It happens every round — you’ve put yourself in a situation where clubbing down and hammering a shot won’t quite get there, but clubbing up and hitting a smooth thumb shot goes too far.  I think this is one area where the casual player can make big gains on the scoreboard with a little smarts and a little practice.

First of all, you can reduce the number of these types of approach shots by being smart off the tee.  Know the gaps in your clubs and put your drive in a place that gives you a comfortable approach instead of just blindly pounding a drive out there.  You know to try to line up with the wind if you have options off the tee, but you should also know the distances of the clubs in your set — lay back for a more comfortable approach instead of putting yourself in a position where you’re not sure which club to use!

On the other hand, you don’t have control of where you’re placed on the tee box.  On par 3s and drivable par 4s, you may be left with a tough decision to make.  First, look for danger short of the green and behind the green — this should be the most important information when choosing your club.  If there’s trouble long and you’re afraid an easy thumb shot might carry too far, then club down.  If it’s safe long, then take the longer club.

So what if there’s water short and long?  Here’s where you need to add another shot to your arsenal — the 2/3 touch shot.  I call it 2/3 because you’ll generally be pulling the club back 2/3 of the way in order to take enough distance off the shot to be safe.  Let’s say you’ve got the X-22s and you need to carry 175 yards to an island green with a strong cross-wind.  Your 5-iron is very risky only going 160 yards, and your 9-wood will go too far at 190.  The solution?  Grab your 9-wood, pull it back 2/3 of the way in the direction you’d normally be aiming, and thumb it forward at normal easy-thumb strength.  This will create the 175-yard shot you’re looking for!

Another note — the length of the pullback is NOT proportional to the distance of the shot.  Be careful not to pull the ball back, say, 80% of the way, because you’ll hardly be taking any distance off a full-strength shot.  To get the desired effect of reduced distance, you’ve got to be between 50-75% of a full swing.  I like to try to use 2/3 as a good baseline, because I know that will take the desired 10-20 yards off the distance to give me the shot I want.

As always, this shot takes practice, but I believe it’s easier to utilize than trying to finesse a very-soft thumbs shot that will most likely go too long or way too short.

There are several examples where this shot comes in handy — most often par 3s that have trouble all around the green.  So instead of trying to superman a lesser club or finesse a longer one, use a shorter pullback and take your normal thumbs follow-through to take away some of the guesswork!

I got the idea for this post from a player named Kyle in Colorado, who was inquiring about general tips for using thumbs vs. pull back for shots to counteract a side wind. He saw how Sobe and players in these YouTube videos can seemingly control the spin on the shot once it hits the green, and he wants to learn more! Well Kyle — here you go!

I try to use thumbs for approach shots whenever I feel I have a good chance of sticking it close enough to make a short putt. Here are situations where I’ll most likely thumb a shot into the wind rather than pulling back:
– Pin is in the middle of a flat green
– Pin is on the left and either the wind is blowing left or it slopes left
– Pin is on the right and either the wind is blowing right or it slopes right

So far, so good. Since the ball is going to be rolling with the wind once it hits the green, the above situations present you with an opportunity to let the wind do the work by landing the ball “above” the hole and watching the wind carry it on towards the pin. Similarly, if the wind and the slope are in opposite directions, you can thumb the shot into the wind, let the wind blow it back above the hole, and then let the slope carry it back towards the pin.

Now, let’s talk about situations where you need to pull back and shape a shot into the green. The most severe case is when the pin is on the right of the green, but the wind and slope are to the left. Using thumbs on this shot almost always leads to disaster — either you miss the green and end up in the rough on the right because you played too much wind, or you land on the green but the slope and wind direction carry your ball right off the bottom of the green. Both leave you with a chip and cost you a stroke! At best, you’ll have a long, very difficult putt, and that’s not good enough.

The advantages of a cut shot with backspin in this situation are immense. Not only are you neutralizing the wind, but backspin can help the ball roll back UP the slope as well! The direction of backspin is something that takes a while for newer players to figure out, but it’s key in this situation. In the above example, let’s say you’re hitting a 3-iron. Pull back a little bit to the left, shoot forward a little to the left, and use backspin. The shot will cut back into the wind and should still be traveling to the right once it hits the green. Since it’s traveling to the right, backspin will help the ball continue to the right, UP the slope, before the speed slows and the ball settles. Now you should have a nice short putt instead!

With the above example, you almost always want to club up from the default selection. You’ll probably want to have your distance estimate about 20 yards past the pin. The combination of the cross-wind, the hook put on the shot, and the backspin applied will leave you pin-high!

Also worth noting again is the loft of the different irons. Wind affects a 9-iron a LOT more than a 3-iron, so you’ll have to cut the shot probably twice as much.

With enough practice, you’ll be able to apply this shot more and more to your game instead of relying on your thumbs and hoping you can make a long putt!

Now that you’re off the tee, let’s take a look at your strategy when determining your approach shot into the green. As with all shots (except putts) in Golden Tee, we’ll have to consider distance, wind, green slope, and elevation to determine the best angle and shot type towards the flag!

First I size up the distance. Take a look at the club that Golden Tee recommends by default. I usually change clubs from what the game recommends based on the wind. If there’s no wind, you can usually pick the club whose estimated distance will land you closest to the pin. For head and tail winds, adjust your club length as necessary (see “Playing the Wind”).

Next determine if you want backspin or roll on the ball (see “Backspin/Roll” for approach shots).

Notice whether you’re hitting into an elevated green or one well below your feet, because you may have to add/subtract a club based on the elevation (probably adjust by 1 club for every 10 yards difference in elevation). An important tip here is that the big woods or low irons sometimes don’t have enough loft to carry an elevated green! Try to pick a club that will carry high enough to reach the front of that elevated green. Your 1-iron or 3-wood might have the distance just fine, but it may never get high enough to reach the plateau.

Another big factor can be the slope of the green. Visualize how the wind will affect the ball in the air, and how the slope of the green will affect the ball once it gets there. Try to play the wind so that once the ball gets to the green, it rolls along with the slope towards the flag. For example, if there’s a strong wind blowing to the right, but the green slopes hard left, I’ll shoot the ball out left of the flag and let the wind take it right of the flag. Then, when the ball hits the green on the right side, the slope will bring the ball back left towards the hole.

Degree of slope is important to notice. If there’s not much slope, you can play a safer shot to the middle of the green, because your putt will still be fairly easy. If there’s a ton of slope, it’s important to get the ball as close to the pin as you can, because it’s very easy to miss long putts with a lot of slope!

One situation in Golden Tee that calls for special attention is a shot where you have wind and side slope in the same direction. These are very difficult shots, especially if one or both are severe. If you simply shoot the trackball off against the direction of the wind, the wind will carry the ball back straight, and then the slope will continue to carry the ball in that direction, often times leaving you off the green. The best option, which is also difficult and requires practice, is to shoot an A2 or C2 shot, where the ball fights the wind so that it ends up on the top side of the green slope. In extreme cases, you may even need an A1 or C3 shot to fight the wind at a steeper angle. In addition, backspin won’t help your shot very much if the wind and slope are really pushing the ball sideways (the backspin will control the distance a bit, but the ball will continue on sideways as it spins backwards).

Finally, based on all these factors, determine your shot type (see “Using the Track Ball”). On most of my iron approach shots, I don’t pull back the trackball – I just shoot the trackball forward with the speed and direction where I want the ball to go. But, depending on the wind and slope as mentioned above, you may need a two-step directional shot.