Bubba Watson

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thefuture37

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Whenever he is on tv, all the commentators oooh and aaahh about how much he works the ball. I just watched him hit a 20 yard fade from 148 yards where he started the ball over water. Is the point of working the ball not to increase you average accuracy, something that isn't necessary when you are hitting short irons straight at the pin? Is he hurting his chances at making birdies with short irons by over-working the ball?
 
tank

tank

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Did not see the shot, but the pin may have been tucked on the left edge of the green, and maybe there wasn't much room long or short.
 
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thefuture37

Banned
pin was on the right side, forgot hes a lefty so it was a hook for him. water on the left. I'm not saying don't work the ball, just whats the point of trying to sling in a shot that short when you could aim 10 feet left and hit a slight draw.
 
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Bigwill

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thefuture37 said:
Whenever he is on tv, all the commentators oooh and aaahh about how much he works the ball. I just watched him hit a 20 yard fade from 148 yards where he started the ball over water. Is the point of working the ball not to increase you average accuracy, something that isn't necessary when you are hitting short irons straight at the pin? Is he hurting his chances at making birdies with short irons by over-working the ball?
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Bubba has said in interviews that it's a lot easier for him to hit big curves than more subtle ones. It's just the way he gets around the course.

I think that part of the reason they make such a big deal out of it is that nobody moves the ball that much anymore, unless they're trying to get out of trouble, especially with the modern balls spinning less. So Bubba's ball stands out that much more.
 
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blehnhard

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Flat Footed

Anyone else notice that on most short iron shots, BW never gets off is left foot during the foward swing? Finish is very "flat footed"

Bruce
 
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Kevin Shields

Super Moderator
Ive played some with Bubba and I'll bet maybe only 10% of his shots do not have some significant curve. Some people just see shots better and their swings react better when there's alot of curve, like Seve making birdies curving it around trees.
 
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thefuture37

Banned
doubled said:
Ive played some with Bubba and I'll bet maybe only 10% of his shots do not have some significant curve. Some people just see shots better and their swings react better when there's alot of curve, like Seve making birdies curving it around trees.
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But when you have a tree in the way, curving helps. When you have 130 yards with no obstructions, which is some kind of wedge for him, curving the ball a lot is detrimental to accuracy.
 
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garymag

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I believe that he is just playing to his strength, which happens to be curving the shot. Trevino always played a fade - why? Because that is what he was comfortable and confident in doing. Maybe BW would feel uncomfortable in playing a straighter shot. I personally would love to be able to curve the ball that much (intentionally, I might add, not a pull-ott-hook!).
 
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Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
thefuture37 said:
But when you have a tree in the way, curving helps. When you have 130 yards with no obstructions, which is some kind of wedge for him, curving the ball a lot is detrimental to accuracy.
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Yet he is the on tour ;)

I agree that he could probably "become" more accurate playing less of a curve but that would take a lot of work and there's no guarrantee. Fact remains he's on tour and when he putts well finishes pretty well.
 
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thefuture37

Banned
Jim Kobylinski said:
Yet he is the on tour ;)

I agree that he could probably "become" more accurate playing less of a curve but that would take a lot of work and there's no guarrantee. Fact remains he's on tour and when he putts well finishes pretty well.
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It takes alot of work to play less curve? After everything that is said about how the ball curves less than ever? The fact is that hes T117 in proximity to the hole, despite his tour leading length. Hes 180th in putts per round too. I don't see him winning too often this year.
 
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Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
thefuture37 said:
It takes alot of work to play less curve? After everything that is said about how the ball curves less than ever? The fact is that hes T117 in proximity to the hole, despite his tour leading length. Hes 180th in putts per round too. I don't see him winning too often this year.
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Never said anything about him winning, but if you know how tour players think (i have learned what i know from Brian), trying to teach bubba to curve it less when he's been comfortable doing that forever would be a major challenge. But when he does putt well, he finishes pretty well at tournaments from what i can remember. I can look it up and see in his top finishes where he has been with putting stats to be more than just a thought.

T8 finish
- T56 Putts Per Round
- 22 Putts Per GIR
- T10 GIR

T14 Finish
- T47 Putts Per Round
- T23 Putts Per GIR
- T6 GIR

Those are his best finishes this year and he seems to finish pretty well when he putts decent. I could not find the detailed statistics for all statistics because more than likely, he was better at proximity to the hole thus putted better; that could be a fair assumption.
 
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Bigwill

New
Hey Jim, any theories as to why big curves are easier that small curves for some people? I actually fall on that side of the fence myself.
 
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Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
thefuture37 said:
its easier to feel an exagerated motion than a subtle one
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I think this is a good response, it's also much easier to move the ball a lot, consistently, versus very small movements.

Most of the guys on tour who really do move the ball consistently do it a lot. I know that when VJ, Tiger, and some others play their power fade it really is just a big booming pull fade and/or pull slice if they weren't pros ;)
 
self-mastery

self-mastery

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I've been trying to learn a power fade (pull fade) for years! How do you hit that shot?

My booming shot is a penetrating draw (sometimes pull draw) that can turn into a hook. I want the same distance, but a little more insurance.
 
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holeout

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self-mastery said:
I've been trying to learn a power fade (pull fade) for years! How do you hit that shot?

My booming shot is a penetrating draw (sometimes pull draw) that can turn into a hook. I want the same distance, but a little more insurance.
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I think hitting a bunch of drivers off the deck would be a start. Jim should be able to give you more of an answer than that though :).
 
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thefuture37

Banned
Jim Kobylinski said:
I think this is a good response, it's also much easier to move the ball a lot, consistently, versus very small movements.

Most of the guys on tour who really do move the ball consistently do it a lot. I know that when VJ, Tiger, and some others play their power fade it really is just a big booming pull fade and/or pull slice if they weren't pros ;)
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Are you sure they weren't aiming left and hitting straight shots that faded alot?
 
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Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
thefuture37 said:
Are you sure they weren't aiming left and hitting straight shots that faded alot?
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they aim left, ball starts out further left, and ends up right of where they aimed initially. Trust me, sometimes these guys move the big stick A LOT. Not with irons so much but with the driver yes
 
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