Dresilved

I think my distance for irons and wedges is above average. And to be fair when I quoted 140 I was rounding up according to back of green measurements. Around June of this year I was beginning to overshoot greens quite a lot, on all irons and wedges, so I had to start talking measurements to the back, especially when the pin is back. 140 is definitely the cutoff point for a 9, A well struck 9 will definitely overshoot, and I'm not good at knocking clubs down, it feels clumsy to me, so a PW becomes the club for anything under 140 down to around 128. Thats just my way of thinking when I think of club distances.

There is no chance I will give up on the driver. The 3 wood is not a band-aid, it is a platform, that's giving me the opportunity to continue to dial in my irons. At some point I will redress the driver, but for now, I don't need it. One thing at a time

You think 240 with a 3W is tour distance? 140 with a PW, really?

At 240/45Y, I certainly wouldn't call my 3W a Henrik Stenson. It keeps me in play more, my driver has me in the fairway about 50% of the time which isn't terrible, but with the 3 its more like 70%, I would say those numbers are not much different from most golfers at the same level. But no, I have not been fitted for the driver. It'll happen when the time feels right for change

To be honest, I have the feeling that its the driver itself, or I should say the shaft. Its an old driver, old technology and is regular flex shaft, everything else in my bag is stiff, its on my to-do list to get fitted with something new and more current. I've put it off, cause I don't want to mess with what I have going on at the moment. When my game goes sideways/backwards, which invariably it will, I will have the new driver to look forward to, something different to work on, but in the mean time, dialing in my irons is a lot of fun

I would say I'm doing the opposite of conning myself. I see people on this forum saying things like their 7i is their 190 shot, or their 56 is their 125/30 shot, good luck to them. As a former decently high level athlete, I know a little bit about strategy, playing to my strengths, the mental game and being honest with myself about my true capabilities - which is what I mean about doing the opposite of conning myself, like most golfers do. I understand what my strengths and weakness are. My strength is undoubtedly my iron play, not my driving ability, and by a long way. There is a solid 12-15 yard gap between every single iron/wedge in my bag. People who don't hit their irons very well experience a smaller distance gap between clubs as they go through the bag. A 15Y gap between an 8 and 9 becomes a 5Y gap or even less between a 4i and a 5i, and usually the shot shape is not the same. I don't have that problem, my irons are relatively consistent through the bag. Of course I will hit more greens with a PW than a 5 iron, but I still hit a good number of greens with that club, but the point is being in a position to go at a green, which is more likely to happen with a 3W than a driver... its my strategy, I'm simply playing to my strengths. Vinsk you said " that you or just about anybody else can hit the green more accurately from 140 than 120-120" I disagree, they're both wedge shots for me, 120 is 50GW and 140 is about about a full PW, I can hit all my wedges at the same skill level. Ball shape, shot shape, distance consistency - all the same. I'd say on any given day if I threw down 20 balls, the GIR stats would be very similar, proximity to the hole might favor the 50 but not by much. So no, for me, I don't find either shot more or less difficult. My point is, when you get to the low-mid 80s, the transition, from being a +12/13 to single digits over par is tight, you need to find something that gives you an edge, for me (currently) the 3W puts me in possible GIR position more times than with a driver. Ive gone from an average 8/9 GIRs in a round to more like 12/13 on average. Thats 4 more chances at birdie and 4 less scrambles for par. That for me is the difference between +12 and +8

I couldn't see a thread about this, so here it goes. I've played a ton of golf this past 4 years - about 350 rounds, I've studied and practiced, so my technique has improved and the scores have reflected that, slumps and blow-up rounds aside of course. I've gone from hovering around 13 for the last season or season and half to around +8/9 this past 3 months, and the blow-up rounds have almost gone away (for now). It seems to have started when I played a target oriented course about 3 months ago, it only offered 3-4 chances to pull out the driver. I had to hit a 3W or even a long iron off the tee at least 9 times on 4s and 5s. I walked off with my best score of the year, my first single digits over par on a legit course. From that round I stared using the 3W as an option for shorter par 4s, it quickly became the go-to for anything under 385/390. My FIR stats have gone through the roof, its just so much more controllable and reliable, I'm hitting off of short grass a lot, my GIR stats have gone through the roof and I'm spending a lot less time in the woods. I'm guessing the average par 4 is around the 370-390 mark. I can hit the 3W around 240 off a short tee, that means I'm standing with a short iron or even a wedge in my hand for my second shot and a clear view to the green. My putting is about average for my level so there is room for me to get to 5 or 6. I did not think I would ever be a single digits over par golfer, but for me the 3W has helped to make that happen. Accuracy over distance all day long for me I'm looking into the Cobra Long Tom 2, anyone have experience with that? Just wanted to share, nobody has ever made this recommendation to me, and I can't understand why not, just seems obvious now? Just thought I'd pass it on.

I had an operation on my finger last year that put me out of commission for 7 weeks, I played a really solid round on my return, slightly better than my index, I put it down to low expectation syndrome. Id also been playing with too many swing thoughts before the op, mostly gone by the time I played again, defo helped to clear the clutter out

wow.. thats impressive, well played!

Occasionally when I see someone with an absolutely gorgeous swing crushing it, I will throw out a compliment, but would never dream of pointing out a flaw to a complete stranger.

I have said one thing about the ratio of range time > golf course time and Sidehatch has said something completely different. This is golf in a nutshell, you will always hear something different. I have even heard a PGA golf pro say "The back swing is not important". Personally for me, I lack discipline at the range, I set off with the best of intentions but after about 20-30 balls I start rushing, before i know it Im hitting all kinds of funky shots. I would go so far as to say the range can be damaging to my game, but I'm completely the opposite on the GC. Find whats best for you, however, and no offense to Sidehatch, Ive never heard anyone say "practice 8 times per month and play once or twice per month. You will experience a much greater variance of shot types on a GC than you will not experience at a range, especially if its an artificial surface your hitting off, there is no substitute for grass, uneven stances, downhill, uphill lies, sometimes the craziest abnormal ground conditions becomes the greatest learning moment.

Find a good golf pro, get some lessons and most importantly, spend more time on a golf course than at a driving range.

How on earth did you manage to miss a 3 inch putt?

Having a quantum leap moment, threatening single digits over par on a regular basis at the mo... very exciting

If you don't mind me asking - as a scratch golfer, what are your indexes (or is it indices?) for GIRs Putts Scrambles

Ironically, Ive hit my 3 longest drives ever in the last 2 days, since I posted these comments - playing with someone who had a laser. Anyway, I had a 280 and 2 in the 270s... However, the ground is almost frozen solid, Ive been having huge bounce and roll 30-50 yards, but it was very nice to feel how it is to be pulling out a wedge or a 9iron for the second shot instead of a 7 iron

Thats all true.. I do use a golf app GPS and seems to be pretty decent within a few yards. I know for example if I'm 385Y from where i'm standing on tee box to center of green on a straight hole and my 2nd shot is measuring 135 standing over the ball to CoG, then I know I've hit somewhere in the neighborhood of a 250 drive. I know what that distance looks like in terms of ball shape and flight and I'm always disappointed as i feel like I've truly crushed it and it should be measuring 270 but never is. Ive heard loads of golfers say they hit 250-270 regularly, but rarely do i see it.. its just my experience, anecdotal evidence if you will? well, I should have said I see 250 a fair enough amount of time but 270 is rare

I guess I meant in general, if you use a measuring device then fair enough, but for the majority who don't, they are almost always adding yardage, I do it myself and am totally aware i'm doing it, which probably makes me deluded

Played in an outing recently, 24 of us, I think I had the highest handicap of all golfers on 16. Longest drive of the day and closest to the pin on all par 3s were in play as side bets, the longest recorded drive in a field of 24 golfers of mostly single digit handicappers was 287 including roll-out... People are definitely over-estimating their drives

There are too many pages on this thread to read, so apologizes if someone has already brought it up "There is a book called "The Sports Gene" and the DanPlan is one example of 100s of experiments that are discussed in the book, across all sports and including other disciplines such as chess, and playing a musical instrument. 10,000 hours however is only 1 of the elements required to be considered expert/top of the field. Physiology/genetics is another and mental approach in relation to your chosen field. Physiology/Genetics plays a bigger role in most cases than the time commitment, for example Specifically, why Kenyas win so many marathons is based in part because of genetics. All of the previous winners can be traced genetically to a tribe indigenous to some area of Kenya at altitude. Because of this their pulmonary and lung capacity is genetically predisposed to pump a higher volume of oxygen through the blood. They are also pre-deposed to having very thin lower legs, ankles and small feet - the region of the body that uses up the most energy in marathon running. So basically, as long as they put in the time and training required for long distance running, Kenyans are basically unbeatable. Olympic winning high jumpers, have 2 things in common, (a) being above a certain height and (b) having an ankle tendon that measures over a certain length, that allows for the biggest down-force and release, its that that allows them to jump so high, again 10k hours required by genetics is what puts them ahead Germany scientists, in the early 80s I think, measured every part of the body that could possible be measured, internal/external of 100s of aspiring tennis players. They then made a prediction on which boy and which girl would be the best tennis players, having not once seen any of them play. Based purely scientific reasoning, the names of the 2 kids were Stefi Graph and Boris Becker. A good example of mental approach, among many other examples, violinists who occupy the first position in a major orchestra spent more time practicing alone, and starting from a younger age. There is also a brilliant example of why grand master chess players become what they are, its all about their mental approach and memory, as well as 10k+ hours, too long to go into in detail, fascinating stuff though. The point is, most of the experiments were conducted under rigorous scientific methods. The Dan Plan wasn't, his experiment does not count, the theory is still solid, but you cant ignore the other 2 elements which dan did.

Have to give this one to my playing partner this morning - 212Y Par 3, a green that neither of us have ever dropped on, a few low burners that have rolled onto the green. But today he took a 6 iron (he's a very big hitter), hit a perfect draw shot, and landed 6 feet past the hole. It wasn't even the distance he gets with that club, it was the shape of the shot that was so pretty.

When you've been on your best run of form ever, when you're constantly hitting around your lowest score on a consistent basis for 6-7 games, then one day out of the blue she gives you a nightmare card - A score above what you'd expect your worst score to be. And you haven't a clue whats going on, thats just happened to me this morning - Good thread topic, I didn't have to think about my answer lol

Hit my first 100+ in 9 or 10 games - 101 (low 90s hitter of late) Which really pissed me off because before today, I would have said the only reason I'm struggling to shoot under 90 was because of my driver getting me into jail all too often, Today was the best day I've ever had with a driver, not once in the woods, hit 11FW in regulation with an average of around 220/25, which is an absolute first for me by a mile. However 52 putts, lost count of how many triple putts I made - off the charts! In my defense I've never played on such challenging greens, also a first for me, still no excuse.

I've only just started thinking about playing him again in the last few months - since I was thinking about booking my trip home. I slipped into practicing a lot not by intention but the enjoyment of feeling like I was improving most of the time. When you're constantly trying to find ways to re-arrange your schedule to fit a round in, it probably tells me everything I need to know about that? Playing him again is just a by-product, but its an interesting thought you make?