CalBoomer

What a mess. The PGA claims the local rules about sand traps were posted in the clubhouse. The problem is that practically anyplace on that course off the fairway that doesn't have some grass on it could be considered a "sand-trap," especially with crowds of spectators trampling all over the place. The whole place is a pile of sand. Even Whistling Straits can't tell you how many sand traps they have. Why? Because probably even they can't be completely sure what constitutes a sand trap on their own course. Kohler and the PGA are a bunch of arrogant hypocrites.

Don't we all occasionally hit balls so perfectly that go 30-40 yards beyond our usual shot with that club. Well, the pros get that perfect swing and contact all the time.

Excuse me, but a fade is not basically a cut. A cut is hit with an out-in swing, and is really a mild slice. A fade is hit with an in-out swing and an open club-face. Not the same animal.

Yeah, don't look up!!!!!

Assuming the ball needs to reach the green in the air, the distance for roll on the green is the main issue as to club type. Short run is a SW, long run could be 9, 7, or less, depending.

One of the big problems of beginning golfers is the necessary change in swing plane from club to club. You cannot hit a driver with the same swing plane as a wedge--and vice versa. Earlier in my career as a golfer, I would find that I was either driving well or hitting irons well, but virtually never at the same time. But then I was simply unconscious of swing plane and its effect on my game. IMHO it the main cause of the troubles you describe.

The only thing that helps improve one's game is lots of concentrated practice on specific weaknesses. Maybe try spending at least half of your golf time practicing. Now, if you respond by saying that's no fun, well then that probably explains your problem.

Given how poorly Tiger Woods has played all year, it is hard to believe he remains number one in the Official World Golf Rankings. Those rankings clearly must put too much weight on remote good performances. The sorry chase of Tiger by Phil in these rankings has become a joke. The performances of Woods, Mickelson, Westwood, and Els clearly indicate the rankings are lot of hooey.

Not thinking about what you're doing is fine when everything is going well. When the wheels come off, though, you're up the creek without a paddle.

I think the answer is that, for good golfers, getting your hands through too quickly is a more common mistake than having them lag. So, if the face is closed to begin with, too quick hands can produce a wicked hook with an in-out swing. If you have an in-out swing and an open clubface, a wicked slice is just much less likely.

I guess the simplest answer is that you're wrong. A pull comes from an outside-in swing. I also don't think many people would agree that a pull is stronger than a straight shot.

The only things I would add to this are to make sure your swing plane is not too vertical and your takeaway is low with a larger arc. Almost impossible to hit the high draw with a vertical swing plane and an abrupt takeaway.

"Power fade" just sounds sexier than plain old "fade." What this shot really is is a "Non-hook" which is even less sexy. The idea is to use the more powerful in-out swing to hit a shot which will not produce an uncontrollable hook if the timing is slightly off. Pros use it to eliminate the left side of the fairway and aim slightly left of center. Some of these shots are dead straight along the aim line, some are very slight pushes, some may fade slightly right, a very few may even draw slightly. With proper aim, all should wind up on all but the most narrow fairways. Ideally none should hook or slice.

Nobody should try to hit a drive "straight." The pros don't, and we shouldn't either. Pros try to play with a drive which favors either the left (draw) or right (fade) so that they can aim to eliminate trouble on one side of the fairway. A truly straight drive is usually just a random accident of perfect timing. Which probably is the basis of Tiger Woods' advice: " Never aim so that you're in trouble if it goes straight." Obviously many pros have the necessary skill to move the ball to the opposite of their standard ball flight if the situation absolutely requires it, but even they will typically switch to a 3-wood when doing that. The pros with the greatest driving accuracy usually try to play a power fade because it is somewhat easier to hit reliably than a draw. Which is hte basis of Trevino's comment: "You can talk to a fade/slice, but a draw/hook won't listen."

Are you kidding? We're talking about long shots of over 200 yaards into heavily guarded greens. Don't know about you, but I'd much rather shoot a wedge from 100 yards than a fairway wood from over 200. A 160 yard par 3 is not what we"re discussing here. You need to play some harder courses from the tips.

When you lay up has nothing to do with whether the hole is par 3, or 4, or 5. If your shot to the green requires a club that you can't control very well, and the green is heavily defended, you lay up to a range you can control.

I find the original question a bit odd. Even though I look at the ball, I always see the putter unless it is an extraordinarily long putt. So what's the big deal? Anyone can watch the ball closely and still see what the putter is doing.

All kinds of putting styles. Changing your basic style won't work. So here's my personal solution to making relatively short putts (< 10 ft). Try to make your backswing as short as possible within your individual style, even if it means hitting the ball a little harder than you normal would. Longer backswing = death on short putts.

I use a slight modification of the Mickelson method. Ball slightly ahead of center, slightly open stance, slightly open club face, slight forward press, hands always ahead of club face, hit down slightly, dead hands and wrist on follow-through. Same set-up for all the wedges. With this method, I can hit the ball off hard dirt without chunking or blading. Off turf is a breeze. Try it. It works.

A mirror is the best way.

I absolutely agree with this and think it is a key point. The longer irons require a flatter swing plane than the shorter irons. Many inexperienced players try to use the same relatively vertical plane from their wedges and short irons to hit the long irons. It just doesn't work. I'm not sure you have to retool your whole swing, but getting the plane flatter is definitely key.

Here's the simplest version of what many others have said. Make absolutely sure your next shot is not in trouble. That way you lose one stroke, not two, or three, or four..........

I really think this is the best advice in this thread. Hitting a consistent, controlled draw is one of the hardest shots in golf. And a myriad of things in your swing can affect the final result. For someone who normally hits a consistent and predictable fade, to be able to produce a controlled draw on demand is a very tall task. There are pros who can't do it reliably. Unless you play a lot of courses full of left doglegs, I would forget about it.

If nothing else, this thread clearly shows that people use everything under the sun. I would propose that how you use wedges is much more important than exactly what wedges you use. Other than the need for at least one wedge with a larger bounce angle, the skilled golfer could probably make do with almost anything given to him/her in a variety of situations.

This is really outstanding advice--if you know how to hit a flop shot. There is a great You Tube video by Mickelson on this. The basics: very open club face, ball slightly forward of normal, slight forward weight press, hands ahead of club face, sense of hitting down on ball (slightly). The only difference from the true flop shot is to accentuate the follow through and not let the club head die in the sand. And this works really well on the wet cement we find in many "sand" traps. So, like the man said, it's a flop shot from the sand.