Lose yardage but on the fairway??

[Robobum]

The standard 300yd average drive post has reared it's head again and some of the stock answers have got me thinking about how your home courses are set up.

There are quite a few of you who would give up 30yds as long as you are in the fairway. Just how long is the rough on your course that makes you want to hit 3 clubs more into the green?? Understandable if your place is tree lined as you won't be going for many greens from the middle of the woods, but if it's in the rough??

If missing the fairway puts you in prohibitively long "hack it out" rough then I think your course set up needs to be changed. For daily play, I think you should be able to hit at least a 6iron or so from the rough. Granted if it's really wide then the rough can be jungle as you don't deserve to find it if you are that wide.

Those that want to give up that yardage - is the rough that bad at your course? Wedge from the rough or 7 iron from the fairway??

 

[USER1999]

Wedge from the rough for me, and for heavens sake keep the 4i out of my hands. Can't see why any one would want to be shorter off the tee, unless they are already stupid long.

 

[Cmansdad]

Sometimes its not just a case of giving up distance to find the fairway, it can be about coming at the green from the right place. For example coming from the left rough with a wedge over a bunker to a left pin on the green or hitting a 7/8 iron from the center/right of the fairway with nothing between you and the flag. A slight misshit from the left and i'm on the beach, a less than perfect strike from the fairway will probably still bounce up on the green to about the right distance so birdie putt rather than struggle for par.

 

[MashieNiblick]

On our short par 4's I normally play a 3 wood or hybrid from the tee. I'd rather be hitting a 9 or pw from the fairway on those holes than a SW from the rough.

 

[Robobum]

The "what ifs" are endless and wasn't what the point of the OP.

Purely on distance off the tee, 280 in the rough or 250 in the fairway?

 

[Cmansdad]

The "what ifs" are endless and wasn't what the point of the OP.

Purely on distance off the tee, 280 in the rough or 250 in the fairway?

Having been dead sensible with my previous post in the real world with my brain switched off (as usual) hit it as far as I can then worry about it when I get there

 

[DaveM]

Fairway every time mate.

 

[Oddsocks]

Our place can leave you blocked out if you miss the fairways on some holes, but more importantly if im missing fairways its because i've tried to hammer it, the big duck hook as come in and thats me missing fairways and landing on wrong holes.

Since backing off im losing around 25 yards a hole, but hitting more GIR, and making more pars. length isnt always a good thing.,

 

[wull]

for me it all depends on how i'm playign at the time and how well i've been hitting the driver.i've seen myself hit a lovely straight drive the 1st only to catch my 2nd shot fat with the 56* wedge.then on other occasions i've hit 3 iron off the tee and stuck a 7iron to about 6ft.

the rough on my course isn't too bad so playing from the rough isn't too bad but i'd prefer 110 yrds in from the fairway all day long.

 

[Junior]

In answer to the OP, 250 on the fairway for me. Most people drive 220-230 anyway even though they think they bomb it out there 280 !!

However, 260 in the rough and 230 on the fairway, give me the rough everytime.

 

[Liverbirdie]

I think there are a few variables to take into account. I bought an R11 driver earlier this year, and I was hitting it an extra 30 yards than my previous FT5 driver. It was great on some courses, but as our course has quite a few doglegs and some ditches I was only getting it out on 4 or 5 holes, instead of 10-12. I was more inconsistent also, as you can sometimes run out of fairway if you can only hit straight (generally), if you can't call on slight fade and slight draw, it will not be suitable on holes that are not necessarily dog legs, but have a slight "kink" in them.

I think if yours is a links it may also be a factor, as tight, tree lined parkland courses may also mean a chip out instead of a shot to the green. Some links courses, you can miss your fairway, but land on the next one, and still have a shot in. I play 60%plus of my golf on my home course, but 30-40% on other courses, so wanted the R11 as it would do for both links and parkland courses, as you can change the loft, but the consistency was not there for me.

To sum up, how much do you play on one course, and does the extra 30 yards mean more birdies, or does the extra 30 yards, if into trouble, mean more bogeys and double bogeys?

 

[Oddsocks]

liver you found the same as me with the r11.. the good ones were about 30 yards longer than the current beast, but the problem was it left a huge gap between my 3w and driver.. id say 50-60 yards.

 

[Robobum]

liver you found the same as me with the r11.. the good ones were about 30 yards longer than the current beast, but the problem was it left a huge gap between my 3w and driver.. id say 50-60 yards.

Why do you see that as a problem??

 

[Oddsocks]

robo, the biggest problem was because the club was so powerfull, it could be wild.... SCARY wild. i played from parts of the wrong hole i havent seen when playing the course in the correct order...

Good drives would be miles longer, wedges into greens instead of 8 irons, but wild ones would mean hacking out of the rough from the wrong side of the wrong fairways..... she had to go!

 

[Liverbirdie]

liver you found the same as me with the r11.. the good ones were about 30 yards longer than the current beast, but the problem was it left a huge gap between my 3w and driver.. id say 50-60 yards.

It was great at first, I could even hit 3/4 swings and hit it less yardage but pretty conistently, but then lost the consistency overall. I'm thinking of trying out the razr hawk, but waiting for the prices to come down, and being arsed going up the driving range.

 

[Robobum]

Fair dos, but that isn't what your post above said the problem was. I couldn't see why having a big gap from driver to 3 wood would be a problem.

 

[Robobum]

Good to see that a shiny new club will address these wild drive issues still.........Bob will be pleased

 

[TheJezster]

Being new to the game, having started last year and joined my first club in January, I have to say, I dont really give a toss how far anyone else hits it. It's about what I do. Even with that, I dont try to welly it now, theres just no point. I used to use the driver on most of our holes but that might have left a half swing or 3/4 swing with one of my other clubs. Now I only use the driver on 2 holes. It's the 3 wood for me on the others, it might not go as far, but its generally more accurate.

I'd use a driver if I was having a long drive comp on a hole and really give it some welly, but other than that, for me, at my club, there is no need. I cant think of one hole which isnt tree lined at our place (at least on one side) so going just a little bit stray is bad bad news.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

The rough on our course is not particulary penal, however being a tree lined parkland course which runs through a valley accuracy off of the tee is paramount, with sloping fairways, trees and hedges you cannot be too far off line, therefore its hit the fairway for me.

 

[GB72]

At my course there are 2 par 4s that I cannot even reach with driver then 3 wood so it is extra yardage every time for me. The rough is not that penal and whilst you can be blocked from going for the green, you can put is near from most places.

If there were a number of holes that I could reach with a shorter tee shot then I would use a 3 or 5 wood but there are not so I may as well get as much practice in with the Driver as I can.