Great putter or driver?

[stevelockie]

Good putter.

Good putting (and short game) hides a multitude of sins.

One of the guys I play with is a really short hitter and all over the place, but can pitch and putt like god. Kicks my ass (and wins the money) nearly every week.

 

[nulassilb]

At the moment, "great" is a dream, so "good" at either would help my game. If I had to choose - it would be putting. I keep a check on putts and include every time I use the putter. Current average: 35. I would love to shave 3 per round as a realistic initial goal.

 

[Golfmmad]

Great Driver, poor putter=Sergio Garcia==no majors.
Poor Driver, great putter=Tiger Woods===14 Majors.

Maybe a bit harsh on Sergio but as Rafa said---FACTS.

So great putter and a reasonable driver for me.

That's a really good point and one that I wouldn't disagree with. However, I'm never ever going to be in their league, so it's a driver for where my game is at the moment.

Golfmmad.

 

[RGDave]

I'm taking more putts than ever. The trouble is this - I'm hitting more greens!

If I could actually make a putt over 10 foot, I'd be a golfing legend.

(well, that's not entirely true, but I'd make lots of birdies!)

One game (not so long ago)....miss 17 greens and play to 12.
next game....hit 8 greens and play to 10.

Surely not the same golfer?

????

 

[fade_away]

Said it before and i'll say it again. I have never yet putted OOB or into trees or into a lake. If I drive straight(ish) I will score OK. If I'm rubbish off the tee it doesn't matter how many puts I take, i'll still score poorly.

Just one mans opinion.

 

[Herbie]

But surely any number of poor drives can be recovered, but putting poorly is always a loss?

 

[nulassilb]

RGD - hitting more greens usually ups my number of putts too. My playing partner and I sometimes count fairways and greens in reg as counting against putts. So hitting fairway and green in regulation and then two putting would count as zero on a par 4. Playing this at even 10p a point makes you focus a little more.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Great putter everytime. My putting is much better since May when I had my lesson and was able to groove the new stroke

January - April averaging 34.47
May - today = 32.93

So I'm immediately saving a shot and a half per round on the green alone. If you can putt well and make pars or bogey at worse you can still be competitive. Playing 3 off the tee after driving OB or hacking from the rough or tress makes scoring impossible. You can get away with not hitting driver at all and using a 3 wood to keep the ball in play and if you sink a few putts will still score.

 

[Canfordhacker]

I think Herbie summed it up well - driving can only get you in position and is recoverable, missed putts cost every time.

So Ifor scoring i'd rather be a better putter. But for satisfaction, nailing one thirty yards past everbody else wins hands down!

 

[jammydodger]

So whats your preference Jammy?

Now you've put me on the spot

Does being great at one mean you have to be crap at the other ??

tbh i'm happy as I am (good driver , good putter). I'd certainly like to be a more consistent driver but i'd also like to roll a lot more of those birdie chances in.

I think i'll take the great driving cos the rest of my game works just fine.

 

[RGDave]

I think Herbie summed it up well - driving can only get you in position and is recoverable, missed putts cost every time.

How can a drive in the trees with no shot to the green be recoverable? It's a dropped shot (unless you knock it out, knock it on and knock in a 1-putt!)

 

[Herbie]

I think Herbie summed it up well - driving can only get you in position and is recoverable, missed putts cost every time.

How can a drive in the trees with no shot to the green be recoverable? It's a dropped shot (unless you knock it out, knock it on and knock in a 1-putt!)

Well if you are looking to birdie everything then you may have a point but I think selecting extremes is the wrong way to look at this question as is extremes of putting (eg not hitting OOB whilst putting is extreme thinking), where my putting is concerned, if I could just be 10% more accurate and 10% more consistant, I would be a 5 or 6 h/c player straight away. Where my driving is concerned, if I had a specially good day and hit every drive long and right down the centre and compared it to my regular good days driving I would have been lucky to improve my game by 1 shot. very few golfers will hit every shot with unquestionable accuracy all the time, but I know by the number of rounds I play and the scores I achieve that having a perminant perfect drive would only improve my over all game by 1 or at best 2 shots, but I also know that improving my putting by just a small ammount in a couple of areas will see me sinking those very very many near misses I have, along with the odd few that fall short. I would like both improved but given the choice of one or the other, the driving can wait.

 

[CrapHacker]

Ah yes, but no, but yes, but no.

Three drives / 3w or whatever, that go OOB ( and for me 3 is pretty much a minimum ) adds more shots than three 3 putts.

If you can't get the ball in play off the tee, I don't care how good a putter you are, the clubs will eventually go in the lake by the side of the 18th.

If you're forever 3 putting, you'll wrap one club round a tree, and then go out looking for that one 'magic' wand that WILL be out there, somewhere. Honest.

Bad putters are romantics at heart. Bad drivers are potential suicides.

 

[Imurg]

Bad drivers are potential suicides.

Anyone got a gun??

 

[bobmac]

Bad drivers are potential suicides.

Anyone got a gun??

Didnt you get one for your birthday?
Happy birthday mate

 

[viscount17]

I can hit fairly long off the tee but not always to places I like to be, so first choice would be more consistent driver.

this should then, put me into a position from which to hit the green more frequently.

once there, I need to improve the putter to take advantage of hitting more greens.

comes down to one ain't much use without the other.

 

[Herbie]

Shouldn't this question be answered by looking at an individuals best driving round and best putting round for a fair appraisal?

Anyone can hit a bad Drive and go OOB, just as anyone can bad putt and miss 4' to the right. Does your regular best round of driving leave you with lost shots from the drive?

If I have a decent lie and a second shot, I couln't care less if its on the fairway, 1st cut or the fairway next door, after all , you can hit a perfect drive and get a bad bounce and end up OOB, so lets judge this on your better rounds with each club, and I think when you look at it that way, most of you would prefer better putting.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'll let you know once I'm back out next week. If the layoff has helped I'll be a golfing guru and able to drive and putt. However I have a feeling I should be soaring like an eagle but will be floundering with turkeys.

 

[Herbie]

I'll let you know once I'm back out next week. If the layoff has helped I'll be a golfing guru and able to drive and putt. However I have a feeling I should be soaring like an eagle but will be floundering with turkeys.

Well lets hope its not fowl weather Homer?

 

[USER1999]

From my experience, if I drive well, I play well, so I would take driving. My putting is pretty solid anyway.