Post by pythagoras345 on Sept 24, 2010 2:52:41 GMT -5
The whole idea of optimizing your club tune is to minimize the times you are caught between clubs. A full swing is always easier than a "feel" swing. However, it is inevitable that you will find yourself between clubs. Here are the key issues when that happens.
The first point is that you can never add distance to a club. The mindset of if I hit the lower club perfect, I will almost get there, and should get close enough to make the putt is a dangerous one. I don’t like putting that kind of pressure on myself, and often miss the shot badly because I was trying to hit it perfect.
So there are two ways to take distance off a club. Reducing the power of the shot is the first option. A 95% power shot really does not affect distance much at all. With a properly tuned bag, you are typically looking at an 85% power shot to reduce distance to cover the gap between your clubs. Keep it easy. Learn to make an 85% swing and just use that swing when you are in between clubs. Note that it is a much different swing to reduce a full, punch, pitch, and flop shot to 85%. Make sure you can do them all correctly. I also recommend a practice swing EACH TIME you are executing a partial power swing. This is a feel shot, and is it wise to “get a feel” before the shot that counts.
The second way to reduce club distance is the fade shot. The fade shot works for wood and iron approaches but does not work well for wedge and around the green shots – since there is not enough air time for spin to move the ball much. For a fade shot you are looking for a square plane angle and about a 7 degree open face. Depending on your club tune maneuverability this will change. This option is used based on course layout or hazards. For example, if there is water or a trap, this ball flight path might give you a greater margin of error than having to hit the perfect power reduction shot needed to avoid the hazard. You might also find the green angle is from front left to back right across the fairway, and you can start the fade at the mouth of the green and fade towards the pin, giving you more green to work with than the straight power reduction shot.
The first point is that you can never add distance to a club. The mindset of if I hit the lower club perfect, I will almost get there, and should get close enough to make the putt is a dangerous one. I don’t like putting that kind of pressure on myself, and often miss the shot badly because I was trying to hit it perfect.
So there are two ways to take distance off a club. Reducing the power of the shot is the first option. A 95% power shot really does not affect distance much at all. With a properly tuned bag, you are typically looking at an 85% power shot to reduce distance to cover the gap between your clubs. Keep it easy. Learn to make an 85% swing and just use that swing when you are in between clubs. Note that it is a much different swing to reduce a full, punch, pitch, and flop shot to 85%. Make sure you can do them all correctly. I also recommend a practice swing EACH TIME you are executing a partial power swing. This is a feel shot, and is it wise to “get a feel” before the shot that counts.
The second way to reduce club distance is the fade shot. The fade shot works for wood and iron approaches but does not work well for wedge and around the green shots – since there is not enough air time for spin to move the ball much. For a fade shot you are looking for a square plane angle and about a 7 degree open face. Depending on your club tune maneuverability this will change. This option is used based on course layout or hazards. For example, if there is water or a trap, this ball flight path might give you a greater margin of error than having to hit the perfect power reduction shot needed to avoid the hazard. You might also find the green angle is from front left to back right across the fairway, and you can start the fade at the mouth of the green and fade towards the pin, giving you more green to work with than the straight power reduction shot.