The Timgolfy Method v The Tiger Method

[Tiger]

Right. In a recent Brendy created spin off thread our Tim was given muchos kudos (and muchos stick) for his new approach to golf.

Back when I started (August 2009) I was the opposite to Tim in that I proposed that the route to good golf was to ignore the long clubs and focus intently on irons and short game. My 3 wood and hybrid are less than a year old, I still spend the majority of my practice time on the short game and I don't own a driver.

So with polar opposite approaches I find myself way behind Tim 'Smash Factor' Golfy in the scoring stakes as my long clubs go all over the show (I'm well handy on our par 3 practice hole though, in the same way that Tim is a menace on the range)!

Ignore the natural talent factor as while Tim's got bags I've got a couple of bushels. So my question O wise forumers is:

If you had to pick one method out of the two, which one would you pick and why? The lines are drawn let battle commence...

 

[Imurg]

The Tiger Route as a preference of the 2.
Ideally a blend of the 2, as a good, solid, sound Golf Game needs the best of both Worlds.
When I started playing properly, I spent an entire Winter on the range, practising to be "good enough" to join the club. I got my first handicap of 15 and was more than good enough. Did the Winter on the range help?
Yes. It produced a fairly sound swing that has got my handicap down to 8.
Should I have joined the club earlier and played more Golf - Yes!

If you ask the Coaches, Pros and decent players, the vast majority will say that of the two you need a good short game to get low.
I'll go with the majority.

 

[chris661]

Neither. You need both to be a good golfer.

 

[Swinger]

Tim '165' Golfy for me.

My view on starting the game (after having played it for a while) is to learn to hit the ball as long as possible then learn to hit it straight.

Personally, if he was enjoying it, I think he should have stayed on the range for longer before going on course. You can hit a lot of shots on the range and practice pretty much everything.
I get that while 'it always lies perfect' I really don't see a problem in learning what you can do from a perfect lie before you take it on to the course. Seems like common sense to me.

I think this topic could get a bit heated!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I'm afraid I can't vote as I don't think either are wholy correct.

Timgolfy is right in that your long game is important, you have to be able to hit a decent long iron\hybrid\wood but you absolutely don't have to smash it off of the planet.

Tiger is right in that you should spend a lot of time practicing your short game.

My own theory would be to get taught a solid swing, one which enables you to hit all of your clubs with equal confidence. A solid swing will enable you to hit the ball far enough to be able to cope with most course we play on. Obviously some people will hit it further than others but everyone will be able to hit it far enough. Once you've got that bit, practice your short game and putting. Keeping the ball in play and having a hot short game is more than enough to get you to Cat1 golf.

 

[DCB]

I'm afraid I can't vote as I don't think either are wholy correct.

+1

Golf is played between the tee and the green. You need to be proficient in a variety of shots to get the ball from the tee to the green. then you've got to putt out

You need a well rounded game to be good at this sport

 

[Nikki]

I'll stir a little by saying that short game is for the men and the long game is for men who are compensating

 

[Jimbooo]

If you take 10 shots to get to within 100 yards and then 2 shots to hole it, its the same as taking 2 shots to get within 100 yards and 10 shots to hole it.

My vote is both!

 

[Nikki]

boring...

Come on guys where is the huge debate!!! It would be nice to have some fun discussions!

 

[Jimbooo]

boring...

Come on guys where is the huge debate!!! It would be nice to have some fun discussions!

yeah, cmon Tim, where are you?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

If you take 10 shots to get to within 100 yards and then 2 shots to hole it, its the same as taking 2 shots to get within 100 yards and 10 shots to hole it.

My vote is both!

If you're doing either of those I'd find another sport, golf is clearly not for you

 

[richy]

Both for me too.

I started just after you tiger (sept 09 I think), for god sake just buy a bloody driver

 

[Tiger]

Boring. Seriously how come so many of you like an splintered covered ass? Blah blah blah you need both. Of course you need both!!!!

But if time, geography, circumstance or eccentricity meant you could only focus on one...which one would it be?

 

[coolhand]

Yet another vote for both but I feel you need to be get the basic's of a swing right first then you can start varying it to suit real world situations.

The danger of doing it the other way round is you have to break a good "feel" based short game to get a swing that works off the tee.

 

[BogeyHole]

When I started I was taught to keep it straight, and get to the green in par or one over par figures, then learn a short game.

My lowest ever score was 78 on a par 70 course.

I will never make a cat 1 golfer.

Even in those days, Big Jack said that he was teaching his kids to hit it as long as possible, because he could help them straighten it up afterwards.

I think Big Jack was a better golfer than me.

However...

Very few of us are ever going to be good enough to compete with the pros, so I think that if we accept our limitations, then most of us get more enjoyment out of keeping the ball in play, and scoring with a roasting short game, rather than hitting it wild and long and compensating afterwards.

IE if we are playing to our 'normal' standard, it's more fun to keep the ball in play, and 'pick up' a few shots against our handicap with a good short game, rather than hit the ball long, but into trouble, and 'losing' shots against our over expectations.

So I voted Tim, although I think that route is open to disappointment if one is aiming for the top, but doesn't have the talent/will/discipline to get there. Therein lies the path to disenchantment and giving up the game forever.

A happy hacker who sometimes magics a great round is more content with his life than a cat1 who is forever struggling to maintain his handicap.

( I pass that question on to Jammie and Justone, who are, I believe, happier with a couple of extra shorts against their all time low handicaps )

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Assuming you start with some basic lessons to learn the fundamentals and so can hit the ball generally forward and in the air I'd then focus on the short game. Lots of beginners will take lots of shots on some longer holes to get to the green due to bad tee shots and long irons but if they can hole putts and sometimes chip and putt it will negate a lot of damage

 

[jammydodger]

A happy hacker who sometimes magics a great round is more content with his life than a cat1 who is forever struggling to maintain his handicap.

( I pass that question on to Jammie and Justone, who are, I believe, happier with a couple of extra shorts against their all time low handicaps )

Good point oh wise Bogeyhole. Maintaining a low h/c can be extremely tiresome and frustrating. If you've got the will and time to put the effort in then crack on. There will come a time when the will to hang on to a low h/c will dwindle and all you want is to be able to go out and just enjoy golf in its barest form. Ie. going out and just hitting it and finding it and hopefully playing some memorable shots in amonst it.

In contrast though when you get low and your game is rocking on all cylinders theres just nothing like it. I've had times when I could basically do anything I wanted with the ball (fade high , draw low or whatever). short game was on fire and I thought i'd never ever not get down on 2 or better. hose times will always be with me and I know there are still in there but I choose no to fight to let them out.

 

[Oddsocks]

The Tiger Route as a preference of the 2.
Ideally a blend of the 2, as a good, solid, sound Golf Game needs the best of both Worlds.

pretty much this, if it had to be one or the other then id pick tigers route as you can hack to a green but a short game saves shots. Ive seen Cat1 golfers hit par 4's in one and 3 putt, ive also seen cat4 golfers miss par 4's in GIR yet up and down save from the cabbage on a regular basis.

Id count my length as pretty average, 7i 145 ish, 5i 175 ish carry but if i had to choose between being 1 iron or 2 longer or having a better short game it would be a no brainer, short game every time.

 

[pokerjoke]

I would go with Tims way,hone a good swing on the range and then transfer it to the course.
Tiger your handicap has come down .6 in nearly two years,having played with Tim i can already see single figure potential.
This to me comes back to the natural talent posts,to me it doesnt matter how much dedication you have or what method your using,if you have no natural ability, and the ability to learn you wont get far

 

[richart]

Of course you should work on all parts of the game, but when starting i think you should give it a rip. Get the fundamentals sorted first, posture, grip etc, but i know when i started i wanted to hit the ball as far as possible. If i had started as a kid just chipping and putting i would have found it very boring.

I had six starter lessons, five on the practice ground, which were pretty boring , but the last one was on the course, and that was when i fell in love with the game. Probably only hit a couple of good shots, but that was enough to make me come back for more. I can still remember them ,and they were not chips or putts

I think Tim and Tiger have gone to the extremes, whereas something in between is needed. Just my opinion and nothing personal guys.