Forums

Re: tip needed

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Thu, Apr 15 2010 12:03 AM

  anyone have a good way to read the rough and know how it is gonna affect shot length? 

  just shot over the green in 2 on #4 at bpb. 45-50% rough didn't slow the ball down one bit, so it hit the rough on the other side.  Coming back it showed 20-25% on the rough, and it cut that one in half length. Makes no sense to me, and I'm hoping that I'm missing something obvious........

• micklen 221 Posts

  Thu, Apr 15 2010 3:52 AM

  This is a very very difficult one.  You don't say how perfect your shots were as IMO how much you miss the snap really affects the distance out the rough.  Also fairly obviously the club used makes a huge difference.  Long irons go nowhere and wedges are barely affected.  i.e today I made the mistake of trying to hit a 3i out of the middle rough, 30% - 40% innit??  Anyway it went 140 yards.  Had I used say a 9i I would have got virtually the same distance. Later on I had a 40 yarder out of 30-40 and I hit my 64 perfectly at just under full power, it went 7 yards past to 52 yards, Just longer than it's normal full distance

  So basically what I am saying is every shot has to be taken separately as so much has to be taken into account

  I know this doesn't REALLY help but hopefully it will get you thinking

  Mick

• AtlantaCoaster 645 Posts

  Thu, Apr 15 2010 5:31 AM

  Become acquainted with how to use the PUNCH shot out of 30-40 ROUGH or thicker.  Just be prepared to PRACTICE and develop this.

  This AVOIDS the problem with irons which when hit with a FULL out of the Rough, where they immediately dive to the ground and you get very little distance.

  Use the PUNCH particularly if you are in FAIRWAY Rough and need to get some distance.  (Handle the PUNCH with CARE around the greens).  Be prepared for the ball to behave differently - club distances are SHORTER than with a full swing - ball flight is LOWER and be prepared for a significant amount of bounce and roll as the ball runs out.  BEST if you can land it in FAIRWAY to maximize the distance you get.  (You will generally NOT want to PUNCH if trying to carry over a distant hazard.)

  ALSO - with PRACTICE you will need to develop a FEEL at first for the indicated CLUB Distance AND for the actual distance you can get.  As a general rule if you hit out of 30-40 you will get far less DISTANCE than the maximum indicated - and you will learn to "feel" to play one or sometimes two clubs HIGHER than the indicated distance, even with the PUNCH.

  Practice this - it addresses the "How do I get some DISTANCE out of Heavier ROUGH?" issue.

  For your particular scenario - there is NO secret recipe to landing the green at BPB #4 in 2 shots - it involves a significant amount of LUCK - just like golf in real life.

  Regards, AtlantaCoaster

• dorkfeatures 712 Posts

  Thu, Apr 15 2010 7:07 AM

  Hey VanHalen,

  Hows Eddie doin these days ? I hope he's well :-)  Big fan too.

  Regarding your issue with rough. I try and keep the maths nice and simple - however you do need to practice some,  to get a feel for it.

  As a basic rule of thumb for hitting out of say 15/20 rough I would add 5% power to the shot. Out of say 30/40% I would add 10% power - etc etc. It seems to work fairly well for me, and is pretty consistent.

  What you really need to be aware of is not just the power of the shot, but what speed the greens are. Thats a big influence on the shot distance. Very fast greens and your shot will go for miles - and you will definately wonder what the .... went wrong !!

  I use the punch shot a bit if I get caught in fairway rough, particularly out of 30/40

  Give it a try and see how you go, then work out your own take on it.

  Hope that helps.

  Cheers Doug

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, Apr 15 2010 7:15 AM

  A basic rule of thumb that works for me is, with SD balls, 20-25% not much noticeable difference so I tend to discount it.  30-40% add 1 club to what the caddie says. 40-50% add 2 clubs and hit 90% w/back spin. These shots roll so expect that but this gets me putting close most of the time. GL

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Thu, Apr 15 2010 10:03 AM

  Thanks for the replies everyone,

  I know a big part of this is my learning curve with brand new wedges - I was just really stymied by seeing two completely different results from what I am (or thought I was) used to regarding lie%'s. I've also never went over the green in 2 before, so that was new territory as well. 

  Looks like it's time to go hit the practice mode!

• neildiamond11790 1,115 Posts

  Thu, Apr 15 2010 11:15 AM

  Sounds like you caught a flier lie on the 3rd shot, and chunked it on the 4th shot.  Were you down in the weeds behind 4?  I a really short wedge, like 64deg, most rough has minimal impact (unless you are in deep 70% rough).  You can practice the calculation , but I think you might find its not exact on every shot, but it will be pretty exact on the same shot, from the same spot each time.  If your 3rd was a full or punch swing, it acts much different than say a chip from the 4th shot, simple way to look at it, chip shots are low speed, low club angle of attack, the grass has more time to grab the club.  A punch or full swing, with a short club as a great angle of attack, and more violent swipe at the ball, so the clubhead wont get held up as much.