Hittin' the links: Golf talk

[NUance]

Did that clock drill at the practice putting green over lunch today. I put coins around a hole at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions, and then four more coins between them (halfway between 1/2 o'clock, etc.), all eight feet from the hole. I picked out a hole on a gentle slope, with a 4" break to each side of the hole. Then putted two balls from each coin. Points: 2 pts for made shot. 0 pts for miss with the ball within a club-length beyond the hole. -1 pt for leaving it short. I this drill three times, 16 putts per time. Scored 15 on my last time. 8 made putts, and one left short.

 

=========================================

 

 

Also, I "inadvertently" bought a Rife putter last night. I've been considering getting a Rife blade the past couple of weeks. Put in a few of low-ball eBay bids over the past week where the club ended up selling for twice what I had bid. Then I put in a relatively low bid for this one. LINK1 LINK2 LINK3 Logged on this am and it was mine for $31.88 plus $5 shipping. That's a pretty decent price for a Rife tour edition blade. Also, the guy agreed to bend it to the lie/loft I prefer, 72 degree lie and 3 degree loft.

[QMany]

Also, I "inadvertently" bought a Rife putter last night. I've been considering getting a Rife blade the past couple of weeks. Put in a few of low-ball eBay bids over the past week where the club ended up selling for twice what I had bid. Then I put in a relatively low bid for this one. LINK1 LINK2 LINK3 Logged on this am and it was mine for $31.88 plus $5 shipping. That's a pretty decent price for a Rife tour edition blade. Also, the guy agreed to bend it to the lie/loft I prefer, 72 degree lie and 3 degree loft.

I have that exact putter! It was the first putter I ever had, given to me by a buddy who played college golfer that introduced me to the game. IBF is the Ian Baker-Finch model. Rife makes great flatsticks. I put a pink SuperStroke 1.0 on it and gave it to my mom when she got back into the game last year.

[BigRedBuster]

OK....I'm frustrated and am asking for advice on how to improve my scoring.

 

I am hitting the ball better right now than I have in my entire life. I am driving the ball straight and long. I'm hitting my irons straight and consistent. I have confidence around the green. BUT.....I'm not scoring well on rounds. I literally will finish a round and be really happy with how I hit the ball. BUT, not happy with my score. And, I'm not consistent in what is causing me to score bad.

 

If I go out and play 9 holes, I will 6-8 really good holes and 1-3 really bad holes that screw my score up. This might be because of missing one tee shot so I'm out of bounds and have penalty strokes. It might be because I get to the green really well but can't get up and down when I am able to do it on all the rest of the holes. FRUSTRATING!!!!

 

So....if you are me, would you go spend more time on the practice range and green? OR, would you say my problem is more situational and I need to spend more time actually playing rounds?

 

I have every confidence in the world that I can make every shot needed to score really well on my home coarse. I just can't seem to put full rounds together to have the score to show for it.

[QMany]

So....if you are me, would you go spend more time on the practice range and green? OR, would you say my problem is more situational and I need to spend more time actually playing rounds?

Once you get to the point where you are confident in your abilities, I think it comes down to situations and learning how to score. That means just putting yourself in that situation more. Once I get my swing (somewhat) under control, I like to play actual rounds as much as possible. Even if that means 3-6-9-18 holes at a time. There is a big difference between hitting balls on the range and getting the ball in the hole. You just need to condition yourself to the nuances. Adrenaline, wind, uneven lies, OB left, etc. If I am gearing up for a tournament, I will shut down all swing thoughts approximately two weeks before and just play as much as possible.

[BigRedBuster]

 

So....if you are me, would you go spend more time on the practice range and green? OR, would you say my problem is more situational and I need to spend more time actually playing rounds?

Once you get to the point where you are confident in your abilities, I think it comes down to situations and learning how to score. That means just putting yourself in that situation more. Once I get my swing (somewhat) under control, I like to play actual rounds as much as possible. Even if that means 3-6-9-18 holes at a time. There is a big difference between hitting balls on the range and getting the ball in the hole. You just need to condition yourself to the nuances. Adrenaline, wind, uneven lies, OB left, etc. If I am gearing up for a tournament, I will shut down all swing thoughts approximately two weeks before and just play as much as possible.

 

Well, that has been my plan. It just hasn't fallen into place yet.

[icedavis]

 

So....if you are me, would you go spend more time on the practice range and green? OR, would you say my problem is more situational and I need to spend more time actually playing rounds?

Once you get to the point where you are confident in your abilities, I think it comes down to situations and learning how to score. That means just putting yourself in that situation more. Once I get my swing (somewhat) under control, I like to play actual rounds as much as possible. Even if that means 3-6-9-18 holes at a time. There is a big difference between hitting balls on the range and getting the ball in the hole. You just need to condition yourself to the nuances. Adrenaline, wind, uneven lies, OB left, etc. If I am gearing up for a tournament, I will shut down all swing thoughts approximately two weeks before and just play as much as possible.

 

 

This and for me, maintaining shot focus. It's easy to get into that sort of "driving range" mentality where you just think, "oh man that shot sucked. I will just pull another ball from the bucket and remedy it." When you get into the round the pressure is up because now you only have that one shot attempt (unless you go OB and get another try with a provisional! )

 

So then putting yourself into enough similar type situations and getting the experience with the one shot in the one situation will smooth out the rough patches.

 

For me specifically, I don't necessarily need to take more time but I need to slow down and think about the best shot for the situation, how to miss, etc, rather than just step up, feel out a good practice swing and then let it rip. When I do that I tend to be cleaner with my stroke because now I am feeling the swing for the situation rather than just say, the swing for the max distance of the club. As a result the fairways and greens now seem a lot larger and I am hitting them more often.

 

For instance, a couple weeks ago I dislocated my thumb playing league softball. Long story, shortish, I took some time off and when I came back, I hit some range to feel it out and it was still in rough shape but I played through. It forced me to have to think about the shot, if my hand would have any affect and adjust. Taking that little bit of extra time to think through minutae and feel the shot (while not swinging aggressively so as to reaggravate it) allowed for me to have a more productive swing. After shaking out the nerves with an okay bogey on the 1st, I went birdie, par, par, birdie, with the two middle pars having mid-range birdie putts that were near misses. Unfortunately, I lost focus, missed the green on the par 3 next hole and bogey-d out with two penalties and one swing on the 9th that hurt my hand pretty good and sent my ball way right into a hazard. Each time I recovered pretty well but it's that little lapse in focus that did me in.

[BigRedBuster]

Here is a typical round for me.

 

Last night I played 9 holes. Back nine on our course is Par 35.

 

 

ME

Par 5 6 (1 over)

Par 3 3

Par 4 5 (2 over)

Par 5 9 (6 over) (2 penalty strokes one in lake and other in trees couldn't find)

Par 4 5 (7 over)

Par 3 4 (8 over)

Par 4 4 (8 over)

Par 3 4 (9 over)

Par 4 7 (12 over) (penalty stroke out of bounds)

35 47

 

 

Ended up shooting a 47. Now, at this stage of my game, my goal is to shoot the round at bogey golf or below. So, I would have felt I shot decent if I was at 44 or below. (real goal is below 40 but I just can't get there right now)

 

So, you take out two really bad holes, and I have a decent round (for me). It's jus that it seems like every single friggen round I have those one or two holes that kill me. Then, if I can change one or two of those bogeys into pars (or better) I get to where I want to be.

[BigRedBuster]

When I practice, one of the "games" I play is taking a number of balls and lining them up on the green. I putt the first to a short distance, 2-3 feet. Aim a little to the right (so as not to hit the first) then putt the second to around a foot past the first. Putt the third a foot past the second, and so on and so forth. Work outward as far as you need, pulling back any of the shorter ones to re-use for farther distances if you don't have enough balls. Then gather up, find a new spot and repeat. It helps me get a fine feel for distance control.

 

In a pinch, I do the same thing but work outward faster. So start at 2-3 feet, then aim for 5-6, then aim for 8-9 and so on. Or I will do similar but with the actual cut holes on the practice green, trying to find a circuit around the practice green that will test me around those distances.

 

I played my first full round on Tuesday afternoon and shot an 88. It's not the longest course and pretty fantastic weather conditions but I had forgotten how much of a grind walking 18 holes can be, and I used to walk 36-ish holes everyday during the summer in high school. I played 13 of the first 15 holes really well for me, then my energy faded pretty hard in the last 3. Dropping 5 strokes on 2 holes by playing stupid is killer. Only had two penalties but thats another couple strokes. Add in a few missed scrambling par conversions, or bad shot that lead to that scrambling and I can easily hit 78-79. Just gotta work harder on playing smarter to not waste those strokes and put a complete round together.

 

Wasn't so worried about hitting all fairways and that only bit me on two holes. Otherwise I was just off the fairway. Need work on the GIR category though. Yikes.

 

Here is what my card looked like (Hole 19 app):

 

I have been tracking scores on 3 apps (Hole 19, Swing by Swing, and Nike) and will run a few more rounds through them before I post my reviews.

OK....I have started using Hole 19. I was using Nrange. Hole 19 is way more advanced.

 

Have you tried the advanced input? Wow...that is a lot of data entry while you are playing. I would love to be able to do it though and see what it says over time.

[icedavis]

Here is a typical round for me.

 

Last night I played 9 holes. Back nine on our course is Par 35.

 

 

ME

Par 5 6 (1 over)

Par 3 3

Par 4 5 (2 over)

Par 5 9 (6 over) (2 penalty strokes one in lake and other in trees couldn't find)

Par 4 5 (7 over)

Par 3 4 (8 over)

Par 4 4 (8 over)

Par 3 4 (9 over)

Par 4 7 (12 over) (penalty stroke out of bounds)

35 47

 

 

Ended up shooting a 47. Now, at this stage of my game, my goal is to shoot the round at bogey golf or below. So, I would have felt I shot decent if I was at 44 or below. (real goal is below 40 but I just can't get there right now)

 

So, you take out two really bad holes, and I have a decent round (for me). It's jus that it seems like every single friggen round I have those one or two holes that kill me. Then, if I can change one or two of those bogeys into pars (or better) I get to where I want to be.

 

From my perspective based on this scoring (without knowing the advanced details), I would start with the two or three bad holes and breakdown my shot selections, what didn't work and why they didn't work. Cut out the easy mistakes as much as possible, kinda thing.

 

When I take a penalty from from trees it's because I hit a nasty hook/slice out of play, everyone gets them now and then, it's a matter of how I recover but also working on having misses that maybe draw or fade rather than hook or slice. Then add in a water penalty (before or after the tree penalty) on the same hole, which could be due to a mis-hit (long, short or left/right like the trees) or a poor club selection when water is in play. So then when there are two on the same hole you have to really think about did I approach the hole correctly and did I make the right choice when trying to recover, or was it just two bad shots that just happened to be on the same hole?

 

For me, I like to think it's always because I mis-hit the ball, but usually its just because I never really make the smart play when I should.

 

The rest of the holes though are where I glean the most beneficial information. Did I hit the fairways off the tee (depending on the course, that is important), did I hit the green in regulation, if I missed the green were my approach shots well thought out and well struck and then when I am on the green did i two putt at worst?

 

There are more advanced situational questions after that but I these are a good start.

 

 

 

When I practice, one of the "games" I play is taking a number of balls and lining them up on the green. I putt the first to a short distance, 2-3 feet. Aim a little to the right (so as not to hit the first) then putt the second to around a foot past the first. Putt the third a foot past the second, and so on and so forth. Work outward as far as you need, pulling back any of the shorter ones to re-use for farther distances if you don't have enough balls. Then gather up, find a new spot and repeat. It helps me get a fine feel for distance control.

 

In a pinch, I do the same thing but work outward faster. So start at 2-3 feet, then aim for 5-6, then aim for 8-9 and so on. Or I will do similar but with the actual cut holes on the practice green, trying to find a circuit around the practice green that will test me around those distances.

 

I played my first full round on Tuesday afternoon and shot an 88. It's not the longest course and pretty fantastic weather conditions but I had forgotten how much of a grind walking 18 holes can be, and I used to walk 36-ish holes everyday during the summer in high school. I played 13 of the first 15 holes really well for me, then my energy faded pretty hard in the last 3. Dropping 5 strokes on 2 holes by playing stupid is killer. Only had two penalties but thats another couple strokes. Add in a few missed scrambling par conversions, or bad shot that lead to that scrambling and I can easily hit 78-79. Just gotta work harder on playing smarter to not waste those strokes and put a complete round together.

 

Wasn't so worried about hitting all fairways and that only bit me on two holes. Otherwise I was just off the fairway. Need work on the GIR category though. Yikes.

 

Here is what my card looked like (Hole 19 app):

 

I have been tracking scores on 3 apps (Hole 19, Swing by Swing, and Nike) and will run a few more rounds through them before I post my reviews.

OK....I have started using Hole 19. I was using Nrange. Hole 19 is way more advanced.

 

Have you tried the advanced input? Wow...that is a lot of data entry while you are playing. I would love to be able to do it though and see what it says over time.

 

 

I really like the Hole 19 app. Like I said, I have been tracking scores on Hole 19, Swing by Swing, Nike and I added GolfLogix to the mix. They are all free apps and have some advanced statistical information. I don't have enough rounds on them for a good review but here are my findings so far.

 

I like the Hole 19 app the best so far. It's user interface is fantastic and the user experience is right on par. It has GPS yardage on satellite imagery, advance stats and shot tracking and keeps track of some basic health info (steps, distance traveled, estimated calories burned). It does not auto calculate handicap. The only pay-feature they offer is video lessons. The only hiccup I had was trying to figure out the advanced input shot tracking (because your score doesn't display the same way) but that was resolved within a few holes of the next round and now I realize it's pretty easy to use. As with this kind of GPS, the yardages for the most part are pretty good but can be off.

 

The Nike app is nice, simple and easy to use. It does not do GPS yardage. It doesn't have shot tracking but does allow input for Fairways hit, GIR and # of putts which is then reported with nice visual charts. It does have some training videos and even allows you to upload video of your swing and compare it to the likes of Rory and Tiger. This one also has a bit more of a social component to it such as "trophies" for accomplishments (making birdie after double bogey, scrambling, etc) and sharing/leaderboards with friends.

 

You can easily download these first two at the first tee and start using them without any trouble.

 

GolfLogix and Swing by Swing have fairly convoluted user interfaces and convoluted user experiences, and loading screens, oh so many loading screens. Stroke by stroke GPS yardages on satellite image maps, windage, "hole flyovers" (bit of a stretch but yeah), does shot tracking, some stats, HDCP calculation, multiple formats and even tracks bets and stroke play wagers. You can take photos and post them to parts of your round, add playing tips to specific parts of the course for later reference. It supports some wearables. Many of the standard advanced stats of the apps above (fairways, GIR, putts) plus some others, you have to buy a subscription to see. $14.99 per year or $.99 per round.

 

GolfLogix has many of the same as Swing By Swing (minus betting). GPS yardages, HDCP calculation, shot tracking, stats, hole flyover, calorie counter, hole notes, free tips and photos. You don't have to pay for the advanced stats but there is a subscription that gets you daily pin positions, layup distances, club yardage tracking, yardage to front, center back of green, etc. or for an added fee GolfDigets training vids, golf news, social, Golfsmith pro shop discount through the app, and GolfNow tee time reservations with fees discounts at some courses. There's also DraftKings Fantasy golf functionality.

 

In all I think that Hole 19 is probably the best app of the four simply because of the ease of use, stat reporting and how awesome it looks but (even though I haven't actually used the app yet) from what I have seen, I think GolfLogix may be the best for the advanced user even though the interface is a bit crowded and the loading screens can be a bear.

[BigRedBuster]

 

Here is a typical round for me.

 

Last night I played 9 holes. Back nine on our course is Par 35.

 

 

ME

Par 5 6 (1 over)

Par 3 3

Par 4 5 (2 over)

Par 5 9 (6 over) (2 penalty strokes one in lake and other in trees couldn't find)

Par 4 5 (7 over)

Par 3 4 (8 over)

Par 4 4 (8 over)

Par 3 4 (9 over)

Par 4 7 (12 over) (penalty stroke out of bounds)

35 47

 

 

Ended up shooting a 47. Now, at this stage of my game, my goal is to shoot the round at bogey golf or below. So, I would have felt I shot decent if I was at 44 or below. (real goal is below 40 but I just can't get there right now)

 

So, you take out two really bad holes, and I have a decent round (for me). It's jus that it seems like every single friggen round I have those one or two holes that kill me. Then, if I can change one or two of those bogeys into pars (or better) I get to where I want to be.

 

From my perspective based on this scoring (without knowing the advanced details), I would start with the two or three bad holes and breakdown my shot selections, what didn't work and why they didn't work. Cut out the easy mistakes as much as possible, kinda thing.

 

When I take a penalty from from trees it's because I hit a nasty hook/slice out of play, everyone gets them now and then, it's a matter of how I recover but also working on having misses that maybe draw or fade rather than hook or slice. Then add in a water penalty (before or after the tree penalty) on the same hole, which could be due to a mis-hit (long, short or left/right like the trees) or a poor club selection when water is in play. So then when there are two on the same hole you have to really think about did I approach the hole correctly and did I make the right choice when trying to recover, or was it just two bad shots that just happened to be on the same hole?

 

For me, I like to think it's always because I mis-hit the ball, but usually its just because I never really make the smart play when I should.

 

The rest of the holes though are where I glean the most beneficial information. Did I hit the fairways off the tee (depending on the course, that is important), did I hit the green in regulation, if I missed the green were my approach shots well thought out and well struck and then when I am on the green did i two putt at worst?

 

There are more advanced situational questions after that but I these are a good start.

 

 

Good input.

 

Last night, I played the same 9 holes and this was my scoring:

 

ME

Par 5 6 (1 over)

Par 3 5 (3 over) (3 putted)

Par 4 5 (4 over)

Par 5 5 (4 over)

Par 4 6 (6 over) (Had a great drive and left my approach shot short and left me with a very difficult chip shot that ended up over the green on the fringe. My chip shot was compounded by a very difficult pin placement)

Par 3 3 (6 over)

Par 4 5 (7 over)

Par 3 4 (8 over)

Par 4 5 (9 over)

 

35 44

As you can see, my score was better and I was at least at my bogey golf that I would like to have as my upper limit. I still had those two bad holes. They just weren't nearly as bad as the prior round.

Something I did realize after reviewing my Hole 19 app. Other than the one 3 putt, I 2 putted every other green. Now, I always have that as a goal of never 3 putting. And, I guess I'm being fairly good at that. But, it struck me that I didn't have any one putts. I'm going to have to pay attention to this and see if it is because I'm missing 7-10 footers or if I'm not chipping well enough and leaving myself 20-25 foot lag putts. If I can mix in some greens where I one putt, I would think I should be able to start seeing more birdies.

I really would like to get to the point of using the advanced input function. It just seemed very cumbersome to use while I'm trying to play with other people.

[ColoradoHusk]

BRB, the best way to get more one putts is by being a better chipper/pitcher when you miss the green in regulation. If you can consistently chip the ball to within 2-5 feet, it will result in a lot more 1-putts.

[NUance]

BRB, the best way to get more one putts is by being a better chipper/pitcher when you miss the green in regulation. If you can consistently chip the ball to within 2-5 feet, it will result in a lot more 1-putts.

 

For chipping do you use one club, or different clubs depending on the situation? And by chipping I mean 50% or more of the distance is roll, rather than popping it up close to the hole without much roll. Which club(s) do you use for chipping?

 

I'm still experimenting around. Sometimes I chip with my 7-iron. Sometimes my 8-iron. For short pitches with a little roll I like my 52 wedge. I use a 56 wedge to pop it close to the hole, and for balls in deep rough.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

BRB, the best way to get more one putts is by being a better chipper/pitcher when you miss the green in regulation. If you can consistently chip the ball to within 2-5 feet, it will result in a lot more 1-putts.

 

For chipping do you use one club, or different clubs depending on the situation? And by chipping I mean 50% or more of the distance is roll, rather than popping it up close to the hole without much roll. Which club(s) do you use for chipping?

 

I'm still experimenting around. Sometimes I chip with my 7-iron. Sometimes my 8-iron. For short pitches with a little roll I like my 52 wedge. I use a 56 wedge to pop it close to the hole, and for balls in deep rough.

 

I generally do all my chipping with a 52-degree wedge. It's just what I feel comfortable with. Every now and then I will use a 56-degree wedge if it's a short distance or I need to get a little more height on the shot.

 

The short game is basically whatever you feel comfortable doing. Some people prefer to hit chips like putts, by using a 7-8 iron and have the shot roll out like a chip. I prefer to play more shots in the air, but that's what I am comfortable with.

[icedavis]

 

 

Here is a typical round for me.

 

Last night I played 9 holes. Back nine on our course is Par 35.

 

 

ME

Par 5 6 (1 over)

Par 3 3

Par 4 5 (2 over)

Par 5 9 (6 over) (2 penalty strokes one in lake and other in trees couldn't find)

Par 4 5 (7 over)

Par 3 4 (8 over)

Par 4 4 (8 over)

Par 3 4 (9 over)

Par 4 7 (12 over) (penalty stroke out of bounds)

35 47

 

 

Ended up shooting a 47. Now, at this stage of my game, my goal is to shoot the round at bogey golf or below. So, I would have felt I shot decent if I was at 44 or below. (real goal is below 40 but I just can't get there right now)

 

So, you take out two really bad holes, and I have a decent round (for me). It's jus that it seems like every single friggen round I have those one or two holes that kill me. Then, if I can change one or two of those bogeys into pars (or better) I get to where I want to be.

 

From my perspective based on this scoring (without knowing the advanced details), I would start with the two or three bad holes and breakdown my shot selections, what didn't work and why they didn't work. Cut out the easy mistakes as much as possible, kinda thing.

 

When I take a penalty from from trees it's because I hit a nasty hook/slice out of play, everyone gets them now and then, it's a matter of how I recover but also working on having misses that maybe draw or fade rather than hook or slice. Then add in a water penalty (before or after the tree penalty) on the same hole, which could be due to a mis-hit (long, short or left/right like the trees) or a poor club selection when water is in play. So then when there are two on the same hole you have to really think about did I approach the hole correctly and did I make the right choice when trying to recover, or was it just two bad shots that just happened to be on the same hole?

 

For me, I like to think it's always because I mis-hit the ball, but usually its just because I never really make the smart play when I should.

 

The rest of the holes though are where I glean the most beneficial information. Did I hit the fairways off the tee (depending on the course, that is important), did I hit the green in regulation, if I missed the green were my approach shots well thought out and well struck and then when I am on the green did i two putt at worst?

 

There are more advanced situational questions after that but I these are a good start.

 

 

Good input.

 

Last night, I played the same 9 holes and this was my scoring:

 

ME

Par 5 6 (1 over)

Par 3 5 (3 over) (3 putted)

Par 4 5 (4 over)

Par 5 5 (4 over)

Par 4 6 (6 over) (Had a great drive and left my approach shot short and left me with a very difficult chip shot that ended up over the green on the fringe. My chip shot was compounded by a very difficult pin placement)

Par 3 3 (6 over)

Par 4 5 (7 over)

Par 3 4 (8 over)

Par 4 5 (9 over)

 

35 44

As you can see, my score was better and I was at least at my bogey golf that I would like to have as my upper limit. I still had those two bad holes. They just weren't nearly as bad as the prior round.

Something I did realize after reviewing my Hole 19 app. Other than the one 3 putt, I 2 putted every other green. Now, I always have that as a goal of never 3 putting. And, I guess I'm being fairly good at that. But, it struck me that I didn't have any one putts. I'm going to have to pay attention to this and see if it is because I'm missing 7-10 footers or if I'm not chipping well enough and leaving myself 20-25 foot lag putts. If I can mix in some greens where I one putt, I would think I should be able to start seeing more birdies.

I really would like to get to the point of using the advanced input function. It just seemed very cumbersome to use while I'm trying to play with other people.

 

 

The thing that I struggle with is maintaining a consistent round. But then I have to remind myself that when you are swinging the club 36+ times every 9 holes, theres bound to be some miss hits. The big thing is minimizing the risk that those hits incur and then focusing on recovery.

 

One putt holes are now my goal, seeing as I am pretty solid at keeping everything to at most 2 putts. In most cases, Like ColoradoHusk said, the focus here now shifts to approach and pitch shots. Now instead of just hitting the green, yardages matter, the type of shot you play matters, etc so then you can be aggressive to the hole and put the ball within a range of giving you a good chance to one putt.

 

The advanced input option takes a bit to learn (the app could benefit from a short tutorial vid) and if you just downloaded the app on the first tee, i don't suggest trying that out yet, just stick with the standard scoring. When you have a second before a round to fiddle around with it, it makes a lot more sense.

 

When you start your round, on the tee, the first thing you do is set the tee position by hitting the blue circle with the white tee icon (say in the case that the mens tee can end up on multiple tee boxes or have a large variance in distance) manually or by default. Then play your ball. Stand over it and hit the blue circle with the plus sign. The app adds the shot, marks distance and lets you select the club you hit to that spot and whether you hit the fairway/green or if you missed, where did you miss. Hit done, hit your ball and repeat. When you get on the green and indicate the shot that got you there landed on the green, the icon in the blue circle will change to a putter shape and ask you how many putts it took to hole out. This app doesn't record putt distances and I am not sure if the other apps do (if any, I think the GolfLogix one might).

 

 

BRB, the best way to get more one putts is by being a better chipper/pitcher when you miss the green in regulation. If you can consistently chip the ball to within 2-5 feet, it will result in a lot more 1-putts.

 

For chipping do you use one club, or different clubs depending on the situation? And by chipping I mean 50% or more of the distance is roll, rather than popping it up close to the hole without much roll. Which club(s) do you use for chipping?

 

I'm still experimenting around. Sometimes I chip with my 7-iron. Sometimes my 8-iron. For short pitches with a little roll I like my 52 wedge. I use a 56 wedge to pop it close to the hole, and for balls in deep rough.

 

 

I understand that you are speaking more specifically about a punch and run situation but I am going to speak more generally when I say I think it is good to start with a club that you feel comfortable with but if a player really wants to start scoring, then they have to really work through multiple clubs and shot types depending on the situation. Pitching from the long grass versus short grass, do you have to carry the ball 2 feet and stop it, 20 feet and stop it, 2 feet and let it run, 20 feet and run, is there an obstruction you have to go over, under or around, etc? Some may be few and far between compared to others but having the ability to pitch onto the green with nearly any club in the bag opens up way more options that may be better suited than what ol'reliable can provide. My favorites are when a player will pull out a fairway metal and pitch from say 10-20 yds off the green or even putt with it on the green. To me that shows that they are really feeling it that day because that is such an odd club to see played around the green.

[BigRedBuster]

 

BRB, the best way to get more one putts is by being a better chipper/pitcher when you miss the green in regulation. If you can consistently chip the ball to within 2-5 feet, it will result in a lot more 1-putts.

 

For chipping do you use one club, or different clubs depending on the situation? And by chipping I mean 50% or more of the distance is roll, rather than popping it up close to the hole without much roll. Which club(s) do you use for chipping?

 

I'm still experimenting around. Sometimes I chip with my 7-iron. Sometimes my 8-iron. For short pitches with a little roll I like my 52 wedge. I use a 56 wedge to pop it close to the hole, and for balls in deep rough.

 

I will use several different clubs. Chipping and Pitching is something I have always taken a lot of pride in and thought I have been good at. Maybe I need to get better. I can remember two holes last night where I thought I should be able to get it within a couple feet and it ended up maybe 7-8 feet. Frustratingly, they happened to be on greens where we have some winter kill we are trying to fix and it just makes those 7-10 foot putts difficult to read due to bumping around.