Forget shot shaping

[garyinderry]

so if you are blocked off and have to turn the ball over say 20 yards either way, you wont even attempt it?

 

[garyinderry]

First of all by very good amateurs i meant single figure handicappers and above.

My attitude is very simple. Learn to strike the ball cleanly and accurately on a consistent basis. THEN worry about drawing/fading on command.

i think thats more common sense. at 26 handicap you shouldnt even have shot shaping in your vocabulary. im not having a dig. shaping shots is not what you should be thinking about. as you say, its hitting the ball consistantly and course management. both play equal parts in getting the handicap down.

 

[CMAC]

it's fun to try and if a fade/draw comes off you are rewarded and feel you achieved something.

I havent known any golfer - including club pro's I've got to know- be able to draw/fade to order during a round....consistently.
Practice range they can probably do it a few at a time but on the course its a very difficult thing to do.

Unless you have to bend round an obstacle (only because your Tee shot didnt draw/fade as you wanted) then the straight shot is always the best option.

The caveat would be someone who always draws/fades every club consistently

 

[One Planer]

Isn't hitting the ball straight consistantly the hardest shot in golf?

 

[Region3]

completely disagree! how do you think that guys with mid to low handicaps scramble pars and bogeys when they put themselves out of positon off the tee. most are able in some way to hit punchy low hooks or high fades to get themselves back somewhere near the green.

Depending on how good you are at shaping the ball, you have to weigh up the pro's and cons of going for it.

I used to be mentally terrible at accepting punishment and settling for trying to scramble par from further away. I would try whatever shot would get me to the green regardless of consequences, and I'm fairly sure over time it cost me more than it saved.

I'm still not great at 'taking my punishment' but I'm better than I was.

If I have to move the ball, but a straight shot sees me in the junk then as Hawkeye says, I'm not going for it.
If the worst that can happen is leaving a 20yd pitch from shortish grass I'll have a go.

In my case at least, the secret to scoring low isn't playing miracle shots to hit greens, it's limiting any damage to bogey at worst. Doubles and worse kill cards of lowish hc's.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

so if you are blocked off and have to turn the ball over say 20 yards either way, you wont even attempt it?

Unlikely to be honest, definately not in a comp, maybe in a bounce game. It really depends on what is waiting for the ball if I fail to turn it over. The way I see it is if I play to the safest point possible I should make no worse than bogey, if I try a shot I'm not confident in, I could end up with anything. I actually had this situation twice on Saturday, both time I layed up to around 100yds, wedge onto the green and made par. 9 times out of 10 doing this I'm making no worse than bogey, if I try the fade or draw, for every birdie I make I bet I'll make 2 doubles.

 

[Alex1975]

Isn't hitting the ball straight consistantly the hardest shot in golf?

yes

 

[srixon 1]

Isn't hitting the ball straight consistantly the hardest shot in golf?

No. For me it is hitting a fade off the tee with my driver when I want to. My normal driver shape is straight or with a nice little draw. Sometimes when I go for a fade on a long dog-leg par 4 or a par 5 I come over the top and pull the ball way left of the line I aimed it to start on.

 

[timchump]

i guess it depends on your definition of straight,
if your talking dead straight that's pretty hard,
a max 5 yard movement either way i find going for a straight shot easier than a draw or fade to order

 

[FairwayDodger]

I agree with you - but for 'par' golf, if you can hit it straight, then you're very likely to be able to get round the course on par! Also, hitting it straight, to me, means if you need to be on the right hand side of the fairway, you hit it straight and aim right...

In theory yes but it's a rather small target so I aim down the middle anticipating my trademark gentle fade.... didn't get it this time.



In fairness when I try to shape a shot round an obstacle I usually end up hitting something arrow-straight so was quite chuffed with that shot....

 

[One Planer]

Would it not be a better solution to play the shot shape you have?

I can't hit a draw for love nor money, so I don't even try to.

As the saying goes, "If the shot needs a fade, I can hit a fade. If the shot needs a draw, I can hit a fade"

Play to your strengths and you won't go far wrong. As regards shaping around obsticles, I did at the weekend around a 50ft conifer that wa sblocking my route to the green. I didn't do anything different than usual, jsut swing a bit harder to accentuate my fade.

If I was in the same position on the opposide side of the course needing to draw the ball abound the obsticle, no way could I have done it. I wouldn't even have attempted it. I would have played a low punch to try and advance the ball forward some distance and take my medicine. I know my limits :thup:

 

[Captainron]

I love trying (and sometimes succeeding) in shaping shots. At the range I practice hooks, slices, draws and fades. Has actually come in handy on quite a few occasions on the course.

 

[JustOne]

I like shaping shots. I try to play the best shot I can for the situation.

 

[Val]

Would it not be a better solution to play the shot shape you have?

I can't hit a draw for love nor money, so I don't even try to.

As the saying goes, "If the shot needs a fade, I can hit a fade. If the shot needs a draw, I can hit a fade"

Play to your strengths and you won't go far wrong. As regards shaping around obsticles, I did at the weekend around a 50ft conifer that wa sblocking my route to the green. I didn't do anything different than usual, jsut swing a bit harder to accentuate my fade.

If I was in the same position on the opposide side of the course needing to draw the ball abound the obsticle, no way could I have done it. I wouldn't even have attempted it. I would have played a low punch to try and advance the ball forward some distance and take my medicine. I know my limits :thup:

What if the hole requires a draw of the tee, a fade is no use.

I had it with 2 holes at a course I was a member of and it used to drive me insane.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

What if the hole requires a draw of the tee, a fade is no use.

I had it with 2 holes at a course I was a member of and it used to drive me insane.

Ask Martin Kaymer...

"The first day I was trying to play the golf course in a perfect way. I think that was a big mistake," Kaymer said Wednesday at Wentworth, where next mnth he will try to add the European Tour's prestigious BMW PGA Championship title to the PGA Championship crown he won last August.

"Hit draws on certain holes, low shots, high shots, try to place the ball always on the right side of the hole. It was just not me -- it's not the way I play,” he said. "The second day I went out to just play my game. Play the way I want to play the golf course and not how the course wants to be played. So I did that and it was better.

"I need to play my game and it does not matter what course I play,” he explained. “Whether I play Augusta or Dusseldorf, it should never change my swing or my golf game or my strategy."

Source: http://www.pga.com/martin-kaymer-admits-trying-change-game-masters-big-mistake

 

[One Planer]

What if the hole requires a draw of the tee, a fade is no use.

I had it with 2 holes at a course I was a member of and it used to drive me insane.

We have a few holes at my track that set up for the draw, one of them has OOB every thing left. I start eveything a little further left than usual and fade the ball to the right centre of the fairway. If I could hit the draw, I could nake it around the dog leg and have a chance at going for the green (Par 4) with a lob wedge. Instead I have to hit an 8 or 9 iron.

I make no bones about it, hitting it both ways is a very, very useful tool. Being able to do it on command is a whole different kettle of fish, hence my stick to what you know post.

 

[harpo_72]

I used to hit most shapes on command, even taught a dearly departed golfing buddy who was a perennial fader the low hook and showed him the high draw. But hey before he left us he was playing a beautiful soft draw, so he found his golfing nirvana.
At the moment I cannot hit a fade on command, but I am mainly straight ish if I am at my best. When I am at my worst I am straight right or straight left !!
I think shape is becoming harder to do with the driver because of these huge forgiving heads, a 3wood or 4wood is easier. I remember just setting up to shape a shot when I was just struggling with a problem. I think being able to control height is a good skill to have, beaming a low one into the wind or hitting a high floater on the wind.
I do follow the Nicklaus philosophy which is play you bread and butter shot and aim accordingly. I only ever shaped shots when I was in trouble or for bets.

 

[fundy]

lovely in theory, but not too many of us can hit that straight shot time after time

personally i have the full range of shots between draw, though to hook finishing at snap/duck hook not necessarily ideal but its what I have currently and whilst Im trying to reduce the shape when out on the course at the moment it is what I have so I have to try and play to it

 

[harpo_72]

The thing is a pro rarely generates a lot of movement for a fade or draw ... Except on certain occasions most amatures hit slices or hooks. It would be interesting to hear what people think the difference between a hook and draw are ... Personally I think one is intended and the other is not

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Here's a question for you shapers out there, can you control how much shape you put on it. For example, if you have to move the ball 20 yds to hit the green but moving it only 10 yards sticks you in the clag or a hazard, would you still try to hit the fade in favour of laying up to say 70yds?