Arak, you ever do any video analysis of your swing, even with just your iPhone? This helped me a lot.
LizReed - golf lesson advice
- Thread starter NovaHoops2002
- Start date
No - I remember you mentioned it to me last year. What the name of the app you use, I will give it a shot in the future.
It used to be called "Ubersense" but now it is called "Hudl Technique." Two terrible, terrible names. I'm sure there are a million others.
http://get.hudl.com/products/technique/
Had a bizarre round a few weeks ago. 53 on the front, 37 on the back 9. 7 pars and 2 bogeys. Don't Think I've ever been close to breaking 40 for 9 before. Amazing what happens when you keep it in play off the tee and putt reasonably well.
This usually happens to me, but in reverse. I'll be playing really well, and the tension will start building up, and eventually I'll just explode and go on a triple-double-triple streak. Usually happens around the 11th.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Looking for one or two BW4.6ers ready and able to tee it up in a charity scramble event this coming Saturday, Oct 17th at Sugarloaf Golf Club (PA).
The greens fees are already paid so all you have to do is show up, play, and buy me one beer.
The greens fees are already paid so all you have to do is show up, play, and buy me one beer.
I played at Radnor Valley on Friday - only got 14 holes in as it started pour right as we were about to tee off on 15. I didn't shoot that great again, made maybe only 1 putt and had some trouble in the green side bunkers, but I was very encouraged again by my play. I was hitting some drives on par with a 7 handicap and same with my 2nd shots on par 5's. My distance control on irons needs a lot of work, that is what I am going to be concentrating on going forward at the range. I seem to have gotten my drive down, I am still slicing here and there but for the most part I have been hitting fairways or just trickling off. I have a long way to go still but at least I am seeing some results. I just need to put it all together. This past round I did not duff any shots except for 2 that were in the thick rough.
They were around the green if I remember correctly so it was probably my PW. I gave up on my 56 wedge for anything except sand shots. I just can't hit it well enough with a pitch/chip shot and even taking a full swing I mishit. I just used my PW in all those situations and for the pitch/chips it has been working very well. For full swings I just choke down on the club but I haven't gotten the distance control down just yet.
When I see people who don't play much or who are newer to playing golf duff green-side shots from thick grass there are usually three primary causes / factors:
1. Too "wristy" of a swing - people try to flip the ball in the air with wrist action. This makes it very hard to control distance. A dead hands swing is the path to consistency on these shots.
2. Deceleration during the swing. Sometimes people get nervous about hitting it too hard and slow down during the swing. Add loft, open the clubface, open your stance, aim a little left to compensate. Use your practice swings to judge the right amount of backswing and follow through to get the club moving at a good pace throughout the swing without slowing down.
3. Make sure you have the ball far enough back in your stance.
Its definitely deceleration for me. I know I need to swing through the ball but it's tougher for me since I usually hit it long in those situations. I rarely get to work on this either since I never practice green side shots.
The place that I play in the summer has a practice area for chipping, sand shots, pitching. Time there is far more valuable than time on the range. Just pays huge dividends
The range I go to has a shitty practice green. What I really want to do is just go out one day by myself and play a round of golf as practice and just hit 5 shots on each hole or something like that. Unfortunately I am not a member of a country club so I don't see that happening. Some of the local courses around me have after 5 rates for really cheap so I may look into that starting next spring.
Arak, you shouldnt be using your PW around the green at all. You are probably getting some digging with your 56 because the bounce is designed for sand use and not turf.
What other wedges do you have? In deep rough you should be swinging your 60 degree if you have one. You need a faster clubhead speed to get through the turf and the only way you can stop the ball is with loft.
Also, another big mistake that people make around the green is staying flat footed and swinging with their hands. At the end of the swing, all of your weight should be on the front foot, like a full swing. Make sure your chest is ahead of the ball at impact. Once someone told me this I started making much, much better contact with the ball around the greens, rather than just throwing my hands at it.
What other wedges do you have? In deep rough you should be swinging your 60 degree if you have one. You need a faster clubhead speed to get through the turf and the only way you can stop the ball is with loft.
Also, another big mistake that people make around the green is staying flat footed and swinging with their hands. At the end of the swing, all of your weight should be on the front foot, like a full swing. Make sure your chest is ahead of the ball at impact. Once someone told me this I started making much, much better contact with the ball around the greens, rather than just throwing my hands at it.
Currently in my bag:
Callaway X-460 driver 9.5 degree loft
Wilson 3 wood
Wilson 5 wood
Wilson 3 hybrid
Head 4 iron
Wilson irons 5-PW
Cleveland 56 degree wedge
Odyssey putter
So I am 1 club short and I guess I should add a 60 degree?
Which is the best wedge to use to pry your bike out from between your car roof and garage door?
Heck yeah.
Not a lot of loft on that driver got your handicap.
So - can you tee it up on Saturday per my post above?
I have experimented with my hybrid around the greens and basically swung it like a putt. I have never used it for an actual shot, just a practice/fun shot after I hit my real one. I saw this as a tip on a golf show once for high handicappers who have trouble with wedges.
I actually agree here, that you can use lower lofted clubs in the right situations. These situations are where you have a good lie on the fringe/fairway, and a lot of green to work with. These aren't the situations that high handicappers find themselves in very often. More likely you are in the shit, short-sided, with a bunker to get over. All I ever learned to do was to take a PW around the greens when I first started, and it absolutely killed me in almost every situation I found myself in. Then I started just walking around my yard, hitting chips/pitches/flops with only my 60 degree, learning how to control the face better, and that's when I started to actually play the game like I knew (somewhat) what I was doing. Not learning how to do this the right way, and not picking the correct club for the situation, is what dooms 90% of beginners around the greens. I'm not saying I get everything up and down, but you'd be surprised how many triple bogeys you can avoid if you use the right club and the right shot in the right situation.
Arak, for chip shots, do you hinge and hold? There are two competing philosophies, even on tour, about whether to break your wrists during chip shots. Mickelson/Pelz are big proponents of hinge and hold:
I use this sometimes, but not always. I actually prefer the method shown here by David Glenz, where the chip is just a mini-golf swing. Crummy quality on an old video, but this should get you almost all the way there:
If you are hitting the ball fat or thin, it's almost 100% the case that your weight is too far back at impact. You have to force yourself to transfer your weight and get the club moving in order to guarantee good contact.
Arak, get a 60 degree and put yoyr hands forward. Even more important than outt I g the ball back jn your stance. With in a few weeks you'll see a huge change. You also have too many long clubs. You don't need a bunch of woods, a hybrid and a 4 iron. Get a 52 and a 60, drop the 5 wood and 4 iron.
That's a great shot when up against the collar. Had to pull this off in a tournament this year.....and I didn't.
Sounds like I need to add a 60 degree to my bag as well as takes some points from above. I am guilty of every bad habit especially using only my arms and extending the wrists in my short game.
Actually this begs a question…if the 60 degree is so effective where do you use the 56 degree? Maybe mine might be best suited for light gardening.
Actually this begs a question…if the 60 degree is so effective where do you use the 56 degree? Maybe mine might be best suited for light gardening.
I use my 56 from the sand, and on full shots from about 95 out. I rarely use it around the green when the ball is in the grass, because I am either trying to get the ball up in the air (lob wedge) or rolling quicker (usually use my gap wedge for low chips). If I didn't have a lob wedge, I could probably get by laying the face of the 56 open, but that makes the sweet spot harder to hit and the bounce of the club still makes that shot a little weird for me.
I hit my 60 degree about twice a round on average. Any shot from the fairway inside of 100 yds I use my 56. 56 almost exclusively out of the bunker. If I need the ball to really bite or sit softly out of the rough, I'll use the 60.
Correction - the loft on my driver is 10 degrees.
ADP - I have never even hit my 5 wood in an actual round. Same for my hybrid except for a punch outs here and there.
ADP - I have never even hit my 5 wood in an actual round. Same for my hybrid except for a punch outs here and there.
That's my point. The 5 wood is duplicate to the hybrid anyway. You'll get more oUT of the wedges. Just need to learn when and how to hit them. Heck, I hit a ton of 7 and 8 irons around the greens as well. I carry a driver, 3 wood, 3 hybrid and a 4 iron. No need for the other clubs. 52, 54 and 60 wedges.