Does your swing work for you?

Tadashi70

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
62,648
Reaction score
384
Location
Orlando
Handicap
2.7
I ask because I think a lot of people look to their swing as their flaw. And in reality it's the short game or putting. I have payed a lot of rounds with a lot of people, all with differing games and skill levels. I can honestly say that I have yet to play with someone that played like they thought they should play. Let me get a little deeper. I play with THPrs that are far better than they realize but loose shots from 30 yards and in. I find this to be true of most golfers, including myself.

I have seen most golfers can get off the tee and don't find themselves in crazy spot so the green or close to it is a real possibility. They manage to get the ball close to the green and walk off with a 7. It took them 5 to get up and in from 30 yards short o the green surface. The yleave it in the trap or worse, dump it in the trap. They fat their chip and them proceed to three jack. I always walk away shaking my head. Not at the score but at the thrown away shots.

Part skill level, part lack of confidence, part poor course management. the skill level is due to lack of practice and short term muscle memory. Yes, work on your short game. The lack of practice doesn't exactly spell out confidence. Especially after the first three chips of the day cost them shots. And then course management. I see more plays short of the flag when left or right will yield a long but easy putt. I guess it boils down to playing to your comfort level instead of the ego level. Lastly I think it is about excepting the outcome of the shot you play. Live with the shot you play and except that you might have to drain a 30' putt for par or try to get cute and try to recover from a poor chip.

This isn't a short game thread. This is a thread to get you thinking about your game and if it works for you. I am not saying don't improve but maybe put less effort into the swing and more into the art of scoring. Technique, management and confidence will drop a few shots off your game. And I promise once those few shots drop, more will follow. The mind is powerful and if you are rolling along in a positive way, it will snowball. Just as it does when you are playing poorly. One choice to play away from the pin, can cause so many good things to happen. Those positives at the end of the day add up to lower scores.
 
I have a horrid wedge game for the most part. While I was down for my elbow, I could do a little chipping and putting but nothing else for 9 months. On the practice range, I can chip my butt off. The low bump and run is a shot that I can execute pretty well......... on the practice green. When I get to the course, I seem to be a bit tentative and leave a lot of them woefully short. Other wedge shots, I'm having some big issues with, but I'm sure that I can work that out with some more practice after the lay-off.

Yesterday's round was a perfect example. I know that I lost at least 16 strokes but in reality it was probably over 20 because of wedge shots that came up short on a course with a lot of false fronts which spells disaster. While my entire game is a mess right now, there is no doubt that I lost the majority of strokes within 100 yards of the green. I also believe that while not everyone has the physical capability to hit 270 yard drives, everyone can have a decent short game. I just need to put a concerted effort into improving my wedges.
 
Yea it works well for me most of the time. I can come out of the shot with the best of em but I'm happy overall with my ball striking. Now my short game is another story.
 
No it doesn't. I am trying to stop playing golf swing and get better at playing golf.
 
My short game was a mess prior to last year, no confidence with partial shots, out of the bunker or chip/pitch. Took some lessons and my instructor worked with me on fixing technique and increasing confidence. I have been able to shave a few strokes off as a result and it's still a work in progress.

my full swing is still a wip as well to get more consistent with a good backswing and transition, but I feel if I struggle off the tee now or with iron play I can reduce the damage on the scorecard, but still need practice time and work on short game.

This thread is a great idea
 
I absolutely love this thread. Everything in that post is completely spot on. I play with my cousin in a Thursday night league and hes probably an 11 handicap. He could be probably a 6 if he could get his 30 and in game down. Mostly in his case is all confidence, and he knows he struggles with that so he gets nervous and chunks them. I told him that most of it is all finesse and touch around the green and he would probably drop 8 strokes a round. Other guys at league always complain about not being able to it from certain yardages, and I always ask them then why do you leave yourself at this yardage constantly. If you don't wanna be 60 yards out don't hit a club the previous shot that will put you at 60 yards. If your bread and butter is your pitching wedge from 100 yards, put yourself there every chance you get. A lot of people think you need to hit it the furthest to be good which obviously isn't the case. (Zach Johnson) Great article Tadashi
 
If I kept stats of my rounds, I would see that I'm losing the most strokes from 30 yards and in and I would work harder there. I told Bill that I'm going to work on chipping and putting for 30 minutes before our round today because I'm keenly aware (before your post) that I could lower my handicap faster by working on that area.
 
That last paragraph is gold, Tadashi. Late in the season, I changed my approach to a couple of shots I have problems with. All that did was put me in more par saving positions, and also landed a couple of birdies, and my first eagle in several months. I know this won't work for every situation, though, so still need to improve my technique and confidence in other shot options.
 
Great thread Freddie. I've worked a lot on my swing and I think that it gets the job done for me. I definitely have to put in a lot more effort on scoring shots, and improving my course management.
 
No mine doesn't work...prime example.
Despite losing distance off tee I went from a 14 to an 11 in 2013 and knew I tossed away tons of strokes on the short game.
So I put extra work in on the short game in 2014 and while it wasn't anything magical it was respectable. ...the outcome wad that I went from the 11 index back up to 14 and was trending higher at end of year. Despite taking some lessons I went the wrong way so something isn't working
 
Interesting Freddie. I believe you too. In last years prep for THPMC, the more short game work I did the better my scores were. Now, with winter here and the zero short game work I am doing, my cap shows it in a big way. Playing well from 50 yards and in gave me the confidence to swing well on full shots. At the moment I'm full of check swings and steering the ball trying to avoid places and shots that I'm not confident in at the moment.

Im looking forward to some long sessions of sweating around the Short Game area.

JM
 
Totally agree Freddie.....inside 50 yards is a killer for lots of people and really separates many from being far better players.
 
It works fine for me as long as I'm investing the quality time in it to gain the results I want. I consider myself pretty consistent when in season.
 
my short game on occasion will turn a possible up and down for par into a bogey or worse but when I'm only hitting a GIR 25% of the time I still feel like that is my biggest swing issue, that and I'm not sure what my swing is since it is terribly inconsistent and can vary quite a bit from swing to swing.
 
I may just print this post, drop it in my bag, and read it before every round going forward.

When I'm not giving away strokes with lost balls, I'm giving them away inside of 100 yards. I constantly tell myself I need to learn how to score.

As for your initial question, I took lessons for the first time last February. He pointed out a flaw in my takeaway that caused consistencies from there. I've been working on that since, but it's NOT something I think about while on the course playing.
 
This is a great thread. Personally, it is pretty dead on for me. For years though, I lost a lot of shots with mis hits from tee to green, but then relied on short game and putting to keep things mediocre. But last season, lots of lessons helped with my swing and I was able to get the ball to the green in regulation, but wasn't seeing a big jump in my scores. It wasn't until the very end of the season when I realized my short game and putting were the culprit and was able to improve there.

So this is spot on and is what I'll be focusing on the most this season. Lessons from 35 yards out, 50 yards out, 80 yards out, etc. And putting. It's sobering because I've had really good streaks in these areas, but it's time to keep sharpening them. Along with that, it's time to keep stats to chart progress and see if improvement with short game stats correlates with better scores for me.
 
I'm probably the opposite. My short game is solid but I really struggle to get off the tee. When I get my swing together I shoot great rounds because my short game is there already.
 
I'm probably the opposite. My short game is solid but I really struggle to get off the tee. When I get my swing together I shoot great rounds because my short game is there already.

I'm about the same at the moment, though calling any part of my game 'solid' would be a stretch. I'm working on taming the banana ball.
 
Nicely played FK, thought provoking is a good thing. I'm certain my game leaks the most oil on scoring, Ball striking being what it is, I could really stand to learn to score.
 
sooooo many times I will be chipping from off the green and leave myself more than 5'; sometimes way more. Turns easy pars into bogeys, etc. so on.

Since getting back into golf, I've spent more time doing full swing with my instructor vs. short stuff. My swing still has issues, of course. However, at my current level, I was thinking of spending this season's lessons on 75% 75 yards and in. If my FIR or GIR fall below my current averages or I feel I'm struggling off the tee, I'll get a full swing lesson. However, I'm currently 12.3 and know I should be under 10. It's all the short game.

When my shoulder got screwed up 1yr ago, I had to spend a couple of months putting only. I really improved my putting, especially those 3-4 footers (I did that 10 tees @ 3' drill constantly). I resolve to do the same level of practice with my chipping and half-shots.

Great thread...
 
A lot of truth in that post Panda. Last year when I was getting lessons the first thing my pro asked me is what do you want? A pretty swing or lower scores? Naturally I wanted lower scores & he explained that short game will keep it respectable until the new swing thoughts become second nature.

This conversation opened up my eyes & changed how I manage the course. I'll take chances when warranted, but sucker pins or hazards will make me just go for the center of the green or short where I can try to get up and down. Another thing is working on sand/bunker shots. Getting comfortable out of sand has opened up options on approaching greens & being aggressive.

Great topic & hopefully will generate some thoughts/conversation.
 
My short game is on the way up since I started working harder on it last year, but I know for a fact I need to improve my putting and sand play especially. Generally I get off the tee pretty well and hit my irons solid, and I lose more strokes on the short game and putting than I'd like to admit. Yesterday was a perfect example.
 
Really good question Freddie. I sat and thought about this for a few moments before answering, because I think the answer is my swing has evolved to work for me.

It is much shorter than I would like (as we discussed in your thread) but in my limited play last year, I knew what I was going to get out of it, and it rarely left me in much trouble off the tee.

But the fact it left me much further out than I used to be opened up a whole new set of things to work on. In most cases I moved up to tees in the 5900 to 6100 range to accommodate for it. When playing 6300 or longer due to the event setup, I was often faced with second shots of 180 to 200 yards, and I still vary in how I approach those depending on the trouble near the green, either layup up with an iron I can control or going with a FW if there is ample room.

I'm meandering off into a course engagement topic, which isn't the point of the thread.

So yes, it works for me, but I'd like it to work better for me :)
 
My swing absolutely works for me. The long game is my strength now it's not pretty and I know I have a power leak somewhere that I'm looking at fixing but I loose strokes around the green. When I have to start to pitch and chip is the biggest contributor to my scores. Like Tiger I have new grinds on my wedges and I just need to have better results.
 
I think you're right on the mark, as usual Freddie.

I was thinking the other night about what separates my great rounds from my good or bad rounds. In most cases, it's not my long game. And in a lot of cases, it's not my short game. It's that I leave myself in positions for easy short game shots. Putting a 20-footer from the fringe is a lot different than a 20 yard pitch over a hill. When most of your short game shots demand more of your short game than your skill level, it's going to be a long day. But if you can leave yourself in good spots with easy short game shots, good things are likely to result.
 
Back
Top