"How to break 80" is not as simple as it looks

In a previous post I brought to light the theories of Dr. Lucius Riccio on how to break 80. To recap, the theory is: the more greens hit in regulation, the lower your score. Through his Pelzesque statistical analysis of all golfers, he determined that the minimum greens hit required to break 80 is 8. Here is Riccio's greens-hit-to-score chart:




Riccio also admits to the importance of putting. Like GIRs, there are a maximum number of allowable putts to make if 80 is to be broken, thusly:


Lastly, Riccio puts the two charts together to show the maximum number of putts allowable to break 80 if you hit over or under the required number of greens:



So, if you can hit 13 greens, you aren't required to putt any better than your average squirrel. However, if you hit only 4 greens, you'll have to putt better than the best PGA pro.

All these numbers would lead one to believe that approach shots are all important to breaking 80, which is true--if you can't hit the green from 160 yards and closer, you're going to have a long day. But what the numbers are actually saying is that playing very conservatively is what matters. For instance, on a 400 yard hole, what good is a 300 yard drive if it's in the trees without a look at the green? According to Riccio's analysis, you'd be better served to hit a 240 3-wood into the middle of the fairway and take your shot from there. Each hole will require a different conservative plan, which might go as far to play the long par-4s--blasphemy!--as bogey holes, and leave your 8 GIRs to easier holes. This all goes back to Dave Pelz's "Short Game Bible" conclusions, which is that the best scoring players are the best wedgers--at the professional level. What Pelz doesn't consider is that at the amateur level, say, 15 handicap and below, it can't be assumed a player's full-swing shots are going to have the standard 8% accuracy variation. With me and the guys I play with, our tee shots hit the intended target about 50% of the time, which is a serious fly in the Pelz ointment.

Riccio and Pelz are both correct, but what they don't say is just as important for good golf.

So THAT'S how you hit that neat pitch!

Found this article on golf.com, (text below) and it lays how to hit those zippy one-skip-and-bite pitches. The more I play, the more a I realize that I need to perfect this shot--you can't always count on dropping a 35% lob shot down near the pin; plus, it's just so damn cool.

The one-hop-and-stop pitch

How to play the stop-it-on-a-dime shot that's cooler than Fonzie.

By Brian Crowell
Published: January 01, 2006

If you want to be cooler than the other side of the pillow, you gotta have the one-hop-and-stop shot. You've seen the pros do it: From about 25 yards out, they pick the ball off the turf so it bounces once on the green and then puts on the brakes right by the hole. It's cool and it leaves an easy tap-in.

• You'll need a clean lie in the fairway and your sand wedge.

• Play the ball one inch back of center in your stance with your clubface square to the target. Your hands should be slightly in front of the ball [left].

• Apply a little extra grip pressure with the last three fingers of your left hand. This will come in handy in just a moment.

Angus Murray

Knee high follow-through

• Keep your weight centered throughout your swing. Take the club back to waist height and then accelerate down through the ball.

• Kick your right knee toward the target as you reach impact. This will get you moving onto your left foot and ensure ball-first contact.

• Don't release the club. Instead, maintain that little extra grip pressure and you'll keep the club pointing at the target.

• Follow through to knee height, and rotate your body and hands around to your left.

Brian Crowell is head golf professional at Leewood Golf Club in Eastchester, N.Y.

Wounded Duck update 6/10/07: Have tried this shot several times and have yet to get the desired effect. Easy to pull left and look like a dufus. I think I got to spin once, but ball spun down a knob further from hole, need tv cameras to cover me as I play for better post-round analysis.

Funny thing about "The Short Game Bible"

I've been a follower of ...The Bible for a while--Dave Pelz's "Short Game Bible" that is. In it, he's got all kinds of advice on how to be an effective shot maker inside 100 yards, which is where all rounds are made or broken. The book is chalked full of stuff like this:

That is to say, proper short game technique. And it works, but if, and only if, you have a correct golf swing. I did not have a proper golf swing for many years, and because of this, there were certain parts of his instructions that always befuddled me; namely, how to hit a 7:30 pitch. Let me explain. Pelz divides the swing into four levels of power, and he uses the face of a clock to illustrate these positions--backswings to 7:30, 9:00, 10:30, and full should enable you to cover any distance of shot. However, if you don't have a well-founded swing. the lower-power swings, 9 and 7:30, will be particularly vexing. In his book, Pelz admits that he's not teaching the golf swing, per se; he's teaching how to use the swing you've got (again, assuming yours is proper) to get more out of it. So, if Pelz's instruction, or any short game guru's, for that matter, has given you fits, try and straighten-out your full swing.