Taking up Golf
Discussion
Yep I saw that, given the summer we've had I'm not suprised they're chasing down people to play these courses, I expect they take a pretty big deposit. I've missed out on games at Dalmahoy and North Berwick this summer, I don't mind paying £15 to play in horizontal rain but I'm not paying a top course fee to be ruined and wet.
I would love to have a crack at the proper Ryder cup set up though. Someone told me Hoy Lake have a winter special too at ~ £60
I would love to have a crack at the proper Ryder cup set up though. Someone told me Hoy Lake have a winter special too at ~ £60
mattnunn said:
Yep I saw that, given the summer we've had I'm not suprised they're chasing down people to play these courses, I expect they take a pretty big deposit. I've missed out on games at Dalmahoy and North Berwick this summer, I don't mind paying £15 to play in horizontal rain but I'm not paying a top course fee to be ruined and wet.
I would love to have a crack at the proper Ryder cup set up though. Someone told me Hoy Lake have a winter special too at ~ £60
I played the Centenary course in 2008...wasnt impressed tbh. But Jack's been back and made a lot of changes to the initial design. Hopefully they put some good fairway drainage in too as it was dire.I would love to have a crack at the proper Ryder cup set up though. Someone told me Hoy Lake have a winter special too at ~ £60
But Id love to play the Kings course again....rain or not!
Chipping is so hard. My scores would be vastly improved if I could hit the -50 yard distances better. There is just no consistency with my chipping and I've not a clue how to fix it. I usually use the 60 deg. wedge within range, just the right tempo results in me 80/20 thinning it further the opposite side of the green so when I take a little slower it goes up and down 5 feet in front of me. Very frustrating indeed, can get next to the green in 2 on a par 5 (sometimes) then it'll take another 6 or 7 shots from less than 20 yards.
Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
Hating golf right now.
I've had about 5 hours of lessons over the last couple of months, and have seem dramatic improvements all over my game, especially putting. The pro had sorted my grip, posture, wrist hinging, hip movement, rotation and release and I've been putting the hours in down the range, and having the odd game too, mostly recently going around in 89 (officially I'm still a 28 handicap).
So why do I hate it?
I was having a fairly leisurely round recently, front 9 was generally ok, then game the back nine. My drive off the 10th tee was straight down the middle, then came the approach iron shot. Shank. LOLs all round, myself included. Walked to the other fairway, where the ball ended up, went through the normal routine. Shank again. This is how my round continued. I'd say 50% of my remaining shots were shanks, the other 50% being absolutely fine.
I've since been to the range and gone through 4 buckets of balls, with the same result. My Pro is away for 4 weeks, and I've got a tournament in 2, so I can't even turn to him for advice on what I'm sure is a simple fix. At first I thought I was leading with my hips, so concentrated on that. Hit 5 shots perfectly, and confidence grew, then it was back to shanking. Then I tried the old 3 ball trick to try and force me to stop coming over the top, all I did was consistently catch the ball I wanted to hit, and the one I didn't.
So right now, my confidence is through the floor and don't know what to do next! Any helpful advice out there?!
I've had about 5 hours of lessons over the last couple of months, and have seem dramatic improvements all over my game, especially putting. The pro had sorted my grip, posture, wrist hinging, hip movement, rotation and release and I've been putting the hours in down the range, and having the odd game too, mostly recently going around in 89 (officially I'm still a 28 handicap).
So why do I hate it?
I was having a fairly leisurely round recently, front 9 was generally ok, then game the back nine. My drive off the 10th tee was straight down the middle, then came the approach iron shot. Shank. LOLs all round, myself included. Walked to the other fairway, where the ball ended up, went through the normal routine. Shank again. This is how my round continued. I'd say 50% of my remaining shots were shanks, the other 50% being absolutely fine.
I've since been to the range and gone through 4 buckets of balls, with the same result. My Pro is away for 4 weeks, and I've got a tournament in 2, so I can't even turn to him for advice on what I'm sure is a simple fix. At first I thought I was leading with my hips, so concentrated on that. Hit 5 shots perfectly, and confidence grew, then it was back to shanking. Then I tried the old 3 ball trick to try and force me to stop coming over the top, all I did was consistently catch the ball I wanted to hit, and the one I didn't.
So right now, my confidence is through the floor and don't know what to do next! Any helpful advice out there?!
A shank is typically caused by standing to close to the ball so that your natural dynamic swing path is with the shaft further out/online with the ball = Shank.
You could try standing with your arms out from you more, make it almost uncomfortable.
Also, on your backswing make sure you keep your hands stay close to your body, don't let them swing out rather work around.
Another great idea is to post up some swing vids and get some great advice from Steve and Taafy
You could try standing with your arms out from you more, make it almost uncomfortable.
Also, on your backswing make sure you keep your hands stay close to your body, don't let them swing out rather work around.
Another great idea is to post up some swing vids and get some great advice from Steve and Taafy
FellowPazzini said:
Chipping is so hard. My scores would be vastly improved if I could hit the -50 yard distances better. There is just no consistency with my chipping and I've not a clue how to fix it. I usually use the 60 deg. wedge within range, just the right tempo results in me 80/20 thinning it further the opposite side of the green so when I take a little slower it goes up and down 5 feet in front of me. Very frustrating indeed, can get next to the green in 2 on a par 5 (sometimes) then it'll take another 6 or 7 shots from less than 20 yards.
Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
With chipping, I was taught that you need to be really positive, really trust the loft of the club be 100% commited.Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
You need to be hitting down on the ball and accelerating through impact - any doubts re. the above and you're likely to start trying to lift the ball and / or decellerate through impact, which will likely result in a thin or duff of some kind.
Another thing to consider is that you don't alwys need to be taking a wedge or your most lofted clubs and landing the ball dead at the pin.
Depending on how far you are from the green and the location of the pin, you can aim to carry the ball onto the green and let it roll-out to the pin following the below carry/roll ratio as a guide: -
SW = 1:1 (1 yard carry - 1 yard roll)
PW = 1:2 (q yard carry - 2 yards roll)
9i = 1:3
8i = 1:4
etc
Personally, when playing any sort of 'delicate' shot I'll always focus on the front (nearst the target) of the ball, to help me focus on hitting through it and prevent me from backing off or fatting.
ETA. Oh and hands ahead of the clubhead / ball at impact...
Edited by roboxm3 on Friday 5th October 16:10
FellowPazzini said:
Chipping is so hard. My scores would be vastly improved if I could hit the -50 yard distances better. There is just no consistency with my chipping and I've not a clue how to fix it. I usually use the 60 deg. wedge within range, just the right tempo results in me 80/20 thinning it further the opposite side of the green so when I take a little slower it goes up and down 5 feet in front of me. Very frustrating indeed, can get next to the green in 2 on a par 5 (sometimes) then it'll take another 6 or 7 shots from less than 20 yards.
Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
Chipping is hard to do well from a variety of lies and situations. However no reason why everyone should not be able to chip from a flat lie pretty well.Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
So here goes, I will provide some tips on performing a basic chip.
1. Pick a club you will chip with and use this club all the time. Try not to flip between clubs at this stage. Generally a more lofted club will throw the ball higher with less run out, a less lofted club vice versa. There is no right club, the one you are most comfortable with is probably the best choice at this point.
2. Basic setup is feet together, weight 60/40 on the left leg for a r/h golfer. Flex the knees. This is an arm swing so the body stays quiet. Stand slightly open, ball is placed perpendicular to the right ankle.
3. Club shaft is leant forwards and hands are ahead of the ball. The hands always stay ahead of the ball, if the club head passes the hands you will be flipping at the ball and this will cause thins.
4. The swing is an arm swing, no body or leg action at all. Concentrate on hitting down into the back of the ball, not picking it off the turf. (if you do it perfectly you may just make a tiny divot) Your weight always stays forward as with your hands, everything is forward, weight, hands, and club, sending the ball forward, not up. There should be no wrist action or flipping. Try to keep everything firm but don't grip the hell out of the club. A good test is to take the club back you should be able to feel the weight of the club head without it wobbling about.
When starting this routine start by just hitting the ball, don't worry about distance just get the swing action and strike going, the distance control can come later.
You will hit thins and duffs, but so do the pro's so don't worry about it. Just try and groove a repeatable method. Vital things are too keept the body quiet and watch the club into the back of the ball.
Hope this helps.
FellowPazzini said:
Chipping is so hard. My scores would be vastly improved if I could hit the -50 yard distances better. There is just no consistency with my chipping and I've not a clue how to fix it. I usually use the 60 deg. wedge within range, just the right tempo results in me 80/20 thinning it further the opposite side of the green so when I take a little slower it goes up and down 5 feet in front of me. Very frustrating indeed, can get next to the green in 2 on a par 5 (sometimes) then it'll take another 6 or 7 shots from less than 20 yards.
Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
If possible, I'd use a lower loft wedge and just take a shorter swing. Bump and runs with a PW are much easier, and more consistent (for me). Either that or the 52 deg wedge if I have less room to play with. I'll only bring out the 60deg wedge if the ball needs to get up quick, or stop quick. Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
When I was younger I used to just take out my lob wedge whenever I got near the green, it's out much less now and I shoot lower scores.
Might not work for you, but it's something to think about!
Well, much better today, after my 161 the other week, I went back to a smaller course.
My swing was a lot better, far less duffs and tops.
We played a 9 hole twice, as the proper 18 was booked up. The par for the course was 60 and I shot 98. I even got a par! Still crap but a whole magnitude better! Everything felt much easier today. Except the short 10 yard chip. That's hard. I hate it!
My swing was a lot better, far less duffs and tops.
We played a 9 hole twice, as the proper 18 was booked up. The par for the course was 60 and I shot 98. I even got a par! Still crap but a whole magnitude better! Everything felt much easier today. Except the short 10 yard chip. That's hard. I hate it!
marksx said:
Well, much better today, after my 161 the other week, I went back to a smaller course.
My swing was a lot better, far less duffs and tops.
We played a 9 hole twice, as the proper 18 was booked up. The par for the course was 60 and I shot 98. I even got a par! Still crap but a whole magnitude better! Everything felt much easier today. Except the short 10 yard chip. That's hard. I hate it!
That's an improvement of c.1 shot per hole. Take heart, and carry on.My swing was a lot better, far less duffs and tops.
We played a 9 hole twice, as the proper 18 was booked up. The par for the course was 60 and I shot 98. I even got a par! Still crap but a whole magnitude better! Everything felt much easier today. Except the short 10 yard chip. That's hard. I hate it!
marksx said:
Well, much better today, after my 161 the other week, I went back to a smaller course.
My swing was a lot better, far less duffs and tops.
We played a 9 hole twice, as the proper 18 was booked up. The par for the course was 60 and I shot 98. I even got a par! Still crap but a whole magnitude better! Everything felt much easier today. Except the short 10 yard chip. That's hard. I hate it!
Can you putt a ball the right distance? If so then just hit the ball with a wedge using the same amount of force and it'll be close. Have a practice and you'll soon get the hang of it.My swing was a lot better, far less duffs and tops.
We played a 9 hole twice, as the proper 18 was booked up. The par for the course was 60 and I shot 98. I even got a par! Still crap but a whole magnitude better! Everything felt much easier today. Except the short 10 yard chip. That's hard. I hate it!
spikeyhead said:
Can you putt a ball the right distance? If so then just hit the ball with a wedge using the same amount of force and it'll be close. Have a practice and you'll soon get the hang of it.
This 100%Because I don't play often enough to practice fancy chipping, I simply use my putting stroke (including grip) with a PW and putt it towards the hole.
So bloody effective and easy!
I played golf yesterday, first time since playing The Belfry in April, that's what happens when you move/renovate house and have another baby (where has the year gone?!).
I had a good front nine, out in 45 and scored 21 points playing off of 24.
Back nine wasn't so hot, had 3 blobs and shot 54 <_<
Great to get out there again though
I had a good front nine, out in 45 and scored 21 points playing off of 24.
Back nine wasn't so hot, had 3 blobs and shot 54 <_<
Great to get out there again though
FloppyRaccoon said:
FellowPazzini said:
Chipping is so hard. My scores would be vastly improved if I could hit the -50 yard distances better. There is just no consistency with my chipping and I've not a clue how to fix it. I usually use the 60 deg. wedge within range, just the right tempo results in me 80/20 thinning it further the opposite side of the green so when I take a little slower it goes up and down 5 feet in front of me. Very frustrating indeed, can get next to the green in 2 on a par 5 (sometimes) then it'll take another 6 or 7 shots from less than 20 yards.
Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
If possible, I'd use a lower loft wedge and just take a shorter swing. Bump and runs with a PW are much easier, and more consistent (for me). Either that or the 52 deg wedge if I have less room to play with. I'll only bring out the 60deg wedge if the ball needs to get up quick, or stop quick. Any tips, drills, helpful vid links or books would be most appreciated
When I was younger I used to just take out my lob wedge whenever I got near the green, it's out much less now and I shoot lower scores.
Might not work for you, but it's something to think about!
Play a lower shot with a pitching wedge and plan for more run. Being inspired by the pros who pepper the flag, and can plan for, and deliver, backspin isn't a good idea.
If you find you're often needing quick up and downs from a very lofted shot then you're either fixating on the flag instead of the heart of the green, or need to start planning your approaches earlier (on the tee) in order to manage your approach direction better.
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