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- A NEW (Easier) Approach to the Dreaded Fried Egg + "The Pebble Beach of the East Coast"... sort of?
A NEW (Easier) Approach to the Dreaded Fried Egg + "The Pebble Beach of the East Coast"... sort of?
Plus, a look at Scrambling Par Save Percentage by Handicap
Wild Golf
June 04, 2024
Happy Tuesday, and congrats to Robert MacIntyre on his first PGA Tour win at the Canadien Open. He had changed caddies 4 times in the last 18 months, finally making an emergency call to his dad last week. Maybe dear old dad is the answer moving forward.
Not to be outdone, CT Pan cycled through 4 caddies on Sunday alone (including 1 fan) after his original caddie, “Fluff” Cowan, slipped and injured himself early in the round. Man, we would have loved to have been inside the ropes to hear what drove all that change.
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In today’s newsletter…
✅ TIPS & DRILLS: Faced with a greenside fried egg? Here’s a new way to get yourself out of a sandy situation.
✅ COURSES: You don’t have to travel to the West Coast for a taste of Pebble Beach. There’s a “slice” of Pebble in Rockport, Maine.
✅ STATISTICS: How much better are low handicaps than average golfers at scrambling after a missed green? See where you stack up below.
✅ TRIVIA: Tiger dominated the Memorial Tournament in his heyday, but he also had his worst professional round there. How bad was it? Answer for a chance to win a 2024 US Open @ Pinehurst Limited Edition Gift Pack!
Let’s get into it!
TIPS & DRILLS
A New Approach to the Dreaded Fried Egg
Pro Golf Swing Coach, Ron del Barrio gives us the play-by-play
(***WARNING*** pardon the strong language)
@rdbgolftips #golf #golfer #golfers #progolf #golflessons #golfcoach #progolf #instagolf #golfling #golfswing #golftips #golfinstruction #golfswingtips... See more
To Recap…
The dreaded fried egg- how could the golf gods be so cruel?!! It’s not enough to penalize a poor shot, why did they have to do you dirty like this? Lucky for you, there’s a relatively easy solution…
-STEP 1: Grab your most lofted club, ideally a 58-60 degree wedge and point the toe down with a closed clubface.
-STEP 2: Close your stance and make sure the ball is either in the middle or back of your stance.
-STEP 3: Unlike a traditional greenside bunker shot, put your hands forward and use the leading edge of the club, trying to make sand contact with the toe first.
-STEP 4: Most coaches will tell you to swing harder with a fried egg or plugged lie, but when adopting this approach, try taking a relatively smooth, easy swing.
PRO TIP: The ball will almost certainly come out lower and with little to no spin, so plan for it to run out after it lands.
COURSES
“The Pebble Beach of the East Coast”…sort of?
Samoset Golf Course
Rockport, Maine
Samoset Golf Course was founded in 1902 as a 9-hole track along the rocky Maine coast overlooking the Penobscot Bay. It was built such that every hole had an incredible view of the water, and it was expanded to 18 holes in the early 1970s to attract more guests to its resort (now 14 of 18 holes have water views). The par 5 4th hole is Samoset’s version of Pebble Beach’s 18th hole, a dogleg left along the water that will have you pulling out your phone for a photo on every shot.
Golf Digest named it the “Pebble Beach of the East Coast” in 2023, but we won’t sugarcoat it… it ain’t Pebble. That said, it certainly is reminiscent, and playing a course with stunning views like this typically costs twice as much. Heck, if you’re playing on a resort rate, Pebble costs 5-6x as much. So after some thought, we can’t quite say this is the “Pebble Beach of the East Coast,” but if you want a relaxing vacation with a photo-worthy round of golf at a fraction of the cost, Samoset is a fantastic option.
Rates: $95-$140 for resort guests ($110-190 for non-guests)
Check out this overview from @coursesyouneedtoplay
STATISTICS
Stat of the Day: Scrambling Par Save Percentage by Handicap
presented by…
The Stat: A Low Handicap player (0-3 HCP) manages to save par 45%+ of the time when missing a green in regulation, whereas a 13+ Handicap (average) golfer only saves par just 20% of the time.
i.e. an average 13 HCP is nearly 2.5x less likely to save par when compared 0-3 HCP after a missed GIR.
The Takeaway: There’s almost a direct correlation between handicap and scrambling par percentage. This is largely because the best players practice and play more frequently, and they also know where to focus their practice sessions.
50%+ of your shots in any given round typically happen within 20 yards of the hole, so that’s where you should focus your practice sessions!
TODAY’S TRIVIA
Answer to Win a 2024 Limited Edition US Open Gift Pack
(1 winner chosen on 6/30/24 across all June trivia entries, 1,000 respondents minimum)
Tiger Woods won the Memorial Tournament 3-straight times, but it's also home to his worst professional round of golf in 2015. What was the score? |
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