A few weeks back I did a post where I mentioned 4 shots Hank Haney says are no longer good choices. One of those shots was laying up to a favorite distance. Here's what Haney said in his Golf Digest article:
Laying as much as a favourite distance is a myth that has probably come from selectively watching expert golfing on tv. You would possibly see a tour player lay up on a par five to a desired wedge distance, but 99 percent of the time if the pros have the opportunity to get near the inexperienced adequately, they'll bomb it down there. Plus, stats do not lie. At each distance the PGA Tour measures, gamers hit it towards the hollow on average while they may be towards the goal. I don't care how tons you love having 7-iron into the inexperienced: Over the long term, you will shoot higher rankings in case you attempt to cowl as a great deal distance as viable. It's usually better to have a wedge in your hand than a longer iron. The most effective exceptions? When the longer shot puts you liable to going into a risk or deep grass, or leaves you with a clumsy sidehill or downhill lie.Personally I agree with Haney. I like to get the ball as close as possible to the green because I prefer chips and pitches to full shots when I want accuracy. But I also I have a problem with his statement that "stats don't lie." People love to say that numbers don't lie (and stats are numbers, after all) and I guess that's true enough... but numbers don't mean anything until they're interpreted, And interpretations lie all of the time! I'm always cautious when I hear numbers treated like they're irrefutable.
In my post I said there are constantly exceptions to the rule. Today I notion I'd provide you with the opposite facet of that argument, courtesy of Gerina Piller who virtually is aware of a factor or two approximately hitting it close to the inexperienced.
At first it may sound as if Gerina is agreeing with Haney. After all, he says "When the longer shot puts you at risk of going into a hazard or deep grass, or leaves you with an awkward sidehill or downhill lie" are the only exceptions.
But Gerina is not pronouncing that this shot will positioned her in a clumsy lie. Rather, she's ALREADY in an awkward lie! It would not suit the shot form she needs to play, and it's a downhill lie which makes hitting the longer membership awkward. She's laying up with her second shot on a par5, now not along with her force. It's her force it really is forcing her to lay up. If she attempts to hit the lengthy club here, she says the final results will probably be bad. So she's laying up to a selected distance as opposed to simply trying to get as near the inexperienced as she will.
I'd go even a little further. There are good reasons for laying up off the tee. Perhaps you need to take a shorter club to avoid trouble that's in play with the longer club. Perhaps you need to put the ball in a specific part of the fairway and you're not that accurate with a longer club. Perhaps you're just having trouble with your driver today -- even the pros have that problem from time to time, and they hit a shorter club.
But you should also consider this: I've often seen long hitters like Dustin Johnson hit over a 600-yard par5 in two, then walk off with a par or even bogey while the short knockers wedge it on in three and walk off with birdie. Some guys are brilliant with their wedges while others are better with short irons or mid-irons, and sometimes the shorter shot is just a harder shot. (You'll sometimes hear analysts say that a player has hit the ball too close to the green to get the spin they need, for example.) You have to play to your strengths, whether the numbers agree with you or not.
Most of the great players in the game have had swings that don't fit the mold of "correct" swings. That's because everybody's different and numbers don't take that into account. So let me repeat this again: If you want to play your best, you have to play to your strengths, whether the numbers agree with you or not.
0 comments