How do you adjust for shot length when you are in between clubs?

[StrokerAce]

You have 139.

You hit your 9i 135
You hit your 8i 145

How are you playing this shot?

[StrokerAce]

I've been trying to choke down on the grip and swing normal and that usually works best for me.

Swinging harder means I typically pull the ball left since I get out of sync and over-rotate too quickly.

With my wedges I can sometimes do the "feels like hip high" swing but that isn't 100 percent reliable.

[russtopherb]

Choked up 8i for sure.

Any time I mess with tempo or backswing length if I'm in between clubs, it's a recipe for disaster. I just choke up and make the same swing.

Caveat: Wedges I'm getting a lot better with having shorter swings for specific distance ranges, but I also never take a full swing with those either.

[NM01]

Swinging harder never works. Swing faster which is different is one way but it’s probably going to add spin so I take more club and either use a shorter swing or I choke down and take a normal swing. Depends on pin location and what I’m trying to get the ball to do 

[THEZIPR23]

7 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

You have 139.

You hit your 9i 135
You hit your 8i 145

How are you playing this shot?

Where is the pin? What is short of the green? What is long? 

For me it is entirely situational. This weekend I played a par 3 twice that was 139 to a back flag, long is bogey or worse. I can't hit my PW that far, yet my 9 was too much. I hit PW twice, once to middle and once to front 3rd of green. 2 putted both and moved on. 139 to a front flag would have been 9 iron. 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Definitly situational but for most of the time I have converted to a shorter backswing and club up. Way more control for me. With wedges I have liked choking down

[JerryB]

I'd love to be able to get to the point where this would be a legitimate concern for me.  I voted that I would grip down, but in reality for most situations I'm just hitting my 9i regularly and hoping that I'm accurate enough for it to matter.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

where is the pin to the green? If anything but front pin, I swing hard with 9I. If front pin, I hit stock 8.

[rkj427]

Choke down, slightly shorter, smoother swing with the 8.

Had numerous examples of "in between" clubs last round I played, and the majority of the time I was OK, a few times too long.

Really depends upon wind, uphill or downhill, and pin location, as well as where the trouble lies with a miss.

 

[ParFore74x]

Choke down on the 8i for me. Swinging harder never seems to work for me. Things get out of whack and ball flight become more unpredictable.

I actually got forced into this scenario a couple weeks ago. I was without my 7i for a couple of rounds and choked down on my 6i instead. I was actually quite pleased with the results. Shots were still predictable and I didn’t feel that I had to make a lot of adjustment. 

[MNUte]

18 hours ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Where is the pin? What is short of the green? What is long? 

For me it is entirely situational. This weekend I played a par 3 twice that was 139 to a back flag, long is bogey or worse. I can't hit my PW that far, yet my 9 was too much. I hit PW twice, once to middle and once to front 3rd of green. 2 putted both and moved on. 139 to a front flag would have been 9 iron. 

Came here to say just this. 

I'm not the best at generating spin, so I tend to think about how much room I have for roll out. Also, if I've played a course before, I tend to think about what gives me the better (more uphill, less side-slopey) putt. 

 

To be a smart-***, I'm also going to say if it's an entirely flat green, I'll take the 9i because it leaves me with only 4 yards instead of my 8i with 6 yards and 2 free yards is 2 free yards 

 

[THEZIPR23]

1 hour ago, MNUte said:

Came here to say just this. 

I'm not the best at generating spin, so I tend to think about how much room I have for roll out. Also, if I've played a course before, I tend to think about what gives me the better (more uphill, less side-slopey) putt. 

 

To be a smart-***, I'm also going to say if it's an entirely flat green, I'll take the 9i because it leaves me with only 4 yards instead of my 8i with 6 yards and 2 free yards is 2 free yards 

 

Not being a smart *** it is 100% true. If my stock shot is 135 and I hit it, it leaves me a 12 footer. Would take that all day. 

[heavygolffeels]

20 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

You have 139.

You hit your 9i 135
You hit your 8i 145

How are you playing this shot?

My first thoughts are unrelated to technique. We need to know where the pin is, where the trouble is, are we carrying water or bunkers, what is the wind doing, what's behind the green, wheres the best spot to miss, what sort of spin am I getting from this lie, is the green contoured in a way where you dont want to be above the hole, etc, etc. 

If the pin is in the back, trouble is long, you are sitting in the rough and expecting to lose spin, then 135 to a 139 pin is a great play. 

If the pin is in the front, there are 2 greenside bunkers on the front left and right, and you are hitting from a tee on a par 3 and expect high spin, then 145 is likely center of the green and gives you a safe play to cover the traps. 

 

 

 

 

[chisag]

... For the sake of this topic lets assume the pin is middle on a flat green taking variables out of the shot and just dealing with proper distance. While I will occasionally choke down, more often than not I just make an aggressive 3/4 swing. I think one of the most common mistakes, and I make it every now and then myself, is not trusting a 3/4 swing will reduce enough distance so not swinging with normal speed can cause a myriad of problems. For me it usually results in a low pull. This is different than a knockdown shot where you want reduced spin, this is just reducing the arc resulting in less distance with a normal amount of spin. Trust is paramount. 

[funkyjudge]

23 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

You have 139.

You hit your 9i 135
You hit your 8i 145

How are you playing this shot?

Full 9-iron. I'll take a 12-15 foot putt all day rather than risking hitting the ball over the green with my 8-iron!

[BMart519]

On 6/12/2023 at 1:34 PM, StrokerAce said:

You have 139.

You hit your 9i 135
You hit your 8i 145

How are you playing this shot?

Hit 10 balls with your 8 and a 9 on a launch monitor. See which average is closer to 135. 

Back pin I am hitting the shorter club, mid or front pin - hitting the longer club to protect against a mishit. 

You would need to be around scratch to have the skill to be trying to modify distance by 5 yards or like 3% of total in this instance. There's probably more than 10 yards difference between min and max trying to make 10 stock swings. 

[monikabenjamin412]

Based on the given information, it seems like you have a distance or Length of 139 yards to the target. With your 9-iron reaching 135 yards and your 8-iron reaching 145 yards, I would go with the 9-iron for this shot to ensure better accuracy and control. Adjust your swing accordingly to hit the ball towards the target.