Playing A Round: The Golf Club At Echo Falls–Snohomish, WA

For the second weekend in a row, I was able to find a break just long enough to carve out a round of golf at The Golf Club At Echo Falls. Echo Falls is a par 70 layout that measures between 4342 yards and 5952 yards depending on the tee boxes you choose. The course is most known for the “island green” concept that is the 18th green in the photo above. There is also the 90 degree, downhill, par 5, 15th hole that offers an interesting take on a shorter par 5 layout. The back side doesn’t get much easier on the 16th, which features a tight tee shot to a dogleg right hole location. Really, the distance at Echo Falls isn’t something that would be a challenge for many golfers, what is a challenge, is the terrain. Echo Falls is loaded with uphill, downhill and side hill lies. Just missing a fairway by a few yards can take a hole from simple to darn near impossible. For longer hitters, it may be best to leave that big stick in the bag, but for target golfers, the smaller greens will definitely provide a serious challenge.

With the ultra-wet conditions that Echo Falls was suffering from , I opted to play the white tee boxes again this weekend. The 330 yard, par 4, plays very straight off the tee, with a slope from the right rough down to the cart path on the left. It doesn’t play particularly hard, but a poorly placed tee shot will make the hole play much more difficult than it has to. I started off the hole with my 2 hybrid (17 degree, Wilson Staff F5) which plopped down in the center of the fairway about 205 yards away. A solid gap wedge (51 degree, Wilson Staff PMP wedge) from 125 out landed on the green leaving a 35 foot putt for birdie. The first putt came up just short and a tap in par had my round under way with a great start. The 298 yard, par 4 second hole plays uphill from the tee box. With over 50 feet of elevation change in such a short area, being slightly off center is a huge penalty on this hole. I opted again for the 2 hybrid off the tee, but pulled it a bit left, leaving a pretty brutal side hill lie. With the slope of the hill to contend with, I pulled my 9 iron (43 degrees, Wilson Staff FG 100) from my bag to play a draw into the green. Unfortunately, off the side hill, the ball went further left than anticipated and ended up long and left of the green. A decent lob wedge (60 degree, Wilson Staff PMP wedge) left me a makeable par putt, but I left it about 6” short of the hole and tapped in for a bogey. The 258 yard, par 4, third was up next. With the new tee box location, I am sure that this hole is playing closer to 245, but either way, it is a solid 2 hybrid over the water to the safe area in front of the green on this hole, so that is what I hit. The last time I played here, I hit a shot that fell just short of the right greenside bunker, today’s was even better. With the pin playing up, my tee shot found a dry patch and took one tiny hop before slowing down. It came to rest about 18” from the flag stick and left me a tap in eagle putt. That eagle got me back to 1 under par after three holes and the round was starting to look really good.

The downhill, par 4, fourth hole was up next. The 429 yard hole is more like most of the par 4’s that I play, which is exactly the way I try and play this one. It drops off about 60 feet from the tee to the green, but shot placement is far more important than distance on this hole. I pulled the big stick (9.5 degree, Wilson Staff F5) for the first time today since the hole favors a fade over a draw, but I still ended up slightly left of my target. The 265 yard shot was held up by the mud and longer grass on the left hand side of the hole, which left me about 180 yards into the green. I was feeling very solid about my ball striking at this point, so I went with a strong 7 iron (35 degree, Wilson Staff FG 100) down the hill to the small green. The shot was almost perfect, but missed the narrow green to the right. It just didn’t have enough draw on it to find its way back to the flag, An easy lob wedge left an easy two putt par. I moved on to the par 3, fifth hole that was playing a solid 160 to the center, and probably 155 to the flag. My Golf Pad GPS was showing me that it was 152 to the front edge, but the 5th green has a very interesting feature in that it is a two tiered green with a giant slope separating them. I kept my tee shot on the lower tier this time, unlike the last round I played, and managed to make a two putt par without any incident this time. Which moved me on to the long, par 5, sixth hole at one under par. The 6th hole is a long, 501 yard hole that drops well over 100 feet from tee to green. My drive found the right side of the fairway, but was hit a bit thin, so it barely carried the hill and it didn’t have enough power to really get going down the hill. After the 250 yard drive, I hit a slightly toey 4 hybrid (23 degree, Wilson Staff F5) about 175 yards down the hill and left 65 yards to the pin. A light lob wedge checked on the soft green and left me a 30 foot putt. My first putt rolled towards the hole and looked a touch right, and it stayed out to the right, missing by about a foot. Fortunately, the speed of the putt was spot on, which left me only a 12” tap in for par. After three straight pars, I was still clinging to my one under par score.

Another par 3 is on tap for the seventh hole. The hole measures 166 yards on the card, but the way I was striking the ball, I figured that a 9 iron was the way to go. The tee boxes were also up a bit, which made me think a 150 yard shot was more called for rather than the longer 160 yard plus shot that the card was calling for. I struck the shot decently, but just missed the center of the face, leaving it shorter than I wanted, but still hitting the front part of the green. A quick two putt par and I was off for the par 4, eighth. The 333 yard 8th hole has given me more problems than any other hole on the course. There is just something about the small, narrow green and the strange layout of the hole that just doesn’t work well for my game, but even still, I’ve escaped with a few pars over my rounds here. I started off with a 2 hybrid up the hill to about 105 yards out. I pulled a solid sand wedge (56 degree, Wilson Staff PMP wedge) which ended up just left of the green. A poor lob from there left me 30 feet to the flag, which 2 putts took care of, but the damage was done and I carded my second bogey of the front side. Moving on to the par 4, 361 yard, front nine closer, I was feeling the pressure to make my par to finish the front nine even. The 9th plays very straight forward, with just a bit of a bend to the left and a pretty easy green to hit – unless you play too far left off the tee – which is exactly what I did. My 220 yard, 2 hybrid found the left side of the fairway, but left a nearly impossible shot to the green. A 130 yard gap wedge found the green on my next shot, and a smooth two putt helped me finish the front with an even par 36.

The 104 yard, par 3, tenth was first up on the back nine. A smooth sand wedge found the center of the green. My first putt from 20 feet just missed the hole to the right, but left an easy tap in par to open up the inward nine. The 366 yard, par 4, eleventh came up next on the card. The shape of the 11th once again lent itself to the driver off the tee rather than the drawing action of the hybrid. I hit driver off the tee and it held its line nicely down the left hand side of the fairway. It didn’t come around to the right like I had hoped, but it was playable and that was all that was needed. I had about 85 yards to the flag and felt comfortable hitting a solid lob wedge at it, but somehow carried it a good 5 yards farther than that. Still, a green was a green and it was another shot that found the dance floor. The 20 foot putt was a touch long back to the hole, but no so far that the 2 foot comeback wasn’t makeable. Another hole down and another par on the card. After climbing the incredible hill up to the 12th, a nice 489 yard par 4, I hit a solid drive 290 down the right side of the fairway. It drifted off to the right and ended in a hole in the right rough, but no real issues to get it out and towards the green. About the time I had made it back to the cart to get the proper club, I single came up on me from behind and wanted to play through, so I let him, delaying my shot about 5 minutes. Finally, after he cleared the green, I hit a solid pitching wedge to the right edge of the green. When I arrived, I saw something that blew my mind – and not in a good way. The grounds crew had placed the flag in the middle of the slope on the green, which meant praying that the ball gets close enough on the first effort that you can tap in the second. I thought I had hit it well enough, but the break took the ball down the hill and left me 10 feet for birdie. My putt back up the hill finished up just short of the hole, but was a tap in for par, keeping me even after 12.

As I continued around the back nine, the 177 yard, par 3, 13th was up next. With the pin back, I played a 6 iron (31 degree, Wilson FG 100) that travelled 182 off the tee. It found the green, but I was stuck on the lower tier with the pin being on the back right corner. The angle of attack that I left myself had me putting through the fringe. I struck the putt well, but ended up with a three putt bogey on the difficult par 3. I was happy to escape with that score and make my way to the 14th hole, which was a much more manageable par 3. The 14th was playing a solid 130 yards to the flagstick, which was at one of the easier available positions for this green. Slightly forward and left, the shot set up perfectly for my gap wedge. It was a well struck shot that found the front left of the green, coming to rest about 18 feet from the flag. My birdie putt rolled just past the hole but left me a tester for par coming back. The 4 footer found the left edge of the hole and dropped in, avoiding a second bogey in a row. That brought me around to the deadly – dogleg left – 90 degree – downhill – 465 yard, par 5, 15th. This hole should play very easily for most people, but for some reason, the hole doesn’t suit me well. Played a great 2 hybrid off the tee, landing 220 yards out in the fairway. My 4 hybrid found the front edge of the green from 210 yards out, leaving me a 45 foot putt for an eagle. My putt looked solid the whole way in, but then came up slightly short of the cup. A tap in birdie got me back to even par.

To close out the round, the final three holes make up one of the toughest 1-2-3 finishing holes around. The 348 yard, 16th, has a very tight drive with only a bail out to the left. It’s a hole that almost demands a fade off the tee, but not too much of one or you will end up on a side hill to a very tough green. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I ended up doing with my tee shot, heading right and ending up on that side hill lie. A 230 yard 2 hybrid left me a medium sand wedge into the green. It did find the green, but it was far short of the green, leaving me about 80 feet from the flag. I managed to run the first putt up to the cup and stop it within 2 feet of the hole. My first reaction was that I couldn’t believe that it didn’t break to the hole, but then the reality set in of how good that shot was from 80 feet away. I tapped in the two foot par putt and moved on to the beast. The 17th hole plays just over 400 yards, or according to the card, 416. I opted to go with the 2 hybrid again off the tee due to the fact that the right side of the hole is littered with water, like the entire length of the fairway sort of water. I played a good shot that landed safely to the left of fairway, leaving me about 160 to the flag. I played a solid 8 iron towards the flag and just missed the center of the clubface. The ball checked up on the green leaving me about 50 feet to the hole. Another great first putt left me almost no chance of not taking home a par, and my putter didn’t fail me as it rolled in the 3 footer for another par. I moved to 18, still even for the day. The island green, 18th was playing a solid 142, or a perfect 9 iron (43 degree, Wilson Staff FG 100) to the stick. I played a great tee shot that drew in nicely on the flag, but came up short of the stick by about 25 feet. My birdie putt once again ran up to the hole, but broke below the hole and left me a tap in par putt. You can check out my 18th green escapades on my Periscope Video – which for the record doesn’t appear to have sound on playback for some reason??? – by clicking here. I’ll do more of these in the future, so make sure to stay tuned and watch for what video platform I end up using for future live feeds.

Overall, the round was a great one, especially for a November round in less than ideal conditions. An even par 70 makes my last two round a 69 and 70. That is on a 67.1 rated course, so it’s nice to see I haven’t lost any handicap points over the summer that I didn’t play. I think Echo Falls sets up much better for my game than Riverbend does, but I will be venturing back to Kent soon for a round with my new found best friends, my hybrids. I would love to see what happens when I’m not struggling to find fairways there.

Playing A Round: The Golf Club At Echo Falls–Snohomish, WA

The Thanksgiving Holiday is quickly approaching and so is the horrible Seattle area weather that normally has me putting my clubs away for the season – or at least the season of hoping to score well. Sure, the occasional nice weekend will pop up here and there, but the courses are usually so drenched at this point that you will lose balls in the fairways and maybe a shoe to go with them. Even so, last weekend, I ventured out to The Golf Club at Echo Falls for a quick nine holes after a day of running errands. All I can say is that I didn’t get nine holes in, I managed to truck through all 18 and finish as it was just getting to be too dark to see. The end result of the round, at least in my head was nothing short of amazing. I’ll let you judge for yourself though as you read through my round recap below.

The round started off with the short par 4, first hole. The 330 yard par 4 plays very straight from the tee with a hill sliding from right to left. If you are center of the fairway, you will be good to go, but anything right will find the rough on the hill and anything left will find itself wanting to run left to the trees opposite the cart path. On this day, I was lucky enough to pull out my new 2 hybrid (first swing ever) and hit a nice 212 yard poke up the middle with a little draw. I hadn’t realized the hole was actually uphill, but it played out well to the middle of the fairway for me. I followed that up with a nice 133 yard gap wedge (51 degrees for those following along at home) and a 2 putt for par. So far so good, and as a bonus the hybrid felt surprisingly good off the tee. The 298 yard, par 4, second hole plays uphill both ways, probably in the snow. This short little hole has absolutely no challenging elements to it, except for the incline. I should have read the elevation a bit better and taken the 3, but I opted to hit the 2 hybrid again off the tee just to see what it would do. Again, it was a decent enough strike that carried 202 up the hill to the center of the short grass. A solid, 103 yard sand wedge (56 degree) found the back edge of the green and another two putts landed my second par of the round. The third hole is where it got really interesting. The 258 yard, par 4, used to have the tee box pulled to the far left side of the hole, making it a simple play to stay left, away from the pond that lines the right hand side of the hole. Unfortunately, some crazy idea to move the tee boxes to the right, and I mean way right. The tee boxes were now far enough right that the tee shot played directly over the water for almost the length of the hole. Still, with only 180 to carry the water, the 2 hybrid seemed like an easy choice. A surprisingly perfect 228 yard shot followed that decision, rolling up about 30 yards short of the green. I fully expected my short game to be terrible, but somehow I got lucky and my 33 yard lob wedge (60 degree) found the right place to land about 3 feet from the hole – and yes, for those reading along, it was luck. A quick tap in for birdie and I found myself one under par after three holes.

Moving on to the 429 yard, par 5, fourth hole, I opted to take out the driver for this long downhill hole. I rocketed a drive down the left side of hole, just as planned, but the ball didn’t drift back to the right quite enough, finding the left rough. I had a very simple 105 yard sand wedge into the green, but I had to clear the rather large gap that I had between two trees to make the shot. I hit the exact shot I wanted to, but it clipped the tree on the right, kicking the shot short and left of the green. I followed that up with a rather anemic lob wedge that fell far short of the pin, but made the green. A lucky (or unlucky if you count the fact it didn’t fall in the hole) lag putt left me sitting inches from another par. The 171 yard, par 3, fifth was up next. This is the same hole that I hit to the wrong green the first time I played at Echo… Fortunately, that didn’t happen again, but I did manage to make a pretty big mistake hitting to the back of the green on this hole. The hole was playing a touch shorter than normal, so my 163 yard 8 iron found the back tier of the green leaving me a nasty downhill putt that broke to the right. I had a decent read on it, but I wasn’t close on the speed and left it about 20 feet short. The second putt ended up at tap in length, but the damage was done. A bogey 4 had me back at even par. The par 5 sixth hole was up next, playing at just over 500 yards. My drive was wide left, again not coming around with the little fade that I was trying to play. In fact, it was actually a bit more of a 292 yard draw than anything else, which left me sitting in the left rough with about 190 yards, downhill, to the green. I pulled an 8 iron hoping that it would be just enough to find the green at the bottom of the hill, but knowing I would be in good shape lying two in front of the green. Fortunately, my 8 iron found the front of the green and left me an easy look at eagle. The putt didn’t find the hole but the 3 footer back did, netting me my second birdie of the round.

Coming around to the final 3 holes of the front side, I was feeling solid about the round and my tee shot on the 171 yard, par 3, 7th hole was just another confidence booster. It was playing shorter than the posted distance, so I hit a gorgeous 8 iron draw headed right for the flag. Unfortunately, I could have used one more club to get all the way back to the flag. It left me a 35 foot putt, which I honestly had no dream of making, but as it rolled close, I had given myself a chance. It found the bottom of the cup for a birdie two and I was now two under par on the day. The 333 yard, par 4, eighth was up next. This is another of the Echo holes that plays very straight forward, but somehow good scores elude me here. I decided to play back to the hybrid again since I had missed both fairways with my driver. I didn’t catch it clean, but it was a nice 192 yard draw to the center of the fairway. A nicely struck 139 yard pitching wedge found the back left corner of the green for a nice 2 putt par. It would have been nice to get the second shot a bit closer, but with the mis-hit drive, I was happy to land safely on the green and not lose a stroke. The final hole on the front side is the dog-leg left, 361 yard, raised green, par 4 that only requires a decent tee shot to have a great shot at playing well. I knew that the hole doesn’t play 361 if you cut the corner a bit, and my 2 hybrid had been very accurate up to that point, so I took it out one more time to try and “cut the corner” a bit. I ended up taking off a bit more than I wanted and landed left of the fairway, but had a solid 240 yard carry on it. A soft, 75 yard sand wedge found the front of the green and left me about 50 feet for birdie. I rand the first putt about 15 feet by the hole and left the next one about a foot short. It was a bogey 5 to close out the front, but I was still one under par for the outward nine.

As I putted out on the ninth hole, I realized the insane pace that I had played on the front side may have just enough light left to speed my way through the back side. I mean I was one under, how can you not keep this round going as long as possible, right? So off I went to the 10th tee, a short par 3, playing about 105 yards. I hit a solid sand wedge to the back of the green and had a nice short, and I mean short, putt for birdie. I managed to drain the foot long putt for my fourth birdie, and move myself to 2 under par. The weird part about the round was that there I was posting my 4th birdie and honestly, I wasn’t striking the ball that well, the results were just ending up better than usual. It was strange, but my putting wasn’t that fantastic, but I was getting most of my first putts within that ‘easy’ range on the front side, and my first putt on the back was so short it was almost impossible to miss. The 11th hole played out rather nicely as well. I hit a nice 233 yard 2 hybrid that found the left center of the fairway. A solid 121 yard gap wedge flew the green by about 10 yards and landed just to the left of it. I putted through the tiny bit of rough and through the fringe to about 4 feet of the hole. My putt found the right edge of the hole and fell in for an even par. It was my first real chance for a blow up hole, but it also got me through the group that was holding me up for much of my round, so it was clear sailing from there. For the record, the 11th was also the first green I had missed all day – though I didn’t know that at the time. The par 5, 12th hole was up next. At 489 yards, the challenge for the 12th is keeping the ball in a logical spot to make your approach to the green. I thought for a moment about hitting my driver off the tee as it has a huge hill with plenty of room, but I decided to work the 2 again for all it was worth. I planted a beautiful tee shot in the right center of the fairway. This left me a strange approach angle, and a pretty long shot at making the  green. Since all I saw was bunkers on the card, I pulled the 4 hybrid and hit a gorgeous 222 yard fade to the upper tier of the green, about 110 feet away from the pin. It was the worst possible result for an amazing shot. To attempt the first putt, I actually had to put through the fringe to have a line to get near the hole, but my first effort came out pretty poor. I blasted the putt about 10 feet by and through the break which left about 25 feet for my second putt. There was no birdie magic left on the 12th green for me as my second putt came up about 3 feet short of the hole. My third effort found the cup, though barely, and I managed to save par in a three putt fashion.

The dueling par 3’s were up next with 13 playing 177 and 14 playing just about 140. I chose a 6 iron for the 177 yard hole, but tried to lay off it just a touch as I was worried that I would go long with the 185 yard club. Laying off of it never really works out well for me, unless it happens to be a wedge, and the results of this one were no different. The anemic 150 yard shot found the front of the green, but left me a 30 foot putt for birdie. A bit more solid stroke would have put me center of the green with 15 feet left in, but it’s another green, so let’s count that as an ok thing. The first putt was on track and solid, heading straight on path to the hole. As it rolled to about a foot, it stopped breaking and rolled just past the high side of the hole and stopped at about the 2 foot mark. A straight tap in left me with another par. The 14th hole still makes me cringe, even a day later. I hit an absolutely perfect 115 yard gap wedge straight at the flag stick. It was dead set on hitting the ridge at the front of the green, then slowly rolling down the hill to the flag position. Like I said, it was perfect. It hit dead on the center of the hill, then spun – wait, back up the hill? Yes, the ball hit about a foot into the downslope, then came back up the hill leaving me with a completely awful 2 putt opportunity instead of an almost sure 5th birdie. I left the first putt short by a good 4 feet, but managed so snake the second one in on the low side of the hole for yet another par. I was actually frustrated with the fact that the ball held up on the downslope so much that it almost cost me that last putt. This lead me to a new subject mental notes. My note for this is let the last shot go as soon as it’s gone. Thinking about it will just make you not concentrate on the next one. Fortunately, the next hole is one of those “have to think it through” holes, so my thoughts of the ball rolling uphill were quickly pushed aside by the left turn, par 5, 15th hole. Playing a beastly 465, this par 5 seems like an easy birdie, but it is anything but. I played a punch 2 off the tee that found the right side of the fairway at the corner. I managed to chew 200 yards off the hole with that shot, but still had a solid 275 yards downhill to the green. Not knowing exactly what distances that the new hybrids go, I went with a 3 to see if it could get there, though with 260+ yards to the flag, I didn’t think it would get there. I hit a bit of a toe-y mess with it but it landed 212 yards later down the hill in the fairway, so no harm done. I can imagine if I had hit a 3 iron in a similar way, the results would have been catastrophic. Instead, a poorly hit lob wedge from 50 yards out left me a 30 foot putt for birdie. I didn’t snag that one, nor did I make the 15 foot putt coming back. I did tap in the third effort for my third bogey of the round though and that brought me back to one under par for the round.

Moving on to the closing holes, the 16th was a surprisingly open, dog leg right, par 4 that was playing about 350 yards. I managed to add some serious length to it by hitting a 252 yard draw with my 2 hybrid all the way to the left edge of the rough. A somewhat sloppy, 123 yard, 8 iron came up short and left the green but a stellar lob wedge pitch landed 2 feet from the hole. A single putt for par moved me on from that mess in a hurry. As I made it to the 17th tee, I caught the group that was in front of me and had a few minutes to wait on the tee. The only issue there was that darkness was beginning to fall on the course and seeing the ball was getting much more difficult. After they cleared, I hit my tee shot, again with the 2 hybrid, about 225 yards to the left edge of the fairway. All I can say about this 2 hybrid is that it loves to draw the ball. A flush 7 iron approach from 170 found the back edge of the green where a simple two putt par awaited my card. It was now almost dark and I was one under with one to play. I waited for the group in front of me to finish putting out before I hit simple 9 iron over the water on the 142 yard, par 3, 18th hole. I listened for a splash, and not hearing one, I drove up to the green with my putter in hand. As I exited the cart, I found the ball about 35 feet from the flag and knew I had 2 putts to break par. I was beginning to psych myself out a bit. I took a few extra minutes on that putt as I knew I needed to get it close, and I found my thoughts going to the side of, “Don’t miss it by too much,” instead of, “Make this putt…” I stepped away, gave it one more quick read and hit the putt. It never had a chance of finding the hole, but I knew that the speed was dead on. The putt finished about 12” offline, but it was dead even with the hole. As darkness descended, I tapped in that 1 foot beast for a one under 69. It was a great round, both ball striking and scoring and the course played far better than I could have dreamed for a November afternoon. Hopefully this streak continues and the weather cooperates for a few more rounds at Echo this winter. I sure had a blast playing this one and I’d like to have a few more like it soon!

Should The Average Golfer Carry A 3 Wood?

Watching a vintage Tiger Woods 3 wood is one of the most amazing experiences that a golfer can have. Seeing that shot, sailing 300 yards to the green made just about everyone fall for that dazzling club. What was once a relic that was used by people with less than stellar control off the tee had become a way to get home in two on even the longest holes in golf. The problem is, this was 1997 and golf technology has come a long way - in almost everything but fairway woods.

Back in the late 1980's and early 1990's, metal woods began replacing wood-woods in most players bags. 3 woods were still an excellent club choice for many since the higher lofts were easier for slower swinging amateurs to get airborne and carry further than their lower lofted drivers. The increased lofts also helped keep slices and hooks to a minimum during the round as well. The basic rule of thumb was 200 with a driver or drop to a 3 wood. It was pretty simple, until technology caught up with the shorter hitter.

As drivers grew to Fisher Price sizes, they became easier and easier for players to hit. The 3 wood was left in the bag more and more, until that 300 yard shot from the fairway reared its ugly head once again. As soon as the cart rolls up to that ball, the inner Roy McAvoy in all of us steps to the front of the line to reach for that eternal greatness. We grab hold of that 3 wood to knock one stiff from 260, only to be let down by that trusty 3 wood swing after swing. Toppers, slices, hooks, it's all fair game for those clubs we only use once in a blue moon, and our 3 woods are probably that one club that we just never use, or at least not enough, to really count on it when we need that miracle shot. Instead of on in two, we end up hitting 3 or worse from 220 yards out, or from the drop zone, again and again.

That lead me to wonder, should anyone even consider carrying a 3 wood any longer? With higher lofted drivers that features heads 2 to 3 times the size of that old 3 wood, using it off the tee is all but out. With longer distances off the tee, it's really not needed off the fairway any more either. With all the technology of hybrids, fairway woods altogether are beginning to make less sense, so why would we go after a 14 or 15 degree club that even some tour professionals no longer want in their bags?

This brings me to the point of this post - should the average golfer carry a 3 woods in today's game? My personal opinion on this is split - because it really depends on how you play the game. If you play the proper tees for someone that drives the ball 200 yards, you should never, ever, ever consider carrying a 3 wood. With a proper bag setup, you should be focusing on clubs that will work from 150 yards in and dialing in the gapping on those clubs to be no more than about 7 yards a club. For example, playing the white tees on a 330 yard hole, you will have 130 left to the flag on a normal drive. If you have steps from 150 - 143 - 135 - 128 - 120, etc..., you can dial that club right in for birdie chances. If you're playing the blue tees and back yourself up 20-30 yards, you still have a good shot without needing to press down to a fairway wood where you chances for success are far less.

Moving on to the golfer that may want to carry a three wood, which in my mind, a lower lofted hybrid makes far more sense here, it would be the golfer that just needs to get that eagle or two a round to keep the pressure on his scoring average. Even then, with so many great options available to players today, I still find it hard to say that pulling a 3 wood from the bag will end with great results when you need it to. More often than not, there's a bunker, a water hazard, some deep rough or something more dramatic waiting for you at the end of that swing. Perhaps laying up when you have 240 to carry isn't a bad move Roy. Of course, that river is awfully tempting and those crocodiles can't be all that fast can they?

Practice Point: A New Way To Look At Numbers

It’s been far too long. Yes, it’s been since June that I posted my last update on the blog and I apologize to my both my followers and anyone else that might be reading this one today. Fortunately, this crazy summer is now done and I can get back to getting myself and my game in shape for the 2018 season. After practically taking the entire season off, only managing to squeeze in 5 rounds at a championship distance course, this winter will serve as a bit of a rebuilding one. The good news is that my GolfPad GPS App data has me looking at a new practice routine for where my game needs it the most. What I mean by this is that I used to look at stats like Greens In Regulation and Fairways Hit to determine my practice routine. What I realized looking at my shot data is that looking at raw numbers only told me half the story. By looking again at the data that the App collects, I was able to find out what clubs in my bag I was missing with the most and that is where my practice needs to start.

This is the standard screen that I would look at for setting up my practice runs after a round. Looking at the image, I was hitting one out of three greens from outside my 8 iron range and two out of three from inside that range. Not terrible numbers, but I’d love to see that 68% be closer to 90% overall. I was also leaving myself about 25 feet for my first putt. Keep in mind, that’s an average, so for every 10 footer I left, there was a 40 footer on the other side of it to balance it out. My average number of putts after chips was also completely terrible as came up just about as short as my GIR number. Overall, it seemed like working the short game was going to pay off the most based on these numbers. Unfortunately, in this case, the numbers lied about what I needed to do the most.

This becomes very clear when you look at individual irons, in this case, my 3 iron. My average distance ranged from 210 in the winter to 222 in the summer (it’s down slightly in this graphic as I did not remove a punch shot from my last round). Extra roll out would account for some of this distance gain, but so would the fact that I used it off the tee on shorter par 4’s during the summer. So, 210 yards on the fly is a great number for a long iron. Between my driver and that 3 iron, there shouldn’t be much out there I can’t hit in two, right? Well, here’s where I looked at a new number for the first time – percentage of misses. These are shots that deviated from the “normal” by a certain percentage and are not counted as good shots. It could be a topped ball, or one that fanned off into the water, or even one that hit a tree. No matter how it failed, it didn’t reach the target that it was intended to. For my 3 iron, this number was an abysmal 44%. That means almost 1 out of ever 2 shots in to the green or at the fairway or even laying up, failed to find it’s target. It may have been by 10 yards or 100 yards, but it didn’t get me into the position that it was supposed to, period. My 5 iron matched that with the exact same percentage while my 4 iron was a solid 50% miss rate. This left me an approach percentage of 14% to 17% or about 1 out of 8 to 1 out of 6 greens from outside 200 yards.

The story changes inside 175 yards, where my 6, 7 and 8 irons dropped to well under 20%. This increased my approach percentages to 30%, 45% and 69% respectively. What this translates to is that I need to work on approach shots with those middle irons if I plan on playing longer courses. If you figure that the average par 4 hole on championship layouts is well over 400 yards and an average drive is going about 270 yards, it’s going to leave quite a few approach shots in that 150-180 yard range. This will be a key area to improve on if I plan on reaching even a club championship level of play next year.  What is abundantly clear from the missed shot percentage is that my odds of hitting a green from 150-175 yards is about twice as good as it is from 175-200 yards out. Of course, moving inside of 150 yards, once again, things look much different.

My 9 iron becomes the go to club at 145 yards. The percentages of “missed shots” drops to 1 in 4 and my approach shots climb to 61% with my shorter iron in hand. This is practically duplicated with my pitching wedge at the 130 yard mark. This is the last of the actual “irons” that I carry that I hit into the green often, but both of these shorter clubs are playing reliably for me with a 75% accuracy percentage that will find the green 60-65% of the time. This number should probably get dialed up a bit more, like maybe to 70-75% on the 9 iron and 80-85% on the wedge, which is exactly why I’m starting to look at these two numbers a bit harder. If I hit a great drive on a 420 yard par 4 and still leave myself a 1 in 3 chance of missing the green, I’m not going to be racking up many birdies anytime soon. Worse than that, laying up on a long par 5 can yield the same situation. With the inaccuracies of my longer irons, playing short makes sense, but laying up to a perfect club only makes sense if that perfect club ends up being hit well.

Hitting an approach shot well is what golf is all about, I’m sure of it. I know that everyone says, “Drive for show, putt for dough,” but I’m not 100% sure that it’s an accurate statement. Driving is the easiest shot in golf today. Our drivers look more like those Fisher Price clubs we had as children and can be custom fit to even the most awkward swing. Putting, well, most of the average player’s putting success will be based on the conditions they face and how consistent they are. If every green rolls semi true and nearly the same speed, most golfers will stand a chance on putting well. If not, even the best putters will struggle. Sure, practice is good, but consistency in the greens is by far the most important thing for great putting. Where I think the real money in golf is, is the wedge game. You need to be 100% accurate from 100 yards in to really reap the benefits of scoring well. I think it’s been a reoccurring theme in my blog for quite some time – get dialed in with the wedges.

In 2017, my gap wedge was mishit 34% of the time from 120 yards in. Still I found the green 68% of the time. This is consistent with missing the green from 120 yards out 1 out of 3 times, just like my pitching wedge and slightly better than my 9 iron. Yet, my sand wedge dropped to a 15% mishit rate and found the green 3 out of 4 times. Finally, my lob wedge from 80 yards in found the green 9 out of 10 times. As good as these numbers sound, they should tier off a bit more gradually than they do in reality. With taking that into account, I will really begin pressing my 7 iron and under in my practice sessions to see if I can improve on my mishit percentages and, in turn, increase my GIR/Approach Shot percentage. Becoming stronger from inside 120 yards will keep my putting stats in check and hitting greens from 175 in will easily make my scores fall this fall. I’ll keep you posted on the progress here and on YouTube soon!

What Is Equitable Stroke Control?

Have you ever played a round of golf with someone that plays far better than they score? Have you ever wondered how golf’s ruling bodies make sure that that guy doesn’t end up playing you in the club championship? Believe it or not, there are quite a few strange rules in golf that have nothing to do with playing the game, but rather, keeping the game fair for those that may be a bit less skilled. For example, one such “rule”, for lack of a better term is found in the USGA Handicap System. Section 4 addresses the subject of Equitable Stroke Control, or ESC for short.

ESC is based on your handicap. It limits the number of strokes that you can ‘earn’ on your handicap by limiting the number of posted shots you can place on any hole. For example, I am a 3 handicap, so the largest score I am allowed to post on any given hole is a double bogey. That doesn’t mean I didn’t score a 9 on that ugly hole, but all I can post is a 6. This is to keep a higher level player from posting 2 or 3 blowup holes which would increase their handicap to a lower level flight in tournament play. To toss myself in for an example again, playing a 3 handicap means I’m probably playing in the first flight in most tournaments. If I were to jack my handicap by going for the 18th green with a 250 yard shot over water to the pin and drop 4 shots in the water, my handicap could climb 5 or 6 shots within a couple rounds, pitting me against players that regularly shoot 85. It wouldn’t be fair.

So, how does this work, exactly? First things first, you don’t adjust your score on the hole while playing, only when entering in your scoring data. If the system you use for handicapping automatically, then you do nothing but enter your scores. If not, you will simply adjust your scores based on the handicap of the course that you are playing. If you a 9 or less, you can only post a double bogey. Under 19, you get a 7 as the worst score. Under 29, you increase to 8 on a hole. Under 39, you go to a 9 and over 40 will net you a 10.

Remember, this isn’t a maximum you can use when you are playing skins with the guys on the weekend. This is only used for handicapping purposes. It levels the playing field to those that make that one or two big mistakes that cost them serious strokes each round. It keeps the game fair and playable for everyone. If you have any questions on ESC, shoot me a message at backinthefairway@gmail.com or comment below.

A Funny Thing About Golf…

Golf is a funny sport, it really is. I started writing a post Friday about the accuracy of the clubs in my bag, but I hadn’t quite finished it before my round yesterday at Riverbend in Kent. To give the 2 second version of it, it is all about how poorly I hit my long irons and how it affects my chances of breaking par on a round by round basis. You see, when I looked at a whole new set of information, I discovered a category called Mishits in the stats. When I looked at the numbers, I only hit about one out of five 3 irons well. Then out of those that I hit well, I only hit one out of six greens with that approach shot. So, when I step up to a 225 yard shot to the green and I pull out my 3 iron, I basically have a one in thirty chance of hitting that green. On the flip side, I have an 80% chance of ending up in trouble because I don’t hit the 3 iron very well. When you think about a 3.5% chance of gaining a shot vs. an 80% chance of not ending up in a good spot, you really have to start rethinking going after those flags.

That leads me to my thought of the day… There’s this funny thing about golf, no matter how good we get, something will always go wrong. During yesterday’s round, it was a bit of everything, but mostly it was a lack of control. I hit two 3 irons and one 5 iron, none of which found their targets. I hit one solid 6 iron, which still missed, but it was a great strike, so I won’t beat myself up over that one. After that, I hit a few 7/8 irons and a ton of lob wedges, way too many lob wedges.  It wasn’t a pretty round, but at the same time, as bad as it was, it wasn’t that bad. That’s the other funny thing about golf, no matter how bad we get, something always goes right. For example, a duffed chip followed by a brilliant putt still equals a par. A bad tee shot followed by a great recovery shot still leaves you a chance to save par.

This is what makes golf so different from any other sport. Only golf allows you to make a gigantic mistake and still recover. That drive that finds the tree line, but somehow manages to bounce back into the fairway. That chunky iron from the fairway that rolls out to the perfect spot to make a 50 yard up and down. That bladed chip that gets knocked down by the flag stick that you still laugh about as you tap in for a par. That’s a funny thing about golf… Even when things look terrible, and you’re hitting your 8th shot on to the green, when you make that 25 foot putt for a 9, you still made that 25 foot putt and that changes everything. After the round, nobody remembers the nine, but they certainly remember that 25 foot putt. It’s just like my horrible long iron performance yesterday, I won’t remember the missed 3 irons a few weeks from now, but I will remember the rainbow over the 4th green.

The Journey To Scratch: My Video Intro And More Coming Soon!

Just a bit of a teaser here, but I wanted to let everyone know that I will be starting a weekly chat about my progress to scratch on Twitter @waazzupppp and @golfing4less. I’ll hold off on “on-course” blogging for now as this gets very expensive to do well and involves hours upon hours of editing – which is time I’d rather be spending practicing. So for right now, I plan on using as much time as I can to practice and play. I’ll be putting quite a bit more than I have been, which should help shave a few strokes off my totals and working my wedges from 125 in to get those dialed down to a sure thing rather than, I think this is about right. I’m also hopeful that the amazing folks at Wilson Golf will be able to come through with bending a FG Tour 100 3 iron down to 18 degrees to become a solid driving club for me as well. This would be huge for dialing in distances on windy days or hitting those stingers that I fell in love with when I was carrying the FG 49’s. Overall, it’s going to be a huge next few months and I can’t wait to have you along for the ride.