Secret To Your Scrambling?

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

I rely on my creative recovery shots to save me when im stuck in the trees...spend enough time in there when your learning you get pretty good at figuring out how to get out.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

Imagination and once you make a decision on a shot, to 100% commit to it to make sure that it is executed without hesitation.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

Exactly. I would also add to this that I try to make sure I don't over-extend myself and attempt a shot that is clearly not a good idea. Sometimes you have to settle for that extra stroke.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

get it back on the fairway as easily as possible..even if it means losing yards to the green. No heroics.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

Visualisation.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

Well.
For those situations, I do take enough time to calm myself. Usually, if my ball in trouble, other players in my group are waiting me to shot. I don't try to hurry it over. Just take enough time (even though I don't need to take time) intentionally. That leads me to relax and swing normally.

fyi. i'm not a slow player. I do get into troubles 2 or 3 times per round. So taking enough time for those situation doesn't slow down the pace of the round at all.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

Scrambling works best if you practice a few shots you can call on.

For back to the fairway, I rely on 3-iron shots purposely hit a little thin. I have a fade and a draw version. Shorter backswing, and a smooth follow-through, staying down on the ball. This keeps the ball from ballooning and hitting overhanging tree branches.

If I have an open shot in rough but trees ahead, I'll take an 8 or 9-iron, play it forward, and just fly it back to the fairway.

Around the green... Sometimes I'll have an easy shot from the fairway and hook or slice it into the trees (note my HDCP). Recovery could mean punching it back to the front or side of the green, and trying for an up-and-down bogie. Don't get heroic, and ricochet the ball back behind you for a snowman.

So practice a couple of recovery shots, and don't let confuse recklessness for bravery.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

IMO, It's never imagination, it's 'visualization.' Imagining implies seeing something fictional, something unreal. You can't make a golf ball change direction, jump over obstacles, and make turns. When you hit it, it goes in the air for some period of time, comes back down, then rolls some. Simple as that. You simply need to visualize how that will happen.

I consider myself a very good scrambler, and it's a recent improvement, so I'll explain how I think I've accomplished that.

1) You have to pick the best shot you can FOR the situation. Not every shot can be hit close. When you have the green light situation, yeah, try to make it, but if it's not there, it's not there. Make the best shot you can, and take pride in the execution of THAT shot, whatever it is, and have confidence that you'll make the best NEXT shot after that.

2) Simplify the shot. While scrambling always involves a distance control aspect, it's not like that distance is out of anyone's reach (everyone can manage to chip a sand wedge 20 yds, e.g.). No matter the lie, you focus on contacting the ball first with the clubface pointed on your desired line. Sometimes the lie will make it impossible and you'll have to hit some grass first, but you still focus on it. When you trust this, the fear of the chunk or blade goes away. For some shots, it can literally be as simple as just touching the ball with the club (e.g., an 8-iron fringe bump and run).

3) Confidence, confidence. It can almost be cart before the horse, but you need confidence, not only for the current shot, but for the next. For example, say you have a difficult flop over a trap and the green slopes away. You're NOT going to put it close, realistically. The BEST you can do may be a 20-foot comebacker. You need to, a) realize a flop leaving that 20-foot comebacker is the best you can do, b) execute it properly; don't trust it, and you could end up in the bunker or with a 50-foot comebacker, c) trust that you can make that next putt for the up-down.

Confidence in the scrambling game can subsequently improve your iron game. When you feel confident in your chipping and putting, you will no longer feel pressured to pepper the pin (which, be honest, do you ever?). A solid iron to the fat of the green will be ok when you believe you can make the long putt, or do no worse than two-putt. When you're terrified of the sand, or scared to three-putt, you'll choke that approach shot trying to be perfect, and you'll end up far from it.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

Why do you think they call me the right handed phil mickelson?.......

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

im a scrambling maniac...
its due to necessity since i dont have the distance off the tee most ppl have...
when you tend to hit a drive 200-230 on avg... approach shots after a decent drive are usually with longer clubs and girs are pretty hard to come by... thats when busting out wedges in an attempt to get birdies or get them close enough that its a short putt for par... heck sometimes id wished i didnt get a gir in some situations because my chipping/pitching is pretty money...
its also due to poverty... lol... as a kid i didnt have the funds to play everyday nor did i have the money to dump on range balls... the practice area near where i lived was free as long as you had your own shag balls... so after school id spend my time chipping and putting for hours... even today when i dont have time to play a round ill spend an hour or 2 chipping and putting at the course next door...
im pretty comfortable with any shot inside 120... whether it be in the rough/woods/fw/over bunkers-trouble etc... love getting chip in no putts!

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

I wasn't aware that anyone, aside from yourself, refers to you as that.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

+1

Keep your head down. cant hit the shot u visualized by missing the ball

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

I am still searching. But for now, I find that practicing short game, especially around the green, to get the ball within 5 ft helps alot. I don't always get it that close but I do practice trying to chip, lob or whatever, to get the ball within 5 ft.

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

Just as it applies to almost any skill set in golf, repetition is the predecessor of confidence. You have to learn to feel creative shots over and over in order to gain a confidence for hitting them. For example, I spend hours around the chipping green hitting the most ridiculous shots you could ever imagine. Plugged lies, flop shots, balls resting up against the collar, etc etc. If you hit these shots over and over you will gain, at the very least, a little bit of feel and thus add a bit of confidence when trying to hit these shots.

When it comes to the trees, it is relatively obvious that ninety percent of the battle is assessing your options and choosing the best shot for that scenario. And the only thing I would really mention from there is to avoid "forcing shots". For example, a player who plays a natural thirty yard draw has little to no business trying to hit a giant fade or something to that extent. My thought process in a scrambling situation in the trees goes a little something like this:

-Do I have a good chance at getting on or to a safe point around the green? and if not...
-Do I have a good chance of getting it to fifty yards? and if not...
-Do I have a good chance to get it to 100, 150, etc., and if not...
-Can i get the ball back into the fairway or give myself and open next shot? and if not...
-Is it smart to try to hit this ball or should i take an unplayable and drop in a better spot?

This tends to be a fairly consistent way to assess your options in the jungle

Re: Secret To Your Scrambling?

i practice those shots all the time.