Tell me your secrets to get <=60y from the green to near the pin

[Shoe Lace]

I'm a beginner (played 9 or 18 holes about 12 times, no lessons as of yet) and this part of the game is demolishing me.

I simply cannot figure it out. It's causing me to shoot 95-115s when I think I could be consistently shooting a heck of a lot better.

I understand golf theory on paper (I know what effects where my ball goes but I don't know how to actually fix it).

A typical hole for me goes like this: 400y par 4

I drive it about 220-240y. It will either go in the fairway leaving me with a nice shot to the green or I'll be off somewhere in the rough or in the woods (hopefully it's playable!).

Cool now I'm about 170y to the hole. I'll use a 3i/4i hybrid here and most of the time I'll be near the green if I don't have a severe mis-hit.

The problem is when I'm about 20-60y away from the green itself. I either hit the ball like a retard (it goes less than 10y because I swung too soft) or I end up hitting it too hard and runs off the green leaving me with another chip.

I am not good enough to consistently hit the green on my approach shots, so I'm left with these type of chips on pretty much every hole.

It's now getting to the point where it's annoying me. I believe I hit a new phase in my game. From "super newbie who has fun 100% of the time" to "wtf I got a 6 on a par 4 that should have been a near-guaranteed par".

Help? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[duvvard]

accelerate thru the ball, really all there is to it. Sounds simple, but 80% of golfers fail to do it...

[black knight]

Yup, you have to just PRACTICE at the range of learning how far back to swing (that's how you adjust distance), and have an accelerating follow through LONGER than your backswing.

Pelz has a great book on the topic.

[Shoe Lace]

Hmm I guess do lack the follow through on non-full swings. Playing back some shots in my head I think I am stopping when I make contact with the ball giving it a "chip hack" effect rather than a controlled swing.

This coupled with a very slow tempo makes the ball go no where but then when I speed up my tempo and do the same thing it flies very low, very fast, and rolls forever.

My ball rarely takes a high flight path when I use my SW from these ranges. It's almost always a line drive+roll. However a near-full swing results in the ball going high and rolling not so much (haven't figured out how to make it stop on a dime but I don't care about that yet).

[ClubChamp04]

You can't just pick up this game and start sticking them from 50-60-70 yards. These shots are all feel and until you pratice a ton you will never be consistent with those shots. Make sure you are hitting down on the ball and not trying to lift it in the air though, thats a good starting point.

[HDPM]

[ QUOTE ]
Hmm I guess do lack the follow through on non-full swings. Playing back some shots in my head I think I am stopping when I make contact with the ball giving it a "chip hack" effect rather than a controlled swing.

This coupled with a very slow tempo makes the ball go no where but then when I speed up my tempo and do the same thing it flies very low, very fast, and rolls forever.

My ball rarely takes a high flight path when I use my SW from these ranges. It's almost always a line drive+roll. However a near-full swing results in the ball going high and rolling not so much (haven't figured out how to make it stop on a dime but I don't care about that yet).

[/ QUOTE ]

These shots are hard and I have been struggling myself and experimenting. I will say though that IMO the best and easiest to digest explanation of some of the factors going into ball flight on these shots is in Paul Runyan's book. You have to get it used now, and if you are unfamiliar with Runyan he is dead now. But in his day, and after his prime for that matter, he was a short game genius. He won majors hitting it very short. Many people will disagree with him about hitting it from bunkers, some will disagree with other things he says. On putting he advocates a set up much different from what most use today, and as far as putter face path is somewhere between Utley and Pelz. However, his book takes you through clubhead path and clubface alignment very well. It discusses spine angle and set up extremely well IMO. What this tells you is how to get the ball on a given flight from a given lie. I know people like the Pelz books, and I have them, but I think Runyan does a great job explaing this stuff simply and practically. You will learn the difference between pinching the ball and lobbing it and the quality of contact you can make from a given lie.

Another book probably worth checking out is Utley's new book. I have only glanced at that one though.

I guess I am old school and I had the chance to play a round with Runyan when I was a kid. I didn't get the full short game ideas in that brief time though. But the material in there is valuable and will transfer some to your full shots. I was stupid for not getting his book sooner. If all you get out of it is how different angles of attack and changes in set up give you different shots from different lies it will be worth it.

[ClubChamp04]

[ QUOTE ]
and have an accelerating follow through LONGER than your backswing.


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't agree with this btw.

[Shoe Lace]

[ QUOTE ]
You can't just pick up this game and start sticking them from 50-60-70 yards. These shots are all feel and until you pratice a ton you will never be consistent with those shots. Make sure you are hitting down on the ball and not trying to lift it in the air though, thats a good starting point.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting that you mentioned the lifting thing. I've been consciously doing this for sure at times. In my head I think "well if I need to hit it a total of 20y let's swing slow and sort of lift it". Result? I take 5 steps forward and get ready to shoot again usually mumbling profanities to myself.

[ClubChamp04]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You can't just pick up this game and start sticking them from 50-60-70 yards. These shots are all feel and until you pratice a ton you will never be consistent with those shots. Make sure you are hitting down on the ball and not trying to lift it in the air though, thats a good starting point.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting that you mentioned the lifting thing. I've been consciously doing this for sure at times. In my head I think "well if I need to hit it a total of 20y let's swing slow and sort of lift it". Result? I take 5 steps forward and get ready to shoot again usually mumbling profanities to myself.

[/ QUOTE ]

The worst thing you can do is slow down coming into impact. Thats what leads to thin/fat shots and balls that you will have no control over. Go somewhere and only hit short shots. Try to gauge the distance the ball is going by picturing your swing as a clock. Bring your hands back to 9 and then finsh them around 1 on the follow through and take note how far it goes. Then try 10,11... etc and keep in mind how far the shots are going. Hitting down and accelerating through the ball is the key to keep in mind. Then when you hit the course and have a 60 yard shot, you will realize that this is a 10 o'clock shot and you can make a few practice swings to feel how far the club should go back and how far it should follow through at.

[guids]

OP, I feel your pain, Im pretty much int the same spot, my irons and drivers are actually pretty good, but get me ten feet off the green and in the rough, or on the fairway, and I completly [censored] things up, I either wormburn the ball over and across the green, or hit the ball about 2 feet. I just got pelz shortgame bible, and have started working everything he says to do. Its only been a week, but there has been some improvement, in that at least now, I can pretty much consistently get the abll in the air and flying most of the time. I def recommend pelz book, a big back yard, and some laundry baskets.