GOLF’S MOST WANTED!
SIX SHOTS THAT WILL KEEP YOUR SCORECARD IN ONE PIECE
We reveal the six shots that have the most serious implications to your score – and show you how to sharpen up in these vital areas.
How often do we come o the course having posted a disappointing score, all without quite knowing where those dropped shots came from? This is where stat gathering comes in. Data capture allows us to see exactly where we are dropping those shots; and with sophisticated systems like Shot Scope, we can even trace those in dropped shots back to patterns or our driving, iron play, chipping lower putting. Change the pattern, the score. Here, we asked our friends at Shot Scope to detail the six shots that have the most serious implications then for our score. Coach Adrian Fryer up shares some tips that will sharpen in these vital areas. Start with your work weakest … but the more you can end on, the better the numbers you’ll up writing on the card.
Off-the-tee data presents a very simple and very clear picture: the nearer a golfer is to a green, the closer they hit their approach. Shot Scope data shows this through ‘average proximity by club’ statistics. The typical 8-iron, for example, ends up 19ft closer to the flag than the typical 6-iron.
If a golfer were to gain an extra 15-20 metres with their driver, it would mean hitting two less clubs for the next shot and improving proximity by 18ft on average. Stats suggest this would lead to 0.6 shots saved per round.
With the data clearly suggesting that longer drives can save you shots, adding metres to your tee shots is an effective way to lower scores. For many club players, the best way to find these extra metres is by turning a weak, high-spinning cut into a hotter-flying, longer-running draw.
For right-handed golfers, turning your hands clockwise on the grip – gloved hand more on top of handle, lower hand more underneath – will help you square the face up. Use your thumb/forefinger crease as a guide; make sure it points up towards your trail shoulder when the clubface is square. Put some old pipe lagging on the shaft and stick a tee peg into it to help you.
Downward-facing Big Dog
With your grip in place, practise rotating your forearms and clubface through impact. Work on getting the clubface to look down at the ground as the clubshaft swings through horizontal, again using the peg in the lagging as a guide. Experiment with blending this closing face with the in-to-out path… and turn a fade into a draw.
Shot Scope stats are unequivocal in detailing how the hybrid gives the regular amateur player better results than a long iron. On average, greens in regulation jumps from 13 percent to 19 percent for golfers choosing a 4-hybrid over a 4-iron, with an average proximity of 5ft closer to the hole.
The di erence is even more marked from the rough, where so many drives end up. The hybrid’s curved, sleek profile helps it glide where a more angular iron snags … and that means a squarer face and more ball speed from tangly lies.
Hitting a hybrid from the rough improves GIR by 8 percent, which is equal to hitting 1.3 more greens per round. Overall, this would save 0.4 shots per round.
ON AVERAGE FOR AMATEURS, GIR JUMPS FROM 13% TO 19% USING A HYBRID RATHER THAN A 4-IRON – ENDING 5FT CLOSER TO THE HOLE.
Set- up: Aim open
As you address the ball, aim feet, hips and shoulders left of parallel to the ball-target line (right-handers). This programs in a leftward path for the club through the ball, helping you play the cut shape this lie and shot demands.
Backswing: Feel ‘stacked’
As you swing back, feel your upper body rotating on top of your lower half; your head remains between your feet, not over your trail foot. This more ‘stacked’ rotation helps create a slightly steeper downswing that lets you squeeze down on the ball.
Set-up: Ball opposite lead chest
A downward, squeezing strike may seem to warrant moving the ball back in your stance; but this can encourage a straighter path and a shallower attack. Instead play the ball under your lead chest, and set your weight 55 percent - 45 percent under your lead foot.
Throughswing: Punch it out
Commit to the shot, swinging left along your toe line. But keep your throughswing short and punchy. This feeling delays the full release of the clubhead, helping you find that compressing, squeezing strike.