Skulling A Pitch Shot

[kolzig33189]

My last round for the year took place 2 weekends ago.  On one hole, I had an uphill pitch shot from the fairway from about 65 yards away.  My pitches and chips are usually the best part of my game, but for whatever reason, I skulled the ball and hit an absolute missile that stayed within 4 feet of the ground.  Because of the uphill grade, I could not see where it landed, but I assumed I put it way over the green.  When I reached the green, I saw my ball about 6 inches to the left of the cup, leaving me an easy tap in for birdie.  This was the first time I had birdied this particular hole, but I could not even feel good, as I mishit a ball and got extremely lucky.

Has this situation, or similar, happened to you before?  And how do you feel about it?  I know I couldn't even enjoy the hole and result because of the blatant mis-hit.

[cipher]

Sure, these types of shots can produce more spin than you would think. Just be glad you did not hit it fat. I would not dwell on it, you lucked out and made birdie. Why wouldn't you enjoy the hole? Good breaks when you hit a bad shot should be enjoyed just the same as good shots getting bad breaks should not ruin a round either. That's golf.

[David in FL]

Or you just got lucky and hit the flagstick.... ......either way, take the good with the bad. It's part of the game! :-)

[RFKFREAK]

Never feel bad as there have been shots that I've hit well that have not given me the best results.

[flopster]

Think about all the times you got rooted by a gust of wind or bad bounce on a well struck shot, I guess this is what keeping an even temperament is all about.

[dchoye]

Funny that what happen to couple of years ago I was about 30 yards away and lots of green to work with and I tried to chip but it ended up like a skull except mine did not rocket over the green. It just dribbled and barely got to about 20 feet short of the hole. I actual hole my putt cause I was so mad at my poor chip This season I had a 50 yard pitch and I bladed it over the green. I generally don't hit it right on the leading edge with pitching as I do with chipping. The ball makes contact really thinly with the face and shots low.

[mvmac]

Weight probably shifted back, maybe because of the lie, and you skulled it.  Can't back up on those shots.

[Mr. Desmond]

It's called golf.

Even happens to professionals.

Sh#t happens, sometimes it feels like crap even when it gives a good result.

[boogielicious]

This is the time when you do your best Pee Wee Herman and say:

[D-Man]

In May sometime, it was the begining of my Gentalmens club season, probably the second or third tournament of the year.  I was coming off a solid front nine and decided to cut the doglegg right on the tenth hole.  I bomb my drive over the trees guarding the doglegg and when we get down there I find my ball right in the middle of the fairway with 50 yards to the pin on a slight upslope.  I did the same thing as you, I skulled the crap out of it, only mine flew 30 yards over the green and landed under some trees.  I had to punch out and ended up short in the rough.  Long story short I ended up double boggie.

[badfish74]

I am much more disappointed with the well struck shots that end up like crap.  This game is hard enough without complaining about good results no matter how you got them.

[joekelly]

I skulled one out of the sand bunker, it shot across the green hit the nearby brick wall, shot back across the green into the very bunker where it started. The next shot i took was 6 inches from the first shot. We all watched in amazement, dumbfounded, at  the mysterious journeys of the golf ball.

[rkim291968]

This is the time when you do your best Pee Wee Herman and say:

LOL.   I love to act like PWH in such situation but don't.   I normally feel & act apologetic and quickly move on.

Yesterday, I was hitting a 7i into elevated green.  The ball was sitting on severe downward slope.   It was an awkward shot for my skill level.  Sure enough, I didn't hit it clean - no compression and no divot.   The ball flew at a low angle, hit a mound well before the green, rolled up and stopped hole high about 10 feet from the pin.  The embarrassing thing was, I yelled loud on my mistake as soon as it happened.  My partners turned their head to my direction as if to say "what are you complaining about?"   Of course, they didn't see my shot and just saw where it ended up - a 10 feet from the pin for a birdie try.   Next time, I am suppressing my yell, and pretend I hit a perfect shot as I drew it .... .     Yup, I meant to do that ... exactly.

[lumpuckeroo]

The score on the hole is more important than how you got there!  I know we all want a swing like Adam Scott, but IMHO, I rather have a swing like Lee Trevino and have 26 tour wins and 6 majors than a picture perfect swing.  So how you got the birdie doesn't matter, you birdied a hole in the last round that you have not birdied previously, that's what I would take from this.

[Fourputt]

My last round for the year took place 2 weekends ago.  On one hole, I had an uphill pitch shot from the fairway from about 65 yards away.  My pitches and chips are usually the best part of my game, but for whatever reason, I skulled the ball and hit an absolute missile that stayed within 4 feet of the ground.  Because of the uphill grade, I could not see where it landed, but I assumed I put it way over the green.  When I reached the green, I saw my ball about 6 inches to the left of the cup, leaving me an easy tap in for birdie.  This was the first time I had birdied this particular hole, but I could not even feel good, as I mishit a ball and got extremely lucky.

Has this situation, or similar, happened to you before?  And how do you feel about it?  I know I couldn't even enjoy the hole and result because of the blatant mis-hit.

This is just silly.  Are you then going to congratulate yourself when you hit a nearly perfect shot which just clips a branch that overhangs the green and gets deflected into a hazard?  Probably not.  You are going to question what you did to arouse the ire of the golf gods.  In this case they just happen to be smiling on you, so enjoy it while you can - they are notoriously fickle.

Golf is a game of good breaks and bad breaks almost as much as it is a game of skill.  An occasional lucky bounce is often going to be part of a good round.  If you get down when fortune is on your side, then how will you react when it inevitably turns against you?

My second hole-in-one was a skulled 6 iron that hit off a hard bank left of the green, then shot across at about 40 miles per hour, hit hit the flagstick and dropped in the hole.  I celebrated it just as much as the first one which was picture perfect.

[iacas]

This is just silly.  Are you then going to congratulate yourself when you hit a nearly perfect shot which just clips a branch that overhangs the green and gets deflected into a hazard?  Probably not.  You are going to question what you did to arouse the ire of the golf gods.  In this case they just happen to be smiling on you, so enjoy it while you can - they are notoriously fickle.

A shot that hits a branch wouldn't be perfect, but that aside, I don't feel great about poorly played shots that get lucky like the person you quoted, either. It's not "silly." I play the game more for making shots and the satisfaction it provides rather than the score. If I was playing for a score I might laugh it off and say "well, that was lucky" but I wouldn't feel good about the shot that got it for me, as I really played no part in what made that shot good.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

This is just silly.  Are you then going to congratulate yourself when you hit a nearly perfect shot which just clips a branch that overhangs the green and gets deflected into a hazard?  Probably not.  You are going to question what you did to arouse the ire of the golf gods.  In this case they just happen to be smiling on you, so enjoy it while you can - they are notoriously fickle.

A shot that hits a branch wouldn't be perfect, but that aside, I don't feel great about poorly played shots that get lucky like the person you quoted, either. It's not "silly." I play the game more for making shots and the satisfaction it provides rather than the score. If I was playing for a score I might laugh it off and say "well, that was lucky" but I wouldn't feel good about the shot that got it for me, as I really played no part in what made that shot good.

You are also a pro and a scratch or better golfer.  The OP is a 17 handicap.  If he is getting depressed every time a good break results from a mishit, then he must be a joy to play with.  I know that I wouldn't enjoy playing with someone who was that down on himself.  I play for fun, but I also play for score, otherwise I don't see much point.  I'll take a good result from a bad shot with a lot more acceptance than I will a bad result from a what seemed to be a good shot - either way, I'm there for personal enjoyment and social interaction, and what happens is what happens, good or bad.

In my defense, I did say "nearly perfect", and the scenario of a good shot nicking a branch overhanging the green is not uncommon on some courses (Harbor Town comes to mind, as does the 18th at Pebble).  Maybe I should have used the Tiger example of a great shot hitting the flagstick and ending up in the water.   I've done similar, only deflected into a bunker, and I'd rather have hit a crappy skulled shot and landed 6" away.

[iacas]

You are also a pro and a scratch or better golfer.  The OP is a 17 handicap.  If he is getting depressed every time a good break results from a mishit, then he must be a joy to play with.

I was pretty similar when I was a beginning golfer too. I'm pretty similar in other sports. I'm a 14 handicap hockey player and I'm happier inwardly when I make a good shot that gets stopped than when heel one and the goalie trips or something and it goes in.

In both cases my inward satisfaction is not conveyed outward and thus has no effect on how much "joy" those playing with me have. They'll rib me about the heeled goal and say "great shot!" on the ones that are snared by a great play by the goalie.

You don't seem to be able to realize that people can be disappointed by themselves but still be enjoyable company.

Rich, all the guy said was " This was the first time I had birdied this particular hole, but I could not even feel good, as I mishit a ball and got extremely lucky. " and you're saying the guy is lousy company and not a joy to play with? Cripes.

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This all reminds me of the time I played with a 4 index (I was about a 2 at the time) at Sea View. We were paired with a wife and her husband who nervously told us that this was his first time on a "real golf course." On about the fourth or fifth hole my pal bladed a full 9I or something that went through a dry creek short of the green and stopped on the green about 60 feet from the cup. Horrible shot, really. The woman happily said "great shot!" and truly meant it, in her opinion.

I kidded him about that the rest of the day, saying "great shot!" in a joking tone of voice every time he hit one not so well.

And he was still fun to play with despite being disappointed with his shot.