At Last

[Rlburnside]

Looking back over my competition history I see that I’ve had 29 rounds and not parred our first hole, 389 yards with a penalty ditch running all the way across the fairway 60 yards from the green, and long rough either side of fairway

The way I’ve been playing it is to lay up short of the ditch hoping to get on green and 2 put for a 5, yesterday I took a 5 wood for my second shot and hit it well resulting in a par.

If by laying up and ending up with a 5 I would be happy with that but out of the 29 rounds I’ve had 16 which resulted in doubles or worse.

So I think I will play more aggressive and see how I score that way.

 

[Orikoru]

If you hit the 5 wood consistently, then that could be the way to go. If you don't though, it may not work out so well every time.

On my course there are two holes that I haven't parred this year. The last time I parred our 2nd hole was June 2019. But it's 470 yards off the whites so I just don't have a hope - that time I did par it, it was on the green in three and managed to sink a 25 foot putt! There's not really any other way to approach it, it's three good shots to get on and hope for a one putt.

The other one is the 9th, I last parred that on the last round of 2019. It's always a hybrid into the green for the 2nd shot, but it has a kind of narrow upslope entry to the green, and on the right there's a bunker - I normally miss this bunker short and right to be honest, then have to lob it over that and try and hole the putt. Without much success, clearly. I can hit a hybrid without fading/slicing it, but on this particular hole, I can't. It just goes the same way every time. The only other way to play it would be to hit 7 iron and try and pitch on from around 40 odd yards, I'm not sure the result would be any better though.

 

[bobmac]

Sadness is lying on your deathbed regreting the risks in life you didn't take.

 

[Yorkshire Hacker]

It sounds just like our 11th: 433 off the whites, with a ditch diagonally running across the fairway about 45 yards short of the green.
I've played it for 17 years, and I've only had a handful of pars, but the other day I hit a particularly good drive, and decided to go for it with a five wood.
Landed on the green and one putt for a (unique to me) birdie. Generally it's a "five and happy" type of hole.

 

[jim8flog]

There are only 2 of our par 4s I have never eagled. Sometimes you just have to accept that some holes are too long to get on with accuracy.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

How far exactly is the ditch off the whites? How often do you go in the ditch and with what club. You know you can par the hole but surely there has to be a more robust and consistent way you can do it. Every hole can be cracked it's just finding out how. At the end of the day, its the first hole, there are a few nerves knocking around and bogey can be your friend if you get a shot.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Looking back over my competition history I see that I’ve had 29 rounds and not parred our first hole, 389 yards with a penalty ditch running all the way across the fairway 60 yards from the green, and long rough either side of fairway

The way I’ve been playing it is to lay up short of the ditch hoping to get on green and 2 put for a 5, yesterday I took a 5 wood for my second shot and hit it well resulting in a par.

If by laying up and ending up with a 5 I would be happy with that but out of the 29 rounds I’ve had 16 which resulted in doubles or worse.

So I think I will play more aggressive and see how I score that way.

What is normally the carry required to clear the ditch (not reach the green) with the second shot if you hit a good tee shot?

Could you aim to lay up short of the green on the other side of the ditch?

What I’m getting at is you don’t like hitting 5 Wood because it brings a greater risk of an inaccurate shot (I presume). Is there a club which you could use that you hit well and would almost always clear the ditch, even if it doesn’t quite reach the putting surface. A 5iron or a hybrid say?

 

[Old Skier]

Unless theres a row of houses on it, take the risk.

 

[Rlburnside]

What is normally the carry required to clear the ditch (not reach the green) with the second shot if you hit a good tee shot?

Could you aim to lay up short of the green on the other side of the ditch?

What I’m getting at is you don’t like hitting 5 Wood because it brings a greater risk of an inaccurate shot (I presume). Is there a club which you could use that you hit well and would almost always clear the ditch, even if it doesn’t quite reach the putting surface. A 5iron or a hybrid say?

Hitting a inaccurate 5 wood for just the second shot of the round is precisely why I always try and lay up short of the ditch, nothing worse than getting off to a bad start to a round, yes I could hit a hybrid or even a 6 iron sometimes to clear the ditch but it's still the second shot of the round and even if I clear the ditch I think laying up short should still is a better option to take.

I normally hit the 5 wood well so the next few rounds I'm going to change my approach and be more aggressive playing the second shot.

 

[Rlburnside]

How far exactly is the ditch off the whites? How often do you go in the ditch and with what club. You know you can par the hole but surely there has to be a more robust and consistent way you can do it. Every hole can be cracked it's just finding out how. At the end of the day, its the first hole, there are a few nerves knocking around and bogey can be your friend if you get a shot.

Well as I said in my first post it's 398 yards off the tee and the ditch is 60 short of the green, I don't take a club that will reach the ditch so I rarely go in it, as I said I would be happy with a bogey to start the round as I do get a shot but the stats don't lie 16 doubles or worse out of 29 is not good enough.

So I'm going to be more aggressive and see what that leads to

 

[Rlburnside]

If you hit the 5 wood consistently, then that could be the way to go. If you don't though, it may not work out so well every time.

On my course there are two holes that I haven't parred this year. The last time I parred our 2nd hole was June 2019. But it's 470 yards off the whites so I just don't have a hope - that time I did par it, it was on the green in three and managed to sink a 25 foot putt! There's not really any other way to approach it, it's three good shots to get on and hope for a one putt.

The other one is the 9th, I last parred that on the last round of 2019. It's always a hybrid into the green for the 2nd shot, but it has a kind of narrow upslope entry to the green, and on the right there's a bunker - I normally miss this bunker short and right to be honest, then have to lob it over that and try and hole the putt. Without much success, clearly. I can hit a hybrid without fading/slicing it, but on this particular hole, I can't. It just goes the same way every time. The only other way to play it would be to hit 7 iron and try and pitch on from around 40 odd yards, I'm not sure the result would be any better though.

That's the same as me 2 holes I've not parred for 29 competive rounds , got the first out of the way now, the other hole is a par 4,460 off the whites so similar to you, we don't get a lot of run on our course so even with a good drive and a 5 wood I can't reach the green , been on the green in 3 plenty of times but never managed to get the put. But as I get a shot a 5 is good on this hole,

 

[Rlburnside]

Was out for 9 holes tonight hit my drive 20 yards farther than normal on the first, right I thought perfect opportunity to clear the ditch, I think I could have reached the green with a good shot.
Duffed my 5 wood and finished with a 7 ?

On the plus side I was hitting driver much better, hit 2 big drives on the last and parred with both balls.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Was out for 9 holes tonight hit my drive 20 yards farther than normal on the first, right I thought perfect opportunity to clear the ditch, I think I could have reached the green with a good shot.
Duffed my 5 wood and finished with a 7 ?

On the plus side I was hitting driver much better, hit 2 big drives on the last and parred with both balls.

Can't remember who said it but work the green back and see where you can and can't miss and worse case what club can get you home in three. Work back to the ditch and where you can leave it and then go back to the tee and where a good/bad drive leaves you and where you play from there

 

[robinthehood]

I thought this would be a HIO thread.

 

[Rlburnside]

Can't remember who said it but work the green back and see where you can and can't miss and worse case what club can get you home in three. Work back to the ditch and where you can leave it and then go back to the tee and where a good/bad drive leaves you and where you play from there

I know it’s late at night but that’s a bit confusing.