Question for shorter hitters

Can you guys give me tips on course management? I average about 230 off the tee.(Been playing almost a year). When I am hooking my driver I use a three hybrid off the tee that I hit about 195 yards. If I had a three wood I would hit it about 210-215 yards. I played with my brother and cousin last week who are big hitters and I admit it made me nervous as I thought I had to hit long too to keep up with them. Needless to say I never play well with them from trying to hit long like they do (260-270). This is even though they each only hit about five fairways the whole round . I guess my real question is can short hitters be decent golfers? I frequently get teased in good nature for being a short hitter and sometimes feel I have no chance on par 5's. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

First thing on course management is that you need to know your strengths and weaknesses and the course.

I think the therory is that you play into your strengths and avoid places on the course where you might put up big numbers or have a dificult time getting up and down for par or bogey depending upon you handicap. (watching Augusta and the Masters can be very useful in seeing where a person needs to be on that course and areas even the pro's are going to make Bogey from)

so on par 5's if you are not getting on in 2 the next thing you need to know is what distance do you feel confortable hitting the green from and then play to that distance or spot.

On long par 3's and 4's where it is tough to get on but you can be around the green, you should be looking at a spot where you have an up hill chip, and have green to work with. (are you better long or short/ right or left)

But short hitters need to have a lot better short games to compete, on the other hand when they do it drives the big hitters crazy.

In answer to your question; Yes short hitters can become decent golfers. Your disitance numbers are pretty close to mine, and I break 80 more times than not. Keys are to keep the ball in the short grass, have a very good short game, and your putter has to be correctly fitted to your stroke, so that you putt less than 30 time a round. I am very accurate with my PW in the 80 yard range, so a lot of times on longer holes, I try to play to that distance for my approach shots. A club of particular importance to me is a fairway club (12 degree) that I can hit well in the 200 yard range, which helps to enhance my short game on the longer par 4s, and all par 5s.

One item that most golfer do not pay enough attention to is the location of the pin on the green. Knowing if it is foreward, center, or back is critical to the short hitter. A 5000 square foot green could mean as much as a 20-30 yard putt if the pin placement is not accurately known.

An good example would be a par 5 that I play in the winter months that measures 610 yards. A drive of 230, a second shot of 200, and a third, choked down shot for the remaining 180 with my 200 yard club, will usually get me to the center of the green. If I miss the green, I have to work a little bit on getting up, and down with my short game. Luckily for me, I don't run into too many par 5s over 500 yards during my travels. GJS

Many players play off single figure handicaps who can only drive around 200 yards. If you can play a 5 iron 160/170 yards you have 200+170+170 = 540 which will get you to most par 5's in regulation. When faced with longer fairways get a good 5 wood or 19 deg recovery wood shot in your armoury. For par 4s a 5 wood and 8/9 iron will get you there. I would not mind a dollar for every time I have seen someone hit a 260/300 yard drive to follow by a duffed short iron or two.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

My worse rounds by far are invariably when I try and match a long hitter.

I play with some one who regularly hits as far as or further than your brother; if I play to and use my handicap then we have some good close games despite the fact that I'm 40 yards or so behind him.

I also play with someone (thank god only rarely) with whom I've never had my mental attitude right; he tees off, the ball sails away into the distance I try and match him; I come off well into the 100s and I mean well, rather than touching the 80s.

As you can see from the above I really do know it can be difficult but as the others say just try and forget your / their distance, try and improve on the range by all means but on the course just play the game you've got.

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Chris. Longer driver strokes always has been the desire object of golfers, but when we remind that the objetive of this game is to introduce the ball into the hole with fewer club strokes, we realize that precision not longer distances is the key. Long driving hitters feel more uncomfortable wasting their strokes on the rough or out of bounces.
As precision, I mean less than 5% accuracy in direction or distance from the desired spot in both driving and short game.

Thanks everyone for all the advice. First I need to get a LW and GW to shore up my short game. I will only use the club off the tee I can put in play at least 8 out of 10 times whether it is driver, 19 utility, or even a 5 iron. Does my 19 hybrid replace a 5 wood or is 5wood a little longer distance because of the longer shaft? I have always had trouble hitting fairway woods off the fairway.

Yes, a 19H should replace a 5w. Again, there may be no distance loss due to better contact.

Chris, the first thing to do is to stop lying to yourself about the distance you produce. You write that you average 230 off the tee but your friends hit 260-270 and you're intimidated by them. If your average was indeed 230, you'd hit it 260-270 at least once in a while and as a result you would not be intimidated. So, stop lying to yourself about the distance you produce.

Next, stop trying to produce that distance if you do not already produce the accuracy that such distance requires. That means, practice sending the ball straight and to your target. When you've become good at doing that, you'll gain confidence in your ability to do it. That confidence is the difference between thinking "I can't do it" and "I can do it". As you become good at sending the ball to your target, you'll plan accordingly.

Confidence is about as big an influence on my game as ability. I think it's the same for most people. If my confidence is low, I don't play well. Same for my immediate ability to perform the shot. I practice so my ability is always increasing. When my confidence gets low, I revert to the club I know for certain that I can hit well. For me, that's the 8i. Even if it's the wrong club for the shot, I use it to get my confidence back up. I'm in jail? No prob, 8i. I'm in the rough/trouble/whatever? No prob, 8i.

Perhaps you'd like to prove to them that you can do it? Prove to yourself? You already know you can't so don't try. Perhaps you'd like to impress your friends? In golf, you can impress a whole lot of people by chipping close to the pin or sending the ball in the hole with your putter from 50 feet away or sending the ball to 5 feet from 150 yards away. All those shots are very impressive indeed. In fact, those shots are what wins tournaments these days. Not the bomb.

But forget about your friends. Think about how impressed you'd be with yourself if you could send the ball to 5 feet from 150 yards away or chip the ball close or hole it with your putter from 15 feet. I can do all of the above with a fair amount of regularity but I still can't send the ball 300 yards. I don't care, I'm having a blast.

Hi LP, I have a Taylormade Dual Recovery 19 Deg that is a replacement 3 iron, the 22 Deg is a 4 iron. Guess they may vary by make?

Hi Martin I'm not sure I understand your post. Are you saying I probably don't average that many off the tee? I have gotten lucky and hit an occasional longer drive. On two drives last week I was just as long as them or a little longer. For example, a 300 yard par 4 on a short course I play I occasionally get within thirty or fourty yards using my reader. I think I am being very realistic by not saying this is my average drive when I know this is maybe two drives out of ten. I took into effect that sometimes I dont make solid contact and hook the ball and it goes 210-220. Mostly when I make solid contact it goes about 230 -240 so I don't believe I am exagerrating my distance at all like some who claim they hit it 270 once out of ten but when asked say this is how far they average. So 230 was a conservative average for me, not the occasional 260.

Thanks

Chris, I'm saying I don't care how far you send the ball. I'm saying all I care about is how close I send the ball. I'm saying you should give it a try and not care how far others send the ball and care only about how close you send the ball.

You've played for a year, have you ever played with only one club for a whole round? Have you ever played with only three clubs for a whole round? Have you ever played without a driver/3w for a whole round? Don't answer that, just think about it.

Hey Brian,

It really depends on your set. I carry Innovex Hybrids - the 3 is 18°, the 4 is 22° and the 5 is 26° (and oddly enough, the 6 is 32°).

In the new TM R7 irons, they'd match up perfectly to swap out the long irons.

In my 560's, the 4h replaces my 3i (21°), the 4i is out of the bag completely, and the 5h replaces the 5i (27°). I've spread out the loft gaps with the hybrids in this scenario.

Generally speaking as a clubmaker, I like hybrids over fairway woods. The shorter shafts generally equal more control and more consistency. The main job is matching up lofts to replace the irons you're taking out.

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I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Martin I was wondering the purpose of playing with varying clubs from round to round? Also, one other question I forgot to pose to other members here is when a golfer should begin playing the blue/ back tees on a golf course. I think technically it depends on handicap but I wasn't sure.

The purpose of playing with, say three clubs, is to learn how to play golf. The rules allow a player to carry and use a maximum of 14 clubs. The rules do not require a player to carry or play with 14 clubs. If you play with one club, you're still playing golf.

So think about it, think about which clubs you would take if you only took 3. Think carefully, you will not be able to use any other club for the round. Think about what you'd do without a driver/3w or with only one club. Thinking about it is one thing, doing it is entirely different. When you do it, you actually learn a lesson. I could explain it to you and you'd probably understand what it's all about but until you try it, you can't truly know. It's something you must learn the hard way.