Here’s a tricky shot that can make you look like a genius when you pull it off. We all know the shape of the C2 shot, where it goes out straight and curves left towards the target, and we know the shape of the B3 schwerve, where the ball heads out right but comes back to a target in front of you. We also know an A3 is a straight-line shot out to the right. But what do you do when you have to thread a gap where you need the ball to head out to the right, but straighten out towards the end, so it ends up coming straight-in to a target off to the right? Enter the outside J!

I needed a name for this shot, and when I realized the shape of the shot when going out to the right is like a ‘J’, it was pretty easy. So how do you pull it off?

It’s tricky, and you won’t use it very often, but you should have it in your arsenal. First, figure out how far to the right you need the ball to end up (for this shot, you should need the ball to end up about a half-rotation right of target). So, pull the trackball back just slightly left of B, but no more than halfway between A and B. This tells the game you want it to end up right of target.

Then, shoot the ball forward out to 3! This tells the ball to begin its angle way out to the right. So, when you pull it off, you’ll see the ball take off out to the right, but it will soon straighten out and end up coming in straight ahead to your target (hence the ‘J’ shape)!

Usually, you can get the ball to a right target more easily by rotating right and hitting some form of C2 or B3, but the J shot is for situations where you’re threading trees or find yourself behind some obstacle and have an offset look at the pin or target.

Of course, the same theories apply to the backwards J shot too, where you need to hit it out left instead!

Be careful shooting the outside J with a right-to-left wind, because the ball will have a much harder time coming back against the wind! Also be wary of pulling back too far left of B, or else you might just see the shot behave like an A3 instead.

Here are several situations when you might see the pros shoot this shot:
1) You’re offset so you don’t want it to come back to straight
2) There’s a big break on the green
3) There’s a strong crosswind to the left and you need to “undercut” it so that it will ride the wind back left more than actually cut back toward the hole.
4) You have a shorter shot with a strong crosswind to the right. Here you might turn left once and shoot the outside J so that it fights the wind a little bit. It might make a 12 mph wind act more like a 6 mph wind which helps you have more control of the shot once it hits the green.

It’s not an easy shot to master, but give it a try sometime and see what happens!

Well this is coming a little late — this tourney was a month ago, but I still wanted to give my perspective of the first every Golden Tee tourney I’ve witnessed!

My buddy Matt and I rolled into St. Charles around noon on Saturday. I was concerned about parking and even getting into the bar, but Side Pockets is HUGE! It was one of the coolest sports bars I’ve been in. They took a whole section of the place and hooked up 30 or 40 Golden Tee machines there, and there was still room to move around amongst everyone! The players agreed it was a sweet setup. They also had two machines hooked up to a projector so you could watch the action on the big screen!

I was kind of awestruck for the first hour there. I saw Bernz right away, and then I met Dannyboy, and he pointed me to SeanO, the marketing director at IT who’s been helping support my site! From there I met a TON of players whose names I knew but whose faces I did not — Gopherfan, McCook, Rodney, Skipper, Moy, Miser, Mouth, and lots of other players, even Duffer Dan and Sobe!

After watching the action for a couple hours, Matt and I had to go out and play some GT for ourselves! We hit up a couple different bars during the evening, and then we came back to Side Pockets at night. When tourney play started to wind down, we got the chance to play with the pros! I played rounds with Dannyboy, Skipper, McCook and Rodney, staying till 1:30 in the morning!

Matt and I made it back over to Side Pockets around 11:00 the next day to watch some more action. We stayed till about 1:00 and then hit the road for Peoria! So, we didn’t get to stay to see the winner, but we saw some incredible matches, especially Haas winning an extra-holes round over Feijo that was just incredible.

So, you’d think we’d be burnt out on Golden Tee after that long weekend right? No way! It just made us want to get out and practice all the things we saw from the pros! Here are several things I noticed the pros doing that I don’t do:

1) Very smooth hits on the trackball. You never hear a palm crashing into the console! I also used to bruise my hand on the screen after a follow-through on a power shot, but these guys bend their elbows and have smooth follow-throughs that never make contact with the screen! I’ve since practiced that method and have improved a lot in that area!

2) Pull-backs on almost ALL shots. Some pros don’t do this, but most do. I’d see a shot where I’d just thumb it forward, but these guys have such precise control of their pullbacks that they can pull back on about any shot and still get it to end up right by the hole! I’m sticking to thumbs for now, but it’s easy to see the advantage these guys have there!

3) Deception! Since you’re head-to-head against a guy, you’ll see all kinds of crazy follow-throughs so that your opponent will have no idea how much angle you put on the shot! Of course, that’s bad for observers, but works great for them!

4) Slow pullbacks. Since the game only reads your pullback up to the top of your backswing, why pull back any further? I still pull back kind of fast, but I think that helps me create the angle I want. These guys have great control of the slow pullback.

5) Sick putting and chipping skills! You almost never see a missed putt, and even most chips from around the green go right in! Again, almost ALL of these guys putt with their thumbs, which I don’t do. I’m proud to say I’m a very good palm putter, so I’m not going to make the switch at this point. Still, you can see how these guys don’t give up any strokes around the green!

6) New methods of attacking holes! Everyone has their plan of attack give the hole conditions, but I saw several things I never knew about before. Some of these guys save their secrets for these big tourneys and then bust them out in competition, and you could see how much that paid off!

7) Rituals! Whether it be wearing a glove or wiping your hands on your shirt after every shot, these guys made sure they weren’t going to get a bad hit on the trackball!

To sum it all up, it’s easy to see why these guys are the best. Practice and masterful command of the trackball lead to great scores, scores I don’t know if I’ll ever reach! Right away I was upset that I didn’t enter the tourney, even if I was going to get waxed, because it was so much fun!

Hopefully I’ll get to participate in a tourney experience soon, and I’ll let you know how I fare!

This topic is meant to address the question of at what distance you see the putt coming off the club more quickly, hence having to play less break.

Obviously, this topic had several different opinions, with no one being able to nail down exactly what you can expect from longer putts.

To expand, I wanted to see if someone knew the distance(s) that the “governor” for your putter changes to allow you to get longer putts to the hole. Let’s say I have a 60 foot putt with 3 degree break. I don’t know whether to play the break as if it’s a 30-foot putt, or as if it’s like an 80-foot putt. I don’t think I have to play as much break on the longer putt because of the extra power, but I’m wondering where those break point(s) are so I can know what to expect when the ball leaves the putter.

Some people think the 50-60 foot mark is where you see a change. The so-called “turbo putt” happens for long distances outside 60-65 feet, and it’s a long-lived IT glitch that they’ve been trying to fix for 10 years. With 2008 Live, the turbo putts are more inconsistant than they were before (anything outside 65 feet is guess work, especially in the 80-100 feet range). More specifically, the “turbo” distance seems to be within 86-116 feet.

Others claim there is no “strong putter” or “weak putter.” There is no set distance where it changes, and the reaction you get all depends on the hole and the specific putt.

A common recommendation is to try to hit EVERY putt the exact same speed. Speed control on putting is HUGE, as it allows your muscle memory to remember the angle and speed of every putt. The only time to hit a putt any softer is when you have severe down slope — like 9 or 10 degrees. For putts like these that also have side slope, you can either pull back to the A (or C) and hit it slightly softer. For straight downhill putts, you can pull back straight just a tiny bit to B and hit it very softly to 2.

Another example: a 50-foot putt on flat ground will always play the same. A 50-foot uphill putt will change speed depending on how much slope you’re going up (for an up 10, expect the ball to be dying in the hole).

One final note for long putts — if you use your thumbs to putt, play more break on a longer left putt and less break on a longer right putt. If the putt is uphill, of course, you’ll need more break on both of those.

Any additional comments are welcome as we try to nail down specific details of longer putts, if any more details even exist!

As an amateur player, I’ve come across some more questions regarding the trackball and how its behavior affects your ball in certain circumstances. I’ve addressed some of these questions in this article so that all of us can come away with a better understanding of exactly why the crappy shot we just executed was so bad.

First of all, brush up on this article by Sobe on the GoldenTee site:

Now you know most of what there is to know about A1 and C3 shots, while also getting an inside look at the trackball! But, always wanting more, I had some additional questions in mind that I got answers from by the expert community!

Q: Do the sensors only read the pullback angle up until your golfer is at full backswing?

A: Yes. This means two things.

First, you don’t have to crank the ball backwards, although for most guys, that’s the easiest way to generate a pure pullback angle. If you want, you can pull back gently until your golfer is at full backswing. From that point on, pulling back any more has no effect.

Secondly, you can’t change your pullback angle if your golfer is already at full backswing. Instead, you have to “reset” your golfer by rotating left or right (for example), and then perform the pullback again.

Q: Sometimes, when you pull back part way, you can push forward slowly to decrease the backswing. What effect does this have on your final pullback angle for the shot?

A: This created some controversial discussion. Here are several takes on what happens:

1) A1 spinny with the club coming down: club is pulled back all the way to A, start spinning, the club starts coming down by itself, but with slow downswing speed. Ball doesn’t go very far because of the slow downswing.

5-wood pulled back all the way, then nudged down to halfway, then thumb at normal thumbage speed. Ball goes a lot farther than expected. Why? I think because you pulled all the way back to begin with.

2) It will start the shot from the stopped point. However it will have read the first part of the forward swing. Stopping the club will not reset this. You really shouldn’t push the club forward and stop it because knowing exactly what read it got off the little bit it was pushed is damn near impossible. So it will affect the angle but to know how is dependant on where it was pushed forward.

Q: Is there a “maximum velocity” at which you can hit the ball forward? Meaning, is there a speed at which distance maxes out? Can humans reach this speed?

A: Yes, yes, and yes. There didn’t used to be a known max on the RPMs, so there were some crazy ways to hit the trackball to get just a “little more” distance. They finally put a max (or restrictor) on it to keep people from killing themselves while playing and to level the playing field a bit.

Q: How are distance and angle affected if you pull back “past” A or C or shoot forward “past” 1 or 3? Does this decrease distance because of how the sensors are hit? Are the max angles at exactly A and 1?

A: There are angles past A, C, 1, and 3. The max cut will yield the max distance. Some people refer to the “past A, past 1″ (and C3) as an overcut. Spinning the ball while you do that is the Spinner (Spinny). If you don’t use these shots at some point in a game, you’re probably not maximizing your potential score. There are also variations of these shots (an overcut A, but hitting between 1 & 2, for example) to get a different effect.

Sobe has a seemingly contradictory stance on this topic also:

“Don’t Overcompensate:
When you hit the trackball forward outside of 3 (towards ‘choose club’) the shot will actually cut inside as if it was hit closer to 2 1/2. No, the trackball isn’t broken - you just missed your line, my friend.”

Q: Does it matter if you pound down on the ball as opposed to a smooth, straight follow-through? It’s hard for me to shoot forward at 1 or 3 the same way I shoot forward at 2, so I usually pound down on it since I can’t follow through as well. So, I’m wondering how this is affecting my distance.

A: Pounding down on the ball will reduce distance. Here is more explanation:

Pounding down on the ball has a much different effect then a smooth hit. The biggest difference is the RPMs are going to be way off. I guess the best way to describe it is comparing the shot to a change up in baseball. You can swing your arm as hard as you want, but it will not spin the ball as fast.

I am also a firm believer that you have way more control over a smooth shot as compared to the beating that gets put on the balls. A smooth shot is much more consistant. You get into a mode where you know the “feel” of a shot. To achieve this you have to have a consistant motion. That cannot be achieved pounding down on the ball.

It also wears the balls out quicker when they are being hit down on.

However, within Sobe’s article, he has another take on this approach:

“Top players know that hitting down on the trackball is not the proper way to play Golden Tee. Hitting across the ball smoothly is the way to maximize performance. But hitting down on the trackball is the most important element of a successful C-3. It will take practice and a little patience but trust me; it really works. Some shots, especially softer ones, have a tendency to come off the clubface straight even though you hit out towards 3. This is caused by the movement of the trackball within its casing. So, by hitting down on the trackball you’ll help prevent this from occurring. Try it - you’ll notice the results right away.”

Q: How much can accuracy and distance be affected by a “dirty” trackball?

A: Depends on how dirty! Accuracy and distance can be affected by a dirty trackball, but it’s hard to say how much.

Another problem that afflicts Golden Tee beginners and some amateurs is the overuse of backspin. These guys will take away any chance they have of getting close to a back pin by landing in the middle of the green with backspin, or they will spin a shot back off the front of the green by attacking a middle flag with backspin and coming up short. In most of these situations, I’ve learned to avoid backspin and roll the ball right up to the flag. You just have to get over being scared of being long, and play the shot with a little less power.

With a back pin in Golden Tee, there are very few situations where you want to use backspin. Your goal should be to land the ball on the front or middle of the green and let it roll back towards the flag. Of course, with a severe downslope and/or a low-lofted club, you can get backspin to check up by the pin, but usually, you’ll want to account for the slope and let the ball do the work!

With a middle pin, you can go either way, depending on the other factors (wind, slope, in-between clubs, elevation) of the shot. Still, I see backspin used almost automatically by most beginners when avoiding it would be the much better play. These situations are where developing a good “thumb shot” can do wonders for your game, since I believe it’s easier to control distance/power in Golden Tee with a thumb shot. Practice landing on the front of the green with a thumb shot and watch the ball roll up by the cup!

There are many mistakes I see beginners make, but something I see more advanced players (including myself) screw up is not compensating enough for a crosswind. Let’s say you have a 6-iron into the green, where the target has you just right of the flag, and you have a 6 mph wind blowing to the left. I’d say that 8 or 9 times out of 10, the ball of the average player will come to rest left of the cup. Meaning, they didn’t play enough wind. And, I’m sure most of them never notice how consistently this happens. At first it’s hard to get a handle on how a 6 mph wind can blow a 6-iron all the way across the pin, but it does, and the sooner you understand this, the better!

Of course, if you leave the ball right of the pin in this scenario, you didn’t ever give it a chance to roll in the cup. This is true, but you can also be wasting valuable Great Shot Points!

Similarly, you’ll see beginners playing a 3-iron and a 9-iron as if wind affected them the same. One other concept you’d better learn pretty quickly is how drastically different wind affects the higher lofted clubs.

So, start taking note of whether you’re missing right or left of the cup, with all different clubs. When in doubt, err on the side of playing the wind too much, ESPECIALLY with high-lofted clubs! Rotate once or twice to offset the wind. I guarantee you’ll be surprised at the results!

Also be sure to read up on Sobe’s article here for more great information. File away in your brain the fact that an 11 mph wind blows a shot from a PW one full rotation, and for a LW, it’s 7 mph! You may just hole out a shot every couple rounds if you remember this tip!

The schwerve (schwervy) refers to a B1 or B3 shot, and it’s important enough that I wanted to bring it back for discussion. I see several players lose strokes because they are scared to play this shot, but I think it’s just because they don’t fully understand it and its potential!

Usually, you use a schwerve as a mini-hook around an obstacle directly in front of you. So, your target is straight ahead, but maybe you have some tree branches you’re scared of clipping. The simple solution is to play a little B1 or B3 to go around the branches and come back in at the target.

More advanced players use the schwerve to optimize their angle of approach into the flag where the slope of the green or the wind might otherwise move the ball away from the pin. Let’s say the flag is on the extreme right side of the green. If there’s a moderate wind blowing left, or if the green slopes left, it’s going to be difficult to stick it close to the pin. More than likely, amateur players are going to end up in the middle of the green (if they play safe), or run the risk of missing right, off the green (if they play aggressively). In these situations, the schwerve allows you to fight the wind or the slope by coming in at the opposite angle. So here, you’d play a B1-type shot to come in at a right-to-left angle, increasing your chances of sticking the ball by the cup.

Of course, wind is always going to be a consideration. You won’t always be pulling back exactly to B. Remember, you pull back to where you want the ball to end up, so that’s the first thing you figure out. Then, you can apply the “schwerve” to optimize your angle of approach!

For free practice hitting a schwerve, just try it while teeing off on an easy, non-drivable par 4. Keep your eye on the point in the middle of the fairway where you expect the ball to end up, and then note where it actually does end up. Also note the degree of curve you just created on the shot and the angle at which the ball came in towards the target. Practice this with all the clubs in your bag, because the angle and distance the ball comes back towards center varies with each club. Here is a list of roughly what you can expect from each of the clubs by hitting a full B1 or B3. For example, the driver will come back about 10 degrees past center, but the 7-iron will come back only about 10 degrees short of center (assuming a flat landing surface with no wind):

Driver — 10 degrees past center
3-wood — 5 degrees past center
5-wood — about center
2-iron/hybrid — 15 degrees past center
3-iron/hybrid — 10 degrees past center
4-iron/hybrid — 5 degrees past center
5-iron/hybrid — about center
6-iron — 5 degrees short of center
7-iron — 10 degrees short of center
8-iron — 15 degrees short of center
9-iron — 20 degrees short of center
SW — 25 degrees short of center
LW — 30 degrees short of center

Notice how the low-lofted clubs come back past center, but the high-lofted clubs don’t come back all the way to center. Keep this in mind when practicing these shots! Also remember how much the wind affects the high-lofted clubs as opposed to the low-lofted ones! Finally, notice that if you pull back to B but hit between 1 and 2, the ball only hooks about half as much, and the wind will take it more here as well.

One final note to remember — when trying to stick a green with a schwerve, remember that the backspin will take it the direction its headed. So, let’s say you schwerve a 5-iron into the green with a B3. With no spin, it would land a little right of center but roll to about center. But, WITH backspin, it will land just right of center, but then the backspin will pull it slightly left of center.

So, hopefully you have a better understanding of the schwerve, and now you can go out and practice it on the course! Feel free to leave comments if you have anything to add!

Golden Tee and IT were generous enough to interview me about the site and post a link here from there! Just in case you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out here. Thanks for all your support!

Also thanks to my Peoria Golden Tee playing buddy Matt Seei, and our wives Karen and Stacey! We’re lucky that they’re happy to sit and socialize while Matt and I whale away on the trackball for hours on end!

Another lesson I understood only just recently is the impact of a straight-angle shot out of the rough vs. a curved shot. I was aware that curved shots lose a lot of distance when applied from the rough (or sand, etc), but I didn’t realize how far these straight 180 degree shots can go! I never really had these shots in my repertoire, but now I use them quite a bit — an A3 or C1-type shot is a great way to maintain distance from the rough while also fighting wind or slope by coming in at an angle! Also beware of how far woods travel in relation to high-lofted irons — I missed quite a few greens long before I realized the impact this kind of shot has. You’ll also notice the distance you lack if you don’t pull back on shots from the rough. Get some practice with these shots to recover from errant tee shots and still hit the green with ease!