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How to get great at WGT?

• cj19 8 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 4:38 AM

  Looking for wisdom from the WGT community on how one becomes really good at this game.   Not interested at all in any cheats.   I've been playing a few months and have average around 69.  Have upgraded driver to R1, irons to TaylorMade, putter to Ghost, balls to Nike, and use either Putter Pal or a homegrown meter.  Now seem to have hit plateau.  Can consistently drive in fairway, play upwind / downwind and elevations, etc.   Problem seems to be getting irons closer than 10 ft on approach.  Is there a general guideline on how much full backspin takes off the distance of an iron?

  Not trying to make this too formulaic but really enjoying WGT so far and looking to maximize the time I can spend on it.  Thanks

• TopShelf2010 10,906 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 4:47 AM

  .

• courteneyfish 15,796 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 5:39 AM

  I'll start with the old chestnut. Drop the hybrid and and get 3 evenly spaced wedges.

• CanineSupervisor 1,882 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 5:56 AM

  cj19:

  I've been playing a few months

  cj19:

  Not trying to make this too formulaic but really enjoying WGT so far

  Your statements seems strange, Cj. It shows you joined in 2008? 

  The game has changed since then.

  Seems to me as though you have won some credits as well, more than most at your tier. That shows you are not doing too bad.

  To get good, as in anything, you need to be patient. Once you reach the higher levels you can get equipment that have better stats which will improve your game.

   

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 6:51 AM

  courteneyfish:

  I'll start with the old chestnut. Drop the hybrid and and get 3 evenly spaced wedges.

  ^^. Can't say this enough. In fact, I'd take it a step further and say drop the 3W, too! Until you get pushed back to the longer tees that 3W won't get much use. At least go with the 3 wedges Courteney suggested and they should match.

  An even bigger game changer is the irons. When you make level 59 take a look at the G25's-they're High lofted clubs where what you're using now are Med/High. This switch alone will allow you to drop shots on the greens instead of trying to control the way they roll like you have to do with the low flying R11s you use.

• cj19 8 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 6:54 AM

  You are correct.  Joined in 2008 and completely forgot about game until knee injury laid me up.  Started again a couple of months ago.   Yes, I've won some credits and I guess I'd consider myself fairly good for L58 Tour Pro.   Always wanting to know how to get better but not interested in doing it any way but the pure way. 

  My interest is in getting my approach shots closer to the flag.   The corollary here is putting.  You can practice your butt off and will get better, especially on distance and break, but you will soon reach a plateau.  Anyone who has upgraded their putter will vouch for the fact that as soon as you do that, you start making a lot more putts and your misses are very slight. It's a seismic change that you can't obtain by just practicing more putting.

  So I'm wondering if the same holds true for irons.  I upgraded to TaylorMade irons and with a decent amount of practice have definitely gotten better on approach shots.   I'm just trying to figure out if I've reached the same plateau and will need to get better irons to consistently within 10 ft of pin.

  Thanks for your reply.

   

   

   

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 6:59 AM

  cj19:

  So I'm wondering if the same holds true for irons.  I upgraded to TaylorMade irons and with a decent amount of practice have definitely gotten better on approach shots.

  I suspect we were typing at the same time so my post above yours answers the iron question. Those Med loft irons come in low to greens on approach so you need either copious amounts of spin to stop them or play a "run up" game. 

  With the High lofted clubs the ball comes down on the green at a steeper angle and requires less back spin to stop making it easier to get close.

• SweetiePie 4,925 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 9:12 AM

  Hey CJ --- I can only guess, however I took a peek at your stats and they show that your up/down conversion & putting in general, need more attention than your iron play. I would guess that you chip & pitch most shots. These applications require judgement of both power & roll. I never use either. For me, there is much more success using flop & punch with full back-spin, which always stops almost dead, and eliminating consideration of roll. All that is needed is consideration of power %.  ~ SP ~

• NorCalMega 179 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 11:51 AM

  When I reached L59 I stuck with the same R11 irons you have because I felt like I had finally dialed them in and liked how they were less influenced by wind because of the lower flight. That was a mistake, especially once I was pushed out another set of tees and had to hit longer approaches. I finally caved and spent the money on the G25 and couldn't be happier. On averages my approaches are much closer to the pin (putting still holding me back). There will be a learning curve as they are affected by the wind more than the R11 and they are less forgiving. It was easier to off ding my R11 into the wind to help hold the line and not lose much distance, when I started doing that with the G25s I started to come up well short.

  Looking at you stats your 3 putt % is too high, are you still 3 putting a lot or do you think you stats are still high from earlier struggles.

  I also agree with SP in that your scrambling needs work. Learn the flop as that's a good way to save par when you have a lot of slope between you and the ball but when the conditions are right you need be able to use the chip,

  One good thing with the G25s is you will hold more greens and if you do run through a green better chance of being on the fringe than the deeper rough all which should help with scoring.

  All that said you are doing well, better than I did, at the lower levels, earning $.

• NorCalMega 179 Posts

  Sat, Dec 6 2014 11:54 AM

  You can rent the G25 for a day if you are unsure just make sure its a day you can play a lot to see if you can see the potential. In my rental period I did not score better overall, but had enough shots I could never pull off with the R11 that I could see their potential. IMHO, they are worth the upgrade and necessary, especially for the next set of tees.