Golf Thread 2014 - All Things Golf!
Discussion
milner993 said:
I can see how bending shots around a group of trees and to avoid other hazards would be a great benefit, it does seem though watching videos online that every shot anyone takes they want to draw or fade when looking at the hole a "straight shot" seems the right play, but I guess as my experience and handicap come down I will understand that a bit more.
Think of it this way. If a fairway is 40yrds wide and you play a straight shot, you have 20yrds of fairway either side before hitting the cabbage. If you hit a fade or draw on either side of the fairway, you have 40yrds of fairway to hit.When coming into greens, depending how a flag is placed you can increase the odds of getting it closer to the hole by moving the ball into the flag from an angle, whether that's via a draw or fade.
SpeckledJim said:
milner993 said:
theshrew said:
milner993 said:
help me out here guys I spend all this time practicing to hit the ball straight which now I pretty good at, I've even sorted my drive out so play from the fairway more often now but everyone with a low handicap is talking about a draw shot or a fade hitting out to the right or left where I've practised not to hit it???? What's so great about a draw and fade what's wrong with a straight ball flight?
What your calling straight probably isn't. Generally people will hit it one way or the other, its just how much the ball moves determines if its a fade or draw or becomes a slice or a hook. Anyway it sounds like your doing ok if your going straight ish 
The next step if you like is to add different shots to your game, learning to fade, draw or maybe a punch shot etc with control. Learning to play these shots just gives you better options on course. Getting around trees is the most obvious one. Or if a green has bunkers on the right you might want to play a fade to give less risk of going into them.
Its hard to explain because every hole and situation is different but shot selection is a good way of getting your scores down.
I finished two weeks ago my last lesson which has been invaluable, I'm booking my next set of lessons in the next few weeks which will be on course management and use of the driving range again, so I imagine draw and fade shots might pop up once in a while as my local course has something like eight doglegs and lots of water, I should break 80 at least once by the end of the year (I hope!) now my drive has come good I hit a 91 the other day in appalling conditions so fingers crossed as I'm playing this Sunday for good weather and a low score to go with it.
Aside from shaping the shot around obstacles, the major benefit of being able to shape a ball is holding a shot into a side-wind.
Going for 'dead straight' usually means you could end up with a bit of either draw or fade on any given shot.
That's normally not too bad at all. Nobody hits it EXACTLY straight all the time.
But when standing on a tee with a big left to right wind, accidentally giving it a smidge of fade could be disastrous. The ball goes very high, where the wind is even stronger, and you watch in dismay (for ages) as the ball balloons wider and wider and wider. Sad day.
So being able to reliably play a bit of draw to hold the ball into that wind will reduce the chance of a proper card-wrecker into the mega-cabbage.
Overall though, I'd say being able to play it high and low is perhaps more useful than being able to shape left and right.
If you have a natural, reliable shape then you can plan for it, make allowances for it, and half the time use it to your advantage. But dead-straight is never a bad thing.
As my shot shape is "straight" when there is wind from the left or right I tend to aim into the wind slightly in the hope the wind brings my ball back in to play or holds it up, the problem I face is when the wind drops after I've taken the shot the ball keeps moving out of play = Bad score and unhappy golfer.
My main reason for the on course playing lessons is for when I get a bad lie or ball below feet etc how I can set up and select the correct club more confidently, I'm not too worried about draw and fade shots just yet but the golf pro will soon tell me where I can improve.
milner993 said:
I definitely see where everyone is coming from some great information.
As my shot shape is "straight" when there is wind from the left or right I tend to aim into the wind slightly in the hope the wind brings my ball back in to play or holds it up, the problem I face is when the wind drops after I've taken the shot the ball keeps moving out of play = Bad score and unhappy golfer.
My main reason for the on course playing lessons is for when I get a bad lie or ball below feet etc how I can set up and select the correct club more confidently, I'm not too worried about draw and fade shots just yet but the golf pro will soon tell me where I can improve.
Aiming into the wind is of course correct, and letting the wind bring it back is plan A if you aren't playing with shape.As my shot shape is "straight" when there is wind from the left or right I tend to aim into the wind slightly in the hope the wind brings my ball back in to play or holds it up, the problem I face is when the wind drops after I've taken the shot the ball keeps moving out of play = Bad score and unhappy golfer.
My main reason for the on course playing lessons is for when I get a bad lie or ball below feet etc how I can set up and select the correct club more confidently, I'm not too worried about draw and fade shots just yet but the golf pro will soon tell me where I can improve.
The difficulty is that a side-wind 'multiplies' your error.
Terribly non-scientific bit follows thusly:
A mild 2-out-of-10 magnitude fade in the presence of a fairly strong 5-out-of-10 magnitude side-wind becomes a 10-out-of-10 magnitude disaster.
If you can counter the same 5/10 wind with a 2/10 draw, you're looking at a favourable result.
A fading ball is biting at the airflow and turning right. A fading ball in a wind that is already heading right, is being carried right anyway AND biting further right and the problem is feeding on itself.
A drawing ball is biting in a direction counter to the air in which it is moving, so you're staying relatively straight, albeit at the cost of some distance, because the ball has had to move through a long diagonal of air, despite travelling in a short straight line over the ground.
That's also why the ballooning fade in a side-wind carries so sodding far - it's experiencing less drag as it is biting into air travelling in the same direction that it is, and the problem gets worse the longer it's up there.
Not only have you f
ked it up - but you also get to watch it going wrong for so much longer, and you've so much more cabbage to traverse to find the sodding thing.SpeckledJim said:
milner993 said:
I definitely see where everyone is coming from some great information.
As my shot shape is "straight" when there is wind from the left or right I tend to aim into the wind slightly in the hope the wind brings my ball back in to play or holds it up, the problem I face is when the wind drops after I've taken the shot the ball keeps moving out of play = Bad score and unhappy golfer.
My main reason for the on course playing lessons is for when I get a bad lie or ball below feet etc how I can set up and select the correct club more confidently, I'm not too worried about draw and fade shots just yet but the golf pro will soon tell me where I can improve.
Aiming into the wind is of course correct, and letting the wind bring it back is plan A if you aren't playing with shape.As my shot shape is "straight" when there is wind from the left or right I tend to aim into the wind slightly in the hope the wind brings my ball back in to play or holds it up, the problem I face is when the wind drops after I've taken the shot the ball keeps moving out of play = Bad score and unhappy golfer.
My main reason for the on course playing lessons is for when I get a bad lie or ball below feet etc how I can set up and select the correct club more confidently, I'm not too worried about draw and fade shots just yet but the golf pro will soon tell me where I can improve.
The difficulty is that a side-wind 'multiplies' your error.
Terribly non-scientific bit follows thusly:
A mild 2-out-of-10 magnitude fade in the presence of a fairly strong 5-out-of-10 magnitude side-wind becomes a 10-out-of-10 magnitude disaster.
If you can counter the same 5/10 wind with a 2/10 draw, you're looking at a favourable result.
A fading ball is biting at the airflow and turning right. A fading ball in a wind that is already heading right, is being carried right anyway AND biting further right and the problem is feeding on itself.
A drawing ball is biting in a direction counter to the air in which it is moving, so you're staying relatively straight, albeit at the cost of some distance, because the ball has had to move through a long diagonal of air, despite travelling in a short straight line over the ground.
That's also why the ballooning fade in a side-wind carries so sodding far - it's experiencing less drag as it is biting into air travelling in the same direction that it is, and the problem gets worse the longer it's up there.
Not only have you f
ked it up - but you also get to watch it going wrong for so much longer, and you've so much more cabbage to traverse to find the sodding thing.
I'm not really looking for any advice at the minute but I thought I'd stop by and say hello.
I've never been a golfer other than Tiger Woods PS games when I was younger but recently I've been gripped by the urge to buy some clubs and play. I'm going to go to a driving range tonight for a casual swing (stop giggling) and possibly have a think about whether or not I'm serious about all this.
I know that it isn't a cheap sport/game so this may be the beginning of a slippery slope. I think I'd plan to buy 2nd hand intermediate clubs as beginner equipment in any sport usually becomes a hinderance after a 6-12 months and they are much harder to sell as everyone knows that are rubbish, whereas a decent set should last longer and will sell again without losing out too much.
FORE!
I've never been a golfer other than Tiger Woods PS games when I was younger but recently I've been gripped by the urge to buy some clubs and play. I'm going to go to a driving range tonight for a casual swing (stop giggling) and possibly have a think about whether or not I'm serious about all this.
I know that it isn't a cheap sport/game so this may be the beginning of a slippery slope. I think I'd plan to buy 2nd hand intermediate clubs as beginner equipment in any sport usually becomes a hinderance after a 6-12 months and they are much harder to sell as everyone knows that are rubbish, whereas a decent set should last longer and will sell again without losing out too much.
FORE!
Jayyylo said:
I'm not really looking for any advice at the minute but I thought I'd stop by and say hello.
I've never been a golfer other than Tiger Woods PS games when I was younger but recently I've been gripped by the urge to buy some clubs and play. I'm going to go to a driving range tonight for a casual swing (stop giggling) and possibly have a think about whether or not I'm serious about all this.
I know that it isn't a cheap sport/game so this may be the beginning of a slippery slope. I think I'd plan to buy 2nd hand intermediate clubs as beginner equipment in any sport usually becomes a hinderance after a 6-12 months and they are much harder to sell as everyone knows that are rubbish, whereas a decent set should last longer and will sell again without losing out too much.
FORE!
That's a good plan. £100 on some decent 2nd hand callaways or pings is a much better idea than £150 on a full set of Dunlops from Sports Direct.I've never been a golfer other than Tiger Woods PS games when I was younger but recently I've been gripped by the urge to buy some clubs and play. I'm going to go to a driving range tonight for a casual swing (stop giggling) and possibly have a think about whether or not I'm serious about all this.
I know that it isn't a cheap sport/game so this may be the beginning of a slippery slope. I think I'd plan to buy 2nd hand intermediate clubs as beginner equipment in any sport usually becomes a hinderance after a 6-12 months and they are much harder to sell as everyone knows that are rubbish, whereas a decent set should last longer and will sell again without losing out too much.
FORE!
Your Dunlops will instantly depreciate to £50, whilst the Pings will always be worth £100.
(not to mention just being a better tool all-round).
Following on from my slicing issue, impulse buy if a new driver and my apprehension regarding lessons..today i had a lesson, sort of.....
The secondhand Taylormade R1 turned up this morning, is in prestine condition, and as much as i wanted to try it out i had to wait for saturday night's hangover to go (yes you read that right...saturday night's! getting old sucks!)
Finally made it to the driving range this afternoon and to my welcomed surprise there was only one other guy there. Now, i don't know what driving range etiquette is in situations like this, do i use a bay far away or right next to him?....so i went into the one next to him as im a sociable fella!
I noticed straight away that he was also using an R1 so with a bit of common ground struck up a convo with him. I made it clear to him from the offset that despite looking the part today (black polo, black cap...very Mickelson-esque!) that i actually suck at golf and went on to tell him about my world class slice. He then offered to give me some tips and told me to tee up and strike the ball as i would normally, not trying to correct anything just because he was watching, just hit it normal.
As expected it went right, right as in wrong! Before the ball had even landed the guy said my back swing was too steep causing me to hit down on the ball and i was also swinging too hard, almost getting ahead of myself. He gave me some pointers to correct this and to my complete and utter amazement almost every hit from then on went straight with the worst case being a slide draw! My swing was down to, at a rough guess, about 60% of my normal one but was landing at the 200yd marker with ease with approx 30yd roll on top(not sure how much this translates when using proper balls and not the cheap and cheerful range balls)
Don't get me wrong, the new swing path will take some getting use to and almost feels wrong but the results have completely surprised me. This new found accuracy lead to me hitting 3 baskets of balls, 210 in total, but they were some of the most satisfying hits ive ever made!
So where i had been, not so much negative about lessons but maybe apprehensive i can certainly see the benefit of them, it was just an added bonus that today's was free!
The secondhand Taylormade R1 turned up this morning, is in prestine condition, and as much as i wanted to try it out i had to wait for saturday night's hangover to go (yes you read that right...saturday night's! getting old sucks!)
Finally made it to the driving range this afternoon and to my welcomed surprise there was only one other guy there. Now, i don't know what driving range etiquette is in situations like this, do i use a bay far away or right next to him?....so i went into the one next to him as im a sociable fella!
I noticed straight away that he was also using an R1 so with a bit of common ground struck up a convo with him. I made it clear to him from the offset that despite looking the part today (black polo, black cap...very Mickelson-esque!) that i actually suck at golf and went on to tell him about my world class slice. He then offered to give me some tips and told me to tee up and strike the ball as i would normally, not trying to correct anything just because he was watching, just hit it normal.
As expected it went right, right as in wrong! Before the ball had even landed the guy said my back swing was too steep causing me to hit down on the ball and i was also swinging too hard, almost getting ahead of myself. He gave me some pointers to correct this and to my complete and utter amazement almost every hit from then on went straight with the worst case being a slide draw! My swing was down to, at a rough guess, about 60% of my normal one but was landing at the 200yd marker with ease with approx 30yd roll on top(not sure how much this translates when using proper balls and not the cheap and cheerful range balls)
Don't get me wrong, the new swing path will take some getting use to and almost feels wrong but the results have completely surprised me. This new found accuracy lead to me hitting 3 baskets of balls, 210 in total, but they were some of the most satisfying hits ive ever made!
So where i had been, not so much negative about lessons but maybe apprehensive i can certainly see the benefit of them, it was just an added bonus that today's was free!
theshrew said:
Anyway the best advice I can give is don't make a big deal out of it and let it play on your mind. Just go and play your round as its any other round once I stopped thinking about it I started winning more stuff.
Good luck.
Thanks Shrew, sound advice, I'll do exactly that - it wouldn't have been on my mind but the player who's 7 strokes back and who I will be drawn with for the final round is massively competitive, has poor etiquette and attempts to play mind games "Your right hand's too low" "Lots of pressure being the leader" "Oooh careful" etc etc....Good luck.
I told him the last person that made snide comments ended up wearing my driver (not my proudest moment and I broke it in half) he backed off after that but I play for enjoyment rather than beating someone and I disliked playing him in the last round, in fact everyone seems to dislike him.
Thanks again.
JamesNotJim said:
milner993 said:
I can see how bending shots around a group of trees and to avoid other hazards would be a great benefit, it does seem though watching videos online that every shot anyone takes they want to draw or fade when looking at the hole a "straight shot" seems the right play, but I guess as my experience and handicap come down I will understand that a bit more.
Think of it this way. If a fairway is 40yrds wide and you play a straight shot, you have 20yrds of fairway either side before hitting the cabbage. If you hit a fade or draw on either side of the fairway, you have 40yrds of fairway to hit.When coming into greens, depending how a flag is placed you can increase the odds of getting it closer to the hole by moving the ball into the flag from an angle, whether that's via a draw or fade.
Milner - If your shooting in the 90's as someone else said don't worry about learning to shape the ball yet. If your hit it straight play like that aim to compensate for the wind etc.
Don't worry about what others are doing or saying. Most Golf clubs are made up of 85% w
kers who talk like they know what they are doing but in reality couldn't hit a Cows arse with a spade. cheddar said:
Thanks Shrew, sound advice, I'll do exactly that - it wouldn't have been on my mind but the player who's 7 strokes back and who I will be drawn with for the final round is massively competitive, has poor etiquette and attempts to play mind games "Your right hand's too low" "Lots of pressure being the leader" "Oooh careful" etc etc....
I told him the last person that made snide comments ended up wearing my driver (not my proudest moment and I broke it in half) he backed off after that but I play for enjoyment rather than beating someone and I disliked playing him in the last round, in fact everyone seems to dislike him.
Thanks again.
Just play your own game don't worry what others are doing, A large % of golf is what goes on in your head. I told him the last person that made snide comments ended up wearing my driver (not my proudest moment and I broke it in half) he backed off after that but I play for enjoyment rather than beating someone and I disliked playing him in the last round, in fact everyone seems to dislike him.
Thanks again.
MLH said:
Following on from my slicing issue, impulse buy if a new driver and my apprehension regarding lessons..today i had a lesson, sort of.....
The secondhand Taylormade R1 turned up this morning, is in prestine condition, and as much as i wanted to try it out i had to wait for saturday night's hangover to go (yes you read that right...saturday night's! getting old sucks!)
Finally made it to the driving range this afternoon and to my welcomed surprise there was only one other guy there. Now, i don't know what driving range etiquette is in situations like this, do i use a bay far away or right next to him?....so i went into the one next to him as im a sociable fella!
I noticed straight away that he was also using an R1 so with a bit of common ground struck up a convo with him. I made it clear to him from the offset that despite looking the part today (black polo, black cap...very Mickelson-esque!) that i actually suck at golf and went on to tell him about my world class slice. He then offered to give me some tips and told me to tee up and strike the ball as i would normally, not trying to correct anything just because he was watching, just hit it normal.
As expected it went right, right as in wrong! Before the ball had even landed the guy said my back swing was too steep causing me to hit down on the ball and i was also swinging too hard, almost getting ahead of myself. He gave me some pointers to correct this and to my complete and utter amazement almost every hit from then on went straight with the worst case being a slide draw! My swing was down to, at a rough guess, about 60% of my normal one but was landing at the 200yd marker with ease with approx 30yd roll on top(not sure how much this translates when using proper balls and not the cheap and cheerful range balls)
Don't get me wrong, the new swing path will take some getting use to and almost feels wrong but the results have completely surprised me. This new found accuracy lead to me hitting 3 baskets of balls, 210 in total, but they were some of the most satisfying hits ive ever made!
So where i had been, not so much negative about lessons but maybe apprehensive i can certainly see the benefit of them, it was just an added bonus that today's was free!
Told you The secondhand Taylormade R1 turned up this morning, is in prestine condition, and as much as i wanted to try it out i had to wait for saturday night's hangover to go (yes you read that right...saturday night's! getting old sucks!)
Finally made it to the driving range this afternoon and to my welcomed surprise there was only one other guy there. Now, i don't know what driving range etiquette is in situations like this, do i use a bay far away or right next to him?....so i went into the one next to him as im a sociable fella!
I noticed straight away that he was also using an R1 so with a bit of common ground struck up a convo with him. I made it clear to him from the offset that despite looking the part today (black polo, black cap...very Mickelson-esque!) that i actually suck at golf and went on to tell him about my world class slice. He then offered to give me some tips and told me to tee up and strike the ball as i would normally, not trying to correct anything just because he was watching, just hit it normal.
As expected it went right, right as in wrong! Before the ball had even landed the guy said my back swing was too steep causing me to hit down on the ball and i was also swinging too hard, almost getting ahead of myself. He gave me some pointers to correct this and to my complete and utter amazement almost every hit from then on went straight with the worst case being a slide draw! My swing was down to, at a rough guess, about 60% of my normal one but was landing at the 200yd marker with ease with approx 30yd roll on top(not sure how much this translates when using proper balls and not the cheap and cheerful range balls)
Don't get me wrong, the new swing path will take some getting use to and almost feels wrong but the results have completely surprised me. This new found accuracy lead to me hitting 3 baskets of balls, 210 in total, but they were some of the most satisfying hits ive ever made!
So where i had been, not so much negative about lessons but maybe apprehensive i can certainly see the benefit of them, it was just an added bonus that today's was free!
The only thing I would say is. A lot of people give rubbish advice so just be aware of that. At least it seems to of done the trick today though.
At a bit of a loss after the past few months. Have played at least twice a week since May, had about 6 lessons (coming from a past of golfing regularly as a kid) am swinging it as well I've ever been. When I came back to my club this May after a winter abroad I got my handicap from last summer re-activated at 17 ( I hardly played last summer)
My howdidido makes for some grim reading. Only breaking 90 three times. After my last couple of lessons my pro asked me what my target was? I said to break 85. He said with the way I was swinging and striking the ball I should be aiming to break 80 and maybe get cut to around 12... The final straw was this weekend at a competition at Close House I knew I had a good chance to win, front 9 I had 19 points with 1 blob. I came back with a measly 11 points. So disappointed.
I feel like I've made no progress really. I move away for the winter in November so hopefully I can have a few good scores between now and then but something is holding me back...
My howdidido makes for some grim reading. Only breaking 90 three times. After my last couple of lessons my pro asked me what my target was? I said to break 85. He said with the way I was swinging and striking the ball I should be aiming to break 80 and maybe get cut to around 12... The final straw was this weekend at a competition at Close House I knew I had a good chance to win, front 9 I had 19 points with 1 blob. I came back with a measly 11 points. So disappointed.
I feel like I've made no progress really. I move away for the winter in November so hopefully I can have a few good scores between now and then but something is holding me back...
Edited by timlongs on Monday 1st September 22:48
If you're hitting the ball well but not making commensurately low scores, the problem is probably in your course management.
You're (probably) over ambitious, or (probably not) too cautious.
Most middling capability golfers (myself included) watch golf on the TV and think that's how it's done.
For them, it is. For us, it isn't.
Most of us play golf according to the following rhythm:
Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - three poor putts.
Next hole: repeat.
But if we play golf within ourselves, we can remove a lot of the above 'consequences'. Play the course as the designer intended, and rank every shot in terms of risk and reward.
Is carrying the lake going to make an actual difference to the score I'm going to get on the hole
Possibly. Possibly not.
What's the best difference it might make?
1 shot
If I put it in the lake instead of carrying it, what will I lose?
2 shots
What is the likelihood of my carrying the lake?
50% at best.
So don't do it then. Lay up on the short stuff and put a 7-iron into the green. That's the challenge the course designer put to you. Don't ignore it.
A strategy that relies on playing your best possible shot in each instance will cost a lot more than it saves.
You're (probably) over ambitious, or (probably not) too cautious.
Most middling capability golfers (myself included) watch golf on the TV and think that's how it's done.
For them, it is. For us, it isn't.
Most of us play golf according to the following rhythm:
Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - three poor putts.
Next hole: repeat.
But if we play golf within ourselves, we can remove a lot of the above 'consequences'. Play the course as the designer intended, and rank every shot in terms of risk and reward.
Is carrying the lake going to make an actual difference to the score I'm going to get on the hole
Possibly. Possibly not.
What's the best difference it might make?
1 shot
If I put it in the lake instead of carrying it, what will I lose?
2 shots
What is the likelihood of my carrying the lake?
50% at best.
So don't do it then. Lay up on the short stuff and put a 7-iron into the green. That's the challenge the course designer put to you. Don't ignore it.
A strategy that relies on playing your best possible shot in each instance will cost a lot more than it saves.
theshrew said:
JamesNotJim said:
milner993 said:
I can see how bending shots around a group of trees and to avoid other hazards would be a great benefit, it does seem though watching videos online that every shot anyone takes they want to draw or fade when looking at the hole a "straight shot" seems the right play, but I guess as my experience and handicap come down I will understand that a bit more.
Think of it this way. If a fairway is 40yrds wide and you play a straight shot, you have 20yrds of fairway either side before hitting the cabbage. If you hit a fade or draw on either side of the fairway, you have 40yrds of fairway to hit.When coming into greens, depending how a flag is placed you can increase the odds of getting it closer to the hole by moving the ball into the flag from an angle, whether that's via a draw or fade.
Milner - If your shooting in the 90's as someone else said don't worry about learning to shape the ball yet. If your hit it straight play like that aim to compensate for the wind etc.
Don't worry about what others are doing or saying. Most Golf clubs are made up of 85% w
kers who talk like they know what they are doing but in reality couldn't hit a Cows arse with a spade. I'm just loving the game and haven't played this much in years a bit more practice at the range for tomorrow ready for Sunday where I hope that magic 90 is broken I don’t care if it's 89 just want to score 80 something.
I have come in to contact with my fair share of bad etiquette players since I started to play the worst one a few weeks ago when someone played a friends ball on the adjoining fairway as well as their own and tossed it back to him with not so much as an apology, to say a few words were exchange would be an understatement.
SpeckledJim said:
If you're hitting the ball well but not making commensurately low scores, the problem is probably in your course management.
You're (probably) over ambitious, or (probably not) too cautious.
Most middling capability golfers (myself included) watch golf on the TV and think that's how it's done.
For them, it is. For us, it isn't.
Most of us play golf according to the following rhythm:
Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - three poor putts.
Next hole: repeat.
But if we play golf within ourselves, we can remove a lot of the above 'consequences'. Play the course as the designer intended, and rank every shot in terms of risk and reward.
Is carrying the lake going to make an actual difference to the score I'm going to get on the hole
Possibly. Possibly not.
What's the best difference it might make?
1 shot
If I put it in the lake instead of carrying it, what will I lose?
2 shots
What is the likelihood of my carrying the lake?
50% at best.
So don't do it then. Lay up on the short stuff and put a 7-iron into the green. That's the challenge the course designer put to you. Don't ignore it.
A strategy that relies on playing your best possible shot in each instance will cost a lot more than it saves.
This sounds like great advice. My aim is to get to 15, I currently struggle to play to 25 but am still improving very fast (getting noticeable better every couple of weeks). I hear what you're saying about amateurs always playing the glory shot instead of percentage shot but when that shot comes off it can really make your round and get your head back in the game.You're (probably) over ambitious, or (probably not) too cautious.
Most middling capability golfers (myself included) watch golf on the TV and think that's how it's done.
For them, it is. For us, it isn't.
Most of us play golf according to the following rhythm:
Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - three poor putts.
Next hole: repeat.
But if we play golf within ourselves, we can remove a lot of the above 'consequences'. Play the course as the designer intended, and rank every shot in terms of risk and reward.
Is carrying the lake going to make an actual difference to the score I'm going to get on the hole
Possibly. Possibly not.
What's the best difference it might make?
1 shot
If I put it in the lake instead of carrying it, what will I lose?
2 shots
What is the likelihood of my carrying the lake?
50% at best.
So don't do it then. Lay up on the short stuff and put a 7-iron into the green. That's the challenge the course designer put to you. Don't ignore it.
A strategy that relies on playing your best possible shot in each instance will cost a lot more than it saves.
I think once I start hitting the ball more consistently your advice will come to fore as my score will be more affected by shot selection rather than s
t driving and putting.How important is it to have correctly fitting clubs when you first start out? I've got my eye on a used set of Ping's but I'd be very surprised if they are the correct fit for me since they could have been bought new by anyone. Is it possible to have them re-fitted? Will I notice a difference?
I ask because I don't want to spend all my time learning to swing incorrectly just to make my clubs work properly.
I ask because I don't want to spend all my time learning to swing incorrectly just to make my clubs work properly.
Jayyylo said:
How important is it to have correctly fitting clubs when you first start out? I've got my eye on a used set of Ping's but I'd be very surprised if they are the correct fit for me since they could have been bought new by anyone. Is it possible to have them re-fitted? Will I notice a difference?
I ask because I don't want to spend all my time learning to swing incorrectly just to make my clubs work properly.
If you're prepared to spend the money, it is better to have your clubs custom fit.I ask because I don't want to spend all my time learning to swing incorrectly just to make my clubs work properly.
But £1 for £1, you'll get better results investing in lessons than in equipment.
Most old Pings can be adjusted to you for not much money. This is a worthwhile exercise.
SpeckledJim said:
If you're hitting the ball well but not making commensurately low scores, the problem is probably in your course management.
You're (probably) over ambitious, or (probably not) too cautious.
Most middling capability golfers (myself included) watch golf on the TV and think that's how it's done.
For them, it is. For us, it isn't.
Most of us play golf according to the following rhythm:
Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - three poor putts.
Next hole: repeat.
But if we play golf within ourselves, we can remove a lot of the above 'consequences'. Play the course as the designer intended, and rank every shot in terms of risk and reward.
Is carrying the lake going to make an actual difference to the score I'm going to get on the hole
Possibly. Possibly not.
What's the best difference it might make?
1 shot
If I put it in the lake instead of carrying it, what will I lose?
2 shots
What is the likelihood of my carrying the lake?
50% at best.
So don't do it then. Lay up on the short stuff and put a 7-iron into the green. That's the challenge the course designer put to you. Don't ignore it.
A strategy that relies on playing your best possible shot in each instance will cost a lot more than it saves.
Never a truer word. Also another thing that has a great bearing is commitment to the shot. I have had countless shots ruined by indecision and change of heart.You're (probably) over ambitious, or (probably not) too cautious.
Most middling capability golfers (myself included) watch golf on the TV and think that's how it's done.
For them, it is. For us, it isn't.
Most of us play golf according to the following rhythm:
Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - Take the Rory-line - Deal with the consequences - three poor putts.
Next hole: repeat.
But if we play golf within ourselves, we can remove a lot of the above 'consequences'. Play the course as the designer intended, and rank every shot in terms of risk and reward.
Is carrying the lake going to make an actual difference to the score I'm going to get on the hole
Possibly. Possibly not.
What's the best difference it might make?
1 shot
If I put it in the lake instead of carrying it, what will I lose?
2 shots
What is the likelihood of my carrying the lake?
50% at best.
So don't do it then. Lay up on the short stuff and put a 7-iron into the green. That's the challenge the course designer put to you. Don't ignore it.
A strategy that relies on playing your best possible shot in each instance will cost a lot more than it saves.
Wish I could practice what I preach - trouble is I shake like a s
tting dog at the prospect of playing half decently.......StescoG66 said:
Never a truer word. Also another thing that has a great bearing is commitment to the shot. I have had countless shots ruined by indecision and change of heart.
Wish I could practice what I preach - trouble is I shake like a stting dog at the prospect of playing half decently.......
That's true. Wish I could practice what I preach - trouble is I shake like a s
tting dog at the prospect of playing half decently.......Conservative Strategy with Confident Swing
is a mantra I've been trying to play by recently.
I've also been consciously concentrating on choosing the shot that gets me the least bad result if I get it wrong, instead of the shot that gets me absolutely the best result if I get it dead right.
If I have the choice of a pitch over the bunker straight at the flag, or the chip to the side to 10' I've been taking the chip.
That's not been easy after 25 years of being sure I was actually more Seve than Seve himself.
Not only does the pitch have the possible consequence of leaving me in the bunker, but its actually a harder stroke to play.
So that's worse consequences of a mistake, multiplied by greater likelihood of a mistake. Not nice maths.
And yet, to get the benefit of going straight at the flag, I have to get the distance spot on. If I end up 10' short, or 10' past, then I might as well have chipped 10' to the side, at basically zero risk.
Am I good enough to put it within 10' often enough to make the nasty risk maths pay off?
No.
And on top of that - I would usually 2-putt from 10'. Almost never 3, and occasionally 1.
But (sad admission) i'd usually 2-putt from 6 feet too. So there's really no benefit to being that 4' closer.
So to take the pitch on, I really want it to be stopping within 5' or less. Not very likely.
The maths doesn't stack up. So for now, I'm chipping, not pitching.
Played 18 holes at Ryton Golf Club on the banks of the Tyne last Friday. Lovely, compact course, well tended and nice and friendly members / staff. £15 a round (including complementary pint) and £10 for the hire of the buggy - good value.
The only grumble i could have (other than my frankly shocking playing) is that 12 of the holes are OOB right - either the railway lines or the river being the cause (but it's a minor gripe, or would be if i wasn't slicing like a demented butcher).
We hired these things -
http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/images/dynamic/produc...
which were great fun!
Incidentally, i've no affiliation with the club but thought it might be worthwhile posting so others could try the place.
Now onto my game...
Usually, i try and get to the range a couple of days before playing to try and make sure the basics are in place but couldn't this time. I par'd the first and then had probably 15 consecutive terrible holes (stopped only by a complete fluke of a birdie on 17).
Slice, thinned shots, wayward irons, duffed chips - the whole repertoir of poor shots came out one after another. Due to the OOB right, i must have lost 8 balls with the cumulative effect it had on my score.The only comfort i had was that my putting and bump and runs were as good as they usually are.
It was the worst i've played since the start of the year and i'm at a loss to understand why - especially why i'm thinning so many shots.
Back to the range tonight i think to try and work some stuff out. I'll also be going back to Ryton to try and post a more reflective score on the course.
The only grumble i could have (other than my frankly shocking playing) is that 12 of the holes are OOB right - either the railway lines or the river being the cause (but it's a minor gripe, or would be if i wasn't slicing like a demented butcher).
We hired these things -
http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/images/dynamic/produc...
which were great fun!
Incidentally, i've no affiliation with the club but thought it might be worthwhile posting so others could try the place.
Now onto my game...
Usually, i try and get to the range a couple of days before playing to try and make sure the basics are in place but couldn't this time. I par'd the first and then had probably 15 consecutive terrible holes (stopped only by a complete fluke of a birdie on 17).
Slice, thinned shots, wayward irons, duffed chips - the whole repertoir of poor shots came out one after another. Due to the OOB right, i must have lost 8 balls with the cumulative effect it had on my score.The only comfort i had was that my putting and bump and runs were as good as they usually are.
It was the worst i've played since the start of the year and i'm at a loss to understand why - especially why i'm thinning so many shots.
Back to the range tonight i think to try and work some stuff out. I'll also be going back to Ryton to try and post a more reflective score on the course.
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