• We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all at Golf Monthly. Thank you for sharing your 2025 with us!

Lay up or not?

What do you do?


  • Total voters
    107
You're playing in a normal monthly medal and you're on the 14 playing to about your handicap.
It's your second shot to the par 5.
The approach is flat with no streams, lakes or bunkers in front of the green and you've got 260yds left.
Forgetting the big hitters for sec, do you

I'd most probably wake up. only 260 left on a par five with my safter one, i wish
 
You're playing in a normal monthly medal and you're on the 14 playing to about your handicap.
It's your second shot to the par 5.
The approach is flat with no streams, lakes or bunkers in front of the green and you've got 260yds left.
Forgetting the big hitters for sec, do you

Right.

Thought process goes something like:

a) I have no GPS so I have no idea how far the green is - from this distance it looks a blimmin long way.
b) If I'm lucky enough to guess I'm 260 away, I'm wondering why you are saying this is a par 5 when it's down on the card as 430 yds.
c) Given that I've creamed my Sunday best driver a mahooosive 170 yds I'll go for a Huuuuuge 4w hoping I'll get a lucky bounce to leave me something less than a hybrid to go.
d) Then pitch on, & 3 putts for a point.

Than' yoo verie musch.

 
Clive from 260yds you'd probably just hit hybrid..................... leaving yourself a full 3-wood in :ears:

Anyway, what will you be playing after hitting your 5w 260 yards into the trees to the left of the 17th tee, behind the practice ground and the lawn mower shed.

 
I'm trying to use the course management that served me so well in the GM events. Even at the 17th at the FOA which was just about reachable for me in two I had to flirt with the pond left. In the end I hit a 9 iron for my second to leave a full wedge in and made easy par. It wasn't a shot hole and so the gamble of finding trouble and not scoring seemed too big a risk especially as I was scoring ok. I am becoming less and less of a gambler and going for shots and trying to be more conservative. I have to capacity to spray it with any club and so reducing the risks seems to make sense
 
Well im pretty confident with my 3 wood in my hand as its all i used for the bones of 16 months before i bought a driver so im comfortable with it.......
The thing here is though at max off a tee id be looking at 240-250 but off the fairway id easily loose 20 yards so even clipping one out of the screws id still be short buy at least 30-40 yards....Which would leave a pretty awkward wedge in.......But in summer i might hope that the roll would get me the extra few yards......

Its still a risky enough shot even without the danger as a fluff or thin would have an even more awkward 4 iron or hybrid in...

So the safer option would be to lay up....
 
Definite mid iron to leave a full PW in, I am more confident hitting full PW than full GW or half shots at the moment, I doubt even a screamer of a 3 wood would get there and has much more likelihood of ending up off line in the semi or worse with a poor strike.
 
With 260 left I would hit two 9 irons roughly, the first being a lay up.

Very rarely do I go for Par 5's in 2, especially in medal comps.

Ash!!

Ash!!
 
John Jacobs book (the one I got and read religiously as a kid) said "always go for the Par 5's"

I'm in that camp, if I'm offline in the rough its still only a Sand iron in, and as my mortgage doesnt rely on me winning competitions nor reducing my handicap then having a bash is the most fun course of action ........in my very humble opinion

Great guy, and his book still reads well after many years, haven't a copy now but if I remember rightly he classified any hole measuring over 475 yards as a par 5.
 
You're playing in a normal monthly medal and you're on the 14 playing to about your handicap.
It's your second shot to the par 5.
The approach is flat with no streams, lakes or bunkers in front of the green and you've got 260yds left.
Forgetting the big hitters for sec, do you

Lay up. If I dont think I can reach the green in 2 then I lay up. I dont see the point of eeking out every bit of distance with a potentially higher risk club. For me I would probably play a rescue or even a 5 iron and leave about 80 yds. Better than taking a risk and still being 30 or so yds short.
 
Top