So Who should I listen to?

Saturday morning went down the YouTube rabbit hole and came across a Phil Mickelson instructional video on the short game. As luck would have it, the wife needed me out of the house (the dial goes to 11, why play guitar at 5 just cause she is sleeping?) so I went to a nearby course to try it out. Later that afternoon played 9 with a friend and we got matched up with a random dude.

Random plays okay...his pitch game he is usually on on near the green but his putting...leaves something to be desired. 3 jacks were the norm, 4 not uncommon. If his pitches were closer I am not even sure it would have helped. Meanwhile, I have a 3 hole run of : par 3 where I chip it to 3', get up and down for par. Chip it to 5', roll it in for the par. Chip in from 10 yards off green to save the par.

Talking to my buddy about "Seems this Mickelson guy may know something about the short game" and we have a brief discussion on things watching that video corrected. Now, mind you, I am under no illusions that suddenly every chip for the rest of my life is going to be on the green, much less in one-putt range...but clearly that lesson improved my chipping. So the random hears the end of it, asks what I saw, I tell him it was a Phil Mickelson video, mention the weight on the front foot...and instantly he is like, "No, you can't do that, you have to have 60/40, with weight on the back leg" which is pretty much the opposite of what Mickelson showed...at one point Mickelson literally took his left leg off the ground to show where his weight was.

Well, who should I listen to...a random guy on an executive course I am beating or an exceptional short game player? it is a tough call. I mean, sure, my chipping instantly and dramatically improved simply by adjusting ball position and weight distribution per Phil's recommendation...but this random guy on the course is probably a better instructor...

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

I find it amusing that the guy with a lousy short game is offering short-game advice on the course.

Ummmm.......hmmmmm........not sure.

Selected Unwritten Rules:

23. If you can differentiate between good and bad advice, you don't need advice.

78. The person who believes something is impossible should never interrupt the person who is doing it.

Neither, needs to be 54/46

Hmm...i think i would maybe trust someone that does it for a living. Maybe hehe

ntanygd760 said:

Neither, needs to be 54/46

Click to expand...

54/46 thats my number.....(couldnt resist a ska pun)

Weight mostly on the front foot, particularly for a thin lie. When the lie is fluffier, weight is more even distributed to prevent the club from sliding all the way under the ball.

P.S. That's what Phil says.

wadesworld said:

Weight mostly on the front foot, particularly for a thin lie. When the lie is fluffier, weight is more even distributed to prevent the club from sliding all the way under the ball.

P.S. That's what Phil says.

Click to expand...

it is one of the few, the proud, the videos I will re-watch because he put so much information in such a short time that there is no way I could absorb it in one go. He also included some stuff I would never try...but fun seeing how he pulled off the backwards shot in the bunker, for example

Is that guy right handed? Maybe he was backwards with his weight distribution cause he was watching Lefty. :act-up:

Didn't Lee Trevino say something of the like "I would never take a lesson from somebody who can't beat me at golf"

Listen to Phil. I watch those videos and try to practice what he preaches. I wish it would help me consistently, but I'm not consistent a golfer. (But my short game is improving.)

I don't know, was the random 3 putter named Johnson or Scott?

I have watched some of Phil's stuff too and use some of it myself. My chipping and pitching game is very different then most everyone I play with from my set up to swing to well everything. It works for me though and I noticed a few buddies lately that struggle with their short game are starting to copy some of my short game and they are playing better too. Heck I have almost ALL of my weight on my front foot for chipping. If I don't, I end up behind it and not transferring. That makes either a chunked shot that ends up bladed or a stupid little 2ft up in the air and straight back down scoop. I change the height of my shots and how much roll I want as Phil suggests by changing ball position in relation to my feet. Back for lower and more roll out or forward for higher and less roll. Works well for me.

Now I am not saying this other guy has any business telling you anything on the course, but I will say sometimes you can learn something from someone that is not as good a player. Most of the guys I play with are much better then me. At least 3 of them now were struggling with different parts of their game and could not figure out why. One of them had been struggling with putting his entire life. Each one asked me on the course if I saw anything that might be wrong. Well, just so happened I had gone to see a pro because at some point I had the same issue they were having and could see what they were doing because it was what I was doing. Told em what I saw, heck changed the way the bad putter grips the putter completely, and all them eliminated the problem. I can often see things in other people's swing that if asked I can point out. Key words "if asked". My pro yells at me when I take lessons because most of my mistakes I call out before he can. Its one of those things I can see and understand, even with myself most of the time, but sometimes I do it anyway lol

I make it a rule to not listen to anyone who offers unsolicited swing tips on the course. Maybe you need to refer that guy to Youtube for some Phil putting tip videos. Sounds like need maybe needs it.

olperfesser said:

Listen to Phil. I watch those videos and try to practice what he preaches. I wish it would help me consistently, but I'm not consistent a golfer. (But my short game is improving.)

Click to expand...

last night pretty much every part of my game was awful...but my chipping was on fire. Actually, chipping and putting. Hole one, sliced 50 yards right. Chipped to 10', left it one revolution short of the birdie. Hole two, hit it 40 yards short of my average hit. Chip to 6', par. Next hole chunked the drive, short on the second but when it was time to chip...money. Monstrously high score...but the chipping, I am loving the Phil stuff. Plan to watch the video again tonight to fine tune what inevitably I will have remembered wrong.