WGT Pinhunters

 

1. First, figure out how FAR the hole is from the ball or where on the fairway you want to put your drive. Easy enough.

2. Add HALF the ELEVATION when you want to hit the ball right on the button close to the intended target on the fairway or green. Subtracting one-third of  the elevation on a drop shot works on most shots on most courses, but you CAN'T go wrong with ADDING half the "up" elevation when you figure a shot. However, subtracting 1/3 of the elevation in feet will translate to taking that many yards off your shot in most cases. If I have a shot of 113 yards, and the elevation is up 5 ft, one would THINK to add 5 yards to the shot if one thought that converting feet of elevation to yards of addition. This is not true. I add half of that 5 yards, which is 2.5 yards. This now makes a base shot of 115.5 yards.  If I have a shot of 200 yards, and the drop is 30 feet, I take 10 yards (1/3 the feet converted into yards) off the shot and I now have a base shot of 190 yards.

ELEVATION RATIO  This is normally not a huge factor until you have massive elevation rises or short shots to the green of 40-100 yards, so don't be overly concerned with this part, because it is more advanced. Adding half the elevation will get you on the green and close to the hole in most cases, and leave you with a short birdie putt. However, to be hyper-accurate, I found that using a simple factor called "elevation ratio" that seems to be programmed into the game, you can get shots to land within a foot or two of the hole when shooting for accuracy to the pin. If you have a shot of 150 yards and an elevation of 25, adding half that (12.5) on a full-spin shot will get you awfully close, but many times take you a bit past the hole. What I do is take that 25 ft elevation and divide it by the distance of 150 and come up with a percentage of subtraction from the overall half-elevation number. If you divide 25 by 150, you get .1666 or 16.66%. The original half-elevation number was 12.5, so I subtract 16.66% from that 12.5 and get 10.417 and that is my new elevation number to add to my distance. So a shot of 162.5 on your original calculation becomes 160.417. Not much, but it gets you closer to the hole. Of course, wind has to be figured in yet, plus club angle percentage of add, so you aren't finished with calculating your shot as accurately as possible, so read on. This will help you get those mystery shots that seem to go long many times when you are hitting shots to the green and ESPECIALLY on wedge shots to the pin. So many times I have added exactly half the elevation on a 60-yard shot with a 12-foot elevation, thinking 66 yards was my base shot, and the truth was it was a 64.8-yard shot. You'll find this out as time goes along that this math is absolutely correct and begin to trust it to the point of sticking balls even closer to the whole than previously imagined. Certainly, you must try to ding the meter, but even slight mishits will be closer, thus making your birdie chances better. Try it and see.

3. INHERIT THE WIND. Figuring wind was somewhat accurate before, but I have found simple calculations for wind. Most of my shots to the green with irons and my hybrid work with this formula, and many times with my 3-wood.    BUT...you can hit accurate shots figuring the wind after you figure elevation by adding or subtracting an exact amount of yardage on most courses. I used to guess, but I went to a site called "The Physics of Golf" and studied the formulas for wind vectors. It's complicated as all get-out, so I decided to simplify it. It involves trigonometry, and the hardest part of trigonometry is spelling it. You won't have to do it for wind, because I am now going to provide you with a simple chart of 6 angles and their wind calculation factors to multiply by before you add full spin on a shot.

The multiples are for the angles of the wind, from dead straight in your face or dead straight behind you, and then the 5 angles in between. It involves sine angles and the physics of wind, but don't be scared. I'm doing the math for you right here and now. When the wind is in your face and straight at you, use a full spin shot and add half the average of the wind. Straight in your face is what I am going to call here a 90-degree angle for the purpose of simplifying the trig multiples. Straight from the side will be referred to as an angle of 0, and in your face (wind against you..parallel to the shot line) is 90.

Here is the table:

Wind at 90....multiple is 1.00

Wind at 75....multiple is  .965

Wind at 60....multiple is .866

Wind at 45....multiple is  .707

Wind at 30....multiple is   .50

Wind at 15....multiple is    .25

Wind at  0....no effect. Wind directly from the side with a perpendicular angle (a right angle) to the ball flight is non-existent with a full-spin shot.

Now comes the easy part...the entire formula for perfect distance control providing you ding the meter. Slight mishits from under 150 won't penalize you much, and you will stick the ball left or right of the hole and still be pin high. Sounds nuts, doesn't it? Well, the vector forces on projectiles hurled into the air involving windage are as accurate as anything, and artillery shells wouldn't hit their mark if it didn't. LOL The longer the shot, the more the wind will affect it. The shorter the shot, the less the wind will affect it. It's a matter of "air time."

(Distance plus half the elevation OR minus 1/3 the drop) + (half the average of the wind x the angle factor shown above) + 5% (roughly...SEE CLUB ANGLE ADDS) of that total for a FULL-SPIN SHOT.

This formula works every time on just about every course for every distance and wind with every club. Even at ocean courses, but mainly from 150 yards AND shorter. For OCEAN courses that have shots longer than 150 yards, add 50% to your wind calculations. See also the specific "adds" in percent for each club below.

So, if you have a shot to the green of say, 150 yards that you have figured after adding half the elevation, then simply add the two wind numbers on the meter, divide by 2, and then multiply the wind calculation by the angle you figure the wind is coming from. A 30-degree angle has a sine of.5, a 45-degree angle has a sine of .707, etc.

If the wind is at a 45-degree angle and you have already figured your distance and elevation, then multiply half the wind by .707   So, if the wind average is 18, then divide it by 2....getting 9...and then multiply that answer (9) by .707, which nets you 6.363 yards to add to your shot.

Now the yardage is 150 + 6.363 giving you a base shot of 156.363 yards and then you have to add ABOUT 5% to that total (more on specific percentages of add for club angles later) to compensate for a full-backspin shot. So, 156.363 + 5% of that is 164.181. Don't worry about the partial decimals, just round up or down in the yard in between to get a whole number, which in this case is 164. Then simply divide by your swing meter and take the shot. Of course consider your ball rating to figure the total impetus of your shot. Starter balls have no distance rating so your club won't throw the ball any farther than what is indicated on the club selection chart, but a Nike(with a distance rating of 5) will throw the ball 5% farther, so you have to consider that extra amount when dividing by your swing meter. Don't forget that part...lol

Hit the ball 164 and ding the meter and watch it stick near the hole or go in. This works. Trust the math. Full-spin, ding the meter.

I did some research online and found something interesting about that "5% addition rule" that I originally put out. On the wedges, irons, and woods, there is a vast difference between club angles and this changes that "addition factor" by quite a lot in some cases because of a thing called the "Magnus Effect" that shows how a golf ball really flies instead of being a perfect arc. That perfect arc is not the case with a dimpled golf ball, wind effect, and even club angle effect. Here are general club angles and percentage adds that I have found to be even more accurate than the "5% addition rule." Remember, this is for FULL-BACKSPIN SHOTS ONLY.

CLUB                    CLUB ANGLE             % OF ADD FOR FULL SPIN SHOT

ULW                       64                               10.7%

SW                         56                                11.4%

PW                         48                                6.5%

9-IRON                   45                               6.1%

8-IRON                   40                               5%

7-IRON                   35                               6%

6-IRON                   30                               6.4%

5-IRON                   25                               5.6%

4-IRON                   20                               4.4%

3-IRON                   15                               3%

HYBRID                 14-16                          -0.4% (NOTICE THE MINUS)

3-WOOD                11-13                          -1.1%(NOTICE THE MINUS)

DRIVER                  8-11                           1.93% 

Some courses have trees on either side that are very tall, and they act as a wind buffer, such as at Pinehurst. Wind from the side at Pinehurst is different than wind from the side at open courses like St. Andrew's or Royal St. George's. Courses by the ocean will have a generally greater wind effect than those that are protected from the wind. Wind HELPING can be as much as TWICE the average indicated, and I've gotten wind help of as much as 50 yards from a trailing wind of 27-30 at St. Andy's or St. George's. Be ready to understand that the physics of wind resistance and wind aid to a ball in flight will mainly be determined by the lay of the land at the course you are playing and the amount of backspin you put on a shot. St. Andrew's doesn't have as many hazards as St. George's or Kiawah, and as you play them, you have to be careful how much spin you put on a ball at those places, since the more spin you put on a ball, the greater the wind effect. When I have wind in wide-open courses, I ADD 50% TO THE WIND, and then do my calculations. For instance, a 20 mph wind in your face would normally be cut in half to 10 miles per hour, but since it is in an open space with no impediments, I would add 50% to that calculation, making my wind calculation in my face at 15 miles per hour. I have found this to be also true on other courses when golfing in heavy winds for my full-spin calculation. Another simple way to cut down one calculation is to simply multiply the average wind speed by .75 or 75%. For no-spin or partial-spin calculations, I usually take 1/3 of what I have figured.

Wind behind you (helping wind) works the same way, and all you do is figure the angle in those nice little 15-degree increments (you'll have a hard time figuring any angles closer than that with the naked eye on the wind direction indicator) and then subtract that amount that you figured using the chart above. The reverse angles of the wind HELPING are no different.

4. Once you have figured out distance, elevation, and wind, you will come up with a number. From THAT point, you will divide that number by the maximum of the swing meter on a certain club and decide to either put full spin on it or not in order to create a "full" shot (as close to 100% as you can) with whatever club you have chosen.