Rule of thumb.

[TonyN]

I was wondering today if there was any kind of system or rule of thumb guide for yardage up and down hill.

Say, you are standing on a tee and the centre of an elevated green is 150 yards away. The green is elevated by 10 feet. How many extra yards would this hole play? 160?

Is it a yard per foot or maybe a yard per 2 feet? Maybe more. I have no Idea.

I ask because the second hole at my gaff is a par 3. Incidently from the winter tee's it is 150 yards I i estimate raised by 10 feet. I struck a 6 iron well but only managed the edge of the green at 130 yards. I stilol dont know what club to take for this hole.

Your thoughts please guys.

 

[USER1999]

No idea at all. I always hit a driver on par 3s, don't want to be short.

Seriously, these things are always a guess, as there are no hard and fast rules as to how high you hit your irons.

 

[Macster]

less club downhill, more club uphill.

 

[MVP]

it depends i hit the ball high so it would affect me in a different way to someone who hits it low

 

[TonyN]

Gather that Chris but how much? A club per 10 foot of elevation?

There must be some science behind it.

 

[SammmeBee]

Depends what club and ball flight etc.....ChrisMc's rule of thumb works ok but the higher the drop/climb the less/more club you need....I would say there is no 'formula'....GPS would help though with exact distance and then it's down to feel....

 

[Macster]

Wayyyy too much science here boys, Ive never tried to work it out.
All about feel for me, and looking at the shot.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Too many variables to be wholly accurate (wind, firmness of the green, temperature etc) but I'd say 1 club per 10 yards would be a fair guess. I know how far I hit each club since measuring with SC5 into and down breeze so I'd probably look at the distance first as a starting point and then factor +/- a club dependant on wind and flag position

 

[Herbie]

If I play a hole that is elevated green I take one extra club than that which yardage would normally indicate, if its very severe elevation the max I take is 2 clubs up .

If its elevated tee I come down 1.2 or 3 clubs to a green depending on severity of elevation.

Thats my rule of thumb, but you also add in knowledge and type of shot etc as Im sure you know.

Just be ready to come DOWN more on elevated tee than you would go UP to an elevated green.

 

[backwoodsman]

No easy rule of thumb I'm afraid. Assuming all else is equal (ie wind, weather etc) it will depend on a couple of factors - the normal flight of your shot & the club you use. Which when you think of it, amounts to same thing.

Short irons like wedges & 9i result in ball dropping almost vertically (or mine do) - ie you've achieved the length before ball starts to drop - which means that green could be 20ft higher or 30ft lower without any real loss/increase of distance. With long irons, ball drops at much less steep angle, and still gains length as it drops so change in elevation affects length. Add in whether you hit a high or low trajectory and it all becomes too variable. So ChrisMc had it about as accurate as you can get.

Of course, if you know your exact shot shape, you could work it out mathematically.......

 

[Robobum]

It's all dependent on whether you have to hit a particular shot ie bunker short that has to be carried/ shallow green that needs a high dropping shot.

If you've got to hit a high dropping shot it may only require 1 extra club and smash the arse off it. If you've got options of running it in you can pretty much pick any club in your bag

 

[Mawgan]

Tony,

Your original question related to the difference in yardage that a change in elevation creates. That is a relatively simple problem to resolve: if you know the lateral distance and the vertical height you could employ Mr Pythagoras' Rule to establish the actual distance (the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the opposite two sides).

But so what...? You need to understand, as several others have explained, the shape of the trajectory taken by your different clubs. This is much more difficult for longer holes/shots because the gradient of the ball's return to earth is less steep with a 3 iron than that of a wedge. So while the wedge shot will fall almost vertically and therefore will be affected less by a green that is above or below your feet, trying to work out where a raised green would intersect the flight of your perfectly struck gentleman's persuader is far more problematic.

As ever, it is down to your experience and your best guess. Alternatively, you could always play on a flat track...

 

[TonyN]

Tony,

Your original question related to the difference in yardage that a change in elevation creates. That is a relatively simple problem to resolve: if you know the lateral distance and the vertical height you could employ Mr Pythagoras' Rule to establish the actual distance (the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the opposite two sides).

But so what...? You need to understand, as several others have explained, the shape of the trajectory taken by your different clubs. This is much more difficult for longer holes/shots because the gradient of the ball's return to earth is less steep with a 3 iron than that of a wedge. So while the wedge shot will fall almost vertically and therefore will be affected less by a green that is above or below your feet, trying to work out where a raised green would intersect the flight of your perfectly struck gentleman's persuader is far more problematic.

As ever, it is down to your experience and your best guess. Alternatively, you could always play on a flat track...

The first paragraph of this answer was exactly the answer I was looking for.

Agreed all the variables make it difficult to give a difinitive answer but I just wanted a kind of,

'' light wind, 1 club extra, strong wind 2 clubs extra'' kind of answer.

I like the sound of Homers, extra club per 10 yards of elevation, something as simple as that. Always nice to have a base to start with and work out the rest via the conditions on the day.

 

[Herbie]

There is WAAAY TOO MUCH chaff sometimes.

backwoodsman, how can you deny a rule of thumb by using an assumption followed by a suggestion that its all down to a couple of things????? If its down to a couple of things how can it be so complex and variable??????

THIS IS NOT AN OPEN UNIVERSITY QUESTION!
Its a simple question asking if there is a rule of thumb for this one.

Rule of thumb is judgement, a guess usually based on experience, everyone in golf uses their own unique rule of thumb set against their experience, knowledge and training.


When someone asks me for a rough idea or a rule of thumb, I dont give them b****x! If you play the game in a sea of data,calculous and endless search for meaningless variables, you will miss the true beauty and mystery of the game.People make golf complicated, but its not!

 

[HTL]

Brace yourself for this!

Uphill = club up

downhill = choke down / club down

Sorry but thats all I can give you mate.

 

[andiritchie]

General rule of thumb for me

Uphill- just give it a few more revs more height/more spin unless into wind

downhill-tend to choke down and hit more of a pitch shot

 

[TonyN]

Hywell, This is what I would do anyway.

What I wanted to know was, did people have a rule of thumb of there own for how many extra clubs to take for so much change in elevation. And with all the suggestions I was going to see if I had the same idea as most people.

If there was a change in elevation of 40 foot, your not likely to take just 1 extra. If the change was only 10 foot then yes it would probably be 1 wouldn't it?

I see this thread is going nowhere really so am happy if it just dies a death very quickly. I will find another solution to my problem, and strive to hit the second someday.

 

[HTL]

Think its just one of those feel things that comes with experience.

 

[vig]

Generally, in calm conditions, I take an extra club for up to 20ft elevation above tee height. opposite for below tee height.

 

[Imurg]

It really is all in the eye and the memory. Look at the shot, look at the club, see where it finishes. If its pin-high then you've got it right. Too short - make the adjustment next time. But keep it in the memory banks so when you next get to the same hole, or a similar one, you've got the info in your head.