Comments on: Trading Science for Art Around the Greens

By: Ed H.

Ed H. — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:57:41 +0000

I must admit…I am not a golfer (Tournament tennis player). But my 13-year old son eats, drinks and sleeps golf. He plays on the school golf team and is itching to take out his new clubs any day (he has been hitting inside because of snow).

I have been reading your blog just to get familiar with some of the terms. But hey…I know what a gap wedge is. There was one for $44 for sale at Golf Galaxy yesterday. It was a Ping and even I know that seems low. Maybe a discontinued model.

Phil, by the way is his favorite since he is a lefty!

By: Stef

Stef — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:37:57 +0000

players have been adapting perfectly, we will have o see how the season goes though.

By: Beth Charette

Beth Charette — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:43:32 +0000

Now I know why I am not included in the men’s locker room:

DAVE PELZ???? Spin out of the bunker??? Groove??

When I go golfing with my girlfriends, we talk about our husbands, our golf gloves and the grandchildren.

You mean you guys spend time reading about the spin of your balls out of the rough??

For shame..

Beth

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:04:30 +0000

I can certainly see where learning all the shots with the various wedges would build confidence and all that … and I carry 4 wedges in the bag, practice with them regularly, and always have every good intention of playing them as needed. But when push comes to shove, it always seems I can pull out my PW or my SW and hit just about any kind of pitch or chip around the green I find myself faced with. I know this comes from all those years when those were the only 2 wedges I carried .. and the SW was basically only used for getting out of green-side bunkers and the occasional flop shot (still is). Maybe I just work better with the “feel” part of it and no so much with having to mentally file all those other clubs/shots in my head … my 2 cents.

By: Malcolm

Malcolm — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:13:27 +0000

Well, just to draw a comparison to a slightly different type of shot, what do you do when you have to work the ball left or right? I often find that when I’m trying to induce a low hook around a tree to get to a green, I will alter the club face, my swing plane, or both depending on the circumstances. Is there any science behind this type of shot? Absolutely. However, the execution is all an art, simply because the circumstances of having to work the ball are always different.

I think you can be a good player if you play golf scientifically and mathematically. I think that to be a great player, you need to learn the art of golf.

By: Double Eagle

Double Eagle — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:28:47 +0000

I wonder too. I haven’t been watching much golf since the season started. A quick look at the leaderboards shows that scores have been fairly low, but obviously that depends on a lot of factors. It seems like players have been adapting just fine, but it might be more clear when I have a chance to sit down and watch some golf for an extended period.

By: TP Golf Online

TP Golf Online — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:02:12 +0000

I remember back in the 80′s when square grooves were introduced and agree with Pelz’s statement about the change in spin rates. It was almost overnight you’d see touring pros able to land a ball softly on the green where they previously would have to play a punch type shot and hope the ball stayed on green. Be interesting to see if the rule change will affect the Bomb and gouge style players on tour.