What a difference some confidence makes

JD LowIndex
Go to Last Reply 210 Views 4 Replies 1 Like
So I recently decided to start really trying to take notice of mental mistakes I was making, and what I could have done to better position myself to give myself a chance to score. I determined I needed to reconfigure my bag to give myself options off the tee, and keep myself out of trouble. I swapped out my tmade rbz 3w (which i could smash but for whatever reason couldn't keep it on the short stuff) and 58* wedge (which i'd only rarely pull outta the bag) for a ping i20 3w that keeps the ball much lower, and a shaft better suited to me, and ap2 712 4i. What difference having options off the tee makes, when I'd come to a 350-400 yard par 4, i'd always pull the driver, and though very confident w/ it, there were still mistakes, and having 50 yards and 1/2 sand wedge swing is tougher to dial in than a full swing. The last 5 rounds have been very very solid. I have tried to make the conscious decision what really is the smartest thing to do. What a difference some confidence, and some options make. My point of the story, the mechanics of the swing are definitely important, but the confidence and strength of the mental game need to be tested and reassessed every once in a while.
Alex Hargaden Professional Champion
# 1 8/21/2013 10:12:58 AM
I agree, playing from the green to the tee has helped me immensely. getting to comfortable yardages has really helped me in the tournaments that I am playing in this summer. I have even played a par 5 in one event 7 iron, hybrid, 56 wedge, birdie, because of hazards off the tee in my landing zones but the hole had a huge landing area for my 2nd shot.
Mark Simmons Legend
# 2 8/21/2013 10:54:45 AM
I get what you are saying. But it seems to me from your description that better club selection and course management led to better play and more confidence, not the other way around.
Goynes42 Professional Champion
# 3 8/21/2013 2:12:04 PM
Awesome Joe. I've always felt it was much more beneficial to most players' games to have options on the long end of the bag, and simplicity on the short end. In other words, get several clubs that can be useful tee clubs and long approach clubs, while whittling the wedges down to just one or two wedges in addition to the pitching wedge, and learning how to hit different shots with fewer wedges. I've played MANY rounds with only a PW and SW for my wedges, and I've never found myself thinking "Man, I sure wish I had my lob wedge." I think it's far more important to get the ball in position off the tee than it is to have a million wedges for all purposes. Being in position off the tee means you won't need your wedges that much anyway! "Drive for show?" B.S. Drive for dough.
Jerry Banter Professional Champion
# 4 8/22/2013 12:12:28 PM
Awesome Joe. I've always felt it was much more beneficial to most players' games to have options on the long end of the bag, and simplicity on the short end. In other words, get several clubs that can be useful tee clubs and long approach clubs, while whittling the wedges down to just one or two wedges in addition to the pitching wedge, and learning how to hit different shots with fewer wedges. I've played MANY rounds with only a PW and SW for my wedges, and I've never found myself thinking "Man, I sure wish I had my lob wedge." I think it's far more important to get the ball in position off the tee than it is to have a million wedges for all purposes. Being in position off the tee means you won't need your wedges that much anyway! "Drive for show?" B.S. Drive for dough. So true G42. I've seen a lot of guys always grab their lob wedge within 50 yards of the green and at least half the time they didn't hit the shot they wanted. A different club might help give a better option and a better result.

JD

LowIndex

Go to Last Reply

210 Views 4 Replies 1 Like

So I recently decided to start really trying to take notice of mental mistakes I was making, and what I could have done to better position myself to give myself a chance to score. I determined I needed to reconfigure my bag to give myself options off the tee, and keep myself out of trouble. I swapped out my tmade rbz 3w (which i could smash but for whatever reason couldn't keep it on the short stuff) and 58* wedge (which i'd only rarely pull outta the bag) for a ping i20 3w that keeps the ball much lower, and a shaft better suited to me, and ap2 712 4i. What difference having options off the tee makes, when I'd come to a 350-400 yard par 4, i'd always pull the driver, and though very confident w/ it, there were still mistakes, and having 50 yards and 1/2 sand wedge swing is tougher to dial in than a full swing. The last 5 rounds have been very very solid. I have tried to make the conscious decision what really is the smartest thing to do. What a difference some confidence, and some options make. My point of the story, the mechanics of the swing are definitely important, but the confidence and strength of the mental game need to be tested and reassessed every once in a while.

Alex Hargaden

Professional Champion

# 1 8/21/2013 10:12:58 AM

I agree, playing from the green to the tee has helped me immensely. getting to comfortable yardages has really helped me in the tournaments that I am playing in this summer. I have even played a par 5 in one event 7 iron, hybrid, 56 wedge, birdie, because of hazards off the tee in my landing zones but the hole had a huge landing area for my 2nd shot.

Mark Simmons

Legend

# 2 8/21/2013 10:54:45 AM

I get what you are saying. But it seems to me from your description that better club selection and course management led to better play and more confidence, not the other way around.

Goynes42

Professional Champion

# 3 8/21/2013 2:12:04 PM

Awesome Joe. I've always felt it was much more beneficial to most players' games to have options on the long end of the bag, and simplicity on the short end. In other words, get several clubs that can be useful tee clubs and long approach clubs, while whittling the wedges down to just one or two wedges in addition to the pitching wedge, and learning how to hit different shots with fewer wedges. I've played MANY rounds with only a PW and SW for my wedges, and I've never found myself thinking "Man, I sure wish I had my lob wedge."

I think it's far more important to get the ball in position off the tee than it is to have a million wedges for all purposes. Being in position off the tee means you won't need your wedges that much anyway! "Drive for show?" B.S. Drive for dough.

Jerry Banter

Professional Champion

# 4 8/22/2013 12:12:28 PM

Awesome Joe. I've always felt it was much more beneficial to most players' games to have options on the long end of the bag, and simplicity on the short end. In other words, get several clubs that can be useful tee clubs and long approach clubs, while whittling the wedges down to just one or two wedges in addition to the pitching wedge, and learning how to hit different shots with fewer wedges. I've played MANY rounds with only a PW and SW for my wedges, and I've never found myself thinking "Man, I sure wish I had my lob wedge."

I think it's far more important to get the ball in position off the tee than it is to have a million wedges for all purposes. Being in position off the tee means you won't need your wedges that much anyway! "Drive for show?" B.S. Drive for dough.

So true G42. I've seen a lot of guys always grab their lob wedge within 50 yards of the green and at least half the time they didn't hit the shot they wanted. A different club might help give a better option and a better result.

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