Mental conflict

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, SavvySwede said:

There is also GAME GOLF. It'd take a few rounds to get significant data but that would be the most accurate way to go.

Yes, to the OP, there is no easier way to score a round and get statistics. Try to download onto your smart phone just to try it out. . .

[stealthhwk]

WOW!!! Good stuff there and lots to think about. Thanks for the indepth reply. Like I said earlier, dont put too much emphassis on the percentages as Im sure theyre not very accurate. Wasnt using them as fact, I was using them just to try to paint u guys a picture of how big the sucess gap is between my clubs. I really suck at golf, but for some reason I just cant seem to hit the hybrid poorly, esp off the tee. From the turf is a different story as I tend to hit those ten to 15 yards shorter and I often hit it very fat off the turf. My woods arnt usually going ob but my course has tree lined fairways. If you land the first cut of rough you are also behind a tree. I suspect the new course may be some of the problem in itself because most other courses I play have less trees or the trees are further from the fairway. My hybrid distance is awesome but not every shot. I hit it from 185-215 depending on quality of strike. At least thats what the gps says when I do the math. ( for what its worth I think the gps is full of s***!) Because a hack like me should not be able to do that. Its also winter in tx and rock hard ground and dead grass leads to great distance. When grass grows back and we get a little rain those distances are coming down a bunch Im sure. The thing that struck me the most is when u said "better to be 20 yards further and in the rough then 20 yards shorter and in the fairway." Thats the info Im trying to figure out most at the moment. Sacrifice some accuracy for at least a chance at greater distance. And you are totally correct in that I dont compare apples to apples. A bad shot with my hybrid wont go over 160 so if I screw up Im toast. A mishit driver on the other hand has been going 190 or so leaving me with a hybrid into the green. It might be just short of green, but at 190, at least the 2nd shot gets close. This is such a hard game and with little to no practice time I feel like I really need to develop a sound strategy to manage the course and my scores. My brain says get it closer, but my bodies endorphines say hit the safe shot with one of your favorite clubs. Because hitting a great shot fills me with confidence and that makes me play better. When I crush the driver I feel like king kong. When I hit a low trajectory shot with the driver it goes 175 and nearly ob it hacks me off and I start to wonder if I know what Im doing. And then the train derails and I usually go home mad and minus a bunch of golf balls.

I would love to post a swing! If you guys saw me hit driver and saw me hit hybrid, u wouldnt believe its the same guy. ( heck, Im the one hitting the shots and I dont believe it) U guys could maybe diagnose some swing flaws for me as well. Its one of my favorite features on tst. There are two reasons I dont. 

1) I lack the tech skills to rec it and figure out how to post it on the internet.

2) The company I work for has trolls who scour the net looking for employees who post opinions that do not match the companies. I like to speak freely here so I must keep my identity a secret at any and all costs.

[stealthhwk]

4 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

There is also GAME GOLF. It'd take a few rounds to get significant data but that would be the most accurate way to go.

Thats an idea. I think thats the one advertised on golf channel all the time. How pricey is that?

[SavvySwede]

8 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

Thats an idea. I think thats the one advertised on golf channel all the time. How pricey is that?

App- free
App w/ tags(need an Android phone)-$99
Classic system-$199 but you can find it cheaper in many places
Newest version, GG Live- $299
 

[stealthhwk]

If I keep struggling like this, it might be a good investment. Usually, I can pin it down to one thing thats killing my game. Right now its a lot of things but Im overwhelmed. If I could only work on one thing it would probably need to be the second shot. But thats hard to practice as the second shot can be lots of different tupe shots with different clubs. 

[vangator]

Pretzel, you should have hired a publisher for that tome.

My recommendation is to hit the club that gets you in play every time off the tee.  In play may be the rough or a bunker.  You can make par (or birdie) from them.  Trees and lakes are bad.

So, if you don't feel like you're going to hit a shot that can put you in position to score, drop back and hit something that will.  If that means hybrid, OK.  Practice your driver on the range until you can get confident with it.

There are several holes (par 4s generally) that I never think of hitting a driver because the risk is too high.  I would hit a driver in a scramble if there was a ball in play, but on my own, I hit 3W or 4 iron.  Reduces the birdie chances, but par is still there.  Par is a good score, particularly on some holes.  You take it and run.

[stealthhwk]

41 minutes ago, vangator said:

Pretzel, you should have hired a publisher for that tome.

My recommendation is to hit the club that gets you in play every time off the tee.  In play may be the rough or a bunker.  You can make par (or birdie) from them.  Trees and lakes are bad.

So, if you don't feel like you're going to hit a shot that can put you in position to score, drop back and hit something that will.  If that means hybrid, OK.  Practice your driver on the range until you can get confident with it.

There are several holes (par 4s generally) that I never think of hitting a driver because the risk is too high.  I would hit a driver in a scramble if there was a ball in play, but on my own, I hit 3W or 4 iron.  Reduces the birdie chances, but par is still there.  Par is a good score, particularly on some holes.  You take it and run.

This seems like very sound advice. I think playing too safe or too agressive could be deadly for a hack like me. Instead of a course mgmnt strategy, Im gonna adopt a hole mgmnt strategy. Make the decision based on my swing that day and the hole layout. I do HOWEVER think that Im gonna hit that hybrid off the tee a little more frequently. The confidence it brings to my game seems more valuable than anything else. And now that Im playing the tf gamer tour, short game shots and approaches will be less intimidating as I doubt very many will roll off the green. That fact alone should help me in the short game. Thanks again for the pearls of wisdom.

[dave s]

I'm never going to be anywhere close to a scratch, or even single digit-handicap player.  Therefore, I play the game to my strength which is short irons, wedges and around and on the green.

Example:  Home course, #11, a 490 yard par-5.  Cut driver short of the fairway bunkers (about 210); 5 hybrid about 170 leaves me 100-120 depending on pin placement on a narrow, but deep green front to back.  Full PW or 9-iron from that yardage finds the green 80% of the time. Sets up a birdie putt where I usually make par and a rare 3-whack finish is bogey at worst.

After driving the ball, a 280 3-wood is 0% chance of success, so I play my next shot to setup the stronger part of my game which is wedge or short iron.  Honestly, I don't see playing a hole like that any other way. Just too easy to play for par, letting a birdie happen on occasion or at worst a 3-putt bogey.

In my best Clint Eastwood voice: "Man's got to know his limitations."

dave

 

 

[Dave2512]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 10:21 AM, SavvySwede said:

 A 22hc that can hit any club 215 -230 and in the fairway 90% of the time doesn't sound like a 22hc to me.

It's not part of my game that's for sure.

[vangator]

We played a mini tourney last year (maybe 12 guys) at the Innisbrook Copperhead course.  Being a bunch of macho men, they wanted to play the back tees (not as far back as the PGA tourney tees though).  I've told this story before that my St Bernard broke my driver.  He's like a bull in a china shop and inadvertently knocked over my golf bag.  The driver happened to hit a piece of furniture and snapped it in half.  This is right before the tourney.

I really didn't have another driver I wanted to play, so I played my 3W off the tee all day long.  I only hit it 235 or so off the tee, but in looking back, I think I was 13/14 on driving.  The only fairway I remember missing was done on purpose because I wasn't sure I could make it across a forced carry pond.  I hit it exactly where I was aiming though.  However, since we were playing the back tees, I still had a lot of real estate to cover on those 450+ yard par 4's.  I ended up winning the tourney with an 80.  The next lowest score was an 87 I believe.  This is probably the toughest course in the state.  I probably wouldn't have shot as low with my driver that day.  I had no birdies and 1 double bogey on the shortest par 3.  Arghhhh!

So, maybe I should take my own advice and hit the 3W more often.  Nah, I'm not that smart!