Course Management - Need advice!

I very rarely hit full swings on my wedges.
Most of the time they are controlled shots with a lower trajectory.
Hitting shots where you are able to control the action of the ball is important.
That is why I use Titleist Prov1 or Prov1x also, cos I trust it.
* Im not getting paid for the above remark....yet*

haahaa how cme GRians all got 2 mascots beside them???

Just thought i should give an update on this issue, and provide some closure.

Following the advice of the good people on this forum, i've been practicing my wedges (48, 52, 56) at every range session. Everything from full shots, to short chips. Basically anything within 100m.

Pros: I'm pretty confident about my short game now, as i know exactly what club i need and how much of a swing is required.

Cons: My iron play, which has always been the strongest part of my game, has suffered quite abit, as did my driving.

So today i had my first game since intensively training on the wedges - and voila, i recorded my best ever 18 hole score. The biggest contributing factor, obviously, was the confidence in my short game. On the holes where i made a good drive, i knew exactly what i needed to do after that. For bad tee shots, i didn't have to force a long iron just to make sure i put it on. Instead i played a comfortable 6 or 7 iron, followed by a short chip. I only made 7 GIRs today, but i chipped well enough to consistently set up for a 1 putt. Total putts for today was only 29, which is very good by my standards. That said, the lack of practice on the irons did show, and i can count on one hand the number of good shots using my irons.

Its true then, when people say the best way to lower your score is by improving your short game. Based on the results today, i'm quite happy to have slightly weaker iron play but a very much stronger short game. I will continue working on the wedges, i know now that these are the money clubs

Dun forget the putter too! It is also the go-to club on top of wedges.

Phoah! 29 putts. Good ah!

What we all can learnt fm this is that Life is fair.....

Ai pi, ai chi, ai xxxxx......cannot lah....

This is also supported by Newton 3rd law....

Every action, there is a reaction.

How does this applies to golf?

Solarpop, congrats!

Im guessing you are a mid handicap player (80s player, low 90s at worst) coz even with "bad" iron play, you still get 7 girs! So Normally you get 10? And 29 putts are not just good for your std, its good for pro tour std!

@ Bro Taskie.....if I may comment....you might also want to focus on how the ball react when it hit the green......to me, that is very important... for me, I have only 2 ...high and mid.....roughly I know if I use my 56deg, for High or low I approx know how much roll it will be.....of coz tat is if I am playing with my preferred ball...

Thanks for all the nice encouraging words..

I agree with Duval, unless i can play golf full time, some things will have to give. For now, it seems like improving my short game will yield better results.

Normally i play in the mid 80s. My 29 putts cannot compare with pros, coz they usually GIR and are always putting for birdie. Mine were mostly putts to save par, after a chip.

Taskie...

Feel is exactly what i've been trying to develop during my practice sessions, and is what i depend on for anything within 50m. For these situations, i only choose either PW (48*) or SW (56*) depending on the pin placement, whether i need to clear obstacles, etc. If possible, i will always use the PW over the SW because the PW just seems more consistent and reliable.

Beyond 50m, i try to keep it simple coz i don't want too many numbers to remember. The following seems to work for me, though i'm still not very comfortable with 3/4 swings.
60m - 1/2 swing SW
70m - 1/2 swing AW (52*)
80m - 1/2 swing PW
90m - 3/4 swing AW
100m - 3/4 swing PW

Here in the US (where i am currently), the driving ranges are mostly grass, and the two that i frequent have pretty good chipping areas. I'll get a bucket of balls and pick random spots around the green to chip from, and learn by trial and error what works and what doesn't. It also helps to have a laser range finder to measure your exact distances.

Hope you find this useful