Accuracy into greens - how to get better

[Spear-Chucker]

Lots of excellent advice in this thread I'd agree with:

1. Take enough club
2. Swing at 85% of max with shorter irons
3. ALWAYS practice to a target
4. Figure out your genuine (read, 'honest') distances for each club
5. Avoid sucker pins on the course
6. As you get better work on different trajectories and shapes for 9 irons and wedges
7. Take enough club

 

[njrose51]

Thanks everyone, some really useful hints and tips which I'll take to the range and onto the course as well. I appreciate all the advice.:swing:

 

[Curls]

Coming to the party a bit late and the Coach (and others) touched on this but I'd say if your range has target boards then good practice is to try to land the balls behind them. Shooting over a target is much more akin to what you do on course. We tend to try to hit AT a board when in reality we'll not often have that option in play.

In a nutshell carry is more important than overall distance (though that is obviously a factor).

 

[USER1999]

Hit your driver further, and leave a shorter club in.

 

[garyinderry]

If your normal shot is a x yard fade then aim x yards left maybe even more depending on pin location. unbelievable how many people play an x yard fade then aim straight at the pin.

 

[RobertB]

agree with most on the carry. spend time getting honest/real carry distance with irons, take averages, don't exclude ones coming up short! then get a laser and on-course get the carry distance you need and be honest and take the club that gives you that, not your sunday best right out of sweet-spot. if you are hitting ball your typical average then, on average, you'll then be subject to your technique leaving you left/right. and as someone said don't faff at 3/4 shots etc.... e.g. say you carry 8i 140 and a 7i 150... but you've 145, take the 7 and grip 1-1.5" down and hit full as normal... so with 5i-9i instead of 5 clubs you've 10 options....

 

[Carpfather1]

I been practicing a fair bit lately and finally can see light at the end of the tunnel after a hard winter practicing yes im far from perfect at the moment but hopfully should see a big drop in handicap this summer.the best advice I was given which ive started doing and finding a lot more greens doing so is using enough club to get the green because I was always leaving myself short this alone will knock shots off a round and another i been doing is chipping using a 8 iron with a putting stroke when around the green.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I been practicing a fair bit lately and finally can see light at the end of the tunnel after a hard winter practicing yes im far from perfect at the moment but hopfully should see a big drop in handicap this summer.the best advice I was given which ive started doing and finding a lot more greens doing so is using enough club to get the green because I was always leaving myself short this alone will knock shots off a round and another i been doing is chipping using a 8 iron with a putting stroke when around the green.

The majority of the time all the trouble will always be at the front of the green and so taking more club means you don't have to make the perfect strike every time or swing flat out. If you hit it well you'll be no more than the middle or back third of the green and probably no more than 25 feet on most greens. Hit the middle of most greens and no matter where the flag is you'll never be too far away

 

[MadAdey]

If your using a laser rangefinder for getting pin distances then get rid. I have a great IPhone app called swing by swing. It gives distances to the front middle and back of every green and then also gives you the distances to the front third and the back third. The most important thing is to hit the green, so by knowing how far to get a third of the way up the green means even if it isn't caught perfect it is still going to carry over any trouble.

Middle of the green will more often than not give a relatively easy 2-putt par. So go for the middle and do not try dropping the ball on the flag every time.

 

[SteveJay]

Lots of references here, and elsewhere in similar threads, about knowing or measuring carry distance. how do you guys actually do that? I can measure/pace from where I stand to the where the ball stops, but that will include roll.
Only suggestion I saw was to have a PP stand near the target (dangerous!) and "spot" the landing zone......any other options, preferably useable when practicing alone?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Lots of references here, and elsewhere in similar threads, about knowing or measuring carry distance. how do you guys actually do that? I can measure/pace from where I stand to the where the ball stops, but that will include roll.
Only suggestion I saw was to have a PP stand near the target (dangerous!) and "spot" the landing zone......any other options, preferably useable when practicing alone?

I simply hit balls with each club into and down wind and used sky caddy to measure. Yes it included roll but not masses and gave me an average number to at least work with. Many ranges now offer gapping sessions for a reasonable charge on launch monitors so you can always go there and get carry and roll numbers

 

[SteveJay]

OK, thanks Homer, pretty much what I do with a Bushnell watch, but know GPS is not that accurate so wedge distances will be out and it was the shorter distances into greens with half and three-quarter swings that I wanted to focus on.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

OK, thanks Homer, pretty much what I do with a Bushnell watch, but know GPS is not that accurate so wedge distances will be out and it was the shorter distances into greens with half and three-quarter swings that I wanted to focus on.

Find a range that will hire out the launch monitor and hit a few balls. It'll give you what you need

 

[JollyRedDevil]

What no one has mentioned is that range balls travel less than normal balls. Isn’t it there a bit pointless trying to find/practice your yardage at the range? Direction, yes but distance, difficult. Or am I missing something here.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

What no one has mentioned is that range balls travel less than normal balls. Isn’t it there a bit pointless trying to find/practice your yardage at the range? Direction, yes but distance, difficult. Or am I missing something here.

Most ranges I use around here have a teaching bay where you can hit a proper ball into a screen or curtain to give a pretty accurate reading

 

[JollyRedDevil]

Unfortunately ranges near me don't have that facility or I don't know of any that have. Don't they charge much more to use this?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Unfortunately ranges near me don't have that facility or I don't know of any that have. Don't they charge much more to use this?

Tends to be a set fee for the hire of the launch monitor. Have a look at places like AG and see if they'd hire their monitor and net out so you can hit real balls

 

[JollyRedDevil]

Thanks, I'll take a look.

 

[RobertB]

If your using a laser rangefinder for getting pin distances then get rid. I have a great IPhone app called swing by swing. It gives distances to the front middle and back of every green and then also gives you the distances to the front third and the back third. The most important thing is to hit the green, so by knowing how far to get a third of the way up the green means even if it isn't caught perfect it is still going to carry over any trouble.

Middle of the green will more often than not give a relatively easy 2-putt par. So go for the middle and do not try dropping the ball on the flag every time.

club I play at colour code flags, red:front, yellow: middle, white:back..... so hitting on the flag with laser will then give more than sufficient info for ability to pick a target distance and club choice.

 

[MadAdey]

club I play at colour code flags, red:front, yellow: middle, white:back..... so hitting on the flag with laser will then give more than sufficient info for ability to pick a target distance and club choice.

Thats useful knowledge then if you use the 2 together. I just see a lot of players getting caught up by the exact distance to a flag, without taking other factors into account. I played with someone a few weeks ago who spent forever zapping things on every shot. A lot of pins had been cut on the front portion and he ended up leaving himself short in the face of deep bunkers with no shot a couple of times.

I think range finders can give some very good, accurate info. But that is only of use if you actually know where the flag is cut on the green. At the end of day how many of us can actually hit 10 short irons in a row and not have a distance dispersal of 12-15 foot.