The Blathering Duffer
25.04.01
Be a LEWD Golfer!
No, I’m not telling you to strip down and go streaking across the fairway or sit at the 19th Hole Bar and tell dirty jokes. Rather I’m saying be more aware of the lie of your ball on your approach shots and what to ask yourself to decide which club to pull for that shot into the green. Lie-Elevation-Wind-Distance….LEWD!
Lie of the Ball
It is rare that our ball lands on a perfectly flat area even in the middle of the fairway. We need to adjust our target if the ball lies above or below our feet and adjust what club loft we use if it is uphill or downhill. In the rough, the ball sitting up or slightly down in the grass or nestled deep affects what club to use. Let’s briefly take a look.
Ball Above the feet: The ball is likely to hook or draw somewhat. For a Right Hand (RH) golfer Right to Left and Left Hand (LH) golfer Left to Right. How much of a draw depends on how severe the lie above the feet is. In the fairway, it is usually a mild elevation difference between feet and ball, so a slight draw. If you are on a more severe side hill, the movement will be greater. Experience and making mental notes will help you make adjustments.
Ball Below the feet: The ball is likely to fade or slice. For a RH golfer Left to Right and LH golfer Right to Left. As above, the severity of the fade depends on the elevation difference between feet and ball and experience will help you adjust your aim.
Uphill Lie: This ball will tend to rise more and fall shorter than expected. A slight uphill lie may not require a club change, but perhaps a bit more swing. A more severe uphill lie may require you to club up (e.g. use a 7 iron instead of an 8 iron) to achieve the distance wanted, sometimes 2 clubs more. Experience will help you decide.
Downhill Lie: This ball will fly flatter and run out more. It may run through the green instead of stopping as expected. You may want to club down to a higher lofted club so the ball will land softer e.g. take a wedge instead of the 8 iron.
In the rough, if the ball is sitting up, you can use a wood if that’s the club you’re inclined to reach for. But if the ball sits down a little, it’s harder for the wood to cut through the grass and make good contact so you are more likely to top the ball. A hybrid club may be a better option. Hybrids are designed to cut through the grass and lift the ball and fly higher than a wood. If the ball is sitting down and its thick rough, you may not even be able to use a hybrid. You may just want to take a little more lofted iron to get down to the ball and lift it out of the thick grass. Yes you give up distance, but you are less likely to top the ball and more likely to advance the ball back to the middle of the fairway for an easier next shot.
Elevation
Here we ask if our target is above or below where we are standing. If the green is below us, we can treat it as slightly closer to us. If the green is above us, think of it as farther away. If you have a range finder with “Slope”, it will tell you actual distance and playing distance. For instance, the 17th hole at Balboa 18 is 150yds, but severely downhill. The slope makes it about 135yds. Instead of using my 3 iron, I can pull out my 5 iron. Without a range finder, think of a mild elevation change (1-10yds) keep the same club and adjust your swing. A moderate elevation change (11-20yds) is a 1 club change and a greater elevation change is 2 clubs.
Wind
Wind affects your ball flight and distance. A general rule is headwinds (hurting) affect distance more than tailwinds (helping). A hurting wind will hurt your distance 2x more than a tailwind will help distance. A 10 mph wind may hurt your distance by 12 yards or help by 6 yards. Into a 10mph wind, you’ll need to club up at least 1 club, but in the same helping wind, no club change is needed but you might adjust your swing. Wind is not constant and so on the day you’ll need to pay attention and make adjustments.
Distance
Firstly, what is the distance to the target/green. Secondly, after taking into count all the variables, what is the playing distance. The difference between your clubs is approximately 10yds. But could be as much as 15yds. You need to know your club distances. Every golfer is different.
So here’s how to apply LEWD to your game. I’ll look for actual distance first… 125yds. to the middle of the green. The Lie in the rough is ok, not sitting down, but slightly below my feet. I can use a 5 Hybrid or 7 iron, both go 125yds, but the hybrid can roll out more. The green is slightly uphill from me so I’m going to add 5yds = 130yds. There is a light wind in my face, so I add another 5 yds = 135yds. My 7 iron is now too short, but my 6 iron should get to the front of the green. I might get it with my 5 Hybrid with a full swing and good roll out, but if I club up to my 3 Hybrid, I’ll get there easily. The ball will fade slightly, left to right. So I’m going to aim at the very left edge of the green knowing that the ball should move towards the center of the green and use a nice easy swing so I don’t go too long.
I know it sounds like a lot to think about, but if you remember LEWD, its easier to remember and work through your shot selection. After just a few rounds of thinking like this, it will come more naturally and you will see better shot results and your scores start to come down, little by little.
Good Luck and Have Fun and BE A LEWD GOLFER!
25.04.01
Be a LEWD Golfer!
No, I’m not telling you to strip down and go streaking across the fairway or sit at the 19th Hole Bar and tell dirty jokes. Rather I’m saying be more aware of the lie of your ball on your approach shots and what to ask yourself to decide which club to pull for that shot into the green. Lie-Elevation-Wind-Distance….LEWD!
Lie of the Ball
It is rare that our ball lands on a perfectly flat area even in the middle of the fairway. We need to adjust our target if the ball lies above or below our feet and adjust what club loft we use if it is uphill or downhill. In the rough, the ball sitting up or slightly down in the grass or nestled deep affects what club to use. Let’s briefly take a look.
Ball Above the feet: The ball is likely to hook or draw somewhat. For a Right Hand (RH) golfer Right to Left and Left Hand (LH) golfer Left to Right. How much of a draw depends on how severe the lie above the feet is. In the fairway, it is usually a mild elevation difference between feet and ball, so a slight draw. If you are on a more severe side hill, the movement will be greater. Experience and making mental notes will help you make adjustments.
Ball Below the feet: The ball is likely to fade or slice. For a RH golfer Left to Right and LH golfer Right to Left. As above, the severity of the fade depends on the elevation difference between feet and ball and experience will help you adjust your aim.
Uphill Lie: This ball will tend to rise more and fall shorter than expected. A slight uphill lie may not require a club change, but perhaps a bit more swing. A more severe uphill lie may require you to club up (e.g. use a 7 iron instead of an 8 iron) to achieve the distance wanted, sometimes 2 clubs more. Experience will help you decide.
Downhill Lie: This ball will fly flatter and run out more. It may run through the green instead of stopping as expected. You may want to club down to a higher lofted club so the ball will land softer e.g. take a wedge instead of the 8 iron.
In the rough, if the ball is sitting up, you can use a wood if that’s the club you’re inclined to reach for. But if the ball sits down a little, it’s harder for the wood to cut through the grass and make good contact so you are more likely to top the ball. A hybrid club may be a better option. Hybrids are designed to cut through the grass and lift the ball and fly higher than a wood. If the ball is sitting down and its thick rough, you may not even be able to use a hybrid. You may just want to take a little more lofted iron to get down to the ball and lift it out of the thick grass. Yes you give up distance, but you are less likely to top the ball and more likely to advance the ball back to the middle of the fairway for an easier next shot.
Elevation
Here we ask if our target is above or below where we are standing. If the green is below us, we can treat it as slightly closer to us. If the green is above us, think of it as farther away. If you have a range finder with “Slope”, it will tell you actual distance and playing distance. For instance, the 17th hole at Balboa 18 is 150yds, but severely downhill. The slope makes it about 135yds. Instead of using my 3 iron, I can pull out my 5 iron. Without a range finder, think of a mild elevation change (1-10yds) keep the same club and adjust your swing. A moderate elevation change (11-20yds) is a 1 club change and a greater elevation change is 2 clubs.
Wind
Wind affects your ball flight and distance. A general rule is headwinds (hurting) affect distance more than tailwinds (helping). A hurting wind will hurt your distance 2x more than a tailwind will help distance. A 10 mph wind may hurt your distance by 12 yards or help by 6 yards. Into a 10mph wind, you’ll need to club up at least 1 club, but in the same helping wind, no club change is needed but you might adjust your swing. Wind is not constant and so on the day you’ll need to pay attention and make adjustments.
Distance
Firstly, what is the distance to the target/green. Secondly, after taking into count all the variables, what is the playing distance. The difference between your clubs is approximately 10yds. But could be as much as 15yds. You need to know your club distances. Every golfer is different.
So here’s how to apply LEWD to your game. I’ll look for actual distance first… 125yds. to the middle of the green. The Lie in the rough is ok, not sitting down, but slightly below my feet. I can use a 5 Hybrid or 7 iron, both go 125yds, but the hybrid can roll out more. The green is slightly uphill from me so I’m going to add 5yds = 130yds. There is a light wind in my face, so I add another 5 yds = 135yds. My 7 iron is now too short, but my 6 iron should get to the front of the green. I might get it with my 5 Hybrid with a full swing and good roll out, but if I club up to my 3 Hybrid, I’ll get there easily. The ball will fade slightly, left to right. So I’m going to aim at the very left edge of the green knowing that the ball should move towards the center of the green and use a nice easy swing so I don’t go too long.
I know it sounds like a lot to think about, but if you remember LEWD, its easier to remember and work through your shot selection. After just a few rounds of thinking like this, it will come more naturally and you will see better shot results and your scores start to come down, little by little.
Good Luck and Have Fun and BE A LEWD GOLFER!
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