CountLippe
Active member
Its like playing a links course when the wind is in the opposite direction to the prevailing wind.
Baked fairways
- Thread starter VVega
- Start date
Its like playing a links course when the wind is in the opposite direction to the prevailing wind.
jim8flog
Journeyman Pro
Aim for the bunker and not the green, ball is going to stop then 
jim8flog
Journeyman Pro
Very true on most holes where I play.
jim8flog
Journeyman Pro
Hit a full height 6 iron on to front of our longest green yesterday and the ball disappeared ou of the back of the green. I really miss my younger days when I could put back spin on with a 6 iron.
SatchFan
Q-School Graduate
Mine is a very hilly parkland course. Love the baked fairways as it means I get an extra 40 yards out of my drives. Plenty of bump and run options with maybe the exception of one hole.
Jigger
Club Champion
I’m certainly perfecting my bump and run shots this year!
Backache
Assistant Pro
Our fairways were pretty firm in May after a dry spring, but end of May June we've had a fair amount of rain and fairways are no firmer than usual for the time of year.. Distance I hit the ball I like firm fairways.
clubchamp98
Journeyman Pro
Hard firm greens is when you find out how evil the greenkeeper is.
Stableford yesterday was set up like the US open pins hidden behind bunkers.etc.
Only 4 people broke par from a field of 168 players 40pts won.
It was a tad windy as well.
PCC of 2 .
Stableford yesterday was set up like the US open pins hidden behind bunkers.etc.
Only 4 people broke par from a field of 168 players 40pts won.
It was a tad windy as well.
PCC of 2 .
Doon frae Troon
Ryder Cup Winner
Buy a chipper or adapt a 4 to 6 iron shot.
Requires a bit of skill.
Requires a bit of skill.
timd77
Assistant Pro
Played yesterday, largely awfully, but did find that the greens were still receptive, lovely and green, running true, and so when I was hitting wedges and short irons it was business as usual. But as I say, played mainly very poorly and so this probably wasn’t a true reflection, those wedges in were typically my 3rd shots on a par 4!
Will be interesting if a hosepipe ban comes in!
Will be interesting if a hosepipe ban comes in!
Springveldt
Well-known member
Just hit my Pw over 180 yds - should I get new irons?
In all seriousness, how do you adjust for such level of bouncy fairways/hard greens? Any high shot is a risk of a big bounce. Do you use it only knock down /flighted shots on approaches?
I'm all ears, this was me on Saturday with a 35mph at my back.
The approach shot I hit my 3/4 GW which usually carries around 95 yards. Nipped it great, it landed before the pin and released that much it ended up in the ditch at the back. The 8 footer for par was back downwind, I barely touched it, thought it was going to travel about 3 foot and it hit the cup with pace.
A GW shot from the fairway should never be releasing this much, it was nearly 40 yards. I've no idea how you can play for that. The next hole I duffed my drive, had 110 to the pin when I should have driven the green but I played a 60 yard pitch shot that ended up 20 feet short of the pin. At least I learned quickly.
CountLippe
Active member
Land it short and aim for the middle of the green rather than taking the pin on over a bunker?
Springveldt
Well-known member
I hit all my hybrids/irons in the 90-100 foot range as well and it doesn't help at all right now. It's a links course and it's impossible to stop a ball on a green, you have to land before and pray for a bounce. Most of the time you get a big bounce and end past the pin, sometimes you hit an upslope before the green and it stops 30 yards short of the pin and you look like an idiot.
Hybrid is definitely harder to stop but mid irons and wedges if your generating the right spin and ball flight you shouldn’t be having problems with roll out. Played this morning with still dew on the grass and backspinned a 8 iron off the green and the greens were firm.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
The thing that's killing me the most in these conditions is chipping/pitching. I use the CBX wedges, plenty of bounce which is normally my friend, but when you're chipping off a marble floor they're not helping at all. Even clipping the ground fractionally sees the club bouncing up into the equator of the ball. I played a really nice high chip with 60° yesterday, but my 60 is not a CBX, it's an RTX with only 9° bounce and it worked a lot better. Slightly annoying because I'm not going to buy different wedges just to swap them for the conditions, so I'll just have to learn to do better with them somehow. 
SteveW86
Head Pro
The thing that's killing me the most in these conditions is chipping/pitching. I use the CBX wedges, plenty of bounce which is normally my friend, but when you're chipping off a marble floor they're not helping at all. Even clipping the ground fractionally sees the club bouncing up into the equator of the ball. I played a really nice high chip with 60° yesterday, but my 60 is not a CBX, it's an RTX with only 9° bounce and it worked a lot better. Slightly annoying because I'm not going to buy different wedges just to swap them for the conditions, so I'll just have to learn to do better with them somehow.
Toe down on the wedges will help
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Cheers, I've been doing that already though. You're right, it does help a little.
Springveldt
Well-known member
Clearly different greens to ours then. Last time on Trackman my PW had an average of 126 yards carry, 92 feet apex, 8637 spin and a land angle of 52.0°. I can guarantee that's releasing at least 15 yards on our greens at the moment unless it's directly into the wind. Any sort of wind from behind or across and the ball just doesn't stop.
As I said, I had a GW release 40 yards through the green into a ditch on Saturday. On Trackman that is averaging 114 yard carry, 85 feet apex, 9197 spin and 52.0° land angle. I only hit it 3/4 so probably knocked some height and spin off but still, it just ran forever.
I haven't seen a pitch mark on a green for nearly 3 months.
VVega
Assistant Pro
FWIW, playing the same hole where I got 180 Pw, I had a knock down - barely a swing - 8i that rolled out nicely just short of green - front pin = par.
My take away is to learn (through practice rounds) what knock down shot takes you there for each hole in these conditions (as you say it depends on the contours in front of the green). This also helps as takes the wind mostly out of the equation.
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sunshine
Well-known member
My course has lots of elevated greens fronted by bunkers, fairways quite undulating too. It would be unplayable if it baked out. We have fairway irrigation so the whole course is green and lush, but I guess we’ll have to start reducing usage at some point if this dry weather continues.
