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A bit perplexed

• longball2006 60 Posts

  Sat, Mar 20 2010 12:17 PM

  I am slightly confused. On a pitch shot from the fairway, 21 yards from the hole, 16in uphill, and an 8mph headwind. My 54* sw "goes" 23yds. I hit it at approx. 80%, center english, and ding it. The ball goes 24 yards. That does not make any sense whatsoever. Any input? Thanks

• SWoods 62 Posts

  Mon, Mar 22 2010 9:59 AM

  The pitch shots don't work to calculation from every lie on all types of landing surfaces. From my experience they only work to yardage from a 40-50 lie from rough on VF greens if there is no undulation on the green. From all other lies, you need to underpower them. How much to underpower depends on the lie and slope of the green from where the ball lands and rolls. 

• lvietri 3,326 Posts

  Mon, Mar 22 2010 11:41 AM

  Take a bit of time out of your game and read through these 2 guides which are posted in the Forums.  They'll take strokes off your game ----

  Iconian did a great job on chipping and pitching:

  http://www.wgt.com/forums/t/7840.aspx

  If you haven't already done so read through Nivlac's guide to putting:

  http://www.wgt.com/forums/t/559.aspx

   

• longball2006 60 Posts

  Tue, Mar 23 2010 8:58 AM

  That's why I made my post.  I read through Iconian's chipping and pitching 2.0.  When hitting a pitch shot from the fairway, subtract distance.  I did, plus uphill, and against the wind.  With no wind, the ball should "technically" fly less and roll slightly more than on a flat lie.  Guess I will have to just get used to it.  Thanks all!

• AlaCowboy 1,321 Posts

  Tue, Mar 23 2010 9:37 AM

  longball2006:

  That's why I made my post.  I read through Iconian's chipping and pitching 2.0.  When hitting a pitch shot from the fairway, subtract distance.  I did, plus uphill, and against the wind.  With no wind, the ball should "technically" fly less and roll slightly more than on a flat lie.  Guess I will have to just get used to it.  Thanks all!

  Consider the possibility that your pitch landed on the back (downslope) side of a ridge on the green. It would lose backspin and roll farther than you expected.

  To check for this possibility, in the reverse (zoom) mode, click the aim arrow and move it slowly along the ball path to the hole and note the changes in elevation. This is a good hint for longer putts too.

  Took me a long time to figure that out, but it helps me judge speed.

• neildiamond11790 1,115 Posts

  Tue, Mar 23 2010 11:23 AM

  The pitch tips didnt help me either.  I kind of use my own calculation.  Your example, from below the hole, the pitch will land sooner than it would if level, so the trajectory is hotter and the spin is completely negated.  Hole 7 on Kiawah from short of the green can easily go 10yds further than the wedge says.  That is due to being below the hole, hitting to a higher level, losing trajectory (the plop), losing the spin, and its downhill from landing all the way past the hole. 

  Use your putt view to see slope of green, chose a landing spot that you think it might land at, is that higher or lower than your ball, is it on a downslope.

  That is not gonna solve your problem, but it might show you how to take your experience and apply it to your next shot.

• cyl6 347 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 2:16 PM

  Those guides are great rules of thumb from great players; but at the risk of making this sound more like real-life than it is, I find that feel makes a big difference. There are a hundred factors that go into the shots and technically that should equal a formula, but either due to VEM or some other factor, it seems to me that feel plays a big role in my shot analysis. For example, when approaching the greens at Kiawah Island, I know that some holes (like #15 and 16) play long, so I put a bit more on the approaches. Others, like #10 or #14, require just a touch less than normal. There's no magic formula for getting it close. 

  I know that wasn't about chipping and pitching, but I find the same thing applies there - if I think it's going to run, it probably will. If I think it's going to stick because of a flop shot, try the shot accordingly. Wind, lie, angle, lie around the green, elevation, spin, there are so many variables, so sometimes just looking at the shot and "feeling it" makes for the best shots.

• OaktheToke 409 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 2:33 PM

  neildiamond11790:

  Hole 7 on Kiawah from short of the green

  Anything under 35 yards and the shot is a flopper played 3-6 yards short of the hole.  From the left it plays more left to right and as you move more to the right side of the green it becomes almost straight.  It should run up nicely to within a yard every time and the occasional few will go in. 

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 2:39 PM

  cyl6:

  but at the risk of making this sound more like real-life than it is, I find that feel makes a big difference.

  That is exactly what makes this game life-like for me. Play the holes long enough and you'll just "know" when something's not right. Playing this game like you would in real life is a great way to be successful. Given the unpredictability of things like wind and the meter you'll make yourself nuts trying to be perfect all the time.  Heh-kinda like it really goes down on a real course.