Clever play for high handicapper

[kid2]

Hi all....
Just need some advice on whats the best way to play par 5's and long par 4's.... should you go for the green after your drive on the par 5's or should you hit maybe 2 irons into them and hope to 2 putt....

 

[brendy]

It depends on the result of the drive, if you are on a fairway with no immediate danger between you and the green and nothing left or right (not very often) then go for it, if not, play it with your handicap in mind, pars are net birdies and bogeys are net pars.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Thats too difficult to give a definitive answer to. It would depend on how you are swinging, the conditions, how far you can hit it etc before even beginning to assess the dangers in front of you after you've driven. Are you on the fairway or in light/heavy rough?

In general terms, unless the situation demanded I needed something special (down in matchplay with holes running out etc) I'd normally play all the par 5's on my home course in competition play as 3 shotters. Potentially I could get home in two on a couple but the risk/reward is too great for an inconsistant player like me

I'll always look to try and get home on the long par 4's but it depends on how I drive it. If I'm in the fairway or light rough with a decent lie then I'll normally go for it as I tend to get shots on these holes anyway so a missed green isn't too bad. If I hit a bad drive I'll always play it as a par 5 and take a 5 nett 4 and walk away everytime

 

[RGDave]

... should you go for the green after your drive on the par 5's or should you hit maybe 2 irons into them and hope to 2 putt....

???

Can you hit your par 5s in two shots?....in which case, you should go for it.

If you can get home, but don't want to risk too much, assess where you are after your drive.

On long par 4s I take as much club as I feel safe to hit for the second shot....

 

[kid2]

... should you go for the green after your drive on the par 5's or should you hit maybe 2 irons into them and hope to 2 putt....

???

Can you hit your par 5s in two shots?....in which case, you should go for it.

If you can get home, but don't want to risk too much, assess where you are after your drive.

On long par 4s I take as much club as I feel safe to hit for the second shot....

Hey guys... Sometimes i can reach them. depends alot really on the wind.. where im kind messing up is i started off playing with a bad slice iv fixed this to the point where im straight 8 out of 10 times the other 2 usually soft fades.. on average im hitting about 260yrds... but i get up to the drive and wonder should i take 9 iron then pw into the green or go with the 5 wood.. sometimes the wood comes off sometimes it doesnt hence the inconsistency. but if i hit the wood and am faced with 30 - 40 metres of a pitch thats when things get hairy.. i cant judge my strength.. ill either bone it or duff it...im just wondering would the 2 irons in be safer for a while till i can get my handicap down and get a bit more confident and consistent with the woods.. id just like to be a little cleverer with my course management.

P.S. should i always aim for the centre of the green off my handicap or go after the flags...

 

[EchtLoon]

P.S. should i always aim for the centre of the green off my handicap or go after the flags...

Centre of the green assuming no trouble. As that is rarely the case, always try to avoid short siding yourself, so for eg. trouble right with pin right side, you aim for the left side of green.

 

[CrapHacker]

but if i hit the wood and am faced with 30 - 40 metres of a pitch thats when things get hairy.. i cant judge my strength.. ill either bone it or duff it...im just wondering would the 2 irons in be safer for a while till i can get my handicap down and get a bit more confident and consistent with the woods.. id just like to be a little cleverer with my course management.

2 things

1) Only play the 5 wood if it brings the green within range to your 'normal' contact, not your occasional, Sunday best contact. Otherwise play whatever club that will leave you your preferred shot in. Say ( for example ) you can hit a smooth wedge 100 yards, then play to leave that for your 3rd shot. A 500 yard par 5. After a nice 250 yard drive, leaves 250. You wont reach with your 5wd, so play the 150 yards ( 6I or 7I ish ?? ) and hit the green in 3.

2) Practise more with your wedges. Always play for a full finish, but practise a half backswing, 3/4 backswing and full backswing. With 2 wedges thats 6 more shots in your arsenal, if you carry 3 wedges, then it's 9. At this stage don't worry about opening the clubface yet, you can try that after you've perfected this lot.

Also practise a stiff wristed chip and run / run up shot using every club from the 6I up, keeping your hands in front of the ball at impact. You'll cut down on those thinned/fat shots with this one.

 

[kid2]

but if i hit the wood and am faced with 30 - 40 metres of a pitch thats when things get hairy.. i cant judge my strength.. ill either bone it or duff it...im just wondering would the 2 irons in be safer for a while till i can get my handicap down and get a bit more confident and consistent with the woods.. id just like to be a little cleverer with my course management.

2 things

1) Only play the 5 wood if it brings the green within range to your 'normal' contact, not your occasional, Sunday best contact. Otherwise play whatever club that will leave you your preferred shot in. Say ( for example ) you can hit a smooth wedge 100 yards, then play to leave that for your 3rd shot. A 500 yard par 5. After a nice 250 yard drive, leaves 250. You wont reach with your 5wd, so play the 150 yards ( 6I or 7I ish ?? ) and hit the green in 3.

2) Practise more with your wedges. Always play for a full finish, but practise a half backswing, 3/4 backswing and full backswing. With 2 wedges thats 6 more shots in your arsenal, if you carry 3 wedges, then it's 9. At this stage don't worry about opening the clubface yet, you can try that after you've perfected this lot.

Also practise a stiff wristed chip and run / run up shot using every club from the 6I up, keeping your hands in front of the ball at impact. You'll cut down on those thinned/fat shots with this one.

Thanks Guys,
To be honest id think id feel more comfortable hitting the 3 shots into the green regardless of how good i was hitting the wood.it makes sense to be on the green and 2 putt for par rather than being near the green and 4 putt after your second... The reason im firing all these questions is that iv picked up a bad leg injury tru football lately and its after retiring me im in a cast since the 10th of may.. cant play the game anymore... so i really want to start concentrating on my golf and try get the handicap to tumble...