Help please - hitting off a hard deck

[Snoz]

Been playing for about 6 mths during the spring and summer months when the grass is lush on the fairways.

Now that winter is closing in I am struggling to hit my PW, 9I or 8I with any loft as I can't get under the ball due to the hard fairways and extremely short patchy grass.

Any advice please ?

[Loop]

Winter? Where do you live? The other hemisphere?

[Davebud]

That's just fine deductive reasoning there. Sn-oz, so I am guessing Austrailia. See that makes me Dick Tracy to your Sherlock Holmes.

[Snoz]

Originally Posted by Loop

Winter? Where do you live? The other hemisphere?

south west of sydney, australia.

[ezra76]

Play the ball back a little and maintain a shaft angle through impact. Basically you want to trap the ball between the clubface and ground. When you get into wedge distance try your SW or whatever wedge has the most bounce. I used to hate bare hard lies. Now I welcome them. Once you get the hang of them you can really get the ball to spin off them.

[Matthew_22]

I have said this a few times on this forum, but try this drill, it helped improve my ballstriking a lot.

Get an old club or old set of clubs, and just hit bottlecaps off the cement. Start with a small backswing, and work your way up to a full swing which takes a lot of concentration and commitment. Then when you go to the course you will have a lot less trouble hitting a larger golf ball.

[VtDivot]

Call me crazy, but I prefer to play off of firm conditions... learn to hit the ball at a steeper angle maybe???

[Dorkman53]

Originally Posted by ezra76

Play the ball back a little and maintain a shaft angle through impact. Basically you want to trap the ball between the clubface and ground. When you get into wedge distance try your SW or whatever wedge has the most bounce. I used to hate bare hard lies. Now I welcome them. Once you get the hang of them you can really get the ball to spin off them.

I'm curious. Why would you want MORE bounce if the conditions are hardpan? It would seem like you would want a lower bounce to avoid skulling the ball.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by Duffmeister

I'm curious. Why would you want MORE bounce if the conditions are hardpan? It would seem like you would want a lower bounce to avoid skulling the ball.

Roger that.

And VT, wouldn't you want to come in shallower to avoid digging in?

That bottlecap idea is a good drill. Broken tees would work too. Also, if I'm on hardpan and I need to hit a wedge, i usually go to an 8 or 7 iron and play a bump and run. I'll only hit the wedge if it's absolutely necessary, like over a trap or a car.

R35

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

Roger that.

And VT, wouldn't you want to come in shallower to avoid digging in?


R35

In soft conditions yes, in firm conditions no

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

In soft conditions yes, in firm conditions no

Right, right. I was thinking of chipping in the backyard on Sunday when I wrote that out.

Thanks VT.

R35

[Golfbum]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

Roger that.

And VT, wouldn't you want to come in shallower to avoid digging in?

That bottlecap idea is a good drill. Broken tees would work too. Also, if I'm on hardpan and I need to hit a wedge, i usually go to an 8 or 7 iron and play a bump and run. I'll only hit the wedge if it's absolutely necessary, like over a trap or a car.

R35

That isn't hardpan. That is usually called ASPHALT, when you have to hit it over a car ...

[Farquod]

Originally Posted by Matthew_22

Get an old club and just hit bottlecaps off the cement. Start with a small backswing, and work your way up to a full swing which takes a lot of concentration and commitment.

Actually sounds interesting. I have tried swinging a 7i to pick up a dollar bill or business card off of I/O carpeting* layed over a concrete floor. Challenging.

If you're hitting off of asphalt or cement, you might want to wear safety glasses, tho. And you'll want to use a metal-shafted iron.


*pile virtually nonexistent

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by Duffmeister

I'm curious. Why would you want MORE bounce if the conditions are hardpan? It would seem like you would want a lower bounce to avoid skulling the ball.

A low bounce will actually skull or chunk much worse. Ever try to hit a 60* wedge off hardpan? I guess the blade catches the ground on a low bounce while a higher bounce won't dig as hard. I just figured this out at the beginning of the season and my pitch shots are much improved.

[Dorkman53]

Originally Posted by ezra76

A low bounce will actually skull or chunk much worse. Ever try to hit a 60* wedge off hardpan? I guess the blade catches the ground on a low bounce while a higher bounce won't dig as hard. I just figured this out at the beginning of the season and my pitch shots are much improved.

I don't want to belabor this point excessively, but what you are saying seems to me to be counterintuitive. The more bounce on a club, the more club material there is lower than the leading edge to strike the ground first, which will tend to leave the leading edge higher and more likely to skull the ball. Less bounce means less material lower than the leading edge and therefore the club is more able to come in and strike the ball higher on the clubface, avoiding the skulled shot.
I've gotten burned using higher bounce wedges off hardpan, but do whatever works for you. Actually, the angle of attack may be more important than the bounce angle anyway.