Neglecting the short game during the off season.

kid2

kid2

Money List Winner
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
5,173
Location
Ireland
Visit site
I've spent so much time at the range during the winter off season that to say my short game as of now is rusty would be a gross understatement...

Yesterday I had my first 0.1 of the season back.... Tee to green I was hitting the ball solid..... Putting and chipping left a lot to be desired.....
Now back to 10 which Im not worried about as it'll all balance out soon enough I really need to sort my short game.....
Ive read heaps about how you should practice with the balls you play with but to be fair this is not an option as I haven't exactly got a surplus stock of ProV1's.
Also I don't believe that there is big gaps between a tour ball and say a decent feeling 2 piece ball on short chips.... Pitches from 20,30,40 yards maybe but not on chips around greens where I'll need to gauge roll out and get the ball rolling sooner..

So seeing as my practice bag is a mish mash of everything I come across on the course would there be much point in using them for short work... Putting aside I'll use the tour balls...
But the practice bag is mainly for wedges and mid irons and also bunker work..
Should I try get my hands on used 2nd's prov's or just use the best out of what I have....

I have a lot of work to do this year on my short game to get it where I am confident with it so what's the best way to go... I have about 4 hours spare Wednesday evening after work.... I'm playing a round after work Friday and I'll more than likely spend a good portion of Saturday at the club before my normal round Sunday....

I need not so much a quick fix but more a fast programme that will get my short game up to speed within the next 4 weeks as I have an interclub 4somes comp the 2nd week in may.....
 
Last edited:
Stop posting and get down the practice area and spend 2 hrs chipping from all sorts of lies, then come back and post.

It simply works.


I'm off to our putting green in 5 mins as I have a new putter and want to try it alongside the other 3 and choose one to be my wife for a game at Turnberry this week.
 
They are right Pal you are the new Homer.
In your post there are so many contradictions.
I believe you know what to doing.

What ball do you actually play with,i take it,it is prov1s.
I have a 100 prov1 practice balls and ive never bought 1.
I have been down the practice area of my club tonight working on chips and pitches
from 75 yards and in.
Not a soul in sight.
My point is,some do something about it and some just whinge about it.
Sorry its harsh but in my world a spades a spade.
 
Hi,

I bought a load of practice grade pro v1s off t'bay such as those below:

Link

Really much better than range balls and in the lot I got had half a dozen or so that were better than some of mine in the bag so effectively paid for themselves!

Simon
 
pokerjoke said:
They are right Pal you are the new Homer.
In your post there are so many contradictions.
I believe you know what to doing.

What ball do you actually play with,i take it,it is prov1s.
I have a 100 prov1 practice balls and ive never bought 1.
I have been down the practice area of my club tonight working on chips and pitches
from 75 yards and in.
Not a soul in sight.
My point is,some do something about it and some just whinge about it.
Sorry its harsh but in my world a spades a spade.
Click to expand...



Oh believe me pal its on the cards.....whinging aside I know what I need to do.... I was just looking for a kick in the ass:thup:
 
I resemble these remarks. Actually I have a dedicated short game bag full of old Pro V and premium make balls so they react as the balls I use on the course will. I've neglected my short game too, especially my holing out as we've been tweaking the address position and my turn for the last six weeks. These are starting to pay dividends and I am getting to a point where I can just go out and play now so all my spare practice time is on the chipping and putting again.

To be honest, although I have dedicated practice balls for chipping, does it matter to any huge degree? I would rather get twenty balls and just get them in various lies and work out the best club and technique for each shot. I usually spend 15-20 minutes just hitting balls into the centre of the putting green without worrying about anything other than technique and pace. I'll then start hitting to specific targets off half decent lies with various clubs to get my mind focussed on landing areas (and not the how) and then start playing them from all sorts of lies and slopes. I find this last part the hardest, and still get technically orientated which is what I need to get away from on the course. If I can trust what I am doing here, and it has been getting better, I should be able to stand anywhere on the course and tell myself I've done this and done it well in practice and just go ahead and execute.
 
HomerJSimpson said:
I resemble these remarks. Actually I have a dedicated short game bag full of old Pro V and premium make balls so they react as the balls I use on the course will. I've neglected my short game too, especially my holing out as we've been tweaking the address position and my turn for the last six weeks. These are starting to pay dividends and I am getting to a point where I can just go out and play now so all my spare practice time is on the chipping and putting again.

To be honest, although I have dedicated practice balls for chipping, does it matter to any huge degree? I would rather get twenty balls and just get them in various lies and work out the best club and technique for each shot. I usually spend 15-20 minutes just hitting balls into the centre of the putting green without worrying about anything other than technique and pace. I'll then start hitting to specific targets off half decent lies with various clubs to get my mind focussed on landing areas (and not the how) and then start playing them from all sorts of lies and slopes. I find this last part the hardest, and still get technically orientated which is what I need to get away from on the course. If I can trust what I am doing here, and it has been getting better, I should be able to stand anywhere on the course and tell myself I've done this and done it well in practice and just go ahead and execute.
Click to expand...

You two should go on a golfing date :rofl:
 
Over the winter i don't do any practice short game wise.

Once our practice chipping greens opens at the start of April i pop down there and chip a few buckets from diff angles. these are just range balls. It makes little difference feel wise, but the benifit is that this type of ball leaves a mark on the club face so i know where on the face ive hit it. I might then have a few goes around the 9 hole course and play a few extra balls from bad lies etc.

It does not take too much to regain the short game.

Just go out and do it.
 
Oddsocks said:
I feel the pain, I've played tripe two weeks on the bounce, after two fantastic range sessions.... But.... Homer junior......what clubs you playing now?
Click to expand...

Have my Vokeys back pal... The confidence should grow hopefully.... Tee to green I'm very strong... Just the wedges and putting around the greens that cost me yesterday.
 
kid2 said:
Have my Vokeys back pal... The confidence should grow hopefully.... Tee to green I'm very strong... Just the wedges and putting around the greens that cost me yesterday.
Click to expand...

If you are needing wedges around the green, then there's definitely room for improvement 'tee to green' aka GIR!

Why are you actually needing to use wedges?

Not that good wedge play doesn't help, just bear in mind what the real cause of most bogies was - the GIR failure.
 
Foxholer said:
If you are needing wedges around the green, then there's definitely room for improvement 'tee to green' aka GIR!

Why are you actually needing to use wedges?

Not that good wedge play doesn't help, just bear in mind what the real cause of most bogies was - the GIR failure.
Click to expand...


True pal.... I agree... But in my defence I hit 6 GIR yesterday.. Of the 6 I hit I parred 5 bogied 1
I missed 3 of our par 5's with my 2nd shot from over 230 yards by about 15yards... I don't think that's a bad effort...
Reason being is that I had dropped so many shots I needed to try get some back... But I was pushing a bit too hard...

I was 7 down after 4 holes... I got a bit greedy trying to claw my way back into the round but it wasn't to be.... A good portion of the greens missed were long second shots..5 and 6 iron distance.. Most into the wind.....

I learned a lot from yesterdays round though...:rolleyes:
 
kid2 said:
.... A good portion of the greens missed were long second shots..5 and 6 iron distance.. Most into the wind.....
Click to expand...
Well that doesn't indicate a particularly 'strong' long game to me, merely a touch better than average imo. Though the head wind is a consideration. A couple more GIRs would normally be expected to count as strong imo.

So don't neglect the long game while getting the short game back up to last season's level.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Short game and putting mastery
2 3
Replies
57
Views
3K
Mandofred
Mandofred
M
Short Game Facility - North West
Replies
1
Views
425
HeftyHacker
HeftyHacker
Ye Olde Boomer
Attention, Englishmen, Irishmen, Scotsmen, and Welshmen......
2 3 4
Replies
76
Views
3K
Voyager EMH
Voyager EMH
bighairydel
Best colour ball for short sightedness
Replies
16
Views
431
inc0gnito
inc0gnito
HomerJSimpson
Never Stop Believing
2 3 4
Replies
64
Views
2K
sunshine
S
Top