Forums

Aiming Question from Newbie

• dcscott 8 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 1:00 PM

  Let's say I'm teening off and have a 220yd shot set up. I aim by pulling the blue yardage box straight back to my tee, so that I am hitting on the same original line. The box now indicates a shot of say, 1yd. But if I hit accurately, the ball goes 220yds.  My question is, what is the purpose of the yardage changing? Intuitively I would think that this would be a way of changing the desired distance you want to hit the ball, but the only way I (think) I can do that is by adjusting the swing level. 

  Please explain.

• nivlac 2,188 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 1:13 PM

  The distance is only showing you exactly how far away that specific point is from you.  This is useful if you need to know how far you need to clear a bunker on a drive or to reach the front edge of the green on a long approach that needs to run.

  As you said, the swing meter is the only way to set the actual power.  The ball will travel the full yardage if you hit a full swing, regardless of where the aimer may be.

• dcscott 8 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 1:21 PM

  So let me ask you if my "power methodology" makes sense. I have a shot of 100 yards. For simplicity, lets say the club I have picked as an average yardage of 200 yards, disregarding such things as whether or not the club is appropriate for this particular shot. I then swing with half power, ie, when the yellow bar is half way back. With no wind, this should produce a shot of exactly 100 yards.

• Faterson 2,902 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 1:41 PM

  You'd be taking chances unnecessarily that way. Someone remarked some time ago in this forum that hitting any club with less than half its nominal power (except for putters) will likely result in a terrible shot. My experience confirms that. You could be trying to hit with 50% strength, hit 49% instead and see the ball fly a few yards forward.

• nivlac 2,188 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 2:05 PM

  I realize you said to disregard appropriateness, but even so, you'd never be in a situation where hitting a 3I for 100 yards would be more advantageous than using your pitching wedge.  And as Faterson has mentioned, performance below 50% on the shot bar is at best unpredictable.  I don't really know if 50% of a 200 yard club will net you 100 yards or not.  I've never had a reason to try that.

  With the exception of putting, I prefer  to be as close to a full swing as possible.  Eliminate the extra guesswork.

  If I had to answer your scenario, I'd probably guess no.  I think the yardages are tailored towards the flight arc and spin rate of a full shot.  Once you go below 80% you begin to alter those variables quite a bit.  The less power you use, the more unpredictable they become.  That's just my guess though.

• dcscott 8 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 2:27 PM

  My example was poor. But certaintly you try to take off just a bit of power if say you have a 170 yard shot and the club is rated 190 yards, right?

• nivlac 2,188 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 2:34 PM

  Well, if you have a club rated 190 then you should have one for 180-ish and 170-ish as well.  You could use 190 for a 170y shot and still get relatively accurate results, but the ball doesn't spin as much, so you roll out a lot more.  If I need 170, I hit 175 club and take a cm off.

  Timing and rhythm also add issues to consider as well.  The more you lay off, the quicker the meter reaches the impact point.  I find it to be advantageous to keep my timing the same as much as I can.

• dcscott 8 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 2:44 PM

  Ah. And I just noticed something (I've only played a few rounds). The suggested club you are given before a shot isn't always the best. I just had a shot (I forget the exact yardage) where the suggested club was a good 20 yards long. I picked the next highest iron which was within a few yards of the distance and hit a perfect shot. Thanks for the info.

• mrboo 211 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 3:02 PM

  Good catch there dc, this game rarely sets you up with the proper club for the job. So keep an eye on it.

• dcscott 8 Posts

  Fri, Jul 31 2009 3:06 PM

  I'm gonna write in and suggest they hire new caddies!