How to go low?

[la_lucha]

What's best? like the old guys do it, 150 down the middle take three to the green and two putt for a bogey nett par, or 250 down the edges then around the green for two possibly a little chip because you miss the green and two putt?

I play a nice ball, but sometimes the shots go astray, my best ever round is an 85. You've got guys who can hardly walk or swing a club and they regularly shoot gross 5-10 shots less than me. So is it best to just play short, safe and consistent?

 

[Slab]

I take it low is relative but for me it definitely has to be forget the drive for show putt for dough analogy, it has to be safe off the tee

I know I'll have a better day if the tee shot is in play even if putting/short game is only average

 

[la_lucha]

I hear you, but is safe off the tee so far back you have no chance of reaching the green in two? You can only go so short before safe off tee, safe off the second analogy comes in.

 

[pbrown7582]

Practice which brings consistency which brings lower scores.

 

[pokerjoke]

Imo sometimes players are to conservative,i know I was last year at Hillside.

Imo its all about risk and reward.
If you can get it as close to the green as possible without bringing in water,bunkers etc
then go for it.
Look at the stroke index where you get shots a bogey or even a double will not
be a disaster.

 

[Svenska]

Without a good short game you can forget scoring well. I've been put off 7 since i've rejoined my golf club and I am struggling to play to it, there's very little margin for error. Especially without a solid short game to get you out of trouble or to take advantage of good positions you've put yourself in. 3 weeks ago I hit the first 12 greens in regulation and was 5 over par, absolutely unforgivable considering how well I was hitting it. I suppose there's an argument that if you're so bad tee to green then it makes little difference if you're one putts get you bogeys and doubles etc but in my experience it's the players who hole a lot of putts that score well.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

You are better in the fairway at 200 yards than in the rough at 220

I'm mainly a conservative player - making sure the ball stays in ball gives me a better chance to score - if I can't reach I'll lay up to a distance im comfortable with but if it's an the limit then I'll go for it depending on the danger around the green. Course management is key along with a good short game to keep the score low

People can regualry out drive me but then second shots and short game are all over the place.

 

[Foxholer]

It's really a case of finding what works for you! I'm still finding the balance with my 'new' Driver. Hit ever fairway with my 'Old Man's Swing', but tried to squeeze 10-15 more yards and missed badly!

The way to find out your limit is on the Driving Range. Then don't be tempted to go past your limit!

And practicing the short game makes that far more consistent too, so getting in trouble won't always cost you a shot. With that attitude, you won't need to play the 'miracle shot' which almost never comes off - costing you 2 or more shots!

 

[Slab]

Without a good short game you can forget scoring well. I've been put off 7 since i've rejoined my golf club and I am struggling to play to it, there's very little margin for error. Especially without a solid short game to get you out of trouble or to take advantage of good positions you've put yourself in. 3 weeks ago I hit the first 12 greens in regulation and was 5 over par, absolutely unforgivable considering how well I was hitting it. I suppose there's an argument that if you're so bad tee to green then it makes little difference if you're one putts get you bogeys and doubles etc but in my experience it's the players who hole a lot of putts that score well.

I guess this is where 'low' becomes relative

For lower handicap players the scoring will come from the short game as tee shots are pretty consistent but for those of use with 'loftier' handicaps then its going to be the tee shot that means we've either blown it or I'm still in with a chance to score

 

[MendieGK]

Hit it as far down there as possible, Fairways are overrated.

of those that made the cut -- JB Holmes, was no1 for driver distance on sunday but dead last for fairway accuracy. Earlier in the year, Jason Day (when he won at torrey Pines) was no1 for distance and something like 70th for accuracy.

Even at our standard, the courses we play the rough isnt long enough to really hinder you (obviously come exceptions), so hitting a SW in is a lot easier than hitting a 7iron

In My opinion of course

 

[freddielong]

It's generally not how good your good shots are that's helps obtain a low score but how bad your bad shots were.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I make a big effort to keep double bogeys off the card. You'll always make bogeys but the key is to make sure they don't become worse. When I get out of position I weigh up my best chance of saving par without risking a disaster. Often a lay up just short of a green is relatively easy and low risk compared with trying to find the green from the same spot. Leaves a chip and a putt to save par but (hopefully) no worse than a bogey if you don't manage that.

 

[Jimaroid]

I score better by playing conservatively but I have yet to discover the art of "playing a safe shot" to get out of trouble as, more often than not, an attempt at a safe shot can leave me worse off. It's a mental problem and lack of experience I think, I'll try to play half a shot instead of taking on a full shot with less club as an example.

My best scores come from playing with what I think of as a 90% swing. The hardest part of golf for me is the constant struggle I have with this "less is more" mental approach. It's too easy to try harder and end up worse off, but that's also one of the many great things about the whole game and why it's so addictive and challenging.

 

[Smiffy]

I played with a really nice guy in our monthly stableford yesterday. He has been playing for about 3 years and plays off 28. Reasonable swing, and hits the ball ok, but had no course management at all. Bearing in mind he was getting 2 shots on 10 of the holes, he was still trying to play the par 4's as par 4's and the par 5's as 5's.
I wouldn't have commented on his swing, (even if he had asked me), but he was putting himself under a lot of pressure by trying to get to greens in regulation and getting annoyed with himself if he didn't. Even if he hit a fairly reasonable shot into the first cut he was getting frustrated and I was trying to encourage him by telling him that even if it took him 3 to get onto a par 4 or 4 to get onto a par 5, two putts on any of those 10 holes were going to give him 3 points!
He is going on a golfing trip to Le Touquet in May with some other guys and is desperate to get off 28 handicap before he goes.

 

[virtuocity]

I saved this PM from around 18 months ago and refer to it often:

I would say that ultimately I score well because I take less risks... I'm just not taking on the STUPID SHOTS. I don't play 'TV' golf, that is reserved for those on TV who are the BEST IN THE WORLD!!!!

My driving is moderately consistent, I don't hit a lot of totally garbage drives so I don't lose a lot of balls or have a heap of penalty strokes which obviously helps. Other than that the goal is to get ON THE GREEN in THREE shots.

I don't go at a green from 210yds with a 3-iron if it's surrounded with trees, undergrowth, ditches etc etc, I'd rather hit a 7-iron and chip on.

I don't go for the par 5's from 240yds with a 3-wood if it's surrounded with trees, undergrowth, ditches etc etc, I'd rather hit a 7-iron and pitch on.

If I've hit a good drive and I can get to a green in two that has bunkers around it then I will try.... as I can get onto the green in 3 even if I go into the bunker. If I've hit a bad drive (or in the rough) then I'm always happy to punch an 8-iron to get me within 130yds of the green rather than trying to hit the 'glory shot'.

Green in 3 shots is perfect at our level of golf... if you get on some in 2 then that's brilliant..... but it's the ones that take 4 or more that really wreck a card.

I would say I probably don't 'go for pins' unless I have a 9-iron or less in my hands, and even then it's not really going for the pin... I'm just more confident about getting the yardage right with the short club in hand.

Putting? I have no expectations. I don't expect to hole anything over 10ft.... and any putt from 10ft or LESS you just have to watch out for the SILLY mistakes like hitting it 5ft past or 3ft short then you should 2 putt everything... some will even go in!!!! From more than 10ft it's all about the pace..... only the pace. A 30ft putt you just don't hit until you are getting that feeling of a 30ft putt in your mind.... again you have to not make the silly mistakes like leaving it short 'cos it's uphill or racing it past because the slope runs downhill just past the hole.

I would say that on an average day I'll hit 9 greens in 2 and sink 2 putts, that will put me 2 under par for those 9 holes
The other 9 holes I'll hit in 3 shots and sink 2 putts for par, that putts me 7 over for those 9 holes

total= 5 over.

sometimes I'll 3 putt which will put me 6 or 7 over, sometimes I'll chip in and that will put me 4 over....a few putts holed here and there is the difference between 2 over and 7 over. Sometimes (we all) I will take 4 to get to a green, and then 3-putt... that's one of those days when 10-12 over is on the cards, but we should ALL expect to be 4/5 shots over our h/cap MOST TIMES we play.

 

[CMAC]

What's best? like the old guys do it, 150 down the middle take three to the green and two putt for a bogey nett par, or 250 down the edges then around the green for two possibly a little chip because you miss the green and two putt?

I play a nice ball, but sometimes the shots go astray, my best ever round is an 85. You've got guys who can hardly walk or swing a club and they regularly shoot gross 5-10 shots less than me. So is it best to just play short, safe and consistent?

its best but it's not as much fun

 

[IanG]

I saved this PM from around 18 months ago and refer to it often:

Wise words. An important thing for me was the middle of last year when I took my 3 wood out of the bag. I'm ok with driver off the tee so the three wood was just a temptress which led me to try things I shouldn't be doing. Scores have improved because when I'm 230 out from the green I simply cannot reach with the longest hybrid I have and so play sensibly and most of the time make bogey and occasionally make par. WHICH IS GOOD FOR A MID_HANDICAPPER (to continue the emphasis from above).

So if you have a devil stick in your bag, be it a lob wedge or a driver you can't hit for toffee, leave it in the garage, it'll do you more good there.

In additions having done that, you'll feel more in control of YOUR course management and your own destiny.

 

[IanG]

its best but it's not as much fun

For exactly this reason I think it is important to have a mix of competition and 'bounce' games where you can try out that Mickelson lob or the long carry over the water to keep the fun in the game. Sometime in the summer there are so many competition days that always holding back to be sensible can suck some of the joy out of the game.

Another reason to play more golf .....

 

[JustOne]

Sorry I only reply to threads started in 2008

 

[TheCaddie]

Playing sensible golf made a massive difference to me. I am still around that 100 mark.... so hardly setting the world on fire, but I dropped 10 shots off the bat, and I know I have 90/95 in me easily (more practice required, but it's there), and this is all because I started to play sensible golf! Play to your ability, not what you think you can do!