Is this a good score?

I asked this same question two months ago when I first started playing golf. I just got done playing 9 holes at my local golf course (Morro Bay, 69.5/116) and shot a 39 during a practice round. In which I took 2-3 drives per hole, and used a few mulligans, but never gave myself a stroke (for example, if I missed a 10 foot putt by an inch I would still count the 1 inch putt as a stroke).

2 months ago I shot a 50 when I posted this exact question. So I want to know if that was a good score and how well I’m progessing.

Here are some other notes too:
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I drive 260-280 yds, before I drove the ball on average 170-200 yds

I rarely 3 putt anymore.

And my chipping and iron game is MUCH, MUCH better.

At its most basic, YES… you are playing better. You shot 50 two months ago, and now shot 11 strokes better! I’m guessing that par for nine holes is 36, so you shot +3 — a very nice score.

The big key to this question is why did this happen, and what steps have you taken to improve your game? I think you’ve taken great steps to improve your game — specifically, you’re improving from the green back.

Starting with putting: In a 9-hole round of golf, averaging 2 putts a hole, you could take 18 shots just on the green… about half your strokes! 3-putting can waste up to 9 additional shots. By not 3-putting you’ve made HUGE progress.

Chipping: For a beginning to intermediate golfer, chips are normally due to not hitting the green in regulation, so a chip can mean the difference between an easy putt for par, or fighting to make bogey. Chipping close can mean only one putt and an easy par save!

Bottom line… the nice long game and drives are great! It’s a great confidence boost to blast a beautiful drive way out into the fairway. But since over 50% of your strokes will be from 120 yards and in, it makes sense to devote a good period of time to getting strong in these areas.

And I think your game is showing that!