TGC Spring Tour - WGC Bridgestone

[mthunt]

Great rounds mthunt!

Thanks bubba. I hit it pretty good for a change. The bogey on 18 from the front edge hurt.

[Bubba22]

Thanks bubba. I hit it pretty good for a change. The bogey on 18 from the front edge hurt.

Good job man. Well played! Absolutely hate those bogeys.

[mthunt]

Am I the only one that continues to grow more and more frustrated as these tournaments continue. I must be the only one because I don't hear anyone else noticing the differences. Before the update my short game was unbelievable. I was able to make up so many strokes around the green with my putting and chipping and sand play. Ever since the update I can not find an ounce of consistency around the green. I just continue to get more and more frustrated. Two sand shots tonight that both went in the teens and then a third one that went like 25 and it was the same swing. I had one chip that I have over 3000 backspin that should have stopped on a dime that rolled out 6-7 yards. I just can't find a consistent swing to give me the same results time after time like before the update.

And what is even more frustrating is still the shot shaping on the driver. I find that there is next to no room for error on the simulator. If you get just slightly out of that VERY narrow window you either have a banana slice or a duck hook. I'm definitely "capable" of hitting a banana slice don't get me wrong, but I played 18 IRL today and I didn't have a single one. I had plenty of baby fades, but most were dead straight or pulls. I did have a couple of pulls on the sim in the two rounds, but I had a ton of banana slices. That's frustrating because you don't know where to aim, because you don't know what shot's coming down the pike. And that's not happening IRL and so it's frustrating to come inside and see the ball going all over the place.

I was able to finally find that VERY narrow window in the second round for the most part to give myself a chance, but I sure which I could find that consistency that I was having before the update. Maybe I need to set the stimp back to the original 7 and see if that does it. I wouldn't think going up to 8 would make that big of a difference. But maybe it does. I may give that a go on the next tourney.

I went up to try and match JNPG, but I haven't played that in about a month, so there's really no need to do that I guess :-). And the 7 is probably closer to our IRL greens.

ON TO NEXT WEEK!

I don't find this happening at all. Before the update green speeds were fixed and setting putting speed in GSX only effected putting making chipping super slow. Now the greens roll out nicely. I find it closer to RL. I apply the 40% rule on bunkers under 40 yards and my set up is super consistent. No issues with the driver either.

[MainStGolf]

What do you mean by the 40% rule?

[goatbarn]

There is a 40% penalty for bunker shots under 40 yards to pin.

So a 30 yard bunker shot would play like 42 yards or so.

[MainStGolf]

I will give that a whirl next time and see if that helps with my sand shots. Thanks!

[Ironstrokes]

There is a 40% penalty for bunker shots under 40 yards to pin.

So a 30 yard bunker shot would play like 42 yards or so.

I thought it was a 50% penalty this whole time. Lucky 10% doesn't really equate to much of a difference from 40 yards and in so probably hasn't hurt me much

[Shardak]

I sometimes also feel like there is some inconsistency with what TGC calculates on certain shots, compared to what I feel when I hit the ball. I think alot of it is due to the delay before the shot gets displayed...it gives you too much time to analyze!

In real life, you see the ball fly with no delay, so you dont have time to think "that felt like a blocky toe strike that will start right and go further right". In TGC you have that 2-3 seconds to guess what the shot will do, and if it doesnt go where its supposed to, you think the game is busted.

Sometimes those bad feeling shots end up good. The blocky toe strike wasnt as blocky as it felt, and it comes back to the center a bit. But we tend to remember the ones that feel OK but end up terrible.

I think TGC / Skytrak are pretty good. I suspect the dynamics of hitting balls inside, into a screen a few feet in front of you, causes more issues than any inaccuracy with Skytrak. I find it harder to aim into an impact screen, and its hard to chip and putt since you lack the depth perception of being there in real life. Until we get a full VR golf sim (cant wait for that), I can live with the errors that these things introduce. Its good enough now that I dont get too frustrated with it.

When things feel too off, I fire up the Skytrak range, turn on alignment mode and make sure everything is lined up perfectly (using a laser level). Then confirm the alignment by hitting some flat putts in TGC. Thats about the best I can do to restore confidence in the hardware, and its usually enough to make me believe its all working accurately.

[Shardak]

I played as well as I thought possible in round one, ended with a 75 (+5). This is a tough course if you cant drive the ball straight, and that is my biggest issue. I have made some improvements recently with my driver, and it paid off in round 1. Didnt get into too much trouble.

I started today hoping to play as well as round 1, but expecting that I would probably crumble and shoot 5 shots worse at least. But I proved myself wrong by shooting a really good 72 (+2) today. I hit tons of 250-260 yard arrow-straight bombs off the tee. I must have hit 10 fairways, and really had only 1 or 2 misses where the trees messed with my 2nd shots. I was -1 on the back 9. 1 bogey on 11, and birdies on both the par 3s.

I also made a few putts (its nice to make a few that are outside gimmie range once in a while). Drained a couple 10-12 footers and one long 20+ footer.

75/72 = +7 total. Probably my best performance on tour so far, given the difficulty of the course.

[Ironstrokes]

Yea that's a great point about the delay time by the skytrak, it really does give you just enough time to self analyze and is that much more frustrating when you felt it was a good one and then pops up as a giant push slice. My first instinct is it must have been a mis read until I think better and realize it was just my awful shot haha

And nice rounds, you're right, this course was 100% all about the driving

[mthunt]

I thought it was a 50% penalty this whole time. Lucky 10% doesn't really equate to much of a difference from 40 yards and in so probably hasn't hurt me much

Bunkers under 40 yards = 40%
Light rough = 7%
Heavy Rough = 14%

Rules to live by. lol

[BamaGambler]

This was a really tight course. I think it is the tightest course on tour. Could that also be contributing you thinking the ball is moving more than it really is? It feels like the ball really sliced because you are in the trees but on the course you play IRL that same amount of distance off target is probably fine.

[JV17]

Bunkers under 40 yards = 40%
Light rough = 7%
Heavy Rough = 14%

Rules to live by. lol

Good to know... Like ironstrokes, I thought the green side bunkers had a 50% penalty. Thanks for the correction. Now I know why I blasted over some greens now and again. Lol

[Boerdoc]

I have played 3 rounds in four days. 20 mph winds today. Carried my bag yesterday. Pushed today. I could not make the call today for a sim round. Tomorrow at 7:50am I play the Coeur d'Alene resort, Floating Green..... Maybe I could get the round in to complete the tournament afterwards. When are they closing this one?

[BamaGambler]

Bunkers under 40 yards = 40%
Light rough = 7%
Heavy Rough = 14%

Rules to live by. lol

What about fairway bunkers?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mthunt]

Beyond 40 yards there's no penalty.

[mthunt]

This was a really tight course. I think it is the tightest course on tour. Could that also be contributing you thinking the ball is moving more than it really is? It feels like the ball really sliced because you are in the trees but on the course you play IRL that same amount of distance off target is probably fine.

Wait until you play the greenbrier.