Who needs a driver - learning from a 12 HC

[the smiling assassin]

What is the longest par 4 you wouldn't hit driver on?

4th hole at Fortrose & Rosemarkie. 456 par 4 off the yellows. Driver is asking for trouble. 5/6iron off the tee, 4iron, 50 yard flick, hopefully a one putt. I've never seen anyone get on in two before though I've been fairly close on the odd occasion I've had a dig.

 

[Deano23]

400 yards.

 

[sev112]

I guess we're ignoring the fact that your FC gave you advice during a comp

:

Is the correct answer, thought the rules mafia would have been all over this statement.

 

[patricks148]

4th hole at Fortrose & Rosemarkie. 456 par 4 off the yellows. Driver is asking for trouble. 5/6iron off the tee, 4iron, 50 yard flick, hopefully a one putt. I've never seen anyone get on in two before though I've been fairly close on the odd occasion I've had a dig.

Ive seen someone from on here hit driver and wedge onto there last year.

Lanark Golfer, it was .... 3 putted though:rofl:

 

[the smiling assassin]

Ive seen someone from on here hit driver and wedge onto there last year.

Lanark Golfer, it was .... 3 putted though:rofl:

Don't think i'd ever risk it with a card in hand - except perhaps in a stableford if the conditions offered some assistance. Really need to carry it about 270 to take out the trouble and leave a short enough club in to make it possible to hold the green.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Respect and understand what your saying but .... hell no, not me, ill take the 9 cap please!

The other part of the equation is that in these dry conditions, driver at Royal Ascot brings ditch into play on 9 and 18, will run out of fairway on 12 and will bring a ditch into play on 15. The 4th has a bunker around 235 yards and so even the 3 wood is a risky strategy. What Hawkeye is doing is playing to his strengths and managing the course. Makes perfect sense especially as I found the ditch on 18 without hitting it perfectly

 

[RobertB]

Driver hadn't been going well, I had no confidence so have kept it in the bag for now. Will probably stay that way for a week or so, but I am off to NI for a golfing trip in 2 weeks so I should start practising with it to use it there I think..

Yep, you'll find everyone over here hits it like McIlroy....

 

[Alex1975]

The other part of the equation is that in these dry conditions, driver at Royal Ascot brings ditch into play on 9 and 18, will run out of fairway on 12 and will bring a ditch into play on 15. The 4th has a bunker around 235 yards and so even the 3 wood is a risky strategy. What Hawkeye is doing is playing to his strengths and managing the course. Makes perfect sense especially as I found the ditch on 18 without hitting it perfectly

My comment you attached is in response to someone who said they would rather rip the driver, have fun and play of 14 than be careful and play off 9. Totally with what Hawkeye is doing, smart play this time of year if you can make it work.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

Played the monthly S/F alongside a 12




How do others approach a badly behaving club? Do you beat it into submission or put it into a dark corner till it behaves? It was a good learning experience for me - guess the difference in approach between a 12 HC and 19 HC.

In my past golfing life I was prone to either launching any errant club or removing part of the shaft and grip from the head, however now I think that I am nearing the end of my sabbatical I hope that any mis behaving club will be politely spoken too and at worst put to the back of the bag for a hole or two ( I believe it's called tough love)

 

[Jack_bfc]

What is the longest par 4 you wouldn't hit driver on?

(an open question for anybody to answer)

Its not a question of how long the 'hole' is more about what lies in wait at a drivable length...

I played two ball off every tee last night. And where I normally hit driver, I had a go with 3 wood as well to see if it was more accurate and comparative distance.

The answer being, I will be hitting driver at one more hole than I normally do after getting a better result at a hole where I normally take 3 wood, as I believed the ditch would be in play with the driver. But now I believe it not to be...

 

[Scrindle]

Longest club in my bag is a 3 wood. Driver is just far too unpredictable for my liking. I could bomb down the fairway, but I could also bomb it out of bounds. 3 wood largely takes out of bounds out of play.

I played for about 5 months without any woods in my bag and think I scored better to be honest.

 

[patricks148]

Don't think i'd ever risk it with a card in hand - except perhaps in a stableford if the conditions offered some assistance. Really need to carry it about 270 to take out the trouble and leave a short enough club in to make it possible to hold the green.

no need esp off the medal tee nothing to be gained really. they have tried to make the course longer this year and have stuck a few new tee's in to make guys use driver more. best round ive ever had around there, i only used driver twice 6th and the 12th, used the 2 iron a lot. don't even carry one now, though going back there for a game in a few weeks so might dig the 2 iron out for that

 

[HawkeyeMS]

What is the longest par 4 you wouldn't hit driver on?

(an open question for anybody to answer)

It's not really a question of length, it's a question of how the hole is laid out, where the trouble is, where the best angle of approach is. Sometimes it is better to have a longer approach from a better angle\lie than it is to have a shorter one. This is why it pays to be comfortable hitting every club in the bag because it allows you to make decisions based on things other than length.

 

[duncan mackie]

It's not really a question of length, it's a question of how the hole is laid out, where the trouble is, where the best angle of approach is. Sometimes it is better to have a longer approach from a better angle\lie than it is to have a shorter one.

this is the bit that seems to be missed by many in such discussions.

we have 2 holes where a well hit driver takes potential trouble out of play for many people - but these aren't the norm.

equally you can be as accurate with a driver as you 3h but that accuracy is an angular measurement - if you hit the driver 260 against 210 it could easily be another 10 yds further from the center of the fairway (which will probably be narrower at that distance on a well designed course as well).

 

[Mastercracker]

this is the bit that seems to be missed by many in such discussions.

we have 2 holes where a well hit driver takes potential trouble out of play for many people - but these aren't the norm.

Precisely. Our first is a par 4, 348 yards. You could easily argue it's short enough to leave the driver in the bag, but the only real trouble is fairway bunkers from 175 to 225. Taking driver means (for me) they are totally out of the equation.

 

[duncan mackie]

Precisely. Our first is a par 4, 348 yards. You could easily argue it's short enough to leave the driver in the bag, but the only real trouble is fairway bunkers from 175 to 225. Taking driver means (for me) they are totally out of the equation.

using your example also illustrates why increasing the hole length isn't always a reason for driver! move the tee back 50 yds and you might well change the equation back again, in favour of a 3h (for example) and longer second (obviously the decision is in the detail - but the principle is clearly illustrated)