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Is there a correlation between better scores and better swing?


freshmanUTA
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I ask this because the last round I played, I was matched with a threesome of two guys and one girl. The two guys sliced off the planet, but lined up aiming so far to the left that their ball basically went straight. The woman played a solid draw and had a nice swing, so no complaints there. But the guys were slicing everywhere and still shooting low 80's. I finished with an 88, but the two gentleman scored 81 and 83. 

This seems to be too common, and it's a habit I'm glad I never formed. Every couple rounds I play, I meet someone who doesn't care to fix their slice, so they just aim waaayyy left, and it always works perfectly.

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When someone has a consistent miss that they can aim for, they can typically score pretty well. That said, there is a limit to how well they can play with that swing. Someone with a good swing will have the potential to shoot better scores.

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KICK THE FLIP!!

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This thread may help with your question.

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12 minutes ago, NJpatbee said:

Think of the distance golfers lose on a true slice - I'll put my money on the better swing.

Also, not every hole will allow you to play that slice/hook, depending on trees, traps, water, and if the hole doglegs the opposite way.

KICK THE FLIP!!

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:tmade: Aeroburner 19* 3 hybrid
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:wilsonstaff: Harmonized Sole Grind 56 and Windy City Putter

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Nope, theres no correlation. 

If you saw me hitting balls on the range and didn't look where the ball was going, you would never think i was a plus handicap. We play with a guy sometimes that we call textbook. Because his swing is something out of a anatomy book - its looks perfect lol. But the guy can barley break 80 on most rounds. Golf is about getting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. It seems like your playing companions on that day had a good handle on that idea. The swing is just the tool that allows the player to play. The swing is not the game. So if you got a swing (for whatever reason) that only allows you to hit a big banana slice, then play with it. 

Edited by Groucho Valentine
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My first reaction was to say "Of course, there has to be a correlation" but once I read the complete post I'm not so sure its that simple.  I'd say that when a player improves his (or her) swing, their scores will (usually) drop.  That doesn't mean that someone with an odd, technically unsound, ugly swing can't score better than someone with a "better" swing.  Really, the only thing that has to be right in order to hit a good shot is impact.  By impact I mean the combination of clubhead speed, direction, orientation, and centered contact.  How you get to impact has little or nothing to do with the result, as long as all of those impact factors are right.  A player can learn to play with an ugly unsound swing, and perhaps even become pretty consistent with it.  I believe that the best way to make consistent solid impact is through good mechanics, and I think most of us on TST strive towards those good mechanics, but that doesn't mean its not possible to do lots of stuff wrong and still come up with a good result.

In addition to the swing itself, golf is a combination of risk analysis, shot selection, club selection, short game, putting, with a bit of luck thrown in.  As @Groucho Valentine says, the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is the score.

 

 

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Dave

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When I first started playing I was trying to figure out how to swing properly on my own so naturally I was slicing the ball everywhere.  Some of the first people I was grouped with said "Oh just play your slice".  I assumed they were joking but at the same time they seemed kinda serious about it.  I know now that's absolutely terrible advice.  Same with swinging less than full power to minimize the damage of a slice.

Anyway, maybe these guys had someone tell them the same stupid thing and they just never realized it was terrible advice.

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Just now, Strandly said:

I assumed they were joking but at the same time they seemed kinda serious about it.  I know now that's absolutely terrible advice.  Same with swinging less than full power to minimize the damage of a slice.

This isn't necessarily bad advice as long as it's taken in the context of the short term.  The long term goal would to stop slicing, but in that moment if you are slicing then why not play it?  As long as its consistent it can't hurt.

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3 minutes ago, Strandly said:

When I first started playing I was trying to figure out how to swing properly on my own so naturally I was slicing the ball everywhere.  Some of the first people I was grouped with said "Oh just play your slice".  I assumed they were joking but at the same time they seemed kinda serious about it.  I know now that's absolutely terrible advice.  Same with swinging less than full power to minimize the damage of a slice.

When you're on the course and you have a choice right now today between:

slice every ball into the woods or hazard or some other dark nasty place, or,

aim way left and slice most of them into the fairway.

The choice is easy...aim way left, and hit fairways and greens.  In the long run, you're better off to learn to hit it straighter, but when you're on the course, and a slice is the only shot you have, you're better off playing it.

Dave

:callaway: Rogue SubZero Driver

:titleist: 915F 15 Fairway, 816 H1 19 Hybrid, AP2 4 iron to PW, Vokey 52, 56, and 60 wedges, ProV1 balls 
:ping: G5i putter, B60 version
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:footjoy::true_linkswear:, and Ashworth shoes

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I guess it's important to clarify your terms. If by "better swing" you mean a swing that produces center contact on the club face consistently, then yes, there is a very high (probably close to 1 to 1) correlation between a better swing and a better score. If the slicer in your original post is able to produce center contact with a -10 path/-3 face (or something similar) every single swing, then he's going to score well despite a swing that might look ugly to most bystanders. 

If you are talking about a swing that is aesthetically pleasing, then there is still going to be a strong correlation - after all, the guys on the PGA tour have the best looking swings out there - it just won't be as high. I know a lot of guys that have a "good looking" swing, but have no idea where the ball is going to go because their mechanics just aren't that consistent.

 

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1 minute ago, baller7345 said:

This isn't necessarily bad advice as long as it's taken in the context of the short term.  The long term goal would to stop slicing, but in that moment if you are slicing then why not play it?  As long as its consistent it can't hurt.

Ha, no I would say it's still terrible advice.

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6 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

When you're on the course and you have a choice right now today between:

slice every ball into the woods or hazard or some other dark nasty place, or,

aim way left and slice most of them into the fairway.

The choice is easy...aim way left, and hit fairways and greens.  In the long run, you're better off to learn to hit it straighter, but when you're on the course, and a slice is the only shot you have, you're better off playing it.

I look at it this way.  If you're a veteran of the game you probably know what you're doing wrong and can fix it right there.  If you're a newer player that doesn't have the experience to fall back on it's terrible advice because you're training yourself to incorporate this bad thing into your game.

Either way I think there are better ways to handle the problem.

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Generally, the more curve, the more a glancing blow delivered to the ball, the more distance lost, move back one, two sets of tees, GIRs will go down, that swing will have a ceiling/plateau.

Maybe the question should be, if you have a swing where all the pieces match, has all 5 keys, the more the pieces match, the better your individual keys, does that mean a better score? Forget about the short game and mental, keep things simple, I think yes. More consistent, more accurate, more distance = better scores.

Steve

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19 minutes ago, Strandly said:

I look at it this way.  If you're a veteran of the game you probably know what you're doing wrong and can fix it right there. 

I haven't found this to be the case at all. Even when I think I know what it wrong with my swing, trying to fix it on the course has rarely reaped positive results. And then there are those days where your swing deserts you entirely and you have no f'ing clue what is going on. In either case, I agree with both @DaveP043 and @baller7345. If you care at all about your score that day, you are almost always better trying to manage the swing you brought to the course that day.

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Generally speaking, yes, but it really depends on how you define "better swing."

Hard to judge the quality of a swing by looks or flight alone. Bubba plays a big curve and Furyk is... well Furyk :-)

If by better you mean 5SK-wise, then yes. More Keys = lower score.

Bill

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Small sample, two guys shooting 81-83 could just as easily shoot 91-93 a day later. IME the more erratic someone hits the ball the more erratic their scores. Someone fighting a slice aligning way left isn't controlling anything it's just a Band-Aid. Better ball strikers score better with more consistency.

Dave :-)

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