Sobe Tips - Squeezing
Sobe Safe? Sobe Smart!
Since I started playing Golden Tee, players have been razzing me about playing "safe." Which is why "Sobe Safe" is such a key term in the Golden Tee glossary of words. But I don't think "safe" is the right term. It's not like I'm laying up! Instead, I like to think of it as "Sobe Smart."
You’ve heard the phrase, “if you play with fire, you will eventually get burned.” Well, that holds true in Golden Tee too. I see a lot of players hitting dangerous shots, when a smarter shot would have done the trick. That's why I’m going to touch on a few key areas in this next series of Sobe Tips where I feel improvement can be made just by playing smarter, and therefore safer, golf.
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Squeezing
Golden Tee Glossary:
Squeezing (skweez-ing) v.
1. To attempt to hit a virtual golf ball into a small area that leaves little room for error.
2. What stress balls are good for.
3. A term used to describe when a player tries to play eight rounds of Golden Tee in between leaving work and making it home for dinner on time.
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| Note that by hooking your shot (green arrow) the ball doesn't fly over any hazards unlike playing the wind (red arrow) where it has to travel over the bunker. |
Ok so I just came up with this term a few minutes ago, but it’s true. We’ve all been guilty of this at times and sometimes you may have to perform a little “squeezing” if there aren’t any other options. But you can’t continually do that and hope to succeed in the long run. To put it bluntly, you are losing strokes by making unnecessary mistakes. The ball flight (path) of a golf ball to its intended target is the key. What did it have to travel over or flirt with to get to the target? Was there a better way?
Take the example at the right. The pin placement is only a few yards from the left edge of the green. A bunker guards the front left side. There's a left-to-right crosswind blowing at 7 mph. “Joe” hits his ball straight out to the left side hoping the wind will blow it back towards the green. Here's the problem - what is the ball traveling over en route to the green? The bunker! If the wind doesn't carry the ball enough his next shot is from the beach. And even if he does hit the green, the ball is now coming in from a left to right angle (wind) and will continue to move away from the pin (leaking), likely leaving a longer than desired putt. It’s not that this shot can’t work, but if he keeps doing it he's going to need a shovel and bucket because he's going to be playing in the sand - A LOT. Or he better be good at making long putts.
A better way to approach this shot is to hook the ball back into the wind so that it never has to travel over the bunker at any time. Even if I miss my line a little, I’m still on the green and putting. That's the key - putting. You have a much better chance putting than chipping in most scenarios. Note: By playing a hook into the wind, my angle entering the green is now from right to left and will help my ball stay closer to the pin. No “leaking.”
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Sobe Question:
Great article on the C-3. As a intermediate player, I found it to be very helpful. Three different C-3 shots were demonstrated (hard, soft, spinny.) What is the difference between the three? Distance? Any help to this question is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
- Scott Wolf
Wichita, KS
Thanks for the question Scott. Like I mentioned in the article, speed plays a vital role in ball flight of a C-3. A powerful shot will stay to the outside longer while a softer shot will cut inside faster (quicker). The “spinny” helps maximize your potential of hitting the furthest point to the outside that the game will allow, which in return, can also maximize distance with a powerful shot.
Distance is going to depend on your trackball speed (power) vs. the line of that particular “C” shot. Here's a tip: If I were to hit a C2-1/2 and a C2 3/4 the same exact speed, the C2 3/4 would go farther. Why? Because I hit it further “outside” on my forward swing.
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