Instruction
How to legally carry more than 70 clubs in your bag
Pop Quiz! Fill in the blanks below:
- I am on the range working on my full _____________.
- It is a chip _____.
- It is a bunker _______.
- It is a flop ________.
- It is a bump-and-run ________.
- It is a knockdown ________.
- It is a pitch _______.
Are you seeing a trend in your answers?
The first answer should have been the word “swing.” The rest of the blanks should have been answered with the word “shot.” Hopefully everyone got a 100 percent on the quiz!
Part of golf is about having a good consistent, repeatable full swing that produces quality results. But most rounds only contain about 20-to-25 truly “stock” full swings, which I define as full swings that don’t have any special considerations like three-quarter shots or shots that golfers try to hit higher or lower than normal.
Those 20-to-25 stock shots occur on most tee shots (except on some par 3’s where you might be in between clubs) and approach shots where you have a perfect yardage. The rest of the swings during your round now will require you to play different shots.
Think about it this way: What if I took you out on your course and only allowed you to take full swings at full effort? On a par 5, you could hit a perfect driver and three wood, leaving you 85 yards to the flag. As you set up to hit your 85-yard approach, I remind you that you are only allowed a full swing. So you “pure” your approach shot with a sand wedge, which goes about 100 yards with a full swing, and it flies 5 yards over the green, takes a big bounce and goes right into a palmetto bush. That would never happen except in our little game, but it illustrates my point about full swings.
Full swings aren’t necessary for every shot during a round of golf — not even 50 percent of shots. We unavoidably face situations that do not call for full swings in every round and it is how we execute them that determines the score at the end of the day. If you’ve watched most golfers practice, however, you know that they tend to dedicate most of their time to their full swing.
A couple of years ago I was working with one of my new students who was a very good college player. He wanted to play professionally, so he came to me for help with his game. He was hitting perfect 54-degree wedge shots at our first target green. It was getting boring to watch, so I went to his bag and my bag and grabbed our 9 irons — time for a little competition! We played closest to the hole with 10 shots, first one to six wins with the 9 irons only. Who do you think won this little exercise? Yeah, me — and by a lot. Something like 6-1. This player had no “shots” other than a full swing!
In most of my training sessions, my students and I spend time on the full swing. With a lot of my better players, however, we spend an equal amount of time learning how to hit variety of shots with different clubs. It’s true that most tour players have grooved a controlled full swing with perfect rhythm and impact, but they also have a large arsenal of other shots.
The reality is that most golfers rely on 13 shots — one for every club in their bag (I’m not counting the putter). Comparatively, most tour players have at least 70 shots, or 70 “clubs” in their bag. How is that? If you hit all your shots full, or at 100 effort, you will struggle to develop your game. Swinging full bore at every shot makes you a less versatile player and your scores will tend to be higher.
If you learn to dial in your swing with each club at 90 percent with good rhythm, which means that you control the club, your body movements and distance at two distinct speeds, congrats! Now you have 26 shots, twice as many as you used to have. That gives you an extra 10 percent to use when you need a few extra yards out of a specific shot. Yes, you might sacrifice a little accuracy when you swing full bore, but if you need to carry that bunker in front of the green you can do it because of the extra speed leftover in your tank. That’s why “playing at 90 percent” is a great tip for most amateurs.
What happens when you learn to choke down 1 inch and swing the club with a three-quarters length backswing? The ball goes a little shorter than your 90-percent swing, and now you have 39 clubs in your bag. Are you seeing the value of learning different shots?
What about changing trajectories with the three swings above? That would give you 78 options if you can groove each swing with a low trajectory, and 107 shots if you can learn to hit each shot with a higher trajectory.
So are tour players really that good? Yes, but they’re also smarter than most golfers with their practice. They learn to “legally” carry more clubs in the bag than you do.
I’m not saying that it’s not important to groove a swing that is repeatable and consistent, but most golfers would play better if they practiced a few different shots each time they went to the range. During your next practice session, spend some time on the range working on different shots to go with your full-swing shot. The ones I listed above are a great place to start.
Remember that golf is not about having the best full swing; it is about moving your game piece (the golf ball) around the ever-changing outdoor board game. And if you can legally “break the rules” by having more shots in the bag, then you should play better golf, have more fun and have better-looking scores, too!
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Instruction
Clement: Laid-off or perfect fade? Across-the-line or perfect draw?
Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!
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Instruction
The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic
My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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Instruction
Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!
Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
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br61
Dec 10, 2014 at 12:09 pm
Hi Rob,
Great to see you posting. I agree with your article, very well written. I love playing different shots with a single club, it’s almost like cheating with additional clubs in your bag. I know Kevin Hall does the same. I had fun with him on a range at Traverse City, MI last summer. He was explaining to fellow golfers how to play different shots with a single club. (with my clubs!!)
Cheers,
Bill
Geoffrey Holland
Dec 10, 2014 at 11:37 am
Back when I could still physically play, I went most of a season with a bag that consisted of driver, another driver that was essentially a 2 wood, 3 wood, 6 iron, SW, LW, putter. I didn’t have a set of irons at the time, didn’t have the money to get one, and didn’t think I would be playing a lot that year so never bothered to even borrow one.
I did end up playing quite a bit that year, and I rarely missed the rest of the irons. I practically wore that 6 iron out and had a lot of fun hitting different shots with it.
sixty7
Dec 9, 2014 at 5:06 pm
I used to agree with this logic but my life has changed and my game had to adapt. I played D1 golf and dabbled on some minitours on and off for about 5 years. Since getting my amateur status back and starting a company I struggled with consistency and started to dread playing in tournaments because I inevitably didn’t have to time needed to keep my arsenal of shots honed. I played well at times over the few years after I wasn’t playing professionally but mostly not up to the level I was used to playing. I decided to simplify and get really good at hitting some of the shots I found really important. I’ve always hit the ball far so I needed a go to driver shot which is a high draw. I used to work the ball well with my driver but I didn’t have the time to keep that up. I stuck with my most natural shot shape which was a high draw. Forget about working fairway woods and long irons at this point. I dropped a fairway wood and added a wedge so I would be able to maximize the amount of stock swings I could make during a round. I focused on hitting my middle irons solid enough to make due and really don’t try to work them much anymore either.
Here is where I partially agree with your article. I think it is very important to be versatile with scoring clubs and I find it time well spent working on flighting wedges up or down and knocking yards off short irons. I think it is crazy to tell an amateur to learn 70 shots. At the end of the day I am a solid plus 2 handicap who plays 45 holes per week and I wouldn’t dare try to polish 70 shots enough to take them on the course anymore. I think if you take this article and apply it to the clubs you hit most often you will be better off than trying to mix it up and start trying to hit that many different shots.
Jay
Dec 9, 2014 at 6:25 pm
Are you really learning 70 shots? How much different is a 3/4 6 iron from a 3/4 5 iron. If you know your standard distances with each club – be it at 100% or 90%, you should have a good idea what 3/4 will get you with out tracking distances for every club at standard, 3/4, 3/4 low. 3/4 high, etc??
sixty7
Dec 9, 2014 at 6:56 pm
I’ve got a great 3/4 six iron that I like to call a seven iron.
All kidding aside what I have done has worked really well for my work golf mix. If you’re trying to get on TV then you better know all 70 shots. If you want to get to a zero handicap get really good at the shots you need to hit and work on your short game. I know a lot of scratch golfers that can’t hit a low cut to a back right pin at will.
Pat
Dec 9, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Good article. However, I think it’s also equally as importantly to add a fade and draw to your arsenal. Once you can hit left to right and right to left shots on command, your handicap will drop significantly. I went from a 10 to a 5 handicap by learning how hit a fade and draw on command by changing my set up and swing path from a good friend of mine who is currently trying to get on the Web.com tour and plays to a +1 handicap. A golfer who is capable of hitting high, low, fade, and draws on command will have a much higher chance at lowering their scores compared to a golfer who only plays one type of shot all the time and hasn’t learned to hit a variety of shots.
sixty7
Dec 9, 2014 at 5:18 pm
I disagree. I don’t think it’s necessary for a 10 handicap to be able to hit a fade and a draw. I would be willing to bet that you dropped 5 shots because you started working on your game more. I’m sure you wanting to be able to hit a fade and a draw was the vehicle that got you on the range working on your game but I would bet that you would be a 5 if you were only to hit one or the other consistently.
My home course is really hard and you could probably host a tour event there any day of the week and I really only hit a draw. Front right pins are always a pain for me but I don’t attack them, I choose my battles and live to fight another day.
Pat
Dec 10, 2014 at 6:58 am
Never said it’s necessary. It just makes you a much better golfer if you can hit draws and fades on command. Notice how the best players in the world can work the ball both ways. Bubba, Phil, Rory, Adam Scott, Sergio, etc. I’m not saying you can’t become a scratch or better if you only hit one stock shot, but being able to hit a variety of shots only helps elevate your game to the next level. My handicap didn’t drop because I practiced more. In fact, I’ve had less time in the last 2 years to dedicate to golf because of declining health and job.
sixty7
Dec 10, 2014 at 9:21 am
So you’ve practiced less, learned new shots and cut your handicap in half? That’s impressive.
Mnmlist Golfr
Dec 9, 2014 at 4:15 pm
This is why it is not really necessary to carry 14 clubs. 6-8 clubs plus putter is enough if you can hit diffferent types of shots with each club.
Jay
Dec 9, 2014 at 6:21 pm
And you know it kills em when they are hitting wedge from 145 and cant get it inside the choled up 8
dapadre
Dec 10, 2014 at 5:52 am
This is SO true. Some weeks back shot my alltime best (78; +6) on a pretty tough course. I usually shoot in the low 80’s as I dont have much time to practice. Practice for me is 1 hour on Fridays and 30/45 min on the DR on Sat and or Sun before a round.
Anyway on this particular day took a half set forged set I had laying around that I never played much. I had (7 clubs) W1, H4, 6,8,PW, SW and putter. Crazy as it sounds, it felt pretty simple. I would have scored better but had horrible putting (3 putted twice and even had 2 water balls!)
Russ
Dec 9, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Always cracks me up when i play with college age kids or even hard hitting high handicappers and stuff it to 6 feet from 135 yds. “You hit wedge”, me “nah, choked up 8″ and they look at me with incredulous eyes as i make the putt and take there money…. last round hit one right into the trees, had 85yds but only had a 9 and 7, no problem, opened the face on the 9 choked down 2” and hit a flop shot to 4 feet to make par… Be a student of this game and your handicap will go down.
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sgniwder99
Dec 9, 2014 at 2:58 pm
Dude, you’re amazing.
Dale15
Dec 9, 2014 at 3:40 pm
When I grow up I wanna be just like you!
Pat
Dec 9, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Cool story brah.
Geoffrey Holland
Dec 10, 2014 at 11:33 am
I don’t think you understand what a flop shot is.
AJ Jensen
Dec 9, 2014 at 2:12 pm
Wow that was a great article, very well-written and fun to read, and most of all it’s a great insight on why the pros seem to have such an easy time negotiating the course, while us weekend warriors struggle so much.