r/weekendgolfers

The last few years I’ve been on a quest to get better. Don’t get to play as often as I’d like but made sure to take lessons and get my game into a better place. Usually was a 90’s player but I find myself shooting in the low 80’s every now and then and I’m curious….

For those that have broken 80 (esp those that had to grind to do it) what really helped get you over the hump?

-a guy who golfs

I started golfing late, in my 30's, and have been playing casually since the early 2000's. I'm a 20 handicap and about 2 years ago I decided to get serious about getting better. I started using Arccos and analyzing my rounds, I resolved to swing easier w/ an old man golf swing and started practicing short game 70% of the time. I practice 2-3 times per week for at least an hour and play maybe once a week. I focused more on course management to avoid trouble.

I have improved. Objectively and demonstrably; my dispersion is better, I almost never loose balls, I get up and down a bit more, chunk less shots. I now miss long more vs. leaving everything short on approach. My scoring average for 9 holes has dropped about 3 strokes from around 47 to 44.

So here's the rub... perhaps I'm delusional, but my drives average 220 with my trusty mini-driver and I no longer loose balls off the tee. I feel like I have the swing to score better, but I'm not. It's like I cruise along with bogies and pars and then all of a sudden have the most ridiculous mishits & blowups you've ever seen to pull myself back to my same average. I think I'm somehow mentally blocking myself.

Any suggestions for improvement would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I personally think if a golfer can go a full round without a mulligan, lie improvement, double bogey, and put the ball in the bottom of the cup every single hole, that makes them "good". I'm not saying they have to do this every round, but if they're able to shoot 18 over but never take a single mulligan or gimme, and it was a totally honest +18, they're a good golfer.

What do you think?

What’s your solution out there? Been raining for a month straight they are nuts here

I've known about this for a while but never realized how widespread it was until I started digging.

For $300-600 you can tee it up at courses that would otherwise cost $30K-$100K+ to join as a member. The events are hosted by nonprofits and foundations, the club donates the course for a day and opens it up to outside players to raise money for charity.

The problem is finding them. They're scattered across nonprofit websites, Eventbrite, local foundation pages, and individual club calendars. There's no central directory.

So I built one: playprivategolf.com

It's powered by a giant web scraper that searches the weekly, reads each page, and extracts charity golf events at top private and top-100 courses across the US. Right now it covers 370+ private clubs across 14 states with more being added.

Completely free to use. No signup required. Nothing being sold here.

Happy to answer any questions about how it works or take suggestions for courses/states to add. Also, if you know of events that aren't showing up, drop them below and I'll add them manually.

I understand the handshake, but the hat off feels like an oddly formal and antiquated ritual for such an informal, completely causal round of social golf, and it feels weird.

Do you do it? Do you care?

My regular group has played the same $5 Nassau with auto-presses forever. It's fun but we're all a little bored and want to try something new.

I've been reading up on other formats Wolf, Skins with carryovers, Bingo Bango Bongo, but I've never actually played them.

So I'm curious what everyone here actually runs:

\- What's your group's go-to game?
\- Anything that works well when handicaps are all over the place?
\- Any format that sounds fun on paper but is a nightmare to keep track of?

Trying to find something that keeps the high handicappers in it until the end. Appreciate any ideas

For context, I've only been golfing for about a year and a half. I live on a golf course, so after work I usually throw my bag over my shoulder and walk a few holes before dinner. Most of the time I'm by myself.

Sometimes I end up playing with Paul, who's a club champion, or Charlie, who's also a great player. They both play every day. Since they're better than I am, I always hit last. If I start thinking about impressing them, I usually fall apart. I've had rounds where I par the first two holes while they're making bogeys, then they catch me and suddenly I can't hit the ball.

I've also noticed that if I'm in a bad mood or get an adrenaline spike from work or something else, my swing goes completely sideways.

I usually don't even keep score. I care more about whether I hit the fairway and whether I hit the green in regulation. I practice every day, so I can make birdies, pars, and bogeys. I generally shoot in the mid-80s.

Last night was a perfect example. I doubled the first two holes after terrible approach shots. The whole time I was thinking, "What are you doing? You're better than this." I wasn't focused. I was listening to a podcast, walking in the heat, and just going through the motions.

Then on the next hole, my phone rang with a business call. While talking, I hit my Heavenwood from 196 yards to about seven feet and made the birdie. Next hole, I barely missed another birdie and tapped in for par. I finished the round with a couple of bogeys and another par and was home in time for dinner.

That's what has me thinking. Sometimes I feel like I'm just rolling out of bed, playing golf, and coming home like nothing happened. I never take practice swings. I rarely read putts, even though I've spent countless hours practicing my short game. I just walk up and hit it.

Meanwhile, I watch good players go through the same routine before every shot. I'm wondering if that's what's missing for me—not a swing change, but a mental switch that tells my brain, this shot matters.

Instead, I joke around. I'll hit a par 3 without a tee just because. I'll try hero shots I have no business attempting. I'll invent dumb challenges because I'm entertaining myself instead of competing.

I'm starting to think I need to take each shot more seriously. Not tense, just intentional. Maybe I need a simple pre-shot routine that forces me to lock in before every swing instead of treating every round like another casual walk around the neighborhood.