rounds? Keep it up.
i love this! shot a 92 the day before and then went out the following day on a course with a slope of 135 and proceeded to shoot 111. Needless to say I was humbled and deflated. My inside of 100 is absolutely horrendous right now. Thanks for sharing and reminding us that the game is indeed HARD!
To the people who are saying - "no way you're a 7 hcp" - I'm a 13.5 and my non-counting scores range from 86-100. Adam shoots 90 on a BAD day. Think about that for a minute and tell me again how he's not a 7 hcp. Go get that bunker lesson Adam. Confidence hitting out of bunkers will lead to more confidence on approach shots where the bunkers are in play. It'll be well worth the money I reckon. Thanks for showing off an ugly round for you. Love your content, keep it coming!
I agree with your sentiments regarding scoring. In the Valspar Tournament Henrik Norlander scored 68, then four shots worse, to miss the cut by one. ( The difference between an 83, boo hoo, and a 79, yeeha! For the merely mortal!) Brandon Woo shot a 72 and then a 65, a seven shot difference and tied 33. Wyndham Clark shot a 68 then a 77, a nine shot difference and I know the conditions and pin positions have changed. And finally, Jonas Blixt, 73 and 81! There is a bit of the Blixt in us all, though there is always next week. They are just like us, it is just that the scoring is relative, the financial outcomes a tad different.
Thanks, Justin! Appreciate the kind words and hopefully you'll enjoy the odd round where I play decently and have some more positive things to say, lol!
Love the quack...I laughed everytime it sounded. Not your game...but just the sound byte. Thanks for the content and I agree with your analysis of single-digit handicap misconceptions. We are about the same as I am normally a 7-handicap as well. Going through a slight swing change and I am trending up right now but hopefully by the time fulltime golf hits I can get it back down. Funny how you meet new people at the course and you tell them you are a single-digit and they expect you to shoot around or under par. Cheers and see you on the next episode Adam!!!
Hey I just wanted to say that this is good. Sometimes people think a 7 handicap always shoots 79 or even averages a 79 and that's not how handicaps work. I'm a 7 and I'm usually around 82 score wise. Of course slope and tees come into play... But even more, it shows that a 7 isn't automatic. I appreciate you sharing this.
I’m more around an 11 or so but I definitely understand. Some days I’m on and others the old me likes to creep in. Haven’t really calculated handicap. But I’m on average about 83-88 strokes on 18.
Very helpful video. Love your vibe! This is a video where I think if I spent 90% of my practice this year from 120 yards in :) A little anecdote from an 11 HCP and the problems with the hcp system: TLDR: I had the same handicap two years in a row despite massive improvements technically. I am way closer to breaking through now than I was the first year. Which is the problem with the hcp system. Two years ago I had a big breakthrough in my golf game, finally breaking 90, then doing it multiple times that season. I was shorter than I am now with a flicky release, often being too shallow at iimpact. My 7i went 150 carry. My best score that year was an 83 on a pretty tough track. However my bad day could look like a mid 90's, breaking 100 was the goal type day. I played a few 9 holes on a night under 40 that my ego put in the app to bolster the hcp. Last year, I got lessons and had a technically way better swing. Way longer ("tour average"). Spent a tonne of time practicing. Was able to play any tees. My 9i averages around 145 carry. I hit 73% of fairways last year but only 31.7% GiR (bad but an area I am working on - a problem I had was that any green felt in play from about 160 out. So I just ego'd all year, not trying to hit to a distance - made me take unnecessary risks. I also took the strategy of "just get as close as possible". So if I was 200 out, I'd go for it with my 5i + chip instead of hitting to 100). I made so many improvements. My chipping made massive strides. Averaged 2 putts per hole all year. I never scored better than an 83 all year. I ended the year as an 11 hcp. My biggest triumph was 9 straight rounds in the 80's. Probably my biggest achievement was saving a 49 front 9 with a 38 back nine. I ended the year feeling a little disappointed as my main bro broke 80 for the first time and ended as a 9 after us being neck and neck for the past few years. I wanted my breakthrough year. I felt like a better golfer even though my hcp didn't reflect improvement. And I realized that, at the end of the year, something really needed to go wrong for me not to break 90 - I could "save" most rounds. My average was a way tighter dispersion. My highest score was the first round of the season on a cold, March day in Canada (snow in the bunkers cold, snow delay int he morning) I scored 100. I was a way better golfer last year. If I changed nothing else except my GiR's (which is the goal this year) which is WAY MORE a reflection of course management skills and not physical swing skills, I am right around the corner from shooting the scores I know I can. That was not the case of year-1 11 hcp me. But it is the case for year two 11-hcp me.
Cool story, but I don't understand why you think the handicap system has a problem. The handicap system is there to make it competitive for all skill levels. A handicap is a calculation of your best rounds, and throwing away your bad rounds. It calculates what your potential could be at a course. Handicap isn't really punished for BADDD rounds, but rewarded for great rounds. Don't worry about handicap. Worry about other competitive goals and personal stuff. Like breaking 80, being consistently in the 80's and so on. Have fun
@@trimotionmedia5487 I definitely appreciate that. I do have a tonne of fun at golf. I like improving and HCP and other stats are one way of doing it. For me, playing in competitions in a couple years is my goal! :) Like you said, I think there is something to be said in someones given skill level about your range of rounds, especially in golf. I think that only-rewarded-not-punished is the exact LIMIT (I'll change problem to limit) I personally think the HCP system has in it's ability to be a meaningful reflection of ones skill. I really do think it matters. And the anecdote is just saying that my handicap not changing did absolutely not reflect the incredible changes in swing and improvement in consistency I had over the course of last year. So for my evaluation of my areas of improvement, I realized that, although I didn't go as low as I wanted to last year, I certainly brought my high scores down - and that's an accomplishment HCP has a limited capability to reflect.
@@Pfuetz4 All I hear is: It sounds like it's time to gamble off your handicap. I'm an 10.8 right now, I've been barely below a 9. I know the only thing holding me is the course conditions (grass still not completely grown in) and getting 150 yard in approaches tidied up. When you are hitting more consistent mid 80s it's more fun than throwing 100s and high 90s in there every once and a while but can lead to no HC change. But it SUCKS when you're gambling and know you have 100 in the cards.
This vid comes at exactly the right time. I have a comp starting this Friday and I just shot my worst score in 6 years last Tuesday, while being in great playing form. My handicap is 5 but I shot +24. It had me completely baffled. The same course I played +1 this year. Somehow I need to regain confidence in 2 days time, when I play a 27-hole match play on the Haagsche, #1 course in the Netherlands and very tough…
Thanks Adam for another great video. Interesting that you maintain your cool better in this video than in some of the past. Just shows that we can enjoy golf even when we don't score well. Thanks for keeping it real.
Thanks, Dale. It's rare that I get worked up on the golf course. Exceptions include 5-hour rounds & instances when I'm playing a team game and leaving my partner out to dry.
Love this honesty Adam. Got my first 9 for the year this Sunday. Still the bunkers and water hazards are frozen solid. The pin, well it is stuck where it is as it has not thored enough yet to be possible to remove. Different worlds. March golf in Stockholm, Sweden.
Need more videos out here like this. My roommate is always trying to take strokes off his score for the sake of “beating” other people that we play with. He claims to shoot low 90s but when you watch him play it’s obvious that he shoots low 100s. None of us are great golfers. It’s just annoying when he’s asking everyone for their score & trying to correct other people that are being honest, then you call him out for his score & he gets defensive. Lots of people have this expectation that they need to be good golfers & those people make the game worse for everybody else. Just be okay with shooting how you shoot. When you lie about your score, everybody notices. They just don’t want to deal with you so they don’t say anything.
Went out yesterday and shot 115 on a course that I've shot in the 90s multiple times (picked up golf last summer lol). This video made me feel a lot better.
My handicap is a 6.3. Took me 2 summers (North Dakota season is short) to bring it down from a 10. My take away during that time was finding out what my game was and sticking with it then making my minor changes elsewhere. For me I focus on my irons and short game, I can hit the driver long but not consistently. If I’m not feeling the driver on the range I’ll tee off using my 3 wood and hybrids. While I may lose strokes gained off the tee, my goal here is to gain strokes around or on the green. To me, course management is what most double digit handicaps lack in that I see.
Going from a 7 handicap to a 4 this year has been unreal. Only thing I have noticed is that I don't shoot in the 80's anymore. When I was a 7 shooting low 80's was my goal. Moving to a 4 now mid 70's is my goal. This is also from a golf course that is only 6622 yards and rating of 71.3. Only thing I have really noticed is that my play around the green has improved.
Great video. Flat stick definitely let you down. I counted 9 holes (2,4 (both putts), 5,6,9,10,12,14,15) where you pulled/missed left with the putter. Not sure if you've done any work with eye dominance / eye align with the putter. I think that would really help. Keep grinding.
It’s nice to see an honest golfer who can put their ego to the side and tell it like it is. I know people who lie about what they shoot and it doesn’t do anything but make you look like a liar when you don’t live up to it. I typically shoot in 70’s…okay 80’s…..okay okay hold on 🤣 I’m going out today to break 80 hopefully for the 3rd time. Might play 2 rounds
Wow, I’m truly enjoying your Palm Spring content! My wife and I go to Palm Desert a couple times a year, and I tend to stick to the 2 Desert Willow courses right by our timeshare. I need to do some exploring! This course looks fantastic!
@@NotAScratchGolfer I’m pretty new to your channel, but great to see that it’s not just me that struggles with a lower handicap I’m flirting with single digits at 11.2! You’re comment about handicaps being your potential really spoke to me! I’ve never heard anyone say that before, and it’s absolutely the truth! I have to stop placing so much pressure on myself to achieve a certain number, and enjoy the game more!
I don't know what my handicap is (I play for fun, so my scores are rarely legitimate as I don't know or care to follow all the rules of golf perfectly when I only play on saturdays) but my friends guess around a 5-7. I really appreciated how well you described the ups and downs of golf and how everyone can have off days. Subbed.
I’m glad you made this. I’ve recently played my best golf ever and crept up to a 9! But then had the worst round I’ve played in months. Made me feel like a fraud saying I’m finally a single digit handicapper. This makes me feel better lol
Cheers, Chris. I have an upcoming video about the handicap system because it seems too many people think that a single digit handicap shoots 78 every round. It's not the case!
As a 2 hndcp with a difficult home course, if I may be so bold, here are a few tips: 1. Check how many times you are coming up short. Try playing a round where you aim for the back of green on every hole. 2. For your pitches and sand shots, check the bounce of your wedge. You should be playing one with 12 degrees of bounce so you can slide the clubhead under the ball with no fear. Extra bounce is something every golfer needs on almost every course, especially public courses that tend to be soft and furry around the greens. 3. Shorten your backswing. It is too loose and you are losing the connection between your body and the club. Try this: Set up on the range and turn your shoulders back as far as you can without breaking your wrists. When you've reached as far as is comfortable, hinge your wrists. That's the top of your swing. If you are going past this on your full swing you are over-swinging on the way back. Slow your backswing down until you are consistently getting to this point. Another way to do it is to video yourself hitting 3/4 shots. Where is the top on a 3/4 shot? I bet it is near parallel (meaning what you feel as 3/4 is actually a full backswing). 4. Pick an aiming point on every shot that is equidistant between the trouble. If there's a bunker on the right and on the left, aim directly between them. If there's water on the left and a bunker on the right, either take the water out of play by hitting less off the tee or move your centerline away so that the cone of your miss does not include the water. 5. Practice lag putting. It seems most of your lags are long. This could be because you are failing to notice whether you are subtly putting uphill or downhill. You may also be ignoring the grain of the putts. If the color of the green when you look from behind your ball is "shiny" or lighter green than when looking at your ball from behind the hole, the putt is downhill. Downhill putts break more than uphill putts. Strategery is the key to reducing the punishment of your misses!
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