PG and the coming year

[JMK59]

I was poking fun at the TP's that use dots.

[davefv92c]

John that would be most of them and the ones that are the loudest about
not using them have more than likely put a small piece of thin plastic on their
monitors with the marks on it. I have had people tell me they do that then claim to be a no dot player.
this has been going on all the way back to the time when there were no dots on the meter.

[JMK59]

John that would be most of them and the ones that are the loudest about
not using them have more than likely put a small piece of thin plastic on their
monitors with the marks on it. I have had people tell me they do that then claim to be a no dot player.
this has been going on all the way back to the time when there were no dots on the meter.

Ah, the Ted Ball magic overlay.

[JMK59]

mwalimu,

1. Penalty is more severe at Pro level. Don't over swing until you can hit the snap better.

2. A good short game is the key to lower scores.
....Learn the full shot/green reaction for the 4 wedges, including spin back.
....Learn 3/4 shots for the 4 wedges - takes lots of spin off.
....Learn your go-to Pitch club distances.
....from ~46 to 60 yds you can run a pitch shot up or 3-bounce and check a 3/4 full wedge.

3. Find a "rescue" club. I use a 7W, full and 3/4 shot, to get out of rough or fairway bunkers.

4. Know what the 3C meter is doing. The over swing area adds only ~5% more distance, but can add up to 20% more spin. Use this to stop the run out of the PW, 9I, & 8I. The miss hit penalty is also more severe in this area.

5. Wind - you can use the setup ball to negate 15mph winds with a full left or right (fade or draw) with the 5I down to the 9I.

Practice by playing, and keep in mind that the reason you play should be to have fun. So have fun.

[mwalimu]

mwalimu,

1. Penalty is more severe at Pro level. Don't over swing until you can hit the snap better.

"Over swing" is a relative term. I'm reminded of Links 386 where if you went all the way to the back of the swing meter, you had to hit the snap just right or your shot would go way off, making it risky. If you kept it near the top of the swing meter (12:00 position) and had a decent sized landing area, you'd usually have a reasonably good shot as long as you didn't miss the snap too badly (courses where this was harder to achieve gave rise to phrases like "target golf" and "bowling alley fairways). What I'm finding with PG at Pro level is that the 6-dot 12:00 shot is about as risky as that back-of-the-swing meter was in Links 386, so I guess that means for the time being I'll have to keep it to dot 5 or below. Unfortunately that will make the longer holes GIR-unreachable.

Edit: I just played 9 holes treating dot 5 (11:00) as "full swing", and as far as I could tell the snap penalty was just as bad as at dot 6. As predicted, some of the holes were GIR-unreachable, and using a longer club to compensate for one less dot would take some getting used to due to the longer roll outs. Bottom line is it didn't help and I may as well keep using dot 6.

2. A good short game is the key to lower scores.
....Learn the full shot/green reaction for the 4 wedges, including spin back.
....Learn 3/4 shots for the 4 wedges - takes lots of spin off.
....Learn your go-to Pitch club distances.
....from ~46 to 60 yds you can run a pitch shot up or 3-bounce and check a 3/4 full wedge.

One of those areas where I need practice and experience. I've sort of figured out that a pitch shot is about halfway between a full shot and a chip shot. Still not sure when I should use a flop.

3. Find a "rescue" club. I use a 7W, full and 3/4 shot, to get out of rough or fairway bunkers.

I'll probably use hybrid clubs for this.

4. Know what the 3C meter is doing. The over swing area adds only ~5% more distance, but can add up to 20% more spin. Use this to stop the run out of the PW, 9I, & 8I. The miss hit penalty is also more severe in this area.

Until I get better with the snap, it's probably safer for me to keep the distance low enough to account for the run out.

5. Wind - you can use the setup ball to negate 15mph winds with a full left or right (fade or draw) with the 5I down to the 9I.

Practice by playing, and keep in mind that the reason you play should be to have fun. So have fun.

What's this "setup ball" you're referring to? And yeah, wind is another area where I need more experience.

For now I'll just get in the obligatory number of rounds to be eligible for a level change. I think it'll be more fun once I'm at Amateur level. At the moment I feel like I'm in over my head trying to play Pro.

[Briso]

I never knew tour pro's used dots on the swing meter.

Maybe there should be a new level between pro and tour pro for those guys.

[davefv92c]

I never knew tour pro's used dots on the swing meter.

Maybe there should be a new level between pro and tour pro for those guys.

a little late in the game now to create a new level, and like I posted it can be gotten around by just taking a
piece of clear plastic and put it where the meter is on your monitor and putting the dots on it yourself.

[JMK59]

[/quote]
What's this "setup ball" you're referring to? And yeah, wind is another area where I need more experience.
[/quote]

If you right-click your cursor inside the swing meter, you can choose your club. Right-click again and you can alter your trajectory.
...drag the ball left for a fade, right for a draw.
...drag the ball down for a low trajectory, up far a more lofted flight.

I use the fade/ draw to equalize a side wind without re-aiming my shot. Full left or right negates ~15 mph wind for the mid-irons.

The miss hit penalty is the same for 11:00 as it is for 12:00, so go for the top. Penalty gradually increase the farther you go into the over swing zone.

[mwalimu]

What's this "setup ball" you're referring to? And yeah, wind is another area where I need more experience.

If you right-click your cursor inside the swing meter, you can choose your club. Right-click again and you can alter your trajectory.
...drag the ball left for a fade, right for a draw.
...drag the ball down for a low trajectory, up far a more lofted flight.

I use the fade/ draw to equalize a side wind without re-aiming my shot. Full left or right negates ~15 mph wind for the mid-irons.

Ah, I've used it, just didn't know people called it that. I'll keep the 15mph figure in mind.

The miss hit penalty is the same for 11:00 as it is for 12:00, so go for the top. Penalty gradually increase the farther you go into the over swing zone.

Pretty much what I concluded. A pity I can't use that to advantage.

[JMK59]

Give Pro a fair shake for the month. If your scores are about the same (+14), the level change to Amature will most likely occur.

Good luck, and learn as much as you can.

You do know that you can practice the exact conditions and pins of each tournament? I just set up R1 of the Divisions for myself to practice.