Making More Birdies

[Region3]

I have read most of this thread and it's all ifs and but's, you can make birdies from being on the green in reg or from off the green there is no great answer on how to make birdies other than just go out and do it. Stats mean nonthing and the part about someone nailing 1 in 3 is total tosh and if it was the case then all Pro golfers would be at least 6 under after every round, that just dont happen.

Go out and play the game and forget about Birdies and just work on making pars and take a birdie if it happens, ask a Pro and I am sure the answer would be find the fairway then the green and you have a better chance of birdie and in most cases extra yardage with the tee shot gives you more chance to get close with a short iron than a long iron it's not rocket science.

Thats why we all got handicaps but reading some of these post we have scratch/Pro's in our company the way they talk:rofl:

I don't remember anyone saying they make 1 in 3 but I'll take your word for it rather than re-read the whole thing.

I've just had a look at this stat for the PGA Tour for 2012. Guess who's top? Someone who I've seen get flack on here for not being a very good putter! :rofl:

Anyway, top stat is 34.68% and there are another 3 over 33%. Even last on the tour is making 1 in 4.

Just because they make a fair % of their birdie putts it doesn't mean they have lots of birdie putts, or that they don't drop shots elsewhere on the course so the -6 every round theory is sunk.

Apart from that I agree with the 'just go out and do it' argument, but I enjoy discussing things like this more than which type of glove I use.

 

[MadAdey]

I don't remember anyone saying they make 1 in 3 but I'll take your word for it rather than re-read the whole thing.

That was me Gary. I was just making an example that someone who is excellent with a putter still will not make birdies if he is not hitting greens.

Apart from that I agree with the 'just go out and do it' argument, but I enjoy discussing things like this more than which type of glove I use.

It is a very good thread. Far better than people asking what driver to buy or what ball to use as that has a million and one answers and all of them are correct.

 

[Val]

I agree it's a good thread.

I'd also agree if the question was how do I give myself more birdie chances id say it's hit more greens but hitting the green doesn't always give the birdrie, my point is being a more positive putter ie always past the hole will give more birdies, its an old cliche "never up never in"

 

[PhilTheFragger]

its a mixture of a good approach shot that gives you the opportunity of a birdie putt, Then taking that putt.
its all well and good if you are hitting the green each time in regulation, but leaving yourself a 25 ft putt each time wont cut the mustard, get the approach to within 10 feet, then you have a better chance

In Theory

 

[MadAdey]

I agree it's a good thread.

I'd also agree if the question was how do I give myself more birdie chances id say it's hit more greens but hitting the green doesn't always give the birdrie, my point is being a more positive putter ie always past the hole will give more birdies, its an old cliche "never up never in"

I know what you mean by giving yourself a chance by making a positive putt and giving it a chance of going in, I agree with that. But being a positive putter will not give you MORE birdies if you do not hit many GIR, hitting GIR giving yourself more birdie chances will enable you to make more birdies.

If you hit 12 GIR then surely some of them will be close enough to give a good birdie chance, even if putting is your weakest part of your game and I am talking about myself here. But I still make a couple of birdies a round and when the putter does decide to work I can easily make 4 or 5.

 

[JustOne]

I'd take 18 greens in regulation and just 2 putt everything. Nowt wrong with level par every time you tee it up. Greens first, putting second.

 

[MashieNiblick]

I agree this is a really interesting thread and I think would make an excellent feature for the magazine particularly if there was some input from some of the Tour guys about how they would look at it.

Given that there are 2 key variables in this - number of chances (GIRs) and percentage of chances taken - I suppose it's not rocket science to work out that you need to improve one or both of those. Which one may well depend on what your current game is like. Where is there most scope for improvement? Are you missing greens that you should be hitting? Are you missing putts you should be making?

One other variable, as Fragger points out, is the "quality" of those chances. Are you hitting your approaches close enough? That may be more of an issue for shorter holes or when pitching to par 5's.

Interesting to see the comments about positive putting.

One thing that maybe needs to be taken into account that has occurred to me, especially when comparing with the Tour stats, is that those guys will have a completely different attitude to making biridies than most of us.

For them Birdies are not a bonus. Biridies pay the bills and win prizes.

I think that must affect the entire way they play and particularly on the greens where they are looking to make anything within about 25 feet. Ok the greens are usually perfect but I wonder how often we feel we'd settle for a par (nett birdie ) or even thinking "don't 3 putt". The pros are looking to hole it and approach the putt with that intent.

For the lower h/c guys I imagine that must be part of their mind set too.

For me I think I ought to make at least one birdie per round and given that I make about 5-6 GIRs and my conversion rate is only 12% that would seem to suggest improving my putting as the key. I ought to be able to make one in 5 chances and that seems easier than looking to improve GIRs especially as I'm hitting a fairly long club into most of our par 4's.

 

[Hobbit]

Interesting to see the comments about positive putting.

I think that must affect the entire way they(pro's) play and particularly on the greens where they are looking to make anything within about 25 feet. Ok the greens are usually perfect but I wonder how often we feel we'd settle for a par (nett birdie ) or even thinking "don't 3 putt". The pros are looking to hole it and approach the putt with that intent.

For the lower h/c guys I imagine that must be part of their mind set too.

My mindset is to hole pretty much every putt I go for. Lag putting means an extra shot on the card, or settling for a half in matchplay. Playing with fear can lead to tentative approach putting.

The foundation behind the belief that I should go for everything is the belief I will sink the next putt if I miss the first one. Practicing the 3-4 footers is essential in giving you confidence to go for the long ones without fear if you miss.

As with all aspects of the game, practice followed by more practice is the key.

 

[MashieNiblick]

My mindset is to hole pretty much every putt I go for. Lag putting means an extra shot on the card, or settling for a half in matchplay. Playing with fear can lead to tentative approach putting.

The foundation behind the belief that I should go for everything is the belief I will sink the next putt if I miss the first one. Practicing the 3-4 footers is essential in giving you confidence to go for the long ones without fear if you miss.

That is excellent advice and I have a feeling that good ole Dr Bob (Rotella) said the same thing - i.e. you should always think about holing every putt. Going to try to focus on that this year.

 

[MadAdey]

I agree this is a really interesting thread and I think would make an excellent feature for the magazine particularly if there was some input from some of the Tour guys about how they would look at it.

For me I think I ought to make at least one birdie per round and given that I make about 5-6 GIRs and my conversion rate is only 12% that would seem to suggest improving my putting as the key. I ought to be able to make one in 5 chances and that seems easier than looking to improve GIRs especially as I'm hitting a fairly long club into most of our par 4's.

I think the thing is mashie making 1 in 5 chances is a fair expectation for a club golfer as if you do compare to tour pros they are making between 25-35% of their chances going on the official stats. So having an expectation of 1 in 4 or even 1 in 3 is going towards the unrealistic for club golfers, as tour pros are playing on perfect surfaces and obviously hitting their approaches closer.

I think this is why I go on the philosophy of hitting more greens as if I make 1 in 5 chances on average then hitting 10 GIR will give me at least 2 a round.

 

[duncan mackie]

thinking again about my last round, I think there's one other thing conspicously missing in this thread -

it's not enough to just think about putting the ball 'on the fairway'; you have to consider the flag, hazards, condition of the green etc and put you ball in the best place on the fairway (distance and angle) to be in the best postion to 'fire at the flag'.

accepting that for most, inc me, being on the short stuff represents the first big challenge!

 

[ScienceBoy]

I think after reading all this its much more realistic to aim to make less bogeys or worse than to aim to try and make more birdies.

I think if I do the former the latter might happen. I don't think making more than 1 birdie a round should be a make or break target of any club golfer. Just keep it to pars and bogeys and good scores shall come whatever!

 

[bobmac]

You also may also consider not all 6" putts are the same.
Some days all your putts are uphill or flat. Other days they are all down hill L-R
Golfing gods :angry:

 

[duncan mackie]

I think after reading all this its much more realistic to aim to make less bogeys or worse than to aim to try and make more birdies.

if you substitute 'double bogey' I would agree as they generally involve a failure of both performance and strategy; there's generally a lot less strategic failure associated with a single bogey, they happen because of a failure of performance.

there's also the small matter of accepting a reasonable risk of bogey to avoid any risk of double.

I had 2 x doubles in Friday's comp; one came from a poor choice of 3rd shot in an effort to avoid bogey, the other from a poor choice of tee shot where I should have played for a chance of par, rather than to avoid bogey - long narrow SI 1 hole with the pin tucked in behind a bunker on the right.....the smart play, which I had ben doing up until then, would have been a 3h middle right to permit me to lay up short left and have a short iron or even a pitch straight up the green to the flag ie a 5 possibly a 4. So I took a 3 wood for accuracy, not to hit the fairway but to nail it 'accurately' down the left to give me a chance of getting at the pin with my second. It went left alright....way left in the trees. I'm not chipping out to where I should have had my tee shot and have a 6 possibly 5 (was 6).

A long way of illustrating why playing to avoid bogey isn't a great underlying strategy!

 

[granters]

Making birdies has been the Bain of my golfing existance. Today I had 14 pars, had 5 birdie putts in a row inside 15 feet, 3 putted once for a par and not a single bird on the card. I've been like that since I was a junior. I know the reason though. I don't practice my putting enough. Generry I hit a lot of fairways and greens. If I could start nudging in a few 10 footers it would make all the difference. There's a definite mentality change for me between putting for birdie or par. Something in the back of my mind tells me par is a good score so I don't go for it as much,but I do hole out well for par. That's why I'll never be better than a good golfer

 

[Lump]

I'll go by what I said.
This weekend my putter has been working like a charm, over 3 rounds I've had 8 birdies and plenty of 1 putt par saves. I always given myself a chance of birdies but making the ball reach the hole has always been my struggle. Went out with the mentality of making sure the ball at least gets to the hole. It seems to have worked.

 

[MadAdey]

I think after reading all this its much more realistic to aim to make less bogeys or worse than to aim to try and make more birdies.

I think if I do the former the latter might happen. I don't think making more than 1 birdie a round should be a make or break target of any club golfer. Just keep it to pars and bogeys and good scores shall come whatever!

Like you said, I think people would score a lower if they played to not have bogeys and take a birdie if it happens. Rather trying to make birdies and getting doubles. James made a good comment earlier in the thread about taking 18 GIR and then 2 putting them, there you go level par rounds.

I suppose at the end of the day unless you are a scratch golfer you do not need a birdie on the card to shoot below your handicap, but when you do is when you shoot really low.

 

[kid2]

I think hitting the middle of a green can, sometimes be the best option....For me anyway....But the problem with our course is that 12 of the 18 greens have a swale running through the middle of them thats more prominent in some than others.....This makes shooting for the middle of the green a bit of a no go area as it leaves really dangerous putts that cant be stopped close to the hole if the flag is on the front portion of the green......

Sometimes ill actually leave myself purposely short of a green if the flag is near the front and bump a 6 or 7 iron into the flag along the ground....
Iv made the odd birdie doing this.....
Most of the ones i get are usually chip ins after missing a green.....

Hopefully this season ill get more chances now that the swing is a lot better.

 

[JustOne]

Made 2 birdies today.... first two of the year..... first of many!!!! (with a bit of luck)