What's more important, the drive or the short game?

[CrapHacker]

All the talk recently has been about which of the two is more important.

Well, I would like to say that today was the first time in recent memory that I played the first at Copthorne with a 4W straight down the middle of the fairway,



AND

I chipped and one putted to boot



The only problem was that between them, the second shot was a pull/hook OOB out onto the road and the second ball was then a tad short and went into the brook crossing the green.

So that was an 8' putt for a seven.















Silly bloody game.

 

[palindromicbob]

I'd say if I had to choose one then it's short game. If you can get up a down well then you can afford a less than perfect drive.

On saying that I feel you can't really separate the 2. My game is poor in all areas but I find that a bad drive ruin my mental game and therefore all subsequent shots. I'd love to have a balance in both areas.

 

[FourPutt]

Short game is the more important, I would say.

You can spray it around off the tee and take an extra shot to get to the green, but if you can get up and down from anywhere inside 100 yards, then you'll score. Conversely if you are straight as an arrow off the tee, but can't get it in the hole, you'll never get anywhere in this game!

That being said, a drive straight down the middle is infinitely more satisfying than a chip to 12".

 

[Jabba]

My driving has gone right off the boil, it was my best shot but my short game has improved greatly. My handicap has dropped 7 shots since changing the focus of my practice time from 75% long game to 80+% inside 80 yards.

The short game does the scoring but the big dog is the most fun.

 

[Imurg]

Although all aspects of the game are important, as CH found, the 2nd shot possibly trumps both driving and the short game. You can be the best driver and/or the best scrambler in the world but if you put your 2nd shot OB your still not going to score.
Being able to put your approach on or around the green can negate a bad drive and can also negate the need for much of a short game.

 

[Robobum]

Driving is most important for me. I'm at a level where I've got a reasonable chance of hitting (or very close) greens from 220yds and in. If I miss those greens I will invariably be capable of giving myself a good look at a par putt.

So, getting the ball in play on every hole is key for any good score for me.

 

[bobmac]

There's nothing more depressing than bad driving. Duffs, tops, thins, OOBs. You stand on the tee and think, "where will I duff this to"

But you practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to hit it straight.

Then comes the second shot.
There's nothing more depressing than ripping the drive and then wasting it with a rubbish second shot.

But you practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to hit it well.

Then comes the putt.

There's nothing more depressing than ripping the drive, hitting a laser straight second shot and then wasting it with three putts.

But you buy a V-Easy, (see what I did there) practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to putt better.

Then your driving goes off.
There's nothing more depressing than.......

 

[CrapHacker]

There's nothing more depressing than bad driving. Duffs, tops, thins, OOBs. You stand on the tee and think, "where will I duff this to"

But you practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to hit it straight.

Then comes the second shot.
There's nothing more depressing than ripping the drive and then wasting it with a rubbish second shot.

But you practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to hit it well.

Then comes the putt.

There's nothing more depressing than ripping the drive, hitting a laser straight second shot and then wasting it with three putts.

But you buy a V-Easy, (see what I did there) practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to putt better.

Then your driving goes off.
There's nothing more depressing than.......

Bob,

I'm depressed

 

[ScienceBoy]

Our 73 year old ex captain has back issues, lumbago... the list goes on!

He can only drive 150 yards and takes a wood on every shot until he is within about 120 yards.

Yet he still maintains a handicap of 9 because puts approach shots within yards, chips within a few feet and bunker shots just as good!

He has a massive broom-handle putter to boot!

I played him in the winter match play this year and every hole I took one less shot to get to around the green but I always took one more to get down. The result... we halved the match!

 

[Achilles]

I would much rather have an awesome short game than be a great driver. Much more creativity in the short game and it can be used when in trouble off the tee too. I recall our club captain at my last place (playing off 3 or 4) put a tee shot into some thick bushes on a par 3. I would have reloaded and assumed the first ball lost. He proceeded to disappear into the bushes and popped the ball out over a bunker and put it to a foot. I have no idea how he did it but it made me realise just how helpful and important the short game is. Being able to put the ball close from 100 yards in is my biggest problem and something I aim to change this year. I appreciate both a good drive and a good short game is ideal. But I don't / can't do ideal!

 

[One Planer]

At my level of play, both are equally important.

 

[CrapHacker]

TBH I posted this with a certain amount of irony.

There are certain members of whom it has been suggested think a game of golf can be honed by working on either one or the other. Which is, of course, true as far as it goes.

The problem / beauty of golf is that it isn't a game played on the range, or even the practise green, but, at my level at least, the most important place to play the game of golf is between the ears.

If I had just played my second shot to within 60 yards of the green ( an 8I or 9I or so ) I could have then just played a nice, safe 56* wedge somewhere onto the green and walked away with a 5 nett 4, at worst, and the hole. Instead I lost the hole to a scrappy, but safe, bogey.

As it was, I was only playing Jamie who, out of the goodness of his heart, gave me the game no matter how badly I tried to let him win.

The correct answer, as some have already stated is :

It doesn't matter how good you play one or two parts of the game, something will go tits up and bite you on the bum.

Just call me AristotleHacker.

PS I also made bad decisions on 3, 4, & 5. Add that to bad shots on 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and overall it was, as always a game of enthusiasm winning over talent. ( we only played 9 holes )

But it was still better than either a) working, or b) watching Corry with the mrs.

So .

 

[USER1999]

Golf certainly can bite your bum, big time.

Medal on Sunday. 5th hole, tough conditions into a head wind. Hit an ok drive, wind took it right, into the woods. Unplayable lie, penalty drop. Not had to take a penalty in a medal for about 4 years. Chipped out, clipped the one twig, ended up on a bank, hanging lie, about 12" below my feet.
Played 4i for a bit of a fade, stayed dead straight, kicked into a bunker, up against the back edge. Shanked through green, into bunker, up against the back edge again. Fatted it 50 yards back down the fairway, chipped on, two putts, that'll be a 9 then. Game over.

And not a shot that I'd play differently if I had to do it again. Only ever happens in medals.

 

[AuburnWarrior]

My golf game was rock solid until the end of April! I'd come down from 10.4 to 9.1 and I was regularly shooting in the high 70s. Golfing life was grand!

And then........

The golfing fairy visited me in the night and stole my game!!

I've played three times in May - the first two times were medal rounds - NR for both. Cheers.

Sunday was Stableford - 25 points. Muchos Gracias!!

My driving is woeful, my iron play is horrendous - the only saving grace is my putting which used to be the weakest part of my game!!

This really is the strangest of games and really, really messes with your mind.

 

[bobmac]

I had a similar one a few years back Murph.
Tight par 4 (410yds)
Fairway sloping left to right.
3 wood up the left, perfick.
Ball lands, huge kick right into the unseen bunker up against the 6 feet lip.
Bunker shot catches the top of the bank, bounces back and hits me. 2 shot penalty
Splash out second time, miss the green long, chip back and miss the putt.
9 And I hadn't really hit a bad shot.
In the afternoon, I hit the same tee shot, got a straight bounce, easy 4

 

[USER1999]

Stupid game.

 

[Oddsocks]

There's nothing more depressing than bad driving. Duffs, tops, thins, OOBs. You stand on the tee and think, "where will I duff this to"

But you practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to hit it straight.

Then comes the second shot.
There's nothing more depressing than ripping the drive and then wasting it with a rubbish second shot.

But you practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to hit it well.

Then comes the putt.

There's nothing more depressing than ripping the drive, hitting a laser straight second shot and then wasting it with three putts.

But you buy a V-Easy, (see what I did there) practice it, you overcome your problems and you learn to putt better.

Then your driving goes off.
There's nothing more depressing than.......

You have pretty much summed up the last 6 months of my golf. just as my short game comes together nicely and i start putting sensible... my driving goes...

Ball-Axe stupid game.

 

[Mongoose]

The tee shot is the most important shot to my way of thinking. Its the longest shot you hit on a hole (hopefully!), it sets the tone and mental attitude, it sets up a scoring opportunity if successful. Hit it well off the tee and the short game becomes less relevant and you'll be hitting loads of greens. While short game is an essential part of golf, it is a recovery shot, as something has gone wrong to have missed the green, and its better to be good at the longer shots than recovery shots. You can make a good score with a good long game, you can only keep the score to a manageable number with short game.

 

[Billysboots]

It's not the easiest question to answer. Whilst a good short game is important, you have to get the ball in play in the first place. For me, if I drive well I tend to score well.

 

[golfinger]

I score much better when my driving is working. As a grip-it and rip-it big hitter, if I'm off just a little, it's not a waste of one shot, it's 3-off-the-tee (or 5 etc).

When it works, even my pathetic short game can't spoil a round too badly.