Golf Tips: Carry vs Roll

Here's a tip which should make the game easier for you and help you reduce your scores.  It is so simple yet it is something not many amateur golfers think about:  Carry vs roll. When referring to "carry" we are talking about how far the ball travels in the air before it hits the ground.  One may hit the driver 275 yards, but perhaps only 225 of that is carry.  Roll is what happens after the ball lands.  The lower the loft of the club, the more the roll as the ball is landing at a shallower angle. Knowing how far each club carries is crucial. Let's look at a couple of scenarios. You're playing a par-3, similar to the 3rd hole at my home course.  From the tee to the hole is 175 yards but between the green and the tee is a lake.  There is about 10 feet of grass between the green and the lake and the green is 20 yards deep.  So with a little math, we can determine that the middle of the green is 10 yards plus 10 feet, or about 40 feet from water's edge.  40 feet could mean the difference between 1-2 clubs.  So the carry on this hole would be 175 yards minus 40 feet, or about 13 yards.  175-13=162.  162 yards is the carry. In this situation the first and most important yardage then is 162, the carry.  It is NOT the total yardage of 175.  Why?  Let's say that one's 4-iron travels 190 yards.  The last 30 yards of that distance is roll, as a 4-iron launches low and rolls more.  So that club would land at 155 yards, then roll 35.  This is obviously then a bad club to choose as the carry in this scenario is 162.  The ball would be wet.  Get it?  A 6-iron on the other hand may only travel 170 yards, but carry 165.  It all depends on the player and the trajectory. Another scenario has us looking a driver versus 3-wood.  We have a gully in the fairway which is about 220 yards to clear.  Our driver is very risky, as we determined that it carries about 225. A slight mis-hit means a gully ball.  A 3-wood may be the better choice.  3-woods launch higher than drivers.  Though the 3-wood travels a shorter distance, say around 240-250, the club may carry 235. Take some close notes of each and every club in the bag.  Note the distance of course, but the carry of each club is even more important.