darthweasel
Well-known member
The question: is sim golf helpful? The anecdotal evidence:
as a self-proclaimed "fair weather golfer" I don't get as many months to golf as I would prefer. as I type this I am watching the rain fall and knowing I ain't teeing it up for real today. With that said, for the last year and change I have had a "membership" at a sim house that allows unlimited time.
The stats available are pretty robust including swing path, face to path, launch angle, club and ball speeds, smash factor, carry distance etc. That feels good. But I had reservations.
The thing is...you see what, 8' of flight? Also, if the miss is "fat" the mats mask a lot of flaws. I can skip a club off a mat and still make it seem I got a clean strike...which on the course is a fat shot that goes no place. Second, I swing pretty freely there and the fear is I develop a "no consequence, rule free" swing indoors that outdoor becomes a more conservative swing that alters the face when i deliver it to the ball on course.
Add to that the tees are uni-height...which reminds me.
Okay, I am back. Should have bought some Infini-tees that have adjustable height. The single height tees mean my driver did not get much work during the winter. That is not the height I like to tee it.
Regardless, the question was in my mind...the improvements I was seeing in my swing in numbers and, honestly, in dispersion on the screen...would those hold when I got on the real course? Because that is the entire point of working hours a week at dialing in swing path, face orientation, and launch angle. I am not seeking a pretty swing at the simulator. I am looking for a swing that moves me around the course in reasonable distance and location.
After work yesterday i shot out and played a round. Now, it had a lot going for it. There was nobody in front of me (well, okay, I caught some guys on 18 but...) and nobody behind me. Sub 2-hour rounds are nice. I can play a nice relaxed pace and still not be out there forever. Second, i can take stock of the shots I am hitting.
And here is the thing...I did not feel like I was swinging real well. Hole 1 and 4 in particular come to mind. Both were the big slice I fear. And here is where I feel like the swing work is paying off. Hole 4, traditionally when I slice that would be in the water. This time the bad swing was enough better...not good, it was a bad swing...but enough better that it stayed in play. I then was able to take a wedge I was on the verge of taking out of my bag as unhittable and left myself a 10' birdie putt (which I missed...but I had it!)
And as I worked through the round that is what I found. My swing was not magically longer, straighter, perfect...there were still some outcomes I did not love. But they were less bad, more usable. Shots that formerly would be penalties were just either needing a recovery shot or even just hitting from the rough and further back than I hoped.
So I started looking at my scores and yep...they are averaging lower. Like...10-15 shots lower. My average score has decreased .26 strokes per hole against all time and .12 strokes per hole versus last 12 months...16 overall since I started at the sim house about two years ago.
Even better, as I was working my way around the course I stood in front of a difficult shot and realized...I expect to hit a good shot here and even if it is not good it will be playable.
So in the end, it feels like for me, yes...working on the simulator, seeing those numbers has been more useful than taking the mevo plus to the range and swinging in a thick coat.
as a self-proclaimed "fair weather golfer" I don't get as many months to golf as I would prefer. as I type this I am watching the rain fall and knowing I ain't teeing it up for real today. With that said, for the last year and change I have had a "membership" at a sim house that allows unlimited time.
The stats available are pretty robust including swing path, face to path, launch angle, club and ball speeds, smash factor, carry distance etc. That feels good. But I had reservations.
The thing is...you see what, 8' of flight? Also, if the miss is "fat" the mats mask a lot of flaws. I can skip a club off a mat and still make it seem I got a clean strike...which on the course is a fat shot that goes no place. Second, I swing pretty freely there and the fear is I develop a "no consequence, rule free" swing indoors that outdoor becomes a more conservative swing that alters the face when i deliver it to the ball on course.
Add to that the tees are uni-height...which reminds me.
Okay, I am back. Should have bought some Infini-tees that have adjustable height. The single height tees mean my driver did not get much work during the winter. That is not the height I like to tee it.
Regardless, the question was in my mind...the improvements I was seeing in my swing in numbers and, honestly, in dispersion on the screen...would those hold when I got on the real course? Because that is the entire point of working hours a week at dialing in swing path, face orientation, and launch angle. I am not seeking a pretty swing at the simulator. I am looking for a swing that moves me around the course in reasonable distance and location.
After work yesterday i shot out and played a round. Now, it had a lot going for it. There was nobody in front of me (well, okay, I caught some guys on 18 but...) and nobody behind me. Sub 2-hour rounds are nice. I can play a nice relaxed pace and still not be out there forever. Second, i can take stock of the shots I am hitting.
And here is the thing...I did not feel like I was swinging real well. Hole 1 and 4 in particular come to mind. Both were the big slice I fear. And here is where I feel like the swing work is paying off. Hole 4, traditionally when I slice that would be in the water. This time the bad swing was enough better...not good, it was a bad swing...but enough better that it stayed in play. I then was able to take a wedge I was on the verge of taking out of my bag as unhittable and left myself a 10' birdie putt (which I missed...but I had it!)
And as I worked through the round that is what I found. My swing was not magically longer, straighter, perfect...there were still some outcomes I did not love. But they were less bad, more usable. Shots that formerly would be penalties were just either needing a recovery shot or even just hitting from the rough and further back than I hoped.
So I started looking at my scores and yep...they are averaging lower. Like...10-15 shots lower. My average score has decreased .26 strokes per hole against all time and .12 strokes per hole versus last 12 months...16 overall since I started at the sim house about two years ago.
Even better, as I was working my way around the course I stood in front of a difficult shot and realized...I expect to hit a good shot here and even if it is not good it will be playable.
So in the end, it feels like for me, yes...working on the simulator, seeing those numbers has been more useful than taking the mevo plus to the range and swinging in a thick coat.
