I tried playing boring golf....it kind of worked

[Deleted member 16999]

I hit my irons better than my driver.

But a good iron is still well behind a medium driver. I can't score well if I have 5 and 6 irons into par 4s and 5s, the green are firm and fast the ball will only hold if I can hit a wedge in.

Sure if I want to play bogey golf, irons off the tee are fine, but breaking 80, winning a comp and getting a handicap cut will be too tough

Absolutely agree, that’s why the better players tend to pick the “right” club for the hole, mid to high handicappers (and I include myself in that group) tend to go for Driver 9 times out of 10. Wolf summed it well tbf.

 

[anotherdouble]

But a visit to the water is a lost ball whereas I sometimes find mine in the trees (although it’s not always playable)

Surely it would be cheaper for you to buy a loin cloth rather than golf clothes as you are in the trees so much. Hey Tarzan😂

 

[hairball_89]

It's absolutely a 'horses for courses' scenario. I'm playing a course tomorrow with a 340 yard downhill, virtually dead straight par 4. If you could land it on the green, it probably plays 300 yards ish. However, the landing area for my driver, if I get it right(!) is about 15 yards wide. Last time I played it, I hit an 8 iron off the tee, landed at the top of the hill with 180 ish to the green, where knowing the course I hit a 9 iron. Landed that 30 yards short of the green and it rolled on. Massively buggered up the putting bit, but for me on that whole, that;'s the best way to play it.

I'm not sure 'boring' golf is the best thing to call this - 'sensible' golf maybe, but not boring.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

because you almost guarantee you will be in play on the fairway, rather than potentially 100 yards closer but in the trees, or even worse OOB

Sorry, don't think you can justify the logic. There's no guarantee , not 100 %, that your iron will be in the fairway . And , anyway, why deprive yourself of that wonderful feeling when you , even rarely, smash it long straight down the middle with the big stick😀

 

[Hobbit]

There's a par 4 hole on a course near me that's 275 yds. A small lake starts at 7 iron distance from the tee, running all the way up the right side of the fairway and then across 90% of the front of the green. A driver hit straight will run out of fairway into the lake just short, and anything fading to the right longer than an 8 iron will be in the water. On my last 4 visits I've played 8 iron followed by 8 iron. 3 pars and 1 birdie.

It takes some will power not to pull out at least a 5 iron but I've stuck to it. Works perfectly.

 

[Imurg]

My first course had a par 5 with OB all the way up the right and quite an intimidating drive even though the carry over bushes and ponds was only 150 yards.
Everyone hit driver
Almost everyone went OB
I hit 6 iron, made the fairway then got the artillery out to leave a wedge to the green.
In about 4 years my worst score was a par.
It's course management - playing the best shot for the circumstances and your ability

 

[upsidedown]

Did it of a fashion on Tuesday at Wallasey , 3 of the par 5's are shot holes so played 3 hybrid off the tee to be short of fairway bunkers, then 3 hybrid again and then iron/wedge to the green, walked off with 2 birdies and a par that hung on the edge for a birdie and 11 points from 3 holes The other one I used same strategy and parred it . Only hit driver 4 times all day .

 

[woofers]

An interesting thread, a lot of handicap golfers seem to think they can, or have to, hit all Par 4's in 2 shots and all Par 5's in 3 shots. Er, No, that's why you have a handicap.
The point mostly missing from the above posts is that having taken the strategic, boring or sensible approach off the tee, and then played another strategic (or boring or sensible) shot into position, you'll find that your wedge play improves massively.
I think most handicap golfers would benefit from playing 'Luke Donald' golf rather than trying to emulate Dustin Johnson.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Seriously! You were cut from 15 to 12 as you posted on 19th Jan after a win, that win came out of the blue as your handicap went up to 15 last year, since then you have had 6 months of struggle and you’re using words/terms like “Carnage, lost swing, hit it as badly as imaginable, no confidence etc,“ even 3 weeks back you dismissed Science Boy trying to be helpful, so to simply dismiss something that could help is plain daft, you’re the first to offer advice and help others with their issues so it makes no sense, imo, that you’d dismiss advice or methods that could help you.

Your point was the handicap had stagnated. Granted it is creeping up and I'm not playing as well as I want but I am still two shots lower than when I started 2019

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Your point was the handicap had stagnated. Granted it is creeping up and I'm not playing as well as I want but I am still two shots lower than when I started 2019

No, my point is that you are going backwards and struggling, you even moaned about the round that got you cut, but when people offer you advice you politely dismiss it whilst telling everyone else what you think they should do.
Maybe you should consider others ideas and suggestions as readily as you’d like others to consider yours.

 

[Nickrat]

I don't say I do it, in fact above I say I love hitting my driver and smashing it up towards the green. However it is not negative so much as pragmatic, golf is about shooting the lowest score, not hitting the longest tee shot. Tiger I believe won the Open because he took irons off the tee as his driver was likely to put him in trouble, a 16 year old at my course plays off of 5 and hits nothing above 4 iron.

If, and it is only an if , your driver or woods are so hit and miss that you can put yourself in trouble very easily, including hitting OOB then it may make sense to be hitting mid irons to ensure you are in play. This approach won't work for everyone.

I will use myself as an example, if my driving is on fire then I will shoot the lowest scores I am possible of. I can over power my course, drive 6 par 4s and hit 4 par 5s in 2. However if my driving is off, it will lead to me losing a hell of a lot of balls, so my score will be ridiculous.

My 6 iron goes 200 yards, meaning I can still hit every par 4 in 2, albeit with a longer club than if it was driver, all the par 5 in 3, and will be hitting a pitch in. Strategically and on average I will shoot better scores playing irons of the tee, although by lowest rounds will be hitting driver, but only when driver is working.

The other thing to say, is to forget about what par a hole is, don't get hung up on the GIR stats of each hole, if there is a par 4 with OOB all done the left and you have an occasional hook, but driver is the only way to reach in 2, leave it alone, hit your iron, get on in 3, potentially close if you are pitching from 60 yards.

You may not make your birdy but you will pretty much be ruling out a card wrecker.

I honestly understand the point about wanting to shoot the lowest possible and get birdies, but perhaps for handicap golfers that will probably find their handicaps are high because of triple and quadruple bogeys would reduce their scores by being pragmatic over club choice, and selecting the club that will keep them in play, and not the one that may result in a birdie once in ever 100 attempts

Your 7 iron goes 180 but your 6 iron goes 200?? What sort if gapping is in them irons?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

No, my point is that you are going backwards and struggling, you even moaned about the round that got you cut, but when people offer you advice you politely dismiss it whilst telling everyone else what you think they should do.
Maybe you should consider others ideas and suggestions as readily as you’d like others to consider yours.

15-12 and then back to 13 (and it was 12.4 so only needed one bad round to hit 13 anyway) so I see that as improvement. Yes the round I won was off the back of shanking episodes and I really hated how I hit it on the day and had to almost pat pat it round without ever feeling comfortable or happy on any shot. I'd definitely have preferred a round where I struck it well and was enjoying the ball coming off the club but it wasn't to be. As for considering ideas I really suggest you go back and look at the encouragement and discussions I've had with others. Just because this technique doesn't sit well with how I see golf being played doesn't make it wrong. Yet again you seem to want to argue the toss and pick fault in my posts on a thread (not for the first time recently) so I am going to leave it there and not detract from the thread further

 

[Deleted member 16999]

15-12 and then back to 13 (and it was 12.4 so only needed one bad round to hit 13 anyway) so I see that as improvement. Yes the round I won was off the back of shanking episodes and I really hated how I hit it on the day and had to almost pat pat it round without ever feeling comfortable or happy on any shot. I'd definitely have preferred a round where I struck it well and was enjoying the ball coming off the club but it wasn't to be. As for considering ideas I really suggest you go back and look at the encouragement and discussions I've had with others. Just because this technique doesn't sit well with how I see golf being played doesn't make it wrong. Yet again you seem to want to argue the toss and pick fault in my posts on a thread (not for the first time recently) so I am going to leave it there and not detract from the thread further

Once again you play the victim card, the fact is you have posted 1 round since Christmas that you have felt was ok and showed signs of improvement only to have a nightmare the next day.
I am not trying to pick fault or argue, I have stated you’re polite etc, it’s merely an observation that you are not improving with your own game, from what you post, despite the GM Lesson, different pitching method etc.
You always encourage others, but somehow claim you know what’s best for your game when your issues are discussed, despite showing no improvement.
Anyway, crack on and enjoy the ride backwards.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Course management. Nothing wrong with hitting driver if your 'miss' won't put you in trouble. Playing bogey golf may keep big numbers off the card but the OP will never reduce his handicap.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

but the OP will never reduce his handicap.

I take that point and do agree. But for me I have reached (in my head) my natural ability level and without actually going to the range during the week and working on my game I wont make significant headway downwards.

I'm quite happy playing at my current level as I dont have the time to practice and can (at best) play once a week.

 

[jmf1488]

I dont get it. If you could normally hit driver and leaves you with a flick of the wedge then why on earth are you hitting 7s and laying up with your second shot into 14. Your basically taking 2 shots to do with your driver does. If you cant hit your driver wouldnt it be much better off to learn how to hit it rather than compensate?

Youll never improve if you cant hit your driver.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I dont get it. If you could normally hit driver and leaves you with a flick of the wedge then why on earth are you hitting 7s and laying up with your second shot into 14. Your basically taking 2 shots to do with your driver does. If you cant hit your driver wouldnt it be much better off to learn how to hit it rather than compensate?

Youll never improve if you cant hit your driver.

I agree which is why I said this method isn't for me even if you take into account I'm a mid-handicap golfer with shots. I'd rather hit driver (and get better with it as necessary) and try and make par (net birdie) on holes and move forward, or even look at it as a shot in the bank should I have a bad hole later on. By leaving longer shots in to take a safer approach off the tee seems to negate that to me

 

[Orikoru]

I agree which is why I said this method isn't for me even if you take into account I'm a mid-handicap golfer with shots. I'd rather hit driver (and get better with it as necessary) and try and make par (net birdie) on holes and move forward, or even look at it as a shot in the bank should I have a bad hole later on. By leaving longer shots in to take a safer approach off the tee seems to negate that to me

Largely agree with this, only makes sense if your driver is horrendously bad i.e. directly costing you shots. Or on shorter holes where you don't actually need the driver to make it on in two (e.g. you can go long iron, short iron and still get there).

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I agree which is why I said this method isn't for me even if you take into account I'm a mid-handicap golfer with shots. I'd rather hit driver (and get better with it as necessary) and try and make par (net birdie) on holes and move forward, or even look at it as a shot in the bank should I have a bad hole later on. By leaving longer shots in to take a safer approach off the tee seems to negate that to me

I dont get it. If you could normally hit driver and leaves you with a flick of the wedge then why on earth are you hitting 7s and laying up with your second shot into 14. Your basically taking 2 shots to do with your driver does. If you cant hit your driver wouldnt it be much better off to learn how to hit it rather than compensate?

Youll never improve if you cant hit your driver.

He’s not saying he can’t use a Driver, as others have said and described, it’s about course and club management, not just simply reaching for the Driver on virtually every hole.

 

[rksquire]

I think this is dependent on how literal you take the advice and where you are with your own game. Highest handicappers (say 20+) would certainly benefit from a prolonged period of just hitting their most comfortable clubs to keep the ball in play - set up to make the green in 3 for a par 4 and 2 putt. Mid handicappers with a reasonable shot success rate however, will be loathe to generally leave themselves more in approach than off the tee, but there may well be some advantage if you also introduce course management into the mix. For example, this year I always take 3 wood at the long par 4 1st - it leaves me over 200 to the green but means I'm short of a bunker and pond and the 15 yards between where my driver needs to land so now I've eliminated bunker, pond and rough. In actual fact, for the past 2 weeks I now hit hybrid or woods at 6 holes where I previously took Driver. The margin of error is less, but so is the risk reward - I've basically removed any chance of making par 5s in 2, but in going for this (on our 9th) it's crushed driver, 3 wood and probably only ever do it 10% of the time.

I think it's interesting, although bombing the driver when I was a high handicapper was a great joy, even if it was 50/50 if I'd even be in play!