Golf Game Management IV: Elevation Changes
& Club Selection
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other Parts from the
Technology & Distance
series, Short Game
series and Off Season
Golf series here, Archives.
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on to this week's topic.
IV.
One Club, Two
Clubs, Three Clubs,
What Club?
The
topic of this this
series is Golf Game
Management. Can you
shoot lower scores
without physical
improvement? The
answer is a resounding,
YES! Not that
I'm advocating not
improving your ball
striking and short
game skill level.
In the last two newsletters, I explained
how you can use your
shot pattern to make
much wiser club selection
choices on the course.
If you would like
an analysis of your
shot pattern, you
can send me some
of your round statistics,
I'll analyze it and
send you back a report.
Just download a free
Excel Spreadsheet
using the link, Download
Excel Round,
and e-mail me your
results. I'll then
send you a secure
link to pay a reduced
fee of $10.99 for
Newsletter Members
(regular fee is $12.99).
If you watched the 2005 Masters,
you might recall
the commentators
mentioning how good
Woods' and DiMarco's
distance control
was with their irons.
It was very impressive
given that many of
the iron shots at
Augusta are uphill
or downhill. Guessing
with club selection
can be very damaging
to a player's ability
to play the shot;
doubt and uncertainty
make it very difficult
to commit to, and
execute a golf shot.
As I've cited in previous newsletters,
the majority of golfers
come up short on
their shots the majority
of the time. Hitting
uphill or downhill
makes it even more
difficult to club
properly, commit
to and execute the
shot. Uphill and
downhill par 3s tend
to have higher scoring
averages for this
reason.
A major reason why golfers tend to
play their own golf
course better than
others is familiarity
with what clubs to
hit. They are able
to have more confidence
in the clubs they
select because of
past rounds, are
able to commit to
the club they select
and therefore execute
better swings more
often.
The science of golf ball trajectories is now
well understood.
As I have done with
my mathematical model,
its easy to determine
the effect of each
club's range when
playing up to a green
or down to a green.
All one needs to
do is estimate the
elevation change,
adjust your club
selection and fire.
In my report on compensating
for elevation changes,
I explain a very
easy way of estimating
elevation changes
by just using the
flagstick as a reference.
Try this simple experiment over your next 10
rounds:
† Keep track
of how often you
hit the correct
club on each hole.
Record as well
whether you landed
short or long due
to a clubbing error
or just mishitting
the shot.
† Then compare your statistics between holes that are level and holes
which involve an elevation change on your approach shot.
† I think you'll find that on holes which have elevation changes,
you'll mis- club more and mis-hit more shots.
† The consequences of mis clubbing to your score are large.
Recall that my emphasis in this series is enabling
yourself to make
better club selections
for all your shots.
Having good understanding
of your shot pattern
plays a key role
in where to aim and
what club to select.
My premise is that all golfers can shoot lower
scores without physically
improving ball striking
or their short game
(not that I'm advocating
not working on those
skills), by making
better club choices.
In a way, every time you hit a shot, it is a
bit of a "turkey
shoot." But by selecting
what is statistically
the best club to
execute each shot,
you'll lower your
average score.
If you would like
an analysis of your shot pattern, you can send me some of your
round statistics,
I'll analyze it and
send you back a report. Just download an Excel Spreadsheet
using the link, Download
Excel Round, and e-mail me your results.
To see a specific example of what this service
provides, take a
look at this shot
pattern example. The service only costs $10.99 for
Newsletter Members.
In future newsletters on this topic, we'll take
a look at Game Management
further in areas
such as club selection
based on
wind,
altitude, and temperature.
We'll also look at
Game Management as
it applies to your
short game and putting.
There a lots of ways
to make the best
of what you currently
have! We can all
make better choices
on the course.
Take a look below the suggestion box for some
more ideas on how
you can improve
your game.
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Make a Newsletter Suggestion.
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If
you are more interested
in finding out which
golf ball is best
for you and your
game, consider the
following:
Longest
Golf Ball Report -- a statistical
analysis of different
golf balls hit by
an
Iron
Byron Robot machine.
Discover
the secret "missing
link" in your
golf game. Understand
which golf balls
REALLY make a
difference in
each stroke!
A
list of resources that
have been used to produce
this newsletter can
be found on my
web sitehere.
The focus
of my site
is to utilize science
and math to lower
your score. New technology
is one
way to achieve this,
but to be honest,
the technology is
one small piece of
the puzzle.
To actually improve significantly,
we all need to:
1. Improve our swings using CD
Interactive, Hit
Down Dammit!
2. Learn how to swing simpler
like the Iron Byron
with the great coffee
table book, Swing
Machine Golf!
3. Improve our physical fitness
and strength.
The
Golf Trainer Power
Performance Program™ and Ultimate
Golf Fitness Ebook
4. Improve our mental games.
Golf
Mind Software
5. Improve our Probable
Golf games.
Learn how to make better
choices on the course
through knowing how
shot patterns and reading
the elements and course
better.
Click on the links above to
take a look at
ways that I personally
use myself and
recommend you try
as well.
Hope
I provided some useful
ways for to become
better prepared for
you best golf season
ever.
Ken Tannar
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