Risk or reward...

[Losttheplot]

Just following from Bob's thread about his par 4/5 scenario....

A lot of people said they would be happy to walk off with a nett par (including me) and it got me thinking.

I play off 8. Now if I say on the holes I get a shot on that I'm happy to walk off with a nett par by playing it safe and not taking the risk then that leaves 10 holes that I don't get a shot on where I am hoping to make birdies on to play better than my handicap.

Do people now think we should be attacking the holes we get shots on as well as the ones we don't???

Ultimately from what I can see if I don't attack then I won't shoot better than my handicap...???

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I don't get any of this "play safe" "happy with nett par" stuff. Yes it has its merits and in a medal play it is more of a consideration than in a stableford or a friendly. However sure the shot in hand needs to be based on its own merits rather than a formulated plan of "needing" to attack or defend

 

[Whereditgo]

Got to agree with Homer here. Find the fairway then play the 2nd shot on it's merits. Has to be easier to make par on a hole you get a shot on then birdie on a hole that you don't surely?

I play off an official handicap of 18 and an unofficial 16 in the Sunday morning roll-up, so on SI 17 and 18 I am looking at making birdie to pick up the extra Stableford point come Sunday morning - much harder!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I'm not happy to walk off any of my shot holes with a nett par, I know I can par all of them so thats what I aim to do. In fact in s'ford not par'ing them is a waste of a shot as far as I'm concerned. In medal not par'ing them is just another shot dropped to par which I don't like.

It's not about attacking the shot holes, off of 8 you should be able to par every hole without feeling like you're attacking them. I can par all holes on my course playing within myself providing I hit a decent tee shot so I don't ever feel like I need to attack. The only time I'd feel like that is if I was out of position off the tee and had to play a shot I wasn't comfortable with to get to the green. In that situation I would normally look to layup to 70yds and try to get up and down from there. If I was doing that on every shot hole then I'd know I wasn't playing well so would be unlikely to beat my handicap anyway.

 

[bladeplayer]

position after the drive determines everything for me but i supose id play safer in stroke play than in stableford.. matchplay would be determined by score in the match ..

 

[Swinger]

Grip it and rip it.

 

[Imurg]

Play the shot that's needed.
In a Medal that might be a lay-up. If the approach from 220 to the green is a risky shot then a lay-up is the sensible play. But if there's not much trouble then you go for it. In a Stableford there's less to lose so going for it regardless might be the option.

I don't like "playing safe". I like to look at the scenario and play the shots I think will get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible - regardless of par/SI which has little to do with it in my book. If the best I can do is a 6 on a par 4 then so be it - move on. Damage limitation is often needed. Sometimes walking off with a bogey is a good score if you've played 3 poor shots on the hole.