Golf Thread 2014 - All Things Golf!

[mattdaniels]

Thanks guys

[dxbtiger]

SpeckledJim said:

Thirded. Thinning a LW gives basically exactly the same result as thinning a SW.

To Do List: Stop thinning!

Actually probably a worse result as you'd be hitting a LW harder!

mattdaniels said:

Thanks guys

You may want to look at getting a specialist SW rather than the one from the set in time.

That will just be a personal preference in terms of bounce, loft, width of flange etc.

A local pro could help you choose once you have master the technique a little more with the existing ones.

[PHuzzy]

After picking up my set of TaylorMade Rocketbladez I was really struggling with accuracy and found it hard to adapt.

Had 2 hours at the range on Monday and it all somehow clicked. Played at Pype Hayes which isn't an especially difficult course yesterday and managed 43 points with one blob. So so happy now after nearly giving up with the irons.

[LiamD]

Having not played for a while due to ending up with my leg in a cast, I went to the range for an hour and had an absolute shocker, couldn't hit anything straight at all, nor get any distance

Looks like I'll be booking myself a few lessons once I'm fully mobile again...

[milner993]

mattdaniels said:

Right, beginner/high handicapper returning to golf here. Bought the Deep Red set and really like them, but noticing that I am utterly atrocious with short pitches on to the green - where atrocious equals clearing the green and ending up the other side. the set has a PW and SW, but no LW. Any recommendations for a LW I could add which is quite forgiving but would give me something to work with?

Grip down on a 9 iron as it has less bounce and it should result in a much better strike, although I'm not perfect at chip shots it has improved my chipping it's all about the bounce if the ground is too hard the bounce will 'bounce' the club off the ground causing you to thin the shot a PW and SW generally have high bounce to cut through sand and thick rough
Hope that helps.

[BRMMA]

milner993 said:

Grip down on a 9 iron as it has less bounce and it should result in a much better strike, although I'm not perfect at chip shots it has improved my chipping it's all about the bounce if the ground is too hard the bounce will 'bounce' the club off the ground causing you to thin the shot a PW and SW generally have high bounce to cut through sand and thick rough
Hope that helps.

whilst i agree with that, if he uses a club with less bounce it will just dig in and he'll hit it fat. the key to decent pitching is ensuring you make contact with the ball before the turf, if he gets that nailed it won't really matter what club he uses o what bounce it has

[kentlad]

BRMMA said:

whilst i agree with that, if he uses a club with less bounce it will just dig in and he'll hit it fat. the key to decent pitching is ensuring you make contact with the ball before the turf, if he gets that nailed it won't really matter what club he uses o what bounce it has

Agreed! Something that's worked well for me...Try getting a bit of forward shaft lean before you start your backswing...this will naturally help you play the ball back in your stance slightly...which should help striking if you are thinning/fatting shots

[Rosscow]

kentlad said:

BRMMA said:

whilst i agree with that, if he uses a club with less bounce it will just dig in and he'll hit it fat. the key to decent pitching is ensuring you make contact with the ball before the turf, if he gets that nailed it won't really matter what club he uses o what bounce it has

Agreed! Something that's worked well for me...Try getting a bit of forward shaft lean before you start your backswing...this will naturally help you play the ball back in your stance slightly...which should help striking if you are thinning/fatting shots

But not too much, as he'll just de-loft the club

[BRMMA]

If i have a favourite club i like controlling the loft with shaft lean, really ensures you keep your hands ahead of clubface. if i want to maintain loft but ensure a clean strike i focus on keeping my weight on my left side through the strike

[mattdaniels]

kentlad said:

BRMMA said:

whilst i agree with that, if he uses a club with less bounce it will just dig in and he'll hit it fat. the key to decent pitching is ensuring you make contact with the ball before the turf, if he gets that nailed it won't really matter what club he uses o what bounce it has

Agreed! Something that's worked well for me...Try getting a bit of forward shaft lean before you start your backswing...this will naturally help you play the ball back in your stance slightly...which should help striking if you are thinning/fatting shots

Funny thing is, the videos I've been looking at online expressly say don't lean the club and don't sit the ball back in your stance because you end up hitting down on the ball which is not what you want.
Gotta love this game

[Rosscow]

mattdaniels said:

Funny thing is, the videos I've been looking at online expressly say don't lean the club and don't sit the ball back in your stance because you end up hitting down on the ball which is not what you want.
Gotta love this game

And those videos are exactly right

If you get a wedge, put your hands forward therefore leaning the shaft forward and put the ball in the back of your stance then you may as well use a 7 iron!

The only thing the above does is guarantee you a clean contact with the ball (because you've essentially taken the ground out of the equation).

You'll never get spin on the ball using that technique (which may be what you like!).

[DuncanM]

Rosscow said:

And those videos are exactly right

If you get a wedge, put your hands forward therefore leaning the shaft forward and put the ball in the back of your stance then you may as well use a 7 iron!

The only thing the above does is guarantee you a clean contact with the ball (because you've essentially taken the ground out of the equation).

You'll never get spin on the ball using that technique (which may be what you like!).

Sorry Rosscow but what you have said is quite wrong imo

Ball back in stance, trap the ball = loaded with spin.

Also, this is actually a harder shot to repeat than using bounce - so harder to hit, and more spin

[Rosscow]

DuncanM said:

Rosscow said:

And those videos are exactly right

If you get a wedge, put your hands forward therefore leaning the shaft forward and put the ball in the back of your stance then you may as well use a 7 iron!

The only thing the above does is guarantee you a clean contact with the ball (because you've essentially taken the ground out of the equation).

You'll never get spin on the ball using that technique (which may be what you like!).

Sorry Rosscow but what you have said is quite wrong imo

Ball back in stance, trap the ball = loaded with spin.

Also, this is actually a harder shot to repeat than using bounce - so harder to hit, and more spin

Hmmm... I really don't agree with that.

The idea is to trap the ball but using the clubs natural loft. Here is what Luke Donald says:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-10...

FOR SPIN: DON'T
THE CLUB SHOULD SKID, NOT DIG, AT IMPACT

Some players understand the trapping motion required to increase spin, but they do it the wrong way. They move the ball way back in their stance and try to pounce down on it. That doesn't work for a couple of reasons: First, it takes too much loft off the clubface; second, it drops the leading edge down (left) so the club digs instead of skids at impact. That steep, digging action means you have to make a very precise strike, or you'll chunk it. The skidding action gives you room for error. Try it my way: Play the ball up and think, ball then turf.

[DuncanM]

Rosscow said:

DuncanM said:

Rosscow said:

And those videos are exactly right

If you get a wedge, put your hands forward therefore leaning the shaft forward and put the ball in the back of your stance then you may as well use a 7 iron!

The only thing the above does is guarantee you a clean contact with the ball (because you've essentially taken the ground out of the equation).

You'll never get spin on the ball using that technique (which may be what you like!).

Sorry Rosscow but what you have said is quite wrong imo

Ball back in stance, trap the ball = loaded with spin.

Also, this is actually a harder shot to repeat than using bounce - so harder to hit, and more spin

Hmmm... I really don't agree with that.

The idea is to trap the ball but using the clubs natural loft. Here is what Luke Donald says:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-10...

FOR SPIN: DON'T
THE CLUB SHOULD SKID, NOT DIG, AT IMPACT

Some players understand the trapping motion required to increase spin, but they do it the wrong way. They move the ball way back in their stance and try to pounce down on it. That doesn't work for a couple of reasons: First, it takes too much loft off the clubface; second, it drops the leading edge down (left) so the club digs instead of skids at impact. That steep, digging action means you have to make a very precise strike, or you'll chunk it. The skidding action gives you room for error. Try it my way: Play the ball up and think, ball then turf.

Hey Rosscow,

We could probably debate it forever tbh

This is more what I'm talking about: http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/621468-the-low...

Using bounce is by far the easier way of hitting wedges imo

[JamesNotJim]

The problem with putting the ball back in your stance, you won't really see the spin and the trajectory is too low and powerful. Playing off the bounce will flight the ball and allow the spin to act and stop the ball.
The bounce of the club will alter how you play it. Personally I like high bounce wedges with a grind to allow you to open face.
Ball middle of stance with very little shaft lean is how I setup, I just make sure my hands pass the ball before the club head does and you'll spin the ball with ease

[mattdaniels]

This is great debate and really interesting reading for a noob like me. As I say - gotta love this game

I may have lost an hour or so of my life the other night watching the Phil Mickleson vids and tutorials on Youtube. Some of the shots he plays are obscene - hitting the ball over the shoulder of the Calloway guy stood a club length away? Striking the ball on to the green from the tarmac cart path? Outrageous.

Just being predictable and consistent and not mullering it equi-distant the other side of the pin would do me right now. I will get some lessons, but its good to hear some real world chat from you chaps, so thanks.

[DuncanM]

All good fun!

to be clear, I am saying:

a) Using bounce is the easiest way to hit your wedges, and the best choice for all
b) Ball back in stance, hit down and through = loads of spin not less

So it seems we disagree on the 'low spinning wedge' part - which is fine

[HaplessBoyLard]

I'm looking for recommendations for a UK based golfing weekend away for around April next year.

Most likely 2 nights/3 rounds.
As cheap as possible to boost interest/attendance
Close enough to a town with decent choice of restaurants/nightlife
Relatively easily driveable from Norfolk

Having looked at Celtic Manor it looks a great place to go and play, but it's quite pricy if you add in the 2010 course and stay at the resort hotel. On the plus side it's close to the nearest town so we could easily grab a cab and head out for food and drinks. We wouldn't really want to be trapped by the high cost of food and drink on site.

The Belfry looks great too, and is a fair bit cheaper for the 2 nights/3 rounds. It is a bit further from the centre of Birmingham than Celtic manor is from Newport. I'm not sure if there's anywhere closer for nights out? Its less of a drive though, which could well sway it.

I'm open to suggestions for separate hotels and golf course bookings if they can be done at reasonable prices and are in areas where 3 courses are easily accessible from one hotel location.

Anyone got any thoughts?

[snowy]

HaplessBoyLard said:

I'm looking for recommendations for a UK based golfing weekend away for around April next year.

Most likely 2 nights/3 rounds.
As cheap as possible to boost interest/attendance
Close enough to a town with decent choice of restaurants/nightlife
Relatively easily driveable from Norfolk

Having looked at Celtic Manor it looks a great place to go and play, but it's quite pricy if you add in the 2010 course and stay at the resort hotel. On the plus side it's close to the nearest town so we could easily grab a cab and head out for food and drinks. We wouldn't really want to be trapped by the high cost of food and drink on site.

The Belfry looks great too, and is a fair bit cheaper for the 2 nights/3 rounds. It is a bit further from the centre of Birmingham than Celtic manor is from Newport. I'm not sure if there's anywhere closer for nights out? Its less of a drive though, which could well sway it.

I'm open to suggestions for separate hotels and golf course bookings if they can be done at reasonable prices and are in areas where 3 courses are easily accessible from one hotel location.

Anyone got any thoughts?

Norfolk to Cardiff last time I looked was some drive, you could drive to le touquet in France and stay and play there, you can get some cracking golf deals in turkey for 4 nights, that may be cheaper than Celtic Manor

[HaplessBoyLard]

snowy said:

Norfolk to Cardiff last time I looked was some drive, you could drive to le touquet in France and stay and play there, you can get some cracking golf deals in turkey for 4 nights, that may be cheaper than Celtic Manor

That was my point about the belfry really. Much closer and easier to drive.

I'd love to do a few days abroad, but the guys I'll likely be going with are gonna struggle with 4 or 5 days away. Families and work will get in the way, so we're probably only going to manage a 2 nighter.

For 2 nights away it doesn't seem worth going through the hassle of flying.