Little known on-course habits/tactics of pros that amateurs should practice?

[hoselpalooza]

what's this?

[Krt22]

Lol get reported for what? FYI I dig unofficial “scratch” golfers

[erikro]

Are you just saying that or do you really love lamp?

[hoselpalooza]

i love lamp. i love lamp.

[MelloYello]

#1

Buy a tool to fix pitch marks and learn to properly repair pitch marks. Take 10 seconds and repair your pitch mark. Take another 10 seconds are repair someone else's. Fix 3 or 4 if you can stand to.

#2Try to avoid watching other players. I developed this habit out of practicality and since I've become aware of it I've noticed other good players doing it on countless occasions. Pro's can be seen doing it all the time.

If someone is a really good player then you might catch a good vibe by watching them, but if you have some semblance of control over your own game do yourself a favor and be VERY CAREFUL about watching other players in general. You will subconsciously start to copy them and that'll move you off your spot. I make a point to avoid looking at most of my playing partners (good or bad). No offense to them but I don't want even the thought of their tempo, rhythm or mechanics entering my mind and messing with those of my own swing.

On the green, this is 10x as true. I've played in enough best-ball scrambles to know that you're better off seeing nothing as opposed to seeing a bad putt. You'll see a 15-handicap line up and start his putt 2-ft outside the hole and then hear them say, "I started it 6-in outside." Or they'll gun it through the break or leave it way short and then having watched that you'll do the opposite. So do yourself a favor and just avoid watching other players.

All that said, do try to be a good partner by keeping one eye on where peoples' shots end up though. At least track where the ball enters the rough, hazard, tree-line, etc. That's sort of your duty as a playing partner. But in general, avoid looking directly at them as they hit.

 

[hoselpalooza]

some great tips here, thank you.

WRT #1: i learned to fix ball marks by watching other people. i don't recall if i simply didn't understand what they were doing or if they were doing it wrong, but i learned to be a prier and caused unintentional damage to greens as a result. oh well, lesson learned. the below video was an eye-opener for me and i think it's a good supplement to your #1 tip. thanks again, mello!

[cardoustie]

Learn how to play fliers

learn how many extra clubs you need in certain wind conditions

know carry and run out yardages

learn how to not shortside yourself

[oikos1]

Yikes. If you can't hit a wedge inside of 100 yards, I'd say that's the first thing you need to start working on. Laying up every now and again because of trouble is one thing, laying up and giving up 50 or more yards because you can't hit a wedge is costing you strokes.

[GunGun]

Another pro tip that is often forgotten. Be nice and polite to all other golfers even on Internet forums, we share passion for the game regardless of skill and background. Honour that and have fun is the best tip many forget...

[hoselpalooza]

great tip, thank you!

separate but related, this reminds me of an episode of chris como's swing expedition with xander schauffele. i'm paraphrasing here, but xander essentially said he tries to find straight edges to square up his club face before tee shots. apparently, this helps him maintain good alignment during his rounds.

[PureStrikes54]

Actually aiming at a target on the range and calculating your dispersion pattern with various clubs and shots. Pretty much everyone I see just shotguns balls on the range with no target selected then get on the course when there is OB or a lake staring you in the face and steer your approach shot and usually have a poor result.

Partial wedges. Go to a PGA tour or high level am event and a huge percentage of practice time is partial wedges. Different trajectories, spins, etc. Also you'd be amazed at how low good players hit partial wedges. So much buffoonery on this forum I've seen recently about dialing back drives and layups to yardages farther away. If you are worse from 50 yards than 90 something is wrong and you need to not pass go and not collect $200 until it is fixed.

Playing one shot shape off the tee with small variations. Playing multiple shapes brings two way miss into play.

Knowing your distances under different locations, temperatures, times of day, and altitudes. Just because you hit a 7 iron 210 yards one time in July in Denver doesn't mean you're going to hit it that far at 6:00am at Pebble Beach in February.

[OrangeGravy]

I take it off once I'm inside about 25 yards or so. I like bare hands for all "feel" shots. Can't understand how anyone could putt with a glove on unless it's really cold and your just trying to get through the round. Taking it off between shots works great. It doesn't take many holes before it's a firm signal. Glove off, brain disconnects briefly giving you a mini-break from the mental game, glove back on-time to play.

[OrangeGravy]

I repair as many pitch marks as I can to avoid watching other putts and it gives me time to collect myself a bit if needed.

[anythingfinite]

I actually used the tee/repair tool to check for roots in my round on Friday.

[hoselpalooza]

when you use a coin to mark your ball on the green always leave it heads up. if you need to move it for someone always switch it to tails. just saw tiger mention this here.

[b.mattay]

1.) Always use an alignment aid on the range. ALWAYS

2.) Stick to one shot shape whenever possible.

3.) Take a back swing that is at least left arm parallel on every bunker shot.

[DallasDan]

when grounding your club in the rough not only do you want to make sure to pat down the grass but pat it down so that the grass is going with your swing and not against it. Easier to get through the ball...just beware of the flier.

 

[gentles]

This is cheating

[ousuxndallas]

Patrick, is that you?

[anythingfinite]

Also make sure you use 3 or 4 (or more) clubs to really get that grass to lay down. After all, you won't know what club to hit until you've tested them all behind the ball before realizing that you now have a clean look at the back of the ball.

[hoselpalooza]

leaving dirt in the grooves apparently provides a distance boost for irons/wedges by reducing spin. this could be a good strategy for dealing with 'tweeners.

[8thehardway]

Two quick tips if you want to check that your shoulders are square to your intended path - at address either switch to a left-hand-low grip or bend forward & down as if you were using a 30-inch putter... any misalignment will become fairly obvious

Great tip from Jack Nicklaus on putting distance control, especially for mid- and long putts - 'I always putt the ball one-third of the distance to the hole and let it roll the rest of the way.' I take that to mean that 1/3rd of the way to the hole he has imparted enough energy for the ball to complete it's the journey; even given the unknown (to me) weight of his putter, stroke speed and stimp of the his greens I only recalibrate his 33% on very slow greens or fast, downhill putts.

[andrue]

Same here. It encourages me to stop thinking about my game between shots and also reminds me to switch to 'feel mode' for chipping and putting.

[hoselpalooza]

in matchplay, never let someone take short putts until late in the match.

[Golfah]

I think pros are so otherworldly in terms of distance and ball-striking, it is not clear that their habits/tactics fully transfer.  This video is an amazing lesson on the on-course habits and thoughts of a pro player that more approximates the what the average WRXer would deal with in terms of club distances.  The thoughtful approach of this pro to every shot are extremely insightful and achievable and all in all great advice to be a "smarter" golfer..

 

 

 

[hoselpalooza]

43 minutes ago, Golfah said:

I think pros are so otherworldly in terms of distance and ball-striking, it is not clear that their habits/tactics fully transfer.  This video is an amazing lesson on the on-course habits and thoughts of a pro player that more approximates the what the average WRXer would deal with in terms of club distances.  The thoughtful approach of this pro to every shot are extremely insightful and achievable and all in all great advice to be a "smarter" golfer..

 

 

 

 

thanks for sharing. you've totally missed the point of this thread though. i've seen this video and some of the tips matt gets from the pro are the exact things i'm talking about. e.g. aim for something super small in the distance.

 

you don't have to be a world class ball striker or a long driver to benefit from most of the stuff shared in this thread or in the video you shared. 

[davep043]

On 7/10/2020 at 7:43 PM, Keen2bDumb said:

Isn't this testing conditions? It's illegal. If he does this during competitive play he'd be disqualified. If anyone else knows or sees it and says nothing, they're both out.

 

Actually, probing of the surface is completely within the Rules, per this Interpretation.

Quote

8.1a/7 – Player May Probe Near Ball to Determine if Tree Roots, Rocks or Obstructions Are Below Surface of Ground, but Only if This Does Not Improve Conditions

 

Rule 8.1a does not prohibit a player from touching the ground within an area covered by conditions affecting the stroke, so long as those conditions are not improved.

 

For example, without improving any of the conditions affecting the stroke, when the ball lies anywhere on the course, a player may probe the area around the ball with a tee or other object to see whether his or her club might strike a root, rock or obstruction below the surface of the ground when the stroke is made.

However, see 12.2b/2 if the player probes sand in a bunker to test the condition of the sand.

 

22 hours ago, hoselpalooza said:

in matchplay, never let someone take short putts until late in the match.

Remember, the player can always practice that short putt after play on the hole is completed.  You can certainly avoid forcing him to make those putts by conceding them, but you cannot stop him from putting them later.

[golfsticks]

Tee boxes aren't always exactly level and slope can assist ball flight. 

[596]

On 7/4/2020 at 4:42 PM, jim rockford said:

it takes mental training but i wonder about short targets on putts. get the ball rolling on your intended line.

I'm a good putter.  On putts short of 5 feet I pick a target about 12-18" in front of the ball.  I know how hard to hit the short putt, I just make sure the ball rolls over my short target.  My regular group comments a lot that I nearly never miss a short putt.   Also, some find that instead of a short target "spot" , you pick a set of spots an inch or 2 apart and roll the ball between them.   For some this feels easier.  

[Soloman1]

On 7/10/2020 at 4:01 PM, Krt22 said:

I'd expand further and say never wear your glove on the green. That is one thing almost zero professionals do yet you see many ams doing

 

This guy was a pretty good putter... ?