WipeyFade

Thinning it helps also, especially when the fairways are firm. Usually when I hit a thin shot it’s by accident.

The local muni, what can I say ?🤣 It’s not as bad as I make it sound, I think the places I’m finding to put the ball is where a divot from an iron off the tee has grown in. I guess it wouldn’t be an actual flier lie, the grass is just at or below the equator of the ball when I do this.

It’s 22*. It’s a Tour Edge Bazooka head that I found on eBay. I built it up with a shaft I took out of a Taylormade R7 3 wood. It’s a true Frankenclub. Total investment is less than $30 😂.

As I’ve mentioned on my last few posts I have been using a 7 wood as my longest club. Here is a technique I have stumbled upon that may be of use to those who are hitting less than driver off the tee. Using this I have been getting very close to my driver distance with the 7w. This works really well with less than perfect tee boxes. You need to find an area of the tee box that has slightly longer grass and you’re going to put the ball down in it to create a flier lie. I have been playing the ball back in my stance slightly. This drops the spin and launch enough to make the ball go very far. I have hit two of my best tee shots ever, regardless of club selection, at my home course during the past two rounds. I have not tried this method with anything other than a 7 wood, but I imagine it would work with a hybrid of around the same loft.

The most miserable sounding part of that round is the full bag 🤣

Awesome set up! That looks like a good minimal set to me.

Ya, I definitely don’t want to come off as having an elitist attitude. I have just dropped down to 4 to take the decision making out of club selection. I mean, the way I look at it whether I’m hitting a 6 or an 8 into a green that’s 160 away I’m likely to miss it. Only having one club that goes around that distance really makes me pay attention to the correct place to miss it. At this point, especially since dropping driver, there are hardly any decisions that need to be made. I know I’m taking 7 wood off the tee unless there is something I can’t carry, then it’s 8 iron to the green, and 9 times out of 10 my next shot will be made with either a 56* or putter depending on where my approach lands.

I read somewhere about 7 or 8 years ago that Bubba Watson shot a 72 or 74 at his home course with just a 4 wood.

Yes, we can definitely learn a lot from his unconventional course management. For me, when I stop thinking about the par of the hole and just focus on the easiest way to get the ball in the hole, I end up with a lot of putts for par anyway. Through this style of course management you end up taking big numbers out of play.

I think one of the main takeaways from this video is how important a ball in play off the tee is, no matter the distance. For years I have either taken a driver or 3 wood off the tee and for years I have been frustrated. I would hit just enough decent or good shots for me to feel that I was either progressing with those or even feeling like I had it figured out. But in all reality the bad shots were so bad that I was taking away all the advantage the good shots were giving me. For the last month I have been using a 7 wood as my longest club and I have hit some bad shots but they have always been in play and given me a second shot. There are a few holes at my course where I even have to club down to my 8i off the tee because of a creek that runs through the fairway, and I have played those holes consistently better that way than when I have taken driver. As Matty Boom Boom has said in the past, “A ball in play is worth 2 in the bush.”🤣

I experimented with something similar earlier this summer. I went after driver I went strait to 8 iron. If I could consistently hit the fairway I may have played that set up longer.

I would say that if you’re fairly strait off the tee with driver then I would say that you don’t need anything in that slot, especially if you can learn to hit driver off the deck.

@MorganM No, I don’t use a tee with it. When I first started using it off the tee I would tee it like an iron, but then I found I got better results without one. As far as experimentation goes, the last piece of the puzzle is a consistent tee club. The bottom end has been set for a little while with 8i and 56, with those I can cover everything from 0-165 pretty comfortably. The 7 wood gets me from 165-225ish, and I’m not on tour so with those yardages I can make my way around every golf course. Now if I could just learn to putt.

@MorganM I’ve been using a 7 wood for the past few weeks. I’m still figuring out what it can and can’t do. I did figure out that if I can find an area of longer grass on the tee box I can create somewhat of a flyer lie and lower the spin a little to keep it from ballooning on me off the tee.

I think using less clubs not only increases creativity but also helps you realize your limitations. For instance, with 14 clubs in the bag a lot of golfers don’t account for mishits when deciding which club to hit on approaches. With 7 or less that’s often one of the main considerations, at least for me. The other day I had a slightly downhill approach over water, a perfectly struck 8 iron would have hit the middle of the green, but a perfect strike is 1 in 10 or less. I opted for a bunt 7 wood and ended up with a putt for birdie, I promptly 3 putted but that’s beside the point. With a half set you it makes you fully commit to the shot you have in front of you.