If I square the club face up at impact AND have a hurricane force wind at my back I might get a tee ball out 250 yards (catching some slope and roll always helps too). I too need to work on hitting more greens in regulation and my short game for those times I miss. I find myself going back over my round and thinking about all of the two putt bogies I had when if I would have been crisper with my short game those could have been pars.

I agree, for me the hole has to be over 300yds to get the driver out of the bag. 200-300 is a 3iron works better and keeps the iron work in tune.

You guys are strong hitters. I have never ever been able to hit it like you. :)

I consider myself a pretty good ballstriker, but for the life of me, I struggle trying to hit a 3 wood (metal) off the deck. I think it's more of a mental block than anything else, I lose my tempo and end up swinging way too fast and hard. Admittedly, I don't practice the shot a great deal as generally I don't need to hit it often, but it remains the glaring weakness in my game.

Yes, as a young man i had a self-taught swing that didn't work and could never break 90 but i was a very good chipper and putter. Now that i have a fairly solid, consistent swing I now struggle with the short game. I had a pretty bad dose of the "chipping yips" starting a couple of years ago. I could hit shots around the practice green but on the course i would blade or fat everything inside of 50 yards. I could feel the tension the minute i walked up to the shot. I too look forward to the Pinehurst Short Game Event and just hope the yips stay home that week.

I hear ya Jim! Same problem I have but getting better! Took one lesson from a PGA Pro and told him my weakness so we worked on that club. I have to have a good lie, so I don't even try if there is a difficult lie. For example, too much slope or hard pan. Thanks for mentioning this.

Yeah I know the struggle, I have started to work on my iron game, I have realized that my 3 Iron, a Titleist TMB, gives me a more consistent out of the tee shot, than my driver, I tend to get a consistent slice out of my driver, that is my struggling area off the tee.
And last year I got an Arccos tracking system which gave me a good Idea of what my actual averages are and how to work with them on the course.
From it, this is what my current averages are.
Driver
Average drive 223 yds
Longest drive 314 yards,
And I realize that my smart average without misses is from 250 to 280 yards.
however, I hit about 40% of my drives onto the fairway, which drops that total usable yards a lot.

3 Wood
Average drive 184 yds
Average smart drive 230 to 250
Same sort of miss as my driver about 35% of accuracy to the fairway.

3 Iron
Average drive 180 yds
Smart average, from 180 to 210
but on with that club, I get an almost 70% fairway accuracy, which helps a lot, to me is better to have a couple hundred yards to the green from the fairway than 150 from behind trees or the deep rough.

4 Iron
Average 155 yds

5 Iron
174 yds

6 Iron
158 yds

7 Iron
147 yds

8 Iron
134 yds

9 Iron
118 yds

Pitching Wedge
109 yds

Approach Wedge
81 yds

52° Wedge
64 yds

56° Wedge
55 yds

I want to improve those numbers by being smart on what clubs I am using for each shot, for example, the 10th hole of my home course, plays about 300 yards par 4, with water on the left about 130 yards from the tee box, to clear the water one would need to fly the ball about 260 yards, yes I should be able to clear the water easily, but with the poor fairway percentage, rather than on the past take out my Driver and try to get it on the green for an eagle, but most likely ending up on the water, this year the game plan would be to 7 iron of the tee, leaving me a easy 9 or pitching wedge out of the fairway and get on the green for a birdie try.
I also want to spend time working on the short wedges, I consistently can get my pitching wedge at the distance and location I want, but the 48, 52 and 56 are challenging for me, I picked a 60 degree on the end of the year, which helps me a lot with the bunker play, another area of struggle for me, my main goal is to improve my ball striking in general and get onto the green in regulation more often.
This year I decided is the year of the smart play.
I would recommend anyone to pick up an Arccos if you get a chance, the 1st gen are dirt cheap and still give you great feedback where your game stands.

Driver, my least practiced club. Wedges, my most practiced clubs. There it is.

Putting is literally 1/2 of your score, and it's generally the best chance to save a shot. Everyone loves the long ball, but I like winning more. Focusing on short game will definitely pay dividends. Go get em Speedy.

Over the years, chipping and then rolling and stopping close to the hole was a challenge. It's gotten better. However, in the early 80s, I frequently golfed with a gentleman who had mastered the chip shot that flew low, hopped twice, and stopped dead. I know it was the backspin he imparted on the ball. Maybe it was a balata covered Titleist?! I wish I had that shot in my bag.

Learning to play from the hole and back as I was being told didn't sound very exciting to me also in the beginning, but many in the know who cared repeatedly said it.

Wishing you all the best to the top!

A lot of guys try to fly the ball to the flag which is actually a pitch. Try using a less lofted that carries fringes and obstacles (a chip) and let the ball roll out to the pin.

Bill
That's my way of thinkin' also. A low chip for most golfers is way more effective because you can read the green like a putt and play the run out accordingly.

Well said sir!
This is an aspect of my game where I struggle most too.
I work away 3/4 weeks and a time and it’s always the short game that goes first.

Are there any Titleist short game improvement pros / centres in Scotland I could book or attend??

Best of luck with your chopping Speedy. Please keep us up to date with your time with Mr. Vokey.
Play Well,
Steve S.

Recovering the surgeries I have had,my short game went south rather quickly. One thing I do is,put a few bucks on the line when chipping from 5-10-15-20 feet. One bet I like to make is,getting up and down out of bunkers or anywhere. It helps me to focus on the shot that I am about to pull off. I don't like to lose,even $5 bucks,so I work hard on my short game,to make sure I can win that few bucks when I have to.

Lee is a master.

www.bing.com/.../search

I’m working on putting and chipping this year as well. I got a new Scotty Cameron 5CB two weeks ago and I changed my club set up also. I dropped my 4iron and went to a 50,54,58 and a 62. It has given me a lot more options around the green and it has taken a lot of pressure off of me if I don’t hit the green on a long par four.