Padraig

[bobmac]

How close did he come to winning last week?
As was mentioned in another post, he can get it up and down from a ball washer.
Moral of the story..... how important a good short game is.
Admittedly, hs long game cost him the tournament, but without his brilliant up and downs, he would have finished mid table.
I know it's difficult sometimes to get time for practice and lessons don't come cheap, so here's one I see alot on the course.

Pitching.

High to low or low to high?.
Which best describes you short game swing?
Alot of golfers new to the game think they have to help the ball in the air so have a low backswing and a high follow-through. Duffs and thins ensue
The better golfers know it's the opposite.

If your not sure which one you are, try this...
The next time you get the chance to do a spot of pitching practice, put your driver headcover or similar about a foot behind the ball, nearer if your brave .
Think of the backswing being quite high to miss the h/cover and being low through impact.
Dont try and flick the ball with the wrists.
The result should be the club strikes the ball with a descending, accelerating blow, taking a small divot AFTER the ball, sending the ball gently up into the air.
Don't slow down into the shot, YOU WILL DUFF IT

Experiment with different swing lengths and clubs and watch how the ball reacts with each club (height and roll).

Unfortunately, there is no short cut to a good short game, so practice is required, but hopefully this little tip should help you to stop those annoying duffs and thins, especially when a bunker or pond is lying in wait to ruin your day

HTH

Bob MacTorrance

 

[Tiger]

Great timing bob. Off to heath in 20 mins, will give it a go

 

[bobmac]

Great timing bob. Off to heath in 20 mins, will give it a go

Let us know how you get on and remember, don't quit on it, follow through

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Hi Bob, good timing on that post. I have a query for you:
I played an away match at the weekend. My driving was fantastic and my putting good (when I hit the grees).
I kept leaving pitch shots (50 - 100 yds) short of the green despite knowing how far I had and not normally having any problem with this.
Is it a common error, any particular thing I may be doing wrong, or just a bad day with the wedges?
Cheers

 

[Aztecs27]

You've been watching Golfing World, haven't you Bob? The exact same tip was shown last week .

I haven't tried it with the head cover but I did use a more "cocked wrist"/high back swing approach on Saturday, pretending the head cover was there, and it helped no end.

Every time I did it I thought it was shooting way past the hole, only to find it finish within 4 feet.

Definitely a good drill to do.

 

[bobmac]

You say it was an away match?
One reason may be your course is quite hard on the approaches so your pitches bounce up onto the green. If the away course is better watered, you may be allowing for a good bounce but instead the ball digs in to their softer greens.
Or
Are you using the same ball as usual?
Or
you might be a little stiff and swinging a bit shorter than normal.
Or
You're right, it's just a bad wedge day
Keep at it

 

[bobmac]

You've been watching Golfing World, haven't you Bob? The exact same tip was shown last week .

I must be a time lord then.
I've been teaching this for 30 years

 

[brendy]

Wasnt this the same Padraig who couldnt get up and down for a pension last year in several competitions, in fact dumping them in the water through the greens etc?

 

[bobmac]

Obviously, he's done a bit of practice

 

[Deleted member 1147]

You say it was an away match?
One reason may be your course is quite hard on the approaches so your pitches bounce up onto the green. If the away course is better watered, you may be allowing for a good bounce but instead the ball digs in to their softer greens.
Or
Are you using the same ball as usual?
Or
you might be a little stiff and swinging a bit shorter than normal.
Or
You're right, it's just a bad wedge day
Keep at it

Cheers Bob,
1 - I was trying to get them straight up to the hole, so not allowing for bounces.
2 - Same ProV1X as usual.
3 - Was Driving really well and swinging quite freely so don't think it was that.
4 - Must be the later.
I never seem to get all parts of my game to be good at the same time. Normally something tries to hold me back.

 

[Aztecs27]

You've been watching Golfing World, haven't you Bob? The exact same tip was shown last week .

I must be a time lord then.
I've been teaching this for 30 years

I presumed you had. It's a great tip actually.

My short game went from being mediocre/poor to better than average in one round. I'll see if I can replicate it on Wednesday

 

[Tiger]

Verdict: better crisper contact, improved dispersion, no duffs or thins (though there were a few fats when I came in too steep!) and a lovely line of divots. All in all brilliant tip 9/10.

Sorry Bob you lose one mark because you don't live in Suffolk and as a result can't be my teaching pro!

 

[bobmac]

Verdict: better crisper contact, improved dispersion, no duffs or thins (though there were a few fats when I came in too steep!) and a lovely line of divots. All in all brilliant tip 9/10.

Sorry Bob you lose one mark because you don't live in Suffolk and as a result can't be my teaching pro!

What are you doing back so soon?
Get back out there and do another 2 hours

Coach

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Cheers Bob, twice I chipped into bunkers in Saturday. New mantra, high backswing, low follow through. Might write that on a post-it and tape it to my shoes.

 

[Kellfire]

A couple of weeks ago I hit my iron shot into green only to overshoot and end up with the ball lying about a foot inside the back fence, a good ten yards from the green and fifteen from the flag. I considered chipping sideways and taking my medicine but decided a descending blow played behind my feet was much more fun. Ended up hitting the pin and coming to rest about a foot away. It determined how I played all chip shots for the rest of the round and I had was, on the whole, accurate all day.

 

[Tiger]

Verdict: better crisper contact, improved dispersion, no duffs or thins (though there were a few fats when I came in too steep!) and a lovely line of divots. All in all brilliant tip 9/10.

Sorry Bob you lose one mark because you don't live in Suffolk and as a result can't be my teaching pro!

What are you doing back so soon?
Get back out there and do another 2 hours

Coach

Only get an hour for lunch - too much to do Bob. I'd love to spend all afternoon out there, in fact I'd love to spend all afternoon at my club with my rangefinder working on my wedge distances with that technique!!!

So the 'wheezy' sorted out my putting and chipping, that tip has helped my pitching, so if you could just pop down to Suffolk for a week away with teegirl and sort out my iron play and woods I might be able to post a respectable score!!!

 

[bobmac]

So the 'wheezy' sorted out my putting and chipping, that tip has helped my pitching, so if you could just pop down to Suffolk for a week away with teegirl and sort out my iron play and woods I might be able to post a respectable score!!!

Checks out houses for rent in Suffolk.
Where is Suffolk anyway?
Anywhere near Sussex?
Sounds a bit too close to Smiffy for my liking

 

[kid2]

I think the shot of the day for me with him was the lob wedge from the downslope to a pin at the far side of the green with water just beyond.....Flawless....

 

[bobmac]

I think the shot of the day for me with him was the lob wedge from the downslope to a pin at the far side of the green with water just beyond.....Flawless....

And he holed the putt...brill

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'll give this a go tomorrow night although my short game was one of the few areas (and my putting) not to desert me this weekend