What are the chances that you will lose 10 yards of distance overnight? It happened to me and I have to tell you that I am very disappointed. The loss of that much changes the way I need to play each round to ensure I can still score well. This happens every year and each time I am disappointed that I did not see it coming.
I know the cause and it is this:
Yup, we have entered into the cold and wet season. Even though I have switched to my Wilson 50 golf ball, I still will not get the same distances as just two short weeks ago. The cooler temperatures definitely have an impact on my ball flight whether I want it to or not.
Additionally, the ground is very wet. The fact that the ball is not rolling adds to my distance woes. Overall, I am losing between 15 and 20 yards off the tee because I hit a low ball. There is very little I can do about that, but I can change my course management strategies to account for the loss yardage with my irons.
The first and most important step is to club up. That is the simple solution and it works most of the time; especially on full shots. The next thing is hit some knock down shots when in between distances. This particular approach works very well in wet conditions. The ball is very receptive on the green and I do not have to overswing to get the yardage I want. Basically, these are the only two things I can control during this time of year. As I said earlier, this is nothing new and I am prepared (but still disappointed in the loss of yardage).
Golf is a fun game and it offers copious opportunities to test our skill. At this time I am dealing with a loss of distance……I wonder what is next!
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim, play your course from the tips in cold weather and tee off with a long iron. You’ll get the full US Open experience!
Brian
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Brian,
Not sure my ego would handle that….haha.
Cheers Jim
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Hey, btw, I almost forgot to mention I watched a video earlier today on hitting wedges. The video wasn’t anything really special as far as things to learn about hitting our wedges so I won’t bother posting a link but a particular comment stood out that I wanted to share because this is a discussion you’ve had in the past.
The PGA’s number one (in 2018) as far as proximity to the pin from 50-125 yards (14.5 feet) said we should attack the pin “anytime we have a scoring club in our hands”. His argument was that the stats prove that you will “gain” far more strokes over the course of a season going for the hole out than you will save by playing it safe and going for the middle of the green or that you’ll “lose” by taking the chance and failing. That’s paraphrased of course and the gain/lose seem backward to the meaning but the key really is “over the course of the season”. It’s not something we can always expect shot after shot and game after game, but over time, we should find that we scored lower just by going for it every time we have a wedge in our hands.
I’m not sure I’d follow that to the letter as I know there are pin placements for suckers around, but in general it seems like sound advice to me.
I also thought you might like to hear that I’ve taken your advice to chip with a 7 or 8 iron more. I’ve used my 8 in the past on occasion, but since your post, I’ve tried to use it a bit more frequently and I’ve become sold at least where I can use it like a putter. I’ve really only hit one bad shot that way so far (one of the first was way too hot) and I’m pretty sure I would have had at least two or three my usual way (they would most likely have checked up too hard and stopped too short). I even sunk one the other day that way on a 30 footer that broke at least 5 feet. Made me look like a champ. Today wasn’t that exciting, but not one led to even a two putt, and that’s all you can ask.
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Kevin,
Thanks for the info on pin hunting. I agree that over the long haul it is more beneficial, except we still have to manage some shots. Great to hear that you are being very proficient with your 8 iron. As your confidence continues to grow with that specific shot, your scores will drop….that is always a good thing.
Cheers Jim
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I played today and I’m sorry, I think I might have stolen your ten yards. Well, actually I’m not that sorry and I’m certainly not giving it back. 😂
I think I benefited today from the round I played earlier this week where I was trying to kill it all day. The ball was flying so far today I had to club down most of the day even though I wasn’t trying to get everything behind the swing. It was a very nice surprise.
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Kevin,
Great news. I am glad someone found my lost yardage.
Cheers Jim
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