Where do you place the most value in your golf game?

I am 42 years old now and I must admit that my practice habits on my golf game have been anemic really since I began playing competitive golf at age 11.  But now as my skills begin to deteriorate thanks to father time, I find myself having put in more P.T. than any other time in my life just to stay competitive on the "Fried Chicken Tour" and lowballs locally.  So my question to you guys is, how much value do you place on the different segments of your golf game.  Me personally, I must say that my putter get the highest percentage of practice time which with me is just common sense since that is the place the vast majority of shots are taken in every round.  I guess I would break it down as follows for me:

Putting: 50% Chipping: 25%  Short irons: 10%  Mid and Long Irons: 5%  Driver:  10%.  How about you guys?

Depends on what i deam the weakest part of my game. The percentages vary. When i was putting horrible, like 2-3 three putts per 9 holes, i would spend a whole weekend on the putting green. If my driver went bad, i would focus on that.

Usually, i focus one day to one thing, unless its a weekend.

As of right now, i would say my percentages are, well for the new years. Since i am stuck indoors, i am pretty much 100% putting practice.

Putting: 15%

Chipping: 10%

Wedge (anything less than a full wedge shot): 50%

Iron Game: 10%

Driver: 10%

Specialty shots: 5%

I like to spend a small bucket on hitting wierd shots, Like i will try to hit a low slice, or a big draw. I will imagine a tree infront of me, were the edge is inline with a flag, and i have to curve it around that flag. I will also hit out of diviots on the driving range. Just some shots that i might have to hit. I make it interesting, don't really care if i succeed or not, make it more like a game.

When i was trying out for the golf team, i would try to work a 3x3 target, i would imagine a grid, 3x3. High left, High Center, High Right, ect..  I would try to send a ball out into that target, so i would work all areas of trajectory and movement of the gofl ball. Its kinda fun to work out. Like one time while i was waiting for my golf pro to get the video up on the camera that he took of my swing, i tried to hit a straight low punch shot to hit the tree. It took me about 3 tries before i hit the tree center in the trunk. Those type of games, just some fun stuff to keep it interesting, than just beating balls.

Mostly I work on making solid contact with a driver so I don't look like a tit on the first tee which is in front of the club bar. You can't see where it lands but you do see if someone whiffs it. I guess that's why I suck within 100 yards but look ok off the tee.

As a beginner (recently scored 96,96,120,109 and 97) my theory is: if I get the long game right first then I am at least playing my approach shots and lay ups from a realistic position. If I concentrate on my short game first then as my drives improve so will the club selection that I need for my second shot change. I put my drive up between 200-250 when hit straight and I probably will keep that distance for several years and may never get longer. But having got that going fairly well I have a second shot on par 4s between a 6i and a Pw to the green which I miss a lot right now but at least I'm practicing that instead of being 220-250 out and hitting a hybrid or laying up.

I'm sure this not the standard approach but it seems to make sense right now. I might have another 40 years of golf left so I have time to work on my putting in years to come. But when I was rolling drives 150 it was just a frustrating embarrassing mess. Now that I have a shot at GIRs and putts for par often it feels like I'm playing Golf. My last 97 included a blow up of 5 consecutive OOBs on the 16th rough in a tight hazard surrounded lie. The pressure of being on to break 90 killed me. That could have easily been a 87 or 89 and I'm sure it will be soon. If I'd started by working on my putting then chipping and worked back Then I wouldn't be looking at chances to break 90 after 5/6 months (at my general ability. Others would take to it better I'm sure).

I put the most value on my short game.  Having a good short game is the best thing you can do to lower your handicap because its what bails you out when you make a mistake.

For me it's iron play.  My short game is good but not great, and my putting is consistently good, with the occasional really good day (and occasional day with 36 putts).

I figure if I'm hitting irons well--which means hitting flush, controlling the distance and shape, and no wild shots--then I'm going to be in position for par or birdie on every hole.  At worst, I should be on the green or in a spot where I can pitch or chip it close.  I'm always going to hit wild tee shots, but even then I should have a chance at par if I'm hitting the irons well.  And if the driver goes way south, I can always hit a pair of 3-irons to any par-4 up to about 450.

I should say my short game, because if I practiced that would be the easiest way to improve.  But since I don't practice, the only time I chip is when I've missed an iron shot--and I don't like missing iron shots.

8i down to the 54*

I am going to work more on my driver from now on. I will be one of the guys banging drivers at the range for an hour....but I need to do it. Averaging just over 40% of fairways hurts.

I can score well if I don't have blow up holes - which ALWAYS result from me sending my tee shot into the trees/OB

Interesting comparison between TitleistWI and k-troop.  I'm more in k-troop's camp.  My short game is solid, not excellent, and putting is middling.  But I lose the most strokes from wild shots with the driver and 2h-5i shots, off the tee or otherwise, and with too many missed greens with 60˚-8i after one or two good shots to start the hole.  So that's what I'm working on the most right now, narrowing the dispersion cone with the full shots.  I'm working most with the irons right now, cause when I'm trusting my irons, I can hit a smooth 2h-4i to a 420 yard hole and only need my driver for the longest couple par 4s on the course.

My practice regimen is something like this:

40% - Wedges/40 yards and in short game

20% - Putting

15% - Irons

10% - Hybrids/Fairways

15% - driver

I love practicing my short game. And my home course has an excellent short game area that I use for free, so that is definitely a factor.

The best part of my game is probably putting and the second best is accurate driving.  I hardly practice either of these, just two or three drives on the range and maybe a half dozen putts before a round.  On the range most of the time is spent on long irons then mid irons, under the general idea if I am hitting these well, the rest of the game will be just fine.  At the end of warming up, a few short pitches and a couple of drives is plenty.  Now, if my profile was different, I would have a different routine.

50% - irons / hybrids 15% - driver 25% - wedges 10% - putter I should probably putt more, since I kind of lost a bit of a touch I had going this summer. I hate to cut any time down on wedge play. Since it's the club that both gets me out of trouble and onto the green so many times, it pays to not screw up with them, or to drop it by the pin on occasion. Irons don't come naturally to me and are often where rounds are made good or bad, so I don't dare not spend at least half my time on them. Unfortunately, the driver and putting is really what gets cut into to make room for the other two. The driver because I figure the ball's on a tee and I only pull it on 12 holes on my home course so I needn't devote too much time to it, and the putter because I usually do it last and mentally I figure that I can do fine 2-putting most of the time. Unfortunately, last couple rounds I've driven and putted poorly, so I don't think those assumptions were terribly great. :-P So I place the most importance on iron/hybrid play, but I personally value my wedge play the most.

You're only 42 and your game is on the slide because of old age?

I don't buy that....

Ya just need to work at it like you used to

My driving.  If I am hitting it good, I am confident all through the bag.  If I am at the range,  a quarter of the bucket to wedges, a quarter bucket to 6 iron, and the other half to driver and 3 wood.  If my driver disappears, so does the rest of my game for some reason.  My confidence is sapped.  My home course is short and I am fairly long off the tee, so my wedge game is important to me.  No need in bombing it down the fairway 300 yards, if you are going to skull a short pitch shot over the back of the green.

85% inside 135yds............I can relate!!

Long Game, If i can drive the ball in the fairway i`ll be able to shoot a Good score, if  not, I`m Going to shoot Some where in the High 80`s!

I place a great emphasis on my short game, chipping and putting.

Off my handicap and because of my age, I do not expect to hit all

the greens in regulation, but chipping dead and single putts makes

me a strong contender in any match.

Quote:

Good to hear you say this.  This has always been my feeling, and I've quoted good academic studies on here before showing that ball striking's the difference maker for pros, but you always hear people say that basically we're amateurs and we gain the most strokes with chipping and putting practice, which I've never felt was true unless you're really awful for your handicap at one or both of those two things.

Could you post one of the studies (or a link thereto)?  I've always thought wedge play was the difference maker for touring professionals (120 or so and in).  I've read Pelz's study, which is pretty convincing.  I'd like to take a look at the other side of the argument.

As to the original post, i think the best way to do it is to track your rounds and practice what is giving you higher scores.  Right now, for me, its driver.  For a while it was the putter.  Hopefully when some stuff gets figured out on the driver, my score will go down, and something else will be my worst.