Spin

[golf_bug]

The weakest part of my game at the moment is 100 yards and in as I really struggle to control my pitch shots. I don't seem to get any real check on the ball and all too often I'll land close to the pin only to see my ball roll off the back. Close in pitch/chip shots are even worse as I seem to be incapable of stopping the damn ball!

On my mid irons I can get some decent check. Is the problem that I am simply more committed to mid iron shots, thus compressing the ball more and applying more spin?

Or is it my gear? I use Wilson DX2/PX3 soft balls and my sandwedge is a Cleveland CG10. I played with a guy of similar hcp last week who had a brilliant short game, getting the ball to stop within 2 putt distance every time. He didn't appear to be doing anything vastly different from me, but was using Vokeys and Pro V1s.

Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks.

 

[USER1999]

You should be able to check the ball fairly quickly with those items. You don't need a vokey or proV1s. It is technique that puts check on the ball. You just don't have it.

That said, it isn't really necessary. I don't often try to put this amount of check on the ball. I find it far more controlable to let it run out. Just pitch it shorter.

 

[Imurg]

You need to practice hitting various length chips and pitches with various clubs. Once you've done that you'll have an idea how far each shot with each club will carry and roll.

If you hit 3/4 or 1/2 shots you are going to generate less spin than on a full shot.
Could be technique as well but I'm not the one to ask about that.

 

[Macster]

Soft covered ball like a ProV is going to help in generating spin, as are Clubs like Vokey's with nice sharp grrove edges, and you need a decending blow into the back of the ball, ie you must strike ball first then turf.
Move the ball back in your stance to level with your right heel, and hit firmly down into the ball.

On very close chips, it is a skill I havent mastered, and takes a lot of practise.

 

[USER1999]

And 99 times out of 100 is un-necessary.

Unless you are Tiger Woods (maybe not even him), allow for some run out, and practice that. This will get you a more than adequate short game without needing to add spin. At best it is inconsistent (unless you are naturally gifted), and at worst is a recipe for disaster. You have to hit the ball with some conviction to get any check on short shots, and if you don't get it, or thin it, you are in deep doodah.

You don't quote a handicap, but unless you are approaching low single figures, play with what you have.

Oh, and the grooves on your Cleveland are easily up to spinning the ball. All this spin milled nonsense is a relatively new thing. People have been spinning the ball to a halt for a 100 years without it. It should only make a difference from the rough anyway. Most modern wedges have the equivalent grooves to the vokeys til next year.

 

[golf_bug]

Cheers guys. I guess practising my distance control is the order of the day.

Murph - I play of 16 (was 15 until the pesky club champs...grr). I hit a lot of greens and fairways, but my short game aint anything special. 3 putts are common with the occasional 4 putt. If I can get closer with my pitches and chips I will take the pressure off my putting.

 

[USER1999]

Tbh, it sounds like you need to practice your putting more than anything else.

Off 16, you should be confident with the putting. That is what will reduce your handicap.

 

[golf_bug]

Tbh, it sounds like you need to practice your putting more than anything else.

Off 16, you should be confident with the putting. That is what will reduce your handicap.

Murph - not sure what I can do. I can drain them from all angles on the putting green, and can lag the long ones close...rarely 3 putts. I think I have to resign myself to being a poor putter in regulation play, just like Sergio! Some days it comes good during a round and that's when I can shoot low scores, but in between I need to get the ball close in general play to take the pressure off.

 

[USER1999]

Hmm, don't ask me to resolve that one, it is something I am prone to too. Putt like god when it doesn't matter, and like a cod (cold as) when it does.

Have you read Rotella's putting out of your mind? It may help a bit.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My advice would be to get a putting lesson. Work onthe correct posture and alignment as these will help in lagging the longer putts and give you more confidence over the shorter ones. Other than that, practice is all that you can do especially the 3-6 footers. If you can make plenty of those then you'll get up and down more, convert more birdies and improve the score no end

 

[USER1999]

I get the impression with the putting that it isn't a lack of practice, or poor technique. Practice can only get you so far, the rest is mental (in more ways than one).

 

[RGDave]

I have developed a new and interesting technique for shots under a full PW. What I am doing is to take one club more than a full and hit a 3/4 shot, choked down, back in the stance and a bit "open" generally.
Why?...because I keep hitting full shots a bit poor, the odd thin, quite a frequent pull and inconsistent distance control.

I remembered that in the old days, if I had exactly a full SW (80-85 yards) I would never hit the full shot, preferring to club up and hit a punchy, spinning shot.

Well, what a transformation finished on the 9th last game and had 105 to the flag (was just short of the 100 disk). Now, 105 is horribly in-between, so I (yet again for that game) set up for the 3/4 pitch, weakened off my grip (to avoid the pull), put the ball back an inch, hands forward and so on. Hit it straight at the flag, took one small bounce then stopped dead, 8 inches short of the pin. Tap-in birdie.

I'm much straighter and get more spin with this technique.
Previous games I've hit full wedges in to this green and rolled through the back....(wouldn't happen in the winter).

Me, happy? Yes. I'll be doing it every time tomorrow to see if it's the permanent style for me.

 

[Macster]

I think the mental game has a lot to answer for with putting in particular.

Positive thoughts and an expectation of the ball dropping in the hole will go a long way to improving putting, rather than negative thoughts and a hope that you will get 'somewhere near' etc.

More often than not, I think most amateurs are simply saying to themselves 'Dont 3 Putt' as they line a putt up, rather than thinking of holing it.
Even a 1 H/C friend of mine admitted this was an achilles heel of his own, and for sure if he was a better putter, he could easily a +2/3 player from what Ive seen.
Bob Rotella's books are a great read in this respect.

I'm an average putter, rarely more than 36, or less than 30, so all in all I'm happy with my technique, which is a quiet 'pendulum' swing of the shoulders with firm but quiet arms/hands. Many 'stab' at the ball and wonder why they dont have any consistency, so think carefully about your tecnique ?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

26 putts for me last Saturday and 30 points (six blobs)tells its own story. The new address was far from bedded in but chipped and putted like a god

 

[nulassilb]

During a "pitching" lesson, I discovered that an L to L wedge shot played smoothly was nearly always 100yrds for me. Previously I might have hit a full out 52 degree or even tried to force a sand iron - with mixed results. Having found that distance, I now feel much more confident. Confidence has been the key - I love having 100 yards to the green and feel that I will get several close - I don't worry about spin as the ball seems to be under control. Perhaps the three quarter swing with control is the answer?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I carry three wedges at present (52, 56 and 60) and know how far I can hit each with both a 3/4 (ten o'clock swing in the Dave Pelz books) and a 1/2 (nine o'clock swing) and so can use each one depending on my lie, position and how I see the shot. I never managed to master the 1/4 (7.30 swing) so tend not to play it unless absolutely necessary

 

[Region3]

I carry three wedges at present (52, 56 and 60) and know how far I can hit each with both a 3/4 (ten o'clock swing in the Dave Pelz books) and a 1/2 (nine o'clock swing) and so can use each one depending on my lie, position and how I see the shot. I never managed to master the 1/4 (7.30 swing) so tend not to play it unless absolutely necessary

Do the 1/2 and 3/4 swings work out roughly to a percentage of your full swing distance, or do they vary from club to club?

 

[golf_bug]

I have developed a new and interesting technique for shots under a full PW. What I am doing is to take one club more than a full and hit a 3/4 shot, choked down, back in the stance and a bit "open" generally.
Why?...because I keep hitting full shots a bit poor, the odd thin, quite a frequent pull and inconsistent distance control.

I remembered that in the old days, if I had exactly a full SW (80-85 yards) I would never hit the full shot, preferring to club up and hit a punchy, spinning shot.

Well, what a transformation finished on the 9th last game and had 105 to the flag (was just short of the 100 disk). Now, 105 is horribly in-between, so I (yet again for that game) set up for the 3/4 pitch, weakened off my grip (to avoid the pull), put the ball back an inch, hands forward and so on. Hit it straight at the flag, took one small bounce then stopped dead, 8 inches short of the pin. Tap-in birdie.

I'm much straighter and get more spin with this technique.
Previous games I've hit full wedges in to this green and rolled through the back....(wouldn't happen in the winter).

Me, happy? Yes. I'll be doing it every time tomorrow to see if it's the permanent style for me.

Cheers Dave I'll give that a go!