Practice Challenge 1

Practice
#1

@jon asked me to produce a few skills challenges for you, so I thought this would make a nice one.

We all know that distance control is key to getting down to single figures. Most amateurs miss short, and this costs them greens in regulation and between 0.9 and 0.3 of a shot (depending on how god their short game is) each time.

Here’s the drill - you will need a launch monitor of some sort. The PRGR seems a good one, and Jon wrote an article on that here - https://practical-golf.com/prgr-launch-monitor-review/

  1. hit 21 shots with a 7 iron
  2. keep track of all 21. Pick the longest shot out of all of them
  3. see how many (out of the other 20) were within 10 yards of that longest shot
  4. if you prefer percentages, simply multiply your score by 5

I find that this game stops you trying to go for maximum distance with every shot, and trains you to shoot for a more consistent control over the distance.

The main skills involved in being good at this are

  • Ground contact

  • Face strike

  • Face direction

  • Speed is of lesser importance, as it usually doesn’t change much (unless intentionally)

Let us know your handicap and score in the comments below.

8 Likes
#2

Great game. I’ve looked at enough ShotLink data to know how this movie ends.

1 Like
#3
#4

Thanks to @Adamyounggolf for creating this challenge. I’m going to do this myself and will post results!

1 Like
#5

I like this drill! Kudos to you, Adam!

#6

I’m all in for doing any drill you want if you send me a launch monitor!

3 Likes
#7

Love this content; thanks big time!!

#8

I love this challenge. I will complete it next week when I’m back in Vegas and post my results.

#9

I’ve worked on hitting 3 balls at a time at the range to the same target - and just eyeballing the results - I’ll try to set up a more measured practice (and see how bad my dispersion is as a high handicapper). Thx @Adamyounggolf!

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#10

@Adamyounggolf: I really like your drill suggestion and will give it a try.

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#11

I just did the test on my SkyTrak. Also, I used carry distance as my metric.

My longest was 181, and I was able to keep 16 shots within 10 yards for a score of 80
Current hcp: 0

Here are my shot results for those interested:

177, 180, 174, 173, 169, 179, 170, 177, 179, 179, 152, 181, 180, 168, 178, 173, 180, 181, 175, 179, 180

7 Likes
#12

I know my wife wants a bigger house for more space but I really just want one for golf purposes.

3 Likes
#13

12 balls on the PRGR (hit some more that weren’t picked up). First time using the launch monitor, pleasantly surprised. Really love it for a drill like this. I am thinking I will primarily use it for club speed training and little skills challenges like this.

Interesting note. I actually felt some pressure doing this. I hit one outlier (big pull) nearly 10 yds further than the rest of my shots. I’ve included the results with and without:

image

Swing path is slightly left and I think I am getting a bit steep. Heel bias. Hitting a baby pull cut which is not my stock. Controllable with a 7 iron but this pattern wreaks havoc on my driving game.

Handicap: 6.7

One more funny note. Because of @Adamyounggolf @jon content, I have a strong bias for choosing back of green yardage or middle of the green yardage (depending on trouble and pin). People are always confused/impressed why when I really step on an iron and compress it I immediately start yelling “GET DOWN GET DOWN”. They are surprised I immediately know it is likely going to be long, which I think is the point of this here exercise :slight_smile:

Because I know my dispersion and apply strategy around that dispersion, when I hit one really pure I am usually a good distance from the pin

2 Likes
#14

Will try This Tomorrow, thanks :pray: in advance.

#15

That is one flaw with the drill - one good pull shot and it can completely ruin the score.

It does make for good pressurized practice.

#16

Why haven’t we all done this Already?:shushing_face:

#17

Went and did this at my club’s indoor facility last night. Results were interesting and I really enjoyed the purposeful approach to some practice.

Longest 7 iron was 191 on my 3rd ball, which is definitely not a stock number for me. I generally pull 7 if I’m 165-178 depending on the elements. I was thinking that 191 number might skew my results because that’s not in my normal range of distance with that club. I was surprised by the rest of my shots.

15/21 were within 10 yards of that distance.
2/21 were dead pulls that weren’t even close.
4/21 were outside. Distances of 170, 170, 176, 177. Those are normal on course distances for me.

What I think is happening here is when I’m on course I’m very much a worker of the ball. I try to control trajectory and shape depending on the shot required (keyword TRY). In doing so, I don’t normally take a full stock swing. I’m usually in that 80-85% area. When I’m on sim I’m just swinging free down a range, so while I wasn’t trying to nuke my 7 iron, I was hitting it full.

Overall, I have pretty good distance control at a +1.6. It’s not something I struggle with very often. What I do like about this experiment is I now have a better idea of my max distance without overexerting. If I have to I can hit my 7 iron 185 without giving up control and contact.

Thanks for this. I enjoyed it.

3 Likes
#18

@Adamyounggolf
@jon

The genius of this test is finally dawning on me. I have been thinking pretty deeply about dispersion, targets and the advice about aiming at the back of the green.

This test should provide the student all the data they need for why you should

  • Establish the distance you hit each club when you hit it flush
  • Get the back yardage of the green and select the club that will get all the way back when you hit it flush

On a green that is less than 20 yards front to back, you really will be picking one target regardless of where the pin is (assumes no significant trouble)

30 yard+ green front to back we can talk about choosing between two clubs based on the flag (assuming equal up and down opportunity from front and back)

I am setting up my system a bit differently where I am actually establishing mean + range for each club… it is the same concept as my “flushed” shot will be in back of green.

Also I just went through my course on google earth and 14 of the greens are “one club” greens… ie pin position is completely irrelevant

I also marked the 3 greens with trouble behind (turtle shell green with brush behind that leads to ob) so I will actually be trying to hit a flushed shot to the middle yardage.

I now know exactly which yardage I am going to grab off my watch on each hole and I can truly ignore the pin

Me thinks GIR will be going up

5 Likes
#19

Also as your % within 10 yards of flush increases, your deviation from “flush” should be decreasing. At some point this dispersion will tighten to a point where you can start to select more optimal targets. It’s not even really more aggressive. It is just more optimal because your dispersion has improved. This will increase proximity and lead to more birdies and pars

I assume this test’s correlation with handicap is extremely high.

2 Likes
#20

I’m really looking forward to doing this and charting my results through the season… simulator finally opens next week.

1 Like