Take off some distance

[Forest]

I played golf today at a shorter course (6100 from the tips... hah) and I found myself hitting choke PW's into the green (I hit a PW 105), and even though I was choking up, I wasn't sure how much to choke up. Also, is there another way to take off distance, besides swinging lighter?

[Mizuno Junky]

I've read that there are a few ways to control distance witg your irons. The clock method is a popular one, where you control the amount in your backswing. Then there is trajectory, full shots, half shots, low shots, punch shots. I read somewhere in an article with Furyk, and he said that the choke down method is what he uses, he said in his experience it's like 7 yards for every inch choked down or something.

[Forest]

Okay, thank you for the advice.

[Blades4me]

What I've read is 10 yds for evey inch gripped down. 3/4 shots work well for me. You could also open up the face of the club, however that takes some practice.

[Sucka27]

Shorten your backswing to 3/4 and stay aggressive on the ball. It depends on how much you want to take off, but just adjust accordingly.

[goblue107501]

You are on the right track by choking down. The more you do it, the more you will get used to how far to choke down to take more off. I don't ever choke down more than 2 inches. Any more than that, and I feel like I lose control of the club and swing. The one thing not to do is to swing lighter. You still have to accelerate through the ball. The key is to swing shorter, but for the most part, swing the same speed. Again, the more you do it, the more feel you will get for each combination of grip and swing.

I am pretty much 50/50 on hitting a normal full grip/full swing shot and choking down and using an abbreviated swing. Some shots just feel better to set up using the longer club and taking a little off. It can give you a lot more options on the course.

[Zeph]

Are the par 3's shorter than 105 or do you hit approach shots from inside 105? If the latter, hit a shorter club from the tee.

If you have a GW, you could use it, or SW if it is even shorter.

Shorter swing also helps.

[Gioguy21]

inside 150, i'm a feel player. That whole 'inches down/up' thing doesn't and hasn't ever been in my mind. Once a week I go to the range with nothing but 8,9,PW,AW,54,58 and hit shots to 'targets' every so many yards out. Practicing high shots, low spinners, flops, bump/runs, baby draws/fades, chips/pitches for me come from feel...but then again i do believe there are two different types of people: Methodical, and Feel. Furyk to me is the most methodical ever, and the biggest feel player i could think of would probably be a Seve. The more you practice, the sooner you'll realize which one you fit into. You can read, get training aids, put the change from one pocket to the other but practice is the biggest magnifying glass for your game. ;)

[deronsizemore]

Like another poster said, I believe the rule of thumb is 7 yards of distance for every inch. So, I like to choke down however many inches and take a full swing. I find that easier than trying to take a 3/4 swing or 1/2 or whatever.

[Forest]

I was hitting 95 ish yard shots as approaches. I think I'll use the choke down method, seems simpler. I have a 52 GW, but it's a 54 bent, so it has 6 degrees of bounce, and is 1" short. I find it hard to hit full shots with it, so I have better success choking down. Thanks for all the tips.

[ks8829]

1) choke up and find out at the range what every inch down the handle reduces the distance by
2) shorter backswing
3) aim left and open the club face varying the degree that you open up the face and aim left

[hoser]

As others have said, you can control distance with trajectory. Hitting a knockdown shot will take about 10 - 15 yards off your shot depending on how you set up.

To hit it, I usually do the following:
* Put the ball a couple inches back in my stance
* I make a 9:00 to 3:00 swing

The low follow through is what will keep the shot lower. After a lot of practice, you'll find its really a feel shot.

There are a number of variables you can adjust to suit a particular shot:
* You can adjust the ball position
* Length of swing back and through
* Choke down on the club to take even less off the shot

It really versatile in a lot of playing conditions. I'll opt for this shot often when I want to take something off my 9 - 3 wood. I'll do it sometimes with wedges in windy conditions.

[kpaulhus]

I really dislike choking down on clubs. I rarely do it, unless Im fighting the wind. In your case, I would select less club off the tee. Put yourself in a position where u can take a full shot. I only hit driver off the tee if I know Im going to have a full swing into the green. I hate when I am in between clubs by 10 yards or so. IE 52 wedge=105yards, Pitching Wedge = 120