What part of your game do you think is most important.

Hello everyone I just started teaching and I wanted to get some people's thoughts on what part of there game felt more important to them..

The mental game…

In my humble estimation, this is the alpha and the omega of the game.

Golf is actually two games Air and Ground.

I think the basic swing is the most important part of the air game. Everything else depends on it. It is unique to you no matter how hard you try to model it after someone else and it changes with the changes your body experiences. You can see the results of it, but unless you have video slo-mo you can't see it to work on it.  Anyone I introduce to the game I try to stress to them that is what they need to work on before they consider going out for golf.  Oh and since golf is two games it carries over to the ground game also, the putting stroke is the basis of that. Just my .02.

In my opinion, the most important part of the game. Hitting the ball straight for 300 yards and not being able to putt would be a waist of the distance.

everything is important but there are four things that i always have emphasis on when i teach somebody.

1. alignment

2. putting

3. posture

4. ball contact

alignment is important because you cant hit the ball in the fairway or on the green if your not aiming there. I like to say play with what you got. if you have a slice you can still play well as long as you aim far enough left.

putting is always important and i think is the most underlooked part of the game. If you can put good you can take 6 strokes or more off your score. i dont think enough people concentrate on putting. people will go buy a 300 dollar driver but not a 300 scotty cameron.

posture is extremely important. tall stance with your head up. no body swaying, keep your head still, eye on the ball. if you change your posture throughout the swing you wont hit the ball like you want.

Very good point, It amazes me that people spend 300 dollars on a drive and not even think about the putter.

For me, the most important part of the game is my iron play. If I am having a good day and hitting GIR's I usually have a great score. If I am all over the place it is the opposite. Hitting fairways is important, yes, but look how may PGA Tour players have a higher GIR percentage than FIR percentage. Putting is also important, but if you hit every green and two putt you shoot even par.

So to me, iron play is the most important part of the game.

A couple of Bobby Jones quotes come to mind:

"Golf is played on a 6 inch course between the ears."

"The secret of scoring is to turn 3 shots into 2"

Assuming you are not a rank beginner and can at least generally move the ball forward on each stroke, you must match your abilities to the course and play to your strengths. You must believe in and trust your swing. And as jpd5184 said, you must do everything you can before the stroke to promote the best outcome, ie alignment, grip, posture etc.

The short game combination of chipping and putting are as others have said, the area where work pays off the quickest.  No one hits every fairway or every green, so good short game skills are where scoring is done.  Regulation par allows for 2 putts per green--the standard goal for most is 30 putts per round--but the point is at least 50% of your shots are short shots--chips, pitches, or putts.

I just became a big fan of Bobby Clampett's The Impact Zone which really delves into swing dynamics over style.   It has made a huge difference in every aspect of my game from putting, chipping, pitching and full swing.

Of course, that would come after the basics of grip, stance, posture, and alignment.  The most important thing past these concepts certainly goes into the mental game, but for the basis of what I would teach would all come down to the first 5 chapters in Clampett's book.

I have two parts to my game. Aim and distance control. If I had to pick one to be a little more "on" than the other, I'd go with distance control, which is related to crisp contact and a smooth consistent swing.

Chipping and Putting is the most important part of the game no doubt about it...

For me, the most important part of my game is just feeling comfortable at address and swinging.  It could be the weather, stiff muscles, something on my mind or just not following my pre-swing regiment, if I don't feel comfortable, the ball isn't going to go where I want.  It doesn't matter what my grip is, my tempo, swing plane or the price of my driver, feeling comfortable and relaxed when addressing the ball is most important to me.

It's funny because I always know before hand, that something doesn't feel right and then sure enough...  duff.  I need to learn to step back and start my address again.

I can definately relate to all that - also, my first tee shot is a good indicator of the rest of the round. A good tee shot gives confidence, confidence give full swings, full swings give solid hits and so on..

easy... PUTTING!!!

This the golf question of the ages...

the fact is that all facets of the game are pretty important.  Scoring is not based on long game or short individually it's a marriage of the two.  You could be the best putter on the planet but if takes you 6 shots to get to every green then I would say your putting, although great is not very important.  The same could be said with a guy who hits everything pure and hits 16-18 greens per round but follows that with 45 putts.  His long game although enviable is not important.

Everyone needs to find a balance to play the game they way they want to.  Not everyone needs to be a scratch golfer to enjoy it. It a simple matter of playing to the best of your ability in every aspect.  When you do that the game feels great no matter what you shoot.

For the average golfer I think chipping and putting is what saves sanity.  Assuming you can strike the ball towards the general direction of the green the short game will make or break your score every time.  If you can't reach most greens in under four or five shots.  Please consider taking up bowling.

Couldn't agree more!

It's more important than a perfect swing for me. A bad hole leads to another and so on. A good mentality is needed to conquer that.

just my 2 cents.