How YOU play golf.

[Sandpiper3]

After the Open championship, i had just gotten my 2 iron. So im all stoked to go out and play it, i probly hit it off every other tee, with my friend making fun of me, saying im trying to be like Tiger. But i actually played better, because i set myself up in better spots.

BUT ANYWAYS, how do you golf? do you subscribe to the new "bomb and gouge" (aka gripit and ripit), or are you more of a shotmaker that keeps it in the fw and plays the positions? Even if you dont hit it 300+ yards, bomb and gouge is just hitting as far as YOU can as often as possible.

JW wat ppl think aboot their games.

[Youngun5]

bomb and gouge all the way, live by it, die by it.....

trying to lay off and become more accurate though by changing some equipment so that i don't have to swing hard to get everything out of each shot

cheers

[kiwi]

I wouldn't say I play hard out grip it and rip it.... But I chose my club carefully depending on the hole and weather..........but then I thrash that little white ball within an inch of it's life

[ezra76]

I play fairly conservative considering I have the ability to hit a pretty long driver. There are 2 par 4's at 329 and 294 that I always hit 5iron-GW and 5i-SW from. I think a lot in terms of percentages and my percentages of hitting a bomb into a 30yd. area aren't that great. I pretty much try to choose my second club first. I always say that a clear shot at the green from any yardage is better than a wasted stroke chipping out to get one. If I played a course with hardly any trees though, rough being the only penalty, I'd bomb it.

[Eracer]

Like Ezra, I like to play percentage golf. I'm long enough off the tee to bomb it, but feel better when I strategize backwards from green to tee. Use the club that gives me the best chance of being in a good position on the next shot, even if it means laying up on par 4's, or by playing 4-iron, 4-iron, wedge to a narrow 450-yard par 5. I know that if I could just fix a serious mental problem (no jokes, please...) that I have around the green, that I could be playing in the 70's-80's all the time. Yesterday, I hit 11 of 14 fairways and 6 GIR, yet I scored 95. Most of my missed approach shots missed the green by only a little, yet I scored big numbers on too many holes because of really, really, really crappy chipping (blades, chunks, double-hits, etc.). Very frustrating, but I know my strategy is good, since I had, at worst, good chances for up-and-down pars on 10 holes.

If I was a younger, stronger and better player, I would probably go with the "bomb and gouge" philosophy, but I've learnt that I have no chance to score well when I do that, and I at least give myself a chance if I hit fairways off the tee.

[emc]

I much prefer shotmaking. Like Sandpiper, I dusted off the 3 iron after the Open and am now using it everywhere. If I need a big drive, say to make birdieon the last, then I'll let loose the juice. However, my 7,8,9 irons are pinhunters so generally I lay back to those clubs, seeing as how I don't see an advantage in bombing it.

[Dale]

If I have a nice and wide open fairway with plenty of over run on the right hand side then I will definitely take driver. I tend to fade the ball (not through choice) be it little to a lot, so if it’s safe then up for it. I am also a long hitter when I wind up (300+) so it usually makes for a fairly simple pitch on if it if the drive works.

Usually though I will play for position with the next shot in mind. If it is getting quite tight down the fairway then I won't hit my driver as I am simply not accurate enough with it to guarantee being able to find my ball

However, if its a long par 4 then I will nearly always at least take driver or 3 wood as I cannot for the love of god hit my low irons (3+4) either off the tee or off the fairway, so I need to make sure I either have a fairway wood into the green, or a 5 iron or greater. That’s just me playing to my strengths, and I know if I have to hit a 3 or 4 iron to give me a chance of making par or bogey then I’m screwed as it won't go anywhere near (a good thing I can crack a 5 iron with aplomb!!!)



Give me the winter though where things don't tend to travel as far as you like is when I struggle as I am leaving longer irons into the green tends to mess me up

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by Dale

However, if its a long par 4 then I will nearly always at least take driver or 3 wood as I cannot for the love of god hit my low irons (3+4) either off the tee or off the fairway

Hybrid, hybrid, hybrid.

Get a 3 and 4 hybrid.

You WILL be able to hit these clubs accurately off the tee.

You WILL be able to hit these clubs accurately off the fairway.

I promise.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Eracer

Hybrid, hybrid, hybrid.

Get a 3 and 4 hybrid.

You WILL be able to hit these clubs accurately off the tee.

You WILL be able to hit these clubs accurately off the fairway.

I promise.

UH OH! I feel a wee dabble on the credit card coming... club reccomendations please??... (or a pointer to another thread?)

[justsomeguythatgolfs]

I like to think of myself as a shotmaker that likes to keep it in the fairways. But i have also learned how to get out of some pretty nasty situations.

[15andlife]

I play fairly conservative I like to have a plan for every hole and most of my rounds I wont hit my driver at all during the round because of my slice with it. On a 500 yd par 5 i'll say to my self well all I have to do is hit it 200 off the tee then another 200 off the fairway and ill only have a SW left for my third shot. It works.

[Davebud]

Not Well, that pretty much sums up my game in two words.

[cypressperch]

to gouge very much, your average score will suffer compared to playing "Smart Golf" which is playing the percentages. So every time you go to the tee box, it is like Dirty Hairy is there asking a question, "Well, do you feel lucky,___?" And good courses that have "risk-reward" situations all over the place do not make sticking to "Smart Golf" easy. Playing "Smart Golf" pretty much means "No Eagles," probably means "Fewer Birdies" (questionable), but it certainly means "more pars" and a "lot fewer bogies and worse." But all of this is based on mere probability. Sometimes you can beat the odds, but it is hard to know when.

Some would say that there is no time that is right to gamble. But when you play your home course enough, you probably gamble a bit and do not realize it. You come to find places where the fairway opens up after a dog-leg right, and it is not that hard to bend it around the corner with a wood where before you hit an iron to the corner. After a few birdies there, that becomes your standard way of playing the hole. Again, it all comes back to CONFIDENCE.

When playing other courses, always try looking for situations like those on your home course and play them as you would at your home course. In fact, try to be at your home course mentally when you execute the shot.

One problem from playing your home course all the time the same is that you will not get as familiar with all the clubs in your bag as would be nice. It is very beneficial to go back to the tips ever so often. You will most probably pull out the driver from necessity on many holes that were short enough to allow a more conservative strategy. You might be surprised that some trouble is no longer within your reach off the tee, and you then swing more freely and with good results. Hitting at greens from farther out might get you to taking more club, and again you swing more freely and make good contact. You have several holes where you score just as well from the back as you do up front, and you feel good about that. This kind of experience will build your confidence both at home and when you go to other courses.

You might also try playing a round where you shape shots all around the course both off the tee and with your approach shots. You might try hitting lower or higher shots. I think you will discover places to use different shots than you might be using now. Again, you will be becoming more versatile which can only improve your game. Different shots around the greens would also fit this concept.

On whether to gamble on a shot or not, I would strongly recommend having a game plan as to how you want to approach a given course. Look at how the score card ranks the holes according to difficulty level. You might think about playing the hardest holes a little on the conservative side. Thinking things out before playing helps to prevent overly bold snap decisions.

Best of luck to everyone with their games. Sincerely, Cypressperch

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by cypressperch

Playing "Smart Golf" pretty much means "No Eagles," probably means "Fewer Birdies" (questionable), but it certainly means "more pars" and a "lot fewer bogies and worse." But all of this is based on mere probability. Sometimes you can beat the odds, but it is hard to know when.

This is exactly how my game has been improving. I have not been making a whole lot of birdies but run off strings of 3-4 pars in a row quite a bit. I was struggling to break 90 again in the early spring but now have lowered my cap to 11.7 and broken 80 once. My goal is to get to the point where I can shoot to par and then take the risks where my strong points can be accentuated. Just for the heck of it I may try to drive a few greens this evening just to see what happens. Even though I already know I'll probably end up with 2 birdies, 2 doubles and a triple as a result. That would give me a 25 as opposed to my usual 3 pars and 2 bogies, a 22.

[twogreen]

Only recently has it dawned on me that my chances of hitting the green are much better with a PW from 80-100 yds than trying to chip from 10 yds off the green. From 10 yds, I tend to fluff the ball 5yds or skull it off the other side of the green.

Prior to this realization, I always tried to advance the ball as far as possible with each shot...often with disasterous results. Now, I try to pace ball advancement so that my last shot to the green will be from the most advantageous position that fits my ability.