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Jerry Tucker Short Game Test

December 8th, 2009

I had a couple requests asking for a way to evaluate the short game.  Here is a test that does just that.   It is called the Jerry Tucker Short Game Test. 

First, we start with wedge play.

The player will hit 5 shots from each of 5 distances; 30yds, 45yds, 60yds, 75yds and 90yds.  The shots should be hit from good fairway lies.  For the 30 and 40yd shot the player is trying to land the ball within a 6′ diameter circle and a 9′ diameter circle for 60, 75 and 90yd shots.  This is landing distance only with the flagstick in the middle of the circle.  The instructor will estimate and write down the distance from the stick the ball landed.  There is a possible 25 possible points with 1 point given for each shot landing in the zone.   The instructor will also determine the average distance from the hole for all 25 shots to create the Average Putt length(40 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  The points will be converted into a handicap which is averaged with the Average Putt length handicap to come up with the wedge play handicap.

For example: a zero handicap would be 13 points with an average of 8.5 feet Average Putt length.

 

Next is sand play.  5 shots from 3 distances this time and the flag should be place on the outer edge of the circle.  Smooth level lie should be used when conducting this test.  The three distances are 20 feet to a 4 foot diameter circle, 40 feet to a 6 foot diameter circle and 60 feet to an 8 foot diameter circle.  Remember, flag should be on outer edge of circle farthest from player.

Possible 15 points  with 1 point counting for each shot landing  in the zone(not ending in the zone).  Keep track of points and Average Putt length as described in the wedge play section(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  The points will be converted into a handicap which is averaged with the Average Putt length handicap to come up with the sand play handicap.

For example: a zero handicap would be 9 points with a 6 foot Average Putt length.

 

Pitching is next.  Drop 5 balls 50 feet from one of the holes giving them at least 20 feet of green to work with and another 5 balls to a hole 75 feet away with at least 25 feet of green to work with.  Ask them to play the ball as it lies and 1 point is awarded for each shot ending within 5 feet of the hole for the 50 footer and 7.5 feet for the 75 footer.  Keep track of points and compute Average Putt length for all 10 shots(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  Handicap determined as above.  Points handicap averaged with Average Putt length handicap.

For example: a zero handicap is 7 points and an Average Putt length of 6.5 feet.

 

Chipping.  Place 5 balls at 40 feet and 60 feet in various but good lies.  Use a 9 iron for the 40 footer and a 7 iron for the 60 footer.  1 point is awarded for shots ending within 4 feet for the 40 footer and 6 feet for the 60 footer.  Keep track of points and compute Average Putt length for all 10 shots(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  Handicap determined as above.  Points handicap averaged with Average Putt length handicap.

For example: a zero handicap will score 8 points with an Average Putt length of 3 feet 3 inches.

 

Trouble Shots.  Try to select 5 short trouble shots with these recommendations.  1) 20 footer up against the fringe, 2) 40 footer off a bare lie, 3) 20 footer in a clumpy lie, 4) 40 footer from very heavy grass and 5) 75 footer opposite handed or backhanded as if up against a tree.  Points are awarded for shots that end within 15% of the total distance for first 4 shots and 20% of the total distance for the 75 footer.  Keep track of points and compute Average Putt length for all 5 shots(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  Handicap determined as above.  Points handicap averaged with Average Putt length handicap.

For example: a zero handicap will score 3 points with an Average Putt length of 5.5 feet.

 

Short Putting.  4 putts from each of 5 lengths at the points of the compass on a slightly breaking pin position.  The lengths are 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 feet.  1 point is awarded for each putt holed.  Add up points for made putts out of a possible 20.

For example: a zero handicap scores 15 points.

 

Long Putting.  5 putts from 20 feet. 1 point is awarded for each putt made or comes to rest in the 17 inch safety zone.  Meduim difficulty putt.  Safety zone defined as a half circle with a 17 inch radius located on the far side of the hole.  Typical Pelz zone.   5 putts from 40 feet.  Difficult putt either downhill or sidehill within 3 feet of hole in any direction.  Lastly, 5 putts from 60 feet.  Level or slightly uphill within 3 feel of hole in any direction.  1 point is awarded for all putts made or ending within the zones.

For example:  a zero handicap scores 10 points.

Add up the total number of points and compute the toal Average Putt length from all the iron shots.  These numbers are converted to a handicap and averaged to get the players Short Game Handicap.  I won’t be posting the conversion chart but if anyone takes the test on their own and sends me the results, I’ll be happy to compute your handicap for you.

Please leave a comment if you have any questions.

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Posted in Practicing, Teaching Techniques

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Learning Motor Skills

November 30th, 2009
I’ve read multiple articles in the last couple months talking about how to best learn and retain a motor skill. The information has been very surprising and informative. As with a lot of things, it smacks in the face of tradition.

Luckily, I have been somewhat correct in my beliefs of how this is best done and it relies mainly on the student, not the teacher. The good teachers have a dual concern of teaching the skill and teaching some people how to learn a motor skill. There is also quite a divide between the best way to learn a motor skill and retaining a motor skill.

In learning a motor skill, the critical component is the interpreting of information from the teacher. Has the feeling or shape of the position been correctly interpreted. Only when the student can show two different positions (one original, one new) do we know the information has been passed on. The ole “Did I do it there?” is the question of a student that hasn’t made that connection.

In retaining a motor skill, the duty falls solely on the student. The student must convert the feelings of a new position into their own meaning. This is not done by drills. Drills are for learning a position. To give you an example. A student is learning multiplication of two digit numbers. The teacher shows the student how to mulitply 15 and 36. After the student has figured out the answer, 5 minutes later the teacher asks the student to multiply 15 and 36 again(this is the drill). Eventually, the student automatically knows the answer and has lost all sense of how to multiply 2 digit numbers. Their brain has basically shut off the process because it knows the answer. In order for the student to retain this skill, they must be asked to do something different with it all the time to reinforce the process.  There is also a growing amount of evidence that running through the motion very slowly many times decreases the amount of time to create retention.

It is for this reason, that I ask someone to ignore the ball flight. If the ball flight is good, they forget the process. If they have truly learned a new skill, they will be able to show the teacher bothmoves (old and new) and explain in their own words how they feel different.

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Posted in Practicing, Teaching Techniques

Short Game Practice Tips

September 16th, 2009
Many good junior golfers struggle with being real precise with 80-30 shots. It’s a shot that you need to practice to know because it will be much less than a full swing.

My facility does not have a great area to practice this shot. I think it is very common with most practice facilities. They have a putting green, chipping green, bunker and range tee but not a designated area you can hit 30-80 yard shots into a real green.

I have to use my imagination to create an environment for player’s practicing this area. Really, all you need is a rangefinder and a little imagination. Usually, I will either set up a beach towel or a GolfRing at a particular distance out into the range.

You need to make sure you have something you can see hit so you can tell if the distance is correct. During a lesson, I actually stand out there and shout out the distance the ball went so they can get a feel for the distance.

Once the trackman arrives, I will be using it to work on this area. Trackman has a feature that will speak out loud the distance the ball flew. It uses the speaker on the laptop to voice the data it picks up. This will be a much more precise way to practice these shots.

Without this device, you will have to use towels or sheets or something like it. This is a dig it out of the dirt type of practice. You need to punch the clock and put the time in. I would say about 80% of your practice time should be spent on similar shots like this and the rest of the short game.

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Bunker Tips

August 27th, 2009
There are a few things to be aware of when dealing with the sand.

1) How your ball is sitting in the sand.

2) The type of sand.

3) The depth of the sand.

4) How you want the ball to react.

As with most shots in golf, the lie determines your options. This is very true in the bunker. Bad lies leave you very few options and good lies give you many more.

The type of sand has to do with texture and size of the particles. Fine sand reacts very differently than coarse sand. Coarse sand will make the ball come out more easily so be aware of that.

The depth of the sand is determined by your feet. As you “dig” in to take your stance, you’ll get a good idea of how much sand you are dealing with. Less sand requires more dig in the strike, and more sand requires more skim in the strike. Check here for how bounce effects how the sand wedge works.
The closer to the ball you enter the sand without hitting the ball the more spin you will get. The further away from the ball you enter the sand the more roll you will get assuming it was shallow enough to get the ball out.

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Make More Birdies!!!!

July 16th, 2009
I hope it is becoming clear to you tournament player’s out there. You can not compete without birdies and lots of them. Rarely do you see 67′s or lower without at least one bogey. If you make 6 or 7 or 8 birdies, it’s pretty hard to shoot a high score. If you only make 1 or 2 birdies, you can not shoot low. Add in a couple bogeys and you can’t compete.

So how does someone learn to make more birdies? I think it starts with the understanding that the goal is make more birdies. It isn’t about getting 1 or 2 under. That is not enough. You need to keep trying for more. Learning to let go of the fear of messing up your round is the challenge. Just as it is to mentally prepare for the idea that you need to birdie a bunch of holes and not to let up.

I’ve always said to try and make everything. This does not mean hit it harder. It means make putts. Working with the aimchart and getting a better understanding of how to read the green will help. When you start making more birdies, you will see a change in your scoring.

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Posted in AimPoint, Mental Game, Practicing, Tournament Golf

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