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when your comming up short how long during the round does it take.....

I use to be in the, pull the wrong club due to ego situation, but if you're not hitting the sweet spot MOST of the time...then you need to pull the next club up. This is what I do most of the time anymore. Unless I'm just having an awesome ball striking day, then I'm pulling an extra club and swing easier. It just makes more sense to make sure you'll get it there, than not at all. Ask yourself, home many times during a round do you hit the ball OVER then green, and how many times do you hit short? Exactly, do yourself and your score a favor and hit a little more club, you'll probably love the results more on your scorecard.
 
Tadashi70 said:
How short is short? Are we talking on the green 20' short of the flag or missing the green completely.
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Good question. Are we talking pulling the club you hit 150 that one time? Or the club you consistently can hit 150 but the issue is left vs right miss?
 
I find myself being too long more than too short.but it probably takes me a couple holes to get a feel for what the soup of the day is
 
Hawk said:
If anything, I do the opposite. I typically take more club than needed to mitigate misses.
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Yup. More club and a nice rhythmic swing is usually better than barely enough and thrashing at it any day.
 
I don't come up short, I come up right or left unfortunately. My distances are consistent but due to a back injury from a long time ago, I may hit a draw or a fade out of the gate and mid round it may change the other way depending on whether I loosen up and feel better or tighten up and feel worse.

I hate golf lol.
 
slodsm said:
I don't come up short, I come up right or left unfortunately.

I hate golf lol.
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Yea well, If only we can hit the ball where we aim lol.
If it weren't for being left or right I think I (and every weekend hacker) would be hitting 95% fairways and 90% gir's :)
 
rollin said:
I can absolutely agree with that and its interesting. I think some of it (probably alot of it) has to do with the whole distance and ego thing. No one wants to be the guy hitting the shortest iron from the same distance. For me I been playing long enough and old enough that i dont care at all about that part of it one bit. But anyways I also have an ocasional day the oposite happens when I'm longer than normal and again it can take me a while before making the adjustment too. But i do (i believe) know my distances pretty well in a normal average round in normal conditions. i'm not finding myself short any signicant percenatge of the time. but just that round (aside from cold temps) where it ocassionaly happens and your like "but what's going on here today?" and as said, make the adjustment but till after some beating.
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Either I'm reading this wrong or you have it backwards. In my experience, the typical player's ego makes him keep taking too short a club when he should be playing longer ones, because he doesn't want to be the guy playing the longest club for the distance. I don't care if you do it, because you are making me look better. I've been playing shorter irons than my companions for most of my life. I only hit my 8I about 135-140 max these days, so the guys who think that they hit it 160 (because they did it once in their life) will be coming up short every time when they play an 8I to my 5I or 6I on that 162 yard shot.

You really have to take a realistic approach to this game or you will never reach your personal potential. Avoid the "Hero" shot, get it out of your head that you are Superman (or Tiger Woods - same thing) and make a smooth swing with the right club instead of the gorilla swing with wrong one.
 
Fourputt said:
You really have to take a realistic approach to this game or you will never reach your personal potential. Avoid the "Hero" shot, get it out of your head that you are Superman (or Tiger Woods - same thing) and make a smooth swing with the right club instead of the gorilla swing with wrong one.
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This is dead on accurate.
 
I learned a ton about course management playing a practice round with Playdough at this years Morgan Cup.

Basically went something like this for an approach shot into a green: what’s my minimum number to carry front of green and then what my maximum number to avoid going over the green. Then you look at hazards, etc to determine where you can/can’t miss.

There was much much more to it than that as we discussed strategy off the tee, playing to number, avoiding trouble spots, etc.

And I agree with what others have said – you need to know the AVERAGE distance for your clubs, not the 10% pured shot.

Let me try to write out a quick example of my thinking:

153 to middle of green, pin at 142 in front of third of green. 136 to front of green and 165 to back of green (getting all these numbers off my watch except pin distance)
Bunkers short left/right

I know that I must hit a solid 8i to get to front of green and I could get to 142 on a pured 8i (typically my 140 club). Solid 6i will not go over.
If I get my 8i just a little heavy or off center, I will be in bunkers or short of green –CLUB eliminated

At this point, I club up and grab the 7i (150 club) knowing that a little miss should still find the front of the green. Pured shot is 25 feet past the pin but not over the green.



Long story…but hopefully helps to explain my thought process.
 
I'm pretty good at adjusting right off the bat. When it's cooler or windier, I'm usually clubbing up right from the start. That being said, I'm often aiming for the center of the greeen so if I'm longer, it's usually not a problem.
 
Maybe I simplify it too much, but What I want to know on an approach shot is distance to the center, and is the pin front, middle, or back. If I'm between clubs for the pin location, then I fudge it on the short side for a back pin, and fudge it longer for a front pin, basically weighting it toward the middle of the green. I will take an hazards into consideration, but usually don't worry too much about them. They only come into play if I fail to execute my plan.

I will rarely shoot right at at a tight pin, no matter where it is located on the green. I'm not good enough for that.
 
Fourputt said:
Either I'm reading this wrong or you have it backwards. In my experience, the typical player's ego makes him keep taking too short a club when he should be playing longer ones, because he doesn't want to be the guy playing the longest club for the distance. I don't care if you do it, because you are making me look better. I've been playing shorter irons than my companions for most of my life. I only hit my 8I about 135-140 max these days, so the guys who think that they hit it 160 (because they did it once in their life) will be coming up short every time when they play an 8I to my 5I or 6I on that 162 yard shot.

You really have to take a realistic approach to this game or you will never reach your personal potential. Avoid the "Hero" shot, get it out of your head that you are Superman (or Tiger Woods - same thing) and make a smooth swing with the right club instead of the gorilla swing with wrong one.
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yes i worded that backwards. I didnt catch that i did that till you mention it but when I mentioned ego it of course was meant the other way around as what i said wouldnt make sense otherwise. Should have said longest club instead of shortest.
Anyways hitting to the more rare max yardages with my clubs is not whats in my head at all as i thought i have mentioned but it seems many keep trying to tell me. I am agreeing that playing to distances that are only hit once in a while is not what one should base club yardages on. I have my club distances figured resonably and i dont count on those longest hits as the target distances for them. If anything my bigger issue acuracy, and being left and right more than it is distance. But again even when one is at the normal and "proper" distance with a club there are days when something is off and for whatever the reason just not carrying the same distance that day.
 
#Cookie said:
I learned a ton about course management playing a practice round with Playdough at this years Morgan Cup.

Basically went something like this for an approach shot into a green: what’s my minimum number to carry front of green and then what my maximum number to avoid going over the green. Then you look at hazards, etc to determine where you can/can’t miss.

There was much much more to it than that as we discussed strategy off the tee, playing to number, avoiding trouble spots, etc.

And I agree with what others have said – you need to know the AVERAGE distance for your clubs, not the 10% pured shot.

Let me try to write out a quick example of my thinking:

153 to middle of green, pin at 142 in front of third of green. 136 to front of green and 165 to back of green (getting all these numbers off my watch except pin distance)
Bunkers short left/right

I know that I must hit a solid 8i to get to front of green and I could get to 142 on a pured 8i (typically my 140 club). Solid 6i will not go over.
If I get my 8i just a little heavy or off center, I will be in bunkers or short of green –CLUB eliminated

At this point, I club up and grab the 7i (150 club) knowing that a little miss should still find the front of the green. Pured shot is 25 feet past the pin but not over the green.



Long story…but hopefully helps to explain my thought process.
Click to expand...

Fourputt said:
Maybe I simplify it too much, but What I want to know on an approach shot is distance to the center, and is the pin front, middle, or back. If I'm between clubs for the pin location, then I fudge it on the short side for a back pin, and fudge it longer for a front pin, basically weighting it toward the middle of the green. I will take an hazards into consideration, but usually don't worry too much about them. They only come into play if I fail to execute my plan.

I will rarely shoot right at at a tight pin, no matter where it is located on the green. I'm not good enough for that.
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This thread somehow became more about how to play an approach shot vs its intent which was about how/when one makes adjustments for a ball not carrying as far on your average strikes on a given day. I'm not upset about that and it is what it is i'll go with it and i agree with alot said here and in other posts. We can also add alot to whats already been mentioned. like for example, how firm are the greens?, And how firm the fairway in front?, do you want to bounce/roll it on or carry it on?, which way is the green sloped?, where is the danger for a miss?, to what spot on the green does one chose to play into? pin location, safe location, wind and everything else.

And yes, finally when we decide which distance we need to hit in order to carry out the desired plan of attack for the approach we must then use the club that gets us to that desired distance on a regular basis and not the one that gets us there only once in a while. But I guess perhaps that i am the only one or one of very few people that can have a day where the clubs which get to certain distances on a regular basis just for some reson doesnt work out distance wise that ocassioanl day. I can as said earlier also be long on an ocassional given day where as the ball just seems to carry further than normal. Perhaps the striking is much more pure that day sweatspot wise or whatever. That in itself means I am not chosing clubs for the given shots based on their longest hits.

Whether its me or the weather there are days now and then that the distances are just not what they usualy are and if it doesnt happen to anyone else than its obviously me. But when it happens to me I can go too long during that round before figuring its time to make the necessary club adjustment. Unfortunately as said, I usualy wish i made the adjustment earlier in the round.
 
Kinda on/off subject but, when your playing in the 45-55* temperatures, knowing your avg carry on each club, how much yardage would you normally lose?
 
Right now we are at those temperatures. You can start an afternoon round at 65* and at dusk it is 38*.

It affect my scoring on reachable par 3's.

I am not accurate enough for it to affect long shots.

Usually my second or third shot is 10 to 20 foot off of the green and I have to "wedge it in" to putting distance.

I can tell my clubs are one club shorter now, and try to compensate.

Maybe after getting new irons now, my second or third shot approaches, will be closer to the pin.


Jackal
 
My problem is that I know what I hit when I take a full swing and haven't really mastered the half or three quarter swing so it takes me a little longer to realize I either need to club up or club down. The weather in colorado can play mind games on you as well. At the beginning of the round yesterday it was 62* and by the end it was in the low 40's.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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