Whats better?

Obviously the best golfers hit the ball further than amateurs and a certain amount of distance is needed to compete on the Tour, but the Nationwide and Hooters Tours are full of guys who can hit the ball stratospheric distances and will never make it on Tour, and Jamie Sadlowski can hit his ball further than anyone on Tour, but wouldn't make the cut in a PGA Tour event. Some shortish hitters such as Mark Wilson and Luke Donald have done rather well this year too.

The average woman pro has a clubhead speed around 95mph, and carries the ball less than 240 yards in the air. Most average male Category 2 golfers can match or exceed that swing speed but the woman pro would murder them in a match all day long.

I played golf a few years ago with a player currently in the top 10 driving distance on the PGA Tour (and number 1 last season) and he told me that it was the short game that distinguished between the Tour winners and the guys who went back to working in the pro shop.
 
What's better?
Grooving a swing which generates 230yd drives and Cat III golf?
Grooving a swing which generates 290yd drives and Cat I golf?
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So if you drive the ball 230 yards you cant be a Cat 1 golfer????

Should I stop trying to lower my handicap then? Coz I only drive about the 230 yard mark and im off 8 at minute and was hoping to get it down lower

May as well give up now then :(
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Please don't start this again, I don't think I bear it
 
Should I stop trying to lower my handicap then? Coz I only drive about the 230 yard mark and im off 8 at minute and was hoping to get it down lower
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How much easier would your task be if you pick up your ball and walk it 70 yards further down the fairway?
 
How much easier would your task be if you pick up your ball and walk it 70 yards further down the fairway?
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Not much really. My scores generally improve when I hole out consistently from within 6 feet and chip up close. I do not mind missing a green if I roll it up to a few feet.

I think anyone who can drive 240, hit a wood 220, hit a 5 iron 160 and hit a pitching wedge 110 has plenty of distance to shoot cat I golf off the whites round any general members course in this country.

We have many cat I golfers but only three or four who hit the ball that extra 20-30 yards.

Also I can out drive my club pro (both with a driver) on more than one occasion in a round but the difference comes in his game 100 yards in.
 
Should I stop trying to lower my handicap then? Coz I only drive about the 230 yard mark and im off 8 at minute and was hoping to get it down lower
Click to expand...

How much easier would your task be if you pick up your ball and walk it 70 yards further down the fairway?
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Obviously much - as long as you're in the fairway. Chances are you wont be.

And none of us are ever going to be good enough to compete in the top 200 of the PGA tour so why bring that up?

As has been said, driving distance has no meaning if you can't hit greens and sink putts. And if you miss greens - which you will - you need the short game prowess to chip'n'putt to make up for it.
 
I find it interesting that most people say they would like a better short game than more distance, yet when you watch people practice ( and i'm as guilty of this as anyone ) you mainly see people hitting full shots flat out. We have a great short game practice area at the club i'm attached to and it's hardly ever used............. :D
 
I think the simple answer to the OP is:

What is more accurate: A PW from 110 yards, or a 5 iron from 190?
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When you finally grow a pair and venture onto the course with some of the venerable gentlemen on here and put your own take on the game of golf against their then I think you've earned the right to comment on their games. At our level it is a different sport to the way the TOP guys play it. Even the difference between a club pro and a Nationwide tour player is like Acrrington and Man Utd.

You come out and watch some of the 230 yard hitters on here and see what difference straight everytime makes when you also possess a decent short game. Until then I suggest perhaps reigning in the generalisations of other peoples ability
 
You want to putt the best you can.
You want a good short game.
You want accurate approach play.
You want to be short off the tee.

I don't get it. I really don't.
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240 is not short off the tee by any means!

OK some par 4s you have to lay up but if you can accurately pitch on you can still make par. Not everyone plays Cat I golf with "Drive, iron, putt putt"

Me thinks you have been brainwashed by the golf on TV, go out and make the game your own and play it your way. I bet you will be suprised!
 
Nobody wants to be short off the tee but a fact of golf is that some people just dont hit it as far as other people.

I wouldnt want to be 70 yards further up the fairway if it meant it took me an extra shot to get the ball in the hole.

The pros are blessed that they can hit huge distances off the tee and they have supreme short game skills, thats why they are the pros and are getting paid vast sums of money for it.

But to say that just coz you can hit a 300 yard drive will make you a Cat 1 golfer is a load of bollocks
 
I find it interesting that most people say they would like a better short game than more distance, yet when you watch people practice ( and i'm as guilty of this as anyone ) you mainly see people hitting full shots flat out. We have a great short game practice area at the club i'm attached to and it's hardly ever used............. :D
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Yeah my course is the same it has a great pitching green with three flags plenty of breaks and a bunker about 2 mins walk from club house and it is nearly always free. Most of the time it feels like my own private practice area :)
 
Here's some stats for you. Luke vs Bubba.

Scoring Ave - 69.31 v 71.09
Driving Dist - 272.5 v 310.7
GIR - 63.33 v 73.33
Scrambling - 68.18 v 51.67
Putts - 28.2 v 29.92
World Ranking - 3 v 17

So Bubba hits it further - no surprise there.
Bubba hits more greens - a little surprising but then he's closer.
Luke murders Bubba on scrambling, putts and scoring average.

So Bubba hits it long, hits greens but doesn't sink enough putts. When he misses the green (4or5 times a round) he only gets up'n'down 2 or 3 times.
Luke hits it shorter, misses more greens but gets up'n'down more often - hence the near 2 shot per round difference in scoring. He also putts better on the greens he does hit.

You can hit the ball as far as you like. If you can't get up'n'down when you miss the green or get the ball in the hole when you hit the green, then you will not score as well as someone who can.
Period.
End of story.
 
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