Playing It Safe

Region3

Region3

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Even though I know deep down that I can't guarantee to be any more accurate with another club over driver, I still think I'm doing the right thing by 'playing it safe' off the tee on a hole that can be a card wrecker with a bad drive.

Last night, medal comp.

10th 3 iron off the tee. Miss-hit, but at least it went straight and left me a shot.
11th 3 iron off the tee. Lovely strike, but pushed it right behind big trees and had to SW over them back onto the fairway.
18th 3 wood off the tee. Needed bogey 5 to stay in buffer, complete miss-hit into rhubarb never to be seen again.

3 times, 2 bad results.

Does anyone else have the same problem or is it just me?
 
Gary, if I remember correctly, your bad shot was the hook with the driver.
If that's the shot you're trying to avoid on those card wreckers you have to develop a stock shot. One thats safe as houses and you can play under pressure.
Now, whether thats a smooth 3 wood, a smooth driver or a fade with the driver it doesn't really matter.
For the bounce games, rip the driver but for the comps and pressure games, go to your stock shot.
You're too good a player to let card wreckers wreck your card. (if that makes sense) :)
P.s. To hit a smooth driver, swing it as fast as you can on the practice swing then smooth on the actual shot.
HTH :D
 
In theory

I can hit my 4W pretty straight off the tee.

I have achieved this 'skill' by not just playing the shot when I need it to work.

If you only play your 3I off the tee on the pressure shots, it's no surprise if you tighten up on it.

Play a few rounds with just your 3I and 3W and see how they feel when there's no pressure on.

Then on those tighter holes you wont feel the need to hit it straight. The more you NEED to be straight, the less likely your are to actually achieve it.
 
This is exactly the stage I'm at right now, even down to fighting a hook with my driver. Last two comps I took irons off the tee, but even though a long iron off a tee is a safer shot than a driver, I can still muck it up on occasion if I'm not swinging well and a messed up iron can leave you a long way back for the second shot.

As a high handicapper I'm forming the opinion that if I'm having a good swing day then I will swing either the long iron or the driver/3 wood well enough to have a good round and conversely if it's a bad swing day it don't matter much what club I take because I will often visit the cabbage anyway.

Playing safe off the tee can be a good strategy if it goes hand in hand with good course management in the rest of your game, but for me it often leads in to pressure to try long seconds to distant greens where the outcome can be every bit as dodgy as an iffy drive.

There are some holes where playing safe is a no brainer, miss our 3rd fairway (SI 1) by 2 yards left and your out of bounds. However, I always play comps with different players, usually better than me, it is seldom indeed that I see many players play safe even in medals, driver or 3 wood is almost always out of the bag.
 
Bob - My bad shot can go anywhere. I do remember hitting a few hooks when I tried to hit it too hard at Stoke Rochford though.
The shot I'm trying to avoid on those holes is a slice. The worst is 18. My driver doesn't go high enough to clear the trees on the left of the fairway, and the apparent window to avoid the trees on the right (further down) is about 10 yards :eek:
Anything right is in trouble from about 200yds onwards. Maybe I should hit 2 5 irons and leave a pitch on when I'd be happy with a bogey.
I like your idea about the hard practice swing though, I'll be trying that next time I play.

Smiffy - Lots of opportunities to play safe off the tee at Forest Pines :D

CH - That makes a lot of sense. It's just forcing myself to not use driver that's the hard part. Might go and have 9 after work one night and leave the driver at home.
 
I've lost count of the number of times that I've "played safe" off the tee and wished afterwards that I hadn't...
Click to expand...

This is why I always play the club that will get me the result I want. I can hit a 3-iron OB with a bad swing just as easily as I can a driver so I go with the driver.

It always amazes me how people elect to "play safe" but still hit a club that can reach the trouble. To me, that isn't playing safe. For example, our 13th is a par 5 with OB all down the right and it's the narrowest drive on the course. You can reach the OB with any club in the bag yet I see so many people hit driver all the way round, get the the 13th and hit a hybrid because they want to "play safe" like the hybrid is some kind of miracle club, and stick it OB anyway. I used to be guilty of this before I realised that if you can reach the trouble with the club you have in your hands, you aren't playing safe and if you can reach it with every club in the bag, you might as well play the club that gets the result you want and forget about the trouble. At the end of the day, we all make bad swings with all clubs.

To me, if you are changing club, lets say hitting a hybrid instead of driver, but you can still get to the trouble with the hybrid then all you are doing is filling your head with negative thoughts about the trouble and negative thoughts during a swing are a recipe for diaster.
 
I've lost count of the number of times that I've "played safe" off the tee and wished afterwards that I hadn't...
Click to expand...

This is why I always play the club that will get me the result I want. I can hit a 3-iron OB with a bad swing just as easily as I can a driver so I go with the driver.

It always amazes me how people elect to "play safe" but still hit a club that can reach the trouble. To me, that isn't playing safe. For example, our 13th is a par 5 with OB all down the right and it's the narrowest drive on the course. You can reach the OB with any club in the bag yet I see so many people hit driver all the way round, get the the 13th and hit a hybrid because they want to "play safe" like the hybrid is some kind of miracle club, and stick it OB anyway. I used to be guilty of this before I realised that if you can reach the trouble with the club you have in your hands, you aren't playing safe and if you can reach it with every club in the bag, you might as well play the club that gets the result you want and forget about the trouble. At the end of the day, we all make bad swings with all clubs.

To me, if you are changing club, lets say hitting a hybrid instead of driver, but you can still get to the trouble with the hybrid then all you are doing is filling your head with negative thoughts about the trouble and negative thoughts during a swing are a recipe for diaster.
Click to expand...

Or..

If you often fade / slice a driver , but hit your hybrid straight, or with a slight draw, you should be able to approach the shot with a more positive mental attitude.

You just need to practise the shot, so you KNOW you can play it when it's needed.

Just don't expect to be able to pull off any shot that you haven't practised.
 
Well, I must say I am amazed at the golfers stating on here that they take out their driver and take out their driver and take out their driver......

I have played golf for a long time now and have NEVER played in golfing company, playing competition golf, who have not 'managed' their shots off the tee.

My playing partners and I often play different clubs off the same tee due to how we see the drive and where we want to play our next shot from. That makes sense to me...driver, driver, driver..does not.

Narrow target, play a club that will hit it.

Reading the other offerings on here you would think that a driver will provide the same return as your pitching iron - an arrow like shot down the centre of the fairway to a narrow landing space...rubbish! Even Tiger can not do that!!

Rescue clubs are so named because they are more forgiving, yes, we all have stories of hitting 'easy' clubs off at right angles but this thread is not about individual mishaps but the action one should take .....as a rule!!

Play with your head, take the club to keep you out of trouble, in your opinion, and this will give you more confidence on the tee as you address the ball.

More confidence = easier swing = ball in play!
 
The 11th at Chartham Park is one of my favourite holes ever. Par 5 with a lake down the right hand side and crap all down the left.
The number of times I've cocked it up with a driver in my hand because I've hit a cut or big block right.
Doesn't stop me taking driver next time 'cos it's lovely when you DO get it right and leave yourself a chance to get on in two
:D :D :D
 
My playing partners and I often play different clubs off the same tee due to how we see the drive and where we want to play our next shot from. That makes sense to me...driver, driver, driver..does not.
Click to expand...

You were probably including me in this so I thought I should clarify, When I said...

This is why I always play the club that will get me the result I want. I can hit a 3-iron OB with a bad swing just as easily as I can a driver so I go with the driver.
Click to expand...

I didn't mean I always hit driver, that was an example. The important part was...

This is why I always play the club that will get me the result I want.
Click to expand...

That may be driver that may be 5 iron, it depends on the hole, where I want to play my second shot from and where the trouble is. I guess what I was trying to say was that I don't change my club because of "what happens if I hit a bad shot". We all hit bad shots but I like to try to focus on the good ones and choose my club based on that.

I think many people change club because they think they are less likely to hit it badly with a different club (normally we are talking about driver here) not because they have a safe shot they can hit under pressure. They just think I might hit my driver OB, I'll hit 3-wood. They probably only hit their 3-wood in these situations so are more likely to get it wrong but there is a percepetion that it is easier to hit 3-wood than driver so they go with 3-wood thinking they are "playing safe".

What your talking about is, in my mind, Managing your game not "playing safe". Playing safe is hitting a hybrid because your good drive will end up in the water. Managing your game is hitting hybrid because you want to play your second shot from a certain place, maybe you get a better angle to the flag.

As was said above, what you should never do is change to a club you don't hit very often, just because you're scared of what happens if you hit driver badly.
 
Hawkeye, my stats show that my driver is possibly the 'best' club in my bag (my putter being the worst)BUT on at least two driving holes I will elect to play a 3 wood as the landing area looks tighter, to me and I am definately more confident with it.

I, up to that point, (9th hole) have not missed a fairway but I still see that as being prudent - playing a 5 iron instead of a 7 for my second - now that makes good sense to me.

You may see that as course management but to me it is playing it very safe.
 
Well let's define "playing it safe" - i bet we all actually differ in what we thnik it is.

I stand on the tee (or approach shot) and remember where i typically hit my club choice - as a range, i.e. how often do i fade/slice/pull/hook and by hom much, and i picture those shots with the hole in frnot of me. I then see how many of those shots would get me in trouble. If it's too many, then i need to change club choice, to one that runs the lowest risk of going into trouble. Obviously i can take account of how well i am hitting teh ball that day to decrease the margin of error say.

What this means is that "playing safe" actually might involve taking the driver because you will hit past the trouble that a mishit 3 iron off the tee would catch.
 
I've been known to look at SC and see that the hazard is 180 yards away (hybrid for me) and so pick a 5 iron (maxed out at 160) and still find the trouble. It's like the club and ball know I'm playing safe and go onto turbo mode.

I don't tend to play safe per se but will normally tee up on the extremity of the tee nearest the danger and play away. My normal shot is a draw/come hook so if the trouble is left I'll aim right edge and give myself room. If the trouble is right I'll aim centre left and if I hit it well it'll be left fairway and if I over do it left semi.
 
I had a moment of madness last night when i tried to play safe on the 17th OOB along the left. Set myself up so i was aiming far right ,tried to whack it but only ended up shanking it off the tee OOB.

I was realy pissed off as i had a cracking score going, moral of the story? Attack attack attack
 
I've been known to look at SC and see that the hazard is 180 yards away (hybrid for me) and so pick a 5 iron (maxed out at 160) and still find the trouble. It's like the club and ball know I'm playing safe and go onto turbo mode.
Click to expand...

Or the fact rather than "turbo mode" you relax, forget the eleventy billion swing thoughts and make a relaxed smooth swing that comes out of somewhere near the sweetspot and can easily go 200 yards for the majority of adult golfers with decent flexibility.
 
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