Difficulty Hitting on Short Grass, Nice Fairways

[DCCarpenter]

I have been playing on a couple of inexpensive courses to learn , I played on an expensive country club course today and the fairways were in better condition than the greens at the courses I usually play. Very short grass.

 

I had a very very hard time hitting off these fairways ,  I had been getting into a groove on the lesser courses and my play was rapidly improving with my off fairway approach game being the best part of my game. I went from hitting at least 10 80 to 100 yard shots in a round onto the green from the fairway to hitting maybe 3 of 13 of them today. My hits were a medley of ground balls , tops, and other disasters. 

 

The only grass range I have access to has very coarse rough type grass , should I just practice taking some exaggerated divots on it ? I read about playing a tee 8” or so in front of the ball to practice hitting ahead of it. Open to any other suggestions. Today was humbling. 

 

 

[Carl3]

I remember going through those types of situations. A combination of perhaps a fear of damaging the beautiful turf and not having some taller grass to support the ball up off the solid ground. Hitting out of the rough allows more leeway or room for error.

during one such period I went to the range and spent quite a while brushing the turf between each shot to get familiar with what I had to work with and get comfortable with a tight lie.

eventually you will come to realize that it really comes down to developing a consistent low point to the swing through lots of practice. 

[WilliamB]

For me, if I stress while over these shots, my arm muscles tighten up, which shortens the arms a bit and I am more likely to hit the ball thin. I find what works best for me is a sense of confidence, because I have hit this shot so many times before successfully. Sometimes I remind myself of the Nike adage, "Just do it".

[iacas]

You probably flip and hit the shots fat for the most part. Taller less tight turf lets you get away with more poor contact. So, just improve at that - generally building a better swing with better contact, more deformation, more shaft lean, less flipping…

[WilliamB]

34 minutes ago, iacas said:

You probably flip and hit the shots fat for the most part. Taller less tight turf lets you get away with more poor contact. So, just improve at that - generally building a better swing with better contact, more deformation, more shaft lean, less flipping…

I would imagine many of the less accomplished golfers have trouble on tie lie shots. I know it's not always that easy for me. Is there instruction on this site for this type of shot?

[iacas]

Just now, WilliamB said:

I would imagine many of the less accomplished golfers have trouble on tie lie shots. I know it's not always that easy for me. Is there instruction on this site for this type of shot?

Like I said, it's not a "type of shot." It's just a matter of developing a better swing.

If you flip, you appreciate the extra "cushion." If you have a better swing, you don't need that cushion.

[boogielicious]

11 minutes ago, WilliamB said:

I would imagine many of the less accomplished golfers have trouble on tie lie shots. I know it's not always that easy for me. Is there instruction on this site for this type of shot?

A good place to start are the first five drills in this thread.

 

[DCCarpenter]

Thanks for the replies , especially Carl’s he summed it up pretty well. It was a combination of needing to recognize the different condition required a better focus and not having the best release.

I was so annoyed at yesterday’s performance I booked a 8:40 tee time this morning on a nicer course that I knew would have pretty good fairways. Also did a range bucket beforehand.  With a commitment to focusing on a later release I played much better , took many divots and was impressing the guys I was paired with through the first 9 holes.

 

As this was my 6th straight day of 18 holes I hit a wall on the back 9, but it got my head in a better place.

 

As an aside I bought my first driver yesterday , other than a hand me down ‘80s one  I had played with a few times. Managed to hit 5 drives 200+ in the first 9 all in bounds and an additional 250 yarder. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by DCCarpenter

[DCCarpenter]

Wanted to give a little follow-up. I went through a extra large bucket at the range focusing on nothing but impact position,  I did the towel drill to make sure I wasn't hitting fat. Most of my shots were terrible but at least I wasn't hitting fat.  I made my only swing thought for the week getting the release right. 

I played a round 4 days in a row. I played 3 different courses all with nice fairways and saw an improvement each day. Yesterday I managed to hit the green in 2 on a long-for me par 4 with a 185 yard 4 iron from the fairway.

I had never tried chipping before this week either, I had some good luck with low shots within 70 yards with the 7 iron rather than trying to pitch a perfect fly ball in with a wedge. Playing on nice courses actually made these shots worth attempting, the course with rough-like fairways and patchy greens don't make for much roll on a chip.