Shorter shots from soft fairway?

[barnum1]

Hi,

I just played a round where one fairway was very soft. It wasn't visible water, but the ground was humid and much softer than the other fairways.

I hit a good full PW, solid contact and i did not dig into the soft ground, but anyway I had around 10 yards shorter carry than usual.

So I started thinking: does the soft ground absorb a lot of the power?

I have the impression that the ball gets squeezed between the club and the ground when it's hit. And if the ground is hard the ball

gets more squeezed and gets more power from the swing?

I guess the same goes for shots from fairway bunkers...

Any thoughts?

[boogielicious]

Hi,

I just played a round where one fairway was very soft. It wasn't visible water, but the ground was humid and much softer than the other fairways.

I hit a good full PW, solid contact and i did not dig into the soft ground, but anyway I had around 10 yards shorter carry than usual.

So I started thinking: does the soft ground absorb a lot of the power?

I have the impression that the ball gets squeezed between the club and the ground when it's hit. And if the ground is hard the ball

gets more squeezed and gets more power from the swing?

I guess the same goes for shots from fairway bunkers...

Any thoughts?

For me it is more that my feet are sinking in too. So I adjust by choking up a bit on the club to keep from hitting it fat similar to a fairway bunker shot.

[Mr. Desmond]

Hi,

I just played a round where one fairway was very soft. It wasn't visible water, but the ground was humid and much softer than the other fairways.

I hit a good full PW, solid contact and i did not dig into the soft ground, but anyway I had around 10 yards shorter carry than usual.

So I started thinking: does the soft ground absorb a lot of the power?

I have the impression that the ball gets squeezed between the club and the ground when it's hit. And if the ground is hard the ball

gets more squeezed and gets more power from the swing?

I guess the same goes for shots from fairway bunkers...

Any thoughts?

What were the weather conditions?

Heavy humid air, morning, evening, temperature? All of those factors affect distance, not the ground, unless ground affects contact. Because with a PW, I dont' want roll - I want stick it.

[barnum1]

Well, the conditions were "normal", and my shots from other fairways were normal distance...

And I did hit the short one without digging, and it was the carry that was short.

[Hardspoon]

I have the impression that the ball gets squeezed between the club and the ground when it's hit.

It doesn't, in reality.  The ball compresses against the club, not the ground. You could hit off a wet sponge and it wouldn't matter, as long as you made clean contact.

[Mr. Desmond]

I go with Boogie's thought -- grip down a tad in soft conditions 'cause your feet sink a tad.

You may have hit ground slightly behind ball slowing you down in soft conditions even though the divot did not start. I find being aggressive with the lower body helps in soft conditions because if you hit behind, you are dead meat.

Another hopefully useful tip -- look  a couple of inches in front of the ball when swinging.

[DrvFrShow]

I think footing does have an effect. If the ground feels soft under your feet and you're used to firm ground it will affect your shot. Soft spikes may help in those conditions. I find the problem is with softer ground since I rely a lot on pushing with my right leg to get power if I don't feel firm ground I tend to hit fat. Perhaps in softer conditions the solution is to take more club and take a 70% swing rather than try to hammer it like I do in dry conditions.

[Patch]

An 1/8"-1/4" can be a big deal in soft conditions. Without adjusting the club length with their grip, the golfer can hit shots just a little on the fat side in softer conditions. Not too fat, but just enough to lose some distance. The ball is not heavy enough to sink if it rolled out after the carry, but the golfer is when they take their stance.

Just the opposite is true with a plugged ball. Without some grip adjustment for club length, the golfer can very easily top the shot.

There are quite a few "little things" most amature golfers never consider. I am guilty of this myself more often than not. After a poor shot, as I am walking to the ball, it will dawn on me what I did wrong.