Putting for me. I am a short hitter and so a lot of longer par 4's are out of range and so I have to use my shots. If I can hole loads from 10 feet it takes so much pressure off my approach shots and short game
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PGA Pro Q+A: Ask Our Expert For Advice On Improving Your Golf Game ⛳
Would you rather?
- Thread starter MendieGK
- Start date
clubchamp98
Journeyman Pro
Well if he is off 1 at Hillside he can play.
One of my top three courses.
SGC001
Challenge Tour Pro
Lies, damned lies and statistics.
I'm guessing this is coming from Broadie's every shot counts ideas.
Broadies datas is good, but you need your average from where you hit not the fields to plan your shots.
The tour data is measuring what separates the very best, and when wedge play was found important years back, guess what these athletic players with golfing ability worked on they worked on, so differences are smaller there than they used to be, but they are all excellent.
Simulation stuff is interesting too.
Pros have been teaching players to blast it first for years, Greg norman is an example of someone who learned this way.
Poor design and I'll thought out set ups of courses are contributing to length dominating too.
Also be cautious, players have lost there games chasing 20 yards of length. I'm all for maximising how far you can hit it, but theres a point where other stuff suffers way more than averaged player stats is going to show you because performance in other areas of your game can be detremitally affected.
This is quote from every shot counts
"Interviewed dave pelz, who said if you could improve any one aspect of your game to pro level, what would you choose? It would be the long game absolutely...pelz and Brodie agree that for almost everyone the best and surest way to lower your score is to work on the short game, because rapid improvement is possible there, quickly. Making substantial improvements in the long game takes months and years of work".
Life is rarely black and white
I'm guessing this is coming from Broadie's every shot counts ideas.
Broadies datas is good, but you need your average from where you hit not the fields to plan your shots.
The tour data is measuring what separates the very best, and when wedge play was found important years back, guess what these athletic players with golfing ability worked on they worked on, so differences are smaller there than they used to be, but they are all excellent.
Simulation stuff is interesting too.
Pros have been teaching players to blast it first for years, Greg norman is an example of someone who learned this way.
Poor design and I'll thought out set ups of courses are contributing to length dominating too.
Also be cautious, players have lost there games chasing 20 yards of length. I'm all for maximising how far you can hit it, but theres a point where other stuff suffers way more than averaged player stats is going to show you because performance in other areas of your game can be detremitally affected.
This is quote from every shot counts
"Interviewed dave pelz, who said if you could improve any one aspect of your game to pro level, what would you choose? It would be the long game absolutely...pelz and Brodie agree that for almost everyone the best and surest way to lower your score is to work on the short game, because rapid improvement is possible there, quickly. Making substantial improvements in the long game takes months and years of work".
Life is rarely black and white
MendieGK
Tour Winner
Ask His coach the reason he improved so much. Pugh will tell you it’s the distance
Slime
Tour Winner
Drive ................................ every time.
My bad putts cost me a shot, a bad drive usually costs me two!
My bad putts cost me a shot, a bad drive usually costs me two!
jim8flog
Journeyman Pro
Going back to the original question where I play I probably only use the driver on 8 holes (summer months) and of those 8 drives, when I am at my best, I probably only miss two fairways and might only be in the first cut with the two misses.
So am I really gaining anything by selecting the driving option.
So am I really gaining anything by selecting the driving option.
SammmeBee
Journeyman Pro
At my very worst.....I 2 putt from 10 feet 99 times out of 100 and the other is just a 3 putt....
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
Surely it’ll just come down to how many times you currently knacker up with your drive to an extent it can be directly attributed to costing you one or more shots on a hole, compared to how many times you currently land you approach inside 10ft (such that it’ll definitely reduce your shots on a hole by one or more)
For the latter I’d imagine your short game needs to be very good to get inside 10ft often enough to take advantage of the guaranteed one-putt (otherwise all you’re really doing is eliminating the prospect of a possible 3-putt)
With the former I wonder if folks are really considering the scale of the benefit and that we’re being offered two significant gains with this option (not just your max distance but also your ball in the middle of the fairway!)
My putting invariably decides how many points I'll get on a hole but the driver decides whether there will be any point on the hole for me to even putt for
Most of my blobs are not determined by taking too many 3-putts, so I'll take the driver please
For the latter I’d imagine your short game needs to be very good to get inside 10ft often enough to take advantage of the guaranteed one-putt (otherwise all you’re really doing is eliminating the prospect of a possible 3-putt)
With the former I wonder if folks are really considering the scale of the benefit and that we’re being offered two significant gains with this option (not just your max distance but also your ball in the middle of the fairway!)
My putting invariably decides how many points I'll get on a hole but the driver decides whether there will be any point on the hole for me to even putt for
Most of my blobs are not determined by taking too many 3-putts, so I'll take the driver please
Norrin Radd
Tour Winner
So holing out from ten feet would give you a shot gained every time
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Given that the putting option is specifically tied to 10 feet, there will be plenty of holes where it offers zero shots gained. I.e. you're on the green 11 or more feet away and you lag it up for a tap-in which you would have holed either way. Even when you are 10 feet that only saves you one shot - since personally I would rarely three putt from that distance. So over a round it's saving you maybe 3 or 4 shots? Just an estimate.
The driving one however, let's say it's applicable on all the par fours and fives so that's 13 or 14 holes, and just one awful drive could cost you 2 or 3 shots in itself. So if you'd normally hit two or three poor drives on a round, this potentially saves you 6 to 9 shots.
The driving one however, let's say it's applicable on all the par fours and fives so that's 13 or 14 holes, and just one awful drive could cost you 2 or 3 shots in itself. So if you'd normally hit two or three poor drives on a round, this potentially saves you 6 to 9 shots.
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Jacko_G
Blackballed
I'd rather just shoot low to mid 70's and not give a flying fox how I achieved said score whether that be a good driving or good putting round or a combination of both.
People get too hung up on how not how many. I'll scramble a score all day long and be happy. Won't walk off after a 74 and moan I didn't hit enough fairways or hole enough 10 footers.
People get too hung up on how not how many. I'll scramble a score all day long and be happy. Won't walk off after a 74 and moan I didn't hit enough fairways or hole enough 10 footers.
robinthehood
Hacker
Don't forget youd probably make mincemeat of the shorter par 4s too.
Drive and a short pitch.
Par 5s in range of 2 shots.
The possibilities that hitting every fairway offers is to good to turn down.
D
Deleted member 21258
Guest
I don't think anyone has made the point, that almost all of us play in handicap events and are handicap golfers.
If you want to reduce your handicap, its what you shot on your good rounds that mainly count for handicap calculation and the bad rounds don't basically count(well a 0.1).
Based on that and looking at my best scoring rounds :- I strike the ball well, have control over the flight of the ball, do not lose a ball and driver behaves(also tend to recover from the couple of dodgy drives, with only a bogey or get a lucky break for par). However on those best rounds I quite easily miss 2-6 putts from around 10 foot and in, so I would take the putting, if the goal is to reduce my handicap, as it would mean I would almost always get up and down from around the green and sink more birdie putts.
That said, I would take the driver option very time, as it gives me a lot more buzz that sinking a silly 10 ft putt and I don't care about my handicap.
If you want to reduce your handicap, its what you shot on your good rounds that mainly count for handicap calculation and the bad rounds don't basically count(well a 0.1).
Based on that and looking at my best scoring rounds :- I strike the ball well, have control over the flight of the ball, do not lose a ball and driver behaves(also tend to recover from the couple of dodgy drives, with only a bogey or get a lucky break for par). However on those best rounds I quite easily miss 2-6 putts from around 10 foot and in, so I would take the putting, if the goal is to reduce my handicap, as it would mean I would almost always get up and down from around the green and sink more birdie putts.
That said, I would take the driver option very time, as it gives me a lot more buzz that sinking a silly 10 ft putt and I don't care about my handicap.
clubchamp98
Journeyman Pro
Watched Tiger win last night.
He never putted that well but he hit almost every fairway and green.
He never putted that well but he hit almost every fairway and green.
Swinglowandslow
Well-known member
The driver. After all, you can't putt at all until you get there.
Foxholer
Blackballed
Unfortunately last round - for both!!
As my 'max' Drive has never really been long, but normally straight, I'd opt for the 'sink all putts within 10 feet'. However, if option was '50 yards further off tee', I'd opt for that, as getting within 10 feet (these days) normally involves a putt or greenside chip!
Grant85
Head Pro
I think this is an interesting topic.
I feel it probably does depend on what type of player you are, and what type of course you are playing on. But feel that for most people, driving would be favoured unless you are playing a short course with a lot of par 3s.
But remember... in an average round you could easily have zero 10 foot putts as your 1st putt, even if you have a decent day. From on the green, it would make 2 putting a formality (i.e. get it inside 10 foot) but in reality might only save you 1 or 2 shots in a round. And a lot of putts from inside 10 feet will be taps in from less than 2 or 3 feet.
From on the tee there is obviously a LOT more potential to lose anything from half a shot to 2 shots with a poor or wild tee shot... and to take advantage of this on maybe 14 holes a round.
For me, putting the ball in the middle of the fairway 250 yards down there makes any decent course a fairly short one and I would feel I'd have a very decent chance of making nothing worse than bogey and give myself plenty of chances for birdie and stress free pars.
I feel it probably does depend on what type of player you are, and what type of course you are playing on. But feel that for most people, driving would be favoured unless you are playing a short course with a lot of par 3s.
But remember... in an average round you could easily have zero 10 foot putts as your 1st putt, even if you have a decent day. From on the green, it would make 2 putting a formality (i.e. get it inside 10 foot) but in reality might only save you 1 or 2 shots in a round. And a lot of putts from inside 10 feet will be taps in from less than 2 or 3 feet.
From on the tee there is obviously a LOT more potential to lose anything from half a shot to 2 shots with a poor or wild tee shot... and to take advantage of this on maybe 14 holes a round.
For me, putting the ball in the middle of the fairway 250 yards down there makes any decent course a fairly short one and I would feel I'd have a very decent chance of making nothing worse than bogey and give myself plenty of chances for birdie and stress free pars.
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
Easy. There is ever only ever going to be one maximum distance middle of fairway drive (I think it was Tom Watson who asked why amateur golfers get so focussed on hitting it straight - as there is only one straight - and lots of not quite straights that are just as good).
Anywhere not quite maximum distance middle of fairway does me fine. Holing every putt under 10ft - the Holy Grail
Anywhere not quite maximum distance middle of fairway does me fine. Holing every putt under 10ft - the Holy Grail
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
Easy. There is ever only ever going to be one maximum distance middle of fairway drive (I think it was Tom Watson who asked why amateur golfers get so focussed on hitting it straight - as there is only one straight - and lots of not quite straights that are just as good).
Anywhere not quite maximum distance middle of fairway does me fine. Holing every putt under 10ft - the Holy Grail
Does that mean that you're currently always just shy of max distance and always middle of fairway? (if so I'd prob go with the putting option in your shoes too)
D
Deleted member 1147
Guest
With regards putting, if I was offered having every putt travel the perfect distance/pace (1 ft past the hole), from anywhere on the green. I might consider taking that.
It would mean that you rarely had a long 2nd putt, unless your direction was awful, and you would hole all those putts you leave just short.
It would mean that you rarely had a long 2nd putt, unless your direction was awful, and you would hole all those putts you leave just short.
