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Introducing TST "Clubs!" 08/28/2017
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Moxley
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Interesting topic. I got my 14m old started a month or so back with plastic clubs. He instantly picked up that he was meant to hit the balls with the club head :) We're just having the backyard landscaped (fortunate enough to own a big plot without neighbours) so there should be plenty of practice areas for putting, driving and chipping as he grows up, should he take an interest. Good comments above about ensuring that it's fun for them - I'll add to that playing in front of them, which I think can often spark the curiosity.
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The Golf Ball "Problem": PGA Tour Players Hitting it Far is a Problem for All of Golf?
Moxley replied to iacas's topic in Golf Talk
No problem - if we can all hit it a little further , we should all enjoy the game more. And anything that serves to accentuate the difference between golfers of differing skill levels is also welcome (and I say that as a technically weak golfer). -
Biggest cause of iron distance inconsistencies?
Moxley replied to hack2scratch's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
For me, as a still relatively poor golfer, I have the same issue and it's normally due to hitting a minor slice, as Jack also said. It's easier to call a slice a fade with a 7 iron as it doesn't look as bad and usually lands in play, but it's the difference for me between 120 yds with a 7 and 140 (which would fly very straight and land a few yards left of target). -
Went out and played the local par 3 with a couple of balls today, and practiced the close pitches today (the tricky ones 10-20 yds away where I'd normally worry about over/under hitting or even blading it) , throwing another ball in the interesting positions. I'd say that having digested the content of the thread, and having worked on those shots (making where I went wrong and why) , that I think getting closer & mastering a wider range of partial shots is the best way for me, as long as I don't risk going into sand/water. Turns out these shots are also really great fun to play too.
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Working with statistics (in a completely different field) day in, day out, I know all too well how they can be misleading and terribly misunderstood by a great many people, statisticians included. I recently heard a Youtube instructor say that they should consider spending the sort of money they spend on a driver on a putter, because they play many more shots with their putter. Indeed, but as others have pointed out , the penalty for a bad putt isn't going to involve an actual penalty. That said, knowing something makes a big difference isn't the whole story. As the quote from LSW acknowledges, short game practice is the fastest way to decrease scores, seemingly in spite of the finding that it has a lower overall impact, because practice can yield quick improvement. We don't yet have the stats on return per hour spent practicing various skills, nor data around where the diminishing returns in each category are. And then what about seniors/women, high handicappers (who make up most golfers) and aspiring pros? Nobody can claim they have the definitive answer to this, there is still much to understand.
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I see it as a bit more blurred than that. While I accept the stats pointed out to me about laying up ( I googled and found them since Dave mentioned them early in the thread) , I think there can be sometimes be a case for balancing a negative against a positive. Along the lines of 'If I try and hit my 7 wood this distance I might well go into a hazard, come up short, or totally mishit it ,but if I take a 5 iron, I'm more confident my next shot will be a good one, and I ALSO know I really like being about 40 yds out'. I do get the point made that deliberatly under hitting to land a given distance out (in the absence of other factors) is less optimal, but I don't think it should rule out considering landing in your comfort zone as a relevant bonus when making decisions which are perhaps already marginal.
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Most aspects of course management would be unnecessary if only one was able to work on improving the underlying weaknesses that make it necessary in the first place. It's often about getting the best return from limited practice time. The interesting thing about topped shots (as well as fat shots) is that while I'd very much consider it a beginner problem, which I can easily play a full round without it happening, I am also susceptible to a couple of these on an off day. While I can do it from all sorts of scenarios ,I often find it's more likely to happen when I'm trying to welly a shot a long way and it's not on the tee. Even though I know I can hit a 200 shot with my 7 wood, it doesn't mean that I won't horribly mishit it when staring into the distance at a small green.
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Thanks for all the insightful responses. Looks like consensus, backed up by stats, says just get closer. Except perhaps when Hazards or lie conditions could be a factor closer in. Fair enough :)
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Fairway woods vs hybrids vs irons
Moxley replied to onthehunt526's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
Not an educated opinion, but I personally find my 7 wood a better club overall than hybrid. Would go further than a similar lofted hybrid for me, although with the same tendency to go too high or too left, just like hybrids. Overall similar, but for some reason I hit the lofted fairway woods slightly further. -
Me neither - I once did so when drunk, with predictable results (fire, resulting in damage to the kitchen!) .
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I've been spending a lot of time on the short game recently (or broadly, anything inside 100 yds). Getting better with my wedge has given me a lot more confidence to play lob shots and proper attacking pitches rather than what i'd do before, which was pitch and run with an 8 iron whenever possible. Watching a video yesterday , the 'me and my golf' guys suggested you should know your best distance and, where you are unlikely to reach the green with a shot, aim to get to that distance (e.g. 73 yds). It sounds like a good tip, because there is always a club and shot percentage combination that most players will be comfortable executing with high reliability. This is instead of just hitting it as close as possible (and perhaps needlessly bringing greenside hazards into play). For me, I'm getting very comfortable in the 40-50 yard range - it's short enough that I can get a really good look at the green beforehand, won't need to worry about lateral misses going into a hazard, and I can generally feel the distance quite well. It's also long enough that I can play a lofted shot which gets high enough to stop promptly. Do other people play to get their approach shots within an ideal pitching distance? if so what is it?
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I struggle with my driver , and still do despite working on it a lot this year. But there's still a place for it. Often it's a case of working out the likely penalties in that yardage range (I use golfpad for this) - there's always holes where there aren't significant problems going left or right (sometimes both) that would cause even a spieth hands on head slice to become a penalty shot. These shots you might as well take the driver, as the worst case scenario is that you're coming back from the next fairway. I've also wasted a long time trying to 'release the club' instead of fixing OTT swing path.
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Thanks All. Great information about Shafts Wu, never something I'd paid attention to , but could well be the answer for my next hybrid purchase. Fair shout about technique - I have a lesson booked in next month, so will raise with the pro and see if I can get the forward lean to work for me.
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Partial shots almost as far as full from tee
Moxley replied to Moxley's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
Great link, thank you. Have started with the 3/4 shots as my standard full and will work from there. -
Started recording my wedge/high iron distances today on a local par 3. One thing I noticed with clubs like the SW is that I was hitting my partial shots virtually as far as full. a 3/4 swing was probably going 95% of the full swing, and even a 1/2 swing was going probably 80%. I guess i must swing a little quicker on these partial shots (or rather ,I generate almost as much swing speed with a shorter swing) Quick question - would you say this is normal, or should be aiming to get a 1/2 shot closer to 1/2 the distance?