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BGonline.org Forums
Woods's total driving rank
Posted By: Henrik Bukkjaer In Response To: Woods's total driving rank (Christian Munk-Christensen)
Date: Wednesday, 15 June 2011, at 10:06 p.m.
>> "Splashes"?
I forgot to answer this one..
A splash shot is a bunker shot. Probably your preferred "regular" bunker shot.
Some people also refer to it as the explosion shot, but it's my impression that the two shots are actually not the same. At least, I have distinguished betweem them like this:
Splash (you use the club's bounce to make sure it doesn't dig down, but instead it takes a "flat" route through the sand under the ball, lifting the ball gently up without contact. Typically played with an open club face to create even more bounce and loft from the club and a higher trajectory with less roll.
The explosion shot is often referred to as the same, but (at least I think) it's the shot played with a square or closed stance, and a square or closed clubface, ball position more back to the right, allowing the club to dig more into the sand behind the ball. It's a "heavier" shot moving more sand, requiring more power and allowing the ball to roll more. Should only be played when needed (when the ball lies deeper in the sand).
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I just googled a couple of pages, and to support my "thought" on game development. One of which explains the splash shot:
http://www.pga.info/PGAFeatures/40883729.htm
It says (at the end): By using different lofted wedges you can control the trajectory of the shots.
I'm fairly sure, that the same article 20 years ago, would have told the player to open or close the clubface and alter the stance and ball position to control the trajectory!
Another article (the author must definitely have read my first post!) is very much in alignment with my "shotmaking" views on the game and Woods in particular: (It's a good read).
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2007-12/gw20071228seitz
Here's a snippet, on the subject of the "new style" and the driving statistics:
When Vijay Singh won nine tournaments in 2004 and popularized what has become known as a "bomb and gouge" style, he routinely ripped drivers on par 4s with little regard for the rough, ranking 150th in fairways hit but second in greens in regulation and first in scoring average and money.
... Woods responded by switching to a higher-tech driver, from a 43½-inch model with a steel shaft to a 45-inch weapon with a graphite shaft. His basic distance increased from 310 to 330 yards. "Now his driver is basically a specialty club," says Haney. The world's best golfer relies on different game plans for regular events and major championships. His statistics tell as much, though golf statistics are freighted with variables.
On the PGA Tour in 2007, Woods' stats closely resembled Singh's 2004 numbers. He was 152nd in driving accuracy, but first in greens in regulation, scoring average and, need it be said, in money -- by a couple of hedge funds. The majors are a different story. At the PGA in overheated Tulsa, his driver staying shaded under his animal headcover, he was in the top 10 in driving accuracy. When he won his last British Open at Hoylake, also forgoing the driver, he was first.
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