Difficult shots - When to go for it and when not to

[Dave325]

I have been trying to learn the rules of the game and trying to play by those rules (until recently, I used to play without any care about rules since I wasn't keeping score and was only playing recreationally anyway). So, I played my last round using the rule book (at least by the ones that I currently know)... Wow, it defintely adds a different aspect to the game.... Like not touching the ball, not improving the lie, etc... Still learning all the definitions.

So, one thing I ran into was having to do with strategy.... I was on the 15th hole and hit a nice long draw... A bit too long that it rolled into the rough on the left where the fairway started to bend right. The ball came to rest to a stack of leaves propped nicely against a branch. The leaves offered a nice lie for my second shot.... But the branch... Not so much. I knew I couldn't move the branch without the ball moving.  Making a quick decision, I decided to go for it and rifle a 7 iron in the direction of the green hoping for a GIR.  Bad idea. I only buried it deeper into the underbrush. And now, I am in a worse condition than a few second earlier. Why did I do that? I could have easily have taken a drop or... chipped it into the fairway. Both which seem to be better decisions after the fact.

So the big question is... How do you make these type of decision to minimize the pain (and extra strokes)? It seems that I make the wrong decision in these situation more often than none.

[Apollo]

Experience. 

I've learnt the hard way to take the safe punch onto the fairway. It costs 1 stroke, but never more. And you gain some yards, so maybe you're hitting a 9 iron as your third instead of a 6 iron as your second. And that's not so bad. 

My usual playing partner is the hero shot type, and 9/10 times it ends badly and costs him more strokes. But to him golf is about taking those risks. Maybe he's watched Tin Cup too many times. 

 

At the end of the round only the scorecard counts. 

[mvmac]

1 hour ago, Dave325 said:

So the big question is... How do you make these type of decision to minimize the pain (and extra strokes)? It seems that I make the wrong decision in these situation more often than none.

If you haven't already I'd highly recommend getting this book. It covers stuff like this, decision making, game planning, what to do when you get in trouble. 

http://lowestscorewins.com/

 

[Patch]

Knowing one' own game will always tell the golfer what they can or can't do with particlar shot.  My own rule is if I have never seen the problem before, then I just take my medicine, (penalty) and do what's necessary to get into a more playable position. Most of the time it's taking the unplayable and moving on. Thats when I am playing for a score. 

Since I always take notes on problem shots, when I get a chance,  I will pratice various problem shots so as to limit any surprises when on the course. 

Then of course there are those times when out of blind arrogance I will try to pull off a miricle. It's golf, and you got to have fun, first and foremost. 

[Dave325]

24 minutes ago, mvmac said:

If you haven't already I'd highly recommend getting this book. It covers stuff like this, decision making, game planning, what to do when you get in trouble. 

http://lowestscorewins.com/

 

Thanks @mvmac.... I have the book and spent most of my time in the technique sections up till now.  I'll need to re-read that section. I got a good memory... It's just short (smile).

27 minutes ago, Apollo said:

Experience. 

I've learnt the hard way to take the safe punch onto the fairway. It costs 1 stroke, but never more. And you gain some yards, so maybe you're hitting a 9 iron as your third instead of a 6 iron as your second. And that's not so bad. 

My usual playing partner is the hero shot type, and 9/10 times it ends badly and costs him more strokes. But to him golf is about taking those risks. Maybe he's watched Tin Cup too many times. 

 

At the end of the round only the scorecard counts. 

Good call! I have usually been like your partner. But gonna change that. I need to play smarter.

[rehmwa]

in fun games, taking the fun shot is more fun - no kidding.  (but you have to be able to roll with frequent disappointment also).

How else does one learn which ones they are capable of, and which are just wishful thinking?  (IMO - golfers that always take the safe route and are smug about that?  are missing some of the best opportunities in the game)

Then, one can "take their medicine" when it's REALLY warranted rather than just always take the safe route.  

The big key for me is when I walk up to the shot, if I have to 'think' about whether it's a good idea or not, then likely it's time for some medicine - unless it's a practice day, then I hit what I want.  If I'm excited about the opportunity to do something creative, go for it - the mental approach is key to success or failure - though some shots just won't work, but eventually you figure those out too.

I find the trickiest risk/rewards to actually be close to the green, rather than the typical "try to hit it out of jail' cliche - those are usually pretty clear what's worth the risk and what's absolutely not... (bend it around a corner - fun.  hit it through a gap - don't bother)

40 minutes ago, Apollo said:

My usual playing partner is the hero shot type, and 9/10 times it ends badly

At those odds, it wouldn't be as fun to try after a while - 

40 minutes ago, Apollo said:

At the end of the round only the scorecard counts. 

I personally find this sad.  Sometimes that one really great shot can make your week  (so I agree with Apollo, but only about half way then - but since we all take enjoyment differently, this is expected.  

I recommend the OP take a quiet day on the course when he's all alone and it's not busy and go play.  And when he gets into the risk/reward situations, play both shots and see what is more fun for him, or better score for him - depending on what he likes personally in his game.  And then figure out what's right for him)  But if you like to take fairway risks, I hope his up and down game is good.  Actually, if he decides to be a conservative player, I also hope his up and down game is good......

[allenc]

11 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

I personally find this sad.  Sometimes that one really great shot can make your week  (so I agree with Apollo, but only about half way then - but since we all take enjoyment differently, this is expected.  

I guess everyone is different on that front.  The satisfaction from a great shot doesn't last me longer than a few minutes.  I get more lasting satisfaction from a great score.  And if I'm playing this round for a score (as opposed to match play or a scramble or something), I only have this one chance today to shoot a score I'll be proud of for some time.

Really, how "great" can a great shot be anyway?  Carry a 200 yard lake from the rough to finish near the hole?  If you knew you could make clean contact with a 200 yard club most of the time then great, sometimes you hit one near the hole, whatever.  The main way it might be really exciting is if you actually CAN'T make that shot 9/10 times but somehow the stars aligned and you caught all ball.  But then the attempt would be just silly and you would be dumping balls in water left and right.

When I think of a great shot that might be memorable I'm thinking of something really interesting, like a back handed bank shot off a tree trunk when that's the only way forward.  I'd like to have something like that under my belt.

[Club Rat]

24 minutes ago, Dave325 said:

How do you make these type of decision to minimize the pain

Experience is the best teacher, and using common sense when a situation happens.

Under the circumstance you have described, you had several options.

• Play the ball as it lies. Your decision lead to a bad situation, another option would "play a safer shot" which would advance the ball closer to the green and give yourself a chance to save par. Ask yourself, would a wedge have been a better choice/outcome?
• Basically, hindsight is often overlooked by experienced players. (example: similar occurrence/outcome)
• Understand and evaluate the odds of a difficult play.
• Take the possibility of a disaster happening out of the equation. Simply don't take the gamble.
• Often it's best to take an unplayable and make the decision which relief option is best.
   

[Apollo]

13 hours ago, rehmwa said:

I personally find this sad.  Sometimes that one really great shot can make your week  (so I agree with Apollo, but only about half way then - but since we all take enjoyment differently, this is expected.  

I think it's dependent on the situation. I play rounds by myself fairly often, with 2 balls per hole. One ball I'll play safely, and the other I'll go for the risky shots... otherwise I'd never know what's makable or not.

I practice quite often, and the scorecard is the best way of showing if my game is improving. If I take a risky shot during a more "serious" round with others, and it backfires and costs me a triple, then I get frustrated and it can throw my round off.

[saevel25]

First would be know your limitations. If you struggle with basic contact than you will probably struggle with pulling off any type of heroic shot. 

I am of the mindset to get as close to the hole as possible given constraints of hazards leading up to and around the green. 

Something like the OP, where the ball is sitting on top a bunch of leaves. That is something you learn from experience. Leaves are not fun :) 

[ghalfaire]

someone once said something like this; Wisdom comes from experience most of which was bad experiences.  

[rehmwa]

22 hours ago, allenc said:

 I'm thinking of something really interesting, like a back handed bank shot off a tree trunk when that's the only way forward.  I'd like to have something like that under my belt.

that's sweet, and something I'd avoid at all costs unless just goofing around on that day - I'm still get jazzed when I shape it just right from an odd lie or even get a super clean contact.  (example - I hit a drive into the left trap of a par 5 -dogleg left.  I had 3 options:  1 - Try to bomb the 5wood over the trees to the green - it was in range and I could get over (the green has trees right, water left).  2 - pick a 6 clean and draw it around the trees so I don't go through the fairway and into the trees on the other side - gives me a nice short wedge.  3 - take my medicine and hit a nice 8 or 9 or wedge out to the center of the fairway at the knee in the dog leg and accept medium iron approach instead of a short wedge.

some people would call 1 AND 2 the 'hero shot' and always pick 3.  I personally find #1 to be the 'hero shot' as I have no business trying to get there in two since I didn't get the drive I wanted.  But I can pull off both of the other shots so I hit 2 (the drawing 6i).  So some people would claim that's not bright either and the safe shot #3 is my only real option....  net/net?  experience tells you what's out of line and what's not.  One man's 'hero shot' is another guy's great option to consider.

 

 

Quote

 

I think it's dependent on the situation. I play rounds by myself fairly often, with 2 balls per hole. One ball I'll play safely, and the other I'll go for the risky shots... otherwise I'd never know what's makable or not.

I practice quite often, and the scorecard is the best way of showing if my game is improving. If I take a risky shot during a more "serious" round with others, and it backfires and costs me a triple, then I get frustrated and it can throw my round off.

 

This sounds familiar.  And sometimes I'm interested in the overall game, sometimes, I'm just hitting and enjoying the experience.  Remember, I'm really just replying to those that 'always' take  the safest route only.   Clearly with that in mind, we are all really on the same page, we just have different tolerances for what we are capable of.

[DaveP043]

23 hours ago, Apollo said:

Experience. 

At the end of the round only the scorecard counts. 

There's lots of good talk about understanding your limitations, and the percentages, and the situation, but it all gets back to experience.  Trying something unusual, and failing at it, helps you to understand your limitations.  Using "pressure" scenarios while practicing trouble shots on the range helps you learn your own percentages.    Situation-ally, match play is very different from stroke play, but that doesn't mean you should always take a riskier shot in match play.  The important thing, in my mind, is to evaluate ALL of your experiences, good and bad.  If you're faced with a risky shot, evaluate the best possible result, the worst, and the most probable.  Evaluate your "need".  If its stroke play, don't ruin the round with a single risky decision.  If its match play, do either you or your opponent have an advantage, or maybe you need a miracle to stay in the hole.  "Fun" play is completely different again, there's no real risk, but there's opportunity to learn.  So many factors go into the choice, and the more you experience problem situations, the more data you'll have on which to base your decision.

[DrvFrShow]

In your situation, taking an unplayable lie might have been the wise decision. A pro told me once that if you're having a good round to make the conservative decisions. If you're not having a good round, go ahead and challenge the course - the round is already in the trash so what have you got to lose?