I’m one who really tries to minimize gearing up or down. I have a better chance of hitting a solid acceptable shot with my stock swing than I do with a “non-standard” swing.If I have 145 yards, and my 8-iron goes 150, I’ll happily hit a normal full 8. If that means I hit my stock shot the stock distance, and I’m 15 feet past the hole, I’m cool with that. I’m more likely have wider dispersion, both in length and in direction, with a non-standard swing.
This might seem to contradict the “get it closer” philosophy, won’t I have a wider dispersion with the shorter “non-standard” swing? Percentage-wise, probably. Say my dispersion is 10% from 100 yards (making up these numbers), that gives me 10 yards, 30 feet. Say my dispersion is 15% from 50 yards, that’s 7.5 yards. So worse dispersion on a percentage basis, but closer in actual distance.
Great quote, love that one, and was gonna reply with it myself.
MPR - I’ll also add (and I’m not being critical, just observing…) that if I was your caddy for a day, and it’s was my first time carrying for you … and before the round you’d handed me a copy of that club / distance chart … and we were standing over that 150 yd shot you described at top … I would have - in good conscience and being diligent - handed you the 7 (unless, for example, the shot was uphill or downhill, into or withs strong wind, etc.).
Another saying I like to remind myself of when out on the course - ‘use the right tool for the job at hand’
This is a hard one for me. This being the first year that i am actually playing more, i am still trying to get my distances down. I just purchased the prgr launch monitor so now i need to get to the range to start using it. But i do find myself coming up short to the greens. Sometimes it is because i dont take the club longer, or i do and dont hit it solid. But sometimes i find myself taking the longer club and find myself at the last minute thinking i am going to hit it over the green so i let up a little on it. And yep, short again. But i just found a par 3 course not far from me, so beginning this weekend i will still be playing with my regular group on sunday at the course but for now on saturdays, i am going to head over and play 36 on the par 3. Begin to work on my short game more. Either way, i love the game and i know i will get better as i play more.
The key is always trusting the shot, regardless of the club in your hand, and accepting the result. Uncommitted swings are pretty much always going to have a worse result that committed ones, even if you didn’t choose the right club. I know that’s easy to say and hard to do, but you’ll get there!
I “know” that but the more I play, the more I’m learning to internalize that important bit of golfing knowledge!
right club is the one that centers my distribution pattern over my target
^ is the key
Is there any study that looks at ~18 handicap golfers and whether clubbing up helps them create better contact? Premise would be: More relaxed swing because “I have plenty of club.”
I don’t know any, but I am relatively new to the game still. I think it would be an interesting study and I think your point would probably be validated. It seems to make perfect sense.
So i went to that par 3 course this past weekend. I know there are executive courses where you might have holes around 140 or 150 or so. But this was strictly a small par 3 course to work on the wedges. I think the longest hole might have been 75 yards. Only used my 60 degree and my A wedge. It felt really good working on these two clubs. I will definitely be going again. The best shot i had of the day was from 72 yards and it came about 3 inches from the cup. And it really gave me more confidence to use the clubs the next day at my regular sunday match with our groups. As a matter of fact, for the first time, i took 3 greenies on sunday. Just curious if anyone else uses par 3 courses like this.
I’d love to have a course like this near me - excellent practice!
Use to have one right by my house. Even had lights for night golf. But it closed down last year 
Yea this place is great. They have the par 3, they have lights, they have a huge driving range and for the kids they have the miniature golf. So it is definitely a place i am going to get more familiar with. Play 2 rounds and then go hit a large bucket at the range, all for under 27 bucks.
Yes! There are two good Par 3s not too far from me that are in between executive and pitch & putt styles … great for wedge and short iron practice!
Then there’s another 18 hole Par 3 a little further drive that’s just wedges - 60 to 100 yards - with a good variety of holes / shots. Love that place early in the season for wedge tune-up / target practice … plus to compare with how I’ve done there previously.
I always take the yardage to the back edge regardless of the pin position and try and hit that. I rarely do, but my miss is closer. And if I do happen to flush one, well, its on the back edge.
that’s why I love that strategy for most golfers!
Very nice discussion here!
I agree that understanding your personal distance control is a huge skill to obtain. I think we overuse the “ego” excuse but maybe I’m wrong. I have based my distance charts off specific testing I’ve done on-course along with several weeks of continual data collection (I don’t have Arcos). I’m a plus handicap and a decent ball striker, however I have often used flawed logic in club selection. I have always taken my data and found an “average” distance to consider my stock yardage. But my consistent missed green is short (or left due to my hook tendency).
The thing we all tend to forget is the majority of ways to mis-hit a ball for a decent golfer will end up with a shorter result. It seems much more rare to end up with a result too long, especially as you get to the longer irons. But we also tend to remember those few long missed shots more because they hurt more. Skull a 9 over the green and you’ve got a 40 yard lob shot from the back rough that doesn’t see a mower quite as often. Or maybe there are trees, hills, etc guarding the next tee box from your errant ball.
Decade is amazing and well worth an investment. One of the facets Scott mentions several times is to be careful when it comes to generalizing your aim based on quadrants on the green. This works well for small greens but can leave you hating your putter on larger greens.
I believe for most golfers that’s the crux of the issue. That’s why shot tracking can help because if you really do see that you’re missing most greens short than the solution to the problem fairly obvious. As your ball striking skill increases it probably will become less of an issue but even at scratch level it’s rare you see golfers consistently air mailing greens.
No study here, just anecdotal evidence. I’ve begun using a strategy found here (and I can’t for the life of me locate the thread!) where club selection is based on distance to the back of the green. The theory is that we mis-hit more often than we pure it, and those mis-hits will be on the green as opposed to short.
I’m making better, more consistent contact and am finding I hit more shots to the expected yardage or beyond. I’m taking relaxed, confident swings knowing I’ve got plenty of club instead of trying to ensure I max out the more lofted club.
Again, no hard data - but the effect seems to be real for me.
This is interesting because I recently played with one of the best golfers at my club and he says he NEVER takes a club for the back of the green. He pointed out (which I already knew) that there is not one hole at our club where going long is a good miss…there are at least 6 holes where it will put you OB. He felt it was too big a risk to pick a club for more than the center and the best miss is short on pretty much any hole at our club. He said he most often picks a club for the front of the green…of course I don’t have his consistency or short game, but I do agree with NOT using the back of the green yardage as I’ve gone OB more than a few times clubbing up.
This set up is similar to my home course. I’ve actually modified @jon’s approach and am clubbing up to the next zone. If the pin is front I play to the middle; middle, play to the back.
You’re right @Kevomanc - you should never select a club that brings real trouble into play!
As I become more confident in the strike I’ll perhaps dial this back somewhat, but for now I’m making cleaner contact and hitting a few more greens.