Are You A Shagger

[platgof]

My short game is so far behind the men's group I play with, I couldn't stand it anymore. I grabbed the shag bag today and went to practice at the golf course. The practice area is a long way from the club house, so no one can really see how bad I was hitting it. The shag bag has about 60 balls in it, and I went through 9 sets. Most of the time was spent on the sand wedge out of the bunker. I also hit some long sand wedge shots as well from the rough. Then it was chipping with my dedicated Mizuno 9 iron and the set G710 9 iron. After awhile, the chipping was figured out when I gripped down 2 inches, but the bunkers, arghhh. I did start to figure it out, but it was starting to get dark when I stopped. After hitting over 500 shots I was starting to get the hang of it. I want to be able to have some sort of skill set around the greens, like the A/B players in the group. I'm not saying I am jealous of them, well, just a bit! There is a large gap between my scores and theirs, and it is around the greens most of the time. Those boys can really chip. If I would really dedicate more time to shagging, I know my scores would really drop.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

 

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!

[nitram]

How many did you end up with out of the 60 you started with?

[platgof]

All of them, as it was on and around the green. I'm not that bad, well.... Now I see why I am the D player!!! If I plan on moving to C player, the short game will have to get me there.

[getitdaily]

Yes. I have a tube and about 15 balls in it. The days I practice, I'm up at dawn to get the practice area all to myself.

 

Chipping is a strong suit. Keep it up and tinker with technique and clubs. 

 

Pieces of advice, if I may:

 

Select 2 clubs that you will chip/pitch with 99% of the time and spend 99% of your practice with just those 2 clubs. Seems you have limited practice time so get good with 2 clubs and then use only them.

 

Chipping/pitching is all about landing spots. With the 2 clubs, practice where your landing spots need to be from different distances for those clubs. Then practice hitting landing spots. Hit both clubs (above) from the same spot so you can see the difference between the two from the same spot. 

 

One more thing. Your shag bag has too many balls. After about 10 balls you start rolling balls into other balls. That limits feedback on whether you hit a good chip or not. Hot a few, go get them, hit more, etc.

[jholz]

I've never been a shag bag kind of guy. I think short game practice is most effective when conducted with no more than three balls. I'd be happy to provide a diatribe on why I feel this way, but that's another discussion that no one wants to have.

 

Having said all of that, I absolutely love hanging out at the short game area. I can happily putt and chip for hours. I have games that I play and it's just a ton of fun for me. I spend at least a few hours out there virtually every week of the year.

 

It's also had a profound impact on my game. It's shifted my scoring average by about ten shots and tightened it up. 5 years ago, I was capable of anything from low-70's to mid-90's. Now, I'm low-70's to mid-80's. Haven't seen 90+ in more than two seasons.

 

Now, if I could just clean up my ballstriking, perhaps I can put myself in a position to really take advantage of my short game, instead of having to rely on it to save my a**. The never ending struggle...

[Petethreeput]

I rarely go to the range, but instead warm up at the chipping green.  Lots of different theories here, I agree with @getitdaily if the issue is getting it close.  If the issue is just making good contact, then I am not sure you need to use fewer balls.  Penick said to use one ball and learn to put it in the hole.  But if hitting the green is the issue, then in my opinion, this is putting the cart before the horse, particularly for bunker play.

 

Don't be afraid of a bunker lesson if you are sideways.  If you are committed to digging it out of the sand on your own.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find it on your behalf, but I saw a Michael Breed video about ball position in the bunkers and it was very well done explaining the impact of ball position when opening up the body.  I know, I know, Michael Breed isn't a favorite, but I did like his tip and have used it since and am considered a pretty good bunker player amongst my group.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Petethreeput

[jholz]

1 hour ago, Petethreeput said:

I rarely go to the range, but instead warm up at the chipping green.  Lots of different theories here, I agree with @getitdaily if the issue is getting it close.  If the issue is just making good contact, then I am not sure you need to use fewer balls.  Penick said to use one ball and learn to put it in the hole.  But if hitting the green is the issue, then in my opinion, this is putting the cart before the horse, particularly for bunker play.

 

Don't be afraid of a bunker lesson if you are sideways.  If you are committed to digging it out of the sand on your own.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find it on your behalf, but I saw a Michael Breed video about ball position in the bunkers and it was very well done explaining the impact of ball position when opening up the body.  I know, I know, Michael Breed isn't a favorite, but I did like his tip and have used it since and am considered a pretty good bunker player amongst my group.

This is a reasonable point, of course.

 

As in all things golf, there is no substitute for solid technique and fundamentals. Bunker play and chipping are distinct facets of the game that require different approaches and techniques. You can practice all day, and maybe you will find something that works through trial and error. But that approach isn't going to help you truly know what is going or the hows and why of a particular technique's effectiveness.

 

Try to educate yourself through lessons or just on your own. Somewhere out there you will find a philosophy or approach that works for you. That's when the practice really becomes fun, IMHO.

 

 

[dschenker]

Kudos for spending the time on your short game. Most people, myself included, don't have the time or drive to work on short game even though it affects your score tremendously.

[aenemated]

I loved short game work when I was a kid. Growing up in the woods of NC, our house sat on a big ol' plot of land and I'd spend hours playing "my course" I invented out there just pitching it around, coming up with shots and being largely inspired by early Phil. 

 

I honestly don't do it enough these days. Actually spent about two hours around there last weekend after a particularly miserable short game performance the weekend before and remembered how much fun it is. 

[Barfolomew]

Chipped a few sets of the plastic tube thingies yesterday.... might take a while to become a good chipper, specially the fancy ones like lobs, but once you develop your feel doesn't take many to knock off the rust and maintain. 

 

You can always tell a good player by their short game cause you cant fake a free flowing yet soft touch 🙄

[SwingBlues]

Don't be that guy/girl who surrounds a flag with 60+ balls and continues chipping like a mad person.

 

Don't be that guy 🙄

 

 

[platgof]

29 minutes ago, SwingBlues said:

Don't be that guy/girl who surrounds a flag with 60+ balls and continues chipping like a mad person.

 

Don't be that guy 🙄

 

 

I really don't see the problem at all. I will be that guy or girl! I'm shagging baby!

[The Pearl]

The best bunker shot is the one you don't have to hit.  Don't hit it in the bunkers.  Most are avoidable unless you play a course littered with them.

 

Pick one club and use only it unless you are short-sided or in deeper grass where perhaps a sand wedge will help get through the grass and than use that one.  No more than two short-game clubs.  

 

Never use a lob wedge.

 

Getting the ball on the green as quickly as possible and letting it run to the hole is terrible advice. 

 

If you want to learn how to chip and pitch, don't use a target.  Go to a secluded spot and learn how to let the club swing from various backswing lengths by using the bounce and tempo.  

 

 

[platgof]

Sitting at the house watching tv and decided to hit the golf course for some practice. I took the shag bag and hit 5 rounds with it, about 60 balls each. Was working out the 48 and 52* wedges for chips around the greens.  I am trying gripping down on the shaft to see if it helps and it certainly does, way more consistent. I have a lot of work to do before I really get good at this, but today was a start, and much better than siting at the house. This is definitely the worst part of my game. Just a few years ago I was decent at chipping, but somehow age has taking that away. Seems I am starting over every time I pick up a club.

[MattyO1984]

This is definitely one of those threads where the vernacular differences between the US and the UK is highlighted 😂

 

In terms of how you are practicing, I am with you in using a big bag of balls when it comes to working on technique. I try to chip from a pretty neutral set-up these days which was a dramatic change from my younger days when it was a case of shoving the ball back in my stance and hitting down on it. Frustratingly, I find that without even thinking about it, the ball can start to creep back way too often. As such, a big part of my chipping practice is getting set up properly and using the bounce. For me, when I do that, block practice with a big bag of balls is the way to go. I will try and then mix it up by throwing some balls around the green and just try to get them up and down.