Can you control your misses?

How do you know the "miss" is coming?

I can't. I know my miss is a left it right ball flight and typically is a result of a poor swing. In terms of course management Im definitely more aware and play accordingly.

Hell no.

Would be a heck of a lot better if I could.

Nope. On a bad swing, my ball is going somewhere totally unanticipated. I can hit a pull just as easily as a slice.

Honestly control would be great, but before I feel confident in my consistency I don't know how much I should focus on control???

I wish I could control my misses, it could be a dock hook, a push slice, a thin, a fat shot... and even my good shots would probably be someone else's misses. I just try to get close to the green and work from there

jhstew1 said:

How do you know the "miss" is coming?

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Bingo .. For me it happens always at the wrong times

I can barely control my good shots. In all seriousness my ball flight is usually Right to left so I have started to take that into account when I aim and swing. In the past I have always thought that I needed a dead straight ball flight and would get discouraged with the movement that I had, but now I just embrace it and play it (especially off the tee)

Trying to control my miss has gotten me into trouble with my swing, often resulting in my hands trying to control my swing and leads me to miss more. I am trying to focus on consistency with my swing and hopefully getting me more control of my misses later on.

From a course management standpoint, I would like to think that I am aware on the course and play the best shot at that moment. However that isn't always the case.

I won't say control, but sometimes I can minimize my misses. I know with my irons when I miss it tends to either pull or go curve a little to the left. So if a pin is on the left side of a green I'll aim more towards the middle knowing that if I hit straight middle of the green is fine or if it leaks a little left it will be closer to the pin. If it is on the right side I might go right at it knowing if I miss I am more likely to miss and still be on the green.

Doesn't always work out on each individual shot but overall playing for a good result while trying to minimize the impact of a miss seems to be the way to go about it.

i expect to miss, though i still get upset when i do. so i tend to aim for certain parts of the fairway off the tee, or away from certain hazards on approach shots, because if i do miss it won't be quite as harmful to my score.

interestingly, we played a challenging course over the last few days, 63 holes in total. in thinking back on my round, there were certain shots into certain fairways or greens that i missed in the exact same way every time even though the wind was different every time, and i usually had the same club in my hand. it showed me how much the mind can affect the swing when there is uncertainty, even if you're not sure why you're uncertain!

After my last two rounds, and really the past 1.5 months.... I'm lucky I can even control walking in a straight line..... No, I can't control my misses. Ugh.

Control, no. But I have a general idea of how I'm going to miss and don't play for it like I should.

[h=1]Can you control your misses?[/h]
Interesting question and I'd have to say no. Lately I've had a 2-way miss off the tee, either a big slice or duck hook. I'm contemplating lessons over the winter its becoming so frustrating...

I suck at golf so I judge control as whether or not the shot stays in play. :/
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My mistake is usually a slice, so I've done some damage control by aiming left of my target to give allowance to that error.

I also swing poorly when I try to give the shot more juice, there's a timing error somewhere. So I've minimized that by staying in my swing, meaning not adding more juice even when it looks like I need it.

To a degree when I'm playing well.


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When I'm playing well I can, but that's like 30% of the time, hopefully taking some lessons this winter to take next steps and maybe solicit the advice of Freddie.


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Jmilla said:

When I'm playing well I can, but that's like 30% of the time, hopefully taking some lessons this winter to take next steps and maybe solicit the advice of Freddie.


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Click to expand...

I'll teach how to control your ball

No, niether at home nor on the course

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There was a time where I would have said I can control my misses, but today...I'd be lying. Not enough practice will do that to you. With that said...When I'm on my game, I know where my misses will go usually, and thus play the percentages with shots so as not to make matters worse if I DO miss.

It all starts at the tee box...selecting which side to play in relation to your 'usual shot shape', wind, dogleg left or right. What distance do you need?
e.g Last round 17th dogleg left 355y, down wind. player 1 driver = long right rough, player 2 3w fade over left bunker that did not fade, me 3i miss hit to Fw, next was 162y in downwind, hit a 8i to 10ft, missed the birdie, got par. Think whats going to get the job done with the least risk and still have another shot in.

Par 3's; Take more club! Don't play full shots to the number, unless your swinging well, getting 'solid contact' to get the yardage. If wind is left to right opt for more club to turn it over or keep straight. With more club think about a 1/4 inch choke down, rather than swinging easy and flipping it. Downwind perhaps rip it with a shorter club if you can!

Par 4's I think; do I hit left or right side of the pin/green, to land on the green slope that will leave me a up hill putt.
Check the pin location, is it front or back? I will play shorter or longer iron, so my miss has a bigger landing area. Pins that a right up front you could err for a par by landing 5-10 short of the green chip up n 1 putt, taking the left & right bunkers out of reach/play...or go long. Just give yourself a two putt par at the least

Par 5's look were the flag is located before you hit your second shot. e.g if its tucked right, err a FW shot to left center, that way if your short of the green you can bump n run a 9i, Gw up the swail and back to the pin.
Not thinking about your 2nd FW shot landing location (pick a spot) can easily leave you short sided to pitch over a bunker tight to pin. Can you pitch off tight lies over bunkers?
The safe play is to lay up to your fav wedge distance and hit a full (say 58* 90-100y) shot in tight, quite often you get it right and have a short putt for birdie. I feel more confident in my 58, than slapping sand out of a bunker close up (and I am good out of bunkers too), most of you cant hold a 3w on the green, unless you have a HL 3w with a mid high launch shaft set up just for long approach par 5's (recommend a Aeroburner TP 3w HL 16.5 / Fuji 7.0) So compare a 58 @ 90y Vs pitching out of rough backside of the green...Hmmm
...Just think about these things, your game, the green and how its protected... before you wallop that 3w O/B, and if you not that good with a 3w you have no business using it trying to be Tarzan! 3 woods and Hybrids are high risk shots, your lie better be good and shot direction accurate!. Try 3i, 3i wedge on a par 5...you may get 4 or 5, but not usually double bogie

NB: if your playing tomorrow, the extra drink won't help , and if you drink on the course...your only good for 2 beers then its downhill...perhaps bring a hockey stick!...or you can't control your Mrs and use golf as a self medication get-a-way... then play away from all trouble & be happy with bogie

I would say that my #1 goal in golf is to have my missed shots be playable. For the most part, I've accomplished that with my driver, and that's a HUGE boost to my game.

At times, I'll hit some loose irons, but rarely do I get in real trouble with those (other than the occasional fat shot - hate those...).

The game is so much more enjoyable without penalty strokes, or worrying that your next shot is going to be a complete disaster! Even without hitting very many good shots, you can still score with your short game.

This year has been the first - but it's still not 100%.

I feel much more confident about controlling my miss, because I've begun to understand my habits. That helped me eliminate one side of the course, and has really helped me to improve my scoring. I know that if I misshit my fairway wood or driver, it's going to take on a late, hard fade. If I don't, it's going straight. And I play to that, not trying to fight it.