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Fairway preference

M2Giles

M2Giles

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Albatross 2021 Club
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When playing, do you have a preference for how the fairways play. Tight, firm lies or softer, fluffy lies or something else?

I really like tight, firm lies. It makes me think I can hit down through the ball and it will compress against my club. Fluffy lies, I feel like I will catch it higher on the face, but I do like them for hitting fairway wood off the deck.
 
Zoysia!!! It’s light and fluffy, but at the same time the balls sits up on it like it’s on a tee. So easy to play on. Bermuda is fun too though with really easy turf interaction and beaver pelt divots.

But overall, definitely the soft fluffy lies are my preference. I’m not super steep, but I definitely see some turf interaction and on firmer lies it can take a toll on the joints.
 
Usually either is fine as I hit much better from the fairway than the rough.. Something about a ball sitting down in the rough gets in my head

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My home course is zoysia and I like how the ball sits up. I have played on really tight lies and that is fun also, but prefer the fluffy lies.
 
Probably tight and firm but honestly any fairway I’ve hit is good for me.
 
Definitely tight and firm. Those conditions add to distance off the tee and encourage hitting down on the ball, both very good things! :act-up:
 
I Like fluff fairway grass. Since shoulder replacement I like a fluffy lie compared to a tight fairway lie.
 
I'm not steep so I really like those perched zoysia lies. I like bermuda OK too but not this early in the season when our bermuda is basically damp bare dirt. It also always takes me a few holes to adjust to real tight bent grass fairways sometimes found further north. Especially so when trying to hit a fairway wood.
 
As someone who just recently started hitting fairways consistently, it doesn't matter to me. I'm so used to being in the rough so much that I get anxious in the fairway now.
 
DonJuan said:
As someone who just recently started hitting fairways consistently, it doesn't matter to me. I'm so used to being in the rough so much that I get anxious in the fairway now.
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The rough is Nature's tee.
 
Well, first and foremost, I like to have grass. Preferably mown to an even depth.

Besides that, since I'm a picker, it doesn't really matter. If I had a choice, a bit fuzzier than tighter.
 
I just prefer to be in the fairway in general.
 
Is goat track an option?
 
I have been playing it where it lies for 2 years now so I am getting better at every lie. As long as it is in the fairway I dont care LOL!
 
Shaman said:
The rough is Nature's tee.
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Hahahahaha, that it is. But it's not the contact that makes me nervous. It's the pressure I put on myself to make a GIR. I played yesterday and didn't even use a tee on half the tee shots.
 
For the joints, I prefer some give. But for the score, tight and firm seems to work best for me.
 
Give me the fluffy all day, every day. Anything less than a full swing, I can struggle with tight lies. Low cut FW, grain against? Recipe for a chunk.
 
Tight and firm seems to work best for me. I struggle when it is overly damp. And tend to overdraw from the rough.
 
M2Giles said:
When playing, do you have a preference for how the fairways play. Tight, firm lies or softer, fluffy lies or something else?

I really like tight, firm lies. It makes me think I can hit down through the ball and it will compress against my club. Fluffy lies, I feel like I will catch it higher on the face, but I do like them for hitting fairway wood off the deck.
Click to expand...

I think majority of amateurs (including myself of course) are not pure ball strikers as we too often tend "not" to hit ball first but tend to hit fat sided. Even when striking better we may often still be striking ground and ball simultaneously more often than we think instead of pure ball first. . And so firm fairways (much like range mats do) tends to help mask things for many of us. This imo is also why so many of us struggle more when fairways are very soft and/or wet and soft.

what I don't get is your statement about hitting down and compressing the ball. Not seeing how that relates.
 
Firmer ground makes me hit down through the ball. With softer grass I dont get the same sensation.

Basically easy comparison is out of the rough we tend to get higher on the face strikes. That's what it feels like to me.
 
M2Giles said:
Firmer ground makes me hit down through the ball. With softer grass I dont get the same sensation.

Basically easy comparison is out of the rough we tend to get higher on the face strikes. That's what it feels like to me.
Click to expand...

Ok, im still not seeing the connected relation to compressing and hitting down has to do with firm ground but to each his own thoughts. No rights or wrongs of course. Was just curious about what was behind your thoughts with it.
 
Tight and firm. I have been playing in mostly soft and muddy for the past 3 months and have incurred plenty of struggles.
 
Firm, tight, and fast. Fluffy fairways just make me catch everything higher on the face and not quite as compressed.
 
I just prefer that they've been mowed in the last week, but sometimes even that's too much to ask.
 
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