No "full" shots inside ~150 yards

[onthehunt526]

I'm not a pro, I don't claim to be. I've come across something, that has helped me become more consistent from inside of ~150 yards. 

I actually have been working on this for a while. I NEVER take a "full" swing inside of about 150 yards. Though I usually can take 1-2 less clubs than what a given distance calls for. For example, if I'm 120 yards out on a given hole, I can usually with a 3/4 swing, hit a PW. Lately, I'll hit about a roughly 1/2 swing 9-iron. Why? My shot zone is tighter. The dispersion is less. If I happen to miss a green, it's always a nGIR. (That's been an outlier recently). From 100 yards or so, I hit more baby PW (about a half swing) shots, than 3/4 GW shots. 

I just wanted to share this thread with everyone, and get their thoughts about it. 

[iacas]

I’ve said for years, several times here, something similar. From my 6I on down I rarely use them with full swings. I’ve hit 8I from 120-140 more times than I’ve hit it from a shot playing 152.

[billchao]

I need to do this more often. Right now I only take partial swings when I'm in-between clubs or flighting a shot. I never take a full swing with my SW or LW, so I've got that going for me.

[dennyjones]

I, like @billchao, do this with my wedges.   I understand and believe in using more club and swinging easier but it's not second nature.

[billchao]

I tried to do this today and I sucked at it. Two partial PW shots flew the green, one came up just short, and one I thinned to the tune of 96 yards, but the last one is probably due to the fact that I forgot to play the ball back on a downhill lie and just never got the swing arc down to the ball.

It's a small sample size, but what I gained in start line control seemed to be lost in distance control.

[Midpack]

I’ve always opted for full swing approach shot as long as I’ve played - until this year after reading LSW among other reasons **. I’m still not crazy about 1/2 swings where I have other options but I’ve been going with less than full swings from 150 yds or less some, mostly using 1-2 more clubs than the full swing choice and taking a smooth, somewhat shorter swing. The results have been good/promising, and I intend to continue to develop the shot(s).

** I’ve backed off just a little with all my clubs. It began with the driver where I’m now straighter and averaging longer. I was swinging too hard and missing more fairways, and only occasionally being “rewarded” with a 10-15 yd longer drive. 

Edited October 15, 2017 by Midpack

[onthehunt526]

  On 10/15/2017 at 6:34 PM, billchao said:

I tried to do this today and I sucked at it. Two partial PW shots flew the green, one came up just short, and one I thinned to the tune of 96 yards, but the last one is probably due to the fact that I forgot to play the ball back on a downhill lie and just never got the swing arc down to the ball.

It's a small sample size, but what I gained in start line control seemed to be lost in distance control.

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Like I said above, I'm definitely not a pro. It takes a lot of practice. Since approach shots are an SV4 skill, and the most important skill. I've been working on it a lot.

[billchao]

  On 10/15/2017 at 6:53 PM, onthehunt526 said:

Like I said above, I'm definitely not a pro. It takes a lot of practice. Since approach shots are an SV4 skill, and the most important skill. I've been working on it a lot.

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Yea I think practice makes a big difference. My full swing distances are pretty dialed in from experience, but hitting partial swing distances with my irons isn't (I consider my PW an iron).

The two greens I flew were 3/4 swings. They were definitely short of my full swing distance, but longer than I thought they would be. The one that came up short was uphill and into the wind so I might have just misjudged the playing distance altogether.

Actually now that I'm thinking about it, one didn't fly the green; it landed on the back and rolled onto the fringe.

I think I'm probably better at this than today's results indicate. I'll keep at it and get better as I learn my distances more.

[JonMA1]

My yardages are quite a bit shorter than everyone else's here, but I have a different swing for shots under 130yds - which require my 9i, PW and GW. My stance is much like a pitch with almost all my weight on my front foot and a lot of shaft lean. The rest is all feel as to how far of a backswing I take. 

I can't call it "flighting" the ball since I try to get a lot of height, but it's one of the few parts of my game I feel ok about.

[inthecup]

I play partial swing from 130 yards in.  Any further out and the spin drops too much and the ball does not hold.  

[dchoye]

  On 10/14/2017 at 11:54 AM, onthehunt526 said:

I'm not a pro, I don't claim to be. I've come across something, that has helped me become more consistent from inside of ~150 yards. 

I actually have been working on this for a while. I NEVER take a "full" swing inside of about 150 yards. Though I usually can take 1-2 less clubs than what a given distance calls for. For example, if I'm 120 yards out on a given hole, I can usually with a 3/4 swing, hit a PW. Lately, I'll hit about a roughly 1/2 swing 9-iron. Why? My shot zone is tighter. The dispersion is less. If I happen to miss a green, it's always a nGIR. (That's been an outlier recently). From 100 yards or so, I hit more baby PW (about a half swing) shots, than 3/4 GW shots. 

I just wanted to share this thread with everyone, and get their thoughts about it. 

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Agree 

There are certain lies and stances though that make it harder for me to do a 1/2 swing 

so generally good advice but there exceptions for me when I will try to hit extra high PW or 9I full swing inside 140 yards when the lie/stance is difficulty for 1/2 swing

Simiarly I have to 1/2 swing a hybrid inside 200 yards when the lie and stance is too difficulty for me to swing fully with an iron 

The beauty of the hybrid is that with the 1/2 swing the ball stays high and stops 

I find that if I hit anything higher than an 7iron with a 1/2 swing ball stays low but doesn’t have the backspin to stick on the green.  For me 

[iacas]

To be clear guys I'm not talking about 1/2 swings with 7-irons. I take a club or two extra and flight the shot a little.

[JonMA1]

  On 10/15/2017 at 9:11 PM, iacas said:

I take a club or two extra and flight the shot a little.

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You're likely addressing the better players, but I don't have that ability. I can't control spin on a pitch must less on shots from 140 yards out. I've seen where my shots have spun backwards, but it wasn't anything I was trying for. I just want my shots to get as little roll as possible. At my skill level, a high ball flight seems the easiest way to accomplish that.

[Killa]

  On 10/15/2017 at 9:11 PM, iacas said:

To be clear guys I'm not talking about 1/2 swings with 7-irons. I take a club or two extra and flight the shot a little.

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How would you "define" it then? I mean 2 clubs extra are easily 20-30 yards. Flighting the shot "a little" will hardly take 30 yards off your carry distance or will it? 

[iacas]

  On 10/16/2017 at 6:58 PM, Killa said:

How would you "define" it then? I mean 2 clubs extra are easily 20-30 yards. Flighting the shot "a little" will hardly take 30 yards off your carry distance or will it? 

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It can. Sure.

[NM Golf]

I subscribe to this, but my range is from about PW down. I almost never hit full shots with my wedges. When it comes to my irons 6-9 I like to hit smooth full swings.

[rehmwa]

I want to play this way.  However, I know and hit my full swing distances very well.  I'd have to practice the partials a lot more before I'm comfy with that in play.  I think my half swing is about a 1/3 reduction from total in general.  But I'd like a lot more practice with those and with multiple shots.

I will try to uploft or deloft a 'full' swing to dial down or up my distance disty a bit, particularly with windy days and have had some success with that in getting better distance resolution.

Edited October 16, 2017 by rehmwa

[onthehunt526]

  On 10/16/2017 at 8:20 PM, rehmwa said:

I want to play this way.  However, I know and hit my full swing distances very well.  I'd have to practice the partials a lot more before I'm comfy with that in play.  I think my half swing is about a 1/3 reduction from total in general.  But I'd like a lot more practice with those and with multiple shots.

I will try to uploft or deloft a 'full' swing to dial down or up my distance disty a bit, particularly with windy days and have had some success with that in getting better distance resolution.

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For me, It's typically about 80-85% of my full swing distance for a "half swing" and about 90% on a three-quarter shot.

From my experience, I typically make better ball contact, with a partial swing than I do with a "full swing". I've hit 100 yard shots with a PW that still check up as much as if I hit a 125 yard "full" PW.

Since my ball contact is much better, my spin isn't effected as much.