How to go low?

[garyinderry]

there is no substitute for being able to chip. many mid teens men spend far too much time at the range trying to groove a perfect iron swing when they would be far better off trying to improve their up and down ratio.

 

[MadAdey]

To start with, the tee shot. If your on a 300 yard hole put your driver away, your Sunday best drive only goes 270 so your not going to hit it onto the green. Get out your hybrid, 4w or other suitable club that your accurate with and stick it on the fairway PW distance away, because if you can't hit a PW your never going to get low anyway.

Risk and reward is the key and finding the correct balance. Take a 400 yard hole, reasonably tight drive, what do you do? Take the driver, stick it in the rough leaving it 150 away from the cabbage patch, or hit the fairway with a rescue or 4w and leave it 160-170 yards away, again if you can't hit a green from 170 yards your never going to shoot low anyway.

Put that stupid laser range finder away and find out how far it is to the middle of the green, forget the flag. Hit the middle of the green and guarantee the par, at the same time giving a chance of the birdie.

Hero shots costs doubles and triples, take your punishment and walk away with a bogey, you never know you might drop a putt in to save par.

Someone said something interesting to me a while ago that made perfect sense........... "People who shoot low regularly do not make multiple birdies a round, but at the same time they do not make many bogeys, let alone doubles and triples. Scratch players know how make lots of pars and drop the odd birdie in here and there."

 

[IanG]

Play to your ability, not what you think you can do!

I suspect that we mid-handicappers don't apply it harshly enough. Playing to our ability means playing shots we can hit 8/10 times not 6/10 times.

 

[Smiffy]

Sorry I only reply to threads started in 2008

:rofl::rofl::rofl::clap::clap:

 

[NWJocko]

Interesting read this.....

Instinctively I want to be aggressive on the course, smash driver and try and make birdies.

I am (slowly) learning the hard way that using that approach will give me the odd really good day but a vast majority of poor days as I could easily throw in 2 or 3 double or treble bogeys!

Not natural to me but I am now (really after playing with some good consistent golfers) trying to play golf the way I give myself the best opportunity to score well.

It is starting to work, although I still get the temptation to hit driver everywhere but am learning to stop myself and hit irons off tees etc.

Short game needs a lot of work though.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

There is no right or wrong answer to this, it mainly comes down to course management. Some people are suggesting smash the driver as far as possible, some are saying lay up off the tee. Depends on the type of course, how penal the rough is, placement of hazards etc. If you are playing a hard running links in summer and you smash driver all day into the rough, you probably won't find your ball. On an inland course with much lower cut rough, you can probably get away with it and have a reasonable shot to the green. On a heathland course you will probably be hacking sideways out the heather then playing 3 to the green.

Basically what I'm saying is use your noggin on each tee, work out the best way to play each hole using any shots you have and play to your strengths.

What could be easier?

 

[azazel]

I've got to agree with keeping it on the short stuff.

Saturday was a good example. I played pretty poorly on the way out, missing almost every fairway. +9 after only 8 holes. Put the driver away on the 9th tee and used the three wood instead. +3 for the next 10 holes and managed to make buffer. Looking back if I'd ditched the driver after the first couple I could have been looking at a pretty good score so the challenge is to keep that mindset next time out.

But keeping the ball in play so that, even if you can't reach the green in two, you're playing your third from short grass somewhere near the green is going to get better results that mashing the ball into the cabbage, chipping out and then playing three from outside of 100 yards.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Basically what I'm saying is use your noggin on each tee, work out the best way to play each hole using any shots you have and play to your strengths.

What could be easier?

This is the truth, and better wisdom than just "put the driver away" which is possibly good advice on average, but some people hit drivers more consistently than their long irons!

 

[Hobbit]

Play to your strengths. If you're good off the tee, hit the driver, if not hit the 3 wood/hybrid. If you're good from 140yds but lousy from 70yds, i.e. half shots, don't get too close to the green.

 

[Slab]

There is no right or wrong answer to this, it mainly comes down to course management. Some people are suggesting smash the driver as far as possible, some are saying lay up off the tee. Depends on the type of course, how penal the rough is, placement of hazards etc. If you are playing a hard running links in summer and you smash driver all day into the rough, you probably won't find your ball. On an inland course with much lower cut rough, you can probably get away with it and have a reasonable shot to the green. On a heathland course you will probably be hacking sideways out the heather then playing 3 to the green.

Basically what I'm saying is use your noggin on each tee, work out the best way to play each hole using any shots you have and play to your strengths.

What could be easier?

Good shout about keeping the head & the recent stroke index thread tells us that keeping it together mentally when you don't have a shot (but need one based on difficulty) is just as important

 

[HomerJSimpson]

There has to be a balance. No point playing too conservatively. A lot of these guys hitting it short and laying up are doing so because their body won't let them make a faster more powerful swing and therefore playing to their strength. I have played rounds where I've deliberately laid up to use shots rather than risking a high tariff fairway wood into the green.

The problem with deliberately laying up short, especially on long par fives and par fours is that you are putting huge pressure on the second shot to get it close enough to bumble it onto the green so it's not without risk

 

[Foxholer]

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.

Re the bold bit.

It's not so much playing a 'safe' shot, but committing to a recovery one!

Totally agree with the 2nd para.

 

[the smiling assassin]

My attitude with this is to take on any shot I know I can make providing I know I won't lose a ball. Ok, there are occasions where this happens, but if it's a 9/10 I won't lose it, I'll go for it. If there's medium to high risk I'll usually lay up, even if that's going with safer hybrid over fairway wood to leave a chip and putt. If I know I can't make the shot, I don't bother and choose a good layup. 90% of PPs seem to be unaware of this final option!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

The bottom line is you need to find a way to get the ball in the hole. It doesn't matter how you do it. That said, if you can't chip and putt, you will never "go low" (whatever low is to you).

 

[Region3]

Have we established what 'low' is?

Is it relative to a particular handicap or just low full stop?

 

[the smiling assassin]

The bottom line is you need to find a way to get the ball in the hole. It doesn't matter how you do it. That said, if you can't chip and putt, you will never "go low" (whatever low is to you).

This is a bit of a myth in my opinion. I chip worse than pretty much ALL the 20+ Handicappers I regular play with, my long game, pitching and putting are my strengths, so I rarely need to chip. I play off a relatively low handicap (well, cat 1 anyway), I'm sure if I could chip (or even just practice occasionally) I might knock a shot or two max off my hcp, but if all my playing partners improved their long games or putting they'd improve too.

 

[NorfolkShaun]

For me it is staying out of real trouble, OK you do not need to be on every fairway but it does help, the rough at my place can be very unforgiving.

It is also about keeping the ball in play and for me out of trouble. You may play well but if you have three holes in the round where you are three off the tee you have lost six shots for a start whee as if you were 50 yards back on the fairway it is unlikely you will lose many shots.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

This is a bit of a myth in my opinion. I chip worse than pretty much ALL the 20+ Handicappers I regular play with, my long game, pitching and putting are my strengths, so I rarely need to chip. I play off a relatively low handicap (well, cat 1 anyway), I'm sure if I could chip (or even just practice occasionally) I might knock a shot or two max off my hcp, but if all my playing partners improved their long games or putting they'd improve too.

You've kind of just proved my point by admitting that improving your short game could lower your handicap. The term "go low" in this thread is rather relative to an individual's ability, your definition of low is lower than most, but could be lower with a decent short game.

 

[la_lucha]

Have we established what 'low' is?

Is it relative to a particular handicap or just low full stop?

Ok maybe I should've posed the title go as lower, If I went round ten over I'd be getting cut by 3 shots. If some went round 10 over they'd be getting 0.1 back.

 

[Region3]

Ok maybe I should've posed the title go as lower, If I went round ten over I'd be getting cut by 3 shots. If some went round 10 over they'd be getting 0.1 back.

I've never seen you play so don't know your strengths and weaknesses, but in general to an 18hc wanting to score in the low-mid 80's I'd say it was all about playing sensible golf and keeping disasters off the card.

Stolen from a Bob Rotella book.....

Play the shot you know you can play, not the one that a pro would play, or even the one you think you ought to be able to play.