brightonrock

So many great replies but I really love this one! The two that spring to mind for me were both in matchplay tournaments, one fourball and one on my own. The one on my own was on #14, I was 2 down and looking out of it. It's a dogleg left par 4, SI1, maybe 200y to the corner and then easily over 200 coming into a pretty small green with a bunker at the front. Everything left is thick rough and scrub and trees too, so it's risk/reward depending on how much of the corner you're prepared to bite off. I tried to play safe with a hybrid to the corner but hit a horrible thin, fadey thing that ran through the dogleg into some trees at the back. I should've taken my medicine and pitched out sideways but I tried to get clever and punch a 6iron out, hit a tree and bounced back even further behind me, now out of the trees but blocked out by them, and requiring a huge cut if I stood a chance of making it. Knowing my opponent was about to go 3up unless I did something I pulled my 4 wood and decided to go for it, GPS (which is allowed in this tourney to my great pleasure) read 236 to the middle. Never before or since have I caught it so pure off the deck with that club - 40/50 yards of cut on it, perfect contact, and it bounced over the bunker and released up to the pin in the back right to 5 feet. I was on such a high I got really heavy handed with the par putt and knocked it past so had to settle for a bogey, but the adrenaline in my veins for the last few holes saw me string together par-par-par-birdie to sneak it 1up on the 18th :) The other was on the 18th of a fourball game, we're 1 down, and my approach shot was pushed way right and ended up lying on pine straw underneath this really low tree. My partner was out of the hole and one of their players was out too, although his partner had hit a scruffy chip to about 7/8 feet having come up short in the fringe with his approach. I'm maybe 40 yards from the green, and have to go over a bunker to make it - but I have no room to make a proper pitch swing in that direction as I'm completely impeded by the tree. I even thought about chipping into the bunker and trying to hole out but my sand game is very average indeed! In the end having looked at it a bit I see the right edge of the bunker as I look at it has a high bank, making a sort of bowl feeding down into it. With no other option I hit a 7iron chip through the rough and bounced perfectly on the bank, it pops out at a 90 degree angle onto the green and rolls over to the pin, absolutely stiff for an unorthodox but nevertheless, tap in par. My opponent is gobsmacked and fluffs his par putt so we sneaked a half! As a higher handicapper I love the stories in this thread because it gives hope that whatever trouble you're in, you can escape it - something I need to try and do far too often for my liking!

Okay so I'm wondering what the best "impossible" shot is people have hit? By that I mean not a hole in one or a big drive or putt, but a shot where you stand over it scratching your head as to what to do, thinking "this is going to need to be an absolutely brilliant shot to get out of this trouble". The sort of one where you know you won't make it 99 times out of 100, but for one reason or another you decide to go for it, even if it's that unlikely - maybe in a deciding hole in matchplay or because you have literally no other shot possible to play. I ask because I've had a couple myself but last weekend I watched a buddy hit a 4 iron out of a water hazard with a high draw around a huge oak tree which guards the green, and drop his ball absolutely stiff on the flag to salvage a ridiculous birdie. I was beating him quite comfortably and had a chance to go dormie so he felt like he had no option but to risk it. An absolute once in a lifetime recovery and I had no complaints whatsoever in losing that hole, that shot deserved to win any hole in any tournament! What would yours be?

4 600yard+ par 5's...3/4 200yard+ par 3s...6/10 par 4s more than 450yards...wow. That is just obscenely long. I have played (and miraculously parred - and up&down; though, could never get home in regulation) just one 600yard+ hole in my life. I think I'd have a heart attack going that far in one day! It would be so demoralising hitting a perfect, flush drive and seeing still a long iron at the green on every single hole. Good luck though, hope your buddy makes it and we can look out for him at the full tourney!

That's a great feeling, I got my first (and only) last summer on a short par 5 - nice drive, a 3 hybrid to the front edge and a 20-footer which *just* dropped in like Tiger's famous chip. I'd like to say I was composed and walked up calmly to get it out of the hole like I do that sort of thing every day, but actually I jumped about like a crazy person whilst screaming like a pre-teen girl at a Justin Bieber gig. I have never holed out though, it must be a fantasic feeling, congratulations to you without doubt! I've never even really come that close...I spanked the pin on the full once with a 100-odd yard GW...which then proceeded to squirt off into a bunker :(

I know a lot of you guys are in the US so I'm not 100% sure whether you can access BBC iPlayer online (it may have region restrictions, I'm not sure) but there was a really touching documentary about Seve's life and career and his legacy, which aired a few nights ago over here in the UK. If you can access it, it's really worth watching...he was a little before my time unfortunately but even before I took up golf he was one of my sporting idols, for the way he played the game with such charisma and flair. Here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012lt4d/Seve_The_Legend/

Quote: He hit 64% fairways this week (ranked tied for 26th) according to the US Open website which admittedly isn't great but also isn't awful, at an average of 310 yards. Only 6 players who made the cut (Garrigus, Woodland, Johnson, Quiros, Bubba and Westwood) averaged further. I think when you hit it that far and leave yourself a wedge at the green, whether you're coming out of rough or the fairway, you stand a good chance. All these stats speak for themselves. 83% FIR for the week. That is obscene iron play over 72 holes.

Quote: That's shocking on your part I'm afraid. McDowell was ranked 37 the week he won the US Open last year. And going into the US PGA Kaymer was ranked 13. I don't pay religious attention to the rankings but I reckon I could name off the top of my head a minimum of 2/3rds of the top 100, let alone the top 30 or 40 players in the world. I'm not pitching into a US v Europe argument either but saying they were unknown because you hadn't heard of them is like me saying I have no idea who Matt Kuchar is. He hasn't won an major but it doesn't make him a wildcard.

Quote: I have been doing this recently when I'm struggling on/off with my driver, and find I hit it straighter too. I'm quite tall thoug - 6'2/6'3 - so I'd've thought a shorter shaft (or shortening it by choking down) would not naturally work for me. Who knew??

A lot of it is personal - how you feel with the wedge yourself. Try some out on your local range, see what feels a good weight and balance, looks nice and you feel confident with at address, and that has a nice feel/sound off the clubface. Generally you can't go too far wrong with manufacturers, the technology nowadays makes little difference to high handicappers like you or I - I have 52/56/60 Nike SV wedges but as mentioned already, the 60 may take a little practice - I mostly use it when I need to hit a high, soft lob or when I've not got much green to work with from a bunker etc. - my 56 sand wedge is my go-to club for 95% of chips/pitches around the greens. Talk to your local pro shop about bounce on the wedges, which will I would say will affect you more than the loft itself.

Quote: Thanks for your comment. I think I have a half-decent set-up for my standard as I've played cricket since I was a kid and it's quite similar posture-wise. I will get myself down the range this week with the camera and film some face-on shots.

Hi guys. I am fairly new to golf, have only been playing a couple of years, and have in that time managed to drag my handicap down from shooting 120 regularly to the low-mid 90s, which I'm pleased with, but want to take the next step. I have broken into the 80s three times, but looking for that golden tip that makes it all 'click' in your head and suddenly things become a little easier. I seem to have rounds of entirely 10/10 shots or 1/10 - absolutely pure and flush out the middle of the clubface or just the more dire slices and tops and thins which make the end result approx 90-100 no matter how well or how badly I putt. I have previously had a big problem with over-swinging leading to every awful result possible, so I have made a conscious effort over the last few months to shorten my swing a little to gain a bit more control. I tend to hit a (relatively) controllable fade with my longer clubs, but a draw (or push when it goes a bit wrong) with my shorter irons and wedges. Right now my two main faults as I can see with my pretty newbie eye, are that my wrist breaks far too early, and this combined with an inside takeaway is leading to some inconsistent ball-striking as I have to work my hands quite hard in the downswing to square the clubface. Secondly I have noticed that through the downswing my left foot turns to open my hips (obviously something I want to erradicate) and through impact I don't rotate my shoulders enough so my follow-through position looks pretty cramped and untidy. This may be due to the fact I have quite weak ankles from old sporting injuries in my early teenage years, as I have tried to keep my ankle a lot more parallel but it is quite uncomfortable to do this under the torque of a full swing. Can anyone lead my the way of some tips to help the wrist break/inside takeaway, or anything else to maybe get me to a place of my swing being a little more repeatable and consistent? Thanks very much. DRIVER HYBRID 7 IRON

Quote: Being remembered and considered a 'great' like Nicklaus, Ballesteros, Watson, Woods etc is surely different from being No.1 though. The No.1 reflects the most consistent and best golfer over a period of time, not over his entire career. Right now I don't think there can be a single golfer in the world more feared than Luke Donald, he is absolutely unstoppable, top 10 after top 10. If he never wins a major he will never be considered 'great' like the multiple-major winners of past and present, but right now he is undisputedly the best player around.

This is the greatest advice I ever had: 1) Take your time to examine the green and consider the speed. If its wet it will break less, and later. If you have an alignment aid/mark on your ball, choose this moment to point it exactly where you want to hit the ball. 2) Before you step up to address the ball, split the putt into two or three "sections", say 2 for a 5-10ft putt and 3 for a longer putt. This is not about the read of the green, but the physical power you will exert on the putt. 3) Play some practice strokes. These must be done in fairly quick succession as your muscle memory will still be fresh when you step up the ball. a) Practice the stroke for a putt a third of the length of what you are faced with (or half for a medium putt). This should be a fairly short one and your mind will never forget how hard to putt something a couple of feet, its a short we're faced with so often you will already have this information. b) Now practice for a putt two thirds of what you have. With the memory of the first practice fresh, this is just proportionally ramping up the power. c) Now practice for the full weight, again ramping up the power you will put into the putt. 4) Step up to the ball. Take your stance and grip. As you have already lined up your putt by reading the green in (1), you don't need to think again about the direction you're stroking it. The muscle memory of (3c), the full length putt, is fresh in your mind. Keep your head still and play the stroke down the line you have marked, not letting your head lift until a full second after the ball has travelled out of your peripheral vision. I found practicing with my eyes closed to learn the feel of a certain length putt is a good practice. With your vision removed you concentrate only on the feel of a putt being too hard or too soft, and encourages you on the course to keep your head still and not look up at the hole as you hit it, thus increasing the risk of snatching at it. Lastly, lower your targets a little. I found aiming to two-putt every green and walk off with 36 putts actually made me putt a lot better, and my current average is 31 (which is more than decent enough for a hacker like myself - if only I could get GIR I'd be a much better golfer!). If you're putting pressure on yourself to one-putt from 6ft+ you will inevitably leave long ones short and then choke clutch putts that lead to three-putts. Whatever distance your first putt is from (with the exception of short putts obviously), aim not to get it in, but to get it within a foot, two feet, three feet, whatever you feel comfortable you can sink as your personal 'gimme' length. You'll find that actually by learning to get it close and within tap-in range, more will drop as you'll be giving it closer to the perfect weight, rather than over-thinking the break and then over or under-hitting the shot.

Recently I had some real issues with my driver, shanking and duffing everything, eventually diagnosed by my coach as being caused by a really inside takeaway. I worked really hard on the range concentrating on getting myself on plane and have made some real progress. However, in the time I've been doing that I've neglected my short game a bit and I've now developed a huge tendency to thin my wedges when I'm hitting a full shot. Playing a high pitch shot or chipping in and around the green from less than 70 or so yards I'm ok, but if I'm trying to hit a full lob 80 yards, a full sand 90-odd, or my gap 100-odd, I seem to blade it through the backs of greens, or worse into trouble at the front of them. Does anyone have any tips for hitting purer full shots with the wedges? I worry that my work on plane with the longer clubs has indirectly affected what I'm doing with the shorter ones, as previously sub-120 yards was my absolute forte and even as a high handicapper I felt confident I'd be in the hole in three shots, maximum. Now I'm putting myself in some tricky up-and-down positions and having to gamble on longer approaches as I don't feel confident coming in with anything less than a pitching wedge.