Shots You Would never Take On But Did

Over the years I have managed to temper my TV trick shots, and very rarely take them on. I found that I grew up and learnt that course management was the key.

Recently whilst playing Miraflores on the Costa's, I was playing out of my skin and was scoring well, and felt great with the world and my game. On a tough dog leg par 5 however, I managed to scuff one off the tee which just cleared the ladies tee and into semi. I then proceeded to batter the ball with my 3-wood and try and get down to the dog leg apex, but it came out fat and finished up 150-yards short. As i was contemplating what to do, my partner jokingley said I should have a go at clearing the trees which were up a very steep hillside. As I was so far in front and not bothered about blobbing, I decided to take it on with my 3-wood. I caught it really, really well but had no idea where it finished up. upon reaching the green we saw my ball 2-foot from the pin and a tap-in birdy. A stupid, crazy shot, one which I probably couldn't repeat

well done doc - I believe when I tried that shot I tugged it into the trees and ended up halfway up the bank OOB I believe.

On the short hole with the island green, my playing partner toe ended it 4 yards sideways and 1 yard forwards into the hedge on the bank. We insisted, because he was yards short of the ladies that he drop his shorts etc before digging into the hedge head first to find his ball.

Head first down the bank, bum in the air, starfish winking and a little voice saying 'I can't quite reach it'! A picture that is emblazoned in my mind and lest we forget, one of the group took the shot on his phone for posterity.

I think we have to try the odd wonder shot sometimes as no matter what we score it will often be the pulled of wonder shot that stays in our memories years later. Oh and by the way, great shot there doc.

Agree with Mac, you can shoot the daylights out of it but its not the score that will stick in the mind its the impossible shots pulled off.

2 that spring to mind for me and neither was played by me both by bigbro Mav. The first was when we were partners in a county league game and 3down with 4 to play short par 5, 15th hole I was out of ithaving sent my drive oob and he was stymied flush against tree now swing for right hander, 150 yards to centre green and opponents in fairway(both of them) he turned the club round so the toe was touching turf addressed it left handed with his 8iron swung the club perfect contact ball pitched from of green and rolled up to 3feet! And certain eagle. Both oppenents made birdie so we won the hole and they fell apart after that we won the match on the 18th green. Still to this day I cannot perform that shot and he still can!

The other was his 1st and only hole in one, even got a little write up in local rag on it. What was impressive about was the fact it was for a par after he hit his initial tee shot long of the green OOB. So 3 off the tee one bounce and in for regulation par, now he scored crap all day but all anyone remembers is that par in the local knockout final no one even remembers the winner!

Great going Doc a touch of class you carried out there

I remember a society day years ago at a place called Alwickbury Park near Luton

I had driven an hour to get there in p!ssing rain and it was touch and go whether we could play or not. Eventually the club let us go out as people had travelled from all over the country to be there.

It was cold, wet and miserable and I'd had a terrible front nine

The tenth hole was a shortish par 4 with a pond short-right of the green. I'd hit a big slice off the tee and was close to being blocked out by a big tree for the shot to the green (over the pond). I was already losing the will to live and being in sodden semi-rough, having to hit low under the overhanging branches but still get over the point, I had lost the will to live and just pulled a 5-iron and didn't care if it went 3 feet or ended up in hertfordshire.

The shot was perfect and ended up about 6 foot from the pin; I must've looked like a drowned rat and a face like a bulldog licking p!ss off a thistle but two guys coming down the 18th next to where I played looked at me and smiled and said "you're having a good day!"

I could only grin and nod at them otherwise they would have been wearing the 5 iron in my hand in a very uncomfortable place

for me its usaully the rediculous flop shot or some impossible chipshot that no matter what my score is i just cant resist hving a go at it.
a few years back playing in the troon links i had short sided myself at the 11 hole with the pin just at the bottom of the slope coming off the bunker...all in the shot was no more than 8 paces...level par at the time...pulls out the lob wedge.... tight lie....blade wide open...aiming miles left and took atleast a 3/4 swing...hit about 1/4 inch behind the ball and the ball flew kind of funny...nowhere near as high as i expected and half way through its flight it went almost right angles....landed a foot past the hole...spun back to about 2 feet.......round of applause from my mates on the 13 green


missed the putt

Last year I had a good card going, when on the 12th I pushed my drive into a bunker, leaving me 160 to the green, most of the carry over water. I'm not the best of bunker players, normally hitting them a bit "fat", I told my caddie I wanted a wedge as I was going to chip out and play safe. The caddie said "no, go for it", which I did, hit the green and got par. If I had my usual caddie that day she would have given me the wedge.
That round turned out to be the best of my life, shooting level par 72 for the one and only time.

this seasons shot i would never take on but did happened during a 4bbb match.
my partner and i won the club knockout last year, and had been drawn against the same pair in the 1st round that we'd beaten in the 1st round last year. naturally they were pretty up for the game and were in control from the word go.
we were somehow only 1down on 17 and i was giving shots to both of our opponents. 500 yard par 5. my partner sliced his oob. i hit a straight drive but a bit short, leaving me about 250 to go. our opponents both played conservatively (both short hitters), and were both on in 3 nett 2.
knowing i needed a birdie for the half we felt i had to go for it, despite only having a 2iron in my bag. i had a swipe at it, despite knowing at best i'd get 235 and up to the front edge - i pushed it right into the middle of a load of trees, 40 yards short of the green.
i had no shot under the trees to the pin, blocked out in front by the tree trunks and a bunker in behind them between me and the pin. in a medal it would have been a definite chip out sideways, but my partner pointed out a gap in the trees about a couple of feet wide. i guessed i could just about get the lob wedge to it and gave it a dig. it came out clean through the trees, didn't disturb a leaf, and landed 20feet past the pin. our opponents both sidled up to the hole for gimmie 5 nett 4s, and i knocked in the putt to keep the game alive.
won 18 with a birdie, then missed short birdie putts on 19, 20, 21 and lost to a nett birdie on the 22nd... gutted!

shots like these are the reason i play golf, if i didn't take them on i wouldn't enjoy the game as much as the satisfaction from pulling off such is immense!!!

I had a reasonable card going at the weekend, hit a nice drive on my par 5 dogleg 7th giving me a good view around the corner. I then stuffed up the next shot and the ball trundled into the wetlands (or poopie to give it its technical name) at the corner of the dogleg and ended with a splash.

I gingerly step in and find the ball. It is submerged, but only just, and it looked like I could take a stance and not get (very) wet feet. Now, it's not really that far to carry the rest of the poopie, I mean wetlands, so I return to my bag and grab a wedge. Remembering this is a hazard and I can't ground the club and to the amazement of my playing partners; one even asked if I want a retriever. I proceed to take an alwighty whack at the ball. Muddy water goes flying and I almost lost sight of the ball but in a slow motion type effect there was just enough oomph to carry the ball to the safety of the fairway.

Double result as I stayed dry and the ball made it; woohoo! Didn't help much as I then managed to stuff up the next next shot too and still walk off with a 7. Probably would have had scored the same if I had taken a drop but sometimes you have to take on the silly shots to prove you can do it.

i take on way to many shots which i shouldnt .

my first medal back from a 4 year break was a net 80- yet i got cut .6(work that one out)

mystiroakey wrote:i take on way to many shots which i shouldnt .

my first medal back from a 4 year break was a net 80- yet i got cut .6(work that one out)

For that to happen there must've been some REAL big numbers on your card which were discounted under stableford reduction

I'm guessing you are a cat 2 or 3 golfer so after adjustment you must've been 2 or 3 under CSS (which itself can only go to SSS+2 I think) ... so assuming a SSS 72 (generous) the CSS could only have gone to 74 and therefore you must've had 8 or more shots reduced under stableford adjustment? Some 10s and 12s on the card?

handicaps 9- par was 70 - sss 70 stblford 39, net 80 gross 89

i was level par for 15 holes - yet had an 11 on a 5 and 11 on a 4 and a 9 on a 3(all non shot holes)

Well that goes some way to explaining it (though it still doesn't quite add up)

By my calculation, the 11s would be cut to a 7 and a 6 and the 9 cut to a 5 ... so 13 shot stableford reduction giving you a net 67 after adjustment. If CSS had been 70 that would agree yet you say stableford (do you mean CSS stableford?) was 39 pts .. so you should have been buffer zone, not cut

Perhaps I've misunderstood something - other wise you were robbed!

Davie wrote:Well that goes some way to explaining it (though it still doesn't quite add up)

By my calculation, the 11s would be cut to a 7 and a 6 and the 9 cut to a 5 ... so 13 shot stableford reduction giving you a net 67 after adjustment. If CSS had been 70 that would agree yet you say stableford (do you mean CSS stableford?) was 39 pts .. so you should have been buffer zone, not cut

Perhaps I've misunderstood something - other wise you were robbed!

36 is stableford par- 39 cuts you 3 times(as long as sss is the same as par)

OK I get you - so when you said SSS was 70 you meant CSS. In that case it ties up

i am new back and to this css stuff- when i played before these rules didnt even happen, a net 80 was a net 80- and id have gone up .1- or am i seriously forgetting something lol.

i had to ask the secretary why my handicap had changed the way it had and he tried to explain- but thats the way i figured it out anyway

OK - nowadays, for handicap purposes, all scores are reduced to net double bogeys (i.e. the lowest score that would score you zero stableford points)

So your 11s and 9s would be reduced for handicap calculations

Also your handicap increases or reductions are calculated against the COMPETITION scratch score (CSS) not the STANDARD scratch score (SSS)

The CSS is calculated according to some mystical forumla based on score submitted on the day (supposedly to take into account conditions on the day)

From what you've said, the CSS for the day was equal to the SSS so less complication there.

You were net +10 on the day but your score was reduced 13 shots on stableford adjustment so (for handicap purposes only) you really had a net -3 - hence the 0.6 cut (3 x 0.2)

cheers .when did it change?

davie

Davie wrote:OK - nowadays, for handicap purposes, all scores are reduced to net double bogeys (i.e. the lowest score that would score you zero stableford points)

So your 11s and 9s would be reduced for handicap calculations

When the results sheet goes up in your clubhouse, there should be a column (usually somewhere down the left hand side) call NETT ADJUSTMENT You will often see a number showing how many shots have been deducted in cases like the one you described.