Joe,
I have been golfing for 5 years and have a very good drive, long irons and putting. My whole game goes to the dogs when I have about a 30 yd. pitch or shorter chip, which is sometimes my second shot on a short hole. I don't like to take a divot, but I think I'm not hitting the bottom of the ball by not doing so. Is there a tip out there to help me? I enjoy the newsletter and all the advice.
Thanks, Bette
Hi Bette,
Pitches and chips are the scoring shots that separate the low handicappers from the high handicappers. You can go to any driving range and watch two people banging out impressive shots, but their handicaps may be 5 shots apart and you would not be able to tell which person was better, which means more time should be spent on the short game instead of the long game. In your case, if you do not like taking a divot, that means your swing is a “sweeping” swing that has little margin for error. I would recommend improving your margin of error by striking the ball at the equator with a downward stroke. That way, the ball will spin up the clubface, unlike the sweeping swing which strikes the equator resulting in a low line drive or topped shot. Also on the downswing do not break your wrists, let the hands lead the clubhead all the way into the follow thru.
Joe
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Question for the Evil Twin:
Jody, what do you think about the Taylor Made R7 driver with the adjustable weight screws?
Answer: It’s a screwy idea, but it might be fun to screw around with, as long as you don’t screw up your swing trying to screw the right weights into the right screw holes. It gives a whole new meaning when you hit a bad shot. Instead of saying screw it, you can actually do it.
(note from Joe – Jody, I think you have a screw loose, and it’s not in your driver)
Jody, what do you think about the Taylor Made R7 driver with the adjustable weight screws?
Answer: It’s a screwy idea, but it might be fun to screw around with, as long as you don’t screw up your swing trying to screw the right weights into the right screw holes. It gives a whole new meaning when you hit a bad shot. Instead of saying screw it, you can actually do it.
(note from Joe – Jody, I think you have a screw loose, and it’s not in your driver)
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Joe,
I can’t afford to buy new balls all the time, so how long do older balls keep their distance?
Matt
Hi Matt,
One way to tell is to hold a new ball in one hand and another ball in the other hand. On a smooth sidewalk, hold them as high as you can and drop them at the same time and compare how high they rebound.
Joe
I can’t afford to buy new balls all the time, so how long do older balls keep their distance?
Matt
Hi Matt,
One way to tell is to hold a new ball in one hand and another ball in the other hand. On a smooth sidewalk, hold them as high as you can and drop them at the same time and compare how high they rebound.
Joe
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Joe,
If Ben Hogan was such a great ball striker, why did he say that all straight shots are accidents?
Ray
Hello Ray,
I have no business speaking for Ben, but here is what I think he meant. If you try to hit a straight shot every time, you will only sometimes succeed. If you can “shape” your shots by deliberately hitting a fade or a draw, then you have taken away the dangers that are on one side of the hole or the other side, and even if the ball happens to go straight you are still safe as long as you are not aiming directly at the dangerous area. This does not mean you need two different swings, you can have the same swing with two different grips, one “stronger” to promote a draw, and one “weaker” to promote a fade. If you think about it, when you try to hit the ball straight you do not really know if it might go left or right, so you can get into trouble more easily because your margin of error is smaller. When you can shape your shots, fairways and greens become essentially twice as wide because you know you are not as likely to miss on the wrong side, so you do not have to aim down the middle, and therefore your margin of error becomes larger to the other side.
Joe
If Ben Hogan was such a great ball striker, why did he say that all straight shots are accidents?
Ray
Hello Ray,
I have no business speaking for Ben, but here is what I think he meant. If you try to hit a straight shot every time, you will only sometimes succeed. If you can “shape” your shots by deliberately hitting a fade or a draw, then you have taken away the dangers that are on one side of the hole or the other side, and even if the ball happens to go straight you are still safe as long as you are not aiming directly at the dangerous area. This does not mean you need two different swings, you can have the same swing with two different grips, one “stronger” to promote a draw, and one “weaker” to promote a fade. If you think about it, when you try to hit the ball straight you do not really know if it might go left or right, so you can get into trouble more easily because your margin of error is smaller. When you can shape your shots, fairways and greens become essentially twice as wide because you know you are not as likely to miss on the wrong side, so you do not have to aim down the middle, and therefore your margin of error becomes larger to the other side.
Joe
Monday, September 20, 2004
Joe,
Just a quick question, I’m a 2 handicapper and I hit my driver about 290 metres and my wedge 125 the problem is that all my short irons go a long way for a short iron e.g. 8 iron 155, 6 iron 180, but that’s where it stops if I’m 200 out I can’t get there with a well struck 3 iron, what’s the deal there. Thanks for listening and hope to get some feedback.
Phil
Hi Phil,
You must be stronger than a gorilla (or is that you, Lefty? nawwww). Since a meter is about 10% longer than a yard, that means (rounding it off) you are hitting your driver about 320 yards, your 8 iron 170 yards, your 6 iron 200 yards. That begs the question about how far can you hit your 5 and 4 irons, my guess would be (using a rule of thumb 10-15 yards per club) your 5 iron would go 210-215 and your 4 iron would go 220-225 yards. If that is the case I would bench the 3 iron and use a hybrid club or 7 wood instead. Many people besides you have trouble hitting longer irons, that’s why the new sets are coming out with hybrid clubs replacing the longer irons, so why fight it? Just go with technology.
Joe
Just a quick question, I’m a 2 handicapper and I hit my driver about 290 metres and my wedge 125 the problem is that all my short irons go a long way for a short iron e.g. 8 iron 155, 6 iron 180, but that’s where it stops if I’m 200 out I can’t get there with a well struck 3 iron, what’s the deal there. Thanks for listening and hope to get some feedback.
Phil
Hi Phil,
You must be stronger than a gorilla (or is that you, Lefty? nawwww). Since a meter is about 10% longer than a yard, that means (rounding it off) you are hitting your driver about 320 yards, your 8 iron 170 yards, your 6 iron 200 yards. That begs the question about how far can you hit your 5 and 4 irons, my guess would be (using a rule of thumb 10-15 yards per club) your 5 iron would go 210-215 and your 4 iron would go 220-225 yards. If that is the case I would bench the 3 iron and use a hybrid club or 7 wood instead. Many people besides you have trouble hitting longer irons, that’s why the new sets are coming out with hybrid clubs replacing the longer irons, so why fight it? Just go with technology.
Joe
