andyson:
b0geybuster: Operative words being you missed the ding!
"by the slightest amount possible" and with a slight right to left wind after aiming at the middle of the fairway. That normally just straightens the shot out. Its abnormal to move the ball 20 yards right into the water on a very slight miss.
Thank you... yes, I was penalized at least 20 yards of direction, and the wind was moving left... I was just surprised at the number of shots that were WAY off line as soon as they left my club... I play a lot, and that rarely happens. After playing this long, I'm almost never surprised at where the ball ends up... usually have a pretty good idea where itls going based on the ding and how close I was.
As for missing the 'ding', not sure about the rest of you, but I hit it exactly right maybe 1/3 of the time, and I do ok (if I could only putt). Missing it by a hair rarely impacts the shot at all for me, much less 20+ yards in direction! I had 2 other similar shots- my 3rd at Kiawah #3 I thought was a 'green light special'.. 80 yards directly into a 4mph wind.. missed the ding a hair early with my 85 yard wedge and the ball ended up left of the green. On #6 I hit a similar shot that missed the green right.
CM