Do you have a plan for each shot?

[nevrino]

Lets say you are 15 yards from the flag on semirough. Infront of you there's a bunker and the flag is in the middle of the green. You now have many different ways you could execute this shot, you could chip over the bunker and let it roll to the flag, you could pitch it over with spin and make it check stop, you could use trajectory with either an open club face or a more closed. You can use different clubs with different lofts etc etc.

Would you always do this shot the same? Or would you just use the shot that feels right for that moment?

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by nevrino

Lets say you are 15 yards from the flag on semirough. Infront of you there's a bunker and the flag is in the middle of the green. You now have many different ways you could execute this shot, you could chip over the bunker and let it roll to the flag, you could pitch it over with spin and make it check stop, you could use trajectory with either an open club face or a more closed. You can use different clubs with different lofts etc etc.

Would you always do this shot the same? Or would you just use the shot that feels right for that moment?

First consideration has to be the lie. Is the ball sitting up or down? Is it fluffy, wet, shaggy, with the grain or against? Is the green slanted towards you, away from you, and is there any wind? Are the greens fast, slow, firm or receptive?

I don't ask myself all these questions, but these are things that will influence what kind of shot I hit. You get a feel for certain conditions and may have preferences, but in the end these factors will determine what shot to hit. It really is a combination of what the course gives you and what you feel confident in doing within these conditions to give you the best chance of an up and down.

[nevrino]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

First consideration has to be the lie. Is the ball sitting up or down? Is it fluffy, wet, shaggy, with the grain or against? Is the green slanted towards you, away from you, and is there any wind? Are the greens fast, slow, firm or receptive?

I don't ask myself all these questions, but these are things that will influence what kind of shot I hit. You get a feel for certain conditions and may have preferences, but in the end these factors will determine what shot to hit. It really is a combination of what the course gives you and what you feel confident in doing within these conditions to give you the best chance of an up and down.

Ye but let's say you find out the circumstances. It's fluffy, the grain is against you, the green is slanted away from you, there's some sidewind, the greens are fast, the ball is sitting up. Do you really know the exact shot to shoot or could it be a different choice each time eventhough the circumstances would be the same, theoretically speaking.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

First consideration has to be the lie. Is the ball sitting up or down? Is it fluffy, wet, shaggy, with the grain or against? Is the green slanted towards you, away from you, and is there any wind? Are the greens fast, slow, firm or receptive?

I don't ask myself all these questions, but these are things that will influence what kind of shot I hit. You get a feel for certain conditions and may have preferences, but in the end these factors will determine what shot to hit. It really is a combination of what the course gives you and what you feel confident in doing within these conditions to give you the best chance of an up and down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevrino

Ye but let's say you find out the circumstances. It's fluffy, the grain is against you, the green is slanted away from you, there's some sidewind, the greens are fast, the ball is sitting up. Do you really know the exact shot to shoot or could it be a different choice each time eventhough the circumstances would be the same, theoretically speaking.

It could be different depending on how you feel. In this scenario, because you are playing fast greens that are running away and the lie is decent, I would look at a shot that I could get on the green and allow for some run out as spinning the ball on a green that is running away from you is a tough shot. I would say that I don't do the same thing always, but I have patterns of what I do in like circumstances.

[NuclearMike]

I'd play the shot as to how it feels to me at the time.  That's part of the beauty of the game to me.  Of course, I have a plan for every shot, but plans can change based on circumstances.  I may have more confidence in one swing than the other on a given day which can influence how I would play the shot.

[GaijinGolfer]

I always go with the shot that feels right at the moment.  Theres too many variables in golf to play a shot the same every time.

[lumpuckeroo]

I voted, play the shot I always do, I agree with GaijinGolfer, to many variables but what you discribed is a pretty straight forward chip.  I'm not going to break out a 64 degree wedge and open the club face and take a full swing to pop the ball 60 ft in the air and stop dead, just because I haven't hit that shot all day.  I'm going to play the kind of shot I would normally play, a chip and run, that's what I'm most comfortable with and seems like it would work in this situation.

[Beachcomber]

I play the shot which feels right at the moment - based on lie, slope, wind, hazard avoidance, etc... So my swing pattern and setup will alter accordingly.

[dak4n6]

How would Seve or Chi Chi or Lefty answer this one? For me there is really no such thing as a stock shot. As Mike said, that is part of the beauty of golf - the creativity.

[David in FL]

I play the shot that's right for the conditions and circumstance.

[iacas]

I have a plan. It might be different on every single shot, but I have a plan.

The lie, how I lay, how I've been hitting different shots, how clean my ball is, the slope of the ground, the type of grass my ball is sitting in, the dampness, the angle of the green, the location of more trouble, the wind speed and direction, the kind of ball I'm playing, the kind of wedge I'm playing, the firmness of the ground in both locations, where a better "miss" is, how I'm feeling, and about 20 other things all factor in.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by nevrino

Lets say you are 15 yards from the flag on semirough. Infront of you there's a bunker and the flag is in the middle of the green. You now have many different ways you could execute this shot, you could chip over the bunker and let it roll to the flag, you could pitch it over with spin and make it check stop, you could use trajectory with either an open club face or a more closed. You can use different clubs with different lofts etc etc.

Would you always do this shot the same? Or would you just use the shot that feels right for that moment?

15 paces from a flag in the middle of the green. A bunker between me and the green so probably a slightly elevated green. Let's say 7 paces to the apron and 7 more paces to the pin. So, 7 paces from the pin to the pack edge of the green. My first choice is a simple pitch to land at ~ 8-10 yards and take my chances with it rolling to the back apron. If the lie allows for more or less creativity than that, then I'll go from there. So I guess with this scenario I'll hit a stock shot and vary if the conditions dictate it.