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How to improve your scores in JN5
by Voyen Koreis
To see if I’m qualified to giving out advise on how to play in JN5,
you can look at
some of my current JN5 statistics:
Clicking
First of all, here is one tip that perhaps can help some people who
might struggle
with the mouse clicking. Discard the mouse for a while and try to use
your keyboard.
I have made this discovery (hardly anything world shattering) quite
accidentally. A
condition diagnosed as tendonitis affecting my right arm had made mouse
clicking
almost impossible for me. For a while I tried to use my left hand,
but not very
successfully. Then I began to click on the space bar and, after a while,
I found out
that it actually worked for me better than the mouse. We all have our
individual
physical characteristics, and we are stuck with what we have. In my
youth, on the
insistence of my mother, I was forced to learn to play the piano. While
I had a good
sense of rhythm and near perfect pitch, my fingers were short and stubby,
definitely
not suitable for piano play. And probably not very useful for using
the mouse either.
Soon after I started to use the space bar and found the proper rhythm,
my scoring
had improved noticeably. Give it a try and see how it works for you.
The clubs I use
Always: The Driver, 3 Wood, 1 Iron, 9 Iron, PW, SW, LW.
This means that I have to leave out one club in the range 2-8 irons.
It is often the 6
iron, but not always. A lot depends on the par threes on the course,
if for instance
they call for the middle irons, I might leave out 2 or 3 iron.
Driving
I believe that the biggest decision one has to make on the tee is when
to go all out
with the power drive and when to play conservatively. With me it is
often quite
spontaneous. I have on occasion hesitated, then made a conscious decision
to play
conservatively, only to see the more aggressive part of my personality
suddenly and
inexorably take over in the middle of the swing, and go for the power
drive. I have
regretted it sometimes, but more often it worked to my benefit. That’s
because,
essentially, I’m an aggressive player. However, there is a fine line
between being
aggressive and being a gambler. I’m definitely not a gambler, I don’t
bet on horses
and have never been to a casino.
A deal of aggressiveness on the course is good in my opinion, while
gambling is
definitely out, unless of course your opponent lies a dormie with three
holes to play,
and consequently you have nothing to lose.
Some of my best rounds, like my 59 at Royal Birkdale, were played power
driving
all the way. Some courses would allow that, on others this would be
a sheer madness.
In any case, if you want to attack the course, you have to have your
confidence on
high, and you will most probably need some warm-up, at least nine holes
I would say.
That’s what it usually takes me to get my timing right.
During your round, at some stage, you are likely to run into a brick
wall. The art of
scoring low is all about being able to scramble to pars when this happens,
rather than
running up double bogies. More on this in the section on short play,
but here I would
like to point out that it is errant driving that’s most likely to get
you into trouble. To
prevent this, when I sense that my timing might be a bit off, I try
to go for a somewhat
shorter swing. That is, I try to stop my back swing at around 11 or
11.30 o’clock on
the swing meter. With the driver you don’t lose too much distance,
you might
sacrifice perhaps 10 - 15 yds. But you are much more likely to stay
in the fairway. I
often use this approach on the closing holes too, when trying to preserve
a good
score, and it’s amazing how often I end up with birdies even with such
conservative
approach.
Woods and long irons
Apart from the driver, the only really useful wooden club in JN5 is
the 3 wood.
Forget about the other woods, but keep your 3 wood. You’ll need it
particularly for
getting on or near the green on long par fives. From a clean lie in
the fairway, with the
full swing you’ll get about 230 yds carry with it, the ball will roll
20 - 30 yds. So you
can hit the green from about 260 yds away and up to about 280 yds with
the power
swing. I also use 3 wood sometimes to get myself out of trouble. For
instance, when
my ball lies in the heavy rough with some overhanging branches in front
and the green
is over 200 yds away I often go for a power hit with my 3 wood, trying
to slice it or
hook it around the trees. Of course, you need to hit it cleanly, otherwise
you might get
into even worse trouble. Power hit with 3 wood from heavy rough will
usually travel
around or just under 200 yds, which can get you to within a chipable
distance from
the hole.
For shots to the green from the fairway of 230 - 250 yds I usually
opt for the 1
iron and if I come up a little short, I usually face a straight forward
up and down from
the fairway.
Don’t put much trust into the JN5 automatic caddy. In most situations
it tends to
give you at least one more club than you really need. A typical situation:
a long par
three of around 220 yds, with the green 25’ below the elevated tee.
The caddy will
offer you 1 iron. I might personally consider accepting this selection
only if 20 m wind
blows straight into my face. With no wind I would probably be hitting
3 iron, if the
green slopes forward and I’m likely to get less roll, perhaps 2 iron.
With a 10 mile
wind behind me, even 4 iron.
Hitting to the green
The two main factors you have to consider are the elevation and the
wind. Of
course, it also pays to know which way the ball will tend to roll,
after it reached the
putting surface. You can always move the camera to the landing spot
and examine it in
detail, but I usually avoid this. You would seldom see players on a
real course do this,
and personally it would make me feel awkward doing it in JN5. Examining
a short chip
or put in some detail however is a totally different thing, and I recommend
doing it.
As a rule of the thumb, approx. 20’ of elevation up or down calls for
the change
of club, but bear in mind that shots hit with the long irons will roll
considerably farther
than with the shorter clubs. So instead of using 2 iron instead of
3 iron I might often
decide to stick with the shorter club and make some changes to the
shot’s trajectory,
hitting the ball lower, which will give it a bit more roll.
Basically the same applies when we have to deal with the wind. 10 -
15 mile wind
usually means one club more or less, the finer tuning can be done by
playing a bit with
the shot’s trajectory.
There are two ways of dealing with the cross wind. You can either hook
or slice
the ball in the direction the wind comes from, or you hit it straight
and move the shot
arrow to allow the ball be carried towards the hole. In other words,
you either fight the
wind or you use it. I prefer using the wind. With the woods you need
to click on the
side arrow about the same number of times as the strength of the wind
in miles
indicated, with the long irons a little more. An example: 20 mile cross
wind from the
right, with the driver I would click about 20x, using the 2 iron, I
would click on the
right arrow about 25x. If the wind comes from 4 o’clock rather than
from the right
angle, I would reduce the number of clicks to about 20 and slightly
increase the
trajectory (ctrl + down arrow) by 3 or 4, if from 2 o’clock, reduce
to 20 and lower the
trajectory by 3 or 4.
With the shorter clubs the wind affects the ball even more, so you have
to allow
more. For 20 mile wind at least 30x, if you’re hitting the wedge. With
the wedge and 5
mile wind, I usually move the arrow 8x.
Around the greens
This is the make or break of your scorecard. My own statistics say that
I hit about
65% of greens in regulation. This means that roughly on every third
hole I find myself
fighting for par. Still, I average less than 2 bogies a round because
I’m able to get up
and down on most occasions.
Lofted wedge is the club that I use the most around the greens. I hardly
ever try to
run the ball up to the hole, except when overhanging branches prevent
me from
lobbing.
Let me describe a typical situation that might occur several times
during your
round. In a clear weather, your ball lies in the light or heavy rough
(there is not much
difference in how this affects the shot with a lofted club), 50’ from
the hole, the
elevation is +20”. Let’s say that the shot we face is straight up,
with no or little break.
I would use LW, with Ctrl + down arrow I would make the shot trajectory
as high as
possible. Then I would add two units of length by clicking the up arrow
2x. The full
well timed shot then should bring the ball to within 3 - 4’ from the
hole. If I play the
shot into the wind of 10 m/h, with the up arrow I would add one unit
of length, if a
wind of the same strength blows from behind, I would take one off.
The fine tuning
can be done by varying the shot’s trajectory. For instance, Ctrl +
up arrow 3x will
roughly compensate for a 5m/h head wind. Generally, at this short distance,
for each
12” of elevation I would add or subtract one distance unit. With the
side wind,
roughly the same formula as with the iron shots applies: click the
arrow approx. 1 1/2
times the strength of the wind in miles, ie. 10m/h wind from right
= 15x right arrow. Of
course, another factor is the slope of the green, more on that in the
section on putting.
Yet another determinant is your lie. The figures above apply when the
ball lies flat. If
it’s up (or side hill that appears uppish), subtract one unit of length,
yes, subtract,
because the ball tends to roll more. With a downhill lie you have to
subtract again, this
time more like two units.
The bunker play
In the fairway bunker, the general rule is to add two clubs to the automatic
selection. So, instead of a 7 iron I would use a 5 iron and so on.
Plus or minus the
usual allowance for the wind or elevation, of course.
With the shorter bunker shots around the green it is a bit more complicated.
On a
real short bunker shot of 20’ - 30’ with no significant elevation,
I use the LW set on
the highest trajectory and click on the up arrow twice. For every 12’
of elevation I
add another click.
Bunker shots from around fifty feet require roughly four clicks, five
or six with
more elevation or extra ten feet or so of distance. Once we get beyond
the range of
about 40 yds, I add approx. 20 yds to the distance, which might mean
having to
change the club.
On the green
Let’s start from the fringe. Your caddy will give you the putter and
Garry McCord
will advise you that this is the club to use. Before you accept this
selection, have a
good look at the shot you’re facing. How much of the fringe texture
do you have to
put over? Sometimes the fringe might run almost parallel to the line
of your shot. If it
is so, don’t put, chip the ball. I nearly always chip when I see that
the ball has to cross
more than 2 squares of fringe on the putting grid. Or when the cup
is farther than
about 40’ away. Come to think of it, I put only when I feel that I
have a chance of
holing the put. If I don’t give myself much of a chance, I chip (and
try to hole the
chip!). I would also chip even from the putting surface rather than
taking a put of 70’
with a complicated read!
Most of your puts, however, will fall to within the range of 3’ - 50’.
For putting I
have developed a formula, which I’m now going to reveal for the first
time.
Any flat put: the distance to hole + 2 (feet or clicks on the up arrow)
Example: 20’ to the hole: 20’ + 2’ = 22’.
Uphill puts: for every inch of elevation, an extra foot of length, up
to 6’.
Example: 20’ to the hole, 5” elevation: 20 + 2 + 5 = 27’
Uphill puts with higher elevation: add approx. 2/3 of the number of
inches.
Example: 20’ to the hole, 15” elevation: 20’ + 2’ + 10’ = 32’
or 45’ to the hole with 3’ elevation: 45’ + 2’ + 24’ = 71’.
This formula works pretty well in clear weather. If you play in fog,
the same as
above applies, plus approx. 1/3 of the distance to the hole in feet.
Example: 30’ to the hole, 12’ elevation, fog: 30’ + 2 + 8 + 10
= 50’
In random weather, the same as above for the first 3 holes, then gradually
reduce
the allowance for the fog by a couple of feet each hole. On the back
nine it is almost
normal, still add a foot or two.
Downhill puts are a little trickier. A lot depends on the profile of
the slope between
you and the green. Generally, I subtract the number of inches from
the length, thus:
30’ to the hole, elevation -10”: 30’ + 2’ - 10’ = 22’. However, if
it looks like that
your ball will run downhill only the first half of the distance and
the green around the
hole is flat, the put would pull up short. In such case I would only
subtract about half
of the elevation inches and set the range to about 27’ in the above
example.
If the put is flat at first and slopes down near the hole, then God
help you, because
I can’t!
Lastly, some advice on how to read the side hill puts. Largely, it’s
a combination of
feel and experience. A put of that awkward length of six feet will
travel over three
squares of the putting grid. If otherwise flat, I would set the length
to 8 feet. I look at
the squares the ball will have to cross, for each dent I move the arrow
at least 2x. If
each square has a dent on it in the same direction, that makes 6 clicks.
Look further to
the side from where the green appears to slope. If there are more dents
there, the
slope is more severe and 6 clicks would not do. If the adjoining squares
also have
dents, I double the number of clicks to 12, if there are more dents
above them, even
more, perhaps 15 or even 18. On puts with double or multiple breaks
you try to
balance it as much as you can, bearing in mind that the slope near
the hole, when the
ball is slowing down, will affect the ball more.
All your calculations might be perfect, but they would be worthless
unless you can hit
the spot at the bottom of the swing meter. I’m afraid that I can’t
help you with that...