10 Golf Myths

[Orikoru]

I see your point basically hit your longest club that doesn’t get you in trouble proper
Rocket surgery

Just watched that during the footy half time. Think I may need to do a bit more digging, because so far all I took from it was look at the hole work out the longest club you can hit safely off the tee and that’s it! Doesn’t feel ground breaking or anything different to how I was taught to play the game by my dad in the 90s and how I’ve always played it as a result

I’m bored so off down the rabbit hole I go!

Yeah, I did get the impression from your posts that you'd already figured out most of it for yourself. I think there's probably three types of people - for some it's common sense that they already knew. For others, it's eye-opening but makes perfect sense and they get it straight away. (I was somewhere between the two.) The third type are the ones with their head in the sand because it's not traditional so it must be snake oil.

 

[D-S]

FYI, a putt missed on the high side of a sloping putt, will always finish closer to the hole than one missed on the low side provided they're hit at the same pace.

Of course this is all specific green/putt dependent but a a putt missing on the low side more often leaves more of an uphill next putt than a high side miss.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

FYI, a putt missed on the high side of a sloping putt, will always finish closer to the hole than one missed on the low side provided they're hit at the same pace.

Guess what it still missed so it’s still irrelevant what side it missed on

Of course this is all specific green/putt dependent but a a putt missing on the low side more often leaves more of an uphill next putt than a high side miss.

And that was my point earlier I’d rather leave an uphill putt for my 2nd than a downhill one where I have to be tentative.

 

[Yorkhacker]

Guess what it still missed so it’s still irrelevant what side it missed on

Yes, but you're more likely to make the return putt because it will be closer

 

[Orikoru]

I'm not getting confused at all, you are. You've picked random distances, why do you assume every putt left short is 1ft from the hole but every putt long is 3ft away? Statistically speaking, an underhit putt goes in 0% of the time but an overhit putt will go in some % of the time.

No golfer has left a putt short by being tentative/defensive then whacked the next one past the hole thinking 'Don't leave this short again'........ever

I was just broadly assuming a dispersion of being 1 foot away from what you aimed in either direction. I.e. one foot shorter than your target when the target was the hole vs. one foot longer than your target when your target was two feet past the hole. I was trying to get you to understand the concept of focussing your dispersion around the actual target to reduce three-putts. It's not really about the odd occasion you get lucky when you hit it too hard but it hits the middle of the hole and drops.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Yes, but you're more likely to make the return putt because it will be closer

Not necessarily! Would depend on the slope and potential break of that putt!

If I missed on the low side I’d be more guaranteed an uphill putt I can be more positive with!

My point is it’s irrelevant what side you miss on. You’ve still missed so the old saying of missing in the Pro side is absolutely garbage. A miss is a miss , personally I take each putt as it comes and I don’t fixate on old fashioned idioms of having to miss in the high side or every putt must got at least 18” past. It’s served me well so far having independent though.

 

[3 jabber]

I was just broadly assuming a dispersion of being 1 foot away from what you aimed in either direction. I.e. one foot shorter than your target when the target was the hole vs. one foot longer than your target when your target was two feet past the hole. I was trying to get you to understand the concept of focussing your dispersion around the actual target to reduce three-putts. It's not really about the odd occasion you get lucky when you hit it too hard but it hits the middle of the hole and drops.

I suggest you work on your pace control and get a bit more aggressive with your putts, your handicap will likely drop. Do you play with many low handicappers, how often do you see them leave a putt short of the hole from a reasonably makeable distance, say inside 20ft? The answer is very rarely.

 

[rulie]

Seems a lot of reference to 3-putting. That's usually result of poor distance control or missing short putts. I'm more interested in the total number of putts I used during the round. Anything 31 or less is usually a good score. 3-putts are irritants but can be resolved by making short putts.

 

[WorldHandicapSystem]

Not posted on here for ages but read this thread and it made me laugh. What an absolute load of crap being spouted by most of you. There are two types of putt, long ones that you are trying to lag and shorter ones that you hope to hole.

Talking specifically about the second category......

1. Good players ALWAYS aim to get the ball past the hole.
2. If you are good enough to judge the pace to get the ball within a foot then you are also good enough to judge the pace to get the ball just past the hole.
3. There are 2 elements to a putt, length and line. If you leave the ball short then you have definitely got one of those elements wrong and possibly both so it will NEVER go in.
If you get the ball 2 feet past the hole then you have only got one of those elements wrong and the ball may possibly move towards the hole due to the imperfections in the green.
Experts agree that the optimum speed for a putt to go in the hole is with enough pace to go approx 18 inches past the hole as it will hold it's line better.

Maybe some of you should go for a putting lesson Adios, I'll leave you all to carry on discussing how to putt badly.......

1. Absolutely not true. It’s been proven that even Faxon left a large % of putts from a makable distance short, even though he says he didn’t.

The rest just doesn’t make any rational sense.

Which experts agree? Peltz “research” was 30 years ago. Things change.

Just like people still believe putting is the most important part of the game for scoring well.

 

[WorldHandicapSystem]

Seems a lot of reference to 3-putting. That's usually result of poor distance control or missing short putts. I'm more interested in the total number of putts I used during the round. Anything 31 or less is usually a good score. 3-putts are irritants but can be resolved by making short putts.

Total number of putts is almost meaningless as a statistic on its own. If you hit every first putt from 3ft and had 30 putts you’ve had a mare. But if you hit every first putt from 60ft and had 36 putts you’ve had an amazing round with the putter.

 

[pendodave]

1. Absolutely not true. It’s been proven that even Faxon left a large % of putts from a makable distance short, even though he says he didn’t.

The rest just doesn’t make any rational sense.

Which experts agree? Peltz “research” was 30 years ago. Things change.

Just like people still believe putting is the most important part of the game for scoring well.

Agree about 1. being untrue. Greg Chalmers (best putter on pga tour for years) is always yapping on about this on Crossfield's pod. Says that once he's not likely to hole a putt, he's just trying to get it close. If you try and get past the hole every time, there are going to be times when you're a looong way past.

Maybe 3jabber is making the case for nominative determinism more effectively than the case for his flat stick strategy...

 

[Neilds]

I suggest you work on your pace control and get a bit more aggressive with your putts, your handicap will likely drop. Do you play with many low handicappers, how often do you see them leave a putt short of the hole from a reasonably makeable distance, say inside 20ft? The answer is very rarely.

The pga average from 20 feet is less than 50%, hardly in the makeable distance for us hackers

 

[3 jabber]

The pga average from 20 feet is less than 50%, hardly in the makeable distance for us hackers

You are absolutely correct sir but as a low handicapper if I have a putt inside 20ft realistically I am thinking about trying to hole it so will try to make sure I at least get the ball to the hole. Outside that distance is when I start to think more about lagging it close.

 

[Orikoru]

You are absolutely correct sir but as a low handicapper if I have a putt inside 20ft realistically I am thinking about trying to hole it so will try to make sure I at least get the ball to the hole. Outside that distance is when I start to think more about lagging it close.

Different mindsets then. No matter what distance, I'm always thinking about getting it as close to the hole as possible. I don't need a different thought process just because it's 21 feet instead of 19.

 

[Klimski]

You are absolutely correct sir but as a low handicapper if I have a putt inside 20ft realistically I am thinking about trying to hole it so will try to make sure I at least get the ball to the hole. Outside that distance is when I start to think more about lagging it close.

Your 'name' seems to imply that this tactic results in 3 putts

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I'm clearly an edgy kind of guy. I hit my 7 iron 135yds. Usually including roll out, sometimes not (heck it might go past where I intended but if I've hit it that purely I'm beyond caring )

There, I've said it

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

I'm clearly an edgy kind of guy. I hit my 7 iron 135yds. Usually including roll out, sometimes not (heck it might go past where I intended but if I've hit it that purely I'm beyond caring )

There, I've said it

What you don’t aim to hit your 7 iron to 18” past the hole everytime. Go and get in the bin man you call yourself a golfer

P.S your honesty is appreciated in these dark times

 

[irip]

I'm clearly an edgy kind of guy. I hit my 7 iron 135yds. Usually including roll out, sometimes not (heck it might go past where I intended but if I've hit it that purely I'm beyond caring )

There, I've said it

I would say you’re a normal regular boring kind of guy as that’s how far most people hit their 7 iron.

The difference is you will admit it

 

[NearHull]

If we are having a honesty race to the bottom, I hit my 7 iron 130 yards.


I’m winning!

 

[The Squirrel]

This can't be right. I looked at GolfWRX once. From this I learned that every golfer's 7 iron goes at least 200 yards.