Playing For Bogey

Region3

Region3

Ryder Cup Winner
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There are a couple of holes where I play that can ruin my card without too much effort.

Most times I'd be happy walking off with a bogey, but try as I might I just can't resign myself to a bogey before I play the hole.

If I play a bad tee shot or second I'm more than happy to take my medicine and settle for a 5.
If I play the holes ok I'm not too unhappy walking off with a 5.

Stand on the tee and hit 2 long irons and a pitch to make sure I take no worse than 5. Can't do it. There's something inside my head that won't allow me to consciously give up a shot against par without a fight.

I hit 4 iron off the tee on one of them on Saturday because in an Am/Am only 1 of the 3 already teed off had hit a good drive so we needed my ball in play, but I still went for the green from over 200 instead of 5 iron to just short because of these demons in my head. (It doesn't help that this is the hole I lose a shot on in 3/4 by getting cut).

Anyone else do it even though they know they shouldn't?

P.S. I don't need telling I'm wrong thanks :)
Just curious if anyone else is the same.
 
If I walk of our si1, or s3 with a bogey I'm happy, but I still go fo the green in two instead of laying up. Our first par5 is only short at about 475 and a good solid drive will gain lots of roll leaving on average 150 to the pin. Due to the sloping green a attack at it from 150+ will never hold and with a shocking bounce a short par 5 can often see 6's and 7's on the card. Since playing this as a par 5 with a layup second has seen my average score on this hole drop. Sometimes laying up although wastes a shot puts you in a better position to score par ;)
 
For what it's worth, I think you are spot on not to start out playing for a bogey. In fact, if it is possible to reach in 2 then birdie is the aim in the first place and then adjust that expectation after your tee shot then 2nd shot and so on.

If your playing ability or length stops you realistically being on the green in two then a bogey will be the goal. I still firmly believe that standing on the tee thinking "I've got a shot here" is the wrong way to look at it. I think it's much better to be thinking of hitting the best possible drive then the best possible 2nd shot, chip, putt etc. Then after just rolling in that 6' putt for par.........."bonus, I get a shot there!!!"
 
Our 1st hole is a perfect example of that.
382 yard par 4 SI4
All you need off the tee is a Driver/3wood with between a 160 and 200 yard carry depending on angle to clear a stream. It's not a tricky shot really. If it were the 10th it would be a breeze. Because it's the first hole and there is scope to lose balls/wind up in clag etc the general consensus is to lay-up. Trouble is, by doing that you leave yourself a shot of over 200 yards and thee's still plenty of scope for trouble - so you lay-up again. Most people's short game doesn't include Up'n'Down on the Menu so you pitch and 2 putt. OK you've played the hole to your handicap - unless you're off 3 - and got 2 points but it should really be a straight forward par. In 36 attempts I've made par 7 times and birdied it once. Worst is a 7.

Any wind into the face on this hole and almost everyone plays short of the stream - prevailing wind does just that.
 
If I walk of our si1, or s3 with a bogey I'm happy, but I still go fo the green in two instead of laying up.
Click to expand...

I also do this.

Our SI1 is a horrid dog leg right par 4, with everyting right at the dog leg is OOB and the boundry fence (OOB) left. The green has a bunker cut front right and the green slopes viciously right towards the water hazard.

Still try and hit it in 2 mind :D
 
For what it's worth, I think you are spot on not to start out playing for a bogey. In fact, if it is possible to reach in 2 then birdie is the aim in the first place and then adjust that expectation after your tee shot then 2nd shot and so on.

If your playing ability or length stops you realistically being on the green in two then a bogey will be the goal. I still firmly believe that standing on the tee thinking "I've got a shot here" is the wrong way to look at it. I think it's much better to be thinking of hitting the best possible drive then the best possible 2nd shot, chip, putt etc. Then after just rolling in that 6' putt for par.........."bonus, I get a shot there!!!"
Click to expand...

Why do people get shots then?

Because some part of their game isn't as good as a cat 1 golfer.

Some guys can't drive as straight, or as long, or their irons are a bit shoddy. So they get given shots to compensate for that.

What's the point in getting them, and then not using them?

EG

I can hit a good drive 230 yards. But I very, VERY often don't - it'll be a short high slice into the rough. So if I'm playing you just a smile and a pint and we walk onto the tee of a 490 yard par 5, I'll take the driver, coz a perfect driver, followed by a perfect 4w will see me putting for an eagle.

But in reality I've never done it. So when we're playing for big money, say £1, £1, £1, then 4w, hybrid, PW will be the best I can hope for.

And then instead of you putting the pressure on my game, suddenly you're the one that has to be thinking of needing a birdie to halve the hole.

In golf, the mental side of the game is every bit as important to become a winner as the physical.

:p
 
The key thing for me on those types of holes is my drive.

If I get a good one away, I will go for the green. If I don't I will play short and hope that a chip/pitch and a putt will get me par.

I would never stand there on the tee and think I'll take a bogey. I'll stand there and concentrate on getting a good drive out there and then assess the situation.
 
Yea, there's a few holes on my course which I would happily take bogey. Most notably, SI 1 415 Yard par 4...Shouldn't be too difficult and on some day's it's not. But on days like yesterday with 25mph headwinds (and if it's windy, the wind is ALWAYS a headwind on that hole) it takes at least 3 shots to get to the green.

5 or better is a great score on that hole.
 
So if I'm playing you just a smile and a pint and we walk onto the tee of a 490 yard par 5, I'll take the driver, coz a perfect driver, followed by a perfect 4w will see me putting for an eagle.

But in reality I've never done it. So when we're playing for big money, say £1, £1, £1, then 4w, hybrid, PW will be the best I can hope for.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with doing that, and I could happily do it too as you're still playing for par.
There's a couple of par 5's at our place that can be reachable in 2 but I often play them Driver, 9i, PW just because if you go for it in two and get it wrong you're staring at 7 or 8.

There's 7 holes that depending on wind can be 4w or iron off the tee for me. Driver would get me closer but I'm happy being sensible when I still have a realistic shot to the green.
 
But in reality I've never done it. So when we're playing for big money, say £1, £1, £1, then 4w, hybrid, PW will be the best I can hope for.

And then instead of you putting the pressure on my game, suddenly you're the one that has to be thinking of needing a birdie to halve the hole.

In golf, the mental side of the game is every bit as important to become a winner as the physical.

:p
Click to expand...

....and there you are, you haven't played for a bogey have you?? :D
 
Stand on the tee and hit 2 long irons and a pitch to make sure I take no worse than 5. Can't do it. There's something inside my head that won't allow me to consciously give up a shot against par without a fight.
Click to expand...

Region....mate.... :o

You need to sit down with uncle Dave and a nice cup of tea.

Who says you are resigning yourself to bogey?
There is such a thing as single putting. :)

Consider May 2010, 4 ball reaches 6th tee. 459 yards of sheer terror, trees, water, more trees, 13 yard landing area.

3 drives sprayed all over the shop, two on the adjacent fairway. RG hits 4 iron, 5 wood to leave about 60 yards.

Holes the chip for birdie 3!

It'll never happen again, but I do make par from 50-100 yards quite often.
 
I CAN par every hole on the course and have done so. I always think about making par on every hole (or better) and so have a strategy on the tee to give me the best chance. At my course the onus is on driving and if you drive the ball well (straight as there isn't room to spray) then you can make a score. I usually see what happens to my drive and re-assess from there.

If I hit the fairway then I will usually go for it in two dependant on the wind (into a strong wind and I still won't make some of our par 4's) and the situation. If I have a good comp card going I wil usually lay up to around 85-100 yards and take my chances with the PW or 52 degree and take bogey at worse and hope I can get it close enough to one putt. I don't necessarily see it as defeatist to accept a bogey on some holes but instead see it as good course management. Take the 6, 7 and worse off the cards and you can still get it round in decent numbers.
 
I'm not saying I can't accept playing for bogey after the drive hasn't gone to plan Homer, I'm on about not wanting to play for it standing on the tee before you've played a shot, just because a bad drive can lose you 2 or 3 shots.

Is that what you meant, or did you mean after the tee shot?
 
But in reality I've never done it. So when we're playing for big money, say £1, £1, £1, then 4w, hybrid, PW will be the best I can hope for.

And then instead of you putting the pressure on my game, suddenly you're the one that has to be thinking of needing a birdie to halve the hole.

In golf, the mental side of the game is every bit as important to become a winner as the physical.

:p
Click to expand...

....and there you are, you haven't played for a bogey have you?? :D
Click to expand...

Sorry. I bored myself half way through the post. I should have said I would then play the 430 yd ++ par fours in exactly the same way.

 
Surely the game is about the total score, not the individual holes? I know I can easily ruin my total with being over ambitious on the tough holes, so for me it's a balancing act. I know I will make 6 pars a round and half a birdie (that's my average), and I'm well aware that I need to make 12 bogies to shoot my handicap. So it's all about eliminating the dross which can result from over ambition which usually gets me a good score. And that breeds getting more pars as I get more confident.

That's what my head tells me. Unfortunately I don't always listen to myself, which is where the 0.1s usually come from!
 
Yeah I've done it before many times. Theres a par 4 at my course that when the wind is against the only way to reach the green is driver/3 wood and its a tiny green with lots of trouble. Usually I just knock a 4/5 iron up short of the green and try to get up and down but a few times Ive gone for it when I shouldnt.

When you hear Kaymer and all those guys talking about "patience" this is exactly what they are talking about (though obviously with different situations). Knowing when to go for it and when to not is important, but having the discipline and patience to stick to your gameplan is even more important.
 
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