How Often Do you Hit the Sweet Spot? Solid Contact?

[NJpatbee]

I said 0 for sweet spot and 5 for solid.  Every 2 - 3 rounds I catch a drive that is 20 yards longer than my normal 210 - 220, so that may be the hitting the sweet spot.  As for solid shots, understand that a 135 yard 7 iron is a solid shot for me at this point.

[phan52]

5 for solid contact and 0 for sweet spot. I was going to round up to 1 for sweet spot but I figure it was more honest to round down, since I'm probably under .5.

[billchao]

20 hours ago, billchao said:

I voted 4 and 0.

I wasn't sure how I wanted to vote solid contact. By the definition of within 1/2" of center, I'm usually with that margin on my normal strikes, so I was going to say 6. By the standard of the shots feeling good, I was going to say 3, but that may be because I typically strike the ball just a hair thin or towards the toe and I hate the feeling of both of those shots. However, they fly well, hold greens, and nobody other than me usually can tell that I missed it, so I split the difference (sort of) and voted 4.

Pure contact is definitely closer to 0 than 1.

I changed my vote. I went through my last 5 rounds in Game Golf and replayed the shots in my head as best as I could and came up with 6 and 0. I hit about 61% solid shots with just under 5% of them being virtually certain I can't hit it any better.

[klineka]

I finally settled on 7 and 0. Originally started at 6 and 1, but then realized I dont have 4 perfect strikes out of 40 full shots per round (not counting putts or really close chips)

2-3 almost perfect shots per round? Yeah, but not enough to consistently get 10%

I chose 7 because I almost never hit 4,5,6 irons and if I do, its just a punch out under trees. I strike 7/10 of my full shots solid. I can hit my 7 iron 175-180, and my 3 hybrid can go 190-220 depending on how hard I swing and how far I choke down, so I dont really have a need to use 4,5,6 irons right now. If someone forced me to use my 4,5,6 irons, that 7 number would go down. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by klineka

[colin007]

I hit the sweet spot with my putter once....

[sjduffers]

I voted 6 for solid contact with irons (some days are better than others, so it could be 7-8 or it could be 3 but probably averages close to 5-6). It's more with the driver though (and 9.9 with the putter! )  The less than solid contacts are usually on the toe and some are high on the face, also towards the toe. Probably all due to my alligator arms at impact, lol.

I voted zero for sweet spot (i.e. maybe 1 or 2 per round) for irons. It's those 1 or 2 shots that make us always want more. 

I feel like I am hitting the sweet spot more with the driver though: out of 12-14 drivers, on good driving days, I feel it's 4-5 are hit in the sweet spot, usually with a tight draw of just a few yards, and the wind seems like it has no effect whatsoever on those. 

[Midpack]

6 hours ago, saevel25 said:

To me, solid contact doesn't necessarily mean a good turn out. I've hit some really well struck pulls, or really good struck push cuts before. I've had some pretty nasty toe draws that have turned out really good.

+1. Some of my longest misses are straight pulls, no draw/hook at all. So I get to watch some of my most solid hit shots --- go that much deeper into trouble.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Midpack

[lastings]

Yesterday I was hitting balls indoor on the trackman.   I hit one 5-iron absolutely perfect that flew 213 and rolled out to 221.    I typically hit my 5-iron 195-205.  
This ball was not pulled, and launch angle was normal.   So, it's not like the distance was caused by closing the face or anything.  

I did not hit another ball that felt like that all day, and to be honest, I don't recall hitting a ball that felt like that this summer.   

So, with that said, I would say I hit the sweet spot what ever percentage equates to once a season.  

 

 

 

 

[Lihu]

On 10/25/2017 at 11:41 AM, lastings said:

Yesterday I was hitting balls indoor on the trackman.   I hit one 5-iron absolutely perfect that flew 213 and rolled out to 221.    I typically hit my 5-iron 195-205.  
This ball was not pulled, and launch angle was normal.   So, it's not like the distance was caused by closing the face or anything.  

I did not hit another ball that felt like that all day, and to be honest, I don't recall hitting a ball that felt like that this summer.   

So, with that said, I would say I hit the sweet spot what ever percentage equates to once a season.  

I feel your pain, this is pretty much how I feel about even "solid" strikes now. You happen to hit one or two that feel like this, then your whole game suddenly feels like crap.

[Ty_Webb]

I gave myself 8 for the solid contact. My strength tends to be my irons and how well I hit it. With my driver I occasionally get one a little out of the toe and my pitching I can get them a little heavy sometimes. For those two reasons I'm not 10, but most of the time I think I'd be a 10 with my irons. I went with 2 for the sweet spot. I often hit it and it feels like I couldn't hit it any better. I acknowledge that I may be being generous there, but it is as good as it gets *for me*. I go watch the pros play and watch the way they hit it and I can't hit it like that. I think that has more to do with impact alignments and clubhead speed than it does centered contact though.

I know a guy who hits it all over the place. He can be missing it 30 yards left and right all day, but every one of those shots is struck purely. It's quite impressive. He just doesn't miss the middle of the club. Said middle can be pointing anywhere though.

[ghalfaire]

I voted 2 and 0 respectively.  But to be honest I'm not sure. I play with GI clubs and so feed back isn't what it would be with blades. I have a decent short game that saves me a lot, but from the first post I gather this is about full swings and not 3/4 wedges and chips.

[JonMA1]

I'm backtracking on my previous claim of averaging 5/10 and changing it to 3/10 for solid contact. Hell, that might even be optimistic.

I went out tonight with a 5i from an old set of blades and hit a few. No mistaking the difference between a clean shot and an off-center one with those clubs in 35° temps.

[Slugox]

Clearly, the solution is bigger clubs. :)

I've seen any number of comments calling my clubs (TM M2's) "shovels". I love them. Last year before I bought them I went out and hit everything that even remotely interested me, and these were by far the best for me. And it's gotten consistently better since.

Not that I think I'm a great ball striker, but currently what is killing me most is my short game. My last round I lost 5-6 shots on chipping/pitching alone. Yes, I left that many short of the green and double-pitched. Actually, on one hole it took three. What is the best shot to learn and work on for getting out of reasonably thick/deep greenside rough?

Apologies for rambling off topic.

[Xunzi]

I hit the sweet spot about 80% of the time and I have over 20 in handicap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kidding.

[mvmac]

8 and 1 for me.

[Buckeyebowman]

Having read through the thread, and after thinking about it, though I voted 6 and 1, I think I should be closer to 5 and 0! No, still a 6 for solid contact. I can still play a little bit.

I think it's just the shots that you really flush seem to linger in the mind! It's kind of like the Sharpie challenge you had earlier this year. First one I hit near the heel, and the ball flight was not good! I adjusted my stance for the next 4 and hit them dead in the middle of the clubface. On a couple I might have hit the sweet spot! All I know is that those shots took off with a verve and velocity and trajectory that is a wonderful thing to feel!

[mvmac]

Playing with a +2 today and he said was similar to me, 8 (sometimes a 9) and a 1.