10
Oct '11
Course Management: Distance control is key
By Swingpal.com staff
One of the most important aspects of playing good golf is having good distance control, a trait that you’ve most likely heard associated with the best players in the world.
When it comes to having good distance control, which means effectively controlling how far you hit the ball on approach and lay-up shots, it’s imperative that you know how far you hit each club in your bag.
And if you’re fortunate enough to ever face a shot like the one in the photo above, you’re going to want that information!
Most golfers, however, only have a general idea of how far they hit their clubs, and even many good players only have spent the time to figure out how far they hit their wedges.
Additionally, an even bigger problem for countless golfers is overestimating how far they hit the ball, which inevitably leads to overswinging and shots that end up nowhere near the intended target from a distance standpoint.
With the advent of range finders, there’s no reason not to spend some time trying to dial in how far you hit the clubs in your bag, especially your short and mid-irons.
As part of this process, when you work on fine tuning your yardages make sure that you’re swinging within yourself. While distance is an important aspect of golf, it pales in comparison to accuracy, especially when it comes to iron play.
Find a driving range, some time on the golf course when it’s quiet or even a field or park where you can hit multiple shots from various yardages with limited or no elevation change. Start by hitting 80-yard shots and then work in increments of 10 yards up to the 200-yard mark.
You can use target flags on the range to work with or you can walk off yardages and establish your own targets. If you’re on the golf course and have a hole to yourself where you can practice, start at 80 yards, hit approach shots and then just start working backwards up the fairway (make sure to fix those pitch marks when you’re finished though).
Throughout the process, keep a written log of which club in your bag is equating best to the respective distance you’re working on.
If you spend a couple of practice sessions working on this approach, and you might have to break this process up to effectively work on each yardage, you’ll find that you’ll hit the ball pin high more often.
You might still miss some shots right and/or left from time to time, but those are typically going to be swing-related issues that a qualified golf professional can help you with. Granted, you might not hit the ball as far as you normally would when you’re swing is off, which can lead to a bad hole here or there.
But there’s no reason to make bogeys or worse just because you’re pulling the wrong club several times throughout a round. The game is hard enough as it is!
And if you’re fortunate enough to ever face a shot like the one in the photo above, you’re going to want that information!
Most golfers, however, only have a general idea of how far they hit their clubs, and even many good players only have spent the time to figure out how far they hit their wedges.
Additionally, an even bigger problem for countless golfers is overestimating how far they hit the ball, which inevitably leads to overswinging and shots that end up nowhere near the intended target from a distance standpoint.
With the advent of range finders, there’s no reason not to spend some time trying to dial in how far you hit the clubs in your bag, especially your short and mid-irons.
As part of this process, when you work on fine tuning your yardages make sure that you’re swinging within yourself. While distance is an important aspect of golf, it pales in comparison to accuracy, especially when it comes to iron play.
Find a driving range, some time on the golf course when it’s quiet or even a field or park where you can hit multiple shots from various yardages with limited or no elevation change. Start by hitting 80-yard shots and then work in increments of 10 yards up to the 200-yard mark.
You can use target flags on the range to work with or you can walk off yardages and establish your own targets. If you’re on the golf course and have a hole to yourself where you can practice, start at 80 yards, hit approach shots and then just start working backwards up the fairway (make sure to fix those pitch marks when you’re finished though).
Throughout the process, keep a written log of which club in your bag is equating best to the respective distance you’re working on.
If you spend a couple of practice sessions working on this approach, and you might have to break this process up to effectively work on each yardage, you’ll find that you’ll hit the ball pin high more often.
You might still miss some shots right and/or left from time to time, but those are typically going to be swing-related issues that a qualified golf professional can help you with. Granted, you might not hit the ball as far as you normally would when you’re swing is off, which can lead to a bad hole here or there.
But there’s no reason to make bogeys or worse just because you’re pulling the wrong club several times throughout a round. The game is hard enough as it is!