Low HC'ers - how often do you duff a shot?

[case31]

My duffs usually occur in a rather specific scenario: hitting a wedge from a damp fairway lie.  Every now and then I will get the club face behind the ball and it's chunk city. My mishits are often pull-hooks. As the new season gets started, I have been working on getting a feel for chipping again, preventing the infamous deceleration chunks.

[saltman]

Yep, the chippie chunks are my nemesis.  I am an 11 handicap with a 2-3 handicap swing and just a wretched short game.  My playing partner calls my wedge game either perfect or awful, there is no in between.  Maybe if I played more than 7 rounds per year it would be different??

[ohiolefty]

I am working on hitting a fade with my long clubs...particularly driver and 3 wood off the tee. This is very unnatural for me - I hit a big, high draw with those clubs and have since I was probably 10 years old...so, safe to say...I'm in uncharted waters.

In practice rounds the last few weeks, I have hit some beautiful, high fades. I have also hit about 4 'dick out' tee shots where I've duffed them.

Other than that, I don't duff shots. Occasionally I lose connection and come over the top and hit a violent snap hook., but that's not a duff - right?

[danieldrieberg]

6 HCP here----Perhaps 1 or 2 a round. The duffs are much better than 5 years ago. Usually a thinned shot, straight, but either 80% short or 10% long of required distance.

Basically my misses still allow me to scramble and recover. When at the USGA Senior Open at Whistling Straits I watch a pro hit a Pitching Wedge from the middle of the fairway (full Swing). The divot went 20 yards and the ball 30 yards. He was 130 yards from pin from the pin before the fat shot. He end up with a par.

[tanktwo2]

Irons and wedges are never really too bad.  Worse situation you miss the green, get a bad bounce, or whatever

The trouble starts with the driver.  It doesn't matter how good you are, everyone occasionally hits em to the trees.  This is where big numbers come from 95% of the time.

[Deryck Griffith]

I find it interesting that the majority of replies from the low cappers is a skulled shot vs. fat shot...

[jamo]

Most of my duffs are full wedges that I just go right under the bottom of. It's a nasty side effect of flipping, and one that robs me of birdies because it usually happens when I am in a spot to attack the flag. Once I get my swing where I want it those should go away.

I mis-hit balls all the time, it's just that my mis-hits are usually at the back of the green or just off the front, rather than in the woods or in a bunker like they were when I was a high handicapper. Some of that is that I've gotten better, but a good portion is course management, knowing how to play your mini-duffs.

Of course though, there is no way to play for a mega-chunk.

[SESHONE]

after a long break from golf (1.5 yrs) i came back to it just as the season started up, i have played 54 holes so far and the only shot i duffed was one from a fairway bunker.

[kevin.chan]

Most of my duffs are full wedges that I just go right under the bottom

I occasionally have the same problem , especially after a solid drive on the par 4, with only < 70 yards to go . I tend to try to control my approach so much that I duff it !

[CyclistOK]

For me, I can't remember the last time I duffed a shot so it barely moved. My miss most often is a slightly thin iron that often hits the right place on the green but doesn't stop like it should. I remember this one time a couple weeks ago where I completely lost my back foot on the down swing and still managed to hit the green with my 8 iron, but with a very long putt to go :/ On a similar note to what most people have observed from this thread, I also haven't had a double bogey in a long time, even with a bad shot or two on any gven hole. I think alot of it is knowing that the miss is an anomaly and making a good next shot.

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by jamo

Most of my duffs are full wedges that I just go right under the bottom of. It's a nasty side effect of flipping, and one that robs me of birdies because it usually happens when I am in a spot to attack the flag. Once I get my swing where I want it those should go away.

I mis-hit balls all the time, it's just that my mis-hits are usually at the back of the green or just off the front, rather than in the woods or in a bunker like they were when I was a high handicapper. Some of that is that I've gotten better, but a good portion is course management, knowing how to play your mini-duffs.

Of course though, there is no way to play for a mega-chunk.

I don't go right under wedges that much anymore but pretty much this describes my mishits.

[Wet Doggg]

Originally Posted by case31

My duffs usually occur in a rather specific scenario: hitting a wedge from a damp fairway lie.

This is my "duff"...mainly early in the year when the fairways are really soggy. Played my first round yesterday. Had 110 to the flag. Choked down a PW to hit a punch...went all of 30 yards maybe with a divot that you could park a small vehicle in. Next shot was not much better...hit my SW to about 35 feet...drained the putt for par . Two holes later I did something I have not done since I was about 12. I topped a tee shot s badly that it went about 70 yards. 255 out and playing for fun...I pull 3-wood. Hit the best 3 wood I have hit in years to 8 feet and make par. The chunked wedge happens to me probably once a round until the courses dry up. My misses are then thin long irons. The would not call it a duff though as they fly in the direction of where I was aiming and travel about 90% - 95% of what I needed them to.

[joepro23]

Duffs, skulls, and tops are all really rare for me at this point. The full swing duff happens maybe once or twice a year, with a full wedge that I decelerate on and leave a fat divot. Sometimes I will go a whole year without a duffed shot. My last topped shot was 5 years ago, a 6-iron on a par 3. I remember because it was actually in a college tourney. Teammates gave me a lot of crap for that one. Still made par though. Last shank was two years ago. Before that, I had gone over 10 years without a hosel rocket. Can't remember last skulled shot, probably a wedge about 5-10 years ago. Watch, next time I go out I will manage to do all of these.

95% of my iron misses are pin high, just off line. Only about 5% are short or long. You can't get to a low handicap without distance control and knowing your game inside-out. My one tee shot miss is a hook, which sneaks in a couple times per round. Overall, ballstriking is solid, so almost every round comes down to short game. If I putt and chip well I am coming in with a 73-75, if short game is off, more like a 77-79. I usually end up somewhere in between.

[anotherday]

Quote:

These shots are pretty rare, but they do happen from time to time. The difference really is in how you handle the next shot.

This is one of the BIG differences between high and low handicappers. Its not how many times they hit a bad shot - everyone hits bad shots, it's golf! - but it is what they do with their next shot.

Mental game is HUGE.

btw, thanks to the low HC'ers for giving us some insight into your game and not bragging about your subsequent saves for par.

[wmiller]

Can't remember the last time I ever topped a shot like you describe. 8-10 years? Dunno. My misses are slightly fat irons (I'm a digger/driver), or a pull draw with a driver. Or I try to work the ball and it doesn't...  ;)

[ilikefishes]

I have had some problems here recently with chipping and pitch shots.  I was away from golf for almost 10 years, and just last year really picked it up again.  Needless to say, these delicate "connected" shots are the ones that are really bothering me.  I have worked hard on it and seen some great results early on in the season.

Whatever you are having trouble with under pressure, should be a red flag to practice that next session.  Or you can go do what a ton of my friends do, go beat driver next practice session.  I love it when they do that.  Show me the money $$$$$.