Driver vs Putter

[jim8flog]

How many people have had a driver fitting and/or a lesson with the driver?

How many people have had a putter fitting and/or a lesson with the putter?

Me, neither of the two.

 

[jim8flog]

who on this forum only hits a 5 iron 150 yards?

What is a 5 iron?

 

[theoneandonly]

Sure

https://shotscope.com/blog/stats/driver-versus-3-wood/

I’ll give you the TLDR:
Conclusion: Driver versus 3 wood
The overall conclusion on the Driver or 3 wood debate is that you should hit Driver wherever it is reasonable to do so.

Hell yeah, no point being in the shit 25 yds further back.

 

[theoneandonly]

Driving is the most important, Isn't that why everyone wants to rollback the driving distance as its making the game to easy

Putting is a much easier skill to master for all levels.

 

[jim8flog]

And no one one holes any putts over 10ft.
Getting better at amateur golf is about not making doubles, then bogies as you get into lower single figures.

The easiest way to do that is by getting better off the tee and approach shots.

I would say that my biggest improvement getting me from 16 to 6 was a big improvement in my short game ( I mean all parts from about 120 yards in). Pitching and chipping to the point where you either hole out or only single putt is a very big part of low score golf.

 

[Backache]

Look up Lou Stagner, his stats prove that no one hits it close as an average.
So good putting is the difference.

Lou Stagner is a huge advocate of the importance of driving and has had a well publicised effort to increase his driving length.
Although good drives don't always result in you getting close to the hole with the second, they do result in a lot fewer missed greens.
No one is suggesting that putting is not important, but the evidence suggests that good drivers tend to score lower as a result of their driving than good putters do as a result of their putting.
The whole game is clearly important but basically without a decent long game (driving and approach play) no one scores well.

 

[JamesR]

And no one one holes any putts over 10ft.
Getting better at amateur golf is about not making doubles, then bogies as you get into lower single figures.

The easiest way to do that is by getting better off the tee and approach shots.

Maybe at your level.
But for some of us low handicap players the way To improve is by holing more putts.

 

[nickjdavis]

Look up Lou Stagner, his stats prove that no one hits it close as an average.
So good putting is the difference.

If your average first putt distance after an approach from say 140yds is 50ft and you can improve that to 25ft you will see a vast difference in your putting stats. Your putting skill will not have improved however.

 

[BiMGuy]

Maybe at your level.
But for some of us low handicap players the way To improve is by holing more putts.

Yes, for some, during some rounds, putting is the key to lower scores.

But for most people, even the godly low single figure players. There are more gains to be had elsewhere.

 

[bobmac]

If you cant drive well, learn.
If you cant putt well, learn.
You'll never be a ''good'' player unless you can do both well.
IMHO

 

[John Evans 9]

Well this is one of those “it depends” questions.
For a high handicapper who gets into trouble off the tee, topping,wild slices,hooks or just too short to reach the fairway, then driving is all important. However good his putting he’ll never improve until he hits the fairways.
Really low handicappers generally have a pretty reliable long game and their better rounds coincide with fewer putts.
Most of us fall in the mid-range usually making mistakes on both tee and green.
So I think the most important part of the game for poor players is driving, and putting for good players.

 

[SteveJay]

I'll use the analogy thats been posted before.

If you played with a Rory, Tiger, DJ etc, and they took all your tee shots but you putted everything, would you score lower than if you took all the tee shots and they just putted for you. Think the answer is pretty obvious.

 

[Barking_Mad]

If I had a bad putting day and 3 putted every green that is 18 shots thrown away. I can't ever imagine giving away 18 shots off the tee, even dropping down to a mid iron off the tee isn't going to lose me anywhere near 18 shots.

I don't think suggesting 3 putting 18 times in a round is a 'bad day putting' when your average 19 handicap golfer will 3 putt 3.5 times a round.

Whilst putting is important it's a function of what comes before it, so if players can hit longer and better drives then their approaches are likely to be closer which makes chipping easier or hitting more green more likely = fewer putts.

Edited for accuracy.

 

[Barking_Mad]

I always score better on a day when I putt better 🤷‍♂️

A number of times a single putt has rescued a poor drive

I'm also guessing your chipping was on point, enabling the one putts?

 

[bobmac]

I don't think suggesting putting 18 times in a round is a 'bad day putting' when your average 19 handicap golfer will 3 putt 3.5 times a round.

I think he said 18 x 3 putts, not 18 putts in total.

 

[Barking_Mad]

I think he said 18 x 3 putts, not 18 putts in total.

Sorry, typing and walking the dog, that's that I meant to type. Well spotted, edited now. 😂

 

[Funt1m3]

The challenge for most is putting just isn’t sexy. Difference between 36 and 30 putts is obviously huge, but doesn’t have the same impact in your (and everyone else’s) head as ace’ing the driver

It’s probably only when you get down to low handicapper that you prioritise

 

[Voyager EMH]

The challenge for most is putting just isn’t sexy. Difference between 36 and 30 putts is obviously huge, but doesn’t have the same impact in your (and everyone else’s) head as ace’ing the driver

It’s probably only when you get down to low handicapper that you prioritise

Spot on matey.

I see plenty spending an hour on the range, but never a full hour on pitching, chipping and putting, where most of the improvements on scoring can be made.

This has made me realise why I am such a freak.
2 years learning to putt.
2 years on an 18-hole pitch and putt.
Then ventured on to a golf course.
Still only a nipper at the time, but I could chip and putt like a single figure h'cap golfer. Couldn't drive the ball more than 150 yards when I first broke 100.

Chipping and putting, I found, got more difficult when my eyes and hands got further away from the ball. But I had learned the importance factor.

 

[JamesR]

Spot on matey.

I see plenty spending an hour on the range, but never a full hour on pitching, chipping and putting, where most of the improvements on scoring can be made.

This has made me realise why I am such a freak.
2 years learning to putt.
2 years on an 18-hole pitch and putt.
Then ventured on to a golf course.
Still only a nipper at the time, but I could chip and putt like a single figure h'cap golfer. Couldn't drive the ball more than 150 yards when I first broke 100.

Chipping and putting, I found, got more difficult when my eyes and hands got further away from the ball. But I had learned the importance factor.

The difference you often see is between those who played a lot as kids, and those that started properly as adults.
Just the set up and comfort levels, stood over a chip, look different.

We used to have chipping competitions. You don’t see a few adults doing the same very often.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Watching the South African open the answer is clearly neither; it's chipping!