On the course practice

Practice
#1

I had 1.5 hours this morning while my son was at First Tee and decided to play 9 holes w/ 5 clubs and 2 balls. 1 from tips(3600) and 1 from the reds(2800). Clubs used: 2H, 6i, 8i, GW, and putter.

I was +4 from tips and -3 from reds, and I enjoyed the variety of approach shots due to leaving more in to the greens. Also hit a great soft 8 from 140(normally 9 or PW) and a good hard 6 from 200(normally a 5).

I don’t use GW much for chipping and it showed as my scrambling was below average. Driver would have been useful today and definitely would have brought it if I was trying to score instead of practice.

How do you like to practice on the course?

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#2

I should do that more as I’ve been told… and have read … many times that carrying fewer clubs forces you to learn to make shots with what you have; ie. you teach yourself half swings, punch shots, the “soft” and “hard” shots, etc.
(…all that cool advanced playah stuff that I’m nowhere near yet…)

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#3

You never know what you can do with a club til you have to😂

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#4

I can honestly say all my rounds are practice at this point! I’m trying various clubs I just got, and different clubs for particular tasks, to see what really works well. All my games except one, in this season, have been solo. I only keep score to track improvement. Overall I’ve played less than 20 rounds since starting late summer 2019.

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#5

The only time I really practice on the course is before a tournament to get an idea of what approaches look like from various spots. I’ll tinker with spots around the greens to prep for misses. Putts from all over.

Other than that I don’t really ever practice on course. Mostly due to time constraints. I wish I could. I actually think it’s the best way to practice if you can get a course open enough to do it without holding people up.

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#6

What do you think of chipping with a GW? Do you think you might start using it more?

#7

Yeah, I’d much rather be on the course than the range or practice green. I jumped on the back 9 before the first groups of the day made the turn and had all kinds of space. Was a nice substitute with limited time. I’m playing in a tournament next week at a different course but tried to prepare by hitting shots I don’t normally have to play

#8

I prefer 56 SW for the most part around the green, or 60 if I want something to stop quicker. Almost all my GW chips were long, a few by 20 ft, so I’d rather keep using what Im used to.

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#9

I’m just the opposite. I like to get the ball on the ground as soon as possible. I use the least lofted club I can to get the ball to the green.

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#10

That could be a separate thread. I know several who prefer lower loft and getting it rolling. I like to take the option variable out and use the same club for variety of shots. I often deloft it to play a runner w the sw and feel like that’s where I have the most control

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#11

If I have lots of green to work with I like wedge shots with gap or PW. Get it rolling quick. At this point for me, there’s less margin for error. If I need it high and soft, then higher loft. But that’s all lie dependent too.
So essentially I like to chip/pitch with all of them haha

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#12

My goal in the offseason is to get in 36 holes of worst ball golf… hit everything twice and take the worse result… I like the concept of adding pressure to second shots as well as basically forcing myself to scramble on every shot.

I’m contemplating a round from the front tees, but don’t think it would help me all that much other than either showing me I can go low or shattering my confidence when I continually bogey drivable par 4s!

I tend to “just play” when I’m on the course… probably something I should re evaluate!

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#13

I’ve contemplated playing front tees too. Could be telling. Would def shed light on whether or not length off the tee is an actual issue for me

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#14

I’m torn on this idea… Though I’ve played a round on the forward men’s tees… it makes a slight difference but doesn’t radically change the course.

https://www.huntingcreekcc.com/club/scripts/golf/view_course_scorecard.asp

I usually play the course at 6,700. Ive played it at 6300 and it wasn’t that much fun for me… might try 5700.

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#15

The biggest change you should see is par 5 scoring if you move all the way up to 5700

You should be eating them up from there. If you don’t, that may tell you something

Thinking about that… there is a local muny that plays short and is wide open and I never seem to really shoot lower than my average. May suggest that I’m leaving strokes out there with the driver.

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#16

I usually would hop onto the first tee at my local course and hit about 10 balls (the goal is to stay in the fairway), I would walk to each ball in the fairway and aim for the green. I would usually try to keep score.
I also would walk around the green and pick 10 spots around the green (2 balls per spot). For me this happens in the evenings, an hour before closing (when they are not letting anyone else on the course.

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#17

Sounds fun and productive!

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#18

I have a similar mindset. Everything from 100 in is GW (full/half/quarter shots), but if I’m close enough to chip I love using my 8i when possible. I’ve started employing the “Rule of 12” chipping style this year and it seems to take a lot of the guess work out for me. It sucks to have to think through math again (lol)…but it has really helped my short game be more reliable with limited practice time.

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#19

Playing multiple balls, or even a worse ball scramble is great, either on an empty course, or if you are a single stuck behind groups and have time. 10 balls seems like too many ball marks to repair on the green!

#20

Love the worse ball scramble. Can’t think of anything better to teach the importance of consistency.

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