Spending time at the range

[EastTexasgolfer]

Hi guys just wondering how important knowing yardages on all clubs... seems pretty important to dropping shots at this point in my game because I'm constantly on target line but 10 yards long or short. 

[Lihu]

5 minutes ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

Hi guys just wondering how important knowing yardages on all clubs... seems pretty important to dropping shots at this point in my game because I'm constantly on target line but 10 yards long or short. 

That's way better than your handicap suggests, unless you 4 putt a lot! Or do you mean of the entire green?

Either way, I don't think the range will help you. Play a lot more. . .

The range is a great place to socialize or just show off your skills. . .

[EastTexasgolfer]

No I definitely mean the entire green sorry should've clarified that. If I was getting that close to the pin I wouldn't have any problem with that

[Lihu]

2 minutes ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

No I definitely mean the entire green sorry should've clarified that. If I was getting that close to the pin I wouldn't have any problem with that

You and anyone on the tour!

In any case, you still have the skills! I doubt that the range will help that much unless you are trying to fix swing flaws? Range balls vary quite widely, and it will be hard to tell how close you are getting. I would just play the course a lot more with good condition balls.

[EastTexasgolfer]

One more thing on that I swing a set of taylormade burner plus regular shaft got them in like 07 08 can't remember when. Is it time for upgrade? Does it actually make a difference?

[DaveP043]

2 minutes ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

One more thing on that I swing a set of taylormade burner plus regular shaft got them in like 07 08 can't remember when. Is it time for upgrade? Does it actually make a difference?

If you hit them consistently well, and a reasonable distance, they should be fine.  Getting good instruction will be a better use of your money in working towards lower scores. 

[EastTexasgolfer]

Thanks for the advice 

[RH31]

21 hours ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

One more thing on that I swing a set of taylormade burner plus regular shaft got them in like 07 08 can't remember when. Is it time for upgrade? Does it actually make a difference?

Yes, newer(better) clubs can make a difference. There are no guarantees though.

You absolutely should know the yardage range of the clubs you're hitting. Keep in mind, there are many factors that can affect actual yardage. Temperature, wind, moisture, firmness of the ground, elevation change, "jumper lies in the rough", whether ball is teed up, etc., all can affect distance in some way + or - .

 

 

[mistermuhl]

I think the range is a great place to dial in distances. With a range that has accurate yardages/ you have a rangefinder, it can make a big difference. Pulling a club with confidence about the distance is a big deal to me. 

[Lihu]

22 hours ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

Hi guys just wondering how important knowing yardages on all clubs... seems pretty important to dropping shots at this point in my game because I'm constantly on target line but 10 yards long or short. 

Actually, thinking more about this, you're already getting lots of near greens and GIR. You already know your distances reasonably well. Honestly, the only people I know who can do better than you have low HC.

If you get your scrambling percentage up you could easily lose a few strokes? Scrambling from 10 yards off the green and on line is easier than tightening your approaches much more than where you are now? I'm assuming you shoot 10 to 15 over based upon your 12 HC?

[ev780]

22 hours ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

Hi guys just wondering how important knowing yardages on all clubs... seems pretty important to dropping shots at this point in my game because I'm constantly on target line but 10 yards long or short. 

Can you restate the question differently. I am confused. A player should know in dizzying detail how far each club goes! If I step on it it goes X, average it goes X, cut, draw, thin, hot, cold, windy. For us low double digit HC guys it is one variable we can control. Our swings don't always work out right, but club selection is very much under our control and that means knowing the realistic distances give the moment.

[Lihu]

49 minutes ago, ev780 said:

Can you restate the question differently. I am confused. A player should know in dizzying detail how far each club goes! If I step on it it goes X, average it goes X, cut, draw, thin, hot, cold, windy. For us low double digit HC guys it is one variable we can control. Our swings don't always work out right, but club selection is very much under our control and that means knowing the realistic distances give the moment.

At least after the first hole.

[EastTexasgolfer]

I have a general idea of yardages and I say that loosely... it seems some days my 7i is 155-160 one day the next I can really get ahold of it and will be pushing 170( which I figure is do to poor ball striking). But what I basically do for an idea of my yardages is pretty much add or subtract say 10 yards for each club. What I was wondering is how much would it help to go and actually get tuned in on my yardages instead of the guess work. Sorry guys my next question will be more detailed still new to the site.. but I really appreciate all the input great online community 

[EastTexasgolfer]

2 hours ago, Lihu said:

Actually, thinking more about this, you're already getting lots of near greens and GIR. You already know your distances reasonably well. Honestly, the only people I know who can do better than you have low HC.

If you get your scrambling percentage up you could easily lose a few strokes? Scrambling from 10 yards off the green and on line is easier than tightening your approaches much more than where you are now? I'm assuming you shoot 10 to 15 over based upon your 12 HC?

Yes 10 to 15 over is right on funny you mention scrambling. I have actually been in the backyard everyday working on 10 to 20 yard shots. Haven't yet played a round since starting this but can't wait to see if maybe it will help make putts easier.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

Yes 10 to 15 over is right on funny you mention scrambling. I have actually been in the backyard everyday working on 10 to 20 yard shots. Haven't yet played a round since starting this but can't wait to see if maybe it will help make putts easier.

Totally agree, anything to make putting easier is good! Make putting hard is bad.

[Patch]

On 2/27/2017 at 9:07 AM, EastTexasgolfer said:

Hi guys just wondering how important knowing yardages on all clubs... seems pretty important to dropping shots at this point in my game because I'm constantly on target line but 10 yards long or short. 

When you are 10 yards short, or long, what are the ball's lie condition, and what are the fairway conditions in front of you, with your short/long shots? 

Or, with a decent lie, and level fairway in front of you, are you still short/long those 10 yards?

[EastTexasgolfer]

6 minutes ago, Patch said:

When you are 10 yards short, or long, what are the ball's lie condition, and what are the fairway conditions in front of you, with your short/long shots? 

Or, with a decent lie, and level fairway in front of you, are you still short/long those 10 yards?

I wish I could tell you there was some kind of consistency, but there's not. Especially with tight lies on the fairway. If I make good impact I either put it on the green past the pin or over shoot the green all together. Then there's times I hit it fat and end up 5 yards short of the green. Which pisses me off more than anything. I feel like that comes from trying not to blade it and go too far. I guess I'm just searching for what everyone else is. Consistency.

[bmartin461]

1 minute ago, EastTexasgolfer said:

 I guess I'm just searching for what everyone else is. Consistency.

To respond to your original question, the range typically is not a good place to get your yardages as the range balls are most likely not what you are playing on the course.  Plus hitting off matts will have a impact on your distances, etc.

A better method for helping your game would be to do shot zones for a certain number of your clubs.  You can read about this in the book "Lowest Score Wins" published by those that run this site!  

It's a great book with a lot of good information for helping your game.