do you expect to mishit the ball ?

I never "expect" to mis hit the ball.
For this shot I would pull out the 8 iron and hit a smoooooth one to the middle of the green.

On the golf course, over several rounds, how many out of ten 7-iron shots do you strike squarely-solid ?
 
If you play golf courses you should have an idea of where amateurs typically leave their missed shots.

Why would that matter to me at all? I’m not a coach. I only need to know my own game which consists of an inconsistent swing that can miss in any direction at any time. My best bet is to play to the center of that dispersion.
 
Why would that matter to me at all? I’m not a coach. I only need to know my own game which consists of an inconsistent swing that can miss in any direction at any time. My best bet is to play to the center of that dispersion.

If I am reading you correctly, you know your realistic average carry distances and club yourself to the middle of the green. From that point your misses could leave the ball short, left, right, long or on target, with no clear pattern of a "usual miss" ? In other words your iron shot approaches are equally as likely to leave the ball long of the green as short of the green ?
 
Your ball lay in the fairway, 150 yards from a center of the green hole location. Good lie, level terrain, no wind. Front edge of the green is 140 yards, back edge of the green is 165 yards.

A seriously mishit 7-iron carries 120 to 130 yards.
A slightly mishit 7-iron for you carries 130 to 140 yards.
A well struck 7-iron carries 145 yards.
A very well struck-pure 7-iron carries 155 yards.

Your game is at a level where seven swings out of ten you either slightly mishit or seriously mishit the ball. Do you club yourself hoping/expecting for one of the three out of ten swings that will carry 145 to 155 yards? Or do you club yourself expecting a mishit and carry the ball 130 yards ?

I never expect to miss on any swing, and I only concentrate on hitting it as pure as possible.
 
I never expect to miss on any swing, and I only concentrate on hitting it as pure as possible.

That's fine, but how do your club yourself ?
For example, Jack Nicklaus stated that for him 2 or 3 pure-perfectly struck shots per round was exceptionally good. So, his policy was to club himself for a slight mishit.
 
That's fine, but how do your club yourself ?
For example, Jack Nicklaus stated that for him 2 or 3 pure-perfectly struck shots per round was exceptionally good. So, his policy was to club himself for a slight mishit.

I hit the club that goes the yardage I want. I can comfortably hit a 8 iron from 130-155 yards depending on the wind and the type of shot I want to play.

Why would I want to play for a mishit?

It's self defeating frame of mind to place yourself in.
 
I expect to hit all of my shots the appropriate distance. Doesn't always pan out, but that's my expectation (especially since I seem to have quit hitting fat shots so much!).
 
If I am reading you correctly, you know your realistic average carry distances and club yourself to the middle of the green. From that point your misses could leave the ball short, left, right, long or on target, with no clear pattern of a "usual miss" ? In other words your iron shot approaches are equally as likely to leave the ball long of the green as short of the green ?

Pretty much, yeah. When I’m estimating distance at the range, I’m mentally mapping a dispersion of my carry. The middle of that dispersion is what I consider my carry distance for that club. When I’m on the course, I’m going to put the center of that dispersion where I hope to land.

At my skill level, I don’t realistically expect to land on the green with anything longer than my 9 iron, maybe my 8 if I’m swinging it well that day.

I have some tech on order to get real numbers around all of this, but this has been my method for the last several decades in lieu of such tech.
 
It's self defeating frame of mind to place yourself in.


Yes and no. I absolutely appreciate a positive attitude and, or, positive thoughts, but so much of scoring low in golf is about realistic , practical sense club selection.
I remember following Mark O'Meara for 18 holes of a US Open third round. His swing was really on that day and he hit every fairway and every green. However, even though he was swinging his best he did not aim at a flag. His strategy that day was middle of the green, every hole. He was not thinking negatively or "self defeating", he just had the discipline to choose the least risky lines of play.
If my swing is a bit off I try to club myself to expect a mishit (because that is what my swing is producing that particular day).
 
Yes and no. I absolutely appreciate a positive attitude and, or, positive thoughts, but so much of scoring low in golf is about realistic , practical sense club selection.
I remember following Mark O'Meara for 18 holes of a US Open third round. His swing was really on that day and he hit every fairway and every green. However, even though he was swinging his best he did not aim at a flag. His strategy that day was middle of the green, every hole. He was not thinking negatively or "self defeating", he just had the discipline to choose the least risky lines of play.
If my swing is a bit off I try to club myself to expect a mishit (because that is what my swing is producing that particular day).

Well, if your the type of player that uses a club for a set yardage I can certainly understand your point. But I prefer to use my imagination.

Choke down shots.

Hooded face low running hook shots.

Ball forward open face for high cut shots.

Punch shots.

Blocking fades.
 
I always expect and make my club selection based on clean contact.

Don’t always accomplish it, but I couldn’t plan for failure. Always plan for success. Be realistic, but plan for success.
 
Boy is this topic apt! I got into a slump of cutting across the ball to the point of actually missing the ball off the toe. Shocked me to the core. I've since corrected my swing (a massive OTT move) but still take that backswing with a big dose of fear.
 
I'm hitting a 6 iron, it has to be pured to hit the back of the green.
 
Well, if your the type of player that uses a club for a set yardage I can certainly understand your point. But I prefer to use my imagination.

Choke down shots.

Hooded face low running hook shots.

Ball forward open face for high cut shots.

Punch shots.

Blocking fades.

You and the late great Ben Hogan ! A story goes that a member at his club asked Hogan "what's the club you hit from here, 130 yards to the flag?" . Hogan replied by swinging with a wedge, 9-iron, 8,7,6,5,4 and 3-iron, hitting the green with each shot. Don't know if it's true or not, but I think it's a good story.
 
By "planned results" do you mean a squarely struck-solid shot ?
Yes. Basically anything inside 215 yards is expected to end up in the hole.
 
When I was there I absolutely learned to choose the club that would get me there 7 out of 10. Not only did this improve my score, but how can you be disappointed when you pure it over the green? That's progress.
 
Your ball lay in the fairway, 150 yards from a center of the green hole location. Good lie, level terrain, no wind. Front edge of the green is 140 yards, back edge of the green is 165 yards.

A seriously mishit 7-iron carries 120 to 130 yards.
A slightly mishit 7-iron for you carries 130 to 140 yards.
A well struck 7-iron carries 145 yards.
A very well struck-pure 7-iron carries 155 yards.

Your game is at a level where seven swings out of ten you either slightly mishit or seriously mishit the ball. Do you club yourself hoping/expecting for one of the three out of ten swings that will carry 145 to 155 yards? Or do you club yourself expecting a mishit and carry the ball 130 yards ?
I neve EXPECT to mishit the ball, thats just bad mental game. I always expect to hit a perfect shot but plan it so that if I should happen to mishit it, its not going to be a huge penalty.
As long as there isnt water short of the green, Im not even thinking about the possibility of a mishit. If there is water short and there is not much trouble long of the green, other than rough or a bunker; I'll just club up but grip down on it a bit and if I mishit, its perfect and at the very worst I hit it long a bit.
 
Negative thoughts yield more negative results.
 
Remember, Sam Snead liked to say "dance with you who you brung". This means a good player is aware of his game and selects clubs, chooses lines of play accordingly.
Snead did not win 80 plus Tour events by thinking " negative thoughts "; like all great players he was aware of his limitations and used that to his benefit.
 
As long as there isnt water short of the green, Im not even thinking about the possibility of a mishit.

If after a few rounds of golf you have struck ten 7-iron shots, approximately how many of those shots leave the ball short of the green?
 
Life and death are in the power of the tongue, so I am trying to stop speaking negative and just see how much my game will improve.
 
If after a few rounds of golf you have struck ten 7-iron shots, approximately how many of those shots leave the ball short of the green?
That's when I look at my Shot Scope and KNOW what my average distance is.;)
 
Back
Top