Help

Question
Hi Dathaeus,

I currently just play to a 7 handicap and i am struggling to put together a good round. It seems most times when i am having a good round i usually have 3 or 4 over in a stretch of 6 holes in the middle of the round. The course i play is quite long (6700 yards)with barely any roll out. I find the long par fours (410-450) yards hard to score on. I used to average around 260 yards off the tee now i only average 225 yards. The greens are very small and kind of bumpy and rough. My lack of distance puts pressure on my short game and i get very few chances at birdies per round as i average only 20% of greens. I also only average 45-50% of up and downs. I was wondering if you have advice on what to practice with my short game. I almost always chip with my lob wedge. My full shot misses are pushes and other problems caused from timing issues from trying to get my distance back. I would also appreciate if you have any drills for timing and balance in the swing.

Many Thanks,
Connor

Answer
Hello and thank you for asking.  Wow, would I love to work with you as a student a couple of times a week if you were here.  You have a good head and know exactly what is going on and are willing to work hard at it, I can tell.  Here are some thoughts and you can ask a followup later if you like.

- My first impressions was, if you are down to 225 off the tee, why are you playing from the back tees?  6700 yards is not long for a single handicapper, but I am guessing you are older now?  Why do you have to play from 6700, is it ego, friends/competition, or your hope that some distance will come back any day now?  Why are you playing?  If you play for "fun" there is ZERO reason you should be playing from the back.

- Have you checked your equipment?  New tech, lie/club alignment, proper shaft, proper grip, etc...

- Are you working out, strengthening?  Stretching?

- There is not one good player with a great short game that uses a lob wedge all the time.  There is a reason for that.  The lower you keep the ball on any shot under 50 yards, the more accurate will be provided you have some sort of spin control.  Even a 60 with a lot of bounce will still be a lot more inconsistent than a regular 56.  A lot of pros, including myself, use a PW or 9 iron when you are just off the green and have a long way to the hole for maximum roll, or for a 35-50 yard bunker shot.  A lob wedge should only be used when you HAVE to use it, when you are short sided and need more loft.

- If the greens are horrible, lower your expectations, go play some nicer courses once in a while for a reality check.  There are a very few things in golf that tick me off more than bad greens, almost makes the playing golf worthless.

If you have any followups and further questions in the future,
please ask me in my more commonly used web site,
Answerway.com.  You can go to my direct link at

http://answerway.com/profile.php?expid=Dathaeus

and check out all my public FAQ's as well as ask me a direct
question.  Thank you and good luck.