In between clubs

[Jason.H]

Sometimes when I play I find myself in between clubs more often than not. I tend to be better at taking a bit off the longer club than eeking out a few extra yards. To take a bit of yardage off a club I aim a fraction left and open the club face a touch.Is that normal?
The other week for a change I seemed to always have a good number but that’s rare

 

[bobmac]

Or...you could take the extra club, grip down an inch or two and swing easy.
5 yards passed the flag is better than coming up 5 yards short where most of the trouble is.

When people used to ask me what club I hit, my answer always started with....''an easy.........''

 

[jim8flog]

One of the great coaches, Harvey Pennick, was in favour of using the shorter club as it made you more committed.

For me it very much depends on where the flag is located. Where I play on virtually every hole the most amount of trouble is going beyond the green.

 

[evemccc]

Or...you could take the extra club, grip down an inch or two and swing easy.
5 yards passed the flag is better than coming up 5 yards short where most of the trouble is.

When people used to ask me what club I hit, my answer always started with....''an easy.........''

Esp true if you’re playing into any wind at all

 

[bobmac]

Where I play on virtually every hole the most amount of trouble is going beyond the green.

Where do you play?

 

[jim8flog]

Where do you play?

Yeovil

 

[Orikoru]

When I'm in between clubs I go for the longer one and grip down an inch or two. Seems to take five yards off, ish. I can't go with the shorter one and hit it harder, guaranteed I'll knife it or fat it. I can't do like a 90% swing either, timing goes amiss and I fat them as well.

 

[bobmac]

Yeovil

So the majority of the trouble is behind the greens?
You don't have any bunkers short left or right?

 

[Billysboots]

One of the great coaches, Harvey Pennick, was in favour of using the shorter club as it made you more committed.

For me it very much depends on where the flag is located. Where I play on virtually every hole the most amount of trouble is going beyond the green.

I’m more of a mind to adopt this approach. If I go with the longer club invariably I don’t commit and lose the shot right.

 

[Jason.H]

I’m more of a mind to adopt this approach. If I go with the longer club invariably I don’t commit and lose the shot right.

I used to hit the longer club a little easy choking down the grip and would lose it right. My method of aiming slightly left with a touch open on the club face and then hit it with normal full shot commitment really works well for me. A nice high slight fade. Great for approach shots. My normal shot is straight or very slight draw.

 

[backwoodsman]

I nearly always take the shorter club. And nearly always come up short. Hmm...
Therefore, I'm with Bobmac. In theory.

 

[sweaty sock]

If its a straight up choice with no other considerations I'd probably go with smashing the shorter club, alot of it comes down to personal choice.

I would say that in 99 percent of cases theres a 'better' miss, so I'd take that into consideration.

Id also say in the vast majority of uk courses the green will be more than 20 yards deep, so theres always a club that is a good yardage to a healthy chunk of the green, theres no real reason to be slightly closer, but not on the green...

 

[bobmac]

I nearly always take the shorter club. And nearly always come up short. Hmm...
Therefore, I'm with Bobmac. In theory.

If you stand at the 150 yard marker and the green is 30 yards front to back, you're 165 to the back edge.
If your average golfer added 10 yards to their yardage, they'd hit a lot more greens.
The next time you see a 150, think 160 and take the front bunkers out of play.

 

[sweaty sock]

If you stand at the 150 yard marker and the green is 30 yards front to back, you're 165 to the back edge.
If your average golfer added 10 yards to their yardage, they'd hit a lot more greens.
The next time you see a 150, think 160 and take the front bunkers out of play.

100% agree

I think theres always a reason to be found to hort or long. A little bit of effort to figure out for approach shots it's not long before you figure out a common theme.

Theres obviously also the fact that your 160 club will go 155 waaay more often than it goes 165

 

[Newtonuti]

If you stand at the 150 yard marker and the green is 30 yards front to back, you're 165 to the back edge.
If your average golfer added 10 yards to their yardage, they'd hit a lot more greens.
The next time you see a 150, think 160 and take the front bunkers out of play.

Exactly, a lot of golfers go off what the distance they hit when strike is absolutely perfect. How many amateur golfers can say their strike will be absolutely bob on? It might happen once in 200 shots. Just take that extra club, don't force your swing, and give yourself a chance.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

There's obviously also the fact that your 160 club will go 155 waaay more often than it goes 165

I'd be happy with only 5yds short most of the time . I suspect for most people their 160 club will go 140 waaay more often than it goes 165, proving Bob's theory even more.

 

[Slab]

I'd be happy with only 5yds short most of the time . I suspect for most people their 160 club will go 140 waaay more often than it goes 165, proving Bob's theory even more.

Yeah I wish I had the discipline to club up 100% of the time, its getting there but still too many instances where I hit the club for what'll happen on a good day (which ironically turns it into a bad day)

 

[Orikoru]

I'd be happy with only 5yds short most of the time . I suspect for most people their 160 club will go 140 waaay more often than it goes 165, proving Bob's theory even more.

Indeed. As mentioned above I usually go for the longer one anyway, but given the stats on how often amateur players don't hit enough club - 50% of the time when we think we're 'in between clubs' we're probably not at all - it's the longer one all day.

Even on the rare occasion I have got too much club and go through the back, I don't mind it at all, at least I know I struck it well. Similar concept to putting, you'd much rather be long than leave it short because at least it had a chance and you know you've hit it. Short is always disappointing whichever way you look at it.

 

[Slab]

Indeed. As mentioned above I usually go for the longer one anyway, but given the stats on how often amateur players don't hit enough club - 50% of the time when we think we're 'in between clubs' we're probably not at all - it's the longer one all day.

Yeah maybe the issue is we're not actually between clubs at all (i.e it would only be 'in-between' if we hit a stonker with the short club, like the 1 in 10 effort)

Comp tomorrow, I'll (once again) try to convince myself to club up all the way round

 

[jim8flog]

So the majority of the trouble is behind the greens?
You don't have any bunkers short left or right?

Whilst we have bunkers left and right the question was about length.

We do have a couple of holes where a bunker near the front of the green can influence club choice but with one in particular given a choice of going in the bunker or going beyond the green put me in the bunker every time and on the other going beyond the green can leave a shot which for me is harder than being in the bunker (downhill chip out of very long grass to a green that slopes towards the bunker).