Short game classes

[bhilln]

Thanks KB. The classes are a great benefit of the range I just joined. My home course does not have a driving range (SUCKS) but this one is 4 miles from home. $55/month for unlimited range balls, short game classes, and free access to the par 3 pitch&putt. If I took just the short game classes at $15 per class I'd come out losing money so it's a great find.

That's a great deal; the short game classes alone would make it worth it for me. I wish there was s similar program in my area. The lessons around me have always focused on just ball striking, I really need to find somewhere to take lessons on putting and short game.

 

[CharlieMoy]

I need me some short game classes. You can always be better, thats for dang sure.

 

[mdbuschsr]

Wow, that is a steal!

That's a great deal; the short game classes alone would make it worth it for me. I wish there was s similar program in my area. The lessons around me have always focused on just ball striking, I really need to find somewhere to take lessons on putting and short game.

SSSHHHHHH, not so loud. I'm pretty sure the instructor will pop in here, and I don't need him raising the price. It is a great deal.

 

[KellyBo]

SSSHHHHHH, not so loud. I'm pretty sure the instructor will pop in here, and I don't need him raising the price. It is a great deal.

I think you misunderstood me, I think he's stealing from you and should lower the prices! LOL

 

[Damaikis]

Just read this thread and it sounds great! I'm heading to my local course next time I go out to see if they have classes like this for next season! Thanks for the writeups and for the heads up that these exist!

 

[sharkwrestler]

Great write up MDbuschsr. Waiting to hear how the class helps out on the course.

 

[lambro2]

Wish we had something similar to this at my club! Keep up the great posts

 

[mdbuschsr]

It has been forever since I've updated this thread.

I made it to the lag putting class. Missed the chipping classes, but I have since made it to a pitching class and a distance wedge class.

OK, so lag putting. What can you say... You're 20-30+ feet from the cup. You look at the line and say "Damn, that's a LONG way. It's gonna break 8-inches at least." At which point you, or least I, step over the shot make a stroke that's only going 10 feet and only play 6 inches of break into it. Conversely, with the same shot and read, you stroke the putt for 50 feet and then the break you put in it doesn't matter anyway. Then on the next distance putt you're confidence is through the roof *sarcasm* so you do the opposite of whatever you did last time.

Enter a lag putting lesson

We started the class with loads of explanation that frankly by now is mostly gone. But the drills are still alive and kicking. They set the class (a busy one with around 18 of us) in a semi-circle on the green with two holes to shoot for. The first part of the exercise was to take strokes at the hole without looking at the ball. In other words get the line, address the ball, and then don't look at it again. It took some time for me to get comfortable with it, but I started putting some nice strokes on it. Initially I could feel the ball hitting every part of the club face BUT the center. My results showed it. As the balls, 20 or so, disappeared from my second pile I could start to feel my shoulders rocking back and through the shot more consistently, and things got much MUCH better. By the end of the third pile I was leaving a good percentage of my strokes within acceptable range (where I could make the next putt) and I ever jarred a couple.

The next phase was to alternate between hitting the ball looking at the hole, and then hitting the next looking at the ball. Invariably, my stroke looking at the cup was better. I can't explain it, but looking down at the ball... I came up woefully short on EVERYTHING! Even strokes that felt the same and were struck in the center of the face came up short. I was surprised by this until the instructor asked how everyone was doing and only two said they were better while looking at the ball. We ran through this drill for several more +/- 20 ball piles, and I got better at it with practice, but still tended to leave them short.

The idea behind the two drills is to try and get more target oriented. Looking at the hole while stroking the putt was both intimidating and awkward at first. Then it was just as awkward to stroke the putt without looking at the hole. It's a set of drills that I continue to work on and my putting is getting my better.

 

[pjcedog]

My lag putting improved by about 1000% when I started to setup and hit those putts with more of a chipping stroke than a short putting stroke. It also helps to hit the ball at the hole. Unless you have a severe amount of break you are going to be better off hitting these far enough even with less or more break allowed, but the distance is critical.

 

[jeremyheslop]

That's great advice for lag putting and drills. I find myself just making a one time look at long puts and then going up and hitting it. I prefer to look at my ball as I won't second guess what I saw the first time. I typically don't drain long puts (I don't take much time to read every angle), but I get it within two putt range. I had 33 putts last time out. Most of them 2 putts with a few 1 putts and no 3+ putts. I had some close ones I should have made, but most were long distance. I'd like to have less lag practice on the course, but wouldn't we all lol

 

[mdbuschsr]

This passed Saturday I went to a pitching class. By definition a pitch is a shot that travels further in the air than it does on the ground. A chip, by way of
comparison, is the opposite... Traveling further on the ground than in the air. At least these were the definitions handed down by the instructor at my range.

So, this was a very small class with only three of us in attendance on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. Given a choice I would have been on a golf course and not a
practice range, but I digress. We set up pretty close to the edge of a green, maybe 15 yards from the edge and 25-30 to the pin. The green is an elevated dome type
green and the pin was placed such that a pitch left too short would roll back off the front, while a pitch that was too long would run well beyond.

We were basically told to get our 60* wedges, or highest lofted wedge in the bag. Immediately I was nervous, because I have the least confidence in my 60 of every wedge in
the bag. Nevertheless I grabbed my 60. Instruction was pretty basic. Keep your feet close together (3-inches or so from this distance). Put the majority of your weight on your front foot, and swing with dead hands. That is, don't try to manipulate the club head with your hands/wrists in the swing.

At the distance we were set up, I took a very short backswing (about mid-thigh), cocking my wrists with only a slight shoulder turn. From there, it was turn back through and allow momentum and gravity to force my wrists to unhinge. I'm reading the Pelz Short Game Bible right now as well, so I incorporated the *hold your finish until your ball lands* thought into my practice. Pelz is on target in saying that it is the best way to learn to feel your shots more quickly. After just a few swings I was holding my finish without thought. I still wasn't hitting nice shots, but I was narrowing it down. When I finally remembered to accelerate through the ball I started hitting some nice balls. Then, I hit one really nice (damn near sunk it) and I could feel sort of a putting stroke. What I mean is that it felt almost like only my shoulders rocked (putting part), with little to no lower body movement and at the end of the stroke it felt like I was pointing my right shoulder directly where the ball used to be. It made for great ball contact, and even at that short distance the ball checked moreso than any other swing I had yet made.

I made, or at least attempted to make, that same swing over and over until I really engrained it. Then we had to move to a new position. After only a few swings I was able to find the distance I was looking for and then I was back recreating that same feel in the swing and knocking them close. I have a ton of work to do in this area to be able to develop the feel necessary to step over a shot like this and understand how much of a swing I need to put on the ball. After working the short little shots from where we started, he had us each take three balls and work around the green from various positions. He took the three balls in one hand and tossed them sort of side armed to create a scatter of different lies and slightly different distances. Doing so forced me to take slightly different swings. This is a "drill" that I am ALL OVER. I like this one. It was difficult for me to find the right distance but my direction was on, and my confidence grew rapidly. Going through these short game classes is giving me a renewed appreciation for this segment of my game.

As is the norm we had a little competition at the end of the class.

A couple days later I got an email newsletter from the instructor. Here it is...

Spoiler

The most important part is that I was able to take it to the course the next day for my round with CL. I definitely hit some short shots that were less than stellar, but the vast majority were far better than what I am used to. I rarely get cocky with my golf game. More often than not, when I do seem cocky... It's sarcasm! This short game thing has me more excited about golf and my abilities than I have been in a very long time!

 

[TrueFX]

Great thread. I really enjoy reading it.

Wish they had something like this around here.

 

[DawgDaddy]

Just caught up on this thread, nice going Matt, I still am not very comfortable with the 60* myself, the last write up has inspired me to put in some quality practice time with the lob wedge. And congrats on beating the pro.

 

[mdbuschsr]

Just caught up on this thread, nice going Matt, I still am not very comfortable with the 60* myself, the last write up has inspired me to put in some quality practice time with the lob wedge. And congrats on beating the pro.

I think the most important thing I've done so far with the 60, and this may sound a little crazy? I just decided that I could hit the club well, and that there was no reason to lack confidence with it. Sure I still hit some crummy shots, but they are not caused by lack of confidence like they used to be.

 

[Divebell]

Great Thread. Thank you for sharing.

 

[mdbuschsr]

Last Tuesday was my distance wedge class. I thought I was going to a sand class, so I was a bit thrown when I showed up and found out we were hitting distance wedges (20-80 yards). I don't particularly think of 20 yards as a distance wedge shot, but what the h3ll do I know.

We started the class with ALL of us getting yelled at. It seems that no one, including yours truly, signed up for the class yet there were 10 or 12 of us standing on the range ready to learn.

Aiming points (little orange cones) were set out in the range at 20, 40, 60, and 80 yards. The object was to land the ball as close to each of those distances as we could. Carry only, not roll out. The teaching here appears to be a hybrid of the Pelz method. The 3X4 Pelz method is to learn how far the ball travels with a given wedge at 3 backswing lengths (7:30, thigh - 9:00, hip - 10:30, shoulder) all with a full through swing. What I was taught varies thusly: Rather than a full through swing, my instructor prescribes the following: (The yardages in parentesis are what I found to be my averages with the SCOR4161 55* wedge)

Thigh to hip (20)
Hip to hip (40)
Hip to Shoulder (50)
Hip to full (60)
Shoulder to Shoulder (70)
Shoulder to full (80)

My interpretation is that, at worst, we maintain the swing velocity to reach a similar ending point to where we started. Realistically we want to accelerate through the shot and finish our through swing slightly further than our back swing. Clear as mud?

I have not decided for sure if I like this methodology, but I cannot argue what it did for me. It certainly was not magic! At each of the distances I hit some horrible shots, but that's on me not the system. From 20 yards I was nearly money on every shot after the first 5 or 6. In fact I knocked one of the cones over and had to shift targets. At 40 yards things started to go a bit sideways. The assistant instructor came over and had me narrow my stance to an uncomfortable position. My feet were maybe three balls apart, and he told me that was as far apart as I was allowed to have them for the rest of the night. He noted that I had a rather large sway (or slide) in my legs that he wanted me to get rid of because it was causing me to hit fat shots. Narrowing my stance forced me to become cognicent of my lower body and quiet it. Initially, it felt like I was standing with one foot on top of the other. My balance was terrible, and I had a hard time not falling over. It took a bit of time, but I figured out how to swing a golf club in this stance. Then I started to get better at it, and I was making awesome contact. I never came close to knocking over another cone, but my distance was within a yard or so of the cone and my direction was cosistently left of target.

As you can see by the distances I noted above it took a little while to trasition from 40 to 60 yards. Hip to hip was giving me 40 yards consistently, but hip to shoulder was leaving me well short of 60. I accelerated more and more through the ball until I was hitting it 60 yards and found that I was finishing at shoulder heighth every time. Short story is that it takes a hip to full swing for me to achieve 60 yards.

I had spent some time with my wedges and "knew" that my max consistent distance with the 55* wedge was 76 yards with a full swing. So, I "knew" I had to step on it to make the 80 yard goal. Naturally, I started hitting fatties again. I made myself step back to the 60 yard cones, and did a bit of a mental reset. Once I was comfortable with the 60 yard swing (hip to full) again, I started stepping it out to shoulder to shoulder. All I can tell you folks is that clean contact is thee way to go. It was pretty dark at that point, but near as I could tell I was coming awful close to that cone at 80 yards with a shoulder to full swing.

I'm not sure if I really like this system. The results are hard to deny, but in theory I am more fond of using different wedges, and a known through swing. Fewer variables means fewer chances to make an oopsie! I want to read more of the Pelz book, and then try to implement it before I make a decision. I'm just not completely sold on the consistency of what I was taught. Like I said, I cannot argue with the results but can I carry that to the course and put it into play?

 

[cnosil]

I'm not sure if I really like this system. The results are hard to deny, but in theory I am more fond of using different wedges, and a known through swing. Fewer variables means fewer chances to make an oopsie! I want to read more of the Pelz book, and then try to implement it before I make a decision.

I've tried the Pelz system and think I like this one better. I always struggle with a partial backswing with a full followthru. This method does seem to give you a more controlled swing and followthru without having to force anything. I am going to have to give it a try next time I hit the range. Thanks for keeping the thread up to date and remember to sign up for the next session

 

[mdbuschsr]

I've tried the Pelz system and think I like this one better. I always struggle with a partial backswing with a full followthru. This method does seem to give you a more controlled swing and followthru without having to force anything. I am going to have to give it a try next time I hit the range. Thanks for keeping the thread up to date and remember to sign up for the next session

I'll continue to work on their system, and I'll definitely sign up for the next set of classes. I played the little par three course at the range last night. The longest hole on the course is 112 yards, the shortest is like 50 yards downhill. Most of the other holes are in the 80-85 range. I noticed that the majority of my shots had a very low trajectory, I think because I was sawing off the follow through.

 

[asltw]

I think this is a great thread. I have never taken a short game class but I almost feel like I have after reading this thread. Thanks for taking the time to provide the detailed summaries of the classes Matt. I hope all the work you are putting into your short game results in lower scores for you.

 

[mdbuschsr]

I think this is a great thread. I have never taken a short game class but I almost feel like I have after reading this thread. Thanks for taking the time to provide the detailed summaries of the classes Matt. I hope all the work you are putting into your short game results in lower scores for you.

Hopefully I'll get out a couple times this weekend, and a I'll update.

 

[KellyBo]

Thanks for the detailed notes of your classes Matt. I've really enjoyed reading this thread and will have to go out and practice some of these shots myself to see if I can zero in on my distances a lot better.

 

[mdbuschsr]

I had "class" on Tuesday which consisted of playing the little par 27 9 hole course. The longest hole is listed at 112, and the shortest is around 55. I shot a 9 over 36 which is just plain awful. However, I literaly could not see the flags on the last four holes. Hell, I could barely see the ball at address it was so dark. I'm going to try to get out there earlier tonight so I can see the holes and give myself a little better chance to test my new short game skills.

 

[Tadashi70]

Md for me the short game is all feel. That drill does teach you how to be consistent through the hitting zones based on the length of you backswing. Some take long lazy swings to reach these distance but a short excelerated swing is also good. And yes you follow through should be longer than your takeaway to insure you did not decel into the ball.
I hope your I instructor goes over the proper stance and weight distribution before each class. IMO that should be the first thing at every class. With out is these shots will fail in the long wrong. Keep it up!

 

[mdbuschsr]

Md for me the short game is all feel. That drill does teach you how to be consistent through the hitting zones based on the length of you backswing. Some take long lazy swings to reach these distance but a short excelerated swing is also good. And yes you follow through should be longer than your takeaway to insure you did not decel into the ball.
I hope your I instructor goes over the proper stance and weight distribution before each class. IMO that should be the first thing at every class. With out is these shots will fail in the long wrong. Keep it up!

My biggest issue is that I have a lazy through swing. The Pelz system sort of forces a full through swing on all distance wedges which to me promotes consistency through the bag. I was able to assimilate the system we were taught the first night, but I went back for the Thursday night class, and my lazy turn through had come back and my distances and direction were slightly off. I know I just need to practice with which ever system I choose to adopt, but it seems that the Pelz system would benefit my full swing efforts more by combating my inherent laziness. In theory, if I take out that variable and know that I "must" take a full through swing no matter the backswing length I will become more consistent. No?

As to stance and weight distribution... They like the stance narrowed, almost uncomfortably, to quiet the lower body. I tend to have quite a bit of movement down there, so narrowing the stance improved my ball striking immensely. Weight distribution is pushed to the left side by "most of your weight". I would say the first night I was in the 60-70% neighborhood. When I went back on Thursday, I was probably closer to 80% and was fighting falling over for a while. Once I corrected for that things got markedly better.

I'm loving the classes for two reasons. They give me a reason to go to the range that the wife doesn't fight with me about, and they teach me and correct errors along the way. I may not agree with everything they say right out of the box, but I make a concerted effort to try what they are teaching. Which at least forces me to reflect on what I had been doing previously!