Going At It V Playing Safe

[griffgolf]

Alex,

In your next comp try just taking the irons and putter in the bag and see what effects it has on your score in competition conditions and most importantly see if you enjoy the round

I am aware that its not as black and white as this, I took just irons as I was on my own and really felt time hitting alot of iron shots. Its always going to be a balance I am just playing with the idea that my balance may be incorrect.

You may be suprised at just how good it gets playing with just irons.

I got down to a handicap of 10 and never used any woods at all.

My set up was Wilson deep red fat shaft irons 1 to SW ( 11 irons ) and a putter.

I won 3 majors and 2 medals in the process and chuffed to bits

I now sometimes play with a driver mostly for the craic of smashing it big time!!!!!! and lots of wedges for the short game but regularly take the driver and a wedge out and replace with the 1 and 2 iron thus all irons especially on the windy days.

Have a go in a comp you may well get a surprise

 

[Alex1975]

Alex,

In your next comp try just taking the irons and putter in the bag and see what effects it has on your score in competition conditions and most importantly see if you enjoy the round

I am aware that its not as black and white as this, I took just irons as I was on my own and really felt time hitting alot of iron shots. Its always going to be a balance I am just playing with the idea that my balance may be incorrect.

You may be suprised at just how good it gets playing with just irons.

I got down to a handicap of 10 and never used any woods at all.

My set up was Wilson deep red fat shaft irons 1 to SW ( 11 irons ) and a putter.

I won 3 majors and 2 medals in the process and chuffed to bits

I now sometimes play with a driver mostly for the craic of smashing it big time!!!!!! and lots of wedges for the short game but regularly take the driver and a wedge out and replace with the 1 and 2 iron thus all irons especially on the windy days.

Have a go in a comp you may well get a surprise

I could not decide in your 1st post if you were taking the mick and saying that I would not enjoy it and would not keep up, or actually challenging(ish) me to really try it. I thought to myself that it would not be so bad a score and that I would enjoy it but that I maybe could not defend that point to you. Turns out you were corroborating my thoughts


I can say this, it will for sure not be the last time I walk out for a bit of fun on my own with just the irons and that you may well see me playing a few more irons and hybrids off some tees in regular games.

 

[USER1999]

Playing just with irons will make you a better ball striker. However, it will also limit how low you can go, as some holes will be unreachable.

 

[griffgolf]

I find not always making the green in regulation is not always a bad thing as I have found that if your 2nd shot on a long par 4 comes up short of the green your pitch 9 times out of 10 leaves you with a much shorter first putt

Its great to see the reaction from people when they realise you play with just irons and see the scores you post

In matchplay especially club knockouts Ive had people say they hate my 1 iron because it goes so long and straight then they hit their driver and ??????

 

[Alex1975]

I find not always making the green in regulation is not always a bad thing as I have found that if your 2nd shot on a long par 4 comes up short of the green your pitch 9 times out of 10 leaves you with a much shorter first putt

Its great to see the reaction from people when they realise you play with just irons and see the scores you post

In matchplay especially club knockouts Ive had people say they hate my 1 iron because it goes so long and straight then they hit their driver and ??????

The night I played just irons it pissed down with rain and I mean really pissed down. I was on 9 and ready to walk off so I played my balls to the green and made my way to a tree.

A guy called me over to sit in his buggy as the rain had been sporadic and he commented on the fact that I had no woods. "no woods mate? whats that all about?"

 

[Philm]

im a total nut job. and i want to get better.

i dont aprticularly care about my handicap.

but it has been coming down even with my do or die attitude.

i want to be able to hit greens from 180yards, so i try, how else will i ever be able to hit greens if i dont give it a bash when i have the chance?

im only starting out and i enjoy almost every round i play, maybe when ive playd a few years if my handicap is still high ill wise up and see if sensible shots wouldnt serve me better...

Phil

 

[Alex1975]

im a total nut job. and i want to get better.

i dont aprticularly care about my handicap.

but it has been coming down even with my do or die attitude.

i want to be able to hit greens from 180yards, so i try, how else will i ever be able to hit greens if i dont give it a bash when i have the chance?

im only starting out and i enjoy almost every round i play, maybe when ive playd a few years if my handicap is still high ill wise up and see if sensible shots wouldnt serve me better...

Phil

Yep, your me from the past, and I can hit greens at 180 yards, or 200 or 230 but how many times out of 10 is the question I am now starting to ask myself more often.

 

[griffgolf]

Its not how you do it, what you use to do it, its about what score you end up with

IMHO too many people take it for granted when they play golf that you have to have a driver and fairway woods in the bag.

Today there is so much choice and options available it is mind boggoling

I have played the game for 37 years so playing with just irons is maybe down to my age group ( 49 yrs of age ) but it has worked for me and I can still hold my own in the modern day club game even though my Taylormade Superdeep driver 8.5 degree which airs from time to time is the longest hitting club I have ever had but unfortunately not the most accurate

 

[Khamelion]

In the past i've tended to go it all guns blazing, working on the theory I've paid a shed load for these clubs I'm going to use them.

That said I know if I was to course manage <spit> my game better I could get lower scores. However I'm not a member of a club and at the moment while still getting better a handicap or competitions is not a worry.

When I do become a member of a club and put my three cards in I'll be playing safe and manage <spit> the course accordingly.

A good example of going for it, is on the 15th at one of the course I play, it's 260yds to green short par 4, but the green is guarded by a large pond or small lake. Everytime I get there I try to make the green in one, I have the length to do it, but I slice badly everytime, where as I could take my 5 off the tee and lay up left for a short wedge to the green, but if I was in a competition I'd be laying up and being safe.

At the moment with no membership or competition play it's gung ho let rip and be damned. Come next year when hopefully I can get a membership I'll be playing a lot safer.

Cheers
Dave

 

[G1BB0]

one of our par 4's is a 90 degree dogleg left, either drive 240-280 or if short have to go over conifers to green or lay up for a 100-120 yd to green.... I always try and boom tee shot, cock it up take on tree's and end up with a 7 or 8!!!

the day I make it though will be the best day ever and I refuse to play it safe

 

[kid2]

I play my 3 wood alot and rarely hit a driver as i havent really found one i get on with yet(up until i played a round with an i15 4 weeks ago and practically slept with it afterwards.)

So im confident off the tee and off the short stuff with my 3 wood in hand but i have played our long par 5's both ways with similar outcomes...

If im hitting the wood well ill have a whack off them but if its misbehaving then its 3 wood off the tee and maybe a 6 iron for 2 to a wedge or 9 iron distance for the 3rd...

But im fairly adept at missing greens from 100 mtrs than i am at fluffing the odd chip too....

 

[Tiger]

This may well be premature but stuff it I'm feeling confident. My approach to golf raised a few eyebrows but I feel after two (hard) years it is finally all coming together. Playing only irons for so long has made me a much more confident ball striker. There are people I play with that can't hit a 60 yard wedge shot but will still hit driver 240 yards on a 300 yard par 4. Why? Because they fear their long irons and a mid iron leaves them too much distance to the green. Give it a go Al I think you'll be pleasantly surprised