Are thin golf shots better than fat shots?
In fact, the best golfers, who are talented enough to hit it slightly thin on purpose, have an expression: "Thin to win," or "thin it to win it." Which simply means that thin shots (which, depending on the severity of the mishit, still sometimes work out) are preferable to fat shots.
Should you hit high shots in your golf game?
There is a lot to gain when you add the ability to hit high shots to your golf game. You certainly don't need to hit all of your shots high – and you probably shouldn't – but having the ability to do so is a valuable skill.
When do you need extra height on a golf shot?
There are plenty of occasions when you need extra height on a golf shot. Hitting over a tree, for example, or trying to stop an approach shot on a small portion of green. If you naturally hit the ball low relative to other golfers, launching one sky-high can prove pretty difficult.
What is the most dreaded shot in golf?
The most dreaded of all shots in golf is the SHANK. Some people fear it so much they won’t even say its name, for fear doing so will summon it like Bloody Mary in a mirror. The shank occurs when you hit the ball so far off the heel of the golf club that you catch the hosel – the point the clubhead meets the shaft.
How much does elevation change a golf shot?
Altitude, as you can see above, is the other big factor. With a driver, you get an extra 2.5 yards per 1,000 feet of altitude. But that's not all. The “optimal spin rate” with a driver, Rice explains, increases from 2,250 RPMs at sea level to about 3,000 RPMs at 10,000 feet.
How much difference does elevation make in golf?
Altitude, or elevation, and wind have the greatest and most apparent effect on golf ball distance. Every 1,000 feet above sea level a golf course sits, a golfer can expect their ball to travel approximately 2 percent farther.
How much farther does a golf ball go at elevation?
First, figure that for about every 1,700 or 1,800 feet of elevation a ball will travel about 5 percent farther. That means that the ball will typically travel about 10 percent farther at this elevation than at sea level, give or take a few yards.
Is it better to hit a golf ball high or low?
Most golf fans are amazed at how high Tour players are able to hit their shots, and they don't just do it for show. Hitting the ball high is an extremely valuable skill which permits the player to stop the ball quickly even on firm courses.
How do you adjust yardage for elevation in golf?
The first thing is to use the 15-feet formula. This formula should be approached as follows: If there is an uphill or a downhill shot of 15 feet of elevation, add or subtract one club. If there is more than 15 feet, add or subtract one club for every 15 feet.
How does elevation affect distance in golf?
The golf ball flies further in high altitudes mainly due to the change in air density, which decreases as elevation increases. Thinner air exerts less drag force on the ball. The ball moves more easily through the air and doesn't slow down as quickly as it flies, resulting in greater distance.
How does slope affect golf shot?
The incline in the slope will open the clubface so you're going to add loft to a club and the shot will go higher. If you hit an 8-iron normally, you'll want to usually go up at least one club to a 7-iron. The more slope, the more club you should take.
How does slope affect golf yardage?
Balls will travel a shorter distance with positive (uphill) slope and a farther distance with negative (downhill) slope. Knowing just how much change in elevation occurs between you and the pin is extremely important and in all honesty, it is virtually impossible to do this by eye.
Do matte golf balls go further?
Regular Golf Balls Have A Higher Flight Path This is why it is important to use a regular golf ball instead of a matte finish ball when playing on the green. The matte finish ball has a higher flight path and will travel further than a regular golf ball.
Does tee height affect driving distance?
Does Tee Height Effect Driver Distance? The height of your tee effects your swing path into impact, especially with the driver. This, in turn, will have an influence on the spin that the ball will have on it. Teeing the ball up can help vastly reduce the spin on your drives and so increase distance.
How high should you hit a 7 iron?
A seven iron should go about 140 yards. This is considered to be the standard distance for an average male golfer. For women golfers, the distance is going to be closer to 120 yards.
How do pro golfers hit the ball so high?
To hit the golf ball higher, you need four things: clubhead speed; a shallow or upward angle of attack; loading into your trail side; and a good hip turn away from the ball followed by a fast turn back through into impact.
How to think about high shots?
The best way to think about your high shots is as an option you can use, when necessary. Your default option should be to play the ball lower, but you'll know in the back of your head that you can turn to a high shot if the lower path isn't going to work. As you gain experience, you will be more and more confident in the shot selection process, both from the fairway and from around the greens .
How to stop a shot when hitting high?
By hitting the ball high, you can use backspin to stop the ball rather quickly after it lands. There will still be a bounce or two, but those bounces won't cover much horizontal distance, and the ball should then stop quickly – assuming you put plenty of spin on the shot.
How to stop the ball on a dry course?
When playing a dry course, your biggest challenge is getting the ball to stop close to your targets. If you hit low shots that take big bounces and have plenty of roll, it'll be tough to accurately hit your spots. By hitting the ball high, you can use backspin to stop the ball rather quickly after it lands. There will still be a bounce or two, but those bounces won't cover much horizontal distance, and the ball should then stop quickly – assuming you put plenty of spin on the shot. The ability to hit high shots on a firm course really becomes valuable when attacking hole locations cut near the edges of the green. Where you might not be able to take an aggressive line with a lower ball flight, you should be able to fire away when you know you can hit it high and stop it quick.
How to get more loft on a 9 iron?
Take less club and swing harder: A 9-iron has more loft than an 8-iron, and so forth. The harder you swing, the more backspin you create, and backspin sends the ball higher into the air. Knowing these things, it makes sense that taking less club than you normally would for a shot, then swinging with a little extra “oomph,” will deliver the needed result. Just make sure you've got enough club to carry any hazard in your way.
What happens if you don't lie on a golf ball?
If you don't have a good lie, you won't impart enough spin on the ball, and the shot is likely to fly low. Plenty of loft. Of course, you are also going to need loft in order to hit the ball high. It is going to be much easier to hit high shots with clubs like short irons and wedges than it will with long irons.
What is the best way to get a shot high in the air?
Plenty of spin. Backspin is what is going to take the ball high in the air, since the spin will provide the ball with lift as it flies toward the target. If you are going to achieve impressive backspin rates, you'll need to contact the ball cleanly, and you'll need to have a good lie. If you don't have a good lie, you won't impart enough spin on the ball, and the shot is likely to fly low.
What does hitting the ball high in the air do?
By hitting the ball high in the air, you are going to maximize – or, at least, get close to maximizing – your carry distance. This makes sense, of course, as a lower shot will not be able to stay in the air as long as one which was sent high up into the sky.
When is the most important part of a golf shot?
Arguably the most important part of each shot in golf occurs before you even begin to swing the club. When struggling with hitting the golf ball too high, many players try to make drastic changes to their golf swing.
How to stop hitting golf ball too high?
In order to stop hitting the golf ball too high, you need to ensure you have the proper setup position and equipment. You also need to correct any swing faults that are contributing to the issue.
What causes a high ball flight?
There are a number of things that might be responsible for causing a high, weak ball flight, including: 1 Improper setup 2 Swing faults 3 Bad tempo 4 Improper equipment
Why is my golf ball flying high?
One of the most common causes of a high ball flight is tempo. When people swing too fast, they struggle to make contact with the sweet spot of the club. Without doing this, it’s difficult to achieve a consistent trajectory.
What happens if the ball is too far forward?
The ball is too far forward in your stance. The more forward the ball is in your stance, the less lag the club will have at the point of impact. This means that extra loft is added to the club. Not only will less lag produce a high, weak ball flight, but it will also significantly reduce distance. The fix:
What is the loft of a golf driver?
However, when it comes to the driver, there’s some variability. You can buy a driver with a loft of anywhere between 8 and 12.5 degrees. Obviously, the higher the loft, the higher your ball flight will be.
What is the purpose of each golf club in your bag?
Each golf club in your bag is designed and engineered to produce a consistent trajectory and travel a certain distance.
How to hit a golf shot?
Unfortunately, golf is not this simple. In addition to getting the ball on the right line, you also need to hit it an appropriate height for the shot at hand. Some golf shots call for high-arcing ball flights, while others are best played down near the ground. To take your game to a higher level, you will need to find a way to hit the ball the right height at the right time.
How to know if your golf ball is too high?
Loss of distance. If you start to lose distance as your ball flight moves higher, you may be hitting the ball too high for your own good. This is usually the result of excessive spin. A golf shot which has too much backspin will balloon up into the air as it flies, getting higher and higher before falling straight down to the turf. Usually, this pattern results in a shot which is shorter than you could have achieved with a flatter ball. To goal is to settle into a ball flight which is high enough to provide you with carry distance and control, but not so high that the trajectory works against you.
How to practice hitting a golf ball?
If the practice takes place on the driving range, the object could be a very small stone, or on grass it could be a tee peg placed in the ground. Focus on the object rather than the ball when taking a swing to practice hitting through the ball and down into the floor, making sure that the club head drives through the stone or tee peg.
How to get the correct ball flight?
To generate the correct ball flight with an iron club, the golfer needs to drive the club head downwards through the back of the ball and into the ground. An action such as this means that the golf ball rolls up the face of the club which generates huge amounts of backspin as the ball drags on the club face. It is this backspin that gives the ball lift as it makes the ball rise into the air. When struck in this way, the ball will start fairly low as it has forward momentum from being struck downward. Then as the ball travels through the air, the backspin on the ball provides lift and makes the ball rise, peak and then drop. Following the strike of the ball, the golfer should find that the club head drives down into the ground approximately two to three inches after the ball and takes a divot (lump of turf) out of the ground.
How does wind affect golf?
Unplayable in the wind. Do you feel like turning around and driving home when you arrive at the course and see that it is a windy day? If wind does excessive damage to your game, you may be hitting the ball too high. While wind makes golf harder for everybody, it shouldn't affect you so much that you have trouble even getting around the course. You should particularly pay attention to your shots that are played into the wind. Do you lose almost all of your distance when trying to hit an iron shot into the breeze? If so, you need to flatten your ball flight and take at least a little spin off the ball. A good golfer needs to play well in all conditions, so you want to build a game which is as flexible as possible.
What is backspin in golf?
Every golf shot has backspin. Whether you know it or not, the ball is always spinning backward when you send it up into the air. Low shots tend to have lower backspin rates, while high-flying shots have a tremendous amount of backspin. Not only does the backspin on the ball provide lift to help the shot climb, but it also helps the ball to stop quickly when it lands. If you have ever seen a professional golfer land an iron shot on the green and have the ball come back toward the front of the putting surface as if it were on a string, you have seen backspin in action.
Why does my golf ball not hit the ground?
Often these are due to misunderstanding how the ball should be hit, being scared of hitting the floor for fear of hurting themselves or that they may have had bad experiences of hitting the floor too early before the ball, creating a poor shot.
How does a thin shot affect golf?
A thin shot also often produces much more vibration that is felt in the golfer's hands. It's impossible to predict how a thin shot will turn out. If it's a low screamer but one that stays up in the air and then gets lots of roll-out, the ball can overshoot the target by a lot. If it's a ball that barely gets off the ground and then drops, ...
What is a thin shot in golf?
Updated April 29, 2019. A "thin shot" in golf is one in which the clubhead strikes the golf ball too high (near the midpoint of the golf ball, or slightly lower or higher), which typically results in a low, sometimes slicing shot. A thin shot also often produces much more vibration that is felt in ...
Why do golfers thin the ball?
Thin shots happen when the golf club impacts the golf ball too high on the ball - near or a little below the ball's equator. But what causes that ? Golfers thin the ball when our swing bottoms out in the wrong place. If your swing bottoms out behind the ball, the result is a fat shot. If the swing bottoms out ahead of the ball, ...
Why does my golf swing thinning?
Another common cause of thinning it is when the golfer raises up just before impact, lifting his or her head and torso. This pulls your arms up, too, which raises the club. In that case, even if the bottom of the swing is in the right place, the club will contact the golf ball too high on the ball's surface.
How to stop hitting a golf ball thin?
Start with the easiest things to check: your basic setup positions. Make sure you aren't positioning the golf ball in your stance way off normal; make sure you aren't setting up with your shoulders aligned well right or left. These things can throw off where your swing bottoms out.
What does it mean when you hit a thin shot?
Golfers have various expressions when they hit a thin shot: Hitting a thin shot can be called "thinning it," or a golfer might say, "I thinned that one.". Golfers talk about "hitting it thin" or say "I caught the golf ball thin" or "That one was a little thin.". All mean that instead of making crisp, correct contact (sweeping the ball with woods, ...
What is a ball that hits the top of the ball called?
A ball that is first struck above its equator and particularly closer to the top of the ball is a "topped shot," and hitting such a shot is called "topping the ball.". A low screamer than spends most of its time very close to or on the ground is a " wormburner .".
Why is my wedge shot higher than my other clubs?
So, next time you hit the high full wedge shot, remember, it's not any higher than your other clubs, it just appears to be because of your perspective of the angle of the ball above the horizon.
Why do golfers hit their irons higher?
You might actually some of your irons higher due to your swing. PGA Tour players hit their irons with a descending blow (club is moving downwards at impact). You might "scoop" your irons more, releasing your wrists more quickly and increasing the loft of the club.
What is the temperature of the golf ball in the morning?
Temperatures can be 50 to 60 degrees at dawn and then 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit by afternoon. Hotter temperatures mean the ball will fly farther (and roll farther) compared to the cool mornings. So, make sure you adjust by at least 1/2 club with your irons.
Why did the sweet spot size increase?
So, distance gained on sweet spot shots and on mis-hits, thus the average distance increase.
What is the difference between a 9 and a 5 iron?
The 5-iron ball can be seen at 14 degrees, just before it reach maximum height. Note that between 2 and 4 seconds, the 9-iron angle changes as 20-18-13 while the 5-iron changes as 15-14-11. The 9-iron angle changes more quickly. The 5-iron angle is more steady.
How many degrees is a 9 iron ball?
At the 2 second point, the 9-iron angle is about the same, but by 3 seconds, the angle is less at about 13 degreesso it appears that the ball is now falling, while in fact, it's at its maximum height. The 5-iron ball can be seen at 14 degrees, just before it reach maximum height.
What is the difference between a driver and a full wedge?
What's very different between your Driver and full wedge is the launch angle . The full wedge trajectory has a much greater launch angle. Therefore, the ball climbs to its maximum height in a much short distance. The Driver trajectory climbs gradually.
What is pulled shot in golf?
The pulled golf shot, also known as the “yank” or the “tug”, can be one of the most annoying things to happen to your golf swing. A pulled shot is not just a shot that ends up left of your target.
Why does my shot go left of the target?
There are a variety of reasons that your shot could end up going left of the target whether you drew the ball too much or did not fade it quite enough. The problem with the pulled shot is that the ball starts left of the target, in a direction that you did not think you were aiming. It is like everything else went right except for the direction ...
What Do I Need To Fix A Pulled Golf Shot?
The following section includes what you’ll need as well as step-by-step instructions for curing your pull.
How to fade a golf ball?
1. Pull Fade/Slice. A pull fade/slice is when the ball starts left and then moves back toward athe right. You may be thinking that this is what you want your ball to do, but the problem is when you pull the ball just to fade it back towards the target, you lose a lot of distance and accuracy.
What happens if your golf club shaft is too short?
If your shaft is too flexible or not flexible enough, you can pull the ball. Also, if your clubs are too short and make you reach or too long and force you to put the ball too far forward in your stance, you have the wrong clubs. I would suggest getting fitted for clubs and allow the golf pro to tell you which clubs fit best with your height, power, and swing.
How to know if your downswing is strong?
Your takeaway is actually one of the best indicators of how strong your downswing will be. Start the club slowly, don’t rush into mistakes. Keep the club wide during your takeaway so that you will be able to come through with an inside-out swing.
What is the first move in golf?
Your first move when you start the swing, your takeaway, usually dictates how your downswing will go. Many golfers, when they are struggling with their golf game, immediately try to fix what is wrong at the top of their swing or during their downswing.
What happens if you hit a flighted shot in the wind?
A flighted shot will come out like an arrow and it will cut through the wind. A common mistake amateur golfers make is to try and hit the golf ball harder, especially on into the wind shots. By trying to hit the ball harder you will only add spin which will actually be worse off in the wind than a normal shot.
What happens when you hit a golf ball into the wind?
If you are faced with an into the wind shot the wind will push the ball back towards you and it will go shorter than what it normally would.
How does wind affect the golf ball?
I touched on it above but wind can affect the golf ball in a variety of different ways depending on wind strength and the direction of the wind. In addition to wind direction and wind strength, shot shape, spin rates and the quality of the strike also have an impact on how the wind will affect your golf ball.
What is the difference between a crisp shot and a spinny off center strike?
Crisp shots with optimal spin rates tend to be less affected by the wind than a spinny off-center strike. This might sound very technical but the long and short of it is that the better you hit the golf ball the less impact the wind will have on it as it flies through the air. If the wind wasn’t hard enough to judge how ...
What direction does the wind push the golf ball?
If you are faced with a crosswind shot the wind will push the ball away from your target in the direction of the wind, thus with a right to left wind the wind will push your golf ball to the left of your target and vice versa.
How far does a golf ball travel in wind?
Unfortunately, there is no rule of thumb that says for everyone 10 mph of wind the ball will travel 10 yards shorter or longer depending on the wind direction. On a windy day, it is very important to take note of how far your golf ball travels on both the practice tee and on your first couple of holes on the golf course.
What is the best equalizer in golf?
Wind has been described as the great equalizer in golf and this is the perfect definition of the impact that it has out on the course. Wind can be intimidating, unpredictable, and relentless at times, but if you master it, it can also become your ally.
