Best Shot of the Week

[iacas]

I'm five under the last five times I've played the 15th hole at Whispering Woods. All from the blue tees, and in order…

• Driver and had about 230 yards in. Hit a hybrid over the back right side of the green. Chipped and made the three-footer for a birdie. This is one of the pins in the fairway.
• Driver again to the other pin at about 230, hit a hybrid to about 20 feet and two-putted for birdie.
• Driver just barely pushed, hit the right side of the big vortex swale, bounced right and was on about a 15° upslope right by the cart path (highest pin to the top of the image below). Hit a hybrid over the back left side of the green to the fringe, two-putted for birdie.
• Driver pulled left a bit with @rwolfe into the trees left, but it bounced back out to the fairway at about 255. Hit a 3W to the front-edge of the green (just short in the fairway). Putted it down to about four feet and made that putt for birdie.
• Earlier today, hit the longest tee shot in the recent bunch, had 214 to the hole. I was considering 4I or 3I, but @DrizZzY suggested 5I. I hit it hole high in the right rough just a foot off the fringe, chipped it to three feet, and made that putt.

This hole as many of you know is NOT easy.

That I've had two eagle putts and three eagle chips and have converted all is something in my last five trips to the hole is something I may never repeat. I even said "I'm jinxing myself but I'm four under the last four times I've played 15" to Sculley today. Then hit 5I to it. 😄 

[roejye]

Got out and played 9 at a new course for me. I didn't play particularly well but overall I'm happy with how I played this whole though. I've kinda been spraying driver so I pulled my second higher lofted driver and just tried to guide one. Ended up in the right rough, ball well above my feet and no line for a safe punch out. I had to go over the water. I checked my app and planned my shot. Pulled my 5 wood and put a cut swing on it, I watched the ball fly straight and hoped it would carry. Not only did it carry but it ended up in a good spot too. Then hitting a nice approach wedge and 2 putting for a par was just icing on the cake.

[billchao]

Hit this 6i to 8' and made birdie. It wasn't pured by any means. I actually strategized well on the hole and took one club longer knowing that if I flushed it, I'd have a 30' putt from the back of the green to the front. I missed and happened to put it pin high with a push-draw. If I played the hole with just the number to the flag I would have ended up in the front right bunker. Proper golf and I'm pretty proud of the way I played it.

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, billchao said:

I actually strategized well on the hole and took one club longer knowing that if I flushed it, I'd have a 30' putt from the back of the green to the front. I missed and happened to put it pin high with a push-draw. If I played the hole with just the number to the flag I would have ended up in the front right bunker. Proper golf and I'm pretty proud of the way I played it.

That was pretty sound strategy. They should try putting something like that in a book. 😁👍👍

[billchao]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

That was pretty sound strategy. They should try putting something like that in a book. 😁👍👍

Reading and doing are two different things, especially considering I had already missed several greens long in the round already. You still need to have full commitment to the plan.

[ChetlovesMer]

My shot of the week actually led to my first Eagle of 2024. It should be noted that the eagle was assisted by very dry and fast conditions. I played an impromptu round after work with a couple of friends at a 9-hole-course called Arrowhead Lakes. I didn't have my shot scope with me so I had to estimate the distances a bit, but I think they're pretty close. 

Oddly, I was finding the center of the driver face the whole round. On the par-5 seventh, I hit a really solid drive that crossed me up a bit, I was planning for a little fade and got a draw instead. The fairway was dry and fast, my ball went a ways into the rough. The drive was good, but then I hit 3-wood uphill, just to the right of the first tree and over a second tree. I saw it land near the green. 

When we got up there, it was about 4 feet away. I made the putt for my first eagle of the year. 

[iacas]

On 6/21/2024 at 8:41 PM, iacas said:

I'm five under the last five times I've played the 15th hole at Whispering Woods. All from the blue tees, and in order…

• Driver and had about 230 yards in. Hit a hybrid over the back right side of the green. Chipped and made the three-footer for a birdie. This is one of the pins in the fairway.
• Driver again to the other pin at about 230, hit a hybrid to about 20 feet and two-putted for birdie.
• Driver just barely pushed, hit the right side of the big vortex swale, bounced right and was on about a 15° upslope right by the cart path (highest pin to the top of the image below). Hit a hybrid over the back left side of the green to the fringe, two-putted for birdie.
• Driver pulled left a bit with @rwolfe into the trees left, but it bounced back out to the fairway at about 255. Hit a 3W to the front-edge of the green (just short in the fairway). Putted it down to about four feet and made that putt for birdie.
• Earlier today, hit the longest tee shot in the recent bunch, had 214 to the hole. I was considering 4I or 3I, but @DrizZzY suggested 5I. I hit it hole high in the right rough just a foot off the fringe, chipped it to three feet, and made that putt.

This hole as many of you know is NOT easy.

That I've had two eagle putts and three eagle chips and have converted all is something in my last five trips to the hole is something I may never repeat. I even said "I'm jinxing myself but I'm four under the last four times I've played 15" to Sculley today. Then hit 5I to it. 😄 

I'm now -6 through my last six rounds. Bombed a driver down the dead middle again, had 218 to the back of the green, hit a 5I to 25 feet, and two-putted for birdie.

[klineka]

Drained a 55 footer for birdie on the 18th at TPC Louisiana in front of a few people watching. Great way to end one of the best iron and short game performances I've ever had. 

[saevel25]

I hit a bad tee shot on hole 7, but made a stupid recovery. 

There was the easy punch out into the fairway and have about 150 in. Then there was to hit a low overdraw that stayed in this alley of trees that could run the ball up near the green. I was 185 yards into the green. I took my 5 iron and laced a low draw to about 15 yards short of the green. Off a pretty tight light as well. I was really proud of this shot. The ball didn't get more than 15-Ft off the ground for about 160 yards. 

[ChetlovesMer]

9 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I hit a bad tee shot on hole 7, but made a stupid recovery. 

There was the easy punch out into the fairway and have about 150 in. Then there was to hit a low overdraw that stayed in this alley of trees that could run the ball up near the green. I was 185 yards into the green. I took my 5 iron and laced a low draw to about 15 yards short of the green. Off a pretty tight light as well. I was really proud of this shot. The ball didn't get more than 15-Ft off the ground for about 160 yards. 

Sweet.

That's an impressive feat, my friend. I'd probably have given it a go, but I more likely would have had the ball bounce off a tree come back and hit me in the forehead, leaving me unconscious for the next group to find. 

[DeadMan]

This picture doesn't really do the shot justice:

To explain more, I was about a foot away from the lip of the bunker. I had a bit of trouble with the lip. The angle I had to take toward the green helped with that - aiming at the left edge of the bunker meant that a clean strike would be okay. A thin strike would be dicey, though. Both my feet were out of the bunker, and the ball was well below my feet. This is probably a shot I don't attempt in a stroke play tournament, but since it was a 2-man tournament, it was worth the risk. I hit the ball slightly thin, but pretty good. I actually grazed the lip with my club on my follow through. It sort of felt like I double hit the ball, but I obviously didn't. The shot landed on the green and just trickled into the rough. It was a great shot. The strokes gained number doesn't do this justice at all - I saved at least a stroke with this shot.

[klineka]

2 hours ago, DeadMan said:

The strokes gained number doesn't do this justice at all - I saved at least a stroke with this shot.

I've thought about this quite a bit since I've started using Shot Scope. Not all shots from a certain yardage that end up a certain distance from the hole are created equal, but I guess the thought is that over time those should even out since there would be other times where you're hitting into a funnel pin or something where it plays "easier" than what the SG suggests.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, klineka said:

I've thought about this quite a bit since I've started using Shot Scope. Not all shots from a certain yardage that end up a certain distance from the hole are created equal, but I guess the thought is that over time those should even out since there would be other times where you're hitting into a funnel pin or something where it plays "easier" than what the SG suggests.

Yes, they even out. Not all 8-footers are the same, but they even out.

[billchao]

I absolutely pured this 7 iron with the tiniest bit of a push-draw. It just caught a piece of the back of the green and spun back about four feet. I'm not scoring well because I've been struggling with my irons playing longer than I'm used to and this shot is indicative of that. I was playing for 175 in the middle of the green. I'm glad I didn't hit 6 iron.

[billchao]

I almost holed out from 220 on #18 yesterday at Trump National in Bedminster. It was 3’ from the hole.

Unfortunately, it was the 9th green I hit. Sorry, but it was just too funny not to share 🤣

[Darkfrog]

Hit a dogshit drive, worst of the day, that was lucky to bounce out of the native area into the fairway, but left about 240-250 yards to middle of green.

Flushed my 4w for the approach, high and straight, flew over the flag, landed on the back of the green, and rolled 5-6 feet back down the slope toward the hole.

[DeadMan]

Presented without comment:

[klineka]

Played a round on Friday with some friends where we played from 6 red tees, 6 white tees, and 6 blue tees. 

Hole 18 was from the red tees, about 275 to clear the ravine in line with the green. Hit driver that never left the flag stick, landed on the green directly in line with the flag about 10 feet short of the flag and rolled to about 4 feet past the flag. It had to have been within a foot or two of hitting the stick as it rolled by. Made the putt for eagle.