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How do pros handle long par 4's??

kekoa

By kekoa,
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kekoa Dedicated Member

kekoa

I was just wondering. When i face a 430+ yard par 4, I get super intimidated. I average about 280 off the tee.

When the pga guys get out there are they all hitting it 300+ yards leaving themselves with a short/mid iron? I know there are some par 4's on TPC's that stretch 450+ yards. Unbelievable.
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Ceej Well Established Member

Ceej

When the pga guys get out there are they all hitting it 300+ yards leaving themselves with a short/mid iron

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But really... I don't think 300 off the tee is as common as everyone thinks.

âI'm glad I brought this course, this monster, to its knees.â
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907golfer12 Great Member

907golfer12

But really... I don't think 300 off the tee is as common as everyone thinks.

Well that is true, if you are talking about the average player, but on tour it is very common. Most of the players average pretty close to 300 yards off the tee, and then since they get fit for their drivers and such every week they have optimal spin, giving them max roll, which gets them to 300 yards. The

PGA Tour average for driving is 280.9, plus roll it is easy for them to eclipse 300.

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Shindig Incredible Member

Shindig

I was just wondering. When i face a 430+ yard par 4, I get super intimidated. I average about 280 off the tee.

What club is 150 yards for you?

The longest par-4 I can remember playing is 430 yards - and there are three of them at Woodley Lakes. When I was a short hitter, I got used to laying up and trying to wedge my third shot close. What I really got used to was accepting bogeys, but I rarely did much worse than that except when I tried to get cute. Now that I'm still a short hitter but not as short as I was, I can hit driver 3-Wood -- or sometimes driver 3H if I'm lucky that day! -- into these. Look, you accept that, all other things being equal, the longest holes are going to be tougher, relative to par, than the shorter holes. If you've played the course before and know your yardages, then you can plan a strategy for the hole to minimize the expected number of strokes. Need 3 to get to the green? Figure out where the best place to play your third shot from is to get it close to a pin. Is the landing area 175 out better than the landing area 150 out? If so, and you have shots for both distances, tee off to the 175 area. Maybe it's flatter. Maybe it's wider. Maybe there's fewer tight lies. Maybe the club to get you there is a higher percentage shot than your driver. Think about these things outside of the round and determine your best means to attack the hole. How do they handle it? They plan to make the best score they can given the tools available to them and the course. Oh, and for distance? I think Mayakoba had a 520 yard par-4. Or, at least, the professionals played it that way. Not that par means anything in stroke play (or match play).

-- Michael | My swing! 

"You think you're Jim Furyk. That's why your phone is never charged." - message from my mother

Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

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Mr Eagle Dedicated Member

Mr Eagle

Play long par fours as par fives. Its why we have handicaps.The second shot is the key,depending on your drive are you going for the green or laying up.If laying up make sure you give yourself a good chance of putting your next shot over the hole and your par is still possible.

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Jack_2251 Dedicated Member

Jack_2251

If your average driving distance is 280, you will only have less than 170 into the green anyway which should be a 6 or 7 iron.
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golf_junkie27 Great Member

golf_junkie27

There are only two guys on Tour averaging 300 yard drives: Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes. I don't think the words "great player" and these names are ever uttered in the same sentence.

Most of the tour guys are like you, about 280 yards. You should not be having any trouble unless you're not playing from the short grass. If it's an iron issue, hit to a distance that would leave a comfortable club in your hands.

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skierbri10 Well Established Member

skierbri10

I was just wondering. When i face a 430+ yard par 4, I get super intimidated. I average about 280 off the tee.

Well I figure with your Handicap, you should be able to hit a solid driver and then a 5 or 6 iron maybe 7 on the green.

Is this not the case?

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jdumoit Member

jdumoit

I was just wondering. When i face a 430+ yard par 4, I get super intimidated. I average about 280 off the tee.

If you average 280 off the tee, you probably hit a 7 150ish? You'd be left with a 7 iron to the green... doesn't sound bad to me.

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kekoa Dedicated Member

kekoa

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If you average 280 off the tee, you probably hit a 7 150ish? You'd be left with a 7 iron to the green... doesn't sound bad to me.

actually, I hit my 7 closer to 165. Over the last few rounds, I'v noticed all the long par 4's i played were dead into the wind. Leaving me with 5 irons in (not my forte).

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mikelz Great Member

mikelz

Apparently not as well as we would expect. I think I heard that just three players hit the 16th in regulation yesterday.

Best, Mike Elzey

In my bag:
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Woods: Ping ISI 3 and 5 - metal stiffIrons: Ping ISI 4-GW - metal stiffSand Wedges: 1987 Staff, 1987 R-90Putter: two ball - black bladeBall: NXT Tour"I think what I said is right but maybe not.""If you know so much, why are you...

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TourSpoon Super Member

TourSpoon

Mentally you don't need to get psyched out because if you do, you have already set yourself up.

I try to minimize the pressure on hitting a perfect drive. I know that even with a perfect drive, there is no guarantee of hitting the green (at my handicap level it happens quite a bit so I rely on my short game). If I hit that less than perfect drive then I play my next shot to a place where I think I have the best chance to get up and down whether that is 100 yards or just short of the green. By having a plan, I can relax and hit a decent shot. If you get up there thinking that the only way you can possibly make par is by hitting a perfect drive then you have put a lot of undue pressure on yourself.

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DDBowdoin Great Member

DDBowdoin

Hit an absolute bomb off the tee, like most tour pro's...

its pretty simple for these guys, its unreal how casually they tackle a long par 4!

Daniel Duarte
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mikelz Great Member

mikelz

Mentally you don't need to get psyched out because if you do, you have already set yourself up.

Well done again.

I play a lot of par fours I can't hit with any regularity. If I have a poor chance of hitting the green, I like to pick the spot where it will end up rather than bash a longer club and hope. If it's all about a good drive, there are a lot of pars and birdies I would not have made.

Best, Mike Elzey

In my bag:
Driver: Cleveland Launcher 10.5 stiff
Woods: Ping ISI 3 and 5 - metal stiffIrons: Ping ISI 4-GW - metal stiffSand Wedges: 1987 Staff, 1987 R-90Putter: two ball - black bladeBall: NXT Tour"I think what I said is right but maybe not.""If you know so much, why are you...

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niblick Dedicated Member

niblick

#7 at Chambers Bay is 449 from the middle tees. Second shot is straight up a huge hill. I hit driver, 3w and couldn't reach it. My second shot landed just short of the green and rolled 30 yards back down the hill. I pitched on and 2 putted for bogey.

I watched Ryan Moore and 3 other pros play this hole at the BWM Skins Game. Playing at 508 from the tips, Ryan hit driver, then a hybrid club to the back of the green. He two-putted for par.

So yeah, that's how they handle them. They expect to hit the green in regulation and make par, and do just that most of the time.

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ArjunGFX Member

ArjunGFX

Guys on Tour have incredible timing which is why even dudes like Fred Funk are belting it near 300 these days.... 270-280 is a short drive on tour. These guys also get a lot of roll.

It is scary... for me hitting Driver and a fairway wood to a 480 yard hole is an accomplishment, and I wouldnt say I'm a short hitter at all.

Dudes on tour are hitting Driver 7 iron or even less for the second shot... it is scary.
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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

  • Administrator
Guys on Tour have incredible timing which is why even dudes like Fred Funk are belting it near 300 these days.... 270-280 is a short drive on tour. These guys also get a lot of roll.

Driver averages on tour count where the ball stops, not where it lands. Roll is included. 280 puts you smack dab in the middle of the current PGA Tour stats for driving distance.

Dudes on tour are hitting Driver 7 iron or even less for the second shot... it is scary.

The guys that hit it 280 aren't hitting 7-irons in (and thus, half the PGA Tour isn't hitting 7-irons in). The guys who hit it 300 might be... because that leaves 180 and they can hit their 7-irons 180.

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golf_junkie27 Great Member

golf_junkie27

The shortest hitter on the PGA tour is averaging 257 Yards: Corey Pavin. Fred Funk is 265 and Zach Johnson is 268. These guys are considered "short hitters." I would kill to be averaging what these guys are.

I believe a lot of people have zero clue as to how far 257 really is. I played with a guy who told me that when it got warmer he was going to be hitting it 300 yards. This, coming from a guy who was struggling to get more than 215.

The most impressive aspect of their swing is the timing and maintaining of balance through the last 18 inches of the downswing. That much clubhead speed in such a small space.

Titleist 905T Accra SC75 M4 Shaft

Nike SQ 4W Accra T70 M4 Shaft
HB001 17* Hybrid with Mitsubishi Diamana Thump X Stiff Flex
Baffler Pro 20* Accra Axiv 105 Tour Hybrid Shaft

Taylor Made 24* Burner Accra Axiv 105 Tour Hybrid Shaft

Mizuno MP-32 5-PW Black Oxide Finish Project X 6.0 Shafts

Vokey 52* Oil Can Finish TTDG S400 Shaft

Cleveland 588 60* TTDG S400 Shaft

Rife Bimini Blade Putter

 

Ball-White and Round

 

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